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grinoir · 3 years

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Deific/Major Familiars and the Table of Offers

As stated before, the Deific Familiar is the first Familiar one has to approach. It corresponds to the patron God or Goddess of the contemporary practitioners, although in the past the concept of “Divinity” in a non-christian sense got lost with the end of real paganism. From then on, these entities were addressed as more powerful Spirits.

A BIT OF HISTORY

In the middle ages and in the first modern era, the Deific/Major Familiar appeared as the head of the Procession of the Dominae Nocturnae (Signore della Notte, Ladies of the Night).

All throughout the Europe of this period, we always find the same theme, although called with different names: there’s a figure, the Deific Familiar, that procedes with a following of Spirits (usually women and associated with Fairies) and human Souls (the so called Witches, that evidently were non other than individuals that were having an extracorporeal experience) passing from house to house.

Those who wanted to have the favors of said Procession and of the Deific Familiar that was the head of it, would completely clean the house, putting everything in order, making the beds, etc. Then they proceded to prepare the table for these Spiritual guests, leaving food and drinks on the kitchen table for the night.

During the night, the Procession would enter the house, stopping to eat, drink, dance and sing and the Deific Familiar, with his/her wand, would have blessed the same food: the Procession could only eat the Spiritual aspect of the food, filling the Material aspect with prosperity and many other virtues.

In the morning, the blessed food was supposed to be eaten and the left overs preserved.

According to some scholars, the theme of the Procession of the Dominae Nocturnae has its origin in the theme of the Wild Hunt or the Procession of the Dead.

The Wild Hunt was the Procession of Spirits of those who fell honorably in battle, according to the Viking beliefs, the Einhejar, together with the Valkyries, guided by Wotan (Odin), and it was said that it could be possible to see it in some occasion in the battlefield.

This theme will slightly change in the christian epoque, becoming the Procession of the Dead, a procession of Spirits of those who died a violent death, suicides, non baptized children and people who weren’t evil enough to deserve eternal damnation in hell, but that could not access Paradise either (the concept of Purgatory was developed from here). This belief, even if born in the germanic/norse world, will spread throughout Europe, thanks to the extensive preaching of the christian priests, that, while trying to eradicate said beliefs in the population, obtained the opposite effect.

This theme would then be changed and adapted by every culture: Wotan was substituted with local figures, first among all, Hellequin (from “ Helle König”, the King of Hell, from which Dante developed the figure of Alichino, that later became the famous figure of Arlecchino, Harlequin).

From the initial Wild Hunt, two different Processions would be developed:

Procession of the Dead, with a male like Hellequin as the head

Procession of the Dominae Nocturnae, with a female like Diana or Aradia as the head. This theme also received the influence of the beliefs on Fairies. In numerous cases the figure head of the Dominae Nocturnae is also the head of the Fairies (Doamna Zinelor in Romania, the Fata Maggiore in Sicily, the Queen of Elphame in Great Britain).

This introduction is useful to understand how to choose our Deific Familiar. This Familiar was different in each region, although the european theme was the same. It depended on local latent beliefs, while the myth of the Procession was pan-european, thanks to the christian priests.

CHOOSING OUR FAMILIAR

Said choice must be thoughtful; we’re linking ourselves with a Spirit, a link that will probably last for all our lives. It cannot be taken lightly.

With this premise, the first thing to do is to seek documents of Witch trials in our area. Usually, the most useful ones are the ones before the 1550s, because around this moment in when the Church starts to associate Witchcraft with the Devil, so we risk to find trials that describe Satan as the head of the Procession, instead of other Spirits, like Diana, Aradia, la Signora del Gioco (Lady of the Game), and others. Said trials are completely useless for our ends.

Analizing these trials and the local folklore (like reading books of popular legends about Witches) we need to pay attention to:

the names of the heads of the Witches

the names of the heads of the Fairies

the names of the heads of the Wild Hunt/Procession of the Dead

the names of other figures deriving from pre-christian divinities present in the folklore

The facebook page “Gli Dei della Stregoneria Italiana” already did good part of the job. Of course this work isn’t exhaustive and it’s good practice to try and integrate it with a personal research, but it’s a good way to start.

[Translator note: I will list the names and the regions to help the non italian speakers that benefit from these translations]

Sicily: the Regina delle Fate (Queen of the Fairies), also called Savia Sibilla, Signora Greca, Signora Grazia, Donna Inguanto, Mandotta and Donna Zabella; the Re delle Fate (King of the Fairies) also called Re Cozzo or Re Cucco.

Sardinia: Diana (the sardinian Fate were called Janas); Maimone also called Maimulu and Mamuthone (probably derived from Dioniso Mainoles. Aradia (also called Mama Erodas, Arada, Araja or Rejusta) was also seen as the patron of the Janas.

Calabria: in this folklore, the table were prepared for the Fatae, that the local albanian minority also called Drekezit o Fiatazit. There are also the figures of the Sibilla Cumana, of the local Befana called Papparutu or Pacciarutu and a group of local healers called Cerauli that had St. Paul (substitution to Eracle) as their patron.

Apulia: the Patrona de la Cheise, figure similar to the Donne di Fori/Donne di Fuori/Patruni di Casa/Patruni di Luocu Siciliane. One salutes her saying:”Bon ggiorne a la Patrona de la Cheise, u mmaile ca esce e un bbeine ca triese” (”Good morning to the Patrona de la Cheise, an evil that goes away and a blessing that enters”). To protect yourself from the apulian Streghe, the Masciare, the locals said “Driana meste ca va pela vì” (”Master Diana that travels the roads”). The local paganism of the V sec. a.C. consists in the cult of a divinity of the Sun (Mitra or Apollo?) and a divinity of the Moon (Diana?). Dioniso is the god linked to the Tarantismo, substituted by St. Paul in later times.

Basilicata: the Madonna Nera di Viggiano, probably derived from Persefone, has a black face and wonders between the fields of wheat and the cattle, it was a dark divinity from the shadows of the earth’s womb, the farmers’ Persefone, an infernal goddess. We also find prayers to the Santo Sole (Saint Sun), probably a remainder of Apollo or Helios.

Molise: the cult of St. Cosma and St. Damiano comes from the cult of the Dioscuri and in part from the cult of Priapo. This region shares with Campania the figure of the Ianare, the local Streghe, and as a result of Diana that gives the name to these Streghe.

Campania: Diana gives the name to the local Streghe, the Ianare/Janare and it’s linked to the cult of the Noce di Benevento (the Walnut tree of Benevento), together with Godan (Odin) and Iside (Isis). The folklore mentions other gods: the Zucculara (Hekate), Cupindo (Cupido), Erodiade (Aradia) and the Sepilla la bella (the Sibilla Cumana).

Lazio: Aradia lead the Streghe to Rome and gathered them together the day of St. John, near the homonym basilica. We also read about the Meridiana or Marianna, a demon of noonday, probably deriving from Diana. Cupiddo (Cupid) was also worshipped.

Abruzzo: this region shares with Umbria and Marche the cult of the Sibilla Appenninica (also called the Sibilla Picena or the Sibilla di Norcia); probably derived from the cult of Cibele, Cupra, Nortia or Venere; others think this figure was the Sibilla of the god Pico. The goddess Angizia in the origin of the figure of St. Domenico di Cocullo. Some of the other cults are the goddess Ancharia and Ercole Curino, the goddess Maia, the god Hermes, the Pasqua Pefanij or Bboffe, a feminine figure linked to Epiphany.

Tuscany: the tuscanian Befana, has the same origin of the venetian Redodesa; the Fantasma, a figure linked to Hekate; the Maga Accina on mt. Amiata, linked to the Sibilla Appenninica. The belief in Diana and Aradia is documented by the archbishop Sant’Antonino in the XV sec d.C., long before Leland.

Emilia-Romagna: the goddess head of the Streghe is called the Domina Cursus and Sapiente Sibilla. Other pagan figures of the local folklore are: the Borda, deriving from Borvo/Bormo a celtic god that presides the thermal and spring waters; the Fata was corresponding to the germanic Perchta, seen as a nice old lady, very clean and with a welcoming attitude.

Again, it is vital that you make your own research by looking up the names of these divinities and accessing the documents of the trials.

Once obtained these names, starting from the region(s) that we choose as a point of reference and the call that we feel towards a specific divinity, we can operate the decision of our Deific Familiar.

THE TAVOLO DELLE OFFERTE

Now that we have chosen our Deific/Major Familiar, we can start with the Tavolo delle Offerte (the Table of Offerings), a table spread with food and drinks for our Familiar and their Procession.

Here is how it goes:

Thoroughly clean the house (or at least the room in which you’ll operate this ritual, usually the kitchen).

Set the table (if we’re forced to work in other rooms, an altar will suffice) with a clean tablecloth, table napkins, cutlery, dishes, glasses, a bottle of wine or another drink of choice and the following meals (first course, second course, side dish, dessert or fruit). You’ll also need one or more chairs, so that our guests can seat.

Recite a prayer to manifest that we’re leaving this offering to our Deific Familiar and its following, inviting them inside, allowing them to dance, eat, sing and drink inside our house and asking them to consume our food and to bless it after they consumed its Spiritual aspect, and to cast their blessing upon us, our house and to its inhabitants.

We can light some incense and leave some musical instruments as a further offer. Adding candles and tapers that represent our Deific Familiar, statues or images of them, flowers and so on, it’s also acceptable. These are contemporary additions, but the banquet is the necessary base of the offering.

In the morning, we will approach the table, thank the Deific Familiar and we’ll eat the blessed food. Upon finishing the meal, we’ll thank the Deific Familiar once more, we’ll tell them goodbye and procede to clean up.

WHEN AND HOW OFTEN LEAVE THE OFFER?

The foundation of the relationship with a Familiar Spirit is to nurture them, in order to fuel the link between ourselves and the Spirit. In the past, the Strega fed their Familiar once a day. In this age, some people make offering everyday, others a few times a week or even once a week. In my opinion [TN: the author’s opinion] we should make an offer at least once a week.

[Translated and adapted from https://tradizioneitaliana.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/introduzione-alla-stregoneria-tradizionale-iii-i-famigli-deifici-e-il-tavolo-delle-offerte/]

#witchcraft #italian witchcraft #traditional witchcraft #medieval witchcraft #stregheria #strega #witch #spell #hex #divination #oracle #familiar #familiars #offerings #reconstructionist traditional witchcraft

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pines-troz · 3 years

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Weekend With The Warners Chapter Three - Animaniacs & Pinky and The Brain

Summary: When the CEO assigns Pinky and The Brain with the important task of watching over the Warners for the weekend, Brain is prepared for any antics that the children have in store. What he didn’t take into account was forming a familial bond with the kids.

Word Count: 7,652

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849962/chapters/68854656

The big day had arrived and the two genetically altered lab mice were on top of their schedule. Brain had set his alarm clock to 6:00 AM. He and Pinky woke up and gathered their belongings. Brain decided to bring along his newly modified robotic man-suit just as a precaution. Once the mice were ready to go, Brain hopped into the pilot seat of his robot and placed their mouse-sized suitcases into his pants pocket. Pinky climbed up the suit and made himself snug as a bug in the front pocket. The intelligent mouse steered the suit and exited the lab at around 7:00 AM, about an hour before any of the scientists would arrive for work.

The mice made their way down the streets of Burbank and decided to have breakfast at a local diner. There, they spent a little of an hour consuming their morning meals and engaging in some casual conversation together.

By the time they arrived at the Warner movie lot, it was a quarter to nine, and the mice swung by the main office building to retrieve the credit card from Nora Rita Norita. When the mice made it to the top floor, Brain made his way over to her office and gingerly knocked on the door.

“Enter!” The CEO boomed from the other side.

Brain cautiously opened the door to find Ms. Norita in her workout attire stretching on the treadmill. She took the small towel and scrubbed the sweat off of her face before tossing it over the handle.

“You must be here for the credit card, I take it?” The businesswoman remarked as she eyed Brain’s robotic suit.

Brain wordlessly nodded while trying his best to muster his courage while confronting the higher-up. Ms. Norita went over to her desk, opened the drawer, and retrieved the golden credit card. Pinky’s eyes lit up upon seeing the glistening card again. He eagerly reached out for the card, enamored with its shimmering aura.

“Try not to have too much fun over the weekend, gentlemen.” Nora Rita Nortia humored in her flat voice as she gave Pinky the credit card, who immediately hugged it.

“We won’t,” Brain assured, trying to hide his anxiousness from the formidable businesswoman as he made his exit. “I guarantee you that Pinky and myself will have an appropriate amount of fun while supervising the Warner siblings.” With a nervous chuckle, Brain grabbed the doorknob and carefully closed the door on his way out.

Once the mice left Ms. Norita’s office, Brain exhaled and leaned up against the wall as he gazed at his partner. “Pinky, I would be a liar if I told you that the CEO was not the least bit intimidating.”

“I heard that, and I plan on using that information to my advantage.” Ms. Norita shouted from behind the door.

Brain’s eyes widened with terror. Now that the CEO knew his weakness and planned on exploiting it, he had no choice but to stay in her good graces in the foreseeable future.

“Very well.” He muttered as he made his way towards the elevator. “Pinky, hand me the cellphone. I’m going to arrange an Uber driver to pick us from the movie lot at noon.”

Pinky turned on the smartphone and smiled. “Hey Brain, we just got a text message from Dot!”

The pudgy mouse retrieved the phone from Pinky and read the message.

We’ll be outside the water tower by 11:45 <3

Once the mice left the office building, they killed some time by strolling around the movie lot and making idle chit-chat. They arrived at the water tower ten minutes beforehand where they patiently waited for the Warners to arrive. However, the three rambunctious siblings proved to be fashionably late.

Brain decided to make some small talk to make the time go by faster. “Well Pinky, I am fully prepared for whatever comes our way this weekend.” He announced as he checked his phone, the clock now reading 11:55 AM. “I even took the liberty of educating myself on the slang of today’s youth. Everything from vibe checks to poggers...I had to make sure that the latter word wasn’t a derogatory slur. Thankfully it’s just a synonym for an excited, surprised overreaction.”

“That’s wonderful, Brain!” Pinky complimented. “Did you do all that research just so you could relate to the kids?”

“What? No, I just wanted to have some comprehension of the contemporary vernacular.” Brain denied whilst waving his hand downwards. “Now, where are those children? Our driver will be here at any moment.” The pudgy mouse scanned the lot in search of the three siblings.

“Hellooooooo mice!”

The enthusiastic shouts from above startled the mice. They instinctively looked up to see the Warners wave at them before leaping off the water tower with their suitcases in tow. Brain stared in shock as the three kids made their descent. Acting swiftly, the smaller mouse managed to catch the children in his robotic arms right in the nick of time. Once the children and their belongings were safe in his arms, he stumbled backward, trying to support the combined weight of the Warners and their heavy luggage. Fortunately, the mouse was able to shift the levers in his suit and quickly maintained his balance.

As Brain let out a huge sigh of relief, Yakko and Wakko leaned in and smooched his cheeks. Dot gave Pinky a kiss on the cheek. “Naarf.” The lanky mouse bashfully replied upon receiving the friendly affection from the girl.

Brain, on the other hand, let out an amused snort as he gently lowered the children on the ground. “It’s nice to see you kids all excited for our little weekend getaway.”

Dot immediately had her sights set on the mechanical man-suit. She tapped at the suit’s knees then proceeded to grab a hold on the right arm, carefully inspecting it. “Oh Brain, is this a new model?” She inquired, sounding rather impressed.

“Why yes. I’ve made some modifications to the suit over the years.” Brain answered, pleasantly surprised that the Warner sister would take great interest in his work.

“So what hotel are we going to anyway?” Yakko asked. “The CEO didn’t really clue us in on where we’ll be staying.”

“She reserved us a deluxe queen room at The Ritz-Carlton.” Brain answered.

“A hotel made entirely of Ritz crackers!” Wakko eagerly exclaimed with their tongue hanging out. “Sounds scrumptious!” Even Pinky was excited by the notion of an edible hotel and licked his lips.

“That’s the name of the hotel, Einstein.” Dot corrected, causing Wakko and Pinky to let out a dejected groan.

Brain felt his smartphone vibrate and fished it from his pocket. He opened it up to find a message from the Uber driver.

“Come along children,” Brain alerted the Warners. “Our driver just arrived, and we don’t want to keep them waiting.” The Warners gathered their luggage and walked alongside Brain.

“Oh, we are going to have such a fun-fun, silly-willy weekend together!” Pinky joyfully declared while clapping his hands.

As the five walked exited the movie lot, Brain caught a glimpse of Nora Rita Norita, now dressed in her usual business attire, as she led a group of white-collar businesspeople to their important conference. The CEO pushed her glasses upwards as she stared at Brain, knowing his weakness. The mouse flashed a nervous smile and a thumbs up to assure her that he would complete his assigned task to the best of his ability. Once she turned her attention back to her associates, Brain exhaled in relief.

Once the group arrived at the studio entrance they spotted a blue minivan with an Uber sign parked by the sidewalk.

Brain took the time to pack everyone’s luggage into the trunk while the Warners took their spot. By the time the smaller mouse arrived in the car, everyone already took their place. Yakko sat in the middle seat while Wakko and Dot took the back seat.

“Pinky, come sit next to us!” Dot hollered as she patted the empty seat between her and Wakko.

“Okay!” Pinky chirped. Brain took Pinky from his coat pocket and handed him over to Dot, who placed him in the middle seat.

Brain took his place in the van next to Yakko. After shutting the door and buckling his seat belt, the driver took off.

In the backseat of the car, Wakko proceeded to take out his tablet and showed an image from his favorite anime to Pinky while Dot quietly looked on.

“I’ve been watching this cool show called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,” Wakko gushed while flapping his hands, which were cozily tucked inside his sweater sleeves. “So it’s about these two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who have to find the philosopher’s stone so they can get their bodies back, and on their journey, they come across all sorts of crazy characters!”

“That sounds incredible, Wakko!” Pinky exclaimed. But as the mouse looked at the image of the blonde boy and his brother in a suit of armor, Pinky began to feel confused. “So, uh, which one of the brothers is the robot?”

Meanwhile, in the middle seat, Brain was sitting awkwardly as Yakko had his white earpods on and jammed out to the songs on his smartphone. The mouse could only imagine what kind of music the boy was listening to that had him this excited. As he twiddled the man-suit’s thumbs, Brain looked out the window, pondering to himself as he watched the cars pass by on the freeway.

After a few moments of musing and taking in the scenery, he felt a gloved hand prod his cheek. The mouse looked over to see Yakko taking out one of his earpods.

“You wanna listen to some tunes?” Yakko offered. “My playlist is full of oldies music.”

“Well, I can’t say no to that.” Brain obliged, accepting one of the white earpods. The intelligent mouse placed the small headphone into his left ear, expecting to hear pop music from the 1960s or old show tunes from the mid-twentieth century. But when Yakko pressed play, Brain was surprised to hear symphonious violins playing the main theme of ‘For Unto Us a Child is Born’, a chorus from the classic oratorio Messiah.

Brain looked over at the oldest Warner, who eagerly swayed in his seat, humming along to the song. “You weren’t kidding.” The mouse humored with a raised brow.

“Yup, George Fredic Handel’s Messiah is full of bangers!” Yakko proclaimed with a snap of his fingers.

Brain shrugged his shoulders and contentedly listened to the rest of the song. The eloquent mouse spent the rest of the car ride listening to the classical music on Yakko’s playlist.

Once the van arrived at the front of the hotel, the group retrieved their luggage from the back of the vehicle and Brain thanked the driver for their service while Pinky gave a friendly “Love you!”, to which Brain rolled his eyes at.

Once the group entered the hotel, the mice headed over towards the front desk to check in. Meanwhile, the Warners stood in awe as they drank in the scenery of the luxurious lobby. After taking in their surroundings, the siblings decided to release their manic energy in the lobby. Yakko and Dot immediately sprinted towards an empty sofa and started to bounce up and down. Wakko searched for something to stimulate his interest. Soon enough, the middle child found an abandoned gold bellman cart with red carpeting and knew what he had to do.

Meanwhile, The Brain was nearly complete with the check-in process as the front desk receptionist handed him three hotel keys: one for himself, one for Pinky, and one for the oldest Warner sibling.

“And here are your keys.” The employee said as she offered the three white cards over to the mouse. Using the robotic man-suit, Brain gingerly accepted the hotel keys from the receptionist.

“Thank you very much.” Brain politely acknowledged with a small nod.

“Enjoy your stay.” The receptionist smiled.

“You too,” Brain replied instinctively but winced when he realized his slip-up that the employee would not be staying in the hotel as a guest. “Wh-what I meant to say is have a good day.” The mouse attempted his conversational rebound with a nervous smile.

“Love you!” Pinky called out with a wave.

When Brain turned around, he scowled at his partner. “Pinky, you don’t have to say that to every person we converse with! Do you realize how uncomfortable you’re making them?”

“No, not really,” Pinky answered honestly as he climbed up to the suit’s shoulder so he could sit next to his partner. “I like to think that it makes their day a hundred times better!”

Just as Brain was about to come up with a witty retort, he saw the Warners were already causing playful pandemonium in the lobby. Yakko was driving the bellman cart, occasionally pushing his foot onto the ground to gain speed. Wakko and Dot were perched on top of the cart, with the Warner sister holding onto her sibling as they imitated the iconic Jack and Rose pose from Titanic. Wakko had his arms spread out while Dot placed her hands above her sibling’s side to keep them steady.

“I’m the king of the world!” Wakko cheered with their tongue hanging out.

Brain massaged his temple. “Of course, this is what I get for leaving the kids to their own devices.”

Pinky noted how stressed his partner was and decided to ameliorate the situation. He got out of the front pocket and climbed up on the robot’s left shoulder. Taking his fingers, he blew a sharp whistle out to the Warners, who immediately turned their attention over to the mice.

“Hey, kids!” Pinky called out to them. “We have the room keys so you can bounce around in the hotel room!”

“Okay!” They chorused as they pushed the bellman cart over to them. After they got off, the siblings placed their suitcases onto the cart. Pinky plopped down on the shoulder, pleased with the cooperative kids.

“Splendid work, Pinky.” Brain whispered into Pinky’s ear. The lanky mouse felt all blushy and gooshy when he felt his partner’s warm breath tickle his ear. Pinky giggled and instinctively wrapped his arms around himself to contain his feelings.

Yakko and Wakko pushed the cart over towards the elevator while Dot grabbed Brain by his robot’s hand, leading him and Pinky to the open elevator doors. One by one, they all entered inside. Wakko had their sights set on the buttons and immediately pressed all of them.

Brain looked at the illuminating floor buttons and released an exasperated sigh. “At least we’re only on the ninth floor.”

Once they reached the right floor, they all stepped off the elevator and walked through the corridor. The Warners trailed behind Brain until the mouse stopped at their destination: Room 920.

Brain used the hotel key and opened up the door to the hotel room. Two queen-sized beds, a flat-screen television, a leather couch, and an elegant bathroom. The room also had a phenomenal view of the city skyscrapers. Brain had to admit, the CEO clearly knew what she was doing when she booked the room for them.

Yakko and Dot awed in unison, their eyes glistening at the sight of their luxurious room.

“Naaarf.” Pinky purred with eyes full of wonderment.

“Poggers! This is the coolest hotel room ever!” Wakko declared as he ran into the room. As Yakko and Dot followed their sibling into the room. As Brain closed the door behind him and entered the room, he glanced over at Pinky and flashed him a confident grin to indicate that his studies on current slang have paid off.

The Warners gathered on the sofa and observed the city below them, their faces pressed against the glass as they took in the glorious sight. Brain cast a small smile at the children’s sense of wonder.

Pinky stood upon the suit’s shoulder and launched himself onto the comfortable mattress. The mouse landed with a soft thud. The bed may not be as squishy and homey as the sponge bed, but he enjoyed its welcoming softness. Pinky started to roll around on the bed, laughing loudly while doing so.

Brain was pleased to see his partner enjoying himself. He climbed out of the pilot seat of the man-suit and hopped down onto the bed to accompany his partner.

“Now sleeping arrangements should be quite obvious,” Brain addressed to the Warners, who were still gazing at the city view from the windowsill. “you children will share the bed by the door, while Pinky and myself will share the other bed.”

“Egad Brain, I finally get to live out one of my favorite fan fiction tropes!” Pinky exulted.

“Pinky, we already sleep in the same bed together back in the lab.” Brain dryly reminded his partner of the sponge bed he specifically made for him and his roommate.

“Oh, right,” Pinky said. “But still, we have a whole mattress to ourselves!” The taller mouse crowed, catching Brain in a surprise hug. The smaller mouse instinctively kicked his stubby legs in the air as he tried to resist the forced physical contact. Once Pinky let Brain down, he held the smaller mouse’s hand and started to jump up and down on the bed. Once they gained momentum, Pinky twirled Brain around, causing the intelligent mouse to cry out in protest.

“Nyaaaaaahhh!!!” Brain shouted as he was being twirled around against his will.

Yakko looked away from the window to find the mice dancing atop the mattress. He budged his siblings to get their attention and gestured towards their weekend guardians. The three kids instinctively clamored their way towards the bed, wanting to join in on the fun. Once Yakko, Wakko, and Dot perched themselves on the mattress, they started to bounce up and down. Soon enough, they joined hands as they bounced around in a circle, giggling as they contributed to the merriment.

While Pinky was enjoying himself, Brain kept screaming. As the mice jumped around, Brain noticed that they were too close to the Warners. Brain maneuvered Pinky, guiding him away from the three pairs of feet. They narrowly avoided being stepped on by the kids. Brain needed this silliness to stop before Pinky got hurt.

“Everybody off the mattress!” The smaller mouse yelled from the top of his lungs. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot immediately leaped over to the other bed, obeying Brain’s command. Once the intelligent mouse composed himself, he looked over to see how frightened the Warners were with his tone of voice.

Brain was overcome with tremendous guilt. “I’m sorry. That came off harsher than I intended.” He ruefully apologized. “Perhaps we should go outside the hotel room and find some engaging and wholesome activities to partake in.”

The Warners put on their thinking faces as they tried to come up with a fun way to spend the afternoon. “How about going to the pool?” Dot offered with a snap of her fingers.

“What a brilliant suggestion, Dot.” Brain complimented. “Now, let us prepare for a fun afternoon by the pool!”

“Woo-hoo!” Pinky cheered.

“Count me in!” Yakko declared while Wakko and Dot gave each other an enthusiastic high five.

It took about twenty minutes for everyone to get ready for their poolside excursion. The mice and the Warners were appropriately dressed in their swimwear. Brain wore his green and yellow palm-tree patterned swim trunks while Pinky wore a blue and pink floral print tankini. Yakko wore green swim trunks, Wakko wore a blue swim shirt and red swim trunks, and Dot wore a purple one-piece suit and yellow sunglasses. Brain packed a blue beach bag filled with five towels and various bottles of sunscreen while Wakko added their pool toys into the bag. Once the beach bag was packed, Brain placed Yakko in charge of carrying their belongings.

The pool was located on the rooftop of the hotel, so they took the elevator up to the top of the building. The moment the elevator doors opened, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot eagerly sprinted towards the pool. The children were close to jumping in, but a booming voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Not so fast there, kids.” Brain alerted as he walked alongside Pinky, holding hands as he chided the children. “No one steps into that pool until all of you slather your bodies with sun lotion.”

Yakko and Wakko groaned, their shoulders sagging in defeat. Dot, on the other hand, took a moment to see the mouse’s reasoning. “Yeah, he has a point there.” She concluded.

The three children approached the deck chair the mice claimed. Yakko opened up the blue bag and took out the bottles of sunscreen, and gave the mouse-sized bottles over to the murine couple. The Warners quickly applied the sunscreen on their arms, legs, ears, tails, and noses.

After Brain applied a good amount of sunscreen all over his limbs, chest, and enormous head, he turned over towards Pinky, who covered his fur with the lotion.

“Pinky, could you be a dear and coat my back with the SPF 50 sunscreen?” Brain asked.

“Well of course, Brain!” Pinky happily replied. Squirting an ample gob of lotion in his hands, the lanky mouse generously spread the white substance all over his partner’s back. Brain sighed with contentment as he felt Pinky’s gentle hands caressing his shoulder blades and working his way down his back.

“Yes!!!” Brain joyfully cried out as Pinky massaged his back with sunscreen.

Once the Warners protected their bodies with the sun lotion, they carried their aquatic toys and made their way over to the pool. Pinky retrieved his rubber duckie while Brain grabbed his mouse-sized pink inflatable pool chair.

The Warners splashed each other in the shallow end of the pool. Dot riding around on a blue pool tube while Yakko and Wakko whacked each other with limp styrofoam pool noodles. Brain drifted off in the middle of the pool, but kept a watchful eye on the kids. Pinky, who was mounted on his rubber ducky like a horseback rider on their equestrian steed, scooted over towards Brain. The lanky mouse desperately reached out his hand towards his partner.

Brain took notice of what Pinky was doing and turned to face him. “What are you doing?” He questioned.

“Poit! Why I’m trying to hold your hand,” Pinky strained as he kept extending his reach for his partner’s hand. “But I...can’t....reach…”

Brain sighed to himself and immediately took Pinky’s hand. The taller mouse’s eye lit up and smiled. Brain returned the smile as he locked onto Pinky’s eyes. Even though he knew Pinky for years, he could not get over how marvelously blue his eyes were. His eyes glistened like a sparkling sea during sunset. Then the smaller mouse blissfully closed his eyes as he held onto the mouse he loved.

Pinky kept his loving stare on Brain for what seemed like two minutes. When he decided to take a quick glance at the kids, he only saw Yakko playfully spinning Dot around on her pool tube in the shallow end.

“Brain,” Pinky alerted with a gentle squeeze of his hand. “I can’t find Wakko anywhere!”

Brain’s eyes shot open and he turned over towards the shallow end, only seeing two of the three Warner siblings. The mice looked over their shoulder towards the deep end of the pool, only to find a grey fin menacingly swarming them.

“SHARK!!!” Pinky screamed as he tugged Brain away from danger. Pinky stumbled as he stood up on his rubber duckie and instantly fell into the water, dragging his partner along with him.

Once the mice reached the surface, Brain desperately clung to Pinky as the taller mouse swam for him and his partner’s lives towards the edge of the pool as quickly as he could. But the shark fin interfered with their escape route as it stopped right in the middle of their path.

Suddenly, the shark fin emerged from the water, and so did Wakko Warner.

“Hi!” Wakko greeted with a friendly smile. The middle child wore a grey shark fin over their red hat. “You like my cool fin strap?”

Pinky was overcome with relief upon seeing Wakko. “Oh, that fin looks lovely on you, Wakko! Troz!”

With an irritable frown, Brain shook his head and retrieved his pink pool float. The mouse continued to swim towards the edge of the pool.

“Oh thank goodness,” Pinky chuckled. “I forgot that sharks don’t live in swimming pools. Narf!” But the mouse’s smile faltered into an anxious frown. “...or do they? Brain, do sharks live in-” He turned towards his left expecting to see Brain there, but was shocked that he was gone. Pinky swam around only to find Brain already out of the pool, carrying his pink pool float.

“Brain!” Pinky called out to his partner. “Do sharks live in swimming pools?”

“No Pinky, they don’t!” Brain spat before he continued his way to the pool chair.

“Oh that’s a relief,” Pinky said. “For a second there I was starting to worry.”

Just as the mouse swam over to his rubber ducky, he noticed Wakko in a surprisingly somber mood.

“Is something wrong?” Pinky carefully asked.

“I hope Brain doesn’t hate me,” Wakko admitted, overcome with remorse.

“Poit! He would never hate you, Wakko.” Pinky assured. “He’s just a little grumpy is all. He just needs time to cool off.”

“I hope you’re right,” Wakko replied as he swam over to join their siblings.

Pinky joined the Warners at the shallow end of the pool. Yakko and Dot waved at the lanky mouse as he approached the siblings.

“Hey Pinky,” Dot asked. “Yakko and I were wondering what you and Brain have planned for tonight?”

“Oh, I already made a reservation at the karaoke parlor after dinner!” Pinky exclaimed. The mouse looked at the children, who all seemed excited at the idea of a karaoke session. Even Wakko started to cheer up the moment he heard the news. “But don’t tell Brain,” Pinky told the kids. “I want it to be a surprise! Zort!”

“Oh, I love surprises!” Wakko declared as he waved their hands in the air.

“That’s good to know.” Yakko casually responded before wrapping his arms around his sibling. The oldest Warner picked Wakko up, who kicked their feet in protest.

“Let me go!” Wakko chuckled as he tried to free themselves from the oldest Warner’s grasp.

“Okay, if you insist!” Yakko replied, tossing Wakko back into the pool. Pinky laughed and clapped his hands as he watched the silly sibling antics.

After getting out of the pool, Brain walked over towards the blue bag to retrieve his latest invention: a folding web chaise pool chair with a manual crank attached to a metal harness that functioned as an elevator. The sole purpose of the device was to make jacuzzis and hot tubs more accessible to mice such as himself.

Brain walked over to the jacuzzi and secured his device by the pool’s edge. He then took a seat in the pool chair and used the crank to descend into the hot tub. The mouse stopped the crank once the bubbling water reached his chest. Brain placed his hands behind his head and let out a blissful sigh. The mouse looked over at the children, who were playing some sort of pool game. Brain decided to appreciate the moment of solitude while he still had it.

A few minutes later, Dot got out of the pool, shaking the water from her hair. Placing her sunglasses on, she spotted Brain and walked over towards the jacuzzi.

“Room for one more?” The Warner sister inquired.

“By all means.” Brain invited, and the girl settled herself in the hot tub.

“Wakko wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry for that little prank earlier.” Dot informed him.

The mouse felt a pang of guilt for his reaction to Wakko’s antics. He may have been upset that the middle child had ruined the peaceful moment between Pinky and himself, but the mouse held no ill will against Wakko for messing around.

“I’ll soon inform them of my forgiveness.” Brain replied. “I know that Wakko had no malicious intentions with their little joke.”

Dot nodded, happy to know that the mouse didn’t hold any grudges against her older sibling. “So, are you enjoying yourself?” She asked while adjusting her sunglasses.

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Brain answered honestly. “And you?”

“Oh, I’m having a lot of fun!” Dot eagerly replied. “Although I must admit, I need some time for myself. My older siblings can be too much at times.”

“I can empathize with the sentiment.” Brain agreed. “Pinky can be a little too outgoing and energetic at times.”

Dot nodded and hummed. “Say, you wanna know some fun facts about Yakko and Wakko?” She playfully asked.

“Oh, do tell.” Brain answered with an intrigued smile.

“Okay, so Wakko always does this thing where he copies the behavior of people he admires.” Dot explained. She looked over at the pool, and pointed towards her older siblings. “Watch closely!”

Brain focused his attention on the Yakko, who scooped a handful of water and threw it up in the air. Wakko followed suit, mimicking their older brother’s movements.

“Fascinating…” Brain commented as he watched the older Warner siblings.

“And Yakko normally stays in the shallow end of the pool because he can’t swim.” Dot informed him.

“Really?” Brain questioned. “How?”

“He never bothered.” Dot candidly answered. “He tried taking swim lessons back in the nineties, but he got kicked out because he was too busy making googly eyes at the swim instructors and lifeguards.”

“How am I not surprised,” Brain dryly responded.

“And as a heads up, Yakko can’t consume anything with lactose.” Dot said with a twinge of sadness.

“Duly noted.” Brain acknowledged. “I suppose I should tell Pinky to put in dairy substitutes if he wants to make his world-famous cheesecake for Yakko in the foreseeable future.”

“Hold the phone, Pinky can bake!?” Dot asked excitedly with glistening eyes.

“Absolutely! Pinky can whip up all sorts of pastries and confectioneries, ” Brain remarked. “Cheesecakes, cannolis, macaroons, eclairs, crème brule,” Brain listed before curling his fingers, pressing them to his lips for a passionate chef’s kiss. “They’re simply magnifique!”

“Wakko is definitely gonna have a field day with Pinky if he ever knew that.” Dot remarked.

“Oh, indubitably.” Brain affirmed with a nod.

Back in the pool, Wakko looked over to see Dot having a pleasant conversation with Brain. The middle child thought about what Pinky said, that the smaller mouse needed time to chill before he was fine. He could apologize to Brain and try their hardest to show the mouse how to have fun without coming off as mean or hurtful. Wakko finally worked up the courage to approach Brain again.

The middle child turned over to Yakko, who lifted Pinky up in the air. The mouse giggled as he splashed into the pool. “I’m gonna swing by the jacuzzi, I’ll be right back!” He informed the two.

Pinky resurfaced and waved at Wakko. “Okay, have fun!”

After getting out of the pool, Wakko carefully thought about the best way to approach his sister and the smaller mouse. He looked back to their older brother, who launched Pinky back in the air for another splash in the pool.

Wakko smiled, knowing what he needed to do. He knelt down in a runner’s starting position as their sights set on the jacuzzi. The middle child then broke out into a sprint.

“Hey fellas!” Wakko exclaimed. Brain and Dot turn their gaze over to the middle child as he sprinted towards the jacuzzi. Brain’s eyes widened, anticipating the upcoming disaster that was sure to happen.

“Cannonball!” Wakko sang as he launched himself in the air, bending his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs.

Before Brain could react, Wakko plunged straight into the middle of the hot tub. The splash launched Brain about ten feet up in the air. The mouse looked over at the city skyline and back down at the hot tub with a sense of dread.

“Oh dear lord...” He exasperatedly remarked as he began his swift descent.

“Nyaaaaahhhh!!!!!” Brain screamed helplessly. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. But instead of making a crash landing onto the hard ground, he landed in a soft cottony material. He reluctantly opened his eyes and realized that he was inside Wakko’s red hat.

A hatless Wakko looked at Brain with a mix of relief and embarrassment. “Sorry!”

“Wakko, you must never jump into the jacuzzi like that!” Brain berated. “You could have seriously hurt yourself!”

Wakko winced upon receiving his scolding. “I know…” He mumbled, their eyes shamefully cast downwards.

Brain felt his heart go out to Wakko upon seeing the regret on their face. Then the mouse’s frown melted away, turning into a soft smile. “And I want to thank you for saving me.” He gently praised the Warner sibling, causing them to look back at the mouse. “I would have entered a world of pain had it not been for your creative thinking and nimble reflex.”

Wakko beamed at Brain, glad that the mouse wouldn’t stay mad at them for the duration of the trip. “You’re welcome!” He happily replied as he scooped the mouse from their hat, placing it back on their head.

But a loud whistle broke the tender moment. Wakko, Dot and Brain looked over at a physically fit lifeguard, who wore a stern face as he marched towards them. The three braced themselves for a reprimanding speech on pool safety.

Yakko noticed this from the pool, and he had to think up something to get them off the hook. He looked to Pinky, who was climbing out of the pool, and came up with a surefire solution. The oldest Warner approached Pinky and whispered something into his ear. After a moment, Pinky gave the oldest Warner a thumbs up. Yakko gently picked Pinky up and placed him out of the pool.

Pinky took a few steps from the pool and started howling in pain. “Oh ho ho, I hurt me foot!”

The lanky mouse clutched onto his right foot and rolled around on the ground, pretending to writhe in agony. “Oh ho ho, I hurt me foot!” Pinky wailed as tears sprinkled from his eyes. “Oh, the pain! The agony! Narf!”

The lifeguard then moved towards the downtrodden mouse. Yakko quickly got out of the pool and gathered the blue beach bag and motioned towards his siblings and Brain to follow his lead. Wakko placed Brain on top of their hat, and followed Yakko and Dot as they fled from the scene while the lifeguard was distracted. The children and the mouse arrived at the elevator. Brain pressed on the button, hoping that the doors would open fast enough before the lifeguard could detect them. Fortunately, their desperate pleas were answered as the elevator doors opened. One by one, the four flooded inside the elevator.

Once Pinky saw that the four successfully made it by the elevator, he stopped crying and stood up on his feet. “Oh, I’m feeling better now!” He said in his usual cheerful voice before he skipped along his merry way towards the elevator doors. “Love you!” Pinky called out to the lifeguard.

The lifeguard stared at the mouse in befuddlement. “Love you too?” He muttered with a hesitant wave.

Once Pinky made his way in, Dot pressed the button to close the elevator doors and the button for floor nine. The doors swiftly closed and the group made their descent down to their sanctuary. When they were safe at last, Yakko cackled aloud and soon his siblings and the mice joined in, breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“I can’t believe that actually worked!” Dot exclaimed.

Brain hopped down from Wakko’s hat and approached the lanky mouse. “Good work, Pinky.” He complimented as he patted his partner’s shoulder. “You’re acting is as believable as ever.”

“Aw that’s nice Brain, but I can’t take all the credit,” Pinky explained with pink-tinted cheeks. “it was Yakko’s bright idea to create a diversion to get you three out of trouble.”

Brain looked over towards the oldest Warner and smiled. “Well Yakko, I admire your clever thinking.”

Yakko was overjoyed by the compliment, smiling gratefully at the intelligent mouse. “Hey, I’m always happy to help!”

The smaller mouse smiled back at the oldest Warner before turning his attention to the middle child. “And as for you Wakko, I recognize that you didn’t mean any trouble with your little shark fin stunt earlier and there’s no use in dwelling over what happened. It’s all water under the bridge.”

Wakko felt a wave of relief wash over and he softly smiled at the smaller mouse.

Once the elevator stopped on their floor, the five got out and made their way back to the hotel room.

“Well, I hope you all enjoyed our little poolside adventure, for I am certain that we won’t be welcomed back after our little scene.” Brain remarked. “But no matter, I already took into consideration other engaging and wholesome activities for the weekend, many of which aren’t limited to the confines of the hotel.”

Once they reached the door to their room, Yakko retrieved his key and inserted it in the metal lock. The green lights blinked from the lock, indicating that they were allowed access in the room. The oldest Warner opened up the door and allowed everyone else to walk in first before he entered.

Brain climbed up the nightstand. “Now I want you all to change from your swimwear into your finest attire, for we’ll take to the streets for tonight’s dinner!” Brain explained.

The Warners gave Brain a serious salute before racing towards the bathroom door. Dot managed to get in first, slamming the door behind her older siblings.

The next half-hour was spent getting prepared for their evening of fun. The siblings scoured through their packed suitcases to find their best attire to wear. Dot put on her Spotify playlist from the tablet, not that it bothered Brain in the least. In fact, he thought that the Warner sister had splendid taste in music, as her playlist consisted of pop music from the 80s and 90s.

Brain, now dressed in his light blue blazer and a cream collared shirt. He looked in the mirror as he adjusted his red tie whilst discreetly singing along to Kiss From A Rose. “Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Ooh, the more I get of you the stranger it feels, yeah.” The eloquent mouse crooned.

Pinky was settled on the bed, dressed in his checkered green suit jacket and blue bowtie, smiling contentedly as he listened to Brain sing and imagined that he was singing for him and him alone. The lanky mouse admired the way his partner could carry a tune along with his seductive voice. Oh how he could listen to Brain sing all day. Pinky was always quick to compliment Brain’s singing and tried to encourage him to showcase his talents to the world, but the big-headed mouse vehemently denied that request time and time again.

Pinky needed to find a way to pretend that he was busy with another activity so as to avoid suspicion from his partner. He hopped over to the nightstand where he found the hotel brochure. Surely there were plenty of pretty pictures to look at. But as he picked up the laminated pamphlet, he discovered the sparkling gold credit card that the CEO bestowed to him and Brain.

“Naaarf!” Pinky admired. The mouse picked up the credit card and placed it on the pillow. Pinky laid down on the mattress and propped his head in his hands as he gazed on the card’s entrancing glow.

Brain hopped back on the bed and looked over at Pinky, who was admiring the shimmering credit card. The pudgy mouse shook his head and walked over to his partner. Brain chuckled upon seeing how enamored Pinky was with the glimmering card.

“I see you’re enchanted by the credit card.” Brain observed astutely.

Pinky eagerly nodded his head. “It’s like watching the baby sun from the Teletubbies! Troz!”

“Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?” He inquired with a cheeky grin.

“I think so Brain, but what if my milkshakes can’t bring all the boys to the yard?” Pinky asked anxiously.

“No Pinky, I was not referring to your dreams of opening an ice cream shop or your chest, as soft and comfortable as it is.” Brain berated as his cheeks blushed to a dark shade of red.

“You’re darn right, mister!” Pinky confirmed with a nod.

“The CEO informed us that she will pay for any additional expenses we make over the weekend. I intend to take advantage of her little gesture of kindness by making as many extravagant purchases as possible!” Brain eagerly explained with a devious smile. “And treating you and the kids to an elegant, fine-dining experience will be the first stop in our weekend spending spree!”

“Zounds Brain,” Pinky awed, but he then remembered what he had in store for the evening. “But we have to make sure that we finish dinner before 7:00 because I already made plans for a fun bonding activity with the kids at 7:30!”

Brain frowned at the thought of Pinky planning something without his input. “What plans?” Brain interrogated.

“Oh, I can’t tell you. I want it to be a surprise!” Pinky gleefully answered.

“I can hardly wait.” Brain responded sardonically. “Very well, I’ll try to find any upscale restaurants within the area, and make a reservation for six o’clock.” The intelligent mouse said as he scrolled through his smartphone. The CEO entrusted him and Pinky with the company credit card and, darn it, he was going to treat himself, his partner, and the kids to an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant!

“Hey Brain?” He heard Wakko speak.

Brain put his phone aside and looked at the middle child, who was wearing a red cavalier hat with a blue feather sticking up from the side, a white tunic, and a musketeer tabard with the colors of the Non-Binary flag. The mouse was not surprised by Wakko’s unconventional fashion sense, but he certainly admired the middle child’s bold choice of wardrobe. “Yes, Wakko?”

“Can we go to McDonald’s for dinner?” Wakko eagerly asked.

“McDonald’s?” Brain scoffed. “Why on earth would you want to have serviceable fast food when we could easily go to any one of the more elegant eateries in the city?”

“Because other restaurants don’t have Big Macs.” Wakko answered with a confident nod.

Yakko and Dot soon came out from the bathroom and stood beside Wakko. Yakko was dressed in a black leather jacket and a white T-shirt in addition to his signature brown slacks. Dot wore a purple pantsuit, a white collared shirt, and a pearl necklace.

“Yeah, and it’s been ages since we last went to McDonald’s.” Yakko explained, backing up his younger sibling.

“And what other restaurant could provide a relaxed, down-to-earth atmosphere tailor made for the average American family?” Dot added with great conviction.

Brain was secretly impressed with the Warners’ gumption and steadfast determination, but he had to remind the children who’s boss.

“Oh no, I remember all of those times you annoyed me into taking you to McDonald’s back in the nineties!” Brain remarked with an exasperated tone of voice. “Well, I am here to inform you that my fortitude has hardened considerably over the years, and this little song and dance won’t work on me again!”

Yakko looked over at his siblings with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. “McDonald’s! McDonald’s!” The eldest Warner started chanting. Wakko and Dot immediately joined in. “McDonald’s! McDonald’s! McDonald’s!”

As the Warners chanted, The Brain crossed his arms, grumpily standing his ground. He was the adult in the situation and he would not bow down to the whims of the children. But the mouse was shocked to see his dearest partner join the children’s crusade, chanting alongside them.

“McDonald’s! McDonald’s!” Pinky exclaimed, pumping his arms in the air.

“Pinky! Who’s side are you on!?” Brain snapped exasperatedly.

“Poit! The one with the happy meals.” Pinky sheepishly replied with a shrug.

Brain knew he was outnumbered and outpowered. As much as he wanted to have an exquisite dinner at a high-end restaurant, he had to give the kids (and his partner) what they wanted. With an annoyed sigh, he held up his hands and surrendered to the sassy children's demand.

“Alright, we’ll have dinner at McDonald’s!” The Brain announced, eliciting cheers from the Warners and Pinky. The smaller mouse held up his hand, pointing his finger upwards to assure his dominance over the group.

“But if you children even think about causing anymore trouble under my supervision, then I shall sell you to the zoo!” Brain sternly warned. The mouse knew he was making an empty threat, and the children probably knew that as well, but he wanted to ensure that they would be on their best behavior while they were out on the town.

“We’ll be good,” Yakko affirmed before turning over to Wakko and Dot. “Right sibs?”

“We promise.” The younger Warner siblings chorused, smiling as golden halos appeared above their heads. Dot flashed a confident grin while Wakko wore a more nervous smile.

“Good.” Brain curtly nodded. The mouse climbed up the sleeve of his robotic suit, walked along the left shoulder, and settled himself in the driver’s seat. “Now let’s go.”

AN: And so the fun officially begins!

So originally this chapter was supposed to be longer, but as I was filling in the details, I realized that it was too long, so I decided to divide it into two parts (with part one being over 19 long lol) So consider this chapter to be part one of the Mice and Warners cause shenanigans on a Friday.

This chapter was so much fun to write because it gave me the opportunity to explore the dynamics between the two parties.

Pinky would definitely be the more affectionate one of the two, doting on the Warners and giving them lots of positive attention. He would have the strongest connection with Dot, since she finds him very cute and she’s always quick to compliment him and show him affection. Pinky and Wakko are both fun-loving, but naive and they’re always looking to have a good time. Yakko would love to make Pinky laugh because that boy craves validation for his humor and Pinky is the easiest to please since that mouse loves almost anything and he would find Yakko hilarious.

Brain is the responsible, but tired one who puts up with their shenanigans, but also respects the kids and finds them endearing. He and Yakko would have back and forth banter. Despite the two of them not always seeing eye to eye, Brain is quick to praise Yakko’s more positive attributes. Wakko just loves Brain, and Brain shares the sentiment despite the two of them having opposite personalities. In the next chapter, we get to see more of their relationship. With Dot having wit, Brain is able to connect to her the easiest, as the two of them would share intellectual conversations and spill some gossip as well.

The pool section was fun to write as I managed to come up with a lot of crazy shenanigans as well as quieter moments between the characters.

The McDonald’s bit was a lot of fun to write, and yes it was inspired by the classic McDonald’s alignment chart (“McDonald’s! McDonald’s! McDonald’s!”, “We have food at home.”, *Pulls into the drive thru as children cheer* *orders a single black coffee and leaves*), The Warners and Pinky would definitely be chanting for McDonald’s while Brain would be that one of those folks who orders a black coffee lol!

Thanks for reading!

#animaniacs #pinky and the brain #brain #pinky #yakko warner #wakko warner #dot warner

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affinityunbound · 7 years

Text

Chapter 8: Uphill Battle

Five months later.

Hilltop surveillance. Yori’s most comfortable position. Her stomach lay on the ground, arms forward wrapped around her trusty rifle. A thick covering of grass and leaves covered her back, all connected to a netted fitting that kept it all together. It was a makeshift ghillie suit, except it only covered her back half and her tail.

On the ground half a click away from her was Elric, who was up against the corner of a building. He glanced up at Yori for the signal to move forward. She aimed her scope such that the sun would reflect off it and at Elric, giving him the cue.

Elric ran past the corner and leaped on top of nearby crates onto the roof of the next building, gaining some extra height thanks to his earthen platform affinity. Once on the roof, he was almost at Yori’s eye level. There was only one guard patrolling the perimeter. Crouching behind a crate on the roof, Elric glanced over at Yori who gave him the same signal as before.

Elric crept slowly closer to the guard, whose back was turned to him. He stood up straight and grabbed the guard from behind, his arms hooked underneath the guard’s. In the confusion, the enemy dropped his gun and was completely defenseless.

“That’s enough!” a booming voice echoed from the other side of the roof.

“Oh, crap.” Yori muttered, pointing her scope over. She took a second to adjust her vision until she saw... Nortia. General Nortia on the roof.

Nortia approached Elric slowly, who let go of the man he subdued. She applauded him and gave a thumbs up to Yori in the distance.

“Excellent work, you two. You managed not only to disarm the guard, but you did so without raising any alerts whatsoever. If only all of my recruits could pass the final segment here with such flying colors.” she congratulated them.

Yori took the opportunity to get up from her hillside position and run over as quick as she could, gun in hand and back half of ghillie suit in tow. She met Nortia and Elric on the rooftop, saluting with Elric.

“Thank you, General Nortia.” Elric glanced over at Yori, who met his gaze briefly.

“You’re quite welcome. Here, I brought you two something you might find useful. Think of it as... graduation gifts.” Nortia motioned for a nearby guard to bring her the first of the gifts.

"A quarterstaff?” Elric asked, eyeing the fine craftsmanship from a distance.

“Oh, yes. I can tell you’re quite the acrobat. Feat Feet, was it? Was that your designated code name? Forgive me, PFC Inocencio, I’m growing old. My memory just isn’t what it used to be.” Nortia smirked.

“Yes, that is my code name. Is this quarterstaff for me?” Elric almost wanted to grab it out of the guard’s hands.

Nortia instead turned to the guard and took it. Elric knelt down as if he were being granted knighthood and accepted the gift graciously. He stood back up and ran his hands along the length, feeling the quality work that went into this fine staff.

“I can tell you’re enjoying it already. It’s made from the highest quality wood and metals we could muster. The ends are sharpened so you can dig them into the ground or bark with little issue. It only makes sense, given your affinity, PFC Inocencio.” Nortia said.

Elric slammed the staff into the ground next to him, admiring its height. It was almost exactly as tall as he was, and he was 6 feet and 3 inches tall. This would hold his weight well, he thought.

“And for you, Sergeant Bellevoir.” Nortia grabbed the second of the two gifts from the same guard. It didn’t take long for Yori to notice.

“Is... is that...?” Yori’s eyes went wide. Yori slung her rifle around her back and almost immediately began to flap her hands in response.

“Yes, it is. It’s a brand new sniper rifle, designed specifically for you. We took your suggestions from earlier and made personal modifications. It’s bolt action too, not flintlock. And--”

“I love it!!” Yori screamed, took it from Nortia and examined it up and down. She held it right up to her eyes and examined every little detail she could, finding no faults in it at all.

Yori turned and pointed the gun at the hill she sat prior. Her hand rested just off the trigger and her other on the barrel. Her trigger hand grabbed the bolt and tugged it backwards: empty. She ran the bolt back to its original position and held her eye against the scope.

“Is this scope custom made? It feels... accurate. And I think I can see further!” Yori exclaimed.

“Well, we certainly need our best sniper on the top of her game. You are a real prodigy, but any improvements we can make will only serve to help you.” Nortia rested her hand on Yori’s shoulder.

Yori turned back and held her gun in a resting position, pointing downward.

“General Nortia... I can’t thank you enough. Permission to hug you, ma’am?”

“Permission...” Nortia sighed. “Granted.”

Yori rested her new gun on the ground as carefully as she would a glass sculpture. Her arms wrapped tightly around Nortia’s entire body, pulling her in for a warm embrace. Elric watched as Nortia gently returned the hug, her hands around Yori’s lower back. Yori pulled away, picking her gun back up and holding it carefully.

“In any case,” Nortia regained her composure, “PFC Inocencio, Sergeant Bellevoir, you’ll be graduating soon. You two have performed admirably well, and both of you are ready to serve your country. In two weeks, you are to be transported to Sabine’s border where the incoming trains from Catol arrive. Your daily duty will be to ensure each train’s safe arrival. There will be rogues and ruffians attempting to intercept these trains, you are authorized to use lethal force on any unauthorized personnel interfering with this.”

Nortia reached into one of her pockets and unfolded a labeled map she had prepared earlier.

“You will be situated here.”

“You see the light blue circle to the south west of Sabine? The one with the sole orange dotted line? That is where you will be stationed. That checkpoint does not have any other connections other than Catol. More details will be provided once you two graduate. Is that clear?”

“Yes, General Nortia.” Yori saluted.

“And you, PFC Inocencio?”

“Yes.” Elric saluted.

“Then I will be on my way. Feel free to say goodbye to some of your friends, before you leave. You have time, but I would suggest doing it sooner than later. You two are going to be the only two on guard duty for quite some time.” Nortia said.

Yori and Elric glanced at each other. Would they really be trusted with such an important duty by themselves? Being the sole guards for a border checkpoint?

“Understood.” both replied.

“Dismissed.” Nortia saluted and then walked away.

Elric waited for Nortia to leave the roof entirely before speaking to Yori.

“By ourselves? Is she asking just two people to act as guards?” Elric asked.

“Well, it looks like it should be relatively quiet. She did say it only goes to Catol, and trains usually come in, not out. That means the conductors and drivers will be around to help if something goes wrong, doesn’t it?”

“But we’re the soldiers, Yori. We need to hope we are not overwhelmed.”

“I’m sure Nortia wouldn’t put us in danger like that. I mean, we’re pretty capable by ourselves, aren’t we? Look at how well we performed this infiltration drill!” Yori shouted.

“What do border guards need with infiltration training?” Elric said, confused.

“I think it’s just something every soldier does, Elric. We did plenty of standing-around-doing-nothing-and-waiting-for-something-to-happen training too.”

“Otherwise known as ‘being on standby’.”

“It’s training too! Do you know how hard it is to just... wait for something to happen? I get too antsy.” Yori began playing with her fingers.

“In any case, shall we go tell your friends of where we will be going?” Elric asked.

“Oh! Yes! I can’t wait to tell Sulven and Sumina. They’ll love it.” Yori smirked.

“Let’s go.” Elric began to lead the way off the roof.

.......

............

********************************************

"How close was the election five months ago?”

"Not close at all. Calum won by a landslide.”

“Again?”

“Third term in a row. The final results were just published last week. The numbers don’t add up.”

“It sounds like something’s going on, doesn’t it?”

“Shall I look into it myself?”

“Our current investigation is going as fast as it can without arousing suspicion. I respect your enthusiasm, but we can’t exactly be caught investigating another country’s election process. The citizens spoke.”

“While that may be the case, Calum has to have done something to influence the results.”

“She’s very charismatic. She influences through her words.”

“Are we going to investigate or not?”

“Too dangerous. You can’t go.”

“Fine. I’ll figure something out.”

“Thank you, Specialist Charlie.”

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#modern legends #chapter 8 #yori bellevoir #elric inocencio #general nortia

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