#( I took some sort of a nap earlier so maybe that will help )

[shrineofprophecy]

Will my baby's colic be fine tonight and can I do at least (1) short reply? Stay tuned...

[razzle-n-dazzle]

saw u wanted more Adam fics

Adam x f!reader

reader is trying to sleep but Adam keeps trying to show her and tell her stuff. “Like babe hey babe look at this!”

“Babe babe wait did I tell you?”

“Babe holy shit wait guess what!!”

*meanwhile she screams into her pillow*

ᯓ★ "Adam, Love, SHUT THE F-" Adam / Reader | Drabble-ish

ᯓ Do you know those days where you just need a little piece and quiet? Like after a long day of work, where your boss was being unreasonable and your coworkers were being even more unbearable than usual. A long day when you go out to eat for lunch and yet the place you decide to go is busy more than usual, and of course it's on the one day you just wanted an easy meal, so you decide to sit and wait. What is the harm of that? Apparently, a lot. Especially when everyone has a stick shoved up their ass today, and when running over your lunch would have been understood and excused any day sparked a fire from Hell in Heaven. And it was only my five minutes! You were late to the office by five minutes despite having been sitting, waiting for lunch for twenty out of your thirty allotted minutes, and doing work to be ahead of schedule for your boss! You were late by five minutes because the sidewalks had been unreasonably crowded for that time of day and you had sprained your wing rushing not to be late earlier that morning because your boyfriend wanted to be up your ass for an extra five minutes this morning!

ᯓ Safe to say you just proved that there could be bad days in Heaven, no matter what anyone else said and you desperately needed a nap. Or maybe you just needed to knock out for the rest of the day, you weren't sure, all you knew was that your bed was calling your name and that was the only thing on your mind right now. Well, it had been the only thing on your mind until you stepped foot into your shared apartment. "Oh perfect fucking timing, Sugartits, come here!" Adam, with an obnoxious amount of energy today, waved you down to the couch. "Hurry up! You know I love to see that ass move when it walks, but this is super fucking important." And what could entertaining your boyfriend before you went and knockout for the rest of the night do? You mean, it was only thing he wanted to show you.

ᯓ "Fucking, look. Look!" Adam exclaimed as you heavily sat down next to him, allowing for him to cheekily swing an arm around your shoulder. This promptly led him to lean against you as he stuck his phone out, a video pulled up. You watched it to entertain him and his little fancy for whatever he had found; Being able to snuggle into his side in the process and listen to his hysterical laughter during the whole venture. It wasn't nothing too exciting, some sort of slapstick humor video and you understood why Adam found it hilarious, but you just didn't have the energy to laugh at it today. So you gave him a small chuckle as his arm found itself crossing down your back and wrapping around your hip, his hand resting on your thigh. "Oh fucking shit! You see, now that shit if fucking humor, comedy gold!" You needed whatever acid trip Adam was on and desperately.

ᯓ You would hum briefly in agreement towards his statement, feeling as his chest quickly rose and fall as he choked out laughter. Even with such motions you couldn't help but be drawn in by his warmth, snuggling closer to him. And you're sure he noticed, as he was sneakily trying to coax you more and more, using the hand that now was daringly close to your ass, to sit on his lap. Against his harsher, more lively breath, yours was slower and shallow, and as Adam managed to get you to snuggle up to his chest while on his lap, he took notice. It was hard to not to, especially when the sound of you not laughing with him just hit his ears. So confused, Adam would pear down at you. A few nervous bits of laughter left him, a silent signal for you to take notice of how he noticed your odd behavior, yet he died down as you didn't seem to notice (or care) much. Which caused his eyes to narrow and his eyebrows to frown up, a worried frown tugging onto the side of his lips. "Uh, Babe, you good?" His question was accompted by his gravely voice, which was now lower in volume and a lot less sure of himself. "You didn't fucking laugh at the video."

ᯓ "You do know this is comedy gold right? Gold! Not laughing at it would be a fucking crime." Adam would wave his cellphone near your face, flashing you with the bright light which caused you to promptly turn your head away from him. He noticed as your face scrunched, yet you didn't use your wings or hands to knock the phone out of his hand like usual. And that's when he really started to become concern. You weren't acting as you normally would with him, you weren't laughing at the videos he founded or retorting to his antics with your own. You were just laying there, curled up onto his lap with droopy wings and a weak hold around his chest. "Holy shit, Babe, you're not dying are you?" Was the first thing that blurted out of Adam's mouth, being the first thing thought that crossed his head as finally took a real notice of how bad of a state you're in. How the feathers on your wings seemed all out of sorts, how one wing was a little more puffed than the other, how eyebags had began to form under your eyes, and just how tired and weak you looked.

ᯓ "...and you're not getting fucking ugly either are you? It's not contagious is it? Because I can't be fucking ug-" You were swift to cut Adam off, pressing one of your hands against his mouth to muffle any more stupid shit he had to say in this moment. To which Adam drew back a little and started down at you, a moment of shock before unamusement crossed his face. He was gentle, more so than usual, as he picked up your hand by the wrist and drug it away from his mouth. Though he didn't say anything for a good moment, silently (and a little anxiously) waiting to see if you would say anything to him. And maybe it was the nerves on being the on the battle field too many times, or the anxiety of losing another lover, but Adam grew more and more disturbed at your lack of communication or movement the longer the silence wore on. "Babe," He gently nudged you, watching as you just let yourself roll back into place. You didn't even give a hum that time. Now Adam could feel his stomach doing little backflips. "Babe." This one came out a bit more stern as he nudged you a little harder. Yet, you only rolled back into place, not acknowledging his efforts on trying to make sure you weren't dying. Were you fucking dying? Holy shit, that would not be something Adam would want to go through today. "Babe! Sugartits!" Adam shouted, forcefully shoving you away from his warmth by the shoulders, "Please fucking tell me you're not about to die on me because that would be really fucking traumatic!.. If you're going to die at least do it in like, the bedroom or something!"

ᯓ You knew Adam didn't mean it, that he was just trying to stir a reaction out of you to make sure you were alright, yet his comment kind of pissed you off. Less so than when he forcefully drew you away from your only source of heat and comfort from the cruel reality you had to live today. So, reluctantly, you gave our a murmur, "...tired... shut up.." and forcefully tried to lay against Adam again; Trying to just take a small nap, or simply hide from the day you had today in your boyfriend's arms and warmth. Even if one of his hands had been resting on your ass. "Babe, you can't be fucking tired, it's not even dinner. Who the fuck is going to cook because last time I fucking remember you telling me I couldn't." Adam asked in a huff, though was silently relieved that you weren't just about to die in his arms like some dramatic soap opera. So, he let you lay back against his chest. It felt nice to have your weight there anyways. "Adam... shush.." Again, you tried to hush your rather obnoxious boyfriend, even for a little. And you knew he knew that you were tired, on the verge of passing out; It was a dead give away when he fluffed out his wings and wrapped them around you, noticing had dead you felt against him.

ᯓ "But you're still fucking making dinner though, right?" He would quip, a snicker growing on his dumb face as he leaned down to the side, promptly laying you both down. Now you knew he was just being a dick about it, that or he was just glad that you weren't silently suffering and dying against his chest. But either way, you were going to leave his question unanswered as you buried his head against his chest. No matter how much shit Adam might give you, you always found comfort in his warmth and with him being near. It was kind of like having an annoying dog that looked and sounded all tough and scary and was sometimes a big dick, but secretly cared about you under all the gunk. "Fuck it, I'll just order in." Adam muttered, placing his chin on the top of your head (having to curl around you a little to do so) as you were sure he began to pull up menus of restaurants nearby that delivered. And as you drifted off to sleep, you liked to believe he did so, so you didn't have to worry about cooking when you woke up. But you knew that was only half the truth, the other half was that he was probably craving those lamb chops he absolutely adores. And you were fine with that.

Home | Masterlist

ᯓ★ All posts/fanfictions posted under this blog is owned by @razzle-n-dazzle. Please do not steal, copy, or plagiarize the works! Likes, reblogs, and comments are always appreciated.

[rensblade]

𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃.

⟢ warnings/notes: husband! jing yuan x gender neutral! reader. toothrotting fluff, cute domestic banter tbh. husband yuan nation, please rise. not proofread, we die like tingyun. might be ooc. pls lmk if i got any of the hsr terminology wrong.. appreciate any type of feedback & please please pleaseee send me reqs if u have any ✩

“beloved, am i really that bad of a general?”

the all too familiar baritone of your husband’s voice fills in your ears, as you raise your gaze from the distance, only to watch him sulk from where he was sat upon the seat of divine foresight.

to anyone that squints, would be graced upon a phenomenon all too odd— jing yuan, one of seven arbiter generals, pouting.

“and what.. exactly makes you think so, ‘yuan?” you already knew the answer, but you still entertained the fact he was pouting, almost comically the same way yanqing does, when you deny him from making impulsive sword purchases.. or the same way mimi, your household lion, scrunches up her face and paws at your clothes when you tell her that she won't get any more snacks for the night.

said man sits up from where he's at, and abruptly makes his way down to where you're seated— at his desk. sorting through some of the things unattended earlier during his earlier escapade to fyxestroll garden.

“well.. you know.” he deadpans, staring down at you. you have to keep in a giggle, finding the way he waited so patiently for you to finish with the work at your side, almost akin to your precious lion who does the same.

you heave a sigh, but in an amused way, as you stack the last documents into a neat pile and turn in your chair, and upon being graced with your attention; your lover nearly falls dramatically into your arms.

“i can't help but think i should just hand over my resignation early. you know what, fu xuan probably saw this coming,” he fake-wails, as you caress his hair, cooing at the man who was currently at your feet.

eventually, he relents, when you tug a little hard on his fluffy white mane. “darling.. is this about cirrus?” the mere mention of the heliobus makes jing yuan glower, and you practically have to bite back your laughter at the expression, opting to clear your throat instead.

he stays silent for a second, then scrunches his face. “..absolutely not,” he retaliates in a serious tone. then, he slumps forward again, almost nuzzling into your lap as he tries to hypothesize. “it's just. i need some constructive criticism, before i actually hand over my position to someone else, you know,” he reasons, but you know better.

“right, why of course.” you humor him a little bit longer. pushing the general’s buttons has always been your favorite past time activity.

he pulls away, getting on his feet before he gathers your hands into his and gives you a solemn look. “you get me, my love. this is why we're married.”

that makes you crack a smile. jing yuan only raises a brow, but returns the smile nevertheless, a little hesitant. “yuan, i love you, but. you mean solid constructive criticism like.. i don't know, maybe it's about time you retired and took a big fat cat nap?” you suggest with a snort, and jing yuan simply huffs. (yeah, mimi definitely got the attitude from her dad).

you shake your head, dragging him to sit next to you as you elaborated. “in all seriousness.. you're not a bad general. not a bad mentor, father or husband, jing yuan. don't let that silly heliobi’s words get to your head.” the tall man, lets you cup his face, squishing his cheeks as you pepper kisses across them, as if to prove your point.

he simply gathers your form up into his arms, holding you tightly and you can't help but relax into the warmth he emits. he's truly a big cat. “you know, i’m starting to think this must be how birds that nest in your hair must feel.” you point out with a false-huff, after a minute of silence.

jing yuan chuckles at that, purposely tugging you by the waist; flush closer against his torso as he nuzzles into you— pale locks of his hair cloud your vision. “why, of course. a wise, little sparrow, you are.” he snuggles against you, golden eyes softening as they examine your reactions. “in fact, my favorite.” the baritone of his words send a pleasant wave of warmth through your body, you can feel him smile against your skin as he litters little kisses here and there.

to be fair, if you were held prisoner in his gentle yet steady hold forever, you were more than willing to be reduced to a mere bird, for eternity. okay, and maybe you would miss making snarky rebuttals at the general, but that's about it.

as you're resting yourself against him, a thought crosses your mind, and you'd bask in the silent affection but your loud thoughts cut you short. “and for the record, you still should've let me kick cirrus’s butt.” as expected, a hearty laugh booms from the man’s chest, the vibrations making your body tingle.

“i love you.” he says, practically purring, as the gigantic man nuzzles even further into the crevice of your neck, pressing yet another kiss to the spot he loves. his hair tickles your neck, but you love the familiarity of it all.

what a heavenly life you live, as the general’s personal songbird.

rensblade, 2023. please do not steal my writings or headers, i put a lot of effort into this. reblogs & comments are appreciated! pls send me asks/reqs, i write for most genshin or hsr or jjk characters as of now. thank u once again <3

[xoxochb]

hello!! can I request percy x fem!reader with the song dress by Taylor? the Great War is also great if you’d prefer that!! Thanks, and congrats 💙💙 (daughter of hades reader)

— dress

warnings: heavy make out, pairing: percy jackson x daughter of hades a/n: yeah smutty fics are growing on me

there was one day at camp where campers were allowed to wear whatever they wanted. some campers chose to wear their usual camp attire, some chose pajamas, and some chose casual clothes. you however— chose a little black dress. stuffed away in the bottom of your dresser you pull it out. it had a low neckline and ruffles at the bottom. it went down to a little above your mid thighs so yes, it was a bit revealing but it was black and it was comfortable so you wore it anyways. you exited cabin thirteen after changing and made your way to the dining pavilion for breakfast. you pretend to miss the way you watch percy’s eyes scanning your frame from his lonely seat at the poseidon table. mostly because he was your best friend and nothing more. but seemingly his gaze wasn’t screaming ‘best friends’

you sit down at your table with nico who brought will to sit with him this morning. the boys exchange a look, your brows furrow in response

“what?” you ask, confused

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” asks nico

“I’m sorry?”

“did you see the way percy was eyeing you?” will adds

“I’m not a fucking mind reader. I want words”

“are you and him a thing?”

you groan. “me and percy are best friends. that’s it”

“then tell me why he’s eye-fucking you right now” nico points behind you to what you assume is the poseidon table

“he’s not. like I said— we’re only best friends”

the boys both return to their breakfast. “suit yourself”

you huff and leave the dining pavilion. you don’t know exactly where to but you just know you can’t sit at your table anymore. with your brother and his boyfriend accusing you of sleeping with percy and the son of poseidon himself allegedly ‘eye-fucking’ you there was no way you could sit there and eat regularly. at this point you regret choosing such an immodest dress

the rest of the day you avoided percy. It was better this way, he wouldn’t give you looks and you wouldn’t feel weird about your friendship. It’s a win-win. first you took a break by the lake and read your book for a bit, uninterrupted you were fine. then came lunch when you had to sit in the pavilion again. to your percy didn’t show. you tried not to let it get to you but you couldn’t help feeling like it was your fault. after lunch you went back to your cabin for a nap. when you woke the pit in your stomach hadn’t been closed yet. whatever was bothering you needed to leave, dinner was in minutes and if you didn’t show up this time, while percy isn’t there your brother— without a doubt would think something suspicious of it

you ignored your feelings and went anyways. again, percy wasn’t there

“nico do you know if percy ate lunch earlier?”

he shakes his head. “no. maybe you should bring him something to eat”

“I don’t know…”

“he likes you y’know? you might be in denial but I don’t miss the way he looks at you. especially this morning”

your cheeks flush red. “no. I’m just going to talk to him, sort things out. we’re only friends, I swear”

“(name), I love you, but you’re an idiot”

you roll your eyes. “thanks, neeks, you’re so kind”

“I try my best”

“I’m going to bring percy a plate. we’ll talk to tomorrow”

“don’t have too much fun over there”

“goodbye”

you hurriedly stand up and leave. firstly grabbing a plate from the kitchen, then heading to cabin three. your beating heart stops you from knocking, the gods only know what’s going to happen once you enter. your hand moves faster than your brain you suppose because by the time you know what’s happening the doors opening, revealing the son of poseidon on the opposite side

“percy, hey”

not awkward. you cannot make this awkward

“what’s up?”

“I- uhm, brought you a plate. you weren’t at dinner”

“oh!” he takes the plate from your grasp “thank you. do you want to come in?”

you try to ignore the way your cheeks heat up. nothing is going to happen

“yeah, sure”

you walk in after percy am close the door behind you. he sets the plate down on his bedside table and takes a seat, beckoning you to join him— and reluctantly you do just that. things got awkward. very awkward. especially with the intense eye contact you’re making. is this what all best friends do? sit in a dark cabin making the most sensual eye contact of their lives?

“percy” you whisper

“(name)”

“why do I have the feeling we’re not best friends anymore”

you hear his breath hitch and he inches closer to you. “because I don’t want you like a best friend”

“nico told me you were looking at me this morning. Is it true?”

“you’re wearing a little black dress. did you think I wasn’t?”

“we’re best friends, percy”

the tip of his fingers touch yours, which were settled on your lap. “we don’t have to be”

“we can’t” you shake your head and stand up “we can’t do this. we’re friends. I mean gods— I want you, I really do, but what if things don’t work out? our friendship is ruined?”

“you don’t think we’d work out? we’ve been friends for years, it’s surely worked this long”

you cross your arms over your chest with a sigh. percy stands up from his bed and takes one of your hands into his own, the other pushing a stray hair behind your head before resting on the side of your face

“percy” you whisper “are you sure about this?”

“yes, I am. like you wouldn’t believe”

fuck it. you throw your arms around his neck and crash your lips together. percy’s hands place on your hips and he pulls you closer into him in a needy manner. you pool out your emotions into every kiss. you’ve yearned for this, you really have. stupid percy and his stupid button up shirt— your fingers struggle to get any undone! but percy has it easy, he slides the straps of your dress down your shoulders and the rest lower. you pull back for a second but only so percy can lay back on the bed. you slide the rest of your dress off and then you join him on the bed, straddling his hips

thank the gods you decided to wear this dress today

[2knightt]

I saw that your requests are open and this idea came to me after a little ✨️incident ✨️

if you dont feel like writing this i completely understand, but how do you think the gang would react if you came to them upset because of an arguement/disagreement with your sibling or relative? I'm just looking for some comfort rn cause I overheard my family insulting me behind my back last night and I've been bothered ever since

it can be platonic or romantic idrc 😭

↳maybe it’s a cruel joke on me.₊˚✧

—IN WHICH, the gang comforts reader.

||✰ — the gang, separately

Johnny Cade ;

you rush out of the house after your sibling raised their voice at you—not bothering to stick around just to see the situation grow.

you felt tears trickle in the corners of your eyes as you walk to the lot, praying that your boyfriend would be there.

you knew he would be, he always was.

you finally reached the lot, your feet feeling like 1000 pounds after each step you take.

you stand there for a moment, your fists stuffed inside your pockets, looking around.

you see johnny sitting down with his head leaning against a wall.

you had stopped crying earlier, but seeing him made you wanna cry more.

you ran over to him, kneeling down beside him—throwing your arms around his neck.

you pull him into a hug, hiding your face in his neck.

you feel him wrap his arms around your waist. he stutters a few words before whispering in a soft voice, talking to you like you’re a baby.

“hey, hey. y/n, what happened?”

you sniffle, the grasp you have around him tightening.

“n-not to tight, love.”

you realize you’d been squeezing him like it was the last thing you were ever gonna do.

“sorry. i didn’t mean to.”

johnny’s thumb began to flutter—up and down on your back, trying to comfort you.

“it’s fine, y/n.”

the both of you are silent for a minute, neither of you wanting to speak.

“it’s okay. you’ll be okay, y/n.”

he didn’t even know what happened and yet, he’s still trying to help.

“my sibling man. the-they think they’re so much better than me.”

his grip on you tightens for a moment, trying to let you know that he’s there for you.

“it’s alright. you’re alright. they ain’t mean it.”

“but they did, johnny. you weren’t there, man. shouted at me, made me feel so stupid!”

you complain, your voice straining the more you speak.

“you ain’t stupid. not even close. smarter than i’ll ever be, shoot.”

johnny goes silent. thinking of the right words, how to put what he’s thinking into a way you’d understand.

“what they said don’t matter. as long as you’re okay—everyone will be okay. your sibling loves you still, i know they do. stuff like this happens all the time.”

johnny kisses the crown of your head before he continues with his rant.

“you still care about them, right? even if it’s one sided, you’ll be alright. any sort of relationship with your sibling—you’ll be alright. everything is gonna be just fine.”

Dallas Winston ;

you scoffed, listening to your siblings rant.

the more they talked, the less sense they made.

they jumped from topic to topic—criticizing you for things you did years ago.

you just couldn’t take it anymore. you walked out of the house, hearing them shout your name as you got into your car.

you drove and drove until you couldn’t see your house anymore. you pulled into an empty parking lot and sat in silence.

suddenly, your whole world came crashing down—realization hitting you so suddenly.

tears stream down your face, your body shaking with every passing second.

you needed someone to just be with you.

you needed dallas.

you took a few minutes to calm down before driving, taking deep breaths in and out.

you drive off to bucks. you knew he was having a party, should be easy to sneak in.

you park the car and rush out, swinging the door open.

a few people turn to look at you, but quickly focus back on drinking or their friends. you run upstairs, tunnel visioned in on the room dally’s usually in.

the door’s closed, which normally means he’s napping. you knock on the door.

you hear groaning, followed by bed springs squeaking. the door opens slightly, dallas peaking out into the hallway—suspicious of whoever was knocking.

but as soon as his eyes met yours, the door opened fully and he carefully rushed you into the room.

you figure your eyes must still be red from crying because he looks at you with both worry and anger.

he gently lays his palm on your cheek, bringing your eyes to meet his.

“what happened? did anyone do this?”

you glance down at your feet, not wanting to answer.

dallas exhales with obvious frustration.

“c’mon doll. you can tell me.”

you lean your head against his chest, silent until this moment.

“my siblin’. they never listen—no matter how much i try to change, no matter how much i do. i’m always some stupid kid.”

you mumble, your voice cracking mid sentence.

dallas sighs. he wraps an arm around your waist, the other one going to your head, gently holding it.

“i mean. i can beat ‘em up if you want me to.”

you giggle—well, tried too. your voice was so strained, you were silent.

“dallas.”

“yeah yeah, i know. i’m, ‘better than that.’”

he mocks past you as he rests his chin on top of your head.

“you can stay ‘ere if you want.”

he suggests, with slight hope in his voice.

“stay far away from ‘em for awhile. i don’t want them to start on you again.”

you smile at his words—feeling a sense of comfort and relaxation washing over you.

“yeah. sounds nice, dal.”

Ponyboy Curtis ;

you couldn’t handle hearing their voice any longer.

the genuine anger in their voice made you wanna sob.

you rolled your eyes the longer your siblings rant went on.

you kissed your teeth, tears slowly forming in your eyes as you waved goodbye.

your sibling was beyond angry as you ran out the door, but they knew they couldn’t stop you.

you ran and ran, your legs feeling like they’d never get tired. adrenaline making you go faster than you ever had.

you were barely conscious as you ran, allowing your body to take you wherever.

but when the adrenaline ran out, you found yourself outside of the curtis house.

the waterworks started again as you stared at the window. the curtains were closed but you saw light inside.

you caught your breath before stepping up the front porch.

you stood infront of the door, hoping it was ponyboy who’d answer the door. you knocked quietly, glancing down at the mat.

the door opens and your head shoots up, meeting a pair of green eyes.

“y/n?”

“oh, pony.”

you whisper as your eyebrows contorted into a sad look as you threw your arms around his shoulders.

he was taken aback by your face and the sudden affection, pony stumbles back slightly.

he gently wrapped his arms around your neck, trying to bring comfort.

“what’s wrong? did something happen? are you alright?”

he asks, his words coming out faster and faster each second.

you’re silent for what seemed like minutes.

“my sibling, pony. they refuse to listen! they don’t bother to listen to anyone! it-it’s so annoying. can’t take it anymore, man.”

you whisper, taking a shaky breath after finishing your rant.

you thought pony of all people could understand, especially with darry and all.

you started to cry again—even you didn’t know why.

you sniffled as ponyboy rocked both of your bodies side to side.

“breath, y/n. please—i don’t want you to freak out to much.”

you hadn’t even realized you were hyperventilating.

ponyboy grabbed your shoulders and looked into your eyes with a concerned look. he looked like he was gonna cry himself.

“do what i’m doin’, alright?”

he asks of you as be started to breath in, hold it in for a moment, and exhale.

you did the same for a few minutes. your tears coming to an end, along with your hyperventilation.

“it’s gonna be okay, y/n. shoot—me and darry go through that almost daily and we still love each other. i-i bet that this’ll be over soon. you n them were the closest siblings if i’ve ever seen one.”

he said, grabbing ahold of your hand.

he smiled, hoping you’d follow his actions once more.

you tried to smile, but gave a lazy one in return.

he wrapped you into another hug, kissing your cheek before doing so.

“you’re gonna be alright.”

“you think so?”

“i know so.”

Sodapop Curtis ;

you heard your aunt mock you for being a grease.

she was always so materialistic. not even your mom liked her but—she always came over.

you heard her mock the way you dresses, talked, walked, everything.

you felt so low. like you were some tiny germ in her world.

you wanted comfort, but you knew you couldn’t go to your mom. you couldn’t go to any of your family.

then you thought of soda. sodapop shouldn’t be busy today.

you climbed out of your window, not wanting to even be in the same room as your aunt.

you walked to the curtis house, peeking into the window as you walk by—seeing darry sitting down on his chair.

you really don’t want to talk to him right now. you didn’t want to talk to anyone but sodapop.

you walk up to his window and knocked lightly.

his curtains swung open and he opened the window in a swift motion.

“babe! what’s up?”

“..can i come in?”

“uh, totally! you ain’t even gotta ask!”

he responds with a smile so wide that it couldn’t help but make you feel soft.

you plopped down on his bed, flat on your back as you sigh.

soda gets a confused look as he tilts his head.

“what’s wrong, y/n? you’re awfully quiet.”

“do you think i’m a lowlife, soda?”

you ask, staring up at the ceiling. tears slowly forming in your eyes, sliding down your cheeks onto the blanket.

soda goes silent before sitting down next to you.

he grabs your hand and kisses it, mumbling something you couldn’t hear.

“if you’re a lowlife then i gotta be satan himself, love.”

he responds with a chuckle as he lays down beside you.

“what makes you ask, anyhow?”

he asks, turning his head to face you, still holding your hand.

“my aunt jus—said some stuff ‘bout me. made me feel a lil stupid.”

he squeezes your hand and looks up at the ceiling along with you.

“don’t you ever think like that again. no matter what anyone says, kay? you’re the sweetest person i’ve ever known! shoot—i don’t think there’s ever been a grease as nice as you.”

he rambles, bringing both your hands up to the sky, as if a sign of victory.

you smile, sitting up as you stare down at soda.

he makes eye contact with you, shooting up to sit alongside you.

there are still tears in the corner of your eyes, but they refuse to fall. soda grabs your chin to bring you closer to him, kissing the tears off your face.

“can’t let those tears ruin your pretty little face now, can we?”

he asks, with a cat like grin on his face.

you giggle, throwing him into a hug.

Darry Curtis ;

your uncle had come ‘round for a visit, gonna catch up with the family he said.

but all he did with you was make snide remakes at you or behind your back.

calling you a nobody, someone who’d never make it far in life.

he doesn’t know what you’ve gone through. he just sees the aftermath, not the past, not the present. just the person you want to throw away—the future you don’t want.

he brought you down so much, you found yourself at the bottom of a bottle.

you were outside the curtis house on the porch, drinking.

you always sit out there, nobody even bats an eye at you when you’re out there anymore.

it was late at night when you were out there. darry wasn’t home, you said goodnight to pony and soda—even johnny who was staying the night.

you didn’t want any of them to know you’re back into alcohol for comfort. you waited until you were alone.

you grabbed a few bottles and sat out in the porch, drinking and drinking.

you thought you were gonna waste yourself until the morning—hoping you could act sober around darry.

headlights blinded your vision as darrys truck pulled into the driveway.

you had a bottle up to your lips as he parked the vehicle. you started to freak out as you heard him shout your name, trying to hide the bottles under the bench.

“y/n? you better not be doing what i think you are.”

you hear him shout as he makes his way up the stairs. you pray that the bottles don’t roll from under the bench.

you shake your head, trying to straighten out your posture.

“nah, dare. yo-you know i changed.”

you defend yourself, trying to act sober but accidentally slurring your words.

you hear darry sigh as he pinches his nose bridge.

he sits down, turning his body to face you.

“i’m not a idiot, y/n.”

he says, bending down, grabbing one of the bottles.

“are you serious? i thought you sobered up.”

he complains, his elbows resting on his knees as he looks down at the bottle.

“i did! it’s just…it got tough again.”

you mumble, looking down at your feet with shame.

darry places his hand on top of yours. you look at him, making eye contact with him.

“what happened then? what happened that would make you turn back to this?”

he asks quietly, his eyebrows furrowed.

you could hear the disappointment laced in his voice the more he spoke.

“i was called a drunkard, a nobody, someone who’d never make it far in life. do you know how draining it is to hear that?”

you ask, tears already gliding down your cheek. your head is thrown back, hands covering your eyes as you erupt into sobs.

darry grabs your wrists, bringing your hands down. he let go, and placed his hands on your temples. he brought you closer to him, kissing your forehead before whispering sweet nothings—trying to make you feel better.

“what anyone says shouldn’t bother you none, y/n. all that matters is that you are you and i love you for you. i love your laugh, i love how caring you are, i love how you try to change for the better.”

darry mumbles, kissing your forehead every now and then in between his words.

he brings you to his chest. the two of you sit in silence. you listen to his heartbeat as the moon shines directly upon you two.

Steve Randle ;

you’re sibling had called you an idiot, a stupid loser, and so much more right to your face.

right in front of you. not even trying to hide it.

you pretended not to care, you pretended like it didn’t hurt as you walked to the nearest pay phone, you lied to yourself as you pressed steves number into the pay phone.

but still—even with all that convincing, you still didn’t believe you.

the phone rung and rung until he finally answered.

“whatchu want? who is this?”

“steve? oh thank god!”

you sighed with relief, slightly chuckling at your own demise.

“y/n! what’s up?”

he asks, trying to see why you’re calling him through a pay phone rather than your own phone.

“can you come and pick me up? i’ll be at the gas station!”

“the DX?”

“no-no. not the DX, the other one.”

“oh, totally. sit tight, doll.”

he says before you hang up.

you walk to the gas station which wasn’t to far. you sit on the bench, watching the cars go by. it was quiet for a bright afternoon. maybe everyone was at the beach, or seeing a movie.

you think to yourself as you see steves beat up car pull up to the curb right in front of you.

he rolls down the window, shouting for you to get in.

you rush up to the passenger door and swing it open, sitting down.

steve begins to drive off. he always just drives ‘till he run outta gas or gets tired.

“so,”

“so?”

you asked. steve began to speak but stopped mid-way. you always hated when anyone did that.

“why’d you need me to pick you up there? you look…sad.”

and that was your cue to start crying.

you didn’t mean to. you didn’t even feel the tears until you noticed spots of your pants had tear droplets on them.

steve had noticed you crying and pulled over to the side of the road.

he started to freak out a little—he never knew how to handle anyone crying.

“woah—y/n, what’s wrong? did i say something?”

he asks, leaning over to get closer to you.

you wiped your tears with the back of your hand, shaking your head.

“then why’re you cryin’?”

“steve, do you think i’m stupid? be honest.”

his eyebrows furrowed at your question, he almost laughed at such an idiotic thing to ask.

“hell nah. i mean, you see shepard? he’s so dumb he can’t tell up from down!”

he shouts, trying to comfort you.

you laugh slightly, the grasp you have onto the loose fabric of your pants loosening.

“you think?”

“i know, y/n.”

he whispers, kissing your temple before leaning back onto the drivers seat.

steve puts his hand on your thigh, his thumb caressing it in a comforting manner.

“how ‘bout i treat you to some food, huh? try n take your mind off that absolute nonsense you were talkin’.”

you nod your head in agreement.

Two-bit Matthews ;

your sibling had shit on you for everything under the sun.

looks, grades, how you spoke, how you walked, friends, boyfriend, shoot—even the way you brush your teeth.

you started tearing up during their rant. thought it was stupid to criticize everything you do.

the second they were done, you walked out. made sure to slam the door on the way out to make it known that you left, that you left angry and sad.

you thought of two-bit the whole walk.

did he think of that about you? does he think he could do better? does he think you smell funny?

it was 9PM, so two-bit would probably be at some gas station trying to get some booze.

you walk to his normal gas station where he has the most luck and you were right. he was leaning on the counter, laughing while the worker had a stern look on his face with his arms crossed.

you walked in and tapped two-bit on the shoulder.

“wh-oh! hey, babe.”

he greeted you with a grin and a kiss on the cheek.

“can i talk to you?”

two-bit got an awkward smile but nonetheless—agreed.

the two of you exited the store, but as soon as he stepped out of the door, you pulled him into a hug.

the sobs started again as you held him tightly.

two-bit was silent.

he was never good at comforting others, but he tried.

he always tried for you.

“shh, shh. it’s okay—i’m here. you’re just fine.”

he says, wrapping his arm around your waist, rocking the two of you left to right.

he kissed your temple, the crown of your head, to your forehead until you stopped crying.

“do you, do you ever think you can do better, two?”

you ask in a quiet voice, looking down at your shoes.

“what? never! infact, i think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

he says, picking you up and swinging you around some.

you gotta admit, you laughed a little with tears still streaming down your face.

“why do you ask? who i gotta beat, huh?”

he asks, putting you down.

“nothin’ it was stupid.”

“you sure?”

“yeah.”

he kisses your cheek, his arms still wrapped around your waist.

“how ‘bout we go n bother that worker together, huh? bet we can steal the whole store if we tried hard enough.”

two-bit says with a grin, finally letting go of your waist.

you get a smile on your face at the thought of it. you nod in excitement as two-bit drags you back into the store. the two of you leaning against the counter, grinning from ear to ear.

i know we dont know each other that well but just know, i’m always here for you. no matter the situation im here for you!

[sockiestupidity]

Reader having a depressive episode and Miguel helps them out of it 👀👀👀👀

Also can I be 🕸️ anon 👁️👄👁️

AH OKAY SO FIRST IF ALL. RLLY SRRY IF THIS IS BAD😭 I LEGIT DIDNT KNOW HOW TO WRITE THIS🧍‍♂️

ALSO MY SECOND REQUEST???😭 FREAKING TF OUT LITERALLY TY 🕸️ ANON

I JUST WANNA STATE THAT I HAVE NEVER HAD A DEPRESSIVE EPISODE EVEN THO IM CONSTANTLY SAD SO A LOT OF THINGS MIGHT BE INACCURATE BUT JUST LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS LIKE WRITTEN RLLY BADLY AND ILL TAKE IT DOWN🥴

Warnings-lowercase intended, bad writing and grammar as usual, depression/depressive episode, ooc miguel?, use of the word mijo, forehead kiss👁️

nonverbal/mute reader again (might decide to make this my thing?? bc nonverbal/mute reader fics do be hard to find)(srry if u wanted reader to talk 😬😬😬)

reader uses hq housing as usual🤩(U CANNOT TELL ME THAT HQ HOUSING DOES NOT EXIST I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT😤)

ALSO MIGUEL AND READER ARE AGAIN IMPLIED TO ALREADY HAVE AN ESTABLISHED PLATONIC/FOUND FAMILY DYNAMIC (sorry for the long intro 🕸️ anon, pls still lob me🥺)(that second part is meant to be funny lol)

it was around 1:00 pm the time you and miguel decided to set up as a designated lunch time as the both of you had not been able to get together because both of your schedules had been busy lately. although you had claimed to have been occupied with missions, he hadn't seen you completing any of those missions. he shrugged it off, thinking that maybe he just was preoccupied with another matter when you had completed your missions. (A/N: miguel i lob u but sometimes ur rlly serving idiot😔)

his oblivious mindset soon turned into worry when it dawned 1:30 and you still had not shown up. "what trouble could that kid possibly have gotten into that made them this late?" he thought to himself. you were usually a punctual person, and often arrived to your lunch meetings with him earlier than he did. as he waited another ten minutes he decided that he needed to take action, it was out of character for you to be this late, especially with your history of punctuality.

miguel headed over to your room at hq housing. in his mind, he thought that it was a possibility that you were just tired and had just layed down for a nap, forgetting about your meet up with him.

as he knocked on your door and patiently waited, he noticed that there was a lack of noise. he knocked on your door, and proceeded to hold his ear up to the door, wanting to confirm the lack of noise. you had naturally always been a quiet person, contrasting with many of the eccentric personalities most spider people had.

miguel felt something odd about the quietness, and decided that he had no choice but to investigate further. surprisingly, the door was locked, despite the fact that you had always locked your door, no matter what. as he entered the room he was met with an unsightly mess.

all of your belongings were strewn across the floor, if he wasnt worried before then he was definitely worried now. your stuffed animals had always been your most prized possessions, he remembered how you always furiously typed about them. hell, he wouldnt be surprised if your stack of communication cards were so thick because you made a special card for each stuffed animal.

as he entered where your bed was located, he noticed an increasing amount of clothing piles, as well as more misplaced stuffed animals, he frowned at this. where could you possibly be? and how could you let your room get this bad? he trudged through the piles of clothes. he looked at your bed, there was nothing there but a lump. he assumed that it was more of your clothes, or maybe your pillows. he was about to back away when he suddenly saw the lump move.

"kid is that you moving right now?" he asked, waiting for a sign of some sort that it was infact you, and not just his imagination. he suddenly heard a tap.

miguel took that as a sign that it was you, "can you please show me that wonderful face of yours?" he asked softly. he wanted to make sure that he wasnt accidentally pressuring you to do anything.

when there was a lack of response he decided to go a slightly different route, "may i flip the sheet over just a bit for you? i want to talk to you face to face." he wasn't really expecting a response, as it seemed like you didn't want to acknowledge him. he was taken aback when you responded with another tap.

he slowly lifted the covers, and was met with your face, but something was off..

you had a dead look in your eyes, they also looked red, as if you had been crying. he gave you a concerned look. if he had known that you were struggling this much he would've visited you sooner.

he ran his fingers through your hair as a form of comfort, attempting to give you some sort of comfort. "im going to try to get you out of this mess, you wont have to worry about being alone anymore, alright?" he watched you as you slowly nodded.

miguel started to get to work on your room. he made sure that all your clean and dirty clothes had been separated accordingly, and had folded all the clean clothes neatly into your drawers, which he had also taken the liberty to organize, he then placed all your stuffed animals in the correct spots that were assigned to each of them, collected your trash, and finally ended with a good scrub. he decided to not only clean your whole bathroom, but also scrubbed down any other hard surfaces that had been covered in grime. (A/n: this might be a bit extreme for just a week but trust me, it doesn't take that long for hard surfaces to get musty)

once every item in your room had been neatly organized and accordingly cleaned he approached you once again. you still had yet to move from your position.

he sat down on your newly cleaned floor, wanting to make sure that he looked less threatening to you, he then spoke up once again, " everything will be fine kid. do you think you could get up?" you slowly nodded.

he helped you slowly stand up and embraced you in a hug. you were caught by surprise, as the only time miguel came in contact with people, it was mostly violent.

after the hug ended he spoke up again, "you're going to take a shower and get dressed, ill wait for you." you slowly nodded once again.

you still felt so much dread, and misery but you wanted to show miguel that you could be strong and that you really did want to get better for him.

you headed to the shower, clothes and towel in hand. you slowly took your clothes off after the water was to your liking and slowly began your shower. you mostly just focused on rinsing your body, the thought of doing your hair seemed as too big of a task for yourself. you finished your shower and dried yourself off, then got dressed.

you then opened the bathroom door, your face meeting miguel's as you gestured to your hair, "you want me to take care of your hair?" you nodded in response to the question.

he knew exactly how to take care of your hair, as he used to take care of gabriellas hair.. he started running the sink, and then grabbed your hair products and a hairbrush. he ran his fingers under the water, "alright, this is going to be weird but i need you to tilt your head, just like you're at the hair salon, it might feel uncomfortable because we don't have a stool but i promise you that you'll feel so much better later." you nodded and placed your head in the sink.

"let me know if it gets too hot." you blinked your eyes in response. he started massaging in your shampoo, after rinsing it out he lightly brushed your hair for a bit, before continuing with conditioner. once he was done with conditioner it was easier for him to brush out your knot's.

once all the knots were properly detangled he turned the sink off and spoke once again, "would you like your hair dried?" you nodded, he grabbed your drier and got to work, making sure every part of your hair dried evenly (if you have curly hair he used the diffuser attachment). after your hair was dried he brushed out your hair once again.

you turned to face him with a soft look in yours eyes. you reminded him of gabby so much that it hurt his heart. he couldn't even imagine his little girl having to go through this by herself. "thank you" you signed.

he felt a pang in his heart, "of course, you know that im always here if you need my help, mijo." he gave you a small forehead kiss.

"we should get some food now, kid." you nodded. he guided you towards the cafeteria that most spider people ate at in the society. you smiled at the miguel themed burger. maybe everything would finally be okay with miguels to support you through your toughest times.

A/N: this might be long and confusing bc im rlly sleep deprived(sorry😔)

ofc theres more to depression but i rlly wanted to at least incorporate some sort of fluff😭

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

12 weeks down! 3 to go! 80% of the way there! the end is well and truly in sight! i’ve already had one of my final 2024 sessions (2025 pending score dates) and three more are coming this week, which is incredible even if i truly can’t believe how many of the kids are going right up to the week before christmas this year; also this wasn’t the case until a recent reschedule but now it seems that last week was my final seven day week. it’s happening… it’s all happening….

this week despite taking a full sick day monday, spending quite a bit of tuesday and wednesday napping, and not doing too too much work on thursday, i still somehow came in at a little over 34 hours? interesting to observe because it didn’t feel like i was cramming a lot of work in to various days… taking my tuesday sessions remotely probably helped but it’s also something to consider as i eye plans and intentions for 2025. the past couple years i’ve considered setting a goal for yearly hours worked to give myself a rough average weekly benchmark with the thinking being that doing more than the bare minimum on the weeks i could get away with doing less than 10 hours would help me stay on top of things and organized and work ahead in terms of reusable prep work (digitizing/making answer keys, writing problem sets in a way that lets me access them easily for future students so i don’t keep retracing my steps, organizing my gdrive lol) in a way that would help me feel less crazy and be actually less busy when the busy season hits. i also feel like maybe having an approximate weekly goal would help with the fact that even when i am working hardly at all i am thinking about work all the time and regularly stressed about whether i will have enough time for xyz in a way that makes it hard to devote time and mental energy to other personal goals and projects, as well as helping me set realistic goals for development work in my secondary gig when that comes up again. ANYWAY another thing i’ve been wondering about is a little every day vs. a lot on a few days a week and i sort of feel like this week suggests i may be more suited in some ways to the latter… much to ponder.

as stated above this was the week my annual november illness finally came for me, although mercifully it was much milder than in years past; i hit the symptomatic peak sunday night, spent two days mostly sleeping, and felt mostly better by thanksgiving, which was lucky because i had a very cozy thanksgiving with family early and friends late. consequently i also took the week all the way off working out even though it killed me a little to do that with 6 workouts left in my current program lol… the last time i had a cold and thought i was better earlier than i actually was i got a horrendous sinus infection which probably was not actually super related but i was feeling superstitious and disinclined to push my luck. but at this point despite some lingering sniffles i am pretty sure i’m better - the lack of a symptom flare-up at night is actually a pretty good clue now that i know about the circadian immune system thing lol - and i am in fact very excited to work out again tomorrow!

i was sort of idly thinking maybe december could be a time to get back on my habit tracking bullshit in anticipation of the new year but… i don’t think i’m there yet… but i am ready to start cleaning my room which is like the worst thing in my life right now. i would LOVE to go into my break with a reasonably tidy room instead of spending valuable break time tidying. i may even do a bit of journaling even if only because i need to test out if apple pencil journaling feels like it can be for me (i love apple pencil plannering so far so it is possible). i also do want to write at least a blurb a day or five blurbs total (ideally more but lol we’ll see) for amnesty week at tsj. work wise i keep waffling because on the one hand i’m at a point in terms of the calendar and the workload where i can probably work less than i have been and be fine - i have an actual specific list of all the things i have to do by the 22nd, including the ones that involve being prepped for the first sessions back after break, and it’s a comprehensible number of items - but the anxiety is still there, as is (1) the practical consideration that i should probably also get those lingering answer explanations up before the 23rd and (2) the fact that the manageableness of the list also suggests invitingly that if i keep up the grind another week or two i can slip into chill mode earlier even as i still have some final sessions…. i fall into this kind of trap constantly and it’s usually not true but this time feels different. well. anyway. let’s say 25-35 hours and anything in that range is good and i will play it by ear day to day. lol.

[elanna-elrondiel]

OC Questionnaire Tag Game

I don't know if this will be interesting or comprehensible since I'm not practicing english at all lately 😢 I was tagged by my lovely @linden-leaf and my dear @yellow-faerie, thank you both a lot ! I had a lot of fun reading about your OCs <3

I'm not very good at writing so here's my answers for Mentelossë (I think she's my more known OC) Maybe I'll do it again for other OCs later :D I want to write and talk more about my non Tolkien OCs as well !

1. What’s a core lie your character believes about themselves or the world, and where did it originate? (e.g. if they believe they’re unlovable, was there a particular person or pattern of people that taught them to think so? If they believe the world is fundamentally fair and just, what society or institution taught them what fairness and justice meant, and what the rules for them were?)

Mentelossë believes she is the one who has to protect others. She thinks she needs to make a difference even when it's impossible. It's because she was often powerless in what happened to her as a child and she lost a lot of people in various ways which makes her very protective of her loved ones and thinks she has value only if she can provide security.

2. Who are/were the most important people in their lives? Did they choose those people for themselves (and would they choose them again)?

The most important person in Mentelossë's life is her husband Glorfindel. She choose him quite literally, at first it was all fun and shenanigans but it soon turned into a deep relationship and they became each other's confidant. Mentelossë spend a long time alone after his death but choose him again when he came back to Middle Earth. She would choose him again but she wishes she was less hesitant before his death to enjoy more time together before everything fell apart in the late First Age. She wishes they had married earlier

3. Is there a choice they’ve surprised themselves by making? (And did they learn anything about themselves through making it?)

She chose to go with Maedhros and Maglor after the Third Kinslaying. At the time she thought she was doing this for the twins but at this point she had lost all of her meaning in life and desperately wanted to reconnect with Maedhros, someone she knew in her youth.

4. What is their biggest regret, and why?

Not marrying Glorfindel before his death against the Balrog and not learning how to fight earlier in her life and being unable to protect the ones she loves.

Mentelossë also feels very guilty about not recognising Annatar as Sauron earlier, she feels like she was an idiot for not seeing it and becomes really suspicious in the Third Age (She didn't give a warm welcome to the istaris apart from Gandalf whom Glorfindel knew)

5. Do they have a craft? When and where did they learn it, and from who, and why?

Mentelossë's craft is architecture !! She learned a bit with Turgon when she lived in Gondolin but mostly spend hours learning by herself or finding herself tutors. She liked to follow Gondolin's architects and asking them a thousand questions. She is fascinated by the grandeur of Gondolin's buildings and later by the differences of styles in different cultures. She thinks the architecture of a city is the basis of its organisation and she wants to be able to be a good ruler like her grandfather (Fingolfin) and be able to understand and help her family of Princes and Kings.

She learned a lot of things out of the frustration of being left out of her father and grandfather's life. That's why she also took an interest in war startegy, comptability etc (yes she's good at maths)

6. How do they sleep? Is it restful, or full of nightmares? Do they only sleep in short bursts or are they the sort to sleep deeply all night?

She usually sleeps really well, she likes to rest, nap and sleep. However she had some rough periods in her life when she had a lot of nightmares especially after the Fall of Gondolin and Third Kinslaying. Today at Imladris she only has nightmares after triggering events but Glorfindel is there for her and they find comfort in each other when something hurtful from their past resurfaces

Tagging @merilles @cilil @petitedilly @chipeanuts @brouniecas @firesn0w @fishing4stars and whoever wants to do it ! I really want to counter tag @linden-leaf and @yellow-faerie too but this game would be endless 😂 No pressure it's only for funsies 💙

My questions :

What was an achievement that your OC felt worthy of celebrating? Was it a personal victory or a big impact on everyone around them?

Does your OC have recurring themes in their nightmares/dreams ?

What was your inspiration to create your OC ? Which characters, stories, aesthetics, irl persons inspired you for this character ? What was the first thing who helped you create this OC or something you added to their story/personnality/appearance inspired from something else ?

[glatisant-questing]

Shinpachi's Short Story from the Manyo no Shou Limited Edition Booklet

Shinpachi is cute!!! I love the detail about how the other soldiers from the 2nd division would like to help him when they see him doing the cleaning.

As usual, there's no spoiler alert since the story can be read before or after playing the game/the FD and has little to do with the major plot.

This SS was written by 長野 和泉

“Wow, I’m good! I’m good! Thank you for the meal, Chizuru-chan. Today’s breakfast is delicious as always!” 

I said, stretching my limbs and lying down on the floor. The time after eating to one’s heart’s content is truly what they call “a moment of bliss”. 

“Thank you for your kind words, Nagakura-san. I will take care of the dishes, so please have some rest.” Chizuru-chan said. 

“Okay, thanks! It’s my day off today, so maybe I’ll take a nap or something…” 

I said, trying to get up. That’s when it happened. 

“Hey Shinpachi, come here.” 

Suddenly, Sano grabbed me by the collar. 

“What? What do you want? Hey, don’t pull so hard, ouch–” 

I was dragged out of the hall by Sano. When we got to the corridor, Sano pushed me against the wall and said. 

“…You didn’t notice anything, did you?” He asked. 

“Huh? Notice what?|ʘ‿ʘ)╯” I asked.

“It’s Chizuru’s complexion. She looked unwell, didn’t she? How can you ask her to do chores like that?” He said. 

“Now that you mention it, she did seem a bit less energetic than usual…” I said. 

“If you noticed it, then you should have cleaned up the dishes yourself. You have nothing to do today, right? So take over her chores for her. Got it?” 

He said, and then went back to the hall. 

“What do you mean by nothing to do? Sure, I don’t have any errands, but…” I said. I was annoyed because I didn’t notice Chizuru’s situation until Sano pointed it out, but I did feel worried about her too. 

With that in mind, I decided to go back to the hall. 

“Oh, Nagakura-san. Did you finish talking with Harada-san?” Chizuru-chan greeted me as I came back. 

“Hm? Yeah, sort of. Listen, I’ll take care of the dishes, so you can go back to your room and rest.” I said. 

“Eh? But, cleaning up is my job…” She said. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just leave it to me.” I said, and started cleaning up the dishes. But– 

“Oops–!” 

Trying to carry too many dishes at once was a bad idea. I dropped them all on the floor with a loud clash. 

“Are you okay, Nagakura-san?!” She asked. 

“O-oh, yeah, I’m fine…” I said. 

“I knew it, so please let me handle it! Please go back to your room and have some rest.” She said. 

“But…” I felt bad letting her do it after what Sano told me. 

“Alright then, then I’ll wash the dishes! I’ll be done in a flash, so wait for me!” I said, and snatched the dishes from her hands. 

Then I headed to the well. 

“I’m sorry. I wanted to help you out, but instead I made things worse.” 

After that, I tried to wash the dishes, but she took them away from me again, saying “just let me handle this”. 

“Don’t worry about it. I know very well that you intend to help me.” She said, deftly cleaning up the bowls one by one. 

“But are you really okay? Sano told me earlier that you looked pale…” I asked. 

Then she looked away from me shyly. 

“I’m fine. It’s not that I’m sick or anything. It’s just that I didn’t have enough sleep last night.” She said. 

“Not enough sleep?” I asked. 

��Yes. I was reading a book on medicine that I borrowed from Matsumoto-sensei and before I knew it, it was morning.” She said.

“A book on medicine, huh? Chizuru-chan, you’re very studious.” 

I said, impressed by her determination to learn more about medicine, even though she already has a lot of knowledge that has helped many of our comrades. 

At the same time, I felt that I need to do something for her. 

“Alright, I’ve decided! Chizuru-chan, do you have other chores to do later? I’ll do them for you.” I said. 

“Eh, no, that’s–too much!” She said.

 “It’s fine, it’s fine. You can just have a rest. Or you don’t trust me?” I said. 

“That’s not the case, it’s just that I feel bad to let others do what I should do…” She said, looking downcast. 

But I insisted, “Come on, let me handle it for you. You are always taking care of me. It is a big brother’s duty to look after his little sister, right?” I said. 

She hesitated for a while. But then she smiled like a tiny flower in bloom. 

“…Alright. Then I’ll accept your kindness.” She said. 

“Yeah! Today I’ll do all the troublesome chores for you, so just relax.” I said. 

“Okay, I get it.” She said. 

Just hearing her answer lifted all the heaviness from my heart.

 (Chizuru-chan’s an incredible girl. She makes me feel like I want to do anything just to make her smile.) 

(For now, I will go and do the things she usually does…)

 I made sure she went into her room before I started moving. 

“First, I’ll do the cleaning.” I said, beginning to wipe the floor of the hall and the long corridor with a cloth. 

The other off-duty soldiers from the second unit offered to help me when they saw me doing the cleaning, but since I told Chizuru-chan to leave the chores all to me, I couldn’t let them do it.

I turned down their offers and continued with the cleaning. 

Then I heard a familiar voice. 

“Hey Shinpachi-san. Why are you cleaning? Aren’t you off-duty today?” 

At Heisuke’s words, I stopped from my labor.

“Yeah, I’m off-duty. That’s why I wanted to do some cleaning—I mean, I just feel like doing the cleaning today!” I decided not to involve Chizuru-chan since I did not want to disturb her while she was resting, and I chose my words carefully. 

“Oh, really? That’s rare. So…do you know where Chizuru is?” He asked. 

“N-no…why do you ask?” I asked. 

“She said she was going to do the laundry today since the weather is nice. I wonder what I should do…” He said. 

“Well…maybe you can leave the dirty laundry in the courtyard?” I suggested. 

“Oh, right. Then I’ll go get the clothes and stuff!” 

He said so and left. 

As I watched him leaving… 

(What? After cleaning up the floor, I am supposed to sweep the temple grounds…and then do the laundry too? Chizuru-chan, are you doing all of these things everyday…truly amazing…) 

I had no choice but to do the laundry too. I sighed and thought to myself.

That day. Under a sky that was clear and blue. 

When Nagakura started doing the laundry, Chizuru woke up from her nap and helped him. The two of them washed the clothes together happily.

(The end)

[miscfandomwrites]

Mama Chapter Ten

Ooof, it’s been a hot bit. Pretty excited to get back to it though! Still working out the misc details of setting things up and kick-starting the writing process again, but for now here’s another chapter to tide y’all over. Also, the collage maker I originally used decided to put nearly everything on the premium side, so if the colleges are a bit wonky, I’m using an app on my computer meant for a phone to make them.

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Mom! Avenger! Reader (F! Loki x Reader Smut)

Warnings: Language, Smut, Fingering, Oral (f receiving), the boys being boys

Words: 2.4k

Tagging:

~~

It’s been a few weeks since the encounter with Natasha at her studio, and since then we’ve fallen into a pattern.

I’d drop Lillith off at school in the morning, get back to the tower to apply for jobs, work out, and do whatever was needed to be done at the time. Then, come afternoon after I’d worked out, I’d shower and pick up Lillith, dropping off Natasha at her studio in the process.

Despite only knowing Lillith for a few months, Natasha immensely liked her. Enough so, that she offered to teach her how to do ballet. I was shocked-from what Clint had told me about her, she didn’t like kids that much. Well, besides his. And mine, apparently.

So now we’ve settled into a comfortable routine. One which will be edited because finally I got a job. Two, infact.

It wasn’t the fact that money was needed-Stark and SHIELD took care of that for us. Well, maybe it was a little about the money. I didn’t like depending on people for things. Especially money. Besides, it was good to have a decent source (or two) of income so I could start saving up for things.

I hummed as I tapped my hands on the steering wheel, glancing around the street. It had been raining on and off this week, the sky always overcast. Lillith was passed out in the backseat, snoozing away in her little yellow raincoat. I smiled in the mirror, appreciating my small human. 

A knock on the passenger window brought me out of my thoughts and I unlocked the door for Nat to get in.

“Hey” She said softly to me upon noticing the sleeping child in the back.

“Hey yourself” I replied as I started the car.

“How long has she been asleep for?” She asked me as she buckled herself in.

I glanced back towards Lillith, still passed out.

“Almost as soon as I picked her up, so almost an hour by now.” 

“Lucky. I need a nap.” She replied as she dug through the bag on her lap.

I smiled in response as I pulled away from the studio.

~~

Surprisingly, Lillith slept through the forty minute traffic rage fueled way back to the tower. Natasha and I had...quite a colorful discussion about some of the drivers during the ride back, mostly involving the fact that it seemed like no one had heard of rain before. 

“If it was that bad with rain, how do you think snow will treat us?” I asked her as I opened my door.

“It’s bad. That’s about all you need to know. It’s really bad.” she said as she opened the trunk.

I opened Lillith’s door and gently unbuckled the toddler, and shifted her in my arms. Somehow still sleeping, she didn’t even move when I held her with one arm close to me. I grabbed the go back on the floor and closed the door with my hip, locking the car and following Nat to the elevators.

We continued our conversation from the car as we rode the elevator up to the main floor. I was planning on getting Clint to watch Lillith for a bit (even if she was napping) while I picked up our floor. I loved the kid, but our floor was a disaster and a half. Hell, I might even get Nat and Wanda to help me with it.

Thankfully as soon as we got on the main floor, Clint was there. Albeit, he was with the boys in the living room watching some sort of movie, but he was there.

Despite the fact that I loved my daughter with all my heart and would gladly do many, many, terrible things to prove it, I needed a break from parenting for a few hours for maintenance. 

I had mentioned that I needed to clean my floor earlier to Nat when we were in the car, and she’d told me that she’d gladly help me pick up. 

I uncerisomosly plopped Lillith into Clints lap, and headed back to the elevator. He gave me a confused look but soon turned his attention to the child in his arms.

Without looking back, I waved my thanks to him and got into the elevator right as the doors were closing.

“Going up?” Natasha chuckled as I rested my forehead against the cool wall of the elevator.

I murmured an agreement as the elevator shot up into the sky again.

We arrived at my floor and Nat practically had to drag me out of it. Wanda was already in the kitchen doing dishes, and by the smell in the air she had also made my coffee.

“There’s coffee for you, (Y/N). I brewed it awhile ago and turned it off, so the coffee is cool.” She told me as we headed into the kitchen. 

I walked over and poured myself a cup, taking a small sip of the slightly warm coffee. 

“You are officially my third favorite person” I said as I started to drink the coffee.

“Oh? And who are the others?” She questioned, pointing a spatula at me.

I watched Nat gently nudge Wanda towards me so she could fill up her water bottle, and said person was still pointing a soapy spatula at me.

“Myself, then Lillith, then you.” I replied, starting to take larger drinks of the coffee. I paused to refill my cup, and then tilted my head back and quickly chugged it.

“I do not think that is healthy.” A voice from behind me said. I turned towards the person and did a double take. 

I had no idea who I was looking at.

She grinned at me and I took a moment to observe her. Long black hair that went to her shoulders, a black crop top and a dark green pair of jeans, along with a pair of doc martens. Dainty gold jewelry-a few light necklaces, some bracelets and rings-also adorned her.

She held out her hand to me, “The name is Loki. Nice to meet you.” 

I shook her hand and turned towards the girls, raising an eyebrow as I put my cup into the dishwasher.

“She’s here on guard for Thor. We’re watching over her for now, until some things get sorted out on Asgard apparently.” Wanda said as she closed the dishwasher, starting a cycle on it.

I nodded. “Cool, cool. Anyway, cleaning.” I reminded them (and myself mostly).

Forty-five minutes later, the kitchen, living room, and dining room were spotless. I wanted to pick up the rest by myself, because all that was left was my work space near the bay windows, Lillith’s room, the main bathroom, and my room. 

I needed a break from people for a bit, and from Loki’s complaints of nearly all my music choices.

Natasha had said she needed a shower, and Wanda volunteered to show Loki to the library. Which I completely forgot about. Of course there is a library-I’m in a millionaire’s tower after all.

I retied my hair up and put spotify on shuffle again, and resumed cleaning up the floor. My workspace had the papers refilled, the desk wiped down, and the miscellaneous items on it moved to their proper places. The bathroom was fairly easy, a childhood of learning how to clean it in less than twenty minutes paid off well.

Lillith’s room was pretty easy, because despite that fact that she was my chaos child, she picked up after herself (most of the time). Finally, bedroom time. I cleaned the bathroom first, then moved to the bedroom. By now my back was drenched in sweat and I was starting to feel the caffeine slowly wearing off. I hauled the pile of dirty clothes into a basket and took off my shirt and put it in there as well, leaving me in my jeans and bra. I finished vacuuming and then grabbed the basket and hauled it to the other side of the floor to do some laundry. On my way back to my room, the elevator doors opened and out stepped Loki.

“I was looking for-” she paused when she saw me, her mouth twisting into a smirk. “Well, for a human you do look rather ravishing…” She said as she stalked towards me. With my back at the kitchen island and her between me and the elevators, there wasn’t much room to run.

She stopped right in front of me, close enough to feel her breath on my face. She narrowed her eyes at me, and it took some effort to fight the flush of my cheeks as she stared at me.

Her eyes traveled down to my chest, and then back up to my face. “Why don’t we have some fun?” She questioned, tilting her head to the side.

~~

For once, I was wanting to be touched. I let her kiss me, and god damn, if it didn’t feel good then nothing else did. It’s been a long time since I’ve let someone touch me like this. 

Loki had me sitting on the counter, her mouth on my neck, kissing and leaving marks as she made her way down to my chest. Undoing my bra, she tossed it somewhere in the living room. 

She took one of my nipples in her mouth, nipping at it with her teeth. I growled slightly, running a hand through her hair and grabbed some of it. She hummed and moved to the other one, rolling it gently between her teeth.

“Fuck…” I whispered as she kissed between the valley of my breasts, moving her head downwards. She quickly took off my jeans, along with my underwhere and kneeled in front of me. She placed each of my thighs on her shoulders and flicked her hair behind her ears, then stared up and grinned at me. 

My breath was coming in heavy pants, and everything was clouded in a glaze. All I knew is I wanted her tongue right-

A small groan escaped me as she licked between my folds, easily finding my entrance. She did it once, twice, and then thrice. She pulled me closer to her, and one of my hands grasped the edge of the table and the other was in her hair. 

The next few minutes were filled with bliss-her slowly making me come undone. After years of not bothering to see anyone, not even when I was drunk off my ass, this felt really fucking good.

A nip to my inner high brought me out of my daze and back to the woman currently between them, just as she slid two fingers into me. My back arched and a low whimper escaped my mouth, and my hand tightened on her head. I heard a whisper of praises in a language I didn’t recognize, probably Norse, as she started to pump them in and out of me slowly.

I could feel myself start to lose it, and it worsened when she took her mouth to my clit. A mixture of sucking it and flicking it with her tongue had me gasping her name in seconds, my back arching on the table.

I came with a loud moan and a quieter ‘Fuckin’ hell…’ my thighs were shaking slightly and I put both hands back on the ledge of the kitchen table.

Loki stood up, and gently rubbed their hands up my thighs and kissed me. She pulled back, smiled at me and walked away.

She fucking walked away-

She called the elevator and with a wink, she was gone.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. Wow.

~~

A deep shower later and a load of laundry switched, I headed downstairs to go see my offspring.

Which as soon as I walked into the kitchen, was probably a good thing.

Here’s what I walked into:

Thor, with a chef’s hat on and in an apron that read ‘kiss the chef!’ and whisking...something in a bowl. Tony was sitting cross legged on the island, furiously doing Lillith’s hair while she sat patiently, kicking her feet on the edge of the table. Clint was on top of the fridge. Bucky had his head down on the table while Steve and Sam laughed their heads off, and Banner was making a pot of coffee. 

As soon as I approached, everyone stopped. Lillith’s cheery, “Hi Momma!” accompanied by Bucky’s “Don’t ask” was all it took for me to burst out laughing. 

~~

A night of pizza and Lillith somehow falling asleep in Natasha’s arms was all it took for me to call it a night. Hell, the woman even offered to carry her to her bed. 

I took her up on the offer, opening the door and helping her put Lillith into bed. I kissed her cheek and tugged the blankets up to her chin, and quietly shut the door. 

“She’s becoming more open to us.” Natasha said after awhile. Both of us were in the kitchen, with me currency digging through the fridge looking for some ice cream. As soon as those words left her lips I ended up hitting my head on a the shelf above me, and quickly pulled myself out of the freezer.

Rubbing the back of my head wincing at the bump I knew was going to form, I looked up to see Natasha quietly laughing, a hand to her mouth to hide her grin.

I blinked before taking in the sight before me. The redhead’s shoulders shaking as she tried to contain her laughter. It took her a minute before she calmed down enough to be able to talk. I had a grin on my face which quickly turned to a blush as she got off the island and brushed the frost that was still on my shoulders off.

“Clumsy дорогой” she chuckled as she ruffled my hair. 

~~

[timeoverload]

I am proud of myself because I finally got all of the junk off my bed. I wasn't expecting to do much else today but I didn't have a choice. I was trying to eat earlier and I looked over and saw a huge spider. It scared me so bad. I got up so fast that some of my food fell off my plate. I wasn't very happy about that. I decided I had to clean the bed right away. It helped that I had a burst of adrenaline. I think I needed that. I guess I didn't realize how much stuff I had piled up on the side of the bed so it took a while to sort out. I had to lay down and take a 30 minute nap in the middle of it because I kept having hot flashes. I never found the spider though. I'm sure it crawled back under the bed because I scared it. I am just glad it's done. It's nice to be able to spread out again. I will continue working on stuff tomorrow. I don't want to overdo it right now because I don't feel very good after moving so much.

I still don't know what I am going to wear next week. I ordered some new dresses yesterday. I couldn't decide on one. I will have to try them on and see which one I like best. I don't want to be overdressed. I haven't worn heels for like 10 years and I think it would be fun to wear them again. I'm not sure how well I would get around due to the fact that I already have trouble walking. I don't need a broken ankle. Maybe I will try anyway. I still have time to figure it out so I will try not to worry about it too much yet. I wish this didn't have to be so stressful. I hope this is worth it because I don't want to go through this anymore. I just want us both to be happy.

I am going to relax now because it has been an exhausting day and I don't feel like I did that much. I think it has also been emotionally exhausting as well. I don't think I am going to have any trouble sleeping later. Hopefully I will be able to be more productive tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow. :) 💖💖💖

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Cinnamon Rolls

Set post-game. As she waits for her treats to bake, Agnes Dekarios (formerly Wildheart) enjoys yet another evening with her beloved Gale. SFW.

It was another beautiful day in Waterdeep. Agnes Dekarios (formerly Wildheart) sat next to her husband on his favorite chair looking out over the water from his tower at sunset.

No Agi, our tower. This isn’t just Gale’s home anymore. It’s yours. And every day I add a few more touches to make it feel like home.

“You seem lost in thought, Mrs. Dekarios.” Gale teased, glancing at her sideways as he balanced a book in one hand and a quill in the other. “What tempest of thoughts are swirling in your beautiful head, my dear?”

“Flatterer.” She said with a wink. “Oh, just how the tower is quickly becoming home for me.”

He hummed, writing something down in the margins of the book. “Ah yes, the little hints of color throughout, your cast iron pan and wok becoming favorites in the kitchen, the painting of Baldur’s Gate in your…what are you calling that room again, darling?”

Agnes grinned. “My hobby room. All my little trinkets, books, and piano.” And unlike my handsome wizard, I can actually play the piano. Most nights after we’re done on the terrace I’ll play a song or two for him while he sits next to me, his hand always on my thigh. Horace and Scratch have their beds in there, and sometimes even Tara will nap with them…when she isn’t napping on Gale’s tummy.

“My sweet wife’s hobby room, of course! It’s coming along nicely, though there’s a distinct lack of a chair or small sofa for your husband.” He’s teasing me again.

Giggling, she swatted his arm. “Pick one out then, love, and I’ll have it put in there. Until then—”

RING! RING! RING!

Agnes’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck, those are the cinnamon rolls!” She pressed a kiss to Gale’s cheek (his beard is much more substantial than we first met but still well-groomed) and then hopped off the chair to get those very tasty cinnamon rolls out of the oven. She made at least a dozen every week. My darling loves to have two mid-morning with some more coffee. She smiled to herself as she iced them. I should bring some up right now. They smell so damn good. Maybe I’ll grab a few for me too… As she prepared a plate, she thought about her trip to see Halsin earlier in the day. She had been feeling unwell for a fortnight with nausea in the mornings. Gale was, of course, worried sick about her and insisted on a healer right away. But I can be a stubborn dwarf sometimes and thought it would go away. She could not help but grin. And it will be going away…sort of. A few more weeks hopefully. When she returned to the terrace with five cinnamon rolls, she found Gale staring dreamily at the horizon, the book and quill now on a side table. “I come bearing cinnamon rolls, love!” Agnes said, her expression as light as air.

Gale rubbed his hands together, the gold band on his left ring finger shining in the remaining daylight. “How fortunate am I to have such a talented, beautiful, thoughtful wife!” He patted the spot next to him. He took the plate from Agnes and put it on the table before hugging her. “Come here, my love.” Helping her back on the chair, he brushed her freckled cheek with his knuckles. He always looks at me with such love, such fondness…I’m the lucky one. “You know, I would’ve gotten those for you. You need to—”

She shook her head as she grabbed a cinnamon roll. “I’m alright, Gale love. In fact, Halsin said I’m not sick at all.” Taking a large bite of the roll, she practically moaned as she chewed.

Gale, for his part, laughed heartily. “Goodness me, madam! The only time you make sounds like that is in the bedroom.” He took one for himself as he kissed her red curls. “It is very heartening to see you so thoroughly enjoying this, my love. You’re always so nauseous in the mornings now. Wait,” he stopped before taking a bite. “Halsin says you’re not sick? Then, it is my theory of allergy-related sinus issues?”

Not even close. She swallowed and shook her head. “Erm, no. The nausea should subside within a few weeks, and then…” Oh dear, how much should I tease him? “Other symptoms of sorts will be presenting.”

Gale’s brown eyes widened, full of worry. “Other symptoms? Darling please, if you’re—”

She shifted next to him, the cinnamon roll already gone, and took his free hand. “For a man so brilliant, Gale love, you sometimes miss the facts in front of you.” Agnes kissed his knuckles and nuzzled his hand. “I’m pregnant. You’re going to be a father.”

For a few moments, there was silence.

I…I thought this was what we wanted? Why isn’t he saying anything?

Her fear evaporated when he let out a cry of pure joy and kissed her soundly. When he broke the kiss, tears were in his eyes and a hand rested on her belly. “A child. Our child. By the gods, our child.” The hand on her belly was now rubbing his beard. “I’ll get every book I can on pregnancy and birth, especially ones on half-dwarves. Must find a midwife as well…unless you want Halsin, since you’re comfortable with him? Or perhaps Shadowheart, though who knows if she even deals with this. Must plan and design the nursery. Oh, and I should find books on what music to play for the baby—”

Oh no. No. No. No. No. NOT NOW, GALE LOVE. Agnes wrinkled her nose and giggled, patting him on the arm. “Gale, I love you dearly, but how about you make your lists tomorrow?”

“Oh! Right! Of course, my dear.” He took both her hands in his, and Agnes was reminded of their conversation in the astral realm. The night I finally convinced him to drop all notions of using the Crown for godhood. That he is enough just as he is. That I want him just as he is. “Forgive me, I’m elated. Quite nervous. But so very excited! What a beautiful adventure we’re on, my love.” Gale pressed kisses on each of her hands. Gods, he can’t stop smiling. He’s so happy. “An adventure I never even considered, blinded by ambition as I was. However, I believe the feeling of being an omniscient, omnipotent god cannot compare to the pure and utter joy I feel right now. Gods, it feels as if my heart is going to burst from my chest. There’s so much I want to teach them, show them, tell them…” He shook his head, still smiling. “No, not just me. Us.”

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Oh, fuck it. Agnes blinked away tears. “Us.”

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Oh hey what if you wrote anaroceit with one of them(extra love if its janus) having a bad day and so they cuddle and take a nap together?

Fit For Kings

----

Janus is stressed out and overwhelmed by a discussion that quickly devolves into arguing, Roman sets about helping him - and Virgil too - out in the most extravagant and perfect way possible.

----

| Ao3 |

Warnings: one or two suggestive comments (if there's anything i should add please lmk)

Pairings: Anaroceit

Word count: 1596

Notes: Thank youuu for the prompt!! This was really fun to write and really got me back into the spirit I think, if anyone else wants to send me fluff prompts (or... any prompts at all) please hmu :D

I really hope this is good! haha, enjoy!

----

If they were just going to ignore him, Janus thought, then there wasn’t much point in him being there.

So he left, sank out back to his room without a word, flung his capelet and bowler hat unceremoniously onto a chair and snapped his fingers. His outfit, while so familiar, had become too hot, too itchy and almost outright unbearable as the conversation had gone on. It changed into a far too large black and purple sweater he had stolen from Virgil at some point and looser, more comfortable trousers too. He’d crawled helplessly onto his bed and wrapped himself tight in a blanket he had stolen from Roman’s room because he was - as Remus described him - a thieving little goblin and rocked gently back and forth in his little ball. 

It was okay, it would be fine. It wasn’t like this was a super important issue that could hurt Thomas’ mental health even more if it wasn’t sorted right. It wasn’t like Patton and Logan kept advocating against him because despite his ‘acceptance’ they still thought he couldn’t suggest anything helpful. 

So they were arguing with Roman who - while he was on his side and Janus was eternally grateful for that - didn’t exactly know the ins and outs of the situation, it not really being his department. And Virgil had already been having a bad anxiety day and left earlier in the discussion because arguing with Patton got so repetitive and frustrating and - well Janus wasn’t even sure how he himself had lasted so long.

And not to mention Remus had been there, which wasn’t… the most helpful, with the circumstances. He’d been riling up both Patton and Roman, and freaking Virgil out as he did so and honestly no wonder Virgil left when he did. Janus wanted to summon him, since everyone else was probably still arguing, but… he couldn’t deny that he felt a little bad about doing so when Virgil wasn’t faring well himself.

Maybe… less of a summoning, more of a gentle tug? Just to… let Virgil know he could come if he wanted to? But if he didn’t want to come, would he feel guilty and come anyway? But-

Whatever, he’d probably summon Virgil anyway if he started overthinking it too much. He sighed, closing his eyes and gently tugging on the mental string that kept them all connected as sides, whispering Virgil’s name down the bond before closing his eyes and burrowing into the blanket that he kept himself wrapped in. 

“Jan?” Virgil’s voice said, his head immediately popped up from the blanket to find Virgil standing next to his bed, “You okay? You called…”

Janus shrugged, reaching a hand out of his blanket cocoon for Virgil, who took it only to be pulled closer onto the bed. He yelped in surprise, before sitting up properly and moving closer until Janus could wrap the blanket around him too. 

For a moment, Virgil just wrapped his arms around Janus and nuzzled his face into his shoulder. Janus smiled, finally relaxing a little as he buried his nose in Virgil’s hair. Soft and fluffy as it always was. 

“Where’s Ro?” Virgil murmured. 

“Totally not still stuck with the others,” Janus whispered back, feeling as though he would break something fragile if he spoke any louder. He felt Virgil frown against his shoulder and pulled the blanket tighter around them both.

“Did it get too much for you too?” Virgil asked.

“No,” Janus said, “That’s why I’m still up there.”

Virgil chuckled and Janus thought that a win as the corner of his own lips tugged itself up into a small smile without him trying. 

“Is this his blanket?” Virgil asked after another moment of tense but comfortable silence. 

“What? No- definitely not - I’m no thief,” Janus denied reflexively. Telling the truth was always so much harder when he was overwhelmed. 

“And I suppose you’re no liar either?” Virgil asked with a small giggle, before gently tugging at the hoodie he was wearing, “Because this is definitely my hoodie.”

“You must be mistaken, Virgil,” Janus said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, “Because this is my hoodie, always has been.”

“Of course of course,” Virgil rolled his eyes, “That totally explains why you give it back to me after it’s been washed and then steal it again, every single time.”

“It- it stops smelling like you when it gets washed.” Janus said, cheeks flaming, he didn’t realise Virgil had noticed!

“It’s ok,” Virgil said, smirking and squeezing him a little tighter for a moment, “I know you’re a little schemer, I think it’s cute.”

“Shut it,” Janus huffed, “I’m not cute.”

“But you still called me because you were sad and wanted cuddles?” Virgil said, “and you built a nest on your bed of stuff you stole from us?”

“Only comfy things,” Janus protested, as if that would help. Virgil snorted. 

“You’re not denying the rest though?”

“I deny everything.” Janus said, pressing his scaled cheek to Virgil’s hair. 

“D’you think Roman will come join us when he wins the argument?”

“What makes you so sure he’ll win?” Janus asked.

“Cause he’s Roman?” Virgil said as though it was obvious, “and he’s arguing your point, which was right, by the way, sorry I wasn’t more helpful, but he’ll win.”

“I’m glad you’re so confident in me, Virgil,” Said Roman, coming in through the door that very second, “And you’ll both be glad to know that I did, in fact, win the argument.”

“Hurrah,” Virgil said, raising a fist, Janus breathed a quiet side of relief, so they’d been able to avoid the mental health bullet in the end, “Join us?”

Roman grinned, not moving closer, “I would love to, dearest Stormcloud, but I have a better idea.”

“What could be better than cuddles in a blanket nest?”

“How about,” Roman said with a grin, “A luxury castle break for three?”

“Benifits of moving from this very comfortable cocoon being?” Janus asked, “C’mon Ro, advertise.”

Laughing, Roman walked over and sat down just a little ways away from them, “Onsite sauna, a banquet for just the three of us with anything you could possibly want, the comfiest beds, fit for kings, grand clothes, a guarantee than no-one will bother us until we choose to come back-”

Roman wiggled his eyebrows and Virgil found out that he was just out of punching range from their blanket cocoon.

“You had me at sauna,” Janus huffed, reluctantly peeling himself away from Virgil’s side, “Can I bring this blanket?”

“I certainly have enough blankets there-”

“I’m aware, I totally don’t want this one specifically.” Janus huffed, holding onto it a little tighter. Virgil chuckled and pressed a kiss to his cheek before scooting over to whisper something to Roman, who’s eyebrows shot up before he went bright red and ducked his head with a smile on his face. 

“Sorry, sorry, you can keep that blanket,” Roman said, clearly trying not to laugh, “Promise, now, c’mon, we’ve got a palace waiting for us!”

“I can’t walk,” Janus said, flopping back onto the bed, “Whatever will we do?”

“Well I suppose the only solution would be to take Virgil and leave you here by yourself-” Roman said, putting a finger to his chin as though he was pondering the issue. Virgil rolled his eyes and scooped Janus off of the bed, tossing him over his shoulder as though he were nothing more than a sack of potatoes. 

“Ah- hey!” Janus yelped as Roman picked up the blanket that had been left on the bed and gently draped it over him. Virgil laughed and patted his back gently. 

“This is what you get for trying to be slick.” Virgil said, before nodding to Roman, “Will you do the honours, my Prince?”

Despite the blush that once again overtook Roman’s face at the nickname, he stepped forward and put both hands on Virgil’s other arm, sinking the three of them out to the imagination together.

—-

Virgil put Janus down once they’d sank out, and Roman gently ushered them through the massive palace gateway. 

They’d gone to the sauna, taken a dip in the bath that looked more like a pool to Janus, with beautifully fancy tiled floors and modled golden faucets and so much bubblebath, afterwards they’d gone to the banquet hall to dine on a feast fit for kings. Janus almost forgot the upset from before, as Roman hand fed him chunks of some bread that tasted perfect - still soft and warm - and Virgil giggled as he drank soup straight from the bowl. He couldn’t help but think about how Roman had done such a brilliant job of distracting them and providing relaxation for all three of them, himself included. 

Something he definitely wouldn’t lie about was the way it made him want to kiss both his partners silly and he did just that the moment Roman brought them up to what may have been the most elegantly decorated bedroom he had ever seen. When they had later collapsed onto the fluffiest, most comfortable bed Janus had ever had the pleasure of lying in, both of his partners around him, cuddling each other tightly and Roman’s blanket from back in Janus’ room covering them along with heavy duvets that seemed to radiate the most comfortable warmth…

As he closed his eyes, Janus found he had forgotten entirely about the issue from before. Now as he drifted off to sleep alongside the sounds of their breathing, he felt nothing but safe and warm and happy as can be.

----

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

[greekbros]

"greek-Bros": Spared no Expense

*Ares has invited Apollo, Artemis and Dionysus to Themiscyra*

Ares: Well I hope you guys like it, dad's been complaining about me not being "productive" enough for a god so I've decided to show you what I have been working on for a few weeks now. Spared no Expense.

Apollo: Well that is fine and all but I must ask why us?

Ares: Well why ask Athena to do the work of three already competent and much more trustworthy gods am I right?

Artemis: This place is huge seriously what have you been doing this whole time? Also the fuck do you mean "spared no expense" we're gods, money is completely beneath us.

Dionysus: Duuuuuude hope you set up some farms around here this place has got some nice greens.

Apollo: Um Dionysus, I'm wondering mostly because that outfit of yours suits you but why are you wearing a black button up? And where did you get those sunglasses?

Dionysus: *dressed up like Ian Malcolm* No reason why?

Ares: *literally dressed up like John Hammond* Yeah Apollo seriously I thought you were about that whole "clothes can mean whatever you want them to mean" stuff.

Apollo: *a little huffed at that remark* well then.

Ares: Ah we're here. *Stops his chariot*

Apollo: *turns and looks in awe at the distance with the over dramatic yet relatable disbelief of someone who has seen a fucking dinosaur*

Artemis: *had picked up a huge pinecone earlier* Ares, this species of pinecone shouldn't be here, this hasn't been around since th-*Apollo gently turns her head and is in equal disbelief*

*literally sees an entire civilization of purely just women*

Apollo: ....that's....that's all women ....this is literally more women I could have ever imagined seeing in one place

Artemis: Holy shit this looks actually cool

Dionysus: *who's been in on this fucking project the whole* He did it, that crazy son of a bitch did it. *Thunder rolling in the distance because he accidentally called Hera a bitch*...oh boi.

Ares: hehehe, welcome to Themiscyra.

*Jurassic Park theme*

Apollo:..Ares how did you even achieve this also why are there no men around?

Artemis: and why is that something you want to know?

Apollo: because to sustain such a population even you had officially kidnapped thousands of women or that has to be some sort of source of procreation.

Ares: Heheh, I did it all by myself, I told I spared no expense.

Apollo: oh my chaos you asexually reproduced these women?

Ares: What the fuck NO you glittery nerd. Remember I had that falling out with Aph a few months back?

Apollo: yes.

Ares: Well, I sat on the beach, trying to make myself feel better and after I was done I was really chafed so I took a nap. After like 2 weeks I woke up and I saw a bunch a little mounds all over the beach and I heard a baby crying, I dug were the sound was coming from and someone had buried alive infant on the beach. However I put two and two together and well....I'm dad of like roughly 39768 Amazonians. *Gives that smile one would give when they don't know they have done something impossible*

Apollo:...you...masterbated on the beach....than....this?

Ares:...yeah kind of. Oh by the way be careful with some of them because I haven't taught every single one of them to be social enough to not immediate kill anyone who isn't me in this place so stick with me ok?

Artemis: well sounds like my kind of people.

Apollo:.....you.... ejaculated....all over a beach...and..

Ares: Look I spared no expense that's all I can tell you. The advanced and "organized society" thing they did that all by themselves and I'm very proud.

Apollo:...for gods sake man

Dionysus: fuck yeeeaaaah bruh. *Hi fives Ares*.

Apollo: well....at least things can't get any worse*

*everything went worse after the Amazonians saw Apollo and Dionysus and everything went to slightly shit*

Bouns Scene:

Dionysus: *after some how breaking his leg, he lays down with his bare chest out seductively* We need to call for dad maybe he can help.

Ares: No I can't let him know about this he's gonna lose his shit.

Apollo: OH YOU THINK?!?

Ares: Look NO ONE told your sociopathic twin to hostility takeover after the girls accepted her into the city as a leader. I am going to give a serious talking to.

[stinklebug]

On and on It Goes

When Chai comes down with a nasty stomach bug, the gang does their best to take care of him.

read it on ao3

When Peppermint opens the door to the hideout, the first thing she notices is that Chai looks like he wants to die.

She’d been out helping to clear Kale’s corruption. It’s essentially her job. For now, anyway. Eventually, she’ll take over the company. Hopefully, that won’t be for a while. Peppermint isn’t sure she’s really ready for it yet. It’s a huge undertaking. So was taking down Kale and the other company heads, but…that’s different.

Today, it was mostly just meetings. Lots of interviews to get new heads of production, marketing, and finance. They had some solid candidates lined up. The issue is that it’s a whole process. They can’t just hire them. They have to figure out how to get them to the island, get them set up with living quarters, make sure they get everything explained to them properly, shown around so they don’t get lost (even with all the arrows around)…

It’s a pain in the ass.

Peppermint is exhausted. She was hoping to get back and sleep for the next 12 hours.

But Chai is on the couch, curled up and clutching his stomach. He looks uncomfortable. 808 is on the floor looking up at him. She keeps meowing.

Macaron and Korsica must still be at work. CNMN is most likely with Macaron. So that just leaves Peppermint to deal with…whatever this is.

Chai must’ve finally noticed her standing in the door, because he sits up and smiles at her. 808 hops into his lap.

“Hey, Peppermint! How’d the meetings go?”

She narrows her eyes, but plays along. “Eh. We’re getting closer to having new people hired. Shouldn’t be too much longer now…hopefully.”

“What’s going on with you?” she asks. “Just chillin’,” is his breezy reply. “Really? Then why were you clutching at your stomach?” “Whaddya mean?”

Peppermint scowls at him. “Don’t play dumb. What’s wrong?” “Nothing! I promise!” Chai tries to soothe her.

Her scowl somehow gets angrier looking.

His smile turns strained. “My stomach just hurts. That’s all. No biggie.”

“Have you been fighting the SBR units again?”

“No, actually,” he says. “And, for your information, that only happened the other day because they asked me to fight them. So.”

She rolls her eyes.

“It just…kinda started hurting a few hours ago.” “Huh.” Peppermint pauses to think. “Did you forget to eat?”" “Mmm, maybe. I don’t remember when I last did.” “Alright,” she says as she pulls out her phone. “What do you want?” “Uh…do they deliver chicken noodle soup?” he asks. “They can deliver pretty much anything, Chai.” “Then soup.” He yawns. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

Peppermint merely nods in acknowledgement as she orders some food for them. Once that’s done, she sits down at her desk. If she can’t rest until the food gets here, might as well work on uncovering more of those SPECTRA signals around the campus.

Every so often, Peppermint will glance over at Chai. He never fell asleep, though he’s clearly trying to. He keeps tossing and turning. The uncomfortable expression from earlier is back on his face. 808 hopped up and curled up next to him at some point. Slowly, she’s been moving towards the end of the couch, away from him.

Peppermint can’t blame her. It’s hard to rest next to someone who won’t stop moving.

She hopes that it really is just because he’s hungry. He’s had a couple of medical scares the past few weeks.

First, his player stopped functioning correctly for a bit. He kept passing out and getting hurt because of it. They had to make him a new one. It took a little while, but thankfully that got sorted. Chai even got to keep the old one.

But then, not long after, his under the hood implants finally broke down from the constant stress. That was far less terrifying, but it was still a big issue. The nice thing was that it took only about a day to fix. Then everything was back to normal.

Still. The last thing they need is Chai getting sick. Especially because he’ll act like everything’s fine. That’s the worst part.

It would be easier if he took it more seriously. Instead, he jokes around and tries to pretend everything is okay. He’ll ignore his injuries, and sometimes even hide them.

Honestly, Peppermint isn’t sure which is worse.

Korsica, Macaron, and CNMN arrive shortly after their food does. They each have their own moments of checking in with Chai, but he waves them off much like he did with Peppermint.

They eventually gave up on pestering him and settled in. If Chai doesn’t want to talk, there’s no use in trying to force him. He’s as stubborn as a mule sometimes.

With everyone in the hideout, Peppermint feels a bit better. If something goes wrong, it won’t just be up to her. More eyes to see problems, more hands to help.

After eating, she regained some energy, which she used on trying to figure out these stray SPECTRA signals. She thinks she’s got the next one nailed down. Looking at all of the data is starting to give her a headache, though. Time for a break.

Peppermint turns away from her desk with a sigh. She looks around the room to see what everyone else is up to.

Macaron is tinkering with something. CNMN is organizing the clothes hanging up on the racks in the far corner. Korsica is on her laptop, probably answering emails. Chai is lying on the couch reading one of his music books. 808 is curled up near his head.

His soup is sitting on the ground near the couch growing cold. It probably already is.

It bothers her.

Normally, Chai eats his food in a matter of seconds as soon as it’s placed in front of him. He’s like a vacuum. It was a bit unnerving at first, but they all got used to it eventually. Just another quirk of his.

Earlier, he’d been eating it at a glacial pace. Like swallowing was a chore.

At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. She was too exhausted and caught up in her own food. Now that it’s on her mind, though, it won’t stop bugging her.

Peppermint can’t be completely sure from where she’s sitting at her desk, but it looks like only about half of it is gone.

That part is pretty par for the course. Chai may eat quickly, but he never eats much.

The problem is that it means his stomach doesn’t hurt because he’s hungry. It’s difficult to tell, but she’s pretty sure it’s still bugging him. He looks fine on the surface. There’s an underlying discomfort in his expression and the way he’s lying, though. But maybe she’s just looking for things that aren’t there.

“You good, Chai?” she calls." He hums in response, flipping to the next page of his book.

With a sigh, Peppermint turns away. That’s about as good as she’s gonna get from him.

It’s when they all finally head to bed that the trouble really starts.

Peppermint wakes up to the sound of retching from the bathroom. So does everyone else, from the way Macaron sits up and Korsica makes a sympathetic noise.

CNMN is the first to move. “Mr. Chai, are you alright?” "The only response they get is a groan.

The others stay where they are. Peppermint is unsure what to do.

She has foggy memories of Kale being sick when they were kids, but she never helped out or anything. Mom always took care of it. And whenever she’s sick, she just...takes care of herself.

After a while, CNMN and Chai leave the bathroom. They lead him to the couch, where they help him lie back down.

“I’ll go get a bucket,” Macaron says, before he gets up to do just that.

808 hops up onto Chai, landing on his abdomen. He jolts, quickly picking her up. After taking a deep breath, he shakily sets her down higher up, over his arm’s power unit.

“Next time, throw up in the toilet, please, Mr. Chai,” CNMN says once he’s settled. “You’ll clog up the sink, which would be very bad.”

Peppermint doesn’t even want to think about having to fix and clean that.

“Sorry,” Chai mumbles. “Didn’t think…and then…” “It is alright. You should try to rest.”

When Macaron finally gets back, a small bucket in tow, Chai seems to be asleep.

“Poor little guy,” Macaron says as he places the bucket near the couch. “Hope it was just a one time thing.”

“Me too,” Peppermint whispers.

And, of course, it wasn’t.

Chai throws up about every twenty minutes. Sometimes, he does it in the bucket. Other times, he heads for the bathroom, presumably because it isn’t just vomiting going on.

Each and every time, the others get up to help however they can. They rotate out comforting him. Only CNMN goes with him into the bathroom, though.

Peppermint is never sure what to do. Holding his hand seems to help, though. It hurts her heart seeing him like this. It hurts even more when he mumbles an apology every time.

“Sorry for keeping you up…” “Sorry about this…” Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

“Stop apologizing,” she told him at one point. “You don’t need to.” He only murmured another one in response.

It’s exhausting. But Peppermint doesn’t think any of them would be able to sleep through this, anyways.

As the night wears on, the more exhausted and downright awful Chai looks.

At around 4 AM is when he looks his worst.

His hair is a disaster. He’s white as a sheet, his eyes almost looking hollow. And he won’t stop shaking like a leaf.

“Are you cold, Mr. Chai?” CNMN asks as they help him lie down for the thousandth time.

“N-No-No,” he stutters out. He pauses, licks his lips and swallows. “Just…tired.”

“It has been quite some time now since this began. The worst of it should be over. Which means you will be able to get some proper rest!”

Chai laughs. It’s an empty sound.

“That’d be nice.”

He throws up again at 6 AM. 2 hours of peace. 2 hours of sleep.

Peppermint isn’t sure whose turn it is. She decides it’ll just be hers.

That, apparently, was the correct call, because no one else gets up. Not even CNMN, and they don’t really have to sleep. Their exhaustion must’ve finally knocked them out cold.

She sits down on the ground next to him, holding her hand out. After a moment, he shakily takes it with his robotic one. The metal is warm.

At this point, Chai isn’t really throwing up. It’s mostly just dry heaving.

In Peppermint’s experience, that’s far worse than puking.

When he finally stops, it’s quiet for a while. For a moment, she thinks he fell back asleep.

But then he whispers, “Will it be over soon?”

He sounds so small. His voice almost dies halfway through the sentence.

She doesn’t want to lie. Doesn’t want to give him false hope. So Peppermint doesn’t.

“I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Sor—” “Chai.” Silence.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she says with a soft sigh. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Feels like it,” he mutters.

She turns her head to look at him. “What do you mean?”

He stares at her. His eyes gleam faintly in the light cast by the night light they plugged in hours ago. It was better than turning on the lights. Easier to sleep that way.

After a moment, he reaches for a water bottle on the floor. Opening it one-handed, he takes a few sips, before setting it back down. Then he looks at her again.

“I don’t know. I feel like you’re all mad at me.” Peppermint’s brow furrows. “Why would we be mad?” “Because I’m keeping you up,” Chai replies with a shrug. “Not on purpose. Your stomach is all fucked up.” “Yeah…I guess so.”

808 nudges the side of his face. She’s been following him everywhere, never straying from his side. It’s cute. And it’s nice to know that if something happened, at least 808 would be here to wake them all up if Chai can’t.

“You should try and get some sleep,” Peppermint says. “You too,” he says through a yawn. “I will.”

She stays there, holding his hand, even after he drifts off. Eventually, she falls asleep, too. It’s a horrible idea, sleeping on the ground like this—it’ll hurt like a bitch when she wakes up—but she’ll get over it.

Chai has done a lot for her. This is the least she can do for him.

Waking up is painful, just like Peppermint knew it would be.

The good news is that Chai seems to feel better.

They all take the day off to hang out and keep an eye on him. Just in case.

It’s spent watching movies. They watch all of their favorites. And if any of them fall asleep during one, well, it’s not a big deal. They can always just rewind it or rewatch the whole thing.

At one point, Korsica leaves to check on some security things. She comes back with a box of pizza and a gift basket.

“It’s from Roxanne,” she explains as she gives the basket to Chai.

“When was someone gonna tell me that all I had to do to get one of these was get sick?”

Peppermint rolls her eyes at that.

“You don’t have to get sick to have someone send you one. Just…I don’t know…ask.”

“But that’s so awkward!” he whines. “It really isn’t.”

As they eat their pizza and put on some really old movie Chai likes—simply titled ‘Robots’—Peppermint finds she doesn’t mind his joking attitude for once. Maybe it’s because this isn’t some sort of injury that could turn grave fast. Or maybe it’s because she thinks she understands now.

This is another thing Chai tries to do for them. To comfort them. To make them not worry about him. And as annoying as it can be, it does work in its own right.

So if humoring him will help make him feel better, why shouldn’t she?

It’s the least Peppermint can do.

[kaiyves-backup]

Dream Notes

(Transcribed from the notes I took after waking up.)

I took a nap and dreamed I was on a platform in the middle of the sky, with metal ladder-staircases stretching a long way up above me beyond where I could see, and then below me a long way to the ground. There were other platforms at intervals and sort of a tube or pipe in the middle running the whole way, like a spiral staircase with a central support or like an oil rig, I guess.

I wasn't in danger of falling off the platform because there were walls around the edge up to about my neck's height. There were crates all over the platform, full of potatoes and radishes and turnips and other vegetables.

Then I was in my own house and this structure that looked like a giant ceramic jug with a conical top landed in the yard. It was as tall as the house and it looked like it was made of teal (?) glazed ceramic, but somehow I knew it was a balloon gondola. It was connected to the tube/pipe going up into the sky and I could see the staircases starting from the gondola, but when I looked up, I couldn't see the balloon itself, just the tube and platforms.

I was able to enter the gondola and inside it was kind of like a living room. There were futons with pillows and blankets up against a wall, all neatly made. There was a bookshelf with books and some toys/games (I think a Rubik's cube?) around on tables, some sculptures and maybe paintings, and a wooden plaque from the Whitbread Race. There were portholes in the walls to see out (some near the futons) and possibly a kitchenette. I couldn't see any food, but I remembered the platform with the crates and thought "That must be their provisions."

I couldn't see any sign of people inside the gondola, but when I stepped back outside, they were descending from the sky on rectangular parachutes (parasails? paragliders?). They were wearing dark blue jumpsuits. Most of the people were unconscious when they landed, one young man was coherent enough to tell me his name was Vlad (?). I think it was a family of four-- mother, father, and an adult daughter and son.

They were unconscious, I somehow realized, because they'd parachuted out at a high altitude with thin air (for some reason, even though nothing was wrong with the gondola), but pretty soon they woke up. They were Australians on an expedition around the world, with a Fossett sort of sailing-ballooning meteorology background. The line from (I think?) Piccard and Jones' book about having a meteorologist who had worked for the Volvo Ocean Race helping them with navigation on their balloon flight around the world was either something I remembered in the dream or quoted outright to the balloon travelers. Our family welcomed them as houseguests.

A shift, maybe partially woken up by someone else's noises. I was living in a leafy, walkable city neighborhood in a dorm, more like Comm Ave or Woodley Park than Charlestown or Arlington. It was most like Woodley Park as we were near a zoo. There were tennis courts next door with high fences (part of the zoo? That feels familiar as if from another dream.)

A bookshelf in the sleeping area of the dorm (it was an open space, with everyone's bed in a sort of cubicle with artificial walls) had a lot of sailing books on a shelf I couldn't reach. I tried climbing on the bookshelf to get one and the top half of the bookshelf separated and fell forwards with me holding on. I somehow let go and landed clear of it, so I wasn't crushed or hurt. Nobody considered it a problem, we all reassembled the bookshelf.

Another shift (maybe?), wandering around a mall area near an airport (with my family?). There was a sort of kids' science museum in one section, possibly like one from an earlier dream. Also pull-out beds you could rent to sleep (read on Reddit about airports that have these a few days before). I stepped outside the enclosed mall space, and the terrain was like the library town in Connecticut we visited in the fall, hills alongside a river. There were small religious buildings of various types around a pond, I think these were for travelers as this was an airport area. Wandered around the Eastern Orthodox one, I think it was Georgian (the country) specifically. It seemed familiar but somehow off (I don't mean just that things were in Georgian and not Greek) I tried to talk to a nun, perhaps to tell her about the balloonists, but she wouldn't talk to me. Wandered back out to the pond area following her and woke up.