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mc-i-r · 4 years ago

Text

He tries

Pov: Janus

Tw: major character death, angst, hint of unsymp!sides (except Remus), arguing, illusions(?), knife/stabbing mention (hypothetically), panic attack (implied), swords, all caps (screaming), language, crying, unintentioned body morphing, self deprecating thoughts, overworking, unintentional triggering of panic attack, a t o u c h of derealization(?)

Let me know if I missed anything!

Word count: 2460

A/N: hi @imma-potatoo um I know you probably don’t know me but do you remember this post? yeah I um I wrote it so yeah here it is :)

Edit: tumbled being a bitch baby and I can't get the fuckin link to work I'm so sorry D:

Janus is a complicated creature. He always has been and, presumably, always will be. But that's what humans are, aren’t they? Complicated, fickle little things. They suffer with emotions and thoughts and actions and make their way about the world like little ants trying to please their queen. But Janus has no queen, only five sides and a human to please. He’s not even a human, only a fraction of one that’s forced to live and breathe among the ants. However, no matter what he does, no matter how much he sacrifices and works and improves himself, he just can’t please them. Like I said, he’s complicated.

It’s not as if he’s the perfect person either. I mean, all humans make mistakes right? So why should he be any different? I suppose it’s because of his function, being Deceit rarely has its perks. Sure, impersonating other sides to be listened to or get his point across most likely wasn’t the most effective way to help Thomas but...who can blame him? I mean, it’s not as if he could just pop up and immediately be listened to. Hell, Logan shows up in almost every video and even he’s not listened to! But Janus still tries. And tries. And tries. And tries. And tries.

Nothing works.

Right now, he’s trying to tell them that Thomas needs to take a break. He’s been working nonstop for the past three weeks planning videos, photoshoots, costume arrangements, events, and auditions. Needless to say, they're all a bit stressed. Janus most of all.

Changing from Deceit to Self Preservation was a major change in Janus’s life. I mean, spending years being hated and feared and hidden away from others did its damage, it's part of the reason why Janus inherited the snake traits but, finally being acknowledged that he’s real and a part of Thomas just like everyone else is was....overwhelming. Granted, nothing’s really changed. He still gets ignored, pushed around, and left out but...when those two words left Thomas’s mouth… that was all he needed. All he wanted. To just be seen. To be noticed by someone other than Remus.

It only lasted for a week.

Still, he does his job. He makes sure Thomas washes his face in the morning and drinks his coffee. He makes sure he goes to sleep, takes a shower, washes his clothes and does everything else a man in his thirties does. But throwing more and more projects in the mix means Janus gets pushed to the side, left to scream from a distance that Thomas needs to take care of himself. He’s been working overtime just to make sure Thomas goes to bed, not even worried about what time as long as his head hits the pillow before the sun comes up. Sometimes, he’s been unsuccessful. But he still tries. Even now, stressed and overworked out of his mind, he tries.

He was relaxed...well, somewhat, giving his points sparingly to not push the boundaries of his newfound acceptance too soon. He added a pro here and a fact there, trying to lead them all in the right direction. So far only Patton agrees and, given recent events, that basically means everyone else is against it. Still, Janus tries.

He’s settled in between the banister and Logan, putting him unfortunately close to Virgil who is definitely not sparring on giving him his fair amount of glares. Still, Janus endures, knowing that a break will only do Thomas good. I mean, have you seen Hamilton?

But the bickering soon turns into arguing between Roman and Patton, Janus not even daring to interject. It was surprisingly intense, the newfound hatred on Romans end and the persistent pushing from Patton coming together to explode in a bout of yelling. Janus shrank back from the noise, pushing himself further into the shadows in an attempt to hide himself. It, unfortunately, didn’t work.

“Jan, tell him that he needs to take a break!” Patton pleaded, looking at Janus with eyes that held all too much emotion behind them. He wanted to help, he really did, but…

“Oh yeah, please Janus, tell us why Thomas needs a break now that he’s finally getting work done,” Roman sassed back. Janus knew Roman just wanted to prove a point. He knew that. But the intense gaze the creative side gave him made him shudder. Roman was mad at Patton, not Janus. Still, the look of pure hatred bore into Janus, pricking his skin and making his stomach drop.

He couldn’t speak. No witty quip or sarcastic remark, not even a hiss. He just froze. He felt everyone’s eyes turn to him, waiting for a response to the very simple question. Hell, Janus had been supporting it for the past hour they had been talking about it! But now, all eyes on him and tongues ready to object, he couldn’t speak.

It felt as if the room was spinning, warping and contorting around him until he couldn't tell left from right. He knew it wasn't really happening, the real world didn’t work like that, but his brain was convinced that it was. He felt his eyes go wide and he stumbled, catching himself on the banister. He tried to hide it by adjusting his hat only to be met with a concerned voice.

“Janus? Kiddo, are you okay?” Patton, sweet sweet Patton asked, dropping the fierce gaze and tone and replacing it with a gentle question. Janus swallowed and cleared his throat.

“I’m fine, Patton, thank you for your...concern” Janus trailed off, taking a breath in between his words. His eyes started to waver in and out of focus. He gasped and stumbled again, leaning in the banister to keep his weakening body up. He heard Patton shout something, presumably his name, and rush over to him.

Too close too close too close-

Janus hissed at him, shrinking away from Patton and further against the railing. Patton paused, a flash of hurt washing over his face before he took a few steps back, holding his hands up in defense. Janus hated that look, the type of look that made you want to wrap Patton in a blanket to protect him from the world. He wanted to apologize but his throat wouldn’t work, staying stubbornly quiet as the room spun.

A sharp pain bore its way through his skull, feeling as if a hot knife was being stabbed in his snake eye over and over and over again. He yelled out and grabbed his face, kneeling over as it sent a wave of pain through his body. He could feel the others rush forwards, all ready to help the now screaming side.

Get away get away ge-

“Get away!” Janus hissed out.

He felt his body glitch, his insides morphing into something inhuman. He heard a gasp and he opened his eyes to see Patton covering his mouth, Logan furrowing his brow, Virgil staring at him with wide eyes and, of course, Roman with his sword drawn. Janus reached up to his face to feel glasses. He looked down to see a cardigan wrapped around his shoulders and draped over a light blue shirt. He glanced at Patton, confirming the suspicion that he had transformed into the moral trait.

“Kiddo...what's happening?” Patton asked quietly, patiently waiting for an answer.

Janus didn’t have one.

“I don’t kn-aaAAHH!” Janus tried to speak but was interrupted by another glitch, his voice cracking and diving deeper. He kneeled over again, wrapping an arm around his stomach. He could see a blue tie hanging from his neck and, upon sitting up, he realized he had now morphed into Logan.

“Janus are...are you okay?” Logan asked, speaking quietly and for the first time all day. Janus opened his mouth to speak when he glitched again, changing into Roman quicker than he did Patton or Logan. His mind didn’t have time to register the change before he glitched again, becoming draped in a plaid-patched jacket. He heard Virgil hiss.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on?” Virgil hissed out, more panicked than angry. Janus began to sass back when he glitched again, changing back to his former self.

He took a breath and shook his head, leaning against the banister to support himself. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and felt his skin prickle, his scales shining as well as his discolored eye. He slowly looked up, locking eyes with Thomas.

“H-...help-” Janus whispered before he was cut off by a scream, his body morphing back to that of Patton.

He couldn’t control himself now, his body moving on it’s own accord while his mind begged for it to stop. He just wanted it to stop. His mouth opened and before he knew it, he was speaking.

“I don't know if I can believe whatever YOU tell me.”

The words left his mouth before he even realized what they were, his hand involuntarily slapping itself over his mouth to stop him from saying more. Patton looked at him with wide eyes, covering his mouth with his hands in shock. Janus could see...he could see the pain in his eyes. The hurt. The regret. Tears were already forming on the moral traits’ face, one or two of them rolling down his flushed cheeks.

“J-Janus? What…?” Patton whispered out, voice barely audible even though the room was silent.

“Pat, ple-” he wanted to apologize. He needed to apologize. But the words couldn’t come out. He glitched yet again, changing into the logical side once more.

“You’re nothing more than a glitch, a mistake in the mind.”

Logan froze solid, face blank in shock. Janus couldn’t blame him, having his own hurtful words thrown back at him would do that to you. Logan absentmindedly fiddled with his tie, staring blankly at Janus. Janus tried to reach out, to take a step and tell him that it was okay, that this was all just a big mistake and that he was sorry, but the fear in Logan’s eyes when he took a step forward was enough to know he should keep his distance. Perhaps, forever.

The bones in his back shifted, forcing his body to morph into the creative side. He leaned exhausted on the railing, looking up at Roman in reluctant hatred.

“We can’t trust him! Did you forget that he’s EVIL?!”

Romans surprised gaze turned into a scowl, his eyes narrowing at the unwilling imposter in the room. Who could blame him? Janus has barely even been acknowledged as a facet of Thomas’s personality, much less accepted and liked. If he starts changing and mocking other sides in front of them all is it really such a stretch that Roman would be on guard?

But Janus can’t stand it. Not anymore. He and Roman had come to somewhat of an agreement, both apologizing soon after the last video and working on building their relationship from the ground up. Things had been good as of late but this...this could ruin that completely.

So Janus cried.

He didn’t mean to, it just kind of...happened. The stress from the past few weeks mixed with whatever was going on currently and the loss of trust between him and Roman was enough to send him over the edge.

He choked out a sob, covering his mouth with his hand as he looked pleadingly to Roman. Praying, wishing for it to stop. He just wanted it to stop. Romans intense gaze softened, his sword lowering as the creative side was at a loss for words. Well...almost.

“Jan? Jan, what’s wrong?” Roman asked tentatively, scared of saying the wrong thing or making the wrong move. Jan appreciated him for that, always willing to look out for others no matter what. That's what made him an inspiration.

He reached out with his hand towards Roman, hoping that something would happen to make it go away. All he got in return was another glitch and a purple patchwork hoodie over his shoulders.

“N-no-” he tried to make it stop, to morph back to his old self and hide away forever. But his body didn’t hold him any sympathy, his mouth dripping out evil words.

“Even if he can tell the truth, that doesn’t mean he can be trusted.”

Virgil's eyes lit up in shock, his eyeshadow darkening as he backed up from the deceitful trait. He started shaking his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he slid down the wall. He tried to speak, his words cut off by a wave of panic.

“I-...I’m so-sorry, Jan. I-...I-” the boy in black buried his face in his hands, Roman soon rushing over to comfort him.

“I...It’s o-” Janus was cut off by a grunt as a wave of pain passed through him. “-kay. It’s okay.”

“Kiddo, are you sure?” Patton asked...scared? He was careful, speaking softly much like he did when calming Virgil down from an atta-….oh.

Oh.

Janus slowly looked up at him as his body morphed around him, changing back to his own skin. He didn’t feel real anymore, his face feeling too foreign to be familiar. He had no mask up anymore, all his emotions out there in the open for all to see. His eyes were cloudy, covered in a film of exhaustion and weakness. His skin was pale and flushed, his body shaking. He was absolutely pathetic.

He weakly looked over to Thomas, his body relying solely on the support of the wooden stairs behind him. He locked eyes with him, his stomach souring at the pity in his eyes. He opened his mouth, voice coming out in hoarse rasps.

“Oh, I hate this guy and his creepy...snake face!”

“Get out of here, Jack the Fibber!”

“Gah, Deceit! Leave me alone you slippery snake!”

“Well, your face ruined my day so we’ll call it even.”

“Why is he still here?”

“E V I L!”

One by one he repeated the words, his tears falling faster and his body growing weaker. He collapsed on his knees after the final word, clutching his chest as his breath grew sparse. He heaved in a final breath, looking around the room at each of the sides individually. He gasped out his final words, ones that would stick with the rest of them forever.

“I’m sorry.”

With that, he disappeared, his body falling limp to the floor. There were screams. Cries. Pleas for him to come back, for him to have a chance at being accepted. But it never worked. Day after day, year after year, nothing ever worked. Thomas would realize soon after that he had lost the ability to lie…

...and Janus with it.

Taglist:

@whattheremus

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

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empressxmachina · 4 years ago

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Is THIS what will push me to make an AO3 account? (not clickbait) (surprising)

[See this journal in a better layout on my blog site or on DeviantArt.]

I’ve fallen so down abysmal for the Help, I Shrunk My… series – “…Teacher“, then “…Parents”, and finally (?) “…Friends” – especially the last movie and its scenes between peers, that I have such an uncharacteristic urge to write a fanfic.

Yep, fanfic. I did say uncharacteristic. But with the cuteness and quality, especially at certain scenes in “…Friends” like below, I don’t think you can blame me.

“Holy shit, I’m going to pass out/die/shit myself/etc.” -me, at nearly everything in this series

(Post?) Pubescent Pairings

A. The Classic Couple.

I’m already, because I’m a serial romantic that loves a good self-insert, thinking to name the whole story “Help, I Shrunk My Lover/Girlfriend” or something cheesy like that (maybe even in German?) for Felix and Ella to be stuck together and have to deal with (post?-) pubescent awkwardness. I mean, I feel so honey-dicked that we got cute shit like this and its amazing scene…

God, look at that FOV, the (lack of) focus, the size difference, the subtitle, that face… Fuck.

…but it had to be ruined because – SPOILER – the dumb, lusting teen boy couldn’t see what was literally right in front of him for years until the end of the third movie! Plus, being steps away from a married couple of hotheads, who knows what kind of fights or arguments they’d get into? Are you telling me you wouldn’t want a scene like this again?

That stick is actually way too big to really be a toothpick (or is it?), but I’m not mad. We stan a brave queen.

B. The Will-They/Won’t-They Duo

I’m thinking of making Mario and Melanie into each other, too, as irony based on how much they hated each other for most of the last movie. She stole his phone (and everything else) and then his heart. (lol, I’m so sorry.) Maybe she’d still have some fancies for Felix but then sees that Mario has redeeming qualities of his own, on top of a rich background (not that it matters, but money is cool). My main focus in mind was just for Ella to be shrunken, with Melanie being the supportive gal pal, but given she’s new and hasn’t yet been small herself, maybe this would be the time.

I think Mario would’ve totally gotten over the prepubescent power drive from the first movie by now and certainly no longer has even the slightest grudge over Melanie causing and/or catalyzing chaos that could be played with if he had to deal with a small her. Surely.

C. The Bros in the Back

Would it be too presumptive to make Chris and Robert maybe gay for each other… or even absolutely the opposite? I respect a strong friendship and/or bromance, and LGBTQ+ representation is always a win, too. But for either, I don’t want to do anything “just because” or because it’s “(not) woke;” it should add to the story and have meaning. After all, a situation like “Dude, I love you, and I’ll love you forever, but not like that” could be just as cute. We stan supportive introspection between men. Bros before hoes, you know?

Though, maybe they’re likely the great masterminds to figure out what/why the plot thickens. They seem like the most intelligent of the squad, even if they were only henchmen at the beginning.

D. The Elders

I guess it would only make sense for Schmitty or Felix’s parents to get shrunk again, as is tradition. Maybe the former would be due to considering retirement from teaching/being principal.

I’d do anything to get Hausmeister Michalsky protecting her with his hat again.

As for the parents, it’d likely be a wrong place, wrong time situation. I don’t know.

Unless Sandra and Peter were snooping again, I doubt Felix would willingly do this to them.

Overarching Themes

Aging for Innuendo

Regarding all this, I do know that I’d like to make the story time-skipped a bit, making the kids at least U.S.-adult-aged for my own sake. I am a fan of double entendre, cheekiness, and raw emotion, so I’d love to spill them all over a story or characterization if fitting. However, I couldn’t bear to see or write any kiddos explicitly going through with any entailed implications – that shit’s illegal, lmao. Plus, why even risk something like that when an age-up takes away all the trouble, thus not make any innuendos or ideas awkward?

In a fun way, small or not, wouldn’t seeing the gang party together with real man’s drinks or whatever be cool? What about someone getting turnt on a thimble’s worth or a gummy bear’s paw?

The cups have been used. That’s adorable. +10 points for realism.

In a trash way, if a greater trust was built between Felix and Ella to wear one would suggest taking a bath with the other, and a small Ella floating in the soap ocean bumps into something on her back, only to realize all of Felix’s (normal) limbs are out of distance, in view, and/or just not able to touch her yet he’s blushing, then what would that imply? (It could be nothing, but it could be something.)

Why, Though?

I just can’t figure out a supposedly new catalyst for the ultimate shrinking plot point, mostly due to the main chaos causers, aka the ancient magic users that tackled the school, being sent to the Shadow Realm in the last movie. I do have some ideas, but I’d always love to hear more.

*Oh, Hulda Stechbarth… Bless this crazy bitch, lol.

Throughout the series, people going to our wanting to go to America was frequently brought up. Maybe, like Ilvermorny is to Hogwarts, maybe there’s a (maybe American) (college?) counterpart to the Leonhard school that is interested in the kids. Could the sudden shrinking be a part of the admissions or entrance exam process, such as figuring out how to reverse it? I can’t imagine someone still wanting to go to a school that risked its prospective students’ lives, but who knows? Still, I’m sure the friends would debate whether going overseas for any school is the best idea, especially with the ridiculous costs. Could differing views cause tension?

What if one between Felix and Ella considered it, but the other didn’t, and a coincidentally timed dream for them to stay together – not unlike Minami-kun no Koibito, if you know it – made one of them small with no way for Felix to turn the affected back to normal (due to the tests)? What if people start believing that Felix is intentionally not transforming people back, despite not being at fault but trying his best the whole time?

I suppose another villain is cool, too, but what would be their spite? Would Felix getting all of Leonhard’s power be enough to spark something?

***

I want to do this, but I rarely finish anything now. I can’t even think of a proper plot! Maybe putting this out into the world will inspire myself or even someone else to give a fanfic a shot or at least expose this series to our fandom more (like when I found Dwarfina and blushed at every scene, despite not knowing a lick of Tagalog)!

The third movie pretty much just released, so I only see it (legally) able for streaming (via renting or buying) via Vudu and Amazon Prime Video (in the U.S.). It maybe more widespread in Germany where it was made. (Though, VPNs do exist…) But the first and second movies can be bought or rented from multiple sources, surely.

In any case, let me know what y’all think, and feel free to share your thoughts!

#g/t #rambles #fanfic ideas #help i shrunk my #i've fallen and i can't get up

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blackhakumen · 4 years ago

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Mini Fanfic #795: On Their Way to Isle Defino! (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)

10:23 a.m. at the Smash Town's Airport.......

Coco: Got everything you need for the vacation, bud?

Tails: (Place his Traveling Bags onto the Baggage Scanner) I think so. (Turns to Coco and Wave) You think you guys are going be okay without me for a few days?

Coco: (Smiles Brightly) Oh relax. I'll be just fine~ (Covers the Side of her Mouth While Pointing at Wave Beside Her) Can't say the same for Wave though, but I'm sure we'll manage.

Wave: ('Scoffs') Please. I'll be more fine than this twerp here wishes she can be.

Coco: (Rolls her Eyes While Crossing her Arms) Says the nagging workaholic.....

Wave: (Glares at Coco) Says the bratty little know it all!

Coco: (Glares Back at Wave) Hey, don't blame me just cause I'm more smarter and cuter than you!

Wave: The only thing you're good for is being a pain in my neck!

Tails: (Sighs Once He Sees his Two Friends Glaring Intense at Each Other) Okay.....Better question? Do you think you guys can try not butting heads with one another too often while I'm gone?

Wave: (Turns Back to Tails) Relax, shorty. I can assure you that we won't be at each other's throats 24/7. Though, considering how immature the little twerpette really is, I can't say the whole process is gonna go that well in hindsight.....

Coco: (Went Back to Glaring at Wave) Are you kidding me right now!? I can be a lot more mature than you think, you know?

Wave: (Starts Rolling her Eyes) My point exactly......

Coco: Yeah? Well, your "point" is clearly an absurd proposition.

Wave: You know, now that you mentioned it....(Went Back to Glaring at Coco as Well) I'm starting think the absurdness part describes you perfectly.....

Coco: Right back at you, sister!

Tails: (Sighs Once More While Seeing Coco and Wave Are at Each Other's Throats Again) Can't say I'm surprised by this outcome really.......(Smiles Softly) I really am gonna miss you guys though.

Coco: (Walks Over and Hugs Tails Lovely) We'll miss you too, Tails. Please don't worry too much about us, alright?

Wave: (Walks Over and Gently Ruffles the Top of Tails' Hair) She's right, kid. Just focus on enjoying your vacation with the other once you get there. We can take care of ourselves just fine. (Starts Whispering in Tails' Ear) Still not sure Coco could do that on her lonesome self, but.... it's whatever.

Coco: (Glares at Wave Yet Again) You know I can still hear you right!?

Tails: (Smiles Sheepishly) I'll just take your words for it.....

.................................................................

Samus: (Putting her Bags onto the Baggage Scanner Before Turning to Chun-Li and Li-Fen) Think you two lovely ladies are gonna be okay in the big city while I'm gone to paradise?~

Chun-Li: (Giggles Softly) I'm sure we'll be just fine, Sammy. (Gives her Girlfriend a Playful Smirk on her Face) Try not to let anyone fall head over heels for you while you're there, 'kay?~

Samus: ('Heh') Please. Like any of them would come close as being as amazing as you. (Smiles Softly) You're the only woman who stole my heart, remember? I love you-

Chun-Li: (Immediately Rushes Over and Hug Samus Lovingly) I love you too!~ I'm gonna miss you soooo much, Sammy~

Samus: (Chuckles Lightly While Hugging Chun-Li Back) Right back at you, beautiful~

Li-Fen: (Rushes Over and Hugs Samus' Leg) I'll miss you too, Momma Samus!

Samus: (Chuckles Lightly Some More) I know you will, kiddo. (Lowers Herself Down to Li-Fen's Level) You think you'll be able to take care of your mom for me while I'm gone?

Li-Fen: (Happily Nodded) Mmhmm. I'll protect mommy with the Power of Kung-Fu!

Chun-Li: (Smiles Sheepishly at Samus) I've been teaching her a thing or two about it ever since the first day of my retirement.

Samus: Is that so?~ (Smiles Brightly at Chun-Li's Daughter) I'm proud of you, kiddo.

Li-Fen: (Smiles Back at Samus) Thank you. (Suddenly Begins Gasps Loudly Once He Noticed a Familiar Person at the Baggage Scanner) Uncle Foxy!!

Fox: (Noticed Someone's Calling his Name After He Place his Bag at the Scanner) Hm?

Li-Fen: (Rushes Over to Fox and Hugs Him on the Leg) I'll miss you so much.....

Chun-Li: (Joins in on the Hug Fest as Well) Me too~ Be sure to take care of Sammy once you two get to Isle Defino together, okay?

Samus: I think you got this whole thing reserved, babe. (Place her Arm onto Fox's Head With a Smirk on her Face) I'm the one who always takes care of dumb-dumb ever since we first met.

Fox: ('Sigh') As much as I hate to admit this, she kind of has a point.....

Samus: (Raised an Eyebrow at Fox) "Kind of"?

Fox: (Turns to Samus) Come on. You can't deny the fact you're more chaotic out of the two us.

Samus: And you're too reckless for your own good. Do I REALLY need to remind you all the times I saved your happy little ass?

Fox: ('Sighs in Defeat') No.....

Samus: (Kiss the Top of Fox's Head) Thought so.

Chun-Li/Li-Fen: (Giggles Softly at the Duo's Banter at One Another)

..............................................................

Hat Kid: (Rushes Over and Hugs Shadow's Leg Tightly)

Shadow: (Looks Down at Hat Kid) Hey, what's wrong? (Lowers Himself to the Girl's Level) Are you sad that I won't be able to join you on your vacation?

Hat Kid: (Sadly Nodded Before Hugging Shadow Again)

Shadow: (Sigh While Smiling a Little) Hey now. It'll be a while for the both of us to see each other again, but that doesn't mean you're entirely alone. You get to spend time with mother, father, Sonic, and everyone else in the family who loves you very much

Hat Kid: I know. (Snuggles onto Shadow While Still Hugging Him) But I'll still miss you though.....

Shadow: (Chuckles Lightly) I know, kiddo. (Hugs Hat Kid Back) I'll miss you too.

Rouge: (Watches Shadow and Hat Kid From a Distance with a Bit of Tears in her Eyes) ('Sniff') Have you ever witnessed something....('Sniff') So sad yet so precious at the same time, Omega?

Omega: Toy Story 3.

Rouge: (Giggles Softly While Resting her Head onto Omega's Metal Shoulder) Yeah. That movie made me tear up sometimes too.

...........................................................

Peach: (Sighs While Walking Next to Mario) Mario, are you sure going to Isle Defino is a good idea?

Mario: Yeah. It seems like a pretty relaxing vacation for the family to enjoy to me.

Peach: I know. I just..... don't want it to be a constant remind of everything you've been through during your time there. You know, like the whole painted town fiasco and you getting arrested for something you clearly didn't do.

Mario: (Gently Grab Peach's Hand) I know, dear, but I'm still certain it's gonna be a great experience for all of us together. (Smiles Brightly) And besides, all of that happened a long time ago. I'm sure the town folks forgot all about it a long time ago, you know?

Peach: ('Sigh') I guess you're right. (Smiles Softly at Her Knight in Shining Armor) As long as you and everyone else are happy, then that's good enough for me. You think we got everything we need for the trip?

Mario: I'd say so.

Back at the Smash Mansion.......

Rex: (Looks Around and Sees the Entire Mansion is Empty) Hello!?

One Airplane Ride to Isle Defino Later......

Almost everyone was amazed at how Bright and vibrantly beautiful the island they've arrive at truly is.

Blue Pianta: (Happily Greets the Smash Family) Welcome, Everyone, to Isle Defino! (Turns to Mario) Ah. And has been a while since we've seen you again.

Mario: Oh. (Chuckles Lightly) You guys still remembered me?

Blue Pianta: Why, of course we do! (Eyes Suddenly Turns into a Dark Shade) How can we forget the man who carelessly turn our island into a darkness?

Mario: (Eyes Widened at the Sudden Mode of Tone) .....Oh. I uh...('Clears Throat') See that....you still remembered all of that as well..... B-But you also remembered that I restored it back to the way it was, right?

Pink (Lady) Pianta: (Smiles Brightly at Mario) And we are all eternally grateful for it too. But that doesn't excuse your heinous actions in the slightest, you careless, low life of a plumber....

'Silence'

Ren: Geez..... Holding a poinless grudge much?

Bowser: (Immediately Burst Out Laughing) AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! (Fell Down on the Floor While Laughing Even More Loudly)

Peach was about to launch herself at the two Piantas with anger in her eyes until Daisy and Samus grab hold of her, much to her struggle.

Daisy: Easy, girl! Don't let them get to you like this.

Samus: Daisy's right, Peach. They're not worth it right now. We're on vacation, remember?

Peach: (Tries Breaking Free with Little Prevail) No! Let me go! I only wanted to talk to them is all!

Samus: With your fists and legs?

Peach: YES!

Mario: (Watches the Whole Thing Going Down with his Brother By his Side) Luigi?

Luigi: Yeah, bro?

Mario: Something tells me this vacation is gonna be a lot stressful than I thought it would.

Luigi: Yeah, but....(Smiles a bit Sheepishly) I'm sure it can still be fun experience, right?

Mario: Yeah. (Hopefully.)

And with that, the Smash Family's vacation in Isle Defino begins.

@keyenuta

@caleb13frede

@cyber-wildcat

@26shann

@ma-lemons

@princekirijo

@italian-love-cake

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millllenniawrites · 5 years ago

Text

home.

Part of The Dameron’s Series

words: 1.4k

pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

warnings: modern au, Halloween times pre-covid, Poe thinks you’re hot and he’s horny (and can we blame him? you’re da bomb), I tried to keep the costume as gender-neutral as possible but I think it’s a bit more feminine but I hope it doesn’t bother any more masc readers too much, talk of having children (briefly)

a/n: Halloween is always freezing where I live so this is partly self-indulgent because I would love to be able to step outside barefoot and not be in a foot of snow. Also I’m probably going to make this a holiday series because why the fuck not. this partly came out of a conversation with @woakiees about modern Poe and reading some of her stuff (including this fic that is fucking sad).

You pulled your top into place, struggling as you reached back to tighten the last two straps. The corset-like back on your belt cinched your waist nicely over your flowing white top. Setting your hat on your head, you took one last look in the mirror.

“Oh, sweetheart...” You didn’t need to turn around to know what that sound meant, how his eyes were surely ‘taking in the view’, as he always put it. (You’d never tell that you picked out the tight black pants for your costume especially for him.)

“Hi, baby.” You turned around and crossed your arms over your chest. With the way his eyes trailed lazily over you, like he had all the time in the world, you struggled to keep up the disgruntled attitude. “Do you need something?”

“Do I need something… Honey, I need you.” Poe bit his lip, doing that thing with his jaw that always made your knees weak. He pushed off the doorframe and sauntered over to you, making silly grabby hands as he got closer.

Letting him pull you in, you giggled into his neck. “We’re gonna have kids at the door soon.”

“Soon. Not yet.”

“Very soon.”

“I can be quick.”

“Poe Dameron.”

Chuckling, he let you untangle yourself. “Promise me you’ll let me take this off you later?”

“Absolutely. That means I don’t have to do it.” You bounced out of the room, holding onto your hat as you ran down the stairs. “Put on your costume, Dameron!”

The entranceway to the house had been fully decked out: cobwebs hanging from the mirror, little plastic pumpkins lining the doorway, and a little witch in the corner who you’d modeled your costume after. Your own little Halloween haunt. It was a collection of old dorm decor, things Poe stole from his father’s when he moved, and new Adult ™️ purchases that you’d made together for your first home.

You were triple-checking that the pumpkin bowl you’d placed at the door was full of small candy bars when Poe finally dragged himself down the stairs, sporting an orange jumpsuit. A white pilot’s helmet was tucked under his arm. It was some throwback costume to an 80s movie you didn’t remember but Poe said he loved as a kid, so you’d snagged it while thrifting earlier in the month.

“You look very handsome, baby.”

“You’re lucky I love you.” His grumble interrupted by his grin as he leaned in, pecking your lips.

“Mhm. I get some fun jewelry out of it.”

You moved to wave your engagement ring in front of his face but he snatched your hand out of the air, maintaining eye contact as he brushed his lips over your knuckles. “I love you.” he whispered with a quiet intensity that stole your breath.

Until the doorbell rang.

“Kiddos!” Your voice was almost a squeal as you twisted out of his grip, scampering over to the door. Poe couldn’t help melt a little, especially as he watched your face upon opening the door.

The two little girls shouted, “Trick or treat!” in unison.

One had a Wonder Woman costume on, complete with a whip that hung at her side. The other was dressed in all purple, a black hat place atop her wild curly hair. They couldn’t have been older than third grade.

“Hey, you’re a witch like me!”

You bent down, eye to eye with her. “Yes, I am! And I love your hat.”

Poe handed them both a couple chocolate bars each. “You girls are lucky. Extras, since you’re the first ones to come by.”

They grinned, echoing each other in a “Thank you!” before running down the stairs, cutting across your lawn to the next house.

You waved at what you assumed to be their parents, standing on the sidewalk drinking out of to-go mugs, before closing the front door.

“I love Halloween.” you whispered.

“I love you.” Poe placed a quick kiss on your cheek before grabbing your hand. He dragged you back to the sofa, grinning as you giggled and plopped yourself in his lap.

The Nightmare before Christmas was playing on the television. Curling into his side, you leaned across him to grab the remote and turn up the volume.

“Isn’t this a Christmas movie?” He asked, not really paying attention as he pulled a light knitted blanket over you both.

Grinning, you gazed down at him. “It’s both. Now shush.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s a Christmas movie.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Kissing his forehead, you said softly, “Do you wanna pick something else?”

“This is good. I like the songs.”

Every time the doorbell rang, you’d pause the movie, running to the door to see the kids. Poe noticed that you had new things to say to them each time, complimenting their costumes or their creativity. You were good with them, so much so that his mind wandered to your own little ones. A wedding first. But after…

The movie finished (an hour later than it was supposed to, with all the breaks you’d taken) but you didn’t move from your place at his side, your legs over his lap. Poe rubbed your back gently and you yawned, perfectly content to stay curled up in your lover’s arms.

“We should go to bed.” he murmured.

“What if there are more kids? We still—” you yawned, “We still have candy left.”

Kissing the top of your head, “We can always check the street.”

With his help, you got to your feet. Stretching with your arms above your head, you sighed as your back popped. Poe snorted, taking your hand and walking with you to the door, opening it for you.

Leaving Poe inside, you stepped out into the dark. You hissed as your feet met the cold pavement, ignoring your poor boyfriend’s pleas to put on shoes as you hopped your way to the end of the driveway. The chill nipped at your nose and bare ankles.

You looked both ways down the street. Not even the shadows moved.

“Sweetheart come back! Please!” Poe called, hanging out the front door.

You turned around, rolling your eyes as his distress as you slowly made your way back to your front door.

“It’s cold.” He whined, shifting from foot to foot. You didn’t mention how he was wearing much more than you were and hadn’t left the comfort of your home-

It was a struggle not to stall every time you thought those words. Your home. With your fiancé.

Poe recognized the look in your eyes. He took your hands, guiding you inside. Taking your hat off your head, he said, “Ready for bed?” When you nodded, he shut the front door firmly and locked it. “Okay. Bedtime for the Dameron’s.”

Giggling against his neck, you walked in tandem up the stairs, Poe carrying your hat. He’d left his helmet somewhere downstairs, declaring that it was a ‘tomorrow problem’.

Poe did as he’d promised, helping you out of your costume with gentle hands and light kisses over your shoulders. When you finally slid into bed behind him, you wrapped your arms around his middle and kissed the back of his neck. “Thank you for today.”

“It was fun.” he murmured back, voice thick with sleep.

Before he could stop you, you stuck your cold feet behind his knees.

Poe yelped. Your arms around him kept him from wriggling away. He flipped over, breathing hard and glaring before his eyes softened. Leaning in to kiss you, he murmured, “You’re the worst.” against your lips.

“I know, baby. I love you too.”

Despite your slight hiss as he pressed his cold hands to your sides under your shirt, you let him tuck himself under your chin.

“Sweet dreams, baby.” Playing with his curls, you smiled softly as he relaxed, the both of you drifting off to sleep.

permanent tags: @vampirewithbedsidemanners

this fic: @lydiascottage @softly-sad @mydaydreaming-stuff

oscar characters: @yougottakeeponkeepinon

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron imagine #poe x reader #poe dameron fluff #modern au #mack's writing

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shadowthrone-ammanas · 5 years ago

Note

Prompt-thing: Fire Spirits to torment Vanessa.

First, I can no long think about the Fire Spirits without also thinking about the Conductor, hope that’s okay. Second, another fic that’s probably in the same timeline as Guilt (I think I might just start calling it the ‘adopted timeline/au’). Third, this drabble fic thing ends sooner then I’d have liked it to but it’s almost 2am and I’m already running on like 6 hours of sleep (so if the end part is a bit more incoherent than other drabbles, that’s why) so that’s where it ended because I need sleep. It still wraps things up though, I think, and is a definitely at a point where I’d scene cut anyway. I might do a continuation later though, I know I would like to. And finally, thank you for the request!

Fire Spirits

The fire spirits were back. They always came back. If Snatcher didn’t know better, he’d say it was because they liked annoying him. But no, it was because the forest was a place of high spiritual energy, it attracted them like moths to a flame.

He couldn’t make them go away either. They didn’t listen to him and their brand of magical energy was resistance to his, making destroying them take a lot of effort. With how powerful he was, he could force it if he really had to but it was a pain and exhausting so he preferred to make contractors deal with them instead. He maybe wouldn’t have to this time though because he officially had an adoptive daughter he might finally have a real use for.

“Hey kiddo,” he said with a grin as he popped in on her as she exited her ship now parked in his forest. “I’ve got a job for you.”

Hat Kid’s face let up. “What kind of job?”

“The fire spirits are starting to come back. I would like you to take care of them before they start making themselves too much of a nuisance. Think of it as your way of earning you keep around here, a house chore or whatever.”

“Okay! But… I’ve always wondered why you don’t destroy them. I mean you’re like super powerful and stuff and they’re not so… can’t you deal with them? Are you just lazy?”

“No, I’m not lazy.” The fact that she’d suggest such a thing was a bit offensive but he’d let it slid for now. “The reason I don’t deal with them myself is it takes a lot of energy to take them out. They’re beings made of fire, meaning light basically. I’m a being made of primarily shadow energy. Not true opposites but throwing shadow magic at light beings doesn’t exactly have great results.”

“So… it’s like Pokémon? Your attacks aren’t very effective because it’s a poor type match up?”

“I don’t know what that means but… sure I guess, my attacks aren’t very effective against them. Hence why I prefer someone else to handle it so I don’t have to. So hop to it.” He clapped his hands twice to spur her on.

She didn’t move though instead she seemed deep in thought about something. “They’re fire spirits,” she mumbled to herself, “and going off Pokémon rules that would mean…” She trailed off as a mischievous smile spread across her face. An idea had occurred to her, that was almost never a good thing. “I have an idea,” she said, speaking to him again. “Instead of getting rid of them you should send them to torment your ex!”

Snatcher had been preparing to say ‘no’ but stopped. “Huh?”

“You should send them to torment your crazy ex,” Hat Kid repeated. “I mean they’re fire spirits with fire magic and your ex is an ice bitch with ice magic so they should be super effective against her. Don’t you want to mess with her? She’s a horrible wretched evil peck neck. You should burn her house down! I bet it’ll be fun!” She her smile was now more evil that mischievous. Good.

Snatcher had never considered doing such a thing before. He’d always been so focused on not having anything more to do with her, only fending her off whenever she decided to invade his forest, that he’d never considered trying to do anything to mess with them. It was honestly a huge oversight on his part.

“You know what kid, I’m suddenly glad I adopted you, you’re smart,” he said. She beamed at his praise. “There is a problem with your idea though, they won’t listen to me. I’ve tried to tell them to go away or take down their stupid fire barriers at least a hundred times over the years, if not more.” Probably more because the first time they’d appeared he’d still been trying to be at least sort of a good guy. They didn’t have souls he could eat – he’d tried but it had hurt him – and other than for the barriers – which weren’t intended to harm anyone and actually seemed to be just a byproduct of their rituals – they weren’t doing anything bad so he’d been reluctant to kill them. “I doubt they’d listen to you either because of how much time you spend with me and the Subconites, you reek of death and shadows.”

Her face fell. “Does that mean we can’t send them to torment Vanessa?”

“It means we can’t but I know someone they should listen to and that someone will listen to me.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“The Conductor.”

“Why would they listen to…”

Snatcher didn’t let her finish before teleporting away.

***

The Conductor was just about to leave his dressing room when he suddenly had the sense that something was behind him so he should probably turn and check. It was probably just paranoia but… It was Snatcher.

He couldn’t help jumping a little in fright and taking a step back. Not many people survived direct encounters with the infamous Snatcher. The Conductor was one of the lucky few but the thing he’d had to do to accomplish that feat had been abhorrent. So he wasn’t a fan of the ghost and was honestly terrified.

“What the peck do you want?” he said because no way was he going to let his terror show.

Snatcher grinned wide. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I ain’t trying to kill the lass again, no matter what you say. You can eat my pecking soul, I don’t care.” He shouldn’t have cared the first time but… he’d been taken by surprise and terrified.

“Well good thing I wasn’t going to ask you to. Now, I would take your soul but alas I have a feeling a certain child now legally in my care would be rather displeased with me if I did. It’s annoying when she cries so I’d rather not deal with that.”

The Conductor had almost forgotten Snatcher had adopted Hat Kid because honestly, he didn’t want it to be true. Snatcher was well the Snatcher, he ate people’s souls, he’d tried to murder Hat Kid, had forced the Conductor and others to try as well. And yet Hat Kid insisted he was a good guy deep down inside and that he cared about her. She’d even shown the Conductor and DJ Grooves a copy of the adoption papers Snatcher had written up to adopt her. He had signed it though so Hat Kid’s claims had to have some truth to them even if the Conductor disagreed with the whole adoption. He’d no choice but to accept it and try not to think about it too much because he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Now,” Snatcher continued, “because of our history I know you probably don’t want to help me. And honestly, I don’t blame you, from your perspective things were pretty bad. But we’re past that now, right? So I need you to…”

“‘Pretty bad’? That wasn’t ‘pretty bad’, that was pecking…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Snatcher cut in, making a placating gesture with one had that made the Conductor’s blood boil with rage he couldn’t do anything with because he was facing Snatcher. “You’re an angry fire lizard, I understand. I’ll have you know though, the favor I’m asking you to do was Hat Kid’s idea. She’s actually really smart sometimes, would you believe it?”

“She’s smart all the time you peck-neck.”

“If you say so. Now, I need you to talk to the fire spirits in my forest and tell them to harass the Ice Queen Vanessa instead of me. They should listen to you because I’m pretty sure dragons are on the top rank of the fire beings, right? Even the small feathered ones like yourself.”

“What the peck are you talking about? I’m not a dragon.”

“Oh, you’re not? I’m pretty sure you are. I could be wrong though I guess because all I know for sure is you have fire magic. There are a number of ways that’s possible, none of them make a difference for what I’m asking you to do though so it doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” He snapped his fingers and the world around them shifted to deep purple.

“Peck you, you pecking peck neck,” the Conductor said instead of being afraid like he’d wanted to be because whatever the peck was going on here was not okay.

The purple faded and suddenly they were in the forest next to Hat Kid and her ship, now parked. “Uncle Con,” she said with a smile.

“Uh… hey lass,” he said, glancing around. The forest was dark and creepy, he did not like it especially since Snatcher was looming over them now that he had all the room in the world to do so. He was a dumb showoff, why couldn’t he stay a normal person size? He just liked being bigger and taking up more room than everyone else because he was bully and a peck-neck. Before the Conductor could say something about it though…

“Now go talk to the fire spirits for us,” Snatcher said. “It’s important, right kiddo?”

“Yes! I don’t know why they’d listen to you Uncle Con but if they do, go tell them to burn down Vanessa’s Manor!” The evil glee in Hat Kid’s eyes and voice was concerning. But was it because she was spending too much time with Snatcher or just how she naturally was and that’s what had drawn her to Snatcher in the first place?

“Why?” the Conductor asked to avoid dealing with that question.

“Because she’s horrible and awful and evil and just the pecking worst.”

Well if Hat Kid hated this Vanessa person so much she must be truly terrible, worse than Snatcher because Hat Kid didn’t hate him. And come to think of it, hadn’t the Conductor heard tales about an Ice Queen Vanessa? She’d frozen her entire kingdom, killing everyone in it, or something like that, right? So yeah, she probably deserved to have her house burnt down at least.

“Fine.” The Conductor sighed. “I’ll talk to them.” And they probably would do as he asked because in his experience, fire spirits tended to more often than not. He’d always assumed it was because he was half fire spirit but maybe it was something else like Snatcher had suggested? … Nah, no way. And he didn’t care anyway. He just wanted done with this business as soon as possible so he could leave the damn forest.

For this drabble event.

#My Writing #ahit #a hat in time #snatcher & hat kid #Dadcher #Snatcher & the conductor #hat kid & the conductor

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therainroguefanfiction · 5 years ago

Text

⁂ Thief (Joshua Hong)

Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Angst ☁

Word Count: 3,105 ☁

Pairing: Reader, Joshua ☁

World: Seventeen ☁

Prompt: “I stole your purse and you chased me until I was hit by a taxi now you’re helping me to the hospital and you refuse to leave my side, wait you’re not pressing charges?? Why? I’m a thief – what do you mean you feel guilty?!” from [this] list.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

You leaned against the cold brick of a nearby building, staring up at the dark gray clouds. You couldn’t understand why you had to do this. If that bastard wanted other people’s money so bad, why couldn’t he steal it himself? You knew you didn’t have a choice though; he’d kill you if you didn’t return with some type of income, whether card or cash, he never cared. Honestly, you believed he didn’t even care about that money. He was probably just hoping that you’d get caught and be sent to prison; he’d finally be rid of you, then.

You pulled up your hood to shadow your face as you walked down the street, keeping your eyes peeled for any potential victims. It was mid-winter at this point, so the people passing by were bundled up in heavy coats and thick pants. This made things easier for you – with so much padding, the chance of them noticing their missing wallet was much slimmer than it was in the summer or spring.

“One Americano, please.”

Your eyes fell on the man standing in front of the coffee shop. A hat covered his head while a mask covered the lower half of his face. Honestly, it struck you as quite suspicious. Being a person that prefers to hide from prying eyes, you were easily able to recognize that this guy didn’t want to be seen by others. Was he a criminal or something? You really didn’t care. Your focus was on the wallet held in his hand.

The barista handed him the drink and he pulled out a card from his wallet, using it to pay for his drink. As soon as his hand fell to his side, you sprung into action. You were like a blur pushing through the people heading in the opposite direction, and they stopped and stared, wondering what was happening. Your heart pounded in your ears.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Just before he slipped his wallet into his pocket, you reached out and snatched it from his hand, ignoring his cry of surprise. You wasted no time and took off down the street feeling a sense of satisfaction bubbling up in your stomach. You’d take his cash if he had any, but if he only had his card, you could easily grab some food before he decided to cancel it.

“Hey! Get back here!”

Your head whipped around to see the man following you, closing in. “Shit!” You tried to increase your speed, but the ground below was covered in a thin layer of frost, not providing enough traction to increase your speed. Still, you forced yourself to continue forward. Your attention stayed locked on the man chasing you, making sure that you knew the distance between you at all times. Unfortunately, you didn’t pay half as much attention to where you were running.

“Watch out!”

Your attention whipped toward the taxi that was barrelling straight for you. You didn’t have enough time to react; the driver didn’t either. You remember a hot flash of pain as the taxi collided with your side, sending you sliding across the road. You heard a sickening crack as your system flooded with adrenaline and pain. It hurt to breathe and the sounds around you blurred together. You could faintly hear screams and cries of passing pedestrians. Honking of cars nearby, oblivious of what had happened.

The very last thing you remember was the blurred faces of two people leaning over you. They were saying something, but your brain couldn’t process the words.

Your world went black.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

You felt… high; like you were floating on a cloud. You could feel the prickling of pain in the back of your mind, but it was almost completely brushed over by the high. Life felt good at that moment like there was nothing for you to worry about. No abusive step-father. No thievery to survive. Just a complete feeling of calm and content.

You felt a tingling on your arm and you forced your eyes to open. It wasn’t painful but damn were your eyes heavy. It felt as if they had been sealed with cement. A groan passed your lips as the effort it took.

“Oh, you’re awake!” A cheerful voice spoke. It was clearly a woman and she sounded happy, but her voice was soft like she was talking to a child. “The doctor will be pleased to hear this!”

The doctor? What?

Your eyes finally focused and the first thing you saw was a nurse standing over you with a smile. She held a chart against her chest. “Where am I?” You managed to croak out. Your throat was dry, voice hoarse from lack of use.

“You’re in the hospital, dear. Let me get you some water, I’m sure you’re thirsty!” The woman disappeared.

You tried to force yourself to sit up, but a sharp pain in your side made you drop back down with a groan. The high was starting to wear off – or maybe the pain was just getting stronger. You honestly didn’t know which, nor did you care.

The nurse returned and clicked her tongue. “You shouldn’t move too much, your body is still healing!” She pushed a button on the side of the bed and the head started to rise until you were in a sitting position. “There. Now, drink some of this, it’ll help.”

The woman clearly didn’t trust that you had the strength to hold the paper cup on your own, instead choosing to hold it up to your mouth for you. The water was cold and it felt amazing as it slid down your throat. Just that little bit and you felt heaps better – though the dull stinging of the pain was still there.

She noticed you scrunch up your face and patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s time for the next dose of your pain medication.”

You watched her as she pulled out a syringe from her pocket and inserted into the I.V attached to your left arm. Oh, you hadn’t even felt that there. Even now you don’t feel it. Normally the tape would drive you nuts.

When she finished, she smiled at you again. “I’ll send for the doctor so he can explain. In the meantime, try not to move around too much, even if you don’t feel pain. If you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to push this red button here. It’ll call the nurse on duty – that will be me for the next five hours.”

You watched her until she disappeared into the hallway. The room was silent, interrupted only by the beeping of the machine and the gentle dripping of your I.V. The small TV mounted to the wall was on, but the volume had been turned all the way down – thank god. Who wants to listen to the home shopping network while in the hospital? And why the hell were they selling plungers?!

Your palm found your forehead. You didn’t know what was happening, why you were in the hospital to begin with and you were teetering between not giving a shit because of the pain medication and freaking out because you couldn’t remember anything.

Well, that’s not completely true. You remember your name. And your age. Actually, not that you were using your brain, you remembered everything up until the point you decided to rob some suspicious guy buying an Americano. After that, though, things are fuzzy. You blamed the drugs, really.

Heavy footsteps reached your ears as the doctor entered your room. He was tall and full of muscle. He actually resembled Ricky Kim quite a bit – or maybe that was just how you were picturing him in your drug-infused mine.

He smiled softly. “It’s about time you woke up, kiddo. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”

Well, that explains why you felt like you had been in a desert without water.

“The nurse tells me that you don’t know why you’re here. Is that correct?”

You nodded.

“Well,” The man pulls up a chair next to your bed. “You were hit by a car and rushed to the emergency room. You were injured, but nothing fatal thankfully. You suffered a mild concussion from your head hitting the ground. Three broken ribs from the impact of the car. Your right arm was cut open pretty bad, as well.”

You glanced at the arm in question to find it wrapped tightly in a clean, white bandage from elbow to wrist.

“Are you feeling any pain?”

“Just my ribs.” Your voice was much more clear than it had been earlier.

He nodded, satisfied. “We’re going to keep you for a couple more days to observe your injuries. Currently, the main thing we’re concerned about is the concussion. You had no I.D on your person, but your fingerprints came up in the system.”

You were praising the hell out of the meds at that point. If not for them, you would have cringed at the mention of your prints and there’s no way you would have been able to keep a straight face. Honestly, you weren’t surprised; you knew that bastard wasn’t good for his word, even as a child.

Wait… if they knew who you were, does that mean…?

“Did you contact my family?”

“We’re required by law to inform family members that there an incident. However, we weren’t able to find any family in your file.”

You sighed loudly out of relief, pulling a confused look from the doctor. You scrambled to make up a story as to why you had reacted that way. “Umm… my mom is sick. Like, really sick and I try to keep the stress off of her as much as possible… No idea why she’s not in the file, haha, that’s so weird…”

He clearly didn’t believe you but didn’t press the issue. “Well, I’ll do my best to get you all healed up and back to her.” He pulled the bedside table within my reach. “You should probably give her a call, though.”

“Yeah, yeah… totally…” You cleared your throat, reaching for the phone. You moved as slow as you possibly could before pulling away when he finally left the room. “That could have ended badly…”

You turned your gaze to the opposite side of the room where you had a beautiful view of the city. Only, the city isn’t what you focused on. Underneath the window was a pale green couch and lying on that couch was a body. The person had their back to you so you couldn’t see their face, but the body outline that peaked out from the white blanket didn’t seem familiar to you at all. Were you hallucinating?

“You’re a lucky one.” The nurse appeared at your side, making you jump in surprise. She chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine… what did you mean by I’m lucky?”

“Well, that boy has stayed by your side since you arrived. He’s been pretty worried about you, constantly asking if your condition has changed.” She smiled fondly. “He’s quite the sweetheart, and cute too!”

You stared at her blankly, having no idea what the hell she was talking about, but not wanting to ask. He must be part of your missing memory.

For the next two hours, you lied in bed – not like you had any other options there – and watched the only decent channel you could find. There was a Weekly Idol marathon running, and you had to admit, the MC’s are hella funny.

Movement caught your eye and you looked over to find that the man was moving. He slowly sat up, yawning as he stretched his arms above his head. His light brown hair was slightly messy from sleep and fell lightly over his forehead. A silver cross was pierced on the top part of his left ear, but he didn’t seem to have any more piercings in. The nurse wasn’t lying – this boy was cute as hell. But who is he?

As soon as his warm brown eyes met your own, the room around you seemed to fade out of focus. It was replaced by the memory of the accident resurfacing. You remember snatching this man’s wallet and taking off. You hadn’t expected him to chase after you – your targets rarely did, usually just screaming for help and calling the cops. But this man was different. He chased you, and he kept up easily despite the frost-covered ground. You remember vividly how close he was to catching you, and you remember vividly how stupid you had been to not pay attention to what was in front of you. You had been too focused on getting caught and ran straight into the street in front of an oncoming car. Because of the light dusting of frost on the road, the car hadn’t been able to stop in time.

You’re sure that, if the man hadn’t been paying attention to the road, he wouldn’t have hit the brakes at all and you most likely would have died then and there.

“Miss? Miss, are you okay? Do I need to call the nurse?” A worried voice broke through the memory, bringing you back to reality. The man was now at your bedside, hand lightly on your shoulder as he looked at you with a worried expression.

“No, no, I’m fine.” You muttered, feeling your cheeks heat up a bit at the close proximity. “I just… remembered.”

He backed away a bit, but still looked at you worriedly. “What did you remember?”

“I stole your wallet. You chased me. I got hit by a car.”

He bit his lip and looked down at the ground.

You cleared your throat and shifted slightly in the bed. “Soo… are you gonna call the cops now?”

“Why would I do that?” He asked, confused.

“I stole your wallet, remember? I’m a thief.” You stared at him blankly. “The nurse told me that you’ve been here since I arrived. You were waiting for me to wake up so you could press charges. It’s fine, just get it over with.”

“No, I’m not going to press charges.” He responded softly, sitting down on the couch. “I stayed with you because I was worried. I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay, and… I wanted to wait for you to wake up so I could apologize in person.”

You deadpanned. “Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You wanted to apologize to me for robbing you. I’m clearly not the only one with drugs in their system.”

“You got hit because I chased you.”

“No. I got hit because my dumb ass wasn’t paying attention to where I was running.” You couldn’t believe this was happening. This guy couldn’t possibly be for real. “I’m alive, so it doesn’t really matter who is at fault, right?”

He smiled and it lit up his face. “I guess you’re right.”

His guilt seemed to transfer to you because you started to feel it the more you thought about it. This whole mess happened because of you – because you were too much of a coward to stand up to your step-dad and tell him to shove it. You looked down at your hands. “I, uhh… I’m the one that should be apologizing.”

“Why did you do it?” He asked softly. His voice held no anger or disappointment, just curiosity. “Do you need money?”

You chuckled bitterly. “My life isn’t easy, but our money is comfortable. So no, I didn’t need it.”

“Then why?”

“It’s… complicated.”

He reached over, resting his hand over my own. It was warm and comforting, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at him. “Please tell me.”

As strange as it sounds, you felt like you had to tell him. After all, you stole his wallet, made him feel guilty and took three days of his life. You felt like you owed him something – even if that something was nothing more than an explanation.

With a sigh, you leaned your head back to stare at the white ceiling of your room. “My step-father is kind of a douche. He hates kids, and since he doesn’t work and is always home, he makes me and my younger brother leave. He usually makes us do things we shouldn’t – like stealing. If we refuse, he blows up and hits us. He used to be a cop, so he’s hella strong. Neither of us can take him, even though we’re pretty strong too. We’ve gotten used to his beatings, but it’s just easier to do what he says. It’s a pain trying to hide the bruises and keep up with the lies.”

His grip increased, but it was still gentle somehow. “That’s horrible!”

You shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“What will happen when you’re released?”

“Punished, probably.”

“Then you can’t go home! We can call the cops -”

“No!” You sat up quickly only to groan at the sharp pain that shot through your ribs. “If I call the cops, it’ll only make things worse. It’s our word against his. Everyone that meets him loves him. And on the off chance that they did believe us – I’d be on the street and my brother would be put in the system.”

He bit his lip in thought, trying to figure out a solution to your problem, but you knew better.

“Look, I appreciate your kindness. I appreciate you not pressing charges. And I appreciate you staying here with me. But here is where we go our separate ways. There’s nothing you can do for me. I’m sure you have a life to get back to. A family, a pet… a girlfriend. You should go.”

He wanted to protest, but a sudden thought made him change his mind. He smiled softly, grabbing his coat, along with the hat and mask that he had been wearing that day. “I do need to get back to work. Don’t give up hope. Things will work out for you, I know they will.”

As much as you wanted to scoff and tell him that he had no idea what he was talking about, you just forced a smile back. This guy had been too kind to you and you couldn’t bring yourself to be rude. And then it hit you.

You didn’t know his name. You wanted to ask, but he had already gone.

You slid down the mattress with a sigh. “Not like it matters. I’ll never see that guy again. He was so cute, though.”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

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glottia-arts · 6 years ago

Text

New family members?

Oh, a text post? A FANFIC TEXT POST? On my art blog? Yeah. Was gonna put it on my main, but decided against it. I haven’t written anything since high school (aka 5 years ago) so let’s see how this goes-

This was inspired by @konan720 and her cute idea of seeing her Rough Patch, Blueberry, being adopted by my own Rough Patch’s, Neo and Celest. This was going to be posted on Father’s Day, but obviously, I didn’t finish it in time. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to how I would have liked, but I might write up another story as this is out of the way. Figured I’d share anyways. Fair warning, the A Hat in Time characters in this story were written in an attempt of being a mix between how they’re portrayed in konan720′s and my own universes. There’s also some sadness, but some cuteness as well in the story.

Word Count: 6,534 _____

“Neo! We’re heading out!”

At the call of his name, the weathered Rough Patch’s ears perked up and he rushed around the corner of his home as fast as he could. His kids were taking off for the day and he didn’t want to miss saying goodbye.

Positioned near the door to the apartment, still adjusting their coats and boots, was his three girls. Hat Kid, Bow Kid, and Mustache Girl. Neo sat down and patiently waited for them to notice him, trying his best not to wag his multicolored tail.

Hat Kid was the first to finish with her outdoor wear and immediately caught sight of the bush cat, smiling widely at seeing him fail to resist wagging his tail. “There you are!”

The second Hat Kid opened her arms for him, Neo jumped straight into them, nearly toppling her to the floor. Bow Kid finished next and looked up to discover Hat Kid laughing almost maniacally while being attacked with love by the family cat. Their loving antics caused her to join in on the laughter. Mustache Girl was still tightening her own jacket, but paused at the noise. Angling her head she saw the cause and smiled to herself, shaking her head then going back to fixing her summer coat.

Neo let up on his snuggling and gently nuzzled against Hat Kid’s cheek, his own version of a goodbye kiss. Laughter dying down to soft giggles, the young alien patted the cat's head.

“All right, you be good now. Mom already left and depending on what’s happening at the studio, this could be an all-day event. She says she’ll try to finish things up fast given who has to come to take care of you today.”

Neo’s smile faltered, trying not to let who was coming over to look after him put him in the dumps. True, they get along a lot better now, but sometimes Neo still worries over his master and kids.

“Hey, hey, hey, I saw that.” The blond done with her own preparations said, joining into the conversation. “Look, I know you didn’t like him at first and truly, I don’t blame you. If it makes you feel better, Mom also has a surpri-“

“Peyton!” Hat Kid yelled indignantly, somewhat appalled her sister would spill something that needed to be kept a secret from the cat.

“What!? It’s not like he can talk! Besides, it might make him feel better! You know how he is when he’s alone with that jerk!”

“Yes, but your mom puts a lot of trust into you, so don’t you think it’s unfair to go against that.” The bow loving child paused, looking from the hooded girl to the Rough Patch then back again. “Even for his own comfort. It is a special secret...”

“Yeah, I guess..” Mustache Girl pouted and crossed her arms, looking off to the side to avoid seeing at her siblings of sorts. She continued on in a harsh whisper. “It’s not like I would tell him exactly what it was.”

Neo tilted his head in confusion. Is a special event happening later? What was the surprise? Overlooking this, for now, Neo nuzzled Hat Kid’s cheek again before jumping to Bow Kid and offering her the same goodbye. Bow Kid smiled, happily accepting it. Navigating her path, with no help from the pale foliage, she made her way to Mustache Girl.

At Bow Kid’s approach, Mustache Girl turned and met with dual glowing eyes. Pout melting to a smirk, she carefully took the Bush Cat from Bow Kid. Getting the same treatment with an added content purr, the girl placed the cat back down onto the floor.

Inspecting over Neo, with Mustache Girl adjusting Neo’s his socks; The girls gave him their last goodbyes and departed to Dead Bird Studios for the day.

After a few minutes of waiting to make sure they weren’t returning for a forgotten item, Neo made his way to the living room, contemplating why they didn’t require his help. It’s very rare when he’s left home alone. Even rarer when he needs a sitter. Usually, when he wasn’t on set with his master, he’d have free roam of her office or even worked up front with the Receptionist. He was a great guard for trouble makers and apparently an excellent ‘complaint box’. Whatever that was. Any time someone complained, the Receptionist would refer them to him. The birds who gripping would shut their beaks and swiftly back out of the room.

Arriving at the couch, what looked to be a pool of darkness appeared in the middle of the floor, interrupting his thoughts. On guard he watched as a figure popped out of the blackness, manifesting into the living room.

“Knock knock, I’m he-“ The newcomer glanced around the living area before his glowing eyes finally locked onto the neon glowing cat. “I just missed them, didn’t I?”

Neo gave the specter a deadpan look yet nodded. It seems today would be an odd day, especially if Snatcher was late. Another rare thing. Glancing to the digital clock, the cat tapped his paw against the couch five times.

“By five minutes!?” Surprise painted the ghost’s features before melting into a scowl. “Looks like I need to remind the minions to not let this mistake happen again.” Pinching where the bridge of his nose would be, Snatcher sighed. “How worried was she? Or was she disappointed?”

Neo didn’t understand what the elder ghost meant. It instantly dawned on him and he meowed to get his fellow ghosts attention. Snatcher slowly looked to him, somewhat appearing to dread the answer. Once in viewing position, he saw the cat shaking his head.

“She left early then?” A nod. “Ah.. so it was just the young brats I missed. All right, I can deal with that. No apologies or anything for later!” Snatcher’s signature smile returned full force, pleased that he was in the clear. “I guess you perhaps deserve one. Too bad! I’m not one for apologies, but I brought you something kiddo!”

It confused Neo as Snatcher pulled around a satchel, reaching into it. He’s never seen the shadow with a bag, he always just... summons something with his magic.

After a little careful rummaging, Snatcher let out a quiet ‘found you’ before carefully grabbing his find, lifting it out of the bag. Neo didn’t expect Snatcher would actually bring him something. Once in sight, it wasn’t a something, but someone. Someone he knew well. The curious cat stood on the tips of his paws, trying to get a better look and confirm who he believed it to be.

In Snatcher’s hand was Neo’s little Rough Patch friend, Blueberry. She was observing her new surroundings with her tongue stuck out, wondering where the forest went. Inspecting her over, Snatcher sighed and pulled out rags that were stored in with her. Even when carefully settled into a roomy pack, the youthful cat still managed to squish some of her berries and make a mess of herself. Thankfully, the bag was dark and the stains on the inside wouldn’t be too noticeable.

Finally clean, Snatcher went to set the bush cat down but was stopped by a loud meow. Looking at the elder cat, Snatcher wondered what the problem was. With neon eyes glared at him, he got the message and narrowed his eyes right back.

“For the love of.. SHE’S CLEAN! I washed her before bringing her. You’re as bad as the brats, threatening to beat me with umbrellas and bats if I don’t live by the hygienic code when stepping into your mother’s home. I’m aware of her allergies and OCD habits, so don’t you dare pretend I’m not.” Snatcher jabbed the hand holding onto Blueberry out toward Neo. “Smell her if you don’t believe me.”

Glancing between the young Rough Patch struggling to reach him and boop his face, to the similarly faced ghost, Neo relented and didn’t bother to sniff Blueberry. He gestured for Snatcher to lay her down.

“Glad we understand each other.”

Blueberry was placed onto the floor unceremoniously. The different surface was weird, so she began tapping her paws to get a feel for it. Everything here was odd, but she didn’t mind. Once adjusted to the carpeted floor, she made her way to Neo and attempted to boop his face. She was taller a minute ago and could have got him! Why can’t she now? Neo smiled at her antics and leaned down within range, giving his friend the satisfaction she wanted. Neo gently booped her back and looked to Snatcher, meowing out an apology.

Snatcher waved the cat off while seeking something else in his bag. “Eh forget about it light bright. It’s annoying being threatened by kids with weapons and a cat who can turn anything into a popsicle. I hope you appreciate me bringing that one here for you to chatter with. It was hard to get her away from the other Rough Patch and her own caretakers. Not without tipping them off at least.” He glanced to Neo and narrowed his eyes. “Not a word of this to them.”

Snatcher almost conjured up electricity to shoot at Neo. Seeing that smug expression that Hat Kid gives him on the cat’s own face was irritating, to say the least.

“... I’m having a nice little conversation with that brat when she gets back.”

Returning to his search, Snatcher found the object he was looking for. Plucking a novel out, he noticed stains and marks were littered over the cover. Eyes thinned, he peered to see Blueberry stare right at him with that ridiculous face of hers. Leaning close, tone half-heartedly threatening and claw pointed right in her face.

“You owe me a new book.”

Blueberry stared at him, not even registering his sentence. Seeing a clawed hand close to her face, she did what any reasonable cat would do. She licked it. Snatcher jumped in surprise at this, quickly pulling his hand back to inspect it. What was akin to laughter could be heard coming from Neo, as he patted Blueberry’s head on a job well done.

“I swear you’re all just trouble makers in this family.” Snatcher grumbled, wiping his fist on a rag, then attempted to clean up his book.

If Neo could talk, he’d have a very ‘mature’ conversation with Subcon’s King. His initial thoughts of a response being “you’re a part of this family as well, so that makes you one too” and “thanks, we have something in common now.'' Funny how being stuck in ice for a long time with the deranged former Queen to being taken in by his new family changed his banter and personality.

Blueberry drew him out of his thoughts by shuffling close to the ragged cat, nuzzling him and trying to do something. Oh! She’s trying to crawl into his foliage. Sadly, with being frozen, he lost most of his leafy disguise to the ice and could barely hide in the essentially deceased camouflage himself. Celest may have some blame for the little one’s action, as she lets the almost baby sized Rough Patch often crawl inside her leafs to hide or play.

Neo tried to deter her, but she was just not having it! Today the young one is very determined and the elder Rough Patch didn’t know why. Sighing, he rested his head atop of hers as she continued on her mission. Blueberry briefly paused at feeling his head connect with hers, but resumed her actions just as quickly as she stopped.

Unfortunately, she could not crawl into his foliage like with the dazzling celestial cat. But at least Blueberry was close enough to Neo where his leafs were no longer a barrier. Soft purring emitted from her as she continued nuzzling him.

Neo wondered why she wanted to be so close to him. He didn’t mind, warmth is always nice and helps with his damaged nerves. It’s just... odd to him. He’s not a typical Rough Patch, or at least he thinks he’s not. He’s not sure what would be normal for his kind. If he was normal, it would probably have been while alive. No magic, no permanently dead leaves, normally colored skin… and who knows what else. Why did she desire to be near a weird cat that should have perished in ice? All the others had...

Flashbacks ran through his mind, combining with his negative thoughts about himself. His rational thought process started shutting down, and he never noticed his shaking nor the tears that trailed down his face.

Blueberry bared no mind to the shaking, yet felt something warm and cold hit her foliage. Shifting from Neo’s side, she glanced to the object that touched her. Glowing yellow and blue liquid on her leafs made her confused. Her berries are a darker shade of blue and she’s never had yellow berries. Shaking her body to rid them of her leafs, tiny ice cubes fell as well. Ice? The last time she saw ice was when the crazy lady everyone talked about was still present in the forest. Maybe Neo was freezing things again? Looking up to him to confirm her thoughts, she was met with a silently crying cat. Never seeing Neo this way before worried her.

Quiet literally jumping to action, Blueberry managed to bounce high enough to lay her front paws on Neo’s face. She sought to stop the flow, but they just kept falling. The action caused Neo to register something had occurred. He wasn’t wholly conscious of what was going on in the real world, but he at least recognized that Blueberry was there and touching his face. With no exact response and the liquid still seeping from his face, Blueberry yelled.

Snatcher stopped his reading to glance up from his new position on a reclining chair, curious about the commotion. Panic shot through him, seeing the undead cat crying both familiar yet unfamiliar tears. To top it all off, the young one was touching him while making loud cries.

Snatcher did his best on quietly shutting his book and placing it down, but with fear present, it sounded like he slammed 20 other books shut while throwing them across an echo chamber. Floating off the armchair towards the cats, he glanced between the two panicking on what to do. In a split second decision, he grabbed Blueberry and hauled her away from Neo. Snatcher did not need to be on the receiving end of several girls chewing him out for letting the small cat become frozen. True Neo didn’t initially react negatively to the howling or touching, but he didn’t want to take his chances.

Blueberry was not fond of being in Snatcher’s grasp, attempting to reach Neo. Her friend is in trouble and she demanded to be there for him. He attempted to silence her, but she continued struggling and producing the same high-pitched noises.

It wasn’t immediate, but Neo soon registered the loud sounds coming from the young cat. Glancing up to see her struggle somewhat pulled him out of his negative musings. Tears dying down, he hissed at the ghost in warning. Blueberry stopped her movements and shouts at seeing Neo somewhat come back to the world. Snatcher huffed, but continued holding her in his palm.

“Look, I was just doing you a favor. You don’t have to get violent over it. I’m unclear over what you were crying about, but you didn’t seem all there. Could have been a terrible situation, with your… emotions.. and powers. You could have easily frozen your little buddy here.”

Crying? Neo didn’t understand, he had been crying? Now that he was settling down and gaining his senses back, his face felt funnier than usual. Looking to the floor, he noticed the glistening tears and the glittering ice. Snatcher was right, he had been weeping. He could have frozen Blueberry in a different situation. Ears drooping and head hung low, he looked like he would go into another depressive state.

“Hey stop that. Ugh, come here.” Snatcher drew close and picked up the disheartened boy. He tried to be comforting, pulling the elder Rough Patch against his body. Neo didn’t struggle as Snatcher thought he would, which was good. Floating back to the recliner, Snatcher retook his seat and placed both cats on his ‘lap’. Blueberry moved close to Neo and inspected his face, observing for the weird liquid to reappear. Neo wanted to turn from her prying eyes, but remained still as his body demanded he stays put.

Snatcher moved to pet the miserable cat, yet hesitated given the cat’s emotional state. Much like his master, Neo preferred to be asked before being touched. At least in certain ways and by specific individuals. Petting was one of those ways and Snatcher, sadly, fell under the category of those that need to ask. Given the situation, Snatcher sucked up his pride and went on.

“Can I… pet you?” Silence. For a few moments, nothing happened. Snatcher thought he might have offended the cat, but almost sighed in relief to see Neo nod. Moving his hand slowly, as to not startle him or his companion, Snatcher placed it on the elder cat's head. With great care, he ran his clawed fingers through the formerly vibrant leafs.

Closing his eyes, Neo accepted the affection from the ghost. Snatcher was surprisingly gentle. Another thing Neo did not predict from him today. Soft purring surfaced from him, nearly causing the feared king of Subcon Forest to giggle in delight. He held back though, cause this was certainly not cute. He did not adore this Rough Patch, or any of the others. No matter what everyone said. All it was, was progress on Neo bonding with him. But gosh if he didn’t wish he owned a phone so he could call and brag about this to the cats caretaker and Moonjumper-

Adding to the situation that already made Snatcher glow with delight, Blueberry snuggled against Neo, including her own purring into the mix. Internally, Snatcher screamed. Darn these cats, if he weren’t already dead he certainly would be now. Free hand doing nothing, he moved it to pet Blueberry’s head. Her purring grew louder and was melting his nonexistent heart. Maybe he should ask to watch Neo next time. He could deal with catnapping Blueberry for this type of situation again. Maybe bring in another friendly Rough Patch or two.

After what seemed like a few seconds later, Snatcher reluctantly stopped petting the duo. Neo’s purring ceased to exist while Blueberry’s died down.

“Now I realize it’s none of my business, but care to share why you were upset?”

Neo isn’t keen on interpreting this, but he’s been informed it’s better just to express something than keeping it to himself. He wasn’t certain how he’d communicate this to the specter. He struggles with gesturing, compared to Celest. After mulling it over and hoping he had a simple yet understandable communication method, he reopened his glowing eyes to begin gesturing.

“Hmm… the ridiculous birds at the studio?” No. “That one TV program you watch with the kids?” Nada. A TV show would be nice to watch right now. “... time constraints on the industry that are leading to the downfall of this-” Snatcher never completed his sentence as Neo, to the best of his abilities, gripped the closest hand of the ghost and shook it. Intangible noises following suit. Backing up to make more room, Blueberry observed the scene unfold. How Snatcher’s hand was being shaken looked like fun, so she began swaying her head from side to side, mimicking it.

“Ok, OK! I get it, that’s not it, quit shaking my arm.” Neo stopped but not before butting his head against Snatcher’s hand, slightly frustrated. Releasing the appendage, Neo smacked his paws against the spectral beings lap, trying to come up with a better way. His family easily understood his gesturing, but for Snatcher he’s at square one.

As he stared at his paws, he figured out something that could help. Looking to the shadow man, making sure he had his attention, Neo gestured to his own face. Snatcher frowned, wondering where the deceased cat was running with this. Still seeing the confusion, Neo gradually moved his paw from one side of his face to the other. Trying to point out the parts of his skin that were still the original color versus the skin damaged by Vanessa’s magic. Seems the ghost understood this action.

“The contrast of your face? Specifically, your skin and your frostbitten skin?” Nodding in confirmation, Neo continued forward.

Neo now gestured and patted his gray mane a few times. Seeing the ghost nod, Neo shifted so his left side was visible to Snatcher. Given the position of the leafs, he tried his best to gesture at the specific orange and green leafs with his tail.

“Ok more contrast… this time, with your body foliage?” Neo nodded and wondered if Snatcher understood. Unfortunately, the ghost was still confused. Neo frowned, wondering how to better convey this.

Padding over to him, Blueberry remained in his field of vision. The confused Bush Cat didn’t understand the situation, but she wanted Neo to know she was still present. Neo glanced at her and realized something, letting out a soft meow. Looking back to Snatcher, he gestured one final time, this time between Blueberry and himself. Blueberry thought this was a game and tried to pat Neo’s paw with her own.

Snatcher followed Neo’s paw, glancing between both Rough Patch’s. Why were contrasts so important? He tried to recall another clue, even in a past conversation. Was there ever any odd behavior like this mentioned prior? Conversations hardly spoke of Neo singularly, only in context with others. After mulling it over, he did manage to recall something. The mention of the cat possibly being self-conscious of his appearance. Snatcher found that odd given Neo’s personality, but using himself and the cat’s caretaker as other relevant examples, he supposes the concept isn’t too far-fetched.

Neo stopped gesturing, seeing Snatcher’s facial features soften. Neo very rarely sees that look. This is only the second time he’s seen it directed towards him though, and he does not like it for some reason. Snatcher carefully grabbed both Rough Patch’s, bringing them into a hug. Neo stiffened at first, but relaxed once he got used to the contact from the ghoul. Snatcher quietly spoke to him.

“It seems the issue was simple. You’re uneasy about your new appearance. Especially being surrounded by others like you, who are as colorful as you used to be. Unfortunately for us, death has taken many things. You were lucky though, you kept your body and didn’t have to go through what the others and I had. It is a shame we cannot quite look as we used too, but we adapt. There will be those that may not like your appearance, but” Snatcher pushed Blueberry closer to Neo. “There are still those who care about you, regardless of said appearance. You’re lucky in that regard Neo.”

Neo’s eyes widened in response to Snatcher’s reply. The ghost can be quite thoughtful when he wants to be. Coming down from the shock, he thought of the actual words the former lawyer uttered. True, he wasn’t vibrant with living color as he used to be, nor will he ever walk the same, but his family loved him. Those outside his family cared for him. Multicolored undead mess and all. He might not quite understand why they do, but at the moment he supposes he doesn’t care. Negative thoughts did try to worm their way through, but he just kept on thinking of what Snatcher said. Remembering all the love and affection he’s received from everyone.

His past life was nice, but this current one? No better people could have found him. The Dweller’s of the past will forever remain in his heart, but this new place? This new family? The love here feels just right. He doubts his insecurities will go away right off the bat, but for the ones he cares about? He’ll try to be better. One step at a time.

“Glad you’ve seen the light rough boy, now. How about I read you some of this story? Stories tend to help your caretaker relax after she’s been in similar moods.” Much to Snatcher’s surprise, Neo pounced onto his fluffy collar, excited to listen about a story.

__________

The rest of the day flew by for the trio. Much to Snatcher’s prediction, the cats fell asleep during his storytelling. Some odd hours later they both awoke, Blueberry full of energy and ready to play.

Neo couldn’t take part very long in the playful actions, but made sure Blueberry at least had fun. Crawling all over him seemed to be her favorite activity. She even brought him a few household objects to mess with. Snatcher immediately replaced those as soon as she was done presenting them to Neo, attempting to keep the apartment in the same condition as when he appeared.

When snack time fell, Blueberry often disappeared. Snatcher never knew where she ran off to, just that she always appeared shortly after he laid her snack out. The final time is where he vowed he would always keep an eye on that cat as long as she remained on this mortal plain. This was the time he finally decided to pay attention to where she would wander in from. Setting her meal down, he scurried off to his seat, opening his book and pretending to read.

Time ticked by slowly, waiting for her arrival. Where was she? It took her no less than five minutes to arrive at her dish prior. Closing the neglected book and placing it down once more, Snatcher slid off the chair, searching for the Rough Patch.

Not in the living room. Nor the kitchen. Heck, not even the bathroom. He doubted that she wound up in any of the bedrooms. Where could she be? Asking Neo was out of the question. Said cat was wedged between some couch cushions making sure recordings of kids shows went uninterrupted. Patch boy had dedication to the family; there was no doubt about that.

Drifting over to the food bowl he tried to figure out where she disappeared to. If he had been paying attention, he could have picked up sounds not coming from the TV.

Giving up on speculating, he concentrated on her soul. Unfortunately, the second he pinpointed her it was too late. Falling from the air-conditioning vent was not what he expected in the slightest. Thankfully, she landed safely on his head, squishing some of her namesake on him in the process. Blueberry ever determined, began running on the top of his head. Reaching for her added another mistake to the list, as she didn’t wish to be captured. Next thing he knew, she had jumped down into his fluff. Somehow the cat managed to wriggle around in there. Trying to and with no avail catch her, Snatcher gave up and sat down by the Neo.

New TV episode finally finished, Neo pressed a button on the remote to end the recording. Finally acknowledging Snatcher, Neo saw that Snatcher just looked done. Stains littered his head and his fluffy collar was a mess. But also, moving…? Safe to assume, this is what Blueberry had done after he took his eyes off her. Snatcher wouldn’t hurt the excited cat, so Neo left him be.

A few minutes passed before someone entered the residence. Neo’s ears twitched, struggling to determine who arrived, but no sound came. Pushing his way out of the couch cushions, he maneuvered to glance over the furniture, ready to pounce on whoever just arrived. Snatcher noticed how alert Neo was, narrowing his eyes and glancing to the same location. Fire in hand, he was bracing for trouble.

“Knock knock!” A voice sang out. Floating into the duo’s view, Moonjumper revealed himself.

Hearing his voice, Blueberry stopped her antics and peaked out of the fluffy maze. Annoyed by his appearance, Snatcher extinguished his flame.

“Well well, if it isn’t everyone’s favorite ghost.”

“Good to see you as well Snatcher.” Ignoring the sarcasm, Moonjumper approached the couch. Beaming brightly at the two forest creatures. “Even greater to see you both~”

Tail wagging, Neo meowed happily in response. In her excitement, Blueberry jumped out of Snatcher’s collar. She would have face planted on the couch if not for the orange strings that caught her.

“Careful now. Don’t need to hurt yourself or stain the couch.” Strings lifting the girl up and placing her into his open palms. Visibly squashed berries shown, he began crafting a makeshift handkerchief with his strings. “Don’t need your mother to worry about you more than what she is.”

Cat now out of his hair, Snatcher did his best to fix it back up. “Darn troublemaker has had worse falls than that. Trust me.”

Moonjumper didn’t know what to make of that comment. Frankly, he was a little afraid to ask. So he chose to ignore it for now, cleaning Blueberry up with the now finished handkerchief.

“So, why the heck are you here? No one else is home. Pretty rude to enter a home uninvited, don’t ya think?”

“For your information, I was granted permission to enter. I tend to ask or call ahead of time, unlike a certain character.”

“You want to go mask boy?”

“Perhaps another time. Plans have been established and I don’t intend to miss them.” Clean once more, Blueberry received some affection before being settled down by Neo.

“Oh? You finally get a date?” Snatcher smirked, draping his arm over the couch to face the other ghost better.

“I suppose, but not in the way you’re assuming. As for your other question...” Moonjumper turned to face the entrance hallway. “All right miss starflower, you can present yourself now.”

Another person was here? None of them recognized the nickname. They could hear soft and slow thuds along with bell chiming.

The sight of seafoam green surprised Neo. With all these weird events taking place, today seemed like a dream. Fully in view was his very first Rough Patch friend, Celest.

A high-pitched squeak escaped from Blueberry at the sight of the celestial Rough Patch. Moving as quickly as she could, she hopped down from the couch and ran to greet the large Rough Patch. Celest was barely halfway to Moonjumper before the tiny Rough Patch ran and jumped into her foliage. Reaction time to this was slow, Celest stopping a few moments after feeling the little one worm her way into her leafs. Neo joined the two on the floor, sniffing the surprisingly well-cleaned cat.

Snatcher’s hair flared up in annoyance at seeing the enormous Rough Patch. “You really know how to agitate me you darn forgotten doll maker. Constantly having to one-up me!”

“Well, this wasn’t my plan. I’m just the delivery boy today. So if you need to take your ire out on anyone, why not our mutual friend?” Moonjumper slyly glanced over his shoulder to his irritated counterpart.

That got the purple ghost to shut his trap, but he nevertheless glared daggers at the puppeteer.

“Besides, I had no idea you had brought little bramble berry here with you. I had heard all about how you ‘stole her’ from her mother. She was thoroughly upset about that. If today were any other day, I’d have it in my right mind to settle the score for upsetting her so. At least I can inform her you only brought the little bush here instead of who knows where else.”

“Figures she’d cry to you about it.”

Moonjumper narrowed his eyes, irritation finally showing. “She had every right to be concerned, provided how you were prior. Still somewhat are I should say. As we were with the children and the young miss of this home nearly the whole day, they likewise heard this.” A barely visible flinch. “I anticipate a lecture in your future.”

Running a clawed hand down his face, Snatcher groaned. “Just great... wait… you were all together for nearly the whole day? They were supposed to be helping those annoying birds at the studio. How’d they have the time to fetch the Alpine Rough Patch?”

“Yes, they were helping the directors, just for the morning. I gathered my own party then met up with them around noon, transporting us to the mountain range. From there we continued to the Twilight Bell and commenced our search. It was quite the hassle trying to locate the sacred bell’s guardian, but you probably don’t want to hear about it. And yes, all the girls are ok.”

“I don’t care what happens to them!”

“Right… well, the delivery is completed, now on to my next query. I’ve been requested to fetch you for the evening.”

“Really? What about the Rough Patch’s?”

“They’ll be fine. Neo and Celest know how to take care of themselves, adding in the young one to their watch won’t be troublesome for them.”

Snatcher doubted that, given how much trouble the young one caused him in the end.

Both glancing to the group, the elder bush cats were laying down side by side. Blueberry squished between both of them. Neo was talking to Celest about something; she in turn sitting as still as a statue listening. Blueberry was relishing being wedged between both of her seniors, snuggling against them for warmth.

“See like I said, just fine. Now come along, the girls are expecting us.”

Grumbling, Snatcher stood. “Fine, I’m coming. So where are you dragging me?”

“That’s a secret, my friend.”

“Of course it is.”

“Nothing bad will happen, if anything it’ll be a nice night for you and I both.”

“What’s going to be happening exactly?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

Eye twitching, Snatcher huffed and threw his arms into the air. “FINE! DON’T TELL ME! Just take us to where we’re needed!”

“Of course, just give me a moment.”

Floating over to the bush cat trio, Moonjumper leaned down to pet each of their heads. “Now all of you be good. I’ll bring everyone back later. As for you Neo.�� He leaned in close to whisper to the curious cat “Alles gute zum Vatertag.” Leaning back to examine the cat, he was quite shocked. Moonjumper covered his mouth to keep from chuckling at the adorable expression. “I see you recognize that. Good. I hope you know for the rest of your existence; along with your current family, the little one and your companion here really love you.” Emphasizing that, Blueberry squealed and rubbed her head against Neo. Celest made a soft confirmation sound of her own, startling both ghosts.

“.. she does sound like a little whistle.”

Moonjumper stared in awe at the large cat, but came back to his senses. Right, the girls.

Coughing, he rose back up and glided to Snatcher. Looking backward to the cats one final time he waved, grabbing Snatcher’s arm with his other hand then teleported them away.

Neo was still rather shocked from what the big man in orange just told him. Was that today? That explains why all the girls have been excited this past week. His own master even thought of bringing Celest here to visit him. He supposes this was his gift. Not that he minded, Celest’s companionship was great! If he was being honest with himself, he missed her quite a lot.

Snatcher even brought Blueberry. Another he had missed. Neo would think this would be Snatcher’s gift, but the shadow was not aware of these celebration days. Neo still remembers when his master or girls would have to explain one of the days to him.

Before he got too much further into his thoughts, a voice caught his awareness. Twisting his head, he saw Blueberry crawled her way near his face, still squealing and bobbing her head back and forth. Celest was looking at him oddly, it was an expression he was uncertain of. Something about it caused his insides to feel warm. Embarrassed for what seemed to be no apparent reason, Neo turned away struggling to cover the yellow and blue blush painting his face.

Blueberry pushed her way out from in between the two, pawing her way to stand before Neo. Observing him, she wondered what he was doing. Hiding? This wasn’t hide and seek; they played that earlier. He didn’t even bother saying anything back after big puff and her supported Moonman’s statement. Maybe he didn’t understand? That was possibly it. Staring at his socks, an idea came to her head. Tapping at Neo’s left paw, she attempted to get him to lower it. After a few moments he did to question her, but she was already in motion. Once in range, she bit down onto the sock and started tugging it off.

Meowing in turmoil he attempted to make her stop. This even surprised Celest, causing her to move and try to stop her. Once it was evident she would not give up, Neo stopped struggling against her so he didn’t ruin the clothing item.

Sock torn off, Blueberry spat the offending cloth out of her mouth. Locating the heart shape on his paw, she started tapping on it. Seeing it puzzled him, she stopped. Remembering something, she pushed his paw inward towards himself. It was a bit of a process, he’s so much bigger than her. Once his paw was touching his chest, she meowed and pat his paw once again.

It didn’t take long for Neo to get what she meant. He was astounded that she learned of this fact about him. Normally when he put his left paw against someone’s chest, it was his way to tell someone he loved them. He only ever did it with his master and the children. Now that it was thrown back on him, especially by a Rough Patch he cares about, he choked up.

Celest saw tears develop in the undead cat’s eyes and shuffled as close as she could to her companion. She knew of his insecurities with their kind and this seemed to be another step in the ideal direction. She’s proud of his progress and pleased that Blueberry is helping him as well. Leaning down she nuzzled the top of his head before resting her cheek against it.

Neo was shuddering at this point, but unlike the tears from earlier, the ones that fell now were happy. Damaged arm moving away from himself, he reached around Blueberry and tugged her towards him. Doing his best, he tried to avoid getting tears on her, but failed miserably.

This time she didn’t seem to care about the tears, just glad that the hurting Rough Patch got the message. Blueberry closed her eyes and curled up against Neo, relaxing in his hold.

Neo might struggle over his insecurities and may never truly get over them. But for now, he’s happy his family is with him. All of his humans, a friend, and another little girl for him to love.

#A Hat in Time #Rough Patch #Neo #Blueberry #Celest #A Hat in Time OC #original character #Hat Kid #Bow Kid #Mustache Girl #Snatcher #Moonjumper #glottia writes

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immortalcoelacanth · 7 years ago

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A Hat in Time Oneshot: Bedtime Stories

Inspired by an awesome Borrower AU created by @monster-monsoon (seriously go check out their stories and art, it’s all amazing!)

Essentially Borrower Hat Kid starts getting homesick and it’s up to Human Bean Snatcher to help make her feel better by telling her a bedtime story. This, naturally, results in some fluff and feels moments from both characters.

Also this will be the first of my many Tumblr exclusive oneshots! So just check under the read more thingy to check out this story. (Also it’s more than 4 thousand words so enjoy that too!

“Hey Snatcher, can you tell me a bedtime story?” Hat Kid asked, looking up at the massive Bean with her signature puppy dog eyes.

While the past several days had progressed rather smoothly in the Bean filled apartment, despite the arguments that still went on between Conductor and DJ Grooves, and Snatcher’s random pranks, a sudden bout of feeling homesick had taken over her, making it difficult to focus on anything other than her lost and worried family.

Cooking with Cookie left her feeling hollow, watching Conductor and DJ Grooves argue just made her feel sad, remembering how Bow and Timmy would bicker with each other, and even pulling pranks with Snatcher did nothing to lighten her mood.

Naturally this had also made it rather difficult to fall asleep that, which lead to her previous question towards one of the humans she had grown closest to.

Snatcher sighed, reaching up to scratch as the fluffy mess of black hair that sat atop his head as he stared at the child standing on the floor before him. He was worried, having noticed the Borrower’s strange behaviour earlier in the day, and wondered if her sudden question had something to do with how she was currently feeling.

But he was not so heartless as to deny her something that would, hopefully, make her feel better.

“Sure thing kiddo, just let me find one of my old books.” Snatcher said, turning around to dig through one of the several dusty boxes. “Go wait in your bed, I’ll be over soon.”

The child frowned. She was definitely glad he was willing to tell her a bedtime story, and yet she felt... odd sleeping in that tiny room while the Bean read to her. So instead of walking over to the dollhouse that she usually slept in, she remained on the floor, watching Snatcher dig through the pile of boxes. Finally after several minutes he turned around, large book held in his hands, and caught sight of her still standing on the floor.

A faint frown appeared on his own face and he bent his knees, lowering himself so he could get a better look at the Borrower while he placed the book off to the side. “You okay kid?”

“Yeah, I just...” She trailed off, nervously looking to the floor while she played with the bottom of her shirt.

Luckily enough the human had understood her unspoken question, immediately realizing why she looked so nervous.

Snatcher smiled softly, lowering a hand to the floor. “Get over here, kiddo.”

Hat Kid smiled and scampered forwards, jumping up into the offered hand. In moments she was lifted up and up, carefully held close to Snatcher’s chest. From there he slowly walked forward, not wanting to make the child in his grasp fall, until he reached his bed.

He then lowered his hand, allowing the child to jump off, and watched with a smile as she immediately made her way to the pillow at the top of his bed. When she was settled he sat down, causing the child to laugh as the springy mattress bounced her up and down.

“Alright,” He began, grabbing the heavy book off of the floor. “So I’ve got several law book, but since you’re a kid I figured I’d start with something basic.”

Law books? Just what kind of Bean stories had Snatcher found for her?!

He cleared his throat and read out the title of the book he held. The name completely escaped the Borrower, but from what she could tell it was long and sounded like it would only put her to sleep, not entertain her or make her feel better.

“Your books are boring.” Hat Kid muttered, crossing her arms and leaning back on the strangely soft pillow. “Don’t you have anything fun to read?”

“Kid, law books are a great read, you just haven’t got the knack for it!” Snatcher eagerly flipped through the pages, recalling some of his favourite chapters from when he was still in law school. “We can go through the basics of the legal system-”

“Booooooooooooring!” She whined. “It sounds so boring!”

He huffed and set the book aside, just a bit offended at her response towards one of his favourite textbooks. Perhaps he could try pulling out his copy of Faust, another excellent academic read, but he had a feeling her response would be the same.

“Don’t you know any stories kid?”

The Borrower frowned. Sure, there were plenty of tales she had been told while she was growing up, but most of them were just lessons about how dangerous the world they lived in was, and the risks about getting too close to Beans.

In other words, they were not proper bedtime stories.

She shook her head, making the human sigh. He flopped backwards, making Hat Kid bounce up and down again. He looked up at the dusty ceiling as he thought about what to do next.

Meanwhile off to the side, the Borrower watched as Snatcher tried to figure out what to do next. After a couple minutes of waiting an idea formed in her mind. She walked over to the human and poked the side of his face, smiling when he turned to look at her.

“Why don’t you make up a story?” The child suggested.

Make up his own story? But he had no idea what kind of story would interest her, or any kid for that matter! Uh, kids liked Disney movies, and cartoons, and uh...

Hm...

Fairy tales?

Fairy tales has princes and princesses in them, right? Perhaps that would be a good place to start, and then he could change his story depending on how the child reacted to it.

“Once upon a time there was a magical kingdom, and in this kingdom lived a Prince and a Princess.” Snatcher began, looking down at the single person who made up his audience.

Hat Kid, now happy to see that the Bean had taken her suggestion to heart, eagerly sat up with her hands resting on her knees.

“The Prince and Princess were madly in love. They spent practically every hour of every day together. The Prince was a bit of a goofball but loved learning, and the Princess...”

He swallowed, mind only conjuring a familiar face framed by blonde hair.

“She was something.”

He continued his tale, spinning stories about the Prince and Princess spending their days together, the Prince protecting his Princess, and how deeply in love the duo were. Occasionally he would pause, recalling certain memories of his past that made his heart ache, but he continued to speak, hoping the Borrower child would feel better.

Luckily enough it seemed as though his story was having its desired effect on the kiddo. She was no longer sitting upright and had actually moved herself so she was lying down on the pillow. Her hands were resting under her head and her eyes were closed.

She had fallen asleep.

“And the Prince and Princess lived happily ever after, the end.” He whispered, finishing his tale with a smile.

Unconsciously he found himself removing the Borrower’s signature hat and started gently brushing her hair, smile growing larger as she mumbled something under her breath and snuggled the pillow a bit more.

“She’s too cute.” He whispered, that massive smile still stretched across his face.

Snatcher then set her hat off to the side, certain she would be upset if she woke up to find it wrinkled or crumpled up, and decided it would be best to also get some sleep so he was not exhausted the next day.

Now if only his crappy mattress agreed with his decision.

He cringed as the mattress underneath him groaned and squeaked. No matter how quietly he tried to move the old piece of furniture seemed determined to make as much noise as possible. He was, eventually, able to get himself lying down, looking over at the sleeping child one more time.

“Night kiddo.” Snatcher muttered, rolling over onto his side and joining her in slumber.

Several hours later the young Borrower stirred, having been woke up by horrible nightmare where both her family and the Human Beans she had gotten close to suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone in the darkness.

She sat up, wiping at her watery eyes, and looked around the barely lit attic. The full moon shone through the nearby window, faintly lighting up the bed she and Snatcher were on, but it left everything else in the shadows.

Hat Kid looked over at the human she had grown closest to during her stay. He was facing away from her, fluffy black hair sprawled across the pillows as he snored, oblivious to her distraught state.

Not that she would blame him. It was unfair she had forced herself upon the Humans Beans that lived here, made them help take care of her while her family searched desperately for her in the big, scary world…

The Borrower child sniffled, wiping away the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. She was crushed by her homesickness, loneliness making her feel more and more isolated and scared!

But Snatcher was here…

A sudden snort escaped said human, and he rolled over a bit, face now looking towards her. He was lying on his back, one arm thrown over his stomach while the other rested at his side. He was still deeply asleep, his snores and closed eyes giving that away, so she took the time to look him over, inspecting the Bean that had tried to help her feel better.

Human Beans were so weird, with how tall they were and their strange ways of living. They were terrifying from a distance, and yet once she had gotten to know them they were so nice.

Even if the Conductor had been a bit scary at first.

Hat Kid’s eyes landed on the pocket of his fancy, dark purple top that he had not bothered to change before going to bed. Several times she had sat atop Snatcher’s shoulder, and even the Conductor’s when he was not arguing with the DJ or drinking, but she had never been in any of their pockets.

It made sense since she would not be able to see anything considering how short she was, and the Human Beans always found it weird when she sat on their shoulders, scared they might accidentally hurt her, so it would probably be even weirder if she suggested sitting in their pockets.

But now a plan had formed in her mind, a plan that involved that pocket.

She was scared, worried she might make Snatcher mad by waking him up, and yet as time went on and she continued to feel worse, even more tears falling down her face, she knew there was only one choice she could make.

Cautiously, the nervous Borrower used the human’s arm to boost herself up to his chest, doing her best to not accidentally wake him up in the process.

She could feel his chest rising and falling beneath her, making it a bit hard to walk towards her goal, but eventually she did it. Once she reached the pocket she crouched down, crawled into it, and was immediately engulfed by the darkness.

A faint giggle escaped her. Somehow the sounds of his heartbeat and breathing were amplified here. She lay down and rested her head against his chest, smile growing as the warmth from his body slowly sank into hers, making her drowsy.

Hat Kid sighed softly and curled up against Snatcher, his heartbeat acting as a lullaby that slowly began to make her fall asleep.

But just as she was about to drift off those images flashed before her eyes once again. Timmy and Bow reaching out for her, Thor and Tim shouting as they desperately tried to find out where she was, all the Human Beans she had gotten close to during her stay here vanishing into the darkness, leaving her all alone.

It was too much for the distraught Borrower.

A sharp sob broke free as tears began to fall out of her eyes once again. She desperately pressed a hand against her mouth trying to muffle the sounds that she kept making so she did not wake Snatcher up, but this proved to be a futile attempt as she soon felt the human begin to stir.

“Kiddo?” The Bean muttered, sitting up slightly as the sound of someone sobbing reached his ears. He reached a hand up to wipe at his blurry eyes. “What’s going on?”

He looked over to his left and felt his heart drop when he realized that the Borrower child was no longer there. Panic filled him in an instant. “Kid?!”

Hat Kid let out a soft squeak as he suddenly sat up, clinging to his shirt so she did not fall down to the bottom of the pocket. Snatcher easily heard the faint noise and curiously peered down at his suit pocket.

She looked up as his massive golden eyes looked down at her, filled with concern. She sniffled once again and wiped at her eyes, hoping to get rid of her tears before he noticed them.

“There you are.” He breathed, and she could feel his heartbeat slow as he calmed down. “You scared the life out of me kid!”

“Sorry,” She mumbled, voice so soft he could barely hear her. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just-”

Snatcher shook his head, interrupting the guilty child. “You don’t need to apologize kid, it’s okay.”

Now certain of Hat Kid’s location, he slowly laid back down on the bed. He was still concerned over how she was feeling, especially since she had actually moved to be closer to him even though the risk of him hurting her was significantly higher, and wondered what he could do to help.

Clearly the story had not worked, but perhaps there was something else he could think of...

“Snatcher, did the Princess and Prince actually live happily ever after?” Hat Kid asked in the silence of the attic.

The question surprised him, not only because of how out of the blue it was, but also because he had thought she had been asleep during the ending of his story. He looked down at her and winced when he caught sight of the knowing look in her blue eyes.

Just how could a child be so innocent and so mature at the same time? Was it Burrower nature, or something else?

“No kid,” He sighed, letting his hand rest over the child that was curled up on his chest. “They didn’t.”

“What happened?”

A rueful smile appeared on his face as he considered the question. There was a part of him that wanted to change the subject, not wanting to relive that part of his life, but the rest of him argued that perhaps this was the story the child had been looking for.

A tale about being lost and finding a home, finding a family that cared about you no matter how different you were.

“As time went on the Prince began to notice something strange going on with his Princess. She started making changes to his life that he never asked for, and freaked out over the tiniest of mistakes he made.”

Snatcher winced at the memories, recalling the furious, reddish brown eyes that would constantly glare at him. He remembered the shouting, the fighting.

Going to his parents for help but hearing how dare you upset her she’s so good to you you have to be better for her instead. Hearing them blatantly say that clearly he could not be in an abusive relationship unless he had been hitting her-

He exhaled sharply, shaking the memories off as he tried to return his focus to telling the story, his story. “Eventually one day he had enough and decided to leave.”

He then chuckled, remembering the next part of his tale in vivid detail. “The Prince knew it would be too dangerous to leave out the main gate, so he climb down from his window and fell into a bunch of bushes.”

He had actually fallen into a dumpster when fleeing his crazy ex and garbage family, but he was not about to tell the child that embarrassing detail.

“And then he ran as far as he could, escaping from the miserable life that had been forced upon him. The Prince was now free to choose what he wanted to do, and no longer had to listen to anyone but himself.”

Yes he was free, but at what price? He could no longer stay in contact with his parents, not after their remarks towards his situation with Vanessa, and whenever he went outside he risked having his crazy ex find out where he lived.

It was the main reason why he rarely left the dusty attic or the apartment, even to deal with his clients. The risks were just far too great.

He was lucky his uncle had been so understanding of his situation and offered him a place to stay...

“So what happened after?” The Borrower child suddenly asked, breaking him out of the memory filled trance he had fallen into.

“Huh?”

“The Prince, what happened to him after he left?” She repeated, curiosity demanding an answer.

She already knew that Snatcher was basing the story off of himself based on how he had reacted before she had fallen asleep, but she wanted to know what else he had gone through after escaping his “Princess”.

How he had gotten here.

“Geeze kiddo, you sure seem worried about the Prince.” Snatcher commented.

“Well the Princess has a bunch of people to look after her, and she’s a jerk anyways.” Hat Kid huffed, making the human chuckle warmly.

“Yeah, I guess she is.” He wheezed.

After his laughing fit had faded he cleared his throat and continued talking, though this time he actually sounded happy after telling his tale.

“Eventually the Prince managed to run into his uncle who told him about a cottage he had set up in a nearby forest. No one wanted to live there because strange, magical creatures inhabited that forest, but the Prince was desperate and needed a safe place to stay.”

His uncle, he should call him again at some point. Check up on how he was doing and maybe invite him over for a coffee or something.

Definitely when no one else was around, of course.

“And in the magical forest that was now his home, the Prince moved in to his uncle’s cottage. His new home was very small and dirty, and even though the Prince did little to clean it up it felt far more like home than his castle.”

His parent’s luxurious home, their several cars. The swimming pool and even the maids that would drop by to clean up before his parent’s parties. None of it ever felt warm or comfortable to him, it had always been so cold and unfeeling there.

“Of course he had neighbors.” Snatcher continued, a smirk appearing on his face as he figured out how to continue the next part of his tale. “A witch who crafted potions to heal the sick, two muses, artistic spirits who constantly argued over whose latest creation was the best.”

Cookie, DJ Grooves, the Conductor, all interesting characters who had somehow become the center of his world. It would be hard to imagine what the apartments would be like if any of them left.

Including the Borrower who had wormed her way into his life.

“But the strangest creature he had encountered was a thief who broke into his home and stole whatever sweets he had in the cupboards.” A laugh escaped the Borrower child, easily realizing who this character was supposed to represent in the story.

“He was more curious than mad, wondering just who was sneaking in when he back was turned, so one day he came up with a plan to discover the identity of his thief. The next day the Prince found his thief, having gotten stuck in the honey he had laid out the night before, and found that she was not at all what his was expecting.”

Snatcher paused, taking a moment to enjoy the intense look on his listener’s face. Man, she was really into this story!

“His thief was an adorable, tiny fairy.”

“A fairy?” Hat Kid gasped, crawling out of his pocket so she could look up at him with those big eyes. “Really?”

“Yup!” Snatcher chuckled, carefully lowering one of his fingers so he could playfully mess up the child’s hair. “Apparently the fairy had one heck of a sweet tooth, so she had been breaking in and stealing some of his sugar when he wasn’t looking. Apparently when he put the honey out she couldn’t help herself and tried to get some, which is how she got caught.”

“What did he do with the fairy?”

The Bean smiled and continued to ruffle the child’s hair. “Well, he set her free and told her if she ever needed any sugar she could always come back and get some more, like a certain Borrower I happen to know.”

Hat Kid giggled and tried to push his finger away. “Snatcher, you’re messing up my hair!”

He relented, laughing when she tried to fix her tousled locks. “You’ve got some bedhead there, kiddo!”

She huffed. “No thanks to you, and what happened after he let the fairy go?!”

The human’s smile grew warm as he continued his story. “Well, she kept visiting him and they became friends, and a spectacular pranking team.”

“And then did they live happily ever after?” The Borrower asked, looking up at him with a hopeful smile on her face.

“Yeah kid,” Snatcher replied. “They did.”

That smile remained on the child’s face, even as her eyes began to drop thanks to her exhaustion catching up to her. “That was a great story, thanks Snatcher.”

“You’re welcome kiddo.” He whispered, nudging her back into his pocket. “Sweet dreams.”

Hat Kid sighed and curled up against her guardian, nuzzling her face into his shirt as she listened to his calming heartbeat once again. In seconds she was asleep, completely relaxed and no longer bothered by the worries and fears that had tormented her earlier.

Snatcher smiled down at the sleeping Borrower curled up in his pocket. His hand was still resting over her, providing even more warmth to help sooth her. He felt totally relaxed but did not intend to fall asleep, worried he might accidentally turn over and squash the child.

Eh, oh well, he had pulled many sleepless nights while he was still in school.

So the duo remained like this until dawn broke over the world, Snatcher keeping all of the child’s nightmares at bay with his presence while Hat Kid slumbered on, dreaming of the moment when her two families would finally get the chance to meet one another.

Omake:

Snatcher groaned as the light from the windows shined on his face, making him wince and lift a hand up to try and block the annoying rays. He yawned, sat up, and stretched, sighing as his spine popped pleasantly. A couple more stretches had the human feeling much more awake, but he felt as though there was something he was forgetting about.

Had he left his phone somewhere? He patted his pockets, finding all of them to be empty.

His pocket...

The kid!

“Hat Kid?” He uttered, looking left and right as he tried to find out where the Borrower had gone to. “Where are you, kiddo?”

A quick glance to his right had him noticing a sheet of paper that had been left on his desk. He picked it up and held it before his eyes, frowning when he noticed how sloppy the handwriting was. It was as if whoever had written it had some struggle in holding the pencil since some of the letters were crooked and a bit squiggly.

In fact the writing itself was very small...

He squinted and did his best to read the note, a faint smile appearing on his face as he deciphered the words.

Hey Snatcher, you looked so comfy I didn’t want to wake you up! I’m downstairs eating breakfast so don’t worry about me :3

PS I hope you like your new hairdo :D

“New hair? What’s she-” Snatcher froze and quickly lifted a hand up to run it through his hair. He immediately encountered what felt like knots or some sort of tangles, but he had a feeling Hat Kid was not malicious enough to do something like that.

So what had she done to him?

He dug through some boxes and pulled out a dusty mirror. A quick wipe with his sleeve left the reflective surface as clean as he could get it and he held it up to his face, immediately catching sight of the Borrower’s handiwork.

She had braided his hair while he had been sleeping.

The peaceful breakfast downstairs was disturbed when loud, hearty laughter erupted from the attic. The Conductor nearly dropped his mug of coffee, and almost immediately started cursing, while Grooves just looked up to the ceiling in amusement.

Cookie glanced down at the Borrower by her side on the counter, easily noticing the mischievous smile on her face.

“What did you do to Snatcher?”

Hat Kid grinned. “Oh, I just gave him a little makeover, that’s all.”

#my story #inspired by an au created by MonsterMonsoon #fanfiction #a hat in time #ahit #borrower au #hat kid #snatcher #fluff and feels #hat kid gets homesick and snatcher tells her a bedtime story #oneshot #tumblr exclusive oneshot

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junryou · 7 years ago

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TLoU [au] | bandages //

{ reblog, do not repost }

“We’re going to have to sneak around. There’s too many to take on.”

Adrien watched as Mari ducked back down. Her perception was unmatched and had helped them avoid some pretty nasty situations already. He nodded and asked,

“Do you remember the way to the rendezvous point?” “Kind of. It’s been a while since we were in that zone.”

Mari’s brows knit together, eyes apparently darting through her thoughts. Adrien waited. Without a word, his companion rose to a crouch and began to creep through the shadows. Rotting office furniture littered the room. Papers covered in spread sheets melded with the foul, moldy carpet. Muffled banter bounced off the toppled filing cabinets—the Hunters were lamenting not seeing a “tourist” for weeks. Adrien took great care in his steps. The last thing he wanted was those men discovering these two tourists.

*SKREEEAK THUD*

The boy froze. He looked ahead of him. Mari’s shoelace had caught on an overturned roller-chair, causing her to trip forward. Four, no, five voices reacted to the sound. In an instant, Adrien was at Mari’s side, hands slipping the caught lace out of the clutches of the chair’s wheel.

“It came from over here!”

Beams of light flicked over the desks, casting erratic shadows on the nearby wall.

“Yeah, I heard it.”

As quickly as the flashlights darted, so did Mari, with Adrien right on her heels. The two sidled through a doorway into a back office. A flutter of relief rose in Adrien’s chest: There was a window! His hope crashed as soon as they reached it, though. That’s right… they were on the second floor.

“See anything?” “Naw.” “I’ll check the back. You flank.”

A soft jab in his ribs directed Adrien’s attention to his companion. She gestured to a car just below the window. How far down was that still?

“Hey man, there’s some footprints on these papers.” “So?” “They’re small-size. Not ours.”

Adrien cursed the dampness of this place, wriggling his foot into the floor. He glanced at Mari. Her eyes were wide and the force at which she bit her lip looked painful.

“What?” he mouthed. “No latch.” she returned.

Anxiety welled in his chest when his eyes confirmed her words. They couldn’t sneak out of here. The voices were too close to the door now. No way they’d be missed. In a smooth motion, Adrien released the lead pipe from his pack. Before Mari could protest, he pushed her aside and swung through the window pane. A cacophony followed. Shattered glass clinking on the car below. Hunters yelling. A desk being knocked into as they zeroed in.

“Found ‘em!”

A gangly dude in a wool hat emerged through the office’s doorway.

“Hey kiddos.” He leered at them, making Adrien’s stomach churn. Those eyes were as dead as a Runner’s.

“Go!” Adrien rounded on Mari, propelling her through the window. She replied with a curt yelp, tumbling to the car below with a metallic thud. Adrien gripped the window frame, prepared to leap, and winced at the sudden pressure around his arm.

“No ya’ don’t!”

The beanie-guy yanked Adrien from the sill. Only then did he notice what was in the Hunter’s other hand. Eyes froze on the studded bat. Nails rusted with blood. Without hesitation, he dropped. The abrupt shift in weight threw off the Hunter’s balance, allowing Adrien to break free of his grip. Just as the other Hunters reached the room, he leapt through the window.

The impact made his knees ache, but he ignored it. A flash of red caught his attention. Mari! Scrambling from the roof of the car, he sprinted after her. Taunts and exasperated cries rang out above them, not left behind fast enough.

Hours later and the duo made it to the city outskirts. Moonlight poured over a little shack Mari lead them to. Its tin-covered walls shone, at least in the spots not covered in rust… The roof was ramshackle, and ivy hid whatever wood might have been visible at one time. To Adrien, though, it was beautiful. After racing through the dingy brick-and-mortar city, this little place felt wonderful. Mari had told him about the times she and her group would meet up here. Swap food, plan raids, dream about better times… if those truly existed.

Mari waved at him to wait. He thought he saw something flash on her arm, but he nodded and hunkered down by the bushes. In a blink, his companion slunk around the shack. Ah. Checking the perimeter. He scolded himself and made a mental note to follow Mari’s example better. He looked up to see her emerge from the other side of the building. A thumbs-up encouraged him to her side.

“Help me lift this.”

She gestured to a large, flat plank covering a hole in the wall. He wouldn’t have noticed it had she not said anything—the ivy blended it into the wall. Slipping his hands underneath the wood, he glimpsed Mari’s arm again as they slid the “door” away. He grimaced.

Musk and old growth hit his senses when they crawled in through the hole. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the shack, Adrien could make out shelves lined with supplies. Dappled moonlight lay across a ratty mattress in the corner, alongside piles of clothes and moth-eaten blankets. Mari peeled her pack off her shoulders and set it next to the mattress. She plopped down with a ragged sigh. Adrien glanced back at the shelves, grabbed a roll of gauze from a med-kit, and shrugged his off his satchel. He joined Mari, who gave him a quizzical look.

“Let me see your arm.” “Ah…”

She looked down at the torn shirt sleeve and the shards of glass peeking out from it. Her face paled. It seemed as if she had just noticed it. Adrien gave her a sympathetic gaze and reached out his hand. Mari stared at him, not moving. The distrust in her eyes poked at his heart. Why? He retracted his hand.

“Sorry… uh, here?”

He offered the bandages instead. Mari still didn’t move.

“You pushed me.” “I— what?” “Back there. You pushed me out the window.”

Adrien sat there dumbfounded. She was blaming him for saving her?

“I got us out, didn’t I?” “That’s not my point.” “I’m sorry, did you want to be caught sneaking instead?” “No! Again, not my point.” “…okay?” “Why did you push me? I’m very capable of jumping.” “You are.” “Then. Why. Did. You. Push. Me.”

At this point, Mari’s face had regained its flush, and her brows cast a displeased shadow. Adrien’s gaze fell. Why did he?

“I… panicked.”

Plain and simple. Or was it? His words felt tinged with falsehood. Sure, the instinct to get out of harm’s way was strong, but was it the only reason? Adrien looked back up at Mari. The confusion on his face must have been apparent to her—the furrow in her brow eased slightly. He looked down again, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment and guilt.

“I wanted to get you out of there. Fast. I’m sorry… for pushing you.”

His words tumbled out faster than his brain could catch up. The silence that met him stagnated the air. He couldn’t even look up. It was his fault Mari got hurt after all… He was about to apologize again when her arm came into his line of sight. Adrien peeked at the owner’s face. It wore a forgiving smile. His heart twinged again but different this time… more pleasant, if that was possible? He gently took her arm and set the bandages aside. With the greatest care, he removed the bits of glass and peeled back her ragged sleeve. Dried blood and scabbing came with it, making Mari draw in a sharp breath. Adrien dug through his pack for a little bottle of alcohol.

“This will sting. Are you ready?”

Mari nodded, sucking her lips in. Adrien poured a small stream over the gashes. Her arm tensed, then relaxed as he dabbed it dry. He leaned in for a closer look, worrying whether or not some of the larger cuts needed extra care.

“What is it?” Mari asked. “Do you have thread, by any chance? I think this one needs stitches.” “It’s that bad?”

She bent forward, trying to get a better look too. The sudden proximity of her face let Adrien discover her freckles for the first time. She leaned back again and muttered,

“Just stick a couple butterflies across it. There should be some in my first-aid kit.” “Alright.”

Adrien rummaged through her pack, unlatched the white box, and found the little strips. He was actually relieved. The idea of sewing her up left him feeling a bit nauseous. After applying the butterflies, he began to wrap her arm.

“Thanks, Adrien.”

Her voice coaxed him to look up, mid-wrap. Gratitude replaced her look of distrust from earlier. He allowed himself to show her a small smile, then went back to securing the gauze. As soon as he finished, Mari brushed the dead leaves and dust off the mattress and flopped down. Adrien listened to her heave a sigh-turned-yawn. He echoed it. Guess there was truth to that saying about yawning being contagious. He grabbed and shook out one of the nicer blankets lying around and threw it over Mari before curling up on the mattress himself.

The stress of the day caught up to him. Exhaustion crept over his limbs and through his body. His eyelids felt like magnets. Just as Adrien began to slip into the realm of dreams, he felt a warmth at his back. Mari. Her back was a small comfort in this weary, bloody world, but a very welcome one. For a moment, a memory of his father played in his head. A big hand stroking his back, calming him to sleep… His voice… He missed Father. Mari must be missing her friends, he thought. Judging from her slow breathing, she was already out. Adrien whispered to her anyway,

“Don’t worry, Mari. We’ll find them.”

#Miraculous Ladybug #The Last of Us #TLOU au #fictionification #drawings #illustrations

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