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jaylleoo14 · 7 months ago

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A little Azul brainrot I got when I was thinking about the lion funnily enough

(If you want to be more fully immersed try listening to “My September” by Nastyona :D it really set the mood for me and vibed nicely along throughout the read<3 It may be a difficult read but keep in mind that there are two separate things going on at the same time and it goes back in fourth.)

Amnesiac Asphyxia- Azul drabble

TW: slight gore, Amnesia, stalking, obsessive behaviors, manipulation, implied power abuse, drugging. All characters are aged up and this is a work of fiction

Thinking of something where you're on your way to go get groceries but then suddenly you get into a car crash. Waking up in the hospital you find yourself with a nurse and a complete stranger across from you. With a sigh of relief the nurse quickly leaves the room to inform the other doctors and nurses while you're left in a state of confusion as to what's going on. The light from the window looked shallow and a low contrast of clear yellow, the room looking clean with tile pattern walls, a pattern of scorpion grasses decorating the border of the room. A light breeze falls through and makes the blue-to-white curtains swift in the air. You can hear noises of carts and wheels being heard and the sound of cars leaving and coming outside the window. To the corner of the room near the window you spot a man sitting on a cushioned chair. He looked so pale and worn out, few bandages scattered across his face. Suddenly, the man gets up and goes over to you, hugging your hand with the most tear relieved smile ever. You could feel that his warmth seemed to radiate a sense of relief in this mellow room you both were in while your eyes adjusted to the light of the room.

"What... Happened? What's going on here?" Barely managing to let out a clear voice, raspy and lower than usual from the lack of using it constantly for it to sound like how it did consistently before the accident.

Your head is throbbing and your body is in so much pain, the feeling of your aches soaring through your bedridden state. "Ah everything's alright my love. I'm so glad that we could get you to the hospital quickly enough. I'm so happy you're alive, my angelfish." His voice was so shaky, so full of emotion yet it was as if he was holding himself back from letting it all out.

Noticing your hand is being tenderly squeezed as it lays beside you, you give him a look of hard confusion. "Who are you?" Your voice sounds on edge and nervous, unsure of who this man could be. It soars and scratches against your neck as you speak, feeling pain reverberating hoarsely. So suddenly calling you all these pet names in such a comfortable manner. His expression displays one of shock and distraught, his grip on your hand loosening as if at a loss. Outside, the trees sway from a light breeze, yet so many leaves fall down. The breeze, although light, comes hitting in for a long and continuous time; the curtains moving in motion as it dances along to the music the wind provides and the melody of your interaction plays out.

"Dear? Excuse me? Please be joking right now, you…. You can't be serious, right?" His expression was one of wide eyed horror, getting up closer to you. Flinching back, you withdraw your hands and the nurses and doctors come back into the room. "I don't know who you are sir." Your words of sudden hostility and confusion were like a knife and it looked as if you just physically and visibly stabbed through his chest, and all he can do is just stand there and freeze from the sudden injection. The realization that he was stabbed, not yet registering in his brain. Letting go of the knife, it clattered down on the floor and you looked at him like he was a stranger. Staring back at you, he holds the gaping deep cut of the imprinted knife injury you bestowed upon him while giving you a frozen look.

"Thank goodness you are awake, Mx. (L/N), you were caught in a car accident a couple of hours ago." The doctors are catching you up in the events, but the man standing there is left struck with tears in his eyes. His hands clenched tighter where his heart burns, where blood seeps out of the wound and he looks down to stare at his bloodied hands. Hands that were already stained and tainted.

"Sir? Are you okay? Is everything alright?" One of the nurses comes over and pats his back, but he only comes back up to you and kneels down in front of your bed. He snaps back out of his frozen and dead state, placing his hands firmly on the hand rails making up the bed. The nurses share a look of concern and sympathy, already understanding the situation and feeling of dread he must be feeling at the moment.

You look at the man continuing to bear those confused eyes, staring at his bandaged face. Those pale lips of his open, as if a pot full of trickery only lied in them. "I'm… Azul.” A moment of silence as he pauses to recollect his voice, a hardened look in his eyes as he stares at you in a heartbroken manner. “Azul Ashengrotto. Your boyfriend."

"If it weren't for your boyfriend then we wouldn't have been able to get you here quick enough."

You stare at this man who calls himself your boyfriend. You don't remember anything. Nothing at all. Nothing leading up to the accident, nothing on what you were going to be doing today, nothing about a boyfriend. "I... I don't remember anything." Azul lets go of his chest, letting his blue blood slowly stain and soak his shirt, almost looking like a soaked wet rag. He falls to his knees and droops his head, staring ahead at your standing figure that looked down on him.

The doctors all share the same look of deep concern, saying in a firm but gentle voice. "Your name is (y/n) (l/n), it seems that due to the car crash you suffer from amnesia right now. But with the help of your boyfriend I'm sure you will be able to regain your memories."

"Oh, I see. So... You're my boyfriend?" You turn to look at the man who seems visibly stricken to his core. But with a desperate nod he comes over to you with his hand over his heart as if he means well and true. Slightly standing up as he used the railing for support despite not needing it.

“Yes, I've been your boyfriend for two years now.” He says it so surely to calm you down that he’s known you for so long now. Such truthfulness in his heart as he cant help but give out a worried look. Yet the uncertain and warry expression on your face doesn’t ease him one bit. He sits back down on the chair, bringing his hands to his face with a low drooped sigh. He was devastated. Really.

To think such a tragedy like this could happen to you so suddenly, how was he able to process all this information. “I informed them that you were okay. Your parents that is.” He speaks up once again, his face remaining buried. The medical professionals in the room start to get busy, the wind picks up and instead of leaves falling a bird flies away from the tree.

“They have been worried sick about you since I made the call, but I assured them I would take care of you for the time being.” You notice his shaky and shallow voice, as if he was on the verge of just breaking down. But it gives you a sign on how serious and how real this all was. Even though you didn’t know this man, it felt like all that he was saying was true. He contacted your parents, his claims, and his raw emotions all led you to the conclusion that you in fact do know this man.

Don't remember.

The tree is starting to become less filled around its branches as more leaves start to fall and sway off due to the gradual wind. Azul gets on his knees, crawling towards you in a pitiful manner as a slow trail of blueberry juice follows behind him. “Azul… Was it?” You say softly as you try to familiarize yourself with his name. It comes out so smoothly, the way you say his name, he wants you to say it all the more just to hear you as if you were calling out to him. He crawls more desperately towards you, his hands shaking as you give him a hardened stare. The blue stained knife gleaming a little as if it were a shell on the seashore of a cold beach day.

Why? It was you wasn’t it?

As you repeat his name again to try and regain a sense of familiarity, Azul looks up from his hands with his head lifted. A hurt look splays across his face as you look at his reaction, though it makes you feel suddenly guilty as he softly smiles at you. Well despite how you acted towards him, isn’t that to be expected? You don't know this man, but the past you did. The you before the accident. However you can tell how deeply hurt Azul was and yet he still tries to accommodate your loss of memories and feelings.

The past you did know him. You knew him for two years and he shared a love life with you. He would walk with you hand in hand. You two would watch movies together in your apartment as you snuggled in your blanket together. Taking showers together and sharing loving touches with each other, sharing intimate and passionate nights together. You’ve known him a bit longer than two years, only two years of that lovely dating life that is.

“I’ll go let your parents know that you’re awake though. I’ll inform them of the situation… Hopefully, you remember us soon y/n…” His voice is gentle, as if he just cried his heart out and just recovered. He gets up from the chair, and makes his way out the room while the nurses and doctor work next to you to go through specific procedures regarding your condition.

All so suddenly Azul quickly grabs the knife laying next to your foot and makes a stand. As he suddenly jumps up, you jerk back to try and dodge his sudden attack. You can't see his face because he still hung it low, a groan escaping his lips. Hands suddenly grab at your shoulders to prevent you from moving back any further, instead pushing you forward. The sharp pointed end of the blade can be felt inside of you as you fall into the knife. He holds it firmly as he ensures to sink it into your stomach and you can only let out a bloodshot cry of pain, the feeling of flesh and skin bouncing and tearing seamlessly. You can barely turn your head back due to the amount of agonization you’re feeling in your stomach, feeling frozen stiff as ever. Your clouded and teary eyes are met with a sharp and tall figure with a toothy grin, a shadow covering his face from which all you can see and make out. Turning back to face your attention on Azul who stood firm in his position, you can see your red cherry blood spilling out of you from where the knife stays plunged into you.

I love you, you know that?

The nurses make sure to change out your iv bag and adjust anything in particular if needed. As you sit there on the medical bed, dressed in those polka-dotted hospital gown you actually come to focus on one thing in particular in the room. Zoning out from all the questions the nurses were asking you, your eyes stayed glued to the scorpion grasses pattern bordered around the walls. It was like something that just stook out to you in all of this clean melancholy room. Outside the room, Azul walks away a good amount of distance to ensure his call isn't heard and that he is not disturbing anyone. After a few good long rings, the phone can be heard with a click as someone on the other end picks up. “Why didn’t you pick up right away, Floyd?”

As you sniffle and sob due to the pain, Azul then lets go of the knife. Blue hand prints marked on the handle. In your hot tear-filled eyes you see someone walking up behind Azul, lifting him up to help him stand on his feet. Before you could fall down and hit your head on the floor, the same hands that pushed you into the knife catches you and keeps you still and standing. It hurts. It hurts so bad, blood seeping out of you much more than the amount of blood Azul was spilling when you had stabbed him. You watch. Watch as the person from behind places his hand on Azuls stab wound, and when he removes his hand it was like you had never stabbed him at all. It had disappeared as if it were magic. Or as if it were planned all along. You can see it so clearly yet the quality of your sight was so blurry and fuzzy. Finally, you can see Azuls face.

I hate you.

Azuls voice sounded firm and stern as ever through the phone and Floyd only clicks his tongue, seeming to sound slightly passive. “Why's it even matter? I still picked up.” Floyd sounds uncaring as ever as he holds the phone loosely in his hands, looking like it could slip out of his palms anytime. Though his long fingers ensure that isn't the case as they hold it securely in contrast. “That doesn’t answer my question, I need you to be more quick with it next time. Especially for this case in particular.” His eyebrows furrow a bit as he stands against the wall, your room being a while away down the hall. Sounds can be heard nearby but not close enough for him to worry for anyone to hear. “Yeah yeah I got it already, so hurry up n’ tell me what ya want already Azul. If you don't, I'll just hang up on ya.” Azul can hear him yawn on the other side of the phone and he can only sigh in annoyance, shaking his head slightly. “Did you and Jade take care of everything already? The cameras? The car?”

“Ya wanna find out? I’m kinda bored right now so why dontcha come by and check for yourself? Leave ya little “lover” for a bit since they’re awake, it's why ya called isn't it?” Floyd definitely was playing around with Azul, but he wasn’t having it. Not now, not in the mood to deal with him at the moment. “No need to worry Azul, Floyd is just messing around as per usual when he’s bored. In fact, he only is because we indeed have already finished everything as you requested of us.”

As you coughed out a bit of blood, you looked up to see Azul. A tall grinning figure behind him as a shadow looms across its face. So quickly, Azul pulls out the knife from you and another blood curdling scream is ushered out of you. Sobs and hot tears leak down your cheeks as Azul gives the blue and red knife over to the figure behind him. Swiftly, it grabs it and proceeds to wipe the knife clean away and free from ever being soaked in cherry and blueberry juices. The hands holding you up lets you go once again, and you fall into Azuls open arms. He holds you so tenderly and closely as you continue to cry and weep, crying so hard from the pain that it was getting harder to breathe. He was smiling. Even though he was there shushing you as one would to soothe a baby, brushing your hair with his fingers and holding you lovingly, you saw the look on his face. He was smiling. He looked so happy. Happy as you continue to suffer and become languished in his arms. You can't breathe.

Not anymore

The past you did know him. You knew him for two years and he shared a love life had a one sided love with you. He would walk with you behind you, lurking in the shadows as he imagined the both of you hand in hand. You two would watch movies together in your apartment as you snuggled in your blanket while he hid in your closet watching with you together. Taking showers together and sharing loving touches with each other, sharing intimate and passionate nights together . Ḩ̵̛̘̤͙͔̝̫̖̻̦̞͙̺̅̿͘͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ c̵̛̥͊ǎ̴̯̀͠ǹ̷̨͍̮̥̹̘͙̗̻̬̬̜̥̮̃̒̈́̽͗̿̍̄̂̏͆͠͝ ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅǹ̷̨͍̮̥̹̘͙̗̻̬̬̜̥̮̃̒̈́̽͗̿̍̄̂̏͆͠͝l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆y̶͔͗ i̶̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅm̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈ǎ̴̯̀͠ǧ̷̡̟̲̹̩̱͉̮̭͇͚̮̖̟̽̓͊̔̓̕inë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ m̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈u̷̬̩̰̫͕̘̔́̃̄̍͋̓c̵̛̥͊h̸̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͝ t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅi̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅl̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆ ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅt̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅǎ̴̯̀͠r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅs̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅ t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ ǎ̴̯̀͠c̵̛̥͊t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅu̷̬̩̰̫͕̘͎̔́̃̄̍͋̓ǎ̴̯̀͠l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆y̶͔͗ c̵̛̥͊r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠ǎ̴̯̀͠ṽ̵͇̟̺̣͓̰̭̲̼̻̪̩̰͒̓̿̄̾̔̊͝ͅë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ i̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅt̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅ.

You’ve known him a bit longer than two years, only two years of that lovely dating life that is trying to escape from him. T̷̡̧̬̲̭̦̘̩̊̉͛̓̓̌͌̕ẃ̸̝̝̰͋͒ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ y̶͗ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ǎ̴̯̀͠r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅ, ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅf̵̢̻͈̫̬̻͔̘̞͈̆̇��̈̌͊ͅ ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝i̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅm̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈ l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅṽ̵͇̟̺̣͓̰̭̲̼̻̪̩̰͒̓̿̄̾̔̊͝ͅi̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅǹ̷̨͍̮̥̹̘͙̗̻̬̬̜̥̮̃̒̈́̽͗̿̍̄̂̏͆͠͝ǧ̷̡̟̲̹̩̱͉̮̭͇͚̮̖̟̽̓͊̔̓̕ y̶͔͗ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅu̷̬̩̰̫͕̘͎̔́̃̄̍͋̓ s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅŏ̸̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ ṽ̵͇̟̺̣͓̰̭̲̼̻̪̩̰͒̓̿̄̾̔̊͝ͅë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠y̶͔͗ m̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈u̷̬̩̰̫͕̘͎̔́̃̄̍͋̓c̵̛̥͊ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝... T̷̡̧̬̲̭̦̘̩̊̉͛̓̓̌͌̕ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ m̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈u̷̬̩̰̫͕̘͎̔́̃̄̍͋̓c̵̛̥͊ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝.

…

You’re discharged on the same day. You are to be given therapy to treat and help your amnesia, but with Azuls wealth he instead hires a personal medical professional to tend to your needs. Azul pushes your wheelchair, your legs not at all stable enough to properly walk yet due to the head damage you received. Along with your actual physical injuries as well of course. “Azul, do you think I'll come to remember you again?” You ask as the sound of the wheels roll against the pavement road, his shoes softly clacking as he makes his way over to the slanted curb. “I hope so… I hope you remember all the memories we shared during those two years we were together, though if not then we can start anew. I’ll do my best to make you fall for me once again my dear angelfish.” His voice is full of gentleness despite the rough situation you were in, it felt like he was just putting up a brave front and broken inside.

You’ll love me now.

As you lay in his arms limply, the pain still lingering though your body starting to become peppermint cold, placing a chaste kiss on your head. You cried so much you practically had a hard time breathing. No. This whole thing was suffocating. Because even after all this time of trying to escape from him, he still continued to persistently stuck close by like some sort of annoying parasite. Yet here you are, finally in his arms with those hazing lost eyes of yours. “I’ll make sure to take good care of you, I promise…” Laying still and motionless, your cold body is hugged tightly and longingly in his tight embrace. In the distance of this blank space, a set of scorpion grasses sway in the wind… “We’ll be together forever… Forget me not, okay darling?”...

No response.

A black car with tinted windows eventually pulls up to the side where you and Azul were. As the car slows down to a stop besides you two, you are met with a man with sunglasses on and teal slicked back hair as the windows rolled down. “Came to pick ya up little guppie, ya missed me?” The driver tilts his head down a little as he pulls his shades slightly forward down his nose bridge and gives you a lazy smirk, waiting for an answer. Though you are only left confused and speechless. “Now Floyd, have you forgotten? Our dear friend Azul has a lover who suffers from an ailment traced back to an unfortunate incident.” Another voice can be heard coming from within the car yet you showed no new reaction.

“Guppy?”

“This is Floyd, he’s a little fickle to handle at times but still all the more reliable.”

“Hiyaaaa~” Floyd waves in an amble manner, lazily waving his hand to give off a more lax vibe. His voice sounded playful and refreshing to hear considering the given situation as he props his folded arm on the open window seal, his elbow pointed outwards.

“And you may refer to me as Jade.” A tall, well groomed, and neat looking man approaches you, his appearance was certainly something to take notice of. Something about these three, it bothered you in a quiet and lingering fashion. Despite their propper and civil introductions and interactions, they had this underlying and subtle adroit air around them that you couldn’t quite place your finger on. You give him a nod and Azul gently leads you over towards the car while Jade opens the back door for you.

“How’s shirmpy doin’ back there, comfy?” Floyds voice is painted into the car as he speaks and tilts his head back to meet your eyes – though a dull response slips from your lips as you sit there blankly. A nod is the only thing you give to answer Floyd and he turns his head back, pressing the gas pedal to move the vehicle forward.

“Where are we headed too?” Your voice still not entirely well, it sounded a little on the rougher end. Azul hands you a bottle and you drink it gratefully, while Jade and Floyd who don't move as they sit in front of your peripheral vision listen to the jazzy music playing from the aux. “Azul has a nice and comfortable residence to your taste. I hope it can help recall some forgotten memories.”

“Shouldn’t I go see my parents first?”

“They are rather a long distance away, my dear. For now you should rest up since our place is also quite the drive. I’ll wake you up once we arrive, alright?”

His hands soothe your hands in a comforting manner and you honestly did feel a little tired. Tired enough to lean against his shoulders and close your eyes. His smooth voice can be heard as a lullaby, humming along with the melody of the jazz playing at the moment. It was a nice and comfortable atmosphere perfectly conditioned to better your sleep.

“I’m glad to see that the pills really do live up to its reputation. Maybe I should look into the ingredients myself and do a side trade.”

“Bleh, imagine all the work for that. But it does sound fun, imagine all the sorts of people we’d run into~”

“A capitalist at heart I see Azul, but I agree. If it didn’t work as well as listed then we could have kept the pills for research purposes and have gained more from the sellers.”

The car is down the road, and as the hospital is slowly leaving the line of sight, the tree is seen with no leaves as a single bird is perched comfortably on its branch.

A/N: I'm going to be honest, this has been in my drafts for a damn near a long time and I’m really impatient. I wish this could have had better quality work but I just rushed it off so I could post it, but I hope you enjoyed the little idea I had! And honestly if you have any ideas to continue or add onto the storyline and plot feel free to do so!

#twst #twisted wonderland #azul ashengrotto #jade leech #floyd leech #i havent posted in a long while #life you know hahahahahaha #twst yandere #yandere azul ashengrotto #azul x reader #azul ashengrotto x reader #i forgot how to do tags lol #yandere azul x reader

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lydscare · 1 year ago

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ponyboy curtis dating/relationship headcanons pt.2

warnings/notes: ponyboy is a softie, half of these are about the gang’s reactions to y’all dating 😭; no warnings 🙌 (pony is a little insecure, though)

a/n: didn't realize that there's a word limit, so here's the second part to my ponyboy curtis dating/relationship hcs 😭

reader is gender-neutral / my masterlist

BUT he may put his arm around your shoulders, specifically if someone’s flirting with you and doesn't know that you’re taken

hand holding and cheek kisses are definately a go-to pda thing !!

speaking of, he does always get a little red whenever you lightly peck his cheek, he gets this shy little smile on his face :))

random “kiss attacks” all over his face also leave him a blushing, laughing mess

possibly a little suggestive, but he loves when you kiss him down his neck too (in private of course ;))

you guys have had makeout sessions before though

the first time you guys were getting into it (making out, nothing else 🙃) he didn’t know where to put his hands. hold your face? place them on your waist? (heh, that rhymes) he honestly has no clue, so please help guide him through it :’)

behind closed doors and away from prying eyes though, he loves to cuddle

on rough days he likes being held but loves holding you just as much

ponyboy’s definitely held you, your head on his shoulder, laying slightly on him. he’s reading to you, his fingers gently treading through your hair. his voice is very soothing to listen to

there will definitely be days where you both go to the curtis household and just chill in him and soda’s room

study dates would either take place in the library at school, or in his room on his bed

ponyboy was very nervous when he first introduced you to his brothers. they both mean the world to him, and he really wants you to get along with them

soda takes an immediate liking to you probably because he’s heard so much about you, before you and ponyboy were even dating. he’s interested in the learning about the person who’s stolen his little brother’s heart

“ah, the legendary mx. y/n l/n. i’ve heard a lot about you.”

“all good things, i hope?”

“please, ponyboy couldn’t name a bad thing about you if he tried.”

“soda!”

one time soda walked in on you two cuddling and being all cute. pony never heard the end of it 😭

soda teases pony relentlessly for y’ll’s relationship, whether you are in the house or not

“my baby brother is growing up so fast 🥹”

“soda, i’m 14–”

you two will just be heading up the stairs to pony’s room, and you’ll just hear soda’s voice behind you:

“keep it family friendly, you two ;)”

“shut your trap, soda!”

“whatever you say, ponywony 😘”

darry’s had to step in before because it’s gotten so bad 😭

at first darry didn’t have too big of a reaction when he found out that ponboy was dating someone, more specifically you; not meaning that he didn’t care. just, with his very stressful and busy life, he dosent have enough time on his hands to be concerned about who his brothers are dating. he knew that pony had a crush, but didn't think much of it—until he actually met you.

the minute ponyboy introduces you to him

oh boy

like he shakes your hand, and you thought you offended him or something

“y/n? are you okay?”

*whispers* “i think your brother broke my hand..”

you thought he was going to murder you for even looking in pony’s direction

don’t worry

it may seem that way, but he would never

not even close..

he just wants to make sure that you don’t have any..ulterior motives

then he sees how much happier a person ponyboy seems to be just by being around you

and sees that you’re a sweet kid

and then he reminds himself that you and pony are just two young teens in love, and is pretty much fine with you from then on

admittingly, he was a little concerned that you might have a bad influence on ponyboy overtime, and make his grades somehow start to drop

but then he walked in on you and pony studying in his room and all of his doubts melted away since then

darry would also be the type to peek in through the door crack every now and then just to see you two interacting and being all cute and couplely. has seen you two cuddle up and take a nap together (he was like: 🥹)

over time darry definitely becomes some kind of a big brother/father figure for you

you often find yourself over at the curtis household; it’s just very homey and comforting in being there (despite it being loud, and messy most of the time)

whether it be due to the fact that you have a bad home life or simply because you like the place, darry always assures you that you’re welcomed there (soda says this too, obvi)

over time, ponyboy introduces you to the rest of the gang

you yourself are a little nervous to meet the group of greasers, but that only ends up making poor pony nervous also

“pony, are you sure this is a good idea? i mean, what if they don’t like me–”

“no. no. no. don’t say that. this is going to go great, you’re all going to get along swell and NOTHING at ALL will go wrong”

“pony?”

“yeah, y/n?”

“..you’re suffocating my hand, sweetheart.”

anways

steve’s pretty chill with you

two-bit teases y’all (ponyboy) relentlessly

then there’s johnny, the main member of the gang who pony really wants you to get along with (pony’s probably talked to johnny about you too ;))

and…you do!

it takes a bit, but johnny actually finds himself being easily comfortable with you and opens up quite fast, all things considered

the rest of the gang is also just as surprised by this, that’s when they knew you were someone special (what, with your good looks, humor, and charm ;))

pony’s just so so happy that two of his favorite people get along, and even more so that the rest of the gang seems to accept you happily into their little family

and if you end up hanging out with them over time, it’s even better!

pony’s literally crying inside, he got so lucky 🥹

(wait, i forgot about dally–)

dally obviously contributes to a lot of the teasing, directed to both you and ponyboy.

“you’re growing up so fast, kid”

they can tend to be not very family friendly comments, which can make things awkward at times

“great i gotta ‘nother kid to watch out for. *mumbles* i hate kids, man.”

he pretends to be bothered by you whenever you end up taking along, but he’s honestly fine with it

he even comes to like you and you’re humor/personality :))

but anytime dallas makes you uncomfy with a particularly nasty comment or oversteps any of your boundaries, pony will tell him to leave you alone

dally is certainly surprised by this, but then sees that you’re helping pony be stronger in the way that pony’s not afraid of him anymore

despite him having more respect for ponyboy after any of these “protective pony” instances, he jokes about you two being sickening

he still has to keep up his “strong & tuff greaser that’s definitely not moved by two teens’ romance” front (stoic bastard–)

also, dally and johnny probably end up taking along with you guys on your dates (you end up having fun anyways though :))

in conclusion, the gang loves you, he gets you into books and you help him grow more happy and confident :))

#couplegoals, if i do say so myself

y’all make me feel so single, i swear 🥲–

#lydscare;#the outsiders #the outsiders imagine #the outsiders x reader #ponyboy curtis #ponyboy x reader #ponyboy curtis x reader #ponyboy michael curtis x reader #ponyboy imagine #ponyboy curtis imagine

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dawndelion-winery · 2 years ago

Text

Apricity

[The warmth of the sun in winter] - their favourite person and solace

Ft. Childe, Dottore, Scaramouche

Childe:

He think about how lovely you are every time he looks at you

The way any lighting is flattering on you in his eyes

It's like you've consumed his every waking thought

And he wants you to take full responsibility for it

It's why he can't resist touching you in some way or another, craving the contact to remind him that you really were just right there with him

He's giddy at your warmth, dizzy at the thought of holding you and being yours

Ajax has always thought you look loveliest surrounded by the glittering snow in his homeland, an undulating white as far as the eye could see, like a blank canvas that held only your splendour. He adored how even in the freezing cold, you seemed to glow - his personal warming seelie, as he had dubbed you affectionately. His feet lead him to you before he even realises it, and his arms move of their own accord as they wrap around you, pulling you into a loose embrace.

"As far as my ventures may take me, it would seem my path will only ever lead straight to you."

Dottore:

It's no exaggeration to call you the only warmth in his life

The doctor himself had always been a cold person

Yet there he was, all warm inside at the me thought of you

He loved noticing you in his peripheral vision as he worked, content with the knowledge that you were close

It's nice, he finds, to have someone listening intently to him voicing his thoughts even if he didn't need a response

That someone being you specifically because god forbid anyone else irk him with their presence

"Perhaps an actual human liver might work better here..." Zandik muses to himself.

"You really think so?" you chirped, admiring his thoughtful expression. How intently he analysed each component, disassemblimg and reassembling them, his pretty face scowling as he only grew more dissatisfied with each variation.

"Dearest, get over here," he instructed, setting his materials down. He pulled you into a tight embrace and tucked your head under his chin. When you tapped his arm to tell him you could barely breathe from how much he was squeezing you he told you to bear with it and suffocate for a bit until he felt better.

Scaramouche:

He'd never expected to be so successful in starting a new life after erasing his own existence

He's almost afraid to let you know the true extent of his devotion to you lest he jinx it and it all comes crumbling down again

But he can't hide the softness in his gaze whenever he sees you

Nor can he conceal the longing in his smile when you're so near, just close enough to touch

You can feel his eyes on you, intent in their observation. There's a melancholy in his stare, though not nearly as much as there is affection. His love is silent, like wordlessly draping a blanket over your shoulders as the night falls and taking a seat beside you.

He doesn't think he'll ever tire of you. As he lays his head on your shoulder, his eyelids begin to feel heavier. And as they flutter shut, his petty need to have the last word arises as always.

"Tell me that we're fine...and that you'll still be mine even if I lost my mind..." And then silence, his porcelain face still and tranquil - the only indicator of him not being a statue was that he'd occasionally shimmy closer to you.

Taglist: @myluvkeiji @aqui-soba @favonius-captain @tiredsleep @raincxtter @gensimping-for-all @irethepotato @almond-adeptus @mx-kamisato @yuzuricebun @chaosinanutshell @heizours @haliyamori @callmemeelah @sadlonelybagel @plinkuro @thevictoriousmoon @mastering-procrastinating @missesclaus @cxlrosii @miss-fantazmagoria @astrequa @kokomist @lemonswriting @eowinthetraveller @ajaxstar @boundedbyfate @the-lost-anime-dad @ash-astrophel @moonbyunniee @greyrain23 @heavenlyfloof

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blood-n-candy · 8 days ago

Text

Fragments of the one who trails smoke

Fandom: Pressure

Summary: You died to Chainsmoker, of all monsters of the Hadal Blacksite. You were ready to walk up to the box like usual, but something's wrong...

Warnings: Medical Trauma (I guess?), it's kinda angsty too

Yep. Somehow, you managed to die to Chainsmoker, the old man that “runs” around spreading those sulfur-smelling green smoke from his mouth.

Maybe you were too impatient, or maybe you misheard the chains for Pandemonium’s scraping metal, but that’s not the point. All that matters now is that the cleithrophobia kicked in at the wrong time and Mx. Chains got you.

You already know the drill: you’ll wake up on the island, you’ll walk up to the box, and once it opens your soul will be ready for Mr. Lopee to pick you up.

As you open your eyes… Something’s not right.

Sure, it is dark with neon green waters around… But that doesn’t look like the island you saw last time. No, this time the land looks bigger, it’s more of a coastline with lots of vegetation and a few houses nearby. A dark fog obscures the sight after 60 ft.

Suddenly, you see a girl no younger than 16 run through your body like a ghost.

You stumble a little, scared: how did she do that?

Immediately, somebody phases through you again: it’s now a very tall boy, of the same age as the girl. He has a green fish tail, dark green finned ears, and aqua green hair…

Huh. You already know a guy with the same characteristics, don’t you?

You see the two hug each other and kiss, ignoring you completely. Their voices are weird too: you see them whispering to each other, but you can still hear them echoing in your head.

“Chibuzor, if my parents see me with you they’re gonna kill me!” you hear the girl concerned.

“Your father knows me well, Folorunso,” replied the boy, “He wouldn’t be contrary to our love now, right?”

Folorunso steps back from her lover’s embrace, her eyes carrying such heavy sadness. The boy feels like she is bearing horrible news: “Folorunso, is something wrong?”

“Actually, yes… We cannot get married, Chibuzor. My father wants me to marry a man from Bakana…” The girl starts tearing up: “I’m so sorry my love…”

You see Chibuzor trying to confort Folorunso, but his words immediately get foggier and foggier as the dark smoke from afar envelops them and you. You instinctively raise up your arms to cover your face, but the only thing that happens to you is a sheet of paper flying into your forearm.

As the fog around you starts to slowly dissipate, you inspect the object: it’s a missing poster in English and Igbo, the person on the poster has again aqua green hair and dark green finned ears. He now looks like a mix between that Chibuzor guy and… Chainsmoker? Is this what tide looked like back in the day?

You thought you couldn’t imagine what kind of life kelp could’ve had before Urbanshade. Not that you could’ve asked kelp that much, you’re not as close to kelp as your fellow expendable Reby is. And now there you are, finding out that Mx. Chains once loved a girl but could not marry her, and that one day fin vanished…

Or so you thought.

In front of you, there’s now a small crowd, surrounding a blocked off crime scene with the police analyzing the case.

With your recently acquired knowledge that all of this is the recreation of a memory, you walk towards the police tape, ignoring the people speculating on what happened there. Once you reach the tape, you now can see what’s going on… And goodness gracious! The person on the poster is there, laying dead on the sand.

You do recall that from Chainsmoker’s section of the Z-283 document that fin was found dead in 2004, just to come back to life hours later in the morgue. If you connected the dots correctly, then this must be the moment his body was found by authorities… But how could he remember that if he wasn’t conscious at that precise moment?

You see the fog surrounding you again. You take a deep breath, close your eyes, and once you open them you find yourself somewhere very familiar: dark gray floor, blue walls, and black doors with led displays on the side… Yes, you were at the Hadal Blacksite again.

You see to your left a calendar, and you deduce from the page it displays that this particular fragment is set in September 2007.

Somebody is yelling in pain a couple of rooms away from you. The noise is quite muffled, but you manage to follow the source of the noise and arrive at a testing room with a giant cylindrical tank and a group of scientists with gas masks covering their faces.

In the tank there’s the same Chainsmoker from the last memory fragment, just a bit more chubbier, curled up on the bottom. A green gas comes out of kelps mouth as kelp screams: “LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT OF HERE PLEASE! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!”

The scientists don’t reply, they just keep taking notes.

The whole scene is deeply disturbing: how do those guys act like nothing in front of the pain Mx. Chains were going through? Why was he in the tank in the first place?

You feel compelled to find out more about what’s happening. Swallowing your apprehension, you get closer to peek at what are the scientists are writing: “Z-283 Medicine test n.12-”

Not even the time to finish the first phrase that the fog envelops you once more. This time, it leaves you in the darkness.

A familiar voice calls you: “Ah! There you are!”

You turn around to see Mr. Lopee is here. You run up to him, suspicious he has anything to do with what you just witnessed: “No, there YOU are! I just witnessed a fish man’s memories and I don’t even know why! You surely know how it happened, right?”

The black and green ghost grins at you: “Unfortunately not, young one, but it doesn’t matter. I now have to deliver you back to life, so that you can go back on your mission.”

Confused, you ask him again: “You don’t understand, I was-”

“Yes, you were supposed to end up on the island.” Mr. Lopee interrupts you, “Then again, I cannot explain to you properly why you ended up witnessing Chibuzor’s past memories, or why exactly those memories. Come on now, follow me.”

You follow Mr. Lopee in silence, but you can’t stop thinking about Chainsmoker: since you see him trailing the smoke around, that means that he’s in pain. Probably always has been ever since tide came back to life.

What could’ve he done to deserve this torture? Nobody will probably never figure it out.

#rebyswritings #rebysayswarning #cw medical trauma #cw medical abuse #roblox #roblox pressure #pressure #pressure fanfic #pressure chainsmoker #chainsmoker #pressure mr. lopee #mr. lopee #pressure au #human au #pressure human au

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via-the-cryptid · 1 year ago

Note

Fun idea:

While living in the Treehouse, Snow Queen starts to mom Finn (And probably calls him Gunther? Who knows) because he is a kid, and she and Simon live there so obviously he has to be their son right? Now they are a family and Simon its never going to leave again.

Also Simon unwittingly starts to dad Finn around because he is Simon and he cant go around wthout adopting a child.

Finn feels a little weird because, while he already had Joshua and Margaret, these two are humans (Or in case of Betty, mostly human) and he doesnt know how to feel about it. His relationship with Simon could be extra awkward depending if the events of The Citadel already happened and Martin is already going around.

sir ma’am or mx you are a genius.

I’m thinking the Sugar Snow War takes place before Finn goes on his dad quest, so at this point he’s still under the impression that he’s the only human around… except for Simon, who they pulled out of an icicle a while ago and who they haven’t seen much of since he went to the Candy Kingdom. he used to visit a lot when he was in Wizard City, but after that he sort of went quiet. now he’s back, with the Snow Queen who’s utterly doting on him and seems very clingy, and with Marceline, who’s a mix of happy that her adoptive mom got her beloved back, and absolutely pissed that her ex tried to imprison said beloved for blackmail purposes and then went on to destroy her mom’s entire kingdom. Marceline leaves shortly after making sure that SQ and Simon will be good to stay at the treehouse (Jake said yes and what Jake says goes), but that just leaves them with Snow Queen, Simon, Finn, Jake, BMO, Shelby in the walls, and also Gunther, who keeps disappearing randomly (presumably to also be in the walls).

and then Finn comes down from i go stroom for breakfast the next morning, and Snow Queen has already set a place at the table for him next to the penguin and Simon is making pancakes, which is Weird, and Jake is already eating the pancakes, which isn’t as weird but it is a little odd that he’s not the one making them. apparently these two want to contribute to the household or something? Finn doesn’t really mind, the pancakes are good and Snow Queen is being pretty civil.

then it starts to get a little weirder.

she put snacks and a couple ice knives in his backpack before he went adventuring, ‘just in case’? she asked if he remembered his sword and said to have fun in the dungeon? she’s offering him life advice that is probably very illegal but not actually that bad? y’know what, maybe he will beset a wizard with penguins the next time they try to take his stuff. Magic Man has it coming, anyways.

it sort of reminds him of his mom — Jake’s mom first, but Finn’s mom, too. she’d done this sort of thing with a little less crazy and a little more sensibleness, but it’s the same gist anyways. it’s only when Snow Queen tries to fix his hair before putting his hat on him and calls him Gunther that he realises she’s trying to parent him.

and honestly, he doesn’t know that he’s really that opposed to it. sure, it’s kinda weird, but she’s not actually hurting anything. Simon’s been following her example to some degree, helping Finn with puzzles and artifacts, telling him about human stuff from the past, suggesting new tricks and games to try, but it doesn’t really feel like Joshua’s ‘tough love’. it’s something different, something Finn doesn’t really remember experiencing before — the closest thing he’s had to this is Jake, who’s definitely never been quite so parental about his worrying.

honestly, his only questions at this point are whether it would make Marceline his older sister if Snow Queen and Simon tried to adopt him (it would), and whether Jake is getting adopted too (he is).

(side note — Finn isn’t quite so messed up about Martin in this au because as soon as the events of the Citadel have played out, he walks himself straight over to the Snow Kingdom and lays on the floor until someone asks him what’s wrong, and then he gets to have Family Therapy with his third set of parents, since the first are half-unavailable and half-terrible, and the second are no longer around. He also gets to hold a penguin the entire time which is very therapeutic and does not leave him with the desire to rip Martin’s arm off.)

#adventure time #snow queen au #betty grof #simon petrikov #petrigrof #petrigrof role swap #found family #finn the human #jake the dog #marceline abadeer #princess bubblegum #answered asks

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ixiot-ghostrebel · 2 years ago

Note

YOU. I LOVE IT EVERY BIT OF IT. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ITTTT ALSO IF CAN YOU MAKE A PART TWO IF YOU CAN??? ITS OKAY IF U DONT WANNA. MUAH MUAH TO YOU AND THAT ANON‼️‼️‼️‼️💗💗💗💗

THANK YOU SO MUCH, @raaaaaaahornetstinger! Here is the Part 2! I am so glad that you love Part 1! And, let's be honest, the oneshot would not have existed if not for the Anon and the headcanons XD Hope you enjoy this one!

Key Information: There is a time skip gape from Part 1 and Part 2. Part 2 is in Reader's POV, and it will begin with the Reader asleep, after the incident with Nahida and Venti. Reader does not know about Nahida and Venti's punishment given by the Imposter.

Click Me to Read Part 1!

𝐀 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞.

Warnings: Bad Grammar, Spelling Mistakes, Not Beta Read, OOC Characters, Implications of Violence, & Mind Control/Mind Manipulation.

Read if you are okay with these terms. Please also let me know if I missed a warning!

— — —

"MX. Y/N!!!" A child screams, running into my view. I don't remember the child's name, but I know who they are. They are familiar. They are someone from a village.

They grow up to be the next Blacksmith of the village, after their father.

They grow up and marry the whole-hearted, girl that would be a strong woman, working in their farm, selling their crops to make a living.

They become prosperous in their village, and make their friends and family proud.

It hasn't happened yet, but I know it would happen. Every child born in Teyvat, no matter who their parents are, I am their "Prime Parent," as the child would say as a joke. They are all my children-in-spirit.

I smile down at the child. "What is it, Little One?" I ask in a gentle tone, crouching down to get to their level. "What exciting adventure happened today?"

"Mx. Y/N! The Village Chief told me to bring you to our village!" the child replies happily, grasping one of my hands. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" They bounce up and down from their excitement. I chuckle at the child's antics, but I relent. Who could deny a child as adorable as this, anyways?

The path to the village was a fast blur, and all of a sudden, I am swarmed around by villagers, happily greeting me and hugging me, smiling and offering me trinkets and goods they have prepared for my arrival. I smile and wave, kindly accepting one or two things from each villager.

It was amazing.

It was lively. It felt like home.

"Happy Birthday to our Honorable and Forever Humble Guest!" The Village Chief shouts, raising his glass.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

—

I wake up, gasping.

Oh. Another one of those dreams again. Past memories of me being this "creator." Hah, how bittersweet. It seems like nobody can tell the difference, not even this world—Teyvat! If Teyvat doesn't even recognize me, how the heck will I ever survive this hunt?

More importantly, how the heck does someone break the mind control the Imposter has over everyone?

I sigh, finally getting my breathing under control. These questions will have to wait for another day—I still don't know much about it. It's not everyday you read a sagau fanfic about the Imposter being a smartass. It's even more rare to hear about mind control! What was this, the Zombie Apocalypse?

I sigh again, sitting up from the grass I was laying down on. Like usual, my clothes were a mess. But there was not time to dwell on that. I get up from where I slept—under a big tree—and begin to walk cautiously through the area.

I need to find a way to enter Inazuma, to get to the Statue of Seven. Surprisingly, getting dendro was a whole lot faster than getting Electro. Mainly because Inazuma is an island.

While I could just use anemo to fly across the sea, there is only one issue: my anemo powers are much stronger if I stay in Mondstadt, and no where else.

Building a bridge made of geo to Inazuma? It'll probably die a quarter way there, honestly. And there's no way in the hell would dendro be of use in this situation—unless you count walking on kelp and seaweed to be an option (probably still unlikely though).

I sigh again, exhausted. This was going to be so difficult than I thought it would be.

If only I could just use waypoints like the Traveler!

As I continue to walk, I begin to wonder what real purpose there is for my existence here. Sure, I'm the creator and all, cool, amazing, but what am I suppose to do when literally everyone I ever care and love and simp for decides to throw me out the window, willing to rip my guts open because my Imposter called me the imposter?

At this rate, now knowing that the imposter is smart and can literally mind control people, I'm starting to lose hope. After all, how was I suppose to defeat a tyrant all by myself?

I sigh again, this time more frustrated. I kicked the dirt beneath my feet. So annoying—my hope leaving me, my courage turning into fear and leaving me begging for my life...

If only I could do something about it all...

Wait a minute.

The dream I had earlier. The village. Where was it? Where did it originate from? All the details I remember...the child, becoming a blacksmith, the child's wife...a birthday surprise, a banquet...

What did all of this add up to? There had to be a meaning behind it, just like all of the other ones I've been getting every time I get some shut eye.

I hide behind the nearest thing closest to me—a tree—as I hear footsteps. I continue to think. I closed my eyes, concentrating. Where was that village...

Oh. Oh, I am such an idiot. That village.

It was where Khaenri'ah used to stand, before Khaenri'ah even stood. I don't know how I know, but I do. I know where it is. I guess it's some sort of gut feeling.

Time to look through the Abyss, I guess..? But how do I even get there in the first place? And, more importantly, would the Abyss Order attack me on sight? (They probably will, I mean, who am I kidding? They probably loathe the Creator anyways for what they've become.)

Well, one way to find out, I guess. No hope left, but this was a lead onto something. And it's better to try than to give up, right? Besides, who else would if I didn't?

I wait for the rest of the footsteps to fade, before bolting to the location that I have engraved in my mind. I will not be dying today, nor ever. That much, I will bring with me.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒅.

Ghost Rebel Side Note: I don't think this one was as good as Part 1. To this, I apologize 😭 I am so sorry for making this a lower quality than the previous part! It honestly feels so rushed—I'm so sorry 😭 My motivation ran dry.

Will I make a Part 3 for this? Maybe, but it will take some time—motivation comes in sparks and it lights a fire before it disappears once it finds no more roots to burn :')

Also, since I'm at it...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR a) 4000+ LIKES AND b) 100 FOLLOWERS! Y'all are great, I swear 😭

Check the Ghost Rebel's Blog Description to See if Their Mailbox is Open!

#yandere sagau #sagau genshin #genshin impact sagau #genshin sagau #sagau #sagau impostor au #sagau angst #self aware genshin #genshin cult au #sagau cult au #genshin self aware #platonic genshin x reader #genshin x reader

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samlacy · 1 year ago

Text

Your only flaw is that you’re flawless

yes the title is from a the neighborhood song bc I love them sm.

words: 2.6k

contains: pure angst, inaccurate Hobie, cheater Hobie, gender neutral!reader, feeling description, kind of manipulative Hobie, mental breakdowns, depressive state

REMEMBER THIS IS ALL FICTION, I KNOW HOBIE WOULD NEVER ACT LIKE THIS!!!

requests are open :))

One by One, rain dropped on the closed car window. Drop by drop, another tear spilled out of your eyes. Sound by Sound, your body got weaker and you felt like curling into a complete ball.

Lucky enough, there were no thunderstorms that made you shock your body every once a while. Instead of that, it was dead silent. Only the rain falling down, making a splash sound was to be heard. Followed with the sobs of your own.

The car was turned off and in parking mode. No engine working. You were sitting in the drivers seat, crying your feelings away. As if crying helped you with anything.

In the backseat were those oh-so-sweet handwritten letters from you, they were kinda creased since you had a deathly grip on them back there. An used-to-be beautiful red and pink bouquet of flowers was laying there, but it sadly was ruined by the heavy rain and some leaves dropped down on the street while you were running with heavy breaths leaving your mouth.

Why were you crying?

Joy overfilled you as the sun almost was setting, you had handwritten letters and a rose bouquet in your hands. You styled your hair and wore the fanciest clothes your lover Hobie loved.

You were absolutely excited about meeting him in the restaurant you booked a reservation for. It was a four star restaurant, which was quite expensive, but totally worth it!

The car was parked by the park in front of the restaurant, where it was hidden behind the trees.

With a heavy breath and a big smile you entered the restaurant. You walked along the long hallway before stopping by a lady behind the counter.

She seems nice, were your thoughts before spoke up to her.

“Hello, I had a reservation under the name (Your Lastname)”, The lady took a glance at you before looking back at the computer and typing something.

Your fingers were on the high counter and tapped it patiently as your eyes drifted into the beauty of the place. It was huge and had a gold & white theme.

Almost like a whole Palace.

“Here, go straight across and there will be a big door. From there on you can find your table”, she hands out a number that let you through the security, as she nods and grins.

You smile back before heading to the instruction she gave you. Since no one was there in the hallways, you decided to skip your way to the door.

Nothing wrong with letting out your inner-child, right?

You reached the door, pushing onto it to open. It was as heavy as it seemed like. With the strength you had, you went through and were fascinated by the amount of people plus how pretty it was here.

Not wasting much time, you made sure to find your table. For your luck, you found it and Hobie was sitting there. Not alone though.

There was a waitress, what you assume, hanging around him. She ran her hands all over his shoulders as she was rubbing and getting too close to his face.

At first, you thought she tried to hit on him, but Hobie would for sure push her away!

Or so you thought.

The sight was shocking, not in a good way at all.

Hobie pulled her by the necktie as he whispered into her ear and she clearly blushed and whispered back.

Hobie moved his seat back, stood up and took her with him, somewhere you don’t even want to know about.

All that happened in one singular minute.

The wine glasses on the table showed he was probably drunk and wouldn’t remember this by the next day, but they were full. Not even half empty, completely full.

You didn’t feel the tears fall down, your hands creasing the fresh letters and the shaking of your body making the leaves on the roses slowly fall down.

A voice came closer, triggering you.

“Mx, are you okay?”, it was gentle and with worry, but your heart was aching so bad.

With no words you ran out. The once heavy door seeming completely featherweight, as you pushed yourself through and ran. Just ran.

Out of the restaurant to the park, running as much as you could. The ache in your lungs getting close to the pain in your heart. Good, that was what you were going for.

You couldn’t think of doing anything else than running as fast as you could. No matter how many times you almost tripped over.

It all came to an end when rain started to pour, your car in your viewpoint and breathing was hurting.

Was your flaw of being flawless too much that Hobie had to cheat?

It felt like someone was stabbing you everywhere, multiple times with no mercy. As if someone ripped your organs out and forced you to swallow them.

Again and again.

Non-stop.

You grabbed your car keys and opened the car, before storming in and throwing the roses and letters into the backseat.

Doors slammed shut as you opened the air conditioner. One punch was enough for you to relax, but of course your car doesn’t deserve it.

It did nothing, but what did you do for him to do this?

Seriously, what have you NOT done?

Your screams and whines with full anger stopped as the tears started rolling again, unstoppable. Sob after sob, cry after cry.

You tried wriping them away with your hands, but it was useless as you only cried more and more.

Your breathing was abnormal and shakey, you couldn’t even speak if you tried to, everything was too much.

The styled hair you put some much time on and the fancy clothes you thought of wearing because Hobie liked it were all soaked. With the rain and your own tears.

You didn’t put a lot of make up on since Hobie didn’t like it, but it all was smushed making you for sure look like a drug addict.

Not much spent, you turned on the engine and drove to your apartment, which you gladly didn’t share with Hobie. Even though you two talked about moving in together for months.

I guess it was all talk and no do.

You took your shoes off as fast as you could, fast walking to your bedroom as you threw yourself on the XL twin bed. It didn’t matter anymore that everything would get wet, nothing mattered.

The uncomfortable sticky feeling of the clothes sticking on your body was quite annoying for you, so you decided to finally stand up from your depressed state and change into a pair of hoodie and joggers, with new socks.

You can shower tomorrow, right now you begged for sleep just to forget you even exist for a while. That anything exists.

If there even is a god up there, may it please be in a good mood so you can get over Hobie as quick as possible.

Multiple missed calls and messages ringed on your phone, waking you up from the comfortable state you were in, which changed into a bad aura.

With a huge annoyed sigh you opened your eyes with the slightest to check who was annoying on 9am in the morning.

Hoboo<33

Babe

Where are you?

Babyyyyy

My boo whats wrong???

*send 9:47pm

Answer me, what the fuck is wrong???

I’m coming over

open the door when I’m there

*send 8:56am

Asshole. That was the only word that went through your mind as you put your phone into ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode and left to go to the bathroom.

Usually you always ate breakfast before going to the bathroom, but this time you felt like not eating anything in the morning. The appetite wasn’t there.

The lights of the bathroom flickered before brighting up the small space and make your eyes hurt.

You splashed cold water on your face after the whole brushing teeth and mouth cleansing stuff. Even if you went to a depressive state, it did not mean you couldn’t take care of yourself.

Right when you were leaving the bathroom, a harsh knock was on the door. Not even a knock, straight up a banging sound.

As the dumbass you are, you walked to open it. Seriously did you forget the ‘don’t open the door to strangers’ rule? And to top it all you forgot that Hobie was coming over.

The so called stranger was Hobie when you opened the door by the slightest. As soon as you realized with wide eyes and made eye contact, you tried slamming the door shut on his face, just for the effort to go to waste by a harsh push from the other side.

Hobie barged in, making you let go and step back while he closed the door behind him. Not even bothering to take off his shoes.

“Leave”, were the only words you were able to let out, with a disappointing mumble voice.

“Why?” he sighed before continuing, “What did I do wrong, Why did you ignore my messages, love?”

There was that sweet raspy voice. The sweet voice you would just dream of ending with one punch, as much as it would make your heartache worse after.

None of you spoke as the silence increased. It wasn’t those romcom silence where it had something comforting in it, instead it was those ones that made you blast music to the full volume as long as it meant you wouldn’t hear the other person even breathe.

“Are you seriously crying?” this time it was obviously mockingly, enough for you to snap as you tried to push him out the apartment.

“Please, just leave. I don’t wanna do this, leave!”, your voice went high pitched at the end, shocking hobie that you snapped at him.

Your pushes didn’t make him move one inch. But after a while Hobie tried moving a little to give you the satisfaction of you actually moving him.

The hoodie wasn’t holding you warm anymore as you bursted into more tears, clearly sobbing loudly. You tried swinging your fists against his chest, instead getting held by your wrists with his cold hands equally to his cold heart. Yet they felt so comforting.

You really were a freak, huh.

He pulled you into a hug, warm enough to make you cry more and more. Breath shakey and unable to breathe almost. Eyes swollen from all the crying.

Your fists were on his chest, still trying to push away, break out of the overwhelming comfort. The unwanted comfort. Yet your body wanted it more than anything.

“Baby, tell me what happened, let me fix it, please” Hobie broke the silence as he laid his chin on top of your head. Shushing you.

“P-please.. Just leave, please”, with a sigh Hobie gave up and let go of you, clearly not wanna deal with this any further. You step one step away as you avoided eye contact.

He walked back to the door and left it slamming, with no last words. Silence again, the not so comforting silence.

You hated it the most, you would rather have kids screaming here instead of this lonely silence. Anything to make you feel alive and live life.

Were you asking for too much?

‘But isn’t that too risky?’

‘Just believe me’….

A kids show ran in front of you on the TV as you sat down and watched it with no complaints. Usually you couldn’t change it with Hobie since he is the one who can choose what to watch, but now you are alone.

Maybe forever or temporary.

Who knows? But you for sure have an assume.

You couldn’t dare touching the TV remote by a fear taking you over. You didn’t know why or what that fear was.

It was just,

there.

Same for the feelings you still have about Hobie. Anyone by now would have gotten over it and plan a revenge. But you didn’t feel like moving at all. You only ate a sandwich from a friend that was sitting in the fridge.

For the past hours you were also just sleeping as you kept going through the memories.

The time where Hobie stood in front of your doorway with your favorite candy and a bag full of your favorite sodas.

It made you so happy, fill up with joy, just the thought made you smile in your head.

Even though he threatened to leave just because you refused to have a quickie for the night.

But that wasn’t Hobie right? He would never do that!

It’s all in your head, of course it is.

Same with how yesterday you were in the restaurant all happy and joyful just to find out he was cheating on you.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding? But the grip he had on her waist as his eyes fixated on her body, and the way he dragged her to the direction of the bathroom.

Were you genuinely overreacting or was this all valid?

Please, god above, help this poor soul.

‘I love this coffee type!’

‘Seriously? I hate it!’

You were sitting in a coffee shop after 6 days of rotting at home. Till now you had no messages or ideas of how Hobie is doing.

Other than that, you finally decided to go outside and maybe look if that would help you relax and move on.

You didn’t even really know if y’all broke up, but either way you felt like, breaking up.

Just throwing him away like he did to you.

Even if it meant regretting it for a few days or weeks while your heart aches non stop.

Even if it meant having to throw out or give the stuff back he seems to give you, even though he never let you touch them or wear them.

You sighed once again before sipping on the Latte you got. It did not taste the same, it was rather, sweet? The other times when Hobie recommended it, it was spicy and kinda burned.

Whatever, it doesn’t have to do with anything.

“Please, Let me in. I just wanna talk, love”, Hobie was talking to you from outside of the door, as you stopped yourself from crying in front of it.

You couldn’t take it anymore, you had to snap now or later.

“Fucking leave me alone, asshole! You weren’t this nice when cheating on me. I was so happy and reserved the restaurant for us two and bought you presents. Just to see you hook up with some woman like a total slut! Fuck you”, you screamed at the top of your lungs as you fell on your knees and laid your head between your arms, almost curling into a ball.

Dead silence. As expected, it was always that uncomfortable silence that made you feel like puke all over the floor and punish yourself for being so disgusting.

“I did not know. Baby, come out. Let’s talk, I can do it good for you”, he tries once again, like always. What does he not try? Probably murder. Since you are not worth getting his hands dirty.

“Fuck off before I call the police”, you say mid sobs, trying your best to show up dominant, just to sound whiney instead.

Hobie sighs loud enough for you to hear it and just want to punch him in the head with full force. Hopefully letting him get a brain damage.

“I’m sorry, just call me when you wanna talk. This will not be my last time coming here”, he promises before disappearing into the dark alleyways of the midnight.

You were on your knees with hands on the floor holding you up straight as you cried your heart out. The heart ache was getting worse by time as you couldn’t hold in everything anymore.

Why are break ups so disgustingly hard to do?

If only you could let it slide by a snap and go on with your life. Hopefully your healing journey would go well as Hobie finally disappeared.

Ready to start a new chapter and try to be less submissive and easy to manipulate.

Your only flaw being flawless was surely a way of others finding a flaw on you.

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sleepdeprivedsimp234 · 11 months ago

Text

NY headcanon post!! <3

Headcanons:

-scrawny sad angy cat man

-the tallest of their brothers, around 5'10

-he's also the youngest sibling cuz I said so <3

-he/him, they/them pronouns

-would absolutely be the biggest sweetheart if life for him wasn't the entire "r/f*ckyouinparticular" subreddit

-he's usually nice when he wants to be, which doesn't happen to often (it does but he doesn't know how to express it)

-it's pretty much agreed by the whole fandom that he's 10 cats in a trench coat right? Thought so.

-^loves headpats, head scratches, chin scratches, pets, and all that jazz and will lay in your lap and purr. (That sounds weird but oh well I am weird-)

-^climbs on everything. They're really good at it too. If theyre being chased by one of their brothers or friends (they have those??? 😨😱), theyll find the nearest tall object (like a tree. Or the fridge. Or the vents.) and climb it/into it.

-^is always protecting their stomach like a damn cat. If he's fully relaxed and laying down around you and not tense and curled up, consider getting a lottery ticket cuz you sir/ma'am/Mx. are lucky as hell.

-^has claws, but has almost no idea how to use them. He just knows to swing and hope they hit their target.

-^✨fangs✨

-he's actually very good at cooking and loves cooking for people! Though as for themself, it's either nothing, a cup of coffee, or some random thing he finds.

-*points* AUTISM. ADHD. PTSD. DPD. BPD. DEPRESSION. ANXIETY. PANIC DISORDER. GO TAKE YOUR MEDS NEW YORK BEFORE I BEAT YOUR A-

-I'm very nice to them and I've given him: anemia, insomnia, an iron deficiency, and asthma, as well as misaligned leg bones (courtesy of England and my f*cked up brain) and chronic bodily pains (courtesy of me projecting)

-doesn't know what sleep is.

-will sleep when hell freezes over

-sunbathes in the sunlight like a damn cat tho.

-cannot handle being pinned down in any circumstance. It gives him BAD flashbacks.

-will snuggle up to the OG13 and Main 6 any day, but ESPECIALLY when it's a bad day with his ptsd. They feel safe around the others. And the others will protect him at any cost.

-He has a very hard time figuring out whether or not all the BAD stuff is over :(

————————

@misery-has-no-company-now @almostangrything @alaskashigh @stawpny <— professional NY simps /lh/silly

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #ben brainard #wttt #wttsh #wttt new york #wttsh new york

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galedekkarios · 9 months ago

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mx galedekkarios dot tumblr dot com may i please have some gale and/or bloodweave hcs from your big beautiful mind 👉👈 (or honestly just any longform post of bg thoughts at all bc ur tags keep inflicting me w gory stickmen disease and wanting to read more ;;)

oh anon whadda hell.. u flatter me. 🫶 i unplugged my brain real quick and gave it a shake and this is all what fell out (some are mature):

in a modern au, gale's second favorite cuisine (after greek ofc) is east asian! he loves to both eat it and cook it from scratch. chinese, korean, japanese, etc. he's even good at other asian cuisines like thai and vietnamese. he's gotten very familiar with a lot of recipes and actively tries to learn more. when he doesn't feel like cooking that night, he opts for takeout. he's been a loyal customer of a handful of restaurants for so long that they already know his tastes too.

the only reason why gale's students don't try to flirt with him is because he's too much of a "my wife" guy. he's always wearing his ring, always talking about his partner, and has portraits of them in his office and everything. there's just no way you don't know that he's happily taken. you could be talking about the most random thing ever and he'd be like "omg! this reminds me of how my partner blahblahblah—" and everyone else is just like 😐 because he's already told this story five times before. not even tara is safe from this (and she was probably present for whatever story it is this time, too!). [this is assuming his students are older / uni prof]

i think gale would be the type of person to have a very Intense gaze without meaning to. the kind where you can feel it whenever he's looking at you. or when he's gazing at you lovingly, or even just looking you in the eye as you speak, it's almost too much. it's just so earnest, so sincere, so... intent on witnessing you and really paying attention, that it's like. whoa man. whoaaaaaaa now let's fucking chill before i blink and realize i've fallen in love with you alright 😳 (and, of course, this Greatly unsettles astarion in the beginning bc he's someone that can't afford to be seen.)

i know in my heart that mr "mine was a popular hand at the annual blackstaff's ball" + bagged a goddess + with the way i talk you can't be surprised i'm a generous munch + wyll, is it true that ppl think wizards don't fuck? :( bc i assure you we absolutely do!!!!! + mystra had pleasure domes dekarios was a hot girl once and his pussy still does pop severely. he's just in his depression era rn 💔

wyll calls gale elegant, minthara calls him dashing, shadowheart says he smells like a wealthy dowager, lae'zel assumes correctly that he had many tutors in his youth, and gale frequenting the temple of beauty in waterdeep all make me feel like gale x astarion are very the lady and the tramp coded. after they get married, they're old money x new money.

gale is always eager to teach astarion new spells, but astarion only gets excited about the ones that either help him be a better scoundrel and/or that spice up their sex life. which like. is still a win for them both either way

um. throat goat. that's it that's the headcanon sorry except it's also not really a hc bc he alludes to this but it's important to me tht we repeat it. but also maybe it shocks astarion the first time he's on the receiving end of it like boy WHAT!!!! you didn't tell me you was a freak like that!!! literally that damn shawty ok meme. gale gives him such wet sloppy glizzy gluck that it makes astarion feel like he has to wipe his ass afterward smh

neither of them want to get anywhere near bugs, but in any au gale would be the type to take it outside and astarion would just kill it using one of gale's 39304308309 books laying around

gale struggles to catch sarcasm and astarion loves to rile him up and take the piss out of him for it. lovingly ofc. whenever gale does understand astarion's sarcastic comments, he feels very proud of himself.

astarion sometimes drops things on purpose just to watch gale bend over. sorry (i'm the one that's sorry, not him btw)

#💜💜#long post

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mr-damian-s-power · 4 months ago

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The Last Canem - chapter three: Memory Lane part one

James is taken to meet a few new faces who could help him. Meanwhile, Raine takes a trip through the boy's memories.

Buckle in, this is a big one!

Just a sidenote, Eda swears in this chapter. Come on, don't act like she isn't the type to do that.

Please, by all means, tell me what you think? Comments, reblogs, asks, anything! It doesn't even matter if you loved it or hated it, tell me all your thoughts.

AO3 link:

Morning rose over the Boiling Isles. The sun shone in the sky, Bird Demons chirped, and Raine Whispers stirred in their bed. Slowly, their eyes cracked open as their body took it's time waking up. As this happened, they wondered what they should do today. Perhaps they should go and visit Eda to see how she is. They were sure they were going to do that yesterday after work, but something came up and distracted them. Raine racked their awakening brain trying to figure out what it was.

Then, another question came to their head; What were they holding onto?

Even with their sleep-addled mind, Raine could tell that...something was holding onto them. And they were holding onto it. As they gained the feeling in their hands again, they could feel that the thing was warm and moving and...furry? This only added to Raine's sleepy confusion. Had some kind of animal snuck into their bed? Why were they hugging it?

It was only then did it come to them what exactly was beside them. James, the Canem boy they had found yesterday and brought in. Yes, it was slowly coming back to Raine. Last night he had a nightmare, seemingly about his past, and they had allowed him to stay the night in their bed. They hadn't been woken up and he was completely quiet save for his breathing, so having someone beside him must have helped with his nightmares.

The Bard Witch reached an arm back to their bedside table and picked up their glasses, putting them on to see the boy better. As expected, the black-furred Canem lay there, still fast asleep and cuddling up to them. Raine couldn't help but smile at seeing the boy. He looked so peaceful, they almost didn't want to wake him. From his silent answer to their question last night, they guessed that he hadn't had a peaceful night in a long time. Raine would have gladly allowed James to sleep longer, but the both of them had things to do today.

"James, it's time to wake up." They whispered gently close to his ear. The Canem boy stirred and made a soft groan. Slowly, he woke up as he stretched his arms and let out a long yawn. He blinked his eyes open and looked up, his soft brown and black eyes squinting up into Raine's green eyes.

"Good morning, James. Did you sleep well?" They asked softly. James seemed to ponder on this question be for the smallest of smiles came across his face.

"Very...well, Mx. Whispers!" He replied, looking down and quickly taking his hands off of Raine, "Oh, u-um, sorry. I-I didn't...mean to-" They raised their hands to quiet James.

"Please, you don't have to keep apologising to me." They said, "You were frightened and sought comfort in another person. Believe me, I will not hold such things against you. If you require more comfort, I am always available."

James almost didn't know how to respond. Not only had Raine helped him calm down after a nightmare AND allowed him to stay the night in their bed, but now they were offering to repeat that for him anytime he wished. A look at their face didn't show a hint that they were joking in any way. "Th-Thank you! He whispered, feeling a tear drip from his eye as he let out a breathy laugh, "Thank you so much!""

Raine reached a hand forward and wiped the tear away with their thumb. "I am always happy to help you." They replied, stroking the back of their fingers down the boy's furry cheek, "Now, would you like to accompany me for some breakfast?" James' floppy ears raised slightly at the mention of breakfast as he shyly nodded. "Very well, come!"

The Bard Witch took the covers off of themself and stood. They walked around the bed to James. They helped him sit up and took his paw as he slowly rose to his feet. He wobbled slightly, but centred himself quickly, applying and taking weight off of his previously injured leg. It...didn't hurt! It was healed! He couldn't help but smile as he leaned upon his leg and bounced on the spot. Raine saw movement behind James and noticed his tail appeared to be...wagging. Their chest filled with warmth at such an adorable sight.

With Raine by his side and holding his paw the whole way, James was lead out of the bedroom and sat down at the table. "Oh yes, I probably should have asked yesterday, but is anything you cannot eat?" Raine asked, "Any allergies, or intolerances I should know of?" James hummed before shaking his head. "Marvelous! Allow me a moment."

The Witch went off to the kitchen, returning a minute later with two bowls of warm oatmeal, placing one before James and the other at their seat as they sat down. "Now remember what Belladonna told you." Raine said, "Your stomach has likely shrunken from malnutrition and you may only be able to eat a small amount. Eat your breakfast slowly and only what you can. We don't want you to make yourself sick."

James nodded and picked up his spoon, taking a scoop, blowing on it and putting it in his mouth. His eyes widened at the still noticeable heat, but it otherwise tasted really nice. As soon as he had swallowed the scoop, he was going in for another. This did not go unnoticed by Raine. "Do you like it?" They asked.

James looked up, licking off some oatmeal that accidentally got onto his nose. "It's...really nice!" he mumbled, his voice muffled by the food as he gave a small smile, "Thank you, Mx. Whispers."

Raine chuckled. "Please, there's no need to be so formal." They said with a little handwave, "You can just call me Raine, dear." James shrunk his head into his neck in embarrassment, his cheeks heating up under his fur. Despite his embarrassment, something swelled in his chest. Mx. Whis- Raine was okay with him referring to them by just their first name. The Canem didn't want to hope, but it seemed that the teal-haired Witch was warming up to him. It made him feel...happy.

"Oh, o-okay, Raine dear." He replied with a small smile as Raine chuckled at his joke, "Um, what do we do...now?"

"Today, I would like to see what you have experienced!"

James stopped. A scoop of oatmeal he was about to eat hung in the air on his spoon as he froze up, eyes widening. See what he had experienced? How could someone do that? "W-w-what?" He squeaked, his shock catching Raine's attention.

"To better help you deal with your trauma, I believe a good start would be to see first-hand what has happened to you in your past." Raine explained. James seemed to shrink into his seat, a whine sounding in his throat. "I can promise you, this procedure will be completely harmless and help me in helping you. I only ask that you trust me." James looked down, moving his spoon around in the remaining oatmeal. Could he trust Raine on this? They had shown themself to be very trustworthy so far.

"How...How can you...see my memories?" James asked with a shaking voice. By the Titan, he hoped he didn't have to relive those terrible times again.

"There is a way to enter someone's memories and view them as though I were really there." Raine said, "I'm unfortunately not very well-versed in this magic, but my partner Edalyn is." James remembered Raine mentioning someone named Edalyn last night. They must have been close to be labelled as their partner. The Witch mentioned how they would 'trust Edalyn with my life', which was a good sign that this Edalyn could be trusted.

"I-I don't know!" James said, interlacing his fingers and looking down at them. Raine stood and walked around the table, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Edalyn may be rough around the edges and...a bit much at times if I'm perfectly honest, but I love her regardless. She is not one to turn away a child such as yourself." Raine explained, "So, can you trust that I still and will always have your best interests at heart?"

James looked back down. He had only known the Bard Witch for less than a day, but in that time they had shown themself to care about him and his well-being. Why else would they have allowed him into their home, eat their food and stay in their bed? "When can we...see Edalyn?" He asked, looking back up into Raine's eyes.

"If you are all prepared and have eaten all you can, I could go and get myself dressed and leave?" Raine replied. James looked down at his bowl, where half of it's contents still remained. Even after only that, he felt full. He nodded. "Very well. Allow me just a moment and then we can be off."

Once Raine had gotten themself dressed, they and James made for the door. They grabbed a staff and opened the door, walking a small distance. "Now, James, have you ever flo-" They stopped when they realised James wasn't beside them. Turning around revealed he was still standing on the doorway, holding his tail as his eyes darted in all directions. "James, are you okay?"

The Canem boy looked forward with a worried gaze as he whined softly. What had gotten into him? Why didn't he want to go outsi-. It clicked for Raine what the matter was. "Are you worried for your safety outside?" They asked. James nodded his head.

"My dear, there is nothing in our vicinity that will harm you. Not while I'm here, at least." James seemed unconvinced, twisting his tail in his paws. Raine thought for a moment before their eyes fell on something that could help. They walked back and grabbed a large cloak by the door, putting it around the boy.

"Here, maybe this will ease your worry." They said, putting the clock's large hood up. It was fit for an adult Witch, and so covered James' entire body. The hood was larger than he expected, draping over his face. "There you are! With this on, nobody will know what you truly look like without a close look. Thankfully, we will not be around anyone I don't trust. What do you think, my boy?"

James looked at himself in a mirror. Staring back was a big brown cloak with his furry face poking out from under the pulled-back hood. Every feature that could have denoted him as a Canem was hidden. His fur, his face, his paws. It was perfect! He looked at Raine and gave a small smile. "Thank you!" He said gratefully. The boy could feel his tail wagging under the cloak.

Raine patted James on the shoulder and lead him outside to the hovering staff, where he much more confidently followed. "Tell me, James, have you ever flown before?" They asked, taking a seat on the staff and patting the spot behind them. James looked confused at the staff and shook his head as he sat down upon it. "I would like you to know that this is a perfectly safe mode of transportation, although feel free to hold on if you're unsure. Oh, and best not look down."

James cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Raine's words. What did they mean by that? "W-Why shouldn't I look dow-WOOOOAAAAAAAAH!" He shrieked as the staff suddenly took off and zoomed into the sky. The poor boy instantly wrapped his arms around Raine's body with an iron grip as he screamed his lungs out. The Bard Witch couldn't help but let out a wheeze from the squeeze they received.

The pair soared upwards on the staff before reaching a comfortable cruising height. James had his face pressed against Raine's back and his eyes screwed shut as he still screamed. "James, please calm down!" They tried to call over the sound of his screaming, "You're okay! You're not going to fall." The Canem cracked an eye open and looked around. He...was okay!

He loosened his tight grip on Raine and fully opened his eyes in wonder. His hood had been blown down by the wind, allowing it to blow through his fur. It felt good! He dared himself to look down, where he saw the landscape that appeared so small as it rushed past him. James couldn't stop a small smile from crossing his muzzle. He took a hand off of Raine and stuck it out, feeling the wind rush past his paw. He couldn't help but laugh a little. This was fun! His joy didn't go unnoticed by Raine.

"You see, you're in no danger." Raine said, looking over their shoulder, "I know flying can be a bit frightening on your first go around." They chuckled lightly. "I remember I cried the first time I got on a staff myself."

"Really?" James asked, "Did...anyone see?"

Raine pursed their lips. "Only my entire class!" They answered, "They called me Cry-Rainey for the next year." James had to cover his mouth to try suppress his smile and the giggle he made.

Eventually, the staff the pair were on began to slow down and descend. Raine pointed forward. "There it is," they said as James looked over their shoulder to see a house, "the Owl House!" It was made of white stone with a blue roof and some kind of large eye-shaped stained glass window above the front door. It was certainly a sight to behold for James.

The staff reached the ground, allowing Raine and James to get off. As fun as flying was, the Canem was glad to feel the ground under his paws again. He looked towards the Owl House, marvelling at the stained window. Then, he looked down to the door, where something caught his eye. A strange beaked face laid upon the door. He thought it was just a decoration, until it's large eyes blinked and looked right at him. To James' shock, the face shot out of the door, attached to a long, brown, tube-like body, making a weird rubber stretching sound.

"HOOT HOOT, HELLO!" It yelled in a shrill voice, stopping its face inches from James'. The poor boy felt like his heart stopped when the...whatever that thing was stretched out straight towards him and screamed right in his face. He yelped and fell backwards, his legs giving in. He would have hit the ground had Raine not caught him just in time.

"James, are you okay?" They asked, trying to help the Canem to his feet before he grabbed onto them, shivering and whining. Raine turned and scowled at the Bird Tube. "Hooty, be careful" they snapped, "You nearly gave the poor boy a heart attack." The creature, Hooty James guessed, retracted a bit and got a guilty look on his face.

"HOOT, SORRY!"

W-W-Wha...What...is that thing?" James squeaked, still clutching onto Raine as he tried to calm his rapid heart rate.

"It's alright, James" Raine said quietly, running a hand over the fur on the Canem's head, "This is Hooty, Edalyn's house Demon. You don't have to worry, he's harmless. Hmm, well to you he is."

James let go of Raine and stood up straight, looking Hooty in his giant black eyes as he cleared his throat. "He-Hello, um, Hooty!" He said, trying to greet the odd Demon as if he didn't just get the scare of his life. Well, one of them anyway.

"HELLO!" Hooty shrieked again, moving closer to James before Raine pushed his face back, "HOOT ARE YOU? BIG PUPPY!"

"I-I'm James! It's...nice to meet you." The boy pulled his hood back up and tried to give a smile to the weird Demon.

"I'M HOOTY!" He squawked, darting closer and smushing the side of his face into James', "WE'RE GONNA BE VERY GOOD FRIENDS, HOOT!" James whined uncomfortably and pushed the Owl Demon's face away.

"Hooty, give the boy some air, you're scaring him." Raine snapped.

"HOOT, SORRY!" Hooty apologised once again, maintaining his usual gormless expression, "I'M NOT SCARY, I'M HOO-OUCH!" He was interrupted by the door flying open, smacking his body into the side of the house.

"What's all the noise out here?" An annoyed and tired sounding voice asked, "Hooty, it's way too early in the morning for your crap."

James gasped and moved behind Raine as he saw a figure in the door. It was a Witch with pale white skin and a practical mane of grey hair. She wore a green housecoat and yellow bunny slippers while holding a cup in one hand. It was her other hand that caught his attention. A large golden hook! The Canem felt a shiver go through his body at the thought of how she lost her hand. Looking at the Witch's face, her eyes were just barely cracked open enough for her to see. She appeared like she'd just woken up.

"Hello, Eda."

The Witch rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times, a smile coming to her face when her golden eyes opened more. "Oh, it's you!" she said, "How ya doing, Rainestorm! A bit early for a visit, don't you think?"

"Nine in the morning isn't THAT early!" Raine responded.

"It is for me." Eda yawned, taking a sip of her drink. Her eyes moved from Raine to the shape by their side. Someone in a big brown cloak that hid all of their features. They gasped and flinched when Eda focused on them, holding onto the Bard Witch's arm. "Who's that?"

Raine looked down at James, who looked back up at them. From under his hood, they could just about make out his large pleading eyes, clearly too nervous to explain himself. Raine patted the boy on his back and went to pull his hood down before he clamped his paws down on it, shaking his head. Eda took notice of this. "Is your friend shy?" She asked.

"Just a moment!" They replied before fully facing James and bending over, "James, remember what I said. You can trust Edalyn! She will not try and harm you. Never in a million years." James thought on this for a few seconds before slowly grabbing the his hood and pulling it down, revealing his furry face.

Eda raised an eyebrow. It was a kid! She probably should have guessed so from his height, but who was he? Why had Raine brought him here? Why was he so reluctant to show his face?

Raine turned and cleared their throat. "Eda, this is James!" They said, "James, this is Edalyn Clawthorne! The Owl Lady and my partner I told you about."

James nervously wrung his paws as he looked up at Eda, who offered a smile. "Sup kid?" She greeted. James didn't say anything, just keeping his eyes on the Witch's hook hand.

"Please be patient with him, Eda, he takes a while to warm up to people." Raine said.

"Wh-Why do you have a...hook hand?" James asked, pointing at it.

"James!" Raine lightly scolded as Eda just chuckled.

"I didn't like my old hand's attitude, so I bit it off!" She answered with a smirk, James carrying a shocked look on his face while Raine carried an unimpressed one, "Yeah, I was a bit bummed out, but hey, I got this sweet hook in it's place."

Eda stretched her hook hand out towards James. He looked up at Raine with a questioning look, to which they smiled and motioned towards the hook. He looked at it again and slowly reached a paw forward to shake it. Eda's smile grew, making her gold fang more prominent.

"You know how good this thing is for getting boogers out?"

James cringed and snapped his arm back just before he grabbed the hook as the pale Witch laughed and Raine pinched the bridge of their nose. "Aww come on, that was funny."

"Eda, we did not come here to discuss your nose picking habits!"

Eda raised an eyebrow with a cheeky smirk. "No? Then to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked. Raine's annoyed expression softened into a sad frown as James looked up with the same expression, whining softly as he held onto the Witch. Eda's smile slowly shifted into a look of worried concern. "Raine?"

Raine sighed and put an arm around James, taking note of his shivering, before looking back at Eda. "It's...a long story!"

James was lead into the Owl House by Raine, Eda just behind them closing the door. He looked around the interior, taking note of all of the stuff in it. There was strange junk laying all over the place, much of it he couldn't even begin to think of what it was. It clogged up shelves all about the place, some odd knick-knacks looking on the verge of falling off. He never expected Witches would have so much strange, and he had to admit cool looking, stuff. The Canem boy was lead to a couch, Raine helping him get his large cloak off.

"Here you are, my dear, sit." The Bard Witch said as the two of them sat down. They took his paw into their hand, giving it a reasurring squeeze while he held his tail in his other. Eda sat down beside James on his right, him being flanked by the two Witches. After what he had been through, James wouldn't have expected to be surrounded by Witches and yet feel safer than he had in months.

"Alright, now we're all here, what's this all about?" Eda asked, leaning forward to look at Raine, "Why do you have this kid with you?"

Their eyes shifted between James and Eda before straightening up and clearing their throat once again. "On my way home from work yesterday, I found this boy!" They explained, "He was weak, injured, tired and caked in dirt, aimlessly wandering the forest. He told me his name was James and that he had been in this state for over half a year, just barely scraping by on what little he could forage." Eda's face twisted more into an expression of shock as Raine lifted James' shirt to reveal his visible rib under his skin. The boy nodded as he tightened his grip on the Bard's hand and his tail. "I brought him to my home, gave him some food, cleaned him up and called a Healer to fix his injuries. However, not all of his injuries are ones that can be so easily healed."

Eda looked down once Raine had finished, a look of unbridled horror on her face. "Titan, that's...awful, kid!" She said quietly, her face shifting into a scowl, "Your parents better hope they don't run into me. Not unless they wanna meet the business end of this hook." Raine cringed at the mention of parents, James leaning against them as he whined and hugged up to the Witch.

"Eda, James..." They sighed. "...James doesn't have parents anymore."

Eda's head snapped to attention with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"The Horned Witch!" James whimpered, tightening his grip on Raine as he screwed his eyes shut, "H-He took...everyone! He...KILLED them all!"

Raine quickly put their arms around the teary Canem boy, pulling him into a hug. "Easy now, James! I'm here, I'm here!" They whispered to him, carefully stroking their hands down his back, "He can't hurt you anymore." James sniffed and laid his head on the Witch's chest.

This outburst only intrigued Eda more. Who was the kid talking about? "Who's this Horned Wit-"

"Belos!" Raine answered instantly as though it were a reflex, their voice filled with venom, "Belos...murdered James' entire family!" James whimpered at the mention of that name, seeming as though he were trying to burrow into Raine's chest for safety. "It would seem that James was the only survivor of the attack on his home."

Eda had to clench her jaw shut to stop herself from saying something that kids shouldn't hear. "Of course it was that...monster!" She muttered with a sigh, "Look, I know it's Belos we're talking about, but...why did he do it?"

"James is a Canem, a species of Demon notable for their soft fur." Raine explained, "From what I've deduced, Belos was after it. The poor boy was even a witness of Belos..." They covered James' ears before they leaned in close to Eda and whispered, "skinning his people!"

Eda's mouth fell open, her eyes widening enough that it looked as if they would fall out of her head. She flopped back in her seat and put her hand to her forehead, letting out a long exasperated sigh. And here she thought that Belos' death meant they were free of his evil. But no, the old monster had one last victim up his sleeve. "Fucking heartless bastard!" The Witch hissed, pressing her clenched fist against her forehead, "Wherever that mouldy old fuck is, I hope he's suffering."

"Edalyn, language." Raine said, keeping their hands over James' ears. They didn't need him hearing those things, even if they didn't necessarily disagree with what Eda said. They so wanted to curse Belos out, scream their venomous hatred of him to the skies, but knew it would mean nothing now that the damage was already done.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just..." Eda groaned in frustration, "Even when he's dead, he's hurting people. How many others like this kid do you think there are?"

Raine's eyes widened at that question. It was a valid concern that Eda brought up, and a morbid one at that. They didn't want to think about it, but it was a very real possibility that there could be even more just like James. The Bard Witch looked down at the Canem in their arms as he looked back with wide wet eyes. They steeled their gaze and stroked down his head before looking back to Eda. "I don't want to believe it, But it's very likely there are others affected by Belos' malice." They said sorrowfully, "As much as I would want to help every single one of his victims, it would be a monumental feat. The most we can do now is help James."

Eda's expression softened as she turned to look at the boy. He was still clinging onto Raine, his big sad eyes staring up at them. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "You're right, Raine, it'd be impossible." The Owl Lady said, "Like finding a snail in a trash pile." She turned and looked at James. "Kid, I'm sorry what happened to you." James turned his head to look at Eda, taking his arms from around Raine but still keeping a hold of their hand. "I can only imagine the kinda sh- crap you've had to go through. Months on your own, out in the wild, no one to rely on."

"I-It was...scary! Really...really scary!" James muttered, his head low, taking hold of his tail in his free paw and squeezing it, "I-I was always hungry, and I had to...h-hide in holes from the boiling rain, a-and I didn't want any Witches t-to find me because I thought they...they would...skin me!" Eda flt like her teeth would break if she clenched her jaw shut any harder as the boy whispered the final words. So not only did Belos ruin this kid's life, but made him scared of seeking help too? Death was too good for that monster.

"Kid, look at me! You don't have to live like that anymore." Eda asserted, putting her hand on James' shoulder. He tensed up at the touch, but relaxed after a second. Her touch wasn't tight or mean, but gentle and comforting. "You've been through hell and back, but you don't have to go on like that. Raine clearly wants to help you out, and so I want to help you out by extension. A friend of Raine's is a friend of mine. And even if you weren't, do I look like the kinda Witch who'd just throw a kid in need out?"

James straightened up from his slouch as he shook his head at Eda's question, looking up into her mismatched gold and grey eyes.

"The answer is no! Not in a Titan's lifetime! You need help, just ask! You need someone to talk to, I'm your Witch! You need some money, ask Raine, you little freeloader!" James and Raine couldn't help but crack little smiles at Eda's joke as she gave a cheeky smirk, her gold fang sticking out more prominently, "Jokes aside, what I'm trying to say is you can count on me whenever you need help." She took her hand from James' shoulder and held it out. "What d'ya say, kiddo?"

The boy looked down at the outstretched hand with an almost dumbfounded expression. He had only just met Eda a few minutes ago and she'd already pledged that she would always be available to help him out with anything. Even if he hadn't come here with Raine, she would have helped him. To think that just yesterday, he believed that Witches were like monsters and would kill him on sight. Now, in less than a day, two different Witches had told him they would do anything to help him out. James felt a grateful smile creep across his face as he let go of his tail and took the pale Witch's hand into his paw. "Th-Thank you, Mrs...Clawthorne!" He said, his voice sounding weak and choked up.

"Mrs Clawthorne is my mom. Just call me Eda, kid." Eda replied with a shake of James' paw. He turned back to look at Raine, who offered a smile and a thumbs up. The Canem boy couldn't help but feel a pleasant warmth in his chest at meeting someone else who was so willing to help him. It felt so good to have people who genuinely cared for his well-being. After so long of being on his own, James felt...genuinely happy. If his tail's wags were anything to go off of, Those thoughts were interrupted by something grabbing his shoulder and a small weight upon it.

The boy spun his head around, his eyes looking into a pair of small yellow ones. A little Bird-like Demon was perched on his shoulder. It looked much like that strange thing on the front door, only smaller and cuter. It hooted and moved closer, nuzzling the side of it's face into his furry neck. It's little nuzzles tickled James, earning a giggle from the Canem. "I think Owlbert likes you." Eda chuckled, "Either that or he just likes how your fur feels."

Owlbert? That was a funny name for the little guy, James thought. Maybe he was some kind of pet of Eda's. He had to admit that feeling Owlbert nuzzle against his neck did feel really nice. He had all but forgotten what it felt like to have his fur stroked, and he'd clearly made a good first impression on the small Beast. "W-Well I...like you too, um, Owlbert." He said, stroking a fingertip on the Owl's chest. He hooted happily and fluffed his feathers at the touch.

"Alright, get outta here, you little attention seeker." Eda said to Owlbert, tapping the top of his head, "Leave the kid alone. Go on, go find some bugs to eat or something." The Owl Demon turned away and huffed out a hoot before flying away out of sight. James giggled at Owlbert's adorable little grumpy reaction and waved good by as he flew away. "So, now we've cleared everything up, what can I do ya for?" The Owl Lady asked, "Anything I can help you with right now? Any burning questions gnawing at your mind?"

James felt his smile slowly vanish. He was so caught up in meeting someone else who genuinely cared for his well-being that he'd almost forgotten why he and Raine were here. For them to look at his memories, however that was done. But did he want to go through with this? Was he ready for Raine to directly see what happened that day? He took hold of his tail again and squeezed it, racking his brain as Eda looked at him. If this helped Raine to help him, then this couldn't hardly be a bad thing. "Um, is it true that you can...see...s-see memories?" The boy asked.

Eda raised an eyebrow at the question. "I can, in a way!" She answered, "Why?" James' head shrunk into his neck. Should he tell why he wanted to know? Was this a touchy subject for the Witch? Had he already crossed a boundary so quickly after making a friend? His eyes darted all around as he sucked his lips in, trying to think of what to say next. Raine took notice of this panic and gave James' paw a reassuring squeeze.

"It was my idea!" They said, "I wish to go into James' memories and see them for myself, and I needed someone to help me get in and out of his mind."

Eda pursed her lips and hummed. "You know altering and tampering with memories is dangerous business, right?"

"I don't intend on changing anything! I don't want to cause any irreversible damage to his mind. I only want to look and see so I can better help James with his trauma. Will you help me?"

Eda tapped the tip of her hook on her chin while she thought. After a few moments, her eyes fell on James. "Are you okay with this, kid? I won't do it unless you're 100% on-board."

James snapped his head to the side to look at Eda. His grip on his tail tightened. Was he 100% sure about this? What if Raine saw something he didn't want her to see? If they went into his memories, would he have to relive that horrible day again like in his dreams? The Canem boy screwed his eyes shut and desperately tried to think of an answer. Yes or no? "If you really don't want me to go in, I won't." Raine said, putting their other hand on James' shoulder. He looked over at the Bard's gentle smiling face.

"Please, j-just be quick!"

Raine placed their other hand over James' paw and stroked their thumb along the top. "I will be as quick I can, I promise." They responded.

Eda and Raine stood, getting James to lay down on the couch. "If Raine's gonna go into your memories, it's best if you're asleep." Eda said, James looking slightly worried before slowly nodding his head.

"You'll only be asleep for a little bit!" Raine added, "You'll be awake before you even know it. And don't worry, Eda will be keeping an eye on you while I'm in there."

"Please hurry!" James whispered. Raine offered a smile and a nod before Eda drew a spell circle before the boy's face. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and before he could even yawn, he was asleep.

"Okay, now when you get in there, you'll see a bunch of framed paintings." Eda explained, "These are his memories and you can step inside of them in order to see that memory. It'll be like you're really there, but nobody will take notice of you. Also, you might come what looks like the kid. This is his inner self, a manifestation of his thoughts and emotions." Raine nodded in response to the details.

"I shouldn't be too long. I'll look at his memories, then be out." They said, giving a weary sigh, "Now that I'm here, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit worried about what I'll see. It's one thing hearing about an event, seeing it is another beast entirely." Their worried expression was replaced with one of determined readiness. "But there's no turning back now. James needs me, and I made a promise to this boy. I'm ready when you are."

Eda smiled at her partner's determination as she drew the spell circle under them and gave one last thumbs up. "Good luck, Rainestorm!"

A flash of white blinded Raine for a moment. They pulled their glasses up and rubbed at their eyes, blinking one at a time. Their vision began to come back into focus, revealing they were not in the Owl House anymore. Once they could properly see again, Raine took in their surroundings. They appeared to be in some kind of dark forest, the only thing penetrating the almost suffocating darkness being the large trees stretching high up into the black. It very much resembled the forest that Raine found James in. The very one that he'd been just barely scraping by in for months.

What really unnerved Raine was not the darkness, but the silence.

The 'forest' was completely silent. No wind, no rustling leaves, no birdsong, no nothing. The only sound that broke the silence was the crunching of the dead leaves that littered the ground as Raine stood on them. If this place reflected James' mental state, then the darkness and silence were not good signs at all. Raine swallowed thickly and walked forward, their eyes darting around for anything other than trees in this place.

The only light sources in this place were what appeared framed paintings hung up on the trees, each one giving off a glow around them. Then it hit Raine. The portraits! Eda had mentioned them in her explanation. So, each of these represented a memory and, if Raine wanted to, they could enter into it to see the memory first-hand. Helpful!

The Bard Witch walked to one of the portraits, on it being a small black-furred Canem puppy laying on it's back. So this must have been one of James' earliest memories. When he was barely even a puppy. They out their hand to the portrait, it phasing right through the picture as though it were liquid. With a deep breath, Raine got up and entered into the picture.

Instantly, they opened their eyes and found the dark forest gone, replaced instead by the interior of a cosy looking home. Gentle sunlight peeked in through an open window. Upon the floor was a multitude of children's toys, which contrasted rather humorously with the neatly arranged furniture and alphabetised bookshelf. Sitting there upon a couch to Raine's side and facing away from them were two Canems, adults, one with black fur like James and the other with sandy beige fur. They both looked down at the floor and each other with contented smiles. A high-pitched barking drew Raine's attention to walk around the couch to see.

There on the floor were a pair of Canem puppies playing together. One had black fur and was crawling around on all fours. Raine put a hand to their cheek. James! He was tiny! From his size, he couldn't have been any older than a year. He yipped and giggled, his little tail wagging frantically as he played with a larger sandy-furred puppy. This one appeared to be a few years older and was purposefully down on all fours to be on James' level. The pair tugged on either end of some sort of twisted rope toy with their mouths, James making the most adorable high-pitched growls.

"Now Avery, remember and play nice." The male black-furred Canem said, "You don't wanna hurt your little brother."

Avery! Raine remembered that name. James had mentioned it during his panic attacks. Whenever he thought about his past, the name Avery always cropped up. So that was James' older brother. Seeing the puppy playing with little James sent a shiver up the Witch's spine when they thought about what told them happened to Avery in his nightmare.

"I know, Daddy! I'm playing nice, see!" Avery responded, stroking down little James' back as he shook his head rapidly side to side, his newly claimed toy in his mouth.

"We know, but just be careful with James, sweetie." The female sandy-furred Canem added, "He's still only a little puppy."

"I'm careful! I'm really, really careful!" Avery announced proudly, picking up James and giving him a big hug. The tiny puppy whined happily and snuggled into his brother's fur, reciprocating the hug. Avery lifted James up so they were eye level. "I'll be the goodest big brother ev-" The puppy's speech was interrupted when James stuck his tongue out and took a big lick of the end of Avery's snout.

"BLEH! Jamie, that was in my mouth!" He whined, spluttering and wiping at his own tongue as the tiny puppy lay on his back and giggled. Raine put a hand to their mouth and chuckled at James' antics. At the same time, it was heartbreaking to see how much he'd changed from the carefree puppy to seeing things no child should ever have to experience. He was just so...happy here! He had a loving family, a brother he played with, a home he could call his own.

Until that monster took everything from him!

Raine was beginning to have second thoughts on coming here, for their own mental state. It was so jarring knowing that happy little puppy there was the same one that they found half-dead in the forest yesterday. The one who cried in their arms over the life that was so evilly stolen from him. Looking back over, Avery appeared to be trying to get James back by licking the fur on his head and making it stand up, the smaller puppy wiggling around and laughing joyously. Raine had to leave! Seeing this event from the past only made them sick to their stomach at how it ended.

They were dreading finding what they had come here to see!

They exited the memory, once again finding themself in the dark forest. Raine almost felt relieved at being back here. Why did they feel this way? They were only viewing James' memories to look for the right one. Nothing should be making them feel so...uneasy. They shook these thoughts from their mind and looked over the other portraits.

One of them showed what appeared to be a slightly older James, a few years older than he was in the last memory, looking with confusion at his mother, who had a larger belly than she did before. Raine felt a chill travel up their spine. Did James have another sibling? A younger one at that? They closed their eyes and climbed through the portrait.

They found themself back in the same living room, it being largely unchanged from before, besides more framed pictures of James and Avery at different ages atop surfaces. Speaking of the boys, there they were, now older. James seemed to be about five years old and fully upright, with his brother being notably taller. The black-furred Canem had a confused look on his face as he walked to Avery, who was sat down in the couch.

"A, why is Mummy's belly bigger? Is she okay?" He asked.

Avery furrowed his brow and put his hands on his hips. "Jamie, are you calling Mum fat?" He said with a somewhat stern and accusatory tone.

"N-No, that's mean! I just don't know why her belly is so big. Did she eat something?"

Avery looked away for a second as a smirk emerged on his lips as quickly as it disappeared. The sandy-furred Canem sighed and patted the spot beside him. "You might wanna sit down for this one. There's...something we've been meaning to tell you." James sat down as his brother put his paw on his shoulder with a wince. "You see, Mum...Mum eats puppies!"

James gasped and recoiled back, grabbing his tail tightly. "No!" He whispered, his voice quivering.

"Yes! She really does!" Avery responded with a solemn nod, though he couldn't hide the tiniest of smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "She eats them right up. Dont you wonder why you haven't seen that Tobias kid lately?"

"Be-Because he's...sick?"

"No, Mum ate him because he wouldn't wash his hands before dinner."

James' whole body began shaking as he whined softly. "Wh-What if she e-eats...us?" He asked, his voice practically a whisper.

Avery stroked a hand down his little brother's back. "Don't worry, Jamie. Mum only eats bad kids." He said reassuringly, "So just remember to be a good boy and always wash under your ears, or else Mum...will...GOBBLE YOU UP!"

James and Raine jumped at the sudden volume of Avery's voice. Tears welled up in the younger Canem's eyes as he rushed out of the room, sobbing loudly as his worried brother ran after him. Raine pinched the bridge of their nose and sighed. This must have been a sibling thing. Were Eda and Lilith ever like this? They went into the other room after the Canems, finding James hugging onto his father, crying into his chest.

"Jamie, I-I didn't mean it!" Avery cried, "It was just a joke! I was joking!"

"Avery Samuel Hughes, what have you been telling your brother?" Their father said, scowling at his eldest son. James moved his tear-stained face to look up.

"A said that Mu-Mummy eats bad l-little boys!" He whimpered through his tears, "A-And that's why her...belly is r-really big."

"Oh, did he really?" Their father asked as Avery looked down shamefully. He smiled softly and got down on one knee, wiping away the tears from his son's eyes. "Mummy isn't eating anyone. Quite the opposite actually." James perked up, sniffing as his ears raised curiously. "She's having a baby!"

James gasped as he wiped the rest of the tears from his face. "R-Really?"

"We're expecting a girl! You and your brother are going to have a little sister."

"A...A sister?! Really? A, did you hear that? We're gonna be big brothers."

"I knew Mum was pregnant, but I didn't know we were getting a sister." Avery said, giving a little chuckle of disbelief, "When is she coming?"

"She should be here in about four months or so!" His dad answered. Avery laughed and walked forward, hugging James tightly.

"We're gonna have a baby sister, Jamie!" He said, "We'll be the best big brothers ever."

James smiled and hugged into his older brother, both of their tails wagging frantically. While they laughed amongst themselves, Raine stood behind them with a melancholic look upon their face. So it was true, James had two siblings, and one of them was younger than him. A little sister! It wasn't enough that he had to lose his parents and older brother, but a younger sibling to top it all off. A pit in their stomach formed heavily, filling the Bard Witch with dread.

They hurried to exit the memory, speed walking out and into the dark mindscape. Those second thoughts were coming back, telling Raine that this was a bad idea. That they could have just gone off of what James told them. That they were stupid to think that seeing the poor boy's memories would 'help' them. They pushed these thoughts away. It was no good having them now that they were too deep to turn back. The only way to go now was forward.

Beside the portrait Raine had just exited showed James holding some kind of wrapped-up bundle. That bundle couldn't have been what they thought it was. The Witch didn't even realise their legs had taken them directly to it until they were already climbing into it. What kept them going through these memories? Morbid curiosity? Had Raine suddenly become a glutton for punishment?

Once more, Raine was taken to that same home of James', seeing the brothers standing outside of a door. James stood with his head down, looking down at his paws as his finger interlaced. Avery paced around in a circle. It seemed that that two of the, were waiting for something.

"Any minute now!" Avery said, "Any minute now and we'll be in there and seeing her." He looked over at his brother and frowned as a soft whine came from the younger Canem. "James, what's wrong?"

"Is Mummy okay? She sounds really hurt." He answered, tapping his fingers together, "Why was she yelling and crying like that?"

"Don't worry, that's normal for people who have babies. Uuuh, I think."

James didn't seem comforted. "Wha-What if something really bad happens? What if our baby sister is hurt too?"

"Hey, come on now, Jamie, it's Mum! She's invincible!" Avery exclaimed, patting his brother on the back, "Nothing can really hurt her. It just...hurts a little to have a baby. I promise, she'll be just fine."

Just then, the door opened, causing both of the brothers to stand up straight as their father emerged. He turned to look at the pair and smiled. "Who wants to meet their new baby sister?" The young Canems rushed in to find their mother laying on a bed, looking down at a bundle in her arms. The boys leaned in to get a better look, as did Raine. They all gasped.

There, wrapped up in a soft blanket, was a tiny newborn Canem puppy. She had a coat of light brown fur that shone under the light. She moved around gently in her mother's arms, eyes still closed as she rested. Raine couldn't help but stare at the little puppy with wide eyes filled with adoration.

"Awww, she's so cute!" James squealed, grabbing his cheeks as his tail frantically wagged side to side.

"Can I...hold her?" Avery asked, holding his hands out, "I promise I'll be careful." Their mother smiled softly and moved the bundle towards Avery. He slowly and gently took his little sister into his arms, cradling her against his chest. James tried to stand on his toes to try and get a better look, prompting his brother to kneel down slightly. "Look, Jamie, it's our new sister. All for us!"

The tiny puppy stirred in her sleep, slowly opening and revealing her blue and black eyes. She stretched her arms out, letting out a high-pitched yawn that melted the brothers' hearts. "Hello, little sister!" James whispered as his sister studied her new family. She reached an arm out of her blanket, grabbing James' nose with her tiny paw. She giggled at his reaction, making him laugh too.

"Cheeky puppy!" Avery said, tickling a fingertip along the puppy's neck and making her whine and giggle happily. As the three younger Canems got introduced, their father walked to his wife and took her paw into his. "Our family just got a bit bigger." He whispered. The female Canem wiped under her eye and put her other paw over her chest as she walked her puppies.

"Our little Alice!"

Raine felt their chest tighten up at that name. Alice! Yet another name that James said during his panic attack. This Tiny adorable puppy was the Alice he had mentioned. His younger sister! They turned from the happy scene and exited the memory in a hurry. That tightness in the Bard's chest didn't let up at all. That awful feeling of dread in knowing how this happy story ended.

Raine lightly smacked themself on the cheek. They had to focus! No more distractions! They had to find that memory of the attack and fast. They looked around the different portraits, many of them possessing images of James, happy as can be with his siblings and parents. As they went on, he and his siblings got older. The portraits depicted birthdays, celebrations and many other happy memories. That was until one caught Raine's eye.

The portrait depicted a great wall of roaring fire with James at the bottom, a look of terror plastered across his face as a huge horned silhouette loomed over him. Raine recognised that shape anywhere. This was the one! At the bottom of the portrait was a message carved into the frame.

The last time I was happy

The Witch couldn't help but close their eyes and take a deep breath, mentally preparing themselves for what they were to witness before climbing in. They could already feel that tightness in their chest getting even worse.

Once inside, Raine found themself a bedroom of sorts. Toys littered the floor and stuffed the furniture around the room. A nice variety of colourful flowers sat in pots upon the windowsill. It seemed to be night time, the only source of light being the candle beside the large bed against one of the walls. Upon the bed lay the three siblings; James, Avery and Alice. James looked much like how he did in the present day. In fact, Raine noticed that he was wearing the same clothes he had been when they found him. The thought of the state he was in yesterday made their heart ache.

Avery appeared to be in his late teens judging from his size, and little Alice seemed to be growing into her early adolescence. The three Canems lay side by side, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

"I still can't believe you actually got your scholarship, A!" James exclaimed, a big smile on his face as his tail wagged.

"I know right!" Avery replied with a little laugh, "I almost can't believe it myself. Would you have ever believed that me, the biggest doofus in the whole village, would get this far?"

"I always believed in you! Me and Alice both!"

"We did, A! We really did!" Alice said, hugging onto the side of her oldest brother.

"Aww, I always knew my two favourite little mutts would have my back." Avery cooed, hugging his siblings tightly and kissing the pair on their heads as they struggled to get out. "Remember you two still owe me ten snails each." Both of the younger Canems groaned.

"Why'd you have to remember that?" James whined.

"Because you two spend all your allowance on sweets and have to keep borrowing from me! I expect that money by next week." James and Alice sighed and nodded. "Good, now get outta here, your success of a brother needs his beauty sleep."

"Can we stay the night in here?" James asked, "Have a sleepover with our best big brother ever?"

"I'm your only big brother, Mutt. Is there something wrong with your own beds?"

"Aww go on, A, please!" James begged, hugging onto his brother's arm.

"Pretty please!" Alice added, grabbing onto the other arm, "Just one night!"

Avery looked down at his siblings, staring up at him with large pleading eyes as they both whined. He playfully rolled his eyes. "Alright, you little freeloaders, you can stay!" He said, ruffling the fur on the younger pairs' heads as they high-fived. "But you gotta make me the best breakfast I've ever had in the morning." The pups shared another laugh before the candle was blown out and they all settled down to sleep.

The whole room faded to black, as though the memory were ending. Raine was confused. That couldn't have been it! The portrait displayed a fire and James looking scared at Belos, but none of that happened here. Did they step into the wrong mem-

CRASH

A sudden explosive crash made the Bard Witch almost jump out of their skin as they clamped a hand to their chest, their heart feeling like it was trying to break it's way out. The Canems all jumped awake too, blearily blinking their eyes and trying to rub the tiredness away. "Wha-What was that?" James asked, giving a big yawn while he looked around the room.

"I don't know!" Avery answered, giving a big stretch, "Maybe Dad accidentally dropped one of his potions again." He would have chuckled at his own joke, had he not heard what sounded like muffled screaming from outside. The smile the boy carried instantly disappeared.

"Wh-Who's screaming?" Alice asked, hugging a brown stuffed rabbit close to her chest.

"Wait here, I'll go look." The eldest sibling stood and walked to the window. He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread come over him. As soon as peeked through the curtains and cracked the window open, the overpowering smell of burning hit is nostrils hard. Had a home caught fire? The screaming was heard again as he looked down and saw several other Canems running.

"Run for your life!" One of them cried.

"Hey, what's going on?" Avery called down, one panicked Canem stopped and looked up at him, "Is something burning?"

"He's here!" The Canem yelled back.

"Who is?"

The Horned Witch! He's come for us! You have to run before he-"

The Canem was unable to finish as a huge fireball flew through the air and impacted, incinerating the poor man instantly. Avery gasped sharply and fell onto his back, quickly scrambling backwards away from the window. He...He just saw that man...die! What the hell was going on?!

"A, are you alright?" James asked, standing and looking worried over his wide-eyed panting brother, "What did you see? What was all that noise? Who's the Horned Witch?" Avery didn't respond at first, only looking between his siblings with a terrified expression, before hoisting himself up and grabbing a bag.

"We...We need to leave! Now!" He said, his voice shaken as he began throwing clothes into the bag, "We're not safe here! Quickly, pack any essentials you need."

"A, you're scaring me!" Alice whimpered, bringing her knees up as she whined, clutching her toy in one hand and her tail in the other. James walked over and tried to calm his little sister by stroking down her back.

"It's gonna be okay, Alice, we'll be fine." He said soothingly, but it was doubtful if even he believed that, "Come on, let's go back your things."

The siblings got to work hastily packing their bags with clothes and other essentials. Once done, Avery lifted Alice into his arms and went downstairs, James right behind him. On the ground floor, the home was empty, their parents nowhere to be found. "Mum?! Dad?!" Avery called, "Titan damn it, where are they?"

"Oh yeah, they had to leave for work early today." James said

"Then we'll have to get to them there!" Avery responded, putting Alice down on the table and beginning to pack what there was to find in his bag.

"Avery, will you please tell me what's going on! Why are you so panicked? And again, who's the Horned Witch?"

Raine wanted to tell the Canems that they weren't safe here and to just run away and save themselves, but they knew it was fruitless to speak to memories. Avery turned and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, squatting down to get on his level. "James, I have no idea who the Horned Witch or why he's here, but what I do know is he's dangerous and we're not safe here." He explained, "We need to find Mum and Dad and get the hell out of here." James eyes widened as he listened to Avery speak. Once he was done, the younger Canem slowly nodded. "Come on, let's go!"

Avery picked Alice up again and made for the door, Jake behind him. It opened, and all three of them instantly got their senses assaulted by the intense smell of burning. Even Raine had to clamp a hand over their face lest the smell threaten to burn their nose off. They all stepped outside and James gasped at what he saw. Bodies! Charred burning bodies littering the street. What were once people they knew, now little more than smouldering piles. "A-Avery, are...are those...?"

"Don't look at them, James!" Avery said, clutching Alice's head into the crook of his neck, "Just focus on me and nothing else! Hold my tail and don't let go, okay?" With a scared whine, James grabbed hold of his brother's tail as the pair began running. He tried keep his eyes forward, off of the burning bodies around them, and instead on Avery's back and the top of Alice's head. He could hear soft whining and sobbing coming from her.

"We're gonna be alright, Alice!" He said, his voice lacking certainty, "We just gotta find Mummy and Daddy and then we'll...find somewhere else to live." The youngest Canem raised her head, tear stains visible on the fur under her eyes. She didn't look convinced. She lowered her head, pressing her face into her stuffed rabbit. James felt his chest tighten at seeing his sad little sister, causing him to turn his head away. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of a huge figure down one of the streets, an arm raised with a limp Canem in it's grasp as it let out a load triumphant bellow.

Who were these people? Why were they attacking his home? What had they done to deserve this?

The siblings turned a corner, where they stopped dead in their tracks. "Oh Titan!" Avery whispered, his eyes wide and his voice shaken. The building their parents worked in was up in flames. Huge fires roared out of the shattered windows, the crackling almost deafening.

"MUM! DAD!" James screamed, rushing past his brother.

"JAMES, NO!" Avery yelled, making a grab for the younger Canem, but he had already sprinted into the door of the building. He groaned in frustration at James' recklessness, not noticing the figure approaching from behind.

"MUM?! DAD?!" James called out into the inferno, "WHERE ARE YOU?" He kept his paw clamped over the end of his snout as to not breathe in too much of the suffocating smoke that filled the room. The heat from the fires burned his eyes, as did the smoke make seeing anything difficult. Raine wanted so desperately to grab the boy and rush out of that place before it all came collapsing down on top of them. They couldn't help but groan at themselves. They felt so...powerless.

James searched and searched, almost getting crushed by a burning rafter falling into his path. Finally, his eyes settled on something that, despite the intense heat, made his blood turn to ice. A pair of Canems lay under a fallen rafter, one with black fur and another with beige fur. His parents!

"MUM! DAD!" the boy screamed, rushing over and dropping to his knees, shaking his mother's arm, "Wake up! Please wake up! MUM!" His begs went unheeded, his parents remained motionless. Tears flowed freely down James' furry face as he rapidly sucked in what stifling air there was around him. "Please! Get up!" He whispered, bringing his mother's paw to his face as he cried into it. His parents were gone!

A scream from outside reached James' ears, causing him to shoot up. "ALICE!" With one last mournful look at his parents, the boy raced out of the burning building and back into the much cooler and fresher air. But his relief was short lived as he froze up once again. Avery and Alice both lay on the floor, their bags and their contents strewn across the ground. Alice' stuffed rabbit laid in her limp paw. But it wasn't just this sight that terrified James, but the man standing there.

A figure knelt over Avery's body, moving his hand over the boy. His back faced James, but he could see what looked like long antlers protruding from the top of his head. Raine instantly knew who it was, their jaw clenching in unadultered hatred. Belos! Fleshy squelching noises could be heard from behind the man, as well as pained moans from Avery.

"Wha-What are you doing to him?" James cried, causing the figure to stop. He slowly turned, revealing a near featureless masked face, its empty eyeholes burning into the petrified Canem's very soul. The Horned Witch stood to his full height as he slowly prowled towards James.

"What fine fur you have, boy." He spoke, his voice a raspy whisper. He raised his right arm, revealing it to be made of shining metal with clawed fingers, each of stained with blood. "Why don't you give it to me!" James shook violently, barely able to breathe as the Witch advanced.

"NO!" A voice yelled, Avery leaping forward and sticking a knife into the Horned Witch's leg. He let out a groan and fell to his knees, the Canem climbing onto him and getting him in a headlock. "JAMES, RUN!"

"A-Avery!" James croaked, the words sticking in his throat as he reached a paw forward.

"Don't worry about me, just grab Alice and run!"

The Horned Witch laughed darkly. "Brave, but stupid!" He taunted, raising his metal arm as it crackled with magic energy.

"AVER-" James was unable to finish before the Horned Witch punched the ground, making a huge shockwave that send him flying through the air. The poor Canem screamed as he soared across the village, landing hard on the ground just on the outskirts. His bag had cushioned much of his initial impact with the ground, but the momentum sent him tumbling around. Finally, when he stopped, James moaned in pain, clutching a paw around his body.

He tried to stand up, but helped whenever he put pressure down on one of his legs. With no other options, he began limping away, out of the village and into the surrounding forest. He dared one last look back, feeling his heart break at his home going up in flames. James screwed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw before attempting to rush away.

He didn't know how long or far he ran, but he just kept going. His home was no longer safe, and the Horned Witch could have been following him for all he knew. The whole way, James whined and yelped whenever he had to step on his bad leg, the pain nearly unbearable. But he couldn't stop, not until he was far away from here.

James felt like he had limped across miles. His legs ached, his lungs screamed for air, everything hurt terribly. Completely and utterly drained, the boy fell against a tree and slid down it. He tried to pull air into his starved lungs, not that his sobbing helped with that. In such a short span of time, he'd lost everything. His home, his family, everything!

With nothing else to be done, James scrunched his face up and let it fall into his knees that he clutched to his chest. Heartbreaking whines and sobs came from the boy, choked gasps for air peppering his cries. "Avery!" He whispered, "Mum, Dad...Alice! A-Anybody, Please...come back! I-I'm scared!"

Raine felt like their heart was being tied in knots at the sight of the Canem boy. Seeing him curled up with no one to comfort him. They walked forward and attmepted to pick James up, to show that someone cared, to let him know that he wasn't alone, but their hands phased right through him. The boy remained unphased by their attempt at comfort. Raine looked down at their hand and sighed in defeat. They took one last look at James, still curled up and crying. It took all of their willpower to turn back around and leave the memory.

Raine found themselves back in that dark forest of James' mindscape. They should have felt relief. The memory was over, they saw what really haplened to James, they got what they came for. But, that ever twisting pit in their stomach still refused to go away. They should have known from the start that coming here would be a harrowing experience, even just to watch. They didn't even notice they'd started crying until they felt wetness on their hands.

Raine couldn't hold it in anymore. They cried! They allowed the waterworks to flow. Thick tears streamed down their face, dripping off of their cheeks and onto the leaf-littered floor. The Bard Witch fell to their knees and pushed their glasses up with their hands to try and temper the flood. They cried for James, for all he lost, for the unimaginable pain he had to experience, for his lost family, for the whole Canem race. Feeling like they were there and being unable to do anything filled Raine with guilt. Their mind was trying to tell them it was just a memory and they couldn't have don anything anyway, but the experience still made them feel useless.

How could they be so stupid to come here? What did they expect to find? Closure? All they found here was confirming that James had everything he cared out torn from him in less than an hour.

As they knelt there, another sound cut through the silence. Crying, and it wasn't their own. Raine wiped their wet eyes and fixed their glasses before standing and searching for where that was coming from. They searched through the darkness as best they could, the only indication of distance being that the sound increased in volume. Finally, after several minutes of looking, they found the source of the crying.

A figure was curled up against one of the trees, legs hugged to their chest and face in their knees. It was James, in the same position he was at the end of the last memory. But what was he doing here? Then, Raine remembered Eda mentioning an 'inner self', which she said was some kind of manifestation of James' thoughts and emotions. "James?" They said quietly, hoping they could interact with this version of him in some way.

Inner James slowly raised his head, his furry face covered in tear stains as he looked up at Raine with a sad gaze. "Oh, it's you!" He croaked, "Y-You're that nice Witch that found James yesterday." Raine found it odd that Inner James referred to himself in the third person, but that was the least of their concerns right now. "What are you still...doing here?"

"I heard you crying," Raine replied, "and I just couldn't leave you here in this state, not after what I've seen."

Inner James sighed and let out a long whine. "What's the point? They're all...dead!" He clamped his paw over his face as a new wave of tears came. "My family is dead! My people are all dead!" The whole forest seemed to warp around Raine as the poor Canem sobbed. "I have no one!"

"You have me!"

Inner James stopped, slowly bringing his face from his paws. "What?"

"I'm here for you, James!" Raine said, "Ever since I found you, I have wanted nothing more than to take your pain away from you. I know that that is impossible, that mental scars cannot be cured, but that won't stop me from helping them fade. I want to help you heal, to pull you from the darkness that threatens to consume you, to see you return to that happy boy I saw in your memories."

Inner James simply stared up at Raine, his mouth hung slightly open as he let go of the grip he had on his legs. Was the Witch really...offering him their help? He couldn't help but straighten up and listen on.

"I know I can never hope to match, or Titan forbid, replace the family that you've lost, but I want you to know that I care about you. I care about your wellbeing. When you're sad, I can't help but feel this pit in my stomach and a need to comfort you. A need to tell you that despite all that has happened to you, I'm here for you. I only want what's best for you, and what I believe is best for you is that you know you have someone you can rely on."

Inner James slowly got to his feet, his look of disbelief still plastered on his face. "You...You'll...care about me?" He all but squeaked. Raine couldn't help but notice that the darkness around them seemed to clear a bit. They could even make out the trees in the near distance.

The Bard Witch smiled warmly. "Forever and always! Cross my sac!" They made an x over their chest before opening their arms.

Inner James' eyes filled up with tears again as a strangled sob escaped his throat. He charged forward and almost knocked Raine over in a tackle of a hug. They felt him grip his arms around their body tightly and bury the top of his face into their chest, gasping sobs escaping him.

"Thank you!" Inner James whispered, small, shaky and breathy laughs escaping him, "Th-Thank you so much!"

Raine stroked a hand down across the top of the Canem's head. "You don't have to thank me, my boy. Not ever!" They said, feeling their own tears falling down their cheeks.

They looked around at their surroundings, the darkness almost completely gone to reveal the whole forest. It was certainly a step in the right direction to have James' mind cleared. Raine knew it would not be an easy or quick path for the boy to overcome his trauma, but they knew one thing indeed.

They would never give up on James!

Well, it took a long while, but the first part of chapter 3 is done. I hit a huge case of writer's block while doing this chapter and had to take a big break. It was then I figured that I should only write when I can, otherwise the quality of the writing would suffer. I've nailed it down to doing little bits every day. Hopefully, part two and subsequent chapters shouldn't take as long.

Please, by all means, tell me what you think? Comments, reblogs, asks, anything! It doesn't even matter if you loved it or hated it, tell me all your thoughts.

#owl house #the owl house #toh #fanfic #fanfiction #angst #the last canem #thelastcanem #original character #raine #raine whispers #eda #eda clawthorne

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