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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years ago

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I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me

I’m gonna miss writing about Amethyst.

As the most sisterly Crystal Gem, a firebrand in the new role of middle child after spending millennia as the baby of the group, Amethyst’s story is about growing from a wild teen to a responsible adult. Like Steven, she feels the need to prove that she’s a Crystal Gem too, but unlike Steven, she already is a Crystal Gem, so she carries a different kind of resentment as she continues to be treated like a child. It’s made even worse by her warrior instincts clashing with her small frame: she lives with the constant anxiety that she’s a mistake, a Gem who came out wrong and doesn’t belong in her family, so she comforts and distracts herself with hedonism and shapeshifting. Her problem goes beyond not feeling respected: deep down, she fears that she doesn’t deserve respect.

But she changes her mind.

“This isn’t normal.”

The Return and Jailbreak culminated the first act of Steven Universe, giving our characters subtle achievements (Amethyst and Pearl casually fuse into Opal, Greg reveals a deeper understanding of the Gems than we once thought, Beach City comes together as a community when Steven is in danger) and huge changes (Steven summons a massive shield, Garnet’s status as a fusion is confirmed, Lapis goes from prisoner to imprisoner). While not an official finale, Beta and Earthlings culminated the second act, narrowing the focus to five characters as they each reach one milestone or another: Lapis and Amethyst find a level of peace, Peridot defends her new home, Jasper succumbs to corruption, and Steven helps his friends but fails to help his enemy.

In a way, Change Your Mind culminates the third act with an even narrower focus. Sure, it gives big moments to a ton of characters (there’s fanservice galore, and we see the three Diamonds in particular take enormous steps), but we zero in on Steven in the same way the entire act has zeroed in on Steven, because this is a story about identity. It isn’t only about who he is, but who he wants to be moving forward, and fusing all the insights he’s learned from his human family, his Crystal Gem family, and his Diamond family into a song that encapsulates his growth over the course of the series.

We start in the most lifelike of the Diamond dreams, so real that Steven still sees himself as Steven rather than embodying Pink. Once again, this connection emerges from sleeping in a location where Pink once dwelled, but while he wasn’t feeling her impatience and rage in Jungle Moon, nor her hardening resolve in Can’t Go Back, nor her whimsy in Familiar, this time they share the same headspace when they’re both locked in a tower.

Considering how bombastic things get in this episode, I love how low-key this final dream remains until White Diamond interferes. We’re as lost as Steven at first, worrying about Connie and baffled at Blue’s recognizable mood but incongruous accusations, but as the truth becomes clear, he transforms into Pink off-screen without any fanfare, both in body and in mind: Steven isn’t questioning Blue’s warning about Pink Pearl, Pink Diamond is apologizing for her own behavior in Zach Callison’s voice. Still, looking down jolts him out of it, and after seeing the Crystal Gems poofed at the ball for a more definitive Steven memory, we cycle in Rose’s horror at her family launching a final attack on Earth. The rapid-fire identity shifts that follow inspired the most haunting piece of promo art for the episode, drawn by Rebecca Sugar herself, but I didn’t wanna display it without a seizure warning.

It’s excellent exposition, hitting the highlights of the Diamonds’ many wrongs and establishing Steven’s fraying sense of self in a way that’s both artful and brief; it’s important to remind younger viewers about the stakes, but Change Your Mind doesn’t pretend that anyone should be watching this episode without context, so it doesn’t prioritize thorough explanation. And despite how frightening the nightmare becomes, Steven gains a new sense of clarity after seeing the pattern laid out in front of him. The Diamonds are hurting him in the same way they hurt his mother, and if he’s going to help everyone, he needs to help himself.

When Blue Diamond returns to the tower in modern day, Steven isn’t afraid, and he isn’t alone. The first of many puns riddling the finale emerges (“Déjà Blue!”) before Connie proves why she’s the perfect partner for our hero, platonic or otherwise. He’s terrible at confronting the people that hurt him—this would require him to acknowledge he’s hurt in the first place, which he’s also terrible at—but if she was comfortable enough with confrontation to call out her best friend when he wrongs her, Blue Diamond doesn’t stand a chance. Connie comes out swinging, loading the bases with candor and sass despite Blue’s confusion over why a human even gets an opinion about this stuff, which makes Steven’s refusal to apologize hit the Diamond like a grand slam.

I love that Steven’s flat “no” takes Connie by surprise as well as Blue, because yeah, it’s uncharacteristically blunt for someone who’s spent his entire trip to Homeworld bending over backwards like he usually does to accommodate others. When he doubles down by explaining that he isn’t sorry about creating a show that celebrates queer characters whoops sorry I mean fusion, Callison makes it sound like the most obvious thing in the world, and this is what upsets Blue enough to inflict her tears on him. We’ll learn even more about Pink’s temper in Steven Universe Future, but the simple act of not bowing to authority makes Steven “worse than ever” in Blue’s mind: violence is more acceptable than insubordination. (Also, violence in cartoons is more acceptable than queer folks just sorta existing in cartoons, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Change Your Mind is about combating bigotry and cycles of abuse, and Blue is the obvious first test. She’s a bigot who doesn’t think she’s a bigot (compared to Yellow, who doesn’t care that she’s a bigot, and White, who’s quite proud of being a bigot). She passively perpetuates a toxic status quo (compared to Yellow, who actively perpetuates it, and White, who established it in the first place). It makes sense that she’s the first of the remaining Diamonds to change her mind, because all it takes for her to realize that something is wrong is thinking about it a little harder.

This doesn’t let her off the hook, of course: Blue’s sloth—the sin, not the animal—might not look flashy next to Yellow’s wrath or White’s pride or Pink’s envy, but she still chose to do nothing for thousands of years rather than contemplate how her actions and her society might have wronged Pink. If it was this easy for Blue to realize she was hurting Pink, it makes it that much more of an issue that it took her this long to figure it out. Unintentional bigots might be the “best” option by default, but they can be just as harmful as intentional bigots, and there’s a special sort of damage that can come from an oppressor who truly believes themselves an ally.

That said, while it’s important to acknowledge her blame (emphasized here when she only stops attacking Steven when he calls her out rather than the Diamonds in general), Blue is also a victim. She’s one of the most powerful beings on Homeworld, but she’s still trapped by White Diamond, and resorts to putting others down as a means of reclaiming a sense of that power. In the same way oppressed people often turn to sexism and racism and homophobia to make themselves feel bigger, Blue (and Yellow) reinforce White’s sweeping bigotry in the same way they echo her family-specific abuse. It’s not a good coping mechanism, in this show or in the real world, but understanding the problem is key to fixing it.

So it still feels like a victory when Blue turns, even though it should’ve happened ages ago, and even though she’s a tyrant. She isn’t just deciding to help Steven, she’s breaking out of that cycle in a way that allows for growth beyond our hero’s immediate concerns. Lisa Hannigan captures this transformation beautifully, shifting from manipulative whining about Pink’s behavior to a crushing realization that she’s the one who’s wrong. And even as she joins Steven’s side, she remains weighed down by her longstanding prejudice: Hannigan stutters as she refers to the Crystal Gems as his family, and her triumphant defense of Steven’s name to Yellow comes with the caveat that she’s still misgendering him.

But before we get to Yellow, we take a pit stop that grounds us back to Steven and Connie’s hunger. It may seem small, but this is a critical moment in establishing Steven’s humanity in a way the show has quietly done from day one: with food.

The very first scene of Steven Universe establishes our hero’s human half in a donut shop, upset about dessert. From there, the next five episodes drill in that Steven will take a unique approach to his magical Gem heritage, and they all involve food in a major way: Cookie Cats, then his father’s saying about pork chops and hot dogs, then the Cheeseburger Backpack (important enough to be the episode’s name), then the Together Breakfast (ditto), then creating a monster based on fries.

It’s not just Steven, either. The first few Connie episodes involve eating and drinking in ways that show hints of growth (worrying about trans fats, then sneaking food into movie theaters) and mark key moments in her life (sharing a juicebox, taking her parents to dinner). Lars’s development is tied with his love of baking, and on top of him and Sadie working at the Big Donut, the Frymans and the Pizzas are so tied to their food service jobs that it’s in their names. And speaking of names, we’ve got Vidalia calling her sons Sour Cream and Onion. It even extends to the Gems: Amethyst’s connection with Earth means she loves food, and Pearl’s greater distance from humanity means she can’t stomach it.

Food is fundamentally something that humans require and Gems don’t, and just like we saw in Lars’s Head, Steven’s physical body forces him to think about his own needs despite his usual focus on others. Both his humanity and his ability to stand up for himself are key to his eventual victory, and what could’ve been a generic transition between Blue and Yellow’s big scenes instead becomes a quiet Steven scene. Steven changing into his usual clothes (including his mom’s star) and Connie changing into her own outfit (including her dad’s jacket) is the perfect finishing touch before we dive back into the drama.

True to their natures, Yellow Diamond gets a starker introduction than Blue’s dream sequence: as the lights burst on, we get two shots focusing on a horrifying number of mutated Gem Shards floating around in the room, then the Crystal Gems’ thankfully intact gems in one big bubble, before panning down to the villain who caused all this pain. The menace is palpable before she even opens her mouth, but Patti LuPone’s low tone keeps the mood from boiling over just long enough that when she loses her cool, it hits like a freight train.

Blue’s passive bigotry endured because she lacked introspection, but Yellow’s active bigotry requires constantly justifying actions she knows are cruel by presenting it as a matter of superior reasoning. We’ve known from her first appearance that Yellow’s seething fury undermines her reputation for cold logic, and now more than ever the connection between her behavior and that of “sophisticated” bigots is clear. You know the type: openly, smugly hateful, but couching their hate as something derived from some deep knowledge about the subject, whether in religious convictions or whatever “science” they can scrape together to confirm their worldview.

Sure enough, even in her rage, Yellow lays down what she sees as a rational explanation for why it was okay to mistreat Pink, and why it’s okay that they themselves are mistreated: if they make exceptions for anyone, even other Diamonds, they must make exceptions for everyone, and chaos reigns. Besides the slippery slope being a fallacy, her argument is punctured by Connie’s second big retort of the night, pointing out that this extreme conclusion of Homeworld Gems living free actually sounds pretty nice. But you can’t force this type of bigot to change their mind through reason; if such a person was actually interested in logical worldviews, they wouldn’t have become a bigot in the first place. You need to change their heart.

Fortunately, emotions are Blue’s domain, so she’s just the person to help. Unfortunately, in the same way she still can’t get Steven’s pronouns right, Blue lacks experience with healthy communication, and strikes a first blow against Yellow on instinct. The ensuing brawl is brutal, switching between the massive scale of two warring titans and the smaller scale of Steven and Connie scrambling to save the Crystal Gems as Blue and Yellow unload millennia of baggage on each other. It’s so important that Blue is the physical instigator here, as it fuels Yellow’s white-hot self-righteous streak like nothing else, and it keeps the fight from being one-sided all the way through: Yellow pretty much needs to be the one dealing the final blow for the scene to stick, so it gets balanced out by Blue’s opening punch.

Blue uses her powers on Yellow, and Yellow uses her powers on Blue, but Steven’s power is talking. So just like with Blue’s conversion, Connie gets the opening words while Steven gets the finisher. When he finally gets her attention after being ignored throughout the scene, he makes Yellow listen to him by using the same food-based expression I mentioned from all the way back in Laser Light Cannon. It’d pack a bigger punch if Greg said “If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs” at literally any other point in the show, but it still does the trick.

Blue was emotionally ready to accept that Pink was suffering, but hadn’t considered the Diamonds’ role in that suffering. Yellow knew that Pink suffered thanks to the Diamonds, but suppressed her emotions to the point where she couldn’t empathize with her sister’s plight. Blue needed to be more thoughtful to change, and Yellow needed to be more in touch with her emotions to change, and thus the stage is set for the Battle of Heart and Mind against White Diamond.

Except that this isn’t the lesson of Change Your Mind. Blue and Yellow show that some bigots can be reached, which is great! But despite their differences, Steven uses the same basic strategy in both: he doesn’t let them belittle his identity, he confidently dispels their wrongheaded assumptions, and he gets help from allies instead of shouldering the burden himself. We spend the beginning of the episode seeing that in the right circumstances this approach can work, but from here we’ll see that with some bigots, it’s a non-starter.

So long as you can engage with bigots while maintaining your self-respect, it can be good work to try and help them see the light. It’s not an obligation, but if you want to change hearts and minds, Steven provides a good template for how to do it. Now the rest of the episode can focus on the bigger lesson: if someone refuses to respect your humanity when you’re steadfast and forthright, it isn’t your job to breathe in their poison, or to hold your breath until you asphyxiate waiting for change.

But more on that after the break!

I Can’t Believe We’ve Come So Far

As we reach the end of the original series, it would be criminal not to acknowledge three long-time storyboarders who are on their way out. This isn’t their final contribution to the series, as only one of Change Your Mind’s twelve credited writer/boarders didn’t go on to work on The Movie in some way (Christine Liu, whose tenure was brief but great), and Hilary Florido stayed on as a supervisor for Future. But I wanted to write the big sendoffs here, as this is the last proper “episode” that these three worked on as regular boarders. So it’s time to say goodbye to Katie Mitroff, Hilary Florido, and Jeff Liu.

First up is Katie Mitroff, who clocked two early knockouts with Alone Together and The Test alongside Florido. Mitroff’n’Florido went on to make other classics like Maximum Capacity and Joy Ride before the former teamed up with Lamar Abrams and the latter teamed up with Jesse Zuke for their next batch of episodes.

With Abrams, Mitroff deepened the lore of the show with We Need to Talk, Steven’s Birthday, Bismuth, Buddy’s Book, Three Gems and a Baby, and especially The Answer. She gave us the harrowing revelation of Back to the Moon, and the most ridiculous episode of the series, Restaurant Wars. Her final partner was Paul Villeco, finishing strong with The Trial, Back to the Kindergarten, Your Mother and Mine, Pool Hopping, What’s Your Problem?, Reunited, and Change Your Mind, 100% of which are either in my Love ‘em ranking or my Top Episodes. (Oh, sorry, spoiler alert I love Change Your Mind.)

It’s strange, because she didn’t work on any of the major episodes of Amethyst’s big arc at the end of Season 3, but Mitroff is one of my favorite Amethyst boarders: she’s the consistent thread between Maximum Capacity, Back to the Moon, and What’s Your Problem?, three cornerstones of the character. She excelled at going outside the show’s usual style, as seen in The Answer and Your Mother and Mine, and it’s no coincidence she helped animate Isn’t It Love? to bring Cotton Candy Garnet back for one last ride.

Katie Mitroff is an absolute rock star, I wish her well and you should too.

#change your mind #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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yastaghr · 5 years ago

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Nightmare’s Gang of Wranglers 2

Sorry for the long wait! I've been dealing with some crippling back pain and only just found a medicine that helps with it without making me loopy. I'm going to get imaging sometime in the next two weeks to see what the hell is wrong with me this time. Then I see my new doctor again! In the meantime, enjoy this long-awaited chapter 2!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24341953/chapters/63698353

Dream made that final turn into the driveway to the ranch and sighed. It looked absolutely perfect. There were fields of hay blowing in the wind and huge tracts of grass dotted with horses. All of the horses looked happy, not too thin and not too fat. There were old ones, too, who clearly were getting to enjoy their retirement. Dream had to resist the urge to go and pet them. They wouldn’t take kindly to a stranger trying to touch them, even if he did have treats.

A little bit further up the road Dream came to the main house. It was huge, practically a castle, with so many windows and doors that Dream lost count. In front of the house were three giant trailers on the back of three king cab trucks. Dream could see horse noses poking out of the windows, and it brought a smile to his face. He couldn’t wait to cuddle one. He loved the smell of horses more than anything. There was something about that smell that soothed him like nothing else could.

Standing in front of the trailers in a loose line were the wranglers, but Dream had eyes for only one. His brother was standing there, tentacles waving in the wind, with his hands in his pockets and a slight frown on his face. He looked good, even after all these years. Something inside of Dream relaxed when he saw his twin. He was okay.

Dream parked the car and jumped out of the Jeep, tucking the keys into his jean’s pocket. Blue and Ink jumped out after him, Blue in old jeans, Ink in a pair that was brand new. They lined up with Dream as he stared at his brother; Nightmare and his gang of wranglers facing off against Dream and the Star Sanses. It was one of Nightmare’s group, a black-boned skeleton that was somehow even more glitchy than Geno, who broke the silence.

“Well, I don’t know about you lot, but I’d like to get out on the trail before it gets dark. Why don’t you go get your bags and we’ll load them up?”

Dream blinked at him. His brain was lagging a little bit behind. When he got it, he smiled and ran for the back of the car. “Oh! Before we head out, I have a little treat for all of you. I have some for the horses, too, but they can wait until we hit camp.”

All eyes were on him as Dream pulled out the box full of treats. It was huge! He grabbed a container out of it and held it out to the wranglers. “I know you’ll like these, brother, but I hope everyone else does, too!”

Nightmare visibly hesitated in front of Dream. Then, from one second to the next, he went from being empty handed to holding a little homemade candy bar in his hands. He stared at it for nearly a minute before he said, in a voice that had haunted Dream for years, “Is this… one of our Mom’s apple pie candy bars?”

Dream nodded. His voice hardly shook at all when he said, “Yep! I brought enough for everybody to have one every day if they want. She always did say to take care of the people who help you, so I do! Um… is that okay with you?”

Everyone pounced on the package of treats as Nightmare nodded slowly as he stared at the treat in his hand. Then he turned his attention to the treat box. “That’s more than enough for two weeks, Dream. Unless you brought extra?”

Dream waved his hand dismissively. “The rest of the box is full of treats for the horses. I made your salty oat treat for them. I’ve never met a horse that didn’t love them. Or a mule, for that matter. Don’t worry, I wrapped them in wax paper so the horses can’t smell them in the packs.”

Dream was too wrapped up in watching his twin to register the expressions of the rest of his gang, but they all had grins that were growing by the second. And here they’d been worried that this monster had forgotten everything he ever knew about horses. Two minds in particular were thinking something else. Cross and Killer saw the way Nightmare was standing and reacting, saw the way Dream was focusing on him, and came to the obvious conclusion; i.e., that they needed to set the twins up on a date as soon as possible. Dream was definitely worth keeping.

Killer looked around to take in the reactions of the rest of their crew, since it was obvious that Nightmare was too busy to do it. Those reactions had him raising an eyebrow. Not all of them; Dust, Horror, and Sugar all seemed to be confused more than anything else. It was the other two that had him wondering.

Cross seemed more than a little pissed at the stranger with the paint vials. The feeling didn’t seem to be mutual. The other (and what kind of a monster carried around paint vials like bullets?) had interesting eye lights. At first, while he was looking at the horses in the trailer, they were a blue horseshoe and a yellow star. Then he caught sight of Cross. His eye lights changed into a question mark and an orange square. Then, between one blink and the next, they changed into a red exclamation point and a green four-leaf clover. Killer had no idea what those symbols meant. He hoped he could learn soon.

Error’s reaction was even more interesting. He seemed embarrassed when he looked at the short skeleton dressed all in blue. The other just seemed happy to see him. He was waving at him like he’d just seen a long-lost friend. Error quickly looked away and pretended not to see him. Very interesting.

It was Killer this time who broke the silence with his silver tongue. He bowed to the Star Sanses and gestured to their car. “Well, cuties, these treats are perfect to warm our bellies. Why don’t you set your bags into their own piles? We’ll be happy to get this packing business started.”

Dream and Nightmare blinked at him, even as Nightmare absentmindedly stuck his treat in his mouth. His face was never the best for showing his positive emotions, but it radiated pleasure today. Killer could tell that he’d missed those treats. He also knew that he would refuse to admit, even to himself, that he’d missed his brother, but it was obvious that he had. He hadn’t missed the creature he had thought Dream had turned into, but this Dream, the real one, didn’t seem like that at all. Looks could be deceiving, though, as Killer well knew. He’d reserve judgement for later.

The Star Sanses didn’t have much luggage, just five boxes. There was the treat box, one suitcase each for the blue-clad one and Dream, and two suitcases for the paint guy. That’s okay. They’d allowed for two each, given that it was a two week trip and these were city slickers. What they hadn’t allowed for was the contents of the suitcases. Three of the suitcases were filled with clothes. The last suitcase, one of the paint guy’s, was filled with jugs of paint.

Killer could feel the energy radiating off of Nightmare, and it was anything but positive. Most of the rest of the crew was almost laughing out loud. Paint guy couldn’t have picked a worse thing to pack.

“What. Is. This?” Nightmare asked, barely able to keep the fury out of his voice.

Paint guy didn’t seem to notice it. He laughed and waved a hand. “Oh, that’s just my paint. I need it to feel emotions since I don’t have a soul. Weird, right? I’m pretty sure that’ll be enough for two weeks plus a few days extra in case of a big event.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment. At least, everyone from Nightmare’s gang. Dream actually burst out laughing, and his laugh was sweet and clear. Killer wouldn’t mind hearing it again. And again. And again. He definitely wanted to keep Dream around, not only for Nightmare’s sake, but also for his own selfish pleasure. He was already plotting his next move, and at least the next half dozen after that. Killer was a planner. At least, he was when he wasn’t actually fighting someone. Then he just let his instincts carry him through.

Dream recovered from his burst of laughter and wiped his eyes. “Ink, we’ve talked about you just saying that. You’re supposed to be more gentle, remember? Gradual introductions are key.”

Ink’s eyelights changed into a blue question mark and a yellow hourglass. “Um… No? I don’t remember that. Did I write it down on my scarf? Should I have checked my scarf before I said that?”

Dream nodded. “It’s near the first quarter mark, Ink. In the green pen.”

The scarf was removed quickly, then folded and scanned. Killer noticed the hundreds of scribbles in different colors along its length. Were all of those notes? He wasn’t quite sure he believed that there could be a monster who was that forgetful, but the scarf said differently. Killer was pretty sure that a notebook would have been a better choice.

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, my bad. My memory is horrible. Souls do more than give you emotions, they give you a big memory, too,” Ink explained.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but Error cut him off. Error looked ticked off, which didn’t surprise Killer. Error’s default state was angry. It was part of his charm. “How the hell are you alive without a soul? That’s what gives us monsters our lives, not to mention our magic and our personalities. Without a working soul you die! Everybody knows that!”

Ink shrugged in an extremely unhelpful manner. “No one’s really sure. Lots of doctors have tried to figure it out. They haven’t figured out how to give me a soul, either. Right, Blue?”

The third of their guests jumped. He seemed nervous, and Killer instantly picked up on it. He couldn’t figure out why, though. They hadn’t even done anything threatening yet, not that they would. They had money to earn, after all. Killer had even put his trusty knife into its sheath and hidden it under his jacket. No one who didn’t know him would be able to tell that he was wearing it. Dust’s and Cross’s magic knives were both not summoned. Horror’s butcher knife was hidden in his packs. So why was Blue nervous? Did they really look that threatening?

“Y-yeah, Ink. None of them have been able to figure it out, and you won’t let them run any more tests,” Blue accused, “despite the fact that there are several promising new ones that might show them how to help you.”

Cross, unexpectedly, laughed. Killer’s skull whipped around to face him, but his other mate was already waving him away. Killer’s eye sockets narrowed. Oh, did he want to fuck the answers to all this mystery out of him. Well, that could happen later. Right now they really should be getting packed and then out on the trail.

“Okay!” Killer said brightly, “Since it’s pretty clear that you need these paints to show us your wonderful personality, I’ll pack them for you while the rest of our gang gets everything else squared away.”

Everyone turned to blink at him. Then they got to work quietly… except for Ink. He seemed to be unable to stop himself from talking. Killer could see the way that Nightmare’s tentacles were waving, and he decided then and there that he would put the chatterbox towards one end of the line so Nightmare had to deal with him as little as possible.

Time passed. Nightmare surveyed the lineup of their little caravan one last time before they started out on the trail. Everyone was mounted on their horses or mules. Nightmare was on Razz, already ready to ride sweep.

Riding at the head of their troop was Killer on Slim. Nightmare trusted them to lead them safely along any trail in the mountains.

Second in line was Ink. Ink was quickly becoming Nightmare’s worst nightmare (heh). He never stopped talking, he had those stupid paints, he had never even seen a horse before, his jeans were stiff; every little thing about him quickly got on his nerves. At least Rustle seemed to be able to stand him. That horse would put up with anything or anyone.

Error followed after, mounted on Shadow. There was no way Nightmare was putting anyone else next to that chatterbox. Error would just have to suck it.

Dream came next. He’d actually been the last to mount; not because he had forgotten how to ride. No, his mounting was too smooth for that. It was because Nightmare had almost literally had to pry him and Classy apart. Nightmare had forgotten how much Dream loved to just snuggle with the horses. He was addicted to the way they smelled.

Cross was next, on Honey. Killer had insisted that he be in front of Blue. Cross was gentle company, and Killer had told Nightmare in a moment of privacy about Blue’s skittishness. Nightmare hadn’t argued with him. He trusted his mates implicitly.

Next was Blue on Berry. Nightmare had learned that he was once an accomplished horseman, but some kind of an accident had led to Blue getting bucked off. He needed Berry’s steadiness to build his confidence back up. Nightmare could respect that. Besides, he was the shortest out of the entire group.

Ghost carried Dust next. He always rode in front of the pack mules, so that was where he was. If Blue could handle Ink’s nonstop talking he could handle it from Dust.

Crown, Regal, Cherry, and Boss followed one after the other. They were good mules (except for Cherry, who was a good horse). They wouldn’t cause any fuss or problems. They knew better by now than to do that. Besides, they had ridden this route before. Bar something unexpected it was highly unlikely that these solid pieces of horseflesh would so much as bat an eye.

The final two mules were Pumpkin, carrying Blood, and Shanks, carrying Sugar. Those lovebirds always rode tail. Nightmare was never sure how the guests would react if they found out about the two brothers’... arrangement. He hoped it never came up.

That was everyone, and every cinch strap and tie was perfectly in place. Nightmare couldn’t really get away with keeping them here any longer, so he didn’t. “Alright, everyone. Remember what I said - yes, that means you, Ink - and try not to get yourself or anyone else hurt. Understood? Good. Then it’s time to move out.”

Slowly, one horse at a time, they headed out on the path that would lead them into the mountains… and their future.

#KillerCreamMare #errorink #Dustberry #Horrorcest #nightmare's gang #star sanses #nightmare's gang of wranglers fic #wranglers au #modern cowboy au #yastaghr

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atimefordragons · 4 years ago

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Get to know me tag game

thanks for the tag lovely @queen-of-salt-and-fury!

Nicknames: lol, I mean, my fake internet name is basically a nickname, also “C”, all the broski, brosauce, etc variations me and my bestie use, speaking of, could also consider Elsa a nickname, or Cristina, because we are stone cold adults to refer to each other as our respective personality double in favourite duos (Elsa and Anna, and Meredith and Cristina) - yeah, we know we are fucking lame. My sister calls me “Titly”, which means butterfly, you may now also refer to me as Your Majesty, because I bought Elsa’s crown as a birthday gift for myself and gave myself a coronation, thereby legally making me Arendelle’s Queen. This is how it works now right? Declaring something online immediately makes it true.

Real name: Clara, lol, it’s not, it’s just what I’ve been using online for nearly a decade or so now, so what’s the point? But my real middle name is “Taika”, which is a name I share with Taika Waititi, which is cool.

Zodiac: Scorpio

Favourite Musicians / Band: Taylor Swift, Dima Bilan, Sergey Lazarev, Anime OST (deep into Code Geass and Bleash OST atm, god they were iconic), OST in general, KAZKA (thank you again so much @pulltheskydown for introducing me to her), Alma, Amir, Rihanna, Polina Gagarina, been in a Britney mood the last few weeks. Idk, I just have music I like, and music I don’t like, and some people I am very thirsty for. Also, also, literally any song from any Shahrukh Khan movie. I always was, still am, and always will be, one of those SRK loving bitches. The man is ICONIC.

Do I get asks?: Once in a blue moon.

Favourite sports team: I support the national teams ‘cause Go Canada Go or whatever. Also more invested in the Raptors than I ever thought I’d be, but hey, them winning the NBA last year gave me more serotonin than I ever thought boring sports could give me. It’s still so boring, but I do follow the scores when they appear on CP24 (local news channel), feels good when your city’s teams win. Guess that means by default I also support the Blue Jays and the Maple Leafs, but whatever.

Other blogs: lol, you are talking to the Queen of Too Many blogs right here. My first ever main was @livesinabluebox (which has gone through a few url changes, namely melanin-monster and moonrxvenge, but it’s 2012 again so I switched back to my og url), I’m trying to clear out all my likes so I’m still posting there, but trying to move to my new main over @moonrxvenge. And I also have 600 million sideblogs for characters and roleplays and resources and whatever. I have so many that I need to keep a masterlist, and yes, it is HELLA out of date. (I still say hella)

Tumblr Crushes: meh, I never really befriended people on tumblr until much more recently, and like all those people are friends I made elsewhere, ie polyvore (I shy, tumblr scary and got far too many stupid peoples opinions).

Obvs, shoutouts to my loves @kzombi3 / @thots4daze @themadmonarchist @celestialfairies @alittlebitluna @eternalsailorstar @ayzrules @themonsterslut @turquoisesiren @pulltheskydown

some tumblr people who are v cool and maybe I say things or just do that whole “senpai notice me” lowkey stalking from my main, main: @queen-of-salt-and-fury @daenerys-targaryen @salty-sailors-unite @wellstartled and loads of others I’m probably forgetting rn

Lucky numbers: as a kid I considered 7 and 13 lucky, also 735 or something like that for islam reasons I forgot, but I don’t have any now. I think it’s all bull.

What am I wearing: blue pajamas. my shirt says “happy monday - said nobody ever”, it is thursday.

Dream holiday: Russia and Japan are definitely my number ones, all the historical places like the Winter Palace and Himeji Castle, and the cities.

Dream car: Tesla, it was a blue Model S, but that was 5 years ago (4? 3? idk, a time ago) and I’m sure there are newer models now that I am too lazy look up

Favourite food: Macarons

Drink of choice: Tim Hortons Ice Coffee with a shot of caramel

Instruments: I technically played the flute for a year (maybe three) in middle school music class, but it was mandated and I don’t remember. I could play the beginning of To Love’s End from Inuyasha back then, but not now. I can play the main tune, like just the first few notes, of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s main theme on the piano, but I just memorized the keys. Idk the actual notes. F or G or E I guess? Idk.

Languages: English, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, technically French, but I didn’t really retain anything from it, like I can read French, but got little to no idea what I’m saying. Straight up surprised when I do understand. I think it’s in there, but barely. Also supposed to be able to speak Arabic, but retained less of that than French.

Celebrity crushes: Chris Evans, Jenna Coleman, SRK (lol, since I was born probably), Kajol, Bruna Marquezine, Yuki Kimisawa, and loads of others. I’m a hoe for the fictional and the theoretical, what can I say?

Random facts: Buying notebooks and using them are two entirely different hobbies, and, okay, this isn’t like interesting in the least but I am OBSESSING over the drama that went down between Salman Khan and Zayn over his cover of Allah Duhai Hai - yeah, I know I’m 2 years late to this, but whatever, no fucking told me about it and I can’t find any definitive information and I’m going crazy! Please, someone explain what happened 'cause I am dying!!! I need to know!! (also, salman fans don’t interact, vo kuni hai yaar, tu phagal hai kya?)

I’ll tag: all of you lovelies @kzombi3 / @thots4daze @themadmonarchist @celestialfairies @alittlebitluna @eternalsailorstar @ayzrules @themonsterslut @turquoisesiren @pulltheskydown @queen-of-salt-and-fury @daenerys-targaryen @salty-sailors-unite @wellstartled + whoever else wants to do it (and ofc tag me and befriend me, I am but a thirsty ass hoe for friendship)

#tag games #mine

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fromsolowithlove · 5 years ago

Text

Rey is tired AF.

So is my brain from all the tangents it keeps running off on.

AKA whoops I wrote a fluffy one shot instead of updating my WIP.

In Need of Convincing ~3000 words. Rating: Teen & up? I mean...it’s fluff.

Rey loves her job as a kindergarten teacher but also loves being able to be an adult. Her nights and weekends are hers and Ben's, and she wants to keep it that way. After visiting her classroom, Ben has to disagree. He's got a case of baby fever and will do anything it takes to convince Rey to change her mind.

Read on AO3 or just expand here 👇🏽

Monday

Rey stumbled into her classroom and threw her bags onto the floor. She picked up a stray crayon that she had nearly tripped over. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

Grrr. Who’s bothering me right now? She looked down to see a new text message.

Sweetheart...did you need this bag full of beads, clay, and kindling that says “IMPORTANT! DO NOT FORGET”?

“SHIT,” she exclaimed. She knew she had forgotten something.

Sorry. Yes… she responds.

Rey sighed with relief when she read her husband’s response.

When do you need it by? I have a meeting this morning but can be there right after lunch. Is that alright?

Thank you so much! LOVE YOU. DON’T FORGET IT.

The morning went by in a blur as it always did. Rey never got used to the feeling of being hit by the natural disaster that was five-year-olds. Now that they were back in from lunch, she could start her internal countdown for the day. She slumped herself into the corner of the room. It was the safest place to watch as the students argued over whose blue crayon was bluer.

Suddenly, the door squeaked open. A tall man with hair like onyx walked in. In comparison with the kiddy-sized tables and chairs, he looked even more out of place than usual.

“Mrs. Solo? Who’s that?” a student shouted.

“My helper!” she said as her face lit up.

Ben stood there awkwardly as a crowd began to form around him.

"He’s really tall,” said a small girl with black pigtails. She turned to Ben. “Are you a tree? Or like...a basketball player?”

“Definitely not,” Ben snorted.

“What do we call you Mr. tall guy?”

“Uhh...Mr. Ben will be fine,” Rey answered.

“Mr. Ben! MR. BEN! MR. BEN!” The students started chanting his name and Ben blushed. He hadn’t even done anything. He could get used to this.

“Mr. Ben. Why are you here?” asked Grayson.

“Uhh...to make a special delivery to Mrs. Solo.”

“Oooooh. What kind of stuff did you bring her?”

“Is it a puppy?!” another student added.

“It’s a puppy!” someone else copied.

“No! It’s the guinea pig we asked for!” cried the one with pigtails.

“Noooooo,” Rey dragged out. “You’ll see in just a bit. But we ARE very happy that Mr. Ben was able to stop by, aren’t we class?”

“Yeah!”

“Can you stay with us?” Dax asked.

“Umm. I don’t think so. Mr. Ben actually has another job, which is VERY important. So he can’t -”

Ben cut her off. “Yeah, I can stay,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure Mr. Ben? We’ve still got TWO hours of school left,” she warned.

“I’m sure. That is if you don’t mind the help, Mrs. Solo?”

“Oh. Trust me. We never turn down help in kindergarten.”

The next two hours went by, and Ben had been relegated to helping distribute the beads and clay. By the end of the day, his fingers were tacky and half his head was braided, thanks to all the girls. Rey quickly snapped a photo to ensure she’d never forget how ridiculous he looked.

Ben began cleaning the floor of stray materials. He watched his wife lovingly as she dismissed the students to their families.

“Well. That was certainly quite the day,” she said.

“It was. I don’t know how you do it.”

“I don’t know. The same way you do your job. It’s teaching. I mean, it wipes me out and they’re absolutely crazy, but it’s what I love to do.”

Ben smiled and walked over to kiss her forehead. “Let me cook dinner for you tonight. You deserve it.”

They enjoyed a night together over their favorite combo of dill carrots & salmon. Most nights, Rey was home earlier and prepared their dinners by default. Ben, however, was definitely the better cook between the two. They sat on the couch as Rey kept scrolling through the TV menu for something to watch.

“Please don’t hate me, but can we watch The Real Housewives of Galactic City? I can’t do anything cerebral right now. I need something mindless, something terribly overacted.”

“Anything you want,” Ben said.

They sat on the couch, with Rey amused by the mess of a show she had chosen, and Ben amused by his happy-go-lucky wife. Rey reached for her wine glass and frowned when she was met by emptiness.

She moved to get up, but Ben took it from her hands. He got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. Upon returning, he dropped the biggest bomb in the most nonchalant manner. “ I think we should start trying for kids.”

“WHAT?” Rey whipped her head toward her husband, shock frozen on her face. “What made you think about THAT?”

“Being in your classroom today. I think it’s time.” he shrugged.

“Are you kidding?! Were we even in the same classroom?! They’re monsters, Ben!”

“You once called me that, too” he smirked.

“It’s different! I don’t have to remind you not to put everything in your mouth!”

“No, you don’t. I think you quite like it when I put everything in my mouth.”

“Ben. This isn’t funny. I’m serious! I spend time with kids all day. I don’t think I could spend all night with a kid, too.”

“It would be different.”

“How, Ben?”

“It would be ours.”

“It would be a living, breathing child. Not an ‘it’. SEE! We’re definitely not ready.”

“Will you at least think about it?”

“Sure”, she resigned. “But, I”m not budging.”

Tuesday

The next day, Rey woke up and stumbled over to the kitchen island. Ben was there poring over his emails. He had already gone on his run, showered, and eaten. She hated him.

He pushed a coffee and note in her direction without lifting his eyes from his laptop. She eyed it suspiciously.

Reason #1 why Rey & Ben should have a baby:

Because they love each other.

“Wow, Ben. As sweet as this is - I haven't even had my coffee yet. Slow it down, big guy. Also, this is doing absolutely nothing to convince me. I know that you’ll love me no matter what.”

“That’s true.”

“Even if we don’t have a child.”

“Also true.”

“Case closed.”

Wednesday

The following morning, Ben left for his office early. Rey walked into the empty kitchen and yawned. A coffee tumbler with a bright orange sticky-note caught her eye.

Reason #2 why Rey & Ben should have a baby:

You have really good genes. And the world deserves to have them preserved.

She pulled out her phone to text her husband. Flattery will get you nowhere, Ben.

Reason #3 came later that night in the form of an email.

Hello sweetheart,

I’m stuck waiting for this conference call to end, but just thought you should know:

Reason #3 why Rey & Ben should have a baby:

Because you wouldn’t let us get a puppy.

Rey pulled up their chat and considered whether he would get in trouble for being on his laptop while on a call. She figured he had emailed her first and took the risk.

R: We do have a puppy, his name is Chewie.

B: He’s a dog. Not a puppy.

R: And why would you want two of them?

B: I don’t. I want Chewie and a baby.

R: Your logic is lacking. Should I keep a plate warm for you?

B: Yes, please.

R: See you when you get home.

Friday Morning

Thursday had gone by without Ben trying to convince Rey of their need to start a family. This was why Rey was shocked when he dropped an employee handbook on the bed before heading into the shower. It was flipped open to a highlighted section, clearly meant for her attention. In the margins, he had scrawled a note. Reason #4 why Rey & Ben should have a baby: Ben would have to take paternity leave, which would mean more time at home together. Which Rey always complains about.

She opened their bathroom door and peeked her head in. “Alright, Solo. You’re getting warmer. But I’m still a LONG way from saying yes.”

Friday Night

That night, Rey put down her book and turned out her bedside light. She felt Ben snake his arms around her middle. He rubbed small circles against her stomach with his thumbs as she let out a soft moan. He leaned over and whispered into her ear.

“Reason #5 why Rey and Ben should have a baby. The process of trying would be really fun.”

She turned to face him, barely able to make out his features in the dark. She slid her hands past his neck and into his dark locks. She pulled on his hair lightly, happy when he groaned in response. “What a cheap shot, Ben. You know my physical attraction to you is my weakness. But I do like where this is going. May I get a preview?”

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

Sunday Night

Much of Saturday had gone by as an extended preview of just how fun trying to make a baby could be. Ironically, that had left little time for Ben to convince Rey with more ideas. But after getting off the phone with Leia following their weekly call, he had a great idea.

“Rey. Mom says hi. Also, I have one more reason to add to our list of why you should have a baby with me.”

“Do your worst.”

“My parents aren’t getting any younger. Don’t you want them to meet their grandchildren?”

Rey punched him in his bicep. “OW!” he cried.

“You really think guilt is really the best way to convince me?”

“Well, the other ways weren’t working. And nothing I said was a lie…”

“No. But now I’m just sad, Ben! And sad isn’t the proper emotional state for conceiving a child. TRY HARDER.”

Monday

Rey sat in her classroom during lunch gnawing on a baby carrot. She had left her lunch at home and was forced to eat the cafeteria meal offered to the students. Still, food was food. Choosing to avoid the laughs, she brought the meal back to her classroom instead of eating in the lounge.

Her phone buzzed. A photo loaded and she nearly dropped her phone from laughing so obnoxiously.

There was her husband with a goofy smile across his face. She loved Ben's smile - she really did. But seeing it here when he tried so hard to hide it from others made the photo seem doctored. His expression simply didn’t match his crisp business wear or stark office. Also, a selfie was so not his style. Did he even know the term “selfie”? She read the text below the suspect photo.

Reason #7 why Rey & Ben should have a baby:

Because it would make Ben very very happy.

She shoved another baby carrot in her mouth and began to type a response furiously.

I told you to try harder, but instead, you’ve gone back to square one. The photo is lovely, but come on. Put that sharp Chief of Operations Officer mind to use. Make me a proposal I can’t refuse.

Tuesday

Rey sprayed whipped cream into a mug for her nightly dessert. She raised a spoonful into her mouth as she watched Ben empty his pockets onto his nightstand. He pulled out a note and studied it until recognition washed over his face.

The note was soon placed in front of Rey. Mouth still full of whipped cream, she opened it up. This wasn’t Ben’s handwriting, but it reeked of his intentions.

Reason #8 why Rey & Ben should have a baby:

Ben is dying.

“WHAT IS THIS? BEN. YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS.”

“If I were...would you want to have a baby with me?”

“BEN.” She growled at him. If she weren’t so angry, he might’ve dared to laugh.

“Ok, fine. You’re right. I’m not dying. I mean...in a way, we all are...but, not in the foreseeable future. But Poe and Hux said it was a good idea!”

“AHA! THAT explains the handwriting. I’M GONNA KILL THEM BOTH! And then, I’m gonna come back and kill YOU.”

He raised his hands in surrender and approached her like he would a rabid animal.

“Truce?” he offered.

“Pfft. You better sleep with one eye open, you snake.”

She turned on her heel and placed her mug in the dishwasher before heading into their bedroom. When he didn’t follow her, she sent him a stare over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to take the couch?”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t give you permission to do that. I’m angry and I don’t like you right now, but I still love you. Now, come cuddle with me before I change my mind."

Wednesday

By the time Rey returned home from school, Ben was already on the couch curled up with a book.

“You’re home early…” she started.

“I had an afternoon meeting close to home so I just didn’t go back to the office," he offered with a shrug.

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“It was.”

Suspicious as it was, she had no energy left to try and further interrogate him. She walked over to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and noticed a gift box on the table.

“Is this for me?” she hesitated. It wasn’t her birthday, Valentine’s, or their anniversary. She began to panic that she had forgotten to get him something.

“Yes and no.”

“Should I open it?”

“Your choice.”

“Obviously I’m going to, then.” After a childhood like hers, Rey had a primal reaction when it came to opening gifts. Truth be told, there could be nothing inside of the gift and she would still enjoy the act of opening it up.

This box wasn't empty, though. She softly touched the leather of a baby-sized pilot jacket.

“Oh,” she let out. Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

“See. Not a gift for you, per se. But I do remember how much you wanted to be a pilot as a child. I was walking back to my car when I saw it and just couldn’t seem to walk away. I’m not saying we need it now. I learned my lesson last night. But maybe we can just stuff it in the back of the closet for someday?”

Rey’s eyes welled up and she bit down on her lip to avoid saying something she’d regret.

Thursday

The next day, Rey sat at home groaning at her laptop.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“I'm fine. It’s just that Maverick's dad emailed to pull out of chaperoning. Mav has a ‘doctor’s appointment’,” she emphasized with air quotes. “So, now I’ve got no male chaperones for our field trip tomorrow. It’s doable with the moms and grandmas coming. But now I’m down one adult and there’s no one to supervise the boys on bathroom trips.”

“I can go.”

“No. You have work.”

“I’ll call out sick.”

“Don’t do that. I’ll be fine.”

“I never take sick days, Rey. I can afford to miss tomorrow.”

“Why would you even want to come?”

“Can’t a man just want to spend time with his wife?”

“Sure, Ben. But I'm warning you, field-trip-Mrs.-Solo is NOT a pretty sight,” she grumbled.

Friday Afternoon

After counting off the students for the fifth time, Rey was certain they hadn't left anyone behind. She led the students and chaperones out from the aquarium and towards the park for lunch. The field trip went surprisingly well, so she made a deal with the class. They could play on the playground afterward if they ate their lunch quietly and kept the area clean.

“Five more minutes til we start packing up!” she called out. When no one responded, she repeated herself in a shout. “FIVE MORE MINUTES UNTIL WE PACK UP! ANYONE WHO DOESN’T STOP PLAYING IN FIVE MINUTES WILL HAVE TO MISS THE NEXT FIELD TRIP!”

“OKAY MRS. SOLO!” the kids cried in unison.

Pleased with herself, Rey turned to watch Ben play with the kids on the playground. It was quite a sight. She hadn’t known Ben in his youth, but she knew he had spent a lot of it alone. And of course, the Kylo Ren she first met would’ve never been caught traipsing through a park. Cries of laughter fill the air as he spun a group of students on the merry-go-round disk. He was stronger than they were, which sent them round at a speed that was probably unsafe. The students giggled and held on for dear life.

Rey noticed that Dax hadn't gotten off for the past several turns. She warned Ben to let him have a break. “Mr. Ben. You need to let Dax off. You’re gonna make him sick!”

He looked back at her and shook his head. “Nah. He’s strong! Aren’t you, buddy?”

“Yeah! Mr. Ben, you’re the best!” The boy began jumping up and down in excitement when his face suddenly paled.

Dax lurched forward and covered Ben with the remains of his lunch.

The playground went silent in horror. Rey ran over, ready to do damage control when she considered her husband’s former reputation as a hothead. To her surprise, Ben laughed. “Aren’t we a pair of messes?” she heard him say. Hand in hand, Ben took Dax to wash off at the water fountain. Rey stood there frozen.

Once they got back to school, Rey handed her favorite chaperone a small hoodie. He looked down and saw, “Coruscant Cougars”.

“Sorry, it’s all I’ve got. Might be a tight squeeze, but it has to be better than smelling like vomit?”

He had to agree and said goodbye to the class as he left for the bathroom to change.

Rey sighed as she waved goodbye to the last student. She let out a small shriek when she saw Ben on the floor, slightly hidden beneath a desk in her tiny hoodie.

“What are you doing? And how did you get in here?”

“I walked? You were talking with the after-school program teacher. Must have missed me.” He was distracted and she noticed he had something in his hand.

“Again. What are you doing down there?”

“I noticed that the kids kept knocking their knees on the desks so I’m going to raise these up real quick.”

Her heart began to race and she felt her cheeks twitch as a small smile threatened to sneak out.

“I’m ready, Ben.”

“Yeah, okay. We can go home as soon as I tighten this last screw. I can’t have any of them getting crushed by my bad handiwork.”

“No, Ben." Rey walked over and lowered herself to meet him on the floor. She leaned in to kiss him softly. "I’m. Ready. Let's have a baby.”

#reylo #reylo fluff #reylo fic #modern au reylo #rey gets that fertility necklace in tros and smiles and i go tip tap type #ben wants to be a dad #but rey just wants to keep him as zaddy #bahaha im so sorry yall

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crystalninjaphoenix · 6 years ago

Text

And Never Treading Inside

Septics Inverted

A JSE Fanfic

Well, I did a vote on Tuesday, and most people wanted to see the story based on Kill JSE. I honestly debated keeping the working title of Kill ASE for this fic, but I figured that since I hadn’t done that for the Say Goodbye story it wouldn’t be fair to do that for this one. I don’t know, I’m weird like that. Anyway we got, uhhh, creepy doctor stuff in this part so if you’re not okay with that then maybe you should watch out. I don’t think there’s anything explicit, but just in case, you’ve been warned

Read the intro story: Part One | Part Two

Various other AU-related stuff found here

Taglist: @evyptids @awkward-bullshit @watermelonsinmyattic @asunachinadoll @a-humble-narcissus @metautske @odysseus-is-best-boi @acuriousquail

This couldn’t possibly be this easy. They never let Jack out of the house without one of them coming along. Yet, after Anti checked, double-checked, and triple-checked the security cameras of the convention center, he couldn’t see any of them. It was just Jack, doing his thing, talking to fans and sometimes taking pictures with them. Anti kept an eye on him. Something had to be up. But there was no sign of anything.

Maybe he could reach him. If none of the others were about, maybe he’d listen to him for once. There was the possibility that they’d let him out because he was too far gone, but nobody could read someone’s mind better than Anti. Not even that hypnotist. He would reach him. But, just in case they made a scene, he had to wait until Jack was alone.

Hours later, the con was drawing to a close. Jack wrapped up his meet-and-greet thing, told the con volunteers that he was going to walk home, then exited out of a side door so that none of the crazier fans could ambush him. He ended up in an empty loading-dock type area, where cars and trucks could pull in. He stopped, and pulled out his phone. Anti checked it real quick, seeing Jack was sending a text to the others about coming home soon. He also glanced through the area’s cameras. Nobody was there. Perfect.

“Jáck̡,” Anti whispered. He saw the green-haired man stiffen, and look around.

With a little effort, Anti solidified, going from static-filled hologram to flesh-and-blood in a few seconds. Jack’s eyes widened in shock and took a few steps back, but he didn’t run away, so that was a start. “What do you want?” he asked, firmly placing his hands in his hoodie pocket. His voice sounded a bit different, which raised Anti’s suspicions for a moment before he figured it could have been a side effect.

“I want to ta͟l͝k̸ to you,” Anti said, hands half-raised to show he wasn’t holding a weapon. “I saw you were alone today. Where are your friends now?”

“They are...around,” Jack said hesitantly.

“No, they’re not. I ch̶e͢cḱe͏d. Have you finally realized w͏hat̵ ́t̛h̛e͞y̨ ̴a͞r̛e?”

“They're not anything, and I don’t appreciate you saying they are,” Jack snapped. “You monster.”

Anti glitched a bit in irritation, feeling the pixels float off a bit. “You s͝til͡l͟ don’t see the signs?” he hissed. “Don’t you re͢ḿem͡b̨er͞ all the things th̴èy'v͢e ́done͏ t̨o̧ you̡?̡” He was letting more distortion slip then he meant to; he tried to reel it in.

Jack shook his head. “There is nothing to remember.”

Anti growled in frustration, and sent out a mental probe toward Jack, trying to suss out the damage that was done since his last visit. But it glanced off a wall. Anti twitched in surprise, static and silhouettes increasing. Jack didn’t have mental defenses. He’d tried for so long to get him to build them up, but he was never good at it. And now, he suddenly had them? Anti took a few steps back—then a few steps to the side, then forward again as he glitched restlessly. What was wrong with him?! He wasn’t usually this disconnected from this reality...but nevertheless he gritted his teeth and tried to keep together.

“Hmm.” Jack was staring at him oddly. Wide eyes, leaning a bit forward, pursed lips. All the signs of...thoughtfulness, or curiosity. Totally at odds with how Jack looked at him ever since last year. In fact, Anti was sure his eyes were a different shade of blue.

His legs hollowed out, shells of light filled with static, and he collapsed. There was the tingle of white noise in his head and chest as he switched between electricity and skin at a rapid rate. Zaps of something, something that felt very, very wrong, were rushing through his limbs and head, his thoughts breaking from each other. Jack—no, not Jack—leaned down and watched him glitch on the floor. “Das ist sehr interessant,” he muttered to himself.

Anti’s mind switched off in an instant.

He jerked awake, immediately trying and failing to glitch away. “W̶el̸l̕, fu̷c͠k͞,” he said to himself. His scarf and bandages were missing, letting the blood from his neck wound drip freely. His eye-patch was in place, though. He was lying on a table. Or, more accurately, he was strapped to a table. The straps were plain leather, but there were symbols drawn on them in purple ink. It was a while since he’d read runes, but he remembered enough to recognize powerful ones when he saw them. He turned his attention to the rest of the room. It looked...exactly how he thought it would look. Like an operating room. Anti groaned and let his head hit the table with a thud. Anyone but him. Even one of the others he’d be fine with, just anyone but this psycho.

There was a clunk, and the metal door to the room opened slowly. Yep, there he was. Wearing the same bloodstained coat he always wore, and his hair was green. Like Jack’s. Just looking at that made his pixels roil in anger. These creatures didn’t deserve to look like him.

The doctor stopped short upon realizing Anti was glaring at him. He frowned, then rolled back his sleeve and checked a watch. “Very interesting,” he said. “You are not supposed to be awake right now, and here you are! Much faster than we thought.”

“How did you do that?!” Anti demanded. This group was full of surprises and he hated it.

“It was the electricity! The ones you are made of! I thought that maybe if we adapted an EMP it could work. So I went to Marvin with this and asked for help, and he added his magic touch to the device we made, and it worked just like we thought it would, except for less time.”

EMPs and black magic, huh? He’d have to watch for that, though at the moment, he wasn’t sure how. His mind was preoccupied with finding a way out. The runes were keeping him in one place, so he’d have to rely on the same things humans did. As he watched Schneep bustle around the operating room, adjusting the lights, gathering some wicked-looking tools, and messing with syringes, he pulled at the straps. Fuck, this was tight. He was glad he didn’t have a normal body, otherwise he was sure the circulation to his limbs would’ve been cut off by now.

“Aha! There we are. Thank you, nurse.” Schneep finally decided on a syringe to pick up. He tapped it a bit to make sure there weren’t any bubbles. “And now, this part will only hurt a little.”

Anti highly doubted it would hurt at all. But he couldn’t remember if he was immune to whatever was in that syringe. He couldn’t afford to lose his mind right now. He eyed the syringe: how much fluid was in that thing?

Schneep grabbed Anti’s arm, finding a vein easily and plunging the needle deep into the skin. Anti could feel the liquid enter his bloodstream. Well, couldn’t have it there. For once, he was actually glad that he had an open wound that never closed. A slight twitch of a glitch, and then blood spit from his throat slit, spraying the doctor. Schneep jumped back, but the damage was already done. He did not look too concerned that his face now had a red stripe across it.

“Try that again and I’ll shove that needle in̛ ̢y̕our̡ ̢e͞ye,” Anti threatened, knowing full well he couldn’t do any such thing.

Schneep very calmly wiped the blood from his glasses, staining the cuffs of his coat further. “So you can control your blood flow?” he said. “Very nice. How do you do that? Do you will it to move? Or do you palpitate your heart and that makes it happen?” His eyes sparked. “Do you have a heart?”

“Sometimes—”

“Ah, but why would I take you at your words? Humans could be lying all the time, you are not so different. The only proof is the proof of mein own eyes. Nurse!” He spun around. “Get me my slicer and a cup of coffee now! I am about to do very serious work!”

Anti tried to glitch away once more, just to make sure he was stuck. Yep. This was going to suck.

Schneeplestein was very interested in the fact that Anti couldn’t feel pain. How was that possible? Did he not have nerves? Or did he have them, but they just didn’t work, like his heart? “I will check this next time,” he told Anti, “but today it is time for night. I will see you tomorrow, yes?” And he left.

Anti wasted no time in fixing the leftover damage. Just because it didn’t hurt, didn’t mean he wanted to walk around with a gaping hole in his chest. It wasn’t too hard to reset everything back to default. But he just knew that next time the good doctor paid a visit he was going to want to know exactly how it happened. How, how, how. Anti realized he was going to get sick of that word real quick.

Yes, Anti had nerves. He could feel it when the skin was parted, when the blood vessels were pierced, when the bones were scraped. It just didn’t hurt. Uncomfortable? Yes. Painful? No.

It was the third day—or so Anti assumed—when he managed to get free of the straps. And thank hell for that. He was pushing his limit for how long he could remain corporeal. He was starting to feel the strain between his cells. It was similar to the weariness a human felt in their muscles when they held something up for too long. You could keep going, but it would be better to not. He just needed an electrical current to jump into and become fully incorporeal.

But there wasn’t one.

Impossible. This room wasn’t on an island; it was connected to a larger building, which was probably in the city. There had to be a source of electricity somewhere. Yet, Anti couldn’t detect anything. And his range was wide. Not even the lights were giving off an electric signal, though upon further examination they didn’t run on electricity, but were actually some kind of gas lamps merely designed to look modern. He had to admit that was clever.

After a while, the door to the room unlocked, and Anti lunged toward it, hoping to slip past and into the greater world, where there had to be a current somewhere. The door immediately slammed shut and locked again, and would not give in to Anti’s persistent pulling and banging. A few minutes later, it opened the tiniest crack, and a small device slid in. It looked like a remote control of some sort, but it had a strange, purple shimmer to it. The more Anti stared at it, the more he glitched, until he finally realized this was the thing that could take him out. It was too late, and his mind powered down again.

When he woke up, he was in the exact same place he’d been before. Somehow, the straps had gotten even tighter. Schneep was taking notes on a pad of paper. Anti was viciously happy to see the green dye was fading quickly, probably not even real dye.

Schneep looked up at him. “What is under the patch?”

Anti laughed a bit. “Oh, will you just gi͠v̨e u̶p͢ on this already? I’m not like your other p͢aţi̵e͟nt͞ş, I won’t scream for you.”

“That is a travesty, but I cannot ask a question, can I?” Schneep put down the paper and walked over to the table. Evidently it was on a hinge mechanism of some sort, as with a little effort Schneep managed to push it into a vertical position. He and Anti were at eye level with each other. “I have decided I am going to look at it.”

“At my eye? I...wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh? And why not?”

“Look, do̶cto͢r͡, your head is fucked up enough already. I’m not making it worse.”

Schneep laughed. “You sound like Jackie. I never understand you two, my head does the working fine! And besides, that is no reason to not look, is it?”

Despite Anti’s best efforts to move his head away, Schneep managed to pull of his eye-patch well enough. But only for a second. The moment his eye was revealed, the doctor paled and immediately pulled it back into position. He backed away. “I-I think our appointment should end for today. I will see—I will meet with you again tomorrow. Okay? Okay. Okay.” He practically rushed out of the room.

Anti sighed. Nobody ever listened.

Schneep seemed back to his normal maniacal state the next time. Anti knew this because his first words upon entering the room were “Do you think if I cut your hand off it will become nothing, or it will stay there like regular?” The answer was the latter, though it glitched back into position when placed close to where it was supposed to be.

The strain of staying in one piece was getting worse. Despite the runes’ best efforts, Anti was glitching. He wasn’t going anywhere, but shapes and pixels were breaking off in increasing numbers. The muscles of his body were twitching frequently and violently, resulting in something that could be called seizures. Distortion was spreading in waves through his body, and it was the worst thing he’d ever felt. He didn’t think it was pain, more like his insides wanted to come to the outside and were forcing their way out.

Of course, Schneep thought this was all fascinating. He kept watching for the parts that would pixellate, then running some...tests on them afterward, to see if the dissolving had affected the solid form at all. He wondered if it was happening from the inside out. It was. He found that out when he tried to find the intestines and only saw ropes of static.

Anti gave up on trying to explain that he needed to connect to an electrical current. No matter how often he explained that terrible, and possibly permanent consequences could happen, Schneep just brushed it off. He was never really invested in his patients’ comfort anyway.

So instead, Anti decided he wasn’t going to make this easy. Every opportunity he got, he struggled. He pulled against the straps, glitched more than usual just to prove he still could, and even tried to bite Schneep when the doctor tried to see if his teeth were normal. But his favorite thing to do was nag at him. Mockery, sarcasm, anything really. It seemed to affect Schneep the most, especially when he implied that he wasn’t a real doctor. The first time that happened, Schneep lost his temper completely and Anti ended up with a few scalpels embedded in his neck and shoulders.

Anti assumed it was the seventh day when he figured out exactly what to not mention if he wanted to stay in one piece. Schneep was on one of his real doctor rants. “I can prove it, you idiotischer Fehler. I have done many successful surgeries over many years, even before I came to this country! You will find much people back home are alive today because of my efforts! At least there, they appreciate my efforts to find the problems and understand the whys.”

“ Yo̴ùr̛ ͏pol͢ice ͢r̡e͠co̴r͡d ̵wóuld̸ b̡e͠g t͝o dif̶f͠e͡r,” Anti growled, the words coming out through a layer of interference.

Schneep waved it off, a gesture that was not appreciated when he was holding a saw in that hand. “So there were some people in the system who do not see. I am best doctor! If they do not want me there, I come here where I can practice without worrying about the people telling the police lies to get me away.”

Anti smiled. Or maybe that was just more twitching. “Did͡n'͏t͢ ̵y̷o͏ur ̨wife̶ t̨u̧r̶n̨ yo̡ų in̵?͞”

The doctor went still. He turned to Anti with a look of absolute murder in his eyes. “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “Yes, she did. And she lied to them, so that she could get away with that—that bastard.”

“Wo̵m̕en ́ca̴n͝ ̵h̨av͝e ͝mal͠e ͟f̨riend̛s ͟an̨ḑ ̨not̷ r̕oma̕nc͡e̢ th̕e̢m̛,͢ y͏o͠u̢ ͟kn̸ow,” Anti drawled.

“But that is not what happened!” Schneep shrieked. He picked up a pair of scissors and jabbed the blades into Anti’s shoulder. “The bitch didn’t have the courage to fucking leave like normal, so she came up with a plan to get me out of the picture!” An empty syringe pierced Anti’s carotid artery, not too far from the neck wound. “She told them I was a—a—”

“M͡urde̛r͢e͟r̵?” Anti said innocently.

A scalpel found a place next to the scissors. “I am not!”

“You'r̶e ̡r̡ight̨.͞ T̡ha͟t's w͠he͠n ͝y̨ou̵ ͡o͝nly kil̨l ͏ońe̶ ̴pe̵r̸şo͞n.”

“It is part of the fucking job, do you not understand?! No other doctors have been called killers before! So the reason she did this, she was trying to get rid of me!”

Anti rolled his eye. “Yo̢u kn̢ow, ̛t͡he w̛ay ̀h̷er̡ ̀t̛est͠imo͡ńy͠ ͟r͡e̴ad͠s,͢ ̧s̕h̛e͡ ͡a̧ņd̴ ͢her f͟rien͡d fo̴llowe̴d͞ yo͠u ̧a͏n̡d ̛ȩv̵en͠tu͏al̢l͠y͠ fo͞u͏n͏d́ you̡r ͡s͡e̵con̵d j̴o̵b.͟ And̸ th̕ȩn͞ ͞they t͏u͟r͏ǹe͞d͟ it ͠in͞ ̀b͡eća̢u̵s͝e̸ ͠it'̧s f̶u̕c̕k̡ing̨ s̴ick.”

“She turned me in so she could leave me!” Schneep yelled.

“A͡nd s̀he ͞l͞ef͠t̶ ͝you ́b͡ecàus̕e̡ ̧yo͝u̕'ŗe̶ a f̵ųc̴k̷ing͝ psy̧c̀hót̶ić s̕ad͝is̛t͞!”

Five minutes later, Schneep had run out of sharp instruments and gotten tired of screaming himself hoarse. He rummaged around a table while Anti slowly glitched the various medical tools out of him. It was slow going. He couldn’t quite...control the glitching anymore.

Schneep returned to the table, which had been switched to the vertical position at some point during his freak out. He wad holding a roll of duct tape. “I’m taking his advice,” Schneep muttered, pulling a strip of tape off. “I’m taking Marvin’s fucking advice, because I can’t concentrate with this anymore. I don’t care if you can get it off, I cannot work.” He smacked the tape across Anti’s mouth and promptly left the room.

On the ninth day, Anti finally admitted to himself what he’d been trying to avoid the entire time. If he wasn’t able to get to an electric source soon so he could become incorporeal like he was supposed to be, he could fall apart. Quite literally. At this point, his body wasn’t even half-there. It was more like a shell wrapped around a core of vague noise. Shapes of green and black were constantly fizzing away, pixels swarming and never leaving. It took him thirty seconds to form a thought because his brain was so full of static. He couldn’t move—or rather, he could, but not deliberately. Every little ever-present twitch and spasm was completely involuntary.

He was going to have to do it. He was going to have to break his rule.

The doctor came in. He was talking, but Anti couldn’t hear him. He put all his effort into concentrating on watching Schneep, waiting for him to get close enough. He needed contact. Luckily, that wouldn’t be too hard.

It wasn’t long before Schneep grabbed Anti’s arm for something or other. And this time, Anti didn’t hold back. He hadn’t been right when he’d thought there were no sources of electricity in the operating room. Bioelectricity, given off by most living things, worked just as well.

Schneep didn’t have time to react before a flood of foreign energy jolted through his system. Anti attacked his mental walls with desperate vigor, taking advantage of Schneep’s surprise. Mental claws found the smallest holes and exploited them, tearing down the walls altogether and letting Anti in. The doctor stumbled and fell as he tried to fight off the invader, but it was no use. Anti was much more practiced at invading minds then Schneep was at defending them. It only took ten seconds at the most, and when it was over Anti was in control.

“Shit, doc, you need to take better care of your body,” he muttered. “This feels horrible. Do you sleep? At all?” Schneep was putting up a fight in the back of the mind, yelling mental insults as he pushed back. Anti paid him no mind as he tried to remember how a physical body worked. It took him a couple tries to stand up, and a couple more to figure out walking. Even then, the legs didn’t entirely obey his commands. But he managed to somehow make it over to the door and push it open, revealing a hall with a couple doors on either side, ending in a flight of stairs going up.

He had a vague understanding of where he was. This was the house they all lived in. He’d been there once before, and he had the cameras set up that he watched from. This must’ve been the basement, which contained the library, a few empty rooms, and some...storage. He staggered toward the staircase. Halfway through pulling himself up to the next floor, he realized that he never figured out how Schneep had managed to stop electrical signals from getting into the operating room. “You’re not going to make this easy and tell me, are you?” he asked.

Schneep refused. Anti sighed. Guess he was going to have to take a look in the doctor’s neurons. He turned his attention inward.

Immediately, he noticed something was wrong. Everything was...imbalanced. Too much of a few chemicals, a bunch of neurons that were structured oddly. Well. He’d always said Schneep was insane, but he hadn’t meant it literally. Still, that wasn’t an excuse. Most people struggling with these issues led normal lives, and didn’t become freaky killers. Anti took a moment to grumble about how humans were stupid and couldn’t understand simple things like disorders, then remembered why he was even looking at this.

A quick rifle through recent memories led to the solution. A Faraday cage. They were meant to stop electricity from getting through, and apparently that was very effective against him. His searching also showed him how Schneep and Marvin had worked together to make that knockout device. Thank you very much. Anti returned to the outside world.

The house appeared empty. According to Schneep’s memories, most people had gone out for the night, and only Chase and Jack were still here, upstairs. Anti stared at the stairs leading to the second floor. He was so close...Jack was just a floor away, it wouldn’t be too hard to dash up the step and—and do what? Jack was still under their spell. Despite his best efforts, Anti hadn’t been making much progress. And if Jack saw him using someone else’s body, that would just make everything more complicated. It wasn’t like he could force Jack out of here, because he would still want to come back.

With a sigh, Anti turned away. He needed to transfer to a different source, preferably one with an Internet connection. He spotted his opportunity immediately upon entering the living room. Jack’s phone was on the coffee table. He recognized it. He sat Schneep’s body down on the nearest couch, then picked up the phone. Apparently the doctor had taken it when he came up with his plan to impersonate Jack and lure Anti out into the open, then never bothered to give it back. With a sigh and a slump of Schneep’s shoulders, Anti transferred to the phone. Before taking the Internet route out of this place, he left a message:

“You ͞ne͝ed ̵tò s̷n̨ap òu͡t of ̕i̴t̨, ̨J͟ac̷k͡.”

Because there was no way he could stay in a place with people like this. Anti had just learned firsthand how dangerous that was.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #antisepticeye #dr schneeplestein #brigid writes fanfiction #septics inverted au #tw: needles #minor gore #minor gore?#invertedau

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thedevianthunterrk800 · 7 years ago

Text

Pride (Captain Allen x Female!Reader)

This was the first request I was asked to do so of course I did it :D

ALSO yes I’m calling him David bc Daddy doesn’t have an official name rip

tags: @connorfixinghistie @guardianoftheunderratedthings

Masterlist

NOV 20TH, 2038 PM 9:31:47

You honestly weren’t sure what was going to happen anymore.

While you really wanted to trust that Connor could convince the deviant to let you go, the cold metal pressed against your temple reminded you that right now, at any second, could be the end for you. The deviant could panic, and his finger could twitch at the wrong time and that would be it for you.

You didn’t want to die, of course, but you definitely wouldn’t have anybody else in your place.

Especially…

For a second, your eyes drifted away from Connor, who had managed to near the two of you without spooking the android currently holding you hostage, to the large windows through which you could see several SWAT vans and cruisers with flashing red and blue lights. Dozens of officers and SWAT members lined the street, which you guessed had been closed off, but your eyes stopped at one particular face, closer to the windows than the others and visibly the most nervous.

You couldn’t help but give him a weak smile.

Captain Allen.

NOV 18TH, 2038 PM 2:58:06

The SWAT vans were loaded, ready to head out and patrol the streets of Detroit. Although the Android Revolution at first glance seemed to be a success, the truth was that integrating the change the deviants wanted would take months, likely years. People were stubborn and proud beings, and the idea that their creations—machines that they’d built—demanded equal rights was definitely not something they’d been expecting. It wasn’t a surprise that after what appeared to be a win for the androids, people began protesting with even more vigor. More and more androids were turning up destroyed and dismantled on the streets, in dumpsters, even on the steps of the DPD on several occasions.

The city seemed to be falling apart, and that left the Detroit Police in charge of controlling the chaos.

The SWAT team in particular was always out and about, ready to deal with any human-android altercation at any given moment. Being in a constant state of fear-slash-concern that came with dating someone on said SWAT team wasn’t something that you’d necessarily been prepared for when you’d began a relationship with Captain Allen, but your heart had already spoken and you refused to let it deter you from loving your new favorite guy.

“Are you going to be okay?” you asked the SWAT captain quietly, shivering slightly as snow fell gently around you in the DPD parking lot. He was about to take off again and like always, you had no idea if this was the last time you’d ever see him. It had taken the two of you weeks of quietly watching the other across the station, of secret smiles and private conversations over coffee at the break room, before Allen finally asked you to dinner.

Your relationship with him was barely a month long yet you were convinced that he was the one you were meant to be with for the rest of your life. You tried not to let yourself get too caught up because you honestly weren’t sure how he felt about the whole thing, but that didn’t stop you from worrying about his safety.

As if reading your mind, Allen suddenly reached down to grab your hand, and you wasted no time intertwining your fingers together.

“I’ll be just fine,” he assured you with a small smile, lifting your interlocked hands to his lips and pressing a kiss on your wrist. Although you knew that his team was likely watching your exchange from within the vans, you wasted no time throwing your arms around Allen’s neck and hauling him down for a desperate kiss. He made a small noise of surprise before firmly kissing you back, and you refused to pull away even though his team had begun hooting because you wanted to make every second together count.

NOV 20TH, 2038 PM 9:07:34

You felt your blood run cold when you saw an android pointing a gun at the clerk behind the counter at the convenience store. Your hand instinctively reached for your pistol and you swore when you realized you didn’t have it on you.

This didn’t leave you with a lot of options, but you knew what you had to do.

You grabbed your phone and made a quick call to the DPD before hanging up and cautiously entering the convenience store.

At the sound of the automatic doors opening, the deviant whipped around and for maybe the fifth time in your life, you found yourself staring into the barrel of a gun. You raised your hands to show that you were unarmed and you noticed that the deviant’s LED, which had been flashing red, had now begun to spin yellow.

You offered a shaky smile.

It turned out that the deviant had been part of a group that had escaped from a discount store that sold secondhand household androids. A few officers who had been patrolling the area had caught them running and shot when they’d refused to stop. The deviant was still wearing its default CyberLife uniform, on which you could see the glowing letters “AP700”, and this had given him away. After seeing the other androids shot dead, he’d gotten so furious that he managed to disarm one of the officers, shoot them, and then flee to the convenience store.

And now here you were, doing your best to buy your colleagues some time before the situation could get even worse.

“What are you going to do when the police arrive?” you asked the brown-haired android, heart hammering in your chest as you tried to keep your head clear. The AP700 looked alarmed by your question, his LED now spinning red.

“I—I don’t know…”

“Tell you what; let her go, and you can hold me hostage,” you suggested in what you hoped was a reassuring voice. The clerk’s eyes widened as the deviant glanced from her to you. “She hasn’t done anything.”

“Why would I do that?” the deviant demanded, glaring at you in suspicion.

“I work for the police department,” you replied calmly, hoping the android wouldn’t shoot you on the spot in revenge. You probably should have considered that earlier but right now, you were just desperate to free the undoubtedly traumatized teenaged girl. “If you want the DPD to listen to you, you’ll probably want to have a more valuable hostage.”

The deviant frowned as he considered your words, gun still pointed at you. His LED was spinning quicker than usual, and all you and the clerk could do was hold your breaths while he planned his next course of actions.

Finally, he nodded. “Alright. You, walk over here. Keep your hands up.”

Slowly, you did as you were told. Once you were directly in front of him, the deviant pointed the gun to your temple and you took a deep breath to calm yourself down.

“Get out of here,” the deviant snapped to the clerk, who hesitated before seeing you nod your head. She cautiously walked out from behind the counter, eyes never leaving you or the deviant.

As she passed you, you swore you heard her whisper, “thank you” and then she was walking out the door. You saw her running once she set foot outside and you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

NOV 20TH, 2038 PM 9:15:42

Captain Allen very rarely lost his cool.

He’d been in the SWAT team for many years now and so he’d dealt with his fair share of hostage situations. The one in August stuck out particularly in his mind, but that was only because that was the first instance he’d ever had to deal with an android holding a human hostage. Since then, there hadn’t been any similar incidences—until tonight, that was.

The moment the van pulled up, Allen was quick to hop out and examine the scene. The road was blocked off, thankfully, and there were only two other police cruisers present so far. That wasn’t a surprise, though, since he and his team had luckily been nearby when they got the call.

“Allen!” a voice yelled, and he turned around to come face to face with none other than Gavin Reed. “About fuckin’ time.”

Allen opened his mouth to make a retort, but stopped when he realized that the arrogant bastard looked nervous for once in his life. Before he could ask, Reed pointed to the convenience store.

“She’s in there.”

It only took Allen about three seconds to realize who it was Reed was referring to, and then a tenth of a second before he was calling out orders through his earpiece to shoot the plastic fucker and get you the fuck out of there.

Out of all the women in the world, he had to fall in love with the one that always seemed to land herself in the most ridiculous shit. He was aware that he was getting up there in age, but fuck if he wasn’t about to have a heart attack right now.

He suddenly felt someone roughly grab his shoulder and spin him around, and he barely resisted the urge to knock Reed out cold for getting in his way. “What?”

“It’s going to kill her if you send one of your men in,” Reed snapped impatiently, his words alarming enough to stop Allen in his tracks. “It shot at us when we got too close. Said it’ll only speak to an android.”

The situation was all too familiar and Allen absolutely hated it. He’d been horrified the first time he’d seen that the same machines that were built to serve and make lives easier for everyone had the capacity to break from their programming and kill the very people who’d created them. The Philips hostage situation shook him to the core and was the reason he hated androids so much and thought it best to get rid of the lot.

Androids would never become human. That was a fact. The so-called revolution was absolutely bullshit and because of it, you were in danger and he absolutely could not stand to watch you suffer at the hands of those plastic monsters.

He wanted nothing more than to run in there and save you himself, but like Reed said, the plastic would likely shoot you for that, and the only thing that mattered to Captain Allen right now was to get you out of there and safely in his arms again.

Which meant that he needed to ask for help from the very thing that was threatening to kill you.

NOV 20TH, 2038 PM 9:23:14

Even if Connor wasn’t an android, he knew that he could never possibly forget the hostage situation back in August. It was the first mission he’d ever been on and the first time he’d proven how successful android detectives could be.

It was also the first time he’d worked with the DPD, particularly the SWAT team and Captain Allen.

Back then, Captain Allen had been surprisingly calm considering the situation. Sure, Connor could tell that the man was on edge and his heartrate was higher than normal, but otherwise he’d seemed emotionless. The captain was cold, if anything, and his actions and orders were nothing less than strategic and precise.

So of course, Connor was a little surprised to see Captain Allen visibly worried when it came to your own hostage situation. He was more aggressive than usual, likely to mask the fear that he was feeling for once in his life. If he was short with Connor back then, it was nothing compared to how abrasive he was this time around.

“Get her out of there as quickly as you can,” he snapped to Connor, eyes locked on the deviant currently holding a gun to your head. Connor had a feeling that if he could do so without risking your life, Captain Allen would walk into the store and tear the deviant apart limb by limb with is bare hands. If the deviant didn’t kill Connor that night, then Captain Allen definitely would. Either way, there was a lot to lose.

Still, Connor was fairly confident in his abilities as a negotiator, deviancy be damned. He assured Captain Allen that he would get you out of there in one piece, to which the captain only replied with, “You fucking better.”

The second he stepped foot inside the store, the deviant pointed his gun at him. “Stop! Don’t come any closer!”

“My name is Connor. I’m an android,” Connor reassured the AP700, holding a hand up and deactivating the skin there to prove it. The deviant visibly relaxed but kept the gun aimed at him. Meanwhile, Connor was busy analyzing you for any wounds, and was relieved to see that other than an elevated heartrate, you were in perfect condition.

“What’s your name?” he asked the deviant, slowly inching closer to the two of you. The AP700 didn’t reply, simply pressing the gun harder against your skin.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. How can we have a conversation if I don’t know your name?” Connor replied gently, now only less than ten feet away. The deviant only seemed to notice this closeness in proximity at that moment because he was suddenly dragging you further into the store. This sudden movement alarmed not only yourself and Connor, but the many members of the DPD outside. Connor raised a hand at them as a gesture to not make any sudden movements.

“I’ll shoot her if you move any closer!”

Unlike the Philips hostage situation, Connor wasn’t able to gather information about this particular deviant prior to confronting him. He didn’t expect this to be a walk in the park, but after everything Connor had done to help in the Android Revolution, he’d assumed he could handle one deviant with no issue.

Oh, how wrong he was.

The figurative time bomb was ticking and Connor was stuck because every time he tried to take a step forward, he noticed the deviant’s stress level spiked. If he pushed it, the AP700 would likely panic and kill you, and that was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen.

Then again, if he waited too long, then the deviant might just shoot you anyway.

He only had a few seconds to decide what to do, but luckily, you’d already beaten him to the punch.

“I’m sorry your friends were shot.”

You saw Connor’s eyes widen after you spoke, and though you couldn’t see his face, you could tell that the deviant was just as surprised.

“You just wanted your freedom and I get that. None of you deserved what happened,” you continued, eyes leaving Connor to look over to the windows through which you could see Allen watching you. Seeing him gave you a kind of comfort you’d only ever felt after coming home from a long day, and it was enough to let you power through. “We can help you get that freedom, but you have to trust us.”

“Why should I trust you?” the deviant snapped, though his voice wasn’t as menacing as before. It seemed that more than anything, he was scared because he knew he’d be deactivated for his actions, and honestly that was something that you sympathized with.

After all, it wasn’t like you weren’t scared shitless yourself right now, too.

“Because it’s either that or die, and I know you don’t want to.”

There was a second of hesitation, a moment where time seemed to stop and it was just you, the deviant, and Connor waiting for something to happen.

And just like that, the press of cold metal was gone. If you hadn’t seen the shock on Connor’s face, you wouldn’t have believed that you’d actually managed to convince the deviant to let you go but now here he was, sliding the gun across the floor to Connor with a look of defeat on his face. You knew that it was only a matter of seconds before SWAT realized that you were no longer in danger and rushed in to take down the deviant, so you swiftly pulled your phone out and made a call.

He answered on the first ring.

“Don’t shoot him,” you said immediately before Allen could get a word in. The man seemed at a loss for words, still in shock that you were alive and okay and calling him even though he was just right outside the store. “He let me go on his own. He’ll come out with his hands up but promise me right now you won’t fucking shoot him.”

“I—are you serious right now?”

“Yes. Please. Promise me.”

You were surprised by how quickly he was to respond. “I promise. Just get out of there already.”

“Okay.”

The three of you walked out in a single file line; you in front, the deviant right behind you, and Connor in the back. You figured that if Allen decided to change his mind and had a sniper at the ready, you being in front of the deviant would deter them from taking the shot.

However, it seemed that Captain Allen was a man of his word; Connor was able to handcuff and escort the deviant into a police cruiser with no issues, and though the AP700 didn’t look all that happy, at the very least he was safe and alive.

Meanwhile, you found yourself being engulfed into a bone crushing embrace by none-other than the SWAT captain himself. For the first time that night, you finally felt like you were able to breathe, disregarding the fact that Allen seemed determined to squeeze the life out of you. You felt him pull away and suddenly he was kissing you and you wasted no time kissing him back. It was sloppy and wet and way more emotional than you would expect from a man like Captain Allen but you weren’t complaining. Right now, all you could focus on was Allen and his burning touch, familiar smell, and soft lips against yours in front of a 24 with snow falling around you.

Your heart was once again hammering in your chest, but this time not because you had a gun pointed at your head.

Even after you’d stopped kissing, Allen continued to hold you close, and you could hear how erratic his own heart was beating. You closed your eyes, feeling very much safe and at home being held by him like that.

Finally, Allen spoke. “I’m sorry.”

Your eyes snapped open and you pulled away just far enough to be able to gape at his face. “What?”

Allen gritted his teeth, looking at the floor between you two. “I should’ve been the one to save you, but that fuckin’ deviant…”

“Don’t feel bad about that, babe,” you whispered softly, reaching up to kiss his lips again. He returned the gesture only briefly before once again pulling away with a frown.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was helpless and I fucking hate it.”

“David, stop being a dumbass,” you scolded, successfully shutting Allen’s mouth with your words. He raised an eyebrow at you but otherwise said nothing, an invitation for you to continue what you were saying.

You grinned at him. “If you hadn’t been here I would’ve lost my mind.”

“Baby…”

“Stop. If you keep blaming yourself, I’m going to leave you.”

Allen scoffed, his grip on your waist tightening. “Like I’d let you do that.”

“You’re right,” you said, eyes twinkling as you prepared yourself for what you were about to say next for the first time since you’d known him. “Hey, Dave?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Allen’s mouth fell open in surprise, and off in the distance you could hear loud, obnoxious cheers. Your eyes landed on the earpiece that seemed to be permanently attached to the side of Allen’s head and you couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that everyone had heard you. Captain Allen’s cheeks were flushed red, either because of your words or the fact that his team had witnessed such an intimate exchange.

Regardless, you decided to cut the poor man some slack and give him a little space. Before you could even take two steps away from him, however, Allen suddenly reached out and grabbed your hand, a determined expression on his face.

“Yeah?” you asked, already feeling a little lightheaded watching him regard you with such intensity.

“I love you, too.”

You laughed, shaking your head as he leaned down to kiss you for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Not that you were complaining.

#captain allen x reader #captain allen x female reader #captain allen dbh #captain allen detroit become human #requests #my fic #daddy allen #daddy allen unit #i tried so hard on this fic yall #david allen #anon i hope u like this

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bubblegumdicc · 7 years ago

Text

sup sup sup, rp between me and @seravek ! general summery is tony and puppet officially meeting with sal and oscar.

word count: 8775

Earlier that week, Tony had been informed that Seravek had wanted to have a dinner party when he had arrived for work. Tony was no stranger to parties, so he had accepted graciously, wondering to himself that maybe he'd bring along Puppet just to get them out of the house. On the day of the dinner party, Tony had dressed them both up, taking Puppet by the hand to the car to drive them towards Apollo's house. They'd gotten there pretty early, so Tony decided they'd take a walk around the block, hoping maybe it would ease the shorter monsters nerves.

Puppet wasn't in the greatest place in their head that day, feeling like a useless burden on Tony, something not quite 'person' enough, but not quite pet either. They stayed quiet the whole time, trying not to hold tightly to tonys hand, it was best they not cling to him and be more of a burden. they idly ran their fingers over the nice clothes they were put in, trailing slowly after tony. Oscar had weaseled his way into getting him and sal invited over at the request of sal, though oscar would gladly attend anyways just to kiss on sev and press apollos buttons. They spotted the two walking around and Sal nudged oscar to point them out, whispering something before oscar waved to catch tonys attention and walking closer "sup buddy, figured youd be here."

Tony had tried everything to help them, but it didn't seem like Puppet was getting any better- he couldn't help but worry about them in the back of his mind each day he had to get up to go to work. A voice pushes his thoughts aside and he looks up to see Oscar waving to them. He grins, holding a hand up. "Heey, how are ya? Sev invited you guys too eh?" He glances down behind himself at Puppet and gives their hand a squeeze. "Dunno if you met 'em before, but this here is Puppet. They're uh... a little shy. Don't get out much, heh."

Oscar comes over to shake tonys hand in greeting, a hug being more his style, but he attempted to respect peoples space sometimes. Sal greeted Tony as well before offering a greeting and hand to Puppet, the only response a stare to their hand before looking away, pets dont shake hands, they thought. Sal frowned, trying to start small talk with them. Puppet seemed to have quite a few telltale signs of being trafficked monster, something theyd learned about in their therapy classes. "is Puppet a nickname, or one your parents picked out?" Puppets face scrunched slightly in thought, used to having no filter since they were rarely taken in public before, "master vee gave me it.." Oscar had given a short greeting to puppet before focusing on Tony again, joking with him while sal attempted to talk to puppet "so, lemme in on the secret, how ya get boss ta like you so much? cakes sure as fuck dont seem ta work, which is rare considerin my skill at it." he puts a hand to his chest cockily to emphasize that.

He didn't let it show, but Tony had eyed Sal when they began to ask one too many questions in his opinion- usually no one seemed to bother. He gave Puppets hand a squeeze, to settle his own mind at least before he laughed. "When ya have been around the boss man as long as I have, ya start ta grow on him- whether he likes it or not, heh. Been hangin around 'im since we was kids." He replies with a grin.

Oscar raises a brow "last time I hung around a lot, he jus seemed pissy. Oh well, at least sev likes me. Plus he fits in my lap easier than boss would anyways." He shrugged and grinned back "whatcha doin out here by the way, ain't the party in there, or is there some special side action I'm missin out on?" Sal was getting more certain this wasn't a just a 'pet play' thing, and from what they knew so far, tony was just another master treating them like a pet, if the collar was anything to go by. "Who's master vee?" Puppet looked up at them then, feeling confused. They hadn't been asked that before. Or well, no one ever asked who gave them their name either. They weren't sure how to answer it, starting to frown "um.. They had soft fur and a big pretty eye.. And um.. The house was blue.." They started mumbling, trailing off in confused thought as they they tried to think about it. How were you supposed to explain who someone was other than by name? Sal kept a neutral face, listening to their mumbled explanation, giving a small glance at tony as they considered what type of person he might be beneath his public exterior. sure Oscar wasn't technically a 'good' person, nor was sal, but at least neither of them would keep a person as a pet.

"Nah, that's just his default mood. Belive me, I would know. Ah, that reminds me- ya hear sevvy found out he had a little bro? " Tony grinned ear to ear- if he had ears at leas, he would of been. "Real adorable fella." He added, petting puppet on the top of the head. "Nah we got here kinda early, decided we'd take a walk. Fresh air is good Fer the lungs. That's what I heard at least, I ain't got any lungs though." And it was time they hightailed it inside anyways, seemed to be one too many questions for Tony's liking. "C'mon sweetheart, let's all go inside yeah?" He then added, turning to look down at Puppet with a smile.

Oscar wasn't excatly keen on trying to be buddy buddy with someone if that was their all-the-time mood. he raised a brow "little bro huh? bet he's as cute as sev. he here tonight? or with his parents?" oscar wasnt sure how little the little bro was, for all he knew, it could be a kid. sal gave a friendly smile, not wanting to possibly piss off tony "lungs or not, walking and fresh air is good for the soul too." puppet looked up at tony, getting pulled from their thoughts, looking confused, but followed him anyways, the other two close behind.

Tony snorted at the mention of parents, grin still apparent on his face. "They're only a few years apart. Don't tell Sev, because he might even be cuter. Course i'm bein' biased." He seemed to lead the way, then again, he was here often enough it was like a second home to him. "Yo Paulie, your favorite guy just arrived! I'll give ya a hint, its me!" Tony calls out. Apollo emerged from the kitchen- or rather shooed from the kitchen by Seravek for 'sampling the wares' as he liked to call it. Lucky for Oscar, he seemed to be in a particularly good mood, though that could of been from the wine he had earlier. "Hey Sev, Tony's here. Oscar too." He called back into the kitchen before made is way over. "Come on in, take a load off will ya?"

Oscar smiled a little at the friendlier than usual attitude boss was sporting, "if he's the first, then I'm your second favorite, right boss-man?" He decided not to push for a hug, or go to Sev to hug on, to attempt keeping him in a good mood. At least for now anyways, he couldn't resist getting hugs from people who were glad to give them away like sev. Sal put a hand out in greeting to boss "hello, we havnt officially met, I'm salpicar. You have a beautiful home!" Puppet had backed up, frowning, somewhat behind tony, since they weren't exactly fond of boss anymore, and they were easy to hold grudges. Well, at least against anyone who wasn't their master.

"Maybe if you're on yer best behaviour." Apollo snorted before turning his attention to Sal who held their hand out. He grins, giving them a firm handshake. "Grazie, s'nice ta meet'cha. Call me Apollo if ya like, Sev's just about done in the kitchen, he's been excited about this for the past few days, heh." "C'mon, c'mon, i'm starvin over here, I skipped lunch for this an' everything. Where's Jester at?" Tony is cut off as he hears his name from the kitchen. "Antonio!!!" Jester gasped excitedly, then came running out from the kitchen where he all but practically leaped at Tony in a hug who laughed and happily returned it. "Hello!! You're here!!" He grinned happily then noticed their guests, to which he stuck out his hand. "Oh! Hello!! My name's Jester- Ah, I am Seravek's brother! It's nice to meet you!" He offered a smile at both Oscar and Sal.

Oscar puffed out his chest a little "Well of course sevs excited, who wouldn't be when they know I'm commin?" Sal shakes jesters hand "Im Salpicar, lovely to meet you too!" Oscar takes jesters hand right after sal lets go to greet him as well, glancing at tony "you werent kiddin, he is cute. hey cupcake, names Oscar, but you can call me daddy~" he winks at them, leaning down to give a kiss to their hand. Sal was used to his flirting with almost every person he met, so they easily ignored it, choosing to comment to boss on how nice the house smelled. Puppet slunk away from the commotion and loud voices, choosing to crawl under a coffee table.

Jester only smiled wider (if that was even possible) he seemed really excited to see new faces. His cheeks immediately flush red, "Ah-- pleased to meet you Mister Oscar." He tries his best to be polite as Oscar kisses his hand, but he can't help a quiet laugh that slips out. Tony looked as smug as ever, til he noticed Puppet was no longer at his side anymore. "Hey, Jessy sweetheart, how about ya show the others to the dining room? I'm sure dinner's almost done." He speaks up, seeming to glance around before he had slinked off into the living room. "Puppet? Where are ya darlin? Come on out." Tony looks around the room before bending down to peer under the coffee table when he sees a tail flicking from underneath. He chuckles to himself and kneels down. "There ya are, aren't you hungry?" "Well, you heard him. Better head to the dining room, I'm sure yer all plenty hungry and all." The larger monster moved from the hallway, shooing everyone along into the dining room where Seravek had been busy setting the table with all kinds of delicious looking foods. He looks up, beaming proudly. "I'm so glad you all came!!! Sorry I did not have the chance to greet you first off--" Seravek pauses mid-sentence to smack Apollo's hand away from the table. "Seeing as how SOMEONE is too impatient to wait, that is." Apollo merely rubbed the back of his skull sheepishly.

Sal laughed lightly at the display between the two "well the food looks amazing, you must have worked hard on it!" Oscar agreed, but deciding he'd waited long enough for a hug, moved to Sev and wrapping his arms around him "sup cutie, notice ya gotta new twin, huh? whats daddy gotta do to get ya both in my lap?" at that point, sal sighed audibly "sir, please.." puppet tensed as they heard footsteps near, watching silently as he called for them, like an asshole cat. of course, their stupid tail gave them away. they put their face to the floor hide it from him "no.."

"Oh yes! We spent all day on it!" Jester perked up. Seravek gladly accepted the hug before his cheeks change color and he sputters in embarrassment. "Goodness!" He huffed slightly, a smile on his face as he shoved his arm playfully. "Perhaps if I see you enjoy the food I worked so hard on!" He said, then turned to Jester. "Where's Tony? Didn't I hear him a while ago?" A look of concern was written on his face, his younger brother picked up on this of course and opted to go and check on him. "Well, lets not just stand around here. Siediti e mangia! Sit down and eat!" Apollo says while pulling out his chair. "Oh, yes of course!! please everyone enjoy!" Seravek piped up and began to take his seat. Meanwhile Jester had made his way into the livingroom where he found Tony kneeling down on the floor, crouching to look under the coffee table. "Antonio! Everyone is waiting- ah....did you lose something?" Jester quirked a brow at him. "Nah, more like someone. Heh heh...this is who I was tellin' ya about..." Seeming to be confused, Jester knelt down as well and peered under the table. "Oh!!" He sounded surprised. "You must be Puppet! It's nice to meet you! You're even cuter than I imagined! Ah....why are you hiding under the table, isn't it a bit cramped? Though I suppose seeing so many faces at once can be overwhelming..but mister Antonio is here with you!"

Oscar chuckled, allowing himself to get pushed, he picked a chair at random to sit in, not caring who he ended up by. Sal followed suit, glancing around for puppet as well since they were their ulterior motive for being here, but it was best to pretend they werent too interested in puppet, so they went on to ask about the food they had made, curious to how they made it since they themself couldn't even cook toast right. Puppet scooched back further, not exactly helping since now their butt was sticking out from the other side. Earlier when they'd seen jester, they'd assumed it was Sev, but upon closer inspection, it was indeed a different skeleton. It didn't look as if Tony would leave them be this time, so they decided to give up on hiding. They weren't exactly interested in any of the new faces tonight, especially the talky one from earlier who asked confusing things, but considering their state of mind, they were trying to go back to just being a pet. Hence the staying on the floor, ect. So they should act like one and if hiding wasn't an option, maybe they could piss tony off and he'd start treating them the way they were always treated before. Puppet scooched forward quickly to lick jesters face as if they were a dog greeting them.

Jester had let out a squeak in surprise, "Goodness-- do they always erm...greet others this way?" Tony smiled sheepishly, thinking perhaps it wasn't the best time to bring Puppet around others. Especially considering there were so many different people, but he had just wanted them to get out of the house for their own benefit. "Sorry, ah..heh, not really? I mean, it's somethin' they've been doin' lately." He replies before trying to coax the smaller monster out further. Jester offered a patient smile, "Would you like to come and eat with us? We made such yummy food for you and everyone else! It'd be a shame if you didn't get to try some." he says quietly and held out his hand towards them, hoping that maybe they would take it so they could lead them back to the dining room. "If its too much for you though, we can eat here in the livingroom! I can keep you company if Mister Tony would like to join the rest."

Puppet stares at their hand a moment before looking at their face and then at Tonys, as if calculating how to piss him off. They honestly weren't sure if they could, but they were kind of bored of hiding all the time anyways, might as well do something. They take the offered hand and crawl out, before straight up sniffing jesters crotch. they look back up, not really surprised, but they'd found out who Tony kept smelling like now "oh, you're the one master has been fucking. You smell nice."

Okay, not even Tony was expecting that one. His poor boyfriend's face turned a bright red as he let out a yelp, stumbling a few steps back in shock- Tony had to try not to laugh because in all honesty...it was kind of funny. "Oye....Puppet- ya....ya just can't go around doin' that to people- you know that--" He snorted, looking back to his boyfriend who took a minute to straighten up again. "Ah....gosh- you...erm.. you are very bold! Hah...Hahehah-- at least I smell nice I suppose? Are you...Would you still like to eat something at least?" Jester was only just realizing now, how much Tony really did have his hands full- it made him want to help all the more.

puppet watched their reactions curiously, it was hard not to feel a little flutter that they made Tony smile. they glanced around the room, trying to think of what they could do next, but nothing came to mind. they didnt feel like eating though "I dont want fucking food, I want-..."they rubbed their face in frustration, no idea what they wanted. to be be a pet again? get beaten and hurt and locked in a room for days with no contact or even water? they start to tear up and reach out to grab tonys hand, looking for some form of comfort.

Tony of course, knew they were trying to get some sort of reaction out of them. But he couldn't bring it upon himself to punish Puppet in ways they were probably used to. He gave Jester an apologetic look as he takes Puppets hand and gives it a squeeze. "Alright darlin' its okay, I know you're feelin' a lotta things right now." Turning his attention to Jester he speaks again, "Tell Paulie i'm going ta borrow his office for a bit, yeah?" He says, then turns to lead Puppet down out of the room. "C'mon, lets go somewhere nice and quiet- i'm sorry I brought ya- I know ya didn't want ta come." His smile was forced as he lead Puppet into the office for some quiet. Jester had returned to the dining room once more, feeling as though he hadn't been much help. "Brother! There you are! Where have you been?" Seravek took notice of the troubled look on his younger brothers face as the other sat down quietly before looking to Apollo. "Erm... Antonio said he was going to borrow your office for a bit, Mister Apollo. I believe Puppet is feeling a bit overwhelmed." Apollo quirked a brow at him, then looked to Seravek before nodding. "Yeah thats fine."

Puppet sniffled, trying not to cry, they rubbed at their eye sockets. once in the office, they quieted further and sat on the floor, tail curled around themself and started to sob "im sorry mas- T-tony." Sal listened quietly to the exchange, writing mental notes of all the behaviors. they werent sure how to go about this situation, but more than just being interested in it, they wanted to help others, so why not start with this short skeleton? "oh dear, I hope theyre ok.." oscar didnt really know the shortie, so he didnt have any strong feelings for them other than thinking they were cute, so he just nodded in agreement.

Tony really felt for the other monster. He couldn't imagine going all his life being forced to act one way and to then suddenly have that turned around. He knelt down beside them, bringing them to his chest. "Shhh, I know sweetheart, its not your fault. " He says quietly, kissing the top of their skull. Jester felt a little bad, Tony not being here to enjoy the fun-- he frowned a little to himself. "I hope so too.." He murmured. The party went on though, Apollo started to break out the booze for everyone and both Jester and Sev were happy to see everyone enjoying the food-- all except Tony and Puppet.

Puppet had gripped tonys shirt while they cried, practically climbing into his lap. Theyd missed being close to him, but they felt bad about it. They were just a burden on him, taking enjoyment out of everything, just like whatever dinner thing they had come to tonight. They calmed down after a while and pulled back a little, avoiding looking at him. They decided they should try to make him happy still, even if they weren't. Hed done so much for them, it wasn't fair for them to ruin everything. They tried to talk with a steady voice "c-can we eat?"

Tony only smiled softly as Puppet began to calm down. "There's my sugarskull" he murmured as he kisses their cheeks. Tony gently wipes the tears from their eyes then takes one of their smaller hands in his and pecks little kisses on their fingers. "Of course sweetpea, did ya want to wait here while I grabbed somethin for us both?"

Puppet shook their head, grabbing and pulling his hand to lead towards the door "I want you to be with.. you're family?"

"Sweetheart...." Tony's smile faltered a bit as he bends down to pick them up. "You're my family. But I'll tell ya what, let's go get some food, and if ya start at feel overwhelmed again you just let me know and we'll come right back here again. How's that sound? You can sit in my lap at the table if ya like."

Their face contorted for a moment in confusion "I'm- family?" They weren't sure what to do. Family was.. for people. Normal people. Not some fucked up half person-pet thing like them. They were lost in thought for a moment before realizing they needed to respond. "O-ok" they stuttered slightly, wrapping their arms around tony and pressing their face to his neck as he held them, they'd missed being close to him. But they couldn't get rid of the thought that they shouldn't be here. Those other people were his family. Not them.

Tony gave them a tight squeeze, kissing their skull as he held them in his arms. He runs their back in a comforting motion, before exiting the office once more with Puppet nestled against his chest. "Sorry were late" Tony spoke up with a half smile, returning to the dining room. "There ya are. Sit your ass down and eat will ya?" Apollo rumbled, motioning to a spot at the table. Tony takes his seat between Jester and Sal, allowing puppet to settle in his lap. "Damn, looks good huh?" He grinned down at them. "Yanno I guess since it is a special occasion, I spose I could let ya have a glass or two of wine. Best there is, well, that's what Paulie says anyways. Here, have a taste." Jester seemed to be happy enough that they both finally decided to join everyone and reached out to pour them both a glass.

Puppet had closed their eyes at the petting momentarily before opening them to the sight of a room of people. they werent too bothered, their old master used to bring over small groups of people, though this event wouldnt be the same, theyd learned that much by now. they hunched in Tonys lap a little, not liking the stares. it was odd, theyd never noticed stares before the last few months. then again, they werent exactly the same, were they? They were easily distracted by the glass of liquid though, grabbing it when jester was done and sniffing it before tilting the glass back and drinking the whole thing, some dripping down their chin. Sal watched a little in shock at first, taking note of their eagerness to drink alcohal, while oscar raised a brow and snorted with a smile "damn, they sure like their fruit, huh?"

Tony couldn't help but chuckle to himself, taking a napkin to wipe their face. "Yeah, this one here likes the booze. Gotta lock it up from em" he snorted, taking a sip from his own glass before he began to pile his plate with food, he did skip lunch for a reason after all, Seraveks cooking was heaven. "Ah, did ya wanna try some chocolate cake? Sev makes the best." He then adds, glancing down to puppet.

Puppet watched tony fill the plate, they still werent feeling very hungry, but they wanted to make tony happy, so they nodded to his question. though cake was certainly going to be easy to eat, even if they werent hungry, it still tasted good.

"There ya go, just Fer you." Tony sets a plate down with a slice of cake on the table in front of them that jester had cut out for them before he began to dig into his own food. "Yo Sev, you sure ya didn't just buy all of this? It's too good to be homemade." He began to speak up, enjoying how he could easily fluster Seravek over compliments. "You have been around here often enough to see me cooking! But I suppose I did have a little help...my brother and Apollo are quite the cooks as well!" Seravek replies trying to pretend that he wasn't tickled pink, as they say, over how everyone seemed to like his food. "Ah, Jess you had a hand in this too huh? No wonder it tastes so good. Almost as tasty as you." He raises his brows at his boyfriend who immediately flushed a bright red before hissing at him to behave.

puppet used their hands to pick up the cake, trying to hold it in a non messy way at least, taking a bite out of it and trying to eat it quickly so tony would be happy they ate something. at the comment he made about jester, they tilted their head, "it tastes like him?" they leaned forward to sniff tonys food and frown "it doesnt smell like his pussy." oscar choked a little and started laughing, looking over at jester "really? hey, can i get a sniff? id like to judge it for myself." meaning jesters crotch.

Jester nearly fucking choked on his drink, ending up in a coughing fit as his face burned red. "Honestly! Both of you, we're at the table! Take your lewdness elsewhere!" Seravek huffed at both Tony and Oscar while handing his poor embarrassed brother and napkin to wipe his jaw. Apollo seemed to chuckle to himself at the outburst before nudging Seravek, "C'mon, lighten up Sevvy." This was turning out to be and rather eventful night. Jester was finding out very quickly that Oscar was just as...perverted as Tony. And puppet had no filter whatsoever. "I didn't mean it literally tasted like him darlin" Tony laughs, "I just meant...it tasted good."

Puppet jumped a little at the coughing fit, glancing around the table wondering what exactly it was that they said that was inappropriate. they werent sure, but it must be since it was related to crotch. they found out that was apparently taboo everywhere, and they werent really sure why, being they werent raised with 'manners'. sal was doing their best to keep a straight face during all of this. oscar was still laughing, big sharp toothed grin on his face "aw come on, that wasnt lewd. if ya want lewd, i can show ya lewd, baby." he winked at jester jokingly before going back to eating. puppet tilted their head back to look up at tony behind them, curious after the further explanantion "whats he taste like? cake? ice cream?" those were both good tasting after all.

Perhaps the table wasn't the best place to talk about how his boyfriend tasted- especially not with the pleading look Jester was giving him as if to ask not to embarrass him further. "Maybe you'll get a taste someday." Tony chuckles, petting puppet on the head. Dinner went on...well enough to say, Seravek and Jester cleared the table and did the dishes together while Apollo lead them all into the den. Tony fixated on Sal as Seravek and Jester returned into the living room. "So...Sal was it? What is it ya do?" He wasn't going to pretend he didn't notice the cautious glances from them all throughout dinner.

Sal was fairly certain on puppets situation considering what theyd seen and heard so far. especially where they had gotten their name. but that still wasnt complete confirmation and sal was a bit of a perfectionist. still, they had to push past that now, this might be their only oppuntunity since tony seemed wary of them. Sal paused for a moment in quick thought, deciding to tell him and see his response. "I'm a mental health counselor. Im interning right now at a psychiatric hospital over in hudsen. well, other then being oscars personal accountant that is."

Shit. Just what he needed around, someone who would easily pick up on Puppets signs-- if they figured out any more about them- Tony might just be in some deep shit. "I see.." He thought out loud. He'd have to nip this in the bud right now. "You uh, mind if we have a little one on one chat? I'm sure Paulie won't mind if I borrow his office again." He said, not really waiting for a reply before turning to Puppet. "I'll be right back darlin, do you think you can stay with Jester and Seravek here for a little?"

Puppet gave an ok of agreement, not really paying attention. theyd decided to lay on the floor near the couch, playing idly with a coin theyd found under it. Sals brows went down slightly, their typical friendly smile dropping into one of slight concern. Not that they were particually scared of Tony, but they had a nervous disposition over people in general, and the fact tony was in some kind of illegal work made them even more wary. like oscar, sal was a master with knives, but they didnt have a gun on them. and they certainly didnt trust that any of these people didnt either. "oh- uh, im not so sure about that, sir. im quite comfortable staying near my boss.." sals tone caught oscars attention, and he glanced over at them from where he was probably annoying sev or something.

"Ah, I actually...wanted to talk to ya about- y'know." His eyes made a motion over to Puppet so he didn't have to mention their name- he probably came off as kind of creepy. "Its uh, important and all."He says while clearing his throat and standing up.

Sal warily looked at him for a moment before glancing over at Oscar who was looking over now. they knew Oscar would keep an 'ear' out for them. hopefully this guy wasnt planning on murder after such a lovely dinner. Sal tugged a little on their tie, a nervous habit "well, I suppose just for a moment.." they slowly followed him, keeping what they determined to be a safe distance from him.

"C'mon, ain't like i'm going ta whack ya or nothin'" Tony snorted, already on the way to the office where he let himself inside, shutting the door behind him once Sal stepped inside. "Look, I realize this is....a bit weird, considerin' we don't really know each other. But after ya said you were a mental health counciler and all- I figured, well, you'd notice more than anyone about Puppet. I saw how ya were askin' em questions and the looks you were givin' em believe me. And like I said......considerin' we don't know each other well, you can see why i'm a little on edge, I guess? Heh. Ya see, I do a lot of back alley work for Apollo. I can't afford havin' somethin' happenin' ta Puppet."

Sal gave a nervous laugh at the joke, they were all too aware how people could deceive and lie easily. though through the talking, they relaxed a little. tony didnt seem to be pulling any threats on them, so far anyways. "youre right, i have been interested in puppets demeanor. if we're being frank, i get the feeling theyre a victim of monster traficking, am i wrong? or um, the 'pet' trade?"

"Look, you can see why i'm worried now yeah?" Tony rubbed the back of his skull sheepishly. "Look i've done everything I can, its just not enough and I don't know what else i'm supposed ta do- if someone were to take 'em away from me or somethin....they'd lose all the trust i've managed ta build with 'em. They've come a long ways ya know? But its still not good enough. And I can't go to any kinda therapist- haha god, I wish I could but- not with my line of work. I know you work for Oscar, and I ain't dumb enough to think everything he does is....legal either."

Sal gave comforting smile, at least it sounded like he actually cared about the small monster, this was a great outcome. they nodded slightly "Oscar certainly isnt completly... lawfully inclined. I can understand your worry, and it's so releiving to hear you care about Puppets wellbeing. and well, im a fairly new therapist, very new, but Ive passed all my tests with flying colors, and um, if youre open to suggestions, considering your.. aversion to law based facilities, perhaps i could offer my help? under the table, so to speak? I know it might be odd since i dont know puppet, but the point of my job is to help people, and they, and you, appear to be in a tough situation."

Tony let out a sigh of relief-- a massive weight felt like it had been lifted off his shoulders. "God- would you? I mean- I appreciate it- I'm kinda at the end of my wits here. I can't have 'em taken away from me yanno? They've been doin' so much better since....since they've been with me. But I can tell they're confused and conflicted and shit, I thought bringing them along tonight would help a little, get em outta the house and all. But they don't look ta be improving- I know they're actin out- tryin' ta get me to be upset with em because thats what they're used to but, I guess I'm kind of a big ol softie and I thought I could help give em a better life. I know I didn't go about it the best way but it was the only thing I could do. Man, if ya would help us out i'd be real grateful."

Sals smile widened, this had worked out perfectly so far, much better than they had expected! "i would be glad to help, they certainly seem to be struggling with something." Sure, sal was only recently degreed, but they were still working with and interning at the hospital, so they had sources to help if they ran into something they werent certain about. they could always ask a coworker a 'hypothectical' question if they needed help. Sal pulled a small notepad from their pocket, tearing a page out neatly with their number on it "this is my number, i can text you my address and we can set up a time for you to bring them over for a session."

"Yeah?" Tony looks down at the piece of paper and takes it, folding it up and putting it into his pocket. He went back to his usual self, grinning widely. "Hey, thanks. I really appreciate it yanno? Yer doin' us a big help." He extends his hand out to shake Sal's

Sal happily took his hand to shake it "You're very welcome! im excited to help." they glanced down sheepishly "I'm sorry if I acted odd, youre much nicer than I expected. Er- not that i expected you to not be nice! Just um, well you never know with people in.. these types of work- or well, not that everyone doing the work you do is bad, thats not what i meant-" they cringed inwardly, hoping they hadnt offended him.

Tony couldn't help but laugh out loud at that. "Nah, its- its fine. Heh- I have that effect on people. No harm done. Anyways, before people start gettin suspicious, I guess we should head back?" he headed towards the office door once again, hoping Puppet had behaved for at least a few minutes without him, though he was sure Jester and Seravek could handle them for a little while.

Sal nodded, trying to relax and followed tony back out. Oscar was waiting sitting on the couch and prob trying to snuggle with one of the twinks, or both, though he wasnt too concerned for sal, he didnt think tony would try anything, even if he didnt know him very well, he knew sev enough to know he seemed oblivious of certain things, and apollo and tony probably wouldnt cause a scene with sev there. as he spotted sal, he loudly proclaimed "hey,finally back from your quickie?" sals face blushed and they shook their head at him "oscar, i swear-" of course, tony and sal arrived just in time to see puppet pulling their dick out to piss on the carpet.

"Aw damn, don't point it out like that man." Tony replied, obviously he was going to play along. Seravek had finally given in to Oscar's sweet talk and allowed the other monster to cuddle him. And then Seravek had somehow managed to coax his brother into cuddling as well. Tony stopped in his tracks and his eyes darted to Puppet- oh god, please no. "Puppet don't--" He scrambled from his spot, hauling ass towards them- Apollo would have his NECK if he knew about this.

Sal covered their mouth in surprise "oh dear-" puppet looked up, hearing fast steps and seeing tony rushing for them surprised and spooked them. they stumbled, falling back on their ass in a painful way on their tail, ending up losing their bladder and pissing themself, they started tearing up as they seen all the eyes on them now, they started crying, covering their face and curling in on themself "i-im sorry master- i forgot where th-the bathroom was-"

"Oh shit- shit shit-- ya should've asked someone--" Tony couldn't help but feel his heart melt a little at the display- "H-Here.. come here, its alright-" He kneels down to scoop them up- not caring if they were wet. "Don't cry, its alright- let me clean you up- ah--" Tony stares down at the puddle on the floor and panicked for a moment before Jester had leaped up and hushed him, "It's okay! I'll clean it, you go on. Don't worry!" Bless his sweet boyfriend-- he'd better get to a bathroom quick, he could feel Apollo's gaze burning holes through him.

Puppet presses their face to tonys shoulder, clinging to him, still crying from the sudden surprise and not liking the foreign feeling of embarrassment from all the people staring. Sal almost followed, worried and wanting to help, they were used to caring for others or 'babying' them when they were upset, but they turned instead and offered to help clean up the mess. oscar waited till tony had left to try cheering the mood with a dumb joke "technically its your fault, boss-man. your wine went right through 'em." he gave a cheesy smile, feeling bad for the little guy that pissed and hoping to help the situation.

Tony had taken them to the nearest bathroom, wanting to get them out of their wet clothes as soon as possible. "Shh, its okay, I know it was an accident. I should of been there, i'm sorry sugar skull." He murmured to them as he set them down. "Here, its get ya undressed out of those wet clothes. How about a bath? That'll make you feel better." He offered them a smile as he pulled their wet clothing off and set it aside.

Apollo was clearly upset, who the hell just pissed on a carpet like that? Just how full did Tony really have his hands with Puppet. "That carpet is expensive." He hissed out, clearly sulking about it. Seravek quickly hushed him, knowing full well he'd get over it in a little while, he just had to brood over it. "I'm so sorry Mister Apollo." Jester apologized- even though he didn't do anything wrong. Though he did appreciate the help as he got the cleaning supplies and began to scrub at the carpet.

Puppet tried to stop crying, letting tony undress them. they rubbed at their eyesockets, all their emotions getting wound up again, whining out "w-hy are you so nice to me, im b-bad-" Oscar patted apollo on the shoulder "hey, ya can always get a new carpet. id be glad to let the little guy piss on my carpet, theyre cute." though he was also the type to throw his money away and spend recklessly. he decided he probably wasnt helping either way, but he was a dork whos go-to 'help' was humor "would a kiss make ya feel better?"

"You're not bad sweetheart." Tony simply says as he turns to run the water for the bath. "You're-- confused, I know you're having a hard time adjusting. I know you don't know why I treat you differently than you're used to and I know its scary but i'm just trying to do whats best for you. We're going to get us both some help though, alright?" He hushes them, wiping their face gently as the bath begins to fill up. "Here we go, climb on in." Apollo only grumbled in response. "Cute don't cut it. Still don't change the fact my nice carpet got pissed on." He crosses his arms and Seravek hushed him, pushing a glass of whisky into his hands. Drinking always seemed to calm him down. "Don't be so grumpy Apollo! We have guests still! You can grumble about all of that later."

Puppet did as tony said, getting in the tub how they usually did, arms and face first. they didnt know what help he was talking about, but the water was warm and they sniffled once more before shoving their face in the water as it filled up. they liked being underwater, it felt nice, and everything sounded calm under there. oscar didnt hear a no to his joking ask, so he gave apollo a kiss on the cheek "its just a lil fluid, yer carpet'll live, big guy." sal spoke up a little then "sir, not everyone likes things soaked in piss like you do." oscar snorted, mock frowning "i resent that."

Tony didn't think he'd ever get tired of that. Perhaps someday they'd get in the tub like a normal person, but until then he'd just watch in amusement. Tony really did try his best to keep them happy though. He had even dedicated one of the spare rooms in his house as a little 'playroom' for Puppet, somewhere they could go and be surrounded in things they liked, sort of like a sensory room for them. He knelt down by the side of the tub and grabbed a little body wash, waiting for the smaller monster to resurface so he could wash them. Apollo gave a huff, probably to mask the way his mouth tried to turn up into a smile. "Hey look, i'm all up for kinky shit but just not on my furniture and carpets." He finally says after downing the glass of whiskey.

Puppet finally had to come up for air, taking a large breath once theyd lifted their head. they ran their hand over the surface of the water in thought. puppet had loved the playroom, and they still did, but theyd been avoiding everything they liked. they didnt deserve it. they didnt deserve any of this stuff or niceness. they looked up at tony, their soul hurting at the thought. they stayed quiet, letting tony take care of them, not that they had any idea what to say other than apologizing again. Oscar lounged on their couch, "what? ya put plastic wrap down everywhere ya fuck? thats not very sexy." he paused in thought "or are ya sayin you only fuck in the bedroom? wheres your sense of adventure, man? the kitchen is the best place to get it on, the counters the perfect height!" Sal tried to ignore him at this point, no amount of shushing would ever make oscar stop being openly lewd.

He could never imagine what they had gone through to be made to think like they did, all he could do was treat them right, and he had. Tony simply smiles, wetting a washcloth and poured some body wash onto it before he began to wash them carefully, humming a tune to himself. "I ain't sayin' I don't fuck in different places. I'm sayin' I ain't havin' anyone pissing on my furniture. Or the stuff that can't easily be cleaned that is." Apollo snorted in response, causing Seravek to blush once again- geez, tonight seemed to be all about who could make him or his brother the most embarrassed.

Puppet closed their eyes to the gentle touching and humming. after being washed, they climbed out of the tub right then and there to get in tonys arms and snuggle. things were confusing and awful but they couldnt help how much they enjoyed his presence and warmth, and the way he'd smile and laugh, even if he made jokes they didnt always understand. Oscar shrugged "ive had ta replace my couch twice since monty moved in, id blame him, but im pretty sure most of the mess is mine." sal made an exasperated noise, considering they were the one that had cleaned up several of those 'messes' "i think its safe to say it was mostly you." they had a slight blush at such a conversation, but oscar had a way of roping them into things. Oscar smiled "hey dont give me that look, i paid you extra for that. life is messy, and so am i."

Welp. Guess there wasn't much he could do now. He'd of offered them a towel if he knew they wanted to get out-- still, he smiled and let the water out of the bath, reaching for a towel to wrap them up in snuggly and kissed their face. "Lets see if we can get you some dry clothes-" Right as he said that, there was a knock on the door and Jester entered the bathroom with fresh clothing for Puppet that appeared to be some of Pine's (who had stayed far away from parties, usually cooped up in their room playing videogames) God, he had such a great boyfriend. "Its almost as if you can read my mind." He grinned as the clothes were set down on the countertop nearby. "Thanks doll." He gave his boyfriend a smooch, still holding puppet before the other left again to give them some privacy. "Alright lets get you into some dry clothes huh?" "Do ya always get roped into this?" Apollo sneered, gaze fixating on Sal who he seemed to read the look on their face rather easily. Seravek was long gone out of this conversation, choosing to stay silent on the matter as his brother returned into the livingroom again- he smiled happily as jester settled himself next to Seravek on the couch and cuddled into him.

Puppet dressed themself, sniffing the clothes as they put them on, they could tell whos they were, but it brought back the memory of a little wave of disappointment when theyd been told pine wasnt a pet like them- or well, apparently they werent a pet either. they frowned at the clothes in thought "were they- um, the pine, were they a pet like me and arent now?" maybe thats what tony and boss did. take pets and make them.. not pets.

Sal blushed harder, looking at the floor and tugging on their tie "well, er, yes, i suppose.." Oscar laid his head in sev and jesters lap, in what would be an innocent notion if he hadnt followed so by saying "is sniffing your crotch still an option on the table, or heh, couch?"

Ah....that was a touchy subject-- since Puppet was never a pet in the first place, but they still believed they were supposed to be, hence this whole situation in the first place. "Tony tried to smile as he picked them up, "I know ya don't want ta believe me when I say ya weren't supposed to be a pet in the first place. And...I know it hard to think about, but no, Pine's not a pet, neither are you. But I told ya we're going ta get help, both of us! Ta help us both learn." He replies to them quietly. "Heh. I figured, sorry ya gotta put up with...that." He motioned to Oscar who currently had his head in both brothers laps. "M-Mister Oscar! Goodness!" Jester seemed to turn even redder as he whined to his brother who only laughed and pet Oscars head. "Pay no mind brother, you will get used to it. He is very misbehaved!" He explains as if he were scolding a child.

Puppet made a sort of pouty face as they frowned. tony was right, they really didnt understand at all. they were starting to get a headache again from all this contemplation and thinking stuff. they rubbed their face and held onto tony again. it felt better to just not think about it, so instead they blanked their thoughts, only thinking about the feeling of the fabric of tonys shirt collar as they rubbed it between their fingers. Sal smiled a little, "thank you, but aside from his.. openness, he's pretty much just a giant puppy." they paused and covered their face with a hand "that wants to sniff crotch.." Oscar snickered at jester, enjoying the head pets, he also overheard sal, continuing on with it "woof woof baby, c'mon, its how i greet people." he stuck his tongue out and made a panting noise, having fun with this.

When they were completely dressed, Tony happily pecked their face as he lifted them up into his arms once more. "I'm probably going ta need a bath or shower when we get home." He chuckled and rubbed his hand down their back. "He would make a cute puppy!" Seravek grinned wider, happy to oblige in Oscar's little game by giving him a scratch under the chin. "Yeah, just tie him on in the corner." Apollo retorted smugly.

Puppet sulked a little at that "im sorry, i didnt mean to get you dirty.." Oscar grinned wide at the nice attention, chuckling at apollos reply "funny ya mention tying, im great with a knot, i could show ya guys. " he looked up at sev and jester with a mischievous grin and wink, clearly not talking about a leash or rope." sal covered their face entirely now "my dear lord.."

"Don't worry about it darlin " Tony replies before he looked to notice the time, it seemed to be pretty late in the evening. "Howzabout we both head on home? I think we both had a rather...eventful day." He chuckles. He'd have to let Apollo and Seravek know they were headed out. Both Seravek and Jester seemed oblivious to Oscars hint, making Apollo snort at their clulessness. "I don't think they get it, bub."

Puppet nodded, being quiet again, though at this point it might be because they were getting tired after all the 'events'. they pressed their face to his neck again, content to fall asleep in his arms. Oscar pouted a little before smiling again "well i could just show 'em what knot ‘m talkin bout." he patted his crotch in emphasis while sal turned to boss "i know hes known you longer than I have, but i still feel the need to apologize for him."

Tony smiles to himself, exiting the bathroom with them bundled up in his arms. Returning to the living room, grinning at the sight of Oscar sprawled out on the sofa resting in the brothers laps. "Hey uh, we're going to head on home Paulie. Thanks for dinner, heh heh, sorry we couldn't stick around. And uh, for gettin' piss of your carpet." He says sheepishly. "Thats comin' outta yer pay check." Apollo grumbled as Tony apologizes again and quickly says goodbye to everyone before Apollo had changed his mind and decided to kick his ass. ------end of rp

#puppetrp

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miloticforever · 7 years ago

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Prompt #3: New Area

@fransweek

So this is more an area some saw but none really saw fully. The shallows of the void where Gaster ended up when he fell into the core. And it's more about Gaster watching the growth of the connection Frisk and Sans had.

So without further ado Prompt #3: New Area

*********************************

Watching from the Shallows

Gaster could see everything from his glitchy home in the void. A shadow locked within the shallows, where he could only watch his world move on without him. Watch the man he love run a tavern and take over raising his sons and eventually a niece. Watching his eldest fighting the help Grillby offered feeling like it was his duty to raise Papyrus.

He watched Sans grow up, work several jobs, get a few phds in his spare time, and raise his youngest in his stead. And continued his job as Judge for the children that fell, much to Gaster's want of his children to not have to carry that burden.

He watched as Papyrus grew into wanting to be in the Royal Guard, gain an appreciation for Mettaton's music (he had to admit the ghost had grown into his own thanks to his old apprentice), and became friends with Undyne.

He watched in horror when Alphy's made Flowey and the demented version of the old prince started to kill and cause trouble only to RESET. He saw his son slowly slipping further and further into his depression from remembering every single one. He watched the many nights the blasters he created for his son and an unknown he had seen in visions carry the boy home from the tavern. He watched the many deaths of Papyrus and his other friends over and over again.

That all changed when a young human girl with brown hair, rarely seen amber eyes, tan skin, and a purple and blue striped sweater fell into the ruins. Only 8 years old, she connected immediately with his nearly 400 year old son. The promise he had heard Sans make so long ago to the lost Queen in the ruins finally coming true. It wasn't just the promise that kept his son from taking this young girl's life, it was friendship that bloomed as his son tried his hardest to protect her from the shadows against the dangers of the underground.

He watched that first meeting from the dark home in the void. The whispers of the past resets, the shadows of alternate timelines playing around him as he watched through the rift. The sound of the twig breaking reverberating around him. He couldn't help but chuckle to his sons antics, a whoopee cushion in the hand indeed.

Every meeting and every death he knew affected his son deeply. To learn this kiddo had the power he had grown to hate was slowly eating at the boy. He wanted to be able to hug his son and reassure him that this girl would be important. That this girl would offer them salvation.

That feeling grew as every time they got to the surface, disappearing from his view, it would all RESET shortly after. LOAD after LOAD, RESET after RESET, he would find his son sleeping more and at the tavern racking up that tab more and more. It was a surprise when the child who was causing his son so much pain found a way into his home.

“Hi....my name is Frisk mister,” the young girl said softly as she looked up at the glitchy form Gaster now was, “Are you ok?”

“I AM FINE, CHILD. BUT YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE, YOU HAVE MUCH TO DO. THOUGH PERHAPS YOU CAN TELL ME, WHAT HAS BEEN CAUSING THE RESETS WHEN YOU GET TO THE SURFACE?” Not realizing his voice was defaulting to wingdings even now. He looked to the child with soft eyes.

“I'm sorry mister but I can't understand you,” Frisk said looking up to him in wonder, “But I'll still be your friend, ok. I'll come visit you, next time I'll bring the notebook from Gerson though. Maybe you can write something.”

And that she did. She started to visit and even though his writing would turn to wingdings it was still nice to have visitor. He could tell why his son, even with the sadness and everything this girl caused, was still her friend. The girl was special.

He grew more unsteady though with each visit, the feel of corruption and another presence with the girl was growing. That was proven when he watched her start to kill with familiar glowing red eyes. Flowely had always called Frisk by the name of the first child, Chara. Now she really was the boy as he couldn't stand watching the girl slice through Papyrus.

Every RESET now both him and Sans didn't know to expect the sweet Frisk or the demented Chara. It was not a surprise when Frisk regained her body in the Judgment Hall, Sans sent her away while carrying the fading SOULs of his only family and friends within him.

“Just leave and don't come back kiddo,” Sans had said, not looking at the girl. Gaster watched as the girl ran through the barrier leaving a dust and hopeless underground behind. The anger and sadness he felt from his son, filling the negativity of the void around him.

10 years, he watched just Sans and Grillby left in Snowdin. 10 years, he watched his son fall apart with the SOUL's of the others sustained in him. 10 years, he watched those SOUL's being the only reason why Sans stayed living. The anger of his son succumbing to acceptance and knowledge to bring them back he would need DETERMINATION.

The day he felt the mixture of feelings in the void of fear and wonder was a day he wouldn't forget. As he opened the void to the ruins, a location he hadn't watched in 10 years. He watched the skinny short young adult that young girl grew up into rushing through the ruins disengaged puzzles. Another rift opened to his son learning of Frisk's return.

The sight of him shortcutting to meet her, the relief he felt from both of their SOUL's at the sight of each other. He realized that Frisk was still something special, she would be more than just his and his son's friend.

As his son helped Frisk's determination grow back and helped fight the voice in her head. He could see the bond growing slowly between the two, it was enjoying to watch. He could feel the embarrassment of his son when the boy realized his SOUL admitted to loving Frisk to the girl herself before he could bring himself to admit out loud.

He felt the shock of pain from his son in the void as Frisk pushed Chara out of her SOUL when he tried to take control. He watched his son train her in the magic she held. In the same cave that he trained Sans in, and Sans had trained Papyrus in long ago. The cave blocked from the rest of waterfall with only a stream of water connecting it and the echo flowers that filled it recording every word.

He turned his views to newly revived version of his youngest and their friends when Sans and Frisk thought it intelligent to have their first time in a house full of people. He felt fear as he saw his son fighting the monster Chara possessed after leaving Frisk. He heard Frisk's yell and his actions were quick to gather his son's dust and shards of the SOUL before they could fade. He couldn't let it end here for his son, like he believed it to be for himself.

“I WON'T LET YOU DIE SON, I WILL GIVE YOU MY MAGIC TO RETURN FOR NOT ONLY PAPYRUS'S BUT FOR FRISK'S SAKE AS WELL. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO HER.”

Gaster didn't expect his actions would lead him to freedom from the shallows that had been his prison for so long. But as he watched Sans cementing the bond with Frisk at the ceremony. He couldn't help look back at all that time he spent there in the shallows watching his children grow without him. And watching his son fall in love. He felt the hand on his shoulder, glancing over to Grillby with a smile and nodding. He looked back at the two, laughing as Luna and Apollo shortcutted their eggs from his arms to those of their parents. He was glad for Sans, a wonderful wife and two beautiful twins.

Once he could he joined in the crowds cheers yelling, “Congratulations, son and Frisk!

***************

Translations for the wingdings:

“I AM FINE, CHILD. BUT YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE, YOU HAVE MUCH TO DO. THOUGH PERHAPS YOU CAN TELL ME, WHAT HAS BEEN CAUSING THE RESETS WHEN YOU GET TO THE SURFACE?”

“I WON'T LET YOU DIE SON, I WILL GIVE YOU MY MAGIC TO RETURN FOR NOT ONLY PAPYRUS'S BUT FOR FRISK'S SAKE AS WELL. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO HER.”

#fransweek #frans #FriskXSans #Sans x Frisk #Gaster

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namikala · 7 years ago

Photo

Tried Otome Yusha last weekend. It loaded smoothly with none of the connection errors others have reported.

Data transferring is done with a Level5 account. (Checking for data backup/transferring is one of my top priorities when starting any new game! XD) Just click on that blue button at the top left of the title page and it’ll lead you to Level5′s site to create an account if you haven’t got one. Was a bit surprised that it linked me to their English site. I guess it senses your phone’s default language? Anyway, you can link an English Level5 account just fine with the game, though you need to manually link it, i.e. create your account then come back to the title screen and press that blue button again and log in to your Level5 account and voila, it’s linked! The button changes to one saying ‘Level5′ to show it’s linked.

Anyway, the premise is very much a typical fantasy RPG thing. Some terrible demon has awakened. You are the chosen maiden. Etc. Etc. Then you’re introduced to the ‘slayers’ who will help you on your quest to defeat said demon. Hughes, the crybaby tsundere ‘Lalabit’ voiced by Natsuki Hanae, is my target but I haven’t unlocked him yet (more on this later). My second target is the sleepy elf, Fal, who is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa, but haven’t unlocked him yet either...

The thing that surprised me a bit is that the battles are actually conducted as races! You race your slayers against others and they have to slay monsters along the way. You can control when they use their skills and sort of control their attacks. And sometimes when they encounter multiple enemies, you can trace your finger over the monsters in a continuous line (coz they are all lined up in some formation coz they thought it was a great idea at the time? XD) to attack them all in one go. There is also a ‘Spirit Burst’ thing that is kind of like ‘shinken hissatsu’ in Tourabu.

However, for your main team, you can only set boys you have unlocked thru the story mode even if you have cards of other boys from the gacha. You have to meet them in-story and get them to join you on your quest first. You can set these other boys as ‘support’, but I’m not sure how ‘support’ works in battle yet...

My first ten draw of the gacha was pretty disappointing. But I’m not the type to keep restarting a game till I get the cards I want... Too troublesome!

You can also touch/poke/stroke (this sounds so wrong)/swipe your boy and give him presents to increase his affection levels. He moves closer and closer to you as his affection for you increases~ :3c But you can only choose boys you’ve unlocked in the story, so no Hughes for me yet.

And since this is an RPG, you can also change your boys’ armour and weapons. Seems like you get them from the gacha and perhaps from events? I haven’t got any yet.

Anyway, I quite like it so far and can’t wait to try out the first event! They made an announcement today that one is coming soon~!

#otome yusha #rpg game #otome game #otome hell

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b100x-history · 4 years ago

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v0.5.0

2020.10.13

リリース

Released.

2020.10.12

予定を掲載

Unveiled Patch Notes

[日本語]

新要素

ホリィのレベルとジョブポイントを導入します。

レベルは1から始まり、1レベルアップごとに1ジョブポイントが付与されます。(経験値が必要量たまった時点で自動的にレベルアップ)

1ジョブポイントごとに1ジョブレベルを獲得可能です。

ジョブポイントの払い戻し機能が追加されます。1ポイントの払い戻しごとに新素材「忘却の宝珠」が1つ必要です。

リリース時には、「現在のプレイデータのジョブレベルリセット」がアプリ内アイテム課金として実装される予定です。

実績達成数によって、アイテム所持/倉庫格納上限が増えるようになります。(最大+100まで)

サポータープランあるいはアプリ内アイテム課金による上限解放とは別枠です。合わせると、1100まで拡張可能です。

アップデートにより実績の総数が増えるごとに、上限解放数も拡張されていく予定です。

改善

アイテム画面を刷新しました。

サブメニューが撤廃され、検索・ソートボタンがデフォルトで表示されます。

合成・解体画面に、「自動」ボタンが設置されます。自動対象は、デフォルトでは「未保護すべて」となります。検索機能を併用すると、検索されたものの中から「未保護すべて」が選択されます。

ユーティリティ設定より、合成/解体対象の自動選択を「最後に使用された検索条件」に変更可能です。この場合は、検索機能を使用する前に「自動」ボタンを押しても、自動的に「最後に一括合成/解体を行われたときに使用していた検索条件」での検索が行われ、その検索にヒットしたアイテムが対象となります。

ログの強調表示に対応しました。

ホリィの被ダメージ、状態異常付与、攻撃のミスが赤く強調されます。

最後の冒険ログと、最近の死亡時の冒険ログが保存されるようになりました。

いずれのログ情報も、ゲームを終了した際に削除されます。

アイテム画面「情報」モードの、2アイテム選んで行う比較機能がデフォルトでオフになりました。

ユーティリティ設定から有効化可能です。

倉庫画面にサブメニューを追加しました。

「全部しまう」「全部取り出す」ボタンが設置されています。

検索機能を併用すると、検索ヒットしたものだけが全部移動します。

所持数あるいは格納数の上限に達した場合、それ以上は移動されません。

倉庫画面にソートボタンを追加しました。

最新選択されているソート条件は、アイテム画面と共有されます。

合成の結果Lvが0になる装備品は、Lv0の表記が表示されるようになります。

「実績」画面で表示される「最新獲得実績」のポップアップに「スキップ」ボタンが追加されます。

一度に複数の獲得実績を確認しているとき、このボタンを押すことでポップアップを一括で終了させられます。

ユーティリティ設定に「最後に遊んだプレイデータで自動ログイン」設定を追加しました。

デフォルトでオフになっています。

ユーティリティ設定に「帰還時に自動解体を行う」設定を追加いました。

デフォルトでオフになっています。

ゲームのセーブ頻度を調整します。

端末の発熱や負荷への対策として。

一部UIを調整しました。

一部アイコンを修正しました。

一部テキストを修正しました。

翻訳ボランティアの提案を反映しました。

調整

セーブデータの全削除を行います。

レベルシステムの刷新に伴い、データ形式を変更するため。

永劫の魔窟～30Fまでに出現するモンスターの性能を一部調整します。

序盤の難易度を下方調整する目的。

「取得アイテム数アップ」の能力の調整を行いました。

発動する効果内容が変更されます。(100％ごとに+1個される動作から、％に応じてアイテム取得数が2倍になる動作に変更)

最大が100％になります。

アイテムに付与された数値が減少します。

「フロアスキップ」能力が発動したときでも、アイテムドロップ数が減少しなくなります。

この動作により、フロアスキップ+100％時には、アイテムドロップ数の時間あたりの効率は実質2倍になります。

戦闘に敗北して装備品ロストしたときでも、神具生成ラインナップが更新されなくなりました。

修正

アイテム画面情報モード時、選択状態の表示(水色の枠)が別モードに移行しても消えない不具合を修正しました。

アイテム画面情報モード時、直接装備する機能を使うことでアイテムが複製できてしまう不具合を修正しました。

アイテム画面情報モード時、 2アイテムを選択したら合成画面が開いてしまう不具合を修正しました。

アイテムフィルタ画面で、アイテムの自動処理設定を変更するとアイコンをタッチしてもアイテム詳細が表示されなくなる不具合を修正しました。

[English]

New feature

Added Holly levels and job points.

Levels start at 1, and 1 job point will be awarded for each level up. (Automatically level up when the required amount of Exp is accumulated)

You can get 1 job level for each job point.

Job point refund function is added. One new material "Oblivion Orb" is required for each 1 point refund.

At the release, "Job level reset of current play data" will be added as in-app purchase item.

Depending on the number of achievements achieved, the item possession/warehouse storage limit will increase. (Up to +100)

It is a separate frame from the upper limit release by supporter plan or in-app purchase item. Combined, it can be expanded up to 1100 at the release.

As the total number of achievements increases due to the update, the maximum number of limit unlock will be expanded.

Improvement

The item screen has been revamped.

The submenu has been removed and the search/sort buttons are displayed by default.

An "Auto" button will be added on the mix/salvage screen. The automatic target is "All unprotected" by default.

If you use the search function, "All unprotected" will be selected from the searched items.

You can change the automatic selection of mix/salvage target to "Matched the last used search condition" in the utility settings. In this case, even if you press the "Auto" button before using the search function, the search will be automatically performed with the "search conditions used when the last mass mix/salvage was performed". Items that hit the search are targeted.

Added highlighting logs.

Holly's damage, ailments, and miss are highlighted in red.

The last adventure log and the adventure log of the recent death are now saved.

Both log information will be deleted when you exit the game.

By default, the comparison function for selecting 2 items in the item screen "Info" mode has been turned off.

It can be enabled from the utility settings.

A submenu has been added to the warehouse screen.

There are "Store all" and "Take all" buttons.

If you use the search function together, only the search hits will be moved.

If you reach the maximum number of possession or storage, you will not be moved any more.

A sort button has been added to the warehouse screen.

The most recently selected sort condition is shared with the item screen.

Equipment whose level becomes 0 as a result of mix will be displayed with the notation of Lv0.

A "Skip" button will be added to the "Achievements" pop-up displayed on the "Achievements" screen.

When you are checking multiple achievements at once, you can end the pop-ups at once by pressing this button.

"Automatic login with last played data" setting has been added to the utility settings.

It is off by default.

Added the setting "Automatically salvage when returning" to the utility settings.

It is off by default.

Adjust the save frequency of the game.

To avoid heat and load of the device.

Fixed some UI.

Fixed some icons.

Fixed some text.

Apply the suggestions of translation volunteers.

Adjustment

Delete all save data.

Because job level system has been changed.

Adjust the performance of monsters that appear in the Eternal Cave 1F to 30F.

To adjust the difficulty in the early stages.

Adjusted the ability to "Drop item quantity".

The effect will be changed.

(Old: +1 item drop for every 100%)

(New: X% Chance to double the number of items acquired)

The maximum is 100%.

The number given to the item will be reduced.

Item drops will no longer decrease when the "Floor Skip" ability is activated.

This action effectively doubles the efficiency of the number of item drops per hour at “Floor skip +100%”.

Even if you lose your equipments, the lineup for “Create God’s articles” will no longer be updated.

Fix

Fixed a bug where the display of the selected(light blue frame) does not disappear even if the mode is changed to another mode in the item screen "Info” mode.

Fixed a bug where items can be duplicated by using the function to equipp directly in the item screen “Info” mode.

Fixed a bug where the mix screen opens when 2 items are selected in the item screen “Info” mode.

Fixed a bug where item details can not be displayed even if you touch the icon when you change the item auto-processing setting on the item filter screen.

0 notes