#just a long drawn out whimper thats too silent to hear

[habeascorpseus]

hermitcraft season 8 is actually a metaphor for climate nihilism

[pinkcherrybombs]

Perfect Distraction |Jhs

♡ Summary: You and hobi have some fun on a zoom conference call!

♡Pairing: Jung Hoseok x Female Reader

♡Work Count: 864 (Headcanon)

♡TW: Explicit smut, aggressive themes, praising kink, oral sex, Dom-Hobi, Daddy Hobi, over-stimulation, cum eating, Hobi eats the living soul out of you bestie thats pretty much the whole warning right there.

(masterlist)

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-Jung Hoseok normally hates zoom conference calls.

- Yes, he's fully aware as the CEO of one of Korea's biggest multi-media production companies that conference calls are a necessity to running a business, but that still doesn't change his stance on them. Something about the uncomfortable moments of silence, long-drawn-out conversations, and the whole idea of just staring at a screen truly aggravates Mr.Sunshine to new levels.

- However, today's meeting has been going a little different; for once he's actually enjoying the session. Maybe it's because of the beautiful outdoor views that shine into his office from the large floor-to-ceiling windows, or even the freshly brewed iced americano his receptionist left on his desk prior.

-But it's most likely due to the fact that his little princess is currently sprawled across his desk, pussy on perfect display for him to admire as he continued to lick his lips in excitement. Silently thanking the heavens that his office door was securely locked and his video camera/ microphone were both off.

- Sighing with anticipation, you can feel yourself filled with excitement as a cocky smirk flash across his face. "Spread your legs wider for me, pretty girl," dragging you closer to the edge of the desk. He quickly sends you a signature smile before getting on his knees, teasingly kissing your inner thighs, watching you squirm for more.

- "Daddy" is all you can gasp out as he yanks your hips forward, shoving his face into your drenched cunt, hungrily lapping at your inner folds. He's licking feverishly as your sweetness coats his tongue, the tip of his nose now slightly nudging your clit, causing you to buck your hips into his face, craving more.

-"That's my good girl," he coos sinfully. "Keep fucking yourself on Daddy's face, just like that." Flattening his tongue, he harshly licks up your folds in a long stripe before making his way up to your achingly sensitive clit. Lips wrapping around, he begins to aggressively suck your bud, being fuelled by the wet sloppy sounds mixing with your lusted-out whimpers, before making his way back down to your hole and inserting his tongue inside you once again.

-As your pussy clenches his tongue, his index and middle finger find their way down to your clit; the first brush is enough to make your eyes roll into the back of your head. Rubbing in rhythmic motions, Hoseok harshly adds more pressure each time as your legs twitch under his touch, causing him to use his free hand to grab your hips to hold you in place. Can't have his little girl squirming too much, can he?

- You both know you're getting wetter as the splashing sounds of your arousal fill up the room. By this point, you're sure that everyone on his office floor can hear the way you've been screaming his name, mixed with the dirty praises he keeps moaning into your folds, not that either one of you actually minds.

- "My little princess is gonna cum, isn't she?" His voice is laced in pure sin as his gaze trails up to witness your fucked out form. "Yes! Da-ddy, I need it," sobbing with overstimulation, you could feel your orgasm building. Your fingers scratch against the wooden desk as he continues to assault your pussy, quickly switching his tongue with his fingers.

- "I know, baby, I know," he purrs as he lifts himself back to a standing position, now stretching your little pussy with each pump. Your walls tighten as he casually leans over, placing sloppy kisses across your chest and neck. "Cum on my hand, princess, show daddy how much of a good little girl you are."

-Your pussy quivers at his words, them easily being enough to throw you over the edge. Letting out a high-pitched moan as your body carries out its high. Your arousal squirts across at him, soaking his hands as it continues to leak out and drip onto the desk underneath, not that he cared at all. Kissing down your chest and back to your pussy, his tongue quickly goes to work cleaning up your cunt, like it's his last meal. "That's my good girl," he continues to playfully lick at your clit a few extra times, loving the way your body spazzes underneath him.

-Slowly sitting up, you realize that the meeting must've ended an hour ago, as a little text box message flashes across his laptop screen that the host has left the session. His fingers lazily grab his phone to see if any of the executives noticed his non-participation in the meeting, but he seems to be in the clear, judging by the lack of texts.

-" Thank you for the stress-relief, princess," his hands trail down your back, helping you off the desk before passing you your clothes to redress. You merely nodded, still trying to regain your breath as you came down from your high, before joining him on his lap as he began to relax against his office chair.

- "You know, baby, you should join me more often for zoom meetings. You're a very effective distraction." His lips trailed your shoulder as you both snuggled into each other's embrace, worn out from your previous events.

-Since that day, whenever possible, you've joined Hobi for every single one of his zoom conferences, normally ending up with the same results. This is why now Jung Hoseok normally loves zoom conference calls.

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(A/n: To be honest this was my first time ever really writing smut, so I hope you guys like it! Feedback is always appreciated, have a wonderful weekend babes <3 )

[heyitsyn]

Manager!Seijoh Part 4

a/n: I LIVE FOR THESE MANAGER SEIJOH ASKS LIKE BLS TAKE OVER MY LIFE

(i originally planned to write the other schools for the manager scenario like theyre already in my drafts with plans and partly written out but like seijoh is my TOP PRIORITY (sorry pls dont hate me) BC THEY ARE MY BOIS)

also, most of my ask box is all for a kyoken ending and kyoken fluff and aoba johsai fluff and im quaking bc this is spurring me to create more aoba johsai imagines and my love for the other schools is just like being overshadowed by our little plant babies :’)

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

anon request: Im the anon who mentioned the chaos about the dating and can I say I love it!!! 🙏🙏 i kinda have this hc for the boys that they fight whenever they go on bus rides, just because they want yn to sit next to them. But she usually sits next to the calmer members?? The reason the boys fight?? She may or may not have fallen asleep a few times, her head on kyo/iwa shoulder. 🥺🥺

LMAO THAT PART JUST REEKED CHAOTIC ENERGY AND SHE WOULD TOTALLY SIT NEXT TO THEM JUST TO SPITE THE OTHERS AND I LOVE THE IRONY LIKE THE MOST AGGRESSIVE LOOKING ARE THE SOFTEST AND CALMEST TOWARDS HER LIKE PLEASE KYOKEN AND IWA ARE JUST LITTLE SOFT BEANS AND DESERVE THE WORLD

(bruh im so soft for iwa and kyo like my best bois and i must write them out IMMEDIATELY bc theyre so uggghhhhhh!!!!!!!)

MY TWO MEN IN ONE GIF GOD HAS BLESSED ME-

oh dear

bus rides,,,,, yep here we go

the team is usually peaceful and civil w each other (minus iwa literally beating oiks up but thats irrelevant information)

like they dont really have fights or have any arguments bc they meet up every saturday to talk about the week and if anybody had any concerns or anything they were mad about since it was like a family meeting

but boy oh boy

when you entered this family,,, arguments and misunderstandings happened once a week

‘no! y/n-chan said she was going to go shopping with me!’

‘um, she already agreed to go to to the arcade w me’

‘wait, she told me we were going to go visit that cafe!’

yes you agreed to do those things w them but you never assigned a date

your attention was something that these boys were always wanting since they only see you during club hours and practices

their jealousy gets really ugly sometimes and the two first years actually get all smug about it 

‘hm, y/n, we still up for studying later?’

you ruffled his hair and smiled up at him

‘yep! we need to set an alarm though or else i’d end up staying after 1 in the morning again’

‘great. cant wait’

kunimi rarely shows any emotion towards his senpais but they couldnt miss the smug smirk that made oikawa grip the volleyball and mattsun holding him back

god hes such a little shite

everyone knows that the first years have a upperhand than them bc of your same grade so the upperclassmen were much more sensitive to spending time with you outside of practice

and they liked to spend that time wisely

when the time for away games come, you weren’t that worried about it

i mean,, why would you when boarding the bus is going to be so early in the morning at like 4 in the morning and theyd be sleeping the whole time so you get peace and quiet

in fact, you were looking forward!

but nope!

jesus took the wheel and said no

instead, you were watching the team members shouting and yelling at each other at the asscrack of dawn

say sike rn

the 2 coaches were actually not there yet so they werent able to help you and whip the boys to order so here you were, bleary eyed and clearly still tired, sighing and rolling your eyes at the fight

‘SHE SITS WITH ME! IM TEAM CAPTAIN! I GET DIBS!’

‘NO! YOU DROOL ON HER AND MESS UP HER CLOTHES! YOU LIKE MAKKI-SENPAI MORE, RIGHT, Y/N-CHAN?!’

now you might be asking me, ‘author-chan, why are they fighting so hard for something as simple as a bus ride?’

well, my young grasshoppers, this is not just a simple bus ride

you are infamous in the team to be a sleeper

no matter what form of transportation, bus, car, any surface, you found yourself in dream land

yall i wish i was like that

the sleep paralysis demon beside my bed says otherwise

they freak out and fight over even a simple touch of affection from you, do you really think they wouldnt fight tooth and nail to being your pillow and freely watching your adorable sleeping face?

these men are fighting as if they were fighting something serious like a world war

lmao with how intensely theyre fighting, it practically is

but there were two players who actually didnt care either way since they only wanted you to be the most comfortable and they werent exactly the most squishiest members

in fact, they were basically all muscle and probably not the most comfortable

NOPE I BELIEVE THAT IWA IS IN FACT ONE OF THE MOST COMFIEST AND BEST PILLOWS IN THE ENTIRE HAIKYUU UNIVERSE

totally not my bias talking or anything

so it was no surprise when they didnt get themselves involved

iwa was already done w them and goes in the bus because mom deserves a nap

naturally, kyo follows the leader and boards the bus after him, leaving the others to fight it out in the school parking lot

you were happy that they were too distracted that they wouldnt notice you sneaking away into the bus and you were slightly disappointed that out of all the seats, kyo had to sit in the one-seater by the front

so you immediately went over to the other person, who was iwa-san, and he was just settling in, pulling out his teal blanket

you blinked at him when he caught you stare but he gently smiled before opening the blanket

‘i was never a fan of window seats anyways’

you happily bounced over to him and you placed your bag at the overhead compartment bc seijoh is bougee and can afford everything before you climbed over him to the seat next to the window

iwaizumi tried to make you as comfortable as he can so he kept the seat divider thing yanno what im talking about? between you

but his eyes widened when you casually pulled it up and snuggled closer to him

youve done this before so he opened his right arm for you to cuddle closer but he was still surprised 

meanwhile,,,

you just closed your eyes with a smile as you pulled the blanket to your chin and practically glomped yourself to iwa

ugh im so jealous of you!!!!!!!!!!

‘hmmmm, youre so warm iwa-san. youre like,,,,, jacob from twilight’

his eyebrow quirked and he smiled, wrapping his arm around you and tightly holding you close

‘oh? the werewolf?’

he felt your head nod

‘mhm. so warm, and strong, yet so gentle and soft’

by now, both your legs were already swung over his lap and head on his chest as you sat sideways

his fingers traced circles around your middle as his other hand was fiddling with your fingers

‘didnt he like mark a little girl?’

‘iwa-san dont talk about that!’

his laugh grumbled his chest and you giggled, trying to become even closer towards his naturally warm chest and inhale his scent

lavender mixed with peppermint

it was such an odd combination from the people you knew and you were immediately drawn to it

thats why you usually wore his jacket rather than your own

he always gets confused as to where it is but you steal it and watch him look for it

you didnt hear that from me though

it didnt take a long time for you to fall asleep and by the time the 2 coaches finally arrived and yelled at the players, they were already late

‘oikawa, i thought youd handle this properly!’

oiks whimpered from the coach’s scolding but apologized then pushed everyone in

the sight in front of them made them both boil in jealousy and squeal in uwus

you, the softest and sweetest and kindest little flower human being, being cuddled up to iwaizumi, the brute and bara arms and the ultra macho strong man, who had his head on top of you

KYAAAAAAAA

even though they knew you were a heavy sleeper and iwa slept like a rock, they still quieted down and silently walked over to their seats, hissing and shushing at anyone who even made the slightest bit of noise

rustle of the bags?

SSSSHHHHHH

seat creaking as they sit down?

SSSHHHHHHHH

they only let this slide bc your sleeping face was just so cute and they didnt have the heart to wake you up

and also face the wrath of titan iwa and be thrown into the atlantic ocean like oikawa did one time

when you finally arrived at the stadium, they waited for a rough 10 minutes just to figure out how to wake you up

they didnt want to wake up iwa first and have him yell at them but they didnt want to wake you up first either

but kyo didnt understand the dilemma and instead just goes to the back where yall were at and he goes to the seat behind you so he could reach you easily and tickles your cheek

the team is just like 👁️👄👁️

your nose scrunches at this tingling sensation until it continues so you open your eyes and finds kyo just smiling down at you

oiks is literally shaking bc he could see the smallest smile on kyo’s face

‘wake up’

with his gruff voice, it sounded like he was ordering you around but you knew he couldnt help it and blinked tiredly at him, giving him a smile of your own

‘hm, hi kyo-san’

you winced at the sudden appearance of the sunlight and that made you fully wake up before flinched at the eyes of the other players

‘hello, everyone’

you said slowly and you sat up, noticing iwa still sleeping

oiks held his breath bc hes been friends w iwa since he was still a baby and he knows that its like waking up a sleeping dragon

‘wait y/n-chan-’

but you didnt listen and poked his nose

‘iwa-san? iwa-san, we’re here’

you cooed and the poking made his eyes flutter open and with his head still tilted to the side, he swore he saw an angel by the way the sunlight hit the back of your head giving you a smiling angel effect

hm, i could get used to seeing this when i wake up

you grinned and when he finally stretched, you sat up stright, waiting for iwa to get up so you could slide out

but kyo was an impatient little bean and just hoisted you out of there and towards him behind the seat

‘come on. i got your bag’

he mumbled and you nodded, letting him hold your hand

lmao wait i forgot the time this is set

this is set during the 2nd inter-high okay? okay

oiks was still complaining at kyo and iwa hogging you but you didnt listen and continued walking towards the entrance, glancing around at the other teams

as usual, oiks and iwa were walking to the front bc yanno, captain and vice-captain, while you and kyo walked at the back, mainly bc you didnt want any player to stray off like kindaichi did last time and look for him for hours

kyo gripped your hand and you turned your head to look at him to see his eyes glaring at anything

you chuckled which made him look down at you, the glare slowly disappearing

‘hm, kyo-san, you should really invest in contacts. it doesnt matter if wearing glasses makes you feel like a nerd bc you still need it to see’

he scrunched his nose when you scolded him and he was about to retort when him and the team caught the whisperings of the nearby teams

‘oh my god, seijoh and the beautiful manager’

‘how old is she? i hope shes at least a second year’

‘ngh id tap that’

IM BLEEHHHHH

‘is he her boyfriend? if so, the competition isnt that hard then’

kyo growled and was about to lunge at the yellow jacketed boy but you held him back, also worriedly looking at your boys

‘seijoh, down’

you ordered and they shrunk back, opting to just glaring heatedly at the other teams

you could still feel kyo shaking at rage to them sexualizing you but your hands squeezing him and the other hand rubbing his arm helped him control it

‘dont make a scene, kyo-san. its your first competition since your suspension, right? and you love volleyball so please keep it in. i can protect myself’

you whispered but he let go of your hand and wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close and continuing to glare at everyone as if he was asserting dominance

‘if they touch you-’

‘ill kick them between the legs, i know. you told me already’

you teased and he hummed in agreement

when they played, they were at ease bc the two coaches were there and they were also protective of you like their own so they wouldnt have to worry about someone to go after you

however,,

as they were warming up for the second game, you had to quickly fill up their water bottles bc they were already tired and dehydrated so you needed to fill them up

and they were all busy and you didnt want to bother them and you were going to be quick anyways so you just took the case of bottles and ran to the nearby water fountain

you were hurriedly filling them up and at your last bottle, you were about to cap it when you felt a presence behind you

he stood close and his arms snaked around your waist but you hurriedly tightened the lid and whacked him at the head with the heavy bottle

you continuously hit him and kicked him between the legs before hitting him again

‘DONT TOUCH ME AGAIN!’

you shouted and iwa and kyo were watching from the end of the hallway, panting from running so fast since they heard your shouts

okay a little flashback,

kyo was watching you from his perepharal vision and when he went up to spike, he took his eyes off of you for ONE DAMN SECOND and you nyoomed out of there

when he didnt see you anywhere, he wildly looked around and this caught the attention of the vice-captain

‘oi! kyotani! whats wrong?’

‘y/n. where is she?’

they took off running and the team was just like what

then they heard shouts and kyo knew it was you

his mad dog senses

hehe get it

he as about to tackle the guy but he saw you beat him with a water bottle and eventually taking another bottle and kicking him and hitting him with the two waters

the player cowered and scrambled to get away bc wow this girl was psycho

um no sir, she was protecting herself from hormonal testosterone filled children like you

‘YEA GO RUNNING! COME TO ME AGAIN AND ILL BEAT YOU UP HARDER! DISGUSTING! TRASH! GROSS! SCUM!’

maybe it was because the last time you were touched without consent was when you got bullied but you were definitely fighting harder and more aggressive at protecting yourself

you turned around and the rage from your eyes disappeared when you saw the two boys there

‘hey iwa-san! kyo-san! sorry, i needed to fill the water bottles!’

you grinned and placed the bottles back to the case before lugging it up

my god their eyes were shining

yep, thats my girl

when their games were over for the day, they made their way to the exit where the bus was at and you and kyo stayed behind again

you caught the eye of the guy and his team and you and kyo glared at him, both wearing a sadistic smile

UGH YALL ARE COUPLE GOALS I SWEAR

kyo even went up to him and the team shrunk leaving the guy standing there in fear at the look on his face

‘listen, i dont like it when my baby girl gets touched by filthy shite like you. so do it again, and ill chop those damn fingers of yours, got it?’

lmao he’ll come for your ankles

the guy just nodded in fear while his team were cowering at the back

you chuckled and pulled kyo to go bc as much as you liked watching this, you needed to go to the bus to go home

‘cmon, kyo, i want to go. im getting a headache from the smell of garbage’

he shifted his gaze to you and sent you a soft smile

‘okay. lets go’

hah you thought it ends there?

kyo is a dramatic little shite so he made a show of grabbing your waist and kissing your temple before flashing them a finger

oiks was tapping his foot impatiently at the bus and when you and kyo emerged from the entrace, he was about to snatch you up but kyo stood in front of you

‘EH?! KYOKEN-CHAN, I WANT TO SIT WITH Y/N-CHAN!’

‘no’

he said and didnt say anything else as he pulled you to the bus and into a two seater where you sat at the window again and he sat on the outside

‘hah? you want to sit next to me, kyo-san?’

you teased but he flushed red, hurriedly hiding in your neck

you laughed and brought a hand up to caress his nape

‘mhm’

he mumbled and you pursed your lips to hide the squeal

‘youre so cute, kyo-san’

‘not cute’

‘very cute’

‘no’

‘AM I CUTE Y/N-CHAN?’

‘SHUT UP SHITTYKAWA’

kyoken got away from your neck and went to hit the captain 

oikawa screamed

a/n: my first week of school was so weird bc we only have like 2 days and the other days are just free days bc we havent really done anything except talk about our classes but im just hating this system like ugh i actually want to go to school bc ya girl is going to a tech school and this 2-day a week is not the vibe

[chrysalizzm]

i uh. realized people follow me now because of uh. you’re human tonight on ao3 asdjgfs

i have content!! behind the scenes content as promised. i do outlines for my fics as a general rule of thumb just because i personally can’t write things to a satisfying finish if i don’t Do That, and so - here are my chapter/plot outlines for you’re human tonight ^^ (i have no idea if this is interesting content or not i thought i’d put it out there because i think outlines are kinda fun hhhh)

chap 1 fundy

subtitle: an inkling

fundy makes an iron golem gone wrong, dream makes it go boom

chap 2 purpled

subtitle: uh oh social interaction

purpled shelters a fugitive, gets his house explosion-proofed as thanks

this is probably gonna be the only chapter with a funny title hh oh well

update: it’s not and i’m pleased with myself for branching out with my dry humor

chap 3 sapnap

subtitle: dust to dust

sapnap’s dying via wither effect, and he knows respawn’s around the corner but goddamn if it doesn’t hurt til then. dream skids in around the nether fortress corner, drops all his weapons cradles sapnap’s head in his hands, has always taken death much harder than anyone sapnap’s ever met. at the last few seconds, when death creeps up like a shroud, dream starts to hum to him hoarsely, pressing his forehead to sapnap’s, and in the final moments sapnap doesn’t hurt at all. the last thing he hears is dream whimpering. he visits dream’s bunker the next day, knocks on the door over and over, but there’s no sign of life there. sapnap shrugs, bites his lip out of guilt for forcing dream to sit there watching him die (if temporarily), and moves on.

the chapter that introduces dream’s primary ability of soothing hurts. put a lot of emphasis on the fact that sapnap ached up until the moment dream started humming, because for dream to do that is pretty frivolous considering once sapnap died he’d respawn and the hurt would just disappear but dream wanted sapnap to have a peaceful last few seconds. emphasize how abnormal it is that withering stops hurting. 

chap 4 ponk

subtitle: beaches dry of sugarcane

dream visits ponk after george burns down the first tree. when ponk arrives to the second tree to move in, he realized dream made the tree flourish, grow healthier and bigger. 

chap 5 sam

subtitle: fuck this shit i’m out (edit: the official subtitle is “oh god oh fuck”, i changed it last-minute)

dream picks sam’s brain for manhunt strategies while the latter is mining for redstone. sam stumbles upon a spawner and reels back, trips, nearly misses the moment dream sweeps him behind him and his eyes flash beneath the mask and when sam gets back up, dazed, there’s nothing but the splay of cobwebs all over the walls. 

chap 6 punz

subtitle: lines drawn

in an unrelated skirmish, punz drives his sword up to the hilt in dream’s chest, relying on respawn for dream to not feel any pain and for punz to get paid. dream doesn’t die. this is understandably alarming. 

can we get some funnies in chap? just a few laughs?? a lil funny for mr luke punz man?

can we get some panicky dry humor for real tho because punz strikes me as someone who copes with morbid humor and dream spluttering up blood is def a situation that punz would not know how to deal with

chap 7 wilbur

subtitle: so about that date

wilbur makes platonic moves on dream while dream fake texts his fiance under the table. wilbur also accidentally vents to dream about his little brother tommy and how afraid he is that tommy will get himself hurt for how reckless he is. dream siphons some of his anxiety from him, smiles as they depart from one another. wilbur notes that dream is shaking when they leave. 

chap 8 skeppy

subtitle: get wrecked noob

dream walks skeppy through some pvp. when skeppy demands a rematch w tommy and gets a lil stage fright kinda sorta thing, dream siphons his anxiety and his nerves and goes full soccer mom with bad and skeppy loses 5-2 but like!! he won!! against tommyinnit!! HH

is there any mental image nearly as powerful as dream wastaken, the soccer mom

chap 9 jack

subtitle: mandatory volunteering

after tommy goes on another one of his destructive rampages lmao, dream enlists jack, newest-comer, to help him rebuild stuff bc underclassmen have to do whatever upperclassmen tell them to do thems just the rules. after rebuilding a statue near the community house, dream pats it fondly, and when tommy sneaks back to set in on fire for shits and giggles, he finds that it’s fuckin fireproofed AGAIN

rebuild efforts, i promised monuments rebuilt so thats what theyre gonna fuckin Get

chap 10 antfrost

subtitle: twist the knife

ant on what ends up being an unpublicized manhunt: dream stops the manhunt because he’s triggered a raid and by the time the hunters get there, alarmed by the screaming and the fire and dream’s unresponsiveness, the villagers are all dead and there are raider corpses everywhere and dream is lying near the bell on his side, whimpering. (what the hunters don’t know - dream tried to fight off the raid but was overwhelmed and witnessed the village get slaughtered, he took the pain of the villagers that weren’t dead but were dying.)

segment: There’s a reason they do the manhunts, and it’s not just for them to horse around and try to kill one another for a few days. Antfrost is the newcomer but he’s always been good at reading people and from the outset he knew that Dream was someone filled to the brim with the restlessness that characterizes humans, that never-settling wanderlust, and his brain works too fast for the rest of his body sometimes, and he just needs an outlet. It’s part of why he eggs Tommy on in their little war games, why he holds onto those discs even though he doesn’t need them, why he gets that delighted look on his face when someone tells him that Tommy’s griefed them or stolen from them or otherwise ruined their morning. Antfrost thinks the only times he’s ever really seen Dream silent, Dream waiting, Dream unmoving, are when Dream is 

chap 11 karl

subtitle: head in the shallows

karl, sapnap, george, and dream have a sleepover after mcc 11. karl, nearest to dream, wakes up when dream starts tossing and turning from a nightmare. when he tries to shake dream awake, dream’s eyes fly open and he slams his fist into the wall behind him and the earth, the literal earth, the entire slab of it, shudders like an earthquake. sapnap and george sleep like the dead, so it’s just karl and dream staring at one another. finally karl asks, concerned, “do you want some tea or water or anything?”

chap 12 hbomb

subtitle: a maid’s burden

“i want to dress up as a maid for fundy,” says hbomb with false bravado. fundy’s fiance levels a very impassive look at him for an awkward minute or two and just when hbomb thinks he’s misread dream and fundy’s relationship dream says “i’ll get you a wig” and the entire chapter is just dream idly twisting the fabric of reality to get hbomb the items he needs to put the outfit together

pranks, i promised pranks, theyre gonna get pranks

chap 13 alyssa

subtitle: message in a bottle (edit: official subtitle is “ship in a bottle”)

alyssa’s leaving, at least temporarily. 

alyssa tells dream it’s getting dangerous on his server, doesn’t relish the expression that brings to his face, but he holds her hands and nods and bids her safe journey. when alyssa returns, running for something (later we’ll learn she had heard that dream was bad, that he might be dying), she finds that her house is completely inaccessible by everyone save her, placed in complete stasis by someone. 

start of the chapters leading up to festival arc. build unresolved tension in this one. 

chap 14 niki

subtitle: life doesn’t discriminate

wilbur and tommy are relentless, they waste no time; niki is willing to wait for it. 

the night before the duel, she goes to dream and holds a sword to his throat and demands he call it off, even though she knows it’ll mean little because of respawn, tells him she won’t stop hunting him down until he gives up l’manberg. dream smiles a little sadly and pats her hand and her fright, her rage, it simmers back down, and the anger that had swarmed her and made dream out to be the devil dies down until it’s just her friend, who was playing along with tommy til it got serious and he got cocky, who’s just as in over his head as she is, and maybe niki’s soft but she likes that about herself, that she’s always the first to forgive. niki is looking at the healing cut on dream’s neck, uncovered by any bandages, when dream shoots tommy, a clean shot that causes no suffering.

a long chapter, probably. i think at some point in this i want to mention niki’s respect for dream for apologizing during the first pet war, for not letting things get any bigger until fundy came back. some parallels can be drawn here - that dream let the fire die down in the initial stages of the pet war, that dream won’t let go of the l’manberg war now, and it occurs to niki that she doesn’t know dream nearly as well as she thinks she does if she expected him to act exactly the way he did during the pet war. she’s got what she’s wanted - dream’s remorse, proof of dream’s humanity - even though it’s not in the form niki wanted it. 

chap 15 eret

subtitle: crown of thorns

the king in name only consults with the true leader. 

they’re both upset about pogtopia’s exile, eret arguably more so because they think their early betrayal of l’manberg somehow butterfly-effected into the current dumpster fire, and as they talk eret works themself into a full panic attack reflecting on things that were, things that could’ve been - and the tide washes out all of a sudden, and eret’s left with the same looming hollowness they’d been feeling before, no dregs of the panic, they’ve never had a panic attack that left them feeling normal after - but dream is now wheezing like he’s about to die and eret immediately walks him through the panic attack, levelheaded even as they’re confused out of their mind. 

chap 16 quackity

subtitle: water to blood

quackity is a snake in the grass. 

quackity at schlatt’s side during the few weeks of his presidency. he knows schlatt from before, has been his friend, so he knows when his friend is acting off. the cynical, straight-faced humor is still there, his completely bland delivery and brazen showmanship, but it’s twisted to the left somehow, to make it so that those qualities that make up his friend have rotted, hurt people. quackity eventually goes to dream after schlatt first overdoses with a lot of questions, maybe even to confess that his allegiance has begun to shift because he can’t go to pogtopia and he can’t go to schlatt - and dream just gives him a long, sad look before lightly patting quackity’s shoulder and says “i can’t guarantee anything - just that you’ll be safe” and shooing him off and as quackity heads back to manberg he realises all the hostile mobs are avoiding him like the fucking plague. 

it’s big q!!!! fattest ass in the cabinet!!!!! pog!!!

fun fact this chapter’s subtitle was almost “chekhov’s gun” until november fucking 16th of 2020

chap 17 tommy

subtitle: most disputes die and no one shoots

tommy learns how a legacy dies.

a compendium of tommy watching the madness consume wilbur. it needs to be emphasized in this chapter that wilbur becomes an entirely different person when they’re ejected from manberg, that he becomes obsessed with the legacy he’s created and watching it crumble is what twists him; when dream gives tommy his crossbow, tommy, out of desperation and a need to have an older sibling again, asks what’s wrong with wilbur; dream’s face hardens and he asks tommy to take dream to wilbur. it’s a terse meeting, the only one they have before techno and before wilbur completely loses it and demands the tnt; wilbur says a lot of things tommy doesn’t understand (it’s complex mythological jargon hinting at dream’s status as a god but could be misconstrued to refer to dream’s status as simply the world owner) and at one point wilbur sneers, “are you trying to play god, dream?” and dream lurches forward and grabs wilbur by the wrist, and there’s a completely silent moment where tommy feels the air suck out of his lungs and there’s an off buzzing in his ears and he fancies he hears something that sounds, just a bit, like dream, whispering desperately wilbur wilbur wilbur it’s me it’s me listen listen listen then a shrieking, acrid wave of no and tommy reels back and when he looks up dream has staggered back, his hand to his mouth, blood dripping from somewhere beneath his mask, sounding like he’s gagging or maybe he’s sobbing, as wilbur shrieks in a voice that is entirely not his “get out get out if i can’t have l’manberg...” and tommy understands, finally, as dream sprints out. that’s not wilbur.

a distinction needs to be made perfectly clear in this chapter, as with schlatt’s chapter: it’s not them. they’ve been twisted out of control by something bigger than them, something that wants to toy with the young god running an oasis of peace for his people. it doesn’t need to be outright said in this fic; in another we can delve into the madness and who did it and why. for now, just make it clear it’s not explicitly anyone’s fault.

chap 18 techno

subtitle: colosseum

dream had to let techno in first, you know. 

techno and dream have interacted often - the duel, the championships, they’re friends more than acquaintances now. but techno was called in by someone wearing his brother’s face that he honestly doesn’t recognize from his voice and when he arrives at spawn, before tommy fetches him, he sees dream sitting cross legged waiting for him and they talk about the situation, dream giving techno a quick brief. when tommy comes, crying “techno, this way, this way to pogtopia”, and crossbow bolts are being fired at techno, dream gives him a lil wave goodbye (or what techno thinks is a lil wave goodbye but what actually turns out to be putting a swiftness effect on him).

“that’s not my brother, dream,” says techno, and dream’s mouth wobbles and he says, hoarse, “i know.”

techno Suspects, but only knows that dream has world-manipulating powers and thus standard minor god powers. he doesn’t let dream know he suspects. 

chap 19 bad

subtitle: run devil run

bad trusts dream, perhaps against his better judgement. 

dream comes to visit bad and skeppy on neutral grounds in the interim leading up to the festival that everyone on the server is side-eyeing and side-stepping. bad considers his friend and the owner of the world as he gives dream an impromptu tour through the escape route he and skeppy have dug out, wonders with a little reproach how dream could let things get to this point, then, soft, gentle as always, acknowledges that dream is only human kindly. when he says that, though, dream’s face crumples, as though those words hurt him more than any criticism bad’s given him in the time he’s known him, as though bad had driven a blade into his heart, and bad doesn’t understand but he lets dream run away from that. when a small flock of creepers explode over the tunnel the night before the festival and bad grumbles that he has to fix it, he learns dream left him with a fortified escape tunnel.

a/n: i’m sure the irony isn’t lost on you.

chap 20 tubbo

subtitle: cadmean victory

what say the sacrificial lamb?

tubbo is coming to terms with the fact that he might not make it out of office in one piece and it’s not his first time respawning but the older members of the server always, always did their best to shield the younger ones from death. he runs into dream by complete coincidence while he’s avoiding pogtopia (mostly wilbur) and manberg (mostly schlatt), caught between two strangers wearing his friends’ faces. he looks at dream, who looks back at him impassively, and tubbo starts to cry, because it finally hits him that even with his death and respawn nothing will be fixed, nothing can change, the poison’s run too deep into the veins of dream’s beautiful little world and now nothing can be right anymore and it feels like he’s shattering into tiny, aching shards - and then dream kneels before him, takes his hands, presses his forehead to them, sighs like his heart’s breaking, and tubbo feels a small calm thread back into him as dream stands abruptly, jittery. dream, with hands that shake, grips tubbo’s shoulder, hovers for a second, then his head jerks up and he bolts into the forest, clambering up a tree with admirable ease and disappearing away into the leaves as schlatt suddenly emerges from the bushes nearby with a joyous, plastic “hey! tubbo!”

chap 21 george

subtitle: lantern burns low

a moment in the night; george is visited by a specter. 

dream comes, pale, and asks george if there is anything wrong, is everything okay with you? takes george’s caught-off-guard face in his hands and says george george george, are you - and george catches a glimpse of dream’s powers (is he safe safe does he hurt no but fear but anxiety there are dregs hush now quiet now he is safe all quiet quiet quiet he’s safe) and he says, stricken even as the constant thrum of nervous energy he’d kept with him fades out, “dream what was that,” and dream presses his hands to his mask where his eyes are and says, despairingly, “they don’t get to have you too,” and staggers back out. 

george is the first person dream overtly “comes out” to. this is also why george doesn’t see dream til the festival. 

chap 22 schlatt

subtitle: the empty throne

dream visits schlatt in his office. 

schlatt, possessed by madness, has no idea what he’s saying but it feels right, it’s exactly right, everything is in his hands, and when dream approaches, his hands facing up, is he there is he there yes yes yes tainted polluted this is twisted this is madness madness madness dream reels back, shaking, and schlatt leans in and leers, not even knowing what he’s saying, “you can’t even fix it, young god,” and relishes the way all the color drains from dream’s face.

=)

chap 23 dream (edit: this monster ended up being split into three for pacing purposes and also if i left it together it was gonna be. h. 14K WORDS. also the drama of a cliffhanger at what most people thought was going to be the last chapter was too good to pass up don’t @ me

subtitle: do you feel like a young god?

running, running, running again

finale!! dream takes everyone’s old hurts into himself, takes the madness from schlatt and wilbur, promptly passes the hell out because no one should be doing that, wakes up, gets the shit hugged out of him, and explains a little, and gets told that he’s loved over and over. 

i uh! take questions! i like talking about this story, there’s a lot i still want to show, and even apart from that i just really love mcyt haha

[flappypineapples]

Escapism Ch. 4

Anna cleared a path hastily through the main room of the Hell Ruelle while Matthew trailed behind her carrying a limp Cordelia in his arms. The looks they were shot ranged from concern to mirth but Anna didn't have time to dwell on that now.

She quickly climbed into the carriage barking orders to take them to the Institute as quickly as possible.

Matthew clambered into the carriage after her handing up Cordelia to Anna for support. Once inside the carriage without thinking he hastily gathered her back into his arms, holding her across his lap and propping her head up on his left shoulder.

He robotically reached up and placed his fingers under the crook of her jaw feeling her pulse. Weak but holding on. Her lovely skin was turning a sickly beige color now.

He fumbled around in his jacket pockets looking for his stele and only finding his flask.

"Damn it!", He cursed at the flask and tossed it unceremoniously to the floor.

When he looked back up he found Anna leaning forward to place an iratzi on Cordelia's arm. Matthew cursed himself for not having the foresight or responsibility to remember to take it out of his green jacket from earlier. All he remembered was the stupid flask.

"Matthew." He looked down and watched what must've been her second or third iratzi sink into Cordelia's skin like a name written in water.

Matthew cursed again, it seemed it was all he was good for. He couldn't protect her or James or his family or himself all he could do was curse and drink and pray.

Anna urgently rapped on the roof of the carriage, "We need to go faster!" She leveled her eyes with Matthew, "Cordelia is strong, stronger than the lot of us."

The carriage lurched forward picking up speed.

"And we are not giving up on her now."

Matthew nodded but barely heard her over the pounding of his own heart. He leaned forward to press his face once again into her hair, taking in the scent of patchouli and lavender.

He let out a small whimper.

"God not again. Cordelia please breathe. Please forgive me. I only wanted to bring you into my world to share my love of it. You love things like I like them I know you do, I see it in your eyes when we walk together. I may be poison but I never meant for it to touch your lips."

Matthew mumbled whispers unintelligibly into her hair for a few antagonizing minutes before it seemed he himself couldn't even stand his own voice anymore and he resided to listening to her shaky breath against the hard sound of wheels on brick.

-----------

The carriage stopped short in the courtyard of the institute. Matthew, however did not wait for this full stop to swing the doors open and start shouting for help. Luckily a servant had been in the entrance tending to the witchlights when they'd arrived. He ran out and quickly gauging the situation rushed to help Matthew transport Cordelia to the infirmary.

Hearing the rucuss Tessa came rushing down in her dressing gown followed by a hastilly clothed Will clutched a half doused witchlight.

"By the angel what is all this rucess. Anna what is happening?" Will shot a confused look at her and then a look of horror as he watched Cordelia be carried hastily away.

Anna quickly approached them.

Will looked tired, a thick layer of concern painted on his face, his wife Tessa was concerned but controlled, forever poised in the face of danger.

"Matthew Cordelia and I were out tonight when she collapsed. I suspect some kind of poison. Iratzis don't seem to work. We must call the silent brothers she's fighting now but by the angel even the fiercest warriors tire."

Tessa quickly nodded to her husband. She went after the men to the infirmary while Will went to signal the brothers.

 

---------

Lucie came running like a thunderstorm down the hallway; stricken concern sunk into her face. She looked as if she had been deep in a chapter or dream, her hair a mess and a quickly drawn dressing gown tied around her. Her feet were bare but Matthew could still hear her pounding his way.

She had stopped short seeing Matthew there in the hallway and the closed door that served as a clear sign neither of them were welcome in there with the brothers. Without thinking twice she threw herself toward his grabbing him by the shoulders, her eyes barring into him.

"Daisy, my Daisy", she choked out "What's wrong, is she going to be okay". Clearly she had appeared in such a hurry no one had explained the full situation to her.

Matthew must have betrayed some of his own fear in the face of her question for she pushed him away and started head surely for the door.

"She needs me there Math! I'm her parabatai, I can make her stronger, make her better!" He quickly caught at her arm keeping her from yanking the door nob off the already locked door.

"Lucie the Silent Brothers are in there with her now you know there's nothing you can do. Everything you try to do will only get in there way." Matthew cringed at the harshness of his words and amended them quickly. "She's strong, she's going to get through this okay." Matthew sounded as sure as he could muster.

Lucie turned toward him quickly brushing off his hand like it burned her. "And exactly what is this." She said gesturing to the door. Her anger was obvious and glaring but Matthew doubted it had anything do with him specifically.

He ran his hand over his face lazily, suddenly very tired. "Anna suspects she may have been poisoned, some sort of demon sourced poison so thats why iratzis didn't seem to work." He leaned against the wall and slid down it crouching there and letting his head fall into his hands.

Lucie felt her anger towards him start to melt away. She had to admit she hadn't seen many things touch Matthew so much since he had started drinking and building stone castles between the world and his heart but this was touching him now. Cordelia had touched his heart someway like she had touched Lucie.

Lucie walked over and sat down next to him reaching up an arm to sling around his back as she leaned into his side.

"You're right Matthew, she's been through much worse than this. Plus she's my Cordelia, strong and resilient. Some poison won't be the thing to take her down." Now it was Lucie's turn to muster up assuredness.

Matthew ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time this hour. He let out a frustrated groan and dug his head between his knees. He reached yet another time for a flask that wasn't their, forgotten on the carpet of the Lightwood carriage.

He was crouched now outside the infirmary door next to Lucie. Lucie, dear and loyal Lucie who had comforted him in time of her own distress and now was trying to convince him that none of this was his fault and that she would be alright. It all fell on to numb ears though.

He had poisoned his mother, murdered his sister and now had led yet another person he loved to the same sickness. She had trusted him, put her night in his hands and he had played the wrong move.

Checkmate. It seemed no matter what move he made he could never escape his past.

--------

Alastair had gotten the news about Cordelia promptly after she was delivered to the Institute. Will had sent a servant to ride over and alert the family to the situation best they could. Alastair had regrettably not been sleeping that night. He had been staring blanking at what seemed like his hundredth letter. Well no not letter, almost letter. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't find the right words to right Thomas.

His desk was littered with failed attempts and hastily crinkled up wads containing apology after apology. Sometimes he let his apologies drone on further to hopes or words of endearment, but he smudged the ink quickly before his words left a mark truly. But they just left behind another failed attempt at redemption.

He felt as if he was caught in a huge game of chess and Matthew had wiped out his king. Matthew was staring down a checkmate while Alastair had done nothing more than cry.

The pounding at the door jolted him out of his trance though. He took once final look at his most recent attempt and quickly bunched it up, tossing it heavily to the floor. Looking out the window he had seen the cress of the Institute and knew then and there something way wrong. The Layla was in trouble.

He threw on a waistcoat that had been slung over the edge of his bed and quickly made his way downstairs.

He flung open the door as the servant was walking up the walkway. Before they could open their mouths to speak Alastair blurted out, "What's wrong?" He had come so fast down the stairs he was out of breath and it came out as a fast and breathy order.

The servant hesitated breifly before telling him that Cordelia had fallen ill and they suspected some kind of cultivated demon poison to be behind it.

He tore out of the house not bothering to wake up his mother. Any moment longer spent away from his sister's side may be a moment too late. She would find out in the morning one way or another. He hopped into the back of the Herondale carriage as it quickly took of towards the Institute. He bathed in the irony of a Herondale carriage and Herondale servant aiding him of all people in his time of need be he didn't let himself dwell on it long. He simply didn't have the emotional strength.

--------

To say Matthew Fairchild was tired would be an understatement. He wished for nothing more than to thunk his head back on the wall and fall blissfully into the escape of sleep like Lucie. Lucie sat with her legs out infront of her and her head propped up against Matthew's shoulders. Matthew on the other hand was wide awake and itching to know what was going on in there. He was also itching to find out where James was. Mrs. Herondale had left moments ago to hastily fetch him from the townhouse he and Cordelia had been residing in the past couple months just a few moments earlier. She had first stopped in to check on Matthew and Lucie shooting Matthew a right and sympathetic smile and Lucie a look of pure motherly worry.

Finally given time to think about it he wondered why on Earth James had been with Grace tonight. Matthew was under the impression that James intended to stay faithful to Cordelia during their arrangement. James was nothing if not loyal and the thought of him betraying Cordelia's trust filled him with a sudden flush of anger. James was the unknowing catalyst to this whole situation yet it was Lucie and him sitting outside fretting over his wife. Though the marriage itself was fake James obviously cared for Cordelia as a close friend. None of it made any sense. But then again, Matthew amended, not much James had done in a long time has made much sense.

His train of thought was interupted by heavy and swift footsteps on the carpet. Expecting it to be James's dad he simply let his head hang again. Not wanting Mr. Herondale to see all the plain emotions of anger and worry he knew were clearly plastered on his face. The hasty iratzes he'd applied earlier had done their job and now Matthew had no safe guard of inebriation to cushion the blow of everything around him.

No alcohol to shield his emotions.

The footsteps stopped abruptly infront of him in a very un-Will Herondale like manor. Matthew raised his eyes and was met by an extremely disheveled and angry Alastair Carstairs. His chest rose and fell quickly as he looked from the closed door to Lucie asleep next to Matthew to Matthew himself, dressed in evening clothes. His necktie was now untied and stuffed half heartedly in his best pocket. His shirt was untuck and his waist coat draped open revealing a wrinkled dress shirt. His hair was rumpled and flattened down and his eyes were clear as glass.

"Are they with her?", Alastair blurted out suddenly. "The brothers I mean." For being someone who seemed to have a very urgent and angry demeiner about them Alastair had no trace of blame or disgust in his voice when he spoke to Matthew. Only a thick drawl of concern.

"When they brought Layla- Cordelia in did they say how long they'd be? Did they say anything about her condition? What happened? Who was she with?" His words spilled out of him in a very not Alastair way. Matthew hesitated to meet his eyes, scared that one look from Alastair and he'd know exactly how Matthew felt for his sister.

But he did, he mustered up the bravery and met his eyes.

"She was with me and Anna. They suspect someone slipped something in one of her drinks and that it might have some sort of demonic origin and that's why runes wouldn't work for her."

Alastair looked halfway between confused and raging as he asked, "You were with her? Where were you?".

Matthew took a deep breath, fixed his eyes warily on the wall across from him and explained Cordelia's odd entrance into Anna's flat and how she had wanted them to take her to the Hell Ruelle again to lift her spirits. He of course left out the part about James being unfaithful and he and Cordelia themselves being unfaithful to James in turn.

When he finished his tale he shifted his eyes back to Alastair. For once he didn't look angry, just incredibly tired. He didn't quip back or accuse Matthew for being a careless drunk that had let his sister be hurt. Matthew had been ready, been expecting it, and now for it to not come it almost felt even more concerning.

No what Alastair did instead was walk to Matthew's side and sit himself next to him against the wall. Neither of them said anything they just stared ahead. Waiting.

Matthew saw Alastair shift slightly at his side and glanced toward the man. He saw that Alastair had began to tear up. He watched him hastily wipe them away and bury his face in his hands. For the first time Matthew didn't feel anger toward Alastair. What he felt instead was much more uncomfortable. It was a sort of pity verging on the feeling of recognizing how gray of a person Alastair truly was.

Alastair raised his head and turn it towards Matthew meeting his gaze. They both pretended like he had not seen Alastair cry and that Alastair in turn did not see how completly vulnerable Matthew was right now worrying over his sister.

"When we were little she used to go up to the case where father would keep Cortana and talk to the sword for hours." Alastair smiled, "She'd drone on about her most recent letter from Lucie or the new weapon she'd learned about in lessons. But most frequently she talked about how one day when Cortana was free and in her hands she'd be a hero like father."

Alastair hissed out a harsh breath before continuing. "My father is a drunk, Fairchild. Cordelia never knew that though. I spent my whole childhood hiding bottles and feigning that father was just ill when he was stuck in bed the morning after dragging in from a bar at 3 am. I spent my childhood making sure she had one, one where she could love her father like I never could."

"When I came to the academy there were question I couldn't answer. People asked me what was wrong with my family that we moved around so much and why my father was constantly sick and of course the unspoken but clearly intended why was I darker than the other boys, different."

He flicked his gaze from The door to wall again and continued. "I learned very quickly that the only way to keep myself from being bullied and the rumors about my family to stop was to start and stress rumors about others. To fake interest in all the devious gossip of young boys at the academy. If I could diverge attention away from my mother and Cordelia, our family maybe I could survive."

He turned his head fully to Matthew again and locked eyes with him, "I was miserable out of my mind. And then you came along and you didn't have to do anything to get them to like you or leave you alone. All you did was smile and everyone would eat it up. I was so jealous of you and Thomas and hell even Herondale."

He emphasized the last name with a flick of his wrist as he with drew himself back and continued his staring match at the wall.

"He had a charming and present father who loved him all of you do. All I wanted was to look like you. And have people love me like you. I was jealous."

"I did horrible things because of that jealousy. Jealousy makes fools of us all. Those actions haunt me every single day of my life. They're things that I am trying my best to make up for. And that's why I'm telling you this." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I'm ashamed of my father. I've done everything in my power to distance myself from him and bury his true nature under layers and layers of smiles and charm. But I am absolute rubbish with my words."

He opened his eyes and winced. 

"I'm ashamed of myself."

Alastair ran his hand through his hair and pulled at it anxiously. "The hundred smeared and crumpled up letters to Thomas that litter my desk and floor only seem to prove how much of a coward I still am. I don't expect immediate forgiveness from you Fairchild I simply wish for you to understand."

He turned toward Matthew.

"I was a scared and foolish child then but I am no longer that boy and I am trying my very best to be a man to be proud of. A man that would make Thomas forgive me." He seemed to choke a but in his words towards the end but he covered it up by suddenly clearing his voice. Matthew thought it odd that he and James were Herondale and Fairchild and yet Thomas to Alastair was just Thomas. 

He looked tired but most of all he looked like a man deprived of joy. Like someone had knocked the bite out of him completly.

Matthew was at a complete loss for words. He let his mouth open and close multiple times trying to come up with the proper thing to say in this situation but failed.

Luckily Matthew was saved from his reply by the infirmary door swinging open and brother Enoch stepping out.

Alastair shot up from the ground and let his face be taken over by pure worry as he waited to here was Brother Enoch had to say. The only thing that kept Matthew too from shooting up was the still very sleeping Lucie on his shoulder whom he didn't wish to disturb at the moment no matter how famous of a heavy sleeper she was.

She is doing much better. We were able to extract the poison with little long term damage. She is very lucky, any longer and perhaps we would not have been so successful. 

Matthew paled and thanked the angel silently that Anna had been such a pill to the carriage driver.

But she is tired. She asked for you however. He turned his robed head toward Alastair and nodded. She is ready for you when you are available.

With that Brother Enoch walked silently down the hallway as another brother silently slipped through the door and followed him.

Without another word Alastair entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Matthew was left reeling in the hallway. Had that really just happened? He felt as if he hallucinated the whole encounter and if not for the distinct lack of alcohol in his body he'd blame it on being pissed out of his mind.

But no, Alastair had beared his soul to Matthew, trusting him with extremely private information and for what? Forgiveness? He couldn't understand it. How this man's truth seemed to save him when Matthew's truth would only damn him further. They all had albatrosses and perhaps he thought, speaking on his would free his neck of the bird's heavy pull like it had seemed to do to Alastair.

And it did Matthew realized. Alastair sharing his mariner tale had helped Matthew realize this bit who was the catalyst for his damnation was not a malicious devil but complicated and sad. He was far from forgiving the situation as a whole but understanding Alastairs perspective had atleast laid the groundwork.

Perhaps everything was a little less black and white than Matthew had allowed himself to believe.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

I just thought of something cute. In the Inu!Anti au, like a month or so later, the reader finds a Neko!Marvin who is Anti's brother/littermate. Like, maybe one parent was an Inu and the other a Neko. Just a happy little family reunion with purring and tail wagging. I'll leave it up to you if the other egos show up at some point as siblings too, maybe nekos and inus have litters of kids like animals do or something.

Okie! I adore this idea so much!

Hope you enjoy teh story!

It’s been about a month since Anti winded up on your doorstep.

And since then, he’s been so much happier and energetic as ever. It took you some time to help him recover from the trauma his former, abusive owner put him through.

You had to reteach him that it was okay for him to lay on the couch or on a chair without worrying about getting fur everywhere.

You had to reteach him that he could get excited about things without fearing that he was “stupid” or “annoying” for liking them.

It was a long healing process, but it was well worth it.

He did finally open up to you about other things regarding his past. One of those being that he was actually an offspring of Inu and Neko parents, and that when they passed, he and his Neko brother, “Marvin”, had to go their separate ways.

But he had no clue where he could be now…but wherever he was he hoped he was in a safe place.

Whenever the subject of his brother was brought up, Anti would get emotional to the point of tears, and you felt so bad.

You really wanted to find him now. But the only piece of information the Inu was able to give you was that Marvin loved reading about magic and aspired to become a street magician.

You’d probably have to search all over Brighton for him.

Hopefully he hasn’t gone too far.

……….

One evening, you were on your way home, earbuds in as you carried a small bag from your favorite fast food restaurant in your hand. You picked up something for Anti, too.

You took a different route than you usually did just to avoid the busy crowds of people coming home from work. Sure it was longer but Anti would understand.

Somewhere down the line of buildings, between them you could see a large, soggy cardboard box standing up on its side.

And someone sleeping in it, a torn, black blanket wrapped around him. He had long, greasy dark green hair and some kind of white cat mask on with card suits and whiskers drawn on it with what looked like marker. But there were a few cracks and specs of dirt on it.

Beside him was a cardboard sign that crudely read “Will Perform Card Tricks for Food or $$”.

You frowned slightly, feeling bad for this guy…until you read the sign once more.

‘Card tricks? Does..that mean he performs street magic? Wait…’  You’re hit with realization as you recalled Anti’s words. ‘….is this…could this be his-?’

“O-Oh..hi there…”

Hearing the meek voice, you looked and saw the man waking up, yawning a bit as he set his blanket down, revealing that he was wearing a black hoodie, worn jeans, and fuzzy socks that had a few holes in them.

“..hey,” you smiled softly, sitting down in front of him. “You do card tricks?”

He hummed in reply, taking out a small deck of cards that were tied together with a rubber band. “Been doing them for a few years now. People…like it..although not many are willin’ to get anywhere near…a hobo and a freak like me..”

“Have you eaten at all today?”

He tensed up, blinking in surprise at your words. But then he sighed depressingly. “No. Unfortunately..luck wasn’t on my side today..or yesterday…” He then showed you a small bowl he had, which contained a few pennies and a dime. “But..there’s always tomorrow, I guess.”

You frowned slightly, before you remembered the food in your bag and dug into it, taking out a small box of chicken nuggets you ordered for yourself. “Here. Take this.”

“Wh-Wha…really?” He stammered, eyes wide behind his mask. Instead of taking it, though, he just looked up at you with an expression of guilt. “But..I-I didn’t perform any tricks yet..or-”

“That’s okay,” you told him. “No one deserves to go hungry for that long. You need this more than I do.”

Hesitantly, he took the box from you and opened it, staring at the nuggets like they were diamonds. Then he looked up and smiled shakily at you, tears in his eyes. “Th-Thank you…this..r-really means a lot to me…wh-what’s your name?”

“[Y/n].”

“Thats..a-a nice name.” With a sniffle, he took out a nugget and ate it, savoring the warm and juicy flavor.

You smiled gently and waited until he was finished before you continued. “So..you said before you felt like..a freak. But you seem like a normal guy to me.”

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, the man set down the box, wrapping his arms around his torso. “Man..that definitely beats living off of gum. But…” He looked back at you. “..I’m..not really what people consider to be “normal”..”

“What do you mean?”

“…..d-do you really wanna know?”

“Yes,” you nodded. “You can tell me or..show me. Either way I’m not gonna leave you. I promise.”

“…alright…” Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and pushed his hood back, revealing to you his brown cat ears that had white splotches on them. The tips of them were nicked, as though he had been through some rough fights several times before.

You gasped lightly, realizing that your previous assumption was correct.

“Freaky, right?”

“N-No it’s..not that,” you muttered. “You…wouldn’t happen to be…Marvin, would you?”

Marvin blinked in surprise once more, clearly not expecting that sort of reaction. “I-I..am…” His eyebrows furrowed. “..how..did you know?”

“Well..tell me this,” you shifted closer to him. “Are you related to….an Inu? Because he’s been living with me for a month and he mentioned something about-”

“B-Brother….is..a-alive?”

You nodded. “Yes. He ended up on my doorstep badly hurt, but he’s okay now. You wanna go see him?”

His eyes watered up as he nodded his head eagerly. “M-More than anything..” Hiccuping softly, he lifted his mask up to wipe away the tears that fell down his pale, sunken cheeks.

You could see that his eyes and eyebrows were marred with several scars…probably the reason why he wore the mask even as he slept.

“Then we shall. My house isn’t too far. You might as well ditch all of this stuff, because you won’t be coming back here again.”

“..w-wait..what?” Marvin gawked. “Y-You’re…gonna let me stay with you…a-and brother..?”

“I don’t see why not,” you shrugged. “You two..have been through so much. The least I could do is reunite you guys and give you a safe and warm home to live in.”

For a moment, he was silent as he took in all of your words. Then he gave you a shaky smile, a whimper escaping his lips as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

You brought him into a hug, allowing him to rest his head on your shoulder and cry as you rubbed the back of it, stroking his long hair despite the greasiness. He just thanked you repeatedly between his small sobs.

Once he calmed down, you two discarded the cardboard pieces, the blanket, and whatever he didn’t need. Then the two of you made your way out of the alley, heading home as the sun went down.

……….

Meanwhile, inside, Anti was relaxing on the sofa, chewing on a rubber knife toy you got him from the local pet store. He often used it whenever he got nervous or jittery, especially if you get home later than usual.

Like tonight.

The small squeaky sound it made caused his ears to perk and his tail to wag with amusement.

Although it didn’t last long as he looked at the clock and frowned slightly, wondering where you were. Soon enough his glum expression vanished when he heard the door unlock.

Then he turned and saw you entering the house, smiling and shutting the door. “Hey, Anti.”

“Welcome home,” he greeted, standing up to walk over….only to stop and gasp as he saw who was behind you.

“B-Brother..?”

“Brother?”

They both stared at each other once more, before they ran to one another and embraced, shedding tears. The Neko could only purr loudly, too happy to even talk, and the Inu’s tail wagged faster than it ever did in his life, as they held each other close.

After a solid minute, Anti was the first to let go. “Wh-Where have ya been all this time, ya nerd?” He chuckled, ruffling Marvin’s hair.

“T-Trying to survive out on the streets,” he mumbled as they both went to sit on the couch. “It’s been-”

“Hey..ah..sorry to interrupt.”

The pair glanced at you, confused.

“But um..you should get freshened up first, Marvin,” you said. “I’ll go start up a bath for you in a few, okay?”

The Neko nodded in response, smiling at you. “Thanks…[y/n]. Just..th-thank you for everything.”

“Yeah,” Anti nodded as well. “Thank ya for..helpin’ us and lettin’ us stay together.”

You smiled and walked over. They let you sit down between them, and the moment you did they both hugged you tightly.

And you wrapped your arms around them, reassuring them that they were safe and sound under your roof.