#it took me far too long to figure what the yellow stuff was not some kind of pudding

[ejzah]

If I’m ever in need of a puréed diet, please do not feed me puréed eggs.

[s1llydr3amscape]

Day 5 : Canon Divergence @vanweek2024

Finally talking abt one of my fnaf AU's !!! I try to keep it brief but I cannot simplify for the life off me so yeah have some yapping!! Lots of major stuff and in-between events are not in here but that's what asks are for :] This one is pretty long so buckle up cuz here we go!!!

This au is basically just me taking the fnaf characters and putting them in my oc world!! It started ever since the first FNAF game came out but this story plot started out with Glitchtrap and a few other characters working at an office and shenanigans ensue. When in reality it's a setup because they actually end up killing people and selling off their flesh and pretending that it's organic meat in the market (Like mlp cupcakes + rainbow factory because those were pivotal to my development)

Vanny and all the other workers in a way where technically revived by Glitchtrap as rabbits (Or was already rabbits) making them indebted to Glitchtrap. They can't leave, they have to obey him. Reasons for Glitchtrap needing and starting this business venture is because he needs blood to keep this body I mean his new body alive (Me explaining why they'd have stitching) Because originally Glitchtrap was an entity who took the body of a deceased yellow rabbit and fixed it up enough (like in fnaf sl but this time he just found a fresh corpse) It's rotting the body is failing at this rate, he's going to decay way too fast and he wants to live. (Turning into the black goop like in princess quest)

He paraded as this joyful figure but that's far from the truth obviously. Originally before fnaf sb the body he stole was the father of my own blonde rabbit oc who was dead set on stopping Glitchtrap to let his father's body lay to rest. Even though his father was cruel and left him and his brothers alone, that's the least he can do. He chose to free his body from being mangled worse than it already is because he's a good person I mean better than his father ever was. He doesn’t know if he’s doing it more for himself sometimes.

However, since fnaf sb came out and the movie. I feel like Vanny fits this role better. So yeah to recap Vanny's dad died and Glitchtrap stole his body and made it his own. Vanny knows this later on but she too died in the same vain. Hence, why she ends up having her soul indebted to Glitch as well being the first few workers under him.

At first, she thought she was in hell she's supposed to be dead but she's not and her dad is still here? And he's still the same as ever yet something's not right. He just seems to be acting strange yet it's all too familiar for her.

Vanny ended up posing as a security guard for this residential area. She was tasked to basically infiltrate and blend in so that Glitchtrap had a new source of produce you could say Yet, even after all this Vanny still ended up befriending the Glamrocks. They cared and comforted her even after she wouldn't tell them her sorrows. They were real friends in a way. 

They're nice. In a way.

It felt nice to have friends after moving from area to area to avoid suspicion and ended up making friends. Yet Glitchtrap took this as a sign that she did this for him. Everything she did for herself is for him after all right. Lowering their suspicion on her by being friendly and outgoing, she’s thinking ahead for him. What a good daughter. Making them easier targets if someone were to ever happen to one of these lovely residents. They wouldn't question Vanny now would they! She's just their friendly neighborhood bunny

Her first target was Glamrock Bonnie. It was swift and quick but he put up a fight. Managing to damage one of Vanny’s eyes. The others don't know what happened as the camera feed was seemingly coincidentally cut. Vanny almost didn't make it out and had to leave the body there dead, managing to hide the evidence that she even laid a hand on him. Making it seem like he had fallen down the stairs after a robber tried to mug him. During his funeral, Vanny couldn't even be bothered to look down as he was getting buried. She stood there staring.

She did this.

She was being used as a trojan horse by Glitchtrap to get his supply. She still befriended the others. She shared moments of joy and laughter with them and yet she couldn't help but stare as he was lowered. Glamrock Freddy came to her and cried. This bustling hunk of sunshine weeped at her mercy. She tried comforting him but it left her bittersweet knowing she did this to someone who was nice to her. You’d think she’d be numb at this point but she’s not. 

She never was.

She ended up trying to push them away as the months began to pass. No longer making rounds when she knew they were at home. Deliberately avoiding going to social events and basically just trying to get this job done with. Even when she was doing her rounds and caught sight of the others she answered them rudely or just told them that she was too busy for dilly-dallying.

Roxy tried offering to give her a ride on her bike when she did her rounds but Vanny declined. Chica tried inviting her for lunch but Vanny declined. Freddy tried inviting her over for karaoke but Vanny. Even Monty tried inviting her over to play golf but Vanny declined. 

She's trying to make them hate her. She can't let her dad take them away from her too. She can't. Never again. So she's trying desperately to get them off of his scope so that they wouldn't end up as one of her victims packaged for eating. 

As long as they hate her as long as they don't want anything to do with her they'd be safe. They have to. They don’t need her.

It ended up working for a bit. But Glitchtrap is never satisfied. He never is. Suddenly neighbor after neighbor ended up mysteriously disappearing from this apartment complex. It was more common to see people move in than out and it was happening rapidly.

The residents have asked their landlord for higher security or that they'd move out as even families started going missing. Yet nothing changed. Not a peep gets out here. 

Until one day, Vanny was tasked to kill Freddy. A test by Glitchtrap and she couldn't do it. She tried begging for it to be someone else, anyone but her friend but he didn't like that his worker was testing his patience and took over.

There in the dead of night Vanny broke into Freddy's home. It was a sloppy job. Yet she strutted along. Holding onto the knife with such vigor. Just when she opened the door to his bedroom and tried to take the plunge. She slashed at a child's cheek.

What?

And in that brief moment Vanny regained control and had to face her bearings getting a migraine by the possession by Glitchtrap. She didn't know what was happening until it was too late and the kid fled outside. 

Great.

Basically fnaf sb happened but Freddy was at the pharmacy buying meds leaving Gregory (rabbit) home alone for a few minutes. Vanny, being puppeteered at the time by Glitchtrap, broke in intent on killing Freddy but ended up getting Gregory. Vanny and Glitchtrap didn't and doesn't know Gregory was there or who he was. This was because when Vanny tried to cut off the glamrocks Freddy ended up adopting this kid he found. Hence, why neither party seemed to know about the other because it was quite literally very recent. 

But yeah gist off the AU for now!!! Some parts are being rewritten and whatnot with the ruin DLC and book stuff but yeah!!! Short intro of the AU!!!

Headcanons / Lore :

-Vanny was blonde but ever since her resurrection her furs been turning white unknown if it's because she's technically undead or from stress (I like to think like from blonde bunny with green eyes into those white rabbits with red eyes)

-The workers are some canon fnaf characters and ocs

-Glitchtrap can't mind control Vanny all the time cuz he has other workers he needs to monitor and control, basically spanning a wide network. So he uses fear mongering tactics to get her to obey while he's away.

-Glitchtrap needs the flesh because his body is rotting and he needs pieces constantly to replace it. He only went after rabbits at first but due to his rapid decaying (turning into Burntrap as the story progresses) he went after anything that breathed and lived. I can’t decide if at the end of the story he should turn into Mimic where he’s just a walking skeleton or if he should just permanently die like in the Burntrap ending

-Vanny when she came back had many bald patches on her body after being stitched apart. She's trying to grow out her fur to hide what happened. Just to regain her sense of self. Yet things never change and so she ends up shaving it all off becoming bald like in security breach :[

-She knows that's not her dad but she's still scared of him even though he's much more different than how he was before. Maybe it's the unconditional love of a daughter for her father. Or she doesn’t know what a good parental figure is.

-Glitchtrap originally looked like the black goop version from princess quest, always ever changing, never the same as a being born of malice and hatred. He wanted to be a person like everyone else instead of a blob to be free of it all to start anew but he can't. Unless he acquired a body.

-His workers are only alive after he modified them, giving them life again by giving a part of himself inside off them kinda like a soul contract. Permanent scars literally. (How the enemies in Princess Quest look like rabbit people)

-Workers get sent around areas with dense populations and well acquires inventory from there. Glitchtrap gets money selling the flesh claiming it to be from regular animals. With the money he uses it to keep his body intact and alive. This is to explain how he turns into Burntrap becoming green and nasty.

-Each worker is associated with a smell. Vanny is onion. Glitchtrap is lemongrass. If you look at the sketch Scraptrap’s is garlic. If you’re asking why I did this it is because I just think it’s funny.

-There's more but I feel like I've talked enough!! Currently doing more writing to add ruin into this and trying to do a 2024 redesign for this AU!!! Including Vanny I need to make her more nasty and rotten <33333 

-Also be warned I love bittersweet endings if you fancy this AU

Her stitching and pupils keep switching sides because I couldn't decide 😭 Too embarrassed to show everyone elses design because the start off the story is goofy and the tonal whiplash is killing me. Scraptrap and Glitchtrap cameo tho!!. never realised how squished I made the heads.

I removed the blood due to the fact because being grabbed at the back off your head by an abusive family member still just as scary I should know

[marmorafarms]

Hush: Sam x Cis Female Reader

Here's another smutty fic for you guys! This time, it stars Sam! The fic is based off of Sam's 10 heart event.

Summary: Sam invites you over to talk about his feelings late one night. After nearly getting caught in his room, the two of you decide to make things even riskier and have some fun! (Based on Sam's 10 heart event)

Word Count: 3440

Warnings/Content: vaginal sex, cunnilingus, cum eating, creampie

And as usual...

18+ ONLY!

Enjoy!

The morning rays of light streamed in through your window and onto your face. You could hear the twittering of birds, and the soft bleating from your sheep. As much as you didn’t want to, it was definitely time to wake up. Rubbing your eyes, you sat up and stretched.

There was a sudden sound that made your ears perk up. It was the sound of metal on metal, and you were confused as to what it could be. You exited your house in your pajamas and looked around. Nothing seemed to be amiss. Shrugging, you decided to check your mail since you were already out there. 

Your mailbox was empty save for one small piece of paper, a sentence hastily scrawled across it.

Meet me in front of my house after dark.

–Sam

Oh.

Oh.

A small smile tugged at your lips. The sound must’ve been your mailbox slamming shut after Sam tossed this inside. Meet him at his house after dark? You were very curious as to what he had planned out. Sam had never suggested anything like this before. You peeked at the letter again and sighed. “After dark.” Leave it to Sam not to give an actual time. 

You couldn’t lie, a similar scenario to this played through your mind every night before you went to bed. Closing your eyes to the idea of Sam holding you close, running his fingers through your hair before pressing his lips against yours…it was heaven. 

As you went about your daily chores, you began to think more about the situation. Should you dress up for this? Not in a little black dress and heels kind of way, but something nicer than your dirt-stained shorts and sweaty shirt. You sniffed a pit and scowled. Yeah, you were going to change.

The day dragged on, and you found things that usually happened in a snap were taking forever. The line at Pierre’s to buy seeds. The amount of time it took for Clint to crack open a geode. Everything was taking far too long, and you almost screamed when you realized you would need to wait in line at the store again because you didn’t have what you needed to make a special fertilizer. Dammit, you were going to have to shell out for some of the fancy stuff, and you really didn’t want to.

Finally, night fell, and you decided to take your time in the shower. You washed up with your favorite soaps and even used the fancy shampoo that Haley bought for you. That damn shampoo. You had been avoiding it, and just used the normal stuff that you could get at Pierre’s. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to use the nice stuff, far from it. You did. It just seemed way too fancy to use on the regular! But tonight was special.

Well, you hoped it would be.

You looked at your wardrobe critically, trying to figure out what the hell to wear. You settled on a pretty purple bra with scalloped lace edges, matching silk panties, and a summery yellow sun dress that hit right above your knees. You knew you didn’t need to wear your nice underwear, but you were raised to always be prepared. 

The walk to Sam’s place was relatively short. You had waited until 8 to head on out and hoped that would be the right time. Luckily, you were right on the money. You could see Sam waiting by his house. But he looked extremely nervous. He was biting his nails, a habit that you knew he was trying to get rid of. He only did it when he was worried, and as you approached, he started to pace.

“Sam!” you called out. He whipped around, and gave you a lopsided grin, his eyes soft. 

“Hey,” he said, but his voice was much softer. He kicked the ground with the toe of his shoe. 

“Everything okay?” you asked, concerned.

“Um…I just um. Well…I wanted to talk to you. In private.”

“What about?” you asked. It felt a little strange to just be standing out here, and you wondered if Sam was going to take you somewhere or not. Maybe he just had something quick to say. But if so, why would he say it in the dead of night?

“Oh, just um…” Sam shoved his hands into his pockets and cast his eyes skyward. “You know, it’s kind of cold out, don’t you think?”

You blinked. It wasn’t cold in the least, it was the middle of the summer after all. You gave him a confused look.

“I just think it might be better to go inside,” he said. “You know, my room is the warmest. We could sneak in there. Where it’s not cold,” he said nonchalantly.

“Sneak?” you said, raising an eyebrow. “We can’t use the front door?”

“My mom would freak if I brought someone to the house this late,” Sam said with a laugh. “Especially a pretty girl like you.”

“A pretty girl, eh?” you said, and a light pink blush dusted his cheeks. He cleared his throat.

“Well you are,” he said, bravely looking you in the eyes. “Everyone knows it.”

“Oh do they now?” you asked, taking a step forward. Sam’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly, watching you approach. You were close enough to him now that you would only have to move your hand a few inches to touch his chest.

“Y-yeah,” Sam breathed, looking at your lips. He wet his own with the tip of his tongue.

“Well I’m glad you think so,” you said, your lips ghosting his. But right before anything could happen, you pulled away. He looked a bit surprised, and you shot him a cheeky grin.

“You were going to take me to your room, right?” you said. “Where we can have some private time to… talk ,” you said, putting heavy emphasis on the last word. You both knew exactly what you meant by “talk,” and he had the decency to look embarrassed at what he had suggested.

“Only if you want,” he said quickly.

“I do,” you said. “But how are we going to get in?”

“Oh!” Sam said, face brightening. “Don’t worry about that, I left my bedroom window open.”

You chuckled and followed him, watching him bounce on the balls of his feet as he went. This felt so high school, but in the best way possible. Sneaking into a hot guy’s house through his bedroom window? This was some YA novel shit right here and you loved it.

“Alright, I’ll go first,” Sam said as the two of you approached the window, but you stopped him. 

“I can go, don’t worry,” you said. The window wasn’t high up but was just high enough to where you had to bend a little to get in. You popped your ass up as you bent over to climb in, and grinned to yourself when you heard Sam burst into a coughing fit. You hoped you had also managed to flash your panties as well.

You looked around his darkened room and gently pulled the chain on his desk lamp, turning it on. The room was awash in a golden glow, and when your eyes met his, you melted. His big brown eyes looked beautiful. You always admired the golden flecks in his molten chocolate eyes, and they almost reminded you of a deer. Large and innocent, they looked you over, and you smiled.

“So I know I talk about the band like, 24 fuckin’ 7,” Sam said, closing his window with a soft click. “But, that’s not everything to me, you know? I mean, it kind of is, but that’s not the only thing that makes me happy. Not the only thing I’m passionate about,” he said, eyes blazing.

Your heart was beating a mile a minute as he reached out, taking one of your hands into his. Sam leaned down and pressed his forehead against yours, and it took all you had to keep your breathing regular.

“I’m really glad we’ve grown closer,” he murmured.

“Me too,” you said softly. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”

“About that,” Sam said, lifting his head up. “Do…do you think of me as just a friend? Like, only as a friend?”

You opened your mouth to speak, to tell him how you felt, but your words quickly died in your throat as a knock sounded on Sam’s door.

“Sam? I’m coming in!”

You and Sam exchanged terrified glances. It was his mom, Jodi!

“Quick! Hide in the bed!” Sam hissed. “Get under the covers!”

“Under the…don’t you have like a closet or–”

“No time!” Sam said, and you quickly dove under the sheets as you heard the door knob turn. If it hadn’t felt like high school before, it certainly did now! Here you were, a grown-ass woman, hiding from your crush’s mom under his bed sheets. This was so so stupid. But thrilling at the same time. The idea of getting caught was doing things to you. Positive things.

“Is something wrong darling?” you heard Jodi ask. “Wait…you weren’t…?”

“ Mom! ” Sam said, mortified. “I wasn’t…why would you even ask that?”

You wanted to laugh at his reaction to what Jodi had just implied, but you needed to keep quiet! You couldn’t blow this!

“I just heard some weird noises, that’s all,” she said. “And your face…it’s so red. You look a bit sweaty too.”

“I was doing push-ups!” Sam said wildly, and you cringed. Push-ups? What kind of dumbass excuse was that?

“Push-ups?” Jodi asked, surprised.

“Yeah! Just wanna uh…beat dad at arm wrestling! He keeps kicking my butt at it, and you know, that’s gotta stop. Right? Right. So that’s. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Good fucking Lord. 

There was a long pause, and you held your breath, waiting for Jodi to either leave or examine the room.

“Well, I guess that explains it!” Jodi said with a tinkling laugh. “Well…good luck!” she said. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Good luck?” Sam asked.

“You want to beat your dad at arm wrestling. Good luck with your strength training,” Jodi said simply. “And be sure to have fun!”

“Okay, I will!” Sam said. You heard the door close and Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally!” he said. “That was close, too close.”

You poked your head out from under the sheets and then sat up. You leaned back slightly and looked up at him.

“About before,” you said. “I–”

“Look,” Sam interrupted. “Before you say anything I…I just want you to know that I was trying to tell you that I really like you. I think we could really have something special together. Know what I’m saying?” he asked. 

You sat there in stunned silence. Honestly, you couldn’t believe that you hadn’t been the one to confess first, but you were glad it had been him. He was looking so earnestly at you and looked so open and vulnerable. This was a side you hadn’t ever seen before.

“Alright, I said it,” he said, and you realized that you had been quiet for a bit too long. “I told you how I feel.”

“You did,” you said, and scooted towards the edge of the bed. You beckoned to him, but stopped him when he got close. Gently, you placed your hands on his hips. You hooked your thumbs into his belt loops and looked up at him.

“I’d like to tell you how I feel too,” you said. “But I’ve always been more of a show don’t tell kind of person.”

Sam looked confused and let out a yelp and you yanked his hips forward. You toyed with the button to his pants and looked into his eyes. 

“Let me show you,” you said, and bit your bottom lip.

“You sure?” Sam breathed.

“Hell yeah,” you said. You popped the button open and pulled his zipper down slowly. His cock was already half hard, and you kissed it gently, hands going back to his hips. Sam let out a gasp as your lips touched him.

“You’re kissing my dick before me?” he asked in a joking tone.

“Get down here if you want to kiss me,” you huffed, and he chuckled.

“You’ve got kinda a tight grip on me there baby,” he said. You let go of him, and he sat down next to you. 

“Can’t believe this is happening,” he murmured, tilting your chin up with a finger. He leaned down, and your lips brushed. It was a soft, chaste kiss, and all things considered, it was quite lovely. But it wasn’t what you wanted.

“That was nice,” you said as you slung your leg across his lap, straddling him. “But this is better.”

Without pausing to let him respond, you flung your arms around his neck and kissed him long and deep. His large hands quickly found your waist, slowly moving towards your hips as you kissed. As you slid your tongue against his, Sam’s hands went lower and squeezed your ass.

“Hey there,” he whispered.

“Did you say that to me or to my ass?” you asked, raising a brow.

“Um,” Sam said, eyes wide. “To…you?”

The two of you stifled your giggles and kept kissing. This was exactly what you loved about Sam. He was cute and silly and fun . There was never a dull moment with this man, and that was just what you needed. You had come to Pelican Town at a low point in your life, and he was the ray of sunshine you needed.

Sam slid a hand under your dress and dipped his fingers into your bra. You moaned into his mouth as he rolled your nipple in between his thumb and forefinger. Your hips involuntarily jerked, your clothed crotch rubbing against him. Sam gasped, and you began to grind your hips down. His cock was only covered by the thin layer of his boxers, and when he rolled you off of him and onto the bed, you could see it was wet with precum.

“Don’t got a condom,” Sam mumbled.

“I do,” you said, forever grateful for dresses with pockets, “but…I kinda don’t want to use it,” you admitted with a blush. 

“I’m clean, are you?” he asked, and you nodded.

“Perfect,” he said. “Then let’s get you out of this dress.”

“And you out of those pants,” you said. The jeans you had undone were slowly sagging below his ass, and you were sure he would trip if he tried to stand up. Sam shook his pants off and then flipped up your skirt. He reached down and touched your wet heat with two fingers.

“You’re soaked through already,” he said in a rumbling voice, running his fingers over you. He pressed a thumb where he knew your clit would be and gently began to rub tiny circles over it. You gasped out, and he gently put a hand over your mouth.

“You gotta be quiet babe,” he said. “Don’t want my parents to hear, right?”

You nodded and watched as he pulled your panties off and flung them to the side. He looked down at your dripping pussy, looking like a man who hadn’t eaten in months presented with his very first meal. 

“Spread ‘em,” he said, patting your thigh. You kicked him in the ribs, and he laughed. “Spread ‘em…please.”

“I guess,” you muttered, rolling your eyes dramatically. You let your knees fall to the side, and he settled himself in between your thighs. He hooked your thighs over his shoulders and held you in place as he began to lick in between your folds. 

You shoved your knuckles into your mouth as he dipped his tongue inside you, and then quickly moved to your clit. He lapped at it with the flat of his tongue before gently sucking on it. That was far too much, and he once more had to clamp a hand over your mouth.

“Okay, let’s do this differently,” he said. The two of you maneuvered until you were on your hands and knees.

“Wanna eat you out, but you’re too damn loud,” he said and started pulling his boxers down.

“Felt so good,” you said. “Couldn’t help it.”

“This’ll feel good too, okay?” he said. He got onto his knees, and roughly put a hand over your mouth. You couldn’t see his cock, but you could feel the soft head gently pushing at your entrance.

“Ready?” he asked. You nodded, unable to speak, and he slid in slowly. Thank god for his hand, because if it hadn’t been there, your moan would’ve put a pornstar to shame. His cock was nice and thick, stretching you wide. You couldn’t tell how long it was, but it felt so goddamn nice inside you. His other hand gripped your hip, and he began a steady pace.

It was good, but he was going too slow for your liking. His hand was doing its job a little too well, so instead of using words, you pulled off of him nearly all the way, and then slammed back against him, ass hitting his hips with a loud slap.

“Oh fuck ,” Sam hissed and began slamming into you. You arched your back slightly, and with that slight angle change, his cock hit you just right. Each thrust was sending you to heaven with how good it felt.

You could hear the bed squeak slightly, but neither of you really cared. The two of you were purely carnal beings at this point, desperate for pleasure. 

“Gonna cum inside, okay gorgeous?” he panted, and you nodded quickly. He sped up, and you knew you were going to be aching for the next few hours, maybe even the next day. When he finally spilled inside of you, you could hear the strangled sound of him trying to keep quiet.

The two of you sat there panting, but something felt off.

“You didn’t cum,” Sam said, and you looked back at him. He looked frustrated with himself.

“Gotta rub my clit to get me to cum,” you admitted. “Just fucking me doesn’t do it. Never has.”

Sam considered this, and before you could do anything, he flipped you onto your back. He was suddenly back in between your legs. Sam licked his cum out of you, tongue dipping inside and then darting up to your clit. His face was messy, covered in a mixture of your slick and his cum.

You moaned loudly again, and Sam pulled off.

“We gotta do this at your farmhouse next time,” he grumbled. “I wanna hear you moan but you gotta stay quiet right now.” He looked around and spotted your panties. He quickly grabbed them and looked at you.

“Open up,” he said. He pushed your soaked panties into your mouth and moved back down to your pussy. With the makeshift gag in place, he continued licking, not stopping until your head was thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, and back arched. Fireworks exploded behind your eyelids as you came on his face, thighs squeezing his head tightly. When you finally came down from your high, you took the panties out of your mouth and looked at him. Sam had a dopey grin on his face, looking very pleased.

“I guess I gotta go,” you said after a few minutes. “Can I borrow some boxers to wear? Kinda don’t want to wear those,” you said, gesturing to your spit soaked underwear. Sam nodded and found a pair of bright blue boxer briefs, tossing them your way. He looked disappointed, as though he wanted you to stay. But there was no way you could. It would be to easy to wake up the house if you snuck out in the morning.

“You should come pick them up tomorrow,” you said casually, heading over to his window. Sam looked surprised and then smug.

“Liked it that much?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said. “But I mostly want to scream your name without your mom and dad hearing,” you admitted. “I don’t like being quiet.”

“I don’t like you being quiet either,” he said. 

The two of you exchanged a swift kiss before saying farewell. You climbed out his window and took your time heading home. That had been amazing.

It was only until you were just about to fall asleep that you got a text from Sam.

we’re a thing right?

like

you’re my girlfriend and stuff?

You almost laughed out loud but sent a quick yes before falling sound asleep.

[mossfeathers]

A Collection - A TMA + Secret Life AU Fic. 1.8k words. Scar as the statement-giver and Grian as the Archivist. [Additional notes, ao3 link, and other credits here]

[???]

Statement of…?

[?]

Goo- Oh, uh, my initials are G.T.W. but I go by Scar. Scar G.T.W.

[???]

Ok, Statement of Mr. Scar G.T.W. regarding the disappearance of his street for a few days. Statement taken direct from subject, third of November, twenty twenty-three. Audio recording by Grian H, the Archivist. Statement begins.

[SCAR]

Thank you! So, geez, I guess it started on what had been the thirty-eth? I collect figures, specifically old-timey houses. Not! Dollhouses, and I’m currently in the middle of organizing a wild west themed diarri-diarom-diamet- uh, display. In the middle, the giant centerpiece of it all, is a courthouse. Some antique dealer gave it to me pretty cheap, didn’t catch his name though. It was pretty shady, like some real back-of-a-dark-alleyway stuff. Came with a little folded up paper, too. I figured it was some sort of, I dunno, verification? Looking back on it, I should have known something was off. I was just so excited to get this new piece, y’know? It was gorgeous, these tiny rough stone pebbles that made pillars looking like something straight from Greece, some amayzin’ gemstones set in the front in these absolutely brilliant, wait, was that British sounding? I sound like you! [chuckle] But yeah, the crystals were green, yellow, and red. Something about the way that red one looked though, it felt off. It didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me, though. I don’t know why I brought that up. Huh. So there I was, sorting out my little itty bitty houses and stores around this big ol’ courthouse, my cat wandering around somewhere, and I remember the piece of paper! I thought I left it in a coat, obviously, but when I went to check for it, it was already in my pants pocket! So I thought, well that’s weird, but I figured I had worn the same pair of pants a few times over and just never took it out. So I unfold it, and turns out it’s a little pamphlet! About the size of my hand and all yellowed and worn and at least a century old with a big crease down the middle from being folded in half. I left it, alongside the courthouse, with your people up at the front, figured you might want to check it out or exercise it or something. Anyways, I looked at the front and tried to read the title. It was all faded, but I think it said “Care Manual for Unique Antiques”? There were more words below it, but I couldn’t read them. Inside the cover there was a stamp of a library, which struck me as odd. I got really panicked for a second, thinking I had accidentally stolen a library book. But I realized, hey, I bought it and I didn’t know of any libraries going by the name of Joe Hills anywhere around so I was probably off the hook, scott-free. So I start reading it. It wasn’t long, maybe 8 pages total? The font was weird, and the images were sort of wonky-looking, like the cups and spoons being shown couldn’t actually exist. I can’t describe it, but the whole thing felt so off. And there was nothing super weird about the text itself, just about the story behind them and the material sources and stuff like that, but once I reached the page that had my little courthouse on it, and started to read about the type of rock used, something in my room just changed. I can’t describe it, but a shiver went through my whole body and I suddenly felt a pit of some type of fear in my gut. I guess I should mention two very important things. One, I had figurines of people in that town. And two, I don’t live in the middle of nowhere. It’s gonna sound like it when I describe this to you, but I mean that I live at the end of a street. The houses are a bit far apart, and I didn’t know anyone around where I lived, and I felt like I was a million miles away from anybody else sometimes, but I mean this, there were houses there before.

So of course, I finish the page about the deep caves these little gemstones were mined from. Had a lot on how echo-ey and suffocating they are, and how isolated they were when the miners were down there, which felt like a really strange thing to put in a paper on a figurine but who was I to judge? So I turn back to the table, right, and the people were gone from the set! Instantly I think of Jellie- oh, Jellie’s my cat, by the way, and how she probably just stole them for a bit, so I shrug it off. They’re not the main focus of the thingy anyways! The courthouse is just sitting there, and I swear the green gem was glowing or something. But that’s impossible, and I probably was just so freaked out I made that up. And I get the sudden urge to get some fresh air. It just felt so suffocatingly empty out of nowhere so I went to the door as fast as I could. Biggest mistake of my life, I tell ya. I throw it open and there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, there was grass, maybe, and I thought I could see some trees, but it was just fog. And no houses. I had neighbors! I didn’t know any of their names, and I still don’t, but there were houses and people and lawns and a street and there just weren’t anymore. I never really was afraid of loneliness before, but I just liked the solitude. Not anymore. So of course I grab my phone from my other pocket, and it’s completely dead. It hadn’t been a few minutes ago. I figured the power had gone out, too, so I started to look around at the savannah in front of me. The grass was dead and pale and the few trees I could make out weren’t any I had seen in the neighborhood before. I felt like I was in the middle of the ocean. A desert. It was just so foggy, the mist ate up my feet and started to pick apart my porch, and I think I had a sudden realization that if I didn’t get back inside and lock the door right away, that house wasn’t going to exist for much longer either. So I slammed the door behind me. It was a long time before I moved from the corner of my room. It was so terrible, being alone for that long. You’d think I wouldn’t be all that bothered by it, but when there’s only the sounds of your own breathing and creaking of the floorboards under your weight, it gets to you, man. I was scared. At some point I realized I hadn’t seen Jellie in a while, but I think I was just so overwhelmed with the loneliness it just kinda melted away. I don’t know what stopped it, in the end. I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. The sun just started shining through my curtains and I cried. For a long time, actually. Don’t tell anyone, though.

I heard a familiar whreeep [Scar imitating a cat purr poorly] outside the door, and I nearly jabbed my cane through the drywall in shock. I assumed everyone was, y’know, dead? I mean, everything around you disappears for goodness knows how long, what else was I gonna think? So there Jellie was, and she looked fine! Not even upset that I had missed some meals. And that really struck me as odd because she is just the pickiest little cat. Oh, I want some food now and oh, I want outside time now and oh, I’m tired of being outside and oh why won’t anyone cuddle me and- ok I’m getting sidetracked here. So, she would usually be upset if I had missed a meal. But she wasn’t! Now I was wondering what the HECK happened to all the people who disappeared. And I realize I hadn’t even checked outside yet! So I get to the door and throw it open and there’s the neighborhood! The houses and cars are all there and I think there might’ve even been some people taking dogs for walks? Point is, everyone was back. I bet I looked absolutely insane, some random guy with eyebags and a cane staring at the street. I didn’t know what to do with myself, after that. I tried to burn the paper, obviously, but it didn’t light. I checked a calendar, too, and apparently 4 days had passed, because it was November second! Yesterday, actually. After I got myself all together and wasn’t shaking as much, I drove right on over here to give a statement! Just, I know someone who gave one and figured it fit right on in here! Apparently really helped to talk it out, too. I’m moving, by the way. Just started looking for a new house. I can’t stand to look at the walls of my room any longer. So, that’s my story! Pretty wild, huh? Do I just… stop talking?

[GRIAN]

Statement ends.

[click]

[click]

[GRIAN]

I had some assistants do a bit of research into this case, obviously. Scar left his address with us and all of the residential details seem to match up. He does live at the end of a road, Sandshore Lane, and listing websites show he has just put the house up for sale. No reason was posted as to why, and the price is shockingly low. This really surprises me, I know Scar from a few business deals years ago and he’s not one to miss out on money. I’m inclined to believe him just for that. He did drop off both of the items mentioned at the front desk, and I believe those are still firmly in artifact storage. Not particularly interested in giving that pamphlet a read, to be frank. Not in the mood to be isolated from all other life today. We tried to talk with a few of his neighbors, but nobody wanted to tell us where they were during their week. Rude. I might continue to pry just in case we see any similar incidents appearing later, but for now I think it’s best to leave this one. No reason to explore a follow-up, so that wraps this case up nice and neat. I’m concerned about the appearance of a library book and artifact link, I’ve not seen many of those before and it might be a good idea for me to rustle around in the Archives to see if there are any others that connect to this, especially relating to the same pamphlet. End recording.

[click]

[luminous-letters]

Remains: A Jack Howl x Reader, TWST AU Mini-series

Image link

"Wake up." a gruff voice shook you awake. It was Jack, you smiled. "Morning," you greeted, expecting a regular peck on the cheek from him.

"Hurry up, a horde's about to pass through this town. We've got eighteen hours to pack and move to the next city," was his cold response. The next few moments were spent in silence, the only sounds being the packing of clothes and the tic-tac sounds of plastic.

Horde? Move? You were at a loss, honestly. Where was Grim, Ace or Deuce? The ghosts? Why weren't you in Ramshackle? Your mind was scattered.

"What?"

"We don't have the time nor the luxury for this, don't play with me babe,"

"Where's Ace and Deuce? Grim?"

"Who? Did you hit your head?" Jack was confused.

Then, the memories came back in crashing waves. You weren't in Twisted Wonderland, far from it actually. You were in your city's capitol, or whatever that's left of it. You were home, with Jack.

Moss grew on the sides of abandoned buildings, as well did a few trees clung to the ruins. The scent of smoke and decay filled the air, your stomach turned. It was a wasteland.

"Hurry up, I'm not taking any chances with those things," he called, slinging a large plastic box, which you assumed contained his share of weapons, over his shoulder.

The human mind was strange, almost comedic in a sense, how much it could remember, how much it can make up and how much it could forget. You couldn't believe that you forgot about this, whatever inferno you were thrusted into. How long have you been here?

"This...this isn't a dream."

"No shit, now hurry up," Jack was agitated now, he was gripping his bag tight, taking occasional glances between you and the scene below.

"On it," you regained your composure, now reminded that it was only you and Jack, in a deadly jungle of destruction's wake with whatever creatures lurked in the shadows.

You were quick on your feet, taking three steps worth of stairs every step you came down. Somehow, the stained concrete and the ghostly silence— once foreign, became more familiar. Every step you take, you feel more at home. Home being an empty wasteland.

"We've got to stock up on supplies before we go," Jack sounded more gentle now, maybe he was guilty about earlier. "I've already marked where we can get some stuff while you were asleep," he handed you a map.

There were a few locations circled in fresh red ink, indicative of its importance. They weren't too far, most of them were a couple blocks away.

"Do we split up? We can cover more area that way."

"No," was Jack's simple reply. "We go there together, you and me," he handed you a glock, fully loaded with a silencer attached to the nozzle.

"Plus, with whatever you were going on with earlier," he started walking now, with you towing behind him. "You're definitely not mentally fit to do this alone," he finished.

The rest of the walk was quiet, save for the rustle of old flyers and signs against the wind. What stood was what was left from the panicked evacuation many years ago, overturned cars, covered in the lush of moss and rust.

Debris from fallen line towers littered the area, making it a lot more difficult to navigate through. You had to watch your step, lest you fall and attract some unwanted attention.

The sky was a sickly desaturated shade of yellow-green, covered in gray clouds, with smog blurring the rest of the city in the distance.

You inched closer to Jack, "Scared?" he asked, to which you answered with a nod of your head. "Figured. It's still a few months since all of this started..." Jack reminisced.

"That quick for the entire world to fall," you both continued walking, surveying every nook and cranny, every alley you came across. "I didn't study criminology for this shit," Jack cursed. "Good thing you took a medical course."

"I'm sorry," for what? You weren't sure. But it felt right, maybe you were sorry for forgetting. "It's fine, if I hadn't met you before shit hit the fan..." he breathed in. "I might've lost myself the moment the whole collapse started."

"I'm still lost, in all of this," you gestured around you. "Why aren't we in NRC? why aren't you in Savanaclaw?" you racked your brain for anything, but found nothing.

"Savana-what? Babe, what are you talking about? Are you on something?" he scratched his head, passing through one of the marks he put on the map. "We're in Rust City, we moved here from Cambridge after the Siege. We've been living like this for the past three months." Jack listed.

They were familiar, you remember everything that he said. The Siege, Cambridge, and many more. But what about NRC? About everyone you knew, about Jack?

"You good? Your heart's beating like crazy," he was concerned, even if his voice did nothing to show it. "Need to rest?"

"No. I'm good."

Finally, you arrived at the first stop for your resource skirmish. 'Marigold District General Store', the sign read. Its windows were shattered and there were barely anything left from the shelves, only a number of canned meatloaf and beans.

You two passed through the large window, afraid to make any noise from the door's bell chime. "Get what you can, meet me back here when you're done," he gave you an empty bag before disappearing to the tools section.

You were chucking in whatever you could find that was edible— sardines, emulsified meat, some chicken noodles and soup, and canned vegetables.

You grabbed the last few spices and salts, and threw in eight bottles of water that sat scattered and dusty. You went to the store's pharmacy, grabbing some painkillers and paracetamol, as well as antibiotics, bandages and antiseptics.

With nothing else left to take, you headed back towards the store's front.

"Still no sign from him," you sat on a store bench meant for the elderly, "No one's left to use this anyway," your cynicism showed itself.

"Back," Jack called, a toolbox in hand. "Our old one's all worn out, the quality sucked," he held up the bright, orange-colored box for you to see. "Got anything else?" you asked him.

"A machete and some whetstones, would come in handy since we're reserving ammo," he set it down, sitting beside you. "How about you? What did you get?"

"Sardines, meatloaf, sausages, noodles, soup, water...and some coffee packs, medicine," you listed all the items, earning a satisfied hum from Jack.

"This should last us a few days," he sat back, stretching his arms before wrapping them around your shoulder. "We should get going," he kissed your cheek and gave you a pat before picking up his share of supplies.

"Next is fuel," he told you once you got back. The walk back was peaceful, albeit slow from the amount of load you two were carrying. You had to rush for fuel now. "We still got a few bars of gas left, but I doubt it's enough to get us to Carvester," Jack packed all your stuff inside the old van.

Carvester, as you recalled, was a province a few kilometers away from Rust County. It had a good amount of business districts and wasn't known to be too populated, so you understand why Jack chose that place.

"Good to go?" he fastened his seatbelt, leaving the windows open instead of turning on the air conditioner to save gas. "Mhmm, good." you fastened your own.

It didn't take too long for the engine to roar to life, you flinched at how loud it was. "Damn it," Jack too was startled by the sudden noise.

The drive was just as quiet, nothing but the sound of wheels against the pavement and the hum of the engine. Soon, the image of the gas station emerged from the thick blanket of smog.

"Stay here," he told you, leaving to fill up the tank with fuel. "Jackpot," you heard him chuckle. "Babe, hand me those empty containers," you handed him three.

You watched the fuel meter go up centimeter by centimeter, until it was completely full. "Who knew there was still a good portion left here, I honestly thought they'd have run out by now," you said.

Jack closed the door, "That means only a few people went here," you thought about the implications of the fact. "Most likely, they went to the Capitol. It's at the opposite end of town so it's unlikely that they'd stumble here." Jack answered, once again starting up the engine.

The clock read 10:43. The engine roared. The rubber of the tires rolled against the asphalt.

"Next stop— Carvester."

[dabeywabeys]

How do you do your colors? Do you have a tutorial by chance?

aaa i dont have one onhand but i can go through my process? (this ended up being really long oops😭)

most of these arent like color theory rules or anything this is just how i like to do things

usually i choose 2-4 hues for the flats and pick some colors for my pallette off those

i generally like to stay away from desaturated colors but thats just cus super saturated colors r kinda my thing and i like em :]

and in my color picking for the pallette i try to make sure i have a substitute for black and white! you can give the impression of those two colors without actually using pure black or pure white by replacing them with other colors that have darker or lighter values than the rest of your pallette (ill say more on values in a sec)

picture example of everything so far

nowww we talk about values!! a lot of people have a tendency to stay away from brighter more saturated colors cus they dont know how to use them in a pleasing way, and part of the reason for that i think is they arent checking values. values are a term to refer to white, black, grayscale colors, and when i refer to the values of your pallette, i mean how it looks in grayscale

this is how the colors i chose earlier look monochrome. i tried to make sure there was a good variety of dark and light values (could've done a little better than this tbh but you get the idea)

i Always check this when im picking colors cus i am prone to eyestrainy color clashy stuff and fixing values usually helps keep it pleasing

nowww we get into choosing shading and lighting colors. values also help for this!

i usually use a multiply layer for shading and a screen layer for highlights to start off with and choose a color id like for both. this time i did blue for shades and yellow for lights

also i avoid shading the black substitute sometimes cus sometimes it can look weird since i usually also make this my lineart color but thats not a hard rule or anything

but, while these are a nice starting point, im not satisfied with them so i merge all the layers and start adjusting them, making them more saturated and making sure the values look okay

aaaand it turns out like this!

usually this would be where people would stop but iiiii have been messing around with transitional shades as of late so i should probably talk about those too. basically i saw a painter say she avoids blending the base colors with the shading and lighting too much because it makes pieces look muddy to her, and that she prefers to make her own transition shades that keep the saturation up. so i took that to mean blast bright ass colors all over my piece as long as the values line up.

im still kinda figuring out how i like to do this and this is mostly just based off me like fucking around and isnt really apart of color theory rules from what i know but its how my pieces look the way they do

basically for each highlight color ill pick it, and move the hue level a little in the direction away from the base color, and then ill adjust that until the value is between the base color and the highlight, and then i repeat that process with the shading colors.

and it should look a little like this in monochrome with the values between the ones of highlights base colors and shading. cus it transitions between themmm thats why its a transition shade.

and this is how it turns out in color! the general idea is to make them pop while still being close enough to the base colors/shading/lighting that it isnt so jarring that it looks gross. im still fucking around and figuring out how to do this in a way that looks good to me but yeah! :]

that's my whole process basically. i did not realize itd make a whole essay but i hope its helpful in any way? feel free to ask for clarification if any parts are confusing

[marvel-fanfic-writer-8675]

Can I ask for a Loki x stark reader? She’s adopted by Tony as a child when he discovered her living in a cage with a traveling freak show. Turned out she’s a light elf that was kidnapped and abandoned on earth. But now she’s a young adult. Loki joins the team after asgard was destroyed. When he shows up there’s a strong pull between the two of them and they realize it’s their souls calling out for each other. Realizing they’re soulmates, they don’t let anyone get in the way of starting a relationship

Note: Reader powers: form light balls, mild healing but nothing too big, teleport, telepathic like Loki’s but yellow

Hope y’all enjoy! I’ll hopefully be posting a Steve fic later today for his birthday!

Calling Out To You

Pairing/Summary: read the request

Warnings: fluff, slight angst for reader’s background

Tony was your dad. You guys looked nothing alike, but he had saved you as a child and watched you grow up, even adopted you when you were 15. That was all before Iron Man or the Avengers even became a thing.

Tony had found you when he was still in the height of his playboy phase. He was at a carnival, and had found some pretty blonde that he wanted to do the deed with. He took her to what looked like a secluded area of the tent. When they got through, he saw a sight that broke his soul. You, a little girl, we’re trapped in a cage. The woman he was with took off, but Tony stayed there for a second. He looked around and went up to you, “hey, I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m Tony, what’s your name?” “I, I’m Y/N, please, help me.” The look of absolute worry and fear on your face really made the billionaire angry and sad. Tony immediately helped you out of the cage and took you to his house. Tony was in no way shape or form father material, but he did his best. He wasn’t freaked out by your powers, and actually helped you learn to control them, but also hide them from people you didn’t trust, to make sure someone else didn’t kidnap you again and use your powers for their gain.

Tony wasn’t the best father, but he did change to be a better one, but he was trying, and you loved him and he loved you. You guys easily bonded over your shared love of everything mechanics. You quickly learned from Tony, and became his partner in the lab. When you were younger it was just handing him the right screwdriver but as you got older it became bigger stuff like building entire designs and helping him test products. That’s why it struck you so hard when he was kidnapped by the Ten Rings on your 20th birthday. You worked endlessly with the police and anyone who could possibly help.

Those 3 months were the worst. It felt worse than growing up stuck in the cage at the freak show. You threw yourself into work, trying to design something that could help you find your dad. After many sleepless nights, he burst through into the house in the iron man armor and you broke down crying. You ran and hugged him, being overjoyed that he was alive. You helped him figure out the results, such as getting rid of the weapons stark industries used to make. You had always hated that, but Tony always changed the subject when you brought it up.

*time skip to 2012*

During the events of the attack on New York, you had been out in third world countries helping with the damages previously done by Stark weapons. You had wanted to be home to help with the attack but you didn’t think you could teleport that far without being seriously drained. You hadn’t used them in a very long time. You had resorted to watching it online via your laptop. When you saw your dad lying in his suit, you thought he had died. You summoned all your power and tried to teleport there. You ended up making it, but somehow landed in your bedroom.

Steve and Nat had brought Tony up to the tower for him to rest. They had a fun time meeting you and seeing just how snarky and alike you were to the other stark. After some corralling, you were able to get Tony to rest. After that, Tony’s panic attacks and paranoia skyrocketed again. You and Pepper were able to help him after the kidnapping, and it was time for you to do it again. You moved back into the tower against Tony telling you it was unnecessary. Once again you helped Tony out in the lab, and it was super fun.

*another time skip to when Asgard was destroyed*

Asgard had been by some fire monster thing, and so Thor was permanently moving into the tower. Everyone was excited for the move in day for Thor, Bruce had been back for a week but Thor had finally finished getting the citizens all settled.

Everyone was standing outside waiting for Thor to arrive. Suddenly some green missy appeared and everyone went into protective mode. The Avengers knew you but they didn’t know about your powers, only Tony and Pepper did. “Kid that’s not you is it?” Tony asks, the team looked slightly confused, “nope, mines yellow, never been green, but you know who’s is…” “what would Loki be doing here!?” Steve still was focusing on the comment about your powers. “Wait, you have powers?” You nodded, and explained quickly, no one turning away from the midst. The team all accepted your powers, and you felt a weight lifted off your shoulders.

That’s when Thor appeared alongside his brother. “Friends!!” Thor boomed, Loki just looked annoyed. “Hey Thor! Nice to see ya again!” You ran up and gave Thor a hug which he happily returned. “You are a light elf,” Loki said half questioning, half stating. “I’m a what now?” “Yes,” Thor confirmed, “you did not know?” you shook your head, “ummm, no I didn’t!” You turned to your father, “don’t look at me, I just found you in a cage and took you in.” “Well, I guess it explains the powers and such,” you had adapted to roll with the punches of the ever changing world so you weren’t too fazed by this news.

“Right, back to the elephant in the room, what is reindeer games doing here.” Loki rolled his eyes at the nickname, you could tell he didn’t like it. “Dad,” you scolded slightly. “My brother is here to join us!” Thor announced. “Surprise,” Loki sarcastically added. Your dad looked angry. “What? No, no way.” “Look, it’s either he joins the team or Fury locks him away,” Thor explained the situation. “Well then, we have our answer, where’s Fury so we can turn him over?” You felt some protective urge come over you at your father’s words, wanting to protect Loki for some reason. “We are not sending him to live his life stuck in a cage dad! I know what that life is like, and I’m not letting you or anyone on this team subject Loki to that.” You were sticking your foot down. Tony and the rest of the team looked slightly taken back at your confidence and choice.

“Kid, you do remember what he did right? He threw me out a window for god’s sake!” You stayed firm, “one, Thor told us he was brainwashed, two, we’ve all wanted to throw you out a window at some point.” The team laughed at your second comment and agreed. “Still, we can’t trust him!” Some of the team murmured their agreement. “Alright, you want to do this, fine, we can play this way. Loki was brainwashed, and he deserves a second chance like everyone does. Steve, we gave Bucky a second chance after he was brainwashed, why shouldn’t we extend the same to Loki, Nat, you got a second chance after the red room, Clint you and I did after the circus. And dad, you got a second chance after the weapons that stark industries used to sell. We all deserve a second chance, we’re a group of people on their second, even third chances, a group of misfits, I think we can find room for one more.”

The team was stunned, but after listening to your words they understood your point, and most of the team wanted Loki on the team, all but Tony of course. He was outvoted and Steve welcomed him to the team with a handshake. Everyone went inside, you lagging behind with Loki. “Thank you…” “Y/N,” you supplied. “It is very nice to meet you lady Y/N.” He leaned down and kissed your hand, a strange feeling filling both of you. A strange glow started on both of your chests where your hearts were. The team all turned around and saw this. Only the two gods knew what it was, the rest of you were kinda freaking out. You were stunned to shock, Tony was scared Loki did something, the rest of the team were also worried something was wrong. Thor quickly assured them it was the opposite and held them back.

“Oh, my,” Loki stated in shock. “What, what is happening?” You found your voice. “Come darling, I will explain, you might need to sit down, I assure you it it nothing deadly. You allowed him to lead you to the living room, the rest of the team coming with you. You all sat down, Loki and your chests still glowing. “Look dad, I’m like you,” you joked. Tony was not in the mood for jokes though, he was worried about his little baby girl. “Explain. Now.” Tony demanded of Loki and Thor. “What did you do to my little girl.” He accused Loki. “Dad, I’m 25,” you reminded him, “but I am curious, what is with this?”

“Well, it’s still rare on Asgard, but it does happen, it’s called soulmates.” The team was in even more shock, including you. “Soulmates?!?” You asked, making sure you heard right. “Yes, it is said that love is put into each being, and two connect together, when they meet the love in their hearts glow from becoming whole again,” Thor supplied. Loki was watching you for your reaction, scared you wouldn’t want him as a soulmate. “So what does this mean, is Y/N like a princess now or something?” Steve asked. “That’s up to her and Loki,” Thor answered, “some soulmates reject each other and they move on with their lives, but usually, they begin a courtship just to learn more about each other and see if they work as a pair.” Tony was slightly furious, “she is NOT dating that, that villain, I refuse to allow it!” “That is for them to decide Tony, they are grown adults,” Nat tried to calm him.

“I guess we should chat, huh?” You asked your soulmate. “I suppose we should my lady,” you led him to your room to talk. “So, soulmates huh? Pretty cool right?” You started, it was pretty awkward. “Yes, I suppose it is. Look, I understand if you do not want me as a soulmate, I’m a monster.” You cut him off, cupping your hand on his cheek, “Loki, I’m honored to have you as my soulmate, you are not a monster in any way, and if you’d like it, I’d love to start a courtship with you.” Loki brought you in for a hug, something he’d rarely ever done. “I’d really like that, and I won’t let anyone get in the way.” He was obviously referencing both your fathers. “Neither will I, especially not my father, don’t worry about him.”

You both sat in the hug for a little, before you spoke up again, “is this why when you got here I felt a strong pull to you and a need to protect you?” Loki nodded, “most likely my dear, I also felt the pull but brushed it off as being from the magical similarities.” You nodded, “this is much better.”

After walking back out to the living room, you saw the team waiting anxiously, “well…” Nat asked suggestively. “We’ve decided to try a courtship, and see where it goes, and we will not be letting anyone get in the way,” you directed the last part towards your dad. Tony then walked towards you both, you were scared of what he was going to do. “You may be a god, but you hurt her, in any way, I’ll kill you with no regrets. She’s already been hurt enough.” You sighed in relief, it was a normal dad threat. “I promise on my life, I’d never hurt her.” A slight blush rose to your cheeks as Thor came over. He gave you both a tight hug, one which Loki was not too pleased to receive.

After that day you and Loki were inseparable. You were always learning more and more about each other. The first date you went on was to a fancy restaurant Loki had picked out. When the press caught you guys and tried to make it a big deal, you stopped them, you weren’t about to let the press or anyone else stop your relationship. You were soulmates, and you’d always be there for each other.

Taglist: @peaches1958 , @glxwingrxse

[jkknight98]

Not your normal museum visit (summer gift exchange)

For @aperson03

Tubbo defiantly wasn't happy when his parents decided that their vacation was going to be at a museum, how lame was that, but somehow... he manages to make a new friend and avoid certain death, not such a boring vacation now is it?

I hope everyone enjoys the story~

Of all the places to go to for a vacation, why did his parents decide to pick a museum, even the beach would have been better than this. “Come on Tubbo, you can have fun while learning, it's better than you being hold up in your room like your Nan used to be.” He could only huff at his mother's attempt to cheer him up, and so what if Nan liked to stay in her room with salt on the windows and always would make him put a nail in his pocket before he left, she always told cool stories about mythical creatures. “ If it makes you feel any better, they have an exhibit about some of the things that mum used to talk about, you can go there while me and your mother head to the other exhibits.” This caught the boy's attention a bit, sure the museum would be the most boring vacation by far, but at least he can get away from his parents and the dumb lovie dovie stuff.

“Alright Tubbo, here’s fifteen pounds for lunch, don’t use it to buy something stupid from the gift shop.” His mother ruffled his hair gently as she turned to join his father who was waiting for her at an exhibit hall called lovers through time, which made the boy shiver in disgust but turned after sending a wave toward his dad. He should hurry up to get to the exhibit for what little bit of entertainment he can get from the place before he dies from boredom.

Tubbo did have to admit as he passed through the hall of dinosaurs, this museum was pretty impressive, he didn’t expect it to have the full skeleton of a t-rex. Some impressive artworks showed what the animals could have looked like, from the scaly monsters from the movies to a life-sized velociraptor, it looked like an eagle on steroids. But this wasn’t what he wanted to see as he made his way to a decorative stairway at the end of the hall, covered with fake ivy and small yellow lights to mimic fireflies. It was a cheesy design in his opinion, but he gave it the benefit of the doubt as he continued to climb, and was actually amazed at how deserted the area got. Did no one like myths anymore, and actually jumped when he was met with the sculpted face of a kelpie. He had to grip his chest for a moment as he caught his breath,” fuck your a scary sight…how did anyone fall for you.” The horse’s face was a gold color with bright green eyes, but with the patches of green scales and dripping water weeds, the most terrifying thing was the wide mouth with teeth sharp enough to rival a shark’s… perfect to devour those who rode its back. He took a few cautious steps around the statue, the emerald eyes seeming to follow him until he was fully immersed in the exhibit. He was amazed to see more statues of brownies, paintings of terrifying redcaps, a terrarium of bright green clovers, and just as many creatures his Nan spoke of. 

It wasn’t too long before he came to a grand painting that was placed near an authentic-looking fairy ring, the circle of mushrooms being filled with plenty of chocolates and pocket change, it made the boy pause as he wondered how the museum kept them from being stolen. His eyes looked to the painting and he smiled at the weirdness of it, moving to stand next to the blond guy his own age as he pondered it. It almost looked like an A.I generated paintings with clouds of browns and purples with two figures emerging, the upper figure having a skull-like face and slim frame while the other was masculine with dark feathers and a bird-like face, it was weird as it was pretty. He looked down at the title card,” Lady death and the crow father…kinda weird name huh,” the other boy's head whipped to face him quickly and Tubbo could see the surprise on his features.

The blue eyes of the boy scrunched slightly as he took a step closer, making Tubbo step back slightly and bump into the raised platform of the fairy ring,” You can see me?? Like really see me,” the blond turned his head around to scan the area for anyone else Tubbo could have spoken too,” holy shit we’re the only one’s here.” The blond turned back and his face was split into a super wide grin and he excitedly grabbed Tubbo’s hand,” Dad told me that humans don’t see us anymore since they’re too wrapped up in technology, but you can see me!”  The boy turned to the painting and lifted his middle finger towards the lower figure with a loud cry of laughter,” Suck on that old man” 

Tubbo was just confused, why did this guy act so surprised that he saw them, he wasn’t exactly hiding in his white shirt and jeans, and what was he talking about humans,” dude I don’t know what you're talking about, but your grip kinda hurts,” besides the tight grip the guy had around his wrist, there was a faint tingling sensation where each of the digits touched his bare skin, like a worse version of a limb falling asleep. He tried to pull away again but it was as if he was fighting against a steel trap, the boy just looked at him more confused as he tried to fight him, almost amazed he couldn’t pull away.

“Wow your weak, but that's what happens when humans come up against the fae, oh dad said that some humans are born with a partial cawl over their faces,” one of the boy's hands went to cover Tubbo's eyes, and the brunette powerless to stop him despite his best efforts. “ If I do this it should give you full vision of the glamor and be a bit better than normal lame humans.” As soon as the appendage covered his eyes all Tubbo could feel was pain strong enough that he would have fallen to his knees if the boy wasn’t holding him up, but as soon as he felt like crying out, the pain completely disappeared. “There we go, now you can see me in all my awesome glory!!”

The hand lifted away to reveal the room once more, and absolutely nothing looked different, did the weirdo put something in his eyes as a prank?? “ Nothing looks different you as-” but the boy did look different, and completely inhuman. The blue eyes looked way too big for the boy's face now, and they were framed with red feathers that trailed to feathered ears where the human ones should have been and looking further Tubbo could see a double set of red hummingbird-like wings that ruffled slightly in the blond’s apparent excitement. The more he looked on the more mixed his feelings became, this boy before him completely turned into a different…thing after covering his eyes... His mind immediately went back to what his Nan warned him about the fae. They never really looked like they were shown in movies or on television and could easily have the features of animals… and they always took interest in young people. This made Tubbo gulp slightly as he smiled weakly,” Yeah boss man, you look pretty fucking awesome.” There were two rules that his Nan drilled into his head the most should he ever meet a fae, that was to never insult one...and to never give your name to one.

The now fae smiled brightly, showing off some sharp teeth, “ I knew it, your lame human world has just been blown,” The hands went to grip his again as the boy spun him, making Tubbo smile at how infectious the energy was,” What do I call you since you're going to be my new best friend, you can call me Tommy.” The words were spoken with such a sense of finality that it scared Tubbo slightly, making him frown and the fae frown in return,” Hey… why aren’t you giving me your name, I can’t just call you human, thats what my brothers do and you're going to be my friend… Right?” Tommy looked sadder the longer Tubbo was silent and kept looking sadder as he waited on an answer.

Tubbo could only take a shaky breath as he looked into the unnaturally large eyes again, a nickname should be safe right, it's not his true name but he will still respond to it. “ You can call me Tubbs, and I’ll be your best friend if you give me your word that you won’t harm me intentionally or unintentionally.” The fae seemed to shiver slightly as the words left his lips, and the boy swore he felt a cold breeze drift through the room, but he relaxed as the fae smiled again with a nod. Tommy shifted his grip to hold both of the boy's wrists as he started to walk towards the fairy ring, flapping the feathery wings slightly to land in the center, and dragging Tubbo with him. “ Uh Tommy… what are you doing, we're going to step on the mushrooms?” But the fae was gentle with setting him in the center of the ring, leaving the two standing within its center.

“I have to show you too my family, like I said it's been ages since we’ve had a human who can see us,” Tommy smiled brightly as the mushrooms around them started to take on a faint glow,” I’m so going to rub it in The blades face since he hasn’t caught a human in centuries!”

Tubbo didn’t even get the chance to comment on that last statement before the feeling of the ground under his feet turned to mush, and he couldn’t yell out before he was sucked downwards. His free hand reached out to try and grasp anything that could save him, but as he disappeared into the fae wild, the only thing he held was a single metal screw.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tubbo did have to admit to himself that after he was pulled through the display to the alternate world, the ‘fae wild’ as Tommy put it, his apparent kidnapper wasn’t all that bad. He told pretty hilarious jokes and after a mild scuffle that turned into a full playfight, he could easily be friends with him if he was a human. He still didn’t like his wording about being captured though,” Am I captured, last I checked friends don’t kidnap each other?”

The fae just smiled as he continued to pull him through the weirdly colored landscape, with ferns and mushrooms the size of trees,” Oh I’ll return you to your side of the vail in no time, time passes differently here so a day here is only half an hour on your side, but hurry up Tubbs. We need to hurry through this section of forest before the goat bastard shows up.” The fae sniffed the air quickly and pulled the two of them off the clear pathway towards a grove of branching mushrooms, wings twitching irritably as they sighed. Tubbo couldn’t help but start sneezing due to the spores, causing the other male to look at him in annoyance,” would you stop it, your human noises are going to get us noticed by the asshole who lives here, it was bad enough to get past him for me to enter your world.”

Tubbo didn’t hesitate in the slightest to snap back at the blonde, snarling in a way that made the fae raise a brow in surprise,” then why don’t you use your magic to stop these stupid things, I didn’t think I would be allergic to mushroom pollen!!” The fae went to respond in turn, but the low reverberate thud cut off any come back,” the fuck was-” a hand swiftly shot out to cover his mouth, sharp nails just poking the skin in warning. He wanted to fight against the force, but the fae’s fearful appearance stopped his angry muttering, Tommy’s eyes and ears were flickering in every direction to find the source of the sound.

But the source came from directly above them as a low voice rumbled menacingly,” fee fi foe fum, I smell one of human blood,” the sniffing sound followed,” Tommy you little shit, what did I say about coming into my territory. Didn't your bird-brained daddy teach you anything, or is your head too full of feathers?” A large cloven hoof thudded to the ground before the boys, sending up a poof of more spores to Tubbo’s horror, the appendage was the size of a small car. Tubbo’s eyes drifted up the furred legs until he could see the face of the giant through the branches, despite the scruffy facial hair and red-rimmed eyes, the man's face held that same perfectness that Tommy’s has; the ram horns ruined it though. The giant man sniffed again as he moved an equally giant flask to his lips to drink, the dark liquid sliding down to splash near the smaller boys, making them both jump in surprise. Tubbo’s body couldn’t help but betray himself as another sneeze broke the silence, causing the goat-like ears to twitch, and the giant crouched down with a speed unmatching his size. The eyes quickly settled on the two boys and the giant face split into a sinister smile,” You little shit, you managed to drag a human here with you, don’t mind if I take it from you.” 

Tubbo screamed as the massive hand shot forwards to grab him, ducking while dragging the fae with him, but had the breath knocked out of him when the second large hand slammed down on his body. He wheezed for breath as the two of them were lifted into the air, and felt the sickness of vertigo as they were brought to the giant's face,” dude… you need a fucking breath mint.” This made Tommy slightly snicker while the giant raised an eyebrow in slight amusement, but that look faded as it took another deep breath through its nose, and the eyes were fully dilated when they blazed open. 

The look in them was no longer one of amused triumph, but one of near animalistic hunger as the giant licked its lips,” A mint won’t make it any better where your going kid, it's been ages since I’ve had a human, but young ones like you always last longer anyways.” The large tongue slid out and trailed up Tubbo’s face, leaving putrid-smelling saliva all over him,” Oh yes…. You got the sight too so that makes it even better-”

A loud shriek sounded from Tubbo’s right, making his ears ring painfully,” SHLATT YOU FUCKING BASTARD, YOU WILL NOT TAKE HIM FROM ME!!!” The words quickly changed to a louder shrieking and Tubbo wished he could raise his hands to cover his ears before his eardrums burst, Tommy’s face had shifted from the uncanny beauty to something terrifying, looking more like a vengeful harpy than a fellow teenager. The giant looked equally pained as they flattened their ears,” Fucken shit kid, why are you attached to it, humans don’t live that long. I’m saving you the heartbreak by eating it now.” This only made Tommy angry as he hisses out more expletives as the giant separated the two, leaving the fae in one hand and Tubbo in the other, Tommy did try to hold onto him, but his hand seemed to have been forced away before the grip got too tight.

The giant moved to hold Tubbo over its face as Tommy continued to shriek in his other hand,” Sorry kid, you picked the wrong day to enter the wilds, but enjoy yourself to some genuine fae whiskey while you can.” The mouth opened widely under him, the slightly stained tongue laid out like some demented red carpet and the dark abyss of the throat behind it. The large fingers slowly loosened their grip and Tubbo could only flail his limbs in panic as gravity dragged him towards his death, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. He looked away from the giant mouth to look at Tommy, the other boy was still screaming and almost looked like he was crying, which made Tubbo feel bad. They didn’t get to know each other for long, but he did feel like they could have become true best friends.

Tubbo closed his eyes as the mouth grew closer, apologizing to his parents for not being able to meet them at the museum entrance, and apologizing to his Nan for not listening to her warnings when he slammed into something extremely warm. He waited for the dampness to soak into his clothing and his skin, but he still felt the air rushing around him… it didn't make sense. He opened his eyes to not see his death, but dark green fabric instead, looking upwards he met a familiar-looking pair of blue eyes framed with midnight black feathers,” you alright mate, we almost lost you to the belly of the beast just now if we didn’t hear Tommy shriek.” Tubbo couldn’t help but smile widely as grateful tears started to slide down his face, looking down he could see the giant yelling as two other winged faes antagonized it, one with insect wings and the other had more dragon-like wings. The older male gently adjust his grip as he flew above the chaos,” hurry up boys, we got the fledglings so leave the drunk bastard be,” The other two-winged males quickly flew towards them, leaving the giant to yell curses at them, and Tubbo was happy to see a certain blond in the arms of the pink-haired fae. A low throat clearing brought Tubbos attention back to the blond fae holding him,” Now then, why don’t you tell me why my son was with a child of man?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It wasn’t long before Tubbo was sat at a wooden table before the blond man and the two other faes, the brunette looking at him curiously while the heavily scarred pink-ete was glaring down at Tommy, who was gently gripping his wrist while looking like he wanted to turn invisible,” So let me get this straight… you used the gateway in the museum and found a human with partial sight, and in your excitement gave him full sight, made a promise with him, and nearly got him killed trying to show him off!! What were you thinking!!!” Tommy just shrank further into himself and whined softly,” What would you have done if this boy died, there are rules for this, why do you think your brother stopped bringing humans anymore. It's dangerous!”

The blond male just sighed before turning to look at Tubbo,” and you… I don’t know what to do with you..”

But Tubbo had enough, the stress of everything finally hit him and he couldn’t stand seeing Tommy so upset,” Look, sir, I will give you my word that I won’t tell anyone about this, I know the fair folk like promises,” this caught the three adults off guard but he cut them off before they could speak,” the promise Tommy made that you were so worried about, it was just for me to be his best friend and despite nearly dying,” he turned and gave Tommy a brilliant smile,” I’m more than happy to say he’s going to be my best friend no matter what.” The blond’s red feathers fluffed up in excitement at his words, and he wasn’t being anything but truthful with his statement. This just made the older blond sigh in exasperation as the brunette moved over to gently ruffle both his and Tommy's hair, commenting on how two gremlins would keep the house lively.

The pinkete turned their red eyes over to him and sniffed slightly, causing Tubbo to wonder if he smelled bad,” are you related to the Underscore Beloved family, specifically an Alice?” This caught him off guard, Alice was his Nan’s name, and by telling them this, it made both the pinkete and elder blond smile in both relief and another emotion he couldn’t read,” Of course, Tommy would make friends with one of her line, guess we won’t have to eat you in your sleep.” 

The elder blond quickly slapped the pinkete on the arm, telling him to “Shut” before sending him outside with the brunette, and looked at the two young boys with a soft smile,” Well then, anyone of that family is as good as family to me, but we need to set some ground rules before this goes any further, it’s going to be some things your nan has already taught you I’m sure.” As the elder started to drone on Tubbo looked back towards Tommy, the blond seemed to glow in his excitement, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So Tubbo, did you have a fun time at the folklore exhibit, it looked pretty cool to me when I and your mother saw it, but I’m glad you didn't spend your whole time there when we went looking for you.” Tubbo jerked up to look at his parents, he was too busy tieing the cord on his new bracelet, a single ruby red feather dangled from it and felt warm every time it brushed his skin. His mother looked at him with a frown and sighed,” Didn’t I tell you not to buy anything silly from the gift shop..”

His dad just laughed,” Now now dear, you're the one who gave him money, but I think it means he enjoyed his time here.”

Tubbo smiled up at his dad gratefully as they made their way home,” yeah, I guess a vacation to the museum isn’t too bad,” and it wasn’t since it inspired him to work on a new project. He can work on his music later, now he needs to learn how to grow mushrooms.

[sobredunia]

Hello internet, welcome to Gaym Theory

This is just like the GRIS ramble, and as the previous “proof that I’m not normal” post, I’ll put this under a readmore because by god is this long

I have a huge theory for halOPE just hear me out

Aight so the game consists of an emotionless angel walking around qUiRkY worlds but they’re actually deeply fucked up if you look between the lines

Actually, there’s no “between the lines” in the complex, every single layer in that blue square onion is fucked up

The first world is the orange/yellow one, a wheat field forest thingie

You meet a shy lesbian witch, a cool plague doctor lady, some old man, a mushroom girl, the ultimate clown boy, a wooden puppet girl...

Then, after a few fetch quests, you reach the blue door, which leads you to the blue world, the complex. This one is literally just capitalism without the money

All the residents in the complex are lost. They’re too afraid to get out, not knowing where to go, too scared to lose the little things they already have. Some of them got there with ambitions, wanting to fix up the place and whatnot, but slowly the energy leaves them and they can’t be bothered to do something about the ever-rotting building

Now, we’ve only gotten two worlds so far, and starbage has confirmed that that’s about half of the game (unless she* decides to add more content than she anticipated and now it’s just a small fraction of the full game) so we can expect another two, maybe tree worlds

*I am merely guessing on these pronouns, I have looked thru your carrd and all sites linked didn’t have them. babygrill what r ur pronouns please i dont wanna misgender u

Now, where am I going with this? It’s simple: HalOPE is a game about the five stages of grief

Just not in the way we think

The orange world is not denial, nor anger

It’s acceptance

In this world, the witch lesbian girl comes to terms with her feelings and confesses to the plague doctor lady. The puppet girl gets free of the strings that were dictating her every move and, although it feels weird to move without them, she has realised that they were bad for her, and finally breaks free. In this world, people are mostly nice to you, outside of some few slightly mean dialogues that end up getting replaced with happy stuff (except for the old man sucks to be him I guess)

The complex? Depression. Do I really have to explain it. The main color is fucking blue

At the end of the demo, we go through a green door wounded, and get treated by an old(?) lady we can’t see the face of

I still don’t fucking know what the fuck is bargain, or how it works and is supposed to be represented, but my theory is that we’ll be making a medicine for ourselves since we’re sick or whatever, and in the end we’ll have to choose wether we use it to cure ourselves or the old lady who took care of u, since she’s also sick or whatever

I still don’t think that’s what bargain is about, but we’ve only gotten one official scene in the demo and a couple of screenshots that don’t say much about the story in the dev blog other than we aren’t fucking dead I guess

Now, what role does the angel play in all of this? They’re an empty figure that lacks emotions and only listens. Obviously, they’re the one that has been traumatised enough to go through the five stages, but there’s something else

Why would the stages go backwards?

Sure, recovery isn’t linear and the stages are a rough graph. People can go from depression to anger to denial again to bargaining, but I highly doubt someone who has already reached acceptance would go back

Unless they want to see what has traumatised them in the first place? This doesn’t make much sense, I know, but forgetting traumatic events is a thing that can happen, and maybe they want to go back to see what caused it to go through the phrases properly, or finally put an end to that gut feeling that something is wrong

The angel is just a representation of the person. They don’t get swayed by the nature of the complex, or stay in the nice wheat world. They’re analytical, emotionless, made to stop the phases from hurting them as much as possible

It doesn’t really work

Sadness is a very powerful emotion

I’m not even gonna fucking touch the actual angel lore we’ve been given, nope, my braincells have worked enough for today. I’m just laying this around. This is just the game’s overall message thing whatever

Enjoy a wholeass bible on your funni angel game, @starbage​

[milkywaygg]

Time's Passing (Ch 3)

The next morning, Darren found it incredible hard to get up the morning as he was wrapped up in blankets and pillows, softer than any he had felt in several years. He felt his stomach growl as he was slowly beginning to regain consciousness, yet Darren felt his eyes were sealed shut. There was no way in hell anyone was gonna be able to get him out of bed.

“Darren, I’ve made breakfast, dear. It’s nice and hot for you.”, Linnie’s voice called out from the kitchen, the smell of waffles and sausages reaching his nose, begging him to get up. After a few minutes of struggling, Darren finally had enough, rubbing his eyes and tossing on the slightly too long pair of pajama pants Linnie had loaned him before leaving the bedroom (Linnie had camped on the couch for the evening). He walked to the kitchen and took a sleep, smiling politely at Linnie, who was already dressed in a lime green shirt-jacket with a white collar, alongside velvet black pants and shoes, as he served the food.

“Good morning, Darren. Did you sleep alright?”, Linnie said, smiling as he took a seat across his son.

“Yeah, I forgot how good a mattress felt.”

“Oh..well you know, I never did like the concept of prisons. How is neglecting other people’s needs going to help them become a better person. I just don’t understand.”

“Papa, Prison’s not supposed to be some vacation, you know. They were trying to punish me. That’s the whole point in prison.”

“I-I know it’s just…I’m sorry Darren. I know I overreact sometimes, but I just can’t help but worry about you three. I…uh..”, Linnie stuttered, unsure of what to say. He knew his adult children now needed their space to figure things out on their own, but Linnie found it especially hard to ignore his over-protective nature. He often found himself calling them on the phone multiple times during his anxious episodes, or if his gut told him something was wrong, but many of those calls went unanswered, leaving Linnie to worry until eventually, he got word that his family was safe.

“So um…”, Linnie tried again, awkwardly, “Did you still want to check on your apartment? I think it might be a good idea to call them first, just to make sure someone can help you, of course.”

“Yeah, don’t seem like a bad idea.”, Darren muttered, barely half-awake still, trying to finish his eggs, “Also try to figure out what they did with my stuff if they did evict me.”

“Oh, I really hope they didn’t sell your things. It doesn’t seem like a very ethical thing for them to do.”, Linnie said softly, drinking his tea. Darren smirked at his father’s innocent nature.

“Who said they cared about ethics? More than likely, all they care about it making a quick buck outta ya. That’s just the way it is.”

“Well, that doesn’t make it right.”, Linnie said, taking the last few bites out of his meal, “Here, when you finish your food, I’ve got a extra coat for you to wear when we head over there. I usually keep it for more formal events, but I think it’ll work until we figure out what’s going on. Just let me know when you’re finished dear.

When they had finished breakfast, Darren put his plate in the kitchen and walked towards the living room where Linnie has laid out a long, tan, velvet coat that looked almost like a suit jacket. He threw it on as Linnie threw on a green coat almost identical to his, alongside a green business hat with a yellow band, making sure his glasses were cleaned before the two left the door, greeted one again with the brutal winter air they had been plagued with for the past month.

The two males were somewhat quiet on their way over to Darren’s apartment complex. Since it wasn’t too far from Linnie’s, they figured they could just fly over there to save their magical energy and conserve magical pollution and fairy dust anyhow. Every now and then though, they’d attempt at some small talk to break the ice, but each conversation seemed to have a long awkward pause in between. Darren had always found Linnie’s nervous, timid nature annoying, but now he couldn’t help but wondering if Linnie was ashamed of him. Sure, the two were never quite as close as a father and son should have been, but Darren always resented Nora for making him feel less than, or useless. He didn’t want that from Linnie was well.

At last, the two reached towards another apartment building, this one a few stories shorter, and the walls seemed to have some graffiti sprayed on them, with flickering streetlights and dumpsters that desperately needed to be taken out. Darren led Linnie into to lobby so no one would try to attack him, and floated up to the receptionist desk; this time an older woman that almost reminded Darren on Nora. She had much darker, almost black green hair tied in a ponytail, and a good bit of wrinkles on her face as she looked down at Darren carelessly, the cigarette barely hanging on in her mouth.

“Can I help you, kid?’, the woman asked lazily, uninterested.

“Hey, I’m the original owner of Apartment #145 and hadn’t been paying my rent on account of an arrest. I was wondering if someone might have subleased it while I was gone or..”

“HA!”, the lady laughed, “In what world would some idiot want to sublease in a dump like this? No kid, no one subleased while you were gone. We decided to evict that apartment, and someone else went ahead and started picking up your slack.”

“Wait hang on, if people don’t wanna sublease here, why the hell would they take a permanent place here?”, Darren demanded, making Linnie nervous in the backroom. The woman shrugged.

“Beats the hell outta me, kid. Maybe they couldn’t afford anything nicer.”

“Well, what happened to my stuff?”

“The government took some of your big stuff like your couch and TV and shit, but I think we’ve got your clothes and bathroom stuff in our office, since those are basically worthless in terms of money.”, the woman said, getting up from her seat, “What’s your name, and can I see some ID?”

“Darren Cosma, and I think I’ve  got my wallet on me..”, Darren said, handing the woman his driver’s license, who barely looked at it, snarling at it a little bit.

“Damn you’re ugly. You could use a nose job or something.”

“Are you gonna get my shit or not?!”, Darren snapped, ignoring Linnie calling his name in disapproval. The woman glared back angrily as she unlocked the keys to the office behind her, and slammed a few bags of Darren’s clothes in front of him.

“Here ya go, your highness. Anything else you want from me?”

“Just one question.”, Darren said, trying to calm himself down and keep himself from fighting the woman in front of hm, “How much would rent be for another apartment? Has rent gone up by anything or.”

“Prob about 2,000”

“2,000? For this shit hole?”

“Hey, I don’t set the prices you little bastard! If you wanna go somewhere else, be my damn guest. Would be one less ungrateful ass person to deal with.”, she snarled back in response, “It’s never enough for you people is it? It’s always, my toilet’s broke, there’s roaches in the kitchen, when are the garbage people gonna be here.”

“You know what, Liz? It’s fine.”, Darren said, “Forget it. I’ll get out of your hair. Come on Dad, we should probably get out of here before we get shanked or some shit.”

“Darren, your language, please.”, Linnie said softly, making Liz chuckle a bit as she smiled at Linnie.

“My, aren’t you a cutie. Too bad your son didn’t seem to inherit your manners. Could teach him a thing or two.”, Liz joked, before putting her feet back on the desk. Linnie smiled uncomfortably before heading Darren out the door with his bag of clothes, headed back to his apartment, this time with a lot more to say…and a lot more questions on his mind.

“Well…uhm….that could have gone better.”, he said awkwardly, twiddling his fingers, “I guess you’re stuck with me for a little while, hehe.”

“Uhh I dunno…I don’t wanna be a bother.”

“Sweetie, you’re not a bother. Besides, I don’t really see any other options at the moment.”, Linnie said quietly, “So I guess my question in regards to all of this…now that we know the apartment’s someone else’s, what’s your plan?”

“I dunno. Get a job probably. Try an apartment in a less shitty neighborhood.”

“Oh honestly Darren…”, Linnie sighed, a hint of frustration in his voice, “I really wish you’d stop cursing, and I really hope you do some research next time you find an apartment. You’re more than welcome to stay at my place for as long as you need until you get the money again. I really don’t mind. I just really don’t want you living in a place like this, especially if people aren’t going to treat you kindly.”

“Papa, you’ve really got to stop people so soft with people, I swear.”, Darren said, annoyed before sighing, “Whatever. I didn’t really like her anyways. My shit kept breaking every 5 seconds anyways.”

Linnie sighed once more, getting slightly upset as Darren’s refusal at the no-swearing rule, and his bad attitude, though didn’t want to say anything to agitate him. Linnie couldn’t imagine prison being a nice place to live in, and after everything Darren had been through, he told himself he needed to at least try to be sympathetic. Despite think that however, Linnie couldn’t help but wish Darren would at least give him a “Thank you” every once in a while, and had a hard time remembering when Darren, or really anyone in the family other than Chelsea, had showed him any appreciation. He really didn’t mind helping Darren out, especially given his current conditions, but sometimes, Linnie wondered if everyone around him was starting to take advantage of him.

[oh-my-may]

Felt like sharing that I've been in the process of finishing up Genshin content I skipped over. Especially Chenyu Vale exploration. Felt like a chore doing it when it came out so I pushed it to a later point when I'd actually enjoy it. And what can I say, I'm almost through with it now after two longer sessions and I've been loving it :)

After playing a game like Rebirth, Genshins casualness (?) is so refreshing and welcoming, it felt like a warm hug. The last few weeks I only ever did dailies and farmed through resin and logged off because I was busy with other stuff. Now I have the time to enjoy it again, and I feel so happy about it. It makes me so excited for the new map areas in 4.6.

Chenyu Vale exploration probably felt kind of nostalgic and welcoming because there'a lots of small puzzles and mechanics that are similar or the same as Liyue pre-2.0 which now feels so nostalgic to me. The weird bubble flowers that you have to shoot? Placing geo monuments on pressure plates? Count me in.

Also love the "weird" hidden chests that are also so old Mondstadt and Liyue. Like wdym there's a weird digging point that you can click repeatedly and ore chunks come out until it explodes in your face BUT you get a chest at the end :) Following trails of pinecones to caged in Simulacrums (these Treasure Hoarders really just do anything). The ruins were also just such a callback to old Liyue :( I was so happy throughout idk.

I alsl finally figured out how the Chenyu Vale exclusive exploration mechanisms and puzzles work. You know, the teapot (?) things and the light lotus in the water (or so). What can I say, it's been a breeze. The Vale is just so beautiful...

But it did get me to think... it is a part of Liyue, yet it looks so different... it's so green/blue/turquoise and the rest of Liyue is gold/yellow. Like... all of it. And ofc that's still pretty! Been loving to see the silhouette of the Jade Chamber or the other adepti abodes in the distance. But you can definitely see that the dev team has come a long way. I can't wait for Mondstadt to get its Dorman Port expansion :( I've got a feeling we're only gonna get that before Snezhnaya comes out during the 5.x patches, since it's probably gonna be very close... but I'm so happy that Mond will get attention again. I've already loved the events this patch, the potions one and the one with the cats. They definitely haven't forgotten about it! They keep on teasing the place names in characters dialogues so casually...

ANYWAY (is it obvious that genshin is a huge hyperfixation lf mine I could talk on it for HOURS) I have like 10% exploration remaining in all areas of Chenyu and I'll probably finish it within the next few days. I also still have Lynette'a hangout to do and a bunch of smaller world quests in Chenyu. Then my vault of primogems will be ripped open for Arlecchino <33 Will talk about her so much after her quest and listening to her voicelines about other Fatui members when she comes out. So obsessed with her lore. I have over 250 pulls waiting and I really want her weapon too... i'm kinda scared.

A good friend of mine who was the reason I started genshin to begin with also came back to the game after not playing since before Sumeru. We've been talking a lot about the game, she's in the process of finishing up all things Sumeru and we're gonna play together some time this week to get her coop achievements... and she wants me to summarize and explain the archon quests so far before she digs into Fontaine... welp. Anyway, it's just so nice to talk about everything wirh someone again, especially because we're on the same page what concerns all things genshin, be it lore, gameplay, critique or anything else. It's just nice sharing interests :)

Maybe I'll give some few thoughts after I actually finish up the area and did Lynette's hangout. Also maybe give some predictions on Arle's story or so.

Have these screenshots I took! I rarely actually take screenshots while playing genshin... since I played on an old laptop for so long I'm not used to the game actually looking nice :) will hopefully change that in the future

[jcmarchi]

Hyper Light Breaker Preview - Hands-On With The Not-Quite-A-Sequel To Hyper Light Drifter - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/hyper-light-breaker-preview-hands-on-with-the-not-quite-a-sequel-to-hyper-light-drifter-game-informer/

Hyper Light Breaker Preview - Hands-On With The Not-Quite-A-Sequel To Hyper Light Drifter - Game Informer

In my review for 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter I wrote about how it was a game I created excuses for myself to keep playing after seeing credits writing, “I didn’t do it out of necessity; I did it because I wanted to stay in Hyper Light Drifter’s world for as long as possible.” I love the color, style, music, and overall vibe of that game, which is why I was so excited to finally go hands-on with its not-quite-a-sequel, Breaker, and finally have an excuse to exist in that world again.

[embedded content]

“It’s not a sequel – it is just in the world of Hyper Light. It will have common threads, themes, and shared components,” director Alx Preston says. “If you played Drifter you will see reappearing species and enemies and other stuff like that, but generally, you don’t have to play Dirifter to enjoy this. The story is encapsulated in its own way. But there are connections to it for sure.” Preston is even more ambiguous about its Drifter relationship when asked specific questions about the timeline saying, “It takes place not too far away from [Dirfter] on either end. It’s not like it’s taking place 1000 years later. It’s within a range of the events of Drifter.”

Breaker retains the mood of Drifter, and its sound, though Preston says returning composer Disasterpiece was mainly only involved in the beginning, but it does overall look and feel different. Breaker is a 3D action game, and I made my way through a few short runs while Preston watched and politely congratulates me on lasting longer than most. There is a quick dash for general movement and a separate combat dash for closing the gap between enemies. I found little use for it in my short time, but you can also pull out a hoverboard to move quickly over longer stretches and use a glider to prevent fall damage when jumping from high heights. Expectedly, considering developer Heart Machine’s action history, it feels good, and though I died quickly, I can already see the opportunities for skill improvement.

In my first run, I used a personal favorite, dual swords and a pistol, and for my second run, I used a single sword and something close to a machine gun. You can mix and match weapons as you progress, which I am thankful for as I would love to take the machine gun with the dual swords.

At the end of my playtime, I took on a boss named Dro. The gigantic wolflike creature with a big glowing yellow sword introduced himself by jumping into the arena with strange, staccato animation. It was as if he was intentionally leaving out frames, and it looked awesome. I didn’t get to see much else of him, though, because he killed me almost immediately. After leaping over a few expanding yellow attack circles on the ground, I got in about two hits before losing all my health. Preston was still polite about my run but did not offer the same compliment about how long I lasted compared to when I was out in the world.

“It’s going to be a thing where I have to figure out what to call it,” Preston says with a chuckle when I ask about if the game should be considered a proper roguelike. “It has roguelike elements for sure, but it’s also an open world with extraction elements. You can go on runs and death matters, but it’s on a different scale than a normal roguelike.”

You attempt runs in Breaker, and there are randomized open worlds, but you set your schedule for how you want to approach them. You have a limited time and attempts to go through a world and defeat its three bosses. If you fail you get a new world, but success also leads to a new world. There is also some agency in when you leave a given world with your earned assets, which Preston says almost makes it feel more like an extraction game. It’s a mechanic that will undoubtedly make more sense in practice but is difficult to perceive with just a few runs, not to mention developer tools to automatically transport you to Dro so he can immediately murder you.

Hyper Light Breaker is planned for Early Access this summer with the 1.0 release marking its console release. Preston, a Steam Deck fan, considers that platform a priority if for no one else but himself and offers a “never say never” response when asked about Switch.

[dzpenumbra]

5/24/23

4AM again. Something always distracts me around these hours. Usually creative stuff. And I just go into that trance-like state, The Zone...

No complaints on that today, I decided to do another abstract ink drawing. It's been a while since I've done one. I'm not really minding this rotation from skull to ink drawing to beads. It works for me.

I strung the yellow beads onto the original hemp string I had reserved for them, but it's too short. I'm gonna prep another one tomorrow. But I also ran into another issue... the beads are kinda... tacky. Like...not like aesthetically tacky, I'm sure someone will like them... but like... physically tacky. Like... sticky. And I know it's the Mod Podge. So... I gotta figure out what to do about that, because that's gonna be a hard sell and doesn't really make me look good. I'll do some research tomorrow.

I woke up to a super vivid image today. It was just a dog's face, staring directly into my eyes, big pupils, big grin. And it was very dreamlike. If you've ever done acid... well, I only did once, but I remember vividly that peoples' faces started to look really cartoonish and... almost clown-like. It was very memorable, very unique and distinct, and this distortion of features felt very similar to that. And I'm like 90% sure it was my dog. And that was really tough. A year ago, this was the last... two weeks of her life. It still blows my mind that it's been an entire year. I still haven't adjusted. I feel bad because like... so much of my journal here has been talking about my cat. And I love her very much too, don't get me wrong. But I feel like my cat getting sick and dying kinda... I haven't given my dog's memory enough attention. And I miss the fuck out of her. My lock screen on my phone is still this picture I took when I was at the retreat place trying to get off of meds... and we were out in the driveway walking in the snow, and our footprint paths crossed, and I took a picture of that. My skate shoe imprints and her paw prints.

Again... it's that... I wish I could be nostalgic. I haven't looked backwards in time nostalgically in so long. In fact, I met someone on here a while back that was like... all about nostalgia. Which I envied, honestly. For the better half of a decade, I haven't really been able to look backwards in time without this deep feeling of dread and doom and shame cropping up. I can barely look through my photos on my phone. It's tough. And... I think it's just emotional overload. It started once I got off of meds. I think I just got really used to living without emotions, or with deeply subdued emotions... and then I had to completely re-learn how to be a sensitive person again. I don't know, it's my best theory so far.

So yeah, I don't want to dwell on grieving too much tonight. I will be doing plenty next week. I just wanted to bring that up because it was really resonant, to start your day with such a vividly powerful spirit staring you directly in the eyes. It was literally the second I woke up, like... I have really bad eyesight, and this like... static overlay on my vision... so like... when I woke up it was just this insanely vivid dog staring me in the eyes and then my eyes opened and there was the blurry fuzzy backdrop of the wood ceiling and windows with the afterimage of this dog over it and it faded. Like afterimages from looking at a light or something. It was really surreal, a very powerful moment to start the day with.

I was planning on doing groceries today, but I fucked around on Risk of Rain 2 while eating breakfast for too long and I missed the delivery window. I am still kinda kicking myself over that, but I have the delivery placed for tomorrow afternoon, so I'll just do it then. All's well that ends well. I put basil and green bean seeds on the shopping list, no clue if they'll actually get them, but it'd be chill if they did.

My plants are doing really well. My tomato is huge, almost a foot and a half tall now. The chili isn't that far behind. My philodendrons are finally starting to grow roots, and some are coming in pretty quick. The transplanted moss is in the terracotta Zen garden thing, and it's doing fine.

I got some granola and yogurt for breakfast and thawed some frozen mixed berries to have with it in the sun on the windowsill. When I finally bit into one of the blackberries, I got a mouthful of seeds. And I was just like... "oh... this gives me a very interesting idea." I know I've run across blackberries in the wild before, and they're very tasty. I know they live in my climate, and they grow like weeds. I was curious if the seeds could survive being frozen. And I searched online, and not only can blackberry seeds survive being frozen, they actually require being frozen and thawed to trigger germination. So... I spent a good chunk of the morning spitting seeds into a jar. I took the plastic grubhub container that had the moss growing in it, I poked some drainage holes and added a layer of potting soil. I put about half the seeds in there, and soaked the other half in water overnight - because some sites were suggesting soaking, some weren't. So... I guess we'll see if that turns into anything! If it does work, I likely won't get any fruit this year, but it's an investment in the future, you know?

I've got a nice little garden coming along here. :)

And... I think that's pretty much it.

OH. I was going to do a Tarot reading today. God, I keep forgetting shit lately. -_- Might as well do that now. I kinda fell out of the habit, but I honestly would really like to have that in my arsenal of things to offer people. Let's give it a whirl.

The question I'm asking is... "where am I going with my social life?" I'm doing a 3-card spread. The first position - Past - is: VIII - Strength, upright. (Overcoming fear, mastery of emotions through equilibrium and inner strength) The second position - Present - is: Page of Swords, inverted. (Childlike awe and wonder, epiphany. Encountering wisdom but unable to process it.  Keen intellect, strong will, but lacks context and experience.) The third position - Future - is: XVIII - The Moon, upright. (Fluctuation, change.  Ambiguity, inability to clearly distinguish things.  Easy to misperceive objects or intentions. Easy to lose your step and be deceived.)

So... not all good news, but very helpful all-in-all. Let me try to stitch this together. So... in the Past... I had relied on my composure, my control of my emotions, in social endeavors - either through naïve bravery, a self-imposed "I'm cool, I don't care" attitude, or benzodiazepines. Often a mixture of several.

And, following that thread to Present... I hit disfunction... chaos... through deep realizations and insights, through my pursuit of knowledge and inspiration. Which is very true. My social life completely fell apart when I was swan-diving into the abyss of the Unconscious and deeply struggled to process or apply what I was discovering, and when I reached out for support socially... it destroyed my social network outright.

And... following that thread to the potential Future... change is coming. A-doyyy. Change is always coming... But Moon-change can be... reality bending, in my experience. Dream-like, surreal. So... this feels... cautionary. Maybe I'm being anxious? Maybe this is illuminating exactly what my anxieties are? I am very cautious of misperceiving situations or misreading people who do not mean me well, as in... assuming the best of those who mean me harm. I have been destroyed by that in the past several times, and Strength had me bullheadedly just look right past it, or try to "suck it up" and "be a good guy and immediately forgive and pretend it never happened". Being deceived. Ugh. Yeah, the Moon looks cool in concept, like... ooOOOooOo the Moooon, spooky, how cooool. But... as much as I like the mind-bendy psychological horror shit in theory... when it starts happening in real life... not a fan...

Sooo, stitching it all together... In the past, I relied on my inner strength, my willpower and emotional centering, to make me a rock for people. And when I reached a point where I shifted into a new phase of life, and unlocked a wealth of insight about myself and the world, this turned my social life upside down. And moving forward, I'm heading toward a world that is often not what it seems. My lack of trust... while hindering... may be well-founded. My guide on this recommends not making any big life changes when The Moon is present, because things in moonlight often look very different in daylight.

And my history, even recent history, has proven this very correct. I tend to idealize and see the very best in everyone... and then end up with two giant buckets of goat bones in my house that I don't know what to do with, a week after my dog died. You know, shit like that. And... I don't really know what to do to get better at reading those situations and reacting properly, so... I guess that's what I could be focusing on.

Cool, that actually gives me some direction, and a lot of insight. Glad I took the time to do that. It's definitely time to go to bed now, it's already light out.

Better vibes to end on? The yellow beads are done! (ish... i need to research the stickiness.) And I also have a batch of orange-red ones that are ready to work on, too!

[anomaly-high-diaries]

Connie’s Basic Diary:

Cover: Don’t read my diary. Please. Just, just don’t.

August 30th

So uh, my roommate, Lavande (apparently it is the French word for Lavender?) said I might like to keep a diary, so I got one. It just showed up, with my name on it. It is kinda peculiar, but, whatever.

So my name is Connie D. Tainer, my middle name is personal information. I am 15 years old. I’ve been homeschooled my whole life until recently. Actually, I have not really left the house until recently. My parents said it was for the best if I just stayed home, so I have not really had any friends until, again, recently. My dad would stay here to teach me, and my mom would go to her lab. I knew she was a scientist, but I did not know much else until, once again, recently.

So earlier this month, my parents got a letter saying I had been chosen to go somewhere called Anomaly High? And my mom revealed that she worked at a Foundation that contained such… anomalies. They said I was a normal girl though. They also explained the People Room, oh, I forgot to mention the People Room!

So, there is a big room back home with a bunch of pictures of people I have never met before. They would add another picture at least once every other week. They were my friends, I would talk to them, and they would… continue to be inanimate objects. My best friend was there before I was born, it was this old white guy. What set him apart from the other old white guys was that he had heterochromia, one brown eye, one green eye. I loved that.

So it turns out that the room was to honor dead coworkers. Yeah. Surprised I did not ask until then. That kinda… reinvents my entire life.

Back on topic, they said I could go as long as I routinely wrote back letters describing what it was like. I would be an agent discovering this new anomaly. I was just excited to finally leave the house, but I was also excited to be an agent. I was excited to be something other than this one autistic girl that barely anyone knows exists.

I woke up there the next day, met Lavande, and yeah that is my life so far. Kinda boring.

September 1st.

I have come to realize that “Anomaly High” is a more fitting name than I thought. I am not a fool, I knew no one would be normal (Lav couldn’t exactly pass for human) nothing could prepare you for actually going to a school and knowing no one there is normal. No one except you, of course. I could not figure out for the life of me why I was there when, after asking around, I determined that everyone else in my dormitory (there are multiple dormitories where about six students stay, three dorms, each with two students, that’s how it works) was,

Lavande Merle: An artificial humanoid. She’s white, like, literally. Black sclera too, and yellow eyes. Apparently she is about 49% whatever her dad is, 49% human, and 2% other stuff to balance it out. Whatever that means. She doesn’t know where the human DNA came from however, since “he died before (she) was created”. … That’s not… great, but eh, you don’t pick how you’re born.

Oozelle Manson: Girl looks like a walking corpse covered in black goop. She got offended when I called her a zombie though. I do not… actually know what she is. I do not think she trusts me. Really should not have called her a zombie.

Aviya El Asem: She looks the most human, but she’s covered in these red markings, and her eyes? Equally red. She said she wanted to show me a cool party trick and then summoned a red knife. She then stabbed the palm of her hand, which then reformed when she took the knife out. I am worried she got some weird infection but she said that was silly. She has a pig.

Scalett Reptile: Exactly what you’re thinking, minus the fact she is not red. Tall and technically humanoid, however, so there is that. Lav got weird vibes from her. Wish I could say more but she did not want to talk.

Rosé Copperhead: Fae. With butterfly wings and stuff, specifically a pink rose butterfly to my knowledge. Insistent she got her name ethically. Good for her, I guess??? Do not really have much else to add.

Gosh, I stick out like a sore thumb. Why am I here? I am nothing special.

September 2nd

Oozelle bit me. She bit my freaking arm and I had to go to the nurse. Oozelle was really apologetic and swore I was not gonna get rabies or something, but she still freaking bit me!!

Nurse… Nurse, that is literally her name, managed to patch me up. Oozelle explained that her species can… only properly eat human flesh. Great. Apparently this school (and her home dimension, because apparently she is from another freaking dimension) have these plates that can turn normal meat into human flesh, so she does not kill people, luckily. Apparently she was anxious about track and forgot to eat, but like, gosh, my arm hurts so bad oh my gosh.

I’m just worried that I am not as upset as I should be over this. I do not know, at least it was not my dominant arm, or something?

September 3rd

It is becoming more clear to me that I, as a human, am the minority in this school. Some boy named Forrest dragged this weird demon girl, Molly, to me telling her to apologize about something. Apparently he’s also human (though he knows magic) and Molly asked if humans like salt in their wounds “in a funny prank way” because she heard the phrase, and thought it might be a fun prank to put salt in my arm wound.

At least she asked, I guess? Better than her actually doing it, no questions asked. Gosh, I have grown way too numb to this crap,

Anyways, Forrest knows magic, huh? I have an idea on how to fit in with the other students. I am going to ask him to teach me all that he knows.

September 4th.

He said no. Apparently he is not true if I can be trusted, and while he does know magic, he does not know how to teach it, and it was this whole thing that I do not wish to get into. No one here is willing to help me fit in. I am truly alone here.

But I am more alone at home. Here, I have Lavande, she is a wonderful friend. But is our connection true? What if it is all a lie? What am I supposed to do? I am in a madhouse and I cannot for the life of me figure out what got me here! I just want to belong, why can I not have that? What did I do?

September 4th (continued)

Hello Connie! I saw you writing in here while crying and I know it’s rude to read someone else’s diary but this felt like a good exception since you refused to talk to me about it, and I really want to help you. If I can’t fix Ray-Ray, at least I can fix you, maybe? Please don’t be mad at me, I won’t do it again if you don’t want me to.

You do belong here. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have some special ability or aren’t some sort of creature or whatever. You belong here because you’re my best friend, and I would never have met you if you weren’t here. That alone is enough. And besides, maybe you’re just like a late bloomer, or something! You might sprout a tail tomorrow! Seriously though, you do belong here, no matter what happens. You can talk with me if you ever doubt that so I don’t have to read your diary again. And if you want, I can share a super personal secret with you, you know, so it evens out.

September 5th

Lavande, if you are reading this, stop. I appreciate your intervention yesterday and all that, but you do not need to do that again, ok? Seriously though, thank you. Now stop unless it is an emergency or something.

Anyways, I talked about it with Lavande, and she was super understanding??? She said she cared. Honestly, it just felt good to talk about it with someone. I really won the roommate lottery, huh?

…Anyways, she did share something personal, and I’m just gonna write it down here (with their permission). They told me about their human DNA donor.

Apparently back in the late 2010s, before I was born, her father had been kept at the same facility my parents worked at. I would say small world, but eh, context clues would have told me that anyway. Apparently her “human dad” as she calls him, was the only person they got along with there. But unfortunately, one day, her father was forced to kill him. She did not elaborate on why. Anyways, her father later escaped (she would not tell me how) and has been in hiding ever since. They created Lavande, using some of the doctor's DNA (she would not tell me why they had it) as a tribute. She did not know his name, but she did have a picture (they would not tell me where it was from). Now, here is where it gets… concerning. Lavande, if you are reading this, please stop, you are better off not knowing the following information. It would affect our bond, despite not involving either of our personal actions.

One brown eye, one green eye.

[astraymetronome]

Chasing a Tail of Wonder

Summary

He wasn't trying to get in trouble this time! It just seems to follow him everywhere, he’d been minding his own business and now this happens!? Come on! How come he always seems to attract it! He'd be surprised if his teachers didn't hate his guts at this point!

Though, waking up in a box and being significantly shorter wasn't something he expected after an encounter...

Or

Things have been far too peaceful and some of 1-A miss the normal shenanigans! Plus this trope is too stupid and cute to pass up!

Notes

Inspired by The Frustrating Ordeal Of Not Being Known (Beyond A Tail And Whiskers) by Otaku6337.

Please be aware that I wrote the Summary before the actual story, so I apologize if some things don’t make sense. It’s kinda like a writing prompt, anyways, enjoy! It's been worked with on and off for a month or so with a two-week break... So keep that in mind as well.

You’d figure that at this point it would be an inside joke between the class. It was, in all honesty, but this was getting out of hand. He was fine with acting on the occasion about a situation. Pretending to be upset about something or to act as a problem. Izuku had managed to get some chuckles and smiles out of Aizawa so he wasn’t complaining about anything. He’d been asked to head up to a nearby gas station to get snacks for the Dekusquad since it was movie night and his turn to buy stuff.

He didn’t mind having to go get anything, it was simply an excuse to focus on himself for even a couple of minutes. Walking was nice, Aizawa had given him permission, as long as he got back within 15 minutes, so he had about 5 minutes to grab stuff and the rest was walking. He was halfway there before he heard some noise to his left. He gave it a quick glance, the deepness of the growing black was slightly intimidating but he chose to ignore it, now wasn’t the time.

He had spent the walk there racking his brain about what they wanted, and possible alternatives for the snacks in case they didn’t have them or were out. He didn’t think much of the shuffling behind him as he moved. His mind seemed to prioritize it once he felt something rough brush the back of his neck. He turned around quickly as his hand moved to his neck feeling the back of it. He felt uncomfortable at the warm liquid he felt removing his hand quickly. He looked at his fingers, recognizing the crimson he was all too familiar with. He winched and took his hoodie hood and threw it over his head. He was quick to push it against his neck as he kept his eyes on his surroundings.

He saw someone move in front of him as he swallowed his nerves and got into a defensive stance, prepared to fight. He saw something jump out in front of him as he put his arm out and shoved them away. He watched as a hand grabbed his wrist and the woman, his attacker, grinned at the action. He pulled his hand away as she took a step back clearly not needing to do anything else. He felt dizzy as he put his hand to his head, shaking it quickly as he glared at her. “What did you do?” He asked, clearly giving up on getting away, wanting information from her instead, if he ran then the chances of finding him were worse.

All she did was smile as he fell to the ground, catching himself as he looked up. “I needed some of your blood for it to work, thank kami you ignored me.” She said as her eyes gave a yellow glow, they had cat-like slits as he felt everything go black.

Izuku has no idea if it took him so long to get up, all he was aware of was it was dark and he was inside some form of the box he sat up feeling a little off as he looked around, clearly confused. “What… What happened?” He asked himself, instead of hearing his voice he listened to sloppy meows and yowls. He looked around immediately, feeling his hair stand on his ends as a hissing sound rumbled through his throat.

He quickly started to look around, shouldn’t this be darker? He shouldn’t be able to make out the fact he is cardboard by sight alone. The smell and feeling against his feet were making it obvious. He could feel something touch his foot as he sat back down, quickly sitting up as he looked around trying to see it. He saw the lack of any feet simply instead having small little paws as he brought his hands up to look at them, instead of another set of dark paws. He was quick to get onto his feet moving to walk before he faces the plant. He sat up quickly as some panicked chirps and mewing squeaks escaped him. He looked behind him at the feeling of something moving to try and sit kinda at his back legs. He had a long fluffy tail that faded from a dark brown at the tip to a cream closer to his body. He looked at himself, the amount of fur and his pattern told him he was a cat, he also had an idea of his breed, turns out that listening to Aizawa talk about cats was helpful.

He was a Ragdoll Tabby mix, probably a rare sight, but he knew full well he didn’t want to be seen. He was quick to push against the box’s flaps with his face. He nuzzled his nose through a gap, he could tell it wasn’t taped down as he pushed and maneuvered the starchy package out of his way. He propped himself up immediately feeling the rain in his fur, he thought it felt humid in the box... This was worse. He stood up on his hind legs, his tail swishing around in the box like a duster as he sniffed the air, this was getting easier. It took a second but the moment his weight shifted he tumbled from the semi-dry placement and onto the wet pavement. It was dark out, Izuku didn’t need much to tell him that, the lack of traffic sounds, no cars zooming past, no walkers. The sky was dark as well but it would have been a lot louder. Izuku wasn’t sure if his clothes had shifted with him, or if they were left behind but he knew they were most likely taken by his attacker.

Izuku gave an upset growl as his ears pinned back, of course, he’s the one to who this always happens! It’s nothing new, he wasn’t even sure of where he was as he glanced around. He was only a couple of blocks away from the store! The woman who attacked him didn’t even bother taking him far away. His ears immediately perked back up at the realization as he traded his anger for determination. He glanced up at the sky, the sun was already down, so it’s been at least 30 minutes since the moon's placement at most... An hour and a half. Aizawa should be in the area! He didn’t bother trying to be sneaky, he was a cat, and no one gonna think much about a cat! Though... Now that he thought about it... How was he gonna tell Sensei it was him? Was this permanent?!

A panicked little meow escaped him as his determination was short-lived. He looked around a little as he continued to try and head in the direction he remembered, ignoring the growing shiver as he was drenched. He knew Aizawa would stay out looking for him even in rain, they’d both probably need hot towels to not get a cold or something. He finally made it to the store noticing the lights were still on. His eyes lit up when he noticed a mirror, he trotted up to it pretty quickly looking at himself, as he thought, he was right about the given breed. He was glad his eyes were still green and that his eyes didn’t change with him, he wasn’t color blind at least. He could see in the dark, which was a little confusing but he wasn’t gonna complain.

He moved to hop up onto the brick next to the window. He looked inside, trying to see anyone he recognized, and his eyes immediately lit up at the sight of familiar faces. Present Mic was talking to the storeman and Aizaw was checking around everything. Midoriya didn’t even think before he jumped from the window to get under the area by the door so he could shake a little. He was quick to get the water out of his fur, he was still pretty wet but at least he wouldn’t drip. Izuku started to try and push at the door, it allowed cats and he was the size of a kitten, a little over 6 months from his growth appearance. All he wanted was to get inside and get to Aizawa, so he started to get closer to the door. It had a stopper that kept it open a little. He could fit his head inside, feeling the cold of the store and removing his head. It’s either wait out here and start to warm up or go inside and get cold... He’d take his luck inside.

He had to twist and maneuver himself around to squeeze inside, he may be small but the gap was pretty tight. He took a couple of steps in and shook again, licking at his paws on instinct. He then snapped from the thinking and instead moved to rush over to Mic’s legs starting to meow as he looked up. “Sensei! It’s me! I’m down here!” He said despite knowing the teacher would only hear a cat. The blonde looked down, his eyes said one moment as he gently started to scratch behind Izuku's ear, immediately he felt like melting into it. Damn, who knew to pet actually felt great. He snapped out of it as he moved from him to try and spot his teacher. He noticed him after a moment and trotted over to him. “Aizawa!” He said quickly, the teacher looking over in his direction at the slightly distressed sound.

The teacher seemed to blink for a moment as Izuku headed over to him. He crouched down in front of him and put his hand out for Izuku to sniff. He didn’t bother, knowing the man wouldn’t try to hurt a cat even if it tried to kill him. He pushed his head into the hand immediately starting to involuntarily purr at the familiar contact.

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Aizawa didn’t know what he was expecting, you let the Problem child out to go do something, and 30 minutes later he still hasn’t returned. So he headed up to the area only to find his student's phone on the ground and not Midoriya, he would have rather seen his student unconscious right here than missing. He rushed over to the store, crashing inside with a huff as he swallowed nervously. “Hey! Have you seen a green-haired boy come in here? He’s short, 5’5”, bright green eyes?” He asked, a head shake being the man’s only response.

He held the phone up in his hand, pushing his student’s phone into his pocket as he pulled up his own. He needed to call ‘Zashi.

The blonde showed up pretty quickly, he had informed him that he told the students to keep an eye out for Midoriya, but they weren't allowed to leave the campus, a safety precaution brought in after the Training Camp and Bakugou’s kidnapping. “I knew I should have fucking walked him! I swear when we get him back I’m gonna fucking put a tracker on this kid!” He said quickly. This kid was always in trouble but he knows he doesn’t do it on purpose.

“Shota... He’ll be fine, go check where you found his phone, I'll see if the store owner has security cameras. The attacker probably walked past the place.” He said as he took a couple of steps inside. The black-haired hero then immediately pivoted on his heels to go check the area. He found nothing out of the ordinary, it was going to rain soon, so he needed to check for any blood or anything that could show signs of a struggle. He was near an alley, the attacker either came from there or pulled him into it. His student could be there, knocked out.

Aizawa held his weapon at the ready as he sneaked in. He was aware of everything around him, the sound of a trash can rattling stole his focus as he got closer he removed the lid quickly, and a tabby cat with bright yellow eyes fled the area in a rush. He was a little confused but continued to look. After a second his brain took a moment to think, what was so important that the cat would have gotten stuck inside? He peeked inside as his heart immediately jumped to his throat, he recognized the plastic that stuck from the wallet. He lifted it up pretty quickly opening it up, Midoriya’s money had been stolen, he knew full well that the boy would have just given it up in order to keep from a fight but with his missing status it was looking more like he had been kidnapped, and the kidnapper took his money as a constellation prize since nothing else was missing.

Shota groaned to himself as he put it in his pocket as well, he couldn’t find him, so being abducted seemed like the most logical explanation. He headed back to inform Mic of his finding and to hopefully get some good news on the security cameras. The rain had started to pour shortly as he entered the store looking up to see Mic arguing with the owner in English.

“Mic?” He asked as he got closer to them seeing how upset his husband was. He knew that the blonde liked having the boy in his class but he didn’t think it would trigger his emotions. He’d always sit and listen as he ranted about the writing and Midoriya’s practically perfect English. He had theories that one of his parents spoke English and had been teaching him from a young age but never finished the teaching. The boy was fluent to the point it seemed like a native language so it surprised him to find out he’s never left Japan. The boy had a bit of a darker tone to his skin than most of his classmates, he wasn’t the only one who didn’t look like they were purely Japanese.

Mina’s father was from Africa, Aoymada’s parents were actually French, and he was just born in Japan. Bakugou’s mother was half German, and Midoriya’s mom had some Native American in her, they didn’t know much about Midoryia’s father but he lived in America. Though the green-haired boy’s skin tone and ability to understand Spanish made them believe his dad was Puerto Rican or of the sort.

“He won’t show me the feed! We need to see it to help determine what happened.” He told him with a huff. The black-haired man looked over at the stranger who had his arms over his chest, a content looks on his face. It’s possible he was involved in the kidnapping...

“Keep working on him Yamada, I’ll work on looking around the store. Maybe he dropped something or is around. He’s more formidable than we think.” He told him before walking over to start looking around. He couldn’t destroy anything, despite the growing urge to do so. He simply went ahead and peeked through everything and checked the back door, during his double-check he heard the door jingle. Looking over, nothing came to his eyes so he returned his attention to the shelf. He looked over as Mic stopped his yelling. He noticed the cat by his feet trying to get his attention.

Shota was just about to get to his feet and pick it up before the creature instead rushed over to him. He looked down and started to pet the fluffy thing. “You sure are a talkative thing.” He said with a little smile to the mews and other various sounds it made. The purring gave him time to look for a collar. Instead, he found matted fur and a still bleeding scratch on the back of its neck. He sat up and looked around a little, noticing the wrap on one of the shelves. He whistled to get the owner's attention, pointing at the bandages. Hizashi put down ten dollars and the owner nodded.

He noticed how the cat didn’t fight against the wrapping, considering it was so young and had probably never used it before. He just was trying to get the bleeding to stop and it seemed to work as he scooped the small thing up, giving a confused mew at the motion.

Aizawa was glad this fluff ball showed up. He wasn’t forgetting about Midoriya but it was keeping him calm and such as being scratched under its chin watching as it leaned into the contact. Mic looked over at the black-haired man with a bright smile on his face as he turned and gave a smirk. “He has a camera that faces outside. It should have sight down to the corner.” He told him as he smiled. Aizawa held up the cat with a little smile, before commenting on the information.

“Hear that?” He asked it before turning away and sighing. “Just a little longer Midoriya.”

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You’d figure that his eyes would give him away, turns out he can’t really do that when the man never makes eye contact with him. Izuku was a little annoyed at being carried around but he knew better than to cause unnecessary stress and a new problem for his teacher, considering the man was so worried about him. At the mention of his name, he was quick to sit up and crawl onto the tall man’s shoulder moving into the cloth as he peaked out of it trying to get them to pay close attention to him. Aizawa didn’t even react to his action, just letting him do so as he started to go and meet up for the feed.

I’m right here Sensei! Am I really that different?! He rolled his eyes, his tail swishing around in annoyance. He gave a little huff and pushed his head out of the fabric, he hadn’t realized how much it smelt like his teacher. It was pretty relaxing since he was basically surrounded by the smell of a man he recognized and knew was safe. He didn’t know people had individual smells, he knows Aizawa owns cats, but he could make out their own smells without even knowing them. It tells him he’s safe, that this man owns cats and knows how to keep them happy and healthy.

It took a little but eventually, they found one that showed something. It showed himself walking, the tension in his shoulders was obvious from such grainy footage. He felt a growl rise in his throat as the woman began to show up on the screen. Her eyes were colorless but he knew the piercing yellow that made him want to hide. He felt a hand on his back, claws coming out pretty quickly in response, but he pulled them back once he felt them dig into the skin below. Sorry, sir... He said to himself as he released the flesh and fabric.

The black-haired man turned to look at him, seeming a bit concerned about his response to the woman. He felt himself get removed from the warm area as he was scratched at, purring immediately from the contact. He kept his eyes open watching the teacher as he held him in front of him. After a moment he put his paws out, placing the front two onto his nose. He watched the dark spears he had as he felt them stare into his own vibrant ones. He blinked a couple of times, keeping his paws on top.

He watched as he was moved, giving a noise as his paws were taken from the hold. He felt like he wasn’t stable, trying to grip him with his claws. He felt himself being moved around, observed and shifted in order to gain information. After a couple of minutes, he was returned to his hiding area. He listened to his two teachers as Aizawa made a comment. “Turn back the recording.” He asked.

Once it was returned they noticed the woman dragging the unconscious boy into the alley after about 5 minutes, leaving with a box and walking past the store. He got them to go back to when he was attacked, noticing the reaction with his neck and the boy's concern and such, they could barely make out the sight of three cuts on the back of his neck, deep enough to bleed, but too shallow to cause permanent damage or any scars. Izuku could make it out, just barely as he pushed his head out of the mass of fabric and gave a little meow. “Do you recognize it? Please tell me you do, I at least want to be acknowledged.”

The man looked over at the cat, his eyes purely focusing on the creature's neck. After a second as the video continued he saw her walk past again, holding the box, before he removed Izuku from the scarf again.

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Aizawa wasn’t sure of what to do, the video wrote out what had happened, the boy was attacked and he couldn’t have been left in the alley so he was either kidnapped or taken somewhere else. This cat showed up, with the same injury his students had, and from the same direction, as the villain did. He looked down at it, matching his gaze with its bright eyes. A meow, seemingly in response, his tail, swished around. He was quiet for a couple of seconds putting a hand on the bandages, the cat wasn't stopping him. This wasn’t the usual behavior of an animal, they liked to hide when wounded, keep people they don’t know a way and refuse to be picked up.

This cat was calm, clearly comfortable, small, and overwhelmingly trusting. Its estimated age and origins should have removed most of those assets, a street cat would be horrified of him. Being picked up or even near a person would have caused a feral reaction and not a friendly one. The cat started to squirm in his grip, trying to get down. He listened, letting it carefully land on the ground, then watching as it pawed at the door. Mic looked confused so he simply shook his head and followed it into the main area after opening the door.

The cat was constantly checking behind it to make sure he was following, it squeezed out the door and he followed, opening it instead. It watched the rain, peering back at him before jumping into a sprint and running in the direction the woman went. Shota followed quickly, not reacting to the strangeness or the glances he was given, no doubt the cat checking to make sure he was still following. The cat stopped shortly, by a box that it pawed at. Inside was Midoriya’s clothes, his shoes, and some space that had cat hair and showed the cardboard.

He could make out blood, on the cardboard and the clothes, though it was watered down. He watched as the cat jumped inside and started to paw at the clothes and then sit up as it looked up at him. He crouched down and spoke as he ruffed the cat’s head, messing up the wet fur. “What the hell did he get into..” The cat reacted with a little growl at the statement, moving over to him and putting its forepaws on his thigh, and biting at the wallet in his pocket, he pulled it out, the cat immediately biting and trying to pull it from his grip.

He let go, letting it go with what it was doing, it probably had an intelligence quirk. He watched as it opened it and pulled the hero card from its placement, being surprisingly delicate, before tapping its paw on the name. He blinked a little as Mic finally caught up, putting an umbrella over him and the cat as the blonde spoke. “What's going on Eraser?” He wasn’t surprised about this, Yamada hadn’t noticed what he had.

“I think this is Midoriya.” Aizawa was never one for easing people into statements, but the cat’s meow in response was enough for him to be one hundred percent with it. He put his hand on the animal's head, scratching behind his ears, and receiving the sound of a purr in response to his action. He would have expected Izuku to have been more uncomfortable at the contact, but this form probably made him more susceptible to the likes of a cat.

“I knew those eyes looked familiar!” The blonde quickly said, causing a glare from the black-haired man and the kitty. He quieted down quickly putting his hands up in defense as he spoke. “Sorry, I got too loud.” His voice was calmer and seemed to be fine by his student as he stepped forward and sat down in front of him, looking up in a way to the motion being held. Mic listened, lifting the fluffy thing up.

Shota looked over at him with a little hum as he stood up as well. He brought his hand over, petting his head before waving Mic to follow. “We need to get going, it’s best if we start to head back. We can ask questions later.” He said in a far more relaxed tone than normal. He knew it sneaked out but he didn’t mind, his problem child was safe so he wasn’t going to complain.

It was a short walk back to the dorms, well the teacher’s dorm. Midoriya had moved from Yadama’s grip to Aizawa’s shoulders as they got closer, clearly to hide from the unwelcoming mob of teachers and a couple of students.

Shota didn’t mind him, the boy wasn’t hurting himself or causing him any trouble so it was fine, as long as he didn’t fall or pull on the scarf. He could hear quiet purring and feel fur up against his neck, the warmth of the figure was nice compared to the cold and rain. The slight shivering was concerning but he wasn’t surprised, it had been raining and he’d been out in it for a while. He walked over to Midnight as she waved him over, next to her were Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Momo. He looked at his students, he could tell the others must have convinced Uraraka to go to bed since it was later now.

“Eraser! Did you guys get Midoriya?” She asked, Aizawa could feel the small cat move at the sound of his name, clearly sitting up to pay more attention, his tail slipping from the fabric and showing behind him.

“Yes, we found the little listener!” Mic quickly added having to keep his laughter buried at the sight, the students quickly looked around for a glimpse of the familiar green hair unaware of his presence.

“Where, Aizawa-Sensei?” The redhead questioned as he looked up, the mentioned man hid a smile behind his scarf as he felt some shifting, bright green eyes peering from the darkness as a fluffy face pushed through the fabric.

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The walk back was calming, Izuku was so relieved to have been found out, they knew he was himself, well mentally himself. He gave up one Yamada-Sensei’s hold, it wasn’t very nice to be held to someone’s chest like a baby, so he jumped over to Aizawa, the man didn’t even flinch when he did this, it was probably common with his other cats. His shoulders were broad enough that he could comfortably curl upon them as he hid in the fabric. Being so hidden was so comforting for some reason, he normally preferred to stay around others or alone, he couldn’t help but purr as he curled up in the dark. He was using some of the man’s hair to hide the more pale bits of him.

His neck hurt, he knew the reason why, and honestly just wanted it to stop. The teacher’s skin was warm in comparison to the surrounding air and other objects. His hair had a constant smell of cranberry that was undoubtedly non-noticeable when he was normal, it was a bit of a surprise since he hadn’t pegged the man as a fruit guy. Midoriya couldn’t help but yawn as his ears picked up at the sound of his name, Midnight-Sensei having spoken. He sat up and managed to keep a lookout, seeing familiar faces feeling his purr increase on instinct at the warm sight. His brain didn’t really process the blonde's words, only able to infer them from Kirishima’s response.

He nuzzled his head out of the fabric as he made eye contact with the speaker, he smiled to himself before speaking even though they couldn’t understand. “I’m right here!” His words were simply meowing as he saw Midnight start to laugh. They looked at each other, completely dumbfounded as Aizawa put his arms up, Izuku crawling into the warm skin with zero hesitation as he was comfortably held.

“Iida, go get Koda. I do not care if he is asleep, he needs to translate.” He said as he held him close. He pushed his head into the hand, noting the little sigh that escaped the older male as he petted him. The teen blinked in response, giving a nod and rushing in the direction of the dorms before Mic called out to him.

“Walk him to the teacher’s dorm please Tenya!” He didn’t hear any response, guessing it was a wave or thumbs up as he felt the hold on his shift as Momo nervously messed with her shirt. Izuku looked over at her, his tail swishing as he put a paw out and meowed in her direction. The teacher eyed him, seemingly understanding as he waved the girl over.

She listened, taking steps closer before he moved to wiggle from the man's grip and maneuver into her. She tensed as he did so, but Aizawa didn’t pull him away. He seemed to know, or at least understand, what he was doing. A meow left him as he spoke, even if they couldn’t understand. “Momo, you can just pet me if you want.” After a moment his mind went fuzzy as she finally gave in to the advances and scratched behind his ears.

Izuku came to her grip still, noticing how much calmer she was as she handed him over to Koda. His eyes widened as he immediately scrambled up, hopping onto his shoulder as a laugh left the quiet boy and those who witnessed his desperation. After a moment the larger teen spoke, surprising him at how clear it was. “You.. are Midoriya right?”

“Thank Kami! I was worried they’d start to treat me like an actual cat if I hadn’t pulled them to my stuff.” He spoke actually feeling heard for once as a smile crossed the familiar face.

“It’s Midoriya all right.” He said, a relieved sigh coming from everyone in the room as he turned to face the lot of them, his ears perking up as Yamada shooed the other’s out. They left after plenty of convincing and his own promise to let them pet him tomorrow if he was still like this.

“Okay I need you to tell us what he says, Koda,” Aizawa told him, getting a nod before turning his attention back to the animal on his shoulder. Izuku watched him, his tail swishing around on his shoulder blade as he spoke. “Alright, how did this happen?”

He sat up at the question, looking at Koda as he spoke to the translating teen. “I was hit by a quirk, I don’t remember most of her details but her hair was black and her eyes were this bright yellow. I think she needed my blood in order to use it as well as touch, that would explain why she cut me and the wrist contact.” He entered a bit of a ramble that the other boy didn’t bother trying to explain.

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“Alright, anything noticeable about her? Other than the eyes?” Shouta asked, watching as his student moved down from Koda’s shoulder and instead onto the couch behind him, easily giving a little jump to make it. His little look back paired with a sound clued him in on the fact it was an apology, especially when the quieter of the two used sign language to respond.

His student spoke again as he looked to Koda for translation only to have started speaking without any prompting. “No, but I think her quirk allows her to turn into a cat as well, she just needs to use the same form of approach, cut her hand then grab her own wrist, and then she’s good to go.” He nodded as the cat sat down. He walked closer to Midoriya, putting his hand on his head to pet him as the boy nuzzled into the contact with a purr. His dark eyes looked in the direction of the student who simply watched the exchange, guess he didn’t say anything.

“Good job kid, I'm glad you didn’t go seek out a problem this time.” He said with a smug chuckle when the boy responded with some form of growl that quickly melted into a purr as he scratched behind his ears. Koda had started to quietly laugh as he turned to the black-haired man, quickly sharing his words.

“Midoriya was gonna get on to you before you hit a soft spot.” He said honestly, he was glad to see his student smiling before the boy quickly added to the statement. “A soft spot basically makes a cat's mind go a little numb, he’s okay though just in a bit of bliss,” he said with a shrug as the teacher scooped the melting warmer mass in his arms, keeping a gentle motion behind the mentioned ear in order to keep defiance to a minimum as he looked over at his shy student.

“Head to bed, we can finish this conversation in the morning.” He got a quick nod from his student before they headed out as he headed in the direction of Recovery Girl’s room. When Midoriya disappeared they basically told her to stay as a safety precaution. It wasn’t really needed at this point, but he’d at least as the wound cleaned.

He’d stopped the petting after a moment, it didn’t really matter since the boy still acted like a limp pool noodle, a purr still resonating in his throat. “Eraserhead, you better have a good reason to be coming in here with another cat when your student is still missing.” Her voice was overwhelmingly stern as he held the cat up and blinked his eyes open. As soon as Midoriya recognized the woman he moved closer to the teacher, not out of distaste for her but more due to the fact of her scolding him when he was normal, this size would make it easier.

The teacher laughed at the cat as he put him on the cot before looking at her. “It’s Problem Child. Transformation quirk, she turned him into a cat.” He said honestly as she nodded and sighed as she stepped closer to him.

She sighed as she noticed the bandage on his neck and turned to the man. “Three scratch marks?” She asked calmly as her head tilted and she started to remove them getting a bit of defiance as the boy moved away from her grip and such.

Her quiet words of ‘Stop Squirming’ were quiet as he responded, “Yeah, I wrapped it, he’s a little squirmy on people making contact with it. I think Kota said he’s a bit influenced by the quirk, he acts a bit more like a cat.” She seemed to understand as she waved him over.

Shouta listened as he headed over and pointed at his back. He put his hands on the boy's back to hold him down, a bit of a hiss leaving him. “Hush it, Problem Child, we aren't gonna hurt you. Chiyo just needs a good look at your wound.” He watched as eyes quickly turned to look up at him. His eyes seemed more feral than anything as the bright green met him again. His tail moved around very upset as he growled a little, no longer fighting them as the older woman removed the bandages. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but she could feel a bit of heat coming from the wound, either infection is a thing from the quirk or he was getting an infection as she moved and let go of the cat.

Aizawa let go of him too, watching as the boy took a few steps back before sitting again and wincing as he moved his head. The bandages had definitely been keeping the pain down. “Shouta, we need to disinfect it, he’s getting an infection I don’t know how this will correlate to when he’s back to normal so it’s best to clean it now.” He nodded in response as he crouched down and made the cat look at him.

“Kid,” He started, the eyes turning to him, they had a softer look to them as he glanced over, sitting down on his feet basically becoming a loaf. “We need to clean your wound, it’s for your own safety.” A meow was all he got in response as the boy laid his head down a little, it made the wound bleed a little more but at least it was not clogged with an underlying infection.

Recovery Girl got to work quickly, cleaning it despite the couple of protests the boy couldn’t keep down at the stinging and such. Once he was wrapped back up she gave him a head rub before removing the contaminated bandage and glove to throw away. Once her hands were clean she sighed and looked up at him. “Make sure he eats, keep the wrap on all night, and bring him back around noon for a new bandage and another check.” he nodded in response as he picked up the boy before she handed him multiple half-cut painkillers. “These should be the right size to help him. Give him one every 8 or so hours, and hide them in with food since he can’t really swallow it.” The man nodded and moved to start heading back to his dorm.

The pros were used to Eraser bringing in strays though he wasn’t surprised when, once he had brought Midoriya in, the teen hissed in response to Midnight’s approach. He held in his laughter as the boy scrambled up to his shoulder to hide in the scarf as he felt him bury his nose in fabric. The woman looked offended as she crossed her arms over her chest, he figured by now she’s figured out why cats don’t really like her. “I figured he’d at least be a bit more trusting!”

He sighed and waved her over, getting the woman to follow him into the kitchen, he placed down some stuff from the cabinets and snagged a small container for the meds. He then spoke to the woman as he started to put the meds away. “Cat’s noses are sensitive, so your quirk is more noticeable.” He told her as the cat's head peaked out, he could tell Midoriya was trying to show that was the truth.

“Can you get out some of the leftovers? I’m pretty sure Problem Child missed dinner, plus he needs to take medicine.” She nodded in response as she moved to the fridge, the cat jumping onto the counter and sitting down politely. He looked over at him and gave a bit of a smile before speaking to his student. “Does chicken and rice work for you?” He was given a nod in response and sighed as he started to crush up the half pill a bit more, just to make it easier on him.

Midnight moved and went ahead and slid the warmed-up food over, he put the medicine over the top before waving his student over. He was glad to see he was simply just eating and not caring for the painkillers inside. He pets his student's back, getting a loud purr in response as he simply ate. He finished up most of it before not being able to eat anymore. He didn’t care for the wasted food, glad he had finished the medicine that had been added. Ectoplasm had entered and gently ruffled the top of the animal's head, not aware of the student’s situation.

“So, what are you calling this one?” He asked as he grabbed a cup of water from the sink. Shouta looked over as he scooped his student up, watching as his student scrambled into the scarf and on his shoulder.

“Midoriya.” He said simply, the cat’s meow and the puzzled look on Ecto’s face was enough to make him smirk. After a hot moment, he spoke up, bringing a hand to scratch under the fluffy thing’s chin. “He was hit with a quirk, Chiyo is gonna do some research to figure out who got to him. All we know is how she activates her quirk and a bit of her description.” He said simply as Shouta patted the other male's shoulder.

He walked past him heading up to his given room, Coffee might be upset about having another cat around but the brown fur ball can handle his student for a couple of days. He pushed his door open, Hizashi calling out to him as he peeked around the corner. The mentioned cat was by his feet before she looked up, probably smelling his student. “Sho, how’s the listener doing?”

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It didn’t take much for Izuku to notice the new smell, he’d eaten what Aizawa had given him, making sure to get the bits that had the meds since he really wanted to get the pain under control. Hiding in his scarf was very calming, it gave him a warm safe feeling that he could barely keep his purring down and quiet. He knew his teacher was being calm and surprisingly gentle with him at this size. It was very confusing as he sighed and just nuzzled into the crook of his neck for warmth. He was purring as his tail swished around a little before he heard Mic.

How much time had passed since he’d hidden away? He poked his head out and looked down at the cause. Midoriya noticed the cat, she was a dark brown color and clearly had short hair but overall a very pretty cat, looking up at him as she spoke. “You smell like one of dad’s students.” He watched her as his sensei nudged him to move, so he listened, leaving the shoulder and being placed on the floor by his teacher.

The other cat took a few steps closer so he went ahead and hid behind Shouta’s legs, he looked at her and up at his teacher who looked down at him. “Kid, she’s not gonna hurt you.” He said calmly, moving his leg out of the way and leaving him be. The teacher left for the kitchen and, as much as he wanted to follow, Izuku simply sat down and looked over at her debating if he should speak or not, but she beat him to it.

“I’m Coffee, does he just call you kid?” Coffee seemed polite, he’d give her that, but he also didn’t wanna risk getting hurt while he was like this. He took a few steps closer, she didn’t seem like a threat and he sat down as she got closer.

“Y-yeah, it’s better than being called Problem Child.” He watched her ears perk up as he mentioned the clearly familiar name. She walked closer to him, sitting down right in front of him. She was a lot bigger than he was as her tail moved around and such, she seemed to be smelling him as she brought her nose onto his head.

She moved her head back and then responded, “So, is this some form of power thing? I mean, I remember something about one of Dad’s students being able to talk to animals, but not turn into one.” He looked up, feeling her trying to figure it out as she started to walk around him, noticing the bandages as she sniffed them.

“A-ah, yes and no? I was hit by a quirk, I'm Midoriya Izuku.” He told her calmly as she moved away from the area and instead went ahead with licking behind his ear. He flinched from the unexpected contact before she made him loaf on the ground.

Coffee was purring as she continued stopping to speak, “You have an infection… Some blood is in your fur so I’m cleaning it up.” He looked over at her as his ear twitched and he felt embarrassment flood him as his tail swished. “You need to take better care of cuts and such, kid.”

He was quick to add to her statement, “Hey! I couldn’t do anything! One moment I was normal, the next I was waking up in a box.” He said as he moved to head into the kitchen, but his steps seemed a little sluggish as sleep started washing over him like a wave. He watched as his teacher took a few steps over to him and as he was picked up, pretty quickly trying to get onto his shoulder. Everything got fuzzy after that, turning black after even he doesn’t know how long.

------------

Aizawa wasn’t very surprised by the lack of trust Izuku had for the other cat in the room. His student wasn’t very trusting normally and cats are known for being territorial so the reaction was all but denied. He left as he heard Coffee start a “conversation”, at least what he assumed to be one. His eyes immediately found his husband, moving to wrap his arms around his waist as he buried his head into his neck. He should have expected a situation like this at some point, Midoriya just attracted problems and never got a proper break when he tried, but he was at least glad he came out of it with just a little infection.

Yamada turned to look over his shoulder as he noticed his husband's grip. He brought a mug over, which was quickly received by the black-haired man. “How have you been holding up?” He asked as Shota started to chug down the liquid. That seemed to be all of the answer the blonde needed as he continued. “Well, you never told me how Midoriya is.”

“The kid’s gonna be fine, he has the start of infection so Chiyo put him on some stuff just in case after cleaning it. He’ll probably pass out soon, I honestly just hope he’s not under something when he does.” He told him pretty quickly as he put the now empty mug down, reaching for the pot. His husband swatted his hand before putting it to the side.

“If he’s going to bed soon, then you don’t need to be drinking coffee. One cup is enough love.” Hizashi said as he started to pull his hair up. Aizawa wanted to fight out of the contact but he didn’t really care, it would be easier to go to bed with it anyway. He moved to get a juice packet from the fridge before he saw the tiny ragdoll enter the kitchen. He couldn’t help the smile at how sleepy he looked as he scooped up the cat. Izuku moved to try and get by his neck so he helped the teen before he fell asleep.

“He’s out like a light, might be best if we let him curl up on the couch. Coffee will keep an eye on him.” He told the blonde when he noticed the other cat looking up as he held his student. He walked over into the living room and took off his scarf, if she liked to curl up in it then it might bring his student some peace as well. He placed it down and slipped him inside of it as Coffee hopped up to join. He couldn’t help but spot the couple of licks she gave his head before curling up around him.

“Aw... She's like a mom!” He listened as his husband peeked out and turned off the kitchen light. “We should let them sleep, it’s late. Let’s go to bed, Sho.” He looked over to have his cheek kissed by his husband as he sighed and nodded.

“I swear if he doesn’t sleep all night, I’m gonna be upset,” Aizawa said, making sure Coffee heard it, maybe she could keep him asleep when the meds wore off. He followed his husband's pull and moved to head to their room as he basically moved to curl up in bed. He really should shower, but it’s late and he can always do that in the morning. He snuggled into his husband’s form, a small smile forming as he felt Hizashi’s hold. It stayed so firmly, not even slipping away as he felt sleep overcome him; without a problem for once.

--------

It took about 2 more days before Izuku returned to normal. The entire time he was a cat, he couldn't help but cling to the pro who found him. It was a lot easier to help to be touch starved as a cat since he basically just had to walk up to someone and they'd drown him in attention. A large number of his classmates just wanted to carry him around, he ended up just staying on Aizawa’s shoulders the entire time they had class or when the pro napped.

He would visit Yamada and Aizawa’s place since the time he spent as a cat seemed to give him a general understanding of Coffee. He basically knew everything she needed and the pro wasn’t sure if it was that he could talk to cats now or if it was simply because she babied him when he was the size of a kitten. Anytime he sat down or she caught the way he smelled she’d curl up in his lap or try to get over to him.

Hizashi was pretty sure she imprinted on him, basically adopting their student as her kitten despite the fact that he was human and not exactly a child. Midoriya didn’t seem to mind, she worked wonders on his mental state. Coffee managed to help him be a bit calmer and less anxious. It was nice to see his student become more open with what was on his mind and stop flinching when he was approached by a teacher or peer.

It took less than two weeks for him to get dragged into another situation, after all, Izuku is still a problem child. Whether or not he’s a cat or a human.

[acediting]

Nanowrimo day 12.5-13 (Caught up!)

The fields were farther from the house and the barn than they looked, and Robbie was glad that Mrs. Winterson suggested taking the SUV, pointing out a cleared road that went straight through the various crops. Even still, the large stalks made it hard to see, and at a few points Robbie had to lean out the  window and over the hood to give Matilda better directions on where they were headed. But when  they approached the run down field, it was clear, not just from the fallen and cramped stalks, but from the smell of rotting vegetation from the ones that had been left to the rains and left unkept for so long. While the other areas they had passed had that yellow and gold look of a field nearing harvest, this particular one was a dead, soggy brown, with even the standing stalks looking less than healthy and unlikely to produce any sort of crop this year.

 Matilda crinkled her nose and parked the truck. “Well, if I were a paranormal investigator, or wanted to hide a body, I’d start here.”

 “That’s probably what we’re dealing with is banking on,” Robbie reminded her, stepping out and glad he decided to wear his hiking boots as his boots squelched in some mud mixed with stuff he was perfectly fine not knowing. Matilda’s reaction was similar, and after a moment to get her bearings she started towards the field. “Might as well start looking. Keep your voice loud and a JEG active so we can spot each other if you find anything.”

 “Got it,” Robbie confirmed, pulling out a flash JEG and stepping into the field a little to the left of Matilda. For a while, he could hear her pushing through stalks and stepping on fallen vegetation in between squelching and a random splash that also had her blurting out some colorful words. Robbie would have chuckled at the duel queen’s response, had he not been in a similar predicament. He pushed some of the stalks to the side and paused for a moment to look up at the clear blue sky. From what he could tell from the drive up, the rest of the area surrounding this place, even the other fields on this property, were bone dry. It had also been a clear night last night, so rain was not a factor in what was going on here. He figured there must be a broken pipe nearby that was keeping this particular area flooded, which would explain that swamp-like smell and the mud that was trying to suck him in ankle deep in some places. After nearly losing his boot in one particular bad step, he gave up trying to trudge through everything. “Spark, give me a hand.”

 The JEG around his neck glowed as he pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight and swiveling it around the ground at the mud and water. His light landed on a spot not that far from him that appeared to be a lighter shade of brown, still muddy but not nearly as saturated as the rest. He pointed. “There.” Spark yowled in his head, and he felt a pulse of heat. Soon, that section was steaming, turning from a brown to a light tan before the surface cracked slightly, the moisture evaporating away and leaving him with a dry stepping stone. He jumped to it, searching for another spot nearby and directing Spark to do the same. As his little companion worked, Robbie looked around, hoping to find anything of interest in the fields aside from mud and rot. He took a moment to raise his voice so Matilda could hear. “Anything?”

 “No!” Matilda called back. “But everything’s soaked here. If there is anything it could be buried in the mud.”

 Yeah, Robbie worried about that too. Still, he was a big guy- the tallest guy signed up for the duels this year. And he was built. Most people who saw him in the ring when he started out thought he was a street fighter or some sort of martial artist rather than a summoner. If his bulk was only going ankle deep, then likely any clues wouldn’t sink too far down. He swiveled the flashlight back and forth again, watching for any signs of anything in the mud or water while directing Spark to keep drying patches for him to step on.

 He searched for the better part of an hour, finding little to nothing and gradually hearing Matilda’s calls get further from him before he felt the tug from his JEG. Robbie pulled a face and flicked the orange glowing JEG. “Hey, knock it off,” he warned Spark. The JEG tugged again, this time growing warm. “Look, no. We’re in the middle of a field,” he tried again. “You can’t come out.” But Spark was having none of it, and the third time the tug nearly took the JEG from Robbie’s neck. Instinctively he grabbed it, groaning in frustration a moment later when he realized he activated the JEG. Heat spilled out of it before a ball of orange flames materialized in front of him, about to drop. Robbie’s hand shot out, catching the fluffy creature that was inside, knowing that these flames would not burn him even as it singed the edge of his non-fireproof jacket. “Look, ok. You can come out, but not as a fireball,” he reasoned. “The ground is wet, but some of these standing stalks are like tinder. You can wind up burning me and Matilda alive.” The fireball responded with something of a whine before the flames went away. An orange and red creature that sort of resembled a ferret but with a bright red mane of a lion and a tuff of red fur at the tip of its tail stared back at him, caught by the scruff of its neck. It stared  at him with a mixture of frustration and defeat, but did not flame up again. Robbie nodded, satisfied that Spark would behave and went to set him down, only to notice all the mud and water. Instead, he set the critter on his shoulder. “Alright, you’re out. Now what do you want?”

 Spark let out one of his high pitched growls, reaching up one paw to bat at one of Robbie’s dreg locks. Robbie pulled a face. “Is that all?” The little creature shook itself out, its mane fluffing before it looked around, sniffing the air. Robbie couldn’t understand how Spark could stand the smell- he knew from channeling him that the creature’s sense of smell was very strong. But before he could dwell on it further, Spark jumped from his shoulder, landing on a patch of dirt that dried instantly beneath his paws. Then he bound to another, and another, moving quickly. “Spark!” he called after the creature, but found that the creature was already gaining ground, unhindered by the cramped stalks. Robbie muttered some choice words under his breath and followed, shoving through the stalks and glad that the dry patches of dirt and the ferret/lion tracks were easy to see on each. Up ahead, he heard Spark yowl for him, seeming to have stopped somewhere. He picked up his pace, crunching and crashing through until the growth suddenly cleared, leaving him stumbling into a muddy opening. There was a sudden downhill here, and Robbie managed to stop himself before he got more than knee deep in icy cold water. He hissed, backing up and looking around. Spark yowled again from across the clearing, gaining his attention. There was the busted pipe, pouring out water that was feeding into this pool and the rest of the crop. Spark was sitting on top, just above the opening. He stared at Robbie before giving a chirp, patting the pipe with his paw.

 “Are you kidding me?” Robbie asked incredulously. Spark patted the pipe again.  Groaning in frustration, Robbie looked for a way to get around the pool, discovering that the footholds Spark had made for himself were too small to support him. So, he carefully waded around the shore of the pool, cringing as water again found its way into his boots, further drenching his socks. He really hoped that Mrs. Winterson was right about the ghost doing laundry- his socks and pants were going to need it after this. He gripped the pipe for support once he got around to the other side, using it to get past the flow of water and up to where Spark was. “Ok, now what?”

 Spark patted down at the pipe again, making Robbie inspect the opening. He froze. While he was no irrigation expert, he expected pipes to have a crack or worn away portion when they gave out. What he saw instead was shredded metal, almost like claws had dug their way through. Though, as he matched his hands to the shredded metal, he realized these would  have to be some big claws, maybe twice the size of his own hand. He looked around for any signs that anyone or anything else aside from him and Spark had been through this way. His eyes landed on some knocked down stalks near where the pipe was leading off to. It wasn’t big enough for something to make these claw marks, but he could see a person fitting through there. He climbed back up the slope, Spark bounding up the pipe right in front of him.

 “Mattie! Can you hear me?” He shouted.

 “Yeah!” Matilda’s reply came in the distance.

 “I think I found something! There’s a pool of water near here so watch out!” He took out the flash JEG and raised it up, activating it. It glowed a bright yellow, then shot upwards, leaving a big ball of light in the sky directly above him. He placed the JEG in his pocket and started following the trail, the ball remaining directly overhead. Spark scampered ahead and Robbie was glad to find the field starting to dry out finally. It seemed like the investigators had decided to come in the back way- if this was the investigators. He realized it could also be those farm hands that Mrs. Winterson mentioned. They could have been looking for the leak in the pipe and found it, then left to go get a replacement part. Though, he would think  they would have shut off the water to keep it from flooding the field until they could fix it. Plus that didn’t explain what tore it up in the first place, or how it even got there. He tried to rack his brain for something, anything that might explain it. It definitely wasn’t Draco; his claws were way too massive to make those marks. But Robbie couldn’t peg it on a coyote or a mountain lion either. Maybe a bear? Though, he wasn’t sure if there were any bears living his this area. If there were surely Mrs. Winterson would have warned them before letting them loose. That left another option, probably a more viable one, and he hated it.

 Robbie was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly  stepped on Spark, who had stopped in the middle of the path. Spark whipped his tail away before Robbie could step on it, growling in offense. “Sorry,” he offered, looking to see what made Spark stop. The creature was sitting on something half buried in the dirt. Robbie kneeled, realizing that the ground was cracked dry here, just like it was where Spark had dried patches for him to step on. Only this was the entire path, and the ground felt cool as if this had been done some time ago. Something square-like was poking out of the ground, looking black and somewhat metallic. He looked around, finding a stick and started digging. It was bigger than he expected, and after some time the stick snapped, leaving him to dig with his hands. Spark worked on the other side of the object, his small claws flinging dirt behind at a rapid pace as he helped to uncover what was buried in the dirt. By the time Matilda arrived, Robbie could see what it was they were unearthing, and pulled it up, shaking the remaining debris from it as he held it up for her to see.

 Matilda blinked, also kneeling. “Is that a camera?”

 “A high end one from the looks of it,” Robbie observed, flipping it over. Despite having been buried, it looked to be in relatively good condition. He wiped off the digital screen and buttons and tried turning it on, hoping that pricey also meant waterproof. Both watched as the screen came to life, and a little dial came  on showing that there were pictures saved to the memory stick. Matilda moved to get a better view over Robbie’s shoulder as he started going through the photos, starting at the earliest one.

 Matilda blinked as the first photo showed three people in their early twenties taking a group photo in front of a car. “This is one of the missing groups.”

 “Guess this confirms they were here,” Robbie replied, flipping through some photographs of their car ride, some photographs of the front of the house, pictures of inside the house, the barn, and finally at night with night vision activated on the camera. Much like Matilda and Robbie, the group had decided to go through the field, with pictures being taken of the stalks and the ground.

 “Looks like they weren’t having much luck,” Matilda observed.

 Robbie nodded, switching to the next photo, then froze. “That’s…putting it lightly.” Both stared at the new photo, tryingto make sense of what was going on. It looked like the photographer was running and trying to snap a picture of something behind them, with a few stalk leaves getting into the picture and everything looking blurred. While it was difficult to make out, a dark mass seemed to be coming through the stalks behind them, knocking down and making a huge path behind them. The next picture showed the camera face up, with water droplets on the surface as it was dropped. Something large had paused to look down at it. It was impossible to make out anything about it in, save for the bright glowing yellow eyes staring directly at the camera.

 Spark growled at the photo as Robbie shut the camera off, looking to Matilda. “That’s no ghost. I saw the claw marks left by that thing on a pipe near here.”

 Matilda nodded, “Definitely a rogue. If it’s been hunting around here and catching people unnoticed, it might be a strong one. Manipulator maybe. Even a Scene.”

 Robbie frowned, standing. “If that was the case wouldn’t Draco had noticed it? If it’s hunting in this territory it wouldn’t have gone far. He’d have warned us before we got caught up in it.”

 Matilda was silent for a time, looking around as she mulled over everything. Her brow furrowed as she continued looking around, at the stalks, at the ground, at the sky. “Let me see the camera?”

 Robbie handed it over.

 Matilda went through the photos again, her brow furrowing deeper as she studied each one. “Oh this isn’t good…”

 “What…?” he asked tentatively.

 In response, she turned the camera to him, showing the last photograph. “Safe to say this is the exact spot that massive thing came through right?”

 “I doubt he’d have moved it,” Robbie answered, looking at the picture and wondering what he was trying to find. Matilda gave him a hand, tapping the bottom corner of the screen. There was a time stamp for when the photo was taken. Three weeks ago. Robbie’s brows raised as his attention snapped to the small clearing again.

 Matilda, nodded, lowering the camera. “Mr. Winterson took care of the crops, so this one is a sign that he’s been gone for a year at least. Yet we have a brand new barn that Mrs. Winterson said she cleared out after he died.”

 “And it looked like it’s a few months old tops…” Robbie added quietly, not liking where this was going. He turned back to her. “She also said she wasn’t up in that attic, yet that window was wide open and there weren’t any cobwebs, spiderwebs, nothing. I’d have at least expected some rat droppings up there.”

 “I agree,” Matilda said grimly. “And now we’re seeing a field that clearly had some sort of beast trampling through it, but no sign of the trampling.” She took a deep breath. “This is definitely a rogue. A Scene. We know the farm and the hauntings were already here from that guy in town, but it’s taken it over as its own territory. “

 Robbie sighed, cursing under his breath as his mind filled in the last part.

  And they were already trapped in it.