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gaylordscooter · 1 year ago

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One Year of This So-Called Hell

It's been awhile since they've started living at the castle. They've grown used to it. They wouldn't call it their home or call each other their housemates, but they certainly thought of it like that.

However, despite how long they’ve been here, they still have yet to get acquainted with Nightmare. They were all casual with each other except with him. For obvious reasons, including but not limited to the fact he kidnapped them all and puts them through grueling situations from time to time.

Though, that latter reason has diminished over time. They didn't know if he was running out of ideas or what, because recently these situations have become akin to game nights. Quite literally they would play some board game or card game. It was kinda fun. None of them were going to complain though, even if they found it odd.

But today something especially odd happened. Not only was there a breakfast setup for them when they arrived at the kitchen this morning, Nightmare himself was at the table.

At first none of them said anything to him. Then Killer decided he couldn't stand the silence and said a good morning that was directed at everyone.

“Good morning, Killer,” Nightmare responded in a formal tone. He took a bite out of his pancakes. The three were watching him in disbelief as he chewed and swallowed. He looked up, taking note that none of them were making a move to sit down. “I hope the food isn't that bad. It took me a few tries to make something decent.”

“you cooked this?” Horror asked in surprise. He shot a skeptical look at the food. He's never messed with their food before, but he wouldn't be surprised if he started now.

“I made an effort to. There are no eggs as I couldn't extract the edible part without getting the casing mixed up in it.” He continued to eat, trying to show the food wasn't tampered with.

Killer shrugged and pulled out a chair to sit down a few chairs away from Nightmare. He grabbed a plate and a few pancakes. He quickly inspected the food before dousing it in an ungodly amount of syrup and began to eat.

Nightmare couldn't help but stare at Killer's soul as they ate, as weird as that was. He was transfixed by the shape. It was different, much more reminiscent of a proper monster soul rather than the usual target.

“hey, bud, my eyes are up here,” Killer said.

Nightmare's eye snapped up as if he was a child that was caught holding a knife. He noticed that Killer’s eye sockets, which were usually empty, had ringed eyelights at the moment, but usually he’d only have them when he was experiencing intense emotions—often negative. He didn't sense any negativity from him at the moment.

“whatcha lookin’ at?” he questioned despite knowing the answer.

Nightmare felt the other two’s tension and wariness. “Your soul's different,” he noted.

Killer’s posture relaxed a little. “oh, yeah. it's been that way for a bit.” He glanced at the other two, silently pleading them to stop standing in place awkwardly and to actually join them at the table.

Fortunately, Horror read his mind and made a move to sit down, prompting Dust to as well.

“May I ask what it means for it to look that way?” Nightmare implored.

Killer seemed taken aback by the question. His smile went crooked, at least more than usual and he slouched as if to cover his soul with the table. “am i allowed to say ‘no’? you kinda already asked.”

“You need not answer,” he responded. He dropped the topic; the question made Killer uncomfortable and he would rather not drive him away.

Dust and Horror were finally beginning to eat. Nightmare was almost worried they’d never start.

“i’ll tell you if you answer two of my questions,” Killer eventually said, to his surprise.

Of course he’d turn this into a bargain. “Ask away.”

He noticed that piqued Dust and Horror's interest.

“what’s up with the breakfast? you've never done this before.” Killer said.

“I can be nice, once in a while.”

Killer scoffed, rolling his eyelights.

“And it's a special occasion. It's been a year since I first brought you all here,” he added. He debated doing something like this in the first place. His relationship with these three was unusual. He was their tormentor; their personalized hell. At the very same time, he was their provider, in a way. He’d bring them food, water and shelter, things normally a parental figure would do—even though he was everything but that.

Horror laughed dryly, “how nice, a breakfast to celebrate a whole year after you kidnapped us to treat us like your toys.”

However, as far as he knew, he was nothing but a demon and that was exactly how they saw him.

His brother was an angel, and he was a demon. That's just how things were.

“second question, why haven't you ever messed with our food?”

Horror’s expression soured as he glared at Killer like it was a warning.

“it'd be pretty effective torture, right?” He continued to eat despite the topic at hand.

“It’d be effective,” he agreed, “but only once. Afterwards, Horror would be too far gone to do anything with.”

Horror dropped the fork he was holding with a clatter. His smile was tense and nearly a straight line.

“you’d still have me and dust, though,” Killer said.

“you little shit—”

Killer turned his head to Horror revealing his serious expression to him to silently tell him, no, he's not giving him ideas. He's trying to get information.

“Killing or irreparably harming any of you would be a major inconvenience, that is why.”

Killer stood up and leaned towards Nightmare, putting his hands on the table. “you said we were easily replaceable,” he remarked.

“I said there were many like you, not that you were easily replaceable,” he corrected. He didn't like where this conversation was going. “I answered your questions, now answer mine.”

“fine,” Killer huffed, sitting back down and crossing his arms. “i don’t know,” he said.

“What?” Nightmare said in a low rumble. Was he tricked? He didn't take kindly to the notion that Killer was going back on their deal. His tentacles flicked irritably.

Horror, noticing the ends of them sharpening, decided to speak up, “he doesn't. at least, he doesn't know what causes it.”

His tentacles relaxed, no longer threatening to lash out at Killer. “Do you feel any different?”

Shouldn't he already know that?

“oh he sure feels different,” Horror said.

Killer shrunk in on himself, trying to look invisible. Embarrassment. Shame? Guilt.

Why was it suddenly harder to discern his emotions?

“I want to hear it from him.” His eye bore into Killer.

Killer groaned, bordering on a growl, “you’re telling me you haven't felt a difference? actually, i’m surprised you’ve kept me around before, considering i didn’t feel anything.”

Nightmare's eye widened.

He didn't feel anything before? That wasn't right. He could sense his emotions the whole time. That's how he found him in the first place. As far as he knew, he wasn't like Ink either. It was very clear he had a soul.

“You did feel before. That's how I found you,” he insisted.

Killer narrowed his sockets. Anger. “i was only acting, until recently. none of it was real.”

He could feel bitterness coming from Dust.

Killer frowned, risking a glance at Dust. “but it is now,” and it’s terrifying, ��and it’s weird.”

“How long has it been like this?” He knew Killer was getting annoyed at all the questions but he couldn't just drop it now. He didn't care if he was getting annoyed.

Killer had the audacity to stand up.

“Sit back down,” he ordered.

“i don't need to answer you. i don't need to follow your orders. i'm not your pet,” he spat as he roughly pushed his chair in, making the table jolt.

“You aren’t,” he sighed as Killer stormed off. His eye darted to Dust and Horror. They hardly ate anything.

“it’s been fluctuating ever since we got here,” Horror said once Killer left. “but recently it's been staying that shape.”

Nightmare was surprised at Horror’s willingness to share that information. “I’ve been sensing fear from him recently.” It didn't take a genius to find out that it was connected. “But there's also been positive emotions—coming from all of you, actually.”

Horror scoffed in a way that sounded like a laugh, “call that stockholm syndrome.”

He did not know what “stockholm syndrome” was, but from his knowledge he knew that the word “syndrome” had negative connotations. Did he inflict a disease of some kind on them without knowing?

He stood up, picking up his plate with one of his tentacles that stretched over to the sink to place it down. “I will be taking my leave now. Thank you for humoring me.” His body melted into the shadows and he was gone.

Horror shook his head, “what a weirdo.” He put a few more pancakes on his plate and resumed eating.

Dust refrained from eating, merely picking bits from his pancake and dropping it back down on the plate.

“so…how are things between you and killer?” he dared to ask. It's been about a week since they had that fight. The two were avoiding each other. Well, Dust was obviously avoiding him. Killer just made no attempt to approach him—at least to his knowledge. This led to Killer spending more time with Horror, and honestly, he has no clue how Dust has tolerated this guy for so long.

Dust made a guttural noise that was basically a growl.

Though it was a clear show of his discontent, Horror couldn't stifle a chuckle.

That only exacerbated Dust’s sour mood. He stood up.

“hey, wait,” Horror said. “you hardly ate anything.”

“not hungry,” he signed.

Horror looked unconvinced. “that's bullshit and you know it.”

Dust sighed and picked up his plate.

“c’mon dude, don't go wallowing in your room.”

“don't play therapist,” Dust muttered.

“someone in this castle needs to stay level-headed. you didn't answer my question.”

“what do you think?”

“i think…that killer’s an asshole and you're right to be pissy, but you two should probably talk,” he suggested. He gave him a serious look, “he's driving me insane, dust.”

“it's all he’s good at,” he said bitterly.

“c’mon now, that's not true.”

Dust didn't even have to say anything.

“ehhh. we still care about him anyway,” Horror said.

Dust was mad that he couldn't refute that without lying.

Nightmare found Killer outside in the forest, he was nearby a make-shift shelter he made for the stray cats that lived here. It took him an embarrassingly long time to find him because he wasn't in the castle, but him being outside for once was a welcome change. Since he wasn't holed up in his room it meant Nightmare didn't have to worry about intruding on his private quarters.

Killer loudly groaned when he noticed Nightmare. He ignored him and continued to watch and pet the cats.

Nightmare remembered how terrified Killer was when he saw him hanging out with a bunch of cats. He thought he would harm them—he was so sure that he instigated a fight to protect them. Once that was resolved, he started going outside much more often just to see the cats. He was still tense whenever Nightmare was near them, however.

“Have you named them yet?” Nightmare asked.

“what’s it to ya? waiting for me to be more attached to them so you can rip them away from me when the time’s right?” Killer snapped. He didn't take his eye off the cats.

There were six of them, each of them having various colors and patterns. He was surprised Killer could take care of that many, considering he couldn't take care of himself.

Nightmare hummed thoughtfully, eye skimming over the group of cats. “I was merely curious, usually people name things they look after.”

Killer scoffed, “you named dust and horror.” The brown cat rubbed its head against his outstretched hand.

“Yes.”

“you don't ‘look after’ them.” He gently scratched the chin of the cat. It was purring.

“Depends on how you define ‘look after’. I definitely monitor them.”

“no shit,” he snarked.

“i also supply food, water and shelter.”

Killer frowned and stood up. The cats meowed in protest. He faced Nightmare. “what are you getting at?”

“You see me as needlessly cruel, as if I’m incapable of doing kind things,” he replied.

Killer laughed forcefully. It startled the cats, making them retreat to their shelter. “what? suddenly feeling like you deserve sympathy? i don't give a shit if you do kind things. that doesn't change the fact that you tortured us.”

Surely none of it was worse than their situations in their old universes.

“Right. Forgive me for digressing, but what, pray tell, is ‘stockholm syndrome’?”

It seemed like Killer found that question humorous. “you trying to do that to us? is that what your deal is?”

Frankly, Nightmare had no idea what Killer was talking about.

“you start being all nice and dandy to make us think ‘oh he's not all bad. i actually enjoy being here’.”

“You do,” Nightmare pointed out, “enjoy being here, I mean.” He could sense that clearly.

“fuck off. you don't know that for sure,” he said bitterly.

He couldn't deny the utter contempt Killer held for him.

He dipped his head. “I apologize.”

“you what?” Killer said incredulously.

Why was he apologizing? He was deceiving him. He had to be.

Nightmare didn't know what he was doing. He's hardly bothered to show remorse. There wasn't any reason to start now. Except, after seeing the companionship between the three, he couldn't help but feel jealous.

He wanted connection. It was pathetic to admit, but the only person he was close to was his brother. Was.

How cruel of the multiverse to allow him to yearn for something he wasn't allowed to have. He couldn't help but try to get what he wanted.

“For choosing you three to inflict pain upon, I apologize. You don't deserve it yet I do it anyway.”

“i don't deserve it?” Killer said. “hah! who the hell am i talking to right now? you really nightmare?” He strode closer to Nightmare and thrust a finger at him, poking him in the chest.

Nightmare was shocked by the sudden contact.

“y’know, you and me are pretty similar in some aspects. we don’t have the capacity to care and yet we're pretending we can anyway. you can't fool me. i know you're just trying to manipulate me with that apology.”

Nightmare took a minute to respond, scanning over Killer’s feelings and expression. Again, he was hard to read, like he was able to obscure it. He wasn't trying to manipulate him. He really wasn't. But he supposed he hasn't been upfront enough with him to believe that. “Do you recall when we encountered Fresh for the first time?”

Killer snarked, “what about it?”

“I could've left you, you said.”

“you didn't save us out of compassion, you just needed us for your stupid plans or whatever.”

“But you thought you were replaceable. Which one is it?” he countered.

“it's whatever's most beneficial to you,” he retorted. “you said it would’ve been a hassle.”

He did say that. Nightmare was stumped. He didn't even know where he was trying to go with this. It wasn't like he could make Killer’s hatred towards him disappear.

Maybe he could make Killer’s self hatred go away.

Why did he think that? Did he want that? That wouldn't benefit him.

Maybe he was sick of the feeling of hatred, like loneliness. Like being sick of having the same food over and over again.

He felt something down by his tentacles. He tried to hide his surprise but he hastily looked down to see one of the cats nudging against one of his tentacles. It was the brown one that cuddled Killer a moment ago. Nightmare froze.

“hey!” Killer barked and knelt down to shoo the cat away from Nightmare. “baked beans, i told you not to get near him,” he scolded the cat.

The cat meowed out a whine.

Killer frowned and stood back up as the cat walked away.

“‘Baked beans’?” Nightmare echoed. “Is that its name?”

“don’t hurt her.”

“You are awfully insistent that I’m going to hurt these cats. Has anyone told you about self fulfilling prophecies?”

Killer decided to take that as a threat and drew out his knife.

Nightmare made an attempt to seem less threatening, having all of his non-essential tentacles tucked away. “I’m not going to hurt them, Killer.”

“you're lying!” he shouted and pointed his knife at him. “i’ve seen it happen. you're going to do it, i know it! you're just trying to get my guard down.”

He’s seen it happen?

“Are you having nightmares, Killer?”

He didn't answer.

He couldn't reason with him now, he supposed. Nightmare decided the best course of action was to simply leave. He sunk into the ground.

Killer frantically scanned the area, taking a few minutes until he confirmed that Nightmare did indeed leave. He knelt down, curling in on himself as he sighed. The cats walked back over to him.

Nightmare reappeared in the kitchen, startling the two skeletons that were currently on the couch of the other half of the room.

Usually they wouldn't be startled at his appearance. At least, not anymore. He caught sight of the drinks in their hands, they seemed to be similar. He scrunched his eye in disgust. “What the hell is that?”

They were surprised at his language. Usually he didn't express surprise like that, or at all. Dust and Horror looked at each other as if neither had an answer.

Instead of verbally answering, Dust thrust the drink out. Was he offering it to him?

Nightmare got closer to inspect it. When he reached out to grab it, he saw the two’s sockets widen. He brought it up to his face, the goop covering his mouth melted away as he took a sip.

Oh god. That was awful.

He refrained from spitting it out and managed to brute-force his way into swallowing. A whole shiver rippled throughout his body, and it didn't help that it literally made the goo on his body ripple for a bit.

Horror and Dust remained painfully silent.

Nightmare calmly handed the glass back to Dust. “It's horrible,” he deadpanned.

“he was just trying to show you it, not…” Horror didn't even have to finish his sentence.

Oh great, he misunderstood. He didn't even have to drink that. It was painfully obvious he was embarrassed, even after he covered his mouth once more. “Why do you drink such awful concoctions?”

Dust shrugged, wiping the rim of the glass with his gloves before resuming the consumption of that horrific beverage.

Nightmare refrained from showing his disgust. He moved over to one of the chairs near the couch to sit down. All of his tentacles disappeared, revealing the rest of his cloak that covered most of his legs.

Dust spat his drink out while Horror gawked.

Nightmare flinched, “What?”

Dust gestured at the lower half of his body.

“you have legs!” Horror exclaimed.

“Of course I have legs!? I’m a skeleton like you two.”

“you’re a skeleton?”

Nightmare realized how little they knew about him. “What did you think I was?”

Horror scrunched his face, unsure how to answer. “not…a skeleton?? what's up with all the slime then?”

“I suppose you could call it melted parts of my own body fused with a surplus of magic. Would you care to see how I look without the ‘slime’?”

Horror was very confused at his willingness to be open about this. Which was fair. From their point of view, all of this was coming from nowhere.

Dust, however, immediately signed “yes.” It seemed like his curiosity trumped his confusion.

“Alright,” he said. He focused, shifting his energy into one concentrated point: his forehead. The usual glowing cyan crescent moon on his forehead grew into a full moon as the goop on his body disappeared, revealing white bones with a blue tint to them underneath.

The silence that came after was deafening. The way Horror and Dust looked at him felt different. It was like they saw him as a different person like this.

Sure he was less menacing in this form, but he didn't think he looked that different.

He did. He totally did. He was even smaller like this. He was probably shorter than the two if he were to stand.

“you look so young…” Horror said.

He didn't like the tone of his voice. Maybe this was a mistake.

He quickly changed back to his usual form. The dark goo flowed out from the moon like a waterfall until his whole body was coated in it once again. He immediately felt more comfortable. He decided he was never going to do that again. “As I said, I’m a skeleton like you two.”

“you’ve mentioned you had a brother, does that mean—”

“My brother is not a Papyrus, no. He looks just like me. I did not have a world like yours nor was I ever like you. In fact, I did not even have a world.”

Horror blinked at the onslaught of information. He just learned more about him than he ever has the entire year. “you're pretty chatty today.” About yourself, he meant.

“I suppose it's the torture for today.”

“torture for us or for you?”

At this point, what was the difference? Nightmare thought, but it went unsaid.

Once Dust finished his drink, he got up to put the glass in the sink. When he tried to go to the hallway, Nightmare opened a portal underneath him to get him back on the couch. He glared at Nightmare in protest.

“Dust, I know you and Killer are having some…complications right now,” he said, completely changing the subject. “Although it's provided plenty of energy for me, you two can't avoid each other forever.”

“but wouldn't that benefit you?” Horror questioned.

“I’m not going to risk Dust killing him out of anger.” That wasn't even an exaggeration considering their game of Monopoly the other day. He had to physically wrench them apart when Killer made him bankrupt. “Go make up with each other.” He summoned a portal underneath Dust, sending him to the forest where Killer was.

Dust managed to land on his feet, luckily. He didn't want to fall on his face right in front of Killer to give him something to laugh about.

Killer damn near screamed at his sudden appearance, but he played it off by coughing into his hand when he realized it was just him. Now all the cats around him were skittering about frantically. “miss me that much you had to drop by?”

Dust was completely unfazed by his pun, leaving Killer to awkwardly laugh at his own joke.

“‘m pretty proud of that one,” he mumbled as if to voice disappointment.

Of course he was proud, it was a miracle whenever he could think of a pun on the spot. It was something he was oddly insecure about, not being able to come up with jokes that well.

Dust supposed it was a reminder that he was hardly “Sans” anymore. It seemed like such a small thing until you thought about it. Dust knew he’d use humor to cope or to cheer people up. It was second nature, a skill polished throughout his life, even. To suddenly lose that ability…he wondered if Killer looks at his past self and sees a stranger.

“you just gonna stand there and stare at me like i stabbed your soul?”

While he wasn't skillful at punning, he sure was great at handcrafting every sentence he says to annoy him.

Killer’s cheerful facade dropped, “seriously, are you? i’m having a moment with the cats.”

Is that what he's been replaced with? Cats?

Even though Nightmare ordered him to make up with him, he really didn't feel like talking at the moment.

He wondered what Killer would do if he just continued to stand here in silence. Knowing Killer, he won’t be able to just ignore him.

Yet he turned around to face the cats. He knelt down to pick one up—the one with a pure brown coat—that one was his favorite. He named it something stupid but Dust couldn't remember it off the top of his head at the moment.

He just kinda held the cat for a little while, petting it in silence.

And then after a bit he stopped. The cat whined at this and hopped out of his arms.

He sighed. “i…i’m sorry, okay?” he finally said.

Pathetic, he couldn't even face him when he said it.

“i shouldn't have messed with you like that. i thought you were playing along. i forgot that…i refused to believe you really did care about me and it took you stabbing my soul to get me to realize.”

He had to pause as his breath shuddered, probably trying to keep himself composed. He still hasn't turned around or stood up for that matter.

“i don't know if i can care about you back. i care now, but,” his voice wavered, “you’ve seen how unstable my soul is. at any moment it’ll just snap back to the same old shape of a target and then boom, nothing! a pillow could care about you more than me.”

“i think all i’d do is hurt you,” Killer said. He turned his head to look at him, “you wouldn't want that, would y—woah,” only to see Dust right in front of him, crouched down to be at eye level.

Killer raised a brow bone, having zero clue where this was going.

Dust put a hand on his own chest and then gently brought out his soul.

Killer’s eyes blew wide open.

It was odd, seeing a normal monster soul for the first time in awhile. Well, it wasn't entirely normal. It was pale white, covered in cracks, and an unusual dim glow of red outlined the edges. He could guess where that came from and it wasn't LV.

Before he could ask what his deal was, Dust spoke, “get your knife.”

Oh, HELL no.

His own soul (metaphorically) jumped out of his body at the instruction. He immediately knew where this was going and he did not like it.

“no!” Killer objected. “the hell’s gotten into you? i’d kill you!”

Dust looked as calm as ever. “you're scared,” he noted.

“of course i…” Killer furrowed his brow bones. “you’re trying to prove a point aren't you?”

He saw Dust’s smile curl up. Bastard.

He held his soul out to him as if it wasn’t the culmination of his being. “hold it,” he said.

Killer stared at it, dumbfounded. “i’m not gonna—”

“forget the knife. hold it,” he repeated, apparently switching his approach to this.

Killer shakily held a hand out, allowing Dust to place his soul in it.

He dare not move, as if it was a motion sensor bomb. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop himself from trembling.

He shifted his gaze from the soul to Dust’s eyelights, unsure of which one to look at.

i could kill him. all i’d have to do is squeeze my hand shut. it’d be so easy. would it pop?

He didn't want that. God, he didn't want that at all.

“you're not going to kill me,” Dust stated like he was so sure of himself.

“i could.”

“do you want to?”

“god no.”

“and my soul’s still fine,” Dust remarked.

“what the fuck are we doing, dust?” Killer asked, looking at the soul in his hand in disbelief.

“i dunno, trust exercise?” he offered as an answer.

“pretty intense trust exercise,” he chuckled half-heartedly in an attempt to ease his tension.

“and stabbing your soul wasn't?”

“i wouldn't call a murder attempt a ‘trust exercise’.”

“you know i didn't want to kill you,” he reminded.

“right. you want your soul back now?”

Dust gave a nod.

Killer carefully handed his soul back to him. A moment later it was back in his rib cage.

He let out a sigh of relief, keeping his gaze on Dust to ensure that he hadn't become his namesake. “we chill?”

Dust smirked. “we chill.”

A portal to the kitchen opened near Killer and Dust immediately after.

They could see Nightmare and Horror sitting on the couch looking right at them. Nightmare was slowly clapping in a mocking manner.

“were you two watching the whole fucking time?!” Killer barked. He threw his hood over his head to cover his blushing face.

“Not the most conventional way I’ve seen two people make up,” Nightmare remarked. “It was certainly interesting to watch.”

“my life's not a goddamn sitcom, asshole!”

Nightmare guffawed. He was fucking with him and it was absolutely working.

Killer crossed his arms and pouted. He gave Dust a “can you believe this guy?” look.

Nightmare’s laughing ceased suddenly, “Hurry up and get inside. I have something to give you three.”

“oh, goody, is it a bomb?” Killer asked sarcastically. Despite his sass, he stepped through the portal alongside Dust.

“No, actually.”

A portal opened on the ceiling between Nightmare, Horror and them.

A shopping cart with a huge pile of clothes on it crashed down onto the floor.

It took Killer a second to realize those were the same clothes they left that time they went shopping, when they first encountered Fresh. He reached down to pick up one of the articles of clothing, they were still in fairly good shape. “how the fuck?”

“That is Killer’s gift, of course.” He looked at Dust. A wrapped present appeared in his hands. “As for you, I wasn't quite sure what would be appropriate for you.”

Dust cautiously took the present.

“how come he gets his gift all fancifully wrapped?” Killer complained. He was currently trying to get all the clothes back in the shopping cart. Alas, the pile he made the first time was a one-time feat.

“Because he's less annoying.”

Dust tore the wrapping paper and opened the box that was inside. He looked at the contents inside blankly.

“what is it?” Killer questioned.

Dust reached inside to take it out and show them.

Killer and Horror’s sockets widened as that familiar red-orange came into view.

It was Papyrus’s scarf.

Nightmare was unsure what reaction this gift would get. He's seen other Sanses from Dusttale universes wearing it. It supposedly had sentimental value.

It seemed that Dust was also unsure how to react. There were conflicting emotions, Nightmare knew that much.

He carefully put the scarf back in the box and signed a “thank you”.

“As for you, Horror,” He held out what appeared to be a rock at first.

Horror inspected it, realizing it was a phone—his phone. He was irked by the idea of Nightmare going to his home universe just to grab this. At least, he hoped he didn't do anything but grab this.

However, the phone might as well have been a rock. He doubted Nightmare knew the phone wouldn't even work. The thing hasn't been charged in years.

And then it caught him off guard by ringing. He flipped it open, seeing the words on the screen indicate that the call was coming from his brother.

He tried to stop his hopes from getting up. He reminded himself this could be a prank call and it wasn't his brother at all.

“Go on, answer it,” Nightmare urged.

This had to be a prank. Papyrus’s phone wouldn't be able to work there was no power—and even then he was in a completely different universe.

He answered the phone.

“SANS!” Papyrus’s voice immediately rang out. “FINALLY, I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ANSWER! YOU’RE ALIVE! OH MY GOD YOU’RE ACTUALLY ALIVE!” He sounded on the verge of tears.

“bro?”

“YES, SANS?”

“just checking that it's actually you and not a prerecorded message,” Horror managed to say. The smile on his face grew as it became genuine. He saw Dust and Killer watching him in his peripheral vision.

“I COULD SAY THE SAME THING. I WASN’T SURE THIS WOULD EVEN WORK!”

“how are you calling right now? was the core fixed?” he dared to ask.

“OH. UH, NO. ABOUT THAT…” Papyrus trailed off going quiet for a minute.

“what happened?” His grin faltered slightly.

“DO NOT FREAK OUT.”

“you're gonna make me freak out if you don't tell me what happened.”

“OUR WORLD WAS KINDA DESTROYED, BADLY.”

Horror’s eye socket went blank. “what?!” he shouted.

Papyrus was quick to clarify, “BUT I’M DOING FINE! ACTUALLY, WE RELOCATED TO A MUCH MORE HOSPITABLE PLACE! SURE OUR HOUSE AND THE ENTIRETY OF SNOWDIN IS COMPLETELY GONE FOREVER BUT THERE’S FOOD HERE AND MAGIC AND I CAN CALL YOU! SPEAKING OF WHICH—WHERE IN THE WORLD HAVE YOU BEEN!?”

Horror sighed in relief. He glanced at Nightmare, who looked eerily indifferent to all of this, before he answered his question. “i kinda got kidnapped by an otherworldly entity, sorry bro.”

“YOU AND YOUR WEIRD HOBBIES, WARN ME NEXT TIME. I THOUGHT YOU DIED. THE ENTIRETY OF SNOWDIN DESCENDED INTO ABSOLUTE CHAOS WITH YOU GONE—ALSO THE WORLD-DESTROYING THINGY PROBABLY PLAYED A ROLE IN THAT TOO.”

“aw geez, is everyone else okay?”

“YEA, EVEN UNDYNE.”

Horror’s expression soured at the mention of her. “well, that's great,” he said sarcastically. He vaguely heard someone else on the other side of the call. From what he heard it didn't sound like anyone he knew.

“OH, ALREADY?” Papyrus replied to the unidentified person. “I SEE,” he sounded disheartened. “BROTHER, I NEED TO END THE CALL NOW BEFORE IT TEARS A HOLE IN THE MULTIVERSE.”

“huh?”

“I’LL SEE YOU LATER, LOVE YOU!”

“love you too,” Horror managed to say before Papyrus hung up. The second the call ended he felt incredibly drained. He felt like he got a mental whiplash when he looked at the room he was in.

Killer seemed to tune out the last bit of their conversation as he managed to get all the clothes piled back on the shopping cart. It seemed like Dust helped him.

Nightmare was also looking at those two rather than at him. He wondered if he was eavesdropping on the phone call or not.

It's been an entire year since they've been here. He had no idea how much longer this would last. He didn't even know what would happen after.

“I will be out for the rest of the day,” Nightmare announced, opening a portal behind himself. “We are stocked up on supplies, correct?”

“you got it, chief,” Killer piped.

“Not my name…” Nightmare muttered before leaving.

Killer sighed the moment the portal closed, looking up at the pile of clothes. “i have no idea how i’m getting this to my room.”

“bet you can't get it to your room by the end of the day,” Horror said, still recovering from that call.

“hey. you're totally wrong.”

Horror shrugged, “time's ticking.”

Killer then decided that pushing the cart would be an effective way to get it to his room. To his credit, it wasn't until he was met with the obstacle that was the doorway to the hall that his plan became flawed. He turned his head to Horror. “so what are we betting exactly?”

#utmv fic #the bad sanses #nightmare sans #horror sans #killer sans #dust sans

362 notes · View notes

lovecla · 6 months ago

Text

FAKE IT ‘TILL YOU MAKE IT, phase one:

➴ chapter warnings: none!!

➴ word count: 2.1k

💌 from me to you: i heard it’s thanksgiving in the us so happy thanksgiving to all of you!! thank u so much for all the love in part one, but here’s where the fun really begins. also, thank u for the 500 reblogs <3 i love u all so much and i’m thankful for all of u. 🤍

𖧷

emmaroberts

Newark, New Jersey

liked by nicohischier, dawson1417, ninahischier and 603 others

emmaroberts night out :)

View all 30 comments

user1 it’s so funny to me how the hischiers always like emma’s pics like they love her 😭

miaturner YOURE SO FINE HELP HELP HELP CALL THE COPS

emmaroberts miaturner mia you’re mentally challenged but i love you a lot

user2 it’s not even been five minutes since she’s posted and nico’s already in the likes

user3 user2 and so is nina so???? your point??

tmeier96 Why was I not invited 😢

emmaroberts tmeier96 next time we’ll call you promise

user4 ok. have u guys seen nico’s story

user5 user4 omg yes do you think they were dining together

user6 user5 user4 it wouldn’t be THAT much of a surprise bc they’ve been friends for AGES

user4 user6 you’re right i guess 🤷‍♂️

𖧷

nicohischier and emmaroberts added a new story!

𖧷

THE FLORAL perfume you had chosen for the night was bothering you, yet you had no one to blame but that one lady at Sephora who offered you a huge deal and made you buy it even if you didn’t like it that much.

Realistically speaking, you knew that the perfume wasn’t really the issue here. You were nervous about this whole fake-dating thing, even if you’d been your idea to begin with.

Lying and faking things weren’t really your deal. As a child, you’d always get in trouble because you could never lie properly. Growing up, you also faced your own problems because you can’t lie.

But you really want to help Nico.

Tonight’s Luke’s 21st birthday, and you had been invited to his little birthday dinner, a small celebration with people from his team and close friends, which included you. Although, you’re going more as a plus one than a friend, but Luke doesn’t need to know that.

A knock on your bedroom door has you turning your head around, facing Nico as he leans on the door frame and crosses his arms in front of you.

“You look nice,” he compliments you, and you smile, putting your arms behind you.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“So,” he claps his hands, sighing. “Are we ready? What’s the game plan for today?”

You take a deep breath, mentally repeating the “plan” you’ve been working on.

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do tonight, and Nico, you have to take this really seriously or else—”

“You sound really scary right now—”

“Nico.”

“Okay,” he pouts. “Go ahead.”

“All of your teammates are going to be there tonight and if anyone is going to help us fool Nora Ellis, it’s them,” you walk around the room, moving your hands as you explain your thoughts. “If we make ‘em believe that we are very much in love and together, then we’ll be safe.”

“That will be kind of hard,” he shrugs. “We’ve been friends for a while and we’re close but… I don’t know.”

“Nico,” you step closer, standing in front of him. “For this lie to work, you have to believe it. We have to believe it. It’s the only way we’ll be able to make this work.”

He whistles. “You know a lot for someone who can’t lie to save her life and started crying when I asked you if you had turned my jerseys pink when you decided that washing them with Nina’s pink shirt was a good idea.”

You roll your eyes and bite your lips, trying to hide your smile. “I just read tons of books.”

“When was the last time you—”

“This isn’t relevant right now!” you point your finger at him. “What’s relevant is: we need to make your teammates believe we’re together and in love. Think you can make it?”

Nico smirks, poking your cheek with his finger.

“When have I ever backed out of a challenge?”

“You’ve been around Jack for too much time, you’re getting too cocky,” you joke, crossing your arms. “So, the second part of your plan: PDA, pet names and touching.”

“Go on, little genius.”

“Lots of touching,” you say, feeling your cheeks get warm as you emphasize the word lots, making you want to look elsewhere. You don’t. “Lots of PDA and I guess we can squeeze some pet names in there too.”

“What?” he chuckles. “Want me to call you baby? Sweetheart?”

You spend the next five seconds forcing your face to remain red-less and your heart to stop beating so fucking fast— you were afraid Nico might hear it, considering how close you were and how fast it was going.

Gulping, you continue. “I don’t want anything,” you mumble. “I just think it’ll work.”

“Then we’re fine,” he claps again, moving his hair around. “Do we need to discuss something else?”

You look at the watch on your wrist and click your tongue.

“We don’t have time, we have to leave now,” you walk towards your bed and grab your purse, your phone and your wallet. “We can talk more in the car.”

“Lead the way, baby.”

Oh God, you think as you hear Nico’s laugh and comments about how fun this is all going to be, what have I done?

𖧷

“OKAY, AND remember, we started dating a month ago but we kept it super lowkey,” you remind Nico as you walk by his side towards the restaurant Luke chose for the night. “I hate lobster, you hate pop music.”

“I don’t hate it—”

“Strongly dislike,” you smile, before looking down, where Nico had just slipped his hand and intertwined both of your hands together.

Right. You’re dating.

Entering the fancy place, you felt Nico’s body close to yours, and you tried your hardest to keep your cool. You were used to being close to him but not in this way, not like this—

“Hischier!” Jack shouts across the room and you almost want to knock him out with your own two hands for yelling like this and drawing everyone’s attention to you and Nico. “And… Emma?”

It was almost comical how grown men looked interested in your hands together, and how many smiles you could see directed at both of you. Your grip on Nico’s hand tightened without you even realizing it did, and you smiled politely at Luke and the rest of the Devils.

Nico let go of your hand for a second before shaking hands with Luke, wishing him a happy birthday like an old grandpa.

“Hey, Emma, thanks for coming.” Luke hugs you briefly, barely touching you, and you grin.

“Happy birthday, Lukey.”

“Emma!” Mia, one of your best friends, shouts and gets up, running to you. She hugs you tightly, and you hug her back, happy to see her again after weeks. “I didn’t know you were coming! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I forgot,” you lie, feeling your cheeks getting warm. Mia looks at you like a human lie detector and you can tell she sees right through your bullshit but, happily, she doesn’t say anything else. “Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven. Ella’s here, too.”

You look around and try to find Ella, smiling when you see her sitting beside Luke, quietly speaking to one of the wives sitting beside her.

“I’ll talk to her later.” You reply.

You and Nico spend the next five minutes greeting the other people there, the rest of the players and some of the girlfriends before finally sitting down by Jack’s side— per his request, you must say. Nico’s hands immediately found yours as you placed them on top of the table, before grabbing the menu and smiling at you, brown eyes full of mischief.

“What do you want to eat, baby?”

Before you could even think of what to say, Jack’s loud and annoying laugh filled the table. “I fucking knew it! Hamilton, you owe me a hundred bucks!”

“Oh, man,” Hamilton sighs as he picks up his phone. “Couldn’t you guys keep hiding your relationship for a little bit more?”

“W-What do you mean?” you ask, looking at him before looking at Jack again.

“Dougie and I made a bet: if you made your relationship public by the end of the year, I’d win,” Jack starts, and you can tell how proud he is. “But if you didn’t, he’d win. Thankfully, I know my man here always gets my back.” He cheers, slapping Nico’s shoulder.

“You’re such a fucking child, Hughes.” Mia hisses before looking at you, clearly asking you why you hadn’t told her before.

“Shut up, princess. Now,” he grins. “My money, Dougie.”

You stare at them in disbelief, while Nico puts on his best performance and squeezes your hands together, smiling like he had just been caught eating snacks before lunch.

“Sorry, guys. We were just waiting for the right time,” he explains, and he sounds so natural you have to remind yourself to keep your surprise hidden. “Didn’t want to be like you and rush things.”

“Oh, screw you,” Jack laughs. “We all knew. You’re not slick.”

They kept talking while you tried to hide the fact that the things they were saying made no sense. Because you and Nico have never been close, romantically speaking. Sure, you’re friends, best friends if you want to go that way, but dating?

And, okay, you’re used to people thinking you’re together, because apparently a guy and a girl can’t be friends anymore, but this? The fact that they were sure of your “relationship” with Nico, sure enough to bet? This is surreal.

“Did you choose already?” Nico whispers to you, and you look at him with wide eyes. You don’t answer, trying to find the right things to say so you don’t screw up everything. “Baby? Are you okay?”

You nod, blinking a few times before staring at the menu in Nico’s hand again. “Yeah,” you whisper. “I think I’ll get the Caesar Burger, please.”

“Great choice.” He smiles at you, before telling your orders to the waiter.

You thought that your biggest concern here would be Nico, but in reality, it’s going to be you. You can’t really deal with too much attention on you, that’s why you’ve been keeping yourself in the shadows for this long— Hockey players can be loud and invasive sometimes, and you’d rather hang out with their kids or parents, because they won’t ask questions you don’t want to answer.

“So,” Timo starts, sipping on his beer and resting his chin on his hands, looking like a goddamn school girl. “What made you decide it was finally time? Sie ist ein hübsches Mädchen, Nico.”

Nico looks at you, smiling. “Ja, ist sie,” he nods, and even if you have no idea of what they’re talking about, you smile too, because Nico’s smile makes you want to smile. “And, I don’t know, man. If you had a girl who looked like this,” he points at you with his head. “Would you want to hide her?”

“Nico, he won’t ever get a girl like Emma,” Dougie laughs before getting shoved by Timo. “Ouch.”

“Well, I think it’s nice you guys are finally out.” Palat’s wife says, making you smile and rest your head on Nico’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” you say, sweetening your voice to the max. “I think we were just trying to understand where we stood before, y’know, letting everyone know.”

“How did the Hischiers take it?” Mia asks, looking extra curious. “I bet Nina was happy.” Like I would’ve been if you had told me sooner, she mouths, making you cringe. Sorry, you mouth back.

“They took it well,” you lie through your teeth, squeezing Nico’s arm more than you probably should. “And Nina is just glad her sister-in-law isn’t a Hockey obsessed girl.”

People laugh and you can’t help but feel you had just gotten your approval from Nico's friends.

Nico changes the topic of the conversation, moving back to Luke, the star of the night, and you’re glad for it. You eat side by side with him, you laugh at his jokes, you’re constantly touching him, as he’s constantly touching you.

“We should go out some time,” Mia says, casually, like she doesn’t mean anything by it. “Y’know, catch up.”

“Like anyone would willingly choose to spend a day with you.” Jack bickers, and Mia rolls her eyes at him.

“Go fuck yourself, Hughes.”

“Hey, guys,” Luke yells from the other corner of the table. “You promised you’d be nice to each other today. It’s my birthday.”

“I said no such thing—”

“You can’t even hear what we’re saying—” They both say at the same time.

“Jack and Mia. Shut. Up.” Luke says and they both pout while they shut up.

“It’s so funny because they’re much more alike than they think.” You whisper to Nico, smiling as he places his hand on your thigh, squeezing it lightly.

“They sure are, baby.”

It all seems so… natural. It’s weird and unsettling, but you’re fine with it as long as it helps people buy your lie. Also, the feeling of Nico’s heavy hand on your thigh isn’t really unpleasant.

The rest of the evening flies by and when you notice, it’s time for you to leave. You almost don’t want to, for the first time, happy to spend time with the players.

“D’you think they bought it?” You ask when you’re away from the guys and the restaurant. Your hands are still together but none of you notice it.

“I think they did,” he chuckles. “Actually, it was a lot easier than I was expecting.”

None of you address the fact that they already thought you were dating, though.

“Yeah,” you whisper, looking at your heels. “Phase one is complete, then.”

“I like how seriously you’re taking this,” he says, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look down at you, dimples on display for the whole world to see. Yet, you were the only one watching them right now. “Thank you. Truly.”

You smile, standing on the tip of your toes and giving him a light, brief kiss on the cheek, as you’re used to doing.

“You’re welcome.”

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leossmoonn · 2 years ago

Note

Welcome back, Sara!!! For a fluffy Mike idea, maybe just a cozy rainy day spent at home with Mike and Abby? Like watching movies with cups of hot cocoa under a mountain of blankets, and all that jazz

Hi Logan ☺️☺️☺️ thanks for sending this in. I’m always afraid of writing fluff fics bc like everyone wants the smut, but it’s reassuring to have this put in lol

it’s a sunday and mike just so happens to have the day off. he’s been working long and hard hours and you convinced him to take the day off. you and abby are so excited; you two planned the whole day from the moment you woke up to the time it was time for abby to sleep. unfortunately, it’s rainy and a sudden wind chill swept through. none of you need to get sick and mike didn’t want to make making abby carry an umbrella, so you make the quick decision to stay in. abby’s a little disappointed, but you try to make up for it.

the first thing you and mike do in the morning is make a fort with abby. and not just a little four corners fort. no, she makes you cover the entire living room with blankets. even the tv was included! you and mike are dragged into some play-pretend games. for a lot of them mike’s forced to play some sort of villan.

“why can’t i play the hero, abby?” mike frowns. “because that’s her job!” abby points to you.

mike gives you a look and you shrug. “abby’s the director here. cant fight with the boss.”

mike rolls his eyes, wanting to get out of the humid blankets and sleep, but he knows how happy this makes abby. and even though abby is making him play the bad guy, he knows she means it out of love and he also loves getting to spend as much time with abby as he can. watching you act is pretty cute as well.

once abby gets bored of playing in her fort — which is like 3 hours later — she decides she wants to watch a movie.

“let’s clean up first, yeah?” mike suggests. “no! let’s keep the fort up to watch the movie!” abby says.

“abby, no. we had our fun with the fort. it’s time to turn the house back to normal,” mike says. “please say we can keep the fort up!” abby pouts as she looks up at you.

mike gives you a warning look, but you can’t say no to abby. “let’s just keep the fort up for the movie, yeah?”

abby squeals and wiggles back into the fort. mike glares at you. “she’s never going to want to take it down.”

“she will when it’s time for bed, which is hours away.” you step closer to him, gently putting your hand on his shoulder. “how about i pop some popcorn — the real stuff on the stove — and i make us some hot coca, okay?”

well, who was mike to turn down stove-popped popcorn and hot cocoa. he felt like a little kid again. it doesn’t help that you and abby’s pouty faces were ganging up on him. he sighs in defeat and nods, crossing his arms around his chest.

“fine, but after the movie, we will clean all this up, okay?”

“of course,” you nod. you turn to abby who is lit up with excitement. “can i pick the movie?”

“yep! do you want any popcorn?” you ask her. “yes. can you put m&ms in mine?” she asks. “you got it, babe,” you answer.

you three settle in the fort, abby laying on her stomach right in front of the tv. she chose “Lady and The Tramp”, which was one of her more enjoyable movie choices.

“mike, you’re kind of like the tramp,” abby comments, popping a handful of popcorn and m&ms into her mouth.

you begin to laugh but cover it up with a cough when mike shoots you a glare. “abby, that’s not very nice.”

“he knows it’s true,” she says, kicking her feet up and dangling them in the air. “And you’re like Lady.”

you glance at mike, a small smile on your face. you lean into him, your nose brushing against the scruff on his cheek. “i think what she’s trying to say is that we are perfect for each other.”

the tips of his ears turn pink. he wraps his arm around you, pulling you in so your head rests on his shoulder. “she could’ve said it differently, though.”

you giggle, “nah, i think it’s accurate.” he rolls his eyes, but there’s no denying the smile on his face and twinkle in his eye.

mike ends up falling asleep towards the end of the movie. his head rests on your chest, both arms around your waist to hold you close. your hands are in his hair, massaging his scalp while the credits roll.

“why is he so tired all the time?” abby pouts. “he works a lot,” you say. “but i’m sure he’ll wake up soon. why don’t you help me clean the fort up?”

“do i have to?” abby frowns. “i think mike would appreciate that,” you say.

“ugh, fine. but only if we can have pancakes for dinner.”

you grin and nod, “you got it.”

mike wakes up to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes. he twists and turns on the floor, the sizzle of bacon him bringing him into consciousness. he begins to open his eyes, his back beginning to ache from sleeping on the floor. he hears some giggling coming from the kitchen, sitting himself up on his elbow and peering over the couch. you’re at the stove, a spatula in your hand. abby’s sitting at the table, crayons littering the wood.

“look who’s up!” you exclaim. mike groans softly as he sits up, using the couch as a crutch to stand up. “i’m sorry i fell asleep. between the rain and the pillows —”

“shush,” you cut him off. he walks over to you, wrapping an arm around your waist, his fingers tracing sliver of skin on the small of your back that’s exposed. “i ruined our day.”

“no, you didn’t. right, abs?” you turn to her. “you did snore a lot, but you didn’t,” she says. you smile at mike, “see? all is well.”

“smells good.” he mumbles as he wraps both arms around your waist, placing his chin onto your shoulder.

“me or the food?” you glance at him with a teasing smile. he takes a not-so-nonchalant inhale of your skin. “both,” he answers.

“ew!” abby grimaces behind you two. you and mike both laugh and he presses a kiss to your cheek before pulling away. he brings some plates and silverware out, sitting across from abby and waiting for the food.

mike stares as you two discuss abby’s drawing. he can’t wipe the smiles off of his face. his life was never perfect and he knew it was never going to be, but if he could just keep this — keep you two — he would then be able to call it perfect.

“mike,” abby says with a little pout. “what’s up?” he asks.

“do you have to go back to work tomorrow?” she asks. “i do, but you also have to go back to school,” he states.

“i don’t want to,” she says. mike sighs, the calmness from his body fleeting. “you don’t have a choice, abby. i’m sorry.”

“i… i just mean… i want this day to last forever.”

his eyes widen and glance up at you. you’re rubbing her back soothingly, giving him an encouraging smile.

“maybe we can do something special for dinner again tomorrow,” you suggest. “we can watch a movie and even eat dinner on the couch.”

abby’s face lights up and she nods. “okay! can i pick the movie again?”

“only if you don’t compare me to a dog again,” mike says. abby giggles and puts a forkful of pancakes in her mouth before speaking again. “we’ll see,” she quips.

mike looks back at you, placing his hand inside of yours on the table. your feet slides up his calf, your eyes soft as you look over his face. his heart warms and for the first time in a while, he feels at peace.

#mike schmidt x reader #mike schmidt #mike schmidt fluff #mike schmidt x reader fluff #fnaf #josh hutcherson x reader #josh hutcherson

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impactedfates · 1 year ago

Note

so like i was thinking of scenarios where genshin or also hsr men whichever you pick <333 could we get some Christmas hcs :)) please 🎄

★ A/N: I decided to do Genshin characters for this request :)) Why not spend Christmas with the fandom that my account started off with hehe. Here's the Xmas special!! Hope you enjoy :>

☆ Genre/Trope: Fluff + Platonic (But can be seen as romantic if you want)

★ Format: Mini Scenarios (Characters Included (Separate): Diluc, Zhongli, Ayato, Alhaitham, Lyney + Childe)

☆ Warnings: None

★ Extra: Reader is NOT traveler // Some brief mentions of my OCs in some // Possible OOC Lyney

I don't think Diluc would necessarily spoil you but he wouldn't exactly NOT spoil you. We know he's rather rich and he can likely get you whatever you so wish however I believe Diluc's one of the types to not want to spoil people too much especially as many likely try to be his friend due to his income.

You'll get multiple gifts from and likely one or two of them are rather expensive things you once expressed an interest in liking, there's also smaller gifts like perhaps a plush of your favourite animal but there's also some homemade gifts he made. A good mix.

I feel like Diluc is someone who usually enjoys spending Christmas alone or just with a few close friends, when or if friends are over he enjoys sitting by the fireplace and chatting. He's not the type to do any of those Christmas games but there is a chance he could get roped into it one day.

Definitely doesn't drink, we all already know he doesn't like the taste of alcohol, besides. Even though he technically has the day off, I feel he'd rather not have a hangover the next day, whether or not he's off.

Speaking of a day off, once the maids/butlers finish their work. Which for that day would be small, just cleaner around the house and maybe cooking a Christmas dinner if friends are over, they can all go home. I also feel Diluc lets them have the next day off as well but for the whole day. He can deal with the housework.

At the end of the day, I think spending Christmas with Diluc means a very peaceful and quiet day. He wants to relax and he'll let himself, you and his workers relax just so they can spend time with those they hold close to their hearts.

Zhongli knows about the things people do on Christmas and he's more than happy to join in if it makes you happy. He goes out shopping for things for his friends (this time he DOES remember his wallet) and ensures it's the best quality while also ensuring it's something that would make you and others happy.

Hu Tao decides to hold a party, inviting you and Zhongli both! There's party games set up, a dinner made and also she insists on not handing out presents yet as she decides to do it near the end of the party, allowing everyone to give out their gifts and they can either open it or open it later at home.

If you decide to open it once you've been given the gift, Zhongli watches your reaction to see if he made a right choice in gifts and sure enough, with the way your face lit up tells him all he needed to know.

Once gifts have been given out, he excuses himself and leaves the party, bidding everyone a farewell. Why? Simple, he must spend some time with the Adepti as well right?

Ayato prefers spending Christmas with mainly family, of course he's not opposed if Thoma or Ayaka wishes to bring along a friend to join their celebration however he's not one to do the same himself.

This doesn't mean he won't give you a gift however, he still does. Ensuring it's wrapped with care before giving it to you. He knows what you like and likely gets exactly what you want.

It's not likely to really hang out with Ayato on Christmas unless Ayaka or Thoma invites you to celebrate with them. Christmas with the Kamisatos is a mix between peaceful and chaotic. We have the hotpot game where Ayato feels a bit more devious in what he adds but there's also the gift giving where people share smiles and thanks over what they got.

Sadly though, I feel unlike some characters, he's one of the few who still has some work to do despite the day. He gets them done quickly so he can hang out with family but the day after it's straight back to work.

But just seeing the smiles of his friends and family make it worth it for him, even if he can't celebrate the whole day and might only get a few hours and he needs to work the next day as well. Just seeing people he cares about being happy is enough for him.

For Alhaitham, I feel like he isn't one to really celebrate Christmas, not like his roommate anyways. Like he'll buy presents for friends but he won't really participate any further than that.

You can try to drag him to a Christmas Party, to have a Christmas dinner or whatever Christmassy thing you do but he'll refuse each time. While he does understand why people enjoy it and it's not that he doesn't enjoy it. He himself just prefers spending time alone.

You'll likely find him using the fact that many people are at home with family and friends to maybe take a peaceful and quiet walk, use the library to read, maybe he might go to the museum if it's opened or he might just be in his room for the rest of the day.

Overall, it's not that he doesn't like Christmas or anything like that, he just prefers to use the day to get time for himself without annoying scholars, he'll still make sure to get gifts for everyone and give them to them however aside from that, don't expect him to respond if you try to call him, he probably has his noise-cancelling headphones on.

(*Something to note: If you are his lover then he would like to spend time with you as well*)

I see Lyney performing a magic show, free of charge. He wants people to see the magic of Christmas. Well...as Christmassy as he can get it, it's your regular magician tricks with maybe some Christmas themed props.

He does this every year, and he'll also pick random kids from the audience and give them a gift. Kinda like a lucky draw! He adores the way the kids face lights up in delight as they quickly rush beside him and he asks them to choose a gift.

After the shows over, he disappears home so he can celebrate with you and his siblings, still doing magic to do so however haha. He'll make your gifts appear in your hands. He ensures you all have fun on this day as he believes that's what Christmas is about. To have fun with family. He even gets gifts for everyone in the orphanage!

However, you may find him on the floor wrapped in wrapping paper the morning of Christmas as he tries to struggle his way out.

"I was trying to wrap a teddy bear"

Is all he could say as he worms his way towards you so you can free him.

I think most of us can agree Childe is big on this day. Especially when it comes to family. He doesn't care how much something is, if his siblings want it he'll get it. No questions asked...although perhaps you could convince him not to get a "Mega Mr Cyclops" for Tuecer, I highly doubt Zakhar would want to see a certain redhead in his office when he's meant to have a day off.

He also spoils you as well actually! Let's say you went window shopping with him one day, not buying anything but just pointing out various things you seem to like. As long as you end up never getting them, expect each item to be in your Christmas present.

On one hand I feel he would have a day off, on the other, there's still that chance that Lady Tsaritsa needs him to do something, and he hates when that happens cause all he wants to do is be with his family and friends but his loyalties to her must come first.

He tries his best to get it done fast so he can come home, let's hope you have spare clothes for him encase and red stains catch on his clothes yeah?

Overall, he is probably the most enthusiastic about the day out of everyone listed.

Happy holidays everyone!! I hope this year has been going on well and I hope next year goes great for youse as well.

Honestly seeing how much my account has grown since my first post compared to now is almost unreal for me but I'm so grateful you all seem to enjoy my work ^^

As it's Christmas (where I am rn) I hope you enjoy today guys :))

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wake-me-up-inside-imagines · 2 years ago

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could I request headcanons of uvo, chrollo, and phinks with a little sibling figure reader in the troupe and she’s ten years old maybe? :) platonic ofc . tysm and it’s ok if u can’t do this request ! (If three characters is too much just uvogin is ok ^_^)

Of course! I hope you enjoy!

Uvogin, Chrollo, and Phinks with a little sibling figure in the troupe

Warnings: none

Female! Reader

Uvo:

I know Uvo’s a violent man, but I feel like he would be the softest in the world with you, which is unusual because he helped kill an entire clan, including the children

-I mean first of all, he’s very impressed by the fact that your a ten year old and also in the freaking phantom troupe, with enough training you could even defeat him over time!

-He very quickly decides he’s gonna look out for you wether it be in training, missions, or just when your all hanging around waiting for orders

-Speaking of training, he wants to see you reach your full potential as soon as possible, so he spars with you often. He won’t go easy on you, but he won’t seriously injure you either, he’s very aware that your both physically smaller and more mentally immature than he is (at his old ass age) so he’s aware that he has an advantage when it comes to fighting

-You learn a lot from fighting him though, he may make harmless taunts every now and then but he gives very constructive criticism and it does help improve your fighting skills significantly, perks of sparring with one of the strongest troupe members I guess

-He play whatever games you want in during times when there’s nothing to do, especially when your on guard duty with nothing to entertain you. He makes a surprisingly good playmate (he’ll let you play with his hair too)

-He keeps an eye on you during missions, but he’s well aware you can hold your own, you wouldn’t be in the troupe otherwise. That being said, if something gets serious enough (like Kurapika’s case for example) then he won’t hesitate to defend you with his life. There’s not a lot of people he’s willing to die for, but you’re one of them

-I kinda see him like a cool uncle more then a brother, idk why but he just gives off those vibes

Chrollo:

-I think Chrollo’s quite fond of children personally, he’ll still kill them if their in the way of achieving a goal but I don’t think he enjoys it and he also wouldn’t kill a child for no reason like he would an adult

-He’s very impressed by your power level, your a very useful addition to the troupe and he plans on utilizing that as much as possible

-But he does genuinely come to care for you later on though, that’s not surprising considering how the troupes practically family anyways

-He let’s you sit with him during meetings if you want, your also the only troupe member that’s allowed to touch him without explicit permission beforehand

-He doesn’t involve himself too much with you, but he does keep an eye on you more than he does the others, you may be powerful but your still young, it’s not easy living this kinda life at your age

-He’s the one to introduce you to the troupe and he’s also the one to make sure you get acquainted with the troupe without any issue, he can and will threaten any troupe member that is too unkind to you

-Like Uvo, he’s not concerned about you during missions, he’s very well aware of your powers, he’s probably the most familiar with them out of all the troupe members since he had to recruit you

-I honestly can’t see him treating you too differently from the other troupe members, your tough, you have incredible potential, he doesn’t see the need to coddle you like some of the other members might

Phinks:

-He’s skeptical if you at first, why did Chrollo choose you of all people? The troupe is no place for a child as young as you

-After seeing you fight for the first time though he’s immediately like “damn maybe she does belong in here” and now he’s curious as to how you turned out this way in the first place

-Phinks doesn’t approach you right away, he ops to observe you from afar for awhile, but the longer your in the troupe the more you inevitably interact

-For some reason, the two of you are put on missions often, so you grow very attached to him and he’s very confused about it. He has no idea why you cling to him specifically but he gets used to it after some time

-He’s definitely the most protective of you out of the group, he’ll never let you know how much you’ve grown on him but he makes sure nobody bothers you

-Especially on missions, in theory he knows you can hold your own but when your actually fighting and in danger he tries to do the bulk of the fighting no matter how much you protest

-He’s afraid to train with you because he fears he might hurt you, he’s a tough dude who doesn’t hold back when fighting so he’s not sure how well he could hold his strength against you

-He’ll “begrudgingly” (not really tho) play games with you if you ask him nice enough, but he’ll make lighthearted complaints the entire time

-Fears that your gonna die during your time in the troupe, it’s a very dangerous job and your super young compared to most of the guys they fight

-We have a tsundere older brother over here everyone lol

#x reader #phinks #phinks x reader #platonic #platonic x reader #platonic reader #chrollo lucilfer #chrollo x reader #uvogin #uvogin x reader #hunter x hunter #hunter x hunter x reader #hxh #hxh x reader #younger sibling reader #phantom troupe x reader #phantom troupe

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cosmic-kinglet · 2 months ago

Text

Just saw a silly post involving ALL of the kids together, including Jack and Dazzle, and that just got me thinking about some VERY cute things.

First, the idea of Eclipse having Jake and Andy back (and maybe even in their own bodies) in time for Earth and Monty's wedding, and him being able to actually attend. Firstly, I can't decide which is better: him just bringing all of his kids with him because why wouldn't he? Or him originally intending to go alone, but being guilted into bringing all of the kids.

Second cute thing: He arrives to find most of the other guests (almost exclusively Celestial family members, though Nebula also very carefully planned out her work to have time to be there) already there and mingling. Of course, his arrival draws attention (especially since he brought a whole pack of kids with him). Earth had mentioned to all of her siblings that Eclipse had been looking after some kids, but none of them were really sure how much he was actually taking care of the kids; they figured he might just be housing them and only making sure they have what they absolutely need.

That question drops the longer Eclipse and his kids are there. They all see him sharing sarcastic quips with Andrew, comfortably allowing Charlie and Jake to snuggle against him on either side, patiently (at least for him) answering Jake and Andy's barrage of questions (they're especially interested in Lunar, who seems to have unnatural capabilities for an animatronic). Overall, everyone sees Eclipse genuinely caring for these kids.

Next thing: As soon as the ceremony's over, Earth and Monty are able to mingle with everyone. Of course, Earth goes in for hugs with her siblings first. But, then she goes down the lineup to Eclipse. She runs over to him, excited, saying how happy she is that he was able to be there. Still at max excitement, she asks if she can hug him. His reply, "It's a special day. Sure," in his usual monotone. He opens his arms and finds himself being squeezed seconds later.

Now, the kids: Of course, each group of kids is curious about the other. Jake, Andy, and Andrew are quickly taken by all of Jack's features, Jake even pestering Solar a little bit about Jack's construction. While Charlie also finds these things cool, she ends up spending more time with Dazzle. During introductions, Dazzle mentions that her name used to be Evelyn but that she mostly goes by Dazzle now. And, whether this is enough of a clue on its own, or if the name brings a quick flash of mysterious memory, Charlie asks if Dazzle is a dead kid. When Dazzle says yes, Charlie eagerly shares that she, and the rest of the kids with her, are ghost kids. Dazzle quickly jumps from this topic to starting up a game with Charlie, then recruiting the other kids to join in.

Final thing: Eclipse spends most of the time after the ceremony just hanging back, mostly keeping a distant eye on the kids while they play. But, eventually, Sun goes over to join him, starting with a stereotypical, "Kids, huh?" This is met with an aloof sigh. "Yeah. Dead kids." "Yeah...Dead kids." Sun then goes on to ask about each of Eclipse's kids. He knows Eclipse knows about Evelyn, since he was around for the incident. So, he just asks Eclipse to tell him about his kids: which ones he knew before their deaths, what he knew about each of them, what they each like and dislike, etc. There's no mushy talk of how much Eclipse has changed, or any mention of the past. There's just two dads talking about their kids.

#cosmic rambles #the sun and moon show #eclipse and puppet show #wow this ended up being way longer than i'd intended #i just had a lot of thoughts about this

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rollinouttahere-writes · 2 years ago

Note

Do you have any headcanons for after an escape attempt with each strawhats? What would be their reaction at first? What would they do when they find you? How stricter would they get? What would they start doing differently after the attempt?

I have a head canon that Robin and Zoro are the only ones that can dish out punishment because everyone else doesn’t have the heart to hurt a single hair on your pretty head. I think Nami would start making plans and rules for everyone to follow so their eyes are on you. Luffy would just be, well, Luffy. Sanji would be more smothering. Chopper and Usopp would try to liven up your mood to do pranks and play games along with Luffy. Franky would give you gadgets to play with and to entertain yourself with, maybe even hiding a camera into those gadgets to keep an eye on you.

I am not far enough to know what Jinbe or Brook would do differently, yohohoho!!!

I want to state upfront that I do not depict yanderes that beat the hell out of their darlings. Sorry, but with my past, writing something like that would be extremely triggering for me so I'm not going to do it.

I'm not crazy about doing punishments in general, but I'll give a quick overview for the straw hats.

Luffy, despite his nature, is the one you have to look out for. One of his top priorities is his crew, and that now includes you and making sure you get assimilated. For minor offenses like being cold or shoving them away, he just invades your space more (like yandere exposure therapy). Oh you think you can push him away? Haha no, you're not that strong. You'll be wrapped very tightly in his arms to prove a point.

For a full on escape attempt though, he's going to be visibly upset. Honestly the look on his face will probably be enough to stop you dead in your tracks. When you're back on the ship (not if, when), you're going into solitary confinement until you break since you wanted to be away from them so bad. You'll still be fed of course, but no one will talk to you. The only way you're getting out of that room is by apologizing or if you become ill or get hurt. Robin will be using her devil fruit to keep an eye on you throughout this.

Zoro is a hardass, but it takes a lot to get more that a dirty look from him. For the most part, he leaves the assimilating up to everyone else because he thinks they're more cut out for it than he is. The most he'll usually do is grab you, make you look him in the eye, and tell you to cut it out before you or someone else has to do something they'll regret. Also, I feel like he would be noticeably gentler if you're a woman that he perceives as weak. You're still going back, but he's trying to be careful about it. He'll remind you of how weak you are and how strong so many people in this world are, so maybe you'll be more appreciative of their protection.

You're unlikely to get away with him around, he'll shut that down the second you start to step out of line. If he catches you trying to escape, you're getting thrown over his shoulder and carried back to the ship kicking and screaming. From there he'll hand you over to Luffy for him to decide what to do. He's more of a guard dog than an enforcer.

Nami is the one that comes up with punishments and ways to wear you down. Isolating you after an escape was her idea because she knows how crippling it is to feel alone. It hurts her to do this, but she needs you to understand how much you need them. With her temper, she's quick to yell at you for any minor infraction against them. She also tries to trap you financially by buying things for you and then saying that you can't leave unless you pay her back in full. Which is impossible between her interest rate and the fact that none of them will let you do anything to earn money.

Escape attempts boil her blood, you'll probably get in a screaming match with her before you're locked away. She'll be yelling about how ungrateful you are for trying to leave. They do nothing but love you, feed you, clothe you, and treat you like family and this is how you repay them?! After what Arlong put her through for ten years, she can't fathom not loving being a part of the Straw Hats.

Usopp hates this so much. The whole thing makes him uncomfortable and he wishes you would just acquiesce already. His role is that of a snitch. If he so much as thinks you're up to something you're getting ratted out in a matter of seconds. However, upon realizing that you were now avoiding him like a plague, he dialed back on it. Now if the behavior isn't that serious, he'll just quietly scold you but ultimately let it go.

I wish you luck trying to escape around him with his eyesight. The man could shoot a specific leaf off a tree from a mile away, do you really think he won't see you trying to sneak away? He'll give chase, but will also be yelling that you're trying to get away so that now everyone is also after you. Making it off the ship with him around is genuinely impressive.

Sanji hates this more than Usopp, especially if you're a woman. But, as much as he loathes to see you cry and be upset, there is a part of him (that he is very ashamed of) that feels downright gleeful about having someone in his life that physically can't leave him. He will literally never admit this to anyone. He's like a combination of Usopp and Zoro, his job is to keep an eye on you and interfere with any escape attempts. He won't do much about you acting out. He mostly just ignores it and doubles down on being sweet and doting to try and win you over.

If you actually try to leave with him around, first of all, good luck because he's never that far away and will simply escort you back to your seat as if you simply got turned around. Actually getting enough distance from him to warrant a more serious response won't last long. Sanji is fast, so he'll close the gap in no time and scoop you up to go back to the ship. He won't say a thing to you the whole way back, he feels hurt and betrayed that you would do this and doesn't trust himself to not break if he opens his mouth. During your isolation, he makes a bunch of your favorite foods as a way of reminding you how much he cares about you.

Chopper is joining the list of people that can't stand this. He doesn't understand and is confused, are friendships supposed to be like this? The others will tell him that no, they're not, but sometimes you just need to "convince" people that you're supposed to be friends with them. This makes him determined to do his part and help get you adjusted! He isn't really sure what that entails though, so he's just very friendly and affectionate with you. If you're seated, he's going to hop into your lap.

When you try to make a break for it with him around, his first instinct is to panic. You're getting away! One of your crew mates needs to go catch you! Oh wait that's him! He'll shift into one of his larger forms so that he can catch up with you and grab you. The whole time he's carrying you back, he's crying because he feels like you did this because he hasn't done a good enough job making friends with you. He takes the isolation the worst and is constantly worrying about you getting hurt or sick.

Robin tries to take it with stride, but she's pretty uncomfortable with it. I don't agree with the idea that she's someone that would be dishing out punishments. She's had to play the role of a bad guy for the past two decades, she doesn't want to keep playing it. All that she wants is to enjoy the company of her new friends, and that includes you even if you're wary of them. She does her best to get you to understand that your new crew mates only want what's best for you, even going so far as to tell you about her past and what they did to save her from Enies Lobby.

You are not escaping on her watch, it's just not happening. She sees and hears everything and can grow limbs on your body to make you come back before you've gotten more than a couple meters away. The first time, she actually will keep it to herself if no one else saw it. She'll settle for telling you what will happen if you get caught doing this again, and remind you of how much they all care about you. Can't you just appreciate that? If you do wind up being isolated, it's her job to check up on you since she can do so without entering the room. Seeing you crying or upset really hurts her, and the second she thinks you're worn down enough she's all but begging Luffy to let you out now.

Franky is not foreign to the concept of adopting every scrappy kid you come across, and if he's yandere, then he probably did the same with some of the members of the Franky Family. He's experienced in these endeavors and it shows with how cool and collected he is about it. You're bound to get frustrated with him laughing off you acting out. He'll even go so far as to tell someone like Nami or Zoro to relax when they're berating you because that's not going to do anything to help bring you around. He'll wind up endearing himself to you ever so slightly because of this, and it's 100% intentional on his part.

He handles escape attempts like a minor annoyance. Like he's fetching a cat that slipped out the front door when it wasn't supposed to. He follows after you, picks you up and carries you like a football back to the ship while asking you if that was really worth it like some disappointed dad. Like Robin, he doesn't want to immediately jump to isolation and will try to plead your case that maybe this was a one time thing and you've learned your lesson, but if you're kicking and screaming and not cooperating then he'll throw in the towel and let the others do what they will.

I also haven't gotten to Brook and Jinbei, so I'll leave them out too.

After you're let out, you're essentially going to be love bombed by everyone. You'll be in a vulnerable state of mind and they will all be taking advantage of it.

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damnfandomproblems · 6 months ago

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/damnfandomproblems/768147269164892160/fandom-problem-6500-im-trans-its-fine-if-i?source=share

Ways to fight for Trans Rights:

❌ Reporting a hate crime. Holding actual transphobic people responsible. Warning others of potentially violent people in their area.

✅ Guilting an ACTUAL trans person from playing a video game by an author who already made bank on the series.

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

Since this generated several responses, I'm going to include a compilation below.

Anon:

I hope y'all know not everyone is aware of all... that. Some buy the game cause they like the universe but dont follow all that is happening on social media. Some of them are not british/english speaking prople and just... don't know. You can either try to, politely, make them aware of what is happening, but if they already purchased it, no need to be agressive. I do not condone jkr, i do not play/entertain anything related to her anymore; but i still have my scarf or books or movies. Does that make me a bad person? Lets take a seat back from HP I am able to understand what is problematic in media/art; i enjoy HOTD and GOT, am i a bad person because i like the serie despite how problematic it is? No. If you refuse to talk to people buying anything HP related, then block them. Don't call someone a bad person without knowing them. Your opinion means nothing.

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Anon:

1. You can enjoy a piece of media without agreeing with the author/artist/developer etc. 2. Way to make Trans people seem like a hive mind. "You can't play this game, even if your trans. Virtue signaler." How about let people play the media they decide to play and decide for themselves it's controversial or not. Like, do you expect people to just follow your cause blindly? 3. THERE IS A TRANS CHARACTER IN THE GAME.

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Anon:

I get this may have been submitted prior to the Oct 7th attacks, and the dramatic rise in antisemitic attacks everywhere, so I won't go off like I wanted to. But to just get to my point, as a Jew, we kinda have bigger problems right now. I'm barely concerned with HP fans.

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Anon:

Here we go with the reading comprehension again. At least one person is the comments is going on about "buying" the game when OP never specified buying it. They just said "playing" the game. Huge difference. One monetarily supports the creators and such, the other doesn't.

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Anon:

This is WILD. The op makes a dozen assumptions, none of which may even be true. For starters the "you are not immune to propaganda" thing might be true in a sense, however OP is using it to imply people are all but guaranteed to fall for propaganda in media. And we all know that isn't true. A person who reads Hitler's shitty book (Mein Kampf) is not going to close it being a step closer to a Nazi sympathizer if they have basic information dissemination skills. A person who goes looking on Kiwifarms for information is not going to be radicalized if they have proper information dissemination skills. So OP is really telling on themselves here and saying the quiet part out loud: they have little or no ability to engage with questionable media without fearing they'll get affected by it in a negative way. They can't go plumbing like that. And they're saying others can't either, which just shows bad perspective. Their quote says the person was talking about playing a game. Playing it. The implications that come with "playing" a game are as follows: the person played it. That's it. If OP can't exercise one brain cell to understand that while yes, people have bought the game, playing it could easily mean they got it from a library or downloaded it illegally via torrent, that's on them. "You're a bad person" is beyond comedic given the above. Dare I say even if someone does buy the game, which I'm wholeheartedly against, saying someone is a "bad person" is still insane. Anyways, OP is basing practically their entire complaint on the premise of someone buying a game when that wasn't even what the quote says. Boo. Do not pass go.

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Anon:

Nooo, we're not bringing Scottish independence into your crusade against people who play a video game, leave my family out of this you keyboard warrior weirdo.

#fandom problem 6500 #response to previous problem #mod sf

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n0n-sen-se · 2 years ago

Note

I just found you today and Im in love with your writing! If you don't mind could I request some relationship Headcannons with Kyojuro and Sanemi! (separate)

If you write this thank you in advance! <3

-🍷

tysm ♡ i sincerely appreciate it :') and on another note: for these headcannons i decided to add a little bit of everything i could think of! Hope you enjoy them!

𝐊𝐍𝐘 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬!

includes ;; kyojuro. sanemi. content ;; fluff. like a dash of angst. domestic fluff. a/n ;; this turned out. like i mean there's a ton of hcs but (in my defense) i did try to include a bit of everything!

☆☆☆ # kyojuro rengoku !

kyojuro is one of the most open people you'd ever meet (especially with his s/o) why hide anything? he pretty much wears his heart on his sleeve!

compliments you a ton! and doesn't just dump them on you, they're always genuine things he notices: how amazing your hair looks in the sun, your smile, the way you light up when you talk about something you like. . . all the good things

pretty decent cook, the food will taste amazing just. . . the kitchen is now a hazard zone.

(if your soft spoken ♡) his hearing is a little shot. he'd be so embarrassed of himself for asking you to repeat yourself over and over again (like it has his heart-racing and ears burning) ❛god your precious❜

oh my goodness, kyojuro would write you so many letters when he's away (or even before your relationship) he'd add little dried flowers for you. the best was probably the primrose!

hugging you is a comfort, so sometimes he'll just quietly walk up to you and hold you.

always smiles and brightens up when your around

rengoku nuzzling his nose into your face when he's happy, like literally trying to bury his face into yours

is wholly protective of you, and 100% speaks his mind if he feels someone is mistreating you/doesn't let anyone lay their hands on you (threatening to break their wrists move) also note that he doesn't like to resort to violence.

always opens doors for you, or holds your hand when you stepping down stairs.

it would take a whole lot to witness him cry. and he'll never cry for himself. not when he's hurt. not when somethings weighing on his mind. nothing. except when it comes to you and your happiness.

when fights or arguments happen he needs a moment (a long moment) to think and reflect. . . he puts himself in your position until he finds out what he needs to do.

he comforts you to no end though if your upset, lots of hugs and communication

☆☆☆ # sanemi shinazugawa !

i feel like he doesn't just casually kiss you (?) when you're around him he just holds you, firmly. sanemi always has a hand resting on you: shoulder, lower-back, linking his pinky with yours. at some point he (and probably you) wouldn't even notice the habit it anymore.

when he does kiss you its a whole ordeal, lifts your chin up, slow, passionate to full blown make-out session. usually never just a ❛quick kiss❜

the love aggression he'd feel sometimes-! just watching you. . . exist is so overwhelmingly adorable (he'd never say that exactly) just clenches his fists together and strings together a bunch of frustrated, mumbled swears

honestly, he's very competitive if you two were to play a game together. (a sore winner and loser)

when you're sick his way of comforting you is just quality time, he'll get your favorite snacks and make you as warm as possible, even laying down with you to keep you company. ask him for anything and he'll get it for you or make it better (maybe just this once)

(first) date ideas? none. he'll bring you somewhere that means a lot to him, even somewhere quiet where you can just. . . talk. if sanemi opens up a bit he'd be up for some fun (which usually involves danger or mischief) call it. . . part two of the date!

sometimes you'd just catch him smiling at you, a subtle peaceful stare with the ghost of a smile on his lips. (god, how did he get so lucky?)

fights would be the toughest. not usually because of the initial argument, but because of his inability to talk to you afterwards. disagreements get him frustrated for all the wrong reasons (usually at himself), and instead of dealing with them, he'd rather ignore them.

best thing he considers: is waking up with you next to him, just resting your head on his arm.

ooohh, actually after a while he wouldn't be able to sleep without you. ❛slept like shit❜

all relationships require work, and its definitely worth it! you're already his entire world, he just needs to learn how to show it more

and by god, this man would fight for you. need I explain? he worships you.

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the-delta-42 · 1 month ago

Text

The Walking Dead Game What Ifs: What if Clementine’s Parents were at home?

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Parents

What if Clementine’s Parents were at home? Prompt submitted by Cred1988 on FF .net

Requests On Hold

Diana winced as Sandra banged on the glass door. They’d come home from their trip to Savannah early, Ed claimed that he wasn’t feeling well, but she knew it was because Clementine had wheedled enough to him for them to come home. Diana still found it funny that Clementine had him wrapped around her little finger. Diana saw Ed comforting Clementine; Sandra had stumbled up to their front door with blood spilling down her neck.

Diana had done what she could, but Sandra bled out on their kitchen floor. None of the phones were working, so they couldn’t call an ambulance. They’d gone into the garden to deal with their loss, when Clementine said that Sandra was getting up. The little girl had gotten within grabbing distance of Sandra, when she snarled and tried to lunge for Clementine. Ed had managed to pull Clementine away and Diana had slammed and locked the door, leaving the creature banging on the glass door.

A grunt and the thud of someone climbing over the fence and falling to the ground alerted them to someone entering their backyard. Looking over, Diana saw a dark-skinned man unsteadily push himself to his feet, keeping a grip on a shotgun he was carrying.

“Can…” Diana swallowed, “Can we help you?”

The man coughed, “I’m… I’m sorry, I don’t suppose I could get a glass of water?”

Diana recognised the man, there probably wouldn’t be anyone in their neighbourhood that didn’t. She and Ed couldn’t go into the house, and even if they could, they couldn’t call the police. Sighing, Diana got to her feet, “We’ve got one of those… things trapped in the house.”

Everett winced, “Right. Sorry.”

“Do you want us to call the cops?” Asked Ed, bluntly, “We know who you are.”

Everett winced and nodded, “Right, I guess things are…”

“Complicated?” Ed raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”

Diana looked Everett up and down, before frowning, “You’re injured. What happened?”

“I, uh, I was in a car wreck.” Winced Everett, “The Officer hit something, and we crashed. I was out of it, when I woke up the officer was dead. You… you probably heard what happened.”

Diana thought back to the gunshot she’d heard, before she sighed and got up, “I think I’ve got some first aid stuff in the car.”

“Maybe we should see about moving somewhere safe.” Said Ed, taking his eyes off Everett, “Since things are looking like they aren’t going to blow over soon.”

Diana sighed, “Ed, for the last time, it’s not the end of the world, we don’t need to go to the doomsday bunker you went to.”

Ed mumbled something under his breath, as Diana looked out into the street.

“Besides,” Said the woman, looking back at him, “the roads are blocked.”

Ed sighed, before looking at Everett again, “So, convicted murderer huh?”

Everett winced, “Yeah…”

“That could be a good thing.” Said Ed, “Someone who knows how to knock some heads together and be willing to do something messy.”

Everett shifted uncomfortably, making Ed pause, “You killed that guy by accident, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I didn’t notice the coffee table.” Confessed Everett, rubbing the back of his neck, “Otherwise I would’ve gone for the gut.”

Ed blinked, before sighing, “We’re dead.”

After Diana tended to Everett’s leg, the makeshift group of four ended up sitting in the backyard until nightfall, when Lee and Ed ventured into the house and got a pair of radios, with Lee making sure to grab something for them to defend themselves from the dead, and Ed grabbing Diana’s medical supplies. They’d decided to venture out into the street, where they met Shaun Greene and a police officer, Andre. They’d barely managed to escape from the dead, which included a friend of Shaun’s, when they left for Shaun’s family’s farm.

The trip was quiet, with Lee silently watching the darkened scenery pass by. They’d arrived at the farm, met Shaun’s father, Hershel, and were put up in the barn.

“It kinda smells like…” Clementine sniffed the air, getting a sigh from Lee.

“Shit?” Lee got a gasp from Clementine, a glare from Diana and a snort from Ed.

“That was a swear.” Muttered Clementine, glaring at Lee.

“Sorry.” Apologised Lee, “I meant doodie.”

With that apology, the group went to sleep. When they woke up, Diana checked Lee’s leg, while Ed helped Shaun with a fence. They met the other family, Kenny, Katjaa, and a boy, Kenny Jr, that everyone called Duck. Lee helped out around the farm, before talking to Hershel, with Lee explaining who he was and getting some advice from the old man.

Then they heard yelling, with Hershel running to grab his gun, while Ed tried to push a tractor off of Shaun’s leg and the creatures grabbing Duck. After seeing Kenny grab Duck, Lee ran over and started to pull Shaun out from under the tractor. After some more pulls and shoves, Duck was pulled free, Ed managed to get the tractor to move and Lee pulled Shaun to safety, just as the fence Shaun had been working on collapsed with one of the creatures bit Shaun on the leg.

Soon after, Ed, his family and Lee waved goodbye to Hershel and Shaun, as they got a ride into Macon with Kenny and his family.

The ride was done in mostly silence, with Duck making rapid conversation with Clementine, while Lee, upon Diana’s suggestion, told Kenny and Katjaa about his past.

“It’d be a good idea to have someone who can knock some heads together.” Said Kenny, getting a snort from Ed.

“He killed the guy by accident.” Responded Ed, just as Kenny’s truck died.

“Great.” Groaned Kenny, before getting out of the truck, “Look like this is as far as we’re going.”

Everyone followed him out, with Kenny trying to get a guy’s attention, only to realise a second too late that it was one of the creatures and not another person. They soon found themselves surrounded by the monsters, Lee did his best to get between the monsters and Clementine’s family. All of them thought they were going to die, before a gunshot rang out and a woman in a blouse and skirt rushed out of a nearby pharmacy and ordered them inside.

Pushing Clementine and her parents towards the woman, Lee went to grab Duck, only to find Katjaa had beaten him to it. Making sure Kenny was a head of him, Lee followed them into his parents pharmacy.

The resulting confrontation with the current inhabitants wasn’t fun, especially when an old man tried to get to Duck, yelling about how the boy was apparently bitten.

“No! You don't touch that boy, you don't touch anybody!” Roared Lee, making everyone freeze he gestured towards Ed and Diana, “They've got a little girl they're trying to protect in here too. You want to get violent, you old fuck?! Well, come on! You better have a plan to kill me, though, because it's me, before anyone else in here!”

The tension was broken when Clementine screamed, as one of the creatures staggered out of the bathroom. In a second, Lee was grappling with the monster, with Diana pulling Clementine over to her, before the woman from outside shot it in the head. Things were tense, with the creatures from outside being drawn towards the noise. After a few moments, they heard some gunfire from outside, drawing the creatures away. The old man tried to start another fight, when Ed punched him square in the chest. Gasping, the old man staggered back, while Ed rolled his eyes.

“You asshole!” Screamed the man’s daughter, “He’s got a heart condition!”

“Hey, he started it.” Snapped Ed, as Lee slowly calmed down.

Diana sighed, silently asked Lee to watch Clementine, and walked over, “What is it?”

“Your asshole of a husband punched my dad!” Snapped the man’s daughter, getting a searing glare from Diana.

“What’s his heart condition?” Repeated Diana, her voice cold.

The woman blinked, before hastily giving the conditions name. Diana looked at Lee, “Does this place usually stock his medication?”

“Usually.” Shrugged Lee, “It’s kept under lock and key though.”

“And an Alarm system.” Said Ed, making everyone look at him, “Worked in a pharmacy while I was at college. Usually needs a passcode or something. How many ways are there into the back?”

Lee frowned, “Three, one through the counter, another through the office and one through the back, outside.”

“Given how most alarm systems work, the safest bet would be to use the outside entrance.” Muttered Ed, before the woman that saved them coughed.

“How do you know all this?” Asked the woman, looking at Lee.

Lee was silent, before sighing, “My parents owned this place.”

“He’s a fucking murderer.” Wheezed the old man, throwing a hate filled glare up at Lee.

Ignoring the man, Lee looked over at the office, “There should be a set of keys in the office, my Dad always kept a set in case he lost his.”

“Seems like the best place to check.” Said Ed, “Let’s go.”

He and Lee started moving to the office, before Kenny coughed, “I think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourselves.”

“We’re going to check the office, how is that getting ahead of ourselves?” Asked Ed, as Lee frowned.

“No, Kenny’s got a point, we need more than to just check the office, we’re gonna need to have a plan,” Said Lee, “so we can get the meds and anything else we’d need.”

The group worked on fleshing out a plan, with one of the guys that saved them, Glenn, was given one of the radios and went out looking for gas, the woman that saved them, Carley, and another guy, Doug, kept things secure, Katjaa and Kenny would look after the kids, Diana would keep and eye on the old man, Larry, with his daughter, Lilly, and Lee and Ed would check the office for the keys and any passcode for the security system.

The group started about their tasks, while Clementine, after making sure no one was watching her, followed after Lee and Ed. The two men started shifting things around the office, only noticing Clementine as Lee picked up his father’s old cane.

“Clem?” Ed frowned, “Sweetie, what are you doing in here?”

“Helping.” Answered Clementine, simply, holding up the other radio, “In case Glenn calls.”

Ed gave her a smile, “Why don’t you wait by the door, Honey? While Lee and I search.”

“Okay.” Nodded Clementine, bumping into Carley as she turned around, “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Dismissed Carley, looking at Lee, “Find anything?”

“Nothing that’ll help us get into the back.” Said Lee, “One of the guys out there mentioned bodies in here.”

Carley nodded, “Glenn found them shortly after he got here, Larry moved them into the alley.”

Lee sighed, “I’ll… I’ll go check their pockets, see if the code is there.”

Carley nodded, watching Lee go out the door, “I wasn’t expecting him to be upfront with everyone.”

“He’s not a bad guy.” Said Ed, looking at her, “He killed that guy by accident.”

“Accidental killers can be dangerous.” Stated Carley, “Especially ones with military backgrounds.”

“Yeah, well,” Scoffed Ed, “they don’t teach people how to turn their instincts off. At least Lee didn’t advocate for killing a boy because he was covered in dirt.”

“I can’t speak for Larry, or Lilly, but tensions were high, and I think they’re starting to get desperate.” Said Carley.

“That’s not an excuse.” Glared Ed, as Lee came back in, “I don’t care if they’re desperate or scared, that old man’s more dangerous than any con or murderer, I’m not sure about Lee, but if it comes to it, I’d kill that old fuck before letting him do anything that’ll harm the kids.”

“I found the code.” Said Lee, looking around, “We still need the keys though.”

“And a way to get to the back door.” Said Ed, as Carley frowned.

Lee glanced at Carley, “Do you know how they died?”

Jumping slightly, Carley shook her head, “No, just that Larry was the one that moved them.”

Lee let out a sigh, “We’re not gonna find anything else in here, let’s get back to the others.”

They’d gone back into the store, with Lee looking around for an alarm system and helping gather some things for the others, one notable instance was when he helped Carley with a radio that was missing its batteries. Then he had to fix the radio again because the batteries were in backwards. He’d gone out with Doug, before going back into the office and grabbing a universal remote for Doug to use on a TV store across the street.

Then Glenn got in contact with them, saying he had gas but was holed up in a nearby motel, leading to Lee and Carley heading out to help him. Ed worked with Kenny and Doug, while Diana kept an eye on Larry and Lilly, and Katjaa watched and entertained the kids.

The three returned to the pharmacy in silence, Lee’s heart felt heavy, helping a woman who’d been trapped in the motel kill herself after she’d been bit hit him harder than he expected. Carley and Glenn had been against it, but he’d done what he could to help her, even if it’d been to end her life.

Lee frowned; spotting Bud pinned under a telegraph pole. Looking down at the axe he’d picked up, Lee looked at the static covered televisions and grabbed a brick. After launching it at the window, the dead flocked to the TVs, allowing him to put Bud out of his misery and grab the Pharmacy keys.

“Lee,” Whisper-yelled Carley, “What are you doing?”

“Going ‘round back.” Answered Lee, as Glenn went into the drugstore and coming back out with Kenny.

Carley frowned, but followed Lee, arriving at a staff entrance into the back of the Pharmacy and opened the door, finding a number pad and an activated alarm system.

“Bingo.” Muttered Lee, looking at the code he’d pulled from his dad’s pocket. His, Bud’s and his mom’s birthdays. Lee felt his throat get a bit tight, as his input the code. There were a couple of beeps, before the alarm system indicated that it’d been disarmed.

Lee and Carley entered the pharmacy, making sure to close the staff entrance and searched the stores.

“Lee and Carley should’ve been with Glenn.” Said Katjaa, looking at Ed and Diana, “You don’t think they could’ve been…”

Lee chose that moment to lift the shutter up, “Nitro-glycerine pills, right?”

Katjaa jumped with a small scream, as Lee deposited the pills on the counter.

“There’s a motel nearby, it might be a better place to go, instead of hanging around here.” Said Carley, as she hopped over the counter and grabbed a box, before handing it to Lee, “Stick everything in here, we can go through it later.”

“Hold on, I’ll give you a hand.” Said Diana, rushing over, “Pain killers, bandages and peroxide would be preferable.”

“There’s some food stuff back here.” Said Lee, looking around.

“We can come back for that.” Called Lilly, “Kenny and Glenn are filling the vehicles up.”

“Great.” Said Lee, opening the door to the office, “Get your Dad outta here, we’ll catch up.”

Lilly nodded, as she pulled Larry to his feet, the old man giving Lee a hate-filled glare. Lee rolled his eyes, giving the full box to Carley, “I’ll get the door.”

A few minutes later, all of them were at the Motel, Doug and Carley were quietly talking, Ed, Diana and Katjaa were watching Clementine and Duck, Larry was glaring at everyone and Lee, Kenny and Lilly watched Glenn drive away.

“Do you think he’s doing the right thing?” Asked Kenny, quietly

“He’s got friends and family out there,” Sighed Lee, “I know what I’d do in his shoes.”

“Get arrested for accidentally killing a guy and somehow wind up at your parents store?” Asked Lilly, sarcastically, “Ed told me what you told him and his family.”

Lee let out another sigh, “I should’ve just left. I had my suspicions, but having those suspicions confirmed…”

Lilly looked at Lee, “…you must be fun at parties.”

Three months had passed since the outbreak, they’d gained a new member to their group, Mark, a man who had supplies at a nearby airbase. The supplies came a little too late for Doug, the man starving to death, a mere month after the dead started walking. That should’ve been the end of it for him, but no, he turned. Larry and Lee managed to put him down, only for Larry to have a heart attack from it, nearly biting Diana as she tried to apply CPR. Carley put him down, and they all had to grapple with the obvious.

Neither Doug, nor Larry, were bitten. Everyone was already infected. They’d had to bury them outside the motel, Lilly became withdrawn, locking herself away in her room. Ed, Lee, Kenny and Mark were out hunting, while Carley kept watch on top of the RV and Diana and Katjaa went over their meagre medical supplies. Their watches had gone up more in the past week, after Clementine’s hat went missing during the night and Lee found the barrier open.

Ed quietly crept up behind a deer, carefully adjusting the crossbow he was holding, before releasing the bolt into the back of the deer’s neck. The animal collapsed, with Ed grinning. His dad took him hunting as a kid, it seemed that he still had that skill. Quickly heaving the deer onto his shoulders, and made his way back to the motel, unaware of someone following him.

On top of the RV, Carley spotted Ed with a deer.

“Looks like we’re going to be eating tonight.” Said Carley, as Diana pushed the barrier open.

“I got lucky.” Grunted Ed, as a ten-year-old boy appeared from behind him.

“Who’s this?” Asked Diana, looking down.

“Who’s who?” Asked Ed, turning around and spotting the boy, “What the hell?”

“Hi.” The boy timidly waved.

“Where—” Ed was cut off by Kenny, Mark and Lee barrelling through, with two more unknown people, a bearded man with a missing leg and a teen boy.

“What the hell?” Lilly left the room and spotted the boy, man and teen, “What the fuck were you guys thinking?”

“We couldn’t leave ‘em to die.” Grunted Kenny, as Lee stood near Diana as she worked on the man.

“We don’t have enough.” Argued Lilly, as Ed looked between them.

“So… no one’s going to look at the big-ass deer I’m breaking my back for.” Said Ed, “Cause, I can tell you, it’s heavy and it isn’t gonna gut itself.”

Kenny and Lilly looked at Ed and at the deer, the woman chewed the inside of her cheek, as Lee brought his axe down on the, now, dead man’s head.

“He couldn’t be saved.” Said Diana, as she and Lee joined them, “A tourniquet might’ve helped, but that could only do so much.”

“Hopefully, the deer will last us a little while.” Said Lee, looking at the deer, “C’mon, might as well get started on it.”

Ed nodded and carried the deer over to their ‘butchers’, dropping it onto the bed of Kenny’s truck. Lee went into the RV and got some rations, carefully dividing the haul from a recent supply run he and Carley made. They hadn’t gone back to the pharmacy, but they’d found some candy and protein bars in an abandoned car.

The boy that followed Ed to the Motel started following Lee, until Lee gave some rations to Clementine and Duck. Glancing at the boy, Lee gave him a ration and left him with the other two.

“I get that you don’t like us carrying guns,” Said Diana, as Mark and Kenny worked on the barrier, “but, I’d rather have Clementine knowing how to use a gun, than as a Walker.”

“They’re too young.” Protested Katjaa, “What world are we living in if we always carry a gun everywhere?”

“A world where the dead get up and start walking.” Snapped Diana, “Honestly, we don’t have the luxury of—”

“Back off!” Yelled Carley, pointing her gun at a couple of men.

“Whoa, lady, relax, me and my brother, we…” One of the men said, looking around, “we just wanna know if y’all can help us out.”

“I said back off!” Carley glared at the two men.

“Carley…” Warned Lilly, giving the other woman a flat look.

“We don’t want any trouble.” Said Lee, frowning at them men.

“Of course.” Said the man, “Neither do we. I’m Andy St. John. This here’s my brother Danny. We’re just out looking for gasoline. Looks like you folks got the motel locked down, which is fine, but if you could spare any gas, we’d be much obliged.”

“Why do you need gas?” Asked Ed, walking over and looking at the men.

“Our place is protected by an electric fence.” Said the other man, Danny, “Generators provide the electricity…”

The group stared at the brothers, confusion and suspicion covering their faces.

“Our generators run on gas.” Finished Andy, “Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y’all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kinda trade.”

“How y’all doing on food?” Asked Danny, almost immediately, “We got plenty at the dairy.”

The group was silent for a moment, before Lilly looked at Lee, “Lee, why don’t you and Mark check the place out? See if it’s legit.”

Lee frowned, but nodded, as Carley put her gun away and said she’d go with him, with Ed suggesting that Ben went with them as well.

“Alright, you’ve got a deal.” Said Lee, after a moment, unable to dispel a pit of dread forming in his stomach.

The road to the dairy was clear and uneventful, excluding them witnessing a bandit executing one of his friends. Ben identified them as the people who attacked him and his friends, with Andy muttering about bandits and something. Before that, they’d been quizzing them about the Motel, with Lee telling them to direct any questions they had to him.

They’d arrived at the Dairy and were greeted by Andy and Danny’s mother, Brenda. Carley and Ben went back to the motel with some food and Lee and Mark remained at the dairy. Lee fixed a swing and was securing the perimeter with Mark when the fence suddenly turned on and they were attacked by bandits, with Mark getting an arrow to the shoulder.

They’d just gotten back into the safety of the dairy when the others turned up. Brenda tried to get Mark into the house to have a look the wound, only for Diana to grab the bolt, place her other hand at the entry point and pulled it out.

“There you go.” Said Diana, before waving the arrow at Mark.

“Thanks.” Groaned Mark, as Lee looked at the group and frowned at a girl a little younger than Clementine.

“Who’s this?” Asked Lee, looking at the girl.

“Dani,” Said Lilly, “Ed went out to get some more meat and, well, he brought another stray back with him.”

“What did he bring back?” Asked Lee, looking for the man.

“A few birds.” Said Diana, “He stayed at the Motel with Carley and Ben, said he was going to work on getting the hide useful or something.”

“How’d he gonna do that?” Asked Lee, frowning.

“He found a book on it in one of the rooms.” Said Diana, “And, like all men, as soon as he read it, he decided that he was a certified master on the subject.”

Lee blinked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Diana smirked, “I’m sure the other women in our group understand.”

“Huh.” Lee looked at Lilly and Katjaa, who both nodded.

Sighing, Lee looked towards Mark went into the house and the women, Kenny and the kids went over towards the barn and gazebo. Lee looked towards Danny, before grabbing a gun and heading into the woods to confront the bandits.

Lee returned to the dairy a couple of hours later, running a hand down his face. He’d found Clementine’s hat with a woman sleeping in a tent. He was going to take her back to the dairy, until she threatened to kill everyone there, then he shot her in the head.

Taking a deep breath, Lee walked over to the barn, choosing not to talk to Brenda. He spotted Lilly and Kenny arguing about something, but chose to ignore them, in favour of going into the barn. Katjaa and the kids were but the cow, petting it, and Diana was standing off to the side watching them.

“Hey, Clem.” Lee knelt down next to the girl and presenting the hat to her, “Look what I found.”

“My hat!” Gasped Clementine, taking the object and putting it on, “Thanks Lee!”

Lee gave Clementine a small smile, before getting up and walking over to Diana and asking quietly, “You gotta minute?”

Glancing around, Diana nodded, following Lee outside and towards Lilly and Kenny. Diana frowned, before Lee stopped next to Kenny and Lilly.

“Lee?” Frowned Lilly, “Is everything alright?”

Glancing around, Lee sighed, “Danny and I went to a bandit camp and I… we… found the person who snuck into the motel.”

“How’d you know it was them?” Asked Lilly, frowning.

“Because she had Clementine’s hat.” Answered Lee, “She wasn’t there when we arrived, but she found us looking through her camp. One thing led to another and… she started threatening everyone down here.”

“What did you do?” Asked Diana, slowly.

“I acted without thinking and shot her.” Said Lee, “I understand if you think I’m a danger to the group—”

“Lee.” Diana cut across him, “You acted in defence of our group, you didn’t kill her for no apparent reason, she said she was going to kill all of us. If I were in your shoes, I’d’ve done the same.”

“Same here.” Agreed Kenny, as Lilly nodded, “Hell, I’d’ve been pissed if you didn’t kill her.”

“She also said something about this place, saying that we were dead either way.” Lee looked between the three, “Danny got really worried when she said that, started to try and talk over her, as if he were trying to hide something.”

“Well,” Kenny looked at Lilly, “We were just discussing a point of contention between us.”

Lee frowned and looked at Lilly.

“Kenny’s convinced that they’re hiding something.” Sighed Lilly, “There’s a locked door at the back of the barn, Kenny wants to see what’s behind it.”

“And, with what Lee’s told us, now we need to see what’s there.” Said Kenny, as Diana frowned.

“And if you’re wrong?” Asked the doctor, frowning, “It could cost the group a needed meal.”

“Lee could pick the lock.” Said Kenny, simply.

Lee gave Kenny a confused look, “What makes you think I know how to do that?”

“Well, you’re…. y’know…. Urban?” Kenny stumbled, taking in the confused and alarmed looks from the others, “What?”

“You cannot be saying what I think you’re saying.” Said Lee, staring at Kenny in shock.

“Shit, man, I don’t know.” Defended Kenny, “I’m from Florida, crazy shit just come outta my mouth sometimes.”

“…can you pick a lock?” Asked Lilly, looking at Lee.

“No!”

Lee groaned as he sat up. Clementine, Adam and Dani were grouped together with Lilly, and Kenny was yelled out at the St. Johns. Lee wondered what happened, then it all came back to him. Diana had suggested that Lee look at the lock with Kenny, they’d managed to agree that they should remove the lock from the door, which led to Lee luring Andy out of the barn and using a multi-tool to unscrew the lock from the doors. He’d just started to open it when dinner was called, leading to Kenny to leave to ‘stall’ them.

The sight Lee had been met with when he opened the doors looked like it was out of a horror movie. Andy turned up and Lee confronted him about it, Andy told him that they used that area for cutting up meat.

Accepting the answer, Lee had gone into the house and went to wash his hands, before looking for Mark. The man hadn’t been at the table, and Lee couldn’t see him anywhere downstairs, so he crept upstairs and looked for him.

Lee found him in a hidden bathroom behind a bookcase in an upstairs bedroom. With his legs missing. Mark barely managed to warn him, before Lee had run down the stairs and told everyone what they were eating. Dani and Adam were quickly grabbed by Lilly, Duck was gathered by Katjaa and Andy grabbed Clementine, before Diana could get to her.

After that, it was dark.

“Where’s,” Lee coughed, “where’s Diana?”

“Andy took her before we were thrown in here.” Said Lilly, as Lee got up, “We need to get out of here.”

“We could send someone though that vent, behind the AC unit.” Said Kenny, “But, we’re gonna need something to remove the screws.”

Lee checked his pockets, growling in frustration when he found they’d taken the multi-tool from him. Lilly frowned, before rummaging through her pockets and withdrawing some coins.

“Dad kept them in his pocket.” Said Lilly, swallowing, “I took them when we… y’know.”

Lee nodded, before taking one of the coins and used it to loosen the screws.

“Shit.” Cursed Kenny, as soon as they lifted the unit down, “We’re not gonna fit through there.”

Lee growled, as Lilly walked up to the hole, “We won’t. But, one of the kids might.”

The three adults looked at the children, Lee sighed, before kneeling in front of them, he was about to speak when he heard someone coming. Making sure the children were behind them, Lee and the other adults turned and watched the door, just as it opened, and Diana was thrown in.

“Mom!” Clementine ran over, as Diana slowly got up.

“What happened?” Asked Lilly, helping Diana up.

“They wanted me to save Mark.” Said Diana, “I did what I could, but… he didn’t make it.”

“We need to get out of here.” Said Kenny, “Did you see Katjaa and Duck?”

“Katjaa is being kept up at the house, so’s Duck.” Answered Diana, before spotting the hole in the wall, “What the hell?”

“What?” Lee looked at the hole, “Oh, that. We were going to crawl out through it, but… it’s a bit small.”

“We think one of the kids could get through.” Said Lilly, as Diana examined the hole.

“I’ll do it.” Clementine’s voice was quiet, getting everyone’s attention, “I just wanna go home.”

“This’ll help us get home.” Said Kenny, before quickly guiding Clementine to the hole.

Lee lifted Clementine up, “You're gonna be fine.”

“What do I do when I get out?” Asked Clementine, looking down at Lee.

“See if you can get to the other side of that door and open it.” Suggested Lee, getting a nod from Clementine.

Everyone listened as Clementine crawled through the vent and out the other side. She gasped and, after a moment, opened the meat lockers door.

“Are you okay?” Diana rushed over to Clementine.

“Did anyone see you?” Asked Lee, as Kenny and Lilly went to the door.

“No.” Clementine shook her head, “But there's a man outside.”

Lee looked around the room, spotting Lilly pick up a sickle, before looking at Diana and Clementine, “Stay here, we’ll handle it.”

Diana nodded, before taking Clementine to collect Adam and Dani. Lee, after grabbing the other sickle, and Kenny snuck out and ducked into a stall, while Lilly stayed behind the door. Lee ended up grappling with Danny, after driving his sickle into the cannibal’s shoulder, before being knocked to the ground. Kenny tackled the man, while, at the same time, Lilly slashed across Danny’s chest with the sickle she’d taken. Danny staggered back, before he stepped into his own bear trap.

And all too soon, Lee found himself in another life-or-death position. Danny was beaten, he wasn’t a threat. But he could come after them, put the others at risk. Put the kids at risk. Growling, Lee wrenched a pitchfork out of the hay and jammed it into Danny’s chest.

Kenny ran out of the barn, yelling for Katjaa and Duck, while Lilly went to get the others. Lee followed after Kenny, bumping into Carley, Ben and Ed.

“Lee!” Carley’s voice got the others attention.

“Where are they?!” Demanded Ed, prompting Lee to point to the barn.

“In the back, be careful, there’s a dead body in the doorway.” Ed was gone in a moment, making Lee look at Carley, “They’re cannibals, they tried to feed up Mark’s legs.”

“Oh, god.” Carley covered her mouth.

“They’ve got Katjaa and Duck,” Said Lee, “help the others, I’m gonna check the house.”

Lee left for the house without another word, finding Brenda holding Katjaa hostage. Lee managed to get her to stumble into a reanimated Mark’s grip, causing her to release Katjaa as she died. Quickly gathering their things, Lee heard someone run up behind him, before Ed ran past, avoiding the walker as he stepped over a dying Brenda, and grabbed the medical supplies in the closet. Giving Lee a nod, Ed rushed back out of the house with the supplies, as Lee picked up his axe and followed him out.

Lee found himself dealing with Andy, after witnessing Kenny get shot and Lilly struck in the throat with the butt of Andy’s rifle. Lee brought the axe down on Andy’s shoulder, before forcing him onto the electric fence, as Diana switched it on. The group found themselves leaving the farm, as the Walkers overwhelmed the fence.

Adam grinned and run into a clearing, with Lee hurrying after him and coming to a stop when he spotted a station wagon, full of supplies.

“This is my dad’s car!” Grinned Adam, “They’re still here!”

“Look at those supplies.” Muttered Kenny, leaning towards Lee, Ed and Lilly, “They could set us up nicely.”

“Please tell me you’re not advocating theft.” Said Ed, flatly, as Adam continued to try and call his parents to them.

“He’s practically given us permission.” Excused Kenny, making Lee sigh.

“Adam—” Lee was cut off by a woman bursting through the bushes.

“Mom!” Adam ran to her, barrelling into her and making her gasp.

“Adam!” The woman crouched down, wrapping her arms around him, “Lizzie!”

A girl a couple years older than Duck tripped out of the bushes, landing flat on her face, before scrambling to her feet, “Mom, did you find him?!”

The girl, Lizzie, stopped and stared at the group, before she spotted her mother and brother.

“They’ve got a home,” Said Adam, pointing at the group, “and the big guy was cutting up a deer!”

Ed frowned and looked down at himself, he wouldn’t describe himself as ‘big’.

The woman sighed, “Adam, we can’t stay with people because they have a home and food.”

“But they don’t eat people!” Protested Adam, making his mother pause.

“What?”

“We were getting a bit low on food, before Ed caught the deer,” Said Lee, “most of us went to a dairy that, turned out, to be run by cannibals.”

“Some of us only found out after we ate.” Said Kenny, as Lilly closed her eyes and Diana bit back a gag.

The woman looked around them, nervously chewing the inside on her cheek, before looking down at Adam, “Thank you… for finding my son.”

“You’re welcome to stay.” Said Lee, taking the initiative, “We’ve got beds and food, and frankly, you’ve got some supplies that could help us.”

The woman glanced around, before heading up to the car, only to stop when she could see inside the vehicle.

“Mom?” Lizzie took a couple steps forwards, “What’s wrong?”

“He left the keys in the car.” Said the woman.

“What?” Lizzie looked in the car.

“Your father left the keys in the car.” Repeated the woman, before sighing, “Alright, the car’s not going anywhere.” She leant into the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition, before she walked around the back of the car and opened it up, muttering about her husband, before she started handing the boxes out to the group, “We’ll take you up on your offer, since the car’s out of gas.”

Lee looked around, as they led the woman and Lizzie to the motel, making a mental note to come back with someone to collect the father.

The night turned into a week, with Lee and Carley going back to where the car was and finding it gone. The woman, Tess, turned out to be another doctor, lightening the load for Diana and Katjaa. Lizzie took up watching the kids. Lee and Kenny had gone on a supply run, after Kenny and Ed had fixed the RV, Diana had managed to convince Lilly to put the supplies and food they had in the RV, after they discovered that supplies were going missing.

The group had discussed it, and the majority voted to leave the motel, with only Lilly and Ben choosing to stay.

“Everything ready?” Asked Lilly, as they climbed into the RV.

“Yeah, we’re gonna meet up with Lee and Kenny at the gas station.” Nodded Ed, as Tess and Carley moved the dumpsters out of the way.

“I still don’t like this.” Said Lilly, as the RV pulled off, with Tess and Carley climbing in as it went past.

“You were outvoted.” Said Diana, looking back as the bandits appeared from the Woodline and started shooting at them, as Ed sped up, leaving the Motel and Bandits behind.

They found Lee and Kenny waiting for them at the gas station, with a bag full of supplies from the pharmacy and other surrounding stores and a couple of gas cans.

“Find anything?” Asked Carley, as Lee and Kenny boarded.

“Lots of stuff.” Said Lee, “And some gas.”

“Great.” Said Lilly, not noticing Adam pull his radio out of his pocket, “That’ll come in handy if we find another vehicle.”

Lee winced as he and Kenny got into the packed RV, just as Adam blew a raspberry into his radio, resulting in the other radios emitting the noise.

“That’s a terrible plan!” Exclaimed Lilly, looking around the group, “That thing would be a dinner bell to Walkers!”

After driving for a while, they’d encountered a roadblock in the shape of a train. Lee, Kenny, Ed and Ben scouted it out, finding that it still worked, and it had a homeless guy, Chuck, living in it. They’d gotten the train unstuck and moved it out of the RV’s path.

Then Kenny suggested that they take the train to Savannah, and leave the RV behind, which led to them getting into the argument.

“All the supplies are in there; we can’t just leave them.” Said Tess, frowning.

“We’ll put ‘em in the train.” Said Kenny, stubbornly crossing his arms.

“What about when the train stops?” Asked Lilly, “Are you really going to carry it through Savannah, looking for a boat that might not be there?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“How big will it be?” Asked Ed, frowning at Kenny, “What if you have to leave supplies, or people, behind?”

“We won’t.” Argued Kenny, hotly.

“They’re reasonable questions.” Said Lee, looking around, “Besides, some of us might want to stay on dry land.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Demanded Kenny, giving Lee a glare.

“It means we’ll need a back up plan.” Said Lee, looking around, “Something to fall back on if the boat falls through.”

Kenny grumbled, before nodding.

“We can keep a look out for any salvageable vehicles,” Said Carley, “get them to Savannah.”

The group silently agreed, with Lee taking Clementine, Ed, Ben, Chuck and Kenny and his family on the train, while Lilly took Diana, Carley, Tess and her kids in the RV, despite Adam saying he wanted to go on the train.

Waving half their group goodbye, Lee and his half climbed into the train and started it, while Lilly and her half drove through the, now clear, crossing.

Lee, at the suggestion of Chuck and Ed and Kenny’s permission, started teaching Duck and Clementine how to use a gun, with Ed giving Clementine’s hair a trim. Then Kenny made an abrupt stop because the way was blocked by a tanker dangling in the train tracks path, which was how they met Omid and Christa. After some quick introductions, Lee and Ed took the kids to a nearby station and had to deal with a few Walkers, after spotting a blowtorch.

Now, Lee and Ed were cutting the tanker free, finishing as Ben spotted a massive horde of Walkers, managing to escape before they reached the bridge.

Lilly frowned as she managed to get the land rover, she was working on to start, while Carley kept watch, a few feet away, Diana carefully guided a station wagon out of its place in the column of vehicles. The RV’s radiator gave out, so they started looking for salvageable vehicles, they’d found the land rover and the station wagon and were ferrying the supplies from the RV to the cars. They also managed to find a large number of supplies in one of the abandoned trucks, which they’d raided.

“Hopefully, the others are having a better time than we are.” Said Tess, getting a nod from Carley.

Lee’s half of the group walked through the streets of Savannah, Lee, Ed and Kenny keeping an eye out for Walkers, while Duck yabbered on about their ride in the train and being taught how to use a gun, unaware that his voice reach someone on the rooftops and got their attention. Then a bell tolled, with Kenny dismissing it by saying it was on a timer.

“What bell goes at twenty past the hour?” Asked Lee, making everyone freeze.

“Hey!” A voice from the rooftops yelled down at them, “Get out of there!”

“Who are you?!” Demanded Kenny, as Lee looked around and spotted a large group of Walkers.

“Ask not for whom the bell tolls…” Said Chuck, grimly, as everyone else spotted the Walkers, “It tolls for thee.”

“There’s a house a block down and to the left, go there!” Yelled the person on the rooftop.

“The Marsh House isn’t far from here.” Said Ed, “We can go there, it’ll be more secure.”

The person on the roof seemed to have heard them, “There aren’t many geeks there.”

The group started following Ed, the man picking Clementine up and charging towards the hotel, while Ben was grabbed by Walkers and devoured. Katjaa froze, staring at Ben in horror, as the boy’s screams became gurgles. The Walkers then grabbed Katjaa.

“Kenny!” Screamed Katjaa, as the Walkers piled on top of her and tore her apart.

“No!” Screamed Kenny, as Lee grabbed Duck and Christa and Omid started pulling Kenny away, while Chuck beat the Walkers back with his shovel.

“Guys, Chuck needs help!” Yelled Christa, spotting the Chuck was falling behind.

“Go, I’ll be fine!” Yelled Chuck, prompting them to leave him.

They burst through the doors of the Marsh house, with Lee and Ed dropping the kids and started barricading the door. Lee stopped when he spotted a station wagon outside the hotel, “Ed?”

“What?”

“Is it just me, or does that car look familiar?” Asked Lee, nodding towards the car.

Ed looked at the car a froze, “Holy shit.”

“It was you.” Came a voice from behind them, making them turn around, “Wasn’t it?”

“What was you?” Demanded Christa, as they spotted a man staring at them.

“Your wife gave us the supplies when she and your kids joined our group.” Said Ed, as Lee blocked the door.

“Then, where are they?”

“They’re coming down with our RV and the other half of our group.” Said Lee, slowly approaching the man, “Tess said your name was Mitch, right?”

The man simply pointed the gun at Lee and shot him in the shoulder.

“Lee!” Screamed Clementine, as Omid lunged for the man and got shot in the chest. Ed and Kenny managed to subdue the man, before Ed checked on Lee and Omid. The bullet had gone straight through Lee’s shoulder, and the man was already applying pressure to the wound, while Christa cradled Omid’s head.

“What is it, Clem?” Tess’s voice came out of the radio in Clementine’s hands, prompting Ed to reach over and take it from her.

“Your husband’s shown up, he’s shot Lee and a guy we met on the way down here.” Ed made his way over to Omid, “He’s got a gunshot wound to the chest, just… below his heart…. I think.”

“Try and pack the wound, stop him from bleeding out.” Diana’s voice came across the radio, “It might not help, since we’d need a hospital and a decent medical team to deal with it.”

“Where’s Tess?” Groaned Lee, pressing his hand to his shoulder.

“Currently, she’s driving.” Said Diana, “We’re still a few hours out, where are you?”

“The Marsh House.” Answered Ed, as Christa got up and drew her gun, “We’re gonna find some rooms to sit in, since we got a massive herd of Walkers following us.”

“I told you the train was a bad idea.” Lilly’s voice was heard, before Christa shot the man, Mitch, in the head.

Everyone jumped, looking at Christa and then at the body, before Omid started sitting up. Christa turned and looked at Omid, freezing as his dead eyes focused on Ed, the man to busy staring at the stranger’s corpse. Christa hesitated, giving Omid enough time to lunge at Ed and bite deep into his arm. Ed yelled, as he shoved Omid away, with Lee putting the reanimated man down.

“Fuck.” Swore Ed, gripping his arm, “No, shit, fuck.”

“Oh, crap.” Murmured Lee, carefully getting up, “Shit, what do we do?”

Ed winced, before Lee took the radio from him.

“Ed’s been bit.”

Lee watched Kenny and Christa leave with the person from the rooftops, a girl called Molly, heading towards the waterfront. Sighing, Lee looked over at the room Ed was in, the man was saying goodbye to Clementine. Looking around, Lee spotted Duck. The boy was curled up away from the room Ed and Clementine were in, Lee realised with a jolt that Duck had lost his mother today, along with half of their part of the group. Lee wondered if they should find Ben, Katjaa and Chuck and put them down.

The tell-tale crack of a gunshot cut through the air, followed by Clementine rushing out of the room, throwing Ed’s gun away from her.

Kenny sighed as he walked into the Marsh House. There weren’t any boats, none salvageable anyway, Molly mentioned an RV, said it only needed gas and a battery to work, she also explained Crawford to him and Christa, the way she described them reminded Kenny of the St. Johns. He saw Lee with Clementine and Duck, given the lack of Walker sounds, he assumed that Lee put Ed down.

“I can take over with them, if you want.” Said Christa, getting Lee’s attention.

The man nodded and stood up, with Christa taking his place.

“How’s it been?” Asked Kenny, as Molly made herself comfortable on a barstool.

“Not great.” Answered Lee, wincing as he shrugged, “Ed had Clem put him down.”

“I thought you told him you’d do it?” Questioned Kenny, getting a sigh from Lee.

“He asked to be alone with Clementine,” Said Lee, “I thought it was just to say goodbye.”

Kenny frowned, before a thought occurred to him, “The kids have got to get used to putting people down.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.”

The herd following the train arrived and passed through with little incident, Molly had gone belltower to belltower leading them away. She’d come back and told them that Crawford, despite being barricaded against the Walkers, had fallen. Which led to Lee suggesting that they make a supply run to community when the others arrived.

They didn’t have to wait long to discuss it, as the other half of their arrived shortly after Lee’s suggestion.

“We do need the supplies.” Said Carley, looking around the group, “You know, for when the supplies we took from the 4x4 run out.”

“We could also get stuff to fix a car or something.” Said Kenny, glancing outside at the land rover and two station wagons.

Lilly’s face had a sour look, but nodded, “Alright, where’re we gonna go after this?”

Lee was silent, before a thought occurred to him, “I was once considered as a candidate for a boarding school in West Virginia. I can’t remember the name of it, but I know that it’s fairly remote and should be secure.”

The group discussed their prospects, while the kids rummaged through some bags. Clementine and Duck hadn’t said much since they lost their respective parent, Clementine heard Lee express concern for her and her mom had tried to talk to her about it.

She’d expressed interest in going with the team that would go to Crawford, but her mom, and Carley, had shot it down. She heard that Lee would take Kenny, Carley, and Lilly to Crawford with Molly guiding them.

She thought of sneaking out, but her mom and Tess were watching them and Christa was watching the exit, so she wouldn’t be able to follow Lee’s part of the group.

The trip went off without any problems, sure, there were Walkers milling about and they’d had a few near misses, but they got everything they needed, and Molly had Kenny grab some gas while she got a battery for an RV she spotted while she was luring the herd out of Savannah.

Kenny and Lilly had given Lee and Carley the supplies they had and went with Molly to fix the RV. Sighing through his nose, Lee looked around as they reached the hotel, before spotting Ben’s reanimated corpse sitting hunched over on a wall. Frowning, Lee passed the bag he was carrying to Christa, who’d opened the door to let them in, and walked over to Ben. The body didn’t move, getting a sigh from Lee and, thinking that Molly or one of the others had put him down, went to lie Ben down, only for the Walker to jerk to life and bury its teeth into Lee’s left wrist.

A gunshot and hurried commotion later, Lee found himself back in the hotel, with Diana raising a cleaned fire axe over her head. The next thing Lee knew was a blinding and burning pain. A moment later, all Lee saw was darkness.

Diana watched as Carley held the tourniquet in place, while Tess, after rummaging through their supplies, found a portable stove and a frying pan.

“I don’t think food’s gonna help.” Said Christa, as the kids watched from behind her.

“I’m not cooking.” Growled Tess, testing the pan, “There’s a blowtorch in on of the bags, can someone get it please?”

After becoming satisfied that the pan was hot enough, Tess pressed the metal to Lee’s stump, getting a groan of pain from the man. Checking the wound, Diana started bandaging the stump, making sure to pad it with gauze.

“We’re gonna have to keep an eye on him,” Said Tess, carefully handling the pan, “make sure he doesn’t over exert himself.”

“Yeah,” muttered Carley, “that’ll be easy.”

“Do you think we’ll lose him?” Asked Christa, looking at them.

Diana sighed, “I think we’ve lost enough people this month.”

The group watched as Kenny and Diana went on a supply run with Molly, they were going to do one last check, before they left Savannah, so everyone was in a vehicle. Tess and her kids were in their family’s station wagon, Lilly was in the 4X4, Christa was in the second station wagon and Carley was in the driver’s seat of the repaired RV Kenny, Lilly and Molly brought back. Lee was absently rubbing his stump, while Duck and Clementine played go fish at the back of the RV.

“At least we’ll all have somewhere secure to sleep.” Said Carley, suddenly, “I mean, it’s a bit cramped, but we wouldn’t have to worry about Walkers getting in.”

“Yeah.” Said Lee, looking over at Carley, “At least there’s that.”

“Guys, we’ve got a problem.” Molly’s voice came out of the radio.

“What is it?” Lilly’s voice responded.

“There’s a huge pack of Geeks heading your way.” Said Molly, “Kenny and Diana gave me the supplies we’ve found and we’re heading back to you.”

“Because going across the rooftops is faster than the street.” Sniped Lilly, “How close is the herd?”

“About three minutes, I can see you guys now, talk to you in a moment.”

They saw Molly clamber down and duck into Lilly’s car, handing her the supplies. They saw Kenny and Diana round the corner, and get cut off by the herd of Walkers. Quickly starting the RV, Carley drove towards them, flattening the Walkers in front of them, with the others following behind, only to find that Kenny and Diana had vanished.

They spent the next two weeks looking for them, before, reluctantly, leaving Savannah behind, hoping that Kenny and Diana were still alive. Even though their guts all felt that they were dead.

When they passed the train most of them arrived in, they found it’d vanished. Lee hoped that it was Kenny or Diana who took the train, but he wasn’t going to think on it, they needed to keep themselves focused on the present, any distraction would get them killed. Glancing back at the kids, Lee saw they’d fallen asleep. Sighing to himself, Lee let them rest, they needed the sleep. They all did.

Next Story: What if Ben survived getting impaled?

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