#Gotta teach em while they’re young

[moths-are-better]

Me forcing my little cousin to watch wakfu with me so that she’ll have childhood nostalgia like me and we’ll get to talk about when she’s older and If everything goes according to plan she’ll show it to her little siblings and get them hooked

[sapphobolide]

FFXIVWrite Day 1 — "Steer"

“But why do you do it?” She was six summers old, and full of questions.

There was another riot in the city. Her parents had sent her to stay with Aunt Ealhild and Uncle Gellmar—her mother’s cousin and her husband—at their farm in the Peaks. She didn’t like Ealhild and Gellmar, not as much as she liked Uncle Anselm, who wasn’t really her uncle but her father’s best friend since forever and ever. And she knew what he and her father and her mother would be doing while she was away, they would be trying to keep a bunch of very angry people safe while they shouted and raged at the Mad King, except really they’d be shouting at the palace, because the Mad King never came down to the streets of Ala Mhigo anymore. What she really wanted to know was were they safe, her mother and father and Uncle Anselm, but no one at Aunt Ealhild’s farm could answer that, so she asked other questions instead. Right now she was asking why they castrated billy goats.

“They’re not billies once you do it, they’re wethers.” Stubborn Brook finished untangling a kid that had got itself trapped in a bramblebush, and sent it on its way with a gentle toss. The young goat bleated as it hit the ground, then scrambled away in search of new trouble to get into.

“But why?”

Stubborn rolled her eyes. She was one of Aunt Ealhild’s hired hands, mostly because both her parents were mercenaries and away all the time fighting Lominsan pirates on big Ul’dahn merchant ships and needed somewhere to stay most of the time. She also knew everything, mostly because she was thirteen summers old, but also because she was a Roegadyn and so was already taller than everyone else her age. She brushed off her hands and leaned back against the fence, not even looking at the annoying little Hyur girl from the city she’d been forced to babysit. The sky was full of mountains and no clouds, and sunset turned the air crimson.

“Because they’re too much trouble otherwise,” Stubborn Brook explained. “You let a billy keep his balls, he gets mean, and bossy, and he’ll bother all the nannies. And he’ll stink, too.”

“Wethers don’t do all that?”

“Gods, no! Wethers are sweet, and strong, too. Good pack goats, good for travelling. They’ll get protective of their herd without being possessive about it. They’ll let you know when a nanny’s in heat, ‘cause they’ll still mount ‘em, but they won’t get ‘em heavy and spoil your stock. And they’re good eating, too.”

“Why do you let any of the billies keep their balls, then?”

“Ha! Mam’s asked Papa that before. Only I don’t think it was about goats.”

“Other kinds of beastkin can be wethers?”

“That’s not what—I mean, yes, but they’re not called that. Castrate a chocobo and you get a gelding. Do it to a bull, and that’s a steer.”

“And they all get nicer when you do it?”

“Pretty much. I’ve heard some shite-faces say that a bull what can’t rut is only fit for slaughter, but they must never have had the chance to plow with an ox before. One alone can do the work of six birds.”

“Truly?”

“True as Rhalgr’s aim.”

"And what about with people, what do you call it then?”

Stubborn snorted. “You mean fantasia-seekers?”

“What does that mean?”

“Uncle Anselm? Who does he know?”

“Uh—“ Stubborn looked embarrassed. “Nevermind. I don’t know anything about that.” She shot the younger girl a queer look. “…Though if any of what Ealhild says about your papa’s friend is true, he might know a few.”

“Nevermind, I said!” Stubborn Brook stood up. “I got better things to do than teach a baby city boy how to ranch. Go bother your aunt for a change. I gotta get the rest of the herd in before dark.”

She pouted. She didn’t want to talk to her aunt and uncle—all they did nowadays was try to pretend they weren’t worried about Ala Mhigo. About revolution. She couldn’t stand it. But Stubborn Brook was already walking away, leaving her alone with a score of unanswered questions about steers.

Slowly, the bloody glow in the sky began to dim.

[deantfwinchester]

A Simple Request

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: After returning to Jackson, Joel and Ellie finally meet their neighbor, a young woman who teaches at the schoolhouse. While the two settle in, Tommy asks her for a favor - that she look after Joel and Ellie from time to time, when he can't. She's happy to help of course, and may find its a better fit than either could've hoped.

Part 1/?

Word Count: 818 (drabble length for Ch 1 honestly)

A/N: Honestly, we just need more content where Joel gets cared for rather than vice versa - that is mostly what this will be. First time actually posting anything, so let's hope I actually write the other chapters!

There's a lot of beautiful writing that shows how empathetic and caring Joel is to the people around him - it's his turn to receive.

___________________________________________

She met Joel on a Thursday.

To be precise, she met Joel and Ellie on a Thursday afternoon, a few days after the two came back to the house they’d left behind months ago. She’d caught a glimpse of the broad, somber-looking man and a chattering young girl entering the house next door to her own one night around Christmas, but when she’d gone to introduce herself the next day, the house was empty. Curious, of course, but not entirely surprising. Jackson was a kind of haven in a world ravaged by fungus, fear, and all the choices people make in between – and sometimes those people see the comfort they could have here and run back into the dark.

Wednesday, Late May 2023

One day, as the spring shifted from wet to warm, she saw them again while tending her garden, trudging back toward the house as Tommy led the way. The pair certainly looked worse for wear – exhausted, weathered, and in need of a shower for sure, but while the somber look he’d carried on her previous glimpse had lightened just a tad, the girl in tow was quieter. She looked around distractedly, and smiled softly to the other two when addressed, or nodded where necessary. Perhaps she just needed some rest.

Frankly, both of them looked to need sleep desperately, so introductions would need to wait until tomorrow. She greeted Tommy as he exited the house and ambled down the porch steps.

“Got some new neighbors for ya” he said, sucking air between his teeth, hesitant.

“Yeah I noticed. Didn’t get the chance to introduce myself back at Christmas, kept wondering what happened to them. He’s your brother, right?” This she already knew (the town talks, especially around the holidays) but she was pressing a bit, and Tommy didn’t mind.

“Yep. They’re staying this time, I hope. I’m real glad to have ‘em back.” He nodded, reassuring himself.

“I’ll bet you are. Get to know he’s somewhere safe, ease your mind.” She says, nodding along. “I’m excited to meet them, but they look like they need a while. When do you think I should…” she trailed off, confident Tommy could fill in the blanks.

“Yeah, maybe give ‘em a couple of days. Gotta warn you though, Joel can be a bit… prickly. He doesn’t mean anything by it he just, might take some time to warm up. If you’re willing to try.” He said, hesitantly.

She can tell he’s holding back, like there’s something to ask that he’s afraid to mention. She brushes it off, hoping to put him at ease enough to say what he needs.

“I’m sure it’ll be great. You know me, love a challenge” she says, inhaling with a brow raised.

“I do know that, you’re right. Schoolhouse sure is full of ‘em” he huffs a laugh and smiles at her, squinting in the May sun peeking behind the clouds.

“I got ages 5-17 down, I’m sure I can handle one prickly guy and his little girl.” She smiles back, and looks at Tommy with a warmth she hopes is reassuring; that it lets him know she won’t give up before she starts. She can tell he needs that for his brother.

“Listen, I’d really love it if you would try, even if it takes some time. He’s been through hell and back, they both have. I put ‘em up by you hoping, maybe, you’d keep an eye out? Make sure they’re alright every now and again?” She could see he was anxious to ask, but his concern for the two kept him from wavering. For the second time in their conversation she found herself wanting to assuage any fears he had in this regard. Of course she’d look after her neighbors; that’s what this community was built on, after all.

“Yeah, of course I will. Maybe I’ll bring some food by when I introduce myself tomorrow. Seem like they could use a hot meal to themselves -- dining hall can be a lot when you’re new” she said reassuringly, hoping her words and the understanding in her eyes would be enough to allay Tommy’s previous hesitance.

He exhaled a bit in obvious relief, “I think they’d like that. Ellie certainly will, at least. Thank you, really. You’ll tell me how it goes?”

“I’ll be sure to give you guys a full report.” she says, smiling. She says goodbye to Tommy, and he makes his leave, as she turns back to her weeding.

Joel and Ellie. Nice to put names to the faces. Already she’s mentally flipping through her rolodex of doable recipes, wondering what will get her some brownie points with Ellie, and maybe alleviate some of this hesitance Tommy’s warned her about. No matter – she spends her days at the schoolhouse, dealing with hesitant or moody kids of all ages, she can handle a little prickle.  

_____________________________________________________________

Part 2 is now up here !

[mooodyblue]

could you do like early 70s elvis with him trying to teach his twin sons how to play baseball 😭❤️ and they’re just like eating grass while he is trying to teach 🤣

very cute <3 hope you enjoy !! i also don't know anything about baseball LOL

500 followers celebration

"don't you think they're a little too young to be taught something as difficult as baseball? can they even hold the ball?" you asked, hands on your hips.

elvis scoffed, looking over at the two toddlers sitting in the grass. "they're never too young! anyway, who knows when i'm gonna have time after this? gotta teach 'em young!"

"elvis-"

"alright, boys! keep your eyes on me!" he squatted in front of them, mitt on one hand and baseball in the other. the twin boys kept an eye on him, practically in their own world. he held up the baseball, "see this? this is the ball." then held up his other. "this is the glove." he picked up the small, toy bat he had laying on the floor. "and this is the bat. see, ya throw the ball and then-"

"elvis, i think you're losin' them." you chuckled.

"naw, look!" he rolled the ball over the two twins and held up the bat. "c'mon! throw it!"

one took the ball in his hand, looking down at it then back at elvis. he tossed the ball, only for it to barely go far and dropping right in front of him. meanwhile, the toddler next to him was ripping at the grass, not caring about whatever elvis was going on about.

elvis rolled the ball back, "c'mon, try again." the ball was just pushed away, leaving him with a huff. he stood up and watched as the twins in front of them entertain themselves, digging their hands into the dirt and giggling as they tossed grass into each others mouths.

you stood next to elvis and wrapped an arm around his waist, chuckling. "well, if baseball doesn't work out then maybe we can think about getting that ranch. they'll do just fine there."

"aw hell, boys c'mon. don't eat the grass." he groaned. " baby, there's no way i'm raisin my boys to eat grass. we're tryin this again."

[samsammysamson]

Dhjdjd

A battle for the last piece of bacon or pancake.

Gotta teach em while they’re young eh? Lol

Heh heh heh. You know it.

[seraphdreams]

I always talk about my niece and how she wants to be like me but I never talk about how my nephew is the same. That boys favorite Bts member is jhope because mine is jhope😭😭 he just had his mom buy him purple crocs cause I like purple all of his favorite songs are songs that I played for him, should’ve known he was going to want to be like me when his birthday is literally the same day as mine

gotta teach em while they’re young! y’all are so me cause hobi is my baby TEW!!

[imsorryimlate]

i was in the park with my nephew the other day, and it’s filled with rainbow flags since it’s pride month. so i pointed at one of them and asked “do you see that flag there?” and my nephew was like “yes” and i just “that’s my flag” 🏳️‍🌈

[ramenmom]

Gotta teach ‘em while they’re young

(Please do not repost my work without explicit permission, thank you! <3)

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC’s half Demon, and they look AWFULLY familiar...

‘Kay guys, I got a different kind of stupid Headcanon to throw at you. Get ready!

Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Part 2.5 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

*ahem* picture if you will, it’s the day the exchange program is set to start. The student council (nix Mr. Kill All Humans, Weeb-supreme, and our Scummy Sweetheart) have assembled to welcome the new human student. All is going according to schedule, the portal opens up at eight am sharp, they hear the pitiful screams of the selected human who was not given a heads up about the whole thing, and the poor little human falls straight onto the marble floor.

There’s something a tad... off about this human don’t you think? After they’ve peeled their sorry ass off the floor they observed the assembled student council with an air of sophistication and self importance that no one expected. Their posture was perfect, their eyes sharp and calculating... they bared a striking resemblance to-

“Lucifer,” Diavolo looked to his right hand man, then back to the human. “The human kind of looks like you!”

And out popped four pitch black wings from the human’s back and two small horns out of the sides of their head, one horn was a bit bigger than the other. They even still had some of their down feathers! How cute!

((Content warning: Swearing (I have a potty mouth, forgive me), but that’s it.))

Luci-dad

So, the MC is Lucifer’s kid! Of course Mr. Prideypants immediately tries to recall exactly what little romp in the human world uh... spawned this half-human half-demon child of his. Good thing MC’s got the other parent on speed-dial.

“Please note, MC,” Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose upon hearing Asmo take even more pictures of his newly discovered hellspawn. “I was not aware of your existence, if I was I’d-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not upset.”

Lucifer blinked a few times in surprise. “P...pardon? You aren’t upset?”

“No, my parent told me that my father was a high ranking demon, and they bare no ill will against you. Though, I am looking forward to this whole... exchange program thing.”

Oh wow, that was easier than Lucifer thought. Damn. Well, he was a father... (let’s be real, he’s been parenting his brothers for thousands of years, and a good chunk of you sinners call him daddy)

MC is probably the most protected student at RAD, despite the fact that they have no visible security detail whatsoever. They didn’t want to be seen as... weak and pathetic.

Something about this human just... set the lesser demons on edge. Any talk of eating them was stamped out on the first day when they walked by. It’s like Lucifer himself was staring at them, daring the demons to try and bother the human. MC’s powerful presence kept them protected and feared.

...at least until dear uncle Asmo decided to do their hair one morning. All those ribbons may have looked adorable but they kind of ruined the intimidation factor.

MC loved to mess with the other students, keeping their lineage a secret for the first little while just made it so much funnier when the other demons tried to scramble out of MC’s way without looking like they were running from the ‘weak little human exchange student’.

Oh wow, what a sadist. Like father like child

Flying lessons are a must. Poor MC isn’t terribly good at controlling their wings, and their horns are still growing in so when they pop into their demon form the first thing they get is a sore skull. Ow... it sucks that Lucifer isn’t outwardly very sympathetic.

“Ow!” MC crashed face first into the grass in the backyard of the House of Lamentation. “Father! My wings are cramping! Can’t we practice this tomorrow?”

The sight of seeing his dear child crash face first into the ground had lost its hilarity after the first three times. Lucifer slowly lowered himself to the ground and crossed his arms as he stood over his incredibly grass-stained kid.

“MC, we’ve been ‘practicing this tomorrow’ for the past month. If you want to learn to fly you’re going to have to actually manage to stay in the air for more than three minutes.”

MC shot Lucifer a withering glare that only preteens were capable of, Lucifer matched it with his own much more sophisticated glare.

“You’ve been flying for over a thousand years! Don’t you have any tips that can actually help other than ‘don’t panic, you’ll look ridiculous’?”

Lucifer dragged a gloved hand down his face and looked around, the two were alone as far as he could see.

“MC,” Lucifer began. “When I was a young angel, I needed to learn how to fly with someone else.”

MC perked up. “Who?”

“Michael. The smug bastard picked up flying quicker than I did.”

“What’d you do?!”

Lucifer smiled at his child’s intense investment. “I practiced flying every day for five extra hours until I could do everything that Michael could do, just better.”

MC’s starry eyed interest died almost instantly upon hearing about the extra five hours of practice. “Humph, I bet I could outfly younger you and Michael with only two hours of practice a day.”

“Really now?”

“Yes! Watch!” MC shook off their wings and took off in a running start before shakily making it into the air. Their form was decent enough, and they weren’t shaking as much as the previous attempts. “SEE?!”

“Yes MC,” Lucifer smiled. “I can see.”

You know what else Lucifer could see? MC crashing right into a tree.

“Ouch...”

Okay... maybe they could halt practice a little early and order a treat from Madame Scream’s. A little sugar to refuel is needed when the end goal is crushing a mutual rival beneath their heels. Just some good old fashioned father/child bonding time!

MC has a smaller seat right next to Lucifer’s seat in the Assembly Hall. I will not compromise on this one.

For all your fluff needs, I give you: Lucifer teaching MC how to play the piano. He has a proud little smile on his face when his kid finally starts getting it. That’s all. Enjoy the image.

That one Uncle who gives you Alcohol at Family Gatherings (Mammon)

Yeah, when Mammon burst in late to the party and whining about everyone’s spamming him with texts to haul his scummy ass to the Assembly Hall, the last thing he expected was to see a mini-Lucifer.

“What the fuck am I lookin’ at?!”

The glare the two Lucifers gave the poor Avatar of Greed was enough to make him want to turn tail (uh, wing) and book it down the hall.

“Mammon, this is MC. They’re my child.”

“Hello.”

“...whaaaa..?” Mammon looked between the two, same glare, same intimidating aura, same annoyingly good posture.

Mammon scratched the back of his neck and looked over at his older brother. “Do I uh... still gotta babysit em’ if they’re not human?”

“The lake of Cocytus will melt the day I let you babysit without supervision.” Lucifer grumbled.

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

Despite Lucifer’s initial denial, Mammon and MC ended up spending a lot of time hanging out when Lucifer was busy with paperwork. Of course Mammon’s first thought was ‘how do I profit off this situation?’

MC is now Mammon’s designated babysitter after they caught him picking up their feathers that had fallen off with the intention of painting them white and claiming they were Lucifer’s from back in the Celestial Realm.

Mammon does end up spoiling MC a little. Just a smidge. They’re the kid of his totally not his favourite brother after all! How could he not? Whether or not these gifts are obtained legally or are legal at all is subject to scrutiny.

“Mammon, I can’t drink this!” MC placed the bottle of Demonus back on the counter of the kitchen.

“Why not? That’s a bottle of the good stuff! We gotta celebrate you gettin’ an A on that test somehow!”

“I’m underage! Incredibly underage. I’m not legally allowed to drink.”

Mammon wordlessly plopped a silly straw into the bottle. “...does that help?”

“No.” MC then inclined their head to the bottle. “And I don’t want to get hung from the ceiling, that bottle was in my father’s study yesterday, I’m above theft.”

“How old are you s’posed to be anyway? Never mind... uh...” Mammon wracked his brain for something else he could do for MC that didn’t cost anything (don’t judge him, the poor bastard was flat broke!). “I could... teach you to drive!”

“Driving?”

“Yeah! Drivin’ is awesome! We can take my car!”

The bills for the damages done to the car and the Devildom were mailed to Lucifer the next day, and MC and Mammon got to keep each other company as they hung from the ceiling. Ah well! At least MC wasn’t upside down!

Mammon wasn’t that good of a flight teacher either, he also crashed into a tree (the same tree MC crashed into, actually) when he was cheering for MC. They were finally able to do a loopdy loop! He was proud and distracted! Okay?! Lucifer! Stop smirkin’ at him! It’s not that funny!

At least the vantage point from the tree was decent and the branches didn’t scratch him up too badly. Oh hey... that person walking by was wearing a very nice watch... he’d be right back-

That Uncle That is Always Absent From Family Gatherings and When He is Present He Leaves Early (Levi)

He missed everything. That is not an exaggeration. He was in the middle of an online raid battle and couldn’t look at his phone! No Lucifer he can’t pause an online game! That’s not how it works!

Okay, the human exchange student is half demon? WOAH! THAT’S JUST LIKE THAT ONE ANIME- W A I T. THE LITTLE NORMIE IS LUCIFER’S KID?!

Okie doke, he was fully convinced that MC just had to be an anime protagonist.

They binged every series that Levi compared them to. Sure MC might have missed a few assignments because of late night anime binges, but they were too good for this school crap anyway, right?

Nope. Lucifer put a ban on the two watching anime until both their grades improved. Surviving that hell brought the two together.

“Ugh!”

The sound of a pencil case being haphazardly thrown across the room made Levi peek out of his bed-tub. If his figurines got knocked over so HELP HIM-

“This is stupid!!I shouldn’t have to catch up with this!” MC crossed their arms and gave their Demonology textbook their best disapproving glare.

Lucifer Lite (tm) was having a hell of a time trying to claw through their missed work, and Levi sympathized, he really did, it’s just... he was playing Animal Crossing-

Levi paused the game to placate his anime-buddy when their wings popped out and he feared for his rare merch’s safety.

“H-hey, MC? Do you need help?” Levi’s offer was met with a bone chilling glare that lived rent free in his nightmares ever since. He had pulled a Mammon and forgotten he was talking to Lucifer’s child. Lucifer’s allergy to help must have passed down to MC.

“No! I don’t! It’s just... dumb!” MC hissed, she turned and looked over at the fish tank. “Right Henry 2.0?”

Henry 2.0 did not respond.

“MC, you need to finish your homework or we can’t watch anything together,” Levi sighed, he had finished his work over an hour earlier. He had mastered the art of all night anime binges and managing to do most of his work in the fifteen minutes between the time he woke up and the time school was supposed to begin. “We haven’t even binged all of volume 4 of TSL yet!”

“Mmm...” MC grumbled. “Fine...”

MC picked up their pencil case and began continued their work. Levi breathed a sigh of relief and went back to Animal Crossing.

The tiny normie did in fact finish their work, only after they caved and asked Levi for help. Swore him to secrecy, they did... very intimidating, they were.

Just saying, he most definitely sent that one Keanu Reeves meme with big Keanu and little Keanu but with Lucifer and MC to the wrong group chat. Poor bastard.

Flying lessons? No. Levi hadn’t flown since his time in the Celestial Realm, he had no advice to give other than: “Flap your wings!”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING YOU-”

MC didn’t get to finish that thought, they lost their balance and fell right into RAD’s fountain. Ah well, Levi had a head start on running for his life that he squandered by laughing at MC. RIP.

The Uncle/brother/whatever the fuck that Starts a Fight With Your Dad at the Family Reunion. (Satan)

Oh... another Lucifer? Eugh. Gross.

Satan gave the kid a wide berth when they first met. Everything the kid said or did ticked him off. “Tsk. Look at MC. Making an omelette. So annoying.” “Oh wow, MC vacuumed? Roll out the red carpet, we need to celebrate their existence!” “Look at them. Breathing. Disgusting.”

MC’s pride wouldn’t ever let them admit it but... they knew Satan didn’t like them, and it hurt their feelings.

“Shhhh,” Satan whispered into his backpack.

“Meow.” The backpack replied.

“I said shhhhh.”

The backpack did not reply after that, which was a good thing considering the little princet of the HOL was nearby.

“Satan?” They asked. “Who are you talking to?”

Satan coldly brushed past them as he made his way to his room. “No one you need to concern yourself with.”

When the little calico kitten was safe in his room, Satan quickly realized a mistake in his foolproof ‘sneak a cat into the house’ plan. He didn’t have any toys for the kitten, and he didn’t want his books getting scratched...

It was alright, he’d just rush out to the a store that sold cat things and rush back! Five minute trip tops!

Well when Satan got back the cat was no longer in the room. Oh dear. He discreetly tore apart the house looking for the poor little thing until he ended up finding it in the library, happily chasing around a loose feather being held up by MC.

“Oh, hello Satan.” MC chirped as the kitten batted it’s adorable little paws at the feather.

“My... my door was closed. Did you let the cat out?”

MC shrugged. “I heard meowing.”

Satan ran a hand through his hair and grumbled. Stupid smaller Lucifer. Stupid original Lucifer. Everyone sucked.

“Let me guess, you’re going to run to Lucifer and tell him all about the meowing and the rule breaking.”

MC shook their head and glared at Satan. “Of course not. I’ve already gotten way too attached to this little guy anyway. We’re co-parenting this kitten like mature adults.”

With some coaxing, Satan did sit down and play with the kitten, maybe MC wasn’t... so terrible.

The two watch Unsolved Mysteries together, that’s their show. “This guy did it.” “Satan, we’re two minutes into the episode-” “Trust me.”

Thirty minutes later.

“He did it.” “See MC, what’d I tell you?”

Lucifer did find out about the cat, but with enough pleading, MC and Satan managed to warm up the cold spot in Lucifer’s chest where his heart should have been. The cat’s name is Detective Toe Beans (or just Bean).

Satan can’t fly, he has a tail, but he did read up on wing anatomy and how flight actually works in demons, his advice would be good in theory, but it’s full of so much technical jargon that MC can’t understand it.

At least MC didn’t crash into something, they barrel rolled through one of the HOL’s windows. Good thing it was the window to their room. The broken arm still hurt like hell.

The Best Dressed Bitch Who Brings The Booze to The Reunion. (Asmo)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lucifer’s kid was SO CUTE! A thousand pictures commemorating that adorable moment needed to be taken! Wait- Lucifer- GIVE BACK THE PHONE-

Asmo, surprise surprise, absolutely adores little MC! So cute! So small! He was just so excited to announce to all his Devilgram followers that Lucifer was finally a certified DILF.

That post disappeared five minutes after it was made but the damage had already been done.

Asmo made sure MC looked their best at all times, if they needed help talking to anyone? Asmo’s got their back!

Sure, maybe he’s a little pushy, but pushy’s a good thing sometimes, right?

“Asmodeus-”

“No, these shoes wouldn’t fit you...”

“Asmo-”

“No, not these ones either...”

“ASMODEUS.”

Asmo squeaked and jumped upwards, Geez Louise... little MC’s voice could sure be scary when they wanted it to be...

“I don’t need any fancy new shoes.” MC huffed, sitting up straighter in one of the chairs in Asmo’s room. “I thought this was supposed to be a sleepover.”

“Hmmm...” Asmo pouted. “Makeovers are an essential part of sleepovers... what’d you do with your human friends up in the human world that could possibly be better than a make-over?!”

MC began to list things off. “Ordered junk food, talked about people we hated, watched movies,”

“Greasy food is so bad for your skin...” Asmo cringed and shook his head violently. “But I’m totally down to watch a movie and bitch about people I hate!”

“Ah yes, human sleepovers, a tradition I never quite had the chance to enjoy.” Solomon said from Asmo’s bed. “Who are we bitching about?”

“Remind me what Solomon is doing here.” MC muttered as they sat down in front of Asmo’s TV.

“Because, I wanted to hang out with my two favourite humans.” Asmo cooed, reaching over and trying to pinch MC’s cheek, which they awkwardly dodged.

“Can we watch The Exorcist?” Solomon asked, propping his head up with his hands.

“Ew, no.” Asmo made a face at him. “That scene with the vomit? Hell NO.”

“Mm.” MC mumbled. Asmo turned to look at them.

“MC? Are you doing okay? You don’t look like you’re having any fun...”

“I’m fine.” MC grumbled.

Asmo pursed his lips, as much as it made his little narcissistic heart break, he nudged MC. “Why don’t you pick the movie, sweetie. I’m sure Solomon and I will like anything you pick!”

MC noticeably brightened. “Let’s watch Scream!”

The strangled noise that came from Asmo was... concerning, but to his credit, The Avatar of Lust held his tongue about his distaste for the movie, and the three slumber-party goers had quite the lovely time.

After the movie ended, MC went back to their room, sure it was a sleepover but their bed was right down the hall.

Good for Asmo and Solomon. Horny fuckers. We stan.

Asmo just claps and tries to cheer MC on when it comes to their flying lessons. (The idea that Asmo came up with to wear his cheerleader costume from the previous Halloween was immediately shot down by Lucifer)

“You’re doing wonderful, MC- WATCH OUT FOR THE POWER LINE!”

MC didn’t hit the power line, but Asmo’s scream of terror caused them to fall butt-first into a dumpster. Their injured tailbone served as a tragic memory of the incident.

Oh well, good thing Asmo had nice smelling soap to give that could mask dumpster-stink.

The Uncle that eats everything and tells you to eat your veggies while you angrily pick at your broccoli at the kid’s table. (Beel)

Lucifer... has a kid?! Beel choked on the cheetos he had snuck into the Assembly Hall when the kid’s wings popped out.

Oh wow, that’s nice :) maybe they can eat together. Belphie would probably like them.

Wait what is the gender neutral term for Niece or Nephew?

...Nibling? Uh... let’s not say that around Beel. We don’t need him to get hungrier and begin associating MC with nibbling on things.

The Underground Tomb incident probably went a little differently, but after all that nonsense, the two are closer than two peas in a pod!

Mmm... peas...

“Beel?” MC stepped into the Avatar of Gluttony’s room.

“Hi MC.” Beel was doing push-ups in the middle of the room, on the ground right beneath his head was a massive bowl of spaghetti that he bit into every time he completed a push-up. “Can you come stand on my back? I need the extra weight.”

“On your back?” MC padded closer. “Are you sure? It’s not going to hurt?”

“No, it’ll be okay.” Beel assured them. “Belphie and I did this all the time. Except Belphie is normally asleep.”

MC tentatively stepped onto Beel’s back. It was a balancing act to say the least, they eventually gave up on standing and ended up sitting cross legged between Beel’s shoulder blades.

“You did this with Belphegor?” MC asked.

“Yeah,” Beel sighed. “He was always too tired to exercise, but he’d let me bench press him sometimes...”

MC frowned and hugged their knees to their chest. Knowing full well that Beel’s twin wasn’t in the human world like Lucifer said was absolutely ripping them apart from the inside. Guilt felt just as rotten as their pride did when they were being belittled...

“Maybe you’ll see him again sometime soon.” MC whispered. “Maybe my father’ll come to his senses and let him come back down to the Devildom.”

Beel paused his push-ups for a brief moment, then nodded and went back to his eating exercising combo. “I hope so. He’ll like you, MC. I’m sure of it.”

MC nodded. “I... hope so.”

Beel’s a pretty decent flight teacher, but his wings are just so different from MC’s that it renders any tips he had next to useless.

“MC, maybe your wings aren’t flapping fast enough.”

“Beel, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not a hummingbird. Or a fly. I don’t need to flap my wings a million times a minute to stay afloat.”

Ah well, MC tried to take some of Beel’s advice, but their lower right wing cramped up and they ended up flying in circles until Beel was able to catch them. Ah well, better than the dumpster incident the previous week.

The Uncle That Passes Out in The Basement and You’re Not Allowed to Wake Him Up Even Though All Your Toys and Video Games Are Down There. He Also Picks a Fight With Your Dad’s New S/O Before He Passes Out. (Belphie)

Sitting in the attic was quite a drag, and this supposedly weak little human was quite the annoyance to try and call out to. It took a lot longer than expected, but when he heard little footsteps coming towards his prison, Belphegor nearly jumped with joy.

Oh... it... looked like Lucifer. Smelled like Lucifer. Stood like Lucifer. Quacked like Lucifer. Or... trilled..? Whatever sound a peacock made, this brat sounded an awful lot like Lucifer.

A... half-demon. Hmph. Belphie honestly thought Lucifer had actual standards. Not anymore, he guessed.

(Man I could fill a whole-ass fic with the Belphie betrayal thing, but for now let’s skip to post attic nonsense)

Okay so maybe MC wasn’t disgusting. They made a good nap buddy. It was cute when their wings came out when they were sleeping sometimes. Well... it was cute when they didn’t hit him in the face and make him wake up with his mouth full of feathers.

What Beel said had been true, Belphie made a good substitute when weights weren’t available, but Beel didn’t want MC to feel left out, so Belphie and MC ended up sitting on his back while he did push ups. MC once got bored and started playing Go Fish with Belphie on Beel’s back while he exercised.

Yes. MC is still a member of the Formerly-Anti-Lucifer League.

“Are you sure he’s not going to be too mad at us?” MC asked for the dozenth time that day. Detective Toe Beans was wrapped around their neck like a scarf (he had gotten so big!!!) while MC nervously sat in one of the Library chairs.

��Positive.” Belphie said with a toothy grin. “Besides, he’s like putty when it comes to you. Just give him your best puppy eyes and we’re not guilty on all charges.”

Putty..? Really..? Lucifer..? How strict was he before MC got there... they wondered.

“Sh! He’s coming!” Satan stuck his nose into a random book, it was the Oxford English Dictionary... and it was upside down.

Belphie pretended to pass out and MC decided that the best course of action was to stare deeply into their cat’s eyes. Yeah... that looked casual and not weird.

“Satan, MC, Belphie.” Lucifer nodded to the three of them as he walked towards the entrance to his study.

“Lucifer.”

“Afternoon, father.”

Belphie let out a cartoonishly loud fake snore that nearly caused both MC and Satan to break cover and start laughing.

Side note, Bean had adorable widdle eyes! That cute little face was just to die for-

“You three..!”

Belphie, Satan, and MC peeked their heads into Lucifer’s study, their handiwork was perfect. Everything was covered in red post it notes. Perfectly not harmful, but SO inconvenient!

“You’re all cleaning this up or so help me-”

“GO!” Belphie and Satan each grabbed one of MC’s arms (Satan also grabbed Bean) and sprinted out of the House of Lamentation. Maybe they’d move back there in twenty years... they hoped that Solomon and The Angels would let them crash at Purgatory Hall...

Belphie had used up his physical energy supply for the next four years. He passed out the moment they stepped into sanctuary. Time for a nap...

Flight practice? Ha. Belphie’s napping. Though, he was suspiciously awake and filming whenever MC did something stupid.

“Try not to suck so bad.”

“GO TO HELL BELPHIE!”

“I’m already there. Hell is every second I’m stuck here watching you fail.”

“YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT FOR THAT!”

Well... MC mastered the dive bomb that day. Lucifer bought them a cake.

Bonus! Your Dad’s New Husband! That Has Managed to Somehow Make Everyone Hate Him Despite the Fact That He’s A Cinnamon Roll. (Diavolo)

A mini Lucifer? A mini Lucifer!

Diavolo dotes on MC like he’d dote on his own kid. MC wants a crown? They’re getting a crown! A damn nice one too! MC wants a title? Here! MC is now... idk Ruler of the area between Majolish and Hell’s Kitchen.

Poor Uncle Mammon’s got some financial insecurity, he’s still the cool uncle... right?!

He is very much that ‘how do you do fellow kids?’ Meme.

He tries to do stereotypical ‘dad’ things but he’s not very good at them. Once he tried to host a barbecue...

Barbatos saved the day, but Mammon’s hair was still singed, Solomon’s cooking still gave Beel food poisoning (SOLOMON EATS TOXIC WASTE I SWEAR-), Luke still got hit in the face with a frisbee, and Simeon got an unhealthy dose of DAD NERVES and got so stressed everyone was almost blinded by the holy light he suddenly started blasting. We do not mention the water guns.

(Seriously whose bright idea was it to give Belphie and Satan water guns while they were in Lucifer’s presence?)

Praise Barbie. He’s too good for them.

“Um...” MC awkwardly held up the baseball, trying to look at it from all angles like it was a completely alien object. “Lord Diavolo... are you sure you want to play catch?”

Diavolo clapped his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes! It’s a thing human fathers do with their children, correct? We must make up for lost time between you and Lucifer, right?”

Lucifer massaged his temples and nodded. “If you two would like to play catch...” Lucifer grimaced. “I will too.”

“Okay! MC, throw the ball to Lucifer!” Diavolo instructed.

Lucifer half heartedly held up his baseball glove as MC tossed him the ball. He caught it, and looked over at Diavolo, who was applauding like he just witnessed the greatest feat in sports history.

“Okay! Throw it to me!” Diavolo waved his glove in the air, Lucifer rolled his eyes and smiled. He threw the ball at Diavolo with... a lot of force. Enough force to probably dent steel... Diavolo caught it like it was nothing.

MC suddenly feared for their safety.

“Okay MC, catch!”

Diavolo threw the ball with enough force to break the god damn sound barrier. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the ball sailed way over MC’s head and crashed right through a window.

“Oh my...” Diavolo put a hand on his hip and surveyed the damage to the window. “This isn’t so bad, I believe in human world TV shows this happens quite often. Look! The glass broke in a perfect circle!”

“Yay... property damage...” MC murmured.

Lucifer sighed and pulled out his DDD. “I’ll phone someone to replace the win-”

“Lucifer no! Now according to human world customs we must,” Diavolo took a deep breath, rushed forward, grabbed both Lucifer and MC’s hands and started sprinting away from the Demon Lord’s Castle. “RUN FOR IT!”

“Di- Diavolo!” Lucifer gasped.

“Who are we running from?! That’s your castle!” MC squeaked.

“I don’t know! Just run! That’s what the human TV show says to do!”

Weirdly enough, Diavolo was the best flight instructor. MC’s ability to fly increased tenfold after Diavolo found out that MC was learning to fly.

“You’re doing amazing MC! That was a perfect turn!”

“Thanks Lord Diavolo, I’m surprised I haven’t crashed into anyone or fallen yet!”

“Well, I highly doubt you’ll be crashing into anyone anymore, your flying is practically perfect now!”

Mammon proceeded to fly past them holding what looked like Lucifer’s wallet.

“M-mammon?!”

“Oh... I wonder what he’s doing. Look, MC! It’s Lucifer! Hello Lucifer dea-”

Lucifer ended up colliding with the two of them and sending them all crashing to the floor.

That was the last time MC fell during flying practice.

(We currently have a Go Fund Me set up for Mammon to get the funds necessary to flee the Devildom after that incident. Please donate to save- oh shit hi Lucifer-)

[dadsbongos]

late night for a sinner

Movie/Game/Show: The Devil All The Time Dynamic: Arvin Russell/Reader Warnings: religious overtones cuz it’s this movie, described and enacted violence (against teagardin), preston teagardin (and all his sexual assault-y/manipulative bs) Notes: uhm people got married at like 20 in the 50s and i assume arvin is about 20 so no i will not apologize for making you his wife, my country-accent writing is bad(?) idk Summary: Arvin’s a protective man, especially when it comes to those he loves. ~~~

“Somethin’ ‘bout that preacher don’t feel right,” (Y/n) murmured to her husband as they stood outside the doors of the church, “Gives me a shiver right up my spine.”

Arvin nodded along to her words, watching as his grandmother and sister shook hands with Preston Teagardin - fancy name for a guy like him. A guy who gave women chills. He reached into his dress pants pocket and plucked out a cigarette before placing it between his lips, “Watch yourself around him, darlin’.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for Lenora, too,” (Y/n) crossed over the creaky boards of the church's stoop as people began exiting, her hands coming out for the man’s tie, “Did you loosen this durin' the sermon?”

“Too tight,” he let the woman adjust his tie, “You know how I feel ‘bout comin’ to these things.”

“I know, I know - hey, I don’t like comin’ either, but it means a lot to Ms. Emma and Lenora,” pulling back from the tie, (Y/n) placed her hands on Arvin’s shoulders, “‘Sides, someone’s gotta watch for that blasted preacher, and I think we’re the only ones who will.”

Removing the cigarette from between his lips, Arvin leaned over to kiss his wife’s forehead, pulling away to ask, “You take my light outta my pocket when you pressed my pants this morning?”

“Maybe I did,” she shrugged, grinning, “Maybe even I think you shouldn’t be smokin’ outside a church.”

“Maybe,” Arvin nodded, “Maybe.”

Emma and Lenora finally came out of the church and started towards the family’s truck, the two women got into the back with Arvin and (Y/n) getting into the front to finally head home. Lenora leaned forward as her brother started the truck, “You shoulda been in there for the goodbyes.”

“Oh?” turning her head and leaving her cheek pressed to the headrest, (Y/n) quirked a brow at the teenager, “What happened?”

“Reverend Teagardin said he’s interested in meeting you,” Lenora beamed at her sister-in-law.

“Just her?” Arvin pulled out of the church parking lot, “Seatbelt, Lenora.”

“I got it, I got it,” the girl waved off before returning to her previous conversation, “But yeah, just (Y/n). He was talkin’ about putting together a church choir. Thinks (Y/n) would have a pretty voice.”

“She’s got a pretty voice but she ain’t singin’ for no church choir,” Arvin’s brows furrowed, white-knuckling the steering wheel at the mere idea of that damned preacher trying to get close to his wife, “Not in that man’s church choir.”

“Let the girl speak for herself,” Emma cut in, “Thought I raised you better than that.”

Pursing his lips, Arvin turned to (Y/n) for a split second before returning his stare to the road, “Sorry, love.”

“It’s okay, baby,” she looked back to her sister-in-law, “You singin’ in the choir, Lenora?”

“I’d love to try.”

Clenching her jaw, (Y/n) thought over her choices. Leave Lenora to sing in that choir - leave her sweet, naive little sister-in-law in that preacher’s hands for far longer than was typical or wanted… Or, suck it up and sing for the bastard.

“I’ll sing with ya, sweetheart.”

Arvin sighed quietly, glad none of the women in the car heard him over the rumbling of the truck’s old engine. To distract himself, and by proxy the women in the car, he suddenly changed the topic, “This damn old truck. Gonna hafta fix it up or take it in.”

“You’re gonna take it in?” (Y/n) tilted her head.

“Thing’s old; I’ll do as much as I can, darlin', but sometimes there’s only so much I can do. You know that.”

“I’ll need to go with you,” the truck jumbled with the rocky bumps of their home’s pull-in, “Pick up a few things for dinner.”

Lenora felt her heart warm and lips quirk into a smile at her brother and sister-in-law. They weren’t so into the church as her and Grandma, in fact - Lenora’s certain they only played along to please her and Grandma, but watching them was nice. Nothing to play along to, just a simple, pure expression of adoration between the couple. Arvin was never a man known for something as soft and tender as love but (Y/n), since the two were in grade school, was easily able to pull it out of him.

From high school sweethearts into married lovers. It was overjoying to know someone else was looking after Arvin.

“I’ll check up on Mr. Earskell and be right out.”

“No, no, (Y/n),” Emma shook her head, taking the woman’s hand as she was assisted out of the truck, “I’ll handle things. You and Arvin go on and stay out here.”

She didn’t bother fighting against the older woman, she was the matriarch of the family - she was just the rule maker. It was only fair.

“You don’t hafta keep callin’ em Miss and Mister,” Arvin came out and around to the hood of the truck, “They’re part a’ your family now.”

“Feels improper,” (Y/n) rebuffed, standing beside her husband, “I’m just thankful they’re lettin’ me stay here.”

“And why wouldn’t they?” he knew why she felt that way - her own family was insufferable and he could barely stand being around them for a dinner - he couldn’t imagine having to live with them.

“Let’s not open that can of worms today, huh, love?” (Y/n) placed her hands on her hips as she watched her husband look over the truck’s interior and drag over his tools and oil.

“Don’t joke ‘bout that, love,” despite his words, Arvin was smiling slightly, “Poor fishermen work hard to get those worm cans.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” she sarcastically relented, peeking over the man’s shoulder, “Wish I knew anything to help you.”

“I could teach you a thing or two.”

“Maybe not now, baby.”

Which, of course, was code for ‘I’d rather not. Ever.’ but politely.

There was silence between the married couple as Arvin worked until he sighed and planted his hands on each side of the open hood, head hanging low as he murmured, “You’re really goin’ to that choir?”

“We both know I gotta be there for Lenora.”

“I appreciate that, but I’ll still be worried to hell ‘bout you,” he turned to face his wife, restraining himself cupping her cheeks and smearing grime over her, “Both a' you,” then he finally admitted as to why he was so apprehensive, “I’ve been watchin’ him.”

“You what…?!” she whisper-screamed, coming in closer to her husband, “Arvin Eugene Russell, you been what?”

“Watchin’ him,” Arvin almost regrets the admission at the sight of his wife’s shock, “He’s a no-good-sonofabitch, (Y/n). Messin’ around with a young girl behind his wife’s back. She’s good to him, (Y/n), she cooks him dinner and she does her best to keep him happy. He’s no good to her. He’s no good, at all.”

(Y/n)’s brows furrow, “Cheatin’ on his wife?”

“A girl from Lenora’s class. He’s worse than a cheater,” he turned back to the hood of the truck and quickly said, “We’re takin’ it in.”

“Why haven’t you said anything yet?”

“Nobody will ever believe me, (Y/n), you know that. Everybody here loves that damn radio bullshitter.”

Nodding quietly, (Y/n) fisted a hand in her skirt before turning towards the home’s door, “I’ll tell Lenora we’re goin’.”

The topic is ultimately dropped as they leave into town. As they take the truck in for the shop and as they pick out items for dinner that night and even on the walk home. Reverend Preston Teagardin didn’t come up again, neither did his affairs or his disgustingly, sickeningly low age preference for said affairs.

They weren’t the only people in town on watch of their new preacher in town, they were just another young couple walking home.

Even as dinner passed and time for rest came - as they pressed into bed and huddled together in the cold night. Teagardin was temporarily forgotten, pushed to the backs of their minds as they slipped into slumber.

And when Arvin darts up from bed after another nightmare over finding his father’s body that fateful night, (Y/n)’s thoughts are solely on her husband. Bringing him back into the present, where he’s not in the woods finding his father knelt down in front of their makeshift church but instead in bed with his loving wife. With his sister down the hall. His grandmother at the end of the corridor and his great-uncle's own room across from theirs. He’s in a home that isn’t going anywhere - he’s with people who won’t leave him, not any time soon anyway.

It’s not until the next day, after Lenora’s first day back at school for the week had finished and her daily visit to Hellen Hatton-Laferty was over, that Teagardin even peeked back into the couple’s brains.

“If that sonofabitch touches you or Lenora, tell me,” Arvin whispered to his wife, hands holding hers tightly before she went into the church for choir practice, “I’ll make sure ain't got no hands to touch you, or Lenora, or any other unlucky woman.”

“I’ll come right to you, honey,” (Y/n) was quick to confirm for her husband, “Promise.”

“Good,” he cups his wife’s cheeks and pulls her into a tender forehead kiss before going to his sister and giving her a tight hug, “Be the loudest one there, got it?”

Lenora chuckled quietly, patting her brother’s shoulder, “You know I can’t do that.”

“You can.”

Shaking her head, (Y/n) goes up the stairs and pulls one of the double doors open, “You just shouldn’t, ain’t that right, Arvin?”

A teasing shrug and he’s walking off towards the car while Lenora follows her sister-in-law up and into the church.

Teagardin is sitting in one of the pews with his back turned towards the two women.

There’s nobody else in the church despite having been told this was the meeting time. It’s silent. Preston still hasn’t turned to the two.

Lenora is fidgeting beside (Y/n) the longer the man stays quiet. The younger girl nervously bunching the skirt of her dress in her fists. Her brows drawn tight in confusion and lips pressed into a thin line.

(Y/n) steps forward, ignoring the nerves urging her to run and encouraging her knees to buckle underneath the weight of her body, “We’re here, preacher.”

His head lifted, a smile coming over his lips, an unnatural smile - one she’d imagined on the devil when he tricked another soul into his claws. Preston comes to a full stand and approaches the women, “I didn’t expect both of you to come.”

“I wanted to support Lenora.”

“How wonderful.”

~~

“Preacher’s dirty.”

“What?”

(Y/n) sighed, sitting up in bed and looking down at her husband and whispering into the night air, “Teagardin. He’s just as dirty as you said.”

Immediately, Arvin was also sat up, no longer tired and now entirely focused on his wife, “What happened?”

“Tried touchin’ Lenora ‘til I stopped him. Grabbed me. I got us out of there and now Lenora’s tryin' to figure out how to tell Ms. Emma.”

Arvin stood out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants over his boxers, slipping on a shirt and his hat before heading to the bedroom door and slipping out of the room. (Y/n) followed after, eyes wide and brain springing into panic as she watched him tug on his shoes. Hurriedly, the woman put her shoes on as well while Arvin snuck out of the home, her continuing to follow after him.

Once they were in the car, (Y/n) turned to Arvin as he pulled out of the driveway, “What the hell are you doin’? It’s late, you can settle this tomorrow, can't ya?”

“No. It don’t matter if he’s with his wife or at the church, I’m puttin’ that bastard in his place. I hope that woman leaves his ass,” he shook his head, “Rotten fuckin’ bastard.”

“What’re you gonna do?”

The man was silent as he drove towards where he knew the Teagardin residence was. Every few minutes he would take off his cap and run a hand through his matted hair - if he could force himself to do so, he could almost pretend this was a nice drive with his wife. A simple late-night cruise through town with the love of his life, but then he would remember exactly why they were on a late-night cruise. A peek at (Y/n) would remind him, she must be frightened to all hell - it must’ve been awful to be in that church. Be near that rotten man.

And Arvin’s rage was freshly re-lit.

“Is this the right time?” she remembered each time her husband had repeated the phrase from his father, it was usually enough to sway him from acting out at that moment.

“Best time there is. He’s asleep - won’t be expectin’ us.”

(Y/n) settled into her passenger side seat, turning her head to stare out the window, “How’re you gonna get him out?”

Arvin was silent once again, fingers tight against the steering wheel as they pulled up to the bend at the end of the preacher’s street. He got out of the car and stormed towards the Teagardin home with (Y/n) trailing after.

It wasn’t long until Preston came stumbling out of his home with Arvin banging on the front door. Cynthia was out soon after her husband, clinging to the door frame.

“Late night for a sinner, kids,” Preston rubbed at his eyes, “Can this wait ‘til the mornin’?”

“You try touchin’ Lenora?” Arvin was blunt, he didn’t like sugar coating and he didn’t like the people who did it. Turning, he gestured to (Y/n), “Tried touchin’ my (Y/n)?”

Immediately, Preston’s eyes widened, “Now, now, I- I didn’t do nothin’ to those two.”

“Callin’ my wife a liar?”

Cynthia looked between her husband and the younger couple on her lawn, “What’s this about, Preston?”

“You just go inside now, Cynthia!” the preacher called back to his wife, “These two are full of delusions!”

“Arvin, let’s just head home now - you can take care of this tomorrow…”

Shaking his head, Arvin only approached the older man further, “My wife ain’t no liar. And those hands ain’t free of sin.”

“Go inside, Cynthia!” Preston shouted at his wife once again before turning back to the other man, “You won’t say nothing. I will have your lives ruined. Who will the town trust? Me, or two scruffy children who married straight outta high school?” he gives a forced chuckle, shaking his head and pointing at (Y/n) with a shaky hand, “Your wife… she- she… your wife is delusional. She’s crazy.”

Arvin Russell had been fighting nearly his entire life - he learned from his father and he continued on far after his father passed. Preston Teagardin had never been an athletic boy nor had he been confrontational by any means, preferring to hide in the shadows and smile his way out of trouble.

It wasn’t a mystery as to how Arvin managed to land Preston on the hard ground, chest pressing into the dirt and hands tightly wound behind his back in Arvin’s hold.

He didn’t know what he was looking for in the man. He didn’t know what he wanted from the preacher. He couldn’t kill the bastard - he still had a sister and wife to look after when his grandmother and uncle could no longer. Was it admission? Was it a promise to not even look at the women of Knockemstiff? It wasn’t an apology, he knew that - because there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be giving out forgiveness.

“You take back what you said,” Arvin grunted out, pushing his body harshly into Preston’s back and hoping it’d hurt as much as when boys did it to him on the playground, “You take back what you said about my wife, you hear me?”

“She’s crazy!”

Arvin took a hand into the preacher's hair and smushed his face deep into the dirt, “If I- “ when Teagardin’s whining got too loud, Arvin let his head up before roughly smashing it back into the ground, “Fuckin’ listen when I talk. You listenin’?” he waited for a nod of confirmation before continuing, “If I even hear your name in the same sentence as my wife’s or my sister’s, I’ll bash your fuckin’ brains in, hear me?”

“Arvin!” (Y/n) finally screamed out to her husband, hands landing on one of his arms and pulling, “Arvin, you let him go!”

“He deserves this, (Y/n)!”

“I know, but dammit Arvin, you’re gonna get the sheriff on you, let’s go home!”

Giving one last thunk of Preston’s skull into the ground, Arvin stood and kicked the man’s ribs before nodding at Cynthia with a brief ‘goodnight ma’am’ and returning to the car.

“That was a dumb thing you just did, Arvin Russell,” (Y/n) scolded, rather lightly, as her husband drove.

“I don’t regret a damn thing about it, (Y/n) Russell.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” she reached over and snatched his cap before fixing it over her own head, “I’m proud my husband cares so much.”

“Least I could do for the woman of my dreams.”

[iced-blood]

The Aftermath of Conquest.

In honor of The Bestest Boy™’s birthday, I gift upon you Dragon Dad.

For @thejanestofdoes​.

“I half-expected you to be one of those guys who, like. Rents out a theme park or something for a kid’s birthday. Hires a full circus, or his favorite band, or something … y’know, extravagant.”

Seto rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat; even a cheap, plastic lawn chair looked like a throne when he used it. “I’m rich, but I’m not stupid. Gestures like that are hollow. They cheapen everything. If he grows up used to the idea that the world will bend to his every whim, excitement will cease to exist. Could I pay Tom Kenny enough to dress up as the Ice King and ‘crash’ the party? Maybe.”

Something crossed Seto’s face, and Yugi had the sudden idea that this was a new concept, and that the elder Kaiba liked it more than he wanted to admit.

“But of course you won’t do that. You want to teach him that he has to earn his way.”

“Nonsense.” Seto waved dismissively. “This isn’t about earning. It’s about what will actually mean something to him when he eventually looks back on it. He’s four, Yugi, he’s barely going to remember this day. Even if I did rent out a theme park or buy him a pony or commission a fucking statue or whatever, is he actually going to care? What do you remember about your fourth birthday?”

Yugi chewed on his lip. “… Mama says I was real insistent on carrying my own cake to the table after dinner. I tripped on the carpet and faceplanted into strawberry frosting. I cried. My uncle Satoshi laughed so hard he had to go to the hospital. I don’t remember any of it, but the rest of my family does.” He blinked. “I guess that proves your point, doesn’t it?”

“Mm.”

The back gardens of the Kaiba Estate were more than lavish enough for a party, anyway, especially since Kiko had roped the entire house staff into setting up games and attractions not unlike those found at any given state fair. She was currently manning the whack-a-mole, while Roland took up his shift in the dunking booth.

“When Mokuba looks back on today, he’s going to know that the people here cared enough about him to make something special for his first birthday party. These aren’t professional. They aren’t to code. I had to rebuild basically everything just to make sure nobody would break their damn necks. But there’s heart in this, to use your grandfather’s pandering nonsense. He’s going to remember that he’s loved. All he would ever know if I showed him pictures of an empty Six Flags is that I’m rich, vain, and stupid. He’s going to know that well enough from experience; he won’t need to be reminded.”

“Wait. First birthday party?” Yugi blinked. “He’s never had a party before?”

“Attempting to convince my fa — my predecessor,” Seto cleared his throat just a bit too loudly, “to throw a party for a toddler was one of the most catastrophic failures of my life. He quite literally threw me out of his office.”

Yugi flinched.

Then it was Seto’s turn to flinch as a sharp, keening wail assaulted their ears.

Mokuba sat huddled on the grass, clutching his leg, having tripped over a skipping rope and sprawled flat on his face. Even from here, Seto and Yugi could both see blood dripping from the boy’s knee.

Before Yugi was halfway out of his seat, Seto was three strides out from his; but by then, Joey had already swept up to the boy from where he’d been haunting the snack table. He squatted down and immediately started placating the young Kaiba; his voice, usually so loud and boisterous and unavoidable, was soft and melodic.

“Hey, hey-hey-hey … what’s up, there, little dude? Whatcha do? C’mon, c’mon, lemme see. Let’s see.” Mokuba, sniffling up a storm, eventually removed his hands. Joey hissed. “Ooooooh. That’s a rough one. Looks like a dragon bite.” He hunkered back on his heels. “Hey! You never told me you fight dragons! Are you a knight?”

Surprise and confusion waged war on Mokuba’s little face, and all at once he forgot that he’d been crying. “Me? Knight? Wif armor?”

“Yeah!” Joey grinned that infectious grin of his. “Man, you gotta wear armor when you’re fightin’ dragons. They’re tricky, y’know.” He plucked up the rope and waggled it around. “Looks like you scared ‘em off and made ‘em leave their tail here. Y’know what that makes this? A trophy!”

“Trophy,” Mokuba repeated solemnly.

Joey nodded. Then he stood up. “Oi!” he called out, looking Seto’s way. “You got some armor anywhere, there, Kaiba? Gotta make sure the kid’s equipped! Who knows what might come crashin’ his party next time?”

Seto looked … stunned.

Utterly and irretrievably flummoxed.

Then he said: “… I think I have just the thing.”

He headed into the house to fetch a first-aid kit.

This isn’t where I expected this piece to go, but y’know what? I can dig it.

[colormeyondublue]

Chapter 13: Welcome Back

Chapter 12 Here  Chapter 14 Here

Later that morning, after a good long snuggle session, you finish packing for your trip. You find yourself back in your office with Yondu so you can lock everything up before you leave. Kraglin is the only one with a key to anything, but the captain wants to be sure no one can get in your office to snoop around.

He wanders over to your desk to make sure the drawers are locked, and he finds something odd in the top drawer. “Whatssis?” he asks, picking up the notebook and flipping through some pages.

You gasp and quickly pull the notebook from his hands. “Nothing! It’s nothing. Just some doodles and notes. Nothing important.”

“Notes about what? Doodles? Why can’t I see it – huh?" He presses.

“It’s just nothing important. Doesn’t matter.” You turn to stuff it in your bag and hope he lets it go. You’ll never admit it, but you’re a little embarrassed. These notes and doodles were from when you first starting falling for Yondu, and they were kinda dorky. Little planets, stars, hearts and Yondu’s arrow piercing through a larger heart was scribbled all over various pages. You even started writing his name in cursive on some of the pages.

“Uh, no. Hand it over missy. No secrets 'tween us.”

You reluctantly hand him the notebook and hope like hell he won’t taunt you for it.

“I dunno what yer worried about. It’s just little shapes and planets and stars on here. And an arrow? What’s this stuff on the side?” Yondu points to the cursive writing on the page he is referring to.

Of course! Yondu can’t read English cursive handwriting!

“You mean you can’t read that?”

“Those are letters?! No, I can’t read that. It ain’t like no language I’ve ever seen.”

“Yondu, it’s called cursive, or script. It’s a form of English Terran writing. I learned it when I was really young. I love writing this way, it’s really relaxing.”

“Okay, so whatsit say?”

“That’s your name. Those are planets and stars, that’s your arrow, and those are little hearts. Your arrow is going through that heart like Cupid’s arrow. I think I actually doodled some of this the night I went to the bar with you for Geff’s birthday.”

“What’s a Cupid?” He asks.

“Oh, Cupid is…well, he’s Roman. It’s a long story involving Terran history. Basically, it’s symbolic of love. If Cupid, an ancient Roman deity, shoots you through the heart with his arrow, the first person you see after he shoots you is the one you fall in love with. It’s totally a myth, but that myth goes back thousands of years. When you fall in love with someone, people will sometimes say – ‘you must have been shot by Cupid’s arrow!’ Kinda silly when you think about it.”

“So ya drew all this ‘cause you were thinkin’ about me?” He continues to flip through the pages, and each one is a little different than the last.

“Well…yeah. I did. But this was all before I had the guts to come out about how I felt. So, I poured it all into my notes. I never thought you’d find it.”

A little smirk appears on his face as he marvels at the pages. He snaps the notebook closed and throws it back into the drawer before he locks it. “Let’s keep this safe here until we get back. Then I wanna bring it back ta our quarters so I can look at it whenever I want.”

~~~

The two of you pack up your belongings into the Warbird before you head out. Kraglin shows up in the docking bay to see you off. He greets you with a smile and a friendly hug.

“You better get back up here soon. The boys’ll miss ya too much.” Kraglin is only half joking. There is no doubt that there has been some worry among not just Yondu and Kraglin, but a few of the guys that you won’t come back, but no one has said anything. What you didn’t know, was that you really had made a big impact on the whole crew. Your outburst in the mess several weeks ago made the crew start thinking about who they are, what they stand for, and what they want out of life. Not that much has truly changed, but the seed was definitely planted thanks to you.

“Awww. What would you guys do without me?” You tease. You hug Kraglin back and Yondu tells you go ahead and get comfortable on board. He’s got something to discuss with Kraglin.

Yondu watches you step on the Warbird and he turns back to Kraglin. “Alright, so I’ve programmed our comms to have a little bit farther reach so I can still get ahold of ya if things go sour. I don’t think anything is gonna happen down there, but I wanna be careful. Terrans are s’damn touchy. Keep this on you at all times. Same goes fer me. If anythin’ fishy happens on board while I’m gone, you comm me and I’ll be up here quick as I can. I trust you and the boys to keep this place handled and I trust you to choose second in command while I’m not here.”

“Yessir. We’ve got it handled. Don’t worry about a thing. Go down there and make the most of it. We’ll be in touch if we need anything.” Kraglin pats Yondu on the back with a reassuring smirk. Yondu rolls his eyes and smirks back before boarding the ship.

Yondu sits next to you in his pilot chair and hits the ignition. Before long, you’re out of the docking bay of the Eclector, and off into open space. The two of you are silent for a few minutes until you hear Yondu speak up first.

“So – uh…I know yer really excited, and I know how much ya love yer Earth and yer family…but there’s somethin’ that’s been on my mind fer a while. I gotta just get it out there.” He hesitates for a moment while he programs the ship to auto pilot. “If we get there, and all goes well, and ya start feelin’ like ya wanna stay, I won’t hold it against ya. I know how much it all means to ya, and I won’t be mad atcha’ if you decide to stay with yer family.” He notices you start to protest, and he raises his hand so you let him finish. “Honey, you were kidnapped. You were stolen from yer home and yer family. You were sold and traded and bartered for like property. Ya got lucky when you escaped from the Skrull, and ya did pretty well fer yerself on Krylor. Yer a tough woman – you’ve proved that. I just wonder if being back home and with yer people won’t make ya wanna stay with ‘em.”

“Yondu, I understand your concern, but I am not leaving you. Ever. Yes, I love my family. Yes, I love my planet and everything that comes with it. But, after all I’ve been through I think I’ve realized that I love you more. My life has changed drastically over the past few years, and I don’t think I would change a thing that happened. Every single step I’ve taken since that morning by the river has brought me to you. Since finding you, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t think anything can change that.”

Yondu just stares at you. The happiest she’s ever been? With me and that sleezy crew that calls 'emselves Ravagers? Even after what happened with Trenvik? He doesn’t say a word. Instead, he simply takes your hand and brings it to his lips. He then covers your hand with his, and sighs. You stand and walk to him. You carefully nestle yourself in his lap, snuggling your head into the crook of his neck. Yondu wraps his arms around you, and you feel him relax beneath you.

“How long until we approach the solar system?” You ask.

“It’ll be a couple hours until we reach that first little planet’s orbit, and then several more hours ‘til we close in on Terra’s atmosphere. The Warbirds thrusters are wide open, but it’s still a good distance. Gotta hand it ta ya Terran’s…ya’ll got a big solar system fer sure. Have ya even explored all of the planets here, or are they too far apart?”

“We know a lot about the other planets and their moons, but we haven’t visited them other than sending rovers to take videos and photos. They’re too far apart for what technology we have. Our rockets are super slow, and we burn through too much fuel. But, we do know a lot about the different atmospheres of each planet. We know their surface temperatures, and which ones might have had liquid water at some point. Not a single one is suitable for much life, but there is talk about the possibility of colonizing Mars.”

“Hmm.” He says simply. “Tell me somethin’ about Terra.”

“Like what?”

“Anything. What’s the first thing ya think of?”

“Hmm. Well…when I think of Earth, I think of the trees. I think about the forests, rivers, waterfalls, and wildlife. Sometimes humans forget that we aren’t the only ones who call Earth home, but I never forget. Each creature has value. From the tiniest bird in the sky, to the largest whale in the ocean. We are all connected, and we all have something to give.”

“What’s a whale?” he asks.

You simply giggle and rub his arm. “I’ll show you when we get there. Anything you wanna know, I’ll teach you. I can’t wait to show you everything.”

A few more hours go by with idle chit chat, and occasional comfortable silence. You tell him all about your home, the city you lived in, and what it was like growing up on Earth. You catch Yondu smiling at some of the stories you tell and he thinks your sister sounds annoying, but nice nonetheless. You begin to yawn and doze off a little in his lap. “Hey, why doncha’ go get some sleep in the bed back there. I’ll be fine up here – ain’t tired yet. We’ll be there before ya know it.”

“But I don’t wanna leave you all alone up here.” You say.

“It’s alright baby, I’ve flown a lot longer than this in my time. Go on now, getcha some sleep. I’ll be up here if ya need me.”

“Mmmmokay…I’m goin’, I’m goin’.” You mumble as he lifts you from his lap. He watches you make your way to the bedroom. Once you’ve closed the door, he picks up his comm off the control console and gets in touch with Kraglin to make sure all is in order back on the Eclector. Kraglin assures him that everything is fine, and the crew is content with their time off to just play games and drink as they please. Some have even taken to doing some odds and ends jobs to improve their cabins or M-Ships.

Before he knows it, he spots a little blue dot. The Warbird is closing in on your planet. He waits a few more hours before he decides to wake you. The closer the ship comes to Terra, he decides to engage the signal jammers so Terran communication systems and satellites can’t pick up any signals or sounds coming from the Warbird.

A while longer passes, and he heads back to the bedroom to wake you. There’s already a pretty good view of Earth out the front window, and he can’t wait to surprise you. You wake at the feeling of a large hand tapping you on the shoulder. You sit up and try to let your eyes adjust to the dimply lit room. Yondu has a very mischievous grin on his face.

“What’s going on? What are you up to?” You ask.

“Come here, there’s somethin’ you gotta see. But first, you gotta close yer eyes.” He insists.

“Close my eyes?”

“Do ya trust me?”

“Of course, I do!” You say with a smile.

“Well then c’mon! But keep yer eyes shut.”

You close your eyes and giggle lightly as you take his hand. Slowly, he guides you to the front of the ship where you can feel him position you in a specific spot.

“What are you up to, Yondu?”

“You’ll see, you’ll see. Okay…open.”

You open your eyes, and a gasp escapes your mouth before you have time to stifle it with your hand. Tears are immediately filling your eyes, and you can’t keep a few from falling. You shutter a little, and your breath is completely taken away. There it is. The oceans, the clouds, the beautiful green continents. Earth. After all this time, there it is. You can’t believe what you’re seeing, the beauty of your planet is stunning.

“Welcome back sweetheart.” Yondu says as he quietly presses a soft kiss to your temple.

[druid-for-hire]

new hadestown au: BIKER ! EURYDICE, in which she’s a rogue lone-wolf biker dwelling in the urban jungle of a Neo Tokyo-type city called Hadestown, wracked with biker gangs, violence, poverty, corruption, and civil unrest, still recovering and rebuilding from an apocalyptic event many years ago. Heavy-handed with the AKIRA inspirations here, haha.

She fights for herself on the dangerous streets, an illegal racer with a consistent top-three placement and a reputation for ferocity that earns her the money she needs to scrape by. And then she meets Orpheus: a dopey bartender who has no place being in her business.

okay okay okay i’m gonna be jumping around a lot here. be warned. thanks @supercantaloupe, @regzillas, @birdmanlyss for your contributions! (sorry if i missed someone it’s been a while)

she's a lone wolf in a city infested with biker gangs and it's brutal

she's run over plenty of limbs in her day

then there's orpheus, this gentle, kind-hearted soul, an indie musician and shes like. fuck. now i gotta keep this bastard safe

puts a long pipe with a mess of bolts and metal on the end in his hands and tells him he'd better buckle up and learn to fight the road

this sort of thing is common among biker gangs to cause destruction and knock people off their bikes onto the road. other types include mallets, hammers, baseball bats, etc

shes small but knows a lot of self defense and is very good at handling herself on the road

besides teaching orpheus to steel himself and yes use that pipe on people, push them off and jam it in their wheels and let it break if it does, she's gotta teach him to hold on while she pulls all this crazy shit on her bike

she avoids taking him on the road because having to fight people gives him so much stress but he also stresses about her so it's all weird

the first time orpheus sees her run over someones arm hes like ""???????????????????!!!!!!!!"

"Don't worry it doesn't happen often" "WHAT IS 'OFTEN'"

she has a red songbird on her helmet and flowers on her jacket

and flowers painted on her bike too probably

or patterns like on the album cover

orpheus thinks it’s the prettiest shit he’s ever seen

so eurydice races, right? everyones like “who is this tiny little upstart” and then she takes off her helmet and shakes out her hair and everyone loses it

somethingsomething ig hades (who is something of a crime boss here, similar to Tombstone from the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, but not so unambiguously villainous in nature) becomes a contractor and he catches her in like, a bad contract that's hard to get out of without some kind of consequence

and now orpheus has to topple a capitalist again

anyway she like, meets orpheus in this little bar he works at

it's about lower middle class, so it's not too bad but it's still mostly populated by like, poorer people and bikers, etc.

they meet and it's cool and fun blah blah Come Home With Me shit

also this is a scene:

biker!eury: we gotta cross through downtown orpheus: what???? but there's a riot going on there! right now! eury: that's too bad, it's the fastest way! that's why you get this! (tosses him her pipe weapon) orpheus, barely catching it: sajskhsfdfs ???? eury: and i am gonna take this. (kicks open a trunk and takes out a rifle) orpheus: ???????!!!!???!?? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT AND DO WE REALLY NEED IT eury: Yes we do now come on orpheus: H-HOW did you get it eury: (loads gun) no worries orpheus: No i have many worries HOW DID YOU--

actually, on this emergency ride, orpheus proves surprisingly competent with her pole weapon—ruthless even, and eurydice wonders just where and how the hell he learned that

the conversation she has with him about that is the same one where he shows her his old, old scars

(besides ruthless—orph has apparently learned how to pose and intimidate. he does stuff like putting the tip of the pole-pipe to the asphalt as they’re riding, skipping on the road and creating sparks)

eurydice loves her bike more than certain relatives 

certain complications lead to it being destroyed by hades as punishment for doing him wrong. and it destroys her. that is her most trusted sacred bike, that thing has been with her since she was a teenager

once she repurposes that devastation into white-hot anger orph has to physically restrain her from hunting hades down and breaking his kneecaps with a thick lead pipe

he's never seen her this absolutely devastated and furious

he goes to persephone for more work because he wants to buy eurydice a new bike

he keeps it a secret from her until he leads her out to a garage, hands over her eyes

(some of these bits are copypasted from my friend @regzillas​)

orpheus takes his hands off and says Tada!!! it's just like the old one, there's no painted birds but she can do that. She just stands there in total silence mouth open, and orpheus goes 'so? do you like it?' before she bursts into tears. and at first orpheus is like :O!!!!! oh no!!! do you not like it? and eurydice through sobs just says 'nobody's ever done something like this for me’

it's... beautiful, it's touching, it's deep and it's love and she's so in love and she loves him so much, and she cries and holds him close and takes him in and she's so overwhelmed by her emotions, full of the care that orpheus so freely gives to her; and it's a breath of newness, fresh air in the cycle of dread and bitter anger that haunts the city (but she's still going to find hades and shoot him in the foot)

he just holds her and kisses her head

they spend the day painting it, the day after he buys the bike

hand-painted. and they both leave their handprints in paint on it, like carl and ellie do on their mailbox in the beginning of Up

a significant amount of time is spent thinking of a good name

theres lots of joking and eurydice playfully shoves orpheus and he falls over into paint

okay i wrote something like. Obnoxiously long for orpheus. i sort of have his backstory in this down, but i don’t have anything for eurydice unfortunately :( suggestions are welcome! but first: Hermes

biker!au hermes owns a chain of bars, several of which find their patronage among the ruffian youth, several of which are more refined and serve the middle class, and another several of which serve the upper crust hermes has a hand in every world and it serves him pretty well, and his chain is a bit of a channel of communication and its unspoken rule that whatever socioeconomic class or gang or organization you're a part of, hermes' chain is neutral territory no fighting allowed

eurydice walks in and hermes just gives her a Look and taps the 'no fighting' sign and she huffs

hes >:( if anyone does try to start shit. the honor system is strong enough that usually the other patrons will just throw them out, and if there are really problems, they'll hear from hermes personally

he maintains a very strict "no bitching in my fucking kitchen" atmosphere

and now, Orpheus

this really is kind of akira but without the government conspiracies; the city is a neon corrupt hellscape that’s still struggling to rebuild after an apocalyptic event that wiped it all through. the city is wracked with frustration and violence and anger, there are still urban ruins everywhere and the scars of rebuilding and struggle are plain in every corner of life; plain to see are the shells of ruined buildings, gigantic boats levelled from the sea and left in the middle of inland sectors.

orpheus was abandoned by his mother at an early age—kind and timid, he had to learn fast how to be suspicious and cautious in cruel ways. he couldn’t land himself a spot in any of the groups that other ragtag raging folks had eked out for themselves, still too hesitant or ungraceful or young for any of them. sure, he made friends, sitting and talking with lots of people, but never got to really team up—all he could do was just fight for himself in the blown out corners of the city. weapons made from whatever he had. a young child already spitting blood and teeth in hadestown’s vicious ground-floor landscape.

hermes is his mother’s close old friend, though the times they see each other are few and far between. when he saw him, hermes hardly recognized her son, wild-eyed and clawed and alone in one of the city’s more dangerous neighborhoods, with a pole full of screws slung over his back. how did she lose track of her kid for so long? he thinks. and takes him in.

hermes eventually realizes that his mother didn’t lose him. meanwhile, tiny orpheus, kind-hearted orpheus, despises hermes at first. he’s full of suspicion and desperately wants to lean into hermes’ kindness, but the streets have taught him to hold back. he spits curses at him, though the words slide right off hermes’ shoulders. it’s not genuine.  just frustrated. and picked off of the delinquents that were his friends, just like most everything else about him.

(hermes knows he’s gotten his trust when orpheus starts getting soft, when he’s crying over littler things; it means he’s been deemed safe to be vulnerable around, and he damn near starts crying himself.)

orpheus owns a little vespa! it’s covered in stickers, some of them worn out and old, some places with just the adhesive and the fuzzy white paper from where he tried to pull them off. some of them aren’t even proper stickers and just shit he peeled off from places while he was wandering around and stuck onto the vespa

even in canon i see him as the kind of guy who like. you look at him and think jesus how is this guy still alive he’s so noodly and soft, but he’s unexpectedly sort of street smart

anyway i mentioned this before but didn’t elaborate. biker au orph, to eury's surprise, does have his collection of scars, since he had a bit of a rough go at life

also he’s just ungainly and runs into shit

you can see em on his sketch page. he has a bit more than what’s shown, but what’s visible is a little slash across the bridge of his nose onto his cheek, and two on his left forearm. he probably has a stab scar in his side from just getting fucking knifed. the ones on his left forearm are from when a drunk coming out of a bar charged him with a fork

eurydice also has scars. kind of hard not to with the kind of life she lives

ok thats it. For Now. i don’t know how persephone or the fates or the workers factor in, if at all. I barely know how Hades factors in, mostly what i’ve said so far and that he does what he does to support himself and persephone. ah well! just have this

as this is extremely based off of AKIRA, i verily recommend listening to the movie’s soundtrack. besides the fact that it slaps hard as hell, the opening song, Kaneda’s Theme, has the perfect vibes for the city and the tone of eurydice and orpheus riding at night through it

[i-need-entertainment]

My Little Family: Fatgum

*In this Oneshot you, the reader, are Overhaul’s wife but not by choice. You are 22 years old and have a 4 year old son. Let’s just say Overhaul took over at like idk 18. I also may e v e n t u a l l y turn this into a book.*

“Alright, is there anything else I should know?” Fatgum asked as he finished listening to Rappa’s explanation of Overhaul’s true plans. Rappa went quiet for a second, before speaking up. “Yeah, you guys are here for the kid, right?” He asked, looking Fatgum in the eye, and for the first time during this entire encounter was completely serious. Fatgum nodded. “Yeah, we are. Why?” “Because there’s someone else y’gotta get outta here.” Fatgum looked confused for a second. Someone else? But who else could be here? Whoever it is still needs help, and as long as a fight isn’t involved he should be fine. “Who? Our intel only knew about Eri.” Rappa shook his head, “From what I know this was from before Eri. Listen, it doesn’t matter now what matters is you get ‘er outta here.” “I agree, but who is ‘she’?” Rappa sighed and looked at Fatgum once again. “Overhole’s wife. She’s got their kid with her too.” Fatgum was visibly taken a back at Rappa’s statement. He had a wife!? And a kid?! Rappa noticed his confusion and decided to elaborate. “From what I found out he was given her from a Yakuza agreement or something like that. Anyways, he needed a wife and an heir for him to take over so he married her and they had the kid. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you he’s not exactly husband or dad material so  you really need to get em out.” Fatgum was even more disgusted with Overhaul than he originally had been. Not only had he done unspeakable things to Eri, but he also kidnapped a woman, forced her to get married and then locked her and their son away! Oh no, not happening. “Where are they?” “I don’t know the specifics, but I know they’re on this level, by the office I think” Just then the cops entered the room and took Rappa and Tengai into custody, also taking an unconscious Kirishima to the ambulance. “You guys go ahead, there’s someone else we gotta get outta here.” The cops nodded and a few went with him, since he couldn’t exactly fight at full capacity anymore. They started down the winding hallways, desperately searching for the woman and her child. *smash* Fatgum looked into the room of the door he had just kicked down. He looked the right and saw a young, beautiful woman sitting in the corner holding a small boy with dark brown hair and golden eyes huddled to her chest.

(insert picture of ‘Kenji Chisaki’)

He walked in and slowly made his way towards her. “Hello Miss, I’m the pro hero Fatgum, we’re here to get you out.” He gave his signature smile and felt his heart flutter when the woman started crying happy tears, while her son perked up at the mention of ‘pro hero Fatgum’. Fatgum smiled, “Can I have your name miss…?” She stood up, considerably shorter than the taller male, still holding the small boy in her arms. “It’s Y/n…Y/n Chisaki.” Fatgum then looked to the small boy, “And what’s your name little man?” The little boy then looked at his mom who nodded and looked shyly back to the hero. “I-It’s Kenji…Kenji Chisaki.” “Well Kenji, Mrs. Chisaki, We’re here to get ya outta here, let’s go.” He held a hand out to the woman who slowly, but gratefully took it. He led them outside where he left them with some cops and went to find Kirishima.

*After the whole fight, we are now in the hospital.*

(Insert picture of hospitalized Fatgum)

“I’m hungry” Fatgum mumbled as he sat in his hospital bed, messy blond hair going every which way. He sighed as he looked around the room. He knew he had to be here, but did he have to be here?! Not only was It boring but he couldn’t even get a decent portion of food! All he really wanted was to go home to his own bed and sleep. Right after food of course. Just then there was a knock at the door. “Come in!” He loudly answered. The door nob turned and in walked a woman with h/l h/c hair, holding a bag in one hand, and the smaller hand of a little boy in the other. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but a little someone,” She smiled as she looked down to the small boy, who shyly looked away. “Wanted to say thank you.” Fatgum smiled widely and looked down to the little boy. “Not at all! I’m glad you stopped by! You two are welcome anytime.” He ruffled the little boys hair and smiled at the woman, taking this moment to realize how beautiful she was. The little boy’s eyes shined with amazement at the hero, who he had always admired. He didn’t have the best upbringing. And even though he’s only four he knew what his father did was bad. He knew because how he treated his mother was bad. Y/n always did her best to shield him from her husband, putting on a fake smile and trying to give her son a chance at a normal childhood. She also did anything she could to stop him from turning into the cold blooded Yakuza leader his father wanted him to be. So, instead of teaching him to hate quirks, she taught him the different types. Instead of training him to hate heroes, she told him about all the different ones. Fatgum had been his favorite. Y/n did everything she could to give her son a better life, and she had also reaped plenty of consequences for it, but if it was for her baby, it would be worth it. So when her son asked if he could see the hero, she reached out to Aizawa who set up the meeting. Kenji shyly looked down to his feet, hands clasped behind his back. “U-uhm…mm.. Thank you…for saving me and mommy.” The boy looked up at him and smiled. Fatgum smiled back patting the young boy on the head, eliciting a small giggle from him. Y/n could feel the tears starting to gather, she couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled like that. Let alone laugh! “It’s not a problem little guy. I’m just glad you and your mommy are safe.” Fatgum looked at Y/n before looking back down to Kenji. Kenji nodded and went back to his mother’s side, lightly grasping her pants leg. Kenji, can you wait outside with the nice Police officer please? Mommy just wants to talk to Mr. Fatgum.” Kenji nodded and waved goodbye to the hero, who happily waved back. “He really likes you. You’re actually his favorite hero, he’s just too shy to say it.” Y/n smiled and lightly giggled. Fatgum’s eyes widened and he felt his face get hotter, he quickly averted his eyes, shyly laughing. “I just wanted to say thank you…I know I already did, but, I just can’t thank you enough for saving my son.” She looked up at him with soft features, and a grateful smile on her face. “It’s really no problem Mrs. Chisaki.” “Y/n, just call me Y/n. I haven’t gotten our names changed yet, but I want to start over.” “That reminds me, what are you doing? Living arrangements and all?” “Well, right now we’re staying at UA in one of the spare teacher’s dorms. They wanted to keep us close by in case one of ka- Overhaul’s men came to find us. It’s not permanent, but until I can find a job it’ll work.” Fatgum thought for a moment. “Hey, have you got your heart set on somethin yet?” She shook her head “No, not many places are interested in hiring the ex-wife of Overhaul. Despite the circumstances.” “If I offered you a job…would you be interested?” Y/n looked at him in shock. “W-wait, really!?” He nodded. “Yup. Everyone deserves a second chance. There’s even a really good day-care Kenji can go to right across from my agency.” “Are you sure?! I don’t want to be a burden-“ “Y/n.” She looked at him, heart beat speeding up at seeing his smile, “I promise you would never be a burden.”  Y/n thought for a moment. “Okay. I accept. Thank you!” She leaned forward and hugged him. He was shocked for a moment before his senses kicked in and he hugged back, well with one arm but still. Y/n as soon as she realized what she did jumped back. “Sorry! I didn’t realize! I didn’t hurt you did I?!” He laughed “Don’t be sorry! I hugged back didn’t I? And despite the bandages it’s really not that bad. I think the doctors went overkill.” Y/n lightly laughed and smiled. They both were sitting there, both admiring the other. “O-oh! I almost forgot!” Fatgum watched with curiosity and amusement as the young woman fumbled with her bad before she took out a Tupperware container. She handed it over to him and she encouraged him to open it. He opened the lid revealing home made Takoyaki. His eyes widened and he felt like he could burst into happy tears at the sight in front of him. “I hope they’re okay, it’s been awhile since I got to cook them from scratch.” He took one and ate it, it was amazing! “It’s amazing!!” She laughed, really happy he enjoyed it. “I take it you like them then?” He quickly nodded his head. “Okay then, I can bring you more tomorrow. I just figured you’d like it more than the hospital food.” He looked her dead in the eye and nodded. “Definitely. And only if its no trouble.” “Its not, honest. It was really nice to get back to cooking. It’s a big hobby of mine.” “Well, whenever you need a taste tester, you know where to find me!” He had a dorky grin on his face as he looked at her, and she couldn’t help but grin at how he looked like a little kid at a playground. She broke herself out of her thoughts and decided it was time she and Kenji head home. “Um, I should probably get Kenji home, it’s almost dinner time. I’ll see you tomorrow?” He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, you don’t want to keep the kid out too late. And sure, feel free to stop by whenever! Especially with food as good as this!” She laughed and made her way to the door, waving goodbye and leaving the hospital with Kenji holding her hand, going on and on about the cool hero.

*One year later* (Time skip because I am author and I hold all power~)

Y/n woke up and rolled over onto her side to run off the alarm she had set on her phone. She yawned, sat up and stretched, getting out of bed to start the day. She showered, brushed her teeth, did her hair/make up and got dressed. She wore her usual for work, a silky white button up blouse with jeans and black heels. She finished up getting ready and made her way to her son’s room. The past year has been amazing. Shortly after she started working for Fatgum, she and Kenji moved into a small home, and the BMI hero grew very close to the duo. Fatgum very often ate dinners with them before going to patrol, he spent a lot of time with them often going to the park with them and stuff like that. He even went with Kenji to is father’s day event at school. To most who didn’t know them, they looked like a little family. If only it was made known how much both of them wanted just that. To be a little family. She opened her sons door and walked over to his bed, crouching down. She gently shook him awake, “Kenji, Kenji baby it’s time to get up.” The little boy slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them and sitting up trying to wake up. “Good morning.” Y/n smiled at her sleepy kid. “Morning mommy…do I get to see Tashiro today?” “Yup, you’ll be coming to my office after school today.” He nodded and smiled a sleepy smile up at his mom. “C’mon, lets get you  ready for school.” He nodded and got out from his bed, walking over to his little dresser and getting ready. After they both had breakfast and Y/n had made the three of them lunch (she made Fatgum lunch everyday) they both loaded into the car. Y/n dropped Kenji off at school and made her way to the Fatgum agency to start her day. She got in, greeted the receptionist and made her way into the elevator. She was just about to close the doors when, “HEY! WAAAAAIITT!!” She looked up to see a frazzled looking Kirishima swiftly running her way. She swiftly threw her hand in the way, pausing the doors from closing, allowing the young red head to enter. “Thanks Mrs. Chisaki! I thought I was gonna have to take the stairs again!” she smiled and gave him a playful flick on the forehead. “Maaaaybe if you had been here earlier, you wouldn’t have had to run~ And I thought I told you Y/n was fine.” Over the past year, Kirishima and Tamaki had become like her little brothers. They both tried their best to be good friends for her after what she had been through, and they always babysat and looked out for Kenji. Kenji had been having a rough time at school. Ever since the kids and teachers found out whose son he was, he wasn’t treated as kindly as he should have been. One day when he was playing at recess a group of 4th graders had ganged up on him and started to beat him up, only for him to discover his quirk. No one was injured, just scared. But when they realized he not only had the looks, name and quirk of his father, they treated him poorly. Y/n had relentlessly fought the school on this, but they never listened to her. After being called some crude words by the principal a suited up Fatgum made his way down to the school to discuss the boys treatment. Lets just say Kenji was treated much nicer now. “I’m sorry Mrs. Y/n…It’s really unmanly of me to be late isn’t it!” Y/n sighed and shook her head. Unable to hide the smile on her lips. “Everybody had those days Kirishima, just be glad you’re not actually late.” He gave her his signature smile just as the doors opened up. “I’m gonna go get ready, see ya later Mrs. Y/n!” “Bye Kirishima!” Y/n waved and made her way to the staff room to get some coffee and put their lunches in the fridge. Y/n, accompanied by her caffeinated goodness, made her way to Fatgum’s office. She opened the door and went in. Fatgum’s head shot up from his desk, and a big goofy smile adorned his face when he saw who it was that had entered his office. “G’mornin Y/n!” Y/n made her way to the small desk she had in his large office. “Good morning Taishiro! Oh! Before I forget, Kenji wanted to know if you’d be at dinner tonight?” He looked up from his desk, same cheeky smile still on his face, “Just Kenji, Huh?” Y/n rolled her eyes, once again unable to hide the smile that came to her lips. Playing along she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and crossing her arms. “*sigh* Yeah, I tried to get him to pick someone else, but he just can’t be convinced.” Fatgum let out a hearty chuckle. “I’ll be over tonight, can’t miss out on seeing my favorite bud!” Y/n looked at him, smile still on her face. “Just him?” Fatgum looked back at her, “Not just Kenji.” The two were smiling like love-sick teenagers looking into each other’s eyes. “U-um, can w-we get on w-with patrol n-now…” They both swiftly looked over to see a very embarrassed Tamaki to be sitting on the couch, right where he had been the entire time the two adults had been so obviously flirting. Y/n sat back and buried her nose in paperwork, and Fatgum cleared his voice, popping one last Takoyaki into his mouth. “Yeah I guess we should get going. C’mon Suneater! Lets grab Red and get goin, yeah?” The young man just nodded, giving Y/n a small ‘good bye’ and walking out the door. “I’ll see ya later Y/n.” “See you Later Taishiro.” With one last smile, he left for a long day of saving the city.

~Time skip to after patrol and Kenji is in the office~

Fatgum sighed as he opened the door to his office. Today had been an especially rough day. Not only had he used up all of his stored fat, but he also had to do a bunch of paperwork. He was not looking forward to that. But he was looking forward to seeing his two favorite people. He walked in and immediately heard little feet, looking to his left he watched as Kenji ran up to him and clutched his legs, looking up to him. “Hi Tashiro! How was patrol!” He couldn’t help but to grin at the smiling little boy looking up at him. Over the past year Kenji and Y/n have become more than friends to him. They’ve become his family. He’s grown very attached to the two, and he has every intention of taking care of them for the rest of his life. If only he could tell Y/n how he feels. Maybe then he could be Kenji’s actual dad…and maybe someday he could be Y/n’s husb- “Tashiro!” He snapped out of his trance, glancing down to the boy before picking him up and swinging him around. He then stopped spinning and just held the boy, leaning away so he could talk to him. “Not bad little guy! How was school today?” Kenji sighed looking away, his golden eyes slightly squinting. “…Not good..” Fatgum’s grin fell as he looked at the little boy who was avoiding his gaze. “Hey, what happened?” Kenji looked at Fatgum, Golden eyes filled with shame and sadness. “The kids kept calling me names. They call me ‘Overhaul’ or ‘killer’ and ‘villain’! But I’m not! I’m not any of those things!” Fatgum felt his heart break at the sight of the little boy’s eyes filling with tears. “I-I don’t, don’t want my name. I hate it! I hate him!” He lunged forward in Fatgum’s arms, hugging his neck tightly as he cried into his shoulder, Fatgum only held him tighter. “Hey, hey you’re not any of those things! And you’re definitely not his son, maybe by blood, but if home is what you make it, then family is too! Don’t listen to those kids, you know who you are, you’re a good person Kenji, and you’re turning out into an amazing hero,” Fatgum smiled at him, and helped Kenji wipe some of his tears away. Just then Y/n walked into the office, completed paperwork in her hands. “Hey, what happened?” Y/n had a concerned look on her face as she made her way over to Fatgum and Kenji. Fatgum carefully handed her Kenji and she soothingly rubbed his back trying to help him calm down. “Was it about school today?” Fatgum nodded and Y/n kissed the top of his head whispering a few ‘You’re okay baby’ and ‘it’s okay’ to try and calm him down. “Hey, why don’t we go ahead home for dinner? Then maybe play some games?” Kenji sat up, rubbing his eyes he nodded. “As much as I want to, I have to-“ “Do paperwork?” Y/n said as she held up the already completed paperwork with a cheeky grin. “I had the secretary send it over when you got it. You can thank Tamaki later for telling me. Fatgum let out a long sigh of relief, a big smile gracing his lips. “Man I love you.” His face went red as he said those words. SHOOT. SHE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HEAR THAT!!! Y/n blushed but turned around, setting Kenji on the ground, a ridiculous smile on her face. “Go ahead and get changed, I’ll get the car ready.” She gave him a sincere smile, trying to hide how incredibly happy and flustered she was at his statement. Y/n and Fatgum had been flirting for a while now. They both had a pretty good idea of how the other felt, but neither one wanted to complicate things. One was scared of making her uncomfortable, and the other didn’t want to be a burden for the already hard working hero. But enough was enough. Fatgum was not a ‘sit on the sidelines and wait’ kinda guy. He loved Y/n and Kenji with his whole heart. He couldn’t care less who Kenji’s biological dad was, because he knew if given the choice Kenji would choose him in a heartbeat. Just like Fatgum would choose him and Y/n over his hero agency. Tonight, he was going to tell her his idea. He got changed into his casual clothes (dark wash jeans, white t-shirt with a blue button up, unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up.) and met up with Y/n and Kenji, getting into the car and driving to their house. They got out and headed inside, and while Y/n made some f/f Fatgum played heroes with Kenji. “No fair! I wanna be Fatgum! He’s so cool!” Fatgum teased as he ‘tried to reason’ with the six year old. “mmmmm…” Kenji pretended to think for a moment, “No. I wanna be Fatgum tonight. You can beeeee…” Kenji looked around until he spotted his All Might action figure. “You can be All Might.” Fatgum sighed in fake sadness. “Alright, I guuueesss I can deal with All Might.” Kenji giggled and started running around the room, Fatgum running after him. Y/n stood in the doorway watching as her son played with her crush. She originally came up to say dinner was ready, but after watching this? She couldn’t just stop it! It was too cute! When Fatgum had eventually caught up to Kenji he swung him up on his shoulders, the six-year old’s giggles still hadn’t stopped. “Alright you two, dinners ready.” Both of their ears perked at the sound of dinner, and Kenji scrambled down to go and wash his hands before he took a seat at the table. “Y’know, I think ya might wanna get him into a doctor.” Fatgum said as he made his way over to the doorway. “Oh?” Y/n looked at him with a questioning eyebrow raised. “He’s the one kid on the planet that would pick me over All Might!” Y/n let out a light hearted laugh, “What can I say? He might be a little biased.” Y/n teased. Fatgum shook his head as he laughed. Him and Y/n then made their way down to the dining table. They all took their seats, said a small prayer, and began to eat their food. When they finished Fatgum and Y/n noticed Kenji had been a little antsy in his chair. “Hey bud, you ok? Your squirmin’ quite a bit there!” Kenji looked a little uncomfortable for a bit avoiding both of their gazes before he looked at them both, gaining a little confidence in the loving looks they both were giving to him. “I….I want to change my name….I don’t like having his name….I want…someone else’s..” The last part was quiet so they didn’t really hear it, but they knew he didn’t want ‘Chisaki’ any longer. And to be honest, neither did Y/n. (OOKAY I KnOw that when Y/n and Overhaul divorced then her name could have been changed back to her original name, buuuuut please bear with me, for SOME reason she couldn’t.) “I know, and I’m sorry Kenji, it’s just really hard. We’ll go to the court house tomorrow, okay?” Kenji looked a little hopeful, but he knew it would go like it always did. They would see ‘Chisaki’ and wouldn’t even try to change it. Even seemingly ‘quirkless’ and imprisoned people were still scared of him. Which is exactly why they wanted to change it!! “Wait.” They both looked over to Fatgum who had a serious look on his face. “Kenji, do you think you can wait just a little bit longer?” Kenji looked at him confused but nodded his head nonetheless. Y/n looked at him, still not quite getting what he was implying. “Taishiro…what…what do you mean?” Fatgum turned completely in his chair to face Y/n, taking her hands in his, he looked her straight in the eyes, “I mean, if you can wait just a little bit longer, will you take mine instead?” Y/n felt her heart swell with his words. “Tashiro..w-what do you mean!?” Kenji asked, “I mean, if you’re mom will have me, I want to be your dad Kenji. I want us to be a happy little family.” He smiled at the boy, whose eyes were lit up in hopefulness. He then looked back to see Y/n who was crying happy tears, “Y/n…Will you marry me?” Y/n wiped her eyes and nodded, letting out a laugh as she tried to stop crying. “Yes, yes I will.” Fatgum grasped her in a tight hug and Kenji leaped down from his chair to join the now family hug. “I love you Y/n, Kenji. So, so much!” Y/n smiled and kissed his cheek. And Kenji just buried himself further into his chest. “We love you too daddy!” When Fatgum ran into the Shie Hassaikai base, he expected a fight, blood, tears, and maybe even death. But he never could have expected to come out of it with his whole world. His little family.

[jamestrmtx]

Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Thirteen | Waterfall (Part 2 of 4)

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You keep repeating to yourself this is nothing but a simple and friendly outing, though it's easy to forget with how insistent Frisk and Undyne have been in terms of suggesting the opposite.

The feeling's made worse when you get down from the ride and see how grand and overwhelming the place you've been invited to is. In comparison to the warm and calm ambiance of a regular bakery or a small coffee shop, you're met with people clad in semiformal outfits and a refined atmosphere -- similar to that of a five-star restaurant. What reminds you this is just a place for eating desserts is being greeted at the front by a humbler-dressed, white-furred rabbit monster labeling himself as the second owner of the shop, the name 'Roger' spelled out on his name tag. He greets you and Sans in, and offers you a pamphlet.

"I remember you," he says, facing Sans with a smile. "You're from Snowdin, aren't you? It's nice to see you've found a date up here!" The excitement in his tone warns he's about to ramble. "It's so refreshing to see other people like us! Honestly, we… We made this shop hoping more would show up, but you two are the second couple I've had the knowledge of serving here so far!"

"Like us?" you ask, facing the monster. "Is your partner human?" 

"Yes!" he takes your hand while his nose twitches with pent-up energy. "People always come here talking a little, well... mean about it, so I always have to stay on-watch. The first couple that came here got scared off by one of those customers, but now my girlfriend makes sure to keep an eye out!" He lets go, apologizing after. "I get too excited every time I see pairs like you walk in together, but they always tell me they're just friends! And while I get that, really it's... It's such a joy to have you guys here!"

"We're actually not-"

"I get what you mean." In the spur of the moment, you interrupt Sans when he tries to say the truth. Roger's excitement is too bright to rain on, resulting in you wanting to play along. With how he is, you're sure the skeleton's not going to let you live it down, but one look at the hope in the other monster's eyes is enough to make your heart turn to mush. "This is actually our first date, but we're getting there."

Roger smiles, though it soon fades as he looks at the approaching line of customers from afar. Then, he looks to the shop to see the ones who entered in before you have already sat down. "Sorry for holding you back so much," he adds, huffing as an apologetic look makes its way through. "I try really hard not to get too excited about this kind of stuff, but again... It's so nice to have you guys here!" He points over to the counter, smile reappearing. "Go ahead and stop by the counter, alright? You can order to-go, or sit down, if you want to stay!"

"Thank you," you reply, returning his smile. 

You make way into the shop with Sans by your side, avoiding eye contact all the way to the counter. You already know he has a comment on the ready, so it's not much of a surprise when you hear him speak up right before making it there. "So," he says, chuckling. "First date, huh?" He walks a little closer to your side, trying to get you to look at him, but failing. "...Was that meant as a lie, or are you hintin' at somethin' else there, pal?"

"I'm not sure what to think of this myself, but…" You stop halfway, not wanting to admit your own wants just yet. "In the end, I only did it 'cause I couldn't bring myself to get his hopes down." A pink-furred bunnywoman takes your order. The reply you'd given Sans by text is then worded out by him, along with his own order and Frisk's favourite dessert to-go. While you have your wallet close by, you're not told to pay yet, and are instead led to an empty table, where you're both left to wait. You thank the monster as she leaves and go back to your conversation with Sans as soon as she's gone from your sight. "But even if this was a date, I still don't think I'd be able to accept having another one after today's."

At that, his curiosity rises, shown by the subtle flicker in his irises. "What do you mean?"

You avoid his gaze by toying with the cutlery left on the table. "I need to focus more on raising Frisk before going anywhere with my love life."

"Why?" There's honest confusion in his question despite how blunt and intrusive it is without any proper context, something he catches onto by using another one to elaborate his meaning better. "So you haven't dated anyone ever since that day?"

You nod while thanking a waiter, this one a brown bear dressed in more formal wear; he sets two drinks down -- one for you and one for your company. "I haven't, and to be honest I'd…" Your chest feels tight as so does your throat, both of these almost trying to distract you away from what you're about to say. "I'd like to keep it that way for as long as it's needed." You try to stop yourself from saying anything else, though the coziness of the shop and Sans's presence give you an entry for letting out what's been kept hidden for as long as that day came around. "I need to be there for Frisk, and I need to be more careful of who I date from now on." You're not sure what else's making you open up so much, but you don't exactly stop yourself from continuing with your thoughts. "You see, I… I really don't want Frisk to grow up in an environment full of constant fights and disagreements." 

As soon as you catch yourself, your brain makes a stop, yet your mouth continues to pour out what's making your heart strain as much as it is currently. "There's already enough of that in the world waiting out there for Frisk when they grow up, so the least I can do is make it a little easier for them right now." Your mind hates you at this point, though you can feel the rest of your body grow lighter, tension releasing itself from it. "That's why… why I didn't really try to stop Jerry when he started to drift away; when visits became just once a month, rather than twice a week. We didn't really get along well after we (had/adopted) Frisk, so that's why… That's why I figured it was best to let him go."

When you hear your voice turn weak, you stop, mind sending endless comments of disapproval into your thoughts. You flinch when you have a napkin offered out to you, but you take it when you see Sans nod, still waiting for you. He then pulls back quickly, still avoiding your touch. "So, what I'm gettin' at here's that you feel just as responsible as Frisk did over what happened that day," he says, voice low and tone solemn. "Or at least, that's what it looks like."

Sans stops and looks behind you. The same waiter from before appears next to you and places your dessert first and later his; once more, you thank him and wait until he leaves the table. When he's gone, your companion speaks up again, setting the plate aside to focus on you more. "Don't wanna assume things right off the bat, but…" He takes a pause, picks up a fork, and pierces it through the pastry. Then, he faces you, continuing with, "You kinda feel like you've gotta make up for that? Limiting yourself that much ain't really the best option there is, though."

You hum, face away, and pick up a portion off your dessert to distract yourself from him. "I just don't trust myself enough to make the right decision again." You take the first bite; the sweet's flavour helps you with the situation. 

The harmony of cutlery clicking and outside chatter blend into the background as your conversation with him carries on. While you listen, you take another bite off your dessert to make matters less tense. "Y'know, if this helps, most of us think you did a good job raising the kid." He stops again and brings the cup closer to him. "If you look at it this way, you helped with lettin' 'em make their own choices and decide how to approach monsters back then. In a sense, we're all connected one way or the other -- kinda like how you start off as their teacher, and then take them to an actual school where they'll continue to grow as a person." He sways the drink around and looks down at it for a moment. "And even if it's possible for a kid their age to start shapin' their own mindset and decide what's good, what's alright, and what's not, most of it's still based off what they've been taught so far. They're not fully in control of who they are yet, and that's why it's often a huge responsibility to take -- parenting, teaching, and all that."

He stops again to take a swing from his drink. The view of his skull contorting to allow him a sip was one surprising to watch the first time you saw him and Papyrus eating some of Toriel's vegetable stew the day of the blackout, and even more intriguing the time you invited him over for a meal after finishing with your errands at the school supply. Now that you're seeing it for a third time though, you focus far too much on it, yet you try to brush it off and pay more attention to him. There's plenty of questions present in regard to how monsters worked the way they did -- each different in their own way, given how many types there are -- but you're not quite sure if it would be proper to bring them out so suddenly right now.

"Basically," he continues, setting the drink down. "When you're at that young of an age, you don't have a full understanding of who you are, and that's why it's so important for lil' kids to have good, or at least decent examples for them to follow." He faces you. How direct his gaze feels makes you look away, feeling embarrassment burn your face. "And so pretty much based on how Frisk acted during their time at the Underground, I can tell they've been raised well." His gaze drifts off behind you again, though there's a different look to it this time. In contrast to the one he'd given earlier to acknowledge the waiter's arrival, there's caution present in his irises. "What I'm sayin' here is: you're a good parent, (Y/N). And if you feel like you have to restrain yourself from livin' life, you really shouldn't. You're-"

"Hey, Kevin," a man says, voice coming from behind you. "What did the skeleton say to the hog?" 

The strangeness behind his gaze makes more sense now; the voice that sounds from behind you's far too annoying for it not to belong to trouble.

You hear laughter and another voice reply with, "I don't know, Brayan. What?"

Brayan fakes a swoon and attempts to mimic what you can only assume is Sans's voice, saying, "Oh, you're the exact opposite of me -- all fat and no bones. What a catch!"

More laughter.

"Wait, wait," Kevin says, voice now heard from closer by. "I've- I've gotta good follow-up to that one." Even more obnoxious laughter's heard from him, and a not-so adorable snort comes from Brayan. "I might be fat, but you're the real pig here -- liking me only because of those weird tastes of yours!"

"What's bothering you, mi chicharrón*? You're my type. I'm only saying the truth!

"And I'm done with you, you bonehead!"

One of the two men emerge next to Sans and attempts to push him off his chair to follow-up to their impromptu play, with enough flamboyance and sass to make Shakespeare proud.

You step in, grabbing by the arm who you assume's Kevin and keeping him from finishing his joke. He freezes, though he soon recovers, a grin replacing his surprise. "Hey look, Brayan," he calls out. "Piggy's all angry now!"

Done too quick for you to react, you feel something cold pour over your chest and look to your left to see Brayan with a grin on his face and with an empty glass left on his hand. "Cool off," he says, laughing. 

Before you can process it, something trips his feet and sends his donkey to the ground. 

Both your drink and the skeleton's end up thrown on him as a familiar blue aura surrounds both of the glasses. 

"Wh- What the hell, man?" he shouts, flustered. "Who did that?!"

The human owner of the establishment appears right behind him and brings him into an arm lock. She's just as formally dressed as the bear waiter; a long red dress matches with her lipstick and does the opposite with her light skin and bright ginger hair. The name ‘Jessica’ is spelled neatly on her name tag. "Sounds to me like you're the one who needs to cool off first," she says, pulling him to his feet. Her teeth are clenched and a frown shapes her mouth. "Tell your friend he needs to follow me if he doesn't want the same treatment." She drags both men along with her, leaving you alone with Sans -- plus an audience too big for your liking. 

The brown bear makes his appearance again. A mess of apologies exit his mouth as he rushes over with two new drinks and a towel hung over his shoulder. Sans helps him by taking the latter and approaching your side.

"You okay?" he asks. Carefully, he sets the towel over you, hands moving stiff and awkward when he tries to wrap it around your torso. You bite back a smile at that, his current reticence helping you forget about Brayan and Kevin's actions. Even with how daring he was while flirting, he was inevitably trying his best not to cross unwanted lines with you. "Was it hot?"

Stop.

That word repeats itself over and over in your mind as you use the towel to pull him closer to you, his hands still holding onto it. You take them, let him hold onto your waist, and allow your smile to shine through, heart pounding all the while. "No," you reply, grinning. "But you worrying about me kinda is." You kiss his cheekbone, murmuring a 'thank you, Sans' close to his ear cavity.

The crowd goes wild, whistles and woots being let out as you keep your lips there for a moment, right until you feel his skull turn hot to the touch. When you pull back, his irises are wide, jumpy, and bright, these trying their best to look away from you. He lets go of the towel, steps back, and sits down on his chair while the crowd settles out.

"Uh..." he mutters, short of breath. "No problem, (Y/N)."

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

• • •

*mi (my) chicharrón = Fried pork belly or rinds; a pork dish/snack originating from Hispanic countries.

In this case, it's used as a nickname, like honey, sugar, dear, and all that!

• • •

Tag List (Comment or message me if you want to be added to [or removed from] it!)

@the-simp-express

@nektotersh

@disastrous-l0vebug

@therealchickenjoe

@mintyflakes025

@pandaquick

@timelock97

@candle-creeps

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Legend of Hana Chapter 98

Warnings: Fluff/angst. Same as usual

Rating: SFW

On a television screen, a young man was fighting in a big, unfamiliar city. He had silver hair and eyes of a different color. He had two companions as well: a young man with red hair and a hat, and another young man with glasses. The three of them had been fighting their way toward a beautiful woman who had been captured by robots. The silver-haired boy reached out for her as light bloomed around them, and just before their hands could touch--

The title of the game appeared on the screen: VERUM REX. 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

A second later, the screen of the TV went black. Someone had stepped on the remote--a toy in a cowboy outfit named Woody. 

“I was watching that,” a dinosaur toy named Rex said. 

“Ah, sorry. But this is no time for television, Rex,” Woody sighed, walking by with a block in his arms. 

“Gotta say, that Gigas is pretty impressive,” a piggy bank named Hamm commented. 

“Really? I like Yozora most,” Rex replied. It seemed that the robots were called Gigas and the young man with the silver hair was named Yozora. Just then, Woody jumped over to them and pushed them down to protect them. 

“Woody? What gives?” Hamm protested, but Woody’s round eyes were fixed on the black haze rising in the middle of the room. Heartless. 

“Are they back?” a space ranger toy named Buzz, asked. 

“All right, guys. Today we teach those masked intruders who's boss. Is everybody in position?” Woody asked. Buzz nodded but Rex looked over at Hamm. 

“Wait. Hold on! I don't think I'm emotionally prepared!” he sputtered. 

“Would you calm down? Don't worry. I got ya covered,” Hamm replied. Woody looked over at the green army men on standby on the shelves. He turned to the three-eyed alien toys next to the globe and they were okay, too. 

“It's go time,” Buzz said to Woody, who nodded. But then-- “Wait!”

“What are you doing?!” Woody asked and then noticed Sora and the group running at the Heartless. “Who are those guys?” 

Sora and the group quickly took care of the Heartless as the toys above them watched. Once it was all clear, the toys headed down to the wooden floor. 

“Are they new?” Hamm asked, gaining the group’s attention. For toys, the new arrival was a major event. After all, their owner, Andy, had been known to favor his new toys. Rex didn’t seem to mind, though, and ran up to Sora. 

“Wait! Ah-- Ah-- You look familiar! I know this. You're, uh, you're, uhhh...” Rex said and his excitement helped Hamm make the connection. 

“Yozora!” he cried. 

“Huh? My name's Sora.” The name sounded familiar to Sora but it was definitely not his name. 

“Stay back!” Buzz called. He was keeping his distance, and his laser was pointed squarely at them. “For all we know, the intruders sent them.” 

“Excuse me?!” Hana and Roxy shrieked. 

“But we can trust them. They're the number-one-selling heroes in the country!” Rex gushed as he pulled Sora into a hug. Hamm seemed to be happy, too. 

“Yeah, Andy's mom must've bought 'em for him,” he said. 

“Hamm’s right. Did you see how easily they took care of the intruders? I bet they’re here to figure out why all our friends have gone missing, and why Buzz’s laser started actually laser-ing...and all the weird stuff that’s been going on. I mean that’s what heroes do, right?” While Rex chattered away, Woody and Buzz gave some thought to the situation. Sora was getting the impression that not everything was as it should be in this world. 

“So, you’re Andy’s new toys?” Woody asked.

“Toys?” the group asked. That briefly threw them for a loop, but the cowboy was right. They did look like toys at the moment--like action figures, to be precise. “You sure did a number on those intruders.” 

“Those creeps are called the Heartless. There are other creeps too but who knows when they’ll show up,” Yui explained. Rumi spotted the three little aliens and started chasing them to hug them. 

“We’ve been fighting them for a while now,” Hana added. 

“I knew it!” Rex called, elated. 

“Okay. In that case, you’re all right by me My name’s Woody. Put ‘er there,” Woody said as he and Sora shook hands. 

“I’m Sora--” 

“Yozora!” Rex interjected before Sora could finish giving his name. 

“Actually, my name’s Sora...” 

“And I’m Donald.”

“I’m Goofy.” 

“The name’s Vanitas.” 

“I’m Lily, and that’s my brother Era and my twin sister Hana.” 

“I’m Yui and that’s my twin sister, Roxy, and our cousin Rumi.” 

“And I'm...Buzz Lightyear.” 

“Call me Hamm. It’s a real honor.” 

“And I’m Rex! I’m your biggest fan. In fact, I’ve been playing your game for months now. And I’ve already gotten you all the way up to level 47. But that Bahamut boss is really tough. Slinky and I can’t figure out how to beat him. Oh, I wish Slinky and the others were here. They’d be so happy to meet you!” 

“All troops at attention, sir!” the Sarge of the little green army men said as his army walked up to the group. They saluted the group and they returned it. 

“They’re all toys? So that’s why we look the way we do,” Lily said. Rumi gasped and ran to the girls, still holding one of the alien toys. 

“Do you girls know what this means?!” she asked, excitedly. It was as if the girls read her mind and they became excited too. 

“We’ll finally get to see our favorite anime characters in person!” they all said. Sure, they’ll have to be toys but it was still a dream come true. Sora giggled as he watched Hana sprouted her imps and looked over to see Buzz walk toward him as the aliens went on their way. 

“Excuse me. You said that you’ve battled those intruders before. Tell us where and why,” he said. Sora was about to explain but Vanitas and Era quickly covered his mouth. 

“Remember?!” Vanitas whisper yelled at him. 

“Well? You must have come from somewhere,” Buzz said. Hamm agreed with him while Woody walked over. 

“Take it easy, Buzz. What matters is that they got those intruders out of our way--for at least a little while. No need to interrogate ‘em,” he said. 

“Yeah, Buzz!” Rex agreed. 

“Noted. But still...” Buzz said. 

“Oi. Have the Heartless been a problem around here?” Roxy asked. 

“No, they just showed up a little while ago,” Woody explained. 

“In fact, those ‘Heartless’ materialized...right after our friends up and vanished,” Buzz added. Donald turned to Goofy and whispered in his ear. 

“You don’t think...”

“Well, gee. It can’t be a coincidence.” Sora and the others nodded and Woody gazed up at the window over Andy’s desk. 

“It wasn’t always this lonely. One day we woke up, and we were the only toys left here. Nobody’s heard from Mom, Molly, Or Andy...” Woody said. He sat on a wooden block and stared at the underside of his shoe where the name “ANDY” was written in faded ink. “We keep waiting for Andy to come home.” 

“You really care about him,” Era said. Woody nodded and stood back up, rejoining the group. 

“Yeah...he’s the best friend that toys like us could ever hope to have,” he said as he placed a hand on Buzz’s shoulder. 

“Era and I know how you feel. We’re looking for our family too,” Lily said, giving Era a hug. Even though Hana had found her sister, it still stung to see her hug Era. But thankfully, she still had her brothers right by her side. And she had her friends and Sora too! 

“All right! We’d better start looking!” Yui said. 

“Huh?” Woody asked. 

“You gotten any clues we can go on--any other weird things that happened?” Roxy asked. 

“Well...hmm. There’s one thing.” 

“One big thing,” Hamm added. 

“Huge, sir,” Sarge also added. 

“What thing?” Rex asked, confused by the situation. 

“After everyone went MIA, the intruders didn’t come alone. They arrived with a woman with big hair, dressed weird, just like you guys,” Buzz explained. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Roxy and hana interrupted. 

“A-as I was saying, she’s the only other toy we’ve seen, outside of you guys.” 

“Big hair?” Vanitas asked and then gasped. “Guys, you know what this means right?” 

“That fuckin’ psychopath,” Hana mumbled. 

“You know who it is?” Woody asked. 

“Yep. She’s bad news,” Rumi replied. 

“Seems like you have a lot of enemies,” Buzz said. 

“Oh, trust me. I have a whole list of enemies,” Roxy replied, almost as if she was bragging.

“We may have a hunch what’s causing all the weirdness. Would you mind if we handle this?” Xeha asked. 

“I’m sorry. But we’re not gonna leave this to you,” Woody rejected. 

“Excuse me?!” Roxy snapped. 

“If that woman had something to do with our friends vanishing, then she’s our problem too. We’ve got to work together.” 

“Right!” Sora said as he and Woody shook hands. Hana and the others shared a delighted response. “So then, where can we find her?” 

“Sarge, any word from the recon team?” Woody asked as he knelt down to the green army men. 

“The latest reports place him in town, sir. At Galaxy Toys!” Sarge said, pointing to the Galaxy Toys flyer on Andy’s bulletin board. 

“Then Galaxy toys is where we’re going,” Woody said and turned to Sora. “Follow me.” 

Sora followed him and the two of them looked up and the others followed their gaze. 

“It’s out the window and down the roof,” Woody said. 

“Not so fast, cowboy. You seem pretty gung ho about going, but shouldn’t we stay ehre and wait for Andy?” Buzz said. 

“Well...you’ve got a point, but...we’ve tried waiting. Look, if we go with Sora, we might find a clue. Are you with me, Buzz?” 

“Of course. Okay, let’s move out!” Buzz smiled. They exited through the window and down the roof of the garage to the driveway. They soon reach Galaxy Toys, home of Vic the Visitor, their alien mascot, displayed by the gigantic flying saucer that stood atop the building. As soon as they entered the store, the girls immediately rushed in and began finding the anime section. 

“Wait! We should stay together!” Woody said. 

“We’ll be fine!” Hana replied and continued to run. Sora could see her little imps pop up as she ran and giggled at how cute it was. He and the others looked around and saw large displays of Gigas scattered on different shelves along with game boxes of all kinds. In the center of the first floor was an oversized gumball machine labeled “Space Capsule” with metal tracks leading in spirals to the upper floors. Vanitas turned his head and noticed the giant red Gigas. 

“Oi, why doesn’t that toy move?” he asked. 

“I guess it has’t figured it out,” Woody replied. 

“Figured what out?” Lily asked.

“I can make it move for you,” an all to familiar voice said. Sora and the others looked abouve the Space Capsule, where Junko entered using her magic. 

“Junko!” Sora and the group exclaimed. 

“Awww, I’m so honored you remember your queen,” Junko blushed. She snapped her fingers and three Heartless appeared. One jumped into the helmet of one of the red Gigas and assumed control of it. Its claw arm sstarted to move with clicking sounds and it leaped toward Sora. 

“Oh no! It can move!” Woody exclaimed as he raised his hood to see better. The arm spun backward into a fist with Hamm giving off a startled shriek. As the gigas attempted a punch, a blast knocked the Gigas and destoryed the Heartless. Sora and the others looked to see Hana and the girls rushing over. 

“Awww, if it isn’t my beautiful stepdaughter and her friends!” Junko said. 

“I am not your stepdaughter, psycho! What are you even doing here in the first place?!” Hana replied. 

“One heart’s shadows fills the emptiness of another. See how they bring him to life? Like Xemnas and Ansem, they fit together.” 

“Leave our dads out of this! Why the hell are you doing this?!” Roxy yelled. 

“There’s a darkness we are missing and must reclaim. The way hearts connect in this world can provide us with a clue. So we made a copy of the world, and then pulled those hearts apart. I wonder how you’ll handle the strain.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” Yui asked but Junko was already gone. 

“I’m confused. That woman--she said she’s your stepmother? And she made a copy of the real world? What’s that mean?” Woody asked.

“That psychopath is Junko Enoshima. And trust me, she’s not my stepmother,” Hana explained. 

“Or mine,” Vanitas added. 

“As to the copy of the world, it...prob’ly means they split this world in two--your friends in world, us in the other. Only one of the worlds is real, and the other is just really convincing,” Yui said. 

“You can’t be serious! Oh! That’s right, you’re from a video game. Well, maybe in your game, that’s how things work...but here in reality, you can’t “split worlds.” Roxy wanted to punch Buzz in the face but Yui held her back and the group was lost for words. “This is ridiculous. Woody let’s go.”

“I admit, it does sound just a little far-fetched,” Woody replied as Donald and goofy rejoned the group. “But...say we have been taken to some kind of alternate world. That would explain why your laser’s real. And is it really all that crazy? Worse than ‘evil emperors’ and ‘protecting the galaxy’? Any of that ring a bell?” 

“Point taken. But that just means these strangers are part of the delusion. And I say it’s time we parted ways and went home.” 

“Thought we were friends, not strangers,” Era said as he and the others looked crestfallen. 

“Look, I get that it seems weird, but we know something’s wrong with this place. We should stick together,” Rumi said. 

“She’s right. They helped with the intruders, so they might help find our friends,” Woody said as Buzz started walking toward the Red Gigas. “They have been there for us so far. You can’t deny that. Come on. Every toy deserves a fair shake. Am I right?” 

“Tell it to that toy over there,” Buzz said as he pointed to the Gigas, making Woody fall silent. 

“Sheriff, sir!” Sarge said. Woody looked atop the shelf to see him and other Green Army Man. “Rex has been dino-napped!” 

“What’s that?!” Woody asked, shocked. Sarge turned to his fellow soldier, who saluted. 

“My men saw him get hauled up to the second floor, sir! And Hamm and the Aliens are MIA,” Sarge explained. 

“Come on. We have got to find them!” Woody said as he began running. Sora and the others followed him. 

“Please, let us help!” Lily said. 

“Yeah!” the others agreed. Woody looked over his shoulder at Buzz who hasn’t budged and runs back over to him. 

“Well, Buzz? Do you really think we can save our friends on our own? We didn’t get very far before. We gotta take all the help we can get,” he said and Buzz ggave and abject sigh. 

“Don’t worry. Sora can be reckless...” Goofy started.

“Wha?” Sora asked. 

“...and Donald grumbles a lot...” 

“Huh?” Donald asked. 

“...and Hana, Vanitas, and Roxy can be a little bit extreme.” 

“Wanna fucking say that again?!” Hana growled.

“But you can trust us!” 

“Oi! He suspects you too, y’know?!” Roxy replied. 

“It’s true,” Vanitas said. 

“Huh? He does?” Roxy threw her hands up and Sora chuckled.

“See, they don’t seem bad. Am I right, Buzz?” Woody said. 

“Okay, fine. We do need the extra help. But just so we’re clear: I remain skeptical about this. I’ll work with you till we find our friends,” Buzz replied. 

“Ohhh...kay,” Sora said. 

“Thanks for the help, guys,” Woody said to the team. 

“My troops will return to the field, sir!” Sarge said and the Army Men walked off. The group walked over to the Space Capsule and Buzz ejected his wings right as Woody walked into them. He scolwed at Buzz for a moment, but the feeling quickly passed.

“This ascent is gonna be rather tricky,” Buzz said. 

“Too bad we’re not strapped to a rocket, huh?” Woody smiled as he leaned on Buzz’s wings, but Buzz retracted them back into his suit. 

“Hey! Think we can use that?” Era asked. He pointed upward and they saw the spiral tracks leading to the other floors.

“It’s perfect! C’mon, guys!” Woody said. 

~Le time Skip cause this chapter is already long and I don’t wanna make it any longer~ 

Hana and the group pass through the omnious portal, finding themselves in a hazy abyss. Buzz was hovering in the center, darkness coming off of him and spreading through the air. Junko waited for the team, waves of dark energy covering the floor as pieces of toys were scattered about the abyss, floating on invisble strings. 

“Oi, psycho!” Hana called out to Junko. 

“What do you want with my friend?” Woody asked. 

“Look....such beautiful darkness and despair. All because he was ripped away from the boy who cares about him most,” Junko said and the waves punched upward. 

“Does that mean...we’ll all be like Buzz...if we don’t...find Andy?” Woody asked as the waves coalesce around him. 

“Wrong! Distance doesn’t matter. Andy’s a part of their hearts, just like my friends are a part of mine,” Sora said. Hana and the others nodded in agreement, glaring at Junko. “You can’t rip that apart!” 

Woody looked at the bottom of his shoe where Andy had written his name years ago, and then at Buzz’s, just the same. Buzz was then carried higher by the waves as Junko raised an arm. 

“What? ‘Your friends are your power’? Ah...How very true. But if the light of friendship is a form of power...the darkness of being alone is a power...even greater. Darkness and despair are the heart’s true nature,” Junko said. Sora and the others were stunned to silence, but Woody placed a hand on Sora’s shoulder and walked past him. 

“Whatever you’re talking about, I don’t care. Put Buzz back the way he was, then get lost!” he said. 

“Or else what, toy?” Junko asked. 

“Yeah, I am a toy. And a friend.” Woody stamped down with his foot, breaking the waves of darkness slightly, revealing the floor underneath. “My guess is that no one’s ever loved you before. Because you know nothing about hearts and love.” 

“Oh, shit! He just roasted the shit out of you, psycho!” Roxy cackled, making the others laugh as well. Sora and Vanitas joined Woody in their circle of light, both making steps forward. 

“There are hearts all around us, trying to connect. Your ‘loneliness’ only made Woody and Buzz’s connection stronger. That’s the heart’s true nature--to never, ever let go. Wherever they are, Andy and the other toys haven’t let go either,” Vanitas said. 

“Yeah! You can’t keep us from Andy. We’re going home no matter what. And taking Buzz!” Woody said. 

“Junko, you’re so caught up in finding the shadows, you forgot about the light that cast them,” Sora added. The force of the light broke through the dark waves, tearing apart the darkness holding Buzz in the air. As it reached Buzz, in shone out with a brilliant light. 

“No!” Junko exclaimed. Hana and the others charged forward, forcing Junko to summon her mallet, blocking the team. 

“Woody, now!” Lily said. Woody leaped foward over them, tossing out the pullstring from his back. It laatched onto a Lego floating in the air and swung around, using the momentum to snatch Buzz from his tangled perch. Era smiled as Junko scowed as the pullstring retracts back insdie Woody with a message of “Giddy-up, partner! We gotta get this wagon train a-movin’!” Suddenly, Buzz opened his eyes, seeing Woody on top of him. Woody lifted his head and gazed back at his friend. He turned over and sat with Buzz, who held his head. 

“Woody...wait, how did I get here?” he asked. 

“Hmm. Oh, I don’t know!” Woody replied as he elbowed Buzz playfully. “Maybe somebody switched you into ‘dark and stormy’ mode.” 

“But I don’t have a--” Buzz soon realiazed what Woody was saying. the cowboy extended a hand to  him and Buzz smiled, taking, getting to his feet. “Thank you, Woody.” 

“Good to have ya back, Buzz,” Woody replied. 

“Hey, hurry up!” Era called out to them. The two of them looked over to see the team locked in combat with Junko. 

“We can’t hold her much longer!” Lily added. 

“Don’t give up, guys!” Rumi said but Junko knocked the team back. 

“So, even empty puppets can be given strong hearts. I’m going to have to remember that,” she said as Buzz aimed his laser at her. 

“Remember this--our hearts will always be connected to Andy’s. No matter what you do!” he said. 

“And that’s something you’ll never understand, because you’re hollower than any toy,” Woody added. 

“But now I know a heart can be placed in the vessel of our choosing. For that, let me give you a parting gift to play with,” Junko replied. 

“Wait!” Hana said. She charged at her and slashed right through her. 

“Prepare for your birthday gift, Hana. It’s gonna be bloody awesome,” Junko whispered.

“Huh?” Hana asked. Junko vanished and Donald leaped up, pointing at the sky where the darkness has begun to break. The group rejoined as the darkness was swept up, forming a giant Monokuma wearing a crown on his head, revealing the room as a toy sized cityscape with a puzzle-piece road. After a long battle with the giant Monokuma, they succeeded in finishing it off and returned to the first floor of Galaxy Toys. They regrouped with their friends and began walking toward the exit. 

“So, Junko got away again,” Goofy said.

“Yeah, she’s a big chicken,” Donald replied. Hana couldn’t stop thinking about what Junko said. What did she mean by “bloody”? Was something going to happen to her? Or something to her friends and family? Sora saw Hana’s face and walked in front of her. 

“Hey, you okay?” he asked. 

“Huh? Yeah, I’m okay,” Hana replied. 

“You don’t seem okay.” 

“I-I’ll tell you later, okay?” 

“Okay. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Hana kissed his cheek and caught up with the others. 

“I’m sorry that I was being so stubborn. Please forgive me,” Buzz said as he extended a hand to the team. Lily shook her head, smiling, and shook Buzz’s hand. 

“Hey, you were looking out for your friends. No biggie. I would do the same for my family,” she said. they all said their goodbyes, but before the team left, Woody cleared his throat, getting their attention. 

“Before ya leave, we would like to give ya girls a gift,” he said. The girls turned toward him and saw the other toys bring in packages that had their favorite anime characters inside. The girls squealed and took the packages. 

“Thank you!” they said in unison. They all waved goodbye and left the world to move to the next.