#it starts out with the sheets & blankets on her bed being too much. she can't get her hair in a good spot & it feels as if it's choking her

[luckydxy]

Ara is one for skinny dipping & dancing nude around a fire, sure sure, it's all good fun, she enjoys it, but realistically she's occasionally prone to stripping when incredibly overwhelmed ; it's suddenly too hot, she can feel every fiber & crease of the fabric, it's hot it's hot, even velvet or silk are too much, too scratchy, too tight, too much too much, she wishes she could remove her skin, it takes every ounce of willpower to not hack at her hair with a knife, it's too hot, everything feels wrong & overwhelming to the touch, everything is wrong, it's hot, she's suffocating-

[herlv3r]

yes or no

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.

୨୧ synopsis: your best friend, yunjin, constantly expresses her attraction towards you. as her best friend, you struggle and question whether she’s being serious or not. it's not easy as your lingering feelings for the girl doesn’t help either, when her actions and words only feed your delusions. 

୨୧ pairing: bestfriend!yunjin x fem!reader

୨୧ genre: fluff

୨୧ a/n: been obsessing over yes or no because it makes me feel things. listening isn't enough, i need it in my soul. sorry if there's mistakes, i proofread like once lol. anyway first fic finally done wooo!

you've known yunjin for awhile, and you just can't wrap your head around when she began acting like this. the sweet nicknames, loving gestures, constant physical touch. you're not complaining but you shouldn't allow yourself to give in to her wicked spells.

a knock is heard on your door. "yeah, come in," a tall ginger walks into your room and closes the door gently behind her. "hi pretty girl," she looks in your direction and walks towards your bed with a cute eye smile. you gawk at her too long for your liking.

you snap out of her trance, "hi jen what's up?" she stops and flops her whole body down on your bed, slightly wrinkling your sheets beneath her. "mhmm, nothing much. i just wanted to ask if your busy." you giggle at her action, admiring how comfortable she is around you. she stares at you waiting for your response. "why bother asking me when you already know my answer?" you give her a confident look as you raise your brow.

"oh yeah right, forgot you don't have any friends other than me." you sat on your chair, dumbfounded and disbelieving with what just came out of her mouth. you pout at her, tears forming in your eyes. she bursts out laughing at your cute reaction. "ahh, you're so cute." she gets up from her position and heads towards you.

heat rushes through your face as she approaches closer. she forces you up and fixes your hair. "awh, i'm sorry baby." that was the final straw, you thought to yourself. it's unfair honestly. you hate feeling vulnerable especially for something you can't control. you don't even remember when you developed feelings for the taller girl. all you know is that you realized it too late that cupid slapped you right in the face, when you found yourself blushing even with the lightest touch from the ginger. you've held on hiding it deep down, but you don't know whether that's something to be proud of.

she snaps her fingers in front of your face, trying to get you out of your thoughts. "hey, you okay?" you come back to your senses, as you walk past her heading somewhere that's not in her proximity, but you can't avoid her forever. "yeah i'm fine"

she pulls out two tickets from her jacket's pocket, waving it in the air, "since you're not busy... how bout we go see a drive-in movie?" you thought, for the sake of your own feelings, you should turn her down. but at the end of the day, you're still her best friend. you force a smile, "sure thing!"

as you entered her car, you noticed how prepared she was. a neatly folded blanket rests on the backseats, along with a picnic basket and two bottles of sparkling drinks. smells good you thought. you secure the seat belt around you and get comfortable on your seat. "soo, what's the movie going to be?" she smiles brightly at you as she starts the engine. "mhm you'll see."

you both sat in comfortable silence for awhile, until she pulls up in an empty parking lot with a big screen in the middle. "where's everyone else?" yunjin turns to you and a slight smirk forms on the corner of her plump lip. "i don't know, i guess we're early?" you look at her with a suspicious face. "girl.. you're not planning on killing me right" she lets out a loud laugh, "pfft shut up, of course not."

she exists the car first, jogging around the front to reach your door before you stepped out. she opens the door for you while bowing as if you were a princess getting off your chariot. you chuckle, "thank you pretty lady." she winks at you in response.

you shiver as the cold night breeze passes through the thin fabric of your shirt. without a word, yunjin immediately removes her jacket and covers you up with its warmth. the scent of her perfume engulfs your senses causing butterflies to kick in. you stare at her gathering everything from the backseat as your cheeks turn bright red.

"jen this is honestly so freaky. you sure we're at the right place?" she drops everything, and intertwines your hands as she smiles. "it's okay, trust me, just relax." you listen to her and wait until she finishes setting up.

"okay sit please~" you look around and admire the scenery she created. you turn to face her "wow jen.. it's so pretty, you did so good." a slight blush of pink appears on her cheeks, "are you cold? do you want your jacket back?" attempting to remove it, she stops you and awkwardly coughs, "no it’s okay, keep it on." she shifts her body closer to you. “thought it’s a good idea to share body heat,” she gives you a small wink. your body stiffens as she leans even more closer.

eventually, the film started rolling. you smacked yunjin’s arm after realizing it’s your favourite ghibli film that’s being projected. she jokingly winces from your sudden action. you give her a side eye, “you think your slick huh, yunjin". she hums in response.

as the credits play out, she takes your hand and plays with your fingers. “so.. did you enjoy today?” you let out a tired sigh. she looks up at you. “what’s wrong?” your gaze glued to her eyes, not knowing how to explain that she’s the problem from the very beginning. how her small gestures and words freezes the time around you. how her genuine smiles turns her eyes into crescent moons and the silly faces she makes whenever she tastes something delicious. everything about her makes you feel like you’re a ticking time bomb ready to explode any second. however, she’s your best friend. it’s harder to let her go than to dump all your feelings on her. when in reality, she probably only sees you platonically.

“nothing, i’m just a little worn out,” you force a reassuring smile. “okay then, let’s get you home before you pass out,” she pats your head. as you both got up, you stop her and pull her into a hug. you feel her stiffen around your arms but she eventually wraps her arms around your waist, drawing you in closer. “thank you jen, i mean it,” you say into the hug. she grips the fabric of your clothes, “anything for you.” you let go of her embrace, knowing if you’ve held on longer you’ll combust. after packing up, you entered her car and sat in comfortable silence again.

shortly after she pulls into your driveway and parks her car. she gazes at you but doesn't say anything. you should say something, you thought. but your throat's dry and you can't spit anything out. "have a good night honey," her sweet nicknames again, but she sounds a little disappointed. "you too jen, and drive safe." you got out of the vehicle but felt like she expected something more from you.

before you could walk any farther, she gets out of her car and grabs you by the arm. "i'm sorry.. i.." you just stare at her, confused. is there something she needs? did you take something from her? she just sighs. "god.. you're so oblivious aren't you?" she lets go of you. she takes her hands and ruffles her perfect orange hair out of frustration. "what are you talking about." you stood there dumbfounded. "i call you all these cute nicknames, i let you be my passenger princess, i take you out on dates, i cancel all my plans just so i can spend my time with you. but why can't you still see it.." you just stare at her. she sighs heavily. "why can't you see... that i like you?"

a blush of pink immediately rushes on your face and you feel like steam is escaping from the top of your head. you couldn't process what came out of her pretty lips. she likes you. did you hear that right? you pull her in a tight hug. "you're an asshole" you smack her back. "for the longest time.. you made me feel all these feelings for you thinking that if i did something with them, i'd lose you." she lets out her cute chuckle as she wraps her arms around you. your heart loosens, letting go of that burden you hold of crushing on your best friend.

she gently pats your head, "soo.. will you go out with me?" you let her go and fix her hair, "yes, of course." a big grin forms on her face and takes your hand, leading you to your door. "okay, i'll call you later." a dumb smile creeps on your face. "yup, drive safe jennifer." she leans forward with her cheek facing towards you. "a kiss on the cheek will protect me," she smirks. you lean forward about to kiss her until she quickly turns her head, connecting your lips with hers.

you pull back and smack her arm. "wow! you witch." you both burst out laughing. "okay, okay now get in." as you slip inside and close the door, you watch her pull out the driveway and drive off. you lean your back against the door and flop to the ground, punching and kicking the air with excitement.

[pupyuj]

I came here to ask for some Yujin thoughts bestie❤ So how about soccer player G!P Yujin (Because cock yes) being a massive pervert and having the biggest crush on popular girl reader. Reader is dating someone on Yujin's team that Yujin isn't close with and she just can't help but jerk off and then fucking the reader.

ah, it's my favorite fellow casual yujin enjoyer 🥺

it's really not yujin's fault that you're gorgeous, okay??? the first time you visited the soccer field to visit your boo, you were wearing an outfit that accentuated your curves so good that yujin had to run to the locker rooms bcs she got a terrible boner🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️ever since then, she has had this massive crush on you and no matter what she did, she couldn't get over it! not with how you smiled at her in the hallways, or how you would sometimes wave at her during practices and games, or how you discreetly send her a wink or two from time to time 😵‍💫 it was dangerous, it was wrong, and it was not like yujin at all but.. really though, nobody can blame her 🤭🤭

as horny as she was for you, yujin would never let anybody catch her jacking off to you in school! she would be in the safety of her own home, in her room, where she sat on her bed and furiously pumped her hand in and our of her cock,, the memory of your thighs and the slightest bit of your ass cheeks that showed due to the short skirt you were wearing that day stuck in her pervy little head,, she would look so cute too... she just finished studying and wanted to tuck in for night so ofc she would wear her favorite hoodie but fuck she just had to remember you and now here she was, in her loser fit jerking off to her team member's girlfriend 😩

she even moans your name sometimes... and it's probably one of the many things you have that she thinks is pretty! likes to imagine you sucking her off messily, or taking her thick cock in your ass to push herself over the edge 😵‍💫 baby grabbing the sheets and coming all over her blankets :((( probably gets wet dreams of you too!! wakes up all hard in the morning and jacks off once again in the showers.. she's very much obsessed 🥺💕

yujinnie nearly getting a heart attack when she sees you in the locker rooms after practice, half bent over the sink while you touched up your makeup,, fuck she was getting hard at the sight of your skirt bunching up a bit while you leaned over,, "hi, yuj. think you can help me here? i have a date." and ofc yujin doesn't hesitate and immediately comes to your aid... and she looked so cute! hair up, a bit sweaty from practice so her shirt stuck to her skin and showed you the faint outline of her abs, and fuck... that tent in her pants... that huge fucking dick she could never hide even when she tried 😋😋

holding your hair up and asking yujin to kindly assist you in putting it around your neck 🥺 her shaky hands working around you to successfully lock the beautiful necklace behind you. yujinnie making sure the pendant lays on your collarbone and accidentally brushes her hand against your boob, which of course got you smirking bcs god.. how adorable. "do i look pretty, yujin?" to which of course yujin pathetically nodded her head to bcs what else was she going to say?

taking her hands and putting them on your boobs,, you were surprised at how she didn't even hesitate to fight her urges bcs she immediately squeezed and pressed her hard cock against you, even lifting your skirt up just to see how perfect your ass looks on her dick... slipping one of her hands inside your panties and moaning at the feeling of your wet folds?? so pathetic, you could feel her precum leaking through her shorts 😵‍💫 "what're you waiting for, yujin? fuck me. i have a date." you said again and yujin doesn't wait another second before she spins you around,, as much as you'd love to make out with yujin until her head was spinning, you didn't want to mess up your makeup and risk getting found out..

instead, you grabbed yujin shirt and started kissing up her neck, leaving lipstick marks, hickeys, driving her insane once you found all the spots that only made her dick harder.. licking up her sweat, making sure your tongue runs along her jawline.. feeling her sticky abs underneath her shirt—god she was so hot.. how you fucking wished she could pound you every night 😵‍💫😵‍💫

yujinnie lifting you you up, your lower back against the sink, arms on top of the counter to support yourself while she raised your legs over her shoulders and fucked your tight cunt 😩 both of you having the hardest time not to make any sounds just in case anybody was lingering nearby but yujin was too fast, too deep inside, and feels too fucking good that you didn't even bother anymore after a few minutes... her being so turned on at the sight of her big cock disappearing inside your little pussy, somehow managing to sneak a hand between your legs and rub your swollen clit, practically making you scream and lock your legs around her neck...

"mhm.. bet you're such a fucking perv that y-you've thought about this exact situation a lot, huh? a-ah, fuck...! t-that's—shit—that's okay... you're so fucking cute."

"such a bad teammate... fucking one of your buddies' girlfriend.. what would they say if they knew, hm? y-you—"

"please, shut up." yujin gripping your thighs harder and somehow quickening her pace. moans freely escaping her lips, she just couldn't help it :((( pushing her cock deep inside you as she came, rope after rope of cum spilling inside your wills and filling you up like your partner never could?? you fucking knew cheating was worth it, especially if it was for someone as good as yujin 🫣🤨

yujinnie letting her cock sit inside you for a while bcs it just fit so perfectly in there :((( plus, you felt warm, and she liked the way you brushed your fingers through her hair,, "next time, you're taking me home." you whispered, almost laughing when you felt her cock get hard again bcs the thought truly had her mind reeling 😩

[gemini-sensei]

@sensei-venus I just got a chaotic af idea for gremlin!Reader. What if she had a cryptic pregnancy? (cw: birth scene, blood)

Like she never knows or even suspects it at all. Then one day when she's home alone, she starts having this awful tightness and pain in her belly and pelvis. Then it passes and she thinks it's okay, but it continues to happen again and again throughout the day. She hates hospitals and doctors so she refuses to go to one and tough it out.

When she realizes it's labor ain't and contractions, it's too late to do anything about it. She has to push. So as the boss-ass queen she is, she delivers her baby on her own. She pushes a good five or six times before he slides out onto her bed. She struggles to sit up but does it anyway to get her baby in her arms, pat his back, and get him breathing. He starts crying so loud that it shocks her. She gets him cleaned up as best she can and lays him on her chest, hoping to calm him down.

All these little baby delivery things she's learned from listening to Moon's midwifery stories. So naturally when things calm down a bit, she calls Moon and is like "Hey, so I just had a baby."

And Moon is like "Haha, that's so funny, Reader."

"No, I'm serious, Moon, I need you to come here now."

She speaks with a certain urgency that's far from her normal, playful tone. It's how Moon knows she's serious and she grabs up everything in her kit and goes to Hawk and Reader's house. Luckily she knows where the spare key is hidden and she gets inside. She finds Reader in her bedroom with the tiniest baby she's ever laid eyes on sucking on her tit. The room is a fucking mess, especially the bed sheets since they're covered in blood and other bodily fluid. Reader doesn't have anything to cut the umbilical cord with so she and the baby as still very much attached.

"Oh my god, how did you... oh my god." Moon can't contain her shock. She's only ever heard of cryptic pregnancies at this point in her career and she never imagined she'd encounter one.

Moon knows about Reader aversion to hospitals, so she doesn't even bring it up. She doesn't want to stress Reader out more than she probably already is stressed out. So she calmly comes over to sit beside Reader, gathers up the messy sheets, and throws them aside so they can at least get some clean sheets in there.

"Sometimes it's hard for first-time moms to get babies to latch on," she says, watching the tiny baby hungrily suckle on his mama's tit. "How'd you manage this?"

Reader kind of shrugs. "I don't know... when he started crying again, I just kinda knew he was hungry and did it."

Reader's voice is so soft and it's a different side of her that Moon hasn't seen before. She's still their gremlin of the group, she's sure, but Reader is so tired after the surprise labor that she really can't expect more of her. Still, Moon takes it as a sign that Reader is going to be a great mama despite not being ready for a baby whatsoever.

As Moon does everything she needs to - cut the umbilical cord, clean up Reader, check the baby - they talk about how this all happened. Reader explains how she had no idea about any of this, she never even had a suspicion. Then she tells her about how much it hurt, how scared she was, and how when she finally realized what had to be happening, she just had to do it. Moon tells her how proud of her she is for staying calm during the whole ordeal and how strong she is. Having a baby is a lot on the body and labor is intense, but she's done so well.

While she's checking the baby, he gets a little fussy when taken away from his mama. However, as soon as Moon starts talking to him, he calms down. He knows that sweet voice. This is one of his mama's friends.

Moon brought everything she could possibly need for the occasion and she's happy to report his good health. "He appears fully developed and perfectly healthy. Good job, mama."

She also brought a number of baby things for Reader, like a few clothes and a blanket, so she wraps him up to stay warm as soon as he's all checked out and cleaned up. Things calm down again and the pair talk about everything they can about having a new baby around. Then they hear the front door open and shut.

"Hey, babe! I'm home!"

It's Hawk. And it's at that moment Reader remembers how she never called or texted him about what was going on. She just took right to taking care of her baby boy and getting Moon over there.

Of whom, Moon jumps up and assures Reader she'll handle it. "I'll go tell him gently." Then she disappears and there's some light greetings to be heard.

Then Reader is pretty sure she hears Hawk faint.

Moon comes back in, grabs something from her bag, and exits again. She uses a smelling salt to bring Hawk back to reality and he jumps up.

"I could have sworn you said, with all the seriousness I've ever seen from you, that Reader had a baby."

"That's exactly what I said, Hawk."

She explains the situation to him before anything else happens.

When he brings her to the bedroom, he doesn't faint again. Instead, he goes straight to Reader's side as quickly and quietly as possible. "Jesus Christ, are you okay? Is the baby okay? I didn't even know you were pregnant- well I guess you didn't either based off of what Moon said, but still. Holy shit."

Reader states at him, then laughs. It's that chaotic laugh he fell in love with and he wonders what the fuck is so funny in a time like this, but also he's relieved because she's feeling well enough to laugh.

"We're fine, Eli... he's perfect."

She smiles and looks down at her baby boy in her arms. He stares up at them, taking in his pretty mama and handsome daddy. He's dressed in a green onesie Moon grabbed on her way out (I think she keeps all sorts of baby stuff to give to parents she works with in baskets she makes for them because she would so do that). It's a little big for him but it keeps him warm and that's what matters right now.

Hawk takes his little hand and holds it, staring at him with a still shocked but happy smile. "Hey there..."

While they're having their little moment, Moon starts filling out the birth certificate. She looks up ever so often to check on them, only to find Hawk holding Reader as they just admire their little one. It's so cute of them.

She stands up and brings the certificate over, showing it to them. She explains what they have to do and ends by saying, "You don't have to have a name for him now. Figure that out when you know."

"I think I know," Reader giggles, looking back down at her baby boy with a smile.

Hawk kisses the side of her head. "What's that?"

"Mason... Mason Elijah Moskowitz."

[sahisan]

hurt/comfort with wanderer where his lover used to be a harbinger alongside him but came with him and was the only one who didn’t forget him when he became wanderer. she, however was very close with childe and columbina, and often misses them. she has bad days where she goes into depressive states from being away from them, and wanderer is there for her.

★ summary: wanderer x ex-harbinger!gn!reader. he comforts you after you've had another dream about your past days as harbinger.

☆ cw: sfw. fluff. hurt/comfort. cuddling. wanderer is bad at comforting (kinda). wanderer is called 'kuni'. reader's gender not specifies despite that the req has 'she/her' pronouns. mention of arlecchino x columbina (i couldn't help myself (not when i like the fatui and harbingers sm)). reader's rank at the harbingers not mentioned. 897 words.

☾ a/n: okay so. um. let me start with an apology first okay. dear anon who sent me this im extremely like EXTREMELY sorry bc this request had been sent to me ON AUGUST 7 and im like. IM SO SORRY TRULY༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ also this is inspired by wanderer's teapot lines so hehe. anyways wanderer fluff yay (i wrote this while listening to onibi series).

despite being in another room, writing some very important and very useful essay about research on inazuma's economy after the repeal of the sakoku decree, wanderer hears clear sounds of crying and sobbing.

your crying and sobbing.

and since it's already past 3am, and you should be fast asleep, he immediately senses that something is clearly wrong. sighing at the papers on the desk in front of him, he stands up, exiting the room.

he enters the bedroom only to find you curled up under the blanket on the bed, incoherently sobbing and babbling about something with a weak voice, trembling under the sheets, with occasional gasps for air and more muffled, but still loud sniffles.

wanderer frowns empathetically at the sight.

he knows what caused this state - another dream or even a nightmare of yours about your past harbinger days, about the happy days at both your and his duty, about other harbingers... he knows all of it, since he's witnessed all of this with you by his side, being equals with you still.

"[name]." he calls out, sitting down on the edge of the bed right next to your curled form.

as he gets a response of a sob echoing through the room, wanderer sighs softly again.

and you can't bring yourself to answer. not when the memories flood your mind like a waterfall - there's a waterfall of tears on your cheeks, too.

"[name], get out of there." he asks you again, hand placed on the blanket on your shoulder, providing you with as much reassurance as he can give you at the moment.

he bites back a frown as you reveal your tear soaked face, letting the blanket move to the side as you move to lay on your back, staring at the ceiling in the dark. wanderer clearly doesn't like what he's seeing.

remembering that he can, at least, comfort you in some way, he gets under the covering without any further words, draping a hand over your waist to bring your sobbing body closer and closer to him until your face is nestled flush against his chest. his other hand keeps you near by having his fingers softly going through locks of your hair on the back of your head.

you cling onto him like he's your life vest, your savior and an angel that's here purely to rescue you and help you out of your misery. wanderer almost chokes out a "hey!" as you get impossibly close, hands around him to basically melt into him - it even feels there's no air between the two of you. not like he minds it, of course.

he hears you muffling another small cry into his chest, before you exhale shakily through your mouth, sniffling quietly.

"did you dream of them again?"

"...yes."

"who was it this time?"

"columbina and- and childe." you reply, interrupted by a small hiccup as you speak. he could laugh at that but he can't bring himself to do it now, looking at your current state. he knows it's tough for you - it's always been since you both parted ways with the fatui.

"i- i miss them, kuni." you whisper shakily, and your voice sounds so weak as if you're going to break into tears again - and that's precisely what you do, clinging onto him, unsteady hands grabbing onto his clothing.

wanderer sighs deeply. "i know." he knows, he knows, he does. how couldn't he when almost every evening you start babbling about those petty banquets hosted by the harbingers to let out all the stress from the past month, literally about everything you - and he - could remember.

"do you- do you remember that banquet?" you ask quietly, sniffling a few more times, before wanderer goes silent for a moment to think.

oh.

"oh, that banquet?" he confirms thoughtfully, hearing a small, quiet chuckle from you.

"yes, that one."

"that one where signora purposefully got childe so drunk that he started flirting with columbina and almost got beaten up by arlecchino?" he laughs too after you do, realizing you're slowly but surely getting better now. "how could i forget that one?"

"oh, kuni, i know you could never.." you smile up at him, eyelashes glistening with small tears on them.

"yeah, she beat his ass just as the bastard deserved." wanderer says, his thumb coming to wipe the trails of tears on your reddened cheeks. "i almost admire her for that."

"almost?"

"almost."

that is when he earns a loud, long laughing season from you, back to seeing you smiling from ear to ear and crying now because of how hard you're laughing.

if the puppet had a heart it would be shattered into pieces by now, after witnessing all your reactions and emotions. wanderer unintentionally, subconsciously, starts laughing with you.

"sometimes i think you hate everyone in this world." you speak up after you've both calmed down a tad bit.

"why only think? i do hate everyone." he retorts with a raised eyebrow. "everyone except for you." he adds quietly, nuzzling comfortably into the crown of your head, breathing in the scent of your hair.

"what was that, kuni?" you try to look up, but his hand keeps you at place. ah, there i is - your favorite flustered wanderer is back, just as you like it.

"nothing, go to sleep." he mutters, tugging you into the blanket silently.

[vivwritesfics]

Too Much

Sometimes Bun has days where she can't handle things. Can't handle speech, can't handle touch and such. Today, she can't handle dinner, but Bob knows exactly what to do

Autistic Bun gets overstimulated!!

Bob and Bun

Bob had woken up before to Bun unable to speak to him. Her brain had... hurt from the moment she woke up and trying to piece a coherent sentence together was too much for her.

He didn't mind it one bit. Bob wanted nothing more than to take care his bunny, anyway. If that meant going the extra mile when she didn't feel like she could.

There were days were she didn't want to be touched, days where she couldn't handle the feeling of his skin against her own.

Bob wouldn't touch her like that. If she didn't want him to, he wouldn't. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel even worse.

And on the days where she didn't want to speak or be touched, Bob did all that he could to help her.

On this day, she'd woken up feeling somewhat normal. Well, not even somewhat normal. Her sheets around her feet had her feeling all blegh. If Bob had been there when she'd woken up, he would have fixed it. He would have pulled her out of the bed and readjusted the sheets for her.

She texted him through the day. Bob was a busy guy, he responded when he could, but she got that he was busy. Didn't mean she didn't miss him, though.

Things hadn't sat right with her throughout the day. She tried to put on music but that was too much. Everything ended up being too much and she ended up not doing much of anything.

But then Bob texted her about dinner. He told her that he was going to be home late and that she should go ahead and start dinner.

And she tried. She really tried.

The moment she touched some... disgusting (raw meat, something like the skin on salmon or the outside of a potato), she had to take a minute. But it was never ending. It was literally never, ever ending (it would have ended. All she needed to do was cook it and it would have been over, but she couldn't see that far ahead).

She desperately wanted to cry.

When Bob walked into the apartment, he found her in the kitchen. She was on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest as she cried. The stove was on, something boiling, and the oven was on with nothing cooking inside.

Immediately, Bob walked over. "Hey, Bun," he said softly as he crouched in front of her. He held out his hand, letting her decide whether she wanted to touch him.

And she did. She placed her hand in Bob's and let him pulled her to her feet. His arms were wrapped around her as he took her out of the kitchen and sat her on the sofa. "Wanna talk about what happened?" He asked softly as he grabbed her favourite blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

She wiped at her tears and kept a hold of his arm, keeping it close. "Couldn't do it, Floyd," she mumbled, squeezing his arm. "It was too much."

They'd been here and done this before. And Bob knew exactly what to do. "Oh, Bun," he said gently. "You still hungry?"

She nodded.

Bob had it. He wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders and disappeared into the kitchen. In the bottom of the freezer was a drawer dedicated to when things were too much. Safe foods. Foods that weren't too much for her, weren't too textured. Things for kids, mostly.

Bob dumped the dinosaur nuggets and some fries onto an oven tray (making sure there were mostly stegosauri than other dinosaurs) and shoved it into the often. And, while it cooked, Bob began cleaning up.

He turned off the stove, and threw away what he had to (he took out the bin bag and put in a new liner, knowing just how much Bun would need a fresh start the next day).

He cleaned the kitchen rather happily. When the food was ready, Bob put it onto a little plate, grabbed a fork and took it out for her. "Here you go, Bun," he said and placed the food in her lap.

She was quiet as she ate, staring at bob. She could never express how grateful she was for him if she tried.

But Bob knew. He knew how appreciative she was at times like this, even if she couldn't find the words.

It didn't matter how long his day had been, if his Bun needed him, he was going to be there.

[skele-bunny]

hey sweet love, i have a question. would you be willing to write something with cumulus and mountain? I love mountain and can't find much fics about him. Something spicy but little bit of blood will not be a problem :)

Weeee!!! Absolutely!!! Apologies for it not being too-too long </3 I know you said a lil bit of blood but this idea hit me and I couldn't stop thinking about it wjjdjx

Free Flow. (No CW.) Cumulus/Mountain

CW - NONE

Tags: Period play, blood, face sitting

Characters: Cumulus, Mountain, Cirrus

(Divider by @ wrathofrats !)

Waking up curled in on herself was not how Cumulus was planning to spend her morning. Pain shifting through her entire abdomen and almost like someone had grabbed her insides and twisted them cruelly. Sitting up, the air ghoulette glanced at her clock, grimacing as it was only 8 a.m. There wouldn't be much to do yet, so she perfectly had the chance to shower if she so pleased, but ultimately decided against it as another cramp ran through.

A whimper left Cumulus' lips, curling back down against her nest of nothing but pillows. It felt like an hour when in reality it was only twenty minutes until a knock came at her door. Lifting her head, she watched as it cracked open, green eyes glowing in the hallway but the unmistakable smell of tea let Lus knew who exactly it was.

"Good morning..." Mountain mumbled, pushing the tea through the crack of the door. "I could, uhm... Smell you—and your pain. Made you something."

Cumulus smiled, "Come in, dear."

So, that he did. Mountain closed the door gently behind him, his tail wagging not missed by Lus'. He offered the cup, letting Cumulus sit up a bit more with her knees to her chest and happily exchanging smiles as she took the offering.

"Hm," The warmth glided down her throat, aroma filling her nose. "Fenugreek?" She asked.

"With cinnamon."

"Ohh, you spoil me, treetop." She giggled, taking another drink.

She licked her lips and carefully placed the china down on her bedstand, sighing and trying to find a more comfortable position.

A soft whine left the earth ghoul, fiddling with his own leg fur. "Is it bad?"

"Unfortunately," She shrugged. "Just the same old, same old."

Cumulus had always been susceptible to irregular periods and pain, endometriosis, PCOS, and POTS being ruled out after multiple tests which left her moreso in a more aggravated state that she didn't know what was wrong. Mountain slowly worked his way up more into her bed, letting Cumulus snuggle against his side, his hand carefully rubbing at her abdomen. A pleased sigh left her mouth, making Mountain's tail start wagging again. His touch was gentle but firm, pads of his fingers massaging around her bloated flesh.

A single press too hard, however, made Cumulus grimace and sit up. Mountain's nose wiggled as the smell of blood became stronger, carefully removing his hands.

"I'm sorry." He whined again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," She gently waved him off, standing up out of the comfort to slip off her shorts that were now coated in blood. "My fault for not taking care of it first thing."

The earth ghoul reached out again, holding Cumulus' hand. "I know I'm not as good as Cirrus but... Do you want to just... You know..." His face got a dark red. "Sit?"

For a brief second is was quiet before a bubbling laugh came from the ghoulette, her nose scrunching and showing fangs. "Oh, treetop— You're too cute sometimes."

Still, she made her way back on the bed, Mountain's tail thumping harder as he watched her adjust the nest. She placed her pillows and blankets more against the wall, digging through a few sheets to pull out one of her books. Cumulus moved out of the way an departed the spot, Mountain complying and laying down. She waited until the earth got comfortable, throwing a leg over his head which gave him pure access to admire the sight before him.

Her cunt was slick, glistening with her own lubrication and blood that stained her thighs as well. Her clit was enlarged, showing her semi-arousal. His vision was blocked as her round ass sat down on him, his nose nuzzled right against her taint and tight hole, mouth immediately going lax as her pussy laid on top of it. Mountain pushed his tongue outwards, able to lick at her clit and still have the ability to wiggle his jaw and tongue however he pleased.

Cumulus adjusted a bit more before putting her legs out, completely sitting on her mate's face and leaning against her wall of pillows. She opened her book and placed down the bookmark, humming softly.

"Will you be okay just sitting? I don't think I'm completely in the mood to be eaten out right now." She asked, looking at Mountain's hand that was holding her thick thigh, squishing her flesh every now and then.

A hum was her answer, then a thumbs-up.

"Good, thank you darling."

Purrs erupted, Mountain continuing to caress over Cumulus' thighs, down her knees, then back up. The gentle touch caused Cumulus to sigh and break out into her own purrs, eyes settling into her book, her tail going around Mountain's wrist.

Every now and then, Mountain would flex his jaw, pressing his face closer up to inhale and growl—But remaining still to keep Cumulus comfortable, swallowing when her blood filled his mouth to a certain point. It was something about the metallic smelling liquid simply pooling in his mouth that made his eyes roll back, cock semi-chubbed but never getting fully hard. His tongue pressed up for a quick flick at her bleeding hole, simply grooming to clean.

An hour in, another knock sounded, Cirrus poking her head in. "Hey you two!"

Mountain simply waved.

"Hey! What's up?" Cumulus put her bookmark back in, eyeing her partner with a head tilt.

"Breakfast is about ready, are you joining or should I bring it in?"

The air ghoulette looked down, rubbing Mountain's furry stomach. "Babydoll, you alright if we go out?"

He tapped her leg in agreement, quickly swiping his tongue again. He waited until Cumulus sat up to let out a slow exhale, the two women giggling at his blissed out face that was covered in blood and her slick. He smiled as he slowly sat up, waiting for his body to regulate the new upright position. He trilled, licking as his nose and wiggling it before slowly sliding off the bed.

Cumulus ushered him down, Mountain purring as she kissed the clean parts of his cheeks repeatedly, and once again his tail was wagging uncontrollably.

"Such a good mate for me, darling." She praised, poking his nose before moving to her bathroom. "Now go get cleaned up for breakfast! Maybe before lunch you can knot me, yeah?"

"Okay." Was all he could whisper with a whine, eyeing Cumulus with pure admiration.

His hand was grabbed by Cirrus, leading the earth ghoul out as he waved goodbye still in his bliss.

[aethersgirlfriend]

cumulus and phantom is one of my favourite ships so have some <them3 thoughts under the cut!!! im so tempted to write a fic ab them so if u have any ideas pls share i need a prompt

cumulus being the one who put the blanket on him and got him to drink water after his summoning

lus calling him honey and phantom calling her my love when he isn't too awestruck ("hi honey" "HIIIIIIII")

him always sending her photos of clouds

them combining their elements to make his magick spread around the den faster or to make her air have more healing abilities when she uses it to cool down someone with a fever

phant practically running to her room and crawling on top of her after a long day of practice with omega and aether and laying on her chest purring so loud while she scratches that one spot behind his left horn

him bringing her shiny rocks and little trinkets he finds during the day and leaving it outside her door with a sticky note saying ' :) ' and no one knows she has a whole box for them under her bed

him being completely inlove with her beauty in a way that makes her blush and squeal and run to rora after getting a response to a photo she sent him who will gasp and squeal with her as cumulus runs onto her bed and kicks her feet and rory is actively aw-ing at her summoning buddy and cir walks in and can't even pretend to be mad that the new summon is seducing her lover because the way he's going about it is so adorable

her kissing over his scars and insecurities and calling him beautiful

he comes to her a couple nights before they start touring and he admits that he's terrified he'll do a bad job at replacing aether and that everyone will hate him (im sorry but theres no phantom ghoul thoughts without a sprinkle of angst) and she listens and comforts him and he sobs so hard he accidentally sends out a massive wave of quintessence (his magick acts up when he feels strong emotions!! topside things xx) that makes them both go a bit silly and they're lying on his bed giggling over some dumb photo of a pufferfish and swiss walks in like because he smelt the magick and he's so confused

cumulus and swiss known as the 2 ghouls who serenaded the new summons before anyone else could (they OWN the title.)

him killing 3 birds with one stone and coming into the girls den with 3 roses in his mouth

aurora and phantom are more ghoul-like/animalistic than any of the others so cumulus will walk into her room to find a nest on her bed made of everyone's clothes and duvets and blankets and sheets etc etc and look inside to find the 2 cuddled up, kneading at eachother, tails intertwined, purring very loudly and when they smell her their ears immediately perk up and they let out happy ghoul noises and drag her in to do their ghoul loving ghoul ritual

he panicked so much when he first got his claws stuck in her gorgeous hair that he almost started crying because he thought he'd 1. hurt her and 2. be the reason she had to cut some of it off but she hushed him and called mountain who giggled at his reaction and got a whole kit from the kitchen - this happens all the time. none of the boys can help but appreciate her cloud like mane of hair

they have the best nonverbal communication. (they communicate mainly in ghoul noises and she understands his confused head tilts nearly as good as swiss can, but no one can beat rora)

aeth got then matching pj's because he's a cutie and phantom refused to take them off until she politely told him he smelled like shit

them baking together and him being covered in flour

aether, mountain and swiss all pampering her like the goddess she is and phantom finds them and feels left out so aether shows him a few quint tricks that has cumulus asleep in minutes and phantom just sits there playing with her hair as she snoozes feeling so proud of himself

lus having to go to the library alone one day after there was an incident with dew and a few of mountains potted plants and phantom immediately jumps at the opportunity and follows her around the library for wayyy longer then she's normally there and she's just handing him books that she thinks sounds good and he's carrying every single one because he wants the praise (he's so real)

him seeing lus at one of the many balls held throughout the year and even though his date is aurora, he's completely gobsmacked at her dress and just everything about her but aurora totally agrees so they just kind of admire her from afar

[outlanderalien]

Cold - Ripley x Bishop

Ripley can't sleep, even with Bishop kindly keeping watch for her.

Comfort, cuddling, fluff, nightmares

***

He didn't need sleep of course, it was deep in his programming to work with every hour he has, so he was more happy to keep watch for her over the course of the night. Ever since Hadley's Hope, Ripley struggled to get a good nights rest. Not just the nightmares of Xenomorphs anymore, but the fear of humans with vested interests releasing monsters as she slept...

But still, bleary eyed and almost delirious with exhaustion, Ripley sat up and watched her synthetic guard curiously. There was a time she didn't sleep for fear of synthetics too. But this one, at least, earned her trust. He was good.

"Can't sleep?" He turned to face her, concerned.

She shook her head and got up. "Never do." She walked over and sat down next to him. "Thanks for keeping me company though." She knew what she really wanted, what would really help her sleep, but she felt too strange asking a synthetic.

He doesn't typically express much, but a subtle smile emerged. They had come a long way together. He felt very good being trusted with such a task. He was sad he couldn't ease her worry enough to help her sleep though, perhaps she still had reservations about synthetics...

She saw his smile falter slightly. She had to remind herself to stop thinking of him in terms of being artificial. For all intents and purposes, Bishop was a person, with all the same complex emotions and needs. Maybe she could ask him then...?

Ripley had brought a blanket with her and was wrapped up tightly in it "God it's freezing out here." She noticed his forearms were exposed "Aren't you cold?"

Bishop made a dismissive gesture "It doesn't matter. I don't need heat."

Regardless she placed a hand on his arm and gasped "Christ, you're frozen!"

"Honestly it's fine." The last thing he wanted was to worry her too.

There goes her idea. If she asked him to cuddle with her, she'd be frozen too. Suddenly she felt a pang of guilt, she reminded herself once more to stop thinking of him in such a functional capacity, and soon she started to wonder... "But are you're comfortable cold?" She asked sincerely and watched him hesitate to give a decisive answer.

He might as well have just said no, but she knew he didn't want to worry her. "It's alright, really." He finally settled on an evasive answer.

With renewed energy Ripley made a decision and stood. "Alright, come on."

"What?"

"Come with me." She gave a reassuring smile.

He stood with her and cautiously obeyed, following her back toward her bed.

"Get in." She spoke firmly, gesturing to the bed with sheets lifted for him.

"Ripley, I can't sleep." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Neither can I, join the club." She made another gesture urging him to lay down.

"I don't want to take your bed from you."

Ripley sighed as though frustrated, like he wasn't understanding her, and without a word she took hold of his wrist and guided him with her. She got onto the bed, and made enough space for another. As she moved further into the bed, she gently guided Bishop to join her. And he did, albeit hesitantly.

Bishop understood now, a series of programmed social behaviours activated, conflicting ones, feelings of embarrassment and gratitude, shyness and enthusiasm. It wasn't often he'd have so many conflicting feelings. Ripley pulled again, this time firmer.

"Come on" She spoke gently, a combination of her tiredness and of the care she evidently held for Bishop. He settled into the bed, all the while giving her an expression she could only read as: Is this really alright?

He had never gotten into a bed before, unless the cryosleep tubes counted. The sheets were still warm and enveloped him in a gentle kind of comfort he was not accustomed to. He was, however, acutely aware that his presence was quickly cooling the otherwise warm bed.

"Won't I make you cold?" He began to move away, preparing to exit the bed, fearful of causing Ripley any discomfort.

She pulled him back toward her. "No, I'll make you warm." She replied definitively, eyes already closed.

Before he could suggest otherwise, Ripley stretched her arm around his torso, bringing with it more of the blanket, he had attempted to take as little blanket as possible for her benefit, but she wasn't having it.

"There's enough warmth for the both of us." She added as she pressed her body against his. He felt like he was melting in the gentlest way. He couldn't recognise if it was the physical sensation of warming up, like ice thawing, or an emotional sensation of... being cared for.

He felt the urge to wrap his arms around her too, but assumed his cold hands wouldn't be welcome. As if she had read his mind she took his arm and positioned it around her, inviting him to hold her.

This was nice. He liked the warmth, he didn't need it but it was a comfort. Though a space heater couldn't bring him a comfort like this, this was special, he could feel her heartbeat pulse gently. It soothed him.

He wondered if this is how humans feel all the time, comforted by the pulse of their own heart and warmth of their own blood. He was sorry he couldn't offer her the same comfort, just a cold husk. He tried to forget for a moment that he wasn't human. That this pulse was his own. That this warmth was his.

But as much as he yearned for that to be true, reality had it's own blessings. He was cared for, as though he were human too. The warmth he felt may not be his own but it was something even greater, it was shared with him.

Before long Ripley's breathing slowed along with her heartbeat. She was asleep now. He couldn't move without disturbing her, but luckily he didn't intend to. He considered it might be strange to just watch her sleep, so he closed his eyes too and allowed his functions to run at a lower level, he didn't need any of them right now, he just wanted to be present in this moment.

...

Ripley stirred slightly. She remembered that she was still holding Bishop close, she warmed at the memory, but he appeared to be shuddering.

"Bishop?"

He didn't respond. He's asleep?... She never realised synthetics could sleep. She watched him closely, she had to wonder if he really was synthetic because she knew the telltale signs of a nightmare when she saw them.

She could hear him very quietly speaking. He was reciting familiar words...

"Sorry if...scared you... platform was... too unstable..."

She remembered that conversation clearly. It had happened only moments before the Xenomorph queen emerged and...

She knew where his nightmare was heading. She felt for him, she really did. She had hoped that being a synthetic would spare him the lasting trauma of such a horrific memory. But at least she was here with him now, holding him close. She pulled him into a tighter embrace, feeling compelled to soothe him.

"Shhh, shhhh" she hushed as his nightmare appeared to deepen "It's okay, I'm here."

His shuddering continued. She hushed until he began to physically calm.

It felt selfish to her, but the fact that he had nightmares, that he was traumatised the exact same way... That was comforting to her. To not be alone.

...

When he next opened his eyes, he realised he had lost time. He feared he may have malfunctioned, maybe his internal clock was wrong, or maybe he had had some kind of black out.

He attempted to assess his surroundings, he tried to make sense of where he was. Moving slightly, he felt Ripley stir next to him, he halted himself. Of course, he recalled it all now, Ripley was holding him. She had moved since he was last aware, she was still deep asleep, but now cradling his head against her chest, and he could feel her heartbeat so clearly.

Suddenly all that worry about malfunctioning and lost time vanished. He was warm, he was loved, and nothing else mattered.

For Ripley, it was the most peaceful night's sleep she had had in a long while. For Bishop it was his first. But for both, it would become a regular habit that neither would do without.

[pandorasword]

Chaeri as the 8th and youngest member of BTS.

「 Chaeri's Masterlist on my blog 」

☾ BTS' bedtime habits with Maknae

❐ Hobi

჻ How many times have we said these two are the perfect roommates?

჻ Literally, they get along so well in sharing space and a bed that they never fight about it

჻ Before going to sleep, they always make sure the sheets are well laid out and snug, they cannot stand wrinkled fabrics

჻ They keep a dim light on, Chaeri doesn't like sleeping in pitch black

჻ Neither of them ever crosses over to the other's side, unless it is a voluntary act

჻ Although they do not sleep very close they never turn their backs on each other

჻ Before going to bed Hobi lets Chaeri use the shower first and when he comes out of the bathroom later, he finds her already asleep most of the time

჻ He still wishes her a good night by giving her a kiss on the forehead, even if she is asleep

❐ Yoongi

჻ Although Chaeri generally takes no time to fall asleep, when she is with Yoongi she would stay up until sunrise talking to him

჻ And no matter how much he loves his little sister, he just can't stay up all night paying attention to her

჻ Sometimes, to make her fall asleep and thus also enjoy some well-deserved hours of rest, he tells her to roll over on her back so that he can pet her

჻ Good strategy to put Chaeri to sleep, never fails

჻ Inevitably, Yoongi ends up falling asleep with one hand on the girl's back and is very likely to wake up in the same position in the morning

჻ Being Chaeri's roommate may seem a daunting job, but he is internally happy to have her by his side rather than with others

჻ It must be said that when they are not in bed they tend to fall asleep much more easily (on the couch for example)

❐ Namjoon

჻ They often share a room and bed

჻ He always had quite reasonable rules for when she was younger, such as not using a cell phone in bed after a specified hour so she could rest and do a good job the next day

჻ Now that she is adult enough to decide what to do, when she sleeps with him she still unconsciously tends to follow the advice he gave her

჻ Namjoon is a mess, he moves enough to pull the covers off her all the time

჻ Also synonymous of how stressed he is all the time that he cannot even rest peacefully

჻ The solution to this is, for her, to cling onto his arm so that she does not find herself cold the next morning and to transmit her love towards him.

჻ Namjoon loves to cuddle her before falling asleep, it really relaxes him

჻ He hates having her hair on his face though, so at bedtime he always asks if she could tie it up

❐ Jin

჻ Jin literally jumps for joy when he knows that he will share a room with Chaeri

჻ He LOVES praising the adorable pajamas she wears when they sleep together (all gifted by Jin, of course)

჻ Before going to bed, they have their ritual consisting in a beauty mask and boiling herbal tea 

჻ Yes, even if it's hot as hell outside

჻ Sometimes they fall asleep with their face masks on, obviously soiling the sheets as they fall off their faces during the night

჻ They do not sleep cuddled together, but give each other attention until a few minutes before sleep

჻ Sometimes Jin clutches Chaeri's shirt from the side of her back in his sleep because, when she was younger, she had a terrible tendency to fall out of bed every night

჻ They have like four pillows to sleep on

❐ Jimin

჻ They cling to each other for most of the night

჻ It comes so naturally to them that they don't even have to think about it

჻ They start the night under the blankets watching some TV shows from the iPad and end up falling asleep on one another every time

჻ THEY NEVER TURN OFF THE LIGHT (and are always scolded for it) (funny that Jimin is the one to scold Jungkook too when he does the same)

჻ Neither of them likes sleeping in the dark and any excuse is good to leave it on

჻ When the older ones give them glances all the time to turn it off, they leave the iPad on some video all night so that it can light up the room properly

჻ Chaeri likes to hold Jimin's hands during the night, she finds them so soft

჻ Jimin forces her to sleep with socks on because he complains how cold her feet are every night

❐ Taehyung

჻ When they share a room they sleep as little as nothing

჻ They are best friends, they can't help spending hours gossiping, playing silly computer games or having deep conversations

჻ Anyone in the next room can swear they can hear them giggling incessantly for hours on end

჻ Unbearable or sweet? Depends on your point of view

჻ Tae personally braids Chaeri's hair before letting her lay her head on the pillow

჻ Chaeri personally takes care of getting him his chocolate treat for the night snack instead

჻ Poor nutritionists, when these two sleep together they break every rule in their diets

჻ When they decide it is finally time to rest, they take turns sleeping on each other's shoulders (it depends a lot on who needs the most emotional support that night)

჻ They wake each other up during the night if one of them cannot sleep for some reason, in that case they would get dressed and go for a walk to clear their minds

❐ Jungkook

჻ Let's start assuming that he CANNOT sleep straight and stay in his own space.

჻ This would mean very limited space for Chaeri, if it wasn't that most of the time she sleeps with almost her whole body on him

჻ They have always slept quite close, even before they started being a 'thing'

჻ Chaeri loves the smell of his shower gel and steals it from him whenever they sleep together hence they share the bathroom in the room

჻ Jungkook pays a lot of attention to stroking her hair and face when they are in bed, he likes to see how she relaxes at his touch

჻ Chaeri loves to fill his chest with kisses to show him how much she appreciates his loving touch

჻ When they wake up in the morning they definitely have each other's smell on them

჻ Their bed is always a mess, blankets and pillows in chaos (and it's the only time Chaeri doesn't care about tidiness at all)

჻ Since they are no longer together they try to avoid sleeping together

჻ When it happens, however, neither of them can avoid falling into temptation and giving in to their old habits

[shion-yu]

Popsicle

Just a fluffy little Al/Theo drabble. 1,385 words. TW: Emeto, mention of past character suicide. Cool article about historic CF treatment here.

One of the first pictures Al has of himself is in the mist tent. He doesn't remember much about it - they were already going out of style when he was born and quickly fizzled out as an effective treatment for cystic fibrosis in the early 80s. Good thing, given they were better breeding grounds for pseudemonas than anything, but the snapshot remains among Al's many baby pictures. There's so many, his mom explains to him, because they didn't think he'd live past childhood. Everything felt unknown back then. Now, Al thinks, so much is different. Kids are diagnosed within 24 hours of being born thanks to mandatory newborn screenings. There are medications and treatments that extend life expectancy for some CFers almost to normal. Very little existed on that snow-stormy night in 1979 when Al was born.

When Theo sees the picture of Al in that plastic nighttime prison, the gigantic compressor next to his crib that easily weighed a hundred times more than he did, his jaw drops. "This can't be real," he says in disbelief. "This looks more like the 1930s. 1960s, tops."

"What, you think my parents put me in there for fun?" Al smirks. "But you're right. It looks crazy. But rural Ohio, ya know, it was a bit behind on the times."

Al's mom also regales him with tales of disassembling and sanitizing the entire contraption plus changing the bed every morning, the sheets often soaking wet by then. He doesn't envy her at all. It's just another reason Al respects his mother endlessly, even though he knows he doesn't call her enough. He should call her more often.

They stopped talking every day after Al moved to New York. It was gradual but intentional, and often because Al hadn't wanted to admit to her when she asked how his day was that he'd gotten into another fight with Ollie. She loved Ollie, but she had never thought they were ready to marry or move in together. Ollie had only tried to kill himself last year, she told him. What were they going to do in a big city, in another state, without a clear plan for their future? Couldn't they just move to Columbus and try there?

It was a big fight. Al ended up going, and after that he felt too ashamed to tell his mother that maybe she had been right. After Ollie died Al was scared to talk to her about it. He was already so broken, he didn't need to be told what he did wrong. But when they finally did talk about it, she just hugged him and told him she was there for whatever he needed. He should have trusted her more, he thought as he sobbed in her arms just like he was a boy again.

She's supposed to be visiting sometime soon. It was going to be this week, but both Al and Theo woke up yesterday with a stomach virus from hell and had spent most of the last twenty-four hours vomiting in tandem. Theo has it worse than Al though and Al's doing his best to keep Theo as hydrated as possible. It seemed like everything he's offered Theo comes right back up, though.

"I'm fucking dying," Theo groans loudly after yet another round of violent gagging. He's lying on the bathroom rug, naked other than a pair of boxers and shivering despite most of the blankets in the apartment being piled on top of him.

Al's in his own nest in the bathtub with the rest of the remaining blankets that they possess. He stopped vomiting a few hours ago and now just feels vaguely nauseous and exhausted, but doesn’t want to leave Theo’s side. “You’re going to be fine,” Al tells him, although Theo does look on death’s doorstep if he’s being honest. “Drink some more Gatorade.”

“Ugh. Don’t even say that,” Theo says. He’s been alternatively sipping on and puking up Gatorade ever since this started and he doesn't think he ever wants to taste that shit again.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" Al asks him.

"Shut the fuck up," Theo mutters, which causes Al to laugh.

"You're fine enough to complain," Al says. He detangles himself from his blanket cacoon and climbs out of the tub to rub Theo's back. Theo quivers in response to being touched, but after the initial discomfort it feels good. Al tries to remember what else he can do to help someone with the stomach flu, but he can only ever remember having it once before when he was quite young. What had his mom done to make him feel better? "How about a popsicle? It'll get that taste out of your mouth."

Theo seems to consider it very seriously before he says, "In ten minutes."

"Got it," Al says with a tired smile. His partner is exceedingly logical as always and Al knows he was weighing the pros and cons of a popsicle now versus in ten minutes versus never. Al waits ten minutes before dragging himself to the kitchen to grab a popsicle and calls to update his mom.

"Hi baby," she says when she picks up. "How're you two holding up?"

Al tells her that he's fine now, but Theo's still going through it. "Any ideas? I'm about to give him a popsicle."

"That's a good idea," she tells him. "Hmm... Got any of those ginger candies?" Al considers it. He thinks maybe he has some burried among all the crap in his med cabinet. "What about pepto bismol?"

"Ew, the pink stuff?" Al cringes. It never worked well for him personally, but it seems the zofran he's been giving Theo hasn't really worked so maybe it's worth a try.

"I'll order you some," she says. Ever since she discovered the magic of grocery delivery she seems to find some excuse to send him something every week. He doesn't bother arguing this time, since it's for Theo's benefit and he knows it makes her feel better to help. "What's Theo's favorite flavor of popsicles?"

"Green," Al says.

"Lime, dear," his mother corrects him. Al doesn't say anything. It's not worth fighting about.

"Thanks mom," Al says. "Love you. I'll call later."

"Let me know when you're feeling better," she responds, "And I'll re-book my flight."

Al knows she'll rebook it within an hour, so he'd better wait until they're feeling entirely better. Theo is fond of Al's mother, but he doesn't need her nagging and taking over the apartment while he's still not feeling well. Al tells her he loves her again and hangs up. Then he goes back to Theo's side where he finds his boyfriend yet again retching fruitlessly into the toilet. His heart clenches with pity.

"Poor Theo," he hums sympathetically, "You're okay. Deep breaths."

"Nothing's coming up," Theo groans.

"I know," Al says. "Let's get you to bed, okay? I want you to try eating this."

"What if I throw up in bed?" Theo mumbles feverishly.

"Then you throw up in bed. It'll be okay," Al soothes him, wrapping one of Theo's arms around his shoulders and hoisting him to his feet. They make it to the bedroom where Al deposits Theo onto the bed and presses the popsicle to his lips. "Suck on this. Just a little," Al coaxes him. "I know you don't want to but I can't let you get dehydrated."

"Fine," Theo obeys reluctantly. He gags a little but manages a decent amount before he pushes it into Al's hands. "I'm done," he pleads.

"Good job," Al says gently, running a hand through Theo's hair. He kisses Theo's forehead and puts the remaining popsicle into an empty water cup on his bedside table, so when it melts it won't make a mess. Then he brings a wet washcloth from the bathroom and washes Theo's sweaty, sticky face for him.

"Do you think you can sleep?" Al asks Theo. "Just for a bit."

"Maybe," Theo says. His pale, greyish complexion makes him look older than he is. "Will you stay with me?"

"Of course," Al says. He wants to nap too, anyways. "I'll be right here, don't worry."

"Love you," Theo mumbles.

Al smiles a little and kisses Theo again. "I love you too. Now rest."

Not sure if we actually have to write something for the "Free Space" in @hurtcomfort-bingo but if so, I'll count this one for my Free Space!

[sky-fire-forever]

Happy Friday Dennis!! 🎉💚

I was thinking something for Handers tonight! How about:

“I swear you kissed me last night.” “I don’t even remember what the fuck happened last night.”

Thank you for the prompt!

My Hawke in this is Scorpius, who uses they/them.

Scorpius wakes up with the worst hangover they've had in their life. Their brain is pounding in their skull and they're pretty sure they're going to explode at any minute. 

“Oh, fuck,” they mutter as they sit up.

It's like the world around them is too fucking loud. They can hear the dog sitting at the edge of the bed, scratching herself and jingling her collar. They can feel the sheets against their skin and the sun they can see filtering in through the window is blinding. 

What even happened last night? Scorpius can remember inviting all their friends over, but after that, it's all a blur. 

They know they started drinking some of the bottles Fenris brought from his mansion cellar. They vaguely remember laughing with everyone, but the moment drinks started being consumed, everything started to get hazy. 

They rub their face with their hand, trying to force the hangover out. 

A voice from their right makes a noise. “Fuck.”

Scorpius looks over to see Anders sitting up from a pile of blankets on the floor. “Ow,” he murmurs, clutching his head.

“You too, huh?” Scorpius asks. 

“I didn't think I could get drunk anymore,” Anders says and he sounds so tired.

Scorpius laughs and immediately regrets it. “Fuck. How much did we drink last night?”

“Too much,” Fenris says from beside Anders, not even bothering to sit up. 

“You're the one who brought the booze,” Scorpius says. “What the hell was in those bottles?”

Fenris grunts enough of a fuck if I know sound that Scorpius gets the picture. 

“I half expected you to say blood magic.” Isabela stumbles into the room. “If the drinks were from Tevinter.”

Fenris groans as he sits up, shoulder to shoulder with Anders. “Blood magic would be better than this,” he mutters. 

Varric snorts from where he's laying on the other side of Scorpius’ bed. “I wouldn't go that far.”

“I would.” Scorpius forces themself to their feet, wobbling slightly. Their stomach isn't happy with how much alcohol they consumed last night. “Fuck, what even happened last night?”

“Drinking,” Isabela says. “Lots of drinking.”

“I gathered that much, thanks.”

Anders struggles to get to his feet, leaving Fenris behind him. “Uhg, I feel disgusting.”

As Scorpius looks at him, a memory pops into their mind. Chapped lips on their own, a hand in their hair, a body pressed against them. 

They shake the memory off. “Come on, I'm sure Orana will make us something to eat.”

“I think if I eat, it'll end up on your fancy floor,” Varric warns. 

“Water, then.” 

Isabela snickers. “Alright, mother hen. As you say.”

Scorpius manages to get everyone into the dining room, picking up Merrill and Aveline on the way through the living room. Everyone is at different levels of exhausted and hungover.

Every time Scorpius looks at Anders, the memory of his lips on theirs floods their mind again. They can't shake it completely off no matter what they try. 

Orana serves them a delicious breakfast that somehow goes down without any trouble, which Scorpius is incredibly grateful for. 

“This is delicious, Orana,” they tell her. “I could kiss you.”

They don't miss the way Anders’ face turns pink and he averts his gaze. 

Orana blushes. “Thank you, master.” She curtsies.

Scorpius still can't get used to her calling them that. She's a servant now, not a slave, but she sometimes acts like she doesn't know there's a difference. She still hangs around the house on her days off and the first time she dropped a plate, she'd gotten on her knees and begged for forgiveness. It's unnerving. 

She seems to be healing, though. One day at a time, becoming more comfortable in her new home. Scorpius is grateful towards her for all she does, both around the mansion and while trying to become their friend.

It's quiet as everyone eats, with everyone focused on their meals. Even the noise of utensils on plates is loud in Scorpius’ skull. 

“It's time for me to get back to work,” Aveline announces once she's finished. “Thank you for the meal. And last night was fun, I think. Let's never do it again.”

A round of laughter sounds out around the table. 

Varric stands up. “I think that's my cue too. Can't have Bianca missing me too much.” He waves goodbye as he steps out.

Everyone else follows out, one by one, until it's just Scorpius and Anders clearing out the dishes. 

“Anders, can we talk?” Scorpius requests after the dishes are set to the side to be cleaned. 

“Hm? Of course.” Anders looks at them expectantly. 

“Er, alone?” Scorpius glances at Orana before gesturing for Anders to follow them back to their room. 

Once they're alone, Scorpius rubs the back of their neck nervously. “So, uh. I swear you kissed me last night.”

The memory is so clear despite the haziness that surrounds it. The feeling of Anders against them, the way his hands tangled in their hair… 

It's all far too vivid to just be a dream. 

Anders’ face turns red and he looks away. “I don't even remember what the fuck happened last night,” he admits as he runs a hand through his loose hair. “It's all a blur after the bottles came out.”

Scorpius can tell by how Anders won't look directly at them that his words aren't entirely true. “Hey, it's nothing to feel bad about. We were drunk, it happens.”

Anders laughs awkwardly. “Of course. It doesn't mean a thing.”

Scorpius’ heart sinks. They'd almost wanted it to mean something, but if Anders thinks it didn't…

“Yeah, obviously.” Scorpius throws an arm around Anders’ shoulders. “What's a little kissing between friends?”

Anders sags in relief. “Exactly.”

“Good,” Scorpius says even as their heart pounds in their chest. 

“Good.” Anders extracts himself from Scorpius’ touch. “Now, I really should get back to the clinic.”

“Oh, right. Yeah.” Scorpius steps back. “Last night was fun, though! From what I remember.” Which mostly includes the kiss.

“It was for me too,” Anders says and Scorpius gets the feeling they're both talking about the same thing. 

[salty-lemon-shark-from-the-sea]

Maya and the Three/ Skull x (powerful God/goddess reader)

(Implied Poly, but focuses on Skull. Also I don't know why I keep making reader a god/goddesses, but I can write for a human reader if people really want it)

Knock knock knock

“Come in!” you call out still reading a contract another god gave to you. “You going to bed?” a sassy voice asked. “Not anytime soon why?” you responded looking up to be met by red eyes. “The bed is cold without your body heat,” Skull explains walking over to you. “Shame,” you joke picking her up and placing her in your lap.

“Yeah, it is, so why are you still up?” She asks stubbornly crossing her arms. “Work again,” you explain gesturing to the papers you have yet to read and sign. “Gross,” “I know,” you laugh dryly leaning back. “Can’t you just do this later and come to bed now?” Skull ask messing with the hem off your untucked shirt.

“Can’t, as powerful as I am there are others more powerful who might have my heart for not finishing this,” you groan rubbing your face. “Psh,” Skull says rolling her eyes looking at the papers. “Being a powerful God is so boring you should just give up and help me and Bone,” she says. “Yeah?” “Yeah!” sitting up you pull her closer kissing her messy red hair. “But then you would get the advantages of dating a powerful God,” you joke.

“You’ll still be powerful you just won't have the amount of work,” she retorts. “I would have more enemies and less respect,” you finish. “Aye your hopeless!” Skull groans leaning back. “Only for you Amor,” you tease. “Great so you'll come to bed then yeah?” “No,” you laugh grabbing the wine you've been drinking and taking a swig. “Want some?” you offer. Grabbing it Skull takes a swing herself.

“Let me read at least three more contracts and I'll join you right in bed, deal?” you question leaning to grab on of the papers. “No,” “What?” you ask. “I said no. I'm not going to bed till you are,” Skull says crossing her arms again and leaning in you. “And what makes you think I won't just send you back to the room?” “Cause you love me too much,”

Fuck. She's got you there. As much as you want to say no you just can't. “*sigh* alright fine,” you mumble starting to read the paper and snaking an arm to hold her in place. “Can I have more wine?” “Sure,”

●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●

“You know the more you destract me the longer this will take?” you inquire trying to read the last paper. “What?” Skull asks innocently playing with one of your shirt strings, as she would occasionally pull on them to kiss your jaw or neck. “You know what,” you laugh placing the paper down. “It’s only one more contract,” you say. “After you read a hundred,” Skull groans shifting so she is now facing you.

“It wasn't,” you correct fixing some of her hair. “Just say your done,” she groans leaning on you. “You know as long as your here with me, we could just sleep here,” “Ha! No,” she answers leaning back. “Then let me finish my last paper and we can go back to the room,” you say grabbing the sheet. “Ugh,”

●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●◦●

”Done?” you say leaning back. “Ready?” you turn asking the smaller goddess who was already knocked out. “I'll take that as a yes,” you whisper as you get up making sure not to drop her. Quietly you open the big doors and make your way down the hall. Opening your bedroom door you place her down on the bed before going to change.

Coming back to see her all wrapped up in some of your blankets. “Theif,” you joke getting in bed and getting comfy. “Hahaha,” she quietly chuckles. “Oh you little sneak,” you laugh pulling her closer. “You know I think I might be spoiling you too much,” you say. “Maybe, but there's no need to stop,” Skull says reaching up and giving you a kiss. “Don’t think I could if I wanted to,” you sign before kissing her forehead and falling asleep.

(Still no writing for them. Actually there's not much writing going on besides a small post about Zatz and that's it. Fanfic writes of Maya and the Three where are you?)

[fuckyeah-dragrace]

“Two bros, chilling in a small bed…” for dayasco in the highschool au mayhaps? 👀

omg lina you have such a big brain this is perfect !! dayasco highschool au coming right up!

"Two bros, chilling in a small bed..."

"Alright I'm getting this one upstairs." Daya chuckled, getting up off the floor of her basement and going over to a giggling Bosco. It was the last weekend of summer technically and everyone piled into Dayas basement to have a good time with some cheap liquor she got her sister to smuggle for them.

"Good, she looks like she's going to barf." Willow giggled, cheeks rosy as she drank from her own cup. Camden and Kerri were giggling with each other, swaying together with smiles on their faces.

Jasmine pouted as she watched her girlfriend get up. "Make it quick baby!" She blew her a small kiss before going back to whatever gave she was playing with Jorgeous.

"I promise, baby." She chuckled and helped Bosco up off the ground, walking with her up the stairs. Her friend leaned against her heavily as she giggled. "Jeez, Sco. You really had fun tonight."

"Just a little." She giggled, head resting on Dayas shoulder. "You're too good to me."

"Well I can't have you vomit on my carpet downstairs." She chuckled and shifted to carry as they made it to the second flight of stairs. "Come on, piggy back ride."

"Just like we used to." She giggled and laid against Dayas back, cuddling into her as they climbed the stairs. "You were always so comfy and good to me."

"Well duh," Daya smiled. "You're my best friend, dummy." She remembered all of their times as a kid playing in their backyards and their sleepovers.

They shared so much with each other and it always felt right whenever they were side by side. Of course things changed a little when Daya met Jasmine and fell absolutely head over heels for her. It took a little time to get over all of the feelings having a new person added to the group rose up but Jasmine was a wonderful addition and if it made Daya happy, Bosco could live with it.

"Alright, final station for the Daya express." She smiled and laid Bosco down on her bed. She giggled and cuddled into Dayas pillow. "Smells like you."

"It's my bed, dingus." She chuckled before pulling a bin close to the bed. "You better not puke on my sheets or you're never coming over here again."

"Oh come on, you'd never get rid of me." Bosco hiccupped and grabbed Dayas wrist, pulling her down to the bed with her. "Now look at us. Two bros, chilling in a small bed.." She giggled and Daya rolled her eyes.

"Yeah nice try, demon queen. You get some sleep okay?"

"I will. Love you, Di."

"Love you too, Bos." She smiled at her friend but as she went to get out of bed Boscos hand came up and cupped her cheek. "You need something B-" She was cut off by a sloppy kiss being placed on her lips. It took her a minute to react but her eyes widened when she realized her best friend was kissing her. She could taste the cheap beer on her breath and smelled the sweet shampoo she'd always use.

The kiss ended as quickly as it started, pulling Daya back to reality as Bosco flopped back onto the pillow. "Nigh." She slurred before starting to snore, leaving an awestruck Daya sitting in her bedroom with her eyes wide and her face flushed.

Bosco kissed her.

Bosco kissed her.

Jasmine. Her girlfriend. "Fuck." She whispered and left her room quickly, looking back over her shoulder. Bosco was still snoring on her pillow, cuddling into Dayas blanket. She made it downstairs and stopped at the bottom, feeling her heart beat a million miles a minute.

Her best friend just kissed her. Maybe it was all a drunken mistake or maybe Bosco just lost her marbles. But either way the big problem was that even if she didn't mean to kiss her, Daya wanted her to kiss her and that made her stomach flip. She touched her lips gently, still feeling Boscos against hers and smiled softly.

"Baby? You coming?"

She shook her head. No, she couldn't be thinking about that right now. She had her girlfriend waiting for her downstairs. "I'm on my way, babe!" She went back downstairs to the basement and sat next to Jasmine, smiling as the girl cuddled against her and pecked her lips. She hated how she wished it was Bosco she was kissing.

[romikawai]

Joel's Alpha

Twenty - seven

"Are you ready, honey?" he asks quietly, perhaps trying to distract Joel "How are you feeling?"

"No…it's not like I have a choice," he tries to tease weakly.

It was a lot of pressure, she never thought that this moment would come, only a few days before Christmas and she didn't even finish her classes but well, she was going to give birth

Chris was by her side, like her alpha as they waited for that moment to be told to bid.

"I know, Joel, I know. That's your body telling you to start pushing so we can get the baby out into this world, okay?" says Dr. Owens kindly.

Joel nods, biting his lip. Chris should see how his hands are shaking slightly, clutching the sheets under him as he stands by his bed.

Joel can't help but look at Chris with big fearful green eyes and Chris leans down a little to meet his face, to comfort him, as if he can read every thought that's going through Joel's head right now.

"Joel, there's nothing to be afraid of. You're going to be fine," Chris murmurs under his breath.

Joel feels a little embarrassed, but he's more embarrassed, however, by the soft moan that slips past his parted lips as he feels a contraction engulf him. His pointy chin digs painfully into his chest as he thrusts.

Joel inhales shakily as Chris holds his hand even tighter, if that's even possible. He stands by Joel's bedside, simply holding his hand to keep his whole being together.

"You're going to be fine," Chris tells him softly. "Baby is Almost Here"

Joel lets a low moan escape his lips and feels his jaw clench as he presses his pointed chin against his chest.

"Joel, you're crowning," announces Dr. Owens. "I can see your baby's head, a little more please"

At this, Joel takes another deep breath before his chin meets his chest once more and he's groaning in pain, his shoulders shaking from the force of the contraction.

"You're almost there, Joel!" Dr. Owens remembers softly.

"Fucking Jesus C-Christ-"

Joel's calm voice cuts off, his shuddering breath catches in his throat on a torn pair of pants, and his face drops, so drastically that he knows Chris must fear something has gone wrong.

And suddenly; Suddenly, a loud, piercing moan is heard that echoes throughout the room. It reaches Joel's ears the way his favorite song would. His head falls back against the pillows, exhausted.

Joel allows himself a brief second to close his eyes and takes a shaky, deep, shallow breath and then he knows he's done it.

Your baby is here.

He opened his eyes sleepily as Chris came into view.

“You…did it, Joel, you…did it,” she whispers, her voice tight with emotion.

He's holding something, something half wrapped in a white blanket too big for him, his eyes glazed over and his cheeks wet.

"Joel, look, it's… it's a boy" Chris whispers as his tears continue to fall at the sight of the little baby.

A child… A child was born

She hadn't given it much thought, hadn't cared what she had, as long as it was a healthy baby. But now, now that she knows she has a boy; he knows that this is exactly what he had wanted.

"We… have a child?"

When Joel's voice reaches his own ears, it sounds strange, almost strange. Her voice seems to echo as her baby cries.

He can feel Doctor Owens working between his legs and he is happy to just watch the first minutes of his son's life, he is happy that he gets to spend them with his father, in his strong arms.

Chris nods, her eyes misty and misty as she bites her lip to keep from crying out loud.

"He's a boy" she whispers through tears.

Joel watches Chris cry silently as she holds her baby, her little body rocking slightly as she looks at her with such love in her eyes and Joel knows that is all she wanted.

This is your family.

[ask-a-girl-and-a-bowgart]

little spooktacle special 🎃🍂✨️

Steps of a little girl running around echoed faintly in the cottage. She was wearing a cornflower blue blanket and a headband with two sticks glued onto it.

A simple, homemade costume of a Bowgart.

Blue was in his study, reading a book of some historical context. Golden sunlight shone through the window, curtains drawn back. It gave the room a warm, homey glow.

"Blue!" Lily peeped her head into the room. "Blue!"

"Yes, yes, I know," he finished the sentence he was reading, then bookmarked his place. "I'm getting ready."

"But I'm ready to go now!" Lily whined.

"I'll be just one second!" Blue got up from his desk, setting his glasses down. He walked past Lily, giving her a playful hair ruffle.

Lily stuck our her tongue playfully, and followed.

"Meep!" Dee appeared in the hallway.

"Dee," Blue picked him up.

The three of them, led by Blue, made their way to the front door. Lily already grabbed her candy bucket (in a fun smunkin shape), and Blue grabbed his satchel (containing all important adult things) and Dee's candy bucket (Dee, a Maw, can't hold his bucket by himself, being he is a Maw)

They left the cottage.

"Don't run out of my sight!" Blue called as Lily ran down the dirt path.

Lily stopped and looked back, waiting for Blue to catch up. Luckily, he had a pretty fast walk, so she didn't have to wait long.

The three of them (more or less) went on their way. It was Spooktacle, and they were heading toward the big celebration in town. It was Lilys first, and it was certainly going to be a fun one.

✨️🍂🎃🍂✨️

The town was decorated with carved smunkins, paper lanterns with bats and haunter patterns, and covered in the autumn leaves. It was busy, and the final touches were being made in the Square. It was packed with monsters in costume

Twig, Cozmo, and Jadau were by the drinks table (Twig is mostly responsible for this), talking about some of the more irritating monsters on Plant Island. Blue and Lily walked over to them, Lily following closely by Blue's hip.

"Hiya, Blue," Twig nodded to him.

"Hey," Blue nodded back.

"About time you showed up!" Cozmo chimed. "We're nearly about ready to start!"

Twig wore a simple costume; a plain white serial killer mask and a prop axe. Cozmo wore a bed sheet ghost costume, eye holes cut out and a spooky mouth sewed on. Jadau wore flannel and also had a prop axe; he was a lumberjack. Blue didn't wear a costume, but he did throw on a sweater with leaves embroidered in a pattern.

Lily bounced up and down with excitement, despite being slightly overwhelmed at, well, everything.

Chatter amongst the crowd ensued until the sun setted completely, shrouding the entire town in dark. Luckily it wasn't too much of a problem, being that there were lanterns everywhere.

The party master, as they were called, stood up on a platform looking down at the crowd. They tapped lightly on the mic, giving slight feedback as the microphone crackled softly to life.

Chatter hushed. Silence washed over the crowd, everyone excitedly, intently listening in.

"Hell-looo, fellow monsters!" The party master boomed. They were a small, chubby Drumpler, dressed up in an extravagant vampire costume, fangs and all. "Welcome to the Plant Island Spooktacle Bash!!"

At the words "Spooktacle Bash" the crowd cheered.

"Who's ready to parh-tay?"

The crowd roared. Lily covered her ears at the volume.

The party master laughed, and continued.

"That's what I'm talkin' uh-bout!"

The crowd simmered down. A little bit anyways.

"So," the party master continued, "as many of you may know, we monsters come 'round once a year to celebrate Spooktacle, righ' here in th'Square."

The crowd listened intently. Lily uncovered her ears and listened in.

"Lemme tell you a story," the party master sat down on a stool that was provided on the platform. They spoke in a quiet voice.

"Spooktacle has been celebrated since the Dawn of Fire, though our customs have changed as the times went by. Monsters, back n th'day, would put these lanterns in their windows, as a way to guide stray monsters to safety. Legend says the Punkleton comes out in the dead of night to prey on lost monsters..."

A few gasps and murmurs came from the crowd. The party masters voice got quieter still, more eerie.

"These lanterns, as I said, guided these lost monsters to safety. An' we wore disguises, costumes even, to make our monstrosity less known to the Punkleton. We disguised ourselves to protect ourselves from the Punkleton..."

A few more murmurs from the audience.

"Over time," the party master spoke louder now, reaching the end of their story. They stood up, and continued, "we made Spooktacle more fun. Instead of shutting ourselves in our homes, we gathered around a fire and celebrated. Nowadays, we do these town-wide parties, dressing up and having a good time, like monsters do."

The crowd nodded in approval.

"Now," the party master walked to the edge of the platform, and grabbed hold of a lever just off the edge of the platform. The crowd "ooh" intriguedly.

"Let's get this Spooktacle started, shall we?"

They pulled the lever, and fireworks launched high up into the sky, bursting with bright colors of orange, green, purple, and gold. The crowd cheered.

"Wooo!!" Twig stared in awe at the fireworks. He was a bit of a pyro, if you asked anybody (which is ironic, considering his foliage-covered body).

"Yeah!!!" Cozmo did a little backflip.

The group of the six of them were admiring the fireworks, Lily especially. She was wide-eyed with wonder; these were her first fireworks that she was able to witness (she had heard then before, back at the House, but never once did she ever see them).

The fireworks had marked the start of the bash. And start, it did. For the next couple of hours, there was dancing, singing, candy-giving, even a costume contest. Lily got an honorable mention ribbon for her homemade costume, and got several handfuls of candy. It was a fun time, even for Blue, who (for majority of the time they were there) stood off to the side, looking into the crowd. Large crowds weren't really his thing. Twig, on the other hand, was digging the attention on the dance floor. There was a dance off, and he won that. He didn't receive a prize or such, but he did get bragging rights.

The party wasn't nearly halfway done when the gang decided it was time for then to be getting home.

"You really gonna let her have all that candy?" Twig asked Blue. Lily was going through her candy, unwrapping and eating some.

"Well, she's not gonna eat all of it," he looked at the little girl. "That’s your last piece, okay?"

"Aww," Lily frowned, sadly eating her last piece of candy.

"You can have more tomorrow," Blue promised.

Cozmo floated above Lily. "May I have a piece?" She asked.

Lily nodded happily, offering a handful to the Ghazt. Cozmo accepted the handful.

Dee had also had some candy, but he had reached his limit a while ago. Now he was sleeping in Blue's arms.

"I don't really understand how monsters can do all-nighters," Jadau yawned. "Don't they have work or school the next day?"

"Most of the monsters there are teens," Blue pointed out. "Teenagers and young adults. They're the party-hard folks."

"I mean, you don't really FEEL tired when you're partying," Twig commented. "I can tell you from experience."

"I can attest to that," Cozmo said through a mouthful of candy.

"Well..." Jadau nodded in thought, "yeah, okay. But I think they should at least go home and rest by midnight, if anything."

Twig snorted. "What, you're gonna make that a law? Tell kids to go home and improve their mood by sleeping?"

"I'm not going to make it a law, nor am I saying it SHOULD be a law," Jadau argued. "I'm just saying kids these days are getting less and less responsible and receptive to their body's needs."

Blue stopped. The other three walked on a few more steps before stopping with him.

Blue had a panicked expression on his face, and was looking around frantically.

Something was off.

"Where's Lily?" Blue's voice was high pitched with worry.

That was it. Lily was missing.

The other three monsters' eyes went wide.

The collective thought amongst the four were, and I quote:

O h s h i t.

✨️🍂🎃🍂✨️

Lily was walking off in the woods, following the noise that sounded something like a hiss, but also a growl.

A hiss-growl.

She didn't know why exactly she was following the sound. No one stopped her from wandering off, and she was curious. She followed sounds before, nothing bad had happened. Naturally, a girl her age would be curious about a world of strange beings.

Leaves crunched beneath her feet, her battered, black shoes. Wind bellowed in her blanket-cape-pancho. It looked mystical in the wind.

Lily approached a particularly dark patch of wood, where the noise was increasing in volume and, let's be honest, it was becoming concerning.

She, registering the fact that she has NO idea what she's about to encounter, tiptoed closer to the noise instead of walking. Childhood curiosity is so bold...

"Hello?" She called out, hesitantly.

The noise stopped.

She stopped moving.

There was absolute silence, aside from the nighttime critters chirping.

"Hellooo?" Lily called out again.

There was a rustling of leaves, and an omnious growl. A silhouette could be made out, though Lily couldn't quite figure out what it was. It looked huge though.

Lily stayed where she was, not sure what to do. Scream? Run? Scream AND run? Stay still? Approach?

The figure approached closer, closer still. It was practically on top of Lily, and it's features were now distinctly visible.

Lily had heard stories of the Punkleton, and it's large, imposing figure. It was enough to scare most monsters. On top of its size, it was a skeleton covered in vineage and thorns, with a smunkin for a head. Said head had small, no, TINY glowing pupils. Fangs were said to also be bared. The monsters, anyway, thought the Punkleton to be a terrifying creature.

Tiny yellow pupils stared down at Lily through the shadowy darkness of its eyes.

The Punkleton

Lily stared back in wonder. It was real! The Punkleton was really real!! It didn't seem too bad once you saw it for yourself, actually.

"Little girl..." it spoke. It's voice was raspy and deep. Haunting, one would say. His voice chilled you to your bones. Lily felt the chill run down her spine.

"H-hi," Lily answered.

"Shouldn't you be home?"

The Punkleton crounched, his face closer to Lily's.

"Little girls like you shouldn't be alone in the woods at night."

It smiled, and by the name of every Celestial it was creepy. Lily stared.

"I play alone in the woods all the time!" Lily squeaked. "Well, there's Dee, he plays with me too, in the woods."

"Hmmm..." The Punkleton turned his head.

"We play all sorts of games, actually!" Lily eased into a childish ramble. "There's tag, and hide'n'seek- I like hide'n'seek, but we have to play it inside cuz Blue doesn't want us getting lost- oh! And there's Memory! Blue taught me that one..."

Lily continued on and on about the games she plays with Dee in the woods (mostly), and the Punkleton, surprisingly enough, didn't care to interrupt the girl.

It was more surprised that the girl didn't run away in fear.

It was a pleasant surprise, to he honest. Scaring monsters got lonely.

"Would you like some candy?" Lily asked all of a sudden. She grabbed a handful and offered it up to the beast.

"Candy...?" The Punkleton drew itself back in surprise. No one's ever offered it candy before...

Lily nodded, eyes beaming and grinning the widest grin. She wasn't afraid. The Punkleton wasn't scary. It was just lonely.

"You scare so many monsters, it must be boring and sad being alone," she continued, still holding her hand up in offering. "I have loads of experience with that. Not the scaring, but being alone."

"Oh..." The Punkleton hesitantly grabbed the candy, being careful not to let any of it fall through its fingers (literally).

Lily swayed happily. "You're not so scary. You just need someone to talk to, tha's all."

"Lily!" A voice called. It was Blue's. Twigs followed shortly after; "Lily!"

Lily looked back, and yelled, "Coming!"

She turned back towards the Punkleton, giving it one last look.

"I have to go," she said, a little sad. "I'll see you later!"

She turn to run, giving a little wave. Her silhouette grew darker as she grew more distant from the Spooktacle Seasonal.

It was still holding the candy she gave it.

It stared at the candy, unadapted to such acts of kindness. It couldn't really eat the candy, to its sadness. But maybe it'd give to Hoola or Ffidyll when it went back home.

Truly, it thought, that the little girl (who never really specified her name) was more than what met the eye. There had to be some reason why she didn't run away in fear, why she would even start a conversation with a horrific beast like it.

Or maybe he'd finally found a friend.

Now that was a scary thought. The Punkleton didn't have friends.

Did it?

✨️🍂🎃🍂✨️

"Lily!" Blue gave an exasperated sigh of relief as Lily ran towards the group.

"You can't just run off like that!" Jadau said. "We were really worried!"

"Blue nearly had a panic attack," Twig added. "I knew you'd be fine, but-"

"Okay that is complete and utter bullshit," Cozmo interrupted. "You were just as panicked as any of us."

"Watch your language around the child?!" Jadau said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry I ran off," Lily said to Blue.

"It's alright, Lily," Blue led Lily on. Twig, Cozmo, and Jadau were already walking, bickering along the way. "Just promise me you won't do it again."

"I promise," Lily walked closer to Blue. She meant it too. She wouldn't ever run off again, not unless it was super-uper important. Plus, she was too tired to run off again. There was tomorrow though.

Blue rested his hand on Lilys back, a small and simple gesture to assure Lily was there, for his sake.

The gang all walked on, back home. It was getting late. It was almost definitely late.

It was, in Lilys opinion, also definitely the best Spooktacle ever.