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letstalkaboutfandomsbaby · 5 months ago

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╔══•.·.☆.·.♥︎.·.☆.·.•══╗

buff guy

╚══•.·.☆.·.♥︎.·.☆.·.•══╝

ʚ Part 5 ɞ

❥ CW: chubby fem reader x buff guy, LOTS of dialogue, a little bit on innuendo

❥ A/N: hello!! This chapter got LONG sksksk but it was fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it!!

You go to work as usual on Monday. The day is normal, save for the several texts you receive from Guy throughout the day. It's on your break when you're finally able to see all of them.

Guy: Hi

Guy: It's me

Guy: 1 Attachment

Guy: This was my breakfast

Guy: Do you like photos of food? Would you like me to send more of them?

Guy: 1 Attachment

Guy: This was my lunch

Guy: I hope you are just busy with work and are not ignoring me. That would hurt.

Guy: Please let me know when you get this

"Jesus Christ," your coworker says, scrolling through the messages again. "He's clingy. The food does look good though."

"What should I say?" you ask.

"Well, I would say 'hi', and then maybe 'I am at work, I can't talk right now', and then maybe 'I will text you later'."

You sigh, taking your phone back and writing him what your coworker suggested.

Guy: I understand. Can we talk tonight? I would enjoy speaking with you on the phone

Y/N: Sure, we can talk tonight. Maybe we can chat while I make dinner

Guy: I would like that

You put your phone away, taking it out again once you get home.

Y/N: Hey, I'm home if you want to call

Almost immediately after you send the text, your phone rings, 'Buff Guy' showing up on your screen. You bite your lip, flicking the 'answer' button.

"Hello?"

"Hey." His voice is so deep over the phone, making you shiver. "How was your day?"

"It was fine. Nothing exciting happened. What about you?" He sighs.

"It was boring. I hated it." You hum.

"The mystical life of a CEO, huh?" He chuckles and your stomach flips delightfully.

"Yeah, exactly." The two of you go quiet before he clears his throat. "I... I missed you today." You arch your brow.

"Oh really?" He hums in agreement.

"So much."

"Hmm."

"Did you miss me?" he asks. You pause, thinking.

"Actually, yeah. I did. I missed seeing you when you come in for coffee. I missed making your drink like usual. I spent all day making dumb cream-chinos and lattes."

His breathing turns heavy. You can even hear him swallow.

"Guy? You okay?"

"Yeah, uh... I'm really sorry but I need to go."

"Need to go? Already? We've only been talking for five minutes."

"I know, I'm sorry but... something's come up."

You pout, but you're thankful that he wasn't there to see your sad expression.

"Okay, I understand."

"Wait."

"Mm-hm?"

"Can we please talk tomorrow? I'm sorry for cutting things short tonight, but I promise tomorrow will be different."

"Hmm... okay. But don't make this a habit."

"I promise I won't. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

You pull the phone away from your ear, hitting the 'hang up' option. You find yourself alone, disappointed that your call couldn't go on longer than you wanted.

The next day, Guy calls again around the same time.

"Hi."

"Hey, Guy."

"I'd like to apologize again for last night." You hear shuffling on the other end of the line. "I didn't want to end the call so suddenly, but I had things to attend to."

"It's okay."

"What are you up to?"

"Well, I was going to make dinner."

"What will you make?"

"Baked spaghetti," you say with a smile.

"That sounds really good."

"Mm, well, maybe if you play your cards right, I can make it for you some day."

"I would be honored." You laugh, pulling out a pot.

"Hold on, I gotta get some water. I'm gonna put you down for a bit."

"Okay."

You place the phone on the counter, beside the sink. You fill the pot with water, taking it to the stove and turning the stove on. You picked your phone back up again.

"Hey, I'm back."

"I missed you." You snicker.

"It was, like, two minutes max."

"I still missed you." You hum, waiting for the pot to boil.

"So, what exactly do you do as a CEO?" He grunts.

"Nothing important. I mostly hire people and encourage them to actually do their job right."

"Ah, okay. So why did you have a business trip?"

"I am hiring an executive to represent our company in this city, so I'm interviewing people this week."

"Ooooh."

"It's all very boring. Tell me about your day." You scoff, grabbing the spaghetti from the pantry.

"It wasn't anything special. Just made drinks, like usual."

"Was anyone mean to you?"

"No, everyone was nice. The crockety old man who comes in for an extra-dry cappuccino made with almond milk was actually pretty decent today. Apparently today is his anniversary."

"Oh, that's nice. How long has he been married?"

"I didn't care enough to ask."

He laughs, deep. It makes you smile as you add the pasta to the water.

"What did you eat today?" he asks.

"Hmm, I had two coffees at work and..." You think for a moment. "Oh! Yeah, I ate half a sandwich from the shop next door. I'm saving the other half for lunch tomorrow."

"That doesn't sound like much."

"It wasn't, but I wasn't that hungry."

"Please take care of yourself," he continues, "at least while I'm not there."

"What are you, my dad?" There's a pause on the other end of the line.

"Do you want me to be?"

"Oh my god, WHAT??" Your eyes are wide, staring into your living room. "Are you being serious right now? Please tell me you're not being serious."

Laughter erupts on the other end of the line and you groan.

"You're fucking with me, huh?"

"Exactly."

"Fuck you."

"Some day you will."

"EXCUSE ME?! HELLO?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SPEAKING TO?!" He laughs again, louder this time and you growl. "If you keep this up, I'm just gonna hang up."

"Haha, no, no, I'm sorry. I'll stop." You sigh, pressing your cool hand against your warm cheek.

"What did you eat today?" He hums in thought.

"I had egg whites for breakfast with some avocado. I had a turkey burger for lunch. And then for dinner I had salmon and a salad."

"Hm. Can I be honest with you?"

"Always."

"That sounds boring as hell." He laughs at that.

"How so?"

"Egg whites? Turkey? Salmon? Where's the fun in that? Eat some carbs."

"The turkey burger came with a bun."

"And I bet it was whole wheat, huh?"

His silence answers your question and makes you laugh hard, throwing your head back.

"Oh my god, I'm right aren't I? Oh my god, that's so funny."

"You're very smart, you know that?" You hum, pulling the spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese from the fridge.

"I'm just good at predicting things."

"And yet you couldn't comprehend that I like you?" You pout.

"That's different."

"Not really." You hear some fumbling and a distant sigh. "I'm sorry, my coworker is calling me. Can I call you back?"

"Yeah, sure. I gotta put my spaghetti in the oven anyways."

"Alright. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye."

You hang up, sliding the phone across the counter. You strain your cooked pasta, adding sauce before pouring it into a glass dish and covering it with a layer of mozzarella cheese. You put it in the oven for thirty minutes.

Guy: I'm sorry. My coworker got so drunk that now they're sick. I have to attend to them. Can I call you tomorrow?

Y/N: Yeah, that's fine :(

Guy: I'm so sorry about this. Please believe me when I say I would much rather be talking with you than dealing with a puking coworker

Y/N: I understand. Goodnight

Guy: Goodnight

You eat your baked spaghetti in silence.

Wednesday comes and goes, but before you can go to bed, Guy calls you.

"Hey," he begins, "I'm sorry about last night. I hope you can forgive me."

"I guess I can. It was just lonely." You hear him sigh deeply.

"I am so, so sorry for doing that to you, Y/N. I'm so sorry I put you through that. I hate disappointing you."

"You've only done it a couple times so far," you admit.

"I know, and each time is torture."

Silence fills the line before you hear him shuffling on the other end.

"Are you done with me?" he asks. You sigh heavily.

"No. I just need to lower my expectations, I guess."

"Please don't," he pleads. "I promise this isn't normal for me. I don't want you to ever feel like you're settling with me. I want to give you everything you want and need, I want to make you the happiest woman in the world, I—"

"You know," you interject him, sitting up in bed, "you're much more talkative over the phone." You hear him huff.

"It's easier to tell you how I feel when I don't have to face you."

"That's really weird."

"I know," he sighs. "I just... you know, my throat closes up when I'm around you. I feel like I'm going crazy when you're in front of me, especially when I smell you or see you smile. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

You cross your legs into a sitting position.

"Keep going," you say, and he takes a deep breath.

"When I first saw you, I thought I had met an angel. My feelings cemented themselves almost immediately. And then you smiled at me and took my order and your voice was so sweet."

"Are you attracted to me?"

"Immensely."

"In what way?"

"Do you want details or should I be generic and just say you're beautiful?"

"Details."

You hear a deep breath, then a sigh.

"You're radiant," he begins. "You're starlight. I look at you and I see a goddess. Your hair, your eyes, don't get me started on your body."

"Talk about my body."

You hear him swallow.

"Have you seen yourself? You're gorgeous. I love your body, your curves. I can't stop staring at you no matter how hard I try. I..."

"You what?"

"...I think about you, a lot, late at night. I want you so badly sometimes it makes me feel insane."

"You want me... sexually?"

"Isn't is obvious?"

"You're hard to read." He chuckles.

"You know, I get that a lot, actually."

"Gee, I wonder why." He laughs louder.

"I like how sarcastic you are. It's cute."

"Be honest with me." He goes silent as you speak. "Are you interested in me just because you want to fuck me?"

"No," he says sternly. "I could never have you in just that way. I need all of you, every last bit. I want to make you mine."

"Ah, so you're possessive."

"Only of you."

You glance at your clock, realizing the time.

"Oh, shoot. I'm sorry, I gotta go, it's getting late. I gotta open tomorrow."

"I understand. Can we continue this conversation tomorrow?"

"Sure, if you want."

"You say that a lot, you know that?" You pause.

"Does it bother you?"

"No, but I don't want you to do things just because I want to. I want you to do the things that you want to do."

"Trust me, I do. I'm just trying to be considerate."

"I appreciate that." You hear shuffling on the line. "I'll let you go. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Guy."

You hung up, plopping back down into bed, snuggling into your sheets after plugging in your phone. You think about Guy, about the things he said, as you drift off to sleep.

Thursday seems to go by slower than the rest of the week, probably because you were opening. Guy doesn't text you very much either, which you find disappointing.

You initiate the call tonight.

"Hello."

"Hey."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to you."

He gives a breathless laugh.

"Really? You did? You're not fucking with me?"

"No, I'm not fucking with you."

"Wow..."

"What's 'wow'?"

"I'm just... I thought I was annoying you. I didn't expect you to want to talk to me. I felt like you were doing it just to be nice, not because you really wanted to."

"Oh..." You think for a moment. "I'm sorry I gave you that impression, Guy."

"It's okay. I was the one who assumed you weren't actually into me." He clears his throat. "You... are into me, right?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"'Surprisingly'? What does that mean?"

"Well, I thought you'd be shallow and selfish, because I assumed all gym guys were like that, but you're pretty down to Earth. You're sincere."

"Do you—"

"Yes, Guy. I like it." He chuckles.

"You know me so well already."

"I know some of you."

"I want you to know all of me one day. I want you to know me in your bones."

You gulp, clearing your throat.

"Well, aren't you the romantic."

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"What do you like about me?"

You don't expect the question, but you think about it regardless.

"Well... I've told you before, but you're very handsome. I like your muscles. You're strong, so you can protect me from big scary monsters." He laughs, and it makes you smile. "I like your laugh, and the way you smile. I like that you're straight-forward, because I need that sometimes. I'm not always the brightest."

"Don't say that. You're very smart."

"I didn't realize you liked me for the longest time."

"That doesn't mean you're not smart. I don't like when you talk like that."

You huff, rolling your eyes.

"Say you're sorry."

"What?"

"Say you're sorry to yourself."

You glance around the room.

"I'm... sorry?"

"That wasn't very convincing."

"What is this? 2nd grade? Why are you—"

"Y/N."

You sigh, tossing your head back and staring at the ceiling for a moment before recovering.

"I'm sorry for not being nice to myself."

"Good. Thank you."

"Are you done parenting me now?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I don't need to be scolded anymore tonight."

"I wasn't scolding you."

"Sure, Dad."

"That's 'Daddy' to you."

"OH MY GOD, NO, STOP." He's laughing, loudly. You imagine him throwing his head back, a hand coming to his chest to steady himself.

"Messing with you is so fun." You grumble.

"Meanie."

"Aw, don't be like that. It's all in good fun."

"I know, I know."

The two of you go quiet again. You yawn audibly.

"Tired?"

"Yeah. I was up so early today."

"I'll let you get some sleep. I hope you have a good day tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"Goodnight."

"So what exactly are we?" you ask as you answer the phone on Friday night.

"What happened to 'hello'?"

"Please just answer me."

"I thought we were dating."

"Like, exclusively?" He pauses.

"Have you been seeing other men?"

"No, hell no. Have you been seeing other women?"

"Of course not."

"Then are we exclusive?"

Silence, again.

"I'd like to be," he whispers. You twist your mouth before pouting to yourself.

"I'd like it too." You hear him exhale.

"Then we're on the same page."

"I guess so."

"Y/N?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you properly in person, but I'll ask now: will you be my girlfriend? Exclusively?"

You feel butterflies in your stomach. God, you felt like a teenager again.

"Yes. I'll be your girlfriend." You hear him grunt, and you twist your face in thought. "What was that?"

"Oh, uh... I did a fist-bump."

You laugh, loud and joyful, and he laughs too.

"Alright, boyfriend. Tell me about your day."

"Ugh, it was boring. I found the proper candidate and offered them the job, but they haven't replied yet. They're going to say yes, but I hate having to wait to make everything official."

"I would hate to have your job."

"Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

"I'm sorry!" you giggle. "I would just hate to be at the top of a company and have to make all these big decisions and being bored."

"Congratulations. You just summed up my whole job." You laugh again, and you imagine him smiling. "Tell me about your day."

"Ah, it was fine. I have tomorrow off which is nice. I'll sleep in and hang out at home and just relax." He hums.

"Can I take you out tomorrow?"

"Hmm, where you wanna take me?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes, honestly."

"I'd like to go with you to the gym." You furrow your brow.

"The gym? Why the gym? Are you trying to tell me to lose weight?"

"God, no. I like you the way you are. But I like the gym and I would like to spend time with you doing something I enjoy."

"Did you not enjoy dinner or the movie?"

"I did, I did. Please don't get the wrong idea. I just... the gym is a big part of my life and I want to enjoy it with someone I care about. It would be a lot more fun than going alone."

"Hm. I guess I can see where you're coming from. But I'm not going to the gym to 'lose weight'. I'm gonna go there to take care of my health. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. What time were you thinking?"

"Well, I usually go in the morning before work, but if you want to sleep in we can go a little later, since I also don't work tomorrow."

"Soooo what time?"

"What time do you want to go?" You hum.

"Maybe after ten. I'd like to sleep in until at least nine thirty."

"How about you wake up at ten and I pick you up at ten thirty?"

"Oh my god, that would be perfect."

"Good. Can I take you to lunch afterward?"

"I would like that."

"Where would you like to go?"

"Hmmm, I wanna go somewhere to get a sandwich. Do you know any good places?"

"I know just the place."

"Awesome. Sandwich city, here I come." He chuckles at that.

"Are you going to get ready for bed soon?"

"Oh, I'm already ready for bed. Just need to turn off the light and I'll go to sleep."

"Sounds nice. I need to finish unpacking and then I'll get ready for bed."

"Would you like me to let you go so you can unpack?"

"...Not really. I wish I could just talk to you forever."

"Talking to you this week has actually been really nice. You're fun to talk to."

"Thank you."

The line goes quiet before you yawn.

"Someone's sleepy."

"Can't help it! I'm all snuggled into bed."

"Hm, then I'll let you go. Then you can sleep and I'll pick you up in the morning."

"Okie dokie artichokie." He laughs.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Guy."

You hang up the phone and plug it in, turning out the light and rolling over.

#chubby reader x buff guy

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starly-amazing · 26 days ago

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Cover art by @mothacabra as a donation commission for Palestine. Commission them here!

A Star From the Multiverse - Ch 6 is OUT!

Fic summary: After FINALLY beating the King after thousands of tries, Siffrin is STILL sent back to Dormont. They. Just. Can't. Do. It. Anymore. They drag themself through the day and to the Favor Tree in the dead of night, begging, wishing for help...and they get it in the form of a strange creature with talons and feathers and fangs.

Chapter summary: Back in the blinding building again (again)! Can they kill the King this time?

Rating: Mature | Graphic depictions of violence & all the canon-typical warnings. Chemical burns.

[Read on Ao3]

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

The void again.

The sensations seem to glow before him.

Floor two's safe room taunts them, brighter than the others.

If he just made it a little further...

Just to floor three.

...

Everything is dampened.

It's almost peaceful.

Maybe you can use this to get some rest.

Without the constant reminder of how blinding stupid you are.

Ah.

Never mind.

They feel their burning thoughts rage behind a thick curtain of fog.

Whatever.

Maybe you can stay here for a while.

Time doesn't move here, so you're not wasting anyone's life.

Maybe.

...

Just enjoy feeling

N o t h i—

Siffrin wakes up in Dormont.

The grass pokes at his face.

...

Ah.

Of course.

Of course, you can't rest!

Not even a little bit!

Why would you expect anything else?

Oh! Here come the thoughts again!

Here we go!

Tee hee~!

Ohh!

That was awful!

And stupid!

You're stupid!

They JUST warned you about that, and you went and got yourself melted into a Frin puddle! Burning spicy Frin soup! Cooked from the inside and out, sliced and diced into fine pieces, pulverized until tender! Serve with a tall glass of tears!

Taa hee~!

Just like that!

Frin puddle!

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHhA

Hahahah hahhhaha

...

Welp.

...

Mirabelle will be here soon.

....

...

Back to it, Siffrin. You have a... something to do...

Or whatever.

>>>

He stands before the Favor Tree. Their interactions with the Housemaiden and Fighter went smoothly for once—or maybe he was just too numb to notice anything different aside from the weird hand thing Isabeau did again.

Taking a breath, they step into the darkness.

Loop time.

At least there's still memories to recover.

For now.

He blinks a few times to adjust his eye and looks up. Loop sits in their spot in the Favor Tree, peering down at them with that same confused expression.

Siffrin clambers up to their own seat and plops down with a sigh.

Already a routine.

He looks at Loop. They blink and tilt their head.

He waits.

"Hmm, stardust, I believe. I have a feeling I should—"

"Yes, yes, you should know me, we met before. You're a rukemi. You call yourself Loop. I'm a human. I call myself Siffrin. I'm stuck in a time loop, and you forget like ninety-nine percent of what I say. We're trying to kill the King. We keep dying. Can't even blinding get back to fight him again."

"Ah. Well. Okay. Uhm." Their ears fold back, and feathers on their face puff out fully. They look around wildly and wince, paw flying to their face, over their destroyed eye. "Well. Yes. Okay. Yes, the time loops make a lot more sense now, but I still can't say I'm one hundred percent convinced I'm not just a brain in a jar or in a video game or something.”

"A what?" Their eyebrow twitches upward.

"Never mind. Anyway! I said I would help you, didn't I? I think?"

He grumbles and nods.

"Well, I seem to be failing pretty terribly at that, aren't I?" They let out a nervous chuckle and dig their claw into the bark. The feathers on their face seem to deflate, and they look off beyond the leaves.

Siffrin sighs and lowers their head.

"Well, the uh... 'chemical warfare' idea you had is pretty good if I could blinding get to the King without getting myself killed horribly."

"Chemical warfare??? Did I really suggest war crimes?" Their head seems to sink into their shoulders as their ears flatten. "Well... he is a King, so I guess it cancels out." They shrug and ruffle the feathers on their shoulders.

"He deserves so much worse."

"Right," Loop says. "So."

Siffrin sighs and hits his head on the trunk. He digs his fingers into his arm; they can almost feel their skin still burning under their glove.

"Sooo," Loop repeats. "This is where you tell me your life story, isn't it?"

"Hrm."

"Ooor we can just sit here in silence while you admire my beautiful plumage."

"Just...give me a minute." They close their eye and sigh.

They can't help themself again; they can feel the manic desperation bubble up from within them as they start to recount their time in the loops. It seems to take a bit longer for them to pick up steam, but as soon as they catch a whiff of a buried memory, they take off on their wild tangents once again.

If only Loop could remember.

If only he could just skip talking about the loops entirely.

Just have a little more time, not thinking about them.

Ugh.

As the memories taper off once again, and Siffrin slumps breathlessly in his seat, Loop simply blinks and coughs.

"Hm, well, I see now how I might have suggested spraying him with drain cleaner."

"Yes, so what other suggestions do you have?" he rasps, massaging his throat.

"Well," they open their mouth. They close it and put a paw to their head, grimacing. "More drain cleaner?"

He slams his head against the tree, harder this time. "What if it's not enough? What if nothing's enough? None of the books I found have anything useful! What if I'm just walking us all back to our deaths another thousand times? I can't keep doing this, do you know how to feels to die?" He runs his nails down the bark again and again until his nails chip and fingers bleed.

"Well...not physically," Loop mutters, poking at a beetle. "But! You said you haven't faced him again since we've met. So it's too early to give up hope, don't you think?"

"I gave up hope a long time ago. I don't even know why I'm bothering with this." Their body slumps against the trunk, and they slide down.

"Wow. Grim. And I thought I was bad."

"Huh."

"Nothing, nothing! Just keep chipping away, stardust! You can't fuck it up every time!"

"Wow, thanks."

Loop sighs. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be here any more than you do." Their voice is low, defeated, but they immediately perk up and curve their eye upward in a smile. "But I guess we're both stuck now!"

Siffrin grumbles.

Another sigh. "I'm sure your party will be more useful than I am with this. Maybe try talking to them this time. Just the once?"

"No," they say flatly. "I can do this on my own."

"You say that, yet you just said you gave up hope."

Siffrin grumbles again while ripping a piece of bark off and tossing it.

"It's getting late. I should get back." They slide off the branch and hop to the ground. Loop says nothing, but he can see them waving from the corner of their eye.

>>>

Dinner time.

Tastes like ash.

The Hous—Mirabelle says her speech. Agree to follow her to the end of time. Keep smiling.

Group hug.

Without you.

>>>

Isabeau tries to tell them that thing again. The thing he chickens out of saying every time.

At least they're acting normal enough, he's bringing it up again.

>>>

House time.

Second pillar on the right.

Crash!

Keys. Doors. Spike trap. Go around. Get poison. More traps. Keep smiling.

Safe room. Sit and rest while friends talk about—

"BECAUSE IT'S SNACKS TIME, BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"

Huh?

Siffrin blinks away their stupor and sees Bonnie rush off to the corner of the room. He rubs his eye as they pull out a massive amount of snacks from their bag.

He tilts his head.

Okay, this is definitely new.

Everyone else is sitting in their usual spot. But Bonnie never made snacks before. Right? There was just the candy and snack they had on the only loop they defeated the King... Oh, and those fruit slices they insisted Siffrin try whenever he caught them eating in the classroom.

The ones that killed him.

Several times.

What were they again? Apples? No. Pineapples.

He scratches his throat.

"...Oh, I remembered something." Odile reaches into her pocket. "Isabeau, heads or tails?"

"Huh?" He pauses, wiping a small scuff on his shoe. "Um... Tails!"

Odile flips a coin high in the air; everyone but Bonnie watches it spin an impressive number of times before she catches it and slaps it down on the back of her hand.

"...Huh. I lost," she shrugs and gives the coin a quick spin before pocketing it.

"Yay!" He cheers and claps for himself. "What do I win?"

"The sweet taste of victory and nothing else."

"I don't even get congrats? Wow m'dame... I thought we were friends..."

"We're not friends," she huffs and rolls her eyes with a smirk.

What?

Siffrin raises their head.

"We're associates."

His blood runs cold. They lock on to Odile, eye wide.

"Not companions?" Isabeau pouts, fluttering his eyelids.

"Colleagues. Allies, at best."

Allies?

"Not even..." Isabeau and Odile's voices fade into background noise. Siffrin freezes. His breath stutters. He—

Allies?

They think of you as just allies?

This whole time?

Not friends.

Just allies.

Just.

Allies.

Allies!

ALLIES!?

...

They take in a sharp breath. His lungs burn. He can't—he can't—

Of course.

Of course!

Why would they think of you as more than an ally?

You should be grateful they even think of you as that!

If they knew—if they KNEW how many times you failed them. How many times you brought them to their deaths!

If they knew!

They wouldn't even think of you as that!!!

Failure!

Useless!

Selfish!

Manipulative!

'Allies' is more than you deserve.

But still...

He digs his nails into his chest.

Still!

You actually thought!

This whole time, you still thought you all were friends!

Allies!

Just!

Just allies!!!

...

"SIF!"

"HUH!?" Siffrin nearly jumps out of his skin as he's torn from his mind. Catching himself with hands slamming hard on the tile, he focuses back in to see Isabeau, Bonnie, and Mirabelle crowding around them with Odile close behind.

Isabeau holds his hands up and backs away. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you like that but you were breathing really hard and not responding to any of us." He pauses to catch his breath. "Are you okay?"

Siffrin blinks.

What? Where are you now?

Oh, right, first floor safe room.

...

Allies.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" they smile. "Is everybody done with their snacks? We should probably move on."

"Uh, Bonbon hasn't handed them out yet." Isabeau exchanges glances with the others. "Sif, are you—"

"Yep! I was just thinking!"

"About?"

They open their mouth...

...

"I forgot!"

Everyone frowns. Isabeau clenches and relaxes his hands.

"Anyway! Let's eat! I feel good about this fight!"

At the very least, you'll get to burn his blinding eyes out.

Odile sighs. "Okay, Boniface, what snacks have you prepared for us?"

"LOTS! I HAVE LOTS OF SNACKS!!!! Guaranteed to make you full and boost moral!"

"Morale, Boniface."

Allies.

"That's what I said! Anyway! Today, I have..."

They dig into their bag and produce...

"Some PLANTAIN CHIPS!!!!"

"Oooh, did you use the last of those not-bananas to make them?"

"Yes. Yes, I did." They nod proudly. "Crunchy. Delicious. And full of potassium.” The snacks rattle in their hands. “That's plantain chips!!!"

Everyone begins to clap. Siffrin joins in absentmindedly.

Just allies.

"Second snack is..." They dig into their bag again. "Some boring but delicious cookies!!!

"Cookies!!!"

Their allies ' voices start to fade into nothing.

"Great sales pitch, Bonbon. 'Boring but delicious. Cookies, the taste of home.'"

>>>

"FRIN!"

"HWAH???

"YOU BLANKED OUT AGAIN! WHAT SNACK DO YOU WANT?"

"Oh! Uh!"

Stars, what was the third one? Or the second, or first?

Boring but delicious.

"Cookies, please!" They smile.

"Okay! Here! You! Go! Get your moraaaaaaaaale up! Up! Up!"

"Thank you!" They take a small bite of the cookie. It doesn't taste like nothing, at least. In fact, it tastes halfway decent!

"Siffrin, are you sure you're okay?" Mirabelle leans a bit closer to them and bites at a bit of dead skin on her lip.

"Yep!" he says while spraying cookie crumbs everywhere. "Just hungry! Feeling better already with Bonnie's amazing cooking!"

"Really!? It's that good? I mean of course it's that good! If it can cheer Frin up when they're feeling like crab, you know it's good!" They cross their arms and give a triumphant nod.

"It is good, Bonbon!" Isabeau takes a big bite of his rice triangle thing. He jumps. "Are these apple slices?"

"Yep! I saw Dile put plum in some a while ago, so I figured I'd try putting another fruit in there!"

They turn to Odile, who had just taken a tiny bite from hers.

She stares at the rice triangle.

Just...allies.

"It's okay, Dile. I know you're old and don't like change, so I have one with a plum if you want."

"Thank... You."

Just...

>>>

They're at the door to the third floor.

Siffrin removes the key from his pocket without dropping any of the caustic chemicals.

But...

There's still that sadness up ahead. Even if they don't get ambushed like a blind idiot, he still could break some of the bottles in the scuffle.

They should hand them off to Bonnie, but...

"Wait here."

"Huh?"

Siffrin dashes back to the nearest room.

Nope.

Next.

Nope.

Next.

Ah!

He spots a few coats hanging by the door. They swipe them all and rush back.

"What was that all about, Siffrin?" Odile narrows her gaze.

They start pulling bottle after bottle out of their pockets and line them up on the bench.

"What."

"Uhm, I was thinking. We should probably use any boost we can get in our fight."

"And you thought of using caustic chemicals?" She taps her book. "That's actually not a bad idea, Siffrin."

Bonnie squints at one of the labels. "You're gonna put soaps and stuff on the King? That's so funny! But why?"

Odile pulls out her notebook and scans the bottles. "Some of these, when mixed, can be incredibly caustic and can potentially blind him or cause respiratory distress."

Bonnie gasps and scoots closer to the bench. "Whoa. That's so cool!"

Isabeau already begins rearranging the bottles. "Yeah, some of these can burn! Great thinking, Sif!" He smiles at Siffrin for a brief moment before quickly turning back when they notice his darkening cheeks.

"Just want our fight to go as smoothly as possible!" They smile wider.

Mirabelle picks at her fingernail. "I don't know, that seems a bit cowardly to fight him like that."

"Mirabelle." Odile looks over her book. "This is The King we're talking about. The one who froze your home and country in time. The one who locked himself away at the top of the House that had to be opened with orbs spread across the entirety of Vaugarde?" She readjusts her glasses. "

"Yeah...yeah! You're right!" Her expression hardens with determination. "Let's burn his gross face right off!"

"That's the spirit, Mira!" Isabeau pats her on the back. She seems to relax and let her hands fall to her side.

"Yeah! Burn it right off!" Bonnie cheers with their fists raised high.

Odile chuckles. "Let's be careful not to influence our gentle Mirabelle too much. We don't want her entering her villain era just yet."

"Hee hee!" Mirabelle covers her mouth with a hand and bats her eyes cutely.

"Evil Belle! What evil things will she do!?"

"Haha, yeah Mira! What are your plans for world domination?"

"Uhm..." She looks a little unsure again. With a little gasp, she looks at Isabeau and Bonnie with a smirk. "Secret~!"

"Aw boo!" Isabeau and Bonnie say in unison.

"Okay, okay, reigning this back in, children. We still have a ways to go." She ignores everyone's pouts and nods at the coats Siffrin gathered. "I'm assuming you grabbed those to prevent any accidents?"

He shrugs and nods. "Wouldn't want to turn into a Siffrin puddle if a sadness hits us out of nowhere!"

Bonnie scrunches their nose. "Hahha, eww, Frin puddle!"

"It would probably be best if Boniface were to carry the bottles. We can make a makeshift bag with this coat here so they can easily drop it and run if need be."

"Yes! I get to hold the poison!"

>>>

Huh?

Oh!

Okay!

They're moving, finally!

Through the door.

Don't zone out!

There's the sadnesses nearby!

Don't! You! Forget!

They slow down as they near the hall they were ambushed in last time.

As expected, they hear faint shuffling from ahead.

Holding their hand out, they pull out their dagger. The others catch on and prepare.

And there they are. Not even looking at them!

They look weird, though, like two halves of a person.

Siffrin locks onto the paper type and just attacks.

It wails and thrashes around—the other one, a rock type, whips around and barrels forward, but Odile is ready with her Paper Craft.

The shorthaired one lashes out and hits Isabeau square in the chest. He stumbles back with a wheeze but manages to stay on his feet.

They're strong.

The long-haired one hits Odile with a rock move. It still sends her flying against the wall despite her resistance.

Bonnie darts in and out with tonics, bag of poison tucked safely behind a pillar.

Stronger than any other sadness they've faced in the House.

By the time they've finished, they're all shaking and out of breath and down half of their tonics.

"Please tell me there's no more of these before the King."

Well, if the House is what you remember, then...

"I hope not," Mirabelle mumbles while healing a big scrape on Isabeau's arm. "We should move forward and collect ourselves. I feel like there's a safe place to rest up ahead."

They all nod and hobble on forward. Bonnie nearly forgets the bag.

Just as Mirabelle assumed (and as Siffrin remembered!), they arrive at the same room that's been etched into his mind after every single time they died to the King.

The four of them lean against the wall and sink to the floor.

They all take turns tending to one another, Mirabelle with her healing Craft and the others with wash cloths, medicine, and bandages.

He starts to...

>>>

"Okay! ARE WE READY FOR SNACKS TIME!?"

Again?!

They blink to awareness as Bonnie once again runs off to the corner of the room. He forces himself to focus as their allies talk about their (forever impermanent) deaths, as Bonnie hands out their selection of snacks, as he nibbles on a madeline, which doesn't taste completely like ash, still.

It's new. It's new. They know there weren't snacks here or in the last safe room. But why???

Ugh. Why does it matter? Snacks! Enrichment!

What else are they supposed to be expecting from now on?

They brush off all the crumbs and head out.

Okay. Nothing too weird yet.

Just...

THE ROOM WITH THE WINE IS GONE!

Ughhhhhh.

Whatever. It's not like you remember to drink it half the time anyway.

Okay, sadness again. A little easier to kill after the experience from that last fight.

Kitchen looks different.

She didn't get upset over the plates. That's a plus.

Even more sadnesses.

Ah, the torch, at least this room didn't vanish, too.

Okay. Hair time.

Fwoosh!

>>>

Siffrin is ripped back into consciousness at the sounds of clinking glass.

They're in the final safe room.

Odile takes inventory of the bag of tonics. "I'm more convinced Siffrin's idea was the right call after the sadnesses we've encountered."

Nobody's asking—demanding to know what's wrong with him.

"Yeah! Brutal but effective!"

They envision Isabeau holding onto his hands, warm grip like steel, sweat soaking through their gloves in a weirdly comforting way.

"Hopefully," Mirabelle adds.

Isabeau pats her on the back. "It'll be okay, Mira. We've got this!"

Siffrin nods automatically.

They imagine her hands cupping their cheeks, her fingers brushing just below his scarred eye.

"Yes. I am feeling optimistic about this battle, despite our roadblocks on the way up."

He thinks about her ruffling his hair and struggling to comfort him in her own way.

"Yeah! And I've got SNACKS for one last SNACK TIME! WOO!"

Well...at least there's that. Though it's not exactly personal anymore.

They smile and nod through Bonnie's spiel and—

His nose twitches.

"And, um, the last snack..."

Bonnie cautiously collects the next option.

Another aromatic wave hits Siffrin and he salivates for the first time in Universe knows how long.

"Okay, I've never tried it before, but—"

"Ma—!" He... can't remember their name but can't forget that smell!

"Malanga fritters!" Bonnie says.

"!!!" Siffrin reaches out, and without another word, Bonnie hands him a napkin wrapped around a large helping of them.

They stare.

So crispy and greasy! Just like they were back—

There's a twinge behind their missing eye.

<<<

So crispy and greasy. They look so good!

He fishes out the biggest one and brings it to his mouth.

He takes another long sniff.

And pauses.

They're going to taste like ash, aren't they?

No. Not completely, the other snacks didn't!

But...

Bonnie is watching them intently.

You can't disappoint them!

Just pretend you dropped them in the dirt, but still are going to eat them because they're so good!

"What's wrong, Frin? Are you worried I messed them up? Because I promise I worked really hard on them! So they'll have to be good!"

"What? No! No, I know they're good, it's just..." Think, Siffrin. "It's been a while."

A long, long, long while.

Bonnie's head tilts.

Siffrin shoves an entire fritter in his mouth and bites down with a nice crunch.

Ignore the ash. Ignore the ash. Ignore the ash!

It's good. It's good. It's good!

"Well!?" Bonnie leans forward.

"Mmmmpphfhfh." Siffrin nods.

Malanga fritters.

It's been so long.

They chew slowly and focus on the surviving flavor.

They feel like they're going to cry.

Something new—something...

Not at all like the previous time in that room. Nothing like the time that led to them finally killing him.

Everything's different! There's no way you could have replicated last time anyway!

But it's fine! It's not like you have to when you won't ever be close enough to get hit with that one attack tee hee~!

They look at their hands to see nothing but crumbs and a thin shine of grease.

The lingering flavor slowly sours into an aftertaste.

They're still hungry.

>>>

"Okay. Do you all remember the plan?" Odile taps on the largest bottle.

Bonnie furiously nods. "Yeah! We go up to him and pretend we're going to have a fair fight, then BOOM! ACID IN THE FACE!"

"Technically, most of these are bases, but yes, essentially."

"You're a bases."

"Boniface ." Odile pinches the bridge of her nose. "Anyway, yes, aim for the face or anything exposed, throw, and run. Isabeau and I will be waiting right behind this door as backup if things go sour. Do not taunt the King. Do not converse with him. Do not give him any chance to turn it back in his favor."

Bonnie is nearly bouncing on their feet. "We’re gonna crab him up so bad he won’t know what hit him!!!"

Both Siffrin and Mirabelle take a deep, slow breath and nod.

He pats the bottles under their cloak, picks his head up high, and walks through the door.

As always, the King kneels before a nest of his own darkless hair.

Don't forget. Don't forget. Don't forget. MIRA has to deal the final hit. SHE'S the chosen one, not you.

You just have to make sure there's a first hit.

The walk to the King is long and tedious, as always.

Breathe in, and out.

Don't get your hopes up.

But.

It has to be.

It has to be it.

But.

Don't get your hopes up.

It is hopeless, after all.

But it has to be it!

It has—

"Ah...... ah......"

They stop before the King and glare. Their fingers twitch.

"Oh...... Young ones......"

He lowers his fists to scan the party.

"Are you...... here to kill me......? With just two of you............? And a child........?"

"Yep." Siffrin whips the bottles from his pockets with zero fanfare and chucks them directly into the King's face. They both make contact with a satisfying shatter. Bonnie's hits immediately after—before he even has a chance to cover his face.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH WHAT IS THIS?"

He doubles over as Mirabelle's bottles shatter at his feet. He takes one step before crashing to the floor with a resounding slam. The sounds of his rattling armor echo throughout the room almost as loud as his wails

"Run!"

The three of them take off as the King screams and flounders like a newborn fawn on ice. He hurls curse after curse at them, fumbling to regain his footing, remove a gauntlet, and wipe the chemicals from his eyes.

Closer, closer. Odile and Isabeau wave them on and slam the door behind them.

Everyone stands there, panting heavily for a moment. Even Isabeau seems winded.

Bonnie runs in place and waves their arms. "Hahah, oh crab! That was awesome! And scary! Scary awesome!"

"I can't believe that worked!" Isabeau peeks through the door. "He's still thrashing around out there. I don't even think he can follow us if he tried; his hair's tangled in everything!"

"And he keeps slipping!" Bonnie points and laughs.

"Oh, I hope he doesn't collapse the floor." Mirabelle worries.

"It is possible, but..." Odile glances out. "He's sitting back down trying to wipe it off now."

Siffrin's back hits the wall, and they slide down with a slow exhale.

It worked?

They take another breath.

It worked!

Hahaha! Was it really that simple?

No. No. Don't get your hopes up, Siffrin. That's when everything falls apart.

But...

He scoots closer to the door and peeks out.

Just like Isabeau said, the King is on his knees, furiously wiping his face with a massive hand. One gauntlet is discarded by his side.

The smile that creeps on their face is not forced, for once.

Even if they don't kill him this time...

At least there's some joy they can glean from making him suffer just a fraction of what he's put them all through.

Hahah! Burn till you're nothing more than a pile of regolith dust!

They want to watch him melt into a King puddle, but Odile closes the door and clears her throat.

"If the curse wasn't only a few hours away, I would have suggested waiting it out and letting him succumb to infection. But as it stands, I wouldn't want to gamble on us being frozen and leaving Mirabelle on her own if he does manage to recover."

"Right." Mirabelle clasps her hands to her chest and nods.

"It'll be okay!" Isabeau smiles. "It'll be an easy peasy fight."

"Lemon squeezy?" Bonnie's eyes seem to sparkle with hope.

"Lemon squeezy!" He gives them a thumbs up.

"Then we got this!" They cheer with their fists in the air.

"Don't get too brash," Odile chastizes. "He's still dangerous even blinded and burned."

Bonnie grumbles, but the others nod slowly.

"You okay, Sif?"

"Huh?" They blink a few times and see Isabeau hovering over him.

"You okay?" He tilts his head.

"Yeah!" They realize they have their cloak bunched up in their fists. He lets go.

The others have stopped talking and are now looking at them.

They smile wider. "Really! Hey, he's not thrashing so much, we should probably head out now before it gets too quiet."

Odile narrows her gaze. "Right," she sighs. "Everyone caught their breath?"

The party nods, Siffrin a little too forcefully.

Odile, Mirabelle, and Bonnie slowly creep out the door. Isabeau puts his hand on it and turns back to Siffrin, voice low.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course! A-okay and ready Freddy!" They whisper-yell.

Isabeau's smile wavers. He studies them. Scrutinizes him. But then he exhales, nods, and heads out the door.

Siffrin gives his aching cheeks a quick massage and follows.

The King is up ahead, looking like a mess. They can hear his ragged breathing from halfway across the room. Every few moments, he lets out a set of wheezing coughs. He's still sobbing like a child, like he didn't freeze an entire country and kill Siffrin and their friends allies a thousand times.

Closer. Closer.

The King doesn't seem to notice them. They hold their weapons at the ready.

Closer.

The party reaches the border of his trembling shadow and line themselves up along it. They silently power each other up, mouthing the words in order to channel some of the Craft energy out.

Odile raises a hand.

Three.

Siffrin grips their dagger.

Two.

Isabeau clenches his fists.

One.

Mirabelle raises her rapier.

GO!

With a practiced synchrony, the four of them let off their strongest attacks all at once. They all connect with his mottled face and hands, tearing into his skin and splashing blood in every direction.

He wails again and thrashes out at them, but the party dodges back with ease.

"Saviors!" He bellows. "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOUR COWARDLY TACTICS ARE ENOUGH TO DEFY THE UNIVERSE’S WILL?”

Siffrin attacks again before anyone else is close to ready with theirs.

"Ohhhh... ohhhhh............... You know........." He stops to cough and cough.

He's still not attacking.

"It still won't be enough..."

Wait.

He raises both hands, dark splotches etch his fingers and palms, raw and weeping.

Of course.

Siffrin lowers their dagger.

It's never enough.

The King snaps his fingers.

[ Y o u s e e a v i s i o n o f t h e f u t u r e ]

Every cell in their body alights in fire as their mind is smashed in from every direction.

Everyone hits the tiles with nothing more than a grunt.

Why, why, why?

Siffrin can't move—can't even make a sound.

We're so close!

We—

Of course, he could still use that attack! It hits everything! He doesn't need to aim!

Stupid stupid!

"Ohhhhhh ohhhhh Saviors........... You thought it was enough." He flexes his gauntlet. "All you have done was prevent me from viewing my perfect ending. I will still rest easy knowing Vaugarde will be frozen in eternal perfection............... even if I can no longer see it.............."

The others lay there silently. Isabeau and Odile both hold their finger to their lips.

Oh.

There's still a chance.

Mirabelle's fingers twitch.

If Mira can just recover enough to...

Yes. Yes, you just have to hold on long enough.

Isabeau is smiling at them. His eyes are hazy, and blood slowly trickles from a gash on his brow.

Siffrin blinks slowly, his lips twitch upward just a fraction. It's all they can do.

Just wait. Just wait.

Breathe in. And out.

The sound of heavy footsteps makes their blood run cold.

Shit!

"Boniface stay back!" Odile screams.

SLAM.

The wet sound of shattering bones echoes through the cavernous room. They can't see her body over Isabeau, but they can picture the scene perfectly.

No! No, no, no!

No!

Stars. Stars blind it all!

Even if we win this time...

Bonnie skids to a halt and freezes. A tonic tumbles from their grasp and shatters in front of them. Their hands slam over their mouth, nails digging into their skin.

"Dile?" they squeak.

Odile can only manage a single wheeze before she goes silent. The King's fist drips a trail of blood as he pulls back.

Bonnie! They're still out of range. Please, please don't move, don't move, don't move.

"Ohhhh............... Saviors.............. Some of you are still breathing........? Ohhhhhh... What a pity for you all.........”

Isabeau squeezes his eyes shut and bites his lip. Blood trickles from his mouth as he breathes deeply. Opening them once more, slowly, he pulls a despairing smile back on and mouths something Siffrin can't quite make out.

There's no point now.

He has to end it... Start again.

But they can't. Blinding. Move.

Mirabelle is facing the King, glaring right through him. Just like every time before her. Yet this time there's no satisfaction of angering him in her final moments if he can't see the look of brave defiance in her eyes.

She clenches a fist.

Gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut, she rolls to her side.

Siffrin's eye pleads with her to stay still. If she understood his message, she chooses to ignore it.

Mira, please no.

Not without Odile.

She takes another breath and slowly slides her arm under her.

A small flash catches Siffrin's eye.

On her chest is—

No.

No, no, no!

Siffrin tries to take in a deep breath.

Mirabelle pushes up and rolls to a crouch.

Ding ding!

SLAM.

...

Ha! Ha h hahahahha hahahah!

HAhahaa!

Hahahah!

This is what you get for being hopeful!

More of the same!

At least it's quicker than it could have been.

Isabeau grimaces again, teeth grinding on each other. He chokes back a sob the King might have heard were he not shaking viscera from his gauntlet.

But his smile is back. Even with tears in his eyes. Even with his body trembling.

He always does this.

Every time.

No matter how hurt he is or how scared.

As long as he can see them, as long as he can move, he gives them his full attention and smiles. He hides so much fear and pain behind his eyes, but thousands of loops have Siffrin seeing right through the mask.

They thought they were numb to the death by now, but of course, that one sliver of hope rips the wound wide open again and sprays it with the same chemicals burning through the King's skull.

"Ohhh............ ohhh............ Saviors......... That was the Housemaiden, was it not..........? Your healer............ I see now you were waiting for her to recover, were you not...........? Even though you so violently defied My Will, I will offer you a quick and merciful end if you speak up now........."

Go blind yourself, King.

Oh, wait!

Hahha!

We did that for you!

They almost don't want to bring attention to themself now; that would give him what he wants.

And yet...

They can't let Isabeau's smile fade. They can't let their last memory of him in this loop be as a pile of viscera and bones. His body still blocks the majority of the gore behind him.

Of what used to be their friends allies.

Stars. Why can't you even make one blinding sound!? Scream! Hit the floor! Throw your dagger!

The unsteady drip drip of Mirabelle and Odile's blood is the only sound in the room outside of their weak breathing. Bonnie continues to stand, trembling, in the corner of their vision. Even then, it's hard to miss the tears pouring down their face. Hard to miss them fighting every urge to sob and scream and curse the King and say sorry, sorry, sorry and beg the gruesome remains of Odile and Mirabelle to reform.

“Ohhhhh....... Ohhhhhhhhhh..... It does not matter in the end....... You will be frozen in time soon enough..... Child.............”

Bonnie flinches and gives the King the most piercing glare they can muster through the tears.

It twists something inside Siffrin. He still can't make a sound.

“If you care for your fellow Saviors........... You will grant them mercy and allow me to give them a quick end.......”

Their whole body shakes, and they seem to fight the urge to scream.

Stars. Stars!

Why now? He' always had enough energy to taunt him one last time.

Bonnie turns their gaze to Siffrin. Slowly, slowly, they begin to sneak toward him. Their hand carefully reaches into their bag.

No, no, no. Bonnie please!

Please just let me die! I can do it again!

Closer.

Their eyes flash between Siffrin and the King. They can't stop blinking away the tears. They refuse to look at what remains of Odile and Mirabelle. Siffrin can see them wringing their hands on the bottle, fighting the urge to look.

Please. Don't look. Don't look.

Just make a sound, Siffrin!

One sound.

One move.

Massive tears spill forth from the King's eyes as he continually wipes at his face.

Bonnie squeezes their eyes shut and bites their lip, pausing for a moment.

"Ohhhh............... Child.......... please........... I would rather not have to reduce myself to blindly slamming my hands on this floor to finish the job.............."

They're on them, sinking to their knees and taking his head in their hands. They take great care to pop off the cork, cup his face, and hold the opening to his lips.

Squeezing his eye shut, he swallows the thick, sour liquid.

The warmth radiates out from their stomach to the tip of every limb. Their fingers twitch. Breath hitches. Everything begins to tingle as their body slowly, slowly, starts to stitch itself back together.

They—they think they can move again.

Bonnie tilts the bottle just a little higher, arm shaking even harder. Tears and snot cover almost every inch of their face. Siffrin can almost hear their teeth groaning from the strain of their jaw.

The tonic spills faster into their mouth, too fast to swallow.

It slips into his lungs.

He coughs.

The King's head snaps toward him.

Finally.

He raises his fist.

They smile at Bonnie—at Isabeau. With the hint of strength they regained, they shove Bonnie away.

Just allies.

SLAM!

#isat #in stars and time #start again start again start again #start again: a prologue #isat siffrin #isat loop #creature loop #rukemi loop #my fics #a star from the multiverse #my shitposts #isat spoilers #in stars and time spoilers #start again spoilers

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aishangotome · 5 months ago

Text

Ellis Twilight: Blind Love Ending Epilogue

Chapter 25

It's only been a few days since I started living in Crown Manor.

Ellis is out with Jude on a slightly dangerous job, and I'm staying home today.

Kate: I want to know more about the things Ellis likes...

After dinner, I have a couple of light cocktails in the parlor with the Crown members, who were discussing having some drinks.

My quiet musing is picked up by keen ears.

Alfons: Are you talking about bedroom play? Ellis is young, so he's probably interested in all sorts of things, isn't he?

Kate: That's not it...!

Roger: What? You're always lovey-dovey, but you have concerns? That's surprising.

Harrison: I also thought things were going well since you're always all over each other.

Kate: Uh... Is that how we seem...? I'm sorry...

Liam: It just means that your happy aura is brightening up Crown Manor.

Alfons: Even Jude seems to have lost some of his venom.

Elbert: So, what are your concerns...?

Kate: He's gradually started to express his desires a bit more...

Kate: But most of the things Ellis wants to do are things that make me happy too.

Alfons: Oh?

Roger: Hmm?

Kate: It can be a little troubling sometimes, but he's never said anything that truly bothers me.

Kate: I wonder if I'm...making him hold back?

Elbert: That's...not really a concern, but rather...

Harrison: Bragging?

Alfons: You want to be extremely troubled? That's quite masochistic.

Kate: That's not what I meant...!

Liam: Okay, okay! Is it no good to have Ellis tell you with words?

Liam: Like, whenever you think he likes something, make sure he says, "I like this."

Ellis: Is that okay?

Kate: Wah!?

Suddenly, the voice of my lover, the source of my concerns, comes from behind me, and I jump up from the sofa.

Turning around, I see Ellis leaning over me with his hand on the back of the sofa.

(Ah, he's already taken a shower.)

No matter how many times I see him in a casual shirt, my heart skips a beat.

Kate: Ellis, welcome back.

Ellis: ...That.

Kate: Hmm?

Ellis: That, I like. "Welcome back," from you.

Kate: ...! You were listening...?

Ellis: Yeah, from partway through. Is this how I should let you know?

(Th-this might be more embarrassing than I thought... But I can learn about Ellis too!)

Kate: Y-yes. Please.

Ellis replied cheerfully.

Kate: Ellis, it's time to wake up... You have work today.

Ellis: Mmm... I'll wake up if you kiss me...

I give Ellis, who is snuggled up against the pillow next to me, a kiss that just barely grazes his opposite cheek.

Then, his slightly mischievous eyes peek up at me from under his fluffy bangs.

Ellis: I like this too.

Kate: ...!

Kate: You were definitely awake, weren't you?

Ellis: Hehe, I wonder. ...Good morning, Kate.

(Ooh, this makes me happy too...)

(Isn't this strategy just going to make me happier than usual?)

Ellis: I like this too.

While eating gelato we bought from a street vendor during a work break, another "I like this" came out.

Kate: You've always liked this, haven't you? Snacks during work breaks.

Jude: What's that 'bout? All this "I like this, I like that," it's annoyin'.

Ellis: I also like stealing a bite of Jude's.

Jude: Hey!

Jude frowns as Ellis suddenly snatches a bite from the side.

Ellis: Kate made me realize...

Ellis: I might be quite mischievous.

Jude: I know.

(...So there were some things he wasn't holding back on before.)

(It makes me a little happy that Ellis has someone he can loosen the lid of his secret box with.)

(But I'm somehow envious that it's Jude...)

Kate: ...Don't you steal from me?

Ellis: ...

Ellis: I like that too. You getting jealous.

He whispers in my ear, and I almost drop my gelato. Ellis laughs and takes a bite from the side.

It started raining while we were walking back through the park after finishing a mission, taking a roundabout way home.

Ellis: Let's take shelter from the rain under that tree over there.

Hearing his suggestion, I suddenly remembered him telling me that he used to love running around with his brother.

(Ellis always adjusts his pace to mine...)

(But maybe he'd like to run at full speed sometimes like this.)

Kate: Then let's race to that tree!

Ellis: ...!

I take off running, and Ellis starts running too, his light footsteps echoing.

Ellis: Hehe, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?

(Ugh...he seems to have plenty of energy left...! )

(Do I need to go faster to be a challenge...? )

I push myself a little and increase my speed---.

––Which backfires, and I trip and fall.

Kate: Kyaa!?

Ellis: Whoa!

A hand shoots out from beside me and catches me, swiftly scooping me up into his arms.

Kate: Ah, eh, Ellis...!

Ellis: Stay still.

Before I can say anything else, Ellis, still holding me, makes a graceful dash to the tree, reaching the goal in the blink of an eye.

Ellis: Whew... You surprised me by suddenly starting to run.

(In the end, I was carried...)

Ellis: I think I know why you suddenly suggested a race.

Still holding me, Ellis looks into my face mischievously.

Ellis: It's because I said I used to like running, right?

(Ugh...he saw right through me.)

Kate: Yeah...but I messed up. I'm sorry.

Ellis: No worries. I like running with you, Kate. Even if it's not at full speed.

Ellis: I like holding hands and running, and I like carrying you and running.

Ellis: That time when I first invited you to the theater, and we ran there, it was exciting and fun.

(Ah...)

(He actually had fun that day, too.)

The twilight of that day, filled with excitement like the moment a stage curtain rises, vividly resurfaces in my mind.

(But...again, it's an "I like this" that makes me happy.)

(It's like all of Ellis's "I like this-es" are designed to make me happy.)

My love for him grows, and I hug Ellis tightly around the neck as he continues to hold me.

Ellis: I like this too.

Kate: ...What?

Ellis: You hugging my neck tightly like this.

Ellis: It smells good here.

He nuzzles his face against my neck, and my already melted heart threatens to dissolve completely.

(Ooh...me too...)

Kate: Then what about this?

Overflowing with affection, I kiss the top of his head, and after blinking in surprise,

Ellis: ...I love it.

Ellis smiles happily again.

Ellis: Hey, by the way, why did you want to know about the things I like?

Back at the manor, after dinner, it's just the two of us.

Ellis asks while drying my hair with a soft towel after my shower, as he always does.

Ellis: I think Al said... "She wants to be extremely troubled"?

Kate: N-no!

Realizing that the important part hadn't gotten across properly, I rephrase my thoughts.

Kate: You're trying to be...more assertive, but...

(He's showing me the contents of the box he was keeping locked away...but...)

Kate: Almost all of your desires are things that make me happy too...

Kate: So I thought you might still be holding back.

Ellis: ...Hmm.

Ellis: It's true that putting others first has become a habit.

Ellis: I thought you might be surprised if I suddenly expressed all of my desires at once.

Kate: ...! If there's anything you're holding back, I want you to tell me!

Ellis: Yeah...okay. Then come here.

Ellis puts away the towel he was using to dry my hair and takes my hand.

(Will I finally get to hear about the things Ellis is holding back...?)

My heart races with anticipation, and when I look up at Ellis, he smiles and gently pushes me onto the bed.

(W-wait...?)

Kate: Ellis...?

Ellis: ...I want to hold you until morning tonight.

He whispers in my ear as he leans over me, and my ears burn.

(W-what...?)

Ellis: You always get so soft and pliant, so I was holding back.

Kate: Eh, ah...

(Is that what he meant...?)

Ellis: ...Is that no good?

Kate: Uh...!

There's no way I can refuse after setting this up myself.

I jumped into this box without knowing what was inside, after all.

Kate: It's...okay...

Ellis: ...Kate, you're all red already. ...Cute.

Ellis: I'll make you feel really good, so don't worry.

(Did I...fall into a trap?)

His twilight-colored eyes twinkle mischievously as he gazes at me.

Kate: ...I can't even move a finger...

My body and mind are completely melted from the continuous outpouring of pleasure, and I can't move from the bed. Ellis's long fingers gently stroke my hair.

Ellis: I'm sorry... Are you okay?

When I look up, Ellis is looking down at me with a slightly worried expression.

(I can't believe he's the same person who was doing... that just a moment ago...)

His expression, like a puppy with drooping ears and tail, is so cute that I can't help but laugh.

Kate: ...Yeah, I'm okay... I'm happy.

Ellis: ..... :o

Ellis blinks, then gives me the most melting smile I've seen since we started this "tell me what you like" game.

Ellis: I think I like this the most.

Kate: This...?

Ellis: You, all soft and unable to move a finger because of me, but still looking so happy.

A faint, dark desire flickers in Ellis's smile.

My skin trembles as I feel Ellis's love, a little twisted and endlessly sweet.

Kate: ...You really are a troublesome lover, Ellis.

Ellis: I think you're the troublesome lover, for making me this assertive...?

Kate: ...I guess we're even then.

We entwine our arms around each other in the messy, sunlit bed, and my heart overflows with happiness.

Ellis: Do you hate being called a troublesome lover?

Kate: No.

Kate: Trouble me even more.

So much that your love binds me and I can't move.

Let's spend every day overflowing with "I like this-es," together.

FIN

IkeVil Masterlist

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#ikemen series #cybird #cybird otome #cybird ikemen #ikemen villains #ikevil translations #ikevil #ikevil ellis twilight #ellis twilight main story translation #ellis twilgiht main route translation #ellis twilgiht blind love epilogue #ikevil jp

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fanficshiddles · 8 months ago

Text

Eternally Mine, Chapter 49

Loki and Chris shared a look with one another, both thinking the same without needing to say it. Chris was driving while Loki was in the passenger seat.

Claire and Louise were in the back of the car, both of them were giggling like mad. They weren’t whispering as they knew the guys would hear, so they were using their phones to type notes to each other.

‘It’s worse than the girls at school giggling over their crushes.’ Chris commented as he glanced in the rear-view mirror at Louise, who gave an innocent smile in response.

Claire noticed Louise had a new necklace. It was a golden chain that slipped through a heart and had another heart on the end. It sat quite loosely around her neck.

I like your necklace. Looks different. From Chris?Claire typed out to show her.

Louise nodded and her cheeks went a little bit red.

Yeah. I think it’s called a love shackle… it uh, has multiple uses…

Claire looked at her with confusion.

Like what?

Louise glanced at the guys, but they were chatting about work now. She took hold of the heart on the end and pulled it, so it pulled the chain through the other heart and tightened around her neck.

Claire’s eyes widened in realisation and her mouth opened wide. Louise quickly put her hand over Claire’s mouth to stop her saying anything out loud, and she re-sorted the chain so it sat like a necklace again.

ITS LIKE A DOG SLIP LEAD WHAT THE HELL LOU! DOES HE REALISE IT DOES THAT?

Louise had to hold back a laugh.

Of course he does! One of the reasons he got it for me... It’s pure gold, too.

Claire just looked at her sister in shock, which made Louise snort with laughter. She quickly covered her mouth but it was too late, the guys heard again. Chris looked at her with an eyebrow up in the mirror and Loki turned his head around.

‘What are you two up to?’ Loki asked as he looked between them both.

‘Nothing.’ Claire said quickly.

‘Hmm.’ Loki wasn’t convinced as he turned around to face the front again.

We so need to try and rile them up somehow at this pod place. It was far too fun when Loki was feral the other week.

Louise nodded in agreement.

The pods are by a fishing lake, right? Is there trees and stuff nearby? Louise asked.

Think so, not much but I think there’s a tree-line at the opposite side. There’s no other houses or other pods nearby, just our two. So it will be nice and secluded. Claire said.

I’m sure we could easily get their instincts going. A cut finger, leave some blood trail on trees… running away from them should be enough.

They kept brain storming some ideas, but Louise’s giggling got worse again when Claire began suggesting ridiculous things.

‘Right, that’s it!’ Chris pulled over into a layby at the side of the road.

‘Uh oh… We’re in trouble now.’ Claire laughed.

‘Your fault!’ Louise poked at Claire.

‘What? Mine? It’s you that keeps laughing.’ Claire argued back.

‘You keep saying stupid things, that’s why.’

‘You’re driving the rest of the way. I need to get my girl under control. Think you need to do the same.’ Chris said to Loki with a chuckle as he got out of the car.

Loki chuckled too and hopped out. He opened the back door and motioned for Claire to get in the front with him. Claire huffed but accepted his hand and made herself comfortable in the front seat.

Chris got into the back with Louise and he reached over with a playful look on his face to grab her necklace, he pulled it firmly but slowly and it tightened around her neck so he could use it as a leash to pull her into the middle seat, right next to him.

Claire had looked round and her eyes widened, Loki wondered what she was looking at, but soon realised when he turned too.

‘God sake guys, don’t make me split you two up too for the journey.’ He said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

‘Did you know that your brother is corrupting my sister with kinky shit?’ Claire asked Loki.

Chris laughed. ‘I am not corrupting her. She’s corrupting me.’

‘I don’t believe that for one second. I remember the type of videos you used to watch to get yourself off.’ Loki commented.

Claire nearly choked as she’d taken a sip of water at the wrong time.

‘What’s wrong, Claire? Do you want me to give my brother some tips to spice up your sex life?’ Chris smirked as Louise couldn’t stop giggling as she snuggled into Chris’ side.

‘No, nope. Our sex life is more than great, thanks. I just need you to stop corrupting my sister!’

‘I think we’re a bit late for that.’ Louise laughed.

‘Wayyyy too late for that.’ Chris confirmed with a grin.

‘Oh my god.’ Claire put her face in her hands.

Loki chuckled and squeezed her knee as he pulled back out onto the road. ‘Best not to think about it, love.’

‘I’m trying.’ Claire whined.

‘Just be glad we’re not sharing a pod with them.’ Loki smirked.

‘Maybe we should be so I can protect her poor innocent mind!’ Claire glanced over her shoulder at them. She narrowed her eyes at Chris and pointed from her eyes to his and mouthed I’m watching you!

The four decided to stop at a café for something to eat before carrying on to Claire and Louise’s parents. They were staying with them for a night and then heading back down the road to the pods for a few nights.

Chris and Louise went to order everyone’s food and drinks while Loki and Claire grabbed a table.

‘You’re not really worried about your sister, are you?’ Loki asked quietly.

‘No.’ Claire smiled. ‘I mean, I guess I am a bit protective of her after everything she’s been through. But I know they love each other and that he takes care of her. I know she’s in safe hands. I think the necklace thing just threw me a bit.’ She laughed.

‘You’re not jealous, are you? I could get you one, if you want to be my puppy.’ Loki smirked and put his arm around her.

‘Noooo! Loki, don’t you dare.’ Claire laughed as he kissed her cheek repeatedly. ‘I mean, you can get me pretty necklaces whenever you want…’

Loki laughed and slid his hand down her back. ‘Just nothing that resembles a dog leash… got it.’ He winked at her.

Chris and Louise returned with the drinks, then it wasn’t too long before the waiter brought over everyone’s food.

They’d barely finished eating when two guys walked into the café, Chris was instantly on edge and visibly tensed up, even though he and Louise were sitting with their backs to the door and the till area. He put his arm around Louise firmly.

‘What’s wrong?’ Louise, Claire and Loki all asked at the same time.

‘Hunters.’ Chris whispered. ‘I can smell their weapons… well, a lot of citrus. Plus, one of their heartbeats has quickened a little.’ He said cautiously and he took a sip of his tea.

‘Don’t look at them, don’t even glance.’ Loki whispered to Claire as he quickly grabbed her face, turning her into him so he could kiss her. As he noticed her about to look past Chris and Louise.

Chris tried relaxing a bit more too, but he kept his arm around Louise. He sensed the two hunters go up to order something, then they sat down at a table on the other side of the café.

‘Are there any other vamps in here?’ Claire whispered.

They knew if they talked very quietly, the hunters wouldn’t hear them.

‘I think there’s three at that back table.’ Loki tilted his head ever so slightly to the side, then looked at Chris for confirmation.

Chris nodded. ‘I don’t think they’re after us, I think it is those three vampires they’re going for, but let’s go. Now.’

‘Did you guys pay when you ordered?’ Loki asked quietly.

‘Yeah.’ Chris nodded as he stood and helped Louise with her jacket.

Loki saw while they were getting ready to leave that the hunters were mainly looking at the other group of vampires, not them. Which eased his worries a little bit as the four of them thanked the waiter and headed out as quick as they could, but without looking suspicious.

When they got to the car, Chris opened the back door for Louise to get in. Then he got in behind her. Loki opened the door for Claire and then dipped his head down to look at Chris.

‘Aren’t we going back in?’

‘What? Why?’ Chris frowned.

‘To help those vampires?’ Loki said as if it was the most obvious thing.

‘No. This isn’t Redbridge, they’re not our problem.’ Chris said firmly.

‘They’re still vampires though.’ Loki argued.

‘I don’t care. We’re not putting our girls at risk and getting involved when we don’t need to be.’ Chris growled at his brother and tightened his arm around Louise. ‘Besides, we don’t even know if they’re good vampires or not. Maybe those hunters are like Toshi and hunt vampires that deserve it. We don’t know for sure, we don’t know anything about them or the vampires.’

Loki ran a hand down his face. ‘We could at least warn the vampires?’

‘How do you plan to do that, exactly? Whatever you do, the hunters will see you going back and interacting with the vampires. If the vampires then manage to escape, the hunters will know it was you that interfered and come after you. Which, again, puts these two at risk.’ Chris was trying to remain as calm as possible, but he just wanted to get the hell out of here.

‘I think the vampires must be young or newly turned, they didn’t react at all to the hunters. What if they don’t sense them? Or know about the citrus?’ Loki’s voice was getting a little bit louder as his arms flailed around.

‘Or, maybe they did exactly what we did. Remained calm and acted like nothing was wrong.’ Chris snapped. ‘Now get in the fucking car and drive, or I’ll do it and leave you here. Is saving three vampires we know nothing about really worth putting Claire and Louise at risk?’

Claire and Louise just kept quiet and looked at one another anxiously. They both wanted to get out of there more than anything.

‘You’re still such an asshole you know that?’ Loki snarled at Chris as he shut the door, gently because it was right next to Claire, and he stormed round the other side to get into the driver’s side.

‘It’s three against two, I’m sure the vampires will be fine.’ Chris said as Loki started the engine.

Loki said nothing in response as he pulled out of the car park and headed on up the road.

Claire reached over and put her hand on his thigh. Once Loki had the car up to gear on the dual carriageway, he wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed her hand, feeling a bit calmer with her touch.

‘If it’s any consolation, I think you’re both right. It’s risky jumping into unknown battles in a place we don’t know. Though it’s hard to just forget about the vampires, you wanting to help them isn’t a bad thing.’ Claire said softly to try and break the tension that was thick in the air for a few miles.

‘If we knew the vampires, I wouldn’t hesitate to help.’ Chris said calmly. ‘Our priority is you two and your safety. If we went back in to help, you would have been left in the car unsupervised. We don’t know if there were other hunters waiting outside.’

Loki sighed and growled a little, but then he nodded. ‘I guess it would have been a bit risky.’

Things settled down better, though Chris noticed that Loki kept glancing in the rear-view mirror and side mirror a lot, and began to look a little shifty.

‘What is it?’ Chris asked him.

‘I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I have a feeling we’re being followed by that SUV.’ Loki frowned.

Chris looked out the back.

‘Shit. That was parked next to us at the café, but no one was in the front. The back seats were tinted… Turn off the carriageway, take a few different turns and see if they keep following.’

Loki nodded and turned off at the last minute. The SUV did the same. Loki went right round the next roundabout and headed back towards the dual carriageway.

‘Still following.’ Loki swallowed hard.

‘Fuck sake. Must have been more than just the two inside and they’ve heard us arguing and figured we’re vampires.’ Chris hissed. ‘Well done, brother.’

‘It’s not my fault, how was I supposed to know?’ Loki snarled.

‘If you’d just gotten in and drove off like I said, we wouldn’t be in this mess!’ Chris growled angrily.

Louise put her hands on his arm. ‘It’s not Loki’s fault, it’s no one’s fault but the hunters. Loki was just trying to help the vampires, he didn’t know. Please stop arguing. We need to lose these guys.’ She said as calmly as she could, though Chris could sense she was anxious.

He put his hand at the back of her neck and leaned in to kiss her forehead, lingering for a moment as he took a few deep breaths.

Loki squeezed Claire’s hand tighter then brought it up so he could kiss the back of it.

‘I’m sorry… for getting us into this.’ He sighed. ‘What’s the plan?’

‘Pull over and let me deal with it.’ Chris said in a slightly clipped tone.

‘Not on your own.’ Loki said as he glanced at him in the mirror.

‘You need to protect Claire and Louise. They’ll likely have silver bullets, they won’t harm me but they could kill you... I am not going to visit their parents without you.’ Chris added in to try and lighten the mood a little bit.

Loki kept driving, he didn’t want to stop. He was worried about what would happen. Not that he doubted Chris could take out a couple of hunters on his own, but he was still worried.

‘Pull over.’ Chris demanded.

‘Are you sure about this?’ Loki asked nervously.

‘Do it.’

#tom hiddleston #loki #chris motionless #loki x ofc #chris motionless x ofc #vampire Loki #vampire Chris Motionless #the redbridge hunts #eternally mine

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gtbutterfly · 11 months ago

Text

Quincy and the forest giant part 10

hey, I got this one out a lot sooner than expected! I might try to work on a new story or maybe some one offs between this chapter and the next one. Anyways, this part is a bit more in depth than the last one. Hope you enjoy it! Critism is appreciated! (Sorry I forgot to say that last time)

previous part:

______________________________________________________________

I’ve never understood why in movies and cartoons, whenever one character was tiny and another character was big, they had the smaller character sitting on the bigger one's shoulder. I always thought that it would be too easy for the smaller person to fall off from there. When people have parrots and other birds on their shoulders, it makes sense, because the bird is holding on with its talons. But with a person, they’re not really hanging onto anything, they're just balancing, and they somehow don’t fall off. If they had to hang onto something, it would probably be the ear, which would be painful for the bigger character. I never realized why those shows always did that until Ella took me for a walk that day. She had me cupped in her hand while she was walking through the forest. Her elbows were bent so I was upright in her hands. After a while, she started carrying me in one hand against her chest while she put her other hand down, and she switched hands a few times, which was a bit disorienting for me. I figured out her arms were getting tired in that position, so I decided to say something when she switched again,

“Um…hey, Ella?” I said,

“Hmm?” The giant looked down at me, “oh, sorry kid, I know changing my hands can be a bit much,”

“Uh…it's fine…hey, do you want to, like, hold me in a different way?” I asked.

“What other way?” she asked, “this is the most comfortable way I can hold you without you dropping 40 feet,”

“Well…it doesn’t seem too comfortable…” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Comfortable for you I mean,” Ella said. “Would you rather I have you in a fist around your neck again?”

“Um…no,” I said, ��uh…how about…I dunno, your shoulder?” I suggested.

“You’d fall in seconds.” Ella said dryly.

“Um…your pocket?” I asked,

“You wouldn’t be able to seeQuincy. That would defeat the whole purpose of going on a hike.” Ella said. “My pockets are too deep for you to see over…do you want to know what's in my pockets?”

“Um, No?” I said, in a mixture of scared and genuinely confused.

“Good.” Ella said, continuing to walk.

“Um…do you have any ideas?” I asked.

“Hmm…” she sighed, “your too small to walk beside me, obviously,” she said, “maybe…sigh no,”

“Um…what?” I asked,

“Nothing..” she said, starting to murmur something to herself about “me being too young.”, I couldn’t fully make it out. She sighed again. “Maybe we should rest for a second, how does that sound?”

“Yeah…that sounds fine,” I said. Ella looked around, before slowly lowering herself to the ground, which was covered in leaves and plants, some flattened by giant footprints, supposedly from Ella stepping on them before. She sat with one leg outwards and the other bent towards it. She placed me on the ground on her right side, next to the bent leg, and leaned back with both her arms behind her. I looked around at the forest we were in. The trees were even larger than the 60 foot giant looming over me, their leaves were massive and completely blocked out the sun. The floor of the woods was covered in bushes and shrubs and flowers that took whatever light did seep through the leaves of the trees. Next to me was a foot print the size of a small car where the plant life was completely flattened. It was Ellas footprint, but it wasn’t somewhere she stepped before. I looked up at her.

“Um…do you come to this part of the forest often?” I asked.

“Yeah…part of my job,” the giant said.

“Oh yeah….your job…” I said, looking down. “Um….is it ok if I…ask now….um, what your job is?”

“I told you, I’ll tell you when I’m ready to,” Ella said,

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I rubbed the back of my head, “um…but….I’m just wondering if you can, uh, just tell me what you do,”

“What do I do?” Ella asked.

“Yeah…uh, you don’t have to tell me how your a giant or anything about the company, or Derrick, or anything like that…I just want to know what you do, that's all..,”

“Hmm…alright then,” the giant sighed, “I’m only telling you because they apparently want me to adopt you, or whatever,” she closed her eyes and sighed again, before looking forward and away from me. “I walk around the forest…and make sure everything is…” she waved her hand in the air as if trying to think of what to say, “normal” she finally said, with air quotes.

“N-normal?” I asked.

“Not normal like, normal, normal like, the way things are supposed to be,” Ella said.

“Um….ok…um, like what?” I asked, tilting my head. She looked down at me.

“That's harder to explain without getting into…y’know,” Ella sighed again, changing her legs to be crisscrossed. She then held out her hand to me. I looked at it for a moment, confused as if we were going to continue walking or not, before climbing onto her palm. Ella stayed on the ground, lifting me upwards to a tree. My gut felt weird being lifted like that, I thought that I would be used to it by now.

“Do you see these trees?” Ella asked. I looked at the tree in front of me. It was thick and wide, much more dense than a normal tree, but not as much as say a red wood. The trunk was brown, and the leaves were much bigger, they seemed like normal leaves, but they were almost a foot long.

“Y-yeah…what about it…?” I asked.

“These are oak trees, Quincy.” the giant holding me said. “They're the kind of tree your townspeople chop down.”

“But…they're so big…” I said, “...trees from centuries ago don’t get this big…at least as far as I know,”

“That's the work of the company.” Ella said. “Its experimental, these are the only trees in the world being grown like this. Since its experimental, there are some worries from the company about these modified trees affecting the animals, or their existence being found out to the public and other companies try doing the same thing,”

“So…you make sure those things don’t happen?” I asked.

“If an animal mutates or whatever, which never happens, I’m supposed to give it to the company for testing, and if a human is found out here, I’m supposed to take them so that no one finds out about what the company’s doing.” Ella said. “So, yeah, I just walk around and make sure those things…don’t happen,” she shrugged.

“So, you're their security?” I asked,

“That's a way of putting it,” she said dryly. She looked down at herself for a moment, almost seeming sad about something. I looked up at her and patted hand a bit, I don’t know if she felt it or not, she didn’t have a reaction. I looked down for a moment, before backing up and looking up at her.

“So, uh, they were worried about the big trees making…big animals?” I asked,

“Yeah…they never did though, at least as far as I can tell,” Ella said.

“Did they make you big…in the same way?” I asked sheepishly, looking down slightly. Ella turned her head towards me and sighed. She was silent for a moment.

“It's a bit more complicated than that…” she said, before she got on her knees. I could tell she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. She looked forward. “Come on, let's start heading back, I should start making lunch for us,” the giant said, still holding me as she stood up.

“Yeah….um…how does…uh, venison…taste anyways?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” Ella said, her footsteps vibrating the ground as she walked with me in her hands. She was looking straight forward as she walked. I looked up at her face. She seemed like she was thinking of something, something that was bothering her. She was passively sad, looking forward with her mouth frowned and her eyes a bit droopy and tired looking. I patted her thumb again.

“Hey…um, are you ok?” I asked, looking up at her. Her eyes widened a bit as she glanced down at me.

“...what do you mean?” she asked, seeming genuinely confused.

“Um…you seem..down about something,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. Ella’s eyes shifted to her side for a moment. They flickered slightly in thought.

“Um…yeah, it's just sort of…been a lot happening lately,” the giant said, “usually things are a lot more..uneventful out here,”

“um…I know what you mean,” I said, “but I meant…well…you seem…sad….”

“It's nothing,” Ella sighed.

“Um..it's ok…” I said sheepishly, “if you're sad…I just…if you want to talk about it ... .or anything…” Ella sighed again, interrupting me. She let out a slight smile, that was clearly just meant to make me feel better.

“It's fine, Quincy. You don’t have to feel bad for me,” She said, rubbing my back a bit with her finger, “honestly…I probably deserve this, anyways,”

“Ella…don’t say that…” Said, touching her thumb again.

“Its alright Quincy, you don’t know…” she said, sighing again. “I’ll tell you everything soon…tonight…I’ll tell you everything tonight…make sure to hold me by that, ok?” she said, tilting her head. I paused for a moment.

“...ok,” I said, looking down, “...you really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”

“It's fine Quincy,” she said, rubbing my back again, “you should know…you deserve to know…”

And then she kept walking.

#g/t #gt community #giant tiny #giant/tiny #g/t community #sfw g/t #g/t writing #gianttiny #gt writing #giantess sfw #sfw giantess #sfw gt #giant and tiny #giant #giant tiny community #giant tiny writing

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askteamreliant · 20 days ago

Text

i'm not going to post TOO many chapters, just a few of them, but i thought i'd post this one along with this drawing to show a new character; Hannah the espurr, age 9

this chapter is right after the last one, but possibly future chapters i post will be from later on the fic. probably

anyway, here's chapter 2: "Infection"

Angelo followed Sunny outside. The eevee blinked as the sunlight hit him directly, and he looked around. All around town pokemon were flying, walking and floating about. Going to the cafe, the different shops, or visiting each other’s homes.

[I see in your memories there is a hill. I want to go there.]

The eevee’s tail twitched in agitation. “Hey, feel like going up the hill?” He asked, looking over at the pikachu.

Sunny looked back at him and nodded. “Sure, that’s a good spot to relax.”

The two pokemon then walked, heading just outside of town. There was a large hill there that was the perfect spot to overlook the town and surrounding areas. The two climbed up until they reached the top.

Angelo shuddered as he felt the wind pick up and ruffle his fur. The leaves in the trees behind them rustled. There was a clear view of the town below them, and of the lake nearby.

It was just another day.

Sunny took in a deep breath and sighed heavily, a faint line of sparks going up his body. Then he laughed and looked over at the eevee. “Doesn’t get fresher than right here!”

Angelo laughed, taking a moment to take a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Yeah, that’s true.”

The pikachu sat down and looked over at the pokemon within town. Watching as they go about their day. The eevee sat down next to him. They were both quiet, simply enjoying the sun and gentle breeze.

[I see. This hill holds precious memories. He is your childhood friend. Been together since you can remember. Decided to join the guild at this spot.]

Angelo frowned. For just a minute there, he had forgotten.

[I wouldn’t let you forget about me that easily.]

His ear twitched.

[This is quite the spot though. A perfect vantage point. Look at them all. Living such peaceful lives. So simple. So unguarded. Just perfect little morsels to pick up and eat.]

Angelo shivered.

[......Is…is that child staring at us?]

The eevee blinked, focusing now on the pokemon below. There was an espurr standing near the middle of town, looking up in their direction. He shuddered a little. It did seem like that pokemon was staring right at him.

[Ah, I see. That’s one of those psychics. Perhaps the child has more power than it seems. We might get our answer earlier than expected.]

The espurr continued staring for a bit, and then turned and walked away.

Weird.

“So, how are you feeling now?”

Angelo flinched at Sunny’s question, looking over at him. “Huh? Oh, feeling just fine. Thanks for suggesting some fresh air, I really needed it.”

“Heh,” the pikachu grinned, his tail wagging a bit. “I knew it. Hey, this turned out to be a good idea. Taking today off, I mean. Feels nice to just relax for one day. We should do this again!”

“We can’t get too lazy,” the eevee snickered, nudging the other with a paw. “Lavender would really be on us for that.”

Sunny laughed. “Yeah, good point!”

~~~~~

The two pokemon remained on the hill for some time before deciding to go back down. The activity in town died down a little, with most of the guild pokemon out on missions.

The pair were walking back to the guild, deciding to now relax in their room for a bit.

[Behind you.]

Angelo froze mid step, quickly turning his head around.

The espurr he saw earlier was standing nearby. This time for sure he could see the child was staring at him.

“Hmm?” Sunny stopped a couple steps away and looked back. “Something wrong?”

“Uh,” Angelo mumbled, unsure what to do.

[I can feel it. The child is reading your mind. I believe it senses me. But I doubt it knows for sure who or what I am. They are at least powerful enough to sense me faintly within you.]

His mind then raced. Silently begging for help. Hoping that the espurr notices.

“Hey kid!” Sunny called out, turning around completely and tilting his head. “Something wrong?”

The espurr continued staring at Angelo. Then he heard a voice in his head, but it was clearly not Chernobog.

“Meet me on the hill when the sun sets.”

He blinked. What?

The child then turned and walked away.

“Huh,” the pikachu muttered with a frown. “Strange kid.”

“Y-yeah,” Angelo mumbled.

[How interesting. I look forward to tonight.]

“Well, come on, let’s go.” Sunny shrugged and turned around, heading inside the guild.

Angelo watched as the espurr ran to the homes on the other side of the square and disappeared behind a building. He finally looked away and followed his partner inside.

~~~~~

Nothing more happened while the pikachu and eevee stayed in their room the rest of the day. They simply talked and shared memories and were planning on getting back to work tomorrow.

Chernobog didn’t speak once during this time. Angelo wondered why, but was also glad that for some time, he felt perfectly normal.

The pair ate dinner and settled down for the night.

Angelo curled up in his bed. He wanted to sleep, but he also wanted to go out to the hill. He wished so desperately to just fall asleep and when he woke up in the morning, everything would be normal. No more weird voices in his head.

[The sun is setting. Sunny is asleep. Now is the time.]

The eevee quietly groaned, shutting his eyes tight. After a moment he slowly got up, looking over at his partner. The pikachu laid in his bed, all curled up and sleeping peacefully.

…Would he ever tell Sunny about this? It felt like it would be impossible to keep this a secret forever. Or…however long this THING would stay with him.

[I suggest speaking up about it. You’re his childhood friend, his partner. He’s already noticed you acting weird today. He’ll wait for you to speak up, but he’ll also poke and prod for answers out of worry for you.]

The eevee frowned. That sounded like…actual good advice. He didn’t expect that.

[Don’t mistake this for pity or kindness. It’s simply an observation, based on your own memories.]

Angelo scoffed. He looked over at Sunny one more time before slowly heading over to the door. He nudged it open and stepped out, quietly closing it behind him.

~~~~~

Angelo went outside and climbed up the hill. Only one other time did he come here when it was dark. They were younger, and Sunny had gotten upset over something his parents had said and came here. The eevee followed him and listened to him while the pikachu went on about his worries and doubts. Afterwards, Sunny felt better and thanked Angelo for listening to him. He then talked with his parents and things got better.

The eevee made it to the top of the hill and looked around. There were torches lit on the outside of some of the buildings in town. He could see the water of the lake shimmer in the moonlight. The sky was clear and the stars were bright.

[She is here.]

Angelo flinched and looked back, seeing the espurr from earlier walking up to him. He fully turned around as she stopped a few feet away, looking at him.

“So that was you,” he muttered. “I’m uh, not sure if I’ve seen you around before.”

“I was born and raised here, like you.” The espurr spoke. “Hello Angelo, my name is Hannah.”

Angelo frowned. “Uh, right, hello.”

“My parents have told me my psychic abilities are great. I’ve been able to read minds and sense auras ever since I hatched.” Hannah blinked slowly. “I sense something in you. Something new and strange.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” the eevee sighed. “I just woke up with this…THING in my head. Been saying weird things and…I don’t know what to do. Can you make it go away or…anything?”

The espurr stared at him. Angelo felt a little strange. His head began to hurt.

[She’s testing her power. I can feel it. Quite interesting for one so young. She is indeed powerful.]

Hannah then frowned, the first real expression Angelo had seen on her. “I…don’t think I can do anything. If it was something like another pokemon reading your mind and giving you nightmares or something, then I could do something about it. Push them out. But whatever that thing is in there, it’s attached to you. It’s a part of you now.”

He groaned, his ears flattening. “Seriously?”

“I’m sorry.” The espurr muttered and looked down at the ground.

“I-it’s ok, I appreciate you trying,” Angelo shook his head. “Don’t feel too bad about it. I’m just glad that you’re at least able to sense there’s something there. I’ll take that over it being completely invisible to others. Can you uh…hear it at all?”

Hannah looked back up at him, and she hummed thoughtfully. “Sort of. It’s pretty faint and muffled. I can hear something, but not too clearly.”

[Even with her strength, she can’t read me properly. How interesting.]

The eevee sighed. “Right.”

“Whatever that thing is, Angelo, it’s not from here. I don’t just mean this town, I mean this world.” Hannah’s expression became serious. “I can sense it as something like a darkness that has infected you. But I don’t know what the cure would be. And I don’t know what it will do to you over time.”

Angelo gulped quietly.

“So, for your sake, please reach out to me if anything comes up.” The espurr nodded. “I might be able to do something, or maybe I won’t be able to. But I’d like to try. Even if it’s just easing any pain or burden it’s putting on you. Promise?”

[I’d like to see her try. I find these psychic types so very intriguing.]

Angelo nodded. “Alright, I promise.”

Hannah nodded again, taking a step back before turning around and walking away.

[This whole world is intriguing if I’m to be perfectly honest. The different abilities and powers you all have is something very interesting. I haven’t found a world quite like this. Other worlds were simply, well, more simple. Full of beings that were greedy and hungry in their own ways. Their desires fueled them and made them harm and even kill one another. For power. For wealth. Infecting such worlds was very easy. Making them rot from the inside out was barely noticed. They only noticed when it was too late, when they were all about to be consumed.]

Angelo shuddered, closing his eyes. “Shut up,” he whispered.

Chernobog chuckled.

[I wonder how this world and its beings will react once the process truly begins. You all seem to be the type to fight back. With all of your abilities and powers. Will they try to hurt or even kill you if they think it’ll work?]

He flinched, opening his eyes and feeling a chill down his back.

[By that point it’d be useless. But we’ll just see. Tomorrow you go back to work, correct? These ‘dungeons’ sound interesting to me. Though I can see them clearly in your memories, I’m quite curious to be there to experience them for myself. Back to bed then, you should get some proper sleep.]

Angelo scoffed. “Like I can just fall asleep right after all of that.” He sighed and headed back down the hill.

[I can help you sleep if you really need it. I need you in proper form tomorrow. Well, I need you in proper form always. The healthier you are, the better for me.]

“So you’d only help me because it’d be good for you,” he mumbled.

Chernobog chuckled.

[Precisely.]

#art #text #pmd #pokemon mystery dungeon #chapter #espurr

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anheliotrope · 11 months ago

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Prison Architect has offputting aesthetics to me. This includes Prison Architect 2.

I know, I know, everyone has issues these days. Developers can't just make a game and not have people talk about structural social issues and oppression, yadda yadda. And I know the devs working on Prison Architect were explicitly thinking about how people might react or judge them over the game.

I think it is extremely exhausting for people who want to explore game design spaces to have to put a lot of effort into avoiding being framed as insensitive and problematic. We've reached such levels of this that for some people Minecraft is fundamentally dislikable because it instantiates a colonialist fantasy and makes people think this is okay, normal and unremarkable. I really don't agree with that take.

That being said, that doesn't mean that I don't feel disappointed by Prison Architect's aesthetics. The games look very generic! It's as if it's signaling that prisons are just like any other thing. We have Theme Park, Theme Hospital and now we have Theme Prison. Which in fact is the opposite of what the creative director, Chris Delay said was their intent!

Chris Delay, creative director at developer Introversion Software, told me that it deliberately picked the darkest part of prison life for the first chapter of the game. “It would be very easy to think of it as building a hotel or something,” he said. “Right from the very start, we knew we had to let the player know that this was a different experience, he has to think differently about it.”

(Also very funny last name for anyone in game development)

The aesthetics suggest the idea that the game has a neutral take on prisons. I am sure the developers didn't mean to say anything about anything. The game is trying to be inoffensive. But then you can also read the description of the game on Steam:

Only the world's most ruthless Warden can contain the world's most ruthless inmates.

Uh oh, sisters! This doesn't sound very focus on rehabilitation!

And well, there's a sort of good reason for that. The concept of prisons in game design will whispers into the ear of any mildly creative designer... inverted tower defense... Well, not necessarily tower defense specifically, but you know! Rather than building up your fort to keep people out, you do it to keep people in! It's interesting! For your inverted defense design to be validated, you need rowdy inmates.

---

Oh, jumping to a different thread in this topic. Prison Architect has you executing people the state tells you need to die. Of course I don't need to phrase it like that. Of course, the context of this is a western republic, so it's one of the less bad than if you're doing it in the context of Nazi Germany, but hmm... I just don't think the neutral aesthetics of the game combine well with me executing people.

Worth noting that you do have to research death row as a technology, it's not just thrust upon you.

Interestingly enough, if you execute death row inmates that were actually innocent, you will get fined. Do it three times and it's an instant game over. The moment you execute someone, you know if they were innocent. Which sounds a bit funny. All of it sounds a bit funny, because it's such an garbled idea of how the justice and penal system could work. I don't think this misinforms anyone, but does make the in-game prison appear (artificially?) more just. Ultimately, as far as I can tell, it's just a gameplay mechanic to force you to keep death row inmates around for longer, which provides a challenge.

---

And you know what, going back to the Steam description -- I do feel moderately motivated about the idea of containing some bad sons of bitches. By adding any amount of fantasy into the setting, you can have that, the fantasy that you're sure these people need to be here and stay here. But Prison Architect occupies this... diffuse position. The inmates are analogues for modern real world inmates, with all of their nuance. But they also look like very abstracted human beings and are mechanically simple. It's just kind of a straight forward game overall. The real world theme of Prison Architect implies nuance, but its mechanics don't really model that nuance.

Prison Architect's game design direction, at least in some sense, prefers that inmates be a problem that needs to be suppressed violently. And that's fine! This is the mechanical direction that I want the game to explore. I just think that if you make Gulag Simulator it should not have the aesthetics of Sims 2. Prison Architect is doing something like that but much less egregious.

And to be clear, I don't know that I care much about how this is problematic. Rather it's just that it feels... a bit spiritually impoverishing? There is the absence of something, a void. It's just kinda boring! Man, sorry to whoever had to draw all that shit, you did an OK job, okay? I just complain a lot on the internet.

We should strive for a balance between treating the medium very seriously and "it's just a video game".

---

But yeah there's so many other ways this could have been themed. And I understand why it was themed this way, it has the widest appeal, or rather the narrow anti-appeal. A lot of other takes would alienate more people. Boring them is a less bad outcome. And the current aesthetics are pretty flexible, you can project on them.

Anyway, here's a bunch of alternative themes that visited my mind:

Butcher Bay: You play as a corporation in the business of containing, exploiting and/or rehabilitating inmates through your private prisons. The theme dispenses with any pretense that you are benevolent. You're trying to find ways to maximize long-term profit. Maybe that's putting your prisoners through a program that gives them a useful skill and you a cut of their earnings once they get out, maybe it's something more violent. Of course, you get to set up big monitors that flash demotivational messages! Hey, I'm sure the other corporations are much worse?

Maxsec Dungeon Keeper: It's Dungeon Keeper, but instead of keeping heroes out, you keep heroes in. Bonus points if you brainwash and corrupt them to join your side! How evil! But is it actually unethical if they're having more fun now?

Bleeding Hearts Penitentiary: Your focus is to ensure good social outcomes for your inmates. Society might be crapsack, but your institution is the Mother Teresa of prisons -- well, minus the deeply objectionable parts of Mother Teresa. The prisoners are rendered in a high detail way, borderline fantasy, but still somewhat grounded. It could even look like everyone is out of a dating VN. You really want your roguish purple-haired murderer to repent and do well in life! Your relationship to the inmates is both that of antagonism but also they borderline feel like your own unruly RPG characters.

Supervillain Supermax: You don't need supervillains per se, they could just be your average level 12 D&D character. Ultimately they're very dangerous, they're superpowered and they've caused a lot of trouble and now you need to contain them. Better make sure you have a fallback for when the pyrokinetic's suppression collar malfuctions!

Moonscorch Reality Failure: OK, this one is kind of cheating, very tenuous relationship with the prison system. Everyone in your facility isn't there because they've done something wrong, but rather it's about what they are. They all look like normal people and at least most of the time, they are. But unfortunately, each and every one of them is also a potential reality breach that under certain conditions will trigger and cause them to morph into monsters, warping reality around them into a nightmarish landscape, which may or may not relate to their individual neurosis. Suffice to say, this is very bad. These poor fuckers can't even die anymore! Your job is to contain them and make their life be somehow tolerable. Your job is especially to avoid cascade triggers and do very good damage control. You may set the psychiatric-care-allegory dial anywhere from 0 to 10. Personally, I was just thinking 0, since I didn't consider that until finishing writing this paragraph. But other values could also be really interesting.

#anpost #prison architect #politics #game design #vidya #don't take this too seriously #man this is too long

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causticjuice · 2 years ago

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A Refreshing Distraction — Part 1

Copia x masc!reader

(Part 2 here)

Summary: You convince Papa to go see a movie with you as a break from his paperwork. He still needs some help clearing his mind, and you do so with pleasure.

Notes: Reader is referred to by masculine terms (only in Italian in this part) and wears a cassock (even though they’re a Sibling because fuck the rules in this here satanic church). Their genitals are not mentioned. Also, I know that Copia wears those black nitrile gloves in the chapters but I cannot have that, he’s wearing leather ones.

Tags: SMUT (18+ MDNI), oral sex, car blowjob (while driving), getting caught (sorta, not really)

Word count: 1.6k

ao3

You walk through the corridors leisurely, admiring the intricately carved wooden panels on the walls while making your way to Copia’s office. You know he has been having a hard time with tax season lately and you haven’t seen him in days. It seems strange to you anyway that a Papa would be the one filing his own taxes, but you accepted it. He’s been holed up with those papers long enough, and probably unable to make any progress at this point, so you decided to take his mind off of it for a bit. You heard of a new movie that just started playing in theaters and thought that would be a good enough distraction. It’s your day off and you know Copia will appreciate going at a time when the place isn’t packed. Once you arrive at his door, you give it three rapid knocks and once you hear his voice telling you to come in, you open the door.

“Oh, hello, Fratello! I wasn’t expecting you today,” Copia says, grinning.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t seen you in a while. And I have no duties scheduled today so I thought we could go see a movie together,” you suggest, with a subtle hint of uncertainty in your voice, already anticipating his response.

“Unfortunately, I, uh…,” he gestures to his desk, “need to deal with this now. But I will gladly go another time.”

You pause for a few seconds. You know this work is important but he still needs some time off. You can see his eyes look puffy, even with the paint around them. “I think you’ve earned a trip out to the town for a bit.”

“I do need to finish this, caro,” he insists, while giving you an apologetic look.

You decide to try to convince him to go one more time. “Think about it. I bet you've been sitting there, trying to figure out some little detail and not able to do it, right? Your brain needs a break, Copia.”

He sighs, staring for a moment at the stack of papers in front of him. “Okay, I will go.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you a good time,” you smirk.

“Alrighty, give me a moment, hm?” He scurries out of the room after you give him a small nod.

You sit down at the desk and scan over the chaos in front of you. There are at least five different piles of papers, different bowls, plates and cutlery all stacked together and many empty juice boxes, on the desk itself and in the small trash can next to it. You hear an exasperated “damn it” and break out of your trance.

The door that Copia left through opens once again and you see him appear.

“I’m so sorry but it seems that I, eh, have no other clean clothes… I have just been so busy–“

“Oh, don’t worry, you look fine. We’re not going to the Met Gala! C’mon, we’ll be late.”

“A-are you sure? Won’t I stand out?” He asks.

“I will stand out more in my cassock than you will in a tracksuit and T-shirt.”

“Hm… Okie dokie, let’s go.” He gestures to the door, letting you leave first.

On the drive to the theater, you notice that he’s gripping the steering wheel tightly enough that the leather of his gloves is almost constantly squeaking against it, and his jaw is clenched.

“Are you okay, Papa?” you question.

“Ah, sì, sì, just worried about work,” he answers.

“Hmm. Maybe I can help you take your mind off of it?” You place your hand gently on his thigh, slowly moving it higher.

“I’m not sure what you– Oh,” he cuts off as your fingers almost reach his crotch.

“Is that alright? May I continue?”

“Y-yes, please.”

You move your hand up until it is resting over his bulge and lightly stroke. Once you notice he is getting hard, you squeeze a little as you continue your movement. A tiny gasp escapes Copia’s lips and his eyes close briefly.

“Keep your eyes on the road, Papa,” you tease. He clears his throat and straightens up a bit, composing himself.

Satisfied that he will pay attention now, you hook your thumb on the waistband of his sweatpants and underwear and pull them down, letting his cock spring out against his belly. You grasp him and run your thumb over his head, gathering his precum. You can’t stop the urge to taste his arousal and bring the drop to your mouth. Copia glances over at you for a moment as you hum at the taste. Wanting to taste more of him, you dip your head down and run the tip of your tongue directly over his slit, which earns you a shudder.

You start to lick in circles around his head while occasionally pumping your hand over his length. You can feel his toned thighs tense slightly under your other hand and hear his breathing becoming just a little more shallow and rapid. You still the hand working him and lower your head, taking him deeper into your mouth, while reaching your tongue down towards his balls. After a moment of pause, you move up, pressing your tongue against him until you reach the top once again. A low moan comes from Copia, clearly becoming more aroused while also being mildly frustrated at your slow pace. He seems to be letting go of his shy demeanor and letting lust take over.

Just as you start to pick up your pace, you can feel the car slow to a stop and a hand pressed on the back of your head.

“We’re at a stoplight now, topolino, don’t move,” Copia whispers.

The top of his LeSabre is down, so you know it would be plainly obvious to anyone around if you continued. You decide to tease him just a little bit by massaging his balls delicately, not being able to do much more with his cock down your throat and his hand restricting you. The sound that escapes him, a mix of a moan and yelp, is absolutely obscene and not at all what you expected from your gentle action. That’s when you feel his hand grip your hair and yank you off of him. He keeps you just below eye level, glaring at you, completely red in the face. You glance over to his left and see two people in another convertible staring at you with wide eyes. You grin and wave at them with the hand that just elicited that over-the-top response, your face portraying a bizarre mix of mischief and embarrassment.

The car you’re looking at starts driving and you hear a honk from behind. Copia quickly lets go of your hair, grabs the stick shift and starts driving.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” He yells.

“What? We’ll probably never see those people again.”

“And what if they know who I am?”

“Then I’m sure this is not much worse than what they’ve seen from you before.” He huffs in response. “What was that reaction anyway? I barely touched you.”

“I wasn’t expecting it!”

You glance down at his crotch and see that he’s still hard.

“You wanna keep going?” You ask.

“You better finish what you started,” he replies, still clearly annoyed at you.

This time, he is much more rough once you start again. You begin with an already relatively quick pace, bobbing your head up and down while keeping a bit of suction. Whenever he doesn’t need to use it for driving the car, he places his hand on your head and shoves you down, all the while grunting and growling. You can tell from a glance at your surroundings that you’re at the part of the road where it is straight and uninterrupted for a while, and you speed up even more. Copia’s hips start to move in rhythm with you and his fingers are now threaded through your hair.

“Cazzo, Fratello–” he growls low in his belly and his hips begin to stagger at the top of his movement. You keep moving your head up and down, committing to memory the blissful feeling of having him fill your mouth up and making him unravel under you.

He tenses up and thrusts one last time as you keep your nose pressed against him and feel his cum spill directly down your throat and into your stomach. You pull off of him just in time to pump one more rope out and catch it on your tongue this time to taste him.

“Hmm, you taste so delicious, Papa,” you moan as you lift yourself up.

Copia only pants and huffs, unable to respond, all of his attention split between coming down from his pleasure and driving the car.

After a moment, you tuck him back into his clothes to the best of your ability, only seconds before he pulls into the parking lot at your destination.

You notice he is still in a dazed state, pausing for a beat too long after stopping the car.

“Everything good?” you ask, and just as you get the words out, he turns sharply towards you and pulls you into an intense kiss, grabbing the back of your neck. After you quickly adjust to the surprise, you deepen the kiss and swirl your tongue against his. As you do, he moans and pulls away.

“Sì, I suppose that does taste nice,” he smiles with a glint in his eye, “that was incredible, tesoro, thank you.”

“My pleasure. Besides, you can return the favor during the movie.”

#my fic #smut #mdni #papa emeritus iv x reader #papa emeritus iv #copia #copia x reader #the band ghost #ghost band #ghost band fanfic #the band ghost fanfiction #ghost band fanfiction #ghost band smut #copia fanfiction #copia fanfic #my first fic #I have no clue what I'm doing

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marigoldsramb1lings · 7 days ago

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The coffin of Andy, Leyley, and Athena.

Tw-abuse, car accident, chronic pain, use of drugs to cope, negative self talk.

Chapter 3-Andy, Leyley, Athena and the noisy ass neighbor

If these topics are too triggering feel free to skip this chapter most of the trigger warning stuff happens at the end.

——————————————————

(Athena’s pov)

*you suppose you shouldn’t be surprised that Ashley suggested that you three snoop on your noisy neighbor, frankly your not surprised at all, you actually quite down for it you’ve done a bit of snooping from time to time, it’s how you survived in your house after all, maybe it’ll be useful here?*

Athena: “…well, I don’t see why not”

*you wait for Andrew’s answer expecting no honestly since typically he’s the type to want to lay low*

Andrew: “nope, but I’ll come along if you two do”

*huh, again, you shouldn’t be too surprised after all he’s always big on keeping track of Ashley, oh! Andrew tosses you something…You got the balcony key! And off you three set to the balcony to spy on your noisy ass neighbor*

*the music seems to only get louder once you set on the balcony, you and the graves siblings look over to the right side…casually passing an ashtray on the table that you silently hope neither notice is more full than usual*

*oh Andrew takes a closer look at the distance between your patio and the neighbor’s patio*

Andrew: “hmm, can’t really see squat from here”

*ashley seems to be scoping the distance as well with her brother while you silently wonder if it’s worth the risk t of jumping across the gap….its only fourth flour after all…*

Andrew: “Ashley don’t you even think about it”

Ashley: “what?! I wasn’t doing anything!?”

*geez now you feel guilty like somehow your thoughts were somehow heard and perceived by Andrew as Ashley’s somehow…gosh now they’re going to fight again well not before you do something first*

Athena: “uh…maybe we could find something to walk across to the neighbor’s side?”

*andrew and Ashley both look at you the way they always do when you redirect they’re fights to something else, some mix between genuine guilt and awkwardness for losing it in front of you well…more like ashley looks awkward while Andrew looks guilty. Still they brush off the argument they were going to have and instead go with you to find something to walk across and…Aha! You find a wooden board*

Athena: “think it’s sturdy enough?”

*andrew takes the board in his hands as you three walk back to the balcony seeming to both measure and feel out the thickness of it in his hands*

Andrew: “yeah, looks safe enough and long enough to bridge the gap, we can use it”

*admittedly a part of you can’t help but fear the worst at the idea of balancing across a thin board four stories above ground, for what if your pain acts up while walking across and you fall?…that would be so embarrassing…oh! Looks like Ashley already made it across, she’s waiting for Andrew and you, he seems to notice your apprehension and instead of addressing it, he just has to go in front of him and puts his hands on your shoulders to help you keep your balance until you both get across and join Ashley. Gosh he’s so patient with you, you don’t deserve it*

*eh, you shrug off your fear, and join Andrew and Ashley in peaking through the balcony door to snoop on your neighbor and inside you see….a fucking pentagram painted on his floor and Candles on the floor and the guys wearing a robe…the hell?*

cultist neighbor: “OOOH DEMONS FROM HELL! HEAR MY PLEA! OOH THE UNHOLY ONES! I COME SEEKING YOUR ADVICE!!….goddammit, what am I doing wrong? I thought that was perfect. I knew I should’ve killed that guy when I had the chance”

*uh….you, Andrew and Ashley all glance at each other in concern…clearly your neighbor has lost his mind during the quarantine…also did he say something about killing a guy? Guy might be a bit dangerous too*

Andrew: “…what do you two make of that?”

Athena: “uh, it’s probably best we steer clear of him…just…let him do his thing until quarantine ends”

Ashley: “…everybody needs a hobby, I guess”

*andrew lets out a groan*

Andrew: “forget this, isn’t it almost time for the news?”

*news time it is, you three head back and get ready to watch the late night news…and of course you get the damn batteries for the remote, it’s not worth them fighting over*

——————————————————

(Still Athena’s pov)

*after fetching the batteries for your friends, though Ashley would probably gut you if she heard you calling her your friend it’s how you truly feel regardless, Andrew and Ashley still on the couch together…you try to stand while watching to give them space but your joints and nerves SCREAM their defiance after standing for too long, so you face and sit next to Andrew in the left side of the couch*

TV: “thank you for tuning in! Today we share with you some joyous developments regarding the tainted water situation! We’re happy to announce that all apartments affected by the tainted water have been secured! It’s been three months since the first incident was discovered, and the death toll is now at a comfy total of 53. No biggie. And the quarantine period for those who are at risk, has been extended by another two weeks.”

Andrew: “again?!”

*andrew and Ashley don’t look pleased…you probably shouldn’t be either, but by this point it’s not like anyone is looking for you in particular, you don’t have anything in particular to live for, so you’re just coasting along for the ride at this point…you did feel for Andrew and Ashley though, abandoned by their parents at the beginning of this and losing so much time in their life is cruel to them*

TV: “And to our friends in quarantine, thank you for keeping your disgusting, parasite-infected bodies far, far away from me!”

*wow fuck you too buddy*

TV: “Sorry, it’s ‘Thank you for your continued consideration for the public’s safety.’ That’s all for today, Cheers!”

Andrew: “…..I’m going to bed.”

*ashley seems to decide to do the same the pair of them splitting off to their own sections of the house to sleep…you suppose you should try to claw yourself into unconsciousness once more at least for a few hours, and with that you lay back on the couch and try to sleep*

——————————————————

~dream sequence (Athena’s pov)~

???: “damn it Athena for the last time I NEED to get more wine from the store! HIC! A-And YOU need to take me there, my fucking license is still suspended until next HIC-week”

Little Athena: “but mom I’m 13! I can’t drive you if I take you then we’ll both-“

*you’re mother bends down to get into your face her face red from either anger or booze, you can’t never tell anymore*

???: “D-HIC-DON’T FUCKING TALK BACK TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT! BE A GOOD DAUGHTER FOR ONCE AND DO AS I SAY!!”

*you shrink back away from your mother, Her, face and nod, you know it’s wrong, you know it’s dangerous…but there’s no getting through to her as it is, especially not when she’s this drunk…She, hands you her car keys and sloppily gets into the car…you suppose you should be lucky you don’t have any neighbors that care or that would be embarrassing, you get into the drivers seat and start driving her

To the wine sellers….GOD THIS IS SUCH A BAD IDEA YOU SHOULDNT BE HERE, YOU SHOULDNT BE DRIVING, YOU COULD GET PULLED OVER AND ARRESTED OR-OH SHIT!*

*as you were trying to turn a truck you hadn’t been able to see hits the front of your car dead on*

~dream sequence over~

——————————————————

(Athena pov)

*you gasp and sit up on the couch after having that DAMN dream again, and almost immediately regret it as your aching joins and nerves send shocks of sheer agony through your body, you grit your teeth so hard you think you might break them you pull your knees up to your chest trying to make yourself small only for that to make the pain ebb more though your limbs at the move…you want to cry, you want to scream, you want so, so many things that you know you shouldn’t want…you check the time, it’s only midnight, gosh you’ll never sleep now on your own…time to get your medicine then. You slowly and painfully stand to your feet and slowly as quietly as possible make it to the bathroom where you keep your personal stuff, and pull out a few herbs and paper, then head to the balcony, every step you make sending a new wave of burning hot pain through your body*

*once you make it out to the balcony and close the door behind you, you take a deep breath of the crisp night air as you put together the medicine and paper then lean against the railing as you hold the stick to your mouth and take in a deep slow breath before blowing out the smoke*

Athena: “…fuck”

*you feel your eyes start to water and your voice crack…and but you still take deep breaths of your medicine and breath it out…until you hear an uncharacteristically gentle knock on the patio door, you turn your head…and see your friend*

Andrew: “…what are you doing out here…it’s midnight”

*his voice is soft and scratchy in that damn morning voice of his, fuck, you take another hit of your medicine as Andrew walks up next to you and also leans against the railing…you don’t miss the way his green eyes widen in the darkness of night as he sees the stick in your fingers and near your mouth*

Andrew: “…no wonder my ashtray has been filling up more than normal…I didn’t know you smoked”

*his voice sounds almost a bit hurt, that after all he’s confided in you about you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him about this…it almost hurts you more than the physical agony your in right now to hear him sound like this*

Athena: “…*I don’t…not like cigarettes anyway….it um…was prescribed to me by my doctor a couple years ago….i usually only used to edible version…but with the quarantine I ran out and I was NOT going to risk our asses by asking the warden to get us some…so I broke out the old bag I was originally given”

*you blow out an air of smoke and from the corner of your eye you see Andrew, seemingly trying to process what you were saying and dare you think he seems to almost be concerned…you shouldn’t be bothering him with this, how selfish of you it’s the middle of the night, oh, he’s saying something*

Andrew: “why uh….why was it prescribed?…you don’t have to answer of course if you don’t want to I just-“

*you pull the stick away from your mouth and put it out, and give Andrew a small smile as you learn on your arms against the railing*

Athena: “…I was in a car accident when I was a kid….fucked me up pretty bad….i…couldn’t walk for a while because the impact damaged nerves in my spine…and other joints….i did the physical therapy as much as i could on my own that I could afford but…my doctor said there was nothing they could do for the lingering pain after I was able to move again. Can’t really do surgery for damaged nerves of all things, so he prescribed me this stuff that he gives other patients with severe chronic pain…to just take the edge off a little. I only take it on bad days, nothing else”

*you refuse to admit that you’ve been having more and more ‘bad days’ as of late, you refuse to say how much you wish you could just lay on the floor and waste away some mornings because moving around feels that bad, you just give him the simplest version of the story you can*

Andrew: “that-god-that’s terrible, really I-…I didn’t know you had to deal with all that”

Athena: “it’s ok, that accident happened before we even met anyway so it’s not like you could’ve known without be telling you myself…it’s not all bad really…sometimes when I’m out here it’s kind of…peaceful, if I’m really lucky I’ll see some stars and it feels…freeing”

*he doesn’t say anything for a while…gosh did you get too serious? Did you freak him out?…you should’ve just told him something cool like, you swiped it form your mom before you got quarantined with him and his sister or something you’re such a fucking idio-*

Andrew: “there’s three right there”

Athena: “huh?…”

*andrew moves his hand out and points at three stars in the sky that you had clearly missed tonight, he even gently, moves your own hand so you can point out the area yourself*

Athena: “huh…I hadn’t noticed those ones before…you have good eyes”

Andrew: “listen Athena…I don’t want you to come out here by yourself anymore, just, come get me next time…you shouldn’t be alone when doing stuff like this it…really messes with your head, I can even bring my own cigarettes out with me and we can talk…or not talk, whatever you need”

*god, what did you do to deserve a friend like him…he shouldn’t put his own sleep schedule at risk cause of something that’s not his fault….but truthfully you had been missing those light night talks at the library you used to have together….you decide to humor it…for both your sakes after all, you grin at him as you both look at the three lone stars in the sky*

Athena: “alright, smoke buddies it is then, that’s an upgrade from being project pals right?”

*he laughs, that stupid fucking laugh that makes you want to give him and Ashley all the world to make them happy*

Andrew: “yeah, right totally an upgrade, so that’s a yes then?”

*you nod*

Athena: “why not, maybe a little company wouldn’t be so bad…you should go back to bed though, you looking fucking exhausted tonight”

Andrew: “yeah yeah, only if you do too”

Athena: “course I will, I’ll go back inside in a bit…just want to look at the stars a bit longer”

*for once you actually mean it when you say you’ll go to bed, just after you take in the stars for a bit longer*

Andrew: “alright…goodnight Athena”

*he says as he goes back into the apartment*

Athena: “night Andrew”

——————————————————

Alright chapter three done, Wahoo!

#the coffin of andy and leyley #tcoaal fanfiction #tcoaal #Andrew graves #ashley graves #tw self destructive behavior #tw negative thoughts #Tw mentions of abuse #tw drug use #tw car accident #tw chronic pain #Athena has been through it #they haven’t even left the apartment yet #nice little moment between Andrew and Athena #Ashley and Athena will have one too at some point #lots of triggering stuff in this chapter so please be cautious #my ocs #my oc stuff

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werecat1234 · 7 months ago

Text

Revised Merging Timelines Chapter Nine

"hey paps, what's up?" Sans asked as his brother reached them, looking up at him.

"HELLO, BROTHER! OH! WHO'S YOUR FRIEND?" Papyrus greeted before questioning, "THIS MAY SOUND ODD, BUT ARE THEY A HUMAN OR A MONSTER?"

"that's skyler, and-" Sans was cut off by Skyler.

"I'm a monster. Just uh... just visiting my friend here." Skyler told him, looking over at Sans.

"OH! WONDERFUL! WELL, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF ME!" Papyrus introduced himself.

"Yeah! Of course I have! Sans told me what an awesome brother you are! It's an honor to meet you, Papyrus!" Skyler smiled.

"OH! HE DID?" Papyrus asked, eye sockets widening with a grin on his face.

"sure did." Sans nodded.

"THANK YOU, SANS! SKYLER, HAVE YOU BEEN TO SNOWDIN BEFORE? PERHAPS I CAN SHOW YOU AROUND?" Papyrus offered.

"Sure! I'd like that!" Skyler replied.

"WONDERFUL! FOLLOW ME!" Papyrus instructed, and he started heading to Snowdin.

Sans looked over at Skyler, whispering, "thank you."

"You're welcome... I figured it'd make him happy, and after last Reset... I just want everyone to be happy, you know?" Skyler asked.

"i feel ya. dust tries doing that too." Sans mumbled to them, following after Papyrus, "he's got a temper and he's stubborn, but... he cares about paps a lot."

"What about Killer?" Skyler asked quietly, following him.

".... not really.. killer's.... he's hard to explain. he doesn't really uh..." Sans couldn't figure out how to word it, "killer's complicated. not really big on making others happy, or papyrus for that matter..."

"Oh... How come?" Skyler questioned.

"chara screwed him up in his timeline, bad." Sans answered, and Skyler nodded a bit.

"How bad?..." Skyler hesitantly asked.

"to put it simply, they burned him to the ground and oversaw the rebuilding, making some... structural changes as they saw fit." Sans sighed.

"Oh my god..." Skyler whispered, shocked, "He's not mad you're telling me this?"

"him and dust are in my subconscious right now, i don't think he's listening." Sans replied, "i've uh... seen a lot of killer's memories. i know how much he was messed up and what they did, but... it's still not easy to look past it when he acts like he doesn't give a damn most of the time."

"Maybe it's a coping mechanism? Not caring to save himself from the pain?" Skyler suggested.

"hmm... maybe. it's hard to tell with certain things that happened over there." Sans sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Skyler asked him.

". . . not really. i can't risk a genocidal brat finding some of the stuff out." Sans denied.

"Oh... Right..." Skyler looked off to the side before looking back at him, "Will you let me know if I can help at all, at least?"

"sure thing, kiddo." Sans replied. He wasn't sure if it was a lie or not.

". . . So umm... are you holding up ok, at least? With everything going on?" Skyler asked him after a moment.

". . . not really the best, but i could be worse. another one is gonna be here soon; saw him last timeline." Sans sighed.

"Another one?" Skyler whispered, shocked.

"yeah... this one uh... i don't know much about, other than he's horrifying.... i don't want to see how bad this can get..." Sans muttered.

"Don't worry, I think I might have an idea." Skyler reassured.

"really?" Sans asked.

"Yeah. It might not work, but it's worth a shot." Skyler nodded, and Sans nodded.

"hopefully it works, kid." Sans muttered, and they nodded.

"SO, MY BROTHER'S FRIEND, ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU DON'T NEED WARMER CLOTHES? I HEAR FOR NON-SKELETAL MONSTERS, IT'S VERY COLD! MY FRIEND UNDYNE ALWAYS GETS COLD HERE!" Papyrus asked from up ahead.

"I um... I'm actually a bit cold now that I think about it, yeah." Skyler replied.

"WELL, COME ALONG! WE CAN GO TO ME AND MY BROTHER'S HOUSE AND YOU CAN BORROW A COAT!" Papyrus offered, "IF THAT'S ALRIGHT WITH MY BROTHER, THAT IS!" Papyrus offered, turning his skull to look back at the two of them.

"i don't mind." Sans shrugged.

"Thank you." Skyler told him, grateful.

When they arrived at Snowdin, some monsters were giving Skyler wary and curious glances, muttering amongst themselves. It wasn't unusual, but Sans usually didn't pay much attention to what they said, but now that everything was silent, Sans needed some form of distraction to keep the whispers quiet. So, he listened in.

"Is that a human?"

"Those two capture it? Looks like it's walking with them willingly."

"Should we tell the dogs?"

"That must be a human, it's gotta be!"

"Freedom will be ours soon..."

"HELLO EVERYONE! THIS IS MY BROTHER'S FRIEND, SKYLER! THEY'RE VISITING, AND PLEASE MAKE SURE TO GIVE THEM A WARM WELCOME! NYEH HEH HEH!!" Papyrus announced, cheerfully striding towards his and Sans's house.

Some monsters were still wary, but greeted them regardless, and others were more friendly, being kind and welcoming. Upon getting inside their house, the three of them headed to Sans's room, Sans opening his closet to look for something for the kid, and he froze. Killer's coat immediately caught his attention, and he could feel a chill going down his spine, remembering the memory from Killer's timeline from when this whole thing started. Sans's vision flickered, his mind going back to that same scene, and his thoughts started to empty, everything getting hazy as the whispers and Chara's voice grew louder. Sans's soul started racing, his breathing quickening as their voice whispered in his mind, trying to pull him into the haze, and he started hyperventilating, and he saw what looked like Broken Determination coming from his eye sockets, his room distorting and twisting itself into something out of a horror movie, everything covered in dust and blood, Chara smiling at him from within the closet. Sans looked around frantically, looking for a distraction, and once his gaze landed on his music player, he bolted to it, slipping the headphones over his skull and turning on the first song he found. He didn't pay attention to the lyrics, not really, just the noise itself, and he cranked it up. He took a few shaky breaths, sitting on his mattress as he focused on the noise, blocking everything out, his eye sockets closing. The song played, Sans's mind clearing up, as the song continued, and tension bled out of him. He flinched as a hand met his shoulder, eye sockets opening after a moment of hesitation to see Skyler looking at him in concern, their hand on his shoulder to get his attention, and he pulled his headphones down and around his neck.

"Sans, are you ok?..." Skyler asked him, and he hesitated before nodding a bit.

"i'm fine, kiddo." Sans replied.

"Then why were you crying?" Skyler asked.

Sans wiped at his cheekbones, getting cyan and yellow tears on his fingers, and he sighed a bit, rubbing it on his shorts and grabbing the balled up sheets to get the rest off.

". . ." Sans didn't know what to say.

"Sans, I... I know it's dangerous for me to know stuff with Karter and Iggy in here too, but... at least tell me what I can do to help you? Please?" Skyler requested, "I can tell something's wrong, and I want to help you with it..."

Sans hesitated before looking over at them, contemplating what to do and if he should tell them. He was so used to seeing Killer's perspective of Frisk, and sure, it was Chara, that was evident by later on, but initially, when the brainwashing started, he knew their appearance. Listened to them exclusively. It was hardwired into Killer's mind at first, and that transferred over to him.

He clearly wasn't going to get any better, not with Dust and Killer unable even able to help themselves, and they already had enough to worry about... Besides, he trusted the kid, and while that was probably the brainwashing based on the amount of trust and the urge to protect them that he had... he could tell by the kid's face they were sincere and wanted to help him, and if Karter or Iggy or Chara tried taking advantage of the knowledge, Dust could deal with them. He was the most stable one out of all of them, which really said something about Sans's current state of mind. So, Sans started talking.

"in uh... killer's timeline, chara uh... was in control of your body the whole time. no split personalities, just... them.. they kept trying to get killer to kill everyone with them, and he kept refusing. so, they did.... something, i dunno what, but then he accepted, but it was supposed to be once and the loop stopped. it... didn't stop. they started doing something to his head, getting him all... i don't even know what it was, but there's no thoughts, no emotions, just them and what they said, and he just.... obeyed. they completely brainwashed him with it, and it got worse from there, and sure, he doesn't go into it anymore, but..." Sans trailed off.

"But you do." Skyler finished sadly, "That's what you've been struggling with..."

Sans nodded a bit, looking down, "it happens when i see something that triggers a memory, or when i get stressed out... the whispers are always there but when i go into that... that state, chara's voice starts up and i just listen to it... it's like i'm on autopilot.... then there's the hallucinations but those aren't as frequent, and i only see them when i'm about to go in or am in that state..."

"It... Sounds like you're dissociating..." Skyler said after a moment.

"what?" Sans asked.

"What you said... Hearing things, feeling emotionally numb or detached, having flashbacks, seeing things that aren't there... I think it's that combined with trauma. Your mind is hiding you from things that are scaring or stressing you out, mainly by detaching you from reality and to what it perceives as safety. It's trying to avoid pain, so your emotions turn off, and then you're still thinking, just thinking different things. When you see the Chara of Killer's world, it's probably because your mind associates them with safety, and it's trying to make you feel safe..." Skyler explained.

That... actually made a lot of sense.

"what about the whispers? they're almost always there." Sans questioned.

"That's probably more trauma. When is it quiet?"

"mainly when something else is going on so i can focus on it.." Sans answered.

"Ok, umm... Use music like what you were doing in your free time, but otherwise stay around other people. Keep something going on for you to focus on. Keep your mind going by thinking of things or remembering songs, or talking with Dust and Killer in your mind. That could help too." Skyler advised.

"i think that's what killer does." Sans remembered.

Skyler nodded, "It's a good strategy. If you can't hold it off under any circumstances, if you're that stressed or panic, ground yourself on reality here, not over there. Focus on your breathing, then find five things you can see besides them, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. That should help you a lot." Skyler told him, sitting down next to him on the mattress.

"thank you." Sans replied, "i'll keep that in mind..."

"You're welcome... . . . Sans, why did you protect Frisk and Riley from Undyne?" Skyler asked.

". . . it uh... i think it's from the brainwashing. chara made me want to protect them, and that uh... transfers to you guys. it's like a reflex." Sans admitted.

"Try not to act on it." Skyler told him, "That's interconnected with everything else. Try restraining instincts you have from that trauma, that might help you, and if you see Karter or Iggy in control... Have Dust deal with them?"

"definitely. he's... he's actually been helping me out. pulled me out of dissociating a bit ago. he doesn't like killer much, but on the plus side they aren't fighting each other as much..." Sans replied, "i'm hoping they can actually get along now. i mean i'm pissed at both of them and still trying to get along with them, dust is just being stubborn and deflecting his self loathing onto killer."

"Can I suggest something?" Skyler asked.

"go for it." Sans nodded.

"Try uniting them from something that they agree on. You said they were talking about... you know... with Flowey earlier, maybe their shared dislike for him can bring them together. Find a common ground for them, like interests or a common goal. Or just have them work together for something, like trust exercises. They're bound to bond from that eventually."

"thanks, kiddo. i'll remember that." Sans thanked them, hoping they were right about this.

"You're welcome." Skyler smiled.

"hey, uh... if you wanted to pick out a coat, i'm gonna check on those two." Sans told them, and they nodded.

Sans laid down on his bed, eyelights going out as he went into the subconscious, looking around. He saw a large board a bit away, Killer and Dust both over by it, blank sticky notes all over the 'floor', some balls of yarn scattered all over, and there was already a decent amount of notes and strings on the board itself. Sans walked over to it, overhearing bits of their conversations.

"what if we poured oil on him?" Killer asked.

"no, that probably wouldn't work." Dust shook his skull no.

"gasoline and then lit him on fire?" Killer suggested.

"too attention-catching." Dust rejected, "that would have to be for if no one was around."

"could we cut him off his stem?" Killer questioned.

"maybe, but he would probably just grow back right away." Dust sighed.

"not unless he had bone meal." Killer smirked.

". . . it's not minecraft, killer." Dust told him flatly, and Killer laughed.

They were... actually getting along. Maybe Skyler was right; they just needed a common goal or interest and they would get along. Killer seemed to notice Sans approaching, because his skull turned to look at him, smirk growing.

"hey, lucks! how's things out there?" Killer asked.

"pretty good so far. how's things in here?" Sans questioned.

"pretty good! i'm starting to grow on him!" Killer grinned.

"like mold." Dust muttered.

"ouch." Sans snorted as Killer gasped in mock offense, "hey!"

Dust smirked a bit, writing something down on a note and sticking it to the board, using some yarn to connect it to a few other notes.

"alright, well, i'll leave you two to it-" Sans started, but Killer cut him off.

"wait, quick question! flowers can reproduce on their own, right? think flowey can make tiny soulless monster flowers?" Killer asked, right eye socket closing half-way.

"what the hell?" Sans questioned in disbelief.

"killer, no!!" Dust snapped.

"it's a genuine question!" Killer whined.

"he probably can't!" Dust told him, Sans nodding.

"yeah, he probably would've done so by now... what if he already has?... what if they're a hive-mind, and every time we see him in a different spot, it's another one of them..." Killer asked, looking between them both.

". . ." Sans and Dust were just done, Killer laughing as Sans pulled himself back to awareness, seeing Skyler watching him from off to the side, wearing a dark purple coat.

"Is everything ok?" Skyler questioned.

"yeah, everything's cool. i think you might be right." Sans replied, and they smiled a bit, seeming happy and relieved by the information.

"SKYLER, HAVE YOU FOUND THE REQUIRED ITEM?" Papyrus asked from downstairs.

"Yeah, I did!" Skyler answered.

"WONDERFUL! IS THERE ANYWHERE YOU WISH TO SEE?" Papyrus questioned.

"You know any good spots for food?" Skyler responded.

"MY BROTHER ALWAYS GOES TO GRILLBY'S, WE CAN HEAD THERE? OR PERHAPS YOU'D LIKE SOME HOMECOOKED SPAGHETTI INSTEAD?" Papyrus offered.

"I'm ok with either." Skyler replied.

"let's hit up grillby's, they can meet some of the other monsters too." Sans offered.

Dust may like to eat the pasta, but Dust was currently plotting out Flowey's potential murder and insults with Killer, and Sans couldn't get himself to eat a lot of it. Besides, Sans could go for ketchup.

Upon getting to Grillby's, there were a few regulars there, and Sans was hoping his coat would cover up Skyler's scent. It was pretty successful, all in all. Sans got a burger with extra ketchup, and by extra, he meant a bottle, Skyler got a burger without ketchup, and Papyrus got some fries. Sans knew Papyrus didn't like Grillby's that much and just got something so that it wouldn't be weird, but it was still a nice gesture. Paps was the coolest.

"SO, WHERE ARE YOU FROM?" Papyrus asked Skyler as they ate their food, starting up a conversation.

"I'm uh.. I'm from... around." Skyler answered vaguely.

"OH? 'AROUND'? I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT PLACE BEFORE! WHAT'S IT LIKE?" Papyrus questioned, completely serious.

Sans almost choked on his ketchup, coughing it up like he'd seen himself coughing up Determination.

"It's.. well, it's kinda boring..." Skyler told him.

"NONSENSE! IT CAN'T BE BORING IF ONE OF MY BROTHER'S FRIENDS IS FROM THERE!" Papyrus replied.

Skyler blushed a bit, unsure of how to respond to that; they were clearly flattered. Sans closed his eye sockets for a moment, smiling a bit. That was his brother alright.

'HEY LUCKY, GUESS WHAT?!?!'

Sans's eye sockets flew open, being met with Killer's excited face, and he yelped from the sudden noise and appearance, falling back and off the stool. Killer was crouched up on the counter in a cat-like position, laughing hysterically. The patrons of the diner all jumped and turned towards Sans in alarm, including Skyler and Papyrus.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Papyrus asked worriedly as Sans tried getting his breathing under control, and Sans's shrunken eyelights looked over at him.

Skyler was looking over at him in concern, glancing between the counter and Sans, hopping down from the stool to help him up.

"this burger's scary good, grillbs. really has me rattled and chilled to the bone." Sans tried to pun off, which worked to an extent, but some monsters, plus Skyler, were still visibly concerned.

"Sans? Can we talk?" Skyler asked quietly from where they stood next to him, clearly wanting to know what was going on.

"yeah..." Sans replied, teleporting them both to his room again, Killer appearing sitting on the treadmill, still laughing. Dust appeared next, leaning against the wall and pinching the bridge of his nasal cavity as he shook his skull with a sigh.

"what the hell was that for?!" Sans snapped at Killer, who wheezed.

'y-you should've seen your face! hahahahahahahaha!!' Killer laughed.

"What happened?" Skyler asked Sans, and his eyelights flicked over to them.

"killer just jumpscared the crap out of me." Sans sighed, glaring at the laughing skeleton sitting on the treadmill. He wanted to turn it on in reverse on max speed and vault Killer into the wall.

'wow, well isn't that violent, lucky?~' Killer snickered.

"shut up." Sans muttered, "what did you want, anyways? you couldn't have just said that instead of screaming it?"

'hmmmmmmm... nope.' Killer smirked, and Sans sent a particular gesture at him he'd thought he'd hid, but he clearly hadn't since Skyler gasped in surprise.

'me and killer found the perfect way to kill flowey after insulting the hell out of him.' Dust informed.

'and me and dusty are friends now!' Killer added.

'nope.' Dust shot him down.

'yup!' Killer disagreed, and Sans sighed.

'not a snowball's chance in hell.' Dust told him.

'we're in snowdin. inside our own hell. i think that means something.' Killer smirked.

'screw you.' Dust glared.

'by all means, dusty, go right ahead~' Killer winked, and Sans held a hand over his mouth to silence his laughter; he wouldn't laugh at Killer's joke, he was still mad at him.

'. . .' Dust's face lit up purple, 'i hate you.'

'love you too, dust bunny~' Killer chuckled.

'you guys are such siblings.' Sans told them with a small smirk.

'. . . makes sense on why he wants to kill me.'

'you slimy little-!!'

'also i like dust more than papyrus, so that doesn't fit either.' Killer added, cutting Dust off.

'. . .'

'. . . you what?'

'. . . i said nothing. bye!' Killer vanished.

Sans exchanged a look with Dust, basically saying "did he really just say that?", and Dust shrugged.

Skyler saw Sans's face, and asked, "What happened?"

"killer... just said he liked dust more than paps. i mean that doesn't say much, but it still means he at least likes him a little bit." Sans answered.

'is there a way for him to hate me?' Dust asked.

'no, dust. if anything it's a good thing.' Sans told him.

'why?' Dust questioned.

'because if you two could actually get along, then all of this might be a little bit easier to deal with. weren't you two getting along before?' Sans asked.

'over plotting flowey's death!' Dust replied.

'exactly! just... try finding things you can get along through, ok? try to get to know him better.' Sans told him.

'like looking for weaknesses?' Dust asked.

'. . . sure, whatever, just try getting to know him more. please?' Sans requested.

'. . . fine.' Dust sighed, vanishing.

Sans looked over at Skyler, saying, "i gave dust your advice. i'm just hoping it works..."

Skyler nodded a bit, "I hope so too."

"we should probably get back to grillby's. everyone's probably really confused." Sans mentioned after thinking about it.

"Yeah..." Skyler agreed, looking down before Sans placed a hand on their shoulder before teleporting them both back to Grillby's.

"BROTHER! IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?" Papyrus asked in concern upon seeing him.

"yeah, everything's ok, paps." Sans reassured him, "just uh.. had some stuff to talk about, that's all."

"OH... ALRIGHT. OH! I CALLED UNDYNE, AND SHE SAID SHE WANTS TO MEET YOUR FRIEND! I INFORMED HER OF HOW NICE SKYLER WAS, AND SHE WANTS TO MEET THEM! MAYBE THEY COULD HAVE A COOKING LESSON TOGETHER!" Papyrus smiled, going from worried, to reassured, to cheerful and excited so fast he almost put Killer's mood swings to shame. Almost.

"sure, yeah, that could be fun." Sans agreed, knowing exactly what was coming up, and Skyler looked a bit anxious.

"Yeah... maybe..." Skyler mumbled.

After Sans put the food on his tab, the three of them headed to Waterfall. There was some monsters who were more... wary, than others, but Sans was able to shrug their suspicions off. He needed to get the kid some kind of mask or something, and maybe this timeline could go without any confrontations. Maybe. It was a big if though, but it'd be nice.

Skyler had pulled their hood up, which made it a bit easier to hide they weren't a monster, and hopefully Undyne wouldn't be suspicious because Sans did not feel like dissociating again. Dust and Killer were in his subconscious, talking and keeping their conversation private, which was a bit anxiety inducing because he didn't know if they were trying to kill each other or not, but for right now nothing was exploding and no one was screaming. Skyler started up some conversation on the way there, keeping things from being too quiet, which Sans greatly appreciated, using it to drown out the whispers, and he was happy he'd chosen to let the kid in on everything happening. They were honestly really helping him out.

Discord server: https://discord.gg/wQfvxyEuvj

#undertale #undertale au #ao3 fanfic #sans undertale #undertale alternate timeline #killer sans #dust sans #undertale fandom #undertale sans #undertale fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #mergingtimelines #horror sans

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aectpen · 2 years ago

Text

STRAWBERRY ✯ 𝙕𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝘼𝙊!

synopsis: 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐥

pairing: Zhang Hao of ZB1 and fem!oc

status: ongoing

chapter 1: convenience

chapter 2: so we meet again

"i can't believe i'm going to work tonight. someone end my misery." rina compained.

"i thought you liked your job,"

"well it's still a job, so i gotta hate it."

rina and haemin were heading home after the fansign.

"i think i'm going to marry jiwoong." haemin pretended to be faint.

"yeah and i'm beyoncé."

"beyoncé, you look a little different today."

"you're annoying." rina rolled her eyes.

"have you talked to strawberry recently?"

"just a little bit last night, you know the usual."

"he needs you so bad."

"you're the one that feeds my delusions." rina laughed.

"guys do you want anything from the store?" hao asked the boys.

"ice cream, candy, chips-" yujin began, but got cut off by hanbin. "how about a vegetable for once?"

"any other requests?"

"i wanna come with." matthew suggested. "NO!" everyone was taken aback by his quick response.

"girl be calm." gyuvin held his hand over his chest.

"i mean, save yourself the trouble. i'll grab a bunch of stuff and be back soon!" hao rushed out of the door.

"he's up to something." ricky raised his brow.

rina stared at her watch and back at the door. her shift was almost over. "i guess no strawberry tonight." she whispered to herself.

ring

saved by the bell.

rina straightened her uniform to look more presentable and fixed her short hair.

"hi!" rina was surprised that he was the one to greet her first.

"hey! so we meet again." rina laughed.

he didn't laugh, his eyes widened. "oh, was that a weird comment to make? i'm sorry. i just meant we see each other every night."

his eyes softened. "no, no. don't apologize. i'm just a little stupid."

"so, what can i help you with today?"

"do you have any recommendations for snacks? um my friends are really indecisive and i don't know what to get."

"hmm, okay i really like this strawberry ice cream, this popcorn, and these chips." he followed her around the store. "thank you, i'm sure they'll love it." his hand brushed over hers as he reached for the ice cream. he had a silver bracelet with the letter z.

"rina."

"hm?"

"my name, it's rina."

"oh.. you can call me z." he saw he looking at his bracelet. "nice to meet you after all this time." rina joked.

"yeah, nice to meet you too."

it had been 10 minutes over her shift being over. her coworker was confused by her presence since she usually is out the door the moment he clocks in.

they looked at each other for a while. rina awkwardly swung her arms around. "is there anything else i could get you?"

"uh, no that's all." he followed her back to the register where her coworker stood. she was bummed out that she couldn't check him out.

she grabbed her backpack from behind the counter.

"hmm looks like you stuck around overtime." her coworker said while ringing him up.

"jaejun, take the help and leave the attitude outside."

rina smiled at z before leaving.

"z." she said to herself. "that's even more mysterious."

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chiimeramanticore · 11 months ago

Text

Part of the Band - Chapter 4 - Comedy Club

Chapter summary: The gang goes to a comedy club. Someone gets into a fight.

Chapter word count: 2,124

<- Chapter 3 - Chapter 5 ->

Read it on AO3!

Beach Bear plops down on the couch with a sigh. "Good work, guys," he says. "Why don't we call it a day?"

"We just started," Queenie complains. "You're the same slacker I've always known."

"Don't get on my case," Beach Bear mutters, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"I think we should discuss the band a little more," Billy Bob says. "Let's see, we got you and me doing guitars, Queenie can sing, and Dook is on drums... What are we missing?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I know!" Looney Bird exclaims, feathers ruffling excitedly. "Keys, we need keys!"

"Keys! Great idea, Looney Bird," Billy Bob replies. He turns to the group. "Do any of us know anyone who can play piano?"

"No," Dook says.

"Nope," Queenie says.

"Nuh-uh," Beach Bear says.

Billy Bob looks at Mitzi.

"...What?" She says.

"Well, we're gonna have to find someone who can play piano," Billy Bob says. "Beach Bear, how'd you recruit Dook into the band anyway?"

"I told you, I–"

"We met at a bar," Dook says. "He, uh, struck up a really good conversation with me. And the idea of the band came up."

"Hmm..." Billy Bob thinks for a moment. "Well, I suppose it would be good to be in a social setting. We can meet more people that way. And it's been a little bit since we all did something together, hasn't it? Let's go out somewhere!"

"Yeah," Beach Bear says, sitting up. "We'll celebrate Dook joining us... but it'll also be, like, a business trip."

"You guys been to that new comedy club yet?" Queenie suggests. "We could go there."

"That sounds great," Billy Bob says, "but, uh, what about Mitzi?"

"What about her?" Queenie says. "We'll drive past my place on the way there. I'll just drop her off. She can handle herself. Right, squirt?"

"Yeah..." Mitzi says, burying her snout in one of the pillows on the couch.

"She'll be fine," Queenie says. "Let's go."

·–—–·

The comedy club is dim and warmly lit. Upon entering, the group are greeted by a sizeable seating area, with a bar to the left and the stage to the right. They end up at a table closer to the back, despite the place not being very crowded. The table is elevated, with chairs to match, and has just enough seats to fit everyone. Everyone grabs a chair quickly, save for Dook, who hesitates– and soon the only chair left is sat between Queenie and Looney Bird. He sits down.

Looney has already engrossed himself in conversation with Billy Bob, his back turned to Dook. Queenie is staring idly off toward the stage. He should make conversation.

"So, uh, babysitting, huh?" Dook starts.

"Ugh, yes," Queenie responds, not making eye contact.

"How'd you get into that business?"

"Does it matter? I don't really feel like talking about Mitzi right now."

"...Why not?" Dook asks.

"Because we're at an adult place and I don't want to think about little kids anymore." She squeezes her eyes shut, resting her head against a hand.

Dook looks down at the table for a second. "Who is Mitzi to you, anyway?"

"Wh– She's my little sister, alright?" Queenie says, looking at him now. "Is that what you want to hear? I'm babysitting my damn little sister every day."

"Your parents can't–?"

"Hey!" Beach Bear says, laughing nervously, "Why don't we go get some drinks, huh? Come on Dook, let's head to the bar."

"Why'd you do that?" Dook asks as they approach the bar.

"Listen, Dook," Beach Bear says, "Mini's kinda going through some stuff right now. The least we can do is not bother her about it."

"Well, what is she going through?"

"I don't know," he says, a touch bothered. "And it doesn't matter. Just, lay off, okay?"

"Okay." He turns to the menu. "What are you getting?"

"You like cocktails?" Beach asks.

"Sure," Dook replies.

"Alright," he says, signaling for the bartender. "Two margaritas, please."

Behind them, someone begins playing a guitar on stage. Beach Bear turns to look at them. "Man, I thought this was a comedy club," he says. "Maybe they're one of those musical comedy acts."

Dook doesn't fully turn around, but rather watches Beach Bear. Not focused on him doing anything specific, just… him in general. His face, his fur, his eyes. His eyes are a striking blue, lighter than any he's ever seen. Almost electric. He leans against the counter of the bar with one arm, his torso bent casually backwards. He looks cool, but he always looks cool. How does he do it? Does it just come to him naturally… or has he been trained to do it? Dook shifts to lean similarly against the bar, on his side rather than his back.

The bartender comes back with their drinks. "That's four bucks," she says.

"Yeah," Beach Bear fishes into his wallet and hands her a five dollar bill. Dook doesn't protest his paying for him this time.

"Thanks," he says, taking a sip. It's sweet and sour at the same time.

"Heh, anytime," Beach replies, taking a sip himself. "You drink often? Or is it just a coincidence we keep meeting in bars?"

"A little of both," Dook says, smiling bashfully. "We wouldn't meet so much if you didn't keep following me around, you know."

"Maybe I like to follow you around. Maybe you're interesting."

"Or maybe you're a predator stalking his prey."

Beach Bear fake gasps, placing a hand to his heart. "Really, Dook. You think that low of me?" His grin betrays his otherwise convincing tone of voice. Dook smiles.

"You still haven't proven you're not a serial killer," he says, turning back to his drink.

"Mm." Beach Bear takes another sip of his drink. "I'll figure out a way to prove it to you," he says. "One of these days."

"You guys gonna join us again, or what?" A voice shouts from their table. It's Looney Bird.

"Uh– Yeah, of course!" Beach Bear calls back. He chuckles, glancing toward Dook. "Let's go."

·–—–·

The group spends the next couple of hours at the club, cheering and jeering the rotation of performers, drinking, and enjoying each other's company. By the time they leave, it's well into the evening.

The group exits the building, a bit rowdy, laughing and talking with each other. Dook lags behind slightly, not particularly interested in the conversation, when he hears another voice. He can't make out what they're saying, but it sounds aggressive.

"Guys," he says, reaching out and touching two of them to get them to stop. "Guys, I thought I just heard a fight starting."

"None of my business," Queenie says.

"Well, I wanna go see what's up," Dook says. "You don't have to come with me, but I'm going." He doesn't wait for anyone else's approval, and walks toward the other side of the building.

There, he finds an alley, with a door leading back into the building. In the doorway is a fox, and standing just in the alley is a wolf.

"I'm not telling you this again," the fox says. "We only let contracted performers play here."

"But I auditioned-!" The wolf complains.

"Yeah, and you didn't make the cut," the fox says. "Cut your damn losses and get the hell out of here."

"Th- this is unfair," the wolf protests. "It's unjust! It's a crime, I'd say!"

"Trespassing is a crime," the fox says, "and if you don't get your sorry behind out of here, I'm calling the cops on you! You are ruining the experience of the patrons!"

"You don't know what you're missing out on!" The wolf snaps. "This is the greatest act of the twentieth century!"

"Get lost, kid," the fox says, going back inside and closing the door.

"It's only a matter of time until I'm world famous, you know!" The wolf continues. "You'll be sorry you didn't have me when you had the chance, because when I'm famous I am never coming back here! Never! In fact, I'll even put in a bad word about you! I'll get this place shut down! Then you'll be sorry! You'll be… You'll…" He trails off, seeming to realize he's been thoroughly rejected.

"Oh God, it's just some loser," Queenie says from behind Dook. It seems the whole group followed him after all. "I thought you said they were fighting."

"It sounded like a fight," Dook says. "I'm gonna go talk to him."

"What? No," Queenie starts, but he's already approaching him.

"You okay?" Dook calls.

"Huh?" The wolf straightens, regaining his composure. "Of course, I'm fine! What would… make you think otherwise?"

"I heard you and that guy getting into it," he says. "Greatest act of the twentieth century, huh?"

"Naturally," the wolf says. He shifts to face Dook a little more, and only then does he notice the yellow puppet sitting on his hand. "Little Earl and I are a traveling comedy act, the two of us."

"Yeah, traveling 'cause he can't find us a place to stay at," the puppet says, in a much different voice from the wolf's.

"So you're a ventriloquism act," Dook says.

"Uh, sure," the wolf says.

"Well, you're great at it," Beach Bear says, having entered the alley as well. "I didn't see your lips move at all!"

"Well, I'm real glad you recognize our natural talent," the wolf says. "But that's not getting me any more on stage than I was before."

Dook looks over to Beach Bear. Beach shoots him back a similar look.

"We're actually, uh, trying to start this band–"

"No," Queenie says. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Billy Bob replies.

"Because!" Queenie huffs. "We need a pianist, not some second-rate sideshow!"

"Second-rate?!" The wolf exclaims.

"Yeah, and I'd say it again!" Queenie says. "This comedy club sucks, and if you couldn't get into even that, how could we believe you're even half as good to join us?"

"We're not that exclusive, Mini," Beach Bear says.

"No!" She turns to him. "Don't give me that, because that's exactly what made the Wolf Pack fail! You were too lax and let whoever the hell you wanted in, you didn't set any rules, and then you acted like the victim when it didn't work out!"

"I did not!" Beach Bear snaps.

"Yes, you did," Queenie adds. "That group was nothing but mistake after mistake."

"Maybe my only mistake was inviting you," Beach Bear says.

Queenie says nothing. The alley is silent.

"I– Mini, I didn't mean–"

"Mean what? Mean to say it? Because I know you meant what you said."

"Mini–"

"Shut up," she says. She doesn't shout, but the anger in her voice is clear. "Do whatever the hell you want. I'm going home."

She turns, walking out of the alley and into the night.

The group stands awkwardly in the alley as she leaves, unsure how to continue.

"...Well," the wolf says. "I'm not one to force my way into such a tight-knit group. But if you ever decide you need a, 'sideshow' act, here's my card." He pulls a business card out of his pocket and hands it to Dook.

"Rolfe DeWolfe," he says, reading it.

"The one and only," he replies, grinning.

Suddenly, the side door to the building opens, and the fox returns.

"Hey, what are you all doing out here?" He snaps. "This isn't some public hangout joint! Scram, all of you!" The group quickly obliges, all of them leaving the alley and scattering toward their respective homes.

"...Beach Bear," Dook says.

"Yeah?" Beach Bear replies.

"I'm real sorry," he says, staring down at the sidewalk as they walk. Beach Bear sighs.

"Don't be," he says. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, you didn't either…"

"I dunno," he says. "I pissed Mini off. I'm a little drunk, I guess. I guess we all were."

"She's got a short fuse," Dook mutters.

"Yeah," Beach Bear says. "I dunno. She's always been like that."

"She doesn't sound very pleasant…"

"She's… not a bad person," he says. "You just need to get to know her. And how to interact with her."

They fall silent, walking down the street together. The streets are barren and quiet, the only noise coming from the ocean just a few blocks away.

"...What did you think of that Rolfe guy?" Beach Bear asks.

"Huh? Oh, I dunno," Dook says. "He's eccentric."

"Could be a good performer," Beach says.

"Sure, but… Queenie was right, wasn't she? We need to assemble the rest of the band before we start looking for side acts."

"Hey, you never know. That puppet could be a great singer."

Dook laughs. In his pocket, he touches the business card again. Maybe… Maybe not right now, but maybe.

#juno.pdf #rae #potb #part of the band #rockafire explosion #rock afire explosion #dook larue #beach bear #mitzi mozzarella #billy bob brockali #looney bird #mini mozzarella #rolfe dewolfe #earl schmerle #fanfic #fanfiction

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aeoki · 1 year ago

Text

Fist of the Shangri-la Idol - Movie Actor: Chapter 1

Location: In Front of ES Drink Stand Characters: Subaru, Hokuto, Makoto, Mao & Yuzuru Season: Spring

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Two weeks earlier. An afternoon in late May. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤStraight after a recording for “BIG BANG” – breaktime at the ES drink stand. >

Mao: Alright. Good, looks like things are finally calming down.

Good thing there’s a set pattern every time we do “BIG BANG” – I’ve been able to go easy on my energy reserves.

Now, I’ll have more time to do other thin–

Subaru: Hey, don’t you think “BIG BANG” is kinda boring lately ‘cause it’s too typical?

Let’s do something that’s newer and more fun and exciting!

Hokuto: Right, I had the same thoughts too. That’s what “Trickstar” is all about, after all.

Mao: Hey, now… I won’t tell you to “stop” but you should at least pay attention to your surroundings and adjust your speed.

It’s fine though – That’s one of our good points, after all ♪

Makoto: D–Don’t agree so easily, Isara-kun! You can get like that sometimes, huh. Who’s gonna take the wheel if you step back from controlling this out-of-control train!?

Hokuto: That’s not a good example, Yuuki. We’ve always been earnestly running outside of the railway path others have set for us.

Makoto: Yeah, that’s exactly why I think that’s even worse! An out-of-control train that’s gone off the rails is definitely gonna end up crashing somewhere!

Subaru: A bright and shiny stream…☆

Makoto: Argh! I always wondered this before, but why do you always happily jump on me whenever I yell, Akehoshi-kun? Do you like me a bit too much or something!?

Hokuto: Hmm. I think it’s about time Yuuki loses oxygen, so let’s stop the skit here and talk about something serious.

Mao: Please do. …So, what do we wanna do? You guys don’t wanna do “BIG BANG” forever like this, right?

Hokuto: Of course not. We’ll always be doing the things that only we can do – As the winners of “SS”, we’re always open to new challengers.

Makoto: Uh, we should probably choose another command other than “fight” sometimes.

Frankly, the main purpose of “BIG BANG” is to battle it out with the unit that’s been invited on stage – it’s intense just like the name suggests.

We’ll get tired if we keep fighting all the time and I’d like some calm and peaceful work.

I know I’m mentioning this really late, but being an idol doesn’t mean you should fight all the time, right?

Hokuto: ? What are you talking about? The stage has always been a battlefield.

Mao: How can you be so hot-blooded? I guess it’s “fun because we win” but…

Oh.

Yuzuru: Hehe. You’re always quite lively, so it’s nice to see such a pleasant sight.

Subaru: Oh, it’s Fusshi~! Hey, hey~! King isn’t with you today?

Yuzuru: I cannot fathom why you would always think that dog is with me at all times, Akehoshi-sama…

But no animals are permitted within the ES premises. Perhaps it’s due to the hot weather, but even he dislikes going on walks.

Subaru: Ohh~... King’s a grandpa, huh. It’d be nice if he can live a long and healthy life – Tell him he can come play with Daikichi again.

Yuzuru: Of course. He won’t pass away immediately, but I shall let him know.

Mao: Let’s move on from this topic. Uhh, what business do you have with us, Yuzuru? Did you forget to tell me something about student council work?

Yuzuru: No no, if it was regarding the student council, I would tell you at school.

I’m here as a messenger of StarPro – I have welcoming news for you all.

Subaru: Huh? What welcoming news? Sounds interesting! Is it news like super ancient ruins have been discovered underneath the ES building or something!?

Yuzuru: If that were the case, I would appear rather flustered.

Hokuto: Hmm. If it’s something about our agency, then a message on “Hallhands” would suffice. Is it something important that must be discussed in person?

Yuzuru: No. It may not be right for me to decide whether it’s important or not, but I don’t think it is.

It’s simply because “Hallhands” falls under Ibara’s jurisdiction, so it cannot be well trusted.

And perhaps it’s because Hidaka-sama has a habit of completely ignoring Eichi-sama’s messages.

Or there is a chance for Hidaka-sama to delete the messages without ever reading them.

Therefore, just in case, I have come as a messenger.

With all due respect, I do think it would be good to read over work-related messages at least.

Hokuto: I–I know. I figured I’d still end up in a bad mood if I did, so I hesitate to open them.

Makoto: I’ve mentioned this before, but if you don’t like stuff like that, why don’t I take care of the messages for you all at once?

You don’t have to do everything just because you’re the leader, Hidaka-kun – You gotta have the right person for the right job ♪

Yuzuru: Indeed. However, I think it may be enjoyable to challenge yourself with unfamiliar tasks.

Muscles are formed after using them over and over, and a synapse is formed because you’re gaining unknown knowledge.

In this case, we’re talking about “that” ♪

Makoto: ……?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂ Next Chapter →

#shangri-la

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lowlylux · 2 years ago

Text

I am a Sinner (You are a Saint)

Chapter Ten | For The Hope Of It All

Ship: HeiKazuScara

Rating: E

Status: In Progress

Word Count: 3.1k

Description:

“You shall be cast out of the heavenly realm indefinitely.”

Kunikuzushi feels arms grab his own as he is forced to his feet. He struggles, keeping his eyes on his mother only. “Mother! Don’t let them do this!” The guards continue to drag him away, even if it is a struggle. “Mother!” He knows the gate to the human realm is growing closer to him. The more time passes, the less chance he has to escape. But the divine never back out of their decisions…never. He looks to his mother one last time, hoping that she at least looks at him. But her gaze refuses to meet his own.

When he is finally cast out, the air rushing past his entire body, he could only visualize his mother’s pained expression.

He has never felt so alone…

ao3 link

Scaramouche hasn’t really interacted with Heizou in a few days. Yes, he has talked to him, but any moment he is potentially alone with him for more than a few minutes. Perhaps it is due to him being terrified of the possibilities of a conversation, but he really doesn’t want to think about it. If Scaramouche could, he would forget certain aspects of the day he saved Heizou. But, that does prove to be difficult.

Heizou seems to make it his personal mission to catch Scaramouche alone, much to the angel’s dismay. And considering the fact that Heizou has been given a month off due to the whole situation (to Kazuha’s protests, as he thought it should have been longer), Heizou has far too many chances to get Scaramouche alone.

But, since Kazuha wanted Heizou to be as comfortable as possible, at least he has decided to take some time off as well. So at least Scaramouche doesn’t have to deal with avoiding Heizou for hours at a time.

The angel curls up on an armchair, scrolling through random articles on Kazuha’s laptop, glancing at the couple every once in a while. Heizou is in Kazuha’s arms as they watch some bad horror movie, the two laughing every once in a while to make fun of the ridiculousness of the movie. He looks away when Kazuha meets his eye.

“What are you looking at now?” Kazuha asks.

“It’s some article about an anime…it looks cool but I’m already spoiled so I doubt I’ll watch it.”

“That sucks.” Kazuha mutters, resting his chin on Heizou’s shoulder. “Heizou?”

“Hmm?”

“I was thinking about something…”

Heizou shifts slightly, obviously trying to make sure Kazuha is still comfortable, but also just wanting to look at him. “Oh?”

“Well,” Kazuha starts as his grip tightens a bit as he holds Heizou close to him. He moves his head, proceeding to kiss Heizou’s neck sweetly in a manner that makes Scaramouche blush at the sight. “We haven’t gone on a date in so long….”

“We went on a date….uh…”

“The week before Scara appeared,” Kazuha mutters, once again resting his chin on Heizou’s shoulder once more. The blond looks toward Scaramouche, smiling a bit, “and that’s not a terrible thing. We just haven’t thought about it.”

Scaramouche almost jumps at the fact that Kazuha is talking to him, squirming at the fact that he is being stared down. “Well that’s…good.” He still feels terrible, even if Kazuha is insisting he shouldn’t be. He really doesn’t want those two to have issues, especially if he potentially does something that could hurt their relationship.

“So, I was thinking…do you want to go to Kiminami tonight?”

Heizou beams, unable to face Kazuha but still seemingly attempting to anyway. He’s practically bouncing at this point, evidently extremely excited over the idea. “That actually sounds like a good idea.”

“That’s why I suggested it,” Kazuha hums, going back to the movie he’s watching. “We can get going after the movie.”

“But the movie isn’t even very good…”

Scaramouche barely even notices it at first, but when he does it almost makes him blush at the thought. Kazuha is softly tapping Heizou’s thigh, which happens to be bare since he is wearing shorts. The action in itself isn’t anything important. But, the fact that Heizou straightens his back, immediately stopping his protests, is definitely indicative of hidden meanings within the actions.

“We’ll get ready after the movie,” Kazuha mutters, eyes trained on the television.

“Okay…”

●•·•●

Kazuha likes going on dates, mostly because he can spoil the other person. It’s honestly a good thing he’s pretty well off, because if he was broke he would rather go without eating for a week then let his date go home without something. He’s always been a gift giver, mostly due to the fact that it makes the person receiving the gift happy. That’s partly why he loved taking Scaramouche shopping, seeing the angel’s face light up made his day.

But it’s…difficult with Heizou. He can’t shower the man with gifts, because Heizou is well off as well. So, he has to get creative. While Heizou can afford to go to fancy restaurants, he likes the cheaper options. So, Kazuha makes sure to take his boyfriend to places he knows Heizou likes. That, paired with anything that Kazuha can think of, and he successfully makes sure Heizou has a good time. And, if Heizou is having a good time, Kazuha is enjoying himself too.

It really didn’t take that long to get ready, not that Kazuha thought it would. Yes, both Heizou and him dressed nice, but neither of them are entirely dressed as if they were going somewhere fancy. Heizou is quite literally wearing a leather jacket, so no one would really classify it as fancy anyways.

But the two still find themselves in Kazuha’s car, some music softly playing through the speakers. The road to the city is smooth, an easy drive for anyone who decides to take the time to do it. Kazuha has always liked the road late at night, the tranquility around him far too divine to logistically ignore.

Kazuha’s grip tightens a tad on the steering wheel as he drives, his gaze looking to the road. “Hey Heizou?”

“Hmm?” Heizou hums, seemingly excited about the date as he is looking out the window as if he has never seen this road before, even though this is the same road he drives to work. Now that Kazuha thinks about it, perhaps Heizou is excited to finally be out of the house. He hasn’t really left for a while after all.

“What is going on between you and Scara?”

Kazuha doesn’t have to see Heizou to know that he has paused, most likely looking at Kazuha in shock. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Kazuha trails off, still not dropping his gaze on the road. “Ever since you two came back from…the incident,” Kazuha starts, still refusing to vocalize what happened, “Scara has quite literally refused to be alone with you. So what happened?”

“…”

The silence is deafening, and Kazuha doesn’t like that. Mostly, he dislikes Heizou hiding things from him, but he also dislikes the multiple possibilities running through his mind. “Heizou, tell me.”

“…”

“Heizou-“

“I kissed Scaramouche.”

The car swerves before Kazuha even realizes that he did so. For the first time in the car ride, Kazuha tears his eyes from the road, instead deciding to park the car and stare at Heizou. “Tell me everything.”

Heizou shifts uncomfortably, refusing to meet Kazuha’s gaze. “When he was telling me that I needed to run back when Dottore got me…I didn’t know if he’d live. I didn’t even know if I’d live…” Heizou trails off, seemingly attempting to figure out how he is going to phrase things. “So I kind of just…kissed him?”

Kazuha can’t help it, he starts to burst out laughing. “Were you cheesy too? What exactly did you say when you did it?”

“…I told him that he needed to live.”

Kazuha laughs harder, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. His shoulders shake due to his laughter, and while he is well aware of the fact that Heizou is not laughing at all, he can’t help but still find the scenario funny. Not the details that led to the scene, obviously, but just the idea of such an action reminds Kazuha of those cheesy romance movies.

“I thought you’d be mad.”

“Why the hell would I be mad?” Kazuha questions, his brows furrowed at the idea. “We both said that as long as we communicate, going out with other people is fine. You communicated, albeit reluctantly, so I have no reason to be mad.” Kazuha sends a look to Heizou that isn’t particularly meant to be taken seriously at all. “If you would’ve lied about it, then I would’ve been pissed.”

“So you’re not jealous?”

“Dude, we’re both poly…non-monogamy is kind of our thing. Would you be jealous if I kissed Scaramouche?”

Kazuha doesn’t want to think about the fact that Heizou’s pupils visibly dilate at the idea. But, since Heizou clears his throat, clearly wishing to distract from the idea, Kazuha doesn’t dwell. “I wouldn’t be jealous, no.”

“I’m just pissed because you did it first.”

“…what?”

Kazuha runs a hand through his hair, chuckling at Heizou’s reaction. “Did you not realize that I’ve liked him? Thought I was pretty obvious.”

“Ah…” Heizou mutters, unbuckling his seatbelt so that he can rest his head on Kazuha’s shoulder. “So we like the same guy?”

“I think so.”

“And does he even like either of us?”

“I’m not sure.”

“We are screwed aren’t we?”

“Kinda.”

Both Heizou and Kazuha burst out laughing together, resting on the other. They don’t laugh for a long time, their chuckles dying down within a minute, morphing into a comfortable silence between the two. Kazuha looks toward Heizou, staring at him for a moment before saying, “what are we going to do?”

“Confess to him?”

Kazuha lifts his head, going back to sitting up so that Heizou and him can look at eachother. “But would that be okay? I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

But Heizou just shrugs, clearly not knowing the best course of action either. “Pretty sure I already did.” His smile drops at the idea, an expression that represents a grimace showing up on his face. “If he doesn’t even like me like that I’m fucked.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Kazuha asks, even though the thought has crossed his mind. If Scaramouche doesn’t actually like him in that way, it could genuinely ruin the dynamic all three of them have. “Heizou, you’re perfect.”

“…you’re a really bad liar.”

“It’s not a lie,” Kazuha casually says, not really moving. But, an idea comes to mind, one that he cannot ignore. “Wait, do we even know if he’s gay?”

Both of them sit up, staring at each other in shock, mostly due to the fact that neither of them thought of that before. “He…wait do you think he might be homophobic?” Heizou asks.

“Excuse me?”

“Well think about it, he’s from heaven! What if they talk about how being gay is wrong?” Heizou questions, shaking Kazuha’s shoulders a little as he talks.

And Kazuha can only stare at him in shock. For someone who is supposed to be possibly one of the smartest people in the country…Kazuha’s boyfriend is an idiot sometimes. “Heizou…if he was homophobic he would’ve said something months ago.”

“…I didn’t think about that.”

Kazuha rolls his eyes, pushing Heizou away playfully. “I think we should get going, don’t want Kiminami to be overcrowded.”

“We’re still going to Kiminami?”

Kazuha raises a brow, staring at Heizou for a moment. “Obviously we’re going to Kiminami.”

“But what about Scara?”

Kazuha glances at Heizou, offering him an unsure smile. “We’ll figure it out once we get home.”

●•·•●

When Scaramouche notices the two humans return home, he can’t help but feel happy for them. Both of them look happy, holding hands as they enter the house. Clearly, they had a good time, which is great. He likes the smiles on their faces. He likes the small touches shared between the two that are obviously an attempt to be covert.

Both of them collapse onto the couch, leaning on each other immediately in a way that is far too sickly sweet for Scaramouche to even be able to stand. But, Scaramouche pushes those thoughts away, instead forcing himself to talk to them. “How was the date?”

“It was actually pretty nice,” Kazuha says, eyes scanning Scaramouche’s expression as if he is searching for something. “Did you eat tonight?” Scaramouche attempts to avoid eye contact, mostly due to the fact that he still really doesn’t know how to cook. He shouldn’t be embarrassed, mostly due to the fact that he was never taught, but it’s still embarrassing in his mind. “Scara…”

“…no.”

Kazuha doesn’t frown, he doesn’t grumble, and he doesn’t even look annoyed with Scaramouche. In fact, he seems more concerned than anything. Kazuha and Heizou share a look before Kazuha stands, grabbing Scaramouche’s wrist lightly so he can tug him toward the kitchen.

“Do you not know how to cook?” Kazuha asks, already grabbing a few items that can make a quick meal. He doesn’t sound like he is judging Scaramouche when he asks, sounding more curious than anything. “It’s okay if you don’t, I can teach you. Beidou and Ningguang taught me so I’m actually pretty good.”

“Angels never really needed to know how to cook…”

“Well, you’re leaning now so put on an apron,” Kazuha says with a smile, already slipping on his own apron. Scaramouche hesitantly grabs for the extra one, which he assumes to be Heizou’s, and slips it on. That action easily brings a smile to Kazuha’s face, causing a small bit of blush to settle on Scaramouche’s face as he thinks about the fact that he made Kazuha smile.

Scaramouche cannot help but stare as Kazuha starts cutting vegetables. His shirt sleeves are pulled up, so Scaramouche has a full view of Kazuha’s arms. Honestly, just a small bit of visible skin and veins becoming visible for a few seconds at a time should not distract Scaramouche, but it unfortunately does. And Kazuha looks like he’s in his element completely, knowing exactly what to do in every moment.

Kazuha is humming as he scoops up vegetables and puts them in a pot. Scaramouche almost jumps in shock when the flame on the stove erupts, quickly starting to heat up the food. “Let this simmer for a few minutes, and you’ll be all set,” Kazuha says, placing a lid on the pot and taking off his apron. He looks at Scaramouche, seemingly thinking about something before intently staring at him. “Scara, Heizou told me something that I want to talk to you about.”

Scaramouche freezes at those words, nervously staring at Kazuha. “Kazuha, I-“

“Are you okay?” Kazuha immediately asks, stepping closer to Scaramouche as he talks. The human looks sincere, looking directly into Scaramouche’s eyes. “Heizou meant well, but he should’ve asked.”

“I…” Scaramouche tails off, quite distracted if he’s being honest with himself. “It wasn’t terrible. I mean…I didn’t mind it…particularly.”

Kazuha grins at such a statement, which surprises Scaramouche. He assumed the human would be mad…not happy. “So you like Heizou?”

“No!” Scaramouche exclaims, raising his hands in protest on instinct but immediately regretting it due to the action accentuating just how close he is to Kazuha.

“Scara…” Kazuha mutters, grabbing Scaramouche’s hand. The action makes him look away, a bit too embarrassed to really face him. “Not all humans are monogamous. Heizou and I have already discussed that if either of us were to become attracted to someone else, it wouldn’t change anything.” Scaramouche feels a hand on his chin before he is urged to look up, greeted with Kazuha being extremely close. “So if you like Heizou, that’s okay.”

Scaramouche’s eyes widen at the idea, his mind wandering for a second before he banished those thoughts. No, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Although, he really can’t help it when he stares at Kazuha, the reality of Kazuha being so close that he can touch the other without even extending his hand out.

And Kazuha, being observant, seems to notice this as well. “Can I try something?”

“What would that be?”

“I want to kiss you,” Kazuha says in a straightforward way, his face a few inches from Scaramouche’s. “But if you don’t want to, I understand.”

Scaramouche really can’t think at this moment. It’s like multiple thoughts fight to take over, leaving his entire mind a mess. And he doesn’t feel pressured into answering any sort of way, which makes it easier. “Why?”

And Kazuha genuinely smiles at this question, his eyes crinkling a bit. “I like you. That’s actually pretty much it.” His nose scrunches up immediately after saying those words. “Why the hell are these types of things so cheesy? I don’t even know how I could phrase that differently.”

“Yeah…that was pretty cheesy,” Scaramouche says while chuckling, not ignoring the fact that Kazuha’s expression turns hopeful for a moment. His eyes involuntarily glance at Kazuha’s lips for a moment before he can even think, causing him to blush a bit. “But it’s okay.”

“Yeah?” Kazuha asks, getting a bit closer.

Scaramouche just pauses for a moment, his thoughts short circuiting. “Yeah, it’s okay.” Kazuha leans a bit closer, obviously searching Scaramouche’s eyes for anything that will say he’s uncomfortable with the situation. And, while Scaramouche still isn’t quite convinced that he deserves anything like this, he also isn’t against it. So he can only nod at Kazuha.

Kazuha takes this as the confirmation he needs, pressing his lips onto Scaramouche’s. At first, Scaramouche doesn’t really know what to think…at first he really can’t think. But when he is able to think, he cannot help but feel awkward over the fact that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. Kazuha is holding his hand still, but the way he is doing so makes it where Scaramouche can pull away at any time. He finds his heart rate increasing, especially as he starts enjoying it.

But that is not to last.

Kazuha pulls away, making sure to look at Scaramouche in a kind manner. “Are you okay?” Scaramouche just kind of nods, words stuck in his throat. It’s not common for him to be speechless, but here he is. So Kazuha just presses a soft kiss onto Scaramouche’s forehead, almost humming in content. “Good.”

“That was so sweet…” Both of them look startled as they turn toward the new voice, who just so happens to be Heizou. Heizou just waves, knowing fully well that he ruined any sort of moment they were having. “Absolutely nauseating too.”

“You’re just mad because I talked to him about it before you could,” Kazuha retorts, stepping away from Scaramouche so that he can check the soup. “Well, the soup is done, so that’s something.”

But Scaramouche just kind of stands there, kind of confused. “Don’t we need to talk?”

“Hmm?” Kazuha looks at Scaramouche, a soft smile on his face. “If you want to, we can. Or we can eat and talk later.”

“But this is…”

“Are you attracted to Heizou?” Kazuha questions, still holding the pot of soup. Scaramouche nods, making Heizou practically beam in happiness. “And are you attracted to me?” Once again, Scaramouche nods in response. “Then we can talk later, but you need to eat.”

And, even if their conversation took a while to actually happen, Scaramouche does have to admit that the soup was really good.

masterlist

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squadlessgeek · 7 years ago

Text

Pride: Chapter Two

[previous]

Summary: That good good human AU. If you couldn’t tell from the title, it’s pretty gay. The sides meet at Pride.

Warnings: All interpretations of characters’ sexualities and gender identities are my own headcanons and AUs and junk, obviously I know that in reality the sides are all part of Thomas who is a cisgender gay man but I can have some fun and take liberties in AUs alright this is fiction let me live. Inspired in part by this wonderful art. Oh, also, Deceit.

Word count: 1271

Pairings: prinxiety, we got some loceit in this chapter yooo im not even sorry

Tag List: @monikastec @persepinecone @horsesquid @sassy-and-messy @ilivetoexist @lizaelsparrow @galaxy-warping @insanityandimperfection @musikasworld @sander-fander-sides @swlotakulady34 @llamaavocado @applecannibal @helloisthisusernametaken @wildhorsewolf @justanotherpurplebutterfly @beautifully-terribly @awkward-avocado-of-death @ab-artist @toujours-fidele @an-awkward-gay @anaveragegayfan @gingergiraffe101 @i-just-punched-malfoy @useless-asexual273 (let me know if you’d like to be added!)

Despite the almost overwhelming amount of people that were outside, filling the streets, the cafe wasn’t too crowded. When Logan and Remy walked through the doors, Logan breathed a sigh of relief. There were only a few groups of people, all of them celebrating the event, no doubt. Flags and arrays of colors decorated everyone inside. Immediately upon entry, Remy spotted his friends and dragged Logan by the wrist over to where two people sat on stools at the bar, close together. One of them wore a red shirt and a bisexual flag draped across his shoulders, and the other wore a large pink hoodie despite the sweltering heat outside. The one in red had his arm around the one in pink, their faces and bodies close. Logan couldn’t decide if the public display of affection was endearing or off-putting.

“Hey babes!” Remy called out as they approached the pair. The two sitting down turned in their stools to face Remy and Logan. The latter pulled their arm away from Remy, taking in the appearances of the other two.

The one in red (Roman, Logan learned as Remy introduced them) had died his hair the colors of the rainbow, and it was impressively well done. His red shirt read #FEMINIST in large white font. The other, Virgil (an odd but interesting name—Logan made a mental note to research it later on), had his hair dyed a deep shade of purple. On the front of the pink hoodie was a rainbow design, as well as a few buttons pinned to the fabric. One of the pins was black and contained two Mars symbols connected together, while the other had the transgender pride colors and the word Ally in black. He also wore dark, smudged eye-shadow beneath his eyes, and Logan wondered what the purpose of that was. It made him look tired and uneasy, though the smile on his lips suggested otherwise; he seemed comfortable around Roman, who Logan assumed was his partner, which was confirmed by Remy.

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Logan said, giving them a small wave. Virgil, with the hand that wasn’t tucked into the pocket of his sweater, snapped and formed the shape of a gun with his fingers in Logan’s general direction.

“You too,” he said. Already, Logan could tell these two were... interesting. They had much in common with Remy, especially Roman, who seemed to be more... flamboyant. Extra, as Remy sometimes put it. “This your first Pride?” Virgil asked as Remy and Logan sat in the stools beside the pair. They took up almost the entire bar, but it didn’t seem as if many people were going to be coming into the cafe anyway.

“Yes, it is.” Logan answered, hoping that their smile didn’t look too uncomfortable.

“Mine too. Roman’s been going since he came out, though, and I’m pretty sure Remy’s the same way, so no worries. They know what they’re doing, and won’t force us to be around too many people,” Virgil continued, looking up at Roman and elbowing him in the side. Roman wheezed and snapped to attention. “Right, Ro?” Roman nodded and pressed his lips to the side of Virgil’s head. Logan couldn’t help but notice that their (Lo) and Roman’s (Ro) nicknames were similar; it brought a small, genuine smile to their lips. Maybe they’d fit in just fine with this group. At least crowds wouldn’t be too big of an issue, if they planned on avoiding them.

“D needs to hurry that little booty of his up,” Roman sighed down at his phone before setting it on the counter, shaking his head.

Remy gasped, leaning past Logan to speak directly in Roman’s face. “Is he coming? Right now?” His tone sounded overly excited. Logan was about to ask who this ‘D’ person was, until Remy turned to them and explained. “D is the surprise.” Well. Not much of an explanation. Logan rolled their eyes just at the same moment Virgil did, and both of them cracked small smiles. It seemed they had more in common with Virgil than they did with either Roman or Remy. The ‘R’s, they decided to call them.

“Duh, I told you I was gonna introduce them,” Roman said, taking a moment to sip from the coffee cup sat on the counter beside his phone. “He should be here soon, but he takes forever to respond to texts, so who knows.”

Logan gave Remy a pointed look. “Is this another blind date situation?” They asked, and glowered when Remy only grinned. “I told you, I don’t think—”

“Lo, really, you gotta give it a shot, at least. You never know, pup, he could be the one!”

“You also said that about the creep you set me up with that asked for a lock of my hair for—“ Logan raised their hands for air quotes, “—‘business reasons.’ I’m starting to think you just have bad taste.”

Remy took a deep breath and pressed a palm to his chest as if he’d just been shot. “I take... extreme offense to that. Besides, I’ve never even met D, he isn’t my taste, he’s theirs!” Remy gestured to Roman and Virgil. Roman lit up and nodded, evidently very invested in the romantic life of Logan, who he barely even knew, if at all.

Logan sighed, conceding. “Fine. I’ll try not to be so pessimistic.”

“That’s the spirit!” Remy exclaimed, patting Logan on the back with such force that it nearly knocked their glasses from their face.

----

When D arrived, the five of them moved from the bar to a booth so they could have proper conversations without leaving anyone out. Logan ended up sitting in between Remy and D, which they were positive was planned. They stayed quiet for much of the conversation that the others had, as did Virgil, who instead looked down at his phone, scrolling seemingly endlessly on his screen. D (Logan was determined to find out his full name at some point, surely it couldn’t just be a single letter) wore a shirt similar to Logan’s, but it was black instead of white, and the agender colors were neatly contained within the shape of a spade. Upon seeing the shirt, Logan had asked for D’s pronouns, for clarification, to which he had responded, “He/him or they/them are both fine, really. I don’t care much about what I’m called as long as people don’t assume I’m a man or a woman.”

Logan had never met another agender person before, not face-to-face, anyway, so something about being seated beside a fellow person of their... kind... was oddly validating and gave them a warm feeling in their chest, even with the differences in their pronouns.

Logan also noticed (they were one to notice quite a bit) a wristband with the aromantic colors on D’s wrist. Logan didn’t know much about the LGBTQ+ community, just that they were part of it, so they didn’t really understand at first why these people would attempt to set them up romantically with an aromantic person. They’d have to ask about it later, do research, find out more about that side of the community in order to avoid making any assumptions.

They found themself lost in their own thoughts, until they felt a pressure on the outside of their leg that snapped them back to attention. They looked down to see D’s knee touching their own; understandably, the booth was quite cramped, but the knowing (yet somehow innocent) smile D gave them suggested that the contact was not caused simply by a lack of space.

Logan felt their cheeks grow warm and averted their gaze, hoping no one else noticed the red hue tinting their face.

What did you get me into this time, Remy?

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