#I think i might lean back into posting more suggestive stuff again

[thelostmoongazer]

yeah he's baby girl or whatever

[physalian]

How to make your writing sound less stiff

Just a few suggestions. You shouldn’t have to compromise your writing style and voice with any of these, and some situations and scenes might demand some stiff or jerky writing to better convey emotion and immersion. I am not the first to come up with these, just circulating them again.

1. Vary sentence structure.

This is an example paragraph. You might see this generated from AI. I can’t help but read this in a robotic voice. It’s very flat and undynamic. No matter what the words are, it will be boring. It’s boring because you don’t think in stiff sentences. Comedians don’t tell jokes in stiff sentences. We don’t tell campfire stories in stiff sentences. These often lack flow between points, too.

So funnily enough, I had to sit through 87k words of a “romance” written just like this. It was stiff, janky, and very unpoetic. Which is fine, the author didn’t tell me it was erotica. It just felt like an old lady narrator, like Old Rose from Titanic telling the audience decades after the fact instead of living it right in the moment. It was in first person pov, too, which just made it worse. To be able to write something so explicit and yet so un-titillating was a talent. Like, beginner fanfic smut writers at least do it with enthusiasm.

2. Vary dialogue tag placement

You got three options, pre-, mid-, and post-tags.

Leader said, “this is a pre-dialogue tag.”

“This,” Lancer said, “is a mid-dialogue tag.”

“This is a post-dialogue tag,” Heart said.

Pre and Post have about the same effect but mid-tags do a lot of heavy lifting.

They help break up long paragraphs of dialogue that are jank to look at

They give you pauses for ~dramatic effect~

They prompt you to provide some other action, introspection, or scene descriptor with the tag. *don't forget that if you're continuing the sentence as if the tag wasn't there, not to capitalize the first word after the tag. Capitalize if the tag breaks up two complete sentences, not if it interrupts a single sentence.

It also looks better along the lefthand margin when you don’t start every paragraph with either the same character name, the same pronouns, or the same “ as it reads more natural and organic.

3. When the scene demands, get dynamic

General rule of thumb is that action scenes demand quick exchanges, short paragraphs, and very lean descriptors. Action scenes are where you put your juicy verbs to use and cut as many adverbs as you can. But regardless of if you’re in first person, second person, or third person limited, you can let the mood of the narrator bleed out into their narration.

Like, in horror, you can use a lot of onomatopoeia.

Drip Drip Drip

Or let the narration become jerky and unfocused and less strict in punctuation and maybe even a couple run-on sentences as your character struggles to think or catch their breath and is getting very overwhelmed.

You can toss out some grammar rules, too and get more poetic.

Warm breath tickles the back of her neck. It rattles, a quiet, soggy, rasp. She shivers. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. Sweat beads at her temple. Her heart thunders in her chest. Ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba- It moves on, leaving a void of cold behind. She uncurls her fists, fingers achy and palms stinging from her nails. It’s gone.

4. Remember to balance dialogue, monologue, introspection, action, and descriptors.

The amount of times I have been faced with giant blocks of dialogue with zero tags, zero emotions, just speech on a page like they’re notecards to be read on a stage is higher than I expected. Don’t forget that though you may know exactly how your dialogue sounds in your head, your readers don’t. They need dialogue tags to pick up on things like tone, specifically for sarcasm and sincerity, whether a character is joking or hurt or happy.

If you’ve written a block of text (usually exposition or backstory stuff) that’s longer than 50 words, figure out a way to trim it. No matter what, break it up into multiple sections and fill in those breaks with important narrative that reflects the narrator’s feelings on what they’re saying and whoever they’re speaking to’s reaction to the words being said. Otherwise it’s meaningless.

—

Hope this helps anyone struggling! Now get writing.

[snixkers]

Wrinkles like Rivers

Pairing: Alex Blake × Fem!Reader

Hurt/Comfort

For: @olderwomenaremyfavs

Content Warning: References to canon violence (drugs/crime), age gap (reader is in her 30s, Alex is in her 50s), very brief suggestive comment, insecurity over appearance

Summary: At a work function, Alex feels like the other agents have her beat, in more ways than one.

Author's Note: Omg! This is my first fic posted on this site, so I'm super excited! Hope this is what you were hoping for!

Feedback is always welcome!

Requests are OPEN

It was another Bureau function, and the atmosphere was relaxed and casual. Agents usually consumed with the worst of humanity were able to escape, just for a bit, and find comfort in a night out. You mingled with some people, recognizing names but not faces from your girlfriend's stories.

For some reason, these events seemed to have the opposite effect on Alex, who usually ended up silent and brooding in the corner. You could tell she was thinking about something, but she always brushed it off so confidently that you were certain you were imagining it. After all, she was the profiler, not you.

Tonight was a different story. You could see it in her tense shoulders, her narrowed eyes, and her half-smile. Her glass was still full, although that wasn't unusual for her. Even though it wasn't your profession, you were certainly a profiler when it came to her.

You excused yourself from an agent telling you stories about her escapades busting a drug ring, making your way back to the woman watching you with rapt attention. She blinked out of her stupor when she noticed you, quickly throwing on a smile and wrapping her arm around you. It was a nice attempt, but you couldn't be fooled.

"Alex," you began, "is something bothering you?"

She shook her head, although you anticipated that reaction. Alex always kept her emotions sealed away in a vault that you rarely were given the key to. You sighed, wrapping your hands around her wrist gently and leading her off to an empty hallway.

You decided to try again, within the comfort of your sole presence.

"Alex, I know something's bothering you. And I'd appreciate it if you'd let me help."

She let out a sigh, her smile fading slightly as she fiddled with the ends of her hair.

"It's not important."

You had to resist the urge to roll your eyes. Alex *was* important. She could tell you that the sky was green and you would agree.

"Alex, please. I want to know so I can fix the problem."

She sighed, avoiding your gaze and taking a small sip of the wine provided by a rather wealthy colleague of hers.

"Watching you talk to all of those other agents, it's just hard for me. They're young, they're good in the field. Their stories are more exciting."

Your heart melted in your chest, trying to soothe any insecurities she might have.

"I don't care. You've been in longer than they have. You're more smart logical and strategic. Plus, I like a woman with a little experience."

She held back a snort at your words, but her eyes still held traces of doubt.

"It's not just about the brains. Just look at me. I mean, you could date anyone you want. There must be someone out there who's younger and prettier."

You frowned, the warmth in your chest quickly evaporating. "Alex, no. I love you. I love everything about you. I love the way your eyes crease when you laugh. I love the wrinkles on your forehead. I love the gray hairs you're hiding. Do you know why? Because to me, that stuff makes you even more beautiful."

Her gaze softened, and you could practically see her trying to come up with another excuse for why she wasn't good enough. You shook your head, leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I'm always going to pick you, Alex."

She nods, taking a deep breath and kissing you back a little deeper, trying to convey the gratitude she felt. Luckily, another part of being such an expert on how she felt was that you already knew.

You smiled back, glancing over at the party.

"Should we head home?"

She nods in agreement, wrapping an arm around your waist and leading you back out to the party, the both of you clinging to each other the way you always would.

"Absolutely. Garcia told me about this game called 'Wordle', and I want to try it out."

[groversimp]

Hey! First ever request, can i ask for a Luke Castellan x male reader where reader is an ill son of Ares and Luke nurses him back to health? Thank you lovely!!

Sorry, I Can’t Take Your Touch

YEARNING!!!

Ty for your patience anon!!

Warnings: stab wounds, slow burn, tension so hot it could burn someone, Luke, slightly suggestive?

This is post-betrayal, you’re a part of Kronos’ army

���I don’t need your help, Castellan.”

Those were the first words to come out of your mouth as Luke approached you with a first-aid kid, his darkened eyes glare down at you. You suck in a breath as you sit up from the blood-stained cot.

“Yes, you do, Y/L/N.” Luke’s voice is rough from the day of battle- screaming commands and demands. Anyone else would think he still looks confident, but you can see the exhaustion in his eyes. ‘He knows what he’s doing, this is his rebellion’ you tell yourself, if you were anyone but yourself you might believe your words. You know Luke, so much more than you know yourself even.

“No-“ You said, kicking a leg out to shove him away as he walks towards you. He dodges your attack with a swift step.

Leaning on the cot, his knee rests on your leg as he pins you down with one arm. “Stay.” He says, your witty response dies on your tongue.

He moves his arm to grab your waist, using his other hand to open the first-aid kit. He pours some rubbing alcohol on the deep cut, ignoring your wince. With a soft grunt, he shifts and pulls you up with him.

He starts to wrap the bandage-wrap around your mid-section, plush gauze and fluffy cotton over your wound.

“Where’d you learn this stuff, Luke?” You ask, soft words almost dying in the deep silence wracking through the room.

“These are just the basics, I picked it up from some Apollo’s kids before I left.” He says, Luke looks up at you- you’ve never called him by his first name. His eyes linger on you a beat too long, memorizing the concerned furrow of your eyebrows, the deep fire that lays beneath your eyes. Everything he loves about you. It’s like second-nature to him.

“You never learned, Y/N?” Hearing your name slip from his mouth felt so wrong yet so right, and you know you would give anything to hear him say it again.

“No,” you say. “No, I never wanted to.” Luke hums in response. After awhile of silence, he looks up at you, eyes looking over your form.

His lips are a hairbreadth away from yours, so close you can feel them but not close enough to be pressed against yours. It’s almost painful, the desire you have for him. The want, the need, to have him to yourself. To lock him away and keep him safe. Away from wars, away from commanding.

He pulls back, away from you, then stands up without a look at you.

“Rest, Y/N.” He says, voice deep and shadowed eyes not looking to you. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he left, you sighed and fell deeper into the cot. You really should stop this before it begins.

[butterflywannabefree]

Moodboards for @lmkobsessedmoth

Bro, where did my motivation go for me to be posting moodboards during the LAST MONTH OF 2024 ?! I don’t know but I am and still am ashamed. But hey, I’m here now. No time to procrastinate again when creativity means doing things for fun. And I admit, this was pretty fun. As the title suggests, these moodboards are dedicated to @lmkobsessedmoth who, I’m going to be honest, is one of the more nuanced artists in the LMK community. And one of the more underrated, I would say. They are the creator of the Death AU, an AU in which MK dies and is helped by their OC Yu Ling…At first. I don’t think it’s called the Death AU anymore and has a whole new plotline that involves spirits and monsters alike.

Which is understandable. Creators are able to change whatever they want about their AU and the characters within it. Lord knows how much I go back and forth on my own creations- Loyd, you’re my kindred spirit in that sense- But enough about that. I wanted to make moodboards, I made moodboard and you will now see the moodboards ! I’m back for now, baby, so let’s get the train moving !

Side note, I only made two moodboards for @lmkobsessedmoth ‘s main OC’s (Yu Ling and Diedie). I might be interested in making some for the others if we receive more about them. But for now, this is what I got.

First up is the main girl herself, Yu Ling. Or the Daughter of Death, as her title says. From what I know, Yu Ling is a being whose fate was reset by the gods, Erland and Guanyin. I believe her powers have something to do with souls and spirits. And in order to get that power, there was a deal made with the ten Yama Kings and she has been their student ever since, gaining many injuries from the accident which didn’t affect her. Though her origins were very different as in the beginning of the Death AU, she was originally meant to be a guide for MK when he died and helped him on his adventures.

Concept wise, that is a strong one. I’ve studied stories and writing before and I’ve always been one to enjoy anything relating to things like spirits and souls. So I really enjoyed learning about the AU. Even though things have changed, seeing Yu Ling change through it was also fun. Her design is both, dare I say, simplistic yet fancy. Loyd has managed the art of being able to replicate the artstyle of LMK almost seamlessly and Yu Ling looks like she could pass to be one of the characters. Simple but with just enough to make her stand out. Not to mention her character is pretty neat. When I was asking permission from her creator to make this, I asked them what represented her and I was answered souls, jade and stars. I think I leaned more into angsty territory by adding those quotes though. I dunno. I felt like they matched well enough. So I’ll give myself a pass. It goes with the picture I chose of Yu Ling well enough, I feel like.

Next is Diedie or Dandelion Child ! I’m gonna be honest and probably get hated for it but I think she’s more of my favorite than Yu Ling. Don’t get me wrong, both are great but I always did have an affinity for child characters. Especially…Ugh, tragic child characters. Loyd, who gave you the right to create one of the cutest little beans and put her through so much ? Is that even legal ? I doubt it. But it is what it is. From my research, Diedie is a child from 1920’s China. She became the guardian of an ancient artifact called the Lotus Reliquary after stopping a demon from destroying it. Diedie is also nonverbal and is seen as, and I quote, an INFECTION, by the villagers because of this and the way she acts.

Which…Bro, that makes me SO mad. If I had a choice, I’d burn that village down myself. But hey, fire is already a thing in Diedie’s story so I can’t do that. That’s all I can put in here. If you want to know more about her, please go check out @lmkobsessedmoth ‘s profile and check out their stuff. Pls, they are underrated and deserve attention. POSITIVE attention. Loyd, I hope I didn’t disappoint (as I usually do haha-) you with these moodboards. They were pretty fun to make and I’d be happy to do the rest of your characters when I have the chance. For now, I’m Vee and I’ll be back whenever with more moodboards if I can.

[silverofthunder]

☆ (the beauty of) your world ☆

Papa Emeritus IV x GN Reader

summary: With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

content: 2.8k words, mystery (kind of), drama, fantasy, romance, fluff, SFW (i think?)

♡♡ part 1 ♡♡ part 2 ♡♡ part 3 ♡♡

Fourth part already, wow! Now I have finally started to plan this story so it might help keeping this all together - hopefully, at least. This is my fave part so far, it was so easy to write this. Enjoy!

The time seemed to pass way too slowly as it usually did on Fridays. You had checked the clock too many times and picked your phone up several times to scroll social media so you could have something to do when there were no customers to be seen. However, there wasn’t much to see in social media apps – only a few posts about weekend plans or cute photos of pets and then only random recommended, boring stuff that you just ignored.

You leaned against the counter with sigh and locked the phone, putting it aside and let then your gaze to take in the shop. It didn’t take long before a sound of buzzing got your attention and you picked your phone back up, seeing the notification of a new message arrived hovering on the screen. Your heart made a happy jump in your chest as you saw Copia to be the sender and quickly you unlocked the phone, opening the message.

Meet me by the abandoned church at 10 pm. - C

Smile rose to your lips instantly, excitement hopping up several levels within you. Your curiosity was aroused, too, so you had to reply and ask what that was about. It didn’t take long before Copia replied with ”you’ll see it, then” and a winking emoji. You let out a light chuckle, mind already starting to ponder all the options of what would await for you. The abandoned church itself was a cool sight to see and you had done your exploration there a few times but surely there was going to be something more.

”Whoever got you smiling like that must be a special one.” Your co-worker’s, Olivia’s, voice broke you out of your thoughts and you quickly unlocked your phone, turning your head to see Olivia looking at you with amusement.

”Yeah, he is,” you admitted and Olivia seemed to study you closely.

”It’s fairly new thing, isn’t it?”

”Yes,” you answered briefly as you really didn’t want to share much about your personal life. Olivia was nice and all but you wouldn’t exactly call her your friend.

”If he is a good one, please, tell me where did you find him? I’ve gotten so sick and tired of the assholes who just disappear after one meeting or who don’t know how to treat a woman respectfully,” Olivia said and you could almost sense her frustration.

She had talked about her… acquaintances several times and it seemed that she had been really unlucky with guys but you really couldn’t indentify with her situation. You had never looked for anyone, you had enjoyed your single life until Copia had just appeared in your life.

”Maybe you should just stop looking for someone,” you suggested, shrugging and then grinning. ”Worked for me, at least.”

Olivia didn’t look impressed, her one brow rising up.

”So I should just wait and see if I happen to run into someone in one day and then he magically falls in love with me?”

You chuckled, nodding. ”Yes. It honestly can happen.”

”I doubt it,” Olivia stated, though now there was a small smile tucking at the corners of her mouth. ”How did you meet your guy, by the way?”

You grinned, shaking your head.

”Trust me, you don’t want to know that.”

Olivia looked like she wanted to ask more but you shook your head again and she got the message. You weren’t going to tell her more. Not now, at least.

You were a bit late as you had taken too much time figuring out what to wear for the evening. Eventually you had settled for a button up shirt and some loose-fitting trousers with a long, warm coat, scarf and your favorite mittens. Copia was already waiting for you, leaning against the handrails in front of the church, a guitar case on the stairs by his feet.

”Sorry, I’m a bit late,” you apologized, smiling at him as you climbed a few stairs up.

”Don’t worry, I have all the time in the world,” he said, pushing himself off the handrails and taking a hold of your hand and leaning in to kiss your cheek.

”What’s that for?” you had to ask, pointing the guitar case. ”I didn’t knew you play a guitar.”

”I didn’t play for a long time but I felt it would be nice to do that for a special occasion.”

”And this is that special occasion?”

”Yes,” Copia said, smile wide, and picked up the case, still holding your other hand. ”Let’s go.”

You let Copia lead you away from the stairs, taking then turn to right and head behind the church. It was kind of hard to see when there were no working lights around on your path but you trusted that Copia, or vampires in general, had a good night vision. You tried your best at not to trip on any branches of bushes or anything else that grew or were on the ground as you walked forward and realized that maybe your choice of trousers and coat wasn’t the best.

Copia took you all the way to the back of the church and then continued forward where there seemed to be some smaller building. You walked past that, and then you could see another, a bigger building rising before you. Copia stopped by the metallic staircase and motioned you to go first.

”Is this safe?” you asked, eyeing the stairs suspiciously.

”Yes,” Copia said softly, gently patting your back and urging you forward.

You started climbing, the metal under your feet giving a small noises with every step. It was kind of unnerving but knowing that Copia was there with you, made you feel safer. With Copia’s instructions you climbed until you reached the roof and when you turned to look at towards the church, the sight that greeted you was so pretty. You could see the city spread out before you in all its night glory, the lights shining in different shades near and far, the moon casting its light above you.

”Wow,” you said in awe. ”I had no idea that you can see the city from here.”

”Well, now you know,” Copia said, stepping beside you and putting the guitar case down. ”This is one of my favorite places, I have spent so many nights here.”

”I can see why.”

You took a glance at Copia, seeing him looking at you with a soft, happy expression.

”What?” you asked, now properly turning to Copia.

”I thought that if I ever found someone… special I would bring them here,” Copia spoke softly, a dreamy smile on his lips. ”This is a part of my world – the quiet, oftentimes lonely nights. But seeing all this made me feel less lonely, no matter how odd it sounds.”

Something tugged at your heartstrings and you instinctively moved closer to Copia and wrapped your arms around him to comfort him. He relaxed into the embrace and for a while you just stood there, in silence.

”So this is a date, then?” you eventually broke the silence, pulling slightly back so that you could look at Copia.

”Sí, obviously.”

You smiled, moving your hand and giving him a light, playful shove to the upper arm.

”Such a romantic,” you teased, making Copia laugh, a proper, deep laugh this time. You loved the sound of it, your smile only growing wider. It always felt good when you made him laugh.

”Always have been,” he said, maybe half-jokingly, then leaning in and placing a kiss on your forehead. ”Now, sit down and get ready for some guitar tunes.”

You didn’t have to be told twice so you sat down, eager to hear Copia playing. While you waited Copia to take his time for getting ready, you let your gaze admire the night lights, and hoped that you had taken your notebook and pen with you. It wasn’t typical for you to leave home without them but this time you had thought that you would rather enjoy the moment as it was, without any distraction.

”Here,” Copia soon said, your gaze falling to the worn-out notebook he was handing to you. ”There’s some pieces of lyrics I’ve written.”

Surprised you took the notebook, examining the cover. There seemed to be some symbol on it, like it was embedded on it but due to darkness and wear and tear you couldn’t make out exactly what it was. Just as you hesitantly opened the notebook, Copia played the first chords, and you removed your other mitten and took your phone out of your pocket, putting the flashlight on and pointing it towards the page. Words were written in black ink, handwriting looking pretty and for a moment you just admired it.

Copia was now playing properly, the soft, slow melody filling your ears and you started to read the words. The longer you read and the more you listened Copia’s playing, it felt like the words on the pages and the melody matched well sometimes. Whether it was intentional or just a coincidence, it was beautiful nonetheless. Then you closed your eyes, for a moment just focusing on the sound of the guitar, letting the music paint a picture in your head. Sadness, longing, hope.

It didn’t take a long before you were caught off guard by a low, sweet voice. You opened your eyes, turning to look at Copia completely in awe. You had had no idea that he could also sing but it certainly was a nice surprise. With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

When Copia eventually stopped singing and played the last chords, you put your phone and Copia’s notebook down and plunged then forward to smash you lips against his. Copia let out a surprised noise, then melting into the kiss, his other hand cupping your cheek. You balanced yourself by leaning against Copia’s shoulders with your hands as your mouths explored one another slowly. There were so many things you hoped you could say but didn’t have words for so you had to try to convey them all through the kiss.

Way too soon air became needed for you so reluctantly you pulled away, searching for Copia’s gaze, your heart beating faster inside your chest.

”That was amazing,” you breathed out, knowing it was quite an understatement but right now you had no better words to offer. Copia grinned.

”I’m glad you liked it.”

”Liked it? I loved it!” you stated emphatically. ”You really have a beautiful voice and the lyrics… Wow, I’m impressed.”

Now Copia was basically beaming and you couldn’t help but lean to place a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. It made him chuckle and you felt the sound of it in your heart, the warmth spreading all over you.

”You definitely need to play and sing more,” you said smiling. ”Have you ever played for the audience?”

Copia nodded. ”Si, but it’s been decades since the last time. For some reason I lost a bit of the spark to do that even tough it was fun. But I think that tonight I might have gotten a part of that spark back.”

The way Copia’s eyes shined even in the darkness of the night, made you feel so happy.

”Are you implying that I inspired you to pick up the guitar and start singing again?”

Copia flashed you a crooked smile, raising his other brow.

”Well, you’re an artist yourself, so you probably understand how the inspiration works.”

You nodded, lifting your hand up to caress Copia’s cheek.

”Oh, I know that very well.”

Copia leaned against your touch, smiling sweetly, and you were so glad that he chose this night to spread out his heart and show more of himself. This was a perfect date, if you were honest. While you would have been completely fine with the basic movie or dinner date, this seemed more… you and Copia if that made sense. You weren’t even sure how dinner date would even work with a vampire.

”What’s going on in that sweet head of yours?” Copia interrupted your train of thoughts and you shook your head.

”It’s silly…” you started, lowering your gaze. ”I was just thinking how perfect this date has been. And I was wondering how it would have worked if we had had a dinner date instead.”

Copia moved his hand under you chin, gently making you to look at him.

You hummed, running your fingers along Copia’s cheeks, stopping right upon his upper lip. Copia’s lips parted slightly and you could see the fangs coming out, a wind-like movement passing you before settling into a warm vibration around you.

”That’s not silly,” he spoke softly. ”I’m happy that this has been a great date for you and I have also enjoyed this so much. And what comes for the dinner date… Well, I can eat human food but it doesn’t do much, you know. It would have been a bit weird for me but I would have managed it, of course. But it didn’t feel right for us so I wanted to do this.”

”With you I feel more like a human,” Copia said quietly, caressing your chin with his thumb. ”But I also hate these vampire aspects less.”

Smiling, you leaned closer to Copia’s face, watching closely how his other eye changed its color to red, how his nose twitched and you felt that odd satisfaction deep down as you knew that your scent was causing that. Naturally you had to close the gap between you, capture Copia’s lips in a kiss again, your mouths easily finding a perfect, slow rhythm. The night was cool and his lips felt cold against yours but you felt so warm within. It wasn’t a full, blazing fire but something more gentle, lingering – like a fluffy blanket wrapped around you. You hoped you never would have to let go of that feeling.

With a fluttering heart you pulled then back, smile matching to Copia’s as your gazes met. There was so much to see in those beautiful mismatched eyes, whole books of stories, remnants of the long life lived and you were already so lost in the vastness of it, the world you were now the highlight of.

The next thing seemed to happen in a blink of an eye and you found yourself to be pinned down against the cold surface of the roof, guitar now resting on the side and Copia hovering above you, his gaze taking in the sight of you. Gently he took a hold of you hand, pulling the mitten away and bringing your wrist close to his lips, then placing a light kiss on it, making you shudder.

”Could you feed off from me?” you asked, feeling how Copia tensed for a moment.

”Now?” he asked, confused, and you nodded, surprising yourself a bit by that.

”Yes, if you want to.”

Copia stared at you as if he was looking for any signs that could tell you weren’t actually serious. Then he inhaled deeply your scent, your wrist still close to his lips and you could see how tempting your offer had been. Then he shook his head, placing another kiss to your wrist.

”As much I would like to do that, now’s not the right moment,” he said, letting go of your hand, leaning closer and cupping you face. ”I’m not ready for that yet.”

You felt slight disappointment tying its knot within you but this wasn’t all about you or what you wanted. You didn’t want to drive Copia away by being too eager or persistent.

”It’s okay,” you said, offering Copia a reassuring smile. ”I can wait.”

A half-smile passed Copia’s lips as he run his fingers along the side of your face.

”It would hurt no matter how careful I would be. Until the venom kicks in, at least.”

”It can’t be that bad, right?” you sighed, and Copia made a face at that.

”Well, it doesn’t hurt as much as turning into a vampire but it still hurts.”

You pondered his words for a while, trying to imagine different kind of pain levels but of course you couldn’t grasp the reality as you had no idea how it would be. The idea of him biting you, feeding off from you, was still intriguing and you weren’t going to take back your offer.

”Okay, enough of this serious talk…” you said, changing the subject. ”Could we leave now? It’s getting a bit cold.”

Copia was instantly on his feet, extending his hand to you, his usual warm smile returning to his lips.

”Sure, I’ll walk you home.”

taglist: @nijiru

[traegorn]

Going from Script to Page

(originally posted to my personal blog)

So the big difference between Peregrine Lake and my earlier comics is, obviously, that I'm not the one drawing it. When I was doing my earlier comics, I never wrote down what I was planning, I just had it in my head and would translate it directly to the page. At most I'd write one sentence lines about strips so I could plot out pacing. I did a few thumbnails early on to figure out page layouts, but more often than not the pages didn't exist in any form until I wrote them. That obviously isn't a way we can work for this comic. I can't sit there over Ethan's ( @wistfolie ) shoulder while they draw, since that would be weird and we don't live in the same city. So I do what comic writers have been doing for quite some time. I write scripts. That's where every page for Peregrine Lake starts. Then, if Ethan needs any clarification on a description or has an alternate suggestion for a setting or scene, we talk about it. But again, we start by my writing a script. So I thought it might be fun to take a look at a recent installment and compare the final art to the initial script I wrote. Our example is the October 22nd page titled "Greg." It is, unsurprisingly, the first page where we see the final of our four main characters. I love this page, but let's see the initial script:

Panel 1 Greg emerges from the curtained doorway. Tall panel. If this were television or film, we'd smear some Vaseline on the lens for the best gooey soft focus shot we could get. God damn, we want everyone seeing this to want a piece of Greg. Like take a second slice home in a take out box and eat it while watching Netflix. Let's make this far more detailed than any other panel. Let's get people to demand we print this man on body pillows. Panel 2 Close up of Bev's face. She wants to just lay Greg down and cover him in butter. Bev: (tiny ass words, whispering to self) Yeah... not talking good. Panel 3 Greg leans on the counter towards Lynn, Bev is... "reacting" quietly, but no one's paying her any attention Greg: Hey Lynn, Bob hasn't gotten me those antique iron nails yet. I said I'd call when they come in. Lynn: Thanks, but not what I'm here for. I may have an... off the books job for you Greg: How off the books Panel 4 Close up of Lynn. Lynn is very serious. Lynn: Off the books off the books. Greg, this is my new friend Bev. Panel 5 Back to a shot of the three of them, Greg turns to Bev smiling Greg: Hi! Nice to meet you. Bev: (tiny words) Hello tall man

Yep. That is... that is pretty close to what we got. We moved some of the dialogue around to fit better with the art (moving some of Greg's stuff to panel one from panel three), but overall we stick pretty true to it. Ethan read my ridiculous descriptions and understood the assignment. And yeah, I think it's safe to assume at least some of our audience wants a piece of Greg now.

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Major Update

The request will be opening soon because I'm down to like the most obscure requests that I'm actually struggling to find photos for. So in preparation of this I have to get a lot of announcements out of the way so this post might make a lot of people angry. Might make some of you happy But I need to get this out of the way before I open up the request again.

Let's start with the things that I know are going to piss people off as of right now. No. Webcomics no. Webtoons. Yes, I do know several webtoons/webcomics have been turned into anime. Those will be allowed but that's because they're anime now. Also no mechs. However, this is just for now. Remember I've only been doing this blog for maybe 3 months. So let me get more into the groove of things before we add on all of those things. So maybe when I've been doing this for 6 months to a year we can start allowing that Web comics, webtoons and mechs but I'm already struggling with keeping up with requests and keeping enough stuff in the queue as is. So I don't want to complicate things even further and make things as easy as I can on myself. Now there is a reason for this because I may be changing jobs soon and I don't want to have to put the blog on temporary hiatus during that transition.

Now on to the next thing and this is probably going to make a lot of people happy but people please do not make me regret this decision. But, after hearing the many lamentations from mostly the Naruto fandom, much personal debate and seeing how a similar blog handles things. I have decided to lower the minimum age for the polls to 16. Now that means minors can and probably will be matched up against each other and against 18+ characters. Please don't come at me about that choice, these characters are fictional. You can't hurt them, and a blog like this isn't going to normalize preying on minors. YES it's wrong in real life, but anime teenagers are not normal teenagers. I literally just finished an anime about a assassin trying to get back to his wife. He was 16 and had a wife I swore he was at least 20 sometimes anime ages don't make sense. Please don't start anything or I will start blocking. But for those of you who don't want to participate in those polls, I will make a special tag so you can block all polls that have confirmed 16 and 17-year-old characters So you can block the tag so you don't have to see it and participate You will be able to find it when I update the rules post in the next day or two when I have everything finalized. Now this is subject to change if people do not behave. So do not start attacking me because I allow this or I will bump that age back up to 18. Do not make me regret this

Now when it comes to requests you have 10 characters and can request up to Four-way matchups. I don't care how you break that down so you can do two four-way polls and a two-way poll or request five two-way polls don't care. Figure it out. I'm pretty sure everyone can do math but the max is 10 characters However, you want to break it down with two-way, three-way and four-way polls.

I'm also setting a limit on how many times you can request a day. Please only do it twice. That's up to 20 characters. So everyone gets a chance to request polls

Remember Six-Way polls are not something you can request directly. They are something I make as a special thing, when the queue leans too much into one character or fandom. However, you can suggest a theme. I have done fire and ice powers. You all seem to like the goth girl and the anime men in suits. You get the idea. You can always put some theme ideas at the bottom of your request. So I can add them to my list of themes that I have saved when I need to make a six-way poll

I think that is all the major announcements So now with these updates everyone can start thinking of the new matchup request because they will be opening up soon and that request box fills up fast

[yandere-sins]

Poll Feedback Replies!

Results beneath the cut! Thanks to everyone responding, you are all so kind to leave such nice replies and I am glad you are enjoying the polls as much as I do!! ♥ I am very grateful to everyone reaching out and working on this together with me, thank you everyone and of course—if you have any more thoughts you are welcome to share them!

(I put similar suggestions together! And there might be a poll if you read through it all ;) I know you guys love them :P)

Thank you so much!! I am glad you are enjoying my writing and the weekly polls ♥

The more interactions with the yandere is a very good suggestion and I put it on my little reminder note to include more interactions in future polls! :D

Thank you for your response! More and faster replies are noted!

Although a good critic point, I do have to defend myself a little on it. I know I've not been the most active with replies, sometimes taking a week or two to catch up to them, but I do reply to every. single. comment. that I get. The problem as to why it takes so long is honestly just mental/physical exhaustion (as you know there's been a lot going on in my life and having a fulltime customer service job is taxing as well), so I usually wait until the polls are over and then go through all replies. I sincerely try and hope to be able to get back to at least replying to new comments every day, but I hope you guys can understand that interactions can be tricky and I'd hate not to have the mental capacities to really think about what people reasoned and just reply the same words over and over instead ^^'

Edit; you are still right and I'll catch up to them. I have been neglectful on them for a while.

However, as a sidenote, I don't go into stuff explicitely when I reblog the polls because think about it this way: You only see the poll when I reblog it and not when I post it for the first time. So you read the blurb, think of what you would do, and suddenly see my reply. Now you might change your thoughts and go for something else just because I made a good/bad point with my reply. I do sometimes give hints as to where the poll is at currently, but if I take a side that could inevitably influence people to not choose what they want ^^' So the half-time and last day announcements are staying vague on purpose to give everyone a chance to make a decision without being actively influenced unless they decide to check the comments.

I am very glad you guys are enjoying them so much!! Thank you for reaching out and giving me feedback!

What I will do for more clarity: I already put a note at the beginning of the blurb if the polls are multiple parts, but I think will do it like "Part 1 of 2 (or like 1/2 and 2/2)" so it will be obvious if it's finished or not. That is IF they are consecutive, week after week. However, if it's planned as a standalone, I might just continue to not mention any parts so you guys know it's just this one for now, and if I ever pick it up again, I'll just leave a note saying "Continuation of this post" before the blurb and link to the previous one. I hope that helps and lifts some of the confusion!

As for the writing a "conclusion" I am somewhat split... I always wanted to give the chance for everyone to use their own imagination and problem solving skills to think of the solution they lean towards. It's like a creative exercise that invokes moral values and mindful thoughts. And of course it's fun to see how and why others agree/disagree.

It would really take the magic away of the polls being genuinly without judgement (there being no right or wrong answer) but I do understand the curiosity about what happens next from a storyteller point of view. I do have a bit more background information that could be shared but is purposefully not mentioned because neither you, the protagonist nor you, the reader have that information available and need to make a decision based on the information you have (e.g. as the writer I knew what is in the last package the yandere wanted to send you). I need to know that information to make the story more convincing, you don't need it so you can make a real, genuine decision with the same amount of information that your yandere gives you.

There might be some disillusion if I take away the freedom from you guys to think about what comes next, and you might end up hating the conclusions that I came up with, especially if it interfers with your imagination and I'd hate to disappoint you all :( -> And just to add on, there are a lot of small things that could entirely change a decision for better or for worse. Like for the hiding poll, if the reader was small or tall that could influence the situation's outcome as you guys have proven with your replies! Thus not every outcome that I portrait might actually be an accurate or realistic one, rather one I thought of?

I could offer doing like a "monthly" review (or like every 4 to 5 polls or so) where I go through my ideas of what each choice does, but even though I have a writing blog I just don't think people would much care for me yapping, trying to go through every possibility I can think of... ^^' (I don't have that kind of confidence lol) But! I am not against it. I'll let you guys decide if this is really is something you want despite the danger of disillusion I spoke about before. To me, a lot more speaks against writing conclusions to the polls so I haven't done it until yet, but if there's a genuine interest in it, I will try my best to include it between requests!

@watch-out-for-them

Thank you for your reply! I am glad you are having a lot of fun with the polls! :D I'm afraid the not showing up is out of my hand, but if it helps: I post the polls on Sunday, the first reminder on Wednesday, and the last one on Saturday. I don't like promoting myself too much but there's still the possibility of turning on notifications if that is an option for you!! Still thank you for interacting and leaving feedback ♥

[ @lorkai / @furudolove / @kiwi-donut ]

Thank you for all the insights, praise, and love for the polls, I'm so glad you are here to enjoy them and participate!! I am especially glad to see a lot of you coming back for every poll and it's always fun to interact and read your thoughts!! ♥ I'm glad I get to have a chance to inspire you and reflect on your decisions, that is truly and honor that I am grateful to have!! ♥

[gmariam321]

I'm sure I've posted this before, since I started it years ago. But I think I can actually finish it now, so here's the beginning. Nothing deep, just a long one shot that puts Ianto and Gwen in quarantine. Because why not? Interesting dynamic, especially set after 'Meat.'

I'll be sure to share when I post it to Ao3! Enjoy!

Sunflowers and Seclusion

"You do know you're not supposed to touch the pretty things either, right?" asked Owen, his white hazmat suit failing to obscure both the tone of his voice and the roll of his eyes. He taped a plaster over Gwen's inner arm and pocketed three vials of blood. "SOP with unidentified flora or fauna in the field, Cooper. Didn't you read the manual?"

"There's a manual for flora and fauna?" Gwen asked. She sounded more upset than annoyed at Owen's rebuke.

"And Merriweather too," Ianto murmured, leaning against the glass outside the large suite where Gwen would be spending her time in quarantine now.

"Ha bloody ha," she said; now she sounded slightly annoyed, though also a bit scared. "You could have stopped me, you know."

"I believe I did say something to the effect of 'Let me get the hazmat gloves and containment box first,'" Ianto replied easily.

"They looked like sunflowers," Gwen replied sullenly. "I like sunflowers."

"A comically large bouquet of bright red sunflowers in the middle of the park didn't raise the 'Don't touch this without gloves' flag?" Ianto asked. Gwen sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I thought they were nice. We never get anything nice from the Rift."

"Maybe you were supposed to think they were nice and pick them up," Tosh piped up from behind Ianto, where she was studying one of their field scanners. "I'm getting some strange preliminary readings from them."

"You're being careful, right Tosh?" Owen turned and asked.

“They’re still upstairs in the box,” she said. “I’ve got a scan running remotely.”

“Good,” Owen replied. "I don't want us all coming down with some strange intergalactic rash."

"Ooh, I had that once," Jack said, appearing behind Tosh. "Found some cute guys with tentacles to rub in some cream and was better in no time."

Gwen blanched, Tosh frowned, and Ianto rolled his eyes. If he had pound for every time Jack talked about tentacles, he could eat at the fanciest seafood restaurant in Cardiff. Owen snorted and turned back to Gwen.

"I've got what I need to start looking into whatever this is." He waved his gloved hand vaguely over Gwen's body. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, her arms and legs covered in bright red spots. They were perfectly circular with a pale center, and apparently quite itchy, as she laid down on the and started scratching her arms like mad the moment Owen stepped into the decontamination airlock.

"Maybe it's just hives?" she suggested.

"I don't have any allergies on file for you, though that doesn’t rule it out," Owen said, taking off his helmet in the corridor. "It could be anything— allergies, a fast acting virus, bacteria, even fungus. But I don't think those flowers are quite normal given that you found them after a Rift alert, so we're going to assume your rash isn't normal either."

"Do you have anything for the itching?" she asked. "It's bloody awful."

"The shot I gave you should start to help. I'll bring down some cream once I start some tests running. If it’s not an allergic reaction—and if it’s alien—it might be a while before I have some better answers."

Gwen sighed and laid down, still scratching. "Thanks, Owen. Make it the good stuff, yeah?"

"As long as you don’t go picking alien flowers again," he tossed over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Hey Tosh, what kind of readings? And can you help me with some of these tests while your scan runs?"

They walked upstairs together, talking quietly. Jack watched Gwen for a moment before turning toward Ianto. "And you're feeling all right?" he asked. "No spots, no itching?"

Ianto shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "At least, not yet. I didn't touch the bouquet, not being much of a flowers man myself, but I did help Gwen to the car."

"So we'll keep an eye on you as well," said Jack. "I doubt it's contagious, as it seems directly linked to the flowers, but you were close when it happened. Let us know if you notice anything."

"I figure I would have by now," Ianto replied. "Considering how quickly it hit Gwen."

"Maybe," said Jack. "But maybe indirect contact takes longer to create a reaction."

"Thank you for the optimistic outlook, sir," Ianto replied with the driest tone he could manage. "If you don't mind, I'm going to start looking through the records for other alien sunflowers that may have fallen through the Rift and infected past agents."

Jack motioned at the door. "After you," he said with a grin. He turned back to Gwen first. "Take it easy and get some rest. We'll figure this out."

She sat up, clearly miserable. "Can I talk to Rhys?" she asked. "We were supposed to work on the wedding tonight."

"I can call him if you like," Ianto said.

"I want to talk to him," Gwen said. "I'm already going stir-crazy in here!"

"You've been here for barely half an hour, Gwen," Jack pointed out. "If you're that freaked out about being in a room by yourself, maybe you need to spend more time alone."

Ianto tried not to roll his eyes. Of course Gwen was going stir-crazy, because, like Jack, she was the kind of person who thrived on the company of others. She liked action and adventure and functioned perfectly well with chaos and noise. Ianto, on the other hand, would love the chance for some peace and quiet in the Hub once in a while—even if it was in quarantine.

"How about I call him first,” Ianto said. “I can tell him what's going on, reassure him you're all right and we're doing everything we can, then bring your mobile. I'm not sure about the signal down here, but if you’re still awake, you can try. Sound all right?"

"Thanks, Ianto."

"You're welcome. Anything else? Some water? Owen says coffee might not be a good idea with the shot." "Shit," she said, falling back down on the bed. "No coffee? Tea, maybe? Isn't that supposed to be calming?"

"I'll see what we have," Ianto replied. "Give me ten minutes."

"Always ten minutes with you," Jack murmured, wagging his eyebrows. Ianto smirked at him. "And counting," he murmured. "Excuse me, sir, work to do."

He headed upstairs to call Rhys Williams and prepare some tea. Jack winked at Gwen and followed, while Gwen sighed, flung her hand over her face, and clearly tried not to cry.

* * *

It wasn't ten minutes later, after Ianto had got off the phone with Rhys and was waiting for Gwen's tea to steep, that he noticed a strange feeling on his hands. Glancing down, he saw several familiar looking red spots dotting both the tops and bottoms of his hand. Mouthing a curse, he took off his suitcoat, rolled up his sleeves, and saw even more covering his arms. And as soon as he saw them, it was as if his mind gave his body permission to start itching like mad.

Suddenly he wanted to rip off the rest of his suit; he understood now why Gwen had insisted on shorts and a t-shirt, as the heavy wool fabric was hot and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he didn't have anything besides long pants at the Hub at the moment; maybe he could borrow something from Jack. But first he had to let Owen know.

Walking toward the medical bay, he was hit by a wave of dizziness and found himself clinging to the railing as he glanced down at Tosh and Owen running their tests. Taking a deep breath to stop the world from spinning, he cleared his throat.

"Looks like I'll be joining Gwen downstairs," he said, his voice coming out lower than he'd expected. He rubbed the back of his neck. "And I think I'll take one of those shots you gave her as well."

"Shit," said Owen. "Get down there fast, I'll grab my gear and meet you."

"Right." Ianto nodded and turned to leave. He scratched at his arms. "Tosh, can you ask Jack if he has any shorts I can borrow?" he asked. "There is no way I can stay in this suit."

"Of course," Tosh said, looking concerned. "We'll be down right away."

"Quarantine, teaboy," said Owen. "Now." He started gathering supplies while Ianto hurried back to the suite that Torchwood had long ago set up for exactly these situations. Used only for agents compromised in the field by unknown biological agents, it was a large, sealed off chamber with several beds, a table and chairs, and its own bathroom. It was rather like something from a medical thriller, but it did what it was supposed to do even if it looked cliche: kept the pathogens in and the rest of the Hub safe. Assuming Gwen and Ianto hadn't already spread it by making their way through the Hub.

Gwen sat up as Ianto let himself into the chamber without a hazmat suit. "Oh no," she said. "You didn't get it too?"

"Yep," said Ianto, taking off his shirt and tie. He left on his white undershirt and tried not to claw at the red blotches rapidly covering his arms. "So either it's spread through contact or through the air."

"God, if it's through the air, then the entire Hub might be infected!" Gwen exclaimed. "Or the park!"

"We've got procedures in place for this sort of thing," Ianto replied. "I imagine they'll lock down the Hub and go into quarantine mode now to filter out any particles in the air. And if we need to, then we quarantine the park, though we've never done anything that big since I've been here." They'd have to disinfect the SUV as well, and keep an eye out for any reports of the rash spreading beyond the park. It was the worst possible timing, that two of them were in seclusion when there was suddenly so much to do. Jack would almost certainly have to call UNIT if the park was involved, and he always hated that.

Ianto glanced around and claimed the bed opposite from Gwen, then let his elbows fall to his knees, wishing he could rip the itchy trousers off, but not wanting to sit around in his pants with Gwen. He was rather stunned at the ferocity of the rash and how suddenly it appeared. It was exactly as awful as Gwen had said in the SUV as he'd driven them back to the Hub less than an hour earlier: the sudden dizziness, the hot and itchy spots, and increasing fatigue. He only wondered why it had taken longer for him to break out. Perhaps he hadn't contracted it from the flowers directly, but from helping Gwen back to the Hub.

"I'm sorry I picked up the flowers, Ianto," Gwen said quietly. "You wouldn't be stuck in here if I hadn't."

"They were quite pretty," Ianto replied with a shrug. "But you really do need to read the manual."

"Maybe Tosh can find a copy and you can stand over my shoulder and quiz me," Gwen said with a laugh. She scratched at her forearms. "Because I will never, ever touch another plant, flower, or seed in the field again."

Ianto snorted and let his eyes slip closed as a wave of pain and discomfort gripped his legs, causing him to tense. He breathed deeply through his nose to try and resist the urge to scratch.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" she asked quietly. He nodded silently.

"I'm going to scratch myself raw soon," she said. "It's my arms that are bloody awful."

"Legs for me," Ianto replied, lying down to try and calm the unexpected anxiety. What was it that could cause such an intense and quick reaction? Why was it affecting them in different places? Was it alien? Was it fatal? Where were the others?

"You'll need to get those trousers off," she said. "We're all friends, after all." She tried to sound light-hearted, but Ianto could hear the effort.

"I asked Tosh if she could borrow some shorts from Jack," Ianto replied. "Hopefully they’ll appear with the shot Owen is getting ready."

Gwen was silent for a moment, then abruptly giggled. "Jack owns shorts? I don’t believe you. He only ever wears blue trousers!"

"Or black," Ianto pointed out. "Occasionally grey."

"And brown, I think I remember brown." She turned her head toward Ianto. "You'd look good in brown."

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "A brown suit? Seriously?"

"I saw one at Marks and Spencer the other week, it was gorgeous. Rhys doesn't need such a thing, but you could pull it off—tan shirt, burgundy tie…" She trailed off, her eyes slipping closed with a sigh.

Ianto watched her with concern. "You all right?" he asked.

"My arms hurt," she said quietly. "Probably why I'm babbling about suits, I'm trying not to think about it."

Ianto smiled as he stared at the ceiling, wondering where Tosh was with his shorts and Owen with his shot. "There are worse topics of conversation."

There was another pause of silence. "Can't really picture you in shorts either," she said. "Seeing you in jeans is shocking enough."

Ianto laughed quietly to himself. "Believe it or not, I used to be quite the jeans guy. I've got myself a studded belt and everything."

Gwen rolled over onto her side. "Now that is something I'd like to see, Ianto Jones decked out for clubbing! And what about Jack? Does he ever wear jeans? That’s even stranger than him wearing shorts."

Ianto smirked as he thought about the last time he and Jack had gone out. They'd gone to a local pub and played pool, and Jack had looked amazing dressed more casual. He almost said something, but was saved when Tosh, Owen, and Jack all came dashing into the corridor.

"Ianto!" Jack exclaimed. "You just told me you were fine!"

Ianto sighed and sat up. "And ten minutes later I broke out in spots, so clearly I misdiagnosed myself."

"Whatever it is, it's quick and virulent," Owen said. He stepped into the airlock and started pulling on his hazmat suit again. "I want a blood draw to compare with Gwen, and I've got a shot for you, plus lots of cream for you both." Jack waved a pair of shorts and socks and tossed them into the airlock. "Oh, and we get to see your legs. Wonderful."

"I have perfectly fine legs," Ianto protested. "At least when they’re not covered in spots."

"How do you feel besides the rash?" Owen asked as he stepped into the room. "Any other symptoms?"

"It's getting more painful," Gwen said. "And I'm dead tired. Feel like I could sleep for a week if only my brain would stop running in circles."

"That might be the shot," Owen said. He tossed her the cream and walked over to Ianto to start his examination. "How about you?" he asked. "Anything besides the rash?"

"A bit achy," Ianto replied. "Tired. Head's starting to hurt."

Owen stuck a thermometer in his mouth. "Low grade fever. So maybe not an allergic reaction. If it gets worse, I'll give you both something for the fever, but right now I'd rather let your body fight whatever this is on its own before throwing something else at it that could end up making it worse. Speaking of which, give me your arm so I can get some blood."

He did a quick draw, then had Ianto turn around so he could give him a shot in his upper thigh. Gwen giggled and Jack wolf-whistled when he unbuckled his pants enough for Owen to get it in the muscle. Owen grumbled under his breath. Ianto decided his legs itched bad enough that he didn't particularly care about dropping his trousers anymore and stepped out of them. He grabbed Jack's shorts, pulled them on and changed his socks, then collapsed on the bed, the small effort exhausting.

Owen bent over him and started poking at his legs. They were worse than Gwen's, and he flinched as Owen pressed on several large red welts, finally smacking the doctor's hands away as a furious burst of itching commenced.

"Stop it," he muttered. "Hurts enough without you poking it."

"It's blanching," Owen said. "Which is a good sign. Could still be an allergic reaction, which would be a damn odd coincidence if it were earth-based, but not so much if it's alien. So slather some cream on it while we go run some more tests. Call if you need anything."

Gwen was sitting up on the bed, her face pinched. "When is the medicine going to help?" she asked, her voice laced with pain and frustration. She hissed as she started rubbing the cream up and down her arms.

"Depends on what’s causing it,” Owen said with a shrug. "Not much else I can do until I know exactly what to throw at it. I'll be back to check on you in a while and bring a steroid in case it’s worse."

He left the suite and returned upstairs with Tosh. Ianto sat down and rubbed the cream onto his arms and even more on his legs, then laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to scratch and rub them. It was worse than any childhood illness he could remember; he half wondered if adults were in fact weaker than children, as he seemed to recall his niece and nephew going through their fair share of rashes with little complaint. Then again, maybe these things hit adults harder, or they worried about it more while kids kept playing their video games with little thought for things like aliens and death by spots.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked quietly from the other side of the glass. Ianto sat up, surprised he was still there. Jack was standing close to Ianto's bed, watching him with a look of concern. He tried not to read anything into it.

"Pretty rotten, actually," Ianto said. "Never itched so bad in my life."

"I'm sorry," Jack started, but Ianto stopped him before he could continue.

"What for? It's not like it's your fault."

"I sent you out there," Jack pointed out.

"And did you drop the poisonous sunflowers in the middle of the park?" Ianto asked. When Jack shook his head, Ianto sighed. "Whoever went out there would be in here now—even you, I suspect."

"Yeah, but I could always—"

Again Ianto stopped him. "Don't even say it."

"Sorry."

Something occurred to Ianto, and he glanced over at Gwen, wishing he had a bit of privacy, then stood and walked around his bed over to the glass, turning so his back was to her. Jack moved closer, mirroring him as if he wanted to reach out.

"The…you know…" He tried to give Jack a look, knew it wouldn't work though. "The thing tonight? That we were going to? I won't be able to go. I'm sorry."

Jack frowned as his hand came up to the glass. "I didn't even think about that," he said. "Of course you can't, and don't apologize. We can go another time."

"You could still go," Ianto suggested, though he sort of hated it. "Maybe take Tosh? She'd enjoy it. Not Owen, though, since I'd prefer to have my doctor on call." He offered a smile, but Jack shook his head.

"Of course I'm not going without you. We're all staying here until we know what we're dealing with."

"Lockdown?" Ianto asked.

"Teamwork," Jack replied. His face softened and he smiled. "We'll go another time. I promise."

Ianto sighed. "All right. Sorry I mucked it up."

"You didn't muck anything up," Jack said. "Besides, you're wearing my clothes, and that's a good show too."

Ianto rolled his eyes, then made a motion back toward his bed. "I'm going to go lie down again. Standing is actually quite a chore."

The look of concern reappeared instantly. "Do I need to call Owen?"

"No, let him work on figuring this out," Ianto replied, slowly letting himself back down to the bed. The fatigue was a weight on his shoulders, heavy and overwhelming on top of increasing soreness and stiffness. "The quicker he runs his tests, the faster he can cure it."

"All right. I'm going to poke around the archives and see if I can find anything similar." Jack grinned when Ianto sat up, eyes wide. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"If you make a mess," Ianto said, laying back down. "I'll know it was you."

"And if I find something that helps, you won't care. I'll be back in a while to see how you're doing." He turned to leave, then stepped back. "How're you hanging in there, Gwen? Still awake?"

Gwen opened one eye and offered a crooked grin. "Can't very well sleep through all that, can I?" Ianto groaned, because he knew from that tone of voice—even sick—that as soon as Jack left, she was going to start asking questions. Lots of questions.

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Jack laughed. "Get some rest and call us if you need anything."

Ianto nodded, Gwen waved, and Jack left. Ianto closed his eyes and flung an arm over his face, hoping he gave off the clear impression of trying to sleep.

He heard Gwen turn toward him and imagined the curious look on her face.

"So," she started. "You had plans for tonight."

"So did you," Ianto pointed out without moving his arm. If his voice was muddled, he didn't really care.

"You had plans for tonight with Jack," she said. "Personal plans?" He was silent. "Date-like plans, perhaps?"

"Gwen…"

"Come on, Ianto," she said. "We're stuck here together so we're going to have to talk about something."

"How about the wedding?" he suggested. "How're the plans coming?" She snorted, which finally prompted him to open his eyes. She was laying with her head on her left elbow, her right hand idly scratching at her forearm, red lines streaking her pale skin.

"I know perfectly well you lot are sick of hearing about it," she said. "And that's not what I want to talk about. Do you have a date with Jack tonight?"

"No," Ianto grumbled under his breath. It was true, since he was stuck in quarantine.

"Did you?" she pressed, catching on quicker than usual.

"We…we had plans to meet someone," he admitted. "Piano player. Friend of Jack's."

He saw the look on Gwen's face and huffed in frustration; everyone always assumed that any 'friend' of Jack's was a 'friend' in the sexual sense of the word. But contrary to the image he worked hard to project, Jack did not sleep with everyone he crossed paths with. Yes, he had quite an impressive back catalog—that much he'd admitted was true. He'd also confessed that as the decades wore on, his usual inclinations toward such things started to slow down. Not that he was celibate; far from it. Yet he didn't sleep with nearly as many partners as he liked people to think he did. He said it was fun to keep up the reputation; Ianto suspected the playboy image was as much of a shield as his own suited archivist persona.

"Jack does have friends, Gwen," he said. "Some of whom are even aliens."

"What?" she exclaimed. "What do you mean, alien?"

He turned back toward the ceiling, satisfied that he'd distracted her from her original line of questioning. "Winstead Wallis is a jazz pianist. Second generation Mintoo. His family was stranded here a long time ago. Jack helped them settle, kept in touch with the family, and never slept with any of them. Now Winstead's retiring and playing some of his last shows. So we thought we'd go out and support him."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "On a date."

"Gwen…"

"Ianto," she parroted back.

"Leave it."

Silence.

"Why?"

Ianto turned toward her in surprise. The simple question sounded completely honest, with none of her usual guile, manipulation, or frustrating ignorance.

"Because it's none of your business?" he suggested as dryly as he could so she would get the point.

"If you're going out to meet aliens, that is certainly Torchwood business," Gwen replied. Sometimes she was smarter than she came across; Ianto tried not to roll his eyes.

"Then I’m sorry we didn’t invite you all. We'll plan a team bonding night to go hear the six-fingered alien pianist retire."

"Six fingers?" Gwen asked in surprise. Ianto simply smirked in reply.

"That's not the point,” she huffed. “You're good at deflecting, you know."

"And you don't know when to let something go."

"All I asked was if you were going on a date with Jack."

"And I told you where we were going."

"But not if it was a date."

Ianto sighed and sat up, his head fuzzy. He glanced around the room, trying to find something to distract him from scratching his legs, but there was nothing, so he did, letting his frustration find an outlet. "Why do you want to know? Why do you need to know? Just because there are only five of us working here doesn't mean the expectation of privacy is null and void."

"When two out of five coworkers are dating, the probability of privacy is pretty low!" Gwen said. She sat up as well, hugging her arms to her chest, her face a pinched mask of pain. "Look, Ianto, I'm not trying to pry—"

"Could have fooled me," Ianto muttered.

"But … well, you know how Jack is. He doesn’t seem…well, like the dating type, does he?"

"And you know this how?" Ianto asked, his voice both flat yet pointed. She flushed and waved her hands about.

"I don't, I'm…from the way he talks, the way he acts…" She trailed off with a sigh. "He's clearly a player, Ianto. He's not one to settle down."

Ianto grinned, showing his teeth in that same way Jack did when he was playing the shark. "Who says I want him to settle down? Maybe I don't want to settle down."

Her eyes widened, and he stood up to loosen his tense legs. A quick turn around the room convinced him to return to his bed and lay down again. The silence was uncomfortable, but the effort of walking upright and doing something was almost too much.

"I don't want to see you get hurt," Gwen said quietly. Ianto bit his lip, then released it, and with it the words he'd wanted to say for almost a fortnight came tumbling out.

"Gwen, if that was true, then all those things you said and did when Rhys was here helping with the space whale wouldn't have happened." He waited for the inevitable response of hurt and anger, protestations of defense...

[s-creations]

🛁🛁 platonic bathing in like a lake or small river with the M & L & W²

🛁 Bathing together/platonic bathing (specifiy)

((Woof, this one is long and rather difficult to write, enjoy!))

Link to Post

Mario and Luigi couldn’t help but let out a groan as they dropped on their bags. Both followed soon after. Sitting on the ground as they leaned against the other in exhaustion. 

“You two really aren’t built for hiking? With all the stuff you’ve done so far? This is a worrisome development.” Waluigi casually pointed out as he placed down his own bag. Further back, Wario was already doing his best to set up the large tents, grumbling as he did so. 

“We’re not really one for nature.” Luigi argued back.

“City boys, right here, all our lives, never left the city limits. This is different for us.” Mario added on. 

“...Wow. Mushroom Kingdom heroes, right here. Can’t handle a little bit of nature.” 

The conversation paused when Wario let out a cry of triumph. Who stood back from his handing work on getting the two large tents set up. With that out of the way, he turned to join the conversation properly. “Think your sensitive skin is going to bruise sleeping on the ground?”

“Very funny,” Mario huffed, “This is just a different kind of terrain for us. Give us some slack.”

“Absolutely not! As your mentor, it’s our duty to make sure you’re ready for any situation.”

“Okay, ‘mentor’, what lesson are we being taught here?”

“How to rough it, in a very moderate way. If we need to leave the Mushroom Kingdom for something major, our best bet might need to be a sneak approach. So, how do we survive the wilderness with very little with us? We’re taking it easy on you two this round.” 

The twins groaned again, but didn’t argue back. Merely standing once more with their bags still resting on the ground. Mario stated, “Alright, what’s the first thing we need to get done.”

“Well, we have the tents set up-”

“I have the tents set up.” Wario interrupted his brother with his arms crossed. 

“Fine, whatever, they’re set up is the bottom line. Now we get the rest prepared and properly stored away.” 

Bottom line, it took a few hours before the camp was properly set up. Each twin paired with another brother so enough information was covered. Food safely stored, a place for a small campfire, tents secured so each set of brothers had their area set up for sleep. 

“And…that’s it,” Waluigi looked around, “We have it all set up. Nicely done you two.” 

“That wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.” Luigi admitted. 

“Well, with that being done, we should probably-”

“Heads up!”

That was the only warning given before Waluigi had grabbed onto the twin’s arms and pulled them out of the way. Rushing past the three was Wario, now wearing only his underwear, let out a loud ‘Woop!’ as he jumped into the river. Creating a large enough splash that Waluigi had to pull them all back further with a look of disgust. 

“Do you mind!” Waluigi huffed as his brother’s head popped out of the water’s surface. 

“No, I don’t,” Wario smirked back, “What are you worked up about? You’re gonna be getting here soon enough.”

“That doesn’t mean I want the rest of my clothing wet!” 

“What is happening right now?” Mario cautiously asked.

“Bathtime,” Waluigi replied simply, “We’re disgusting and this is the closest thing we’re going to get to clean water. Come on, clothes off.”

“Um…we’re good.”

“No you’re not. Trust me, nothing is more aggravating than trying to sleep covered in a good layer of dirt. You’re not going to be in your birthday suit, just your underwear, you’re fine.” Waluigi casually commented as he started doing as he suggested. 

Mario and Luigi gave each other a worried glance before starting to do the same.

“How long are you lot going to take, I’m almost done!” Wario called out.

“Not without soap you’re not!” Waluigi argued back, “I’m not going to be stuck in that tent with you if you’re going to smell like sweat.” 

“I have water washing over me.”

“That is not enough.” 

Being the first of the twins to approach the river’s edge, Luigi let out a yelp as he pulled his foot back out of the moving water. “It’s freezing!”

“Well, yeah, this isn’t indoor plumbing. Nothing’s here to heat it up,” Waluigi stuck his foot in, “And it’s not that bad. Come on, in you go.”

The twins stuck close together as they inched into the water. Realizing it wasn’t as cold as they originally thought it was. But still keeping their arms crossed to hold into the stable point of warmth they created. Only for that plan to end when Mario suddenly felt hands in his hair. Waving his own arms in a desperate attempt to push the other away.

“What are you doing!?” Mario turned, glaring at Wario. Who was holding a sheepish smile with shampoo covering his hands. 

“What? Just trying to help.”

“I can wash my own hair, thank you.”

“With how much you were whining about being tired? No way. Now hold still!”

Luigi only watched as Wario quickly wrapped an arm around the other twin and furiously scrubbed his fingers into Mario’s hand. All the while, the fire user was kicking his legs in an attempt to get Wario to stop or to break away from it. Just as Wario started, Mario was able to slip out. Quickly diving under the water to make his escape. Only for Wario to follow close behind. 

He was pulled away from the ‘fight’ feeling a tap on his shoulder. Finding Waluigi there with shampoo pools in his other hand. “Keep your eyes close.”

“Okay.” Luigi smiled softly and faced forward again. Remaining still as fingers gently ran through his hair.

Both respectfully ignoring the ‘fight’ between their brothers.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #7: Morsel

(A/n: Using the make up day to both take a break from the role quest rewrites, and add to the lil FoM AU idea cos after I posted the first one, I actually had more ideas of how to set up the town and assign roles to the various scions/major scion related characters. :'D Just needed the right prompt to use, but I was still prioritising the role quest stuff in the first place.

This one also gives an idea of where the role assignment is for the Scions in the town, though again I'm not exactly doing a 1-to-1 exact matching assignment, some roles might even be merged or altered since I'm mainly hitting the vibe of the game for this AU. But to focus on this piece, here's Thancred and Ryne running the town inn!

Word count: 1145)

The inn was rather quaint in its simplicity - a wide open central hall with stairs on either side leading to an open upper level. The main desk was tucked in next to the stairs, curving around and stretching back into a bar, and behind it, a wide archway leading into the kitchen.

A young hyuran girl with orange hair wrapped in a pink ribbon stood behind the desk, rustling through some paperwork. She looked up upon hearing the door open and seeing Minfilia walk through, she smiled.

“Hello Minfilia, are you here for the financials?” Minfilia didn’t get to answer as the girl spied Fhara peeking around her shoulder, offering a little wave. The girl turned and yelled into the kitchen, “Thancred, Minfilia’s here with someone!”

“She’s not a guest, Ryne, if that’s what you’re thinking, “Minfilia said, stepping back to let the girl see Fhara properly, “She’s going to be taking up the farmland to help out the town.”

“Ah, so you didn’t go for my offer in the end,” a response echoed out of the kitchen, as a man emerged and leaned on the arch frame.

“You weren’t even that sure of your own offer,” Minfilia countered, albeit with a bemused smile, already suggesting a comfortable connection between the two. As he shrugged and joined Ryne properly at the desk, Minfilia turned to Fhara and gestured to the two in turn as she began introduction.

“This is Thancred and Ryne, and as you can tell, they run the inn. Even before the earthquake we had a few folk that would pass through, but mainly the town itself gathers here in the evenings. It’s a large part of what connects the community.”

“You speak so highly of a few nights where more threats of violence have occurred over card games than I’ve seen in scummier port towns, and some cheap soup anyone could make at home,” Thancred scoffed, making Fhara’s ears flatten, though Minfilia and Ryne both gave him contrary looks.

“Thancred’s exaggerating. People get a bit passionate over the games, that’s all,” Ryne reassured, “Oh but we do have some soup ready now if you’d like.”

“Oh no, I’m fine, I wouldn’t want to take too much time while Minfilia’s still taking me on a tour,” Fhara refuted, not wanting to take up their time, only for a faint grumble to sound from her stomach, making her flush and lash her tail.

“Well it sounds like your stomach says otherwise,” Minfilia giggled, “But we can stop for a moment, it's still early in the day. And as I said, this is a central pillar of the town’s community, it's possible the others might show up while we’re here and we can introduce you then.”

She sat at a stool further up the desk, patting for Fhara to join her.

“Make it two bowls, Ryne, I’ve been on my feet all morning with my usual work as well as helping Fhara settle in.”

Ryne slipped back into the kitchen and Fhara slipped sheepishly into the bar stool next to Minfilia, watching Thancred take over the paperwork Ryne left behind.

“So you were thinking of taking up the farmland?” Fhara asked.

“Thought about it. It’d be good to directly grow the resources for our food here and then hand off any excess to Tataru next door. In the end, I decided against it though,” he said, shrugging.

“It’d be enough work to clear it out in the first place before any actual ploughing or farming could begin, and I’d have to move out there just to be able to stay on top of it all. I can’t do that to Ryne, leaving her here to handle matters,” he continued, voice dipping so that the girl wouldn’t overhear him from the other room, “Even with foot traffic down at the moment, she’d still be handling the cooking and the cleaning and the paperwork for the whole building. She’s quite capable, especially as she gets older, but I wouldn’t leave her alone to do all this at this stage.”

Fhara could only offer a brief smile of understanding before Ryne reemerged, two bowls balanced on a tray.

Once served, and with both ladies digging in earnestly - Fhara really hadn’t realised how hungry she was after her long trek to get to the valley in the first place, oh lord! - the two behind the bar area, sorting and taking inventory and Thancred offering up two glasses of water.

“Consider it on the house for now, since it's your first day,” he said, then with a cheeky smile curling onto his lips, he added, “Once you’ve got your fields all set up and you start growing, if you can give us the good quality produce, maybe we’ll consider a discount in future as well.”

This earned him an eye roll from Minfilia, while Ryne gave him a light smack on the arm and a stern huff of his name to chide him.

“We won’t do that, we’ll accept whatever you can give us,” Ryne insisted. Softening, she then asked, “Where are you planning on going after this? Since you’ll be showing Miss Fhara around.” Fhara’s ear couldn’t help but flick to hear the polite title, but she was still deep into her soup to respond.

“Tataru’s shop next door would make the most sense first,” Minfilia hummed, placing her spoon in the almost finished bowl while she spoke, “Then perhaps up to Lyse and Yda’s forge and studio. Y’shtola and Urianger are always meeting together to talk and do research on matters, so we’ll probably see  them together at the clinic. And if we don’t run into Loiusoix while he’s out on a walk, we can finish the day at his manor. Then back here to see anyone else we would have to go out of the way to meet.”

“Sounds like a plan, though if you are going to see Lyse later-,” Thancred reached under the counter and handed over a belt, wrapped up in itself for easy storage, “-she forgot this here the other night. Took it off for all the food she ate, then lost track of it in all the fuss over the arm wrestling nonsense she and Estinien ended up in.” Ryne and Minfilia giggled to recall the scene as the latter took the piece in hand.

“Will do. And since we seem to be done here,” she said, looking over both empty bowls between them, then at Fhara, “we can head off and let you two prepare for tonight. Shall we?”

Fhara nodded, tail curling as she slurped down the final dreg in her bowl, then handed directly to a waiting Ryne.

“Thank you for the food. It was nice to meet you both,” she purred, backing out after Minfilia and almost running into the open door if not for Minfilia’s quick warning.

[lunarsands]

Empires SMP S1 Fanfic: Once Around the Empires, Pt 1

Characters: PearlescentMoon, MythicalSausage, Scott Smajor, Xornoth (elf version), Shubble, Pixlriffs, GeminiTay, fWhip, LDShadowLady, Joel Smallishbeans, Joey Graceffa, Jimmy Solidarity, Katherine Elizabeth, and a small flock of adopted children

Relationships: MythicalSausage/Scott Smajor, LDShadowLady/Joel Smallishbeans, Katherine/Shrub

Tags: Empires SMP S1 AU, scosage, nature wives, adoption, wholesome, fluff Note: acknowledgement of amputation (not sure how else to tag that but just in case)

Summary: Having noticed that fatherhood is wearing on Scott and Sausage, Pearl suggests that the rest of the rulers take some turns at babysitting their kids. Everyone gets a learning experience: the children as well as the emperors. In particular, Lizzie gets in over her head, some poignant moments occur, and - as tends to happen with these things – somehow they lose track of who has the baby.

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ A/N: The story of how Scott and Sausage ended up together (and how Sausage came to lose an arm) is currently a WIP by @cynthrey. The story of how they ended up adopting over a half dozen children is the sequel that I’m currently working on.

This particular short fic, in the meantime, was requested by @dianealmera ! | I’m doing something unusual this time, however, and only posting one part for now because I feel bad for how long it has taken to write this! The ADHD and focus issues have been real recently, so the rest is still WIP, but the outline is completed. I just need to fill it out! Please bear with me, and any words of encouragement to kick my focus back into gear would be greatly appreciated :crying emoji: ]

[Bonus: A Small Introduction to The Children of Mythland!]

- - -

Part One

Since she was the one sitting next to Sausage during the quarterly meeting of the empires, Pearl was the first to notice his head start to bob downward – and noticed as his eyes drooped closed, and as he emitted a faint snore. She leaned over to nudge him in the side, although was careful not to hit her own elbow against the metal of his prosthetic arm. His eyes fluttered open but he remained slightly hunched and looked like he would nod off again any second.

While Joey continued to complain at the rest of the group, Pearl whispered to Sausage, “Hey, sleepyhead. Are the proceedings that boring for you? I mean, I’m antsy, myself, but you clearly need a nap.”

“Hm-mph. Sorry,” Sausage mumbled in response. “Mariposa was crying half the night, then one of the twins had a nightmare and kept us awake the other half.”

“Aw, poor kid. Well, poor you and Scott as well, but, which one? I’ll go tell her I’ll kick the scary stuff’s butt for her.”

“I… I’m too tired to remember which one right now.”

“Oof, you really are out of it if you can’t tell your daughters apart.”

Sausage scrunched up his face a little as if that might help his memory. Then he reached across with his left hand to cover the bottom of his eye scar with one finger. “Not this one.”

Pearl figured he was indicating the twin who happened to have a little scar of her own under her right eye. “Oh, Rayen, then.”

“No, no. Not visible.”

“So, Seren.”

“I… think so?”

“You know what, I’ll just talk to them both.” Pearl cast a glance past him. “Scott looks tired, too, but he’s definitely more awake than you are right now.” Just as she said it, the elf in question sitting to Sausage’s left unabashedly yawned without covering his mouth. Seated next to him, Xornoth raised an eyebrow at his brother. For a second Pearl met Xornoth’s gaze and he quirked his other eyebrow, nodding toward Sausage. “I spoke too soon.”

“Elves kinda… have a better handle on sleep issues. Goes with the long life span, I guess…”

“I’m sure elves can be troubled by their children having nightmares, too. While we’re on the topic, if I ask you which of your kids are elves and which are human, will you be able to remember that?”

Sausage snorted quietly. “I’m not that bad off, come on now!”

“Then tell me.”

“The oldest three are elves, the rest are human. See, I got this.”

“Now that’s a tricky answer. Aren’t Liana and Ilan the same age? Got you there, didn’t I?” Pearl grinned. “Anyway, I assume quiet would help you some. It will be breaktime soon so maybe you can take a ten-minute power nap. I guess it was just bad timing you were hosting the meeting this round.”

“Can’t exactly cancel things at the last minute just because of a fussy infant…” Sausage then also yawned. He propped his head up on his prosthetic hand, elbow resting heavily on the table. Pearl expected to hear the metal struts creak from the weight.

She considered the matter and decided she would bring up an idea to the others when the slightly-more-awake Scott announced it was time for a recess.

 Once the two kings of Mythland had excused themselves to check on the kids – and maybe grab the suggested powernap – Pearl swiftly blocked the doorway of the council room to get everyone’s attention. “Just a quick thing I wanted to share before everyone wanders off: I think we’ve all noticed how worn out those two have been, especially today, and they’re real troopers, but I had a thought that maybe we could help out Mythland with more than just trade deals. Would anyone like to join me in extending an invitation to babysit their kids for a little while?”

A few questioning eyebrows were raised, as well as uncertain looks. Shrub was the first speak up. “So, like a vacation trip for the kids and a vacation from the kids for Scott and Sausage?”

Pearl smiled, “Exactly.”

Pix cupped his chin in thought. “I do have to be honest here, while they’ve adapted to having seven kids at once, it might be difficult for one of us to handle all of that out of the blue. Especially a baby…”

“Maybe,” Gem suggested, “We could take turns with only two of them at a time, and someone gets Mariposa on her own, since she would need the most attention without other distractions.”

“You read my mind, Gem,” Pearl said. She glanced toward the Ocean Queen. “Lizzie, I remember you commenting about wanting to steal Mariposa at her debut, what do you say now? Want to try out babysitting an infant for a few days?”

Lizzie’s eyes brightened and she grabbed Joel’s arm. “Oh, yes! Let’s try it out, my dear husband!”

Joel uttered a sigh. “If you insist. Thanks for the suggestion, Pearl.”

“You’re welcome, Joel,” Pearl chirped in reply. She then glanced around at everyone else for their thoughts. “I’ll start by taking Rayen since she’s so rambunctious. Maybe some sparring lessons will burn off some of that energy. And Azahar since he has started training to be a knight.”

“Then I’ll take Elowen and Ilan,” Gem offered, “Since they’re learning magic.

“Hmm,” fWhip said thoughtfully, “Liana likes to comment about Sausage’s arm when I’m here doing maintenance. I could show her things in my workshop that might satisfy her curiosity. That leaves Seren. Are you sure you want to separate the twins, Pearl?”

“They might be less chaotic if they have a different sibling around,” she replied.

“Oh, it can’t be that bad!” Lizzie dismissed the thought with a wave of a hand.

“Okay then, Lizzie.” Pearl grinned mischievously. “After a few other visits, we’ll reunite them at your place.”

“It will be so cute!” Lizzie said with blissful ignorance.

Joey scoffed. “You’re all crazy. How are you going to get anything important done with some little rugrats underfoot? No thank you. Count me out.” He fluffed up his wings as if having taken offense, then pushed past Pearl to continue the break elsewhere.

“Scott and Sausage manage it! And they’re not all little!” Shrub called after him. She looked back up at Pearl. “Okay, so, do we want to work out a schedule and maybe mix things up a bit when the kids change hands? This is starting to sound like fun, getting to hang out with them a few at a time, and show them our empires instead of only seeing them when we come to Mythland!”

Ever organized, Gem pulled out a book and quill. “Writing it down should make this easier – and faster. The tired dads might come back any minute, so let’s plan it out enough so they’ll feel better about getting on board with the idea. Are we all in?” She glanced around. Pix and Katherine nodded, but Jimmy looked uncertain.

“I don’t know,” he admitted in a reluctant tone. “I kind of have my hands full just taking care of my own things. I mean, if you really need me to if there’s, like, some kind of emergency, I could try? But, like…I don’t want to become the emergency, you know? Maybe just the older boys since they’re, um, less high-maintenance…?”

Gem chuckled lightly. “Okay, Jimmy, you can be a backup only if one of us has something come up at the time.”

Xornoth cleared his throat. “I’ll stand by as back up, too, since these are my niblings you’re plotting to abscond with.”

Pearl gave a sheepish laugh. “Ah, right. Scott’s own brother is here. Well, that could also mean if anyone has an issue, they can contact you instead of making the dads worry.”

Xornoth grinned in response. “I think this is a wonderful idea. I’ve managed to babysit all of them at once, although that was technically only for a few hours. They’re all good kids – well, some more energetic than others, but I think this will be a fun experience for everyone.”

 After a little bit of head scratching, a plan had been worked out to have the six older children switch around so there were no repeat pairs and to be with a different empire each turn for two days. As for Mariposa, Lizzie insisted on taking her for the first four days, with her thought being that one child would be much easier to handle for extra time. The rest of the schedule, however, stuck with the two days, plus one extra change of hands. They agreed that four turns would be best for what was, essentially, an experiment. A week plus one day, enough time for Sausage and Scott to get a rest without disrupting the children’s regular schooling for too long.

Joey returned only to roll his eyes when he saw everyone’s cheerful faces – well, minus Joel, who looked more like he was going along with things for Lizzie’s sake. Then Scott and Sausage made their way back in, seeming relieved in the sense that no new issues with the children had arisen while they had been at the meeting. They went to their seats without questioning why nearly everyone else was standing grouped up.

Xornoth returned to his seat and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Is Mariposa making up for lost sleep by napping this afternoon?”

“Yes, seems like. Thank goodness Azahar doesn’t mind keeping an eye on her during his studies. I think,” Scott paused to yawn, “He’s her favorite brother.”

“Yeah,” Sausage murmured in a smiling but drowsy agreement, “Seems like it.” They leaned against each other, almost as if they had forgotten where they were for a moment. The break clearly hadn’t done much for their tiredness.

Pearl picked up the final version of the paper for the plan that had been worked out. “If you two sleepyheads are ready to continue, I have a proposal specifically for you.”

Sausage shook his head in an attempt to clear the fog from it and sat up straighter. Scott had a slightly pained expression but folded his hands together on top of the table to hear her out, mentally preparing for more life adjustments.

Pearl continued, “We would like to offer to take your children off your hands for a vacation, so you can get some rest, and meanwhile the kids get a bit of a cultural exchange experience. We even worked out a schedule so you know where everyone is at any given time – you’re super dads, so you’ve been able to handle all of them at once, but we’ve arranged a way to split them up so we can each manage things better. Have a look, tell us what you think.”

She held the paper out to them. Meanwhile, Joey loudly announced, “Except me. I have no interest in this idea, and I think we’re wasting precious time right now!”

“Well, all right, Joey,” Pearl chided. “You’re entitled to your opinion. But the majority has spoken, so be patient. You know, establishing good relations with an entire royal family is important for the future.”

“They’re just kids.” Joey scoffed again. “All they know how to do is run around and be noisy. But you all have fun with that.”

Sausage scowled and pushed the paper toward Scott before standing up. “Our kids are already working on learning magic and other skills they need! And one day you will be answering to one of them as ruler of Mythland, but they’re also allowed to have fun! Everyone is!”

Scott patted Sausage’s arm then tugged his sleeve to encourage him to sit down. “So, you… all want to include Mariposa, too? I mean, even we’re still getting used to it, and we’ve had months to learn.”

fWhip put in, “Well, that’s why we’ll take shifts in pairs. Then one of us can nap while the other is awake at two o’clock in the morning, unlike you crazy dads who are both awake around then.” He gave a teasing grin.

Pearl nodded. “And I’m prescribing one hundred percent rest for you two. You can have final say on that schedule, if you want to review it now, then we’ll get back to official business.”

Still bleary, Sausage and Scott tried their best to analyze what was essentially a flow chart of kid pairings switching around. They did trust everyone involved, and everything looked like enough organization had gone into it, so…

Scott glanced around at their friends’ well-meaning faces. “Um. All right. Thank you, everyone. You know that if anything becomes an issue, you can bring them home at any time—”

“Hup,” Xornoth interrupted, “Absolutely not. You’re getting that rest. If anything comes up, everyone can contact me, and I’ll handle it. I’ll gather all the kids at Rivendell if I have to. That’s final.”

Sausage and Scott traded glances, then smiled weakly. Sausage replied, “As you say, I guess. Eight days, is it? Then we either see everyone back here the morning of day nine, or Scott and I take an extra trip to Rivendell.”

~*~

Another week went by while everyone fixed up guest rooms and saw to clearing up their own schedules, and in the meantime Sausage and Scott explained to the children about the special trips they would be going on. Elowen was predictably nervous at first that he would be travelling separate from Azahar for the first two visits, but relaxed a little when he heard that he would be seeing Aunt Gem first. Even though he had a gift for ice magic, he enjoyed learning about other types, as well as it being something he could share with Ilan.

Seren didn’t seem sure about visiting fWhip until Liana proudly proclaimed that they were going to learn how to fix Papa’s arm and do it even better than Uncle fWhip, which cheered up the younger girl. Rayen, meanwhile, ran around shouting about how she was going to be the best fighter ever, and Auntie Pearl was going to be the first person she defeated by the end of day two.

When the first round of rulers came by to pick up their assigned children, everyone was in good spirits and looked forward to having a good time. Sausage pressed an extra bag of baby supplies onto Joel while Lizzie cradled Mariposa – practically needing only one hand due to her godly size – and cooed over her. Mariposa mumbled then let out a cheerful, “A-Aa!” with her little arm up in the air.

Scott tried to convince himself that she was purposely waving since she couldn’t say goodbye yet. He and Sausage then stood in the empty courtyard feeling vaguely lost.

“So, we just…go do some work now, I guess?” Sausage asked.

“I’ll have to find something else to do this week where I would be overseeing their lessons. I hadn’t thought about that yet.”

“Well, we could always go build something with our own hands,” Sausage joked. “Like old times, before we started signing off on projects for someone else to do.”

“I suppose we could. Well, after regular duties, and catching up on that sleep like Pearl suggested.” Scott smiled and reached to clasp Sausage’s left hand. “For now, we just wait for word that everyone arrived safely.”

Sausage chuckled. “Yeah, and wait for snowy owls to arrive when everyone ends up with Uncle Xornoth.”

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Day 1

Rayen was still running around even after Azahar attempted to get a little settled in the room they would be sharing at Pearl’s farmhouse. Rayen had insisted she was going to learn to fight in her dress just like Pearl, even when her elven brother tried pointing out that Pearl wore a dress specifically designed for battle. Of course, he knew there was plenty of spare clothing in her bag just in case, and at least she wasn’t wearing her fancier dress, although she did point out that he wasn’t wearing anything special to fight in, just his every day tunic and trousers.

Presently, he was gathering together his orange dreadlocks into a thick but short ponytail to keep them pulled back from his face during lessons, pieces of his practice armor already donned. Rayen was eyeing the short sword that he had been allowed to bring, but knew she wasn’t allowed to handle.

“I’m gonna get a sword like that soon! I’m gonna get it ‘fore I’m old as you!”

Azahar chuckled. “You have to wait until you’re as old as me to be allowed to start training to be a knight.”

“I don’t wanna be a knight! I wanna be a battle princess! I’m gonna kick so many butts!”

“Well, we’ll see what Auntie Pearl has to say. You have to get her approval first. If I had to, then you have to.”

“Yeah, but you don’t like to kick butts!”

“I don’t like to fight when it’s unnecessary. There’s a difference. Are you sure you don’t want leggings to protect your knees if you fall?”

“No! I’m not gonna fall! And battle princesses don’t wear leggies!”

“Okay. But you’re allowed to cry if you get hurt, remember that.” He watched her run ahead out of the room – only for her to run headlong into Pearl.

“Wow, I could hear that brave talk all the way down the hall. That armor looks good on you, Azahar. You’re already shaping up to be a proper protector – looking out for little scraps and bumps is just as important as wielding a sword.” She knelt to put a hand on Rayen’s shoulder. “I’m going to teach you a little about fighting today, but you need to be careful about yourself, too. Can’t go throwing yourself around recklessly or who would be able to fight bad guys then?” She ruffled Rayen’s hair. “Come on, out to the yard. I have a few things in mind, then we’ll have a relaxing lunch.”

Rayen took off ahead again. Azahar watched helplessly with a smile. As he and Pearl stepped out onto the porch, they heard the little girl complain from around the side of the house, “Aww, I wanted to learn wif a real sword!”

Azahar chuckled again when he saw her standing beside a table that held several practice – and even toy – weapons, most of them made of soft pine wood with padded fabric over the ‘blade’. He rested his hand on the pommel of his short sword for a moment, then went over and picked up one of the wooden swords.

Grinning, Pearl picked up another of the swords as well as a shield. “We’ll all use practice weapons for now, okay, Rayen?”

The little girl heaved a gigantic sigh and trudged up to the table to take a sword, and then, with an encouraging example from Azahar as he took one, a shield. “Fiiiine. But I’m still gonna fight the best!”

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Day 1

Gem bustled around her library while Elowen and Ilan watched in silence, although the latter curiously peered out from the hood of their green and gold-star bedecked robe at one of the books she had left open on the end table next to them; they did, at least, feel right at home fitting in with Gem’s own wizardly trappings. Elowen was comfortable in a plain blue shirt and matching leggings, oblivious to the apparent dress code of human magic users.

“Okay, here it is,” Gem chirped, climbing down from a ladder with one last book in her hand. “Sorry that took so long, I didn’t have time during the week to find them all.” She placed the book on the end table next to Elowen. “This one is for you to look at later. It has snow-related spells designed by non-elven wizards. We can talk about them more in a little bit, but – Ilan, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been learning lately? Then we can find something to work on all together.”

The younger child cleared their throat and pushed up the sleeve on their right arm, only to have it fall down over their hand again. They took a moment to roll both sleeves up partway. “I learned a light spell. I can’t make it glow really bright but it’s good for using in my room at nighttime.”

Gem could see their look of concentration within the shadow of their hood as they carefully traced the forms of the spell in the air. A small orb of white light appeared above their right palm, which they were attentively holding steady while still uttering a small sigh of relief that the spell had worked.

“That’s very good!” Gem praised. “I can teach you the extra forms for different colors and one way to make it brighter, if you like. Elowen, I think there’s a spell in that book to make a snowball glow, if you want to try a light spell, too.”

Elowen nodded and pulled the book onto his lap to start flipping through the chapters, content to find it on his own while she began to shape an example of the light spell in green for Ilan.

~*~

Grimlands, Day 1

Seren fidgeted with the hem of her dress as she glanced around at all the buttons, levers, lights, and gadgets strewn along the walls and tables in fWhip’s workshop. He had figured he would get the busiest and most distracting part of the tour out of the way first.

Liana, meanwhile, darted left and right to get a closer look at everything. She had her hands pressed against her skirt as a reminder to not touch anything without permission, sorely tempted though she was. “Oh my gosh, you have so much stuff! Do all these go together? Are they parts for one thing?”

“No, they’re all different projects,” fWhip explained, then smiled at the younger, human girl. “You can look closer, too, Seren. It’s okay to just look, but you have to be careful of everything like with your papa’s arm. We don’t want any little fingers getting pinched, right?” Seren shook her head then crept closer to a bench and peered at some of the metal contraptions laying across it.

“This could all be the arm of a really big giant if you put it all together like one!” Liana proclaimed.

“It could,” fWhip admitted, “but I make things besides arms. There are lots of metal tools and machines that are helpful to everyone, not just when…” He paused, then mumbled to himself, “Which one was it again?” He coughed and returned his voice to normal level. “Um, when Papa Sausage gets his arm eaten by a blood sheep. Yeah, that was it. Gotta be careful of those blood sheep sometimes.”

Seren turned to him, suddenly dewy-eyed. “If my arm got eated by a blood sheep, would you make me a new one?”

“Of course I would! But we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. They’ve been told to leave good little children alone. Besides, isn’t your sister the one who already has a scar kind of like your papa’s? It would be silly if you copied him, too.” fWhip crouched to get on eye level with her. “I’ll tell you what, though. I could make a pretend one for you that you wear over your real arm for a costume. That would be more fun, and then you could say, ‘Hey, Papa! Look, my arm is metal, too! But wait – it isn’t! Because I’m not so silly as to get my arm eaten by a silly old sheep!”

Seren giggled, while Liana grumbled, “That’s not what Azahar and Elowen said happened…”

fWhip laughed somewhat nervously. He knew the story was being changed every time, and he was one of the few that knew the truth. But for now, wild tales of dragons, rogue sheep, and mysterious magic spells would suffice. “Here, let me show you one of the early designs I made. Imagine how funny your papa would look with his arm like this instead...”

~*~

Mezalea, Day 1

“Joel, she’s so tiny!”

“Everything is tiny compared to you, dear wife.”

“Have you ever seen anything so cute before?”

“I mean, I have, but she is cute for, y’know, a baby. They’re supposed to be cute.” Joel watched Lizzie sashay back and forth across the improvised nursery, Mariposa cradled in the crook of one arm with her opposite hand near to support the infant’s head. Mariposa was looking up at her with studious eyes, perhaps trying to make sense in her little head why there was a Big Person holding her who didn’t look anything like a human or an elf.

Lizzie ignored his comment. She held Mariposa up in the air, then cradled her again. “I just want to cuddle her all day!” The baby didn’t have a response, still only staring.

“I didn’t spend the past week building a crib for you not to use it. You do know there is a phrase that goes ‘put the baby down for a nap’, don’t you?”

The crib in question was made of acacia and sat at the side of the bedroom. Each slat was painted a different Mezalean-related color: lime green, magenta, orange, and dark green, with a white bunny on the headboard to represent the Ocean Empire.

“Well, who knows, Joel. Maybe after this week we’ll decide to adopt a baby of our own.” Still not looking at him, Lizzie held Mariposa out again and gently turned her to the left, then the right a few times, pretending to make her dance. “Then you can have a little friend close to your own age, instead of all those big rowdy siblings of yours! It must be so exhausting for you to see them running around while you’re stuck in a silly old crib.”

“Oh, geez,” Joel muttered, feeling a moment of panic. “Look, Lizzie, I’m not ready for any kind of baby fever right now. We’re only babysitting for a few days.” His voice cracked on the word ‘few’. “I don’t know where we would even get a baby from. Mezalean citizens come from the Mother Tree. Unless you intend to adopt a fish of some sort…”

“What’s wrong with adopting a fish?” Lizzie asked defensively. “I’m part fish.”

“I thought you were part axolotl…? Or did I miss something about the legendary blue one? Anyway…” Joel went over to the bed and picked up the baby carrier that had come along with the other supplies. “She doesn’t stay in the crib all day. Scott or Sausage haul her around in this thing. Um…” As he held it up by one strap, he noted the size of it and realized one rather important oversight. “I guess I’ll haul her around in it.”

He sighed as he slipped it on, then adjusted the front of it against his chest. “All right, give her here. We’ll go for a bit of a walk, little one, then you can see the majesty of Mezalea and tell your papa how dull his kingdom looks …when you learn how to talk.”

Mariposa stared up at him as Lizzie handed her to him. The infant made a likely indifferent noise, then giggled a single, “Hee,” and reached up to grab at the green streak in his hair.

“Well now. See, look at that!” Joel bragged. “She knows exactly what I’m talking about!” He got her situated into the carrier facing forward and checked to be sure there was no possibility of her falling out, then he headed to the door with Lizzie smiling a smug look of her own as she followed.

Perhaps by the evening he would warm up to the idea. If not, she could always keep offering to babysit until he did.

~*~

Mythland, Day 1

Sausage tapped his paperwork into one neat stack, then hopped up and stretched. It had been a very tedious morning, but all the land proposals and repair funding requests had been sorted for now. He glanced out the window to see the fair weather was holding, and it gave him an idea for what to do with his afternoon.

He scurried out and headed down the hall, glancing into rooms as he went.

Meanwhile, Scott was in the library pulling some new books for future school lessons. He came across one containing beginner spells that he had overlooked before, and he smiled happily as he tucked it under his arm. He placed the rest on the table, then headed out with the other book in his hands.

He ran into Sausage in the hallway leading to the children’s rooms. “Oh, hey, Scott! I was just looking for Azahar to ask if he wanted to do a little practice spar after lunch!”

Scott blinked, then looked down at the book. “And I was going to give this to Ilan, but… Sausage, did we both just manage to forget they’re not here right now?”

“Oh… ah-heh, I guess we did.” Sausage put a hand to the back of his head in embarrassment. “I got caught up in work and thought it was quiet in the castle because they were all out playing in the gardens.”

“Then what’s my excuse?” Scott mused, giving a sheepish look. “Have we started relying on our eldest son so much for help with Mariposa lately that I forgot to check on the baby?” He laughed, as if the idea was ridiculous.

“I mean… Are we?” Sausage asked, suddenly worried. “Or is it only that we’re tired,” he then admitted. “We didn’t exactly plan for that kind of responsibility to begin with…”

Scott smiled softly. “I guess we can count ourselves lucky we managed to meet a child who could be patient with us, too. And has such a generous heart.”

“We’ll make it up to him,” Sausage decided. “Maybe if all this works out, we can have other babysitters more often to give Azahar more free time, and not just giving us a break.”

They stopped by Ilan’s room to drop off the spellbook on the desk, then Scott put an arm around Sausage as they walked along in the direction of the dining room. “Well, going to be a quiet lunch, anyway. I know my brother said he would intervene if there were issues, but I assume everyone is behaving so far, and maybe they’re all having a nice lunch right now.”

Sausage put a hand to his chin in thought, then grinned. “I have an idea how we could have a nice lunch by ourselves. How about a picnic in the garden? Just you, me, and the flowers.” He slipped out from Scott’s arm and jogged ahead. “I’ll go tell the kitchen staff! Meet you out there!!”

Scott smiled after him. The garden would also seem too quiet without the children running around, but it might still be pleasant to reflect on the times before they started growing a family, and remember the romantic picnics they’d had back then.

 Later, Sausage found himself standing over the empty crib in their bedroom, staring pensively off into space. Scott lightly touched his right shoulder. “You can stay up a little longer if you like, but let me help you with your arm first, because I might fall asleep pretty quick – tonight, at least. Although it might be nice to stay up later than usual reading together.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking…” Sausage said, turning to go sit down so Scott could more easily assist with removing his prosthetic. He waited until the redstone signals had tapered off from his awareness to elaborate, “I’m just kind of worried about waking up at random during the night wondering why she isn’t crying, and then think someone stole her, or something.”

Scott held the prosthetic arm to his chest to free up a hand so he could put it on his partner’s shoulder. “Sausage, no one has yet to break into this castle for any reason, never mind make it all the way in here.” He then chuckled gently. “Do you want to put a sign on the crib? ‘Go back to sleep, Mariposa is with Lizzie and Joel’. And then we change what it says after we get word that she has arrived at the next babysitter.”

“You know what, that’s a really good idea!”

Scott carefully laid the prosthetic down in its protective case on the side table, then went to get a quill and piece of paper. “And… done. Now you can rest easy.” He offered an optimistic smile.

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, End of Day 1

Rayen scrubbed at her cheek and fought back sniffles while Pearl bandaged a skinned knee. “There you go. You’re a tough cookie, but even the best fighters get hurt sometimes. I think you’ll be back in top form by tomorrow, though, and we’ll have a few more lessons after a good night’s sleep. Do you think you’re okay enough to help put things away?”

Rayen sniffled again, then nodded and let Pearl help her down from the barrel she’d been sat on for the small bit of first aid.

Azahar waited calmly by the table of practice weapons and gently ruffled Rayen’s hair when she scampered over. He then began to hand her the smaller-sized weapons one at a time. She brought each over in turn to Pearl, who neatly arranged them in a shulker box for use the next day.

As they headed inside for dinner, Rayen walked quietly beside her brother. She at least didn’t seem to be sulking, as far as he could tell. “You did pretty good today. But maybe tomorrow you can wear ‘leggies’ to protect your knees, okay?”

“Oh-kay,” she mumbled in acceptance.

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Night 1

Ilan glanced back and forth watchfully while Elowen tested the handle of the library door, seeing if he could open it without any sound. Ilan whispered, “Will Auntie Gem really mind if we stay up late?”

“We’ll sneak back to our room after just a little bit. She’ll never know.” He eased the door open with only the tiniest of creaks, then the two slipped inside. He left it open a crack so they wouldn’t have to contend with the latch again later.

Ilan pulled their hood down, leaving their brown hair somewhat rumpled, and took an excited look around. “Dad and Papa have a lot of books, but these are all books about magic!”

“I know!” Elowen said, trying to keep his voice down, but he was also excited. “We can’t read all of them in only two days! So, we’ll stay up, and look at a few extra ones, and maybe we can visit another time to read more of them!”

“We gotta be careful. Like with Papa saying there are scary books and bad magic we shouldn’t touch.”

Elowen gave a big grin. “That’s what’s great about Auntie Gem. She runs a magic school, so she would put all the same types of books together, right? If we find anything that looks scary, all the ones near it are probably scary. So, we look for the ones that are for new wizards, like you and me.” He glanced up along the tall stacks of shelves “…But hopefully those are near the floor. I don’t think we should climb the ladders.”

Ilan raised their arms, barely lifting the hem of their robe off the floor to indicate how it might get caught underfoot while using a ladder. “No, I don’t wanna do that, anyway.”

~*~

Mezalea, Night 1… Day 2?

Joel nudged Lizzie as Mariposa began to cry for the fifth time since they had tried to go to bed. The infant had seemed fine at first in the unfamiliar crib, but after maybe two hours she began to loudly fuss and only quieted when Lizzie had picked her up and gently rocked her while pacing the room.  The second time, Joel had tended to her, and when the rocking didn’t work, he checked if she needed a diaper change, then concluded she was hungry.

She had fussed a little when he offered her the bottle, but after quietly crooning a reassurance, she started drinking. He had gone over the rest of the instructions in his head in the meantime. Remember to burp her after each bottle. Don’t lay her down right away.

He had set aside the bottle and gently placed her against his shoulder, then very lightly patted her back. He heard what might have been a burp followed by what was definitely a hiccup. “Oh, you little, silly thing,” he jokingly scolded. Then he asked of the empty air, “How long do baby hiccups take to go away?”

Mariposa had stared cluelessly back at him, her turquoise eyes somehow still bright in the dimly lit room, and hiccupped again.

Now, though, Lizzie tried all of the previous things only to have Mariposa continue to squall. “Oh, what is it, little one? Auntie Lizzie is here. Did you have a bad dream? …Do babies even have dreams? What have you got to be so worried about, you don’t even know what’s out in the world… There, there. You sure you don’t want nice, tasty milk? Or a little walk to look out the window? See, there’s the sky out there, with pretty stars, and… and, oh, the sun is coming up. Well, we’ll walk around some more and wait for Uncle Joel to wake up, then he can help, too.”

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Morning of Day 2

Gem tried not to worry when, having planned to wake everyone to have breakfast at the same time, she didn’t find the two children asleep in the room she had set up for them. Surely she hadn’t pushed them too much with magic lessons the day before; they couldn’t possibly have left to try to go home. Maybe they simply weren’t comfortable in the room, and had found somewhere else to sleep? But, where…? She didn’t have a spare parlor, or much space anywhere for children to get into, for that matter.

Then she realized she had overlooked the obvious. She hurried to the library.

The door was ajar. She sighed in relief but quietly pushed it open. There they both were, sitting in an armchair and both sound asleep leaning on each other. She could only shake her head in amusement at the sight of dozens of books scattered around the tables and even the floor. She underestimated their curiosity – or maybe their dedication to learning a new craft.

As she started to pick up the books, she snuck a glance at Ilan, glad to finally see their face. She hoped they would become more confident about themself over time; they certainly had enough of a talent for general magic to be a successful wizard one day.

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Morning of Day 2

Azahar was awoken by quiet shuffling in the room. It was nearly time to get up, anyway, but he had figured that a vacation meant getting to sleep at least a few extra minutes. He peeked one eye open just to make sure his sister wasn’t rummaging in his bag.

What she turned out to be doing was finishing getting dressed – leggings and all – and then started acting out the warm-up stretches Pearl had tried to teach her the day before. Azahar continued to keep literally one eye on her to make sure she didn’t get carried away, but she seemed to be trying very hard to do them exactly the way Pearl had shown them.

He was intrigued. He hadn’t expected Rayen to have paid that much attention when, at the time, she had been more interested in swinging the toy sword around pretending to fight a monster. Apparently, she had a better memory than he would have given a five-year-old human credit for.

A little later, he and Pearl both became impressed by the way she very precisely imitated Azahar’s every pose as he repeated all the practice forms of swordcraft that Sausage had taught him and which Pearl had wanted him to demonstrate for her, intending to try to rein in Rayen for at least the morning – and it appeared to be working.  Perhaps she would actually make for a disciplined fighter one day.

~*~

Grimlands, Afternoon of Day 2

Liana stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration as she slowly lowered a piece of copper wire into the form-fitted track of a wooden rectangle. When she figured she had it in place, she looked up at fWhip for approval.

“Yeah, that’s perfect! Well done, Liana. That’s how you can make sure a piece is lined up correctly to fit into the next part. How are you doing over there, Seren?”

The younger girl was playing with a dozen small squares of paper that had different shapes drawn on each side. She was attempting to match the shape from one to another so that they formed complete circles or triangles, with some extra lines thrown in to add complexity. “I got six!” she announced proudly. She held up two side by side to show one of the harder puzzles with two triangles nested inside each other.

“Very good! See, that’s how you can tell which pieces go together and how not to mix them up with something that looks almost the same.” fWhip grinned, rather proud, himself. This wasn’t so hard; the kids could have fun with simple components, and he could teach them some things about engineering. “We’ll do one more that both of you can look at, then we’ll pack things up so you’ll be ready to leave tomorrow morning, all right?”

“Okay!!” the two girls chorused.

As he set up another few pieces of wire, he smiled with the hope that even just one of the children might take an interest, and he could one day have an apprentice to help out with Sausage’s arm.

~*~

Undergrove, Morning of Day 3

Travelling on the back of a giant wolf was a new experience, but it was almost easy enough to think of it as a very furry horse. Gem had brought Elowen to the Grimlands to make it easier for Shrub to pick up both him and Seren, since the Undergrove was the neighboring empire, and it would be a shorter trip.

They did, however, take one break outside the border of the Undergrove proper so that Mother Wolf could rest a little. Carrying even two light-weight children along with one gnome was more than she was used to, but it was the best means of conveyance for Shrub herself, and it was just one more cultural experience for children who were, indeed, familiar with travel by horse.

As they stood beside a stream, Elowen noticed that Seren was gawking at Shrub. He tried to nudge her a bit to get her to stop, although he couldn’t help comparing his own height to the gnome’s, since he was looking down at both of them. It wasn’t too much, but still…

Seren seemed to have reached the same conclusion and blurted out, “You’re small like me! But you’re growed up enough to gots your own kingdom??”

Elowen put a hand over his sister’s mouth. “Seren, you met Queen Shrub before at your party last year, remember? W-We know gnomes are smaller than elves and humans, right?”

Meanwhile, Shrub chortled. “Queen sounds so formal! I kind of just look after the Undergrove, sort of like a guardian. A guardian of the forests! Like my wolves. We guard the forests together, and I also tend the mushrooms – here, see, look through these trees, you can see some of the skinny tall ones, and over on this side you can see the tops of a few more!”

That got both children’s attention, and Elowen exclaimed, “You have giant mushrooms here, too??”

Shrub smiled. Well, there was something familiar they might relate to more easily. “Yeah, I’ve got all sorts, not just the ones like around where you live! They come in so many different colors, and flavors—”

“Diff’rent colors taste diff’rent?” Seren asked. “I thought all muffrooms taste the same.”

“Nope! When you eat enough of them, you can start to tell them apart. Plus, some taste better in different dishes than others, like if you toast them over a fire or eat them raw or cook them with other things! You can try a few while you’re here, and I can send your dads a cookbook if you want to try more at home!”

Mother Wolf nuzzled Shrub’s shoulder then crouched down to allow everyone to climb back on. Elowen helped get Seren settled in place before joining, then off they went for a closer view. The trees became sparse, replaced by a huge range of multicolored mushrooms from regular-sized ones close to the ground, to ones that towered overhead – including the rainbow-stacked castle near the middle of the Undergrove.

“It’s so pretty!” Seren exclaimed. “There are a lot! And so many doggies, too!” She was watching as several wolves meandered around the paths between houses and animal pens.

“Those are Mother Wolf’s children. Like I said, they help guard the place.” Shrub patted the fire wolf’s side after she had laid down again to let them get down from her back.

“Oh,” Seren responded, “like Papa and Daddy has lotsa kids! You have a big family, too!” She turned and hugged Mother Wolf around the neck.

Shrub grinned at that. Mother Wolf licked Seren’s face, causing the little girl to giggle. “You’re like Bubbles! Just really, really big!”

Elowen had begun to wander away to have a look around, but stopped at one of the pens. “Que— um, Shrub, what kind of cows are these? I don’t remember seeing them anywhere before.”

The cows in question were distinctly red or brown, and – apparently, like everything else in the Undergrove – had mushrooms sprouting from their backs.

“Those are mooshrooms! Really versatile critters. If you milk them one way you get regular old milk, but with a different technique you get mushroom stew!”

Seren joined her brother by the fence and watched the herd for a moment, then stuck her hand through to pet the nearest one. “Hello, moo-moos.” When that particular mooshroom moved away, she withdrew her hand and went back to watching. Then she turned to Shrub to ask, “So… when you cook them, do they make beef soup with muffrooms in it, or do you has to put in the muffrooms anyway?”

~*~

The Overgrown, Day 3

Ilan instinctively kept hold of Rayen’s hand to stop her from running off toward one of the giant flowers, fully expecting her to want to climb it. To their surprise, she stayed calm for the moment, if not gazing around at everything in all its shades of pastel and coziness. Maybe the sheer fascination was keeping her in check. She did continuously take glances at the wings on Katherine’s back, too. Ilan could tell she was also itching to ask about them.

“And this over here is the fountain that grants visitors permission to take flowers from the Overgrown,” Katherine was explaining. “If you see any flowers here that you like, I can tell your dads, and they’ll be able to come by later to pick them up for you – then you can plant them in your own garden! You could also have ones that stay small and keep them in a flower pot in your room all for yourself.”

“You gots even more flowers than we do!” Rayen crowed, bouncing up and down on her toes. “Your whole kingdom is a really big garden!! Did Daddy and Papa get permiss’n a lots? ‘Cause they really like flowers!”

“Your papa likes to build beautiful things,” Katherine replied softly. “He expanded the gardens not just for the castle by itself, but to make something nice for your dad, too. So, yes, before they had children, they came here often to add more variety to their gardens. Do you want to learn about how flowers are named, so when you get home you can tell your dads everything you know about the flowers you already have there?”

“Yeah!! I know some! But other ones are just… red or… yellow.” Rayen pouted for half a moment.

Ilan laughed lightly. “That’s because their names are too long. You’ll remember them eventually.”

“Long names are hard! There’s, like… twenty million bazillion red ones!!”

Katherine giggled, as well. “That is true. Many flowers that have the same name come in a bunch of different colors. They can have different uses, too, like ones you use for dying wool or ones you can make into tea or medicine. And some have smells that can make you feel different ways, like helping you feel calm or a little more energetic. You can learn about all of that while you’re here, or we can just take walks and look around.”

“Learn, learn!” Rayen demanded. “Maybe calm smells can help when Mariposa is crying! ‘Cause she can’t tell us why she’s crying! But I wanna know what flowers to bring her so she can feel better!”

“That’s so sweet,” Katherine cooed. “All right, we’ll make a list of those, then you can ask your dads to help you pick some and they can set up a flower vase in the room for her. Ilan, is there anything specific you want to learn about?”

“Medicine,” they replied after a few seconds of thought. “And… ones that can be used for magic. I saw in some of Auntie Gem’s books that special flowers are ingredients for spells.”

“Oh, that’s right, you’re the budding mage of the family. Yes, I can show you some of those. We can mix up a few potions, too. You both just have to be careful around the glass bottles, all right?”

“Okay!!” the two children agreed.

~*~

Pixandria, Day 3

Liana skipped down the street humming her own little tune while Pixlriffs and Azahar walked at a more casual pace. The Copper King was giving the two children an extensive tour since Pixandria was quite off the beaten path; despite its desert sharing a border with Mythland, the city itself wasn’t exactly within walking distance, and they were unlikely to make visits until they were older – and perhaps on official royal business.

Pix was explaining the usage of the honeycomb farm to the more attentive Azahar when Liana’s gaze followed the path of a stray bee over to the middle of the square. “Ooh, Azahar, look at the pretty lanterns!” She tugged on the side of his shirt and pointed toward a tall but slender structure, where numerous colorful and slowly drifting paper lanterns hovered overhead. She stared up as the three of them walked over for a better view. Then she peered around at the sandstone shelves along the base of the structure. “What’s all those candles for?”

“This is The Vigil,” Pix explained in a gentle tone, knowing he was about to go into a very serious subject with someone who might not yet have a full grasp of the weight of it. “It’s a sacred place where people can either light a candle in memory of a loved one who has passed, or send up a lantern in honor of a wish someone might have wanted to make, but wasn’t able to. The magic in this spot almost seems to slow time, so the candles last longer, and the lanterns sort of get frozen in the air instead of floating away – where they might get lost. The flames for both do burn out at some point, however, and then there can be room for others to be added.”

Liana appeared to be processing everything he had said while gazing up at the lanterns again. Azahar had a thoughtful look, then a small if wistful smile crossed his face and he asked, “May I place some? They’re not for me, personally, though…”

Pix nodded. “You can memorialize whoever you like.” He added softly, “There isn’t a requirement or limit. The Vigil is a means for making peace with loss.”

He led them over to the stall where the various colors of candles and lanterns were stored, with suggested color matches for the regions of the world. Azahar took two cyan candles and two red candles, and then took a black lantern as well. “Hold this one for me. Careful, now.”

He passed the lantern to Liana, then carried the candles over to The Vigil. She and Pix followed; the younger elf cradled the lantern between her hands with utmost care, having come to understand the solemnness of this ceremony, if not quite figuring out what her brother had chosen to do. “Who’s love ones are those for?” she whispered as he set up the candles near to each other on the same shelf.

“For our siblings,” Azahar answered softly. “And this one for our Mythland grandparents,” he explained as he took the lantern from her, “Because Papa said they are missing, but I wish that one day they might get to meet us, and see the happy family we have together.”

Pix stepped in to light the lantern for the teen. “That is a lovely wish, young Prince Azahar.” He held the lantern aloft and gave it a small tap to send it drifting up to join the others.

Liana watched it for a moment, then said, “I dunno where my real mommy and daddy went, so I dunno if I should put candles or not.”

Azahar lightly patted her head. “That’s okay. You and I just happened to be doorstep babies, and it turned out that Papa and Dad needed us to be their family.”

“Liana,” Pix suggested, “Would you like to send a lantern up for your mum and dad? You can wish for them to know that you found a nice family – that might have been what they wanted for you.”

“Hmmmm, okay!” She followed Pix over to the stall, where he took out a cyan lantern for her. “Can I put a bunny on it so’s they know it’s from me?”

“You sure can,” Pix said with a kind laugh. “People sometimes put notes under their candles or tie one to the bottom of the lantern. Let me get you a piece of paper, hold on just a moment.”

Azahar leaned against one of the barrels, letting Pix handle helping Liana with her drawing. He remained there as they returned to The Vigil to send it up.

Pix was reassured by the happy smile now on Liana’s face; he had a feeling she now had a sense of peace of her own regarding her unknown origins. He himself had been gladdened by Azahar’s interpretation of the path their lives had taken that had brought them to become heirs of Mythland. Pix cast a proud look toward the teen. One day, there would be others who oversaw ways to cherish memories.

~*~

Mezalea, Day 3

Lizzie leaned against the wall while Joel leaned against her, both in danger of nodding off even while Mariposa sat crying in the crib. They were at a loss. “How much can one baby cry?” Lizzie lamented.

“Maybe we just have to admit we’re not her favorite auntie and uncle, Joel said with resignation.

“Aww, don’t say that!”

“Well, maybe she misses her dads. She probably recognizes what they look like, and her siblings, too. Neither of us look anything like them.”

Lizzie gazed down at him thoughtfully. “You could try growing a beard?”

“You do know it’s gonna take longer than one day for that, right? Also, Sausage doesn’t have a green stripe in his hair.”

“Darn, good point. My ingenious plan has already been foiled. Any other ideas, then?”

Joel sighed and stood up, glancing to where the latest bottle had been left. He picked up Mariposa to try rocking her a bit to see if it helped any.

Lizzie sighed, too. “I guess we need to call for back up.” She wearily heaved herself from her seat and went to find a piece of paper and quill.

“Dear Xornoth, I have made a terrible mistake…”

 It took until the afternoon for communications to cross all the way to and from Rivendell, but Xornoth arrived soon after his response came via owl, which itself travelled faster than the Mezalean hot air balloon messenger. He gave the weary couple a sympathetic look as he entered the room, then he quickly took over, cradling Mariposa in his arms and talking softly to her while Joel packed up the baby supplies that had ended up scattered around during attempts to get the infant settled down.

Mariposa finally stopped fussing and mumbled instead, at one point reaching up a hand toward Xornoth’s earring. He lightly shook his head to make the jewelry jangle around. Mariposa let out a louder, “Ah-blah!” and when he lowered his head a little to let her touch the earring, she made a grab for his ear itself.

“Told you she recognized them. She knows an elven family member when she sees one,” Joel commented as he closed up the second supply bag.

Xornoth gently pried the little fingers from his ear then set Mariposa back down in the crib. “I mean, I have enough of a resemblance to my brother that she might see it, but I think a little baby noggin might catch on more to familiar colors and shapes that she sees regularly.”

“Still, you kind of worked wonders there. We tried everything, but I guess this is too out of her element. It might even be the difference in the air or different smells, maybe?” Joel’s voice cracked at the end. “Either way, I think we’ll keep the babysitting to a stay in Mythland. She might like that better.”

“Could be anything, who knows. Rivendell is colder than Mythland, after all, and she seemed fine there at the winter festival.” Xornoth shrugged, then went about securing the bags to a line of metal clips on his belt so his arms would be free.

He didn’t have far to fly to his intended destination compared to if he was going all the way to Rivendell. “Well, you two take care. If I remember correctly, you’ve got the boys next. I’m fairly certain they’ll sleep through the night.” He winked then pulled on the baby carrier and got Mariposa settled against his chest before the three of them walked outside.

As he activated his wings, Lizzie leaned to where Mariposa might see her. “Bye-bye, little one. We’ll come visit you at home someday soon, okay? Maybe you’ll like that better.”

Xornoth offered another sympathetic smile, then placed his arms securely around the baby carrier and took off at a moderate speed, not wanting to jar Mariposa too much, but soon she seemed to be giggling about the feeling of the wind ruffling the hair on the top of her head.

 A short time later he landed in Gilded Helianthia. He had made a precursory circle around to see if Pearl was out in the fields, but since he hadn’t spotted her, he figured his best bet was the main farmhouse. He patted Bingo on the head on the way up the stairs, then rapped on the door before calling, “PearlescentMoon, I have a visitor for you~”

A moment or two later the door opened. Pearl glanced from him to the quietly babbling bundle in the baby carrier. “Ah. Yeah, I figured Lizzie was getting in over her head. Are you just dropping by for a little rest stop on the way? Which is actually a good idea. Not sure how the little one would handle a long flight.”

“No, actually…” Xornoth proceeded to grin, “Since all of this was your idea, I thought maybe you could partner up with me for baby duties. I still need to get a little sleep, too.”

“Cheeky elf. All right. I’ll have to rustle up a crib somehow, the plans hadn’t called for her to stay in my empire since it’s closest by and Sausage might come rushing over if he gets too worried.”

“Fair point. It wouldn’t take long to construct a simple one, if you want to hold her for a bit and show me where your wood supplies are. Oh, and we need to send a message to update the worrisome dads that I’ve picked up Mariposa for this round. We don’t need to tell them where I’ve stopped to watch her, though.”

He grinned and chuckled. The owl that had followed him back from Mazelea and was now perched on the corner of the roof hooted, sounding almost like it was used to such shenanigans from the elven monarch.

~*~

Mythland, Day 3

Scott requested the head court violinist to play for them in the dining room during lunch, then toward late afternoon the same violinist and a cellist joined the couple in the ballroom for a casual private dance session.

Sausage smiled softly as he held his upraised palm against Scott’s, his other hand tucked behind his back. “This reminds me a little of the masquerade ball, the one before all the, uh, chaos, and how we had a few dances together where it seemed like there was no one else in the world but us and the music.”

“I remember that one, and that feeling, yeah… I should have noticed the lovestruck look on your face back then, but I was still convinced we were just friends chatting the night away.”

Sausage’s smile turned a little bittersweet, regret almost surfacing in his eyes, then he initiated a turn in time to the instrumental piece’s change. “We should host a masquerade sometime. The kids would have a lot of fun dressing up, and it wouldn’t be as formal as their introduction parties were.”

“That is an excellent idea. Maybe we should let them pick the theme. I can already bet Liana will ask to dress as a bunny.”

“Maybe Seren and Rayen will pick different things and not try to swap accessories.” Sausage then laughed. “But imagine by the end of the night they’ve mixed everything up so much no one knows what their costumes are anymore!”

Scott chuckled at that, then after a moment he sighed. “It’s nice to have a dance to ourselves, but this ballroom feels too empty right now…”

“Time for dinner, then?” Sausage brought his arm forward and lightly wrapped it around Scott’s waist to bring their dance to a halt.

“We might as well.” Scott nodded absently, then they walked over to the musicians to thank them and bid them a good evening.

 There was an owl waiting on the back of Scott’s chair when they reached the dining room. It stretched one wing lazily before hooting at them. Scott carefully took the message from the pouch around its neck. He smiled in amusement as he read it. “Well, that went as expected. Xornoth currently has Mariposa, and will hand her along according to the schedule. Poor Lizzie and Joel. They were even less prepared than we were for an infant.”

“Better change the sign on the crib,” Sausage said with a chuckle. “But I think if there’s ever a plan for this again before she’s toddler age, she’ll just stay with us, and everyone else can have adventures in other empires.”

“You’re forgetting the whole point of this is so we could get a full night’s sleep without a crying baby contributing to keeping us awake.”

“Okay, okay, okay – then next time she goes straight to Xornoth, unless someone proves ahead of time they can handle everything.”

Scott smiled warmly at him. “You’ve really got this overprotective father thing down pat.”

“Well, of course! We’ve been at this for over four years, and since the family keeps growing, I want to be sure all of them are as safe as possible and we know exactly where they are at all times!”

Scott’s expression now turned wry. “You know, I’m not sure either of us are really going to be getting as much sleep as Pearl hoped, because you’re absolutely right.”

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Day 4

Pearl woke up to the sound of elven song coming from the guest room where they had set up the makeshift crib and Xornoth was using one of the beds when he was ‘off shift’. It seemed close to sunrise, just about when she would be getting up, anyway. She could remember being awoken by Mariposa maybe three times during the night, although on the third incident Xornoth was already reaching into the crib. He had stopped to tap a finger to his lips then shooed Pearl away.

Currently he sang a lively tune while lifting her up in the air several times to make her giggle. He did look tired, though, and Pearl was ready to take over watching Mariposa so he could get some more sleep – as soon as he happened to put her down.

“You’re really loving this role of being uncle, aren’t you?”

 Xornoth chuckled quietly. “A little bit. I haven’t quite found that special someone yet, so I’m living vicariously through my brother’s children – although I don’t know if I want that many of my own. But if a little one like this happened to find their way to me, well, I doubt I could say no, either.”

He held Mariposa toward his face to tickle her with his nose, then kissed her on the cheek. She babbled and patted at him, nearly poking him in the eye, but he merely closed that eye and lowered her out of range where she could grab at the folds of his shirt instead.  He smiled softly down at her. “Well, someday, maybe. My brother waited over two hundred years and then some to figure out the right one, so I suppose I could wait a few more…”

He seemed to space out for a moment, his smile fading to a pensive expression, so Pearl stepped closer to take the baby from him. “I think what you shouldn’t wait for is some sleep. I’ll handle the morning shift, and we’ll keep it quiet as we do the morning chores – right, Mariposa? You can learn all about running a farm! Or maybe you can just learn to gently pet the sheep and cows because you could fit inside the milk bucket, but forget about carrying it. Come on, little one. Your Uncle Xornoth needs sleep just like your dad and papa. My goodness, you are causing all sorts of trouble all over the place, aren’t you? So much mischief in such a tiny body.”

Xornoth smiled after them with his own weariness while Mariposa babbled a “blee-blee-blee” sound then cooed. Well, at least she was getting along with Pearl for the moment. He heeded the advice, however, and laid down with his arms folded behind his head, letting his mind wander to days of the past when he and Scott had been children. He dozed off to the memory of the first time they had encountered sheep together.

 [To Be Continued in Part Two]

[thornwolfy235]

WIP 6 - First Intimacy

I'm going to post a bunch of WIPs in a row now. maybe with a little feedback I'll get the gumption to finish one of them.

A bit of info on them first. I wrote all of these in an effort to deal with an exceptionally bad break-up (might as well call it a divorce, we lived together for 6 years). A lot of these are "how it should've gone" type stuff. I was never able to decide if they should be a full chapter by chapter "novel" or just a bunch of oneshots within the same universe and make a collection of them in order or whatever. Maybe I'll drop them to Ao3 as well. They are all xfem!Readers with my blorbos Grillby and Gaster (though most have no anatomy mentioned, so you can safely read no matter what gender you are). I'd appreciate a glance through if nothing else.

As the title suggests, this is Grillby and Reader's first intimate encounter. For as long as this WIP is, it doesn't actually get too terribly far into anything, but I still have to say MINORS DON'T READ. This is mostly fluff and consent and experimenting. Quick reminder that Reader is female, though again it doesn't get too very far, not even below the belt. Because I take too, too long with descriptions and dialogue.

Oh, also, Reader and Grillby have become SoulBonded, which in my universe is like a deeply committed relationship. Kind of an engagement type deal?

CW: 18+

((needs stuff))

He leaned down to kiss you, first softly, then with more force. His tongue ran along your lips, seeking entrance. You pulled away with a whimper, not anticipating the sudden passion from him. Though his flames seemed normal enough, his eyes were nearly white. “Sweet spark, please…please let me see you. I want to touch you…feel you…claim you…” he almost growled.

You pulled back further, a mix of fear and want fighting in you. “I don’t…I’m not ready to…Grillby…”

He took a breath and shook his head, a little of his intensity falling away. “No, dearest spark. I’m not seeking to make you my Mate. Not yet. I just want…need to be near you. I’ve learned your mind and your SOUL, and now I need to learn your body. I need to show you that your trust isn’t misplaced. I promise I won’t do anything you don’t agree to. Just let…let me be with you.”

You swallowed nervously. The proposition was…very attractive, but… “I’m scared. It feels like everything is going so fast now.”

He dropped his head with a hollow chuckle. “I know, I know. It’s a lot right now. Our SOULs are likely trying to figure out the Bond dynamic as well, which is only adding to the confusion. I’m sorry.” He looked at you, eyes closer to their normal golden-yellow, if still a little pale. “I won’t do anything you aren’t okay with, I promise. My SOUL is just begging to be as close to you as possible. I want to learn you and show you how much you mean to me.”

Admittedly, you liked that idea a lot. You wanted that closeness, to try out deeper intimacy with him. Your nerves just needed to be eased a little more. “W-will you stop if I ask you to?”

“Yes, and I won’t hold it against you, either,” he assured you, voice as tender as you’d ever heard it. “I would never hold it against you.”

“Then y-yes, I want to try,” you murmured, reaching up to cup his cheek. He put his hand over yours and kissed your palm. “Just…be gentle?”

“Always, my sweet spark.” He let you go, hands going to undo the buttons of his shirt as he leaned in to kiss your lips. “I am sorry for my forcefulness earlier. I know you don’t like open-mouthed kisses. I…lost myself for a moment. It wasn’t lust or aggression, just the need to be near you.”

“I-I…I think I understand. And you know I don’t mind trying them…I just still don’t know what to do with them…but if you want to try again…” you trailed off, watching his fingers work.

He paused, mulling the thought over, before resuming undoing the buttons. “Perhaps if the feeling is right,” he conceded. You watched as little by little his chest was revealed. As he finished with the last of them, you tentatively lifted a hand to reach for him but froze before actually touching him. He waited to see if you would touch him yourself, but as it became clear your were too nervous to try, he gently took your hand in his. He kissed your fingers softly before guiding it to where a sternum would be on a human and held it there for a moment. “Is this alright?”

“I’m scared I’ll mess this up somehow…” you admitted in a whisper, looking up into his eyes.

He affectionately bumped his forehead against yours. “You won’t. I don’t think you could.” He released your hand as your other one joined it, gently running over his chest and stomach. You weren’t able to look away from his face, strangely too nervous to see what you touched yet willing to meet his eyes. There was a solid, defined form beneath his fiery skin, though the shape seemed rougher than that his hands and face. They lacked human bone and muscle structures you were used to. No abs, no defined ribcage, things that made sense as you thought about them. He was magical fire; what need would he have for those? As you ran your fingers up along his sides, you grazed something cool, hard, and jagged. Alarmed, you recoiled with a gasp. “It’s alright, dear spark. It’s just a scar,” he murmured. He calmly shrugged his shirt off the rest of the way, revealing his shoulders, arms, and chest fully. What you had touched was a patch of black stone the size of your palm, its edges and cracks glowing red. There were a handful of smaller blotches littered across him, almost too small to notice unless you looked for them. “My form is fairly resilient, but some injuries do not…reignite even after healing. The large one was from a human mage with water magic,” he explained.

“I-I’m sorry,” you squeaked, set on edge by the old wounds and his suddenly bare top. He was much more intimidating this way, and it took you a moment before you realized why. The flames across his neck, shoulders, and upper arms flared high much like those on his head, like a lion’s mane unrestricted by gravity, making him appear much larger than you were used to. He looked imposing…threatening.

“Please don’t be afraid,” he said, startling you despite the softness of his voice. “I can feel it from your SOUL…I didn’t mean to frighten you…” Now ashamed, you held your hands to your chest as though it would stop your SOUL from projecting your emotions to him. “No, don’t…It’s okay. It’s important to me to understand how you feel. I don’t want you to hide that from me,” he said, putting his hands over yours and pushing them down.

You let out a stress-filled giggle. “W-wow, I really need to get a-a handle on this Bond thing, don’t I?”

“Stop, please. Just relax.”

“Grillby, you know telling me that is like telling a tree to take a walk!” you whined.

“Relax,” he repeated, now holding both of your hands. “Everything is big and new and you feel like you don’t know what to do with it, but I’m here. I’m here with you, and I’m going be to here for all of it. Take a breath, and relax. Tell me why you became scared.”

You swallowed and tried to do as he said. Your fingers tightened on his, which he returned, the pressure helping to steady you. “Y-your flames are…bigger. A-and that made you seem bigger, and then the scars, and what your SOUL showed me, and…I-I think it just occurred to me for the first time who you are…”

“Your friendly barkeep? Your boyfriend? Your SOULbonded? Because that’s who I am. The past may have shaped me, but I get to choose what I do with it. I chose to never don my armor or pick up a weapon again years ago. Now, I choose to be yours.”

You blinked back tears at the sudden rush of love you felt for him and from him as he let it flow through the Bond for a moment. “I choose to be yours, too,” you whispered.

He smiled sweetly at you. “I know,” he said, giving you a long, gentle kiss. He guided your arms around his shoulders, patiently accepting your trepidation as your bare skin passed into his flames, but like when you played with the ones on his head, they were borderline hot but didn’t harm you. “I would never, could never hurt you, my love,” he assured you.

“I-I know. You’d think I’d have caught on to that by now.”

He chuckled. “I’m patient. You have plenty of time to learn.”

You laughed with him. “Why…why are your flames bigger?” you asked.

“That’s what happens when fire is exposed to oxygen, dearest,” he teased with a smirk.

You blinked. “Oh. I should’ve thought of that.”

He laughed loud and long, hugging you hard. “I’m never going to be bored with you around, am I?” He caught your lips in a kiss before you could answer, then a second, more forceful one. You felt his tongue touch your lips and this time let him in. He explored for a moment, tongue touching the roof of your mouth, running along your teeth, before it found yours. You broke the kiss with a little gasp, still unsure about it. “It’s alright,” he murmured before you could apologize, lips finding yours again. He kissed from there to your cheek and down to your neck where he touched his teeth to your skin in the lightest bite possible. You whimpered softly, going boneless at the feeling, which earned a low chuckle from him. “Never bored at all,” he murmured, pressing his face into the crook of your neck with a happy sigh. His flames tickled your cheek, making you giggle. “May I see you, too?” he asked.

You felt yourself lock up for a moment before forcing yourself to relax. You were safe here. In fact, there probably wasn’t a safer place you could be. “Yes,” you whispered.

He eased you back, hands sliding under your shirt to rest on your waist. “May I undress you, or would you rather do that yourself?”

You blushed. “I-I’d rather do it, if that’s okay…” He nodded, thumbs rubbing comforting little circles into your skin as he waited for you to work up the courage to do so. Deciding to get the awkwardness over with as quickly as possible, you pulled your shirt and bra off at the same time. You sat there, fighting the urge to cover your breasts with your arms.

His fingers moved up your sides, pausing at the feel of your ribs before slowly going over them as though counting. There was a little trickle of emotions from his side of the Bond, as though there was so much there that they were escaping whatever dam he’d put up. Aside from the ever-present affection, there was curiosity, the desire to see-touch-learn-know you. “I thought human bones were rigid, but I can feel them shift as you breath,” he murmured.

“Our bones have a little bend to them, otherwise they’d facture at the slightest pressure, but the ribcage also isn’t a solid structure, not mostly anyways. There’s a lot of stretchy, flexible cartilage connecting the ribs to the sternum, and they aren’t fused with our vertebrae either. They’re attached by tiny ligaments, and now I’m nervous-rambling.”

He smiled. “That’s perfectly fine, spark. I want to understand you, how you work and feel, what you like and don’t.”

You searched his face as you processed that. “This…this really isn’t about sex o-or even claiming me, is it? I’m just as much of a novelty to you as you are to me.”

“It has very little to do with sex, and while I do want to ensure you know that you are mine, learning your body is my primary goal,” he said patiently before tilting his head. “Why does this surprise you?”

You swallowed, suddenly embarrassed. “W-well…f-for humans, this sort of intimacy would usually be considered heavy petting or foreplay. It is for learning a little, but pleasure-seeking and potentially escalating into sex is generally the driving force.”

“Ah…” He frowned. “That’s…truly a shame. To not take the chance to use first intimacy to focus on learning and teaching feels like a waste.”

“So this…what we’re doing right now…It’s common for Monsters?”

“Very much so for those romantically coupled, especially after first Bonding. Even among similar forms, there is this sort of…learning period. Unlike humans who have a fairly universal shape, our physical forms are all so varied that it’s important to understand how the other works before attempting any sort of sexual intimacy. Not to mention it builds up trust and love and security,” he explained.

You mulled that over for a moment before going rigid. “Wait…I’ve been nervous this entire relationship about asking to touch you or how your body works, thinking I might be offending you, when it was totally normal and actually expected of me?”

His eyes widened. “You were uneasy all those times because thought you were offending me? I thought you were worried that you might get burned by me! I-I thought you were afraid of me!”

You put your head in your hands. “I’m so dumb,” you moaned, feeling your cheeks heat up.

He bumped his head against yours. “No dumber than me,” he said, sounding relieved. “I’ve been reassuring you all along that I wouldn’t hurt you when that wasn’t the problem at all.”

“No, no; reassuring is nice. I like being reassured. At the very least, it gives me the warm fuzzies, and there are definitely times I need those,” you said quickly, getting a little huff of laughter in return. “But… Yeah…I was afraid you’d get mad at me for asking something stupid or obvious to anyone else but me.”

“Oh, spark, I could never be mad at you for asking questions. You weren’t doing it out of malice. You wanted to understand me, which I think is wonderful. I’m just…shocked you were never afraid of me.”

“No. Just that little bit ago, when I first saw you without your shirt. And…I don’t think ‘afraid’ is the right word…More like…” You thought about it before changing your approach. “Humans have been told that we’re stronger than Monsters. Our bodies are made up of ‘stuff,’ so we can take more physical damage and have way more determination, which in turn means we’re harder to stop if one of us does want to hurt one of you. The PR people spun that to encourage humans to think that Monsters literally can’t pose a threat, which is probably for the best as it’s likely been keeping most humans from freaking out too much, extremists notwithstanding. But it also makes it easy to forget that Monsters aren’t totally harmless and helpless. So seeing you, way back then in your memories and just now, big and honestly kind of intimidating, sort of made me realize that I’m...outclassed by you. And it’s not that I think you would hurt me, but whatever instinctive, primal bit of my brain just kind of kicked in for a second to be like ‘Hey, idiot! You’re literally playing with fire here!’ I kind of forgot you were you, and suddenly thought that I could be in danger, o-or that there was the potential for it at least.” You paused, feeling guilty for your earlier reaction. “Does that make…any sense?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s a fair assessment of things,” he said, almost reluctantly. “Do you think that will be something in the back of your mind now? That you’re ‘outclassed’ by me. I don’t want…I worry you’ll feel like you have to tiptoe around me now.”

You shrugged but shook your head. “It might pop up once in a while, but I don’t think it’ll make me treat you any different. Just…when it does show up, I might need you to remind me that it’s still you.”

He smiled, though there was a tinge of sadness to it. “I can manage that. Thank you for being honest with me.” His hands slid back down to your waist. “Do you want to stop for tonight?” You shook your head, confused. “No. Why?”

“If this sort of exploration isn’t comfortable for you, I don’t want to make you continue.”

You glanced away, embarrassed. “It’s not uncomfortable, per se, but I will probably find such…intimate touching arousing, and I don’t know if that would make you uncomfortable.” His gentle smile became that teasing smirk again. “It isn’t unheard of for Monsters to get a little riled up during this. And there are ways of assisting with that without resorting to sex, you know.”

You blushed. “W-well, ye-es…”

His expression softened as he leaned in to kiss your forehead. “I am happy to take care of you, sweet spark. Whether it’s supporting you, reassuring you, or helping you when you’re wound up because of me, I’m here for you.”

“I know…I just…worry it’s too fast or too soon…or that you don’t want to but are just going along with my dumb body’s urges to make me happy.”

“Your body isn’t dumb; You’re simply designed differently from Monsters. And I’m not ‘just going along’ with it. I can say ‘no’ or decide what’s far enough, just like you can.” He grinned mischievously. “Besides, I am feeling a little…playful as well. And if I’m to be your Mate, eventually I’ll have to learn what makes you feel good, won’t I?”

You were positive you found a way to blush even harder. “Tr-true…You’ve just never made me feel rushed, so I wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing you. So…just to make sure…this won’t make me your Mate yet, will it?”

He shook his head. “No. There’s a lot more involved to the process than that. As I told you before, even sex wouldn’t do it. To become SOULmates, you must let your partner see and touch your SOUL, and do the same for theirs. It’s the ultimate expression of vulnerability and trust. Not that I don’t trust you or think you don’t trust me, but it’s…big. It’s like if…” he paused to think about his wording. “If we were to liken our Bonding to an engagement, Mating would be marriage…times ten.”

You nodded. “I…think I understand,” you said softly. You reached out and touched his chest, closing your eyes to focus his heat and his solidness.

He stayed still, though you were certain he was looking at your hand curiously. “What are you thinking about?”

“You. How you feel. I noticed…Your body feels less…formed? I-I mean, just compared to me. The shape is there, but I don’t feel the bone or muscle structure I’m used to,” you said. You opened your eyes as you ran your hand up to his shoulder and down his arm. “But that changes just above your elbow. It feels more like my arm. Your hands are even more defined than that. I can practically feel tendons on the back of your hand when you move your fingers,” you finished as you reached his hand. He took it off your side to intertwine his fingers with yours.

“It’s not a conscious decision on my part. I think that my SOUL simply focuses on refining the more important features. A well-formed hand is more useful to me than a chiseled torso, for example. Does it bother you?”

“No, no. It’s just…an observation. Besides, I’ve never really been into muscle-y people,” you joked, trying to ease some of your own awkwardness. “Why a humanoid form, anyway?“

“I think it’s a pretty good one myself, don’t you?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

You snorted. “Well, yes, of course, and it’s very handsome, too. But your magic could have chosen any number of things…given you wings or extra arms…”

“Wings could have been nice,” he mused. “I don’t know why this is my form. I never really questioned it. I guess my magic just decided this one would be the most useful.” He untangled your fingers to instead cradle your hand in his. Maybe it was some lingering unease from earlier, or perhaps it was that you suddenly felt incredibly inexperienced, but you felt so small and vulnerable right now. And yet his patience and gentleness also made you feel so safe, and that led to wanting more…to see whatever this intimate exploration might become. “Dearest?” You looked up from your hands and into his eyes. “May I touch you?” You felt his other hand slide up your side to stop alongside your breasts.

You bit your lip. “I-If we continue, I-I am going to become…needy,” you admitted.

“���Needy’ as in ‘aroused,’” he clarified. You glanced down but nodded, embarrassed by your body’s reaction to this, to him. He kissed your forehead. “As I said, I’m feeling a little the same, so as long as you were okay with things only being done by hand…”

“Y-yeah. I’m a-also not ready for actual sex yet, b-but…I want…w-want the…” Words failed you.

His hand slid along the underside of one breast and gently cupped it, making your breath hitch. “The intimacy? The closeness that comes with being seen and touched and loved?” he asked. You nodded. “Then let me give that to you. Teach me. Show me what it is you like.”

You sighed, taking his hand from your chest. You needed to focus, and his touch was making that hard to do. “I-I don’t really know if I can just…tell you what to do. It’s just…I-I didn’t think we’d be having this conversation until way later, a-and you probably could guess this on your own, but…” You lifted his hand to your cheek to nuzzle it. “Safety is a big thing for me. I-in intimate circumstances like this, I’d go as far as to say it’s my kink. If I feel safe, I’ll let you do just about anything to me and I’ll probably love it. I feel safe right now, even if I’m also feeling embarrassed and nervous and shy…I’m safe with you, so I want you to do…whatever it is that you want to do. I know it probably sounds wishy-washy when I say that, like I’m just going along with things, but it’s true. I feel safe, so I want to let you do what you want and see what happens.”

His hand, which had been lax in your grasp, moved to under your chin, gently tilting your head up to look into his face. “I believe I understand. Would you still stop me if I did something you didn’t like?”

“Yes. I know we’re learning each other, and I trust that if I told you to stop or try something different, you would. And honestly, knowing that you would still respect me, even when I let you have permission to try anything…I think that just reinforces the feeling of safety.”

He smiled. “Good. I was a little worried you’d just accept anything I did, even if you didn’t like it. I don’t want to do that to you. Is there anything you absolutely don’t want me to do?”

“I-I don’t think you’d do any of what I don’t like,” you said, fighting the urge to look away.

“Tell me anyway. It’s best I know your limits.”

You took a breath, forcing your shoulders to relax. You hadn’t realized you tensed up again. “I don’t want to be humiliated or degraded. I don’t like derogatory terms, the kinds of things that could be used as an insult. ‘Spark’ or ‘girl’ or other pet-names are fine, just nothing…crass. A-and I don’t ever want to be hit hard, especially my face. It’s too close to…s-something someone would do in anger for me to find it fun.”

His hands had moved to your arms as you talked to rub them comfortingly. “You’re right; I wouldn’t do any of those things. I never want to hurt you, emotionally or physically.”

Your eyes flicked away from his, unsure if you could watch his reaction to what you were about to admit. “Like I said, playful names are okay, a-and not all pain is bad…I-I mean, I like when you nip and bite me, a-and…in the right circumstances…I-I do like being…spanked…”

He paused for a moment, considering that. “Those things aren’t really intended to hurt you. At least, it isn’t my intent to hurt you when I bite you. It’s play. It’s more intense than nuzzling and kissing, but it’s still play. A little sting to make gentle touches all the gentler. And I can see how spanking would be a form of intense play where hitting your face would not be.” He squeezed your hands reassuringly. “But I don’t want to do that tonight, if that’s alright.”

A nervous giggle left you. “No, that’s fine. I-I’m definitely not in the right headspace for spanking.”

He hugged you, lips finding yours. The kiss was hard, passionate, his teeth catching your lower lip and tugging it as you parted. You whimpered softly, feeling the tension that had built up again leave you. “Lay back and get comfortable. I want to explore you properly,” he breathed, his usual tenor pitching down slightly with a soft growl. Oh, if that didn’t do it for you. He watched with a smirk as you hurried to obey, scooting to the center of the bed and laying back against the pillows. “Ah, so you like being told what to do. Would you like it if I took control?” he teased, hands running up your legs.

“Yes,” you whispered, eyes fixed on his. Your legs automatically parted so he could kneel between them.

“Would you like it if I used a little force?” he continued in that seductive tone, leaning over you, one hand pressing down on the center of your chest. He had you pinned beneath him, though the pressure he put on your body was minimal, just enough to convey that he was indeed in control without coming across as hostile, and certainly not enough to hurt you.

“Yes,” you breathed again, letting yourself relax. His flames flared out behind him, still making him seem huge, but now the sight calmed you. ‘In control’ could have multiple implications, and he was in control of himself, so it was safe – and admittedly hot – for him to be in control of the situation as well.

“Would you submit to me if I wanted to dominate you?” he growled, leaning further down over you, baring his teeth in a wicked grin.

You tilted your head back to expose your throat, inviting him to use those teeth on you. “Yes,” you answered, never taking your eyes from his.

He pressed a burning but tender kiss to your neck. “Why is that, sweet girl?” he purred against your skin. While his voice was still that deliciously-dangerous rumble, the question was genuine.

“You promised to take care of me. You’re bigger and stronger than me, and you could force me to do things I didn’t want, but you promised not to, and I trust you not to break it,” you answered honestly.

His dominant façade broke, everything about him softening in an instant. “Yes, sweet spark. I’ll always take care of you,” he murmured. He lowered himself carefully onto you, body pressing you down fully. The feeling of his bare chest against yours was fascinating, hot and heavy and solid without being crushing, the little flames between your bodies creating a light, tickling sensation against your skin. He pressed his face into the crook of your neck and you found yourself doing the same, arms wrapping around him. “I love you so much. You mean the world to me.” His breath was delightfully hot as it feathered over the sensitive junction where your neck met your shoulder. He mouthed it softly, teeth touching your skin before leaving it. A low growl rumbled in his chest. “I think I’m still feeling a bit possessive.” He kissed further down your shoulder. “This is where he touched you. I want…I want to mark you, bite you, so I can erase his memory from here and replace it with me...so when you see it and feel it,you will know you are mine.”

You shivered at the roughness in his voice. “You can. I want to be yours,” you murmured, running a hand up his neck and to his head, his flames curling around your fingers as though trying to hold onto them as they passed through.

“You are, little spark, but I don’t want to hurt you. Even if it’s a good hurt like we talked about…”

“Grillby, I want you to. Please. Mark me,” you whispered.

You stilled as his mouth closed over your shoulder, bracing for a bite that never came. Instead, you felt his fiery tongue lave over your skin, literally warming you up, before digging his teeth slightly into you and sucking hard on the caught flesh. You mewled, arching beneath him even as his body kept you trapped. His mouth released you with a kiss so soft you almost couldn’t feel it over the ache of the bruise that was definitely forming. He nuzzled back against your neck with another gentle kiss, lightly rubbing where he had marked you. “I’m afraid that’s the best you’re going to get from me for now, dear spark,” he rasped.

“I-I’m not disappointed,” you breathed, a little dazed.

He laughed as he sat up to run his hands down your sides and up across your stomach to your breasts. A little shiver went through you as he palmed them, squeezing lightly. “So soft…you are so beautiful,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss your chest. His fingers trailed to your nipples, making you squirm with a whine. “Sensitive?” he asked with a smirk that told you he knew exactly what he was doing to you. You didn’t care that he was teasing you, just as long as he kept touching you. You just nodded, knowing you wouldn’t be able to say anything coherent. He circled one nipple lazily with a finger, watching it pebble before closing his fingers over it in a soft pinch, rolling it slowly before releasing it with a little tug. The moan that came out of your mouth caught you both by surprise, and you quickly rolled onto your side (or at least as far as you could with him still kneeling between your legs) to hide your face. “I’m sorry. Was that too much?” All teasing was gone from his voice as he put a hand on your back.

“N-no…er, yes? I-I can’t tell,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest. “I-I don’t…I didn’t think…I-I wasn’t expecting to have that strong of a reaction,” you stammered after a moment.

He huffed softly. “Neither was I. I knew you were going to be responsive, but I didn’t realize it would be so much.” The hand moved to your cheek, coaxing you to look at him. “That’s not a complaint, just so you know, but with how you twisted away, I thought I did something wrong or hurt you.”

“No, i-it felt really good…I guess it’s just been a while since someone’s, well…yeah.”

He smiled, understanding. “Yeah…Are you still okay with this?” You nodded with a soft ‘yes.’ “Is there anything I should do differently?”

“N-no, I think you’re fine. I just need to…not react as much.”

“Oh, please don’t do that,” he said quickly, surprising you. “Not to sound creepy, but the sounds you make are beautiful. To know that you feel so good because of me is…it’s intoxicating. So please, don’t try to be quiet. I want to hear you.”

You searched his face for a moment before nuzzling his palm affectionately. “Okay.”

He smiled, rubbing a thumb across your cheek lovingly. “Will you lay back again for me?” You rolled onto your back again, laying flat under him, arms at your sides. He chuckled at that. “ Relax. You look a little stiff like that, spark,” he said, gently taking your hands. The tiniest gasp escaped you as he lifted them over your head and held them against the pillows. “Now, aren’t you pretty like that…” he purred, grinning down at you.

“Grillby…” you breathed, eyes locked on his.

His smirk softened. “Is this too much?” he asked, his fingers twining with yours.

“Maybe, but…I think I’m okay with it,” you said softly.

He chuckled, leaning down to nuzzle your cheek. “I don’t want you to feel trapped or forced. I want you to know you’re safe and loved,” he murmured into your ear, kissing your cheek.

((needs stuff))

You lifted your hips and tried not to whimper at the feeling of him pulling your pants off. “Everything okay?” he asked, picking up on your unease despite your efforts to hide it.

“Just…feeling exposed,” you whispered, shutting your eyes. “I-I mean, of course I’m exposed, I’m practically naked, b-but somehow i-it’s more th-thanjustphysicalandI’msuddenlyscaredand–”

“Hey, hey, shh-shhh, it’s okay. It’s alright. I’m here. I’m going to keep you safe, remember?” The bed shifted as he spoke and you felt his hand cup your cheek.

“I-I don’t know what changed. I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me –”

“Shh, look at me, sweet spark…Please look at me?” You reluctantly opened your eyes again to see he had moved to sit beside you, probably in an effort to keep you from feeling trapped. You bit your lower lip to keep it from trembling, which he immediately eased back out from between your teeth with his thumb. “There’s nothing wrong with you. We just found a limit, that’s all.”

“B-but I didn’t really have any at the start, a-and now allofasuddenthatchangedandIjustfeellikeI–”

“Hush…That’s okay,” he soothed. “Neither of us really knew what to expect at the start of this, right? So we talked and we teased and we played, but now it’s become a little too much. That’s okay. My only expectation of this was to learn you and let you learn me. I think we’ve made pretty good progress on that, yes?” He poked your side gently, making you giggle, even if it was a little weak. “We can stop for the night if you want.”

“But I…I don’t know if that’s what I want to do. I-I want more, but I’m also…everything is overwhelming me right now…C-could we just…sit for a little bit? L-let me get used to…to being like this with someone again?”

“Of course. Come here, sweet spark,” he cooed, gently pulling you up and into his arms. “We have all the time in the world. You can take as much as you need.” He rubbed small circles on the back of your head with his fingertips as he spoke. It was strange to feel so much of his fire against your skin. It was always shifting, little licks and wisps of it moving against you, which created the false sensation that he was about to move or do something unexpected. You buried your head into his shoulder, your arms crossed to cover your breasts. “You’re so tense, little spark,” he murmured, kissing the top of your head. “Would laying down and cuddling help?”

“I-I don’t…m-maybe? I-I can’t tell.”

“How about we try it and see if it makes you feel better, hm?” You couldn’t tell if it was a genuine suggestion or instead gentle persuasion, but you found yourself nodding. He eased you down and cradled you against himself as his little spoon. His body was so warm and solid and comforting that you couldn’t help but snuggle back into him, making him cuddle you all the closer. “There, all comfy and cozy,” he hummed, the sound reverberating through his chest and into you.

“Wh-why…” you whimpered, breath catching in your throat.

“What’s wrong, sweet girl?”

“Why are you being s-so patient with me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve learned that you do things when you are ready, and not a moment before. Rushing you along would only make you anxious, resistant, and frustrated. Besides, being patient has always given me exactly what I wanted with you.”

“Y-you mean us ultimately doing what you wanted?”

Grillby sighed, and you can imagine him rolling his eyes. “I mean making you feel safe and happy. Seeing you at peace is what I always want most. Sometimes that peace shows itself differently – love-drunk after a make-out session, sleepy when I play with your hair, teary-eyed during the credits of a good movie, laughing loud with your friends – but in all of those moments, you are perfectly, openly, beautifully you. It’s merely a bonus that you become much more willing to try different things when you feel secure. And as much as I want to add ‘blissed-out from pleasure’ to that list, it will be done on your terms, not mine, because you are at your most radiant when you let your walls come down yourself, my bright spark.”

You blushed deeply. “Laying on the flattery a-a little thick, there…”

His lips caught your earlobe and gave it a teasing tug. “Truth isn’t flattery.” The arm around you shifted so he could take one of your hands in his. “Now, let’s just cuddle until you decide what you want to do next,” he continued, giving your hand two soft squeezes.

“You a-already know that I’m going to want to continue, right?” you whispered, squeezing back.

He hummed. “Yes. But the decision is still yours. I would never take that from you. You wouldn’t make me do something I didn’t want to, right? The same is true for you. It will always be true for you.”

You weren’t sure how to respond without sounding like a complete love-struck idiot, so you instead brought his hand to your lips to kiss it. He nuzzled the back of your neck, giving it a light nibble and a soft kiss in return. You snuggled back against him and let your eyes close, feeling him against you, his fiery skin moving gently against your bare back, the weight of his arm around you, the hand that still held yours. “I could fall asleep like this…” you murmured, the nervous tension in you eased by the familiarity of being cuddled like this.

Grillby hummed again, just a hint of amusement in it this time. “You can if you want. We don’t have to do anything else tonight, really.” You felt him kiss the back of your head. “Just knowing that you feel safe and comfortable enough to sleep while I hold you like this is enough for me, little spark.”

((needs stuff))

[kamiyugure]

Returning to Tumblr?

Something something I'm back and not 24 anymore!

It's been a while since I was really active on tumblr... well since I was active on like any site at all.

I've been sorta in limbo for a looooong time. Trying to figure out my life, trying to figure out work and money and mostly miserably failing at all of it. (I am hyper sensitive in a way that I've never really accepted until the like 3rd time I sank into a month-long depressive episode that lost me ANOTHER job... oops) Lately I've been trying to work at convincing myself to just say eff it and work on stuff that's mattered to me, like writing stories. My siblings are active on tumblr and one of them suggested that this is like... the SM to be active on and stuff because like... there's not as much horrible people as on other social media, or at least the general atmosphere on tumblr is generally LGBT+ positive and generally progressive. I've also been thinking about starting a blog or something that's oriented towards my whole trying to figure out what to do with my life. It's not just been money that's been leading me down upsetting paths, but also my mixture of feelings and plethora of interests. Making up fantasy stories is something that I just remember being a part of my life when I was a kid but I also just love a lot of different sorts of creative and/or problem solving things. There's a version of me inside that refuses to give up on the idea that there's a path where I don't have to abandon all these interests just to focus on one for the rest of my life. Like I think I've figured out that being a purely tech person might not work for me but I don't think I'd enjoy trying to go the opposite extreme. I just sorta wanna be creative and problem-solve-y and focus on making things that I wanna make... However selfish saying that sort of thing makes me feel. But also so much of the political, economic and ecological landscape right now angers me and a lot of my mental energy is spent trying to understand what I should or could do about any of it. Sometimes my mind can't STOP circling around "Everything is ruled by rich evil white supremacist idiots hellbent on creating huge swaths of mass human suffering and destroying the planet while they're at it." Look I'm rambling already! Anyway... I do figure that my siblings are right about Tumblr being one of the safer Social Media options for those who are more left leaning (and maybe particularly sensitive about certain things) so I'm thinking I might start getting a little more active again. BUT - I want to actually be a kind of creator, now. I think the tumblr I maintained during college was largely me just reblogging other posts and I dunno... kinda wanna make my own stuff more. I also still have side blogs that I don't know what to do with. One is body positivity focused, another was art focused (with 3 whole posts! woo!) and then there was like one that I made that was going to be focused on tabletop gaming but... I don't think I ever did anything for it besides make it.

[sapphic-courtship-for-dummies]

ok ok ok so. i'm in a very complicated situation rn. lemme start from the beginning: -so i'm best friends with this girl for years -our friend group talks abt sexualities, me + other girl come to conclusion that we're bisexual, the best friend thinks she *might* be too -realize i'm in love with her -confess to her later -she doesn't like me that way

-i don't think she's straight????? -time passes -we're both in a religion btw -she asks me one day abt our religion's views on homosexuality -i tell her one of the views, that it's alright -she says ok -she's still questioning btw -i think she might be bi/pan leaning towards guys

-i move to a different country -i leave the religion, not out yet to anyone tho -but we still text -she sends me a post one day abt homosexuality -it's that other view, that homosexuality is wrong -she believes in that view and is trying to persuade me to undo my bisexuality in some way or ignore it -getting strong indoctrination and internalized homophobia vibes here -she thinks i'm still in the religion and is trying to convince me on her views on homosexuality -i try to argue back carefully since i can't let her know i've left -anyway we fight -and apologize a few days later -and she suggests we don't talk abt religious stuff because we always fight abt it

-i say ok -i do flood my insta story (that she sees) with lgbt posts out of passive aggressiveness -i know i know, but i couldnt help it because i have very liberal views and i feel very strongly abt religious homophobia and sexuality -i sort of wanted to punish and test her -'this is me, this sexuality is a part of me, not a test by god, and i'm gonna show it and make it obvious, and you have to choose between remaining with me despite it or not.'

-we don't speak for three months.

-our only interaction is viewing each others' stories -she texts me with something random a few days later -we're talking again -i've forgiven her at this point -after all, before i left, i was just like her, i believed the same things she did -i want to believe that just like me, she'll come around and see things for what they truly are. -idk what to do till then

-i'm still in love with her -i still feel elated whenever she texts -i still feel that spark when i hear her name

-i want to get over her, over it -but still remain her best friend -it's hard because a huge part of getting over someone is to cut them off completely -and for those three months i did not think of her, so it worked a little -but when she texted it all came flooding back.

-i'm so, so, so fucked. what do i do?

Hello dear anon. I am so, so sorry about your situation, and even more sorry I wasn't able to respond until now. I know it's been quite some time, but in the case that you are still struggling with this or that anyone else can benefit from hearing your story and my two cents about it, here's my answer.

It can be really complicated navigating relationships with people who do not share the same values or outlooks as you do, and not everyone has the ability or desire to cut ties with those people. My best friend growing up was one of those people who was very indoctrinated in her religious upbringing and beliefs, which led to the two of us having more frequent arguments as we got older, and eventually ended in a painful split and end in our friendship. I don't regret our separation, looking back I think it was for the best because we just valued, believed, and wanted different things in life. I still wish her the best, but if what allows us both to live our happiest lives is being apart, then so be it.

I understand your pain, and your conflict, however I know that I personally cannot tolerate any kind of...well, intolerance, like that in the people I associate with. I just don't have the energy. Ultimately it's up to you whether you believe your lives will be happier together or apart. That also includes whether you decide to move on from her romantically or not. I can attest that--at least in my own experience--it's not impossible to get over being in love with someone while still interacting with them or being friends with them. That's my track record so far anyway, having two exes that are still friends of mine and even speak to regularly. That isn't to say that it isn't still hard sometimes, or that it doesn't take a certain type of strength or maturity to be able to maintain these relationships and let go of the expectations and hopes you once had for what they could have been, but it is certainly possible and even worthwhile if you can stomach it.

I don't have a straight answer for you, as easy as I wish it could be. I see three main potential roads that you could go down, those being: continuing to wait and see if she'll ever come around to your side of things, letting go of your romantic expectations and moving on while trying to maintain the friendship, or just letting go. I don't know how much things may have changed or not since you sent this ask, but if you're still at a crossroads then there's a chance that you had a gut feeling reading those options. Only you know what you really need, and sometimes you don't know until you get it, or you start walking down that path. All I know is that you have to do what's best for you, as painful or difficult as that may be.

Change is possible in all people, you're living proof of that, but sometimes it takes people lifetimes to open their hearts and minds to learn or unlearn what they need to. Whatever you decide, I hope you are able to prioritize your own happiness in this short life that you have now. You deserve to live proudly as your most authentic self, to love freely surrounded by people who accept you for who and what you are--all of you. Time is precious, your time here is precious, so use it wisely. Use it to do right by yourself, your heart, and your values, to live the life that you truly want.

So, my friend, I leave you with a final question to ponder:

In the long run, what do you truly want?

I hope that this can be of some help or comfort, my DMs are still open if you ever need a friend. <3

All my love and best wishes always,

Your friend,

Sappho 💓