#woe. Dirt be upon ye.

[aseuki]

🐛💜 for stell yippee

[ask meme]

Yippee! Yay! Here we go!!!

🐛 (Caterpillar) - What are your OC’s greatest fears, and why? How do they act or react when they’re afraid?

Stell certainly likes to say that he is fearless, but he has fears just like any other being, better masked as they may be.

The thing Stell values above all else is agency, his sense of control over a situation. He worked hard to get to where he is now, and anything that threatens to tip the delicate balance he's built will send him scrambling to set things straight. They've clawed their way out of dark days, and they'll do anything to not slip back to the bottom.

Otherwise, you can also toss dirt at them and watch them freak out hahaha

💜 (Purple Heart) - If they were corrupted by the Jamba Heart, which negative traits of theirs would be amplified?

*looks at them* would there even be any difference asdlkfdjsfnf

If Anything they may end up becoming more proactive in their tendency to look for a challenge, becoming much more easily aggroed and actively seeking out others to challenge rather than simply waiting for them to come to him haha

[hysp-real]

hi guys sorry

inspired by that one nagito chess art but instead of nagito its kobitchy and I think he should be vaporized

time: 5:11

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2nd and 3rd versions under the cut (fair warning, they're considerably brighter and probably more vibrant than this version, so yeah)

[brainworms-all-night-long]

Woe, a thing I've been cooking for weeks be upon ye!!

A two parter story about Nine not keeping his mouth shut when asked and the result of that, which he didn't bother sticking by and see through, of which Part 1 is at the ready and spans 7,870 words!!!

---

His foot met soft grass that was slightly wet either from morning dew or recent heavy rain, and the portal closed right behind him.

Putting his hand above his face to block out the bright sun, Nine looked around the new universe.

At first, he would've written it off as just yet another Green Hill with the rolling grassy plains and radiant blue sky, but upon closer inspection, there were barely any hills and the grass seemed far too irregular to be that of the ever-present universe he keeps stumbling upon.

Whatever this place was, it turned out he didn't find himself too far away from a village, which, he wasn't sure was all that good news. Dealing with people, and especially strangers, was still far from his favorite activities, but the fox decided to shoot his shot anyway, seeing as there literally wasn't anything for as far as the eye could see but grass and more grass.

"Well hello there new face!"

...Of course.

"It's not too often we get outsider visitors, what brings you here!"

The ever-familiar blue hedgehog stood just ways off next to him with his hand outstretched for a greeting handshake.

Nine figured it was only polite to return the pleasantries, although his attention was immediately grabbed by the clothes this Sonic was wearing and just how young he looked.

The simple, golden crown sitting on his forehead, with a collared baby blue, long-sleeved shirt with wide cuffs adorned by gold and darker blue pants tucked into yellow, knee-high boots sure was something that Nine didn't think in any universe to be the hedgehog's style, especially not for his younger self, but he's seen all manner of things at this point.

"The name's Dream, guardian of the positive apples, nice to meet you."

Alright, color him even more curious in the first five seconds.

"Nine, I am... just passing by."

Nine looked around inconspicuously and found no twin-tailed fox in sight. Strange.

"Oh, well, depending on how long you plan on staying, I could be your tour guide!"

The chipper attitude of this Sonic must've rubbed off on him already as he didn't have it in him to decline, and nodded.

Following after the exited blue spike ball, the casual chatter and ambiance of the settlement almost immediately enveloped him, and he dared to say it almost felt cozy. The houses were made almost fully of wood and frequented dirt paths layered with rocks tied them together.

The inhabitants that noticed him — both human and mobian alike — gave him strange looks, but besides being used to that, the fox decided to chalk it up to looking extremely out of place in a primitive (ahem, simple) place like this.

Sonic on the other hand waved at and greeted almost every other person they came across. This means he must be either really popular, or everyone here knew each other by default given the relatively small size of the village.

The further they went, and the more porches with children picking and throwing grass at each other while laughing they passed, the more... picturesque, it all looked.

Like a drawing he'd find in an old, discarded storybook at the bottom of a dumpster an orphaned little fox would find and read through day and night over and over, wishing he could just go there.

Nine shook his head.

With living in the story book came suspension of disbelief, followed by an ominous, uncanny feeling. It all looked way too happy and clean, but he saved any further judgement for later.

"Here's Oakley's, the carpenters, where he can fix or create anything made out of wood! Though he's been kind of sick lately and the golden apple I gave him doesn't seem to be helping much."

Coming back to the present, Nine noted the second mention of the so-called 'golden apples' after they passed by a large dark brown house with a busy porch.

It was lined with chairs and other pieces of common wooden furniture, with its doors and window frames carved into charming patterns.

He particularly lingered on a cute wooden duck with wheels for feet and a string tied around its neck sitting on one of the tables. Not that he wanted it, but the fact it was most likely carved by hand, so he simply admired the craftsmanship. That, and it was the closest thing in his line of sight anyway.

They passed by a fruit stall next, and the smell of fresh fruit convinced him he felt just a little hungry. Though he learned to be careful with the food items from other universes at this point, after a few unfortunate events.

No matter, his pockets were empty both of any money and any other item he figured could have the same value as an apple to people in here.

"C'mon take one, we can't have our guest going hungry after all!"

Sonic seemed to read his mind though, or it was simply reactive generosity that the fox had no intention of declining. It was just an apple after all. Most likely. Hopefully.

Perfomatively wiping it into his shirt, Nine enjoyed the fruit to its full capacity as he followed the hedgehog around with no end goal in mind.

While in any other universe he'd find backseat shopping the most mind-numbing activity imaginable, he didn't have it in him to be frustrated in the slightest here for some reason.

Sonic dragged him back to the present yet again by pointing at another larger than the rest house.

"And this is the shop of our seamstress. She can tailor you the most beautiful, or if function is more of your thing, durable attire from almost any piece of fabric in no time! Though you can never expect where a conversation with her leads haha."

"Did she tailor your clothes too?" The fox asked mostly because the more he looked at the hedgehog, the more out of place he felt among the average villager here. Everyone was mostly wearing dark brown, beige, or white, simple clothing with aprons and hats, while Sonic looked like he should sit in a castle or a chapel of some sort.

"Not really, no, mine and Night's clothes were given to us by our mother."

"Tch, you look almost like a lost prince." Nine remarked with a smirk while noted yet another unusual mention of Sonic's seemingly biological family. Though the remark was meant as a sort of a pseudo compliment he wasn't sure it sounded like it.

"You think so, haha!"

Sonic ran with it though and didn't seem bothered by his attitude in the slightest. That was always just a matter of time anyway, but Nine decided to turn his attention towards what appeared to be a small bookstall that they stopped in front of now.

Small as in, one shelf of books sorted by... nothing as far as he could pick out, with a tiny mouse girl behind the counter.

Upon hearing Sonic's order she carefully handed him the book from the bottom shelf, instructing him to be careful with it, to which Sonic gave a smug nod yet held the book like it was made of porcelain until he turned back to the fox.

"Alright I think this is actually all I wanted, we can finally return to the tree and I can introduce you to Night too."

Sonic said with a smile and the book safely tucked under his arm.

Fine, so safe to assume that Tails exists in this universe. It's honestly jarring that he hasn't seen the other part of the seemingly inseparable duo no matter the universe yet. If anything he in vain expected the bright yellow fox to jump them a few streets back.

Perhaps he was sick and that's why Sonic went shopping for him?

They were about to continue their way and Nine was looking for a place to throw the leftover of his apple when a group of kids that paid him no mind almost ran him over, giggling. He wanted to curse them out and noted the two red foxes among the four of them, before his attention was dragged just a bit higher.

"Dream! You have not forgotten about the garden, have you?"

A female voice suddenly yelled out, but Nine ignored the mystery woman with all of his attention on the absolute behemoth of a tree sitting atop the hill in front of him.

Literally, how did he not notice that sooner was beyond him, but questioning his peripheral vision aside, he decided to nonchalantly turn his head back to face Sonic and the woman.

Her notably black hair was tied in a high ponytail and she held a set of baskets on her hip. Sonic stood just a ways away from her, looking between the items in his hands, the woman, and Nine, with his startled eyes lingering on the fox.

"Um, this is kind of important, if you could take this up and to Night?"

Sonic sheepishly extended the items forward, and normally Nine would've protested at the sudden turn of events, but decided to wordlessly take the two things from the hedgehog's hands instead.

"Ah, are you sure he doesn't want to go with us?" The woman inquired with an almost sickly sweet demeanor that Nine was immediately not fond of.

He eyed her, but tried to make his distrust not all that noticeable when he declined

"No thank you, I don't really do gardening."

"You sure darling? we could use an extra pair of hands."

"Miss Katheryne come on, no need to drag an unsuspecting passerby into pulling weeds eh. I'm well equipped for that job alone."

Sonic dragged her attention from the fox as he tried to pry one of the two baskets from her grip and Nine let out an internal sigh of relief.

She let the hedgehog take it while the other container fell over to her side and she let out a nervous giggle "Alright alright, well, enjoy your stay little one, you're of course welcome to stop by at any time."

Afterward she wordlessly turned around, with Sonic waving him a temporary goodbye.

Nine kept his eyes on the duo before they disappeared over a corner and were out of sight for good. He decided to not bother dissecting the out of pocket interaction as he made his way up the hill. The grass was quite slippery still, which made it difficult to secure his footing and not fall over every other step.

Quiet noises of both distress and laughter immediately sent him on alert however, and he was willing to sacrifice a bit by speeding up his ascend. Each longer step he took with little help from his mechanical tails saved a few centimeters of the incline and he wasn't all that out of breath by the time he met horizontal ground again.

The picture-perfect facade of this universe fell just as hard as the little fox that was shoved to the ground with a yelp by a young bear, who then mercilessly smoothed the fox's face into the ground, effectively muffling any noise he made afterward.

Nine stood frozen for just a second before not thinking twice and giving into the sudden spark of rage in his chest. Wrapping the string holding the bag together around his hand, he steadily made his way towards the little group.

These were surely the same four kids he saw run up the hill just a while ago, if those two cackling red foxes were anything to go by.

One of them grabbed onto Tails' bangs and forcibly lifted his head back off the ground and snorted, most likely finding the kit's face welled up with tears amusing.

Nine spared only a second for eye contact and using the fact neither of the kids noticed him so far for building some momentum into a swing.

The bear's shoulder was harshly met with a bag of apples — that surely felt more like rocks — as he was knocked off the kit and toppled over the red fox.

His pained grunt was mixed with a surprised gasp from the rest of the group left standing, and that's when Nine remembered he had much more effective tools of offense than one bag of fruit.

His mechanical tails sprawled around him, their tips pointed threateningly in front of each of the kid's faces and they all flinched back.

Nine couldn't help the smirk that made its way onto his face.

Good.

One amongst them, a human boy with dark black hair tried to play tough by yelling out and trying to get into his face. Nine felt in no way intimidated by him however, even if he was taller, as the kid was scrawny and had no real weapons that could hold against his. Nine bared his teeth and posed himself just a bit above the ground, which appropriately made the human, alongside everyone else, reconsider and back away just a bit more.

"Tch, you think we're scared of you?!"

Nine narrowed his stare towards the red fox holding his shoulder. A face he recognized and one that he already made turn tail and run the other way when he was much younger and weaker.

Nine made a bluff strike that aimed at the fox's chest. The runt appropriately jumped back with any confidence he had dissipating and unease taking over his posture.

"Yes."

"You're way over you head, freak."

He heard the human boy lift a rock and throw it his way. It would've been a successful hit to his head had he not effortlessly blocked it with one of his tails. For a second before that he considered catching it in his hand, but decided to rather keep to a reasonable limit of his abilities to avoid getting too drunk on his power high.

"Pot calling the cattle black."

Nine simply stated with a grin as he picked up the rock nonchalantly.

The human gulped as Nine made him his clear target, by all means wanting to return the rock full force back to sender, except at the last second he shot it towards the bear that was already on his way down the hill.

With a yelp, he didn't manage to dodge it and the rock hit his ankle full force.

A fearful face betrayed any bravado the bear might've posed in his statue and Nine's grin only solidified when his ear flicked back.

Apparently, to drive the point further in, and fairly demonstrate the fact he wasn't stupid, he made another bluff strike behind him, spooking the yet uninjured red fox who thought it was a good idea to sneak in a failed surprise attack.

A loose brush with a metal point to his nose seemed to be what finally made the kids decide he wasn't worth it and they promptly ran off the hill while cursing under their breath.

Which left just him, and his lookalike alone under the tree's shade.

The sudden shot of adrenaline slowly dissipated, and he fully reveled in the small catharsis of knowing he was still more than intimidating enough to deal with a pathetic group of bullies like that.

Nine let out a sharp sigh and snapped his mechanical tails back in place, then finally turned towards the person he went up here for in the first place.

Or where he though he would be, but instead found just flattened grass.

The next best place to look was the tree branches above, and sure enough he saw a pair of scared blue eyes looking tearfully back at him.

Nine dropped the bag of apples to the ground unceremoniously and tried handing over the book, basically beckoning the other to come back down.

With all the sudden movement though, Tails all but flinched and retreated further into the tree's crown.

Nine knew that even when the immediate danger was taken care of, his first and then overall impression wasn't exactly friendly, but that was by design.

He sighed.

"I'm not gonna hold my hand out forever. Sonic- Dream sent me to give this to you."

A a bead of silence was followed by a while of rustling leaves and finally a thud sounding from the other side of the tree.

Trained pointy ears peaked from behind the tree trunk and Nine's hand officially gave out.

At long last the other fox showed himself fully and Nine could properly analyze him.

This Tails wore the exact same attire – albeit now dirty from mud and grass – as Sonic. Except the color scheme was purple and brown, with a roughed-up golden cape draped around his shoulders and the simplistic crown smooshing the three strands of fur on his forehead sported a hollow out of a crescent moon.

He went to take the book, but Nine's hand sprung back a little too fast and Tails hesitated.

With a deadpan expression Nine didn't react too much on it and waited until the other finally let his hand fall empty and free.

He figured that he could at least offer the basics of sympathies, although not make it seem like he was high and ready to patch up the kit's, hopefully, only superficial injuries.

"Nothing broken?"

Tails shook his head.

"Good."

Nine then took a few steps back and slumped against the tree, finding a comfortable place between the roots.

At a loss on how to carry this interaction further, Nine crossed his hands over his chest and looked to the village bellow. While at it, he realized he most likely marked himself a future target, if the human kid's familiar features had anything to say but he digressed.

Whatever whiny tantrums they'll throw is at most a future him's problem.

The face of the red fox flashed fore him and Nine to turn back towards the other sitting under the tree.

"How often do you have to deal with those."

Albeit his question might fall on mute mouth since so far this Tails hasn't spoken a word, though Nine hoped it was just the result of stress as he didn't feel like navigating a nonverbal conversation.

Tails merely grabbed the golden cape around himself like a protective blanket while, thankfully, trying to find his voice.

"I-its, um, it's a rare occurrence really I j-just..." He shook his head and slumped back against the bark, seemingly trying to sink into the ground bellow. "Thank you, anyway."

Tails stared at his book that he finally opened in his lap, but it was obvious he wasn't reading, mind stuck on and busy processing other things.

"...It's not often someone bothers with that."

The insecurity in that barely audible whisper apparent, Nine grit his teeth. He had a faint inkling he knew exactly what was going on here.

"Have you tried fighting back?"

Tails fiddled with the corners of a few pages with his eyes downcast before answering "Not really. I'm sure if I did it they would just get meaner, anyway."

Fair point, which for a second made Nine reconsider his immediate and almost absolute suggestion. Fighting back without any means to secure victory and make it stick would cause more harm than good.

Looking back down and around, the view from up here was pretty enchanting to say the least, and the air seemed slightly lighter too.

His attention was soon back to the tree however, and the shimmering specks of fruit hanging from it. It was hard to immediately tell with the sun hitting some of them directly, but they were two different colors.

Nine marked them as the golden apples Sonic kept going on about.

Eventually, his eyes ended up back down, looking at the little fox huddled on the ground. Upon more careful inspection, this Tails also looked really young, maybe around six or five years old, and the notion of that made him frown when counting in his banged-up state.

Ignoring the current bruises and messy fur, there was an obvious scar on the bridge of his snout, what was definitely dried blood under his nose, multiple patches of ripped fur from his otherwise bushy namesakes, and quite heavy eyebags under his eyes.

Nine also noted the kit contradicted himself right in the second sentence he said, but after noticing all that, there was no way Nine's buying the previous scene being a rare occurrence.

Tails is universally bullied most commonly for his namesakes — and that's a fact as he came to find out — but that usually ceases after his pretty much fated meeting with Sonic. Which, doesn't seem to be the case here for whatever reason.

Nine eventually tired of standing in the middle of the hill and sticking out like a sore thumb, so he made his way towards the apple tree and sat one clump of roots over, next to the kit as nonchalantly as possible. Although he made a makeshift chair of his mechanical tails as he didn't really feel like sitting on damp and uneven grass.

Giving it a few seconds to get comfortable, Nine then peered over the wood separating them. The uncharacteristic deviation from the almost universal relationship between the fox and the hedgehog kept nagging his mind.

"Does Dream know about this?"

The tense silence from the other was more than enough of an answer.

"Why don't you tell him, I'm sure he'd be able to do something about it."

The guardian's downcast expression turned sour, with a few creases appearing on the book's pages.

"I don't think so. Everyone loves him, but only because it literally makes them feel good when he's around. And that he has trouble saying no to people when they ask something of him, so they find him useful."

Finally giving up, Tails closed the book and set it aside, then hugged his legs close to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

"I'm sure if he went against them because of me, they would not take kindly to it."

Nine soaked up the words and was actually taken aback by the bluntness, but it seemed that so was Tails himself.

"I'm sorry this is, um. You're not from here, are you? I'd rather not make this one of your problems, I don't think you have to see too deep into it."

Nine realized his expression has gone too soft at that, and took his time to distance himself from the other.

Yeah, yea Tails was correct in fact. There was no reason to care about something that will ultimately be inconsequential to him. A few minutes in, it was obvious this universe was far from ideal place for him to stay, as one, he definitely doesn't feel like raising two orphaned kids in a village so obviously biased, so whatever squabble or interpersonal relationship wasn't his business. And two, there was little to no technology present besides handcarved wooden ducks, which would sooner or later drive him insane.

He let complete apathy wash over him and grabbed the MTC in his hand.

But while he could just get up and leave at any moment...

Looking at the other fox from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit of sympathy hold him down.

He knows more than anyone how much it would mean if someone stepped in just once before he had to do it himself. And if the technological state of this village was anything to go by, that would prove to be just a bit more trouble for the Tails in here.

"The name's Nine by the way."

The fox's ear flicked towards him, followed by an unsure expression.

"Nightmare."

That sure is... a peculiar name.

"Big brother calls me Night though, which sounds very similar to your name actually." Tails gave a weak smile at that and finally turned his head to face Nine.

"Hmm, yeah it kinda does." There wasn't much that came to mind in terms of an answer to that though, and he let the conversation die right after.

Wait. Oh was this like, a sun and moon type deal. Dream and Nightmare, purple and yellow, golden and black and all that.

Nine playfully rolled his eyes at not getting the very obvious theme sooner.

Though, Idly sitting here made him realize just how exhausted he was from his constant hopping back and forth between all manner of worlds, so he figured there was nothing wrong with taking a little break from all that. Maybe he'll stay overnight and a bit of tomorrow after all.

Or maybe he'll just take a nap right here and now and set out again afterward.

He crossed both his legs and hands while keeping his ears trained for the smallest movement going around.

The purpose of it was defensive, just in case anyone else gets any funny ideas while he appears low on guard, but it leaned in the side effect of making him soak in a stray bird song, undertoned by the rustle of hundreds of leaves under a gentle, albeit slightly chilly breeze that was nicely canceled out by the warm shade the tree provided.

Even if he could never truly afford to relax, this was probably the closest to something like that he'd ever get. That is until he finds a proper home. Hopefully.

"Where are you from though, I never seen anything similar to those metal tails you have."

That threw a wrench in his plans. Although it was rather foolish of him to assume Tails would just, be quiet the whole time, and not wonder about the random stranger that just wandered into his favorite hiding place for all he knows.

"Where I'm from is not important, I'm basically a homeless wanderer at this point." Nine settled on forcing out. And his place of origin really meant nothing to him. If anything he was glad most of his memories of New Yoke were faded and unclear as were that of Shatterverse. He didn't belong to either of those, and so there was no use in remembering them.

"You look really familiar."

"No duh, I have your exact face- don't worry about that too much though." Nine quickly backpedaled, he didn't feel like explaining the concept of the multiverse right now, as he warily stole a glance at the other fox.

"Well, maybe a little less babyish but still."

"No not like that I mean- yea nevermind."

Tails went silent again, seemingly regretting his choice to speak up in the first place.

A small pang of guilt hit Nine when he saw the other shrink into himself again, and he sighed.

"Ok, well then what do you mean?"

It took a second. But the guardian took time to regain the bit of his confidence to speak back up.

"...Those, metal tails of yours, when you were scaring off the other kids a while ago, they made your silhouette look like someone I frequently see in my dreams."

That... was sure something Nine wasn't expecting to hear, but he'd be lying if he said some curiosity wasn't piqued. This universe sure had its way of doing that.

"As in, a prophetic way or..?"

"In a nightmare way, actually." The other stated matter-of-factly, but when Nine creased his brow, he immediately went on defensive

"Don't take it as me being rude or superstitious! I'm really not! It's just, uh, an observation." He then chuckled weakly, most likely hoping to decrease the tension, but Nine was neutral with that notion honestly, not even knowing whether he should think anything of it at all.

He never attributed any deep meanings to dreams, as they were just recreations of his lived experience, which, were far from pleasant. Whatever Nightmare here is going through is the same most likely.

But it made him think, that maybe little him would be proud to have have a silhouette someone would see in their recurring nightmares, a bit.

He placed one of his mechanical tails in his hand and for the first time after a long time, carefully examined them again. Their dull casing was scarred by dents and scratches from their years of active use, with the gear holding this particular segment firmly kept in its place with the neon underglow still active.

For a second he was back in his workshop as a much younger self, grinning like a maniac after he connected the last of the needed pieces together and finally tried out the finished tails (after many failed prototypes) with an immeasurable amount of pride in his chest.

He smiled, reminiscing, until the guardian's small voice shook him from his stupor.

"Anyway, you said Dream send you here?"

He let the tail fall from his hand.

"Pretty much. He wanted to come along but some lady stopped him and dragged him off to clean weeds or something. I don't remember."

"And she just let you go?"

"Begrudgingly, but yea. Why?"

Tails went quiet again, picking at the tips of his namesakes with pursed lips.

"The villagers...they don't really like me."

The fox started slowly with his ears pinned back.

"But they don't want Dream to know that. So some of them will distract him and keep him occupied, while others will- well, I don't know how much you saw but, they're usually a bit more vicious than that."

Tails shook his head and finally uncurled from his position, picking up the book again.

"I was just wondering for how long he'd be away again. If Katheryne took him then it's probably until sunset..."

The way the little guardian spoke made it all the more clear this was not just a repetitive torment from the side of the stupid kids, but a calculated move from the adults as well.

Sudden anger began to bubble in Nine, but he wasn't sure who it was directed at. He'd much rather dismiss it as Tails reading too much into it, but it's him that lives here, not Nine.

Something about that woman's insistence he'd come along before Sonic interjected now justified his negative hunch about her.

The anger must've taken to the surface and Nine lost control of his facial features, as whatever was his face showing alerted the fox next to him.

"But you won't tell him, Right? I- I already said I can't drag him down with me, you can't."

Nine looked at him for a second, for some reason stumped for an answer. The simple decision would be to just say fine, and leave it at that, turn away, and forget about this world just like the others. But that self-evident and most rational decision didn't seem all that appealing based on the very little window he had just seen into this universe.

He'd be a liar if he kept telling himself he didn't care for the kit. Even if it was more of a project-y sort of rage towards the people here he doesn't even know, than sympathy for his situation (for some reason).

Nine internally groaned and forced himself to seal a promise he wasn't 100% sold on keeping.

"I won't say a word."

Tails well, it was hardly a smile he gave once his shoulders finally dropped with the release of tension, and he sunk back to his spot.

The words fizzled out once more.

Sun continued its path through the blue sky unbothered by any event beneath it and ever so slowly dimmed as silent minutes ticked by. Eventually, the leaves were accompanied by the flicker of book pages as Tails finally started reading.

Nine began to thread the line between sleep and consciousness when a sudden yawn ripped through him.

The kit next to him audibly flinched and Nine toppled back into being mostly aware of his surroundings. His nose twitched in annoyance.

"I um, I forgot you were here." Tails laughed nervously. Nine attempted to ignore him however and tried to take the only long term functioning remedy for that yawn.

Tails didn't let him have it as he suddenly hopped up and snatched the bag of apples Nine dropped off not that far away, making it Nine's turn to flinch.

"We, I mean, me and my brother don't really have to eat, but it's nice to just munch on something sometimes. Don't know how it's with you but I assure you apples from here taste amazing!"

Nine took the offered apple from the kit's hands but then simply dropped it into his lap.

"Yea I already had one today, thanks either way."

"We'll then you can keep it for your travels!"

All he gave was a small nod, as uninterested as he could be.

"I'm sorry I keep talking, but, one last question."

Nine fought with himself to not audibly groan.

"Um, just how long will you stay here?"

Instead, he huffed, fully abandoning the idea of the nap.

"Probably the night and I'll set out in the morning."

But he suddenly stopped himself when he realized his tone had just a bit too much of an edge to it, not to mention he hadn't used it consciously. Just sitting here, he felt more frustrated than back in the village with Sonic dragging him around like a dog on an invisible leash.

He side-eyed the kit next to him, but he felt insane for the dots it made him connect, so he brushed it off.

He was really tired is all. And someone constantly had to interrupt his attempts at getting a proper rest.

Tails simply hummed in acknowledgment and returned back into his reading.

Unfortunately, Nine was completely offset now and couldn't put his mind to rest no matter how hard he tried.

Letting out a sigh through his nose he looked up and leaned his head just a bit more roughly, yet intentionally, into the bark of the tree.

That sigh must've been just a decibel too loud when Tails's ears lowered and he began apologizing

"What are these apples about."

Though Nine couldn't care less about listening to pointless "sorries" while transfixed by the peculiar fruit hanging above him.

Tails perked up ever so slightly instead. "Well, without going too deep into the magical-mechanical aspect of them they're like, little fruits containing concentrated either positive or negative emotion, which is marked by their opposing colors. Though a better contrast would've been black and white, but can you imagine white apples?"

The kit was pointing towards the fruit hanging above them as he spoke with that was definitely an attempt to end a part of his spiel humorously, although Nine wouldn't say succeed.

"Their shared existence on one tree holds the balance in the emotions of everyone in this world, as far as I know."

Nine sure wasn't expecting a whole ass sudden info dump, but despite it, he sure had questions. He went to open his mouth, only for Tails to silence and answer his question immediately.

"You're not allowed to take or eat them though, since they're way too powerful and overwhelming for one person to hold and can be only lent for a while with our permission, since I and Dream are the tree's guardians and all that..."

With what great confidence Tails began to speak, slowly fizzled.

Nine let the remark of neither of them exactly doing their jobs die on his tongue, and instead, he decided to indulge the kit next to him, he was the one who started with the questions anyway.

"Can you eat them?"

"Well... we've never really tried. Besides, just holding the apple gives more or less the desired effect anyway. That leads to no one really caring for the negative side of the tree."

Tails trailed off again, deciding that the grass beneath him was super interesting and he needed to rip a few blades of it to closely examine them.

"And I was... born from it. Which is why you're so irritated right now."

Nine raised his eyebrow.

"So you knew...?"

"I can sort of weakly sense the emotions people around me are feeling. So yes. Doesn't help that being next to me only intensifies the negative ones though."

Tails was fully curled on himself at this point, hiding in the golden cape that would actually fit Sonic's vibe way more than Tails' but asking about that would either have the kit shrink even more or let him loose on another info dump.

"You're full of them though, even without my influence."

Nine simply chuckled in agreement at that.

"So with that logic, Dream has the exact opposite effect?"

Tails silently nodded.

"Fascinating."

Even so, Nine didn't mind getting to know more of this apple stuff. It's both an outlandish yet genuinely interesting concept if he says so himself.

Feeling a little less red string on a corkboard, Nine found himself curious still, mulling over random questions while Tails went on and on explaining them.

Their conversation leading to Nine explaining random robotics trivia that Tails followed up with his own limited knowledge and questions went back and forth. It let time flow on quite easy again, until they were interrupted by the sound of someone familiar huffing his way up the hill. With that, Nine was made aware of just how much time has passed when he looked at the dark orange to pinkish sky draped in a low sunset.

Soon enough, a dirt-covered Sonic holding a square bag to his shoulder, with his sleeves rolled up and gloves sticking out of his pant's pockets, greeted them energetically.

"Haha, glad to see you two getting along!"

The foxes waved back to him, and the hedgehog bent over leaning on his knees while struggling to catch his breath.

"Sorry for taking so long, Katheryne can really be a handful sometimes."

Regaining a bit of his strength, he took the two extra steps and stopped in front of Tails. He than brought the bag off his shoulder and immediately dug through it.

Sure enough, it was made clear the bag was a first aid kit — or at least what would be considered that for the times this universe lives in — when Sonic laid out a few bandages and tiny bottles with clear liquids. He covered the opening of one with a piece of clean white cloth while Tails put his hands out in protest.

"Sonic I'm fine don't worry about-"

"Shush no excuses, now show me your nose."

With great reluctance, Tails let the hedgehog hold his muzzle and wipe off the dried blood, before he moved on to the mud still staining the front plain of his face.

"It smells horrible."

Tails scrunched up his nose and physically tried to shake the aggressive scent off him while Sonic carefully rolled up one of his sleeves, revealing a bloodstained bandage that must've been a few days old already.

"I know bud, I know."

Nine watched them silently, unable to fight the sympathy that the fox kept garnering from him at this point.

Huh, if the emotion aura stuff is true it would only make sense the two being near each other would cancel out and make the area neutral.

Either way, the fact Sonic came prepared meant he was aware enough to know Tails keeps getting hurt when he's away, which made the relationship just a bit more confusing again.

"You didn't happen to ruffle each other up while I was gone have you?"

And of course, Nine would be the prime suspect for Tails gathering the new injuries that weren't there in the morning. He was bout to say what happened exactly, when he was hit with Tails' pleading eyes and the promise to keep his mouth shut.

"N-no worries big bro, I just fell off the tree because my cape got stuck in the branches, it's fine." Luckily, Tails seemed to have a mildly convincing excuse at the ready, and Sonic turned his full attention to wrapping the now-cleaned gash in his brother's arm.

"If anything he's super nice, did you know that there can exist machinery so advanced it can be programmed to flawlessly mimic biological beings?"

Sonic froze for a second, unsure of how to reply, while he rolled up the dirty bandage.

"That, huh. That sounds kinda scary actually. Is that a common thing for where you're from?" The guardian asked, turning his head towards Nine.

"Kind of not really? It's mostly just an outstanding feat of engineering that was achieved only a couple of times, so no need to worry."

He couldn't tell either of them who the replicas were based on now, could he?

The hedgehog merely nodded while Tails went on, either to distract himself from the sting in his arm or just because.

"Nine knows so much about machines, and he told me so many cool stories he got from traveling all over the place!"

"Huh, sure would love to go on an adventure like that someday." Sonic mused after carefully placing all of the supplies back into the medical bag.

"Well why don't you?"

Nine asked without hesitation, because if there was one thing he learned at this point, it was that Sonic cannot stay in one place for long. Even if you embed his legs into concrete, he'd either go insane or find a way out.

"We can't go anywhere, since we have to stay near the eyeshot of the tree to not let anyone get any funny ideas." Sonic sighed.

And that seemed to be true here, except the responsibility keeping Sonic tied down was something he couldn't run away from.

"Do you guys like, live here? Under the tree I mean."

"Hmm pretty much. Well in my very humble opinion it's much better than in a closed off hut built somewhere in a ditch."

Sonic threw the bag up and it's straps caught on a nearby branch. He tugged on it to make sure it will not slide down before climbing the tree himslef and stretching his hand out for Tails to grab on.

"It could do with something to keep the rain out though."

Tails commented and followed his brother up into the crown again, where he basically disappeared between the leaves.

"Sleeping on a tree can be hardly comfortable."

"Hah, says the one who sits on cold metal."

Sonic shot back with a finger gun pointed at Nine.

"Thermodynamics. The metal doesn't stay cold for long."

Sonic's attitude dropped a bit at the most likely unknown word to him but he brushed it off, finding the most comfortable branch to sit on, and leaned back on it. Maybe leaned back too much, as he toppled over and hung upside down from the branch like a bat.

"Thermowhatever's when wood is all you're used to sleeping on since birth it is more comfortable than a rigged bed."

"Agree to disagree."

"Mimimi."

Sonic mouthed back, but Nine didn't mind it much, banter with Sonic was fun.

"So you said you'd stay the night?"

Tails' disembodied voice was accompanied by an unnatural rustle of leaves.

"Most likely yea."

Suddenly the world went dark for Nine as suffocating weight was thrown over him. His temporary panic was intercepted by Tails' giggles and Sonic's tone that couldn't contain its humor properly either

"It gets cold at night, and I doubt anyone here would be willing to let a stranger inside their house at this hour. Not to be mean or anything, just safety for safety's sake y'know."

The sudden darkness turned out to be a yellow and navy blanket with sun and moon patterns. Nine assumed it to most likely be tailor made for them by the mentioned seamstress, but that was besides the point. The blanket was indeed a good insulator so it served its purpose.

"Thanks." Nine mumbled and somehow put the blanket over himself in a more comfortable manner. "Why do you go to sleep so early anyway?"

"And who told you we're going to sleep eh." Sonic swung himself back up into a proper sitting position, crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand. "Again don't take it personally, but we can't leave the tree unsupervised, like, at all. Though I wouldn't mind if we could go on an adventure like you're on." Sonic sounded like someone elbowed him at the end of his sentence.

"So you're just gonna stay up the whole night instead."

"There's two of us for a reason duh."

He's gonna be kept under a night watch, how lovely.

Unfortunately, Nine knew it wouldn't be possible to enter deep sleep when someone's watching him, or is aware of his presence at all. He would of course give it a few minutes maybe an hour or two if he bears it, because he needs some rest at the end of the day, but he'll hardly make it till morning.

Feeling his head lulling to the side he shook himself awake. Opening his eyes, Nine turned towards his MTC with full intent of activating a portal and leaving without a trace, but the image of Tails with terrified eyes welled up in tears surfaced in his mind uninvited.

Nine exhaled with more force than needed.

He looked up, the hedgehog's leg dangled off a branch carelessly meaning that if either of the guardians fell asleep, it was Tails.

With great effort, Nine got up to his feet and flew the extra distance needed to be at eye level with the hedgehog.

He flicked Sonic's nose with full intent of breaking the promise he settled just a few hours back.

"Ow what the-"

Nine quickly covered the hedgehog's mouth and cursed himself for not thinking just one step ahead. Tails has to be unaware until Nine is already on his way, the consequences weren't his to deal with.

Sonic didn't take kindly to the gesture, unsurprisingly, and while mumbling curses, he grabbed the fox's hand in an attempt to shove it away.

Nine didn't budge though "Be quiet and meet me at the bottom of the hill. I just have something to tell you and I'll be out of your guys' fur, I promise."

Nine put as much urgency into his whisper as he could while keeping a finger to his mouth.

Sonic narrowed his eyes and looked over his shoulder at his sleeping brother, before sighing.

"You better not be playing me for a fool buddy."

But Nine was already halfway down the incline, not letting his legs suffer the way they did when going up, he elected to just glide down.

By all accounts the guardian finally caught up to him and exclaimed "Woa you can fly?!" after Nine landed.

The fox's eyes were fully concentrated on his MTC as he fiddled with the coordinates.

"Yes and by all accounts, Night should too."

"Wait what."

"He has two tails doesn't he?"

"Yes but I'm not sure those are exactly build for flying..."

Sonic scratched his head, while Nine was one confirm click from opening a portal.

"Now, I've been asked specifically to not tell you anything, but listen up."

He wasn't sure just how strong Sonic in this world was but if he was worth a damn, he'll do something to save his little brother.

[swearingcactus]

borrowing showers past bedtimes

remember the little thing i wrote the other day about v borrowing kerry's shower? yeah i finished it, somewhat, decided it was still relatively short (2k) and too plotless for an ao3 post. so woe, fic be upon ye. (under the cut)

It seemed like it took forever until V’s incessant knocking on Villa Eurodyne’s front door got it to swing open.

Speaking of the door, when the fuck did Kerry even get his front door fixed anyway? They had tried to fix it on a random weekend when V came over, but it kept opening stubbornly no matter what they did. And then Kerry had gotten so mad and tried to rip the door of its hinges, so they dropped the effort altogether. And–

“Oh, shit.” Kerry’s voice brought him back to the present and V blinks to realize Kerry’s looking at him with wide eyes. He pulls down his headphones he had on to his neck. His previous annoyance at being bothered in his house at this hour slipping rapidly into shocked worry at the sight of a merc covered in blood and mud and who knows what else, standing with his arms and feet a shoulder apart.

“Hey Ker, wha‘sup, sorry for bargin’ in so late at night,” V says, words stumbling over the other like a trainwreck, then he gets to the point, “Can I please borrow your shower?”

“Jesus, of course,” Kerry says, and then jerkily opens the door wider like he just remembered he could do that.

“‘m not Jesus, I’m V.” V mumbled out absent-mindedly. He whacks his arm before he gets in, some blood and bits of flesh fell off the sleeves of his jacket, squelching to the floor.

“Do you need a ripper?” Kerry asked. V drags his feet onto the concrete in hopes it’ll lessen the blood stains when he walks in the house.

“Oh, nah, I’m fine. This isn’t mine.” V says, just realizing how this must’ve looked. “I’ve been out the whole day in the rain, went from the badlands then back, got a gig near here.” V walked further into the house, avoiding the items still strewn about the floor. “Got messy. Normal shootout stuff, grenades, the like, then just–” he makes a psh-SHOOO noise with his mouth as he creates an over-exaggerated motion of an explosion with his hands.

“Gonk had a grenade on him and pulled the wrong pin.”

Kerry lets out an amused, morbid chuckle. V thinks that’s nice; he’d probably laugh about it too. If he hadn’t spent the entire day being scorched and sweating under the Badlands sun, hit by dust and dirt. Then got whacked with a storm that came out of nowhere. Then trekked his way up here just to get blasted in the face with someone’s guts. He smelled like garbage and felt so grossed out, but he was still ready to spend the entire ride back to Watson feeling like complete shit… only to find that the earlier shootout had blown off his Yaiba’s fuel tank.

But yeah, he’s fine! He’s totally not gonna lose it if he can’t claw his way out of his clothes within the next 5 minutes. But just in case, he excuses himself to the shower and practically ran in.

–

V's buck-ass naked in Kerry's shower. It's a huge shower, taking up 30% of the entire bathroom and the bathroom itself is bigger than his apartment. And now the large space and the great ventilation is getting him cold. He rubs a foot on top of the other, trying to warm the palms of his feet. He goes to pick up another soap from the rows and rows of product that Kerry had, all lined up.

It took less time to decide on a shampoo to use earlier because there were only two options, and even though he should probably peruse the purple shampoo dedicated to keep hair dye to shine and all that... he had decided to use the one Kerry probably forgot at the back. It had dust on its lid but smelled powdery.

Johnny crackles, all blue pixels and blurs of light, leaning on the glass window next to him. "Occupied, asshole." V says, gesturing to himself. "Also, ever heard of privacy?"

"You lost your privacy rights the second you took longer than 10 minutes to decide on a soap to use. At least start the water. This isn't your megabuilding, Kerry can pay the hot water bills."

Johnny made a good point, but V opted to ignore Johnny for now, as he often does. Instead, he opens another soap bottle and sniffs it experimentally. He could tell this was Kerry's go-to soap. Smelled like mint and perfumed musk. He reads the name of the scent. Gold Desire.

"Oh fucking... his pretentious ass needs a beating." Johnny grumbles. V snorts and closes the bottle. It's a scent reminiscent of Kerry, which V doesn't hate, of course. But the idea of smelling like Kerry didn't sit right with him.

A little too domestic. A little like he's playing pretend as someone's cute little input who's enjoying the high life for years by now. A little too much like wearing a costume. He's already had enough of the idea of turning into someone he's not without a stupid soap doing it for him.

He goes to sniff the next soap and dry-heaves. It smelled overwhelmingly like burning plastic that's vaguely presented with artificial strawberry and vanilla. He coughs and puts it away.

“At this point your clothes are gonna finish being washed before you do.” Johnny complains, glitching away and popping up, squatting on top of the washing machine dramatically.

V picks up another soap, “Oh Johnny, gross, you cummed in this one.”

“I what.”

“Look, ‘Rockerboy’s Wet Dream.’” V says, grinning and showing off a green bottle. Johnny rolls his eyes and pretend-flicked his cigarette’s ash onto the floor.

V continues to read the bottle, “’Citrus and Red Chili.’ Wonder how that smells combined.” V sniffs it, “Spicy!” he announced to Johnny who has now resorted to softly banging his head on the wall behind him. V decided he could just use this one and goes to turn the water on.

He enjoys how it immediately produced the perfect temperature without him even needing to fiddle with the settings or wait. Some fancy tech that detects his temperature and automatically sets the most suitable one for him once his feet hit the shower tiles.

He pours a hefty amount, wincing at how the bottle wheezed and dropped a slimy gel-like substance with beads of scrubs– which hurt when he started to slather it up. Before the contact with skin promptly starts to burn. Granted he has never used a high-end soap with an exfoliator and whatnot, but V doubts it’s supposed to hurt this much.

V picks the bottle up again to inspect it, hoping to see if maybe he’s just using it wrong or something… when he noticed a manufacture date at the top of the cap. He froze in fear. “Holy shit. This was produced before I was even born. Why the hell do Kerry even keep this around.”

He chucks the bottle to the trash bin to the far end of the room. It missed and hit the wall, bouncing onto the floor. V scrubs the rest of the offending soap on him, almost panickedly.

“You can shower with my actual cum, ‘ll hurt less.” Johnny offers mockingly, getting in the stall with him. V elbows him hard, even if he glitches away before it made any believable contact.

“Give it a couple second and you’ll feel the burn too, see if you can joke then.” V grumbles. He takes a long deep breath and spends the next few breaths just watching as the bubbles get washed along with the grime and mud that starts to melt onto the floor along with the hot water. Shoulders slowly slumping as the events of the day start to catch up and some new bruises and cuts make their presence known. He cards his fingers onto his hair and plop goes the pieces of brain matter and what could’ve been an eighth of an eye. He kicks it down the drain, and blindly takes a random bottle.

This one’s still filled to the brim. He opened it to find it still sealed, even. He struggles to open it with his nails and managed to do so... sacrificing some nail paint in the process. He sniffed it almost dejectedly. Before perking up, pleasantly surprised with its unfamiliar but sweet scent.

"Huh.." he says, taking it away to properly read what it was. "Coconut and basil."

"Do you even know what a coconut looks like?" Johnny accused, out of nowhere.

"Sure I do. It's brown, kinda round looking. Floats. Not sure what a basil actually is though." V answers easily, and finally sets the soap next to the shampoo he had picked, and gets to showering in peace.

--

V stepped out of the bathroom feeling like an actual human again for once, shaking his hair onto the towel roughly to dry it.

"Ker?" he calls out. He hears a faint tune being repeatedly played and walks to the far end of the first floor. Kerry sat with his back to V, with his headphones in, frowning at a computer. He had a guitar in one hand while his other hand was covering his mouth, a finger tapping onto his lips.

Kerry glanced over when he noticed V in his peripheral vision and says, "Hey," but his focus quickly turns back to the computer.

V steps next to him to plant a kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks for the shower." (He could feel Johnny rolling his eyes, making pretend-barfing motions. V made a huge point to tell him to fuck off.)

"No problem," Kerry says, obviously still distracted.

"Busy?" V asks, knowing the answer but thinking he should probably still ask it.

Kerry doesn't really answer, just hums vaguely, somewhat affirmatively.

V spreads his toes out on the floor, feels that it’s dusty, still haven’t been properly vacuumed since god knows when. He shifts his weight. "... Anything I can help with?" He offers. It's a long shot but sometimes Kerry asks his opinion on song lyrics, even though V kinda guessed it's less of asking an opinion and more of showing off an unfinished piece he’s still proud of.

As he expected, the shot fell short of its mark when Kerry replies with a clear, resounding, "No." and by then V knows he's maxed out trying to get a conversation out of Kerry.

He goes to leave Kerry alone.

–

V checks his clothes to see it had finished its spin cycle and is now being dried. Still a couple hours to go. He goes back out and climbs to the second floor, trying to find something to wear in the meantime. Kerry’s a little shorter than him, (“Not by much.” Johnny annoyingly pointed out.) Fine, Kerry’s only a little shorter than him, but his clothes mostly consisted of leather or something so cropped, might as well just go nude.

There were some hoodies, though, large unassuming jackets Kerry bought in bulk to hide from media vultures. Big enough it makes his boxers look shorter than it actually is. V decides to borrow one, goes to bite and suck one of the hood’s strings immediately once he slipped it on.

He leans over the second floor to check up on Kerry from above. Kerry tapped the space bar so hard V swears it’ll crack. He starts grumbling unhappily, then goes to fiddle another tune on the guitar. Yikes. Better leave him alone for now.

“Derivative!” Johnny yells about the tune, over the railing.

If Kerry could actually hear him there would be a bloodbath.

V passed Kerry’s bed and goes back down to the first floor, sitting on the sofa. Kerry stops playing the guitar with an uncomfortable screech and whines loudly.

“Tell him try changing it to a minor tune.” Johnny says. V frowns at him, not sure if he’s actually offering genuine musical help or if he’s just fucking around to try and rile Kerry up. Either way, V knows Kerry wouldn’t appreciate any unwarranted advice at this stage. Johnny clicks his tongue, because he knows it too, he just doesn’t like not letting everyone know what he thinks.

V goes to lean back, only to sit up straight again, looking back and noticing there’s a bong stuck behind him. He pulled it out, then sighs at the mess. Before standing up and picking up empty and half-filled glasses to the kitchen to stick them in the dish washer. He continued to throw out two thongs wedged in the sofa. Wipe the counter from the sticky, spilled alcoholic drinks and their mixers.

It took a while until the sofa and the coffee table in front of it looked nice enough, and V sits and slumps himself onto it in satisfaction, letting the sofa’s crevice swallow him as much as it could.

–

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Kerry asks, gently shaking him to wake him up.

V blinks blearily awake, takes a second to realize where he's at. Then at the question. Wanted to wait up for you sounds too cheesy suddenly and V decides to just shrug.

"You cleaned my place up." Kerry says appreciatively.

"Nnno, just the sofa area." V points out, then yawns, putting his hand into a fist and using his knuckles to cover it. Kerry lets out an 'Awww' kind of sound and V stopped yawning immediately, frowning up at him. Kerry stopped cooing, and grinned, "Come on, let's get you to an actual bed, huh?"

He pulls V up and leads him to the second floor onto the bed. V falls into it immediately, rolling so he can plant his face down onto the biggest pillow Kerry had, while Kerry went off to turn off most of the lights on the switch on the wall.

V doesn't need to see to know when Kerry shuffled into bed when the bed dips next to him. He puts a hand out to feel for Kerry and when his fingers found contact on skin, he scoots closer.

"D'aww," Kerry says again cut off harshly when V pokes his ribs, hard. "Hey you don't want me to think you're cute? Stop being cute."

"Thought you said I was a brat?" V coyly asked.

Kerry lets out a huff, "Alright, down, boy. Way past your bedtime for that."

"Sounds like I need some punishi--" V couldn't help a yawn before he could finish that sentence, "Yeah, point taken." He shuffles again, a leg lands on top of Kerry's before settling. “Sorry I bothered you while you were doing your song.” He says to Kerry’s arm.

Kerry lets out a soft laugh again, rubs the point of contact between his fingers and V's upper arm, “Yeah if you were anyone else, I would’ve told you to fuck off. Consider it a privilege that you got me away from my set and I’m still letting you on my bed.”

“Yay, privilege!” V whoops softly. “Always wanted to know what that feels like.”

Kerry snorted again. They went quiet and V thought that was the end of it. Until Kerry adds, “You know you don’t have to…” he stops like he thought better than to say it. V opens his eyes to look up at Kerry, telling him to go on.

Put on the spot, Kerry begrudgingly continues, “I dunno, just… you know I’m here for you, right? So.. I dunno, V, maybe next time, you could just think of coming over in the first place instead of it being an alternative plan? And, ugh, I know how this might sound to– Look, I’m not saying this ‘cus I’m jealous or, or clingy, okay, I know you got your own thing. Look, you don’t have to act all awkward and proper ‘round me, ‘s all. I mean, come on, V, it’s just me.”

“Uh-huh.” V says, though he doesn’t really get what that’s all about. He shuffles and drops his head back to its original position, closing his eyes. He’s falling asleep again, and he fights to hear what Kerry’s saying next, it gets jumbled into one hazy tune. Something about time, and them being friends, sometimes a little more, something about worrying about not hearing something…

He snuggled to Kerry’s arm again, concludes Kerry’s probably just stressed about the piece. So, he sleepily asks, “Didja finish it though? The song.”

“Huh?” Took a few seconds for Kerry to realize what he’s asking, “Oh… Nope. Gave up on it for tonight.”

“Should try changing it to minor key.” V hears himself say without him actually thinking it, then he groans quietly. He kicks the engram mentally, mumbles out, “Oh, shut up, Johnny…”

“Yeah, shut up, Johnny.” Kerry echoes immediately. But there’s a slight moment where V thinks Kerry’s arm had tensed a tiny bit, before relaxing, as he leaned into V’s hair. Then, "You smell nice."

Thanks, it's coconut and basil. V thinks he says, but he's not sure because he conked out within milliseconds. He thinks that for tomorrow, in-between getting home, and doing gigs, and finding leads about the relic, he’ll try to figure out what a basil actually is.

Author's Note: yeah so coconut and basil huh. The coconut that goes around getting bobbed by the sea but floats with the flow. The basil that could mean anything from a token to ward off the devil to a symbol of love. Also smells great together as a body wash. Fun! Maybe Kerry'll think there's poetry in it if V shared it the next day.

[lemonjestercoffee]

horses! horses! horses! horses!

i redesigned them! with my own hcs and species design quirks. also woe, height chart be upon ye

some notes for everypony:

Twilight Sparkle- i like gold on her design but not the absurd amounts everyone else gives her for some reason, so i made it an accent color. yes her magic is gold now too because of her eyes. her hair was also inspired by Mikan Tsumiki's cause i thought a more orderly version of her choppy mess would look good on Twilight, i was right. also glasses go brr, i think she looks cute in 'em

Apple Jack- while i love the long fetlocks people give her, i can't see her actually doing that because they'd be a pain to keep clean, so i did the opposite and had her shave her feathering off. i also put her hair up to keep it off her neck so she doesn't overheat while working. her cutiemark is my favorite part cause it's that family symbol where two adults and a kid make a heart, but i made it an apple instead, does a better job at showing her emphasis on family ties. no hat cause i like the idea of her hat being from her dad, and she doesn't want to mess it up wearing it daily so she wears it exclusively to special events

Rainbow Dash- i decided to make her less of a living lightening bolt and leaned more into her lazy side, going for the type of butch lesbian look that makes her feel like she wears tank tops and hangs out in the basement getting drunk and listening to rock. i wanted her to look like the only part of her she actually puts effort into maintaining is her wings

Fluttershy- i take great enjoyment in making Flutters a fucking lumbering giant compared to his friends (yes my Flutters is a guy), taking fluttertree and running with it. no notes aside from tall and green patterns and long hair and ooo pretty bronze jewelry. ig also his cutie mark is like- it was suppose to just be a paw and a butterfly but i accidentally made a parasprite with it, and instead of fixing it i just rolled with it and made it look more intentional

Pinkie Pie- THIS HORSE GAVE ME SO MUCH TROUBLE!! every part of my body was like "give her patterns! add things to her hair! it makes sense for her!!" but everything i did looked wrong and i couldn't get it to work. so i bit the bullet and made her really plain... and it worked. i don't know why but she just.... looks so much better with a really simple design, the hair texture does all the heavy lifting really

Rarity- of everyone, she's the one who'd have the long pretty fetlocks, and i decided to double down on that by not only making them so long you can't see her hooves, but also by making her have the longest and softest coat in general. she has the time and dedication to take care of such a high maintenance coat and she's gonna do it. it's even more impressive when you realize ponyville uses exclusively dirt roads. aside from that i think she deserves nice jewelry, and they use leather straps cause i think leather would be a ponyville fashion staple, she shows her hometown pride in her fashion

Spike- i thought it was weird he was so small the whole run, he should have had a growth spurt at some point imo, so i made him a bit bigger and more proportional to the older teen dragons, this is less of a redesign and more of a "make him actually grow up" thing, he's still small but not toddler small. this is the point where Twilight starts complaining about him sitting on her back cause he's getting too heavy. i also don't like how adult Spike ended up looking, but i haven't made a redesign of him yet

i have made an older alicorn Twilight design that i've been referring to as Ethereal Twilight, but i might hold off on sharing that for a while cause i have some funky hc lore ideas for the alicorns that i wanna refine a little before posting her. maybe i'll have older Spike drawn by then too, who knows

[comfort-questing]

woe... whump aesthetics be upon ye

smoke on the breeze, bitter on the tongue on each inhale; sun burning thinly through a haze of gray; bloodshot eyes and sooty skin masking a heat-flushed face, a half-empty canteen held to their lips by a friend

breath steaming in the cold, sharply visible in the lanternlight against the snowy woods around; someone's glove held between the teeth as the back of a hand rests against their forehead, eyelids heavy over fever-bright eyes, their mouth twisting as they flinch away from the unexpected and unfamiliar concern

arms grasping just under their shoulders, their hands trailing limply on either side of their half-conscious body; blood smears the dirt beneath them and their head lolls sideways, hair shielding their face, while above them a breathless voice begs them roughly to open their eyes

they've wrapped themselves with every blanket in the house and still the chill is gnawing at their bones, the ache of fever bending their joints apart. whether the shadows are moving or it's just their delirious imagination, they've given up guessing. the only real thing is the sound of their caretaker just beyond the wall, humming softly as they bring another pot of tea to boiling on the stove

suture needles and discarded bits of thread on a metal tray, bloodstained gauze littered in the folds of the threadbare sheets, two anxious voices exchanging whispers over the ragged motionless shape of their friend who's now mercifully asleep for the moment

small birds chirping as they hop across the gravel of the walkway, spring flowers brightening on the unkempt bushes spilling over on either side, the slow sounds of crutches and two feet making their way down the wooden steps, and an upturned face into the sunlight

[pillow-14]

woe. sniperbot oc upon ye

he can be found over at @mentally-feral-sniperbot !!

(undirtied version below cut)

REBLOGS>LIKES

no dirt ver

[helpfandom]

Can I request Jeremiah of the hex being Cuddly with the reader

You certainly can.

>:D

You two are the only ones I know like The Hex, so, woe be upon ye. @aftout and @sammydem0n64

tw: non con touching and cuddling.

@lonleydweller, If I had a nickel for everytime a The Hex character was touchstarved and needed their obsession to hold them, I would have two nickels!

It's so dark, sitting here under the Inn. The soft wet feel of the dirt beneath you, boards just high enough for barely enough room to sit up much less crawl around. Of course, he can crawl around fine, he's used to this, and his size is much more forgiving.

A short burst of light as the boards come up, and his putrid smell quickly assaults your senses.

He's here.

And just as it was there, the light is gone, replaced with his open mouthed breathing, and his sickening touch as he crawls to you.

He puts what he was holding down, and sits. His knees to his chest as he looks at you. You close your eyes. You're too used to the loving look he would give you.

But it doesn't change how he sees you. But instead of saying anything, as he had done in the beginning, he just parts your knees and begins slithering to you. He rests his hands on the side of your torso and his head on your chest.

He hums, satisfied, and kicks the plate he had sat down to you. The platter clatters with the fork set upon it, and the food jiggles. "Eat." And he says nothing else, nuzzling further into you and twisting himself to rest fully on you.

He's disturbing, an amalgamation of used and discarded code, disgusting to smell, horrific to look at, repulsive to feel, but out of everything, what's worse,

is that you're starting to like it.

[rubykgrant]

It has been 3 years since I had the weird rush of motivation that makes me want to scribble out something FAST, so- WOE, bad MS Paint Comic Be Upon Ye! (I don't have time to draw it good, it just needs to get out of my brain)

I've been rotating thoughts of my RVB story-line, trying to adjust and re-work how certain things happen... I think I've finally got a few things sorted out, and one thing that hit right was my OC Poppy's intro to the characters. She's always been meant to be the new Red Team member (and with white armor, they finally fulfill the prophecy of being the lesbian flag~), but I wanted to make sure she has different interactions with all the others as well. I didn't really have a plan for hos she meets most of the Blues... but as I change the order of other events, it actually worked out for her to meet Tucker first. She's still part of the group of people Sarge has been asked to train (which leads him to finally have a "The military... is actually... BAD" moment. it took him a while, but he got there), but now I've got a scenario in which Sarge tries to get some of the former Freelancers to come by, give people a training session. Wash and Carolina were busy, but hey! Here's Tucker! He knows how to fight like a Freelancer, this is fine. He arrives outside of the main area... and promptly falls down a hill, face-planting in the dirt. Poppy was nearby, so she rushes over to help him up. She doesn't know that THIS is the guy here for the special training, and just talks to him in a friendly, casual way. As much as Tucker likes to show off, he also kind of likes just being able to... have a chill conversation with somebody. When Poppy introduces herself with her first name, he has a brief mental hiccup, because he almost forgot how it works when you meet people and don't care about ranks, or military protocol, or whatever (and he also realizes that she doesn't recognize him for his reputation, he doesn't have the chance to get to know somebody like this very often). So he hesitates a moment before he answers with his first name, Lavernius~

Text reads-

Tucker; OOOF!

Poppy; Woah, dude! You OK?

Tucker; Yeah... fine... just bruised my ego...

Poppy; Here, I'll help you up

Tucker; Thanks

Poppy; Man, you fell, like- ALL the way down the hill. I kept thinking, he'll probably catch himself, but. Nope. You just kept going!

Tucker; It definitely... wasn't the impressive entrance I was hoping to make

Poppy; Don't worry, I don't think anybody else saw. They're all waiting around for that soldier Sarge called in for the "special training". I was only over here to pretend to do vehicle maintenance- I really just wanted to cruise around. My name's Poppy!

Tucker; I'm- Lvaernius

[driflew]

it’s six sentence sunday. i do have six sentences, yes, but ive decided instead of posting them, im giving you the entire piece theyre from w incredibly minimal context

woe lamplight role swap be upon ye. we talked abt this in the server and then a few days ago i circled back to it w some friends and fleshed out the details more. god Martyn, paladin Ren, 1.7k words written in a frenzy before my DL session yesterday. this one’s treebark + very late in the theoretical Complete Storyline that exists between me and like three other people

Something is wrong. That’s the first thing Ren thinks when the shield starts to wither, the vines in front of him turning a sickly yellow-grey-black. Usually when Martyn finishes a fight, he simply calls his plants back, but this is… It’s as if someone cut the chord between Martyn and the shield. 

But Martyn would defend Ren with everything and more, so if it’s started to die, something is wrong.

There are still voices outside the shield he can hear. Someone is laughing, and the sound comes through the thick vines. 

“Holy shit, since when could you…?” someone says. His voice is harsh and tainted with a sadistic sort of glee that makes Ren’s skin crawl every time he hears it. 

The vines at Ren’s eyes start to clear, and he grabs at the top, trying to pull himself up. He shouldn’t draw attention to himself, but he wants to see Martyn is okay, that Ren was simply cut off… 

Ren doesn’t see Martyn. He peers over the shrinking wall for that familiar blond, but he doesn’t see it. The bandits, or whatever they were, don’t pay the vines any mind at all. They’re gathered nearby, standing over… something.

“I’ve never seen— did you see how much blood—?” another voice. Martyn’s shields are always so thick, the crumbling that overtakes them is much longer than any one off vine. Ren’s stomach turns as the vines crumble past his chest. What does that mean? Why is there blood? It can’t be Martyn’s, though, surely they’d notice if the blood was a god’s.

“I can’t believe you managed that in one hit.” Someone is laughing. Ren fumbles for the knife at his waist, not that it will do anything. Not that he’ll need it—Martyn is fine. He’s fine, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to Ren. 

“How hard did you hit him?” She’s looking down, though Ren can’t see at what. 

Martyn will be fine, he tells himself. The vines crumble away at his waist and past his thigh, and he doesn’t bother waiting for them to go any lower. He shoves himself over the shield as quietly as he can, but he’s still too loud. 

A bandit turns, and when he does, he steps back to reveal what they’ve gathered around. Ren sees a familiar shade of green fabric, crumpled to the ground. He’s on his knees, though his torso is pitched to the side, so Ren can’t see his face. 

Ren raises his knife. It isn’t threatening, not with the way his hand wavers, but he doesn’t care. 

“Step aside,” Ren commands, sounding far more authoritative than he feels. The bandit actually laughs. 

“What, you’re worried about your friend?” he asks. He’s big, much taller than even Ren. 

“Yes,” Ren admits, “Take what you want from me, just… step aside. Let me treat him.” 

The other bandit begins to smile. 

“You want to treat him, huh?” she asks. “I hope you’re a damn good doctor.”

She steps aside as well, finally revealing Martyn.

It’s not that Ren hadn’t been able to see Martyn’s face before he was slumped over. Martyn simply no longer has one. 

Martyn’s entire chest is splattered in shimmering red blood, down in places to his stomach. His body slumps sideways, leaking golden blood into the dirt. The cut looks clean, having cleared his head entirely from his shoulders. Ren doesn’t see his head, but he doesn’t look—hardly sees anything, really. His eyes are stuck on the fact the stump is still dripping, leaving a trail down Martyn’s shoulder and toward his hand, still curled around the withering vine that was once Ren’s shield. 

“Martyn…?” Ren whispers.

Ren doesn’t even care about the small crowd. He drops the knife and doesn’t think twice about pushing his way through to Martyn, dropping to his knees at Martyn’s side. 

“Martyn, come on,” Ren whispers, pleading, grabbing onto Martyn’s shirt. Somewhere behind him, someone laughs. 

“I don’t think your buddy’s recovering from this one,” she says. There’s footsteps behind him, but he ignores them, pulling Martyn against his chest to support Martyn’s weight. The wound is so much clearer like this, though Ren doesn’t dare look—the nauseating mix of gold, red, and green are enough to make something thick and heavy catch in his throat, and he can’t tell if it’s the promise of tears or the return of his lunch. 

Martyn isn’t… isn’t capable of dying. Martyn can’t die. He’s said as much a dozen times. Surely he’ll be fine, but maybe he just needs… 

Ren looks up, but the day is so cloudy, there’s no sun. Is that why Martyn… got hurt like this? Not enough sunlight to stay powerful? He’s in the soil, but Ren’s eyes are starting to blur so much that he can’t even see if Martyn’s grown roots. Surely he’s put down roots by now. He’ll need them to… heal. 

“Aw, I almost feel bad for him,” says someone. Ren doesn’t care who, his fingers tight in the soaked fabric of Martyn’s shirt. “Let’s see what plant boy died to keep from getting stolen, cuz it must be good.”

Ren shoves his face into Martyn’s shoulder. Blood soaks the skin around his eyes, but near instantly water clears it.

There’s a clattering of Ren’s bag being dumped open, but he can’t make himself care. The bag isn’t what Martyn died for and Ren knows it. 

Ren wraps his arms around Martyn’s chest, soaking both of them in blood. He’d usually wrap his arms around Martyn’s neck, but… 

God, they should have just handed over the stupid fucking bag. 

“Aw, what? There’s nothing good in here! Who gets fucking beheaded for a watering can?” 

Somewhere behind Ren is the clattering of metal on stone, and Ren’s blood would boil if his veins weren’t already shot through with ice. He wants them dead, but he can’t muster the rage for it. 

“This isn’t funny,” Ren whispers into Martyn’s shoulder. His voice breaks on something wet, and he shoves his nose further into Martyn’s body to hide it, “Please, this isn’t funny.” 

“It’s a li—“ starts a voice, but they cut themselves off. “What is that? What’s he doing?”

Ren doesn’t look. Before he can process the questions, he feels a hand on his back, familiar as Ren’s own. It snakes up the back of his neck, finding purchase in Ren’s hair and holding him in place. 

Ren knows Martyn well enough to know don’t look. He screws his eyes shut, and somewhere behind him, someone gasps. 

“What the fuck!?” “How did—?” “Drop the bag!” “Just run!” 

Ren hears footsteps more than anything, but no screams of pain. Martyn’s scaring them off, he supposes—he wishes they’d die, but he’ll manage. 

“You’d think,” coughs a voice, quiet and smug and achingly familiar in Ren’s ear, “if they’re going to comment on ‘so much blood,’ they’d at least look long enough to see it’s not normal.” 

Ren pulls his head back, but Martyn holds it in place. 

“Gimme a second. I’m not decent yet.” Martyn says, “You really don’t want to see me before I’ve put my face on, and growing something like that takes forever.” 

“I don’t care,” Ren says, “I’m really mad at you.” 

“What? I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you did.” Ren’s hands cling hard to the fabric on the back of Martyn’s shirt. It’s damp, still. “Apologize.”

“No. What for?”

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Ren says, “You made me cry.”

“Thank you for that, by the way,” Martyn says, “Salt water isn’t ideal, but it can work in a pinch.”

For how callous he sounds, Martyn loosens his hand in Ren’s hair, petting his head. He threads his fingers through loose strands, carefully avoiding tugging on any tangles. 

“Thanking me for crying is worse,” Ren says, and he almost wants to sigh—only Martyn could get him to stop grieving because he’s annoyed. “You owe me an apology.” 

“Hmm,” Martyn says. He moves his hand to the back of Ren’s neck, scratching at the base. It feels nice, but Ren knows what he’s doing. 

“You aren’t weaseling out of this,” Ren decides, and this time when he pulls away Martyn lets him. 

“You’ve got blood on your face,” Martyn says, as if that’s noteworthy. Ren would hit him in the face if he weren’t so distracted by the fact Martyn had a face at all. 

His face is entirely free of blood. There’s a clear line in his neck where he lost his head—everything below is drenched red-gold, and everything above it is as clean as if he’d just bathed. He’s smiling, but his eyes betray that he’s worried. 

Ren wants to cry again. Just lost his head, and he’s looking at Ren like Ren is the one they need to worry about. 

“And whose fault is that?” Ren says. Martyn hums, removing his hand from Ren’s hair to cup his face. He lets go just as fast, tugging on part of Ren’s cloak to start clearing the blood away. 

Ren frowns. 

“You’re going to use my cloak?” Ren asks. 

“Mine’s too bloody, plus you’re already mad at me,” Martyn explains, shrugging. 

Ren wants to smack him. Ren wants to grab him and shake him. Ren wants to take his face into his hands and never let him go. Ren wants…

“I’ve decided how you can apologize to me,” Ren says. 

“I’ve done nothing to apologize for! It was those bandits!” Martyn says, arguing as Martyn commandeers his hands. “What do you want me to do?”

“Lean in,” Ren mutters, putting Martyn’s hands on his own face, “You’re too tall.”

“What?” Martyn asks, though Ren pushes closer to him. He tugs Martyn’s shirt, drawing him closer. When Martyn is only a breath away, Ren stops. 

“You scared me. I thought I lost you and I was more terrified than I’ve ever been in my entire life. You made me sob, Martyn,” Ren says, “So apologize. Unless you’re still too stubborn.”

“I’m…” Martyn says, and he swallows, and he’s close enough that Ren can feel him breathe. That could almost be an apology in and of itself—Ren will certainly accept the relief in that feeling alone. “I can do that.”

[pawbeanies]

this is a formal request to tell us all about your isopods they r black _ yellow spotted!!!??? what's their enclosure like?? how long have you had them? do any have names? the masses must know...

fool you hath opened the isopod lore gates. woe be upon you.

JFJSJDKS NO BUT HI HI HI grabbing you hi hihi hihi hi hi hi fhank you for asking ... the Bug Lore isn't really that interesting but !!

(i realized i was rambling abt bugs. readmore be upon ye

they r little black and yellow spotted fuckers (scientific name) and they live in a little terrarium made out of a coffee pot!! like if you can imagine those coffee pots that come with drip coffee machines but full of dirt and moss and bugs. i haven't had them for too long like?? maybe a week but they are already so important to me and i love them and check in on them every day

since i've only had them for a little bit though they're still shy and i haven't had the chance to name them all fksjfkd but there are roughly like. ten of them... once they get used to me and i can see them all i will give them silly names. as of right now theres like one big one i am calling bok choy bc it likes it i guess but also i have only fed them bok choy (i like to regrow it from cuttings but w/ bok choy it will like Bolt (start growing flowers) so you have to pinch off the flowers and ive been feeding those+little leaves to them) so i think that's like. a moot point like we dont name all babies milk because thats the first thing they eat and they like it? i will revisit names later but they're probably going to all be veggie themed

but also i got them at likw. like ok so i wasn't expecting to be a Bug Father i went to an antique/vintage fest for my state But they also had artists and stuff there and there was a guy who made terrariums and like. i love plants (i have 3 plants living in the office i work at alone but i have More at home) and ive always wanted to build terrariums but i never got into it bc they seem so much more like Labor Intensive BUT this guy had like. cool terrariums and i was like "hey can i get that coffee pot one" because i 1. love coffee so much and 2. love plants and he was like "oh btw theres isopods in there. heres a care sheet and just like drop a piece of carrot in there once a week" and like. i was not sure if i was ready for fatherhood but like he was a local artist guy (support local artist guys!!!) and also i was w/ my friends and didnt want to hold us up bc i would've agonized over it for a while so i was like Yeah Thats Ok :) (but like in a way that would make anyone be like "r u sure?") so i ended up going home w a coffee pot full of dirt and bugs on like. a funny impulse purchase type thing. i barely even got any fun vintage things aside from like tje worlds scratchiest sweater but i Did get bugs and also we went out for pho afterwards which is like. best weekend ever really (i am lame)

ne way here is a video of one of my guys and a big fickass thing of bok choy bc i went on abt bugs and vegetables and vintage things without actually answering ur questions i think. woe bugs be upon ye

[insertsomthinawesome]

*pokes head out of the great expanse of information that is the internet* DID I HEAR YOU SAY KAEYA ZHONGLI BESTIES AGENDA do elaborate because I am. I am. in need.

AHAHAAHAHAHAHAH YES YOU DID HEAR CORRECTLY. Look They have so much inherent angst based on Kaeya's origins and Zhongli's orgins. And I'm definitely going to get into some fanon/headcanon territory here. But like- I headcanon that whatever part Zhongli played in destroying Khaenri'ah he feels horrible about it. Meeting Kaeya would be a grenade of emotions for him. Like on one hand: Hey! This guy is a living Khaenri'ahn, maybe i can do small things to pay him for what I've done Not that I could ever total repay it ON the other: OH SHOOT I MESSED UP SO BAD BY HIM I SHOULD JUST NEVER SPEAK TO HIM EVER AND IF HE WANTS ME TO PAY FOR MY CRIMES I WILL. Initially Zhongli would probably just be a good ole formal acquaintance. Being pretty normal about everything (he's good at compartmentalizing and burying pain) except in weird instances where he'd get really intensely invested in Helping Kaeya. Kaeya is like "Okay this dude is strange. Nice! But strange." Eventually the truth would come to light and that would be a mess, not exactly sure how it would go down? I usually play with the idea of Kaeya being pretty angry with Zhongli and softening when he realizes how much Zhongli regrets and how human he is. The start of their actual friendship would be climbing over the hurdle of Zhongli.... well being overly gracious essentially?

Kaeya would have to slap him being like "Dude you need to not bend to my every request for star's sake." Like, kaeya can understand given how much he feels like he messed up, but at this point he genuinely wants to be friends with Zhongli, not have Zhongli be his dutiful archon butler. It'd take a bit for Zhongli to shake the behavior because the guilt complex runs DEEP. Also Kaeya would have to open a lot. Zhongli is old as dirt (ha) So he can probably see through Kaeya waaaay more than he's comfortable with. Zhongli is thankfully not horribly heavy handed? But I can see him being somewhat petty or poking at Kaeya before he's ready.

Kaeya would have the bonus of Zhongli already knowing his Origins! But he would still have to contest with worrying about him flipping out over the spy thing (not to mention Zhongli was the Contracts lord.) Zhongli would also not be super cool with kaeya's more reckless and under-explained stunts. Its probably already somewhat nervewracking for him that most of his friends are mortal. Them making ill-advised decisions would not sit well with him. but with time I think they'd have a beautiful friendship! They're both protectors and have Older Family member vibes (grandpa and older brother) Zhongli would be invested in seeing Kaeya grow past his trauma and the horrible things that happened to him and his people. And Kaeya would be invested in seeing Zhongli live a happy unburdened life (he understands too well holding what feels like the weight of the world.)

And just in general I think the way they can play off of each other is really fun? Just personality wise. They're both really smart but also feel like they'd have a great time discussing stuff over tea, Really random or inane stuff. I imagine they're both kinda fed up with the Anime Plot they're born into xD

I feel like they're both little things people. LIke zhongli going on and on about the flowers being beautiful this morning and Kaeya would just be sitting there like "yeah :]" They realize how much that stuff matters.

Somebody save Zhongli if Hu Tao and Kaeya are in the same room tho. SFDLSDIHGDFIGLDHFGLASIDGHDFG Also they'd both be doing "Woe, therapy be upon ye" at each other SADLFIHSDGLIDFHGDFGHFG

Also both of them adore kids. ;;v;; The capacity they have for understanding each other's pain. Just being the "stop being strong, I know, you can't hide it from me." and "i'm sorry you have this burden, you should've never had it." and "i'm so afraid of what I am harming the people I love." THere could be so much solidarity and comfort and understanding. And conflict and frustration too! I can see them easily being very hypocritical with each other without intending too xD

So yeah! Just their whole deal can be so fascinating and fun, both of them would have so much baggage to work through with each other. And I can see every step of that journey being delightfully fun to dig into and play out in different ways!

[circusgoth-dotcom]

A Man And His Woes

Ship: Gabriel Conifer x Professor Henry Higgins

Word Count: 912

Summary: An introduction to Gabriel and Higgins' dynamic, in which the two discuss Higgins plans for Eliza Doolittle, a young woman of low income whom he wishes to pass off as someone of higher status just because he believes he can. CWs for classism, alcohol consumption.

Tag List: @canongf @futurewife @rexscanonwife @dudefrommywesterns

Gabriel was just about to let himself into Higgins’ study when Mrs. Pearce’s arm suddenly blocked him.

“I wouldn’t go in there now, dearie,” she warned, “Mr. Higgins is in a bit of a mood.”

He frowned. “How so?”

She sighed. “He’s taken on a… project, shall we say. Brought in a lass with the thickest accent I ever did hear, wants to make a duchess of her, and you know how he is… needless to say, they don’t like each other very much.”

“Why ever did this girl agree to work with him if they can’t stand each other?”

“She’s a poor one, you see. He offers her a room, warm meals, new clothes, and in return he thinks he gets to treat and teach her however he likes.”

It was Gabriel’s turn to sigh. “Why am I not surprised? His head’s too big for his own good.”

Mrs. Pearce nodded in agreement. “Now that I think about it, maybe you ought to go in. Soothe him. He could never be frustrated with you and you never seem to get exhausted with him. It’s an admirable feat if I do say so myself.”

He gave her a small smile as she stepped aside. “Well, I was going to tell him that the laundry’s done, but I suppose I’ll play shrink with him instead,” he quipped lightly.

“Good luck.”

Upon entering, he found Higgins sprawled out on a loveseat, pinching his brow in annoyance. “What is it now, Mrs. Pearce?”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “I hear we’ve another guest, besides Colonel Pickering.”

Higgins sat up, quickly looking over his shoulder. “Oh, Conifer, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. Yes, but I’d rather not talk about her. I presume you’ve just done the laundry for Pickering’s stay?”

Gabriel nodded. “Is there anything of the girl’s I’m to clean, then?”

Higgins stood and walked over to his desk, waving his hand dismissively. “Heavens no, I’ve ordered Mrs. Pearce to burn her clothes. Wretched things, they were more dirt than cloth, I’d say.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Surely those were not the only things to her name?”

“Why should I care? I’m providing her with plenty of new, clean things. Ladies things.” He began pouring two glasses of brandy as Gabriel approached him.

“It’s not that that’s not a gesture of goodwill, sir, but think… she may’ve had a certain attachment to them, coming from a place of low worth… appreciate what you have and so on.” He took one of the glasses, eying Higgins tentatively. They paused as he drank, stalling for time.

“We're doing the exact opposite of what I wanted… how is it that you always get me to do that?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Gabriel smiled behind his glass of alcohol. “Now, don't try to change the subject, Mr. Higgins. Who is she?”

He huffed. “An Eliza Doolittle, and a pain in my eardrums to boot, listen to this.” Higgins quickly slipped over to his phonograph and turned it on. A harsh Cockney accent repeating vowel sounds shortly poured out of it. “Tell me, what kind of sound is that? ‘Owww,’ she sounds like an alley cat. She may as well have manners in common with one.”

Gabriel swallowed his drink. “It’s certainly kind of you to help her… though, if it is my place to say, may I suggest exercising some gentler language? Especially when she’s around. It might make things easier for both of you.”

“Of course it’s kind of me to help her. Who else would?” Higgins gazed at Gabriel for a long moment, completely breezing past his suggestion of speaking more pleasantly about Eliza and her “predicament.” “You’re so easy to talk to, Conifer.”

He finished his drink and set the glass aside. “I’m glad to hear, Mr. Higgins. But you’re changing the subject again. What’s the desired result here? Mrs. Pearce said you want to make a duchess of her.”

Higgins bit back a reluctant sound and briefly began to pace. “Yes. I want to pass her off as a lady at the upcoming Embassy Ball.”

“Six months,” Gabriel mused softly.

“Precisely.”

“But why her? Are you doing it just to prove it can be done?”

“Why else?”

Gabriel folded his arms. “You know I hate to criticise, but it all seems a bit selfish if you ask me.”

Higgins whipped around, appearing alarmed. “Selfish?! It’s selfish of me to give her everything she doesn’t have, and all I ask for in return is her cooperation?!”

“It’s selfish because you’re doing it for your own benefit, Mr. Higgins. Just so you can get a kick out of making a silk purse of a sow’s ear. What happens to her when you’re done?”

“She lives a long, happy life in the upper class! Preferably far from mine.” He set to pour himself another drink, but Gabriel put a hand on his arm.

“And if she's found out?”

“It's none of my business.” Higgins stiffly shook him off and poured more brandy.

“It's all of your business,” Gabriel muttered under his breath, turning away. “Very well, sir. I won't question you further.” With that, Gabriel left Professor Higgins to his alcohol and his headaches, waiting to be assigned another chore in the meantime.

“So, how was your day?” Higgins spoke, long after the door had closed and he had downed his second drink. He looked around, realized he was alone, and buried his face in his hands.

[praebitorem-glaciei]

Light Colours

in which Katsumi experiences a heat.

tag: @hamausagi woe foxboy pussy be upon ye

When Eiji had awoken in the middle of the night, he hadn’t expected to wake up to an empty bed and missing blanket. But with Katsumi and Masuyo, he really shouldn’t have been surprised by the occasional weird situations. Eiji sat up in the bed, brushing his bangs from his eyes as he looked around the dark bedroom. Definitely no sign of his partner’s friendly local shade.

The shrine guardian stood slowly, artificial joints cracking from sleeping so stiffly. It didn’t help that his blanket was missing and it was cold. He looked around the room, noting Katsumi’s kimono still thrown over the back of the chair in the corner. Eiji wasted little time slipping that on instead of searching for his own clothing.

He tied it closed as he left the bedroom, intent on either finding Masuyo in the shrine or to confirm his absence. The air was damp with an oncoming storm, a slight surprise given the area’s relative lack of them. But there was a fainter scent beneath it, moss and fresh dirt. So he’d left recently then. That was reassuring at least.

Well, it was, until Eiji realised the blanket was still nowhere to be found. Masuyo didn’t need sleep, there was no reason for him to take it. Eiji sighed as he grabbed his shoes, going out in the middle of the night, barely dressed, before a storm. Just to find where his haunted partner had managed to run off to. 

At least he could rely on his sense of smell to guide him. If Masuyo had left as recently as his smell had implied, then it should be no problem for the feline puppet to find him. If only to check on him, Eiji reasoned. And so when his search led him to the woods, he was far from surprised. Because of course it would.

It took him only ten minutes to find Masuyo, sitting on the ground leaning against a tree all while wrapped in the missing pale green sheet. Eiji cringed when he stepped on a stick, watching the man’s head snap up at him, fox ears twitching. “Oh.. Oh no. You need to go.” Masuyo scrambled to his feet, sheet hanging around his shoulders.

“Is everything okay?” 

Eiji stayed where he was a few feet away from the shade, but something was off about him. His eyes were still dull, but they weren’t grey. More like a muted version of Katsumi’s actual swirl of blues and greens. It was even more unnerving than the usual grey. “Things are fine- he’s just- augh.” Masuyo put a hand to his head, but just as quickly dropped it as he suddenly smiled.

It was notably not Masuyo that surged forward, Eiji stumbling back to catch Katsumi and attempt not to fall to the forest floor. Eiji blinked in confusion as his partner gripped onto him, why was he so hot? Sure Katsumi ran warmer than most, but this was ridiculous. “Are you sick?” Eiji found himself asking as the kitsune went limp in his arms.

“Katsumi, control yourself.” Masuyo tugged himself away from Eiji, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself and hugging himself to do so. The shrine guardian had never seen the two battle for control. They had a set routine, Katsumi would control from sunrise to an hour before sunset, and Masuyo would take over for the rest of the time. 

This was.. New… to Eiji.

Masuyo was strong, especially for a shade, Eiji knew this. So to watch him struggle against Katsumi in and of itself was surprising. Before Masuyo could explain what was happening, the behaviour shifted once more, Katsumi almost immediately clinging to Eiji. Eiji was at a loss for words as he tried to figure out the behaviour, to the point he was taken completely off guard by warm lips against his.

He returned the kiss with a small peck before he pulled away, tilting his head down at Katsumi, eyes filled with clear concern. Katsumi’s head fell against his chest and a soft growl escaped the kitsune. “He’s never had a partner during a heat. This is utterly… Embarrassing.” Masuyo grumbled, unable to control Katsumi’s body and pull away again.

A heat..? Oh. Eiji bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling or worse, chuckling. All this because of a heat? “Maybe I should take you home. It’s going to start raining soon.” Eiji straightened out as he suggested an alternative to whatever Masuyo’s plan happened to be. Katsumi sank further into Eiji’s arms, inhaling deeply.

“Masuyo doesn’t think it’s ideal because he doesn’t know how I’ll behave.” Katsumi explained, snaking his arms out of the blanket and to the belt keeping Eiji’s kimono closed. Eiji caught his partner’s hand before he could undo the white fabric. Katsumi lifted his head with a pout, and for a man with vertical pupils, they were exceptionally blown.

Eiji looked down at Katsumi’s hand in his grip, before lifting his head to meet the man’s eyes, quirking a violet brow. “This is what… I meant.” Masuyo looked away, unable to pull his hand back either way. “I have very little… control. When he’s.. Like this.” It was like trying to read two books at the same time, Eiji realised as he let go of Masuyo’s wrist.

Almost immediately Katsumi’s hands were back on the fabric. “Okay, we’re going home.” Eiji decided, picking up his boyfriend and throwing the kitsune onto his shoulder. The shrine guardian had to avoid being hit by the rapidly wagging tails as he pivoted on his heel towards the shrine. Katsumi or Masuyo, he wasn’t sure, struggled against his grip for a few seconds before giving up and stilling.

“And you didn’t think to just tell me rather than disappearing in the middle of the night?”

Masuyo growled again, clearly doing his best to remain in control. “No! I mean… No. I didn’t… Realise, until he had taken over…” Masuyo’s tails drooped, one of which nearly hit Eiji in the face as it did so. “Ugh, this heat is incredibly.. Uncomfortable.” He complained, body going entirely limp and causing Eiji to stagger somewhat. 

Eiji picked up the pace, careful of any roots or other debris on the ground as he hurried back to the shrine. The man on his shoulder remained quiet as he made the rest of the trip, and remained silent still as he was gently set down inside of the shrine. Eiji got his shoes off but was immediately tackled to the ground the second he turned to face his partner.

Katsumi lowered his head to the man’s neck, inhaling once more as the pale green sheet fell on top of them. “You smell like home.” Katsumi whispered before he pressed a series of gentle kisses to the man’s neck. Eiji became momentarily stunned by the domestic declaration, hand coming up to rest on the small of his lover’s back. 

“Take care of him.” Came a hushed whisper in a different tone, Masuyo clearly giving up on trying to control Katsumi’s insatiable hunger. At least it wasn’t bloodlust this time. Just good old lust. Katsumi pushed himself up on one arm, face inches from Eiji’s, eyes still impossibly wide. Eiji hesitated for just a moment before sliding his hand up Katsumi’s back to the back of his neck, drawing him back down for a proper kiss. 

“So needy you didn't even put clothes on?” Eiji teased against his lips, eyeing the way his cheeks flushed and his chest heaved. Katsumi's eyes opened, his pupils still blown as he pouted down at his teasing boyfriend. “We should go to the bed.” He suggested and the kitsune sighed, rolling off of him.

Eiji tugged off and tossed the man's boots, then he easily scooped him up, carrying him groom style to their shared bedroom. Him and the blanket he stole. That he still didn't quite understand. He laid Katsumi in their bed, kneeling so one knee was between his legs. Eiji then undid the kimono, sliding it off of him and letting it fall to the floor. 

“The blanket?”

“Smells like you.” 

Eiji wasn't even aware he had a scent, as a being who didn't live as Katsumi lived. But then, he still sweat, still bled, still scarred. Just differently. It wasn't the only function he could do. Mismatched eyes flicked over his scarred skin. He was so bruised, cut up in some places. His nightly fights. Eiji would just have to be careful.

He leaned down, kissing the edge of one of the scars on his chest. Katsumi shuddered under his kiss and he smiled. These two scars were always sensitive, he liked it. His skin was so warm even though he had been outside in the cold in just a sheet. So warm as Eiji licked along the scar, rough tongue making him whine. 

Katsumi groaned, eyes closing, mouth opened as the feline licked his nipple, only to then follow up by slightly tugging on it with his teeth. Gentle, but enough to make him squirm. Eiji knew his chest wasn't the most sensitive place on his body, but he also knew it'd rile his poor kitsune up beyond belief.

“Don't.. Nng.. Don't tease, Eiji..”

Eiji’s smile against his skin was soft, he began to trail his kisses downwards. His lips were cold against the man’s overheated skin, bringing much reprieve as he kissed a scar on Katsumi’s left hip. He nibbled the defined bone and his kitsune squirmed against the action.

“Need me?”

“You know I do!” 

Mismatched eyes looked up, Katsumi was so beautiful under the moonlight. It was a sight Eiji had never seen before. One that made him feel blessed. He ran his hand up Katsumi’s thigh, propping it up so he had space between his legs. 

“How badly?”

“Eiji!”

Eiji laughed, grazing his fangs along the man’s pale thigh. He smelled differently, something more noticeable now. The feline puppet wondered if it was his pheromones, his body’s attempt at attracting a mate. Mate. The idea did something to him. He wasn’t sure how to place the feeling that brewed in his stomach.

His tongue flicked out, licking up his cunt. He tasted relatively the same, if anything, Eiji found the taste more intoxicating than usual. Maybe it was just placebo, maybe it was because he wanted it, but Eiji could almost blame Katsumi’s pheromones for making everything feel a bit… Just.. More.

Katsumi’s hand tugged at his hair as his tongue swirled around his enlarged clit. Half lidded eyes looked up at him, enjoying the blatant display of pleasure on his face. Eiji brought his hand up, dipping two fingers into him as he focused on sucking on his clit. 

His moans were musical, truly, low partially growled ones offset by high pitched whines. And without a need to breathe, Eiji took great pleasure in unravelling him with his tongue. “Ei-Eiji~” His lover gasped out, body twitching. The feline pulled his fingers from him, pulling back just enough to lick them clean. 

But, he did know his precious kitsune better than that, and coupled with his heat. Eiji had an inkling that one wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to satisfy him. Quickly confirmed by the fox reaching for him, tugging his wrist pathetically.

Eiji pushed himself up properly, one hand beside the kitsune's head on the mattress. Then he shifted so that both his legs were between Katsumi's, the man almost immediately wrapping his legs around Eiji's waist. Looking down at him, the shrine guardian could see the need and desperation on his face. Even with his eyes closed.

He reached between them, still wanting to tease his lover. His dick was still just semi hard, but it was good enough for him to rub the tip against Katsumi. Another thing Eiji loved, he was so overly wet. He was sure it wasn't a normal amount but he was also sure that he loved it. The head of his cock slid through the man's warm wet folds. 

The sound of slick was audible but quickly dampened by the distant sound of approaching thunder. 

Katsumi tightened his legs around the man’s waist in a desperate attempt to get him inside of him, but Eiji held fast, tightening his grip on the sheets to steady himself. “Be a good boy, Kats.” Eiji hummed, pressing just the head of his cock inside of him.

“Ca- ah~! Can’t be good when you’re not breeding me.”

The exclamation was blunt and surprising, purple ear twitching. “You want me to breed you?” Eiji wanted to hear him say it again. They never used protection anyway, there was no need. The heat really did make him act up. It was endearing. 

Katsumi nodded, blond-brown ears bouncing, his bangs stuck to his heated skin as he opened his eyes just to pout up at the feline. “I need you to breed me.” It wasn’t a want, it was a need. An instinctual need. Eiji wanted nothing more than to fulfil his needs. 

Eiji pushed into him, eliciting a high pitched moan, the kitsune’s claws soon dug into the skin of his back. Katsumi tilted his hips upwards, giving the feline the deepest possible angle. The sound of their skin muffled the sound of rain, the panting from the kitsune and the soft sighs of exertion from the puppet filled the room.

“I can’t get you pregnant though.” Eiji mumbled before gently biting the man’s ear.

“I can pretend.” Katsumi panted out, trying his best not to tear his lover’s back up with his claws.

And pretend they would, until Eiji’s stores ran dry and Katsumi was dripping with artificial cum. His thighs, the sheets, his sore cunt, full of him. Eiji was quite proud of his handiwork, his fox panting and deeply satisfied. 

Even he panted, the physical exertion of keeping him happy took a toll. But Eiji was more than happy, seeing Katsumi happy.

The kitsune rested in his arms, declining any attempt to clean him. “There’s no point.. We’ll need to go again once I wake.” He mumbled, turning his face into the pillow. The sheets smelled of sex and slick, but Eiji assumed changing them would be just as pointless. At least he managed to get Katsumi to drink water.

Laying behind him, Eiji’s fingers ran up the man’s stomach, spooning him as he always did. But.. His thoughts wandered slightly, trailing his fingers up and down, causing Katsumi to shudder at the sensual touch.

“Would it be a litter then? If you’re a fox?”

Katsumi stilled in his arms but quickly relaxed, hand coming to rest on top of his. “It would be.” He clasped his hand in Eiji’s, getting comfortable against the mattress. “I wonder if they’d have hair like mine or yours.” He’d never thought about children, he wouldn’t make a good father. But it was fun to pretend, with the pheromones clouding his mind.

“Blond and purple maybe.” Eiji pressed his face against the back of Katsumi’s head, inhaling his scent, albeit musky from the activity. The puppet hadn’t thought very much on it either, how could he? Why would he? But he, too, found it fun to pretend.

[unicronnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom]

WOE. RANDOMLY PLACED DIRT BLOCK BE UPON YE.

[HORRIBLE CLIPPING NOISES COMMENSE]

[beantothemax]

WOE, INBOX FIC UPON YE

            “It almost feels as if they’re winding something back, if you ask me.”

            Squeezing five people into that tiny gondola was an ordeal in itself, but listening to the yarn the ancient operator was spinning was almost harder. Almost.

            Hikari was staring out one of the windows, very conspicuously not looking down. Perhaps the young prince wasn’t used to being this high up. Agnea had made a stop by Montraine’s to say hello to Gil before joining up with the group again, so she was fast asleep. I was half-listening to a tale of two lovers.

            But Castti was sitting stock-straight in her seat, staring at the ropeway operator. There were all sorts of things written all over her face – fear, anger, confusion. Familiarity.

            We stepped back onto solid ground after around ten minutes. After shaking the young dancer lying on the seats awake, we made our way through a spattering of ruins, heading towards some kind of city at the top of the hill. It was clear to see – the moon, bigger in the sky than I had ever seen it, showed us the path.

            She was still staring. Hikari and Agnea were talking shop about something – perhaps magic or daggerwork or how to best train for these situations – but walking alongside them was a shell of a blue-hooded apothecary that had not spoken since we had exited the sewers.

            “There’s a shorter path up thisaway. The climb is easier on the legs, as well.”

            “So, she speaks. Welcome back to the world of the living, Castti.”

            There was no mirth in the chuckle she let out. “I’m always delighted to help.”

            Sure enough, the trail that Castti blazed was, in fact, much easier. A staircase, a remnant of a ruined building, made the climb nearly trivial. One look to the right told me that the stone and dirt of our previous path would not have been so forgiving. I didn’t give it a second thought until we were almost all the way up, but –

            “How did you know?”

            “Hmm?”

            “That this path was easier? These stairs would hidden behind a wall from where we were standing.”

            Castti didn’t respond, simply opting to stare off into the distance again, fiddling with the gloves that hid the indigo scars that plagued her hands and arms. I couldn’t even pretend to understand what that meant, so it was for the best that I dropped the subject.

-----

            The streets of Lostseed did not make the situation any better. Very much the opposite, in fact. Hikari had his damned sword out the entire time – a noble gesture that failed to put anyone at ease – and Agnea was nervously glancing around, whispering the incantations she used for her wind magic under her breath.

            Castti had not met my eye, or anyone’s for that matter, since we entered the city gates.

            I pulled the three of them into the crumbling building nearest to us. Judging by the counter and the gaunt-looking man cleaning a shot glass behind it, this was the tavern. Not that its occupant seemed any different than the rest of the city.

            “Listen, if you want, you can turn back here. This is my fight, or whatever in Aeber’s name you could call it. This place is dangerous. I can feel it.”

            Hikari had finally sheathed his katana. “I walk this path with you to its end, Throné. My strength is yours.”

            Agnea nodded in agreement. “I ain’t gonna leave ya now, sugar.”

            I was so taken aback by Agnea calling me “sugar” that I almost didn’t hear Castti murmur something.

            “This is personal, Throné.”

            It seemed that only I had heard those words. Hikari and Agnea continued to assure me that they’d have my back, and a gave some kind of half-response back.

            This is personal, Throné.

-----

            It was her axe that struck him down. She deserved it. I saw it in her eyes as she pulled her amputator out of the chest of the man who called himself my father.

            The burning moonlight reflected in her eyes as if it had carved out a home for itself there, years ago. I could not hear it, but there were words on her lips for a moment.

            “Rest now, Trousseau. He’s gone.”

IRIS!!!!!! IRIS IM PICKING YOU UP AND THROWING YOU INTO A BASKETBALL HOOP!!!!!!! SCREAMING !!!!!!! AGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there are. so many little things about this that I want to point out. you build atmosphere in your inbox fics so incredibly well. that part about the burning moonlight carving a home into castti’s eyes. you referring to castti as ‘a shell of a blue-hooded apothecary’ when they were walking to lostseed. just. everything! you do such a good job of painting a vivid mental image of the scene you’re writing for!!!! and!!!!!! !!!!!!!!

and!!!! the last line!!!!! that has implications!!!!!!!!! ah!!!!!!!!

i love each and every inbox fic you make because you write so so well and it’s always a treat reading them