#i'm not unhappy about how this one turned out heh

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.153 Another one

It's 3 a.m., and I'm jolted out of that good good sleep because Desiree is screaming like she's trying to raise the dead or something. I jolt up, disoriented and dazed, and dash to the nursery to see what she needs, but when I get there, I see that she is flat out pissed. Of course, I don't like that she is unhappy, but her little down-turned eyebrows and poked out lip make me laugh. She looks like I owe her money or something, heh. Infant life is so hard. Your caretakers are asleep when you're awake, you can't do anything for yourself, and to top it off, there's no one to hold you at night. That's what she's really mad about because as soon as I pick her up, everything is peachy. She's getting so smart and figured out how to game the system and bend it to her will. When she screams, I come running and pick her up. Fortunately for her, I love holding her. At some point, however, she's going to have to learn she can't be in our arms 24/7.

She's so beautiful and looks more and more like Sophia every day. And she's strong too. I think it's time to get her mobile, or at least sitting up on her own. Then we can feed her in the highchair and start exploring different foods. As fun as that adventure sounds, I also kinda want her to stop growing for a little while. Tami, Dub's daughter, is a toddler already, and it feels like she was just born a few days ago. They grow up too fast, and before we know it, they'll be in high school making googly eyes at boys.

I tried to put her back in the crib a few times, but she had a fit at every attempt. It was just after dawn when she was sleepy enough to accept I know best. I need a nap too, but there's no use in trying to go back to sleep now. The sun is rising, so I grab Rosie and go for a jog. Fresh air and an increased heart rate will wake me right up. It's been a minute since we've done this, and she is stoked. My knees, on the other hand, are not. (sigh)

When I get to Dad's house, I want to stop in and say hello even though I know he's not there. It's so weird seeing it there, waiting for me to do something with it. I know grief is a process, and eventually I'll get to a place where seeing it brings back happy memories instead of reminders that he is no longer with us, but I want to be there now.

It's funny how being a parent changes how I look at the world. Things I've ignored for years suddenly become relevant. Like, I just realized there's a park behind his house. I probably saw it many times and forgot about it because it had nothing to do with me. But today, I feel like I'm seeing it for the first time and am glad Desi won't have to go too far to meet other kids and stretch her imaginative wings. At least I hope there are other children in this neighborhood. All the ones I knew are all grown up now. Regardless, there are plenty of places in this city where we can take her to socialize.

Just as I headed back home, Mama called to tell me Dwayne had passed away. I give her my condolences and tell her we'll be around as soon as Sophia wakes up. This is just not our family's week. Mama lost both her loves pretty much at the same time, and despite my feelings about that situation, it can't be easy for her to deal with, and I feel for her. But what alarms me the most is knowing her time is even shorter than I thought, and I don't know how to reconcile that.

[amaryllisblackthorn]

spoilers for professor layton and the last specter

one day i'll finally write that ~analysis about how layton treats children esp in pl4 and esp in comparison to emmy that's been in my head for literal y e a r s at this point

i'm going to actually leave some of my scattered thoughts abt it here finally. note that this is all based on the US localization.

for lack of better words, layton treats children with respect and seriously. like of course he's mindful that they're children but he takes what they say and feel with seriousness. vs emmy who's often patronizing, demeaning, or impatient (for lack of better words).

this is prob most apparent with Luke in pl4, though not limited to him.

when first told about the door puzzle, emmy goes 'aw thats so cute let's do it'. like indulging a little kid. which luke is, but i digress. EDIT: briefly checked out the jpn text in the scene and it doesn't seem like Emmy calls it cute, and her tone isn't doing it either. seems like she's just like, 'Professor, let's do it!' which is interestinf

there's a point where Luke is freaking out about the specter and the power it has and how it's corrupted his father. emmy's like 'you cant seriously believe theres actually a specter!' but Layton says to Luke 'I believe the specter has the power you say it has'. Layton doesnt believe there's an actual monster re: the specter, but he believes there is something re: the specter, and that's the important thing. and Layton furthermore immediately goes on to say he's noticed something's up with Clark, himself. Layton is listening to Luke and taking his feelings and fears seriously and is validating him -- and this is so incredibly significant bc of Luke's whole feeling like he's unable to trust anyone during the game which is incredibly related to this but a bit separate so im trying not to digress. THE POINT. is. the difference between Layton and Emmy in this regard.

i dont remember if it's the same part -- i think it might be later but maybe not -- i think it's when Luke reveals how he can tell where the specter will appear next? -- but basically Emmy's kind of upset for lack of a better word that Luke had been withholding that info and is like 'are you hiding anything else, like what the specter has for breakfast?!' or something iirc. luke mind of apologetically defends himself with 'i didnt know if i could trust you' and Layton is totally understanding

EDIT: (i removed an example bc upon further reflection it wasnt necessarily relevant. i might readd it later)

then there's the part with Jakes' son near the end iirc

also the small part nearer the beginning iirc when Luke goes chasing after the cat and Emmy&Layton are chasing after him and Emmy complains to the professor 'he's acting like a child!' and layton's like 'heh well he is a child c; '

there's also how Layton treats/interacts with the Ravens

also when first meeting Luke and Luke's opening up slightly but then Clark comes in and starts scolding him which has Luke withdraw/angry/turn away and Layton's like, "Clark, please"

there's also the cutscene when they first see the specter, where before it appears. Layton asks Luke, 'well, luke, what do you think? do you see anything?', he says no nothing, and Emmy's like 'I still have a hard time believing this. it sounds like a scary bedtime story. is this even possible?'. Layton says, 'Well, we'll soon find out.' and then Emmy goes on to say 'and a poor boy who predicts where the giant specter will appear' and Luke's unhappy about her comment

ALSO when Layton tries to go after the Specter that scene and Luke grabs onto him and tells him not to go, Layton takes the time to talk to him. same for when Luke's freaking out when the police took Arianna away. Layton puts a hand on his shoulder, gets to his level, and talks to him seriously.

this isn't bashing on Emmy btw I actually enjoy this as part of her character and it makes sense to me the difference between her and Layton in this regard. im also not saying that shes like always like this with kids either. or that it's even kid specific. I genuinely think it's neat. I also think it's a super neat part of Layton's character.

also ive really got to either play through pl4 again myself or watch a playthrough to record all the specific instances again.

also Layton taking Luke's feelings and fears seriously and Luke coming to trust Layton at this time of his life means the world to me

[king-candy-lovemail]

stone face (ace ventura x reader oneshot)

requested: yep!! heres to you, YourMomIsBlowingMe (i will never get over that username LMFAO) on wattpad

a piece of my heart will always belong to ace, the hyperfixation on both movies (and the cartoon) got me thru some tough times 😭

kinda unhappy with how this turned out but at the same time kinda proud... ironic i suppose! :P

You hated people. Always selfish, and always out to get you.

All your life, you'd worked dead-end jobs. Retail, customer service, fast food, hell, even a pyramid scheme. You did what you could to scrape by.

And then, you finally thought you'd made it big.

There were a few openings at the local sheriff's office- entry-level positions with little to no required previous experience. Nothing life-threatening or hands-on, though. More like taking phone calls and sorting papers.

Of course, you'd brushed off the offerings when you'd first seen them posted. Yeah, sure, wouldn't that be great. 

And then you saw the starting wage.

Now, here you were, filing 'important papers' for your local police station. You didn't really care about the contents of the files. You always just had headphones in, listening to Satie, or perhaps Chopin.

Most days were the same. Life was fairly bland, and the one joy of life was dancing around the filing room as you listened to classical music.

Coworkers came and went, and no one dared to bother you while you were on your break. Even your current supervisor (a temporary one at that- a few months before you began working there, a whole lot of corruption and conspiracy had went down, causing the previous supervisor to be jailed) barely spoke to you. You got your work done swiftly and efficiently, and didn't care much for socialization.

All had been relatively normal until he showed up.

You relished the peaceful days at the station. Little to no reports, barely any paperwork to file, and a quiet afternoon in the break room. But it seemed that 'peaceful' day would head in a much different direction.

When a brightly dressed, energetic individual entered the station, you were already thrown off. Boisterous people weren't your kind of crowd.

However, this man was more than just boisterous.

He had announced his arrival quite loudly, to your annoyance. He threw his business cards up in the air, letting the cheap cardstock flutter down to the floor. You couldn't help but wonder if he held a grudge against the janitorial staff.

As you pressed your headphones closer to your ears, hoping to drown out this man's incessant noisemaking, you felt your self-proclaimed safety blanket be snatched away.

"Well, well, what are we listening to?" The man's voice came out in a drawl, surprisingly smooth. You snapped your head up, and the bright figure wore a shit-eating grin as he spun the headphones in his hand before slapping them over his own ears.

"Ah! Variation 5 from Paquita, correct?" he chatted idly, spewing some nonsense fact about the ballet. You glared up at him, grabbing your headphones back quickly as he was distracted by the sound of his own voice.

He shrieked dramatically, placing his hands on his head. "Hey, hey! Watch the 'do, woulda?!" His cries fell upon deaf ears as you adjusted your headphones.

"Don't make a fool of yourself, Ventura! That there's Y/N, they've been here for a few months and don't take shit from nobody!" One of your middle-aged female coworkers cackled at her own description of you, slapping you on the back much harder than you're sure she meant to.

You stumbled forward as a result of her force, your headphones being knocked out of your hands. You cursed under your breath, glaring back up at this 'Ventura' man as you picked your saving grace back up off of the floor.

'Ventura' stuck his hand out, imploring you to shake it. You did so, albeit extremely reluctantly. As his warm hand encased yours, you glowered.

"The name's Ace, Ace Ventura. I'm a... heh, pet detective. And ya see, I'm here to celebrate my three month anniversary of SHOWING UP THIS WHOLE STATION! OH YEAH!" He pulled his hand away to, well, pelvic thrust victoriously. You stifled a laugh at his antics, and your coworker made a strangled noise of shock.

"Well look at that, Ventura! You nearly cracked the stone face!" she joked. Ace tilted his head, staring at you.

"Stone face? What are you talking about, Montoya?" he inquired. You clenched your jaw, attempting to walk off. However, Montoya held you in a vice grip.

"Well, Y/N here hasn't cracked even a smile since they first started working here. Matter of fact, me and the guys were startin' to think it was impossible for them to show an emotion other than apathy!" she hollered, her dry fits of laughter becoming slightly grating to your ears.

Montoya was one of the few coworkers you could tolerate. She was motherly, but in a rough way. She gave off a tough-love vibe, the kind of woman to noogie you and smack you if she caught you underage drinking. Sometimes, though, she still got on your nerves.

Ace smirked slightly, and you grew even more irritated. "That so?" he teased. "Well, I bet I can get 'em to laugh by the end of the year, Montoya!" She stuck out her hand, and as they shook, they announced in unison, 'deal!'.

You threw your arms up in defeat, groaning. "Maybe your deal should be to see who can stop talking about me as if I'm not even here by the end of the week!" you cried. Slipping your headphones back on, you walked back to your filing room.

Finally, peace and quiet.

You hated Ace Ventura most of all. Out of every person you'd ever met, you were sure you despised him the most.

Your once-quiet and enjoyable breaks were now interrupted by your headphones being taken suddenly and a familiar voice sounding out from behind you, an irritating 'guess who?' leaving his lips.

You would immediately stumble to get your music back desperately, and each time he would name exactly the song you were listening to.

At this point, you were honestly surprised. Who knew such a foolish, idiotic man had such knowledge on works featured mainly in ballets?

And then, one day, he had caught you dancing along as you did your work.

You had never prided yourself in your dancing, but you had endlessly studied certain ballets for years on end. Call it a hobby or an obsession- either way, it was what got you by.

You were shocked when a pair of arms wrapped around you, lifting you up at the exact moment you had planned to check if the door was still closed.

"Guess who, sugarplum?" he sang cheekily, spinning you around slightly. You screamed, unable to control your sudden outburst of giggles. 

"Hey, please, put me down!" you shrieked, still laughing as he held you close. You tried to ignore the way your body temperature rose at his proximity to you, and the way his arms were wrapped around you...

His voice was unnaturally low now as he muttered, "Told ya I could make you laugh." You furrowed your brow, annoyed once again.

"Go back to whatever it was you were doing, Ace! Tell Montoya about your little bet, and that you won, alright? But leave me out of this shit," you sneered. As you continued your work, you could tell Ace hadn't moved from where he stood. He stood there, still watching you, unmoving.

"What? Go on, you won your deal! Now go."

"That was the first time you said my name," Ace cooed, a stupid smile making its way onto his face. You rolled your eyes, turning away again.

"I like it when you say it. It's a lot better than the other names you call me," he joked. You cracked a smirk at his words.

"What? You mean shithead, bitchboy, and bastard aren't endearing enough for you?" you teased, and Ace let out a laugh.

You sighed once again, trying to push down the feelings that arose over his laugh. "Just... go now, please."

You would never admit that you had wished he would've stayed.

The station's New Year's party wasn't an event you had been chomping at the bit to attend. However, with incessant urging from Montoya and Ace, you resigned yourself to a night of observing drunken buffoons.

The partying never seemed to take a break. Montoya was already shitfaced by the time you got there, while you couldn't seem to find Ace anywhere.

"H-hey, Y/N!" Montoya stuttered out, her words slurring together. She leaned on you for support, despite your body nearly being crushed by the woman's much more muscular frame.

You coughed- her breath reeked of alcohol. "Jesus, how much did you have to drink?" The woman simply cackled at your words, grabbing a random solo cup from a nearby table.

"Oh, please Y/N! My fun has just begun!" She downed yet another swig of beer- or was it whiskey? You weren't sure what this party had to offer- before growing closer to you once again. "I'm surprised, Ventura said he couldn't get you to crack even the slightest smile. And now, here we are, end of the year. I guess he'll be losing!" 

Your breath stopped momentarily, the shock seeping in. "A-Ace said that?" 

He didn't tell her that he won their stupid little game? I guess he's... a little more mature than I gave him credit for?

Your train of thought was disrupted by Montoya's drunken squealing.

"I did it! Ha! You cracked a smile, I WIN! I'm gonna go tell that cocky Ventura right now! He's going to piss himself, hell yeah!" 

You watched as Montoya slugged away, a small smile still on your face. You covered your mouth quickly, not wanting to draw anymore attention to yourself.

"How's it goin', sugarplum?" Ace purred, sliding into the space beside you. You turned away from him, desperate to hide your grin and the heat rushing to your face.

"A-Ace, I haven't, um... I didn't, oh, um..." Your words caught in your throat, and you had to stop yourself from burying your face in his chest that instant. He slowly moved your hand away, letting out a dramatic gasp as he witnessed your smile.

"Y/N L/N, smiling?! This isn't normal, you need to see a doctor this instant!" he shouted. Luckily, with the rest of the party noise, his showing off was drowned out. He pressed a hand to your face, pretending to be feeling for your temperature.

"Oh, my!" he exclaimed, a girl-ish Southern drawl being added into his eccentric speech as he continued, "Looks like you've caught yourself a fever right there!"

You ducked away, trying not to laugh. "Ace, enough! Now, being serious. You didn't tell Montoya about how you won your stupid deal?" you inquired. Ace sucked in a breath through his teeth, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well darlin', what can I say? My reward was just getting to see you happy," he teased, cupping your face gently. You felt like your eyes were going to bulge out of your skull as he leaned in.

Your moment, however, was interrupted by a victorious Montoya.

"Guess what, Ventura! I did it! I cracked that stone face like an egg, I'll tell ya! So you lost, and I won! Suck on that, pet boy!" she screamed, throwing her arms up (and subsequently sloshing the mysterious alcoholic beverage in her cup around haphazardly).

Ace chuckled, bringing you in closer to his side with an arm wrapped around your waist. "What can I say, Montoya. You won! But as you'll soon come to find, I've won a bigger prize," he said smoothly, fingergunning at the woman. In her buzzed stupor, she just shrugged and walked away.

You turned to face him, an unimpressed look on your face.

"Really? Now that was cheesy. What's next, you're gonna kiss me as the new year rings in?" you teased, pursing your lips.

Ace let out a fake laugh, pulling you in flush to his body. You looked away instinctively as he leaned in close, whispering to you as he had the day he won that foolish game.

"On the contrary, my dear, I've never been a man who likes to wait."

[pukner]

Baz | part one

a steddyhands twt thread turned oneshot

|| Rated Gen || Stede and Ed take a brief vacation to visit Stede's family, and find a surprise.

part one / part two

They decide to visit Mary. Well, Stede decides to visit Mary.

Or, Stede gets a letter by extremely confusing means (why is fucking Jackie playing messenger) and receives word that in his absence (read: death), his wife's gone and married some bloke named Doug.

Ed doesn't feel anything about it either way, really. Stede's gone and worked himself into a tizzy (heh, like Izzy. Wait no, don't think about Izzy) and he's all guilty for ignoring his kids or whatever.

Ed doesn't get it. In his experience, the best dad is one you don't have to see.

He's a bit antsy about leaving the crew behind, to be honest. Not the most functional lot, this. Not without-- Well. Not without Iz.

Stede doesn't get it. "Honestly," he says, mouth pursed in that unhappy way of his, "Izzy was hardly the only competent member of our crew."

"Besides Oluwande and Jim," Ed says, flatly, "Yeah, he was."

"Lucius can write--" Stede offers.

"So can that molly we ran into last week. So can--"

"...molly?"

"The-- he tried to sleep with you? Asked you for a drink and then I stabbed him?"

"Oh, goodness--he was a courtesan?"

"Mate, don't say--"

Alright, so the conversation gets a bit derailed. He imagines Iz standing between them and snapping at them to Fucking Stay On Track or something, but they wouldn't be having this conversation if he was here, would they? If he hadn't slipped away unnoticed the second Stede returned--

if Ed had just paid attention, if Ed hadn't gone so profoundly off the rails in those last days before Stede showed back up, if he hadn't--

Ed tastes blood when he wakes up some nights. He wonders if Izzy does. He wonders if he's dead. He talks to Stede about it, some nights.

And he understands, is the bizarre thing. Stede looks at his worst moments, the tar leaking out his mouth, the I Maimed My Dearest Friend And Also Tried To Kill Lucius of it all, and says, "Alright, that's fine. You're terrible but so am I. We can be less terrible together."

They end up going to Barbados, in the end. He talks about Iz again, as they walk. It's a nice island. Very breezy. Sunny. It's like he's hemorrhaging all his feelings.

Stede listens, and murmurs, "I don't miss him like you do, dear, but I miss him all the same."

Then, because Stede's fundamentally a bitch, he adds, "Even though he was an irritating little man."

Ed doesn't like that. Not the thing about Iz, he absolutely is irritating and little, but the fact that he's talking in the past tense. Then Ed realizes that he did the same.

They meet Mary and her Doug. They're great. She's kind of a bitch, and Ed thinks immediately that he can never let her meet Jackie, or Anne, or Mary (the other one, Read). He also meets some broad in an eye patch that he immediately clocks as a threat.

The kids aren't home.

"You just let them run around with some stranger?" Stede says, appalled.

Stede gets appalled a lot. It's his whole thing. Ed's sort of wandering around and picking at stuff they have lying around. Paintbrushes, cushions. A doll lying on some fancy sofa.

Place looks nice. Dying was a good parenting move on Stede's part.

"He isn't a stranger," Mary's saying, in that patient tone that all women have when they're thinking of murder, "He's our neighbor--"

"Well," says Doug, coughing into his hand.

"Alright, so he lives in the woods, but he's a perfectly nice--"

"He watches the children when I'm having showings--"

"What on earth are you showing?" asks Stede, sounding unreasonably baffled.

"...my art, Stede."

"Ah. Well, what about Doug?"

"I work," says Doug, brightly.

"Some people do that, Stede," says Mary, pointedly.

"I work!"

"I doubt that," says Mary, which is fair. Ed doesn't think what they do qualifies as work.

They bitch at each other about this guy. Apparently he watches the kids. He's teaching Alma how to swordfight. And teaching Louis how to sew? What the fuck.

"--sword fight!" Stede says, shrilly, "Mary, that's hardly appropriate--"

"You literally ran away to become a pirate," says Mary, flatly.

"...fair," says Stede.

They hear a lot about this guy over tea.

He helped get rid of a nasty pirate situation, apparently. He's good with a sword, despite his limp, the cane he needs. He grows excellent beets? Has a nice flower garden. Knits up a storm. Kind of a wanker, very crabby, but soft on kids. The kids love him, apparently.

"--Alma's developing quite an interest in sailing, thanks to Baz," Mary is saying, and Ed drops his fork.

Oh.

He looks at Stede, panicked, and then when Stede doesn't give him the panic eyes back he realizes Ah He Doesn't Know. Stede isn't Jack, or old Sam. He doesn't know.

He looks at Mary, just then, and spies out a sly little smile on her face. It's a schemer's smile, this one. He's seen it on Jack often enough. Oh, he can never let her meet Annie. He's already afraid of the implications of her knowing Jackie.

Stede decides, before Ed can say his thing, that he's got to meet this Baz bloke.

Ed can't speak, on account of the phantom taste of blood in his mouth. He looks down at his plate, at all the meat he's pushed to a side.

part two

[tvrningout-a]

CHASING TOMORROW | ISEKAI AU

ft. dórverold aka my original lore

prologue:

we know how the story goes: chiyo grows up, achieves her dream of becoming a mangaka and then... life keeps going. yet she finds herself stagnant, or worse, falling backwards into old habits, isolating herself and second-guessing her place in her loved ones' lives. but tomorrow will be better. it will.

mál makes sure of it.

the dimension-hopping god favors chiyo, has a feeling about her. he tells her so as an explanation for why he plucks her from her cushy, modern life and drops her into dórverold, a land ravaged by a traitorous king and his undead army. she's the key -- or at least a piece of a key -- to saving them all, he's sure!

chiyo? she's not so sure. in fact, the only thing she's sure of is that she'd wring mál's neck for bringing her here if he weren't her only way home. he says his power has a " cool down, " so she's stuck here for now. she's pretty sure he's lying. after all, he seems pretty determined to make her his " champion " ( " my mom's gonna have one, too! but i'm gonna be first, heh. " ), granting her magic she doesn't want and a connection to him she could do without. her mind doesn't feel as private as it once did.

but let's skip ahead a little, hmm?

what's happened and what's happening:

mál remains with chiyo, travelling with her until he finally leads her to prince delwyn. at this time, he's on his way to stay with one of his father's bannermen, and the free army is only an idea in his frazzled mind. chiyo and mál are assumed to be refugees, and chiyo befriends delwyn on their journey.

at mál's insistence and because she doesn't have much of a choice, chiyo sticks with delwyn when he decides to form an army, growing closer to the prince despite her own social status ( she realizes that actually matters now ). she's a willing ear, and he doesn't pry; he asks her opinion, and he seems to truly consider it.

chiyo is the one to urge delwyn to seek out rin, find out if she's legit, and recruit her if so. this is in the free army's best interest as the dwarves will house them if they have the lightwielder, but it's also in chiyo's best interest. if rin is who they say she is, then sunna's champion will surely be more important than mál's. maybe chiyo's role won't be quite so big.

rin joins the free army, and time progresses. mál grows restless and unhappy with chiyo's refusal to practice her magic. she's wasting her potential! she's not meant to fight. she's always been a fighter. she just got tired. hasn't she rested enough?

mál leaves after that conversation. chiyo tries to not think about how alone she feels.

a day comes when someone tries to kill delwyn, darting out from the shadows, dagger glinting in the moonlight, and--- there they remain. frozen in time. it doesn't last long, but it's long enough for delwyn to incapacitate them and turn to chiyo with surprise and suspicion. but she's too busy staring at her hands.

delwyn and rin interrogate her, though much less formally than the rest of their inner circle would like. she spills the beans about mál -- as much as she can without sounding completely insane, which means she tells them he blessed her with magic she didn't want, told her she was his champion, etc. that seems to be enough. for now.

fast forward to the present, and chiyo practices her magic with a few different mages, including bronwyn. her status as mál's champion is kept under wraps for the time-being, if only to give her time to grow. it's apparent that she might not survive assassination attempts, as untrained as she is, yet it is also apparent that the time god was correct. she does have great potential with the magic he gifted her.

chiyo's pretty sure that wasn't what he meant, though.

other info:

chiyo's current cover story is that she's from across the sea, and that's why she's so unfamiliar with the land. her family were merchants visiting delwyn's kingdom when king edmund seized power. it's a story that could easily be unraveled, but she's been lucky so far.

mál gave chiyo time and teleportation magic -- basically his own powers on a smaller scale! there's a good deal that she can do with this combat-wise, but seeing as she's a beginner, she's mainly used to stopping people in their tracks, travelling small distances, and using time magic to heal wounds ( if she rewinds time, it's temporary; progressing time is risky if the wound isn't treated first ).

along with her magic, mál blessed chiyo with an impeccable memory and good luck when travelling. it's not something she really notices bc it's pretty subtle.

chiyo's connection with mál means she could call upon him for aid if she needed to, and he's told her so! she has admittedly called upon him bc she misses him :' ) this connection also allows him to hear her thoughts and vice versa, but he tries to respect her privacy and doesn't often use the connection like that.

unlike rin, chiyo will not be revived if she dies. mál isn't capable of such a miracle like sunna is, which is why he gives chiyo the power to call him.

[theboysfromaustin]

May 20, 2007

Gav watched Kazuo gently stroke Ian’s hair, the older man stretched out on the couch, napping. He had to smile whenever he saw the two interact - it was very clear that they loved one another deeply. Kazuo flopped into Gav’s lap, cuddling close, the redhead embracing him.

“Hey, love.” “Honey,” Kazuo kissed his cheek, leaning in. Gav stroked his face, fingers gently caressing the gnarled scar tissue that took up the right side of the black-haired man’s face, “I love watching you and Ian.” “I owe him everything. Him and my grandfather…if Ian hadn't hired him, my mom wouldn't have grown up around Ian…”

“What was your mom like? The photos…you look like her.” “She was…wonderful. She tried to protect me from my dad. She taught me to draw, paint, to be an artist. She went to UT - just like Ian - but for art, until my dad got her pregnant with me and she dropped out…” “So she knew Ian since she was a kid?” “A baby, pretty much a newborn. He was always there…she spent a lot of time at the firm, and he always had art supplies for her.”

Ian groaned softly, turning over on the couch, pulling his blanket up. Gav looked over, “He’s a soft touch. I thought at first he was a bit stern, but…” “He's a mushball. I took one look at him at the airport and knew. What I didn't know,” Kazuo looped his arm around Gav, “Was that mom had grown up around him. I know she must have told stories, but I was so young when she died that it didn't click. I knew that she knew him, but I didn't realize the extent…”

“Did he tell you, or did you figure it out?” “He told me. It was her birthday, I was upset…then later Maureen told me he had photo albums…then he dug out the videos, and it was like she was alive again. I’d forgotten so much about her, and Ian was able to fill in the gaps. I think he has some guilt…”

“About…?”

“About her. That he and grandpa Kensuke couldn't help. But,” Kazuo leaned on Gav, watching Ian sleep, “If I’d come to Austin as a kid, I couldn't be with him, and I think I'd be a lot unhappier. I needed someone like him as a partner. He keeps me centered.” Gav nuzzled Kazuo's cheek, “I got lucky getting into this family. Got you two, got a great kid…” He gently bit Kazuo's ear, “I can be myself.”

“When did you know?” Kazuo played with Gav’s hair. “Know what?” “Know you were gay.” “Oh!” Gav thought, “Well…it was hard because we didn't really have TV…except the bare minimum 3 basic channels and I wasn't allowed to touch it. They didn't get magazines, and books were…limited.”

“So, what triggered it?”

“It's…. embarrassing, but I guess it makes sense now?” “Tell meeeee.” Gav shook his head, “Mister Rogers. At like, age 9. Although I'm surprised we were allowed to watch him with his horrible, horrible messages of love and tolerance.” Kazuo started giggling, “Oh my god, so you saw Ian and it was instantaneous?” “Yeah,” Gav sighed good-naturedly, “Alright, what was Ian’s? I know that you know ” “As a young man, he loved watching the Man United players….a lot. Legs and asses.”

“Heh, nice. Now then - how ‘bout you?”

“Ooooooh, boy. I, uh…” Kazuo squeezed his shoulder, “I was a little faggy gay boy as far back as I can remember, wanting long hair like mom’s, letting her paint my nails…dad hated it. He hated me, though, so….I never came out to him for obvious reasons, but he had his suspicions. He never saw my shoulder tattoo - even though I did it myself. If he’d gotten it confirmed, I think he would have killed me.”

“He does know now though, right?” “Yeah, when Ian, Anders and I went to Chicago, we ran into him in the cemetery….he figured it out real quick and hit me. He was aiming for Anders since he'd mouthed off to him, but I took the hit. I think my peers sensed I was gay, but I was also the freak so I was always targeted.” “They were wrong. You're beautiful.”

“Oh, you're cute,” Kazuo kissed Gav, slipping his tongue into his mouth. Gav leaned into it, relishing it. “God, I love that. Hey, before you met Ian, had you ever seen another man naked?” Kazuo grimaced, “Unfortunately yes, and unfortunately my dad. Drunk man nude, reeking of beer and screaming at me. I'm bigger, which made it better. Kind of. You?”

Gav blushed, “You know, I ran across some naked bodies, but they were pretty far gone.” “So Ian and I were your first?” “Yup. I was a little scared…did you expect Ian to be so, um…” “Well-endowed? No, I wasn't. It was a nice surprise.” “I was shocked, and a little intimidated, but he was the scared one, since I'd walked in on him in a compromising position. He got over being scared, though,” Kazuo sighed, blushing, “Hell of a night. And morning.”

“You two treated me real nice,” Gav nibbled Kazuo’s neck, “I'm glad you guys were my first time. You know…” He paused, “I was also scared. Because I was still in a bit of shock that people loved me. I guess that's what being demonized your whole life does to you…”

“I hope your sister ends up in a loveless marriage with 17 kids.” Gav started giggling, clinging to Kazuo, “My being happy would piss them off so much.” “We’re deeply invested in your happiness.” ‘Im so glad you guys found me and took me in. If you hadn't…I don't know what would have happened.”

“That's a terrible thought. I don't like thinking about ‘what if’.” “I grew up in a bizarre, religious household, and I don't believe any of it now, but I think you and Ian are my guardian angels. You could have kept driving…god knows other people did.”

“Ian’s my guardian angel.”

Ian stirred, opening one eye, face towards the back of the couch, still in a sleepy fog. He pulled the blanket tighter, sighing softly. Kazuo looked over, “That man didn't have to take me in, he could have dropped me off at a motel and forgotten me after the funeral. But he worked through his fear and loved me. He saw…my mom, who he couldn't help, so he helped me. If I'd had to go back to Chicago, it would have killed me.”

“Neither of us could go home and survive. Does Ian go home?” “Not for a long time. Since the 70s, when his mom…when she died.” “Wow. It must be too hard to be there.” “From everything he told me, he had wonderful parents.” Ian blinked back tears. “If they were anything like him, then they were great people.”

“We need to do something nice for him. Look at him, having a well-deserved nap. He works so hard all the time, running the household and striving for justice…” “Hey, it's almost dinner, we should go get Mother's. And Quack’s.” Kazuo grinned, “Clever man. Let's let him sleep ‘til we get back,” he stood so Gav could get up.

“Anders will be home soon, right?” Kazuo glanced at the Garfield clock on the wall, “Yeah. I'll text him, let him know. C’mon, red.” Gav kissed his cheek, then leaned in to stroke Ian’s hair, “We’ll be back, baby.” Ian smiled, sighing softly. “Love ya, babe,” Kazuo leaned down to kiss his cheek.

The two left, and Ian sat up. He was lucky, but then so were Kazuo and Gav. He stood, stretching, going to set the table. He would do everything for his family that he could, give them everything they deserved. They loved him, so…

He would give them his all.

[hel-phoenyx]

I'll have to admit that it has been a while since the last time I saw my mother like this.

Under the eternal day of the Gaikamshigtai lands, where no warrior ever finds solace, we decided to take a break waiting for the next fight in the Tournament for Glory. This year apparently, there is quite a number of good candidates, rumors even go around about the young king of the Kraken Coast as the one who finally has a chance of winning against War herself for the first time since she ascended ; but I pay no attention to those rumors, because I know her strenght better than anyone, having felt it restrain itself in tenderness against my very skin.

Still, I think that if anyone has a chance to go far enough, it will be the woman sitting in front of me. Her hair is greying the more years are passing, and in her right eye a cataract is beginning to form, but she still holds the strenght of her forties, still was able to fend of a full army in a matter of seconds without even using her powers.

We are currently in the middle of the fights to the death, and her next is in a few hours ; All the time needed to catch up. It's just too bad the permanent sun is constantly hurting my eyes. The things a woman would do for love.

"Ugh, I complain for the third time in the hour. How I hate the light of that unwavering sun. It's way too hot to fight."

Queen Lina the Ist Frosilaen gives me a sly smile before downing her third serpents' liquor. As always, she's unscathed by even the strongest of alcohols.

"Maybe you shouldn't have put on that black velvet dress then, girl."

"Mom, I am in my sixties. Stop calling me girl."

"And I am in my eighties, sweetheart, argument invalid."

She laughs, albeit a little bitter. I let it slide. I don't think I ever heard her laugh genuinely.

"But black velvet dress or not you'll complain anyway will you ?"

"Better complain than keep silent."

"Right. I'm happy speech therapy allowed you to break my ears with nagging," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "But next time, at least, bring an umbrella. And please, not the boney one. It's scaring your own faithful."

I roll my eyes. My faithful are used to it. The mandatians, anyway, I'll have to admit some of the clerics here still are not used to my bone set, the meltdowns that still happen when the sun is too hot or the noise too strong, my inability to talk in front of a lot of people when Moon isn't there, or my unfocused eyes. But I am Greater Archbishop for Moon's sake, they can get used to it.

Mother finishes her drink, before looking around the tavern.

"Where's Moon, anyway ?"

"Chasing interesting people. You know how they are. and you know, since we got king Kaizarz the Ist among the candidates..."

"Oh right ! I've been dying to test myself against that young bastard. Rumored to be the one who will kill Faloi and shit. Heh. Maybe he will, childlike that he is. Will get a thorn out of my side for sure."

I frown.

"Won't Lamia be unhappy about that ?"

"She will, but it's really not a matter of alliances or for the good of the divine Mandate," sighed mom while playing with her ring. "It's really just personal opinion."

Like always with cousin Faloi. I never got why exactly, but to be honest, I stopped being interested in the affairs of the Divine Mandate after Moon made me reorganize their church from scratch and put me at its lead. Religion has no place in state matter, neither personal ones.

I hear some noises at the entrance of the tavern, and before mom has any time to look, two people make their appearances. A blonde giant with a ruby-encreusted sword on his back, and a eerily beautiful woman behind a veil. Both are no older than twenty-one, I'm sure of it, even if I can't see much through the veil and the scales on the man's face make it harder to guess his real species.

They have a certain presence among them, the kind even mom, used to the biggest of this world, notices. She turns her head towards them, and watches as they take a place somewhere with beers without even noticing us.

"Well those are interesting people. See them, Selene ?"

I smile.

"Oh, they are my favorites here. I noticed them when Kaizarz and his guard came to the arena. The boy is a sorcerer strong enough to bring thunderstorms in the Eternal Day, and the girl has a weird magic within her. Strangely, only she participates to the tournament, and has been eliminated in the qualifications anyway."

"Too bad, I wanted to fight both, they look like compelling foes. But you didn't noticed them for their fighting abilities, did you ?"

As always, mom knows me too well, and her smile is a reflection of my own, sly and teasing. I wink softly, before turning my eyes towards the two youngsters that are now talking without even paying attention to the world.

"Lord Moon no. Only one glance is enough to see these two have a complicated relationship with a certain Kraken King. I've been watching them for some time and the dynamic is fascinating. If I didn't know any better, it would look like a weird love triangle. A real one."

"Ah, how it brings me to my youth, said mom with a smile. Monarchs and their convoluted relationships before they realise they can basically do whatever they want with enough notoriety."

"How much time did you take before marrying Chiara ?"

"Hey now, no sassing me, girl."

"Continue calling me girl and I'll never stop."

[blackbird-brewster]

🌟

Thanks Anon!

This time I'm going to be talking about my latest JJ/Tara fic (which was supposed to be a one-shot but clearly I have more THOUGHTS about them!!!!)

[Between You & Me]

Summary: JJ returned to the BAU after having her second child, seemingly having perfected the art of hiding how unhappy she is in her marriage from everyone on the team, everyone except Tara

Before you skip this because this isn't your ship, can I please direct your attention to this comment which was honestly the highest (kindest) praise and I think it really hits how good this fic is! (Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it, this is a GREAT fic!!!)

(TYSM @cargopantsprentiss I adore you!)

I decided to tell this story by cutting in flash backs that highlight important moments in Tara/JJ's friendship >> flirting >> the moment things really changed (before the fic goes into the smut) which isn't a format I'd used before but I loved how it turned out!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE JARA!!! I am currently just nonstop thinking about T H E M. Such an incredible dynamic and I very much will be writing at least one more chapter of this, if not more.

I have been wanting to write a JJ/Tara one shot after writing a couple of longer fics with this pairing and this was such a fun one to write.

Tara is so kind, caring, and patient and just like....UGH TARA LEWIS!?!?!?! OKAY!?!?!? I love her so fucking much. I loved going from her first joining the team (S11) at the beginning of this fic to the end of it which takes place between S11/12. She's so very important to me and I honestly will yell about her to anyone, whether they ask about her or not.

I think one of my fave scenes is when the team just got back from being on a case for two weeks and this ended up being TOO MUCH sexual tension between JJ/Tara (this is like the build to the climax, heh, of the story) JJ is trying to get home ASAP bc she just really needs to masturbate before she dies of sexual frustration. So there's this scene when she's in the elevator by herself on the way to the parking garage and I just....hnnnnnggggg:

JJ and Tara have such a GREAT dynamic that this fandom really is sleeping on in terms of creating content for. I am very happy they've been working 'every single consult that has come into the BAU in the past year' in the reboot bc that means they're going to have screen time together and I HOPE they get some good interactions that will make WLW fans realise the POTENTIAL.

[Request a Fanfic 'Director's Cut']

[musicandmoss]

I Lost My Favorite Spoon (a short story, a somewhat drunken ramble like the ones from days I miss)

I lost my favorite spoon some time in the last couple weeks. The one with the flowers pressed into the handle and the bowl that's just the right shape of round.I don't know when it disappeared. All I know is that when I make sweet potato chowder to celebrate what felt like the first days of fall despite it being concerningly late in October, I couldn't do it with my favorite spoon.

Today was a bad day. It was a bad day in part because yesterday was a bad day. They have a habit of perpetuating themselves. I came home to find someone camping in my back yard. When all I wanted to do today was wash my clothes so that I didn't have to wear the same pants for a fifth day in a row, a person sitting between me and the basement was an endlessly frustrating occurrence.

I came in, did a chore or two, laid down and scrolled through my phone for too long. Nothing felt right. I made a bet with myself to determine whether I'd make dinner or get takeout of the exact same thing, lost, drank some beer, then headed into the kitchen. Halfway through cooking, I saw a shadow at the backdoor. The person in my yard was there with a laptop. He wanted to know the wifi password, so I took his computer and typed it in. While I was working out why it wouldn't connect (caps lock), we talked a bit. At some point, he said, "It smells good. Whatcha making?" Tacos. "You got one for me?" Heh, you know what, sure. He went back to my yard, I went back to cooking. I spent the time thinking. Sometimes about food and what to do next, sometimes about the day. Stuff sucks. Stuff sucks right now. It's been that way for a while now. I'm not happy. It's been that way for a while now. In fact, I'm decidedly unhappy most of the time. I'm frustrated, I'm upset, I'm mad. I pulled the thread and followed that feeling. I wasn't mad at the person in the yard. I wasn't even mad at my end of that situation. It was just a general anger, something that ate away inwardly.

The food was browning, so I turned off the stove. I found the Tupperware Without A Lid and filled it with tortillas, and scooped some food into them. I got a bottle of tabasco, then brought them both outside. I told the man to keep the bottle and the Tupperware. We talked a little more. After a bit, I went back in, feeling a bit better. I felt good to have put aside how bad I felt for and about myself and do something kind. No matter how I feel, that's what I value most, and of all the things swimming in my head, nothing can be more affirming than acting on that one. It was time to eat, but before I could, I had to clean the dishes I cooked with. I went to the pile in the sink. Sitting on the top of the cookware used was the thing I had served the food with. My favorite spoon. I had been so caught up with being unhappy that I didn't even realize I was using it.

If there's a magic I believe in, this is it. The small rewards that come from showing kindness.

[inraindrawz]

« Do you want to make a wish? »

Day three of @naruto-fantasy-week, Old Gods.

Inspired by this artwork and the Inari shrine in Fushimi, Kyoto.

[bowandcurtsey]

Hi! I really like your work and it's my first time requesting something so I'm really nervous (ó﹏ò｡) I feel guilty for requesting since you already have 28 ("｡>ㅅ<｡) but I came up with an idea and I couldn't help it! So how about a headcanon of William, Yami, Julius, and Novel reacting to s/o who likes to draw them all the time? you don't have to do it tho, its fine! Sorry if it's not clear, hope you have a great day, thanks! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

Hello bby, don't feel guilty about the requests haha! As long as you guys are willing to wait, then just send you requests in, I'll get to them eventually, and look, here we are now! :3

Thank you for requesting this Anony, it was pretty fun to do! hehe!

William | Yami | Julius | Nozel x f! reader

William Vangeance

The very first time when you asked if you could draw him, he was honoured.

But when he watched you draw, you looked like you were so in peace; your breathing calm and steady, your eyes sparkled, your lips tugging up into a slight curl.

What's more, you were drawing him. It made his lips perk up too.

Subsequently, you would just draw him as and when you liked, and you did it often. He'd just let you indulge in your passion and his face would flush a little, seeing how you were so delighted to draw him.

Whenever he glanced over to you, and you were holding your sketch book and pencil, his lips would voluntarily turn into a smile, knowing you were drawing him again.

You had countless drawings of him, but you didn't let him keep any, because it was "for me to capture all the memories I have of you so I can look back at them when you're out on missions!"

His face flushed at your words as he patted your head, not knowing what to say.

Yami Sukehiro

"Whaddya doing baby?" He came over to look at your sketch pad one day and upon realising that you were making a sketch of him, he gave you that shit eating smirk.

"Heh, can't get enough of me?"

You had to roll your eyes a little but you grinned cheekily, "sit still and read your papers!"

"I'm distracted now that you're staring at me" his smirk never left his face.

You eventually had to draw him sitting in his lap.

Subsequently, after he got used to him drawing you, he was a little more indifferent but he was always proud whenever he heard someone say "y/n you're drawing Yami again??"

Yami could also do simple sketches himself, so you both tend to discuss about the drawings that you did.

He would tease you sometimes, saying that his nose looked better than that, or you drew his face too round, and when you did a little pout, he would hold you close and told you he liked it either way.

He'll notice small details like the shading was nice or the proportion was good etc because he really paid proper attention to it.

Julius Novachrono

Being the drama king he was, he flashed you his signature sparkly eyed face when you asked to draw his portrait.

He'll be pretty excited and he'll sit in different poses for you, "Will this do? Which angle would you like?"

Marx would lament that he should be doing his paperwork instead of sitting / standing there to be your model but you told Julius you wanted to draw him in a natural state, so he could continue doing his paperwork while you sketched him.

He pouted a little, unhappy that he could not get away with his paperwork for just a moment.

When you were done, he was so impressed, your drawing of him was perfect.

Subsequently when he found out you had this habit to draw him, he was even more elated. He would happily sit and and let you draw all you want, much to Marx happiness, because that would mean for the time you were drawing, he would be obedient and do his work.

He would beg you to let him keep one or two of your drawings of him, just so he could show off to the world and keep one in his office.

Nozel Silva

Man would scoff when you first said you wanted to draw him initially. Upon seeing your sulk, he would relent, "Just make sure it wouldn't disturb me at work.."

When you were done, you showed him your work and his face looked impressed, but he just mumbled a 'not bad'

He was secretly pleased of your work and he thought that it was marvelous.

His ego boosted when he realised you liked drawing him. He would pretend not to care, but he would always make sure nobody was blocking you from your view of him.

"You. Sit on the chair while I talk."

The guard was dumbfounded, "S-sir silva.... I could not- "

"Just sit."

Once, he saw you making a sketch of Fuegoleon and Salamander and he was grumpy and pouty the entire day. He purposely rode his mercury Eagle in front of you multiple times.

When you asked him why he was being so grumpy, he would deny and he would look at your previous sketches and realised that you had drawn multiple drawings of him and his eagle before.

He was relax a little and his heart would swell with pride. -end-

[lonely-lost-soul]

Poff Poff

(Platonic C!Schlatt x Niece Reader)

Request 7: Can I request an Uncle Jschlatt and Niece reader? (Platonic ye) maybe Jschlatt could be out taking his niece to a late-night convenience store so they could late-night snack because both he and his niece had a bad day?

Requested by: Anonymous

AU where Puffy is Schlatt’s sister :)

~~~

Schlatt had, had a rough day, to say the least. He once again almost got banned for another scheme gone wrong. His election plans were set in motion but due to the statistics, it looked like he was losing and he was pissed off beyond belief. He had no plans for the rest of the day, all he wanted to do was relax with a drink and a cigarette, maybe watch a movie, just something to help him through the rest of this shitty ass day.

So, When Puffy had shown up on his doorstep and dropped you off to watch you while she went out his immediate response was no. He already smells like cigarette smoke and whiskey he shouldn’t be anywhere near a child. But one harsh glare from his sister made him shut his trap, he looked down at you and you looked just as unhappy to be there.

“Mom do I have to stay here, I’m old enough to stay on my own. Or even with Dream?” The angsty teen groaned tilting her head to the side, her little horns hitting her on the shoulder. Puffy let out a pinched huff pressing her fingers to her nose,

“You know Dreams out with George and Sapnap, plus you’re still too young to be left alone. So you’re staying with Uncle Schlatt until I get back from my date with Niki.”

“But-”

“Hush no butts. Now you.” She pointed a finger at Schlatt, “no smoking or drinking in front of my little Poff got it?” Schlatt rolled his eyes snarling over at his sister,

“Have a little faith in me, sis.” She shot him a look, and he wilted a little bit,

“Be good.”

“I will.” You groaned,

“Not talking to you.”

“I will.” The goat-man grumbled under his breath, finally seeming satisfied his sister departed leaving her equally hotheaded daughter by his side. “So...you smoke?”

“No Uncle Schlatt I don’t smoke,” You sighed a frown on your face usually that comment got a least a snort.

Oh no, not teenage angst.

You walked past him into his humble abode and plopped down on his couch, it also smelled like smoke, “How’s Quackity?”

“You mean Flatty Patty?” He smirked plopping down beside you scratching at his ear absentmindedly. You snickered, there it was,

“No I don’t, you know he hates when you call him that.” You nudged him gently, Schlatt ruffled your hair minding your horns. You huffed at him moving to fix your tousled hair,

“Alright, kid you got me. Now, what’s up with you?”

“Nothings wrong.” You muttered crossing your arms over your chest defensively, he shrugged his shoulders not bothering to push you. “Okay fine!” You blurted throwing your hands in the air, the man raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t say anything-”

“It’s just Dream’s not been home lately and Mom’s not taking it well. Instead of trying to watch out for him n’ shit, she’s going on dates with Niki.” You groaned falling back against the couch, “When he does come home it’s just for food and to pet, his cat then leave. He barely even says hi to us anymore...we used to be so close. Now he just doesn’t care.” Your face fell and he frowned, Schlatt winced a little he was never known to be very good with comforting people let alone comforting women. He placed a hand on your shoulder and squeezed,

“He’ll come around kid, family’s, family you know?” He watched you shrug sadly and he rubbed his chin with his other hand.

He needed another cigarette right now.

You looked up at him and saw him tense, “You can smoke I don’t care.” You gave a little shrug, “either way I’m leaving here smelling like smoke Mom won’t be able to tell the difference.”

“Heh.” He chuckled roughly rubbing the back of his neck, “thank’s kid, I owe you one.” You nodded and watched as Schlatt pulled out his package of cigarettes and frowned seeing it was empty, “Ah fuck me.”

“You out?”

“Yeah. Would you be opposed to a quick drugstore run?” You shrugged your shoulders, indifferent.

“Sure could be fun. Could I get a snack?”

“You could get whatever you want, not payin’ for it.” You snorted loudly covering your mouth to hide your snort. “What? If you can steal it you can get whatever you want.”

“I’m not stealing anything Uncle Schlatt, that’s wrong.”

“Ugh. What’s my goody-two-shoes sister been teaching you?” His nose scrunched up in displeasure. “As long as you don’t get caught anything is legal kid. Stick with me and you’ll learn way more tips than that. I'm a professional.”

“Right cause doing that hasn’t gotten banned before.” You smirked and he glared at you pulling on your horn. The movement caused you to yelp in pain. “Joke! I was joking! Ow!” He muttered a ‘you better be’ before standing up from his couch. You followed him from the couch as he made his way to the door, he held it open for you and you snickered “What a gentlemen.”

“Don’t slander my name like that again.” He scoffed, “Follow me, don’t wander off.” Schlatt commanded as you followed him down to the nearest convenience store, “Go get something you like.” He shooed you off and requested the pack of cigarettes he needed making small talk with the store clerk while you wandered around. “Hurry up kid or you get nothing!”

“I’m coming!” You yelled back in your arms was a pack of sour patch watermelons, a chocolate bar, and some chips, “I got you chips.” Schlatt tried to bite back a smile but it came through anyway and it only made you smile in tandem. He paid for your goodies and you both headed out to go sit outside on a nearby bench. As you sat down you turned to stare at him dead in the eyes, he felt a little unsettled and watched as you slowly pulled out a little bag of popcorn. “I stole it.”

“Holy fuck kid you did it!” He burst into laughter ruffling your hair once again, “I’m proud of you.” You beamed brightly sitting up straighter on the bench, you opened the bag and popped a piece into your mouth. Schlatt reached forward and stole a handful from you, you ripped the bag away defensively and he snickered.

“Soo…” You trailed off softly and he raised an eyebrow at you, “You seemed to have a bad day too. You wanna talk about it?” His eyes widened in surprise, he didn’t take you to be so observant, then again you were Puffy’s child.

“Alright Poff,” he clicked his tongue distastefully and began to recount his woes to his child niece. Halfway through he pulled out a freshly bought cigarette and stuck it between his teeth. He pulled out a lighter flicking it a few times before lighting the cancer stick in his mouth and taking a long drag. You nodded your head in response and seemed to be listening intently to him, as he talked he felt his facade crumbling. The goat man slumped across the bench and was openly ranting to you at this point. “So yeah, that’s how my days going. Guess we both are doing pretty shitily huh?” You pursed your lips,

“Why don’t you ask Quackity to combine both of your votes the day of the election?” He looked at you with a raised eyebrow, you flushed nervously under his stern gaze. “Then you can be the President and he can be your Vice President or something...that way you both win in a way, ya know?”

“Kid…” Schlatt murmured thoughtfully rubbing his chin, “you’re a genius!” He wrapped you up in a hug, “this kid! I love ya! You’re too smart for your good!” You beamed letting out a happy laugh in response, “I’m contacting him immediately. Wilbur and Tommy don’t stand a fucking chance against me now.”

“I’m glad I can make you happy.” You snuggled into his arms but recoiled a little bit at the overwhelming scent of fresh smoke on his clothes, “you deserve it.” Schlatt felt his heart shutter a little at the inclination that he deserves to be happy, he was about to respond with a joke but you started talking again. “You’re a good guy Uncle. You don’t let people see it often but you’re an okay dude,” he watched you fiddle with your fingers as his eyebrows furrowed. He chuckled a little,

“Most people would disagree with you kid.”

“Well most people don’t know like mom and I do,” You pointed out, “Plus if you weren’t a nice guy you wouldn’t have tried to cheer me up.”

“I needed smokes.” He pointed out motioning to the stick in his mouth and you frowned a little.

Good, things were getting too mushy for his liking.

He was about to smirk in triumph but you turned towards him a determined look on your face. “My point still stands, for example, if you weren’t that great of a guy you wouldn’t have watched me today. You would’ve shut the door in Puffy’s face or you wouldn’t have listened and tried to comfort me. Therefore, my point still stands,” You shoved your finger in his face and he grumbled in displeasure. You smirked instead of him, getting the signature family smirk on your face it only made him frown deeper.

“Alright fine, but you tell anyone I’m slightly nice you’re cut off.”

“Cut off from what? You’re inheritance? You’re broke as shit.”

“You’re way too much like your mother.”

“Aw, you think so?” You flushed fondly, “Thanks!” You chirped proudly, puffing out your chest a little bit. He scoffed tugging on your horns once more and smirked as you yelped, “Would you stop doing that!”

“Nah I don’t think I will. Especially because I know it’s bothering you.”

“Asshole.”

“That’s more like it.”

You leaned back against the back of the bench with a loud groan throwing some popcorn at him. He snickered loudly, watching you closely all in all Schlatt did enjoy today. He kissed his teeth a little, you were way smarter than everyone seemingly gave you credit for, especially Dream. When Schlatt wins this election maybe he’d give you a position in his cabinet. He thinks you would like that, finally being able to show people who’s boss and what you’re capable of, yeah that’s what he’ll do. Reluctantly Schlatt pulled you close so your head rested against his shoulder, you smiled up at him softly, all in all, it was a good end to his day.

[gaillol-13]

ITTHIGSS AU

Cartoon encounter

The Thrilling Adventures Of Captoon Underpants. By George Beard and Harold Hutchins

Despite it's old appearance, it was made in 2021 by cartoonists George Beard(20 and 0/5 yrs) and Harold Hutchins(21).

They said that they made the cartoon in memory of their boss, Benjamin Krupp, who was tragically killed in a car accident(?). And despite his grumpy, strict, and sarcastic nature, they did miss him (in the interview they joked that black and white cartoons were played at his high school, despite that he was in his 40s, and technology didn't work like that back in the day). And it was also based off the comic books they made when they were young.

The Cartoon itself was about George and harold (as kids) and a chubby half-naked goofy superhero called Captoon Underpants. The trio go on wacky action packed adventures, stop alot of evil baddies, or just have a bunch of fun. It has a decent amount of potty humour, well-balanced in the adult jokes department, and was a hit for kids (and even some adults) everywhere.

The only unhappy customer was Theodore Murdsly, a rich businessman with a huge company (called Ted corp), and a ego to match. The main reason he found the cartoon unacceptable was that he was a major antagonist and Captoon's rival. And it potrayed him as a selfish, cocky, greedy, perverted (yes, I went there), and lying pig (what pissed him off even more was that George and harold dont regret it one bit, even enjoyed that he was annoyed). When he stated this problem, Harold simply said "Look if you dont like that we made your character so accurate, you don't have to watch it at all."

The viewers laughed their heads off, and no one seemed to cared about Theodore's complaint.

On December 4th, seven criminals who worked for Ted kidnapped George and Harold and took them to the abandoned Jerome Horwitz school (which was also where the two cartoonists got their education) to "end the production".

When people asked how George and harold got out alive, they didn't answer and looked at each other with worry. So the police (along with class S scientist Melvin sneedly, who also went to school there) went to the school to investigate, all the evidence they found was a room with 5 dead bodies (no doubt the criminals) and a small TV.

From what Melvin described, 1 body had their neck twisted off and skinned to the bone, 2 had been hung from handmade nooses (that were, strangely, just a bunch of briefs tied together), another one had the top half of their torso missing (with teeth marks,human teeth marks), and 1 looked like it was crushed by a heavy object. There was no trace of the other 2 criminals. Here's what he said in the interview.

"Do you think George and harold are responsible for these murders?"

"Of course not! Sure, those rusty water pipes are very clever, but they wouldn't kill a human, not even if its self defense!"

"You said one was crushed, can you define exactly how?"

"Actually, it seems that the killer crushed him using...some sort of weapon. *pulls out a small broken piece of the weapon out of his pocket and shows it to the camera* I got a sample of it right here"

"The weapon was made from...grey wood?"

"That's the thing! It has the texture of wood, right?! But-but it feels... *drags finger on sample* wet, like ink, just a little. But it's also static-like!"

"Static-like?"

"Y-yeah, and its definitely solid, but it feels like you can bend it too, sorta like rubber!"

"So...its moist rubber wood that feels like...static?"

"I know I know, it sounds crazy. But thats just how it feels, we ran some tests on it, all the computers (after some errors) could say was that it was "hammer wood". So we can confirm this person used a hammer."

"But you said it was rubbery, so how could this person smash them with it?"

"They must have swung it hard, and judging from this picture... *pulls out a picture of the completly smashed corpse* ...it must have been a pretty big hammer. *chuckles a bit*"

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Just imagining this guy smashing someone with a hammer probably bigger than his body, while its obviously barbaric and gruesome...it kinda reminds me of the captoon cartoons George and harold make..."

"It does?"

"*Nods* mm hm. *pulls out the picture of 2 criminals hanging* And they also made a noose out of underwear! There was actually a Captoon episode where Captoon kinda did that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, *crosses his legs and smiling* Theodore said to some people something about him winning a contest and gloated that he was gonna win Edith (like that's ever gonna happen), and-"

"Do you know who Edith is in the cartoon?"

"Of course! She's Captoon's love interest, her first appearance was in "Captoon's train troubles", and just like George, Harold, Theodore, and me (yeah, I'm in there too), she's an actual person in real life. And she didn't seem to mind the role those two gave her *leans foward* if you know what I mean. *winks and leans back to his original spot*"

"*chuckles*"

"So anyway. Theodore says that, but what he didn't know was that Captoon heard and saw the whole thing through the window, and boy, did he look pissed! So Captoon tapped the window to get Theodore's attention, then pulls out a bunch of underwear from his utility waistband (one of his powers in unlimited underwear), then ties them into a noose, points at him, then at the noose, and then does the "slit-throut" gesture, all while making direct eye contact with Theodore!"

"Woah...that's kinda dark for a family-friendly cartoon."

"I know!! Captoon didn't even say a word in that moment, but that was CLEARLY a death-threat!!! He had full intentions to KILL that smug rich douchebag!!! I mean, they ARE aware kids are watching these, right?!?! Anyway, my point is whoever killed these criminals are obviously a fan of the cartoon, that would definitely explain why he let George and Harold live. *takes a sip of tea*"

"Heh, your one to talk."

"*spits out tea* NONONONOITSNOTLIKEILIKEITORANYTHING I-*ahem* Its just those two keep bugging me to watch it with them, they really love how their work turns out in the end, and I respect that, a-and I seem to remember what happens in the episodes, heh. *nervous laughter* I think we're getting a bit off track. Back to the murders."

"Right, there were seven criminals who took George and harold, but you found five. What happened to the other two?"

"Oh that's...a great question, we couldn't find them, but... *freezes for a moment* remember that there was also a small TV in the same room as the bodies were?"

"Yes."

"W-well, when I was alone in there, it was on one side of the room, and there was a door to the storage room on the other, it was a big room. I noticed there was blood, coming...o-out of...the TV screen...

"W-was there anything showing on the TV?"

"*shakes head* The TV showed nothing but static on it, but bloods was oozing out of the corners...and...when I got closer...I could hear someone...humming..."

"What?"

"*shivers* The-they were humming the Captoon theme song...I could hear it...and...hands..."

"Wha?"

"I could feel...hands...reaching out toward me...from behind...I could hear the storage room door opening...the breathing...footsteps that repeatedly stopped to tap to the rhythm of the song he was humming...that was the moment I realized the man who killed the criminals was right behind me..."

"Jeez."

"His breathing seemed like it was coming from a radio, scratchy...static-like...but that wasn't the unsettling part..."

"What was?"

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I KNEW one person who breathed like that, it was too familiar...but...It just...couldn't be...he's been deseased for over a year now..."

"Who?"

"... *shakes head* never mind, I think it's time for us to end the interview anyway."

To be continued.......

[lettheladylead]

avoid the unhappy ending (ch9)

ships/characters: Goldie, Beakley, Scrooge/Goldie words (ch9): ~1600 summary: Goldie comes to town to see Scrooge. Instead, she somehow manages to run into literally everyone else. ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27108943/

[1 & 2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Chapter 9 under the cut:

Before going in, Goldie took a deep breath to prepare herself for an inevitable battle. Her shoulder was still hurting quite a bit and her knees were starting to flare up. Stupid arthritis. She rolled her shoulders to make sure everything was in place and ready to move around in case this got messy fast. Beakley was a tough old broad - not as tough as her and not as old as her, but it was still good to be ready.

She moved as quietly as possible towards the entrance and slowly made her way inside.

Beakley’s back was facing her as she entered the kitchen. But this was Beakley - when someone was nearby, she knew it. No need to try and scare her.

“Twenty-Two.”

“O’Gilt.”

Goldie crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “You don’t seem surprised.”

“You’ve been wandering around the manor for over two hours,” Beakley said as she continued chopping vegetables. “I’ve known you were here since - peh - Duckworth informed me.”

“Oh.” Goldie stood up straight and rubbed her arm. That was embarrassing, but she couldn’t let it get to her. At least she wasn’t being attacked. “I assume he told you why I’m here.”

“You’re here for Mr. McDuck, according to you,” Beakley answered curtly. “I know you’re actually here to steal something, but go ahead and continue your charade for all I care.”

“It’s not a charade,” Goldie said, mocking Beakley’s accent. She walked over and leaned against the counter, looking at the vegetables and the very sharp knife being used to cut them. “He’s just been very difficult to find today, is all.”

“Perhaps that’s on purpose,” Beakley said as she shoved the chopped carrot to the side and grabbed another one. “Have you considered the possibility that after all these years he’s finally done with your attitude and lack of respect and complete insincerity when it comes to his feelings and he just doesn’t want to see you anymore?”

Goldie ignored the trite analysis and continued to stare at Beakley's knife movements, noticing a definite increase in roughness as she spoke. “No need for jealousy, Bentina.”

The housekeeper struggled to hold back a noise of disgust that Goldie found absolutely hilarious. “Not in the least,” she added. “Your bad taste does not influence the rest of womankind.”

The blonde chuckled and leaned fully on one hand, elbow propped up on the counter. “I’ll have you know he was very cute back in the day.”

Beakley finally stopped and turned to Goldie, glaring at her. She pointed out of the kitchen door, where a giant portrait of a younger Scrooge was visible on the far wall. “Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded of what he looked like back in the day.”

Goldie smirked at the portrait and chuckled. “It’s different in person. He was just...it’s different.”

“How cute.”

“Speaking of cute, your granddaughter is very feisty, you know that?” Goldie picked herself up to sit on the counter.

Beakley held the knife tightly and pointed it at her. “Get down. And stay away from her, she doesn’t need anything from you.”

Goldie didn’t move. “Oh, really? She was asking me all kinds of questions. Seems like there’s a lot she wanted from me that her dear ol' grandmother can’t help her with.”

The knife got closer to her chest. “ Down. ”

In her head, she tried to balance the scales of her own pride versus her lack of interest in getting stabbed. Hmm. Hmmmmmmm.

Goldie hopped back down and leaned against the counter again. Beakley looked genuinely surprised before going back to chopping.

“I’ve raised Webbigail well enough to know not to trust a word you say.”

“Naturally,” Goldie chuckled. “So...Scrooge?”

Beakley shrugged. “I wasn’t kidding before. If he wanted you to find him, I’m certain you would’ve found him by now. He’s got security cameras in every hallway, after all.”

The blonde pushed herself off the counter and walked to the fridge, opening it up and looking at what was inside. There was an unopened water bottle waiting for her to take. “Well, I’m not leaving until I see him, so you might as well just tell me.”

“Della mentioned you were planning to stay for dinner for some godforsaken reason - is that why? And put that back!”

Goldie closed the fridge and uncapped the water bottle, taking a long sip. A half-second later and there was a knife jabbed into the side of the fridge next to her head.

“Kind of aggressive, don’t you think?”

“Is it even possible for you to ask before taking something? Is it a biological impossibility or are you just so frustratingly consistent that you feel like you have to act this way?”

Goldie took another sip, grabbing the knife and tossing it back at Beakley who caught it between two fingers with ease. “Interesting question. I’ll answer if you tell me where Scrooge is.”

That carrot was done. Beakley moved on to the next one. Cooking for so many people seemed like a hassle. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“And of course, you’re the only person who actually knows where he is.”

“That’s likely true.”

Goldie took several big gulps of water. “This house is too huge and ridiculous. I just want to see him - is that such a big deal? If he doesn’t want to see me, fine, I’ll be out of his feathers soon enough. But I came all the way here so I’m going to find him even if I have to wait for him to come down for your dumb family dinner.”

Beakley responded with a low hum. Goldie glared at her.

“And if I’m waiting, I guess I’ll wait here with you, Bentina!” She smiled brightly and finished off the water bottle, tossing it onto the floor.

The chopping stopped. In that moment, the air became frozen and stiff - like something bad was about to happen. Something very, very bad. Goldie felt some of her arm feathers standing up straight in anticipation. Maybe she’d just made a mistake, but pettiness towards the housekeeper was worth any price. (Okay, not any price. She had her limits.)

Fortunately (or unfortunately?), Beakley just leaned over and picked up the bottle, tossing it into the proper bin. She was suspiciously calm about this entire situation. “Wouldn’t you rather be annoying Louie again?”

“Annoying? I think he likes talking to me.”

“I’m not surprised you think that.”

Goldie rolled her eyes and stepped forward to the center of the kitchen, just standing there and looking around. She knew how much Beakley hated her, but it was almost funny the efforts she was going to make her seem entirely unwelcome by everyone in the house. Maybe she was right, but it’s not like Goldie spent her time trying to get people to like her. “So what would you do if I married Scrooge and moved in here? You’d have to deal with me every single day.”

Chop chop chop. “I don’t have to worry about that because I know you’ll never do it.”

“Heh,” Goldie chuckled and pushed some of her hair back. “When you’re right, you’re right.” She felt an uncomfortable sadness creep at the corners of her mind and frowned, not sure what the issue could be. The housekeeper didn’t say anything that she didn’t already know.

She turned back towards Beakley only to see her staring directly at her, looking angry and a bit concerned. Goldie shook off her immediate embarrassment at having been seen in a slightly vulnerable mindset and walked over to the counter again.

Beakley was still staring at her.

“What?”

“What exactly are your intentions with Mr. McDuck when you find him?”

“Pfft,” Goldie almost laughed. “My intentions? Besides a quick roll in the hay -”

“Ugh.”

“...it’s just been a while since we last talked.” Goldie poked a finger against the countertop and slid it around in a small circle. “I wanted to catch up. Let him talk about some adventure and then I’d tell him about my much better adventures.”

There was silence for a few moments as Goldie continued to slide her finger around. "Maybe he'll start reminiscing and we'll just talk about the past for a few hours while doing absolutely nothing. And he'd ask me to stay a while and I'll pretend to consider it but leave while he's sleeping anyway,” she finished with a shrug.

She didn't need to look up to know that Beakley was staring at her again. It was embarrassing, but a normal consequence of rambling like a lovestruck teen. Quackfaster was still wrong about her, of course, but after how her day was going...

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you almost sounded sincere."

Goldie hummed softly. "Almost."

They fell into silence. An odd, almost companionable silence where it didn't feel like either woman was planning to hurt the other. Goldie didn't see how it would benefit her and Bentina was both too busy getting dinner ready and, against her better judgement, considering the possibility that Goldie should stay for the evening.

"...so what’s going on? An anniversary of some sort?" Beakley asked suddenly.

Goldie blinked at her. "I already told Duckworth it's not anything."

"And he told me as much. But I don't believe you." Beakley had moved on to the celery. "You're both being very nostalgic today."

"I'm…" Goldie blushed a bit, knowing Beakley wasn't wrong about her wistfulness, and reached over to grab a piece of chopped carrot, popping it in her mouth. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

The housekeeper contained the urge to slap Goldie's thieving little hand and sighed loudly instead.

"He's in his treasure room."

Goldie's eyes widened and she looked at Bentina with suspicious curiosity. She didn’t appreciate being lied to, especially not such an obvious lie. "I already checked there."

"Not that treasure room," Beakley said with a groan. "He's in the Klondike Room."

[cc7111-marlo]

"Hm, I'm fine, I'm fine", Thorn chirps brightly, "A little pissed at Fox being a selfdestructive idiot at times but that's nothing new, right? I feel like he's seeing someone and that makes him feel like shit because he thinks he doesn't deserve me even though I told him I'm okay with it - his irrstionality is freaking me out sometimes, ugh", Thorn throws his arms over his eyes, "But other than that I'm perfectly fine. I'm still making new friends and Thire and I are going to pull a prank on Hound and promote Grizzer to Commander", he giggles and keeps babbling not giving Marlo any chance to react to anything what he said.

"I bet he's going to be very happy about that besides, who doesn't want their assignments to be signed off with a paw, right. Oh, and uh, do you perhaps by any chance know Daisy? Ohh, he just came here and he's already soooo nice, he brought me a flower crown the other day and he's soo cute, oh lord, I wish I could keep him around all day, he makes me so happy. His name was Babyface when he came here, can you imagine? But he was so unhappy with his name and I really, really wanted him to feel better and you remember how Cody used to bring Lullaby a couple of flowers from that greed spot outside? Well, Daisy found one of them and painted it into his armor and thus I thought why not name him after that thing instead and he was sooo happyyyy!"

Thorn turns his head and laughs at Marlo for a moment before he makes a dreamy expression. "And then, of course, there is Fox. Oh, I love him so much, Marlo, he's the husband of my dreams. He's so beautiful and so sexy and so protective and sometimes when I think about him my entire chest just goes boom", he makes an exploding gesture with his hands, "And then I wanna hug him and hide him from all the pain this world is causing him, I'm....", he sighs helplessly at the top of his lungs, "I wanna help him so badly, Marlo, he needs a day off but he has so much work to do and I know that kone of us can't live up to his working standards I'm just... He refuses any help from anyone and then he's wondering why he's feeling like shit all the time, i mean, I can pop in there and suck his dick every half an hour, that would certainly help him wind down, but that only stresses him more in the end because the time he wastes on looking at me has to be added in the end as a night shift because he didn't get shit done", he groans unhappily about that.

"Oh, and Epsilons Platoon needs a new leader", he rubs his face, "I got them a substitute, but Force wanted to return to his old post ASAP and now I have to request someone because I can't promote anyone of them into her position, I can't I just can't. They'd all hate me. Ughhh."

"Oh, and did you know, apparently your battalion has a medic called Soup. Motherkriffing Soup! I'm still mad that he fell through the system, he's been here for over a month already and still has no painting on his suit, can you imagine? He must be really good at hiding if he managed to evade me yet. Then again, I'm not here that often so I'm not really that surprised either. He came to talk to me the other day and asked me for soup, which is sort of obvious, but yeah, I'm still confused, though, because we never met before and he still knew that he should call me 'Thorn' instead of 'Sir', which means", he gives Marlo a proud sideglance, "It makes word around the men. Took them long enough, heh?"

He reaches up to undo his hair and card his fingers through it. "I've been stressing out a lot, lately. And I don't even know why. I just feel bad sometimes and that usually means something bad is either happening and I'm oblivious to it or something is about to hit me full force in the shebs and I don't want either of that to happen, because that's shit. Hound already lost one of this closest friends lately and was really, really worn down from that. And then Fox went out with some violent bitch from the front and heck! Peck has nightmares and I don't want him to, he needs his sleep. And then all the other things that happened lately, I think they're....", he takes a deep, collecting breath, "Finally catching up to me and that sucks. So... uh... sorry for venting. I know you have your own burdens, but hey! You asked for it!"

[Next post]

.

[rebelredeyes]

Doc and Lion: I was wrong about you.

Heads up before we begin. There is a lot of dark themes (Suicidal thoughts, bullying) in here so read at your own risk. Also this is sort of unedited and written in one sitting. Please enjoy.

Lion had been injured in the last terrorist attack as he favored one side of him. It wasn't life threatening though as he passed the medical bay despite every step feeling like hell. He got dirty looks from most people as he moved on by. His team had nearly failed as the hostage had been shot and he got the blame by default. That's when Thatcher showed up. 

"Heard you fucked up yet another operation. Sometimes I wonder why Six keeps you around. Probably for entertainment, that or you look so good on your knees" he jeered as Lion snarled. He wasn't in the mood for this as he tried to move forward but Thatcher stopped him. 

"Oi mate, I am not done talking to you." he began as Lion hissed back. 

"Fuck off" 

"What did you say to me?" Thatcher said as his hand hung near his knife when Lion snatched it up and slammed into the next to Thatcher's head. 

"I said fuck off or are you going deaf. Might want to see Doc over that. Good day." Lion growled out not caring who saw this as he stormed off. No one stopping him as he entered his room to see graffiti pver the walls again. He just turned to the bathroom to see the mirror shattered on the floor and his medication poured out in the toilet.

Lion fought back tears as he entered the mess to fix his side. He had trouble without the full mirror as he used a shard to see. His hands trembling from the pain as he bite back his cries. He then settled down for the evening after discarding his blood clothing and wrapping his horrible stitching job with an old sheet. He then laid down as he tried to get some rest without his medication. He barely got any. 

The following morning, he was hoping for some time off to let his side heal like his other wounds had in the past, but soon he saw that he was scheduled for a bunch of mock up hostage rescues. He hid his displeasure along with the sharp pain of moving till that afternoon when Caveria kicked his stitches. 

Lion crumbled like a sack of potatoes as she backed off. Him soon seeing why as his side grew red. Caveria instant calling a pause as Lion forced himself up. The PA system ordering his to the medical bay as Lion swore under his breath. All eyes staring at him as he stalked off as he heard whispering after him for being stupid or not speaking up. 

He then slammed the door open to the medical bay as Doc waited looking disapproving at him. Lion biting back a scowl as he removed his gear loudly as Doc clenched his clipboard. Him pissed about dealing with Lion after yesterday's news of him getting the hostage hurt. 

"Could you please be more considerate to other patients please." Doc finally snapped as Lion finished. 

"Too late. Already done." he snapped back as he turned to see Doc's eyes flash with rage. 

Doc could see the horrible stitches from where he stood, but came closer as he couldn't believe Lion did that horrible of a job. He was surprised none of the stitches had popped or torn as he assessed the extent of damage. A moderate flesh wound, which he should of seen. Doc growing more enraged as he knew Lion knew this too. 

"You are fucken stupid as I thought. You should have came here for me to do this. I have seen 6 year olds do better than this" Doc lectured as Lion clenched his fists tight. He knew Doc was baiting him, but he responded regardless. 

"Funny. Last time I tried, you threw a bedpan at me and said do it myself."Lion shot back, grumbling in" Kind of hard to do it yourself without a good mirror or anything to keep the pain down too. "

"Suck it up. I had bigger things to worry about that day." Doc snapped "And what about a mirror. You have one is your fucken bathroom" 

Lion jerked away from Doc fully as he felt his anger grow along with his anxiety. His back knocking over a tray of tools onto the floor as Doc yelled at him for it. Lion snarled something back before Doc straight up punched him. 

Lion's eyes water as his nose hurt as blood  ran down his face onto the floor. He heard Doc's heavy breathing  as the man seemed to realize what he had done. His fist still raised and ready for another blow as blood laid spackled on the latex glove while his other hand held Lion's shirt.

Lion then roughly pushed Doc away from him as he began to swiftly walk to the door. That's when he heard Doc stammer for a moment before getting out, 

"Lion, wait. I'm…" Lion cut him off. 

"What you're sorry. Go fuck yourself with your apologies. The damages are already done, besides.. . I quit." Lion spat out as he shook. 

" Lion you don't mean.. " Doc began as Lion roared out 

"You don't know that. You don't even fucken notice what the others are doing or saying. Ever since you showed signs you didn't like me and then told them why you didn't, they have treated me like shit. Just go in my fucken room for proof if you don't believe me. Heh. " Lion took a breath before looking at Doc with tear filled eyes as uttered "And you call me a real piece of work" 

Lion then stormed out as he grabbed a resignation form. He just wrote in blood: I QUIT! - LION. before slamming it into a recruits chest as he exited the building. Him not stopping for anyone as he shook worse. Lion then broke into a sprint, ignoring the pain in his side as he ran from the military base to the city streets. No one followed. 

Doc was left shaken after what Lion had said to him. He was still in shock he had even punched the man. It didn't even feel like what he had expected it to be. It felt wrong as he stared at the blood. He quickly peeled them off and threw them away before storming out towards Lion's room. The base is slight commotion it seemed as he got to the door. 

Doc drew in a deep breath and pushed the door open to see the graffiti over the walls, even the ceiling. All things he had muttered under his breath at Lion when Lion had erked him. He then took a step inside, flicking the lights on but only one bulb came on. It's light was dim as Doc made his way to the bathroom, seeing the bloody clothing on the floor. 

He then saw the broken mirror glass on the ground and empty pill bottles near the toilet. Peering in he saw the remains of dissolved pills. Him instantly checking the labels which left him breathless in tears. Antidepressants and anxiety pills of different doses for good and bad days. Plus one was a sleep aid. 

Doc then stood up and stumbled from the bathroom to the main room as he saw a picture torn up on the ground. It was of Lion's son. He was appalled that anyone could have done that. Even he knew that Lion thought the world of his son. Doc quickly grabbed up the pieces and rushed back to the medical bay. Also ignoring everyone else. 

Meanwhile, Lion had holed himself up in a hotel room with a couple of old friends. Whiskey and moonshine. Two sins he never thought would kiss his lips again, but before that; Lion called his ex. 

She sounded concerned as Lion told her that he'll be fine and asked for his son. He talked a bit and mostly listened to his kid's school day. Savoring it as much as he could before the kid had to go to dinner. Lion then told his son goodbye and to give his ex a hug for him before the receiver clicked. Lion then broke open the whiskey bottle and drank greedy. Doc had finished piecing the photo together seeing it was a family picture that included Lion with his son’s mother and stepfather. They all were smiling together as Doc realized ever since Lion arrived to Rainbow Six, he hadn’t smiled once. Especially after meeting Doc and himself jerking his hand away from Lion. He then realized how many times Lion had tried to mend the bridge between them and as Doc shoved him farther away, so did everyone else. That’s when the door opened to IQ who seemed nervous.

“IQ? What is it?” Doc asked half concerned as she looked away nervously. Doc got up, pocketing the picture, and came closer asking the same question. This time, IQ answered.

“We are holding a party in the rec. Room. Thought you would like to join.” She said as Tachanka staggered over, clearly drunk, adding.

“It’s for you. Finally getting rid of the yellow problem.” “What?” Doc inquired, holding that didn’t hold what was implied as IQ responded with,

“He’s talking about Lion resigning from Rainbow Six. He quit in quite a fashion.” “Wrote: I Quit, on a resignation form in blood then bolted from site. Must of wounded his pride finally Doc?” Tachanka slurred out, hugging IQ close to him in joy.

“No.” Doc breathed out in disbelief. He had caused this and to see his teammates partying at someone’s departure. It felt as if that one white mask had stabbed him again. Him remembered Lion screaming to stay with him, holding him, apologizing for not being quick enough again like with… with…. A hand on his shoulder suddenly pulled him from his thoughts as IQ looked worried.

“Doc, What’s the matter? We thought you would be happy? He’s been a pain in your ass since he arrived. Always pestering you. Bringing up sore subjects. Sulking like a child when you point out his stupid mistakes over and over again.” IQ stated as Tachanka praised a here, here which Smoke responded too further down the hall. Doc just shook his head, angry at himself. For all his smarts, skill and compassion; he was a blind fool to think Lion was ever trying to provoke him. He then remembered Lion throwing it in his face that this wasn’t the first time he had stitched himself up, alone, in a trashed room. Doc should've noticed the man’s unhappiness growing. He had noted less of Lion’s presence in high traffic area and only located him in more hidden areas of the base. Lion had started eating less, seemed less rested and began tripping up more on missions; if that was even the case. Doc remembered his medical file mention depression,but never confirmed it. He then realized the more he pushed Lion away, the more loner Lion got. Doc then felt hot tears running down his face.

IQ looked confused as Tachanka tried to grab him, but Doc quickly bolted away and out a side door. Him running through the halls, into the outside world as he quickly left site. He didn’t know where he was running to, but all he knew was that he had to find Lion. His mind scrambling to think like Lion might as he ran into the city street, nearly getting hit by a car before he made it to the next sidewalk.

Lion now sat on the bathtub ledge, looking at his side. He couldn’t feel it anymore as his mind swam. Doc’s words over the stitch job echoing in his head. They stung the worst as Lion knew Doc to be the most compassionate man he ever met. Willing to do whatever it took to save everyone, even at the cost of himself. A humanitarian or so he believed. Yet when it came to him, all Doc ever seemed to do was tear him down over one stupid event. Even he hated himself for it, because if he had just been quick enough; it never would of happened.

Doc would have never had to see his best friend shoot herself to escape a long and agonizing death. If he had gotten to the containment room in time, but he was so worried about keeping quarantine from a survivable virus; he let 16 other people died from an incurable one. He could recall all their names by heart. All those years, he wished he go back in time and change it or at least make the only causality himself. Lion then torn out the stitches, not wanting to feel this pain anymore. His screams echoing the building.

Doc was growing desperate, knowing Lion couldn’t have made it far as he saw an ambulance rush by and turn quickly into a hotel parking lot. Doc then booked it, running inside, hearing the room numbers he needed and rushed up the flight of stairs to a hallway filled with people. They all were looking at a single door almost in fear as Doc rushed to it and broke it down within a minute. Him ordering people to stay out of the room.

Lion just laid on the floor, bleeding as he shook from adrenaline. The bottle clinking against his teeth as he gulped down the clear liquid. The liquid burned his mouth as he hiccuped a bit. He then heard the door break down and swear he heard Doc yelling before a blurred figure rushed in, yelling his actual name. Lion hiccuped again, as the figure appeared in the doorway of the bathroom looking like he had just been in a hurricane.

“Doc?” Lion slurred out in disbelief before laughing which turned to soft sobs, “I must of died and gone to hell if you’re here… Of course the devil would make himself look like you. Make my hell look like the place where I killed myself. To remind me of my failure as a believer. Well what are you waiting for Satan, just get on with it already. Not like you could top what I been through already.” Doc felt his heart drop at the sight of Lion and just hearing the man say that hurt so much as he stepped into the bathroom. Doc carefully lowered himself down and saw the pool of blood on the floor as he heard the EMTS arrive. He hollered for them ashe grabbed up a towel and began to apply pressure to Lion’s side. The no response causing Doc to freeze for the first time in a while as an EMT took over what he was doing. Him only moving away to not hinder their job as he silently panicked to the side.

Lion was hospitalized as Doc stayed with him. He knew part of this was his fault, as Six came in to talk to him in private. Doc explaining everything as Six chewed his ass from the high heaven to the depths of Hell. Many operators if not all, recieved the same treatment as Lion was spared it. Six still scoulding him harshly, and telling him if he really wanted to quit; sign the forms properly. Doc’s chest tightening when he saw Lion doing just that as he rushed in, snathcing the papers away.

“The hell Doc? Hand me those back. I said I quit.” Lion snarled reaching for them  as he shift to get up.

“No, and stay in bed. You need to rest.” Doc said as pushed Lion firmly back down as Lion just curled over on his side, refusing to look at Doc.

“Fine, I will just ask Six for another one.” Lion said, rather tired as Doc felt his anger swell up again, but instead of going off; Doc muttered out.

“I’m sorry Lion, I was wrong about you. You came to Rainbow Six, knowing I was here and hoping to mend our past. All I ever did was shut you out and mark you as a target for the others to pick on. I was so stupid and blinded by my own rage and hatried, that I forgot you were a human being too. I even ignored the signs that something was wrong, knowing you wouldn’t say a word about it… I…” Doc didn’t know what else to say as he read Lion’s reason for resigning I’m just a burden to the team. You’re better off without me. Doc then just placed the papers back on Lion’s bed as he began to walk out. He only stopped when he heard Lion’s voice call his name.

“Hey Doc, want to know the worst thing in all of this. Heh. I still forgive you. I still forgive you despite you making me not want to exist.” Lion said as his voice cracked with soft sobs and off laughter. Doc took a step to leave, but stopped and returned to Lion’s bed side. Doc sitting down in a chair next to the bed as he stared at the wall while the heart monitor beeped steadily.

“I know this is a long stretch Lion, but could we start over. Please. I know I fucked up and blamed you for shit that makes perfect sense. That I have been hypocritical with you and frankly unfair in treatment, but I just want a chance to make things right. Like you did.” Doc pleaded “I understand if you..”

“Okay… Just give me a few days? I need some space to think and regroup myself, because of…. Well, you know.” Lion said trying to stop crying as Doc nodded.

“I”ll take care of them for you. Just let me know who and… heh.” Doc replied as Lion chuckled before gasping in pain. Him waving Doc off as he moved back to his side.

“Not very humanitarian of you.” Lion teased softly as he tried to focus on breath as Doc chuckled.

“I learned that sometimes you need a firm hand to deal with certain dilemmas” Doc hissed back as Lion asked playfully

“Who taught you that?” “The very best.” Doc said, adding in “You” Lion suddenly smiled as Doc rumbled with laughter as he got up and said goodbye. Lion handing him the resignation forms to be burnt as Doc nodded and left. Lion then sighed, knowing it was going to be hard to come back after this but hoped Doc meant what he had said. Lion soon drifted back off as Doc returned to a quiet base as he checked the medical bay for anyone in need. Since no one was there, Doc headed down to Lion’s room to see it had been repainted, cleaned and re-organized. Doc then pulled out the photo he had saved and pinned it to the new corkboard. Hoping Lion would see it as his promise.