#so much sniffing and weird conversations awww

[yugiohz]

this fic may be labelled boy x boy don’t like don’t read but it is 30 chapters of two middle-aged women helping bakugo work on his emotional regulation. 10/10 I fear

[fuckit-hero-of-trains]

Sit by the fire until... Chapter 2

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870150/chapters/81650737

Here’s the thing they don’t tell you when you get magically transformed into a bunny rabbit against your will by the corrupted darkness of the Sacred Realm: somethings, unfortunately, tend to stick.  

Now, Legend isn’t saying that he’s hiding a cotton tail under his tunic or that his soul secretly aches to frolic in meadows or spend his time sleeping in holes or whatever else it is that rabbits do when they're not busy being very confused and scared twelve year old Hylians.

No.

But that doesn't mean he was left unscathed by having his entire anatomy re-written in less than an instant.

Because of course he wouldn’t. Goddess forbid he ever catch a break for once in his life.

He was still pretty young when it happened, so Legend can’t remember if his teeth had been quite so bucked before the incident. Regardless if they were or not, they sure as Hylia are prominent now. Then there's also the fact that he never really grew into his ears, the damn things always just a shade longer than they should be for a regular Hylian.

Before he joined this wild cucco chase masquerading as an adventure, Legend would sometimes catch himself looking at Ravio wondering, Is that how I would have looked? Besides the hair and eyes, the merchant was supposed to be his mirror image after all. Zelda and Hilda were, so it stood to reason that he and Ravio should be the same.

In which case, the bucktooth thing was going to be a problem regardless.

The ears, on the other hand, are a completely different story. From the quick glances Legend has managed to steal of Ravio’s side profile, the merchant has relatively short ears himself, which just make the Veteran’s own look comically long when the two stand side by side.

And ugh, and that wasn't even touching on his… less physical changes.

 Namely, his cravings.

Noshing on some leafy greens while home alone doing some chores? A-Okay.

Getting caught by Warriors and Twilight absentmindedly chewing on the hay he was supposed to be feeding the horses? Ehhh, not so much.  

Goddesses, his ego still hasn’t recovered from the amount of jokes the Pretty Boy had made at his expense. And that’s not even mentioning the veritable mountain of carrots he found in his bedroll, no doubt courtesy of that flea bitten farmhand.

Regardless of the less than natural way he got these… attributes, Legend couldn’t say they were all bad. ‘Cuz sure, his ears were a bit longer than average, but he could also hear better than most of his companions, able to catch the sound of crunching leaves above even their loud bickering. Like wise, his eyes were sharper than others in the low light of dawn and dusk, allowing him to see things others would miss.

Frankly, both skills had helped keep him alive during his quests. He was thankful for them in a weird huh, guess that works kinda way, but thankful all the same.

But sometimes Legend wanted to wring the goddesses necks because really? Being turned into a rabbit couldn’t have fixed this particular problem?

This particular problem being his absolutely horrible pollen allergies.

“ A-A-A!”

Each rapid, involuntary inhale feels like a simultaneous punch to the gut and a gasp for breath, the air yanked into his body and then stoppered up. It leaves the veteran in a state of limbo as a paralyzing calm falls over him; lungs full of air, shoulders hiked up, muscles tensed.

For a second, everything feels lodged in place, frozen, like the Champion had used his stasis rune on him.

And–

Legend clamps his mouth shut and tucks his face into his elbow just as tension snaps and–

“- acheew! ”

Nothing but a soft, cut off sneeze slips past his lips, yet, the force of holding it back  still sends Legend bowing over. He stays there, hunched over for a breath as his body recovers, before he straightens back up, sniffing irritably as he tries to ignore the itch prickling at his eyes and the congested pressure throbbing behind his sinuses.

A chortling huff sounds next to him and when Legend glances down he can see Wolfie– or should he say, Twilight– peering up at him, mouth open and tongue lolling in a doggy grin, but icy blue eyes too pointed, too teasing, to be anything but human.

Legend's nose twitches tellingly as it begins to tickle again and the wolf gives another stuttering huff. A laugh. Legend can practically hear Twilight’s twangy, Awww. You sneeze like a bunny.

The bastard.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, dog boy,” Legend grumbles, wiping harshly at his face in an attempt to stave off another sneezing fit. “Don't you have trees to piss on or something?”

That earns him peeled back lips and a growl, but Legend just sends the other a responding sneer as strides past the grumpy wolf and out into the rolling field of tulips that stands in front of them.

Another huff, this one more annoyed than amused, sounds behind the veteran before the wolf streaks past him, loping through the flowers with his nose down and tail high.

Legend rolls his eyes.

Twilight loves to show his teeth, but the farmhand is quite literally all bark and no bite.

And besides, they both have better things to do than needle one another. If Legend is going to be miserable, he may as well take steps to make that misery as short as possible.

Afterall, they aren't out here swanning through a meadow of flowers for pleasure.

The last Dark Portal they had all walked through had, once again, separated them. Legend and Twilight were lucky enough to find one another quickly, though, now that Legend thinks about it, it probably had less to do with luck and more to do with Twilight’s nose.

After regrouping, they had tried to search for the others more that day, but a storm had them holed up in a cave overnight to wait out the deluge. They had gotten up early to start their search again today, but so far they had no such luck in finding any of the others in the forest.

Which just left the inexplicable meadow of tulips surrounding the wood.

Legend had been hoping that the rain would keep some of the pollen at bay, but nooo that would be too merciful, wouldn’t it?

If anything, the rain just made this whole experience more aggravating. Now, along with stinging eyes, a running nose, and a throbbing head, Legend also had the delightful honor of feeling the tulip stalks and leaves and petals sliding wetly across his skin, the annoying slap of his tunic smacking his thighs as it got more sodden by the second, and the disgusting squish of water between his toes with every step he took through this Wind Fish damned field.

And sure, maybe it was worth it to reunite with the other heroes, but really, would it kill the goddesses to make his life just a little bit easier.

A bark pulls Legend from his miserable musings. Twilight's dark tail stands out among the ocean of pastel pinks and yellows and oranges, wagging frantically twenty meters away. It disappears after a second, replaced by a muzzle and expectant eyes.

Twilight barks at him again.

He must have found something.

Finally, Legend thinks as he begins to make his way over toward the other, hopefully a reason to get out of this floral hell hole.

“What is it, boy?” Legend asks, voice going high and mocking as he takes delicate care stepping on as many flowers as possible, “Little Time-y fall down the well again?”

Instead of a growl for his effort, Legend gets a flurry of black flecks falling upward, like pieces of reverse snow, in his peripheral vision.

“You know,” Twilight says as he straightens to his full height, eyes half-lidded. Unamused, “You’re really not as funny as you seem to think you are.”

And before Legend can interrupt that– No, actually, you just have a dog shit sense of humor. Literally– Twilight continues, “I can smell the smithy all over this thing.” He nods down at a small tree stump breaking through the tide of flowers. “The scent is a bit old, probably from sometime before last evening, but still traceable. I should be able to find him from here.”

Legend eyes the stump for a moment, peering into the cracked hole in the top of the wood. Inside, he can see the round, red caps of several toadstools sprouting.

He can also sense magic. Close to that of the fairies– natural and glittering and smelling of moss– but not quite the same.

The Smithy’s doing?

Or a natural occurrence?

Regardless…

“Welp,” Legend says, straightening up, “Let's go find him. Couldn’t have gotten far on those little legs of his.”

“Again,” Twilight huffs, the black fractals already consuming him once more as he transforms, “You’re not as funny as you think...”

His voice distorts and fades into nothing as the magic swallows him whole, leaving Legend once again having a conversation with a very unimpressed looking wolf.

“I like you better when you can’t talk,” Legend tells Twilight as the other sets off, snuffling at the ground.

The other pauses to give Legend a look that would be more at home on a disapproving mother’s face, before continuing his tracking.

He also whaps Legend in the leg with his tail.

Hard.

The prick.

They continue on their trek together like that for a while, Twilight occasionally pausing to shove his nose into the dirt some more as he decides which direction to follow as Legend trails behind, keeping his eyes peeled for a quadripartite tunic and a head of straight, gold hair.

It isn't long before the farmhand turned canine breaks off into a light trot and then a jog, and then a full on sprint.

And stops just as suddenly.

Legend is out of breath by the time he slides to a stop behind the farmhand, but from a cursory glance around, there doesn’t seem to be a short, mouthy smithy anywhere in the vicinity.

“What happened?” Legend asks, still searching, turning circles as he cranes his neck, “Did you lose the trail?”

Twilight gives a light whine, grabbing Legend’s attention.

Then he does two full spins and sits primly, looking up at Legend.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Legend crinkles his nose at the canine. “Use your words.”

Wolfie rolls his eyes in a way that Legend didn’t think was possible for dogs and then stands.

The canine stares at him intently, as though making sure Legend’s eyes are locked with his own. And then he flicks his eyes over the yellow tulip he is sitting next to meaningfully. Then back to Legend. Back and forth back and forth, his eyes go for a full minute before he stops and stares at Legend once more.

Legend feels as his face wrinkles in confusion.

It's just a regular tulip, just like the thousands currently around them. Pretty enough, he supposes. The bulb seems to be a little wilted, like it's been weighed down by rain water perhaps, but other than that, nothing to sneeze at.

Or everything to sneeze at, if you’re Legend.

Legend gives the flower one more skeptical glance before turning to look at Twilight once more, brow raised.

“Pretty,” he assures the other. “Not sure how it helps us find Four.”

Twilight heaves another too human sigh.

And then he reaches up,  takes the sleeve of Legend’s tunic between his teeth, and yanks.

“Hey!” Legend yelps as he’s dragged down into the dirt, “Watch the teeth! The embroidery on this thing took forever to do and even longer to enchant!”

Twilight pays him no mind, pulling him down and forward, closer to his chosen tulip.

Legend tries his best to keep his face away from the damn thing.

“I swear on The Three, if your slobber stains–”

Legend’s words crumple up and die in his throat.

There’s something in the tulip.

At first glance, Legend would identify it as the Smithy's earring. The small feathered one that he takes special care of. The one that Four refuses to tell Legend the origin of, besides his cryptic, “From a friend.”

Legend would say that it was just the earring, but… but it isn’t.

Rather than being completely red with a white tip, Legend can see that this little feather is only mostly red. Right before the tip, a darker red plumage takes over, followed by purple and blue and green.

Also, rather than being attached to the small, golden chain and stud Four uses to fasten the jewelry to his earlobe, it’s attached to a body.

A very, very small body.

By now, Twilight has let go of his sleeve, but Legend both doesn’t notice and doesnt care, all of his attention fixed on the little creature before his eyes.

From what he can tell, the little creature is asleep, curled up in the bulb of the flower, his feather tail tucked up near his nose for warmth. Looking past the plumage, Legend can see that the little guy has a very rat-like face, complete with a small, twitching pink nose, long whiskers and–because the creature is shivering– long, chattering rodent incisors. Oval shaped ears stick out from the creature's head, a mix between mouse-like and Hylian.

And framing those ears is shoulder length, soaking wet blonde hair.

Blonde hair held out of the little guy's face by a green headband.

And…

And he’s wearing the smithy’s tunic?

“... Four?” Legend whispers in amazement.

And just saying the other’s name out loud is like a spell because suddenly Legend can see all signs. The little guy has Four’s bag over his shoulder and the Four Sword at his hip. That same magic that was by the stump– the not-fairy, fairy magic– completely surrounds him, dusting him in the same way he is currently dusted in yellow pollen.

“Is that you, Smithy?” Legend asks a little louder.

But rather than startle awake, the small creature– Four, Legend reminds himself– simply hunkers down more fully into the flower, curling up more fully as his shivers increase.

“He must have transformed in order to speak with the Minish around here.”

Twilight’s voice, even though it is a whisper, gives Legend a start. He hadn’t realized the other had transformed, nor had he seen the farmhand crouch down by his side.

The other isn’t looking at him as he speaks, cool blue eyes instead locked on the fitfully sleeping smithy, face concerned.

“He once told me that the Minish are insatiable gossips. He must have transformed to try and find us.”

The concern on the farhand’s face darkens the longer he stares.

“He must have been caught out in the storm,” Twilight says grimly.

Legend tries to imagine what that would be like. To be the size of a mouse and out in a storm. Tries to imagine what it would feel like for gale force winds to pull at drag at him, crushing him into the dirt one moment and yanking off his feet the next. Tries to imagine dodging back and forth between tulips, avoiding the head sized, stone cold rain drops pelting down from the sky

It's not a pretty pictograph, he’ll admit.

And ugh, Legend really isn't a fan of what it's making him consider.

He spares another glance at Four.

And fuck, the little guy shivers and shivers and shivers until the fower he is sleeping in is shaking with it.

And then, he sneezes, the sound coming out tiny and squeaky and weak.

Son of a bitch.

With a sigh that is as weary and reluctant and annoyed as he can possibly force it to be even though the vetran is feeling none of those things, Legend takes hold of the flower near its stem. As gently as possible, he digs his nails into the soft green there, cutting the flower from the ground while keeping it intact.

He hands it to Twilight, who takes it from him with gentle, if slightly confused hands.

With one hand, Legend flips open his shoulder bag. With the other, he rips his hat from his head with a motion probably a tad more violent than is really called for. He arranges the hat inside the bag, making sure to cover his items with the soft fabric while also shaping a soft bed.

Without looking up from his work, Legend extends a hand out to Twilight.

Makes a grabbing motion when what he wants isn't immediately in his hand.

After a second, Twilight slowly places the stem of the flower back in Legend’s hand and the Veteran gently lowers it in the small nest he had created, making sure the bulb sits in a place both shielded from the sun and extra comfortable thanks to the extra fabric padding beneath it.

In one smooth motion, Legend takes a hold of the strap of his bag, pulls it carefully off of his shoulder, and places it on the other side of Twilight’s neck.

And then, he reaches down and touches the dark stone hanging from the necklace around the farmhand’s throat, letting the darkness flock around and consume him.  

When Legend blinks open his eyes, Twilight is looking down at him smugly.

He is looking down farther than usual.

Also looking smugger than usual.

“Shut up,” he grumbles, shaking out his fur before hopping on all fours to get closer to the bag.

“I didn’t say anything,” Twilight replies, not bothing to wipe the smug look off his stupid face even as he lowers the bag to the ground for easier access.

“Yeah you did,” Legend hisses quietly as he clambers carefully into the satchel, settling down the nest of leather and items and hat.

He pulls the flower closer to his side where it is warm.

Inside, he can feel as Four’s shivers begin to lessen.

"Cute," Twilight laughs from above them.

"Fuck you," Legend whisper spits, though he makes no move to push Four's flower away. If anything, he pulls it closer when he hears the smaller hero start to make small, chittering snores, surprised the smithy could sleep through such a racket.

Twilight, thankfully, doesn't comment, instead pulling the top of the bag loosely closed to give them some shade. Then, Legend feels as he gently lifts the satchel back up, slings it slowly over his shoulder as to not disturb the contents inside, and begins walking, hopefully back in the direction of the forest.

Legend can still hear the farmhand laughing to himself from within the bag, but without the others' eyes on him, he finds he doesn't care.

The pollen still itches at his eyes and nose and Legend can still feel the pound of his sinuses even now.  But something about the shade and warmth and soft rocking of the bag makes it hard for him to mind.

Four gives a harty twitch, kicking a petal directly into Legend’s face.

And even that doesn't dissuade the veteran from his task.

Instead, Legend sighs and pulls Four even closer, relaxing despite the discomfort.

He’s got dirt on both Twilight and now Four, the two heroes with sticks most firmly inserted into their asses. He can get out of whatever chores and lectures they try to pin him with.

Yep, he thinks , distantly. That's why he did this.

For the blackmail.

And no other reason.

[nyrandrea]

Setting the Stage - Part 2

Here’s the next part, as promised! Last chapter was setting things up, now we get to the good stuff.

Summary: Gregory had always dreamed of going to Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizza Plex and meeting his heroes. But he somehow ends up getting more than he bargained for, and dreams start to turn into nightmares.

Link to Part 1 here!

Also available to read on A03 here!

Enjoy!

“How much farther now?”

Gregory flinched when those red eyes bore down on him as if to dare him to ask that question one more time.

“Not much!” Came the cheery reply, despite her glare.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them as Vanny continued to lead Gregory down an ill-lit tunnel, save for the tinny footsteps that echoed as they walked along the metal walkway.

She had said that the staff used this underpass as a quicker way of getting around the mall and that they would be at the Fazer Tag arena in no time, but they had been walking for what seemed like hours now.

A faint but vile odour of damp and rot clogged Gregory’s nose as he scrunched it up in disgust; the air was thick and soupy with wet must that seemed to stick to his lungs with every breath.

He stole a quick glance up at Vanny before immediately looking back down again in fear that she might catch his eye. She had been so excitable and nice to him before, but there was a different air about her now. More... reserved.

Turning back had crossed his mind once or twice, but given how tight her grip was, it didn’t seem like an option anymore.

He was really starting to regret this.

“Here we are!”

Gregory snapped out of his thoughts as they came up to what looked like a large elevator shaft with rusted doors that slowly creaked open when Vanny pressed a button. The boy swallowed and looked up at the bunny when she gave his hand a little squeeze.

He couldn’t tell if she was really smiling at him behind that large crooked grin, but he forced a smile back regardless.

It took a few moments but when the elevator finally started moving upwards, Gregory’s heart fluttered a little as he looked through the glass down towards the arena. It was quiet and empty, which made him wonder just how much time had really passed.  

There was no sign of his mom either.

A sharp, high-pitched tone suddenly rang out as they made it to the VIP room. Gregory cringed and had to cover his ears but Vanny didn’t seem bothered at all as she silently took his hand again.

Pushing all his doubts to one side, Gregory beamed as he prepared himself to finally meet Glamrock Freddy. He had gone through a bunch of speeches in his head but they all sounded dumb as hell, so he opted for a more natural approach, not that that was going to be much better.

But there was still one thing he needed.

Just as he was about to ask Vanny to get his picture back, the doors slid open.  

Gregory’s look of joy twisted into one of horror as he wasn’t greeted by Glamrock Freddy, but by four knocked out boys tied up on a sofa; the biggest one mumbling in his sleep.

Rob.

Before he could even register what was going on, Gregory was shoved to the ground with his arms forced back as Vanny dragged him towards the back.

“V-Vanny?!” The little boy yelped as she started tying his wrists together. “What are you-?!”

“Shhhhh...” she gently hummed as something sharp and metal barely pricked his throat. “I promise I’ll make this quick, okay? No need for tears, now.”

He hadn’t even noticed he’d been crying before she gently wiped the tears away with a tut-tut. The tall rabbit then set aside her knife – much to Gregory’s relief – and pulled out a small box with a familiar crescent moon on the cover.

“Told ya I’d get ‘em with Moondrop’s Sleepy-Time Candy!” she said, a hint of that cheerful tone creeping back in. “Though I’m not sure why kids would want sweets that would put them to sleep...”  

“I-I thought the exact same thing...” Gregory weakly replied.  

“Weird, right?”

“Totally...weird.”

He wasn’t even sure why he was having a conversation with this psycho, but desperation made him think that he could maybe appeal to her better nature.  

There was a moment then, in which she appeared to be wistful as she tapped her finger against the box, almost as if she were carefully considering her next move. Gregory decided to jump at this chance.

“Please... p-please let me go.”

She stopped tapping and looked directly at him. He tried to look past those bulging crimson eyes and see her for what she actually was: a fellow human being. A person. With feelings. Like him.

With another tap, a white piece of candy dropped into the palm of her hand.

“Sorry, kiddo...”

His vision suddenly went dark as she grabbed onto his face and tried to force his mouth open. The little boy kicked, thrashed and even managed to bite her at one point. He couldn’t fight back the tears streaming down his face as she quickly managed to get the upper hand; by using hers to block the airways of his nose.

“Don’t fight it...!” She hissed. “It’ll be a lot less painful that way-!”

There was a sudden shriek as something pummeled her to the floor, and Gregory gasped for breath.  

His eyes widened when they locked with Rob’s, who was lying on his side, still slightly dazed. Next to him, Vanny groaned and clutched her head.

Gregory took this fleeting moment and just about managed to slide his skinny wrists out of the loosely tied ropes before diving to Rob’s side and tried to undo the knots on his ankles first. His whole body screamed at him to run but he couldn’t just leave without trying to free the others.

“Awww...” came a sickly-sweet voice that made their blood run cold. “Are you two best buds now?”

Both boys looked up to see Vanny standing over them, her body oddly crooked as she brandished her knife.

“It’s amazing what can bring us together, huh?”

“Run!”

Rob’s shout spurred on Gregory’s legs as they propelled him forward, barely managing to dodge Vanny’s knife as she swiped at him, though she did manage to nick him on the cheek. As she tripped over Rob’s body and into the couch, Gregory used this valuable time to dash into the elevator and rapidly push the button, ignoring his guilty conscience pleading for him to go back.

As the door’s finally started closing, he mouthed “I’ll come back for you.” Though one look into Rob’s terrified eyes had told him that the older boy had already accepted his fate.

Gregory yelped and fell back as Vanny made one more plunge for him, screaming and howling in anger and despair when her knife clashed with metal as the doors sealed shut.

Stunned into silence, he could only stare ahead as the elevator slowly descended, not even flinching when that sharp chime announced his destination. The doors opened to the eerily quiet Fazer Tag arena, meaning that he must have pressed the wrong button, but that didn’t matter now.  

Adrenaline was the only thing that managed to get his jellified legs to work as he managed to get himself up and out of the elevator before it was recalled.

Muffled footsteps invaded the stillness that hung around the arena like a cloak as Gregory quickly crept towards the neon archway that led to the reception desk. The little glimmer of hope that he held was dashed when he saw that it was empty.

Gregory’s heart sunk even further when he wandered out into the mall as he was greeted with nothing but a hush. The noise and laughter and music that had been blaring just hours before was painfully amiss, along with the brightness and warmth of the sun that beamed through the glass ceiling; now replaced with cold moonlight beams cutting through the dark.

“Mom...?” he couldn’t help but weakly croak out.

No answer.

“Mom!”  

Despite the fact that it was likely that Vanny had heard him and was probably already tracking him down, Gregory shouted and pleaded and even screamed for his mother as he ran around the mall, each call becoming more and more desperate.

Why wasn’t she here? She should be here, kneeling and embracing him with open arms. Had she just left and forgotten about him? She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t!

Hysterical and in tears, he somehow managed to loop back to where he had been before Vanny had taken him away. All the show rooms had their curtains drawn as the animatronics had likely been retired for the night.  

Slowing to a stop in front of Glamrock Freddy’s room, Gregory sniffed and sat on the floor with his knees hugged up against his chest. He tried to take slow and deep breaths as he attempted to muddle through the fog in his brain for any kind of smart idea on how to survive through the rest of tonight.

“Gregory...”

A sharp pain jabbed up from under his ribs as he quickly got to his feet, spinning around to try and locate the source of Vanny’s voice as it echoed through the mall.

“Your friends are worried about you,” she said, tone disturbingly calm and soothing. “They’re here with me. Please come out...?”

Backing up against the drapes of Glamrock Freddy’s room, Gregory slipped behind them and into the darkness of the room, peeking through the slit for any sign of movement.

“Gregory,” she tried again. “I may have lost my temper earlier...but it was just a glitch...”  

He gasped slightly as her voice started to distort, how was she even...?

“It won’t happen again.”

As soft footsteps grew closer and the shadow of a pair of tall ears materialized near the statue of Roxanne, Gregory slowly stepped back and let the gloominess of the room envelop him as he tried to control his erratic breathing.

“It’s been such a difficult day for all of us.”

Gregory could just about make out a small twinkle as her knife glinted in the moonlight.

“Why don’t you come out, and we can play a game together?”

Barely registering the stinging pain as tears ran down his face and through the small gash on his right cheek, he kept backing up until he hit something hard and metal.

“It won’t happen again.”

The little boy tried to cry out when he was suddenly yanked up by the collar of his shirt and shoved into a small, dark space. He was dazed for a moment before beads of sweat started to trail down his forehead as he felt around the four enclosed walls of his prison. It had a cold and almost plastic feel to it, and there wasn’t much room for maneuvering.  

His throat felt like it was being squeezed as he choked and struggled to breathe.

“...It was just a glitch...”

She sounded so close now, the distortions in her voice seemed to reverberate through the cage he was in. He had to escape. Run away from this place. Look for a way to free Rob. Phone the police. Find his mom.  

He had to get out now.

With trembling legs, Gregory tried to kick the walls down. He didn’t know what way was up or down but all he could do was kick. Kick. Kick!

“Gregory.”

Flinching at the different voice – deep as thunder but gentle like a breeze – the boy slowly ceased his kicking and let out sharp, shallow breaths.  

W-was this...? It couldn’t be...

“Be still.”  

A beat of silence followed.

“I think she’s found us.”

Gregory held his breath when he heard the curtains swing open and a flick of the switch as the lights buzzed to life. He could hear Vanny moving about the room, pausing every so often to look behind the arcade or the sofa. There was even a brief moment where he swore she had found him when he heard heavy breathing dead ahead. He grimaced as a light tapping of metal upon metal suddenly rung out within the hollow space.

Vanny made a sound of frustration before storming out, but Gregory didn’t dare breathe before he was sure she was gone.

He was probably starting to become blue in the face before his prison suddenly opened up. Without a moment’s hesitation, he tumbled out and landed ungracefully on his face, but he didn’t really care at this point. He was just glad to be out of the void.

There was a soft “Oh!” behind him before a pair of large metal hands carefully lifted him up from under the arms and held him steady. Staring ahead at a large blue lightning bolt upon a light brown chest, Gregory’s wide eyes slowly trailed up to see Glamrock Freddy staring right back down at him.

“Are you okay?” The animatronic asked.

The boy tried to swallow but his throat had dried up.

“I apologize for acting so abruptly,” he continued, taking off his hat and sheepishly shuffled it between his hands. “I didn’t know any other way to get you to safety before she came. But I didn’t mean to be quite so rough.”

“It’s...okay...” Gregory managed to rasp out, still not quite believing he was talking to the Glamrock Freddy. He would have been ecstatic if not for the dire situation.

“Thanks for...um...s-saving my life.”

The bear seemed to brighten up a bit at that as he put his hat back on and held out a hand.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Gregory! I do wish we could have met under more...pleasant circumstances but here we are. My name is-”

“Glamrock Freddy, I know,” he interrupted, before quickly adding, “I’m...a big fan.”

Timidly, the boy took the robot’s hand, almost yelping when it was shaken rather vigorously.  

“Always a pleasure to meet a fan!”

Vaguely reminded of when he met Vanny, Gregory berated himself for being so immediately trusting. But...this was Freddy. Surely the robots weren’t kidnapping kids too?

His eyes wandered up towards the chest compartment that he had been in just moments before. It was...quite an oddly specific function to have.

“How uh...how do you know my name?” Gregory asked, pulling his hand away a bit too quickly, though Freddy didn’t seem to mind.

“She was calling out for you.”

Alright. That was fair.

“Oh! And you also left this behind,” the robot said as he pulled out a piece of paper, smoothing out the creases before handing it over. “One of the stewards found it and brought it to me. It has your signature.”

Gregory took it and stared down at the colorful picture, snorting a little when he recognized it as his own. He should have known that those compliments from Vanny had been nothing but empty, honeyed words just to lure him into her trap. His own mother had warned him about such types of people.  

The boy almost smiled at how downright stupid he was.

“I really like the cape,” Freddy suddenly said, making him wince. “The colors are so vibrant!”

Gregory wanted to thank him for stating the obvious but couldn’t find it in him to do so. Hours ago he would have been on cloud nine hearing such praise from his hero. Now they just seemed so...hollow and meaningless.

He frowned at the picture for a few more moments before something sharp poked him on the cheek, causing him to hiss in pain and scoot back.

Freddy also recoiled and withdrew his hand, looking guilty at having hurt the boy.

“You’re bleeding...”  

Absently putting a hand to his cheek, he felt the wound that Vanny had inflicted on him earlier, and scowled when his fingers came back wet with fresh blood.

“Come with me.”

Gregory blinked in shock as the robot stood up to his full height and towered over him, realizing that he barely made it past his knee joint. He couldn’t help but feel just a tad bit intimidated.

Moving towards the back of the room, Freddy opened the metal door behind the stage curtains and made his way in. Suddenly feeling nervous at the prospect of being left alone, Gregory got up from the floor and hastily followed.

He was hit with that musty stench from the underground tunnels again, though here it wasn’t quite so strong. It was a basic room with a red carpet and brick and mortar walls with a few chairs and what seemed to be some kind of charging station – most likely for Freddy.

Gregory watched as the animatronic pulled out a red and white box from a cabinet and carried it over, opening it to reveal medical contents.  

“This will sting,” Freddy stated as he knelt down and held out an antiseptic wipe. “Can you be brave?”

“I’m not five,” Gregory mumbled back, trying not to wince when the gash started to sting.

“How old are you then? If you don’t mind my asking.”

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, still wondering if he should even be here instead of running for the hills. Though clearly that hadn’t exactly worked out the first time.

“...Eleven,” he eventually answered.

“Hm,” the bear hummed, as if mulling over something. “You’re very mature for your age.”

“T-Thanks.”

He wasn’t really sure if he was so mature as he had just been running around screaming and crying for his mother like a lost fawn while a psychopath was on the loose just ten minutes ago, but he didn’t argue.

“There, and we’re done!” Freddy said as he smoothed a band-aid over Gregory’s wound. “How does that feel?”

“Better, thanks,” the boy replied as he lightly touched it. “And thanks again for saving my life back there. If you hadn’t, she...she would have...”

His chest tightened up a little. Freddy refused to meet his eyes as he put the box away.

“Do...do you know her?” Gregory asked. “Her name’s Vanny and-”

“No,” Freddy cut in. “I have scanned her, and she does not come up on my database. She is not staff.”

It was that sentence that starkly reminded Gregory that he was really talking to a walking, talking machine. And that took a little bit of the magic away for him...

“Yet she has access to all areas of the complex,” Freddy continued, tilting his head with an almost baffled look. “It has confused myself and the others; her skulking everywhere.”

“The others?”

“Chica, Roxanne and Montgomery.”

“Monty,” Gregory corrected.

“Hm?”

“You call him Monty in the show.”

“Ah. Yes.”

Gregory frowned a little.

“But alas, we cannot do anything about her.”

“What uh...what do you mean?” Gregory asked, suddenly feeling his blood run a bit cold.

“It goes against our programming,” Freddy bluntly replied. “We cannot harm adults.”

“You can’t...ah...” was all he could say. That just pretty much blew all of his plans out of the water.

“We tried to warn the other staff members but they wouldn’t listen, and they had the gall to complain about fixing our mainframes-”

Freddy’s ramblings just turned into white noise as Gregory stared ahead; all those cool montages of him riding in the animatronic’s chest while he kicked Vanny’s ass and rescued Rob and the others was slowly becoming less and less likely.

It was only when a metal pair of fingers snapped in front of him that brought him crashing back down to reality.

“But...!” Gregory stammered as he tried to come up with a more plausible plan. “But even if you can’t hurt her, can’t you just carry me to the front door or something?”

“Gregory-”

“Or just take me to a phone so I can call the police! You know she’s kidnapped other kids, right?”

Freddy held up his hands in an attempt to calm him down. “I did not. But-”

“Rob’s the reason I even managed to get away, we have to go help him...!”

“Gregory.”

A heavy weight on his shoulders and Freddy’s tone finally got him to shut his mouth.

“I wish I could do all those things for you, but the fact of the matter is...I can’t.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Myself and the others are confined to our rooms at night.”

“I’m...I’m sorry, confined? By what? The curtains?”

“Security protocols.”

“But I saw you wander around earlier!”

“We are allowed to during the day, but at night our security protocols-”

“I don’t care about your security whatever!” Gregory blurted out as quietly as he could. “There is a psycho dressed as a freaking rabbit out there who is trying to kill me right now!”

He tried to push away the hands on his shoulders but was unable to as Freddy looked down upon with a sympathetic frown – one that was strikingly akin to his mom’s.

“And she’s taken these other kids hostage a-and now I have to rescue them or she’ll kill them and I just...I just want...”

His vision suddenly blurred, and he struggled to hold the tears back as he furiously wiped them away, angry at himself for getting so worked up.

Gregory’s breath hitched when he felt himself being gently pressed up against Freddy’s chest, with one hand on his head and the other on his back, steadying him. He had seen the other kids getting hugs from the animatronics before, and while he had been envious, he couldn’t help but imagine it feeling cold and a little uncomfortable.

But it was nothing like that; instead, it was warm and inviting, and it was enough to open the floodgates for Gregory as he clung onto the robot.

“I just...want...my mom...”

They stayed like that for a while, with Gregory quietly sobbing as Freddy tried to console him, rubbing small circles along his back in a soothing motion and gently patting his head as the boy eventually managed to get it all out of his system.

“Gregory,” Freddy started, making him look up as he wiped his nose. “While it may go against my programming...” the animatronic paused for a moment before smiling down at him. “I will do my best to override it.”

“Really? You mean you’ll help me?”

“Yes. I will assist you in evading that ‘psycho’, as you put it – and get you out. To the best of my ability.”

Gregory smiled back, before adding, “And the others too? I can’t leave without them.”

“The... others too,” the bear reluctantly agreed.

Wiping away the last of his tears, he nodded gratefully, perking up when Freddy opened up his chest apartment and offered his hand as a step.

Climbing up and settling in, what had felt like a claustrophobic prison now felt like a safe haven from the dangers that awaited him out there.

“Oh, before I forget,” Freddy mulled as he re-entered the show room, bending down to pick up Gregory’s drawing. “Would you like to do the honors?”

Grinning from ear to ear, he leaned out and took the drawing and a small pin from Freddy, the robot keeping him steady as he stuck the drawing up with the others. He could feel himself swell up with pride in a fleeting moment that made him forget about the horrors that awaited him.

“Now,” Freddy started as he closed his chest compartment and peeked through the curtains to check if the coast was clear. “We may need some help. How would you like to meet the others?”

xxx

A wash of light flooded across the polished checkered floors and shone up towards the golden statue of Freddy as a woman entered through the security barriers. Brushing back her golden hair and securing her cap on, she sighed as she pulled out a photograph of a young boy with messy brown hair and a huge toothy grin.

His mother had been hysterical when she entered the security office, claiming that it had been her fault for leaving him and thinking that he wouldn’t just wander off. They had looked through the camera feed but given how busy this place was during the day, it was a needle in a haystack situation.

But now that it was empty, her job would begin. She had six hours.

“Alright Gregory...” Vanessa said, putting the photo into her pocket. “Let’s see if we can find you.”

xxx

And that’s the end! I’ve decided to leave the ending a bit vague because of the whole Vanny/Vanessa debate. I’d love to write more at this point but I’ll probably wait until the game comes out (hopefully soon!) Hope you enjoyed and let me know if you did!

[the-karma-cafe]

drunk!reader x obey me

a/n: i said, yknow what ? i am gonna simp for every goddamn character in this game. so naturally my hand slipped n i wrote mindless stuff for all of them. sorry for the weird jumping around - i wanted to get to as many characters as i could

My head slowly nodded above the counter, the alcohol taking hold of my body. I hummed, gulping down the last of my drink.

I felt something touch my hair and I looked over, squinting at the person beside me. “Asmo?” I asked.

“Aww, looks like someone can’t hold their drink, hm?” Asmodeus cooed, twirling a strand of my hair around his slender finger.

I mustered up a small smile. “You got me.” I lifted up my head to look around at everyone else. They sat at different places in the room, but all mingled happily in varying degrees of intoxication.

I went to prop up my head with my hand, missing the first time. “You’re all so pretty. I dunno how I function most of the time.”

Asmo blinked, watching me carefully. “Who do you think is the prettiest?”

I gave a short laugh. “I don’t think you want to hear the answer to that one.”

“Whaat~! If not me then who!” He whined loudly, attracting the attention of a couple of the others.

I felt an arm come to a rest on my head none too gently. My head stumbled from its perch on my hand and I glared up at the offending demon. Mammon grinned down at me, “Figures you’d get drunk first, MC.”

I fingered his tie before abruptly pulling him down to my eye level. “Wanna say that to my face?”

Bright red filled his cheeks, his eyes darting from my eyes to my lips and back again. “Uh,” he started smartly.

Asmodeus clapped gleefully. “Ooh~ They’re sexy when they’re drunk. We should do this more often.”

I ignored him, releasing Mammon from my hold and ruffling his hair instead. So soft... “I’m teasing. ‘Course I’d be the first to go off the deep end.” I giggled softly.

His blush only increased. He cleared his throat, backing away from me. “Right, heh, I knew that. As if you could intimidate the great Mammon anyway.” He scoffed, looking away to take a deep swig of his drink.

Barbatos appeared in front of us from behind the bar. He smiled kindly. “Looks like I’ll be cutting you off for the night.” He swiped my glass from me to go clean it.

“Wha~!” I whined at him, making grabby motions for my glass. “That’s not fair, everyone else gets theirs!”

“You’re starting to sound like Levi.” Belphie yawned, taking my hand lightly. His thumb smoothed slow circles over the back, calming me slightly.

I smiled up at him wordlessly, a little dazed, squeezing his hand back.

Levi frowned in response, muttering something like, “I don’t sound like that,” but was ignored.

Barbatos turned back around, cleaning the glass with a rag. “I’m afraid that’s just the way it is! Diavolo’s orders.”

I smiled shyly, walking my fingers across the counter towards him. “Any way I could convince you?”

Mammon did a spit-take and Barbatos’s eyes widened. An amused smile teased his lips. He gently grasped my hand, pulling it up to his face. He brushed a kiss across my knuckles, winking. “Maybe another time, MC.”

Mammon shouted nonsense in the background. Pink dusted across my features. “Oho, I see you, Barb~” I fluttered my fingers at him.

He straightened up and nodded politely, returning to the sink behind him.

A spoon poked my cheek. I frowned, glancing to my side. Asmodeus was gone and had been replaced by Beelzebub. A bowl of steaming soup sat in front of him. He looked at me expectantly.

I sniffed it. It smelled heavenly. I took the spoon into my mouth, greedily drinking its contents. Beel smiled approvingly. Mammon almost burst a blood vessel behind us, being held back by Asmodeus. “What is that?” I asked, intrigued.

He took another sip. “Soup. Barbatos said the stuff in it helps prevent hangovers. Figured you’d need some.”

“Awww~” I leaned closer. “You take such good care of me, Beel. What would I do without you?”

His eyes glanced from his soup to my eyes to my lips. “Um,” he muttered. “Probably be hungry.”

I smiled fondly, tapping his nose lightly. “You’re adorable.”

A light blush rose in his cheeks. “Oh.. thank you. You… look tasty?”

It was my turn to blush. I knew he didn’t register that remark as anything other than food-related but I couldn’t stop the thoughts from snaking into my mind. I smirked, my gaze dropping to his lips. “Wanna find out?”

His eyes widened and his lips parted to say something, but he was interrupted by a rather loud slap. I whirled around, or tried, to see Satan hitting Mammon upside the head. “Be quiet, what’s all the fuss about?”

I giggled, drawing his attention. His gaze softened. “Ah, I see. And here you said you were going to control yourself tonight.”

I pushed up from my seat, wobbling slightly. His hands jumped to steady me. I smiled gratefully, bringing my arms up to rest on his shoulders. “You’re so sweet, Satan~” I chuckled. “Pfft, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.”

The faintest blush decorated his cheeks, his hands finding my waist. “I can’t imagine why.” He teased, cracking a smile.

I squealed, bringing my hands forward to cup his cheeks. “You’re so cute!! Gah, I can’t take it.” His blush darkened a bit, his head slightly leaning into my touch. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Nope! Can’t take that much cuteness at once. Sorry~”

I felt him rumble with laughter. “I can’t really take offense to that.”

He glanced up to see Lucifer marching over, a particularly murderous look on his face. Satan’s smile curled into an impish grin. He pulled me close without warning, earning a small yelp from me. My hands flew from his face to behind him, grasping at the back of his neck for stability. My eyes snapped open to stare up at him. My face turned redder than it already was. “Well I know I didn’t just get a hug for no reason.” I threaded my fingers through his hair, watching curiously as his eyes slightly lulled close at the touch. “What’s the occasion?”

He smirked, “Guess.”

I turned in his grasp to see Lucifer walking towards us. I smiled toothily, waving at the stronger demon. “Hey-o, Lucy~”

Lucifer paused in his tracks, staring at me incredulously. Mammon burst out laughing. “Lucy! Hah, that’s rich!” Levi and Asmodeus shared in his laughter. A couple of the others hid grins of their own.

Satan squeezed me lightly. “Cute.” He whispered, his breath tickling my ear. I shivered, involuntarily leaning towards his warmth.

Lucifer resumed his angry stride. I squinted, barely seeing an outline of purple around him. He approached Satan and cleared his throat. Apparently, he didn’t have an idea for what to do when he actually got here. Satan smirked. “What, you want ‘em?”

He nodded. “Clearly you all cannot be trusted with them.” He grabbed my arm, twirling me into his chest. I thudded against him, my hands feeling at his chest in wonder. Is Lucy just rock? Are all demons made of rock? Is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson a demon? No way, he’s too pure for that… or is he……… “I will take them back to their room.”

I snapped from my thoughts at that. “No!” I protested, squirming in his grasp. “I wanna stay!”

Lucifer peered down at me, thinly-veiled concern clouding his gaze. “You must be tired?” He asked.

I shook my head wildly, pinning him with a pleading look. His expression and grasp on me softened further as I ran my hands up his chest. “No! Super awake. Please let me stay. Pleeeaaase~?” I wheedled, hoping puppy-dog eyes worked on him.

Lucifer held my gaze for a beat, his eyes tracing my features worriedly, before sighing in acquiescence. I hopped up happily, kissing him on the cheek and wrapping him up in a hug. “Thank you, Lucy~” I cooed into his ear, feeling him shudder a bit beneath me. He patted my back mechanically and I pulled away, my eyes settling on Diavolo a bit behind Lucifer.

“Deee-ah-vo-lo~” I grinned, skipping up to him.

His eyes sparkled with interest as he considered me. “Yes, MC? You’re enjoying your time here this evening, I take it?”

I nodded brightly “Of course I am.” I paused, biting my lip. “I wish I got to see you more often, Dee.”

He blinked. “Dee?” He echoed.

My hands flew to my mouth. “Oh no! I’m sorry, Diavolo is such a mouthful I’ve taken to just referring to you as ‘Dee’ in my head. I’m so sorry!”

Diavolo chuckled goodnaturedly. “That’s fine, MC. It’s a cute nickname.”

“For a cute demon.” I winked.

He nodded, playing along. “Precisely.”

“What, he gets a cute nickname but I don’t?” Levi muttered behind me, just loud enough for me to hear, although I doubted that was intentional. I turned and advanced on him. He blinked in surprise, slightly red at the attention. “Oops, did I say that out loud?”

I nodded, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “Yep! But worry not! You already have a cute nickname, Levi-chan.” I affectionately tacked on the honorific. This pacified him slightly.

“That does sound cuter.” He nodded approvingly.

I held up a hand. “Of course it does!” Levi’s eyes brightened as he slapped my hand in a high-five. His following fist pump of victory launched him into a spiel about his newest animated obsession.

Solomon and Simeon approached, polite smiles decorating their handsome features. I nearly swooned. “Hello, MC.” Simeon greeted, his eyes dancing mirthfully over my current state.

I nodded weakly. “You guys are very pretty.”

Solomon’s eyebrows raised at that. “Not the greeting I expected, but,” he smoothed his features over, “not unwelcome~” he teased.

Simeon chuckled. “Aren’t you charming. It’s taking a lot to resist inviting you up to my room tonight~”

My face glowed red. “O-Oh, holy shit you are way too attractive for me to know how to respond to that coolly.”

He barked a laugh. “You’ll always be cool to me, MC.”

“Thank you!”

Mammon broke free of Asmo’s grasp and interrupted the conversation, circling me in his arms. “No touchin’! Grrr!” He growled at the non-demons.

I tugged at Mammon’s tie again, making him squeak a bit. He bent over my shoulder. “What’d I do this time!” I turned my head to face him.

And promptly pressed a kiss to his lips.

My stomach somersaulted, either from the alcohol or the kiss. Some whoops could be heard around us, mostly from Simeon and Diavolo. Mammon sprang into action, bringing me closer to him, his hands finding my waist. I played with the soft hair at the nape of his neck, feeling him hum happily in response.

A hand pulled Mammon from me. Lucifer frowned at him disapprovingly. Mammon’s expression was downright giddy. “I got a kiss.” He boasted proudly, puffing out his chest. “None o’ y’all can say that, heh!”

Satan spoke up from his seat on the couch next to us. “Well I definitely won’t be bested by you.” He seized my wrist and pulled me down into his lap.

“Oh!” I exclaimed in surprise. One of his slender fingers guided my chin up towards his face.

His eyes glittered as he looked down at me. “Can I kiss you, MC?” I nodded eagerly. He poorly hid his victorious smirk and caught my lips with his. I melted in his embrace, shifting on him to card my fingers through his hair.

Mammon shrieked in dismay beside us.

Thin but strong arms pried me off of Satan. I sighed at the loss. “What was that for~” I whined, “put me back.” I made grabby hands at Satan. He was blushing! He smiled, waggling his fingers at me.

My attacker whirled me around, almost making me nauseous. Asmodeus faced me, a small frown tugging at his lips. “Don’t tell me you think Satan is the prettiest of all of us. I mean, c’mon, MC! Look at me!” He gestured at himself confidently. “I bet you want a kiss from me, too, huh?”

I shrugged. “I’ll kiss anyone here.”

His eyes widened at this. “Really?”

“Have you seen the people here? Is that rhetorical?”

“Point taken!” He laughed. “Free MC kisses!” He shouted to the group, earning some head-turns. Mammon sulked in the corner, growing mushrooms.

Asmodeus cupped my face sweetly. “Aww, you look so cute with your face all red like this.” His face neared and he pressed our lips together. Immediately he tried to deepen the kiss, a welcome outcome for me, but was pushed aside. “Hey I wasn’t done~!” He complained.

Before me was Beel. He held up another spoonful of soup. “Less kissing, more eating.”

I grinned. “If I take another bite will you kiss me?” I spoke mostly just to tease him. Mostly.

He blinked, growing pink again. “Oh… alright.” He fed me another spoonful, his lips following the hot soup soon after. I hummed into him. Delicious. I tugged at his jacket, desperate for more. He indulged me, but kept the soup level in his hand behind me. His tongue slipped into my mouth curiously and I gasped, pulling away from him when I remembered the people watching. He frowned at the loss, licking his lips. “I was right. You are tasty.”

I laughed. “Pretty sure that’s just the soup, but thanks.”

“That’s enough.” A gruff voice spoke up. I felt my world spin as I was swept into someone’s arms. Lucifer held me bridal style. “This ridiculous game ends now. I am putting MC to bed.”

Some boos resounded throughout the room and I giggled, waving to no one in particular. “I’ll kiss you later~!” I reassured everyone. I earned whoops in response and grinned widely.

Lucifer scoffed and swept me from the room.

It was much quieter outside and I felt the fatigue of the night start to set in. I yawned, readjusting in his arms. My eyes fluttered closed. “You don’t mind, do ya, Luce?”

He glanced down at me fondly. “Of course not.” He whispered so softly I barely caught it.

I smiled in response. “Yer just a big softie. Y’ain’t slick.”

His chest grew a bit rigid against me. “I am not.. a ‘softie.’”

“Mhm.”

Lucifer frowned at that. He nudged open the door to my room and cast me on the bed unceremoniously. “Oof!” I looked up at him through lidded eyes. “That could’ve been sweeter.”

He grinned condescendingly. “I did say I wasn’t a softie.”

I rolled my eyes. “C’mere ya big softie.” I grabbed his tie and yanked him down to my level. He made a small noise of surprise in his throat, his gaze catching mine. I grinned impishly. “Aw, I’ve got you right where I want you. Now what’re you gonna do?”

A low growl bubbled up from his chest. He pushed me onto the bed and climbed atop me in one swift movement. I gasped. His face was even closer to mine now, a confident smirk twisting his lips. “I should be the one saying that.”

My eyes dropped to his lips. “Can I kiss you now?”

He chuckled. “You’ve been doing a lot of that tonight, are you sure you can handle more?”

I scoffed. “It’s a kiss not sex I think I’ll be oka-“

He cut me off with a searing kiss and I sighed into his mouth happily. I could fall asleep like this. Another wave of fatigue washed over me. Oh… I am going to fall asleep like this.

As if reading my mind, Lucifer parted from me. “I’ll have someone bring you something in the morning for your hangover.” My eyes slid shut and I hummed noncommittally. I felt his soft lips touch my forehead and I smiled, snuggling into my sheets.

“Goodnight, MC.”

a/n: can you tell who my favorites are dskfh

[ninallthatjazz]

Review TdV Vienna – 07.06.-10.06.18

If you are wondering why I have been pretty absent from Tumblr last week – it’s because I was on my long awaited Vienna trip/Tanz der Vampire week. I originally had planned to see the show twice, on Thursday and Sunday. But somehow I got incredibly lucky and managed to get last-minute tickets with student discount for all the other shows during my stay, meaning I saw it 5 times (!!!) in 4 days.

And as promised I will review the show(s) for you, but since I had so little time in between, I couldn’t write up one for each performance right away. Also considering I already posted a general review of the Vienna show HERE, I will just review the roles/actors I haven’t mentioned/seen before, as well as sharing highlights from the individual shows that were particularly memorable.

I also have quite a few pictures, therefor I will put all this under a read more so you don’t have to scroll endlessly. Enjoy!

Cast lists:

Drew Sarich – Graf von Krolock I know, I have written about Drew already. I promise to keep it short. But I couldn’t write this review without mentioning how abolutely incredible Drew was once again. His Krolock is the most layered character out there in my opinion, he manages to make you feel all kinds of emotions with his portrayal. He managed to make me tear up during ‘Unstillbare Gier’ in every. single. performance. 5 times in a row! And the first and last time I was even full on sobbing and had difficulty breathing for a few minutes after the song was over - it was insane. I pray to god he will return to this role some time in the future, I can’t imagine this being the end of Drewlock.

Abla Alaoui – Sarah Chagal Abla was an incredibly sweet Sarah. I really loved her voice, might actually prefer it to Dianas even. Acting wise they are both amazing, and while they make different choices, I couldn’t say one was better than the other. I really liked the way Abla played the transformation in the end – it started out with small jerking movements and grew more prominent up to the revealing of the fangs. It was a very nice touch and made that whole scene that much more interesting. I also really enjoyed her chemistry with both Daniel Eckert and Drew Sarich (more during the highlights 😉).

Daniel Eckert – Alfred Daniel was an incredible Alfred. He was really sweet and he has a great voice, he and Raphael Groß are definitely my favourite Alfreds. Because even if I still want the Graf to succeed, they both managed to make me care about Alfred a little more and made me actually like ‘Für Sarah’ :D He was also very funny next to the Professor, which not every Alfred manages to do.

Christopher Dederichs – Alfred Christopher is also a good Alfred, and I did enjoy his performance a lot; but his voice wasn’t quite on the same level as the other two in my opinion. He still delivered on most songs, but ‘Für Sarah’ wasn’t quite as captivating. This is also due to personal preference, but I never imagine Alfred with blond and curly hair, so that took some getting used to. But all in all a great performance that I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing again 😊

Dawn Bullock – Rebecca Chagal I love Dawn as Rebecca. She is hilarious and has great comedic timing, and her voice is perfectly balanced between rough and melodic. Maciej Salamon – Yoine Chagal He was also a great Chagal, especially the comedic moments were great with him, but I think Nicolas Tenerani is definitely the better singer and showed more diversity in his singing technique – Maciej always ‘growled’ his lines which made Chagal not as complex a character as he was during Nicolas’ performance. Marle Martens – Magda Marle is an incredibly strong singer, and I was blown away by the effortlessness with which she sang. I found a new appreciation of ‘Tot Zu Sein Ist Komisch’ thanks to her.

Highlights: There are quite a few things I discovered in these shows, some of them are planned/regular moments, some just happened in one show (I will name the specific show in brackets).

·       In one show, Chagal (Nicolas Tenerani that day) tries to nail the piece of wood to the door, but it wouldn’t stay on – so he just took it down and carried it back out again XD (June 8th)

·       During ‘Nie Gesehen’, Rebecca searches for Chagal in her sleep, and when she wakes up, she checks under the sheets first before searching the room for him XD

·       After singing ‘Gott Ist Tot’, Drew turns to look back at the moon and bares his fangs

·       I never noticed that Alfred and Magda are flirting quite a bit during ‘Wahrheit’ – Magda is dropping some vegetable to have him picking it up as an excuse to start a conversation, and Alfred is totally into it!

·       When Abronsius is ‘whispering’ to Alfred during Wahrheit, Rebecca wants to know what he’s saying reeeally badly and even tries to ask Magda and Chagal if they understand, only to be VERY annoyed when they don’t.

·       One time, Rebecca (Tanja Petrasek) wasn’t on stage on time after ‘Rote Stiefel’ – she wasn’t there when Chagal said ‘…er hat sie geholt, hat sie uns entführt’! She came on stage right after though and just started with her line, I don’t think people noticed. (June 9th, evening show)

·       When the professor and Alfred try to interrogate the villagers after Chagals death, the village idiot sits there picking his nose, and that’s why he doesn’t notice everyone else leaving XD

·       After biting Magda, Chagal is howling like a wolf and then he has the hiccups; hilarious!!!

·       Raphael had a hilarious way of singing ‘…das Schloss von diesem GRAFEN!’ (June 7th/9th)

·       When the vampires are amongst the audience in Finale I. Akt, there were quite a few screams from surprised/terrified audience members XD

·       When Drewlock seduces Alfred, he smells at the sponge, and for some reason his voice sounds really weird singing the next few words (‘…ich weiß, was du fühlst und denkst…’); it almost sounds as if he were high! (from Sarah’s scent?)

·       Drewlock reacting to Herbert and Alfred meeting – glorious! During the lines “dies ist mein Sohn Herbert…” he is grinning as if to say ‘oh you poor boy, you have no idea what’s coming for you’ and when Herbert sings “Endlich jemand, der mir die Langeweile nimmt!”, he is putting a hand over his heart as if to say ‘awww, my precious boy has found a toy’ XD

·       During the ‘intro’ at the beginning of act 2, there is a lonely bat flying towards the castle, vanishing through a window – that looks exactly like the one Graf stands in front of at the beginning of ToFi!

·       While he is walking down the stairs during ToFi, Drewlock is stroking his bottom lip with his thumb while he is observing Sarah!

·       Drewlock touching Sarah’s hair and then smelling his own hand during Totale Finsternis – that was another great detail that made his vampiric nature tangible

·       In one show, Filippo forgot the lines during the beginning of ‘Carpe Noctem’ – I had to giggle a bit, but I don’t think it was very noticeable for people that don’t know the song by heart :P (June 8th)

·       I noticed that the cover black vampire, Jordan Hinchliffe, was wearing an open black vest, while Arltan Andzhaev (main cast) is always shirtless. (June 8th/9th)

·       In one show, the white vampire (Jasper Caransa) almost kissed Sarah (June 9th, evening show)

·       After the nightmare bite, Arltan ‘shares’ some of Sarah’s blood with Herbert

·       The Professor sniffed at both oatmeal bowls and gives the one that smells awful to Alfred (I am guessing that’s the one Koukol spat into 😉)

·       In the crypt, Abronsius mimics breasts when he says ‘denk an Chagal’s Tochter’

·       Chagal kissed Magdas foot when she stopped him from joining her in the coffin during ‘Geil zu sein ist komisch’ (June 9th, evening show)

·       Herbert (Charles Kreische) had a small mishap once, his sleeve caught in his neckline. But Charles was great, stayed in character and ripped it free with a dramatic eyeroll :D

·       When Krolock comes down from the pulpit in Tanzsaal, one of the vampires falls to her knees and kisses his hand

·       Before the Sarahlock bite, Drewlock looks to Herbert as if to get reassurance. Only when Herbert slightly bows in response, he holds his hand out for her.

·       Drewlock gave ‘Sarabla’ a kiss on the cheek before biting her (you read correctly – A KISS!!) It was Ablas last show as Sarah playing with Drew, and it was a sweet little gesture that had her giggling for a moment <3 (June 8th)

·       When Sarah falls after the Graf lets go of her, all the vampires move towards her and only stop when Krolock hisses at them, as if to say ‘don’t you dare touch her, she’s mine!’

·       Herbert flirting with another (male) vampire during the Ballsaalszene, dancing almost the entire thing with him, winking and waving at him

·       When Graf and Sarah were towards the back of the stage, Drewlock had another taste of her by running his finger through the blood on her neck and sucking it off his finger… (not sure if this was a one time thing – noticed it on June 9th, matinee show)

·       Krolock also flirting with (female) vampires during that whole scene – one moment that stands out is when there are only a few of the vampires left (shortly before they discover the human’s reflections). He changes partners, and when met with one specific female vampire he kisses his index finger and wiggles it at her (flexing and extending, not moving it side to side like some diva) – she basically turns into a teenie with a crush (as do I), giggling and legs turning to jelly. I asked Drew about it, and she is indeed supposed to be one of the many conquests the Graf had before Sarah.

·       Towards the end of Tanzsaal, Drewlock starts picking his teeth, he apparently still has Sarah stuck in his fangs. When the humans ‘dance into’ Krolock, he demonstratively flicks a piece off his fingers XD

Pictures:

Last, but definitely not least, I have a bunch of photos from the stage door and all the treasures I collected etc.

On the day of my last show I brought my own fangs and I had SO much fun posing for pictures with them – every single person I met at the stage door was super sweet and kind enough to play along 😊

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I will treasure these memories forever <3

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

I’m suppose to be working on the Dark!Stiles fic, but as your anon’s inspired me. Here is a snippet of that polyship ficlet:

~*~ 

“So have you told him yet?” 

Derek nearly drops the cup of coffee he’d been holding onto, his entire body tense as he realize’s the exact topic of conversation that is taking place in the booth across the diner. 

“What…” 

Ah so he’s not the only one he’d caught off guard. Good know something’s never change. 

“Stiles.” 

There’s a change in her voice, almost like she’s scolding him but it’s tinged with some form of amusement. Good. That means she isn’t really irritated with him. 

“Have you?” 

Awww, Stiles. No. He shakes his head imagining the type of frown that would adorn her face right now. She’d been prodding him over skype and dropping hints all week. 

“No, but he’s your best friend.” 

“And he’s your…” 

“My what…” 

Derek slides the other two cups towards his tray and places them carefully into their slots. Making sure the tops are in no way loose, and have the proper heat slips between the cups. He is so not delaying the inevitable. 

Maybe just a little. 

“STILES.” 

“WHAT… ” 

Uh-oh. That is not a happy tone. Crap. Well he’d held out long enough, grabbing the tray and making his way down the aisle he slides in right by Stiles, and hands out there orders. Allison smiles her thanks, but is still frowning at… oh god, is he pouting? Derek leans over and presses a soft kiss to Stiles’ bruised cheek. “Don’t pout, its an honest question.” 

Stile’s mouth drops open, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. “You too?!” 

   Derek shakes his head, this conversation had been brewing for some time. The three of them had come along way since… well. The whole thing with his Uncle Peter and Gerard Argent. Their weird on and off again relationship had an even weirder rocky start. Given that Allison was the daughter of a hunter (ones responsible for murdering his family), and Stiles was the son of the towns Sheriff (who had him arrested not once but twice). Even weirder that the newly bitten beta, Scott Mccall, who spent his first year hounding after Allison, who’d been sleeping with Stiles, and had no obvious interest in Scott. The less said about their beginnings the better.   

“Right Derek?” 

Crap. 

“He zoned out again.” 

“I did not zone out.” 

“You did too.” Stiles reaches out and pokes his face. 

Derek does not feel bad about grabbing said finger and bending it slightly to the left. His awkward as hell boyfriend lurches along with his trapped finger. “Stop changing the subject,” it’s better to nip this in the bud before Stiles starts on a tangent about something that is irrelevant and throws them off track. He lets go of the finger and pushes his hand away. “Stiles.” 

“No, I haven’t told him yet.” 

Allison leans forward her arms stretched out on the table, fingers tangling with Stiles’ free hand. “I thought we agreed?” 

“We rock, paper, scissored.” 

“Seriously. What’s holding you back?” Derek can feel Stile’s anxiety, he’s reeked of it all week, but he thought it was due to that dick chemistry teacher, and his father’s work hours. 

“It’s been a rough week.” 

“For all of us.” Allison smiles at him, warm brown eyes shining with love and support. Something that up until a month or two ago, hadn’t really been there.

“Yeah but…” 

“Are you… ashamed of us?” this is not the time to be harsh but he can’t let this go. Stiles had had all week to talk to Scott about this. 

“WHAT, no, no way.” Stiles entire body is practically vibrating with energy, the coffee was suppose to slow him down. “You know you guys are it for me.” 

There’s a sharp kick to his shin that has him jumping in his seat, and thank god for werewolf reflexes, otherwise there would have been coffee all over the place.  

“We know.” Allison’s frowning at him now. Shit she kicks hard. 

“Then what’s the problem,” Derek asks, his sliding his leg to the left before she can kick him again. 

“Look, I know you guys want to be honest, and I do too. Believe me, but telling Scott about the three of us, is a hell of a lot harder than telling my dad.” 

Oh boy, had that been a not so fun conversation. Three weeks of Stiles being grounded for lying, was made into just two weeks when Allison had forced Stiles into telling the Sheriff the entire truth. Yep. Even the whole werewolf thing. The less said about Chris Argents reaction the better.

“You’d think by now he’d a sniffed the truth out but no.” 

Yeah. There was a reason for that. Scott was still in denial about being a werewolf. Not as deep as he was a year ago when he was first bitten. If Derek had his way there would be no talking of Scott McCall, not after what he’d done. But this wasn’t about his feelings, this is about what the three of them had agreed on last week. Just before the Allison and her dad had returned from their much needed trip out of the town. 

“Stiles we really need to tell him, especially if we’re gonna be working with him.” 

“Not that we need to… AH… would you cut that out!?” This time it wasn’t Allison who kicked him. 

“Look,” Allison pulled their attention back towards her by yanking on their hands. “We agreed, and you’re one who volunteered.” 

The sound that left Stile’s lips was not appropriate for public spaces. “We rock paper scissored this decision!” 

“And you lost.” 

Oh god he was dating children. 

~*~ 

This is amazing @tygerblaze! I love it so much! 

[kalicofox]

@cobaltkestrel, who asked for Prompt #5! 

Two: The A22hole iin apartment 203 Ii 2wear to god, iif you flood your bathroom one more tiime Ii won’t be held re2ponsiible for the hell Ii wiill raiin down on you. You liive above me, a22hole, and the water leak2 iintwo my liiviing room. Tiired of your 2hiit, apartment 197

Roxy stared bemusedly at the note she'd found taped to her apartment door on her way in from work. She hadn't thought she had flooded the bathroom since the time-which-shall-not-be-spoken-of, but obviously something had happened since she'd left for work that morning, and if it was bad enough that her downstairs neighbor was complaining, then she shuddered to think about what had happened to her own floor.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

"Surprise!" Two voices chimed, and Roxy's flew wide as two dark haired, nearly identical people practically pounced on her.

"So wait," Roxy laughed a while later, ensconced at her kitchen table with a tray of muffins being shared between herself, Jake and Jane. "You guys showed up literally twenty minutes after I leave, broke into my apartment, and then just hung out here all day waiting for me to get back? Why didn't you call!?"

"Don't be silly," Jane sniffed primly, "That would have ruined your birthday present."

"Plus it gave me time to fix your toilet." Jake added, grinning shamefacedly, "Has the damn thing always been that tempermental?"

"Wait, you're the one who flooded the bathroom?" Roxy demanded laughingly, "I mean, yeah, it has issues, but I figured out the trick to stop it flooding every couple of days months ago!"

"Yeah," Jake winced, "Um, that is, yes. But I fixed it!" He added hastily, and Jane nodded along with him.

"And cleaned up all of the water." She frowned, then glanced down the short hallway to the bathroom. The short, carpeted hallway. "The carpet's probably still damp though." 

Roxy waved them off. "It's fine, I've been trying to get the manager to do something about it since basically when I moved in. At this point I'm pretty sure that the dude is dead or something."

Jane frowned, but said nothing, and Jake brought up the latest Star Trek movie, fairly effectively diverting the conversations.

It wasn't until Jane and Jake left and she was getting ready for bed that Roxy remembered the note from her downstairs neighbor and pulled it out of her pocket, examining the weird spelling mistakes and cramped handwriting for a long moment before tossing it towards her desk trash and forgetting about it.

Or rather, she mostly forgot about it. Every once in a while something would drag up the memory of it, she'd spend a while wondering what kind of hell her neighbor could possibly come up with, and then she'd forget about it again.

Until her tub overflowed.

In her defense, it (mostly) wasn't her fault. The secondary drain was, apparently, only for show, and the shower head had been leaking for days, so she'd felt pretty comfortable just leaving a bucket to catch the leak every morning before she'd gone to work. A bucket that sat right over the primary drain. And wouldn't move once it was full of water.

She knew something was wrong as soon as she got home and saw the another note on her front door. It only had three words on it, but those three words rang in her head like a bell as she went through the motions of cleaning up The Great Flood, Part 4.

Ii warned you.

Roxy was pretty sure she didn't have to wonder about the sort of hell her neighbor could come up with anymore. In fact, if she didn't know better, she would have thought that her neighbor had some sort of magical ability to make everything in her life turn to shit. And it all began and ended with electronics. 

Anything that she owned that connected to the Internet was suddenly the buggiest, most malware filled piece of shit she'd ever used, despite the customized firewalls and virus protection that she'd built herself.

Her power was shut off three times in five days for lack of payment. It took three hours on the phone each time to get it turned back on, and each time the person on the other end was baffled as her account would miraculously reappear in their system.

Her Netflix account was suddenly restricted to only shows rated teen and under.

Every single religious mailing list in the area was sending her pamphlets and donation requests.

She was pretty sure that her being late for work three days in a row was their fault, too, since catching every single red light on the way was a statistical improbability, but she couldn't really prove it.

She'd walked straight into a closed automatic door that only seconds before had opened just fine for someone else.

The last straw was waiting for her at her mailbox, on the seventh day of the week of hell, and it didn't even have anything to do with the asshole in 197. 

"Heya, Dollface," Cronus Ampora, wannabe greaser, wannabe musician, and definitely her ex, smiled toothily at her, his hair slicked back with what had to be at least half a pound of gel.

"What are you doing here, Cronus." Roxy asked, her voice flat. 

Cronus pouted, pushing away from the wall and sauntering towards her. "What, can't a guy just drop in to see how an old flame is doin'?"

"No." Roxy said even more flatly, and Cronus winced theatrically. 

"Jeeze Rox, you're being pretty harsh-"

"No, I'm not. I'm being blunt." Roxy interrupted, crossing her arms and glaring at him, "There's a fucking difference, Cronus. Now why are you here?"

"I need a place to stay. Meenah kicked me out."

Roxy gaped at him. "How about not?" She asked, then shook her head. "Actually, how about hell fucking no!"

"Awww, c'mon Rox," Cronus wheedled, and Roxy exploded.

"I said no! Jesus fucking Christ, Cronus, I have had the week from hell and there is no way I can fucking deal with you right now! Christ, you didn't even have the decency to call! What were you going to do if I wasn't here, harass my neighbors?" She barked with bitter laughter at that idea, "There's a plan, yeah, let's just piss them off even more than I already have!"

Cronus opened his mouth to say something, but Roxy just rode right over him, the words spilling from her mouth in a flood now that she'd started.

"Do you know, I didn't even do it on purpose!" She said, "I just couldn't figure out how to make it stop dripping! But does that asshole do anything reasonable, like calling the manager on me or something? NOooooooOOooo!" She throws her arms out wildly, nearly hitting someone tall and thin who'd just come in the front door, with her purse. "No they do not!" She says emphatically, "Instead!" She declares, stabbing one finger into Cronus' chest, "Instead I get hacked!"

Cronus raises one eyebrow doubtfully. "You." He clarifies, "You got hacked?"

"Yes!" Roxy wailed, "Everything! I could practically see this asshole  cracking my firewalls as fast as I could build them!"

The other guy, now over by his mailbox, chokes abruptly, but Roxy was too into her spiel to stop.

"And it wasn't even my fault! I can't afford to call a plumber! Do you even know how much they cost!?"

Cronus was starting to look a little trapped, and Roxy abruptly realized that she'd backed him up against the wall. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, took a step back, and let the breath out slowly.

"So to get back to the original point," She said, dragging a veneer of calm back over herself, "No. You can't stay with me. My carpet still isn't even dry from this last clusterfuck."

"Right, okay, thanks Dollface, bye!" Cronus croaks, and Roxy watches, vaguely bemused, as he scrambles to get out the door.

As soon as he was out of sight though, all of the fight went out of her and she sighed, slumping despondently against her mailbox.

"Boyfriend troublth?" A rough voice, deep, with the faintest hint of a lisp, asked, and Roxy turned her head to look at the speaker.

"No." She sighed, recognizing the guy she'd almost hit with her purse. "He's just an ex. His newest girlfriend kicked him out. Sorry for about the purse to the face."

"It'th fine." The guy smiled crookedly, "You mithed, anyway."

Roxy nodded, "That's good."

The guy nodded back and turned to head upstairs. "I hope thingth get better for you!" He called back over his shoulder, and Roxy smiled weakly.

"Thanks!"

When she finally made it all the way up the stairs to her apartment (because of course the elevator stopped working for her, too,) there was another note taped to it.

2orry.