#I wasn't around at the start but I'm here now and AUGH

[mochiwrites]

last life au

in light of third life turning two years old today, I offer a wip I've had sitting in my google drive since february! if any of you remember this post I made a while back, all you need to know is that third life!grian has swapped places with last life!grian somehow. without further ado, here's my very unfinished and very rough last life au wip (pls don't judge it too harshly LOL)

happy two years to the series that changed me as a person! :D (edit: now posted on ao3! read here)

if you enjoyed, please reblog! reblogs do more than likes <3

To Grian, the desert was once a home.

It wasn’t perfect, not really. Perfection is nearly impossible in a game of death, but what he and Scar had came close. The desert was the farthest thing from a good location, all things considered. The days were hot, far too hot, and the nights were so cold that it left Scar and Grian curling up close for warmth. There was nothing but sand for miles, which made gathering materials a constant challenge. 

But they had their home. Their tower, their place of respite. Dogwarts was a constant threat barreling down their door, but together they made it work. Their home was far from perfect, but it was theirs and that’s what Grian came to love about it. 

Except now, as he stands in a ring of cacti, he has destroyed his home. 

His home is filled with lava and craters, a reminder of what they did to survive. Their desert was ruined days ago in what they had hoped to be the final showdown with Dogwarts and The Red King. They blew up their desert for a win they never achieved. 

Maybe that was the first sign that things were going wrong. Their desert, their home, their small temporary sanctuary in this hellish game was blown apart. 

Ends justifies the means, no?

After all, to Grian, their home was more than just the desert. Their home was with each other. The desert never mattered much to him, not when he had Scar, and vice versa. The desert was a symbol, more than anything. Of Grian’s debt, his guilt. He’ll never admit it, but it felt a bit liberating to destroy it. 

And maybe that’s why things went oh so horribly wrong. 

Maybe that is why his fists are shaking, knuckles raw and covered in blood. Maybe that is why he stares down at the bloodied corpse of what was once his partner, his other half. His insides twist and turn, creating a mangled mess of emotions within him. The sun beats down on him, sweat and blood mixing together as one. His hair is in his eyes, but he doesn’t care much. His tank top feels like too much but also too little all at once.

His knuckles ache, his body is sore. He’s hardly covered in bruises and scratches, and yet he still feels like he’s just been beaten half to death anyways. 

He can’t bear to look at Scar, to meet his gaze and see his own brightly shining eyes reflected in lifeless, empty ones. 

“For everything you’ve done to keep me alive this long, you may slay me and take the enchanter.” 

Scar’s words ring in his head, accompanied by his laughter. Grian puts a bloodied hand up to his mouth as a wave of nausea rolls over him. He doesn’t pay any mind to the copper twinge that fills his mouth. He tears his gaze away from anywhere remotely near Scar, instead turning and looking over the mountain. 

Their home is in ruins. Their home is gone. The last of their home has been destroyed by his own two hands, killed for the sake of winning some pointless game. 

His victory feels hollow. Empty. 

He had wanted to win together. Winning without Scar felt… wrong. It feels wrong. After all they’ve been through, after establishing something between them, winning alone just… didn’t look as appealing anymore. 

“I’m getting you! I’m getting you good!” “I don’t think you are!” 

His hands ache. His chest feels tight, as if his ribs have been coiled tightly around his lungs to constrict his air flow. He takes a slow step back, as if trying to escape the scene of the crime. His legs shake from the weight of both his body and his actions. Grian takes a shaky breath. 

“Can we win together?” 

He stumbles as he walks backwards, his world dipping and tilting. 

Grian won alone. 

He doesn’t feel like a winner. 

He doesn’t even want that title. 

The guilt is eating at him. Why? Why is he the one that survived? The point of all of this was so that Scar could win! That’s why Grian stayed with him! 

(He won’t admit to himself that there’s more to it than that. He won’t admit to himself that somewhere along the way his feelings changed. No longer was he staying by Scar’s side out of guilt or obligation. Without Grian even noticing, Scar grew on him. Scar broke through his walls with his ridiculous yet charming nature, and Grian found himself wanting to stay with Scar because he wanted to see him win. Because somehow, somewhere, Grian’s heart had been swayed and stolen. Somewhere, he had fallen in love.) 

For a moment, he’s angry. He’s angry at the blood lusting ghosts for demanding a final fight. He’s angry at Scar for letting him win, for making him win. Frustrated, bitter words lay on his tongue as he turns around to admonish the man, emotions getting the better of him. 

Only to turn and be met with his corpse. Blood pools around Scar’s body, bruises littering his face and chest. Grian had been throwing punches wildly. 

His stomach lurches, and he covers his mouth again. Copper fills his nostrils, heavy and thick. “Oh… I don’t feel good,” he mumbles, but there’s no one around to hear him. 

He tears his gaze away, instead surveying the desert around him. His blood is rushing in his ears, making it hard to hear. His head swims as he stands still, looking over at the rivers of lava throughout the desert. 

Grian’s eyes settle on the cliff face.  

This desert isn’t a home anymore. It’s vacant, empty. Pointless. His home doesn’t exist, not without Scar. 

He walks toward the cliff. 

“Scar, I’m so sorry!”

“I’m sorry too!”

The desert is unfamiliar, morphing and twisting into something dark and unwelcoming. It has become  a monster of Grian’s own creation. It has become something that Grian has ripped apart with his own two hands. Something that once brought him warmth is now cold and barren. The desert is a shadow, a weak imitation of what it once was. 

He stands on the ledge. 

He wonders what was going through Scar’s mind during all of this. What was he thinking? Does he hate Grian for being the one to survive? Is he at peace, having been the one to die? Does he hate Grian for killing him? Does he hate Grian for ruining their home? Or is he happy with the way that things have gone? Grian supposes he’ll never get to know. 

He shuts his eyes and jumps. 

-----------------

Muffled noises surround him.

He can’t quite make out what the noises are, not when it feels like his head has been submerged under water. One by one, his senses return to him and huh, that’s weird. He’s dead, yet he can feel his body? That… shouldn’t be normal. Granted, Grian has never been permanently dead before. Do most dead people still feel their body? Is that even possible? 

The next thing he feels is something soft underneath him. Now Grian knows that isn’t right. The last thing he remembers feeling is his body slamming into the hard ground below, shattering his bones. The pain had only lasted a few seconds before Grian fell unconscious, but it had been excruciating while he could still feel. Darkness had come to claim him quite swiftly. 

But whatever he’s laying on… it feels nothing like the harsh sand. It’s softer, almost silky. Plush. It only serves to confuse Grian more, seeing as once more, he isn’t sure if feeling things still is normal for a dead person. 

Ever so slowly, Grian slowly opens his eyes. His eyes are met with a stone ceiling, which… is that supposed to be there? 

Grian had a few ideas of what the afterlife would be like – if he even has one. An empty void, or maybe the End. Perhaps he’d return to the wasteland that was once his home and haunt it as a ghost. (A kinder part of him had hoped that he’d reunite with his friends, and they could all cry and hug one another. And maybe he could see Scar again, and shake him around for making Grian kill him, and then hold onto the man so that he’d never lose him again.)

Experimentally, he wiggles a finger or two. Yup, there’s still a body attached to him. Alright. Though to his surprise, he isn’t in any sort of pain. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising, all things considered. 

Something wet touches his hand then, and Grian leaps up with a shriek. He pulls his hand back and looks at whatever touched him, finding a dog sitting on the ground. “Huh?” He looks at the dog, seeing a red collar around its neck. “Why is there a dog here?” The animal simply tilts its head to the side in response. 

It’s then that Grian actually takes the time to look around at where he is, and he pauses. The first thing he notices is that he’s laying in a white bed. There’s a chest and a crafting table in front of the bed, and there are dogs just about everywhere. Ah, so that’s what all the noise was. A furnace is set on the floor against the wall, and Grian finds himself feeling very confused. 

This is… definitely not the afterlife, that’s for sure. 

Did someone rescue him? How? Grian was the only one left on Third Life, everyone else was… 

Lips curling in a frown, he moves to slide off of the bed. Just as his foot touches the ground, he pauses, recognizing the extra weight on his body. Looking down at himself, Grian finds iron armor on him, which only worsens his confusion. Why is he in armor? 

Standing from the bed, he looks around at the room. He’s certain that he’s underground, if the walls of stone and dirt are anything to go by. He watches as one of the dogs (a pup) clambers onto the bed and circles the pillow before curling up and laying down. 

It leaves him feeling very confused. 

He casts a glance around at the stone box he’s in, looking at each of the dogs. Some of them don’t pay him any mind, and others are staring right at him. Who’s dogs are these? And why are they here, wherever here is. They seem friendly with him at least, but Grian doesn’t know if that makes him relaxed or more nervous. He remembers Joel’s pack of wolves. 

While looking around, he spots a ladder tucked against the wall leading down. He doesn’t go toward it, in case it’s trapped. Instead, he looks at the pickaxe he has on him and uses that to cautiously dig a little staircase up. 

It takes him a few minutes to get to the surface, considering he’s trying to dig out and also listen to his surroundings. When he finally pops his head out from the dirt, he does so carefully, peeking out to look around him. There’s no one around him besides trees and mountains. He sighs softly in relief. Though he still has to remain vigilant. 

Climbing out of the hole, he covers it back up with dirt (just in case if he was saved by someone, they won’t immediately notice he’s gone). Standing at full height, Grian takes a look around. The first thing he notices is how the landscape is completely different to Third Life. What is this place, he wonders. The terrain all looks different.

Lips dipping in a frown, he sets his hands on his hips, “Definitely not in Kansas anymore…” he mumbles to himself. If this is the afterlife, it’s quite odd, that’s for sure. 

While looking around, he catches sight of something in the distance. It looks like some kind of cobblestone building with roofs of dark oak. From where he is, he can spot four of them. One is at the very top of a mountain, being the most visible. 

The idea of approaching it leaves Grian hesitant, but maybe a little investigation wouldn’t hurt. He’s going to have to check it out if he wants any answers as to what this place is. So he makes a journey toward the direction of the towers. Trekking through the trees, he uses the branches for coverage. 

And when he gets to the big entrance of the four towers, he pauses. 

Grian stares at the front entrance, watching as pistons move up and down in front of him. Watching it, his eyes follow the movements curiously. Surrounding the entrance are walls of dark oak and cobble, wrapping around the base completely. He considers walking inside, maybe exploring whatever this new structure is. There was nothing inside the chest within the bunker for him. 

His inventory is an assortment of different items, none of which Grian knows what’s important and what isn’t. By now he’s ascertained that he’s in fact not dead. Which is… confusing. How is he alive? And where is he?

“Oh, Grian!” Someone’s calling his name, and the sound of someone else’s voice makes him jump. He looks up, seeing a familiar blue and red jump suit and dirty blond hair. 

Grian’s eyes widen, “Tim..?” The name escapes him with a sharp breath. No longer does his skin look sickly and gray, instead healthy and free of blood. His hair is vibrant, as are his brown eyes. A diamond chest plate sits over his upper body, iron leggings and boots. Grian almost feels like he’s seeing a ghost. The last time he saw Jimmy, it had been in the desert. Right before he died. 

It feels weird to see him again, considering he wasn’t meant to die in that fight. He was meant to stay safe. With Scar. 

Grief and regret crashes into him at once, nearly knocking him over. Images of that battle flicker in his mind, as well as the aftermath. They hadn’t spent long at Jimmy’s grave. 

(Grian paid Jimmy’s grave a visit late that night. He had been fully aware of the risks, knowing that anyone from Dogwarts could attack him. But Grian could bet with certainty they were too busy enjoying a perceived victory against the Desert. 

Jimmy’s grave was nothing fancy. Extravagance was a privilege they didn’t have there. Simple cobblestone walls and a poppy planted in the ground was all Scott could give him. 

Grian sat down, and apologized. He hadn’t even been there for Jimmy’s death. Jimmy wasn’t supposed to die. And Grian hadn’t even been there to help him. He apologized for that. He promised revenge. His death would not be in vain. 

At some point, someone had joined him. A warmth slotted against his side, and the smell of sweat, burnt sand, and summer heat filled his senses. He relaxed. 

Neither of them spoke for a while. Grian leaned against Scar, letting his thoughts wander. 

“I’m sorry the trap got messed up.” Scar apologized with a low mutter. 

Grian huffed quietly, gently knocking his head against his arm,“I don’t care about that. I mean, I do since the only one it got was me, but — I’m more thankful you survived.” 

“…I’m sorry you died,” was Scar’s response, “But on the bright side, your debt’s been repaid! You’re a free man!” Grian knew Scar well enough by then to know when he was forcing himself to act cheerful. He could hear the underlying sadness in his voice, the way he was holding something back. But most of all he could hear the fear. 

To that, Grian only pressed himself more firmly against him. “Then my first act as a free man is to see this through with you until the end.” 

He heard Scar take a breath; shaky and rough. An arm wrapped around him, and he heard a murmured, “Thank you.”)

Jimmy looks a little nervous as he stands on the other side of the pistons, “What’re you doing all the way over there for? Get in ‘ere already!” he exclaims, gesturing for him to come in. “Mumbo disabled the trap!” 

His body moves as if it’s on autopilot, legs carrying him toward the gate. He clumsily hops over the pistons and line of stone bricks, landing on the other side. His footing is a bit clumsy as he hits the ground, wobbling slightly. Jimmy laughs at him, and Grian tries to process the sound. 

Jimmy isn’t dead. He’s alive. 

What in the world is going on? 

Grian goes over to him, staring at him with something akin to marvel. Jimmy turns to him, still looking nervous. “So uh… I’m not going to be kicked out, right? I know we had the vote and all yesterday but just wanted to triple check you didn’t change your mind overnight,” he rambles to Grian, shifting back and forth on his feet. 

“What?” Blinking in confusion, Grian looks at him. “Why would I be—”

“Oi, Tim! Give the man some space to breathe, would ya?” Another voice joins them, and Grian tenses at the familiarity. “He only just got back last night. At least wait an extra five minutes before you start pestering ‘im.”

Glancing to his side, he spots The Red King’s right hand man approaching them. He’s dressed in iron, a shield attached to his arm. The familiar black bandana peeks out from underneath his hair and his blue eyes are creased with amusement as he looks at the pair. “Martyn?!” The exclamation escapes him before he can stop it. He takes a small step in front of Jimmy, knowing that Scott would be crushed if he lost him a second time (The memory of Scott in his mind would be, anyways). He keeps himself on guard. 

Martyn smiles at the pair, “Good morning to you too, fellow Southlander!” He grins. “How’s it feel to be yellow again, eh Grian?” he questions, which makes Grian bristle slightly. He remembers Martyn taking his first life very clearly.

“I’m–”

“Watch out!” A voice calls out, followed by the sounds of feet hitting the ground. Grian jumps as someone barrels past himself and Martyn, cutting right through them in a blur of black. “Hot lava bucket in my hands!” 

“I told you to wear gloves!” A second voice follows, and Grian catches a glimpse of yellow and black. He turns his head in the direction the two voices went, seeing them both by the entrance of the fort. Almost instantly, Grian recognizes Impulse from behind. But the one next to him… 

Grian feels his entire body freeze. His breath is punched out of him, eyes widening. 

The man next to Impulse is setting the bucket of lava down with a large sigh, shoulders sagging in relief. He straightens up, taking a moment to glance around. His eyes lock with Grian’s, and Grian feels rooted to his spot. His throat feels dry, as if he hasn’t drank anything in weeks. He swallows, but it does little to rid the feeling. 

Oblivious to Grian’s freezing, the man smiles wide at him, hurrying over. “Grian!” he exclaims, “Glad you got here before I reset the trap, mate, “ he greets cheerfully, but Grian feels too stunned to speak. 

Why is Mumbo here? Why? 

A multitude of emotions crash into Grian’s chest at the sight of his best friend. Relief, horror, guilt. They each roll over him, loud and vicious as they threaten to overwhelm him. He can’t look away from the man, the feeling of confusion holding his head above water. 

(“Do you think Mumbo would be proud?” The question had been half nonchalant as the pair ran through the desert, digging deep underground. The true meaning of the question was a secret, one between only himself and Scar.

Scar paused to consider it. He had lifted a finger to his chin as he thought, “Oh! Mumbo would be crying from happiness!”

“Be honest with me.” Grian had said. 

Scar hadn’t been.) 

Standing in front of the man, Grian does not share the thought. Not after the blood staining his hands. And isn’t that ironic? In a game where your aim is to kill and survive, he feels guilty over killing. But maybe that’s because of who his final kill was. Because of how it all ended. Grian had hoped he’d never have to face Mumbo after that, but apparently fate had other plans. 

“Speaking of getting here early,” Martyn’s voice cuts through the fog of confusion settling over Grian’s mind, causing him to look over at the other. Grian forces his gaze away from Mumbo with a painful pang, meeting Martyn’s eyes, “I see you’ve gone and scored another life on your way back from Scar’s.” He wiggles his brows.

Just hearing Scar’s name causes Grian’s stomach to curl with grief, “W-What?” he asks, the shock of Martyn’s statement sending him back a small step. 

“Don’t you try and fool me, G, the last time we saw you you were on yellow life. And now you’re green!” Martyn points at his wrist, and naturally, Grian’s gaze follows. 

His heart squeezes uncomfortably tight as he sees the familiar line of hearts down his wrist. There’s three hearts on his wrist, green, yellow, and red. Nausea rolls over him like a blanket, wrapping around him and tightening around his neck. He feels sick. Why? Why?! He thought he was done with all of this! Was killing Scar not enough? Was winning an empty, meaningless victory not enough?! 

Is this his punishment? Or some sick kind of joke?! 

He clenches his fists, watching the way they shake from how tightly he clenches them. Burning hot anger runs through him like lava, melting his insides. The warmth goes from top to bottom, engulfing him in an angry, vicious flame. He feels too much, yet too little all at once. He wants to scream. To cry. Maybe break something, or blow something up. Blood is pumping in his ears; his heart feels like it’s going to burst. 

This isn’t the afterlife. This is hell. 

“Grian?” Mumbo’s gentle, concerned voice breaks through the anger threatening to overtake him like a light. The sound of his voice snaps him from his spiraling thoughts, and he notices how his fingers dig uncomfortably into his skin. As if his nails can break the hearts on his wrist, shatter them. He lets go instantly, seeing angry red lines left behind. 

Lifting his gaze, Grian sees four pairs of eyes watching him. Yet the only eyes he focuses on are Mumbo’s, it’s been so long since he’s seen the man. His presence is normally a comfort for Grian, something grounding. But right now, all Grian feels is conflict. His grief and guilt is suffocating, and Mumbo’s presence does little to help that feeling. Mumbo looks at him with nothing but concern and kindness, with the way his eyebrows dip and lower, a worried frown marring his face.

Mumbo takes a step closer, hand reaching out to him, “You alright, mate?” Looking down, Grian sees the man’s wrist. Four hearts go down his wrist in a line. Two of them are already gone, looking faded and cracked. The sight of the hearts on his wrist sends his stomach dropping, heart lodging in his throat.  

Grian recoils from his outstretched hand as if it were a weapon, and Mumbo freezes in place. He pulls his hand back. His face falls, and Grian pretends he doesn’t see. 

“I’m fine.” Grian hastily replies, ignoring the burst of pain in his chest. He scans the people around him. Mumbo, Impulse, Jimmy, and… Martyn. He takes a breath. So he’s stuck in another life game. Great. And it looks like these four are his… alliance. 

A sudden thought strikes him. If those four are here then… who else is here?

His communicator pings, and he pulls it up, heart still firmly lodged in his throat.

<GoodTimeWithScar> oh team BEST~

<GoodTimeWithScar> A wizard *never* forgets his promise.

If seeing Mumbo made him sick, then seeing Scar’s message in chat plunges him into freezing cold water. Scar’s name is red (of course it is), and it sends nostalgia and grief tearing through him all at once. Everything suddenly feels like it’s too much, his head swimming. He stumbles slightly, nearly falling if it hadn’t been for Jimmy taking hold of him. “Seriously, you alright?” Jimmy questions, and Grian… Grian doesn’t know. 

All he can think about is his final moments with Scar leading up to that stupid duel. The splashing of water below him as he jumped down to meet him in that shallow pond. 

“Betrayer!” he had screamed. 

Well look who’s laughing now. 

Grian had thought about it very briefly, in his final moments, what it’d be like if he ever met Scar again. He had wondered if Scar would scorn him, or if Scar would pull him into his arms and congratulate him on a battle well fought. He had also considered keeping his distance, as far away as possible, as to never hurt Scar again. 

And yet, just as usual, his heart never listens to his brain. 

Because as he looks at his communicator, watching the others reply in chat, his eyes only focus on Scar’s name. There’s a part of him, a very deep part within, that cries out for him. It sees Scar’s name, and it reaches. It reaches far and wide, and it doesn’t concern itself with the logical side of Grian’s brain. No, it simply sees the fact that Scar is clearly alive and well and it wants to run right toward him. 

Seeing Scar’s name makes Grian’s chest ache with a deep yearning that he knows can never be satisfied. There is an ache in him that he knows will only continue to eat away at himself, until he is rotting and reaching. His soul is crying, begging for Scar at his side, and though Grian knows that he will only be the catalyst to Scar’s ultimate demise, he is weak to the pull of his emotions. 

Grian’s other half is alive! He is alive and that part of Grian feels incomplete without him. Empty. His heart aches at the thought of being with Scar again, of being able to give him the apology he deserves. Just the thought of being able to apologize to him is enough to break Grian down. 

“S-Scar,” he stammers, completely forgetting that Jimmy even asked him a question. “He’s – I have to get to him,” he says, turning to the others. 

He’s met with varying expressions of confusion, though it’s Impulse who says something, “Didn’t you already bring him his stuff after he died?” he questions, and Grian quickly shakes his head. 

“No I just – where is he? I-I need to see him, I–” he stammers, thoughts running far too quickly for him to actually think coherently. 

“Up north dude, where he always is.” Martyn replies, though he’s looking at Grian with… something. If he weren’t so distracted by the thought of Scar, he’d probably look closer into that. However, distraction is the card he’s been dealt, and he lets it play. He spins on his heel for the exit, walking briskly with purpose. “Make sure he doesn’t kill you!” Martyn calls after him, “Remember the guy’s on red!"

Grian knows he won’t. 

-----------------

If Grian is being honest with himself, he probably should have put more thought into this. He didn’t even come here with a plan! He had just heard that Scar was north, so north is where he went. He was moving too fast for his brain to actually catch up. 

It was a bit of a journey, getting from the cobbled towers (the Southlanders, his mind supplies) to the big mountain in the north. But the second he saw the hut on top of the mountain, he knew exactly who lived there. 

Maybe what made the journey so difficult was the thoughts that accompanied him. 

Grian won’t say that he ran to Scar’s — because he didn’t. Not really. He had walked. And his thoughts consumed him with every step. 

He’s stuck in another life game. Scar is here. Mumbo is here. He doesn’t know what it means. This game isn’t Third Life, he knows that much. His mind is scrambling, trying to come up with some kind of plan. A strategy. He’s trying to lay out a safety net for himself but he should’ve known from the start it’d be pointless. 

There are no safety nets in a game of death. There are no “plans”, despite how badly Grian may want to use one. He learned in Third Life that plans don’t work, even the most carefully planned strategy blows up in his face. It won’t stop him though. A plan gives him something to fall back on, a faux comfort. 

A plan keeps him from running headfirst into danger, a plan keeps him alive.  

Which is why he probably should’ve come up with a plan before going to Scar. He doesn’t know what kind of state the man will be in. He isn’t sure how to even approach a reunion with him. It’s obvious that he’s in some kind of… who even knows where. Obviously his friends all know him here, but he isn’t sure if they remember him. Who he is. What he’s done. What they’ve all done. 

It doesn’t help that he’s apparently been dropped right in the middle of this new game. 

He doesn’t know how to handle an approach to Scar. Hug him? Smack him? Ask him if he knows who he is? A no on that last one, Jimmy and the others have already answered that. Besides, Grian isn’t sure if he could handle Scar looking at him like Grian was a stranger in every sense of the word except the literal one. 

He settles on just seeing what happens. Sometimes no plan is the best plan! 

But just — not in a death game. 

His thoughts trail off as he approaches the bottom of the mountain, and he looks up. He grimaces as he gets a clearer view of the hut up top, sighing. “Of course Scar had to put his base in the most precarious spot ever,” he grumbles before beginning to make his way up the mountain. He makes sure to be careful with each step, keeping himself aware of where he’s stepping. 

When he makes it to the top of the mountain, he’s rather out of breath, chest heaving from exertion. This mountain is a lot bigger than the one back in the desert. But he reaches the top, and is face to face with a hut made of wood and dark stone. The roof on top looks like a wizard’s hat, and Grian can’t help his fond huff. 

He focuses his gaze on the entryway, finding it wide open. This is it. Scar is beyond that doorway. Grian’s hands shake just at the thought of seeing him again. Anxiety runs through his blood like water, filling him completely. His heart picks up, beating against his ribcage. He swallows thickly. 

A small part of him wants to run away. A small part of him wants to turn around and head right back down the mountain and forget that he even came here. A small part of him is afraid to look Scar in the eyes. It makes him feel like a coward. 

And yet despite that small part of him, Grian walks forward. 

He walks right into the hut, and promptly stops. Right in front of him is none other than Scar. He’s digging around in a barrel, humming to himself. Grian isn’t sure what the tune is, or where it’s from, but the scene feels familiar. His chest aches. 

“Scar?” he says, causing the man to yell out. 

He jumps up in surprise, letting out the typical fearful scream he does whenever he’s snuck up on. It makes Grian smile softly, and god he misses this man. Scar spins around on his heels, turning to look at Grian. Grian gets a good look at his eyes, and he sees a dark red haze swirling in them. There is not a hint of warmth in his eyes, no kind of recollection or even joy at seeing him. Grian isn’t sure what he sees in Scar’s eyes, but he knows that there is anger in them. Bloodlust. 

(He thinks he might see hatred. And that is a thought that shakes him right to his core. He does not want to live in a world where Scar hates him, even if it is justified. Does that make him selfish?) 

“Oh, Grian,” Scar eventually says, and his voice is cold. Empty. He takes a step forward, something whimsical about his footing. Scar is dressed in dark robes, stark white hair peeking out from underneath. “If you’re here to nab another life from me, Grian, I’m afraid you’re out of luck,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. There is a promise of a threat in his voice. 

Grian frowns at that, chest panging. “I’m not interested in your life, Scar,” he says matter of factly. He’s already taken one (two, if his guilt counts the creeper), he doesn’t want another one. 

A laugh spills from Scar, something lacking any real humor. “Oh, don’t you play with me!” he exclaims, voice sharp and angular. The sound of it causes Grian to jolt in surprise. “You can fool me once or twice! Or…” he trails off, thinking. “Three times, whatever, it doesn’t matter!” 

“Scar…” Grian says, and he quickly realizes that he probably should’ve prepared himself a bit more. He lets the other approach him. There’s something different about him compared to Third Life. Something bitter, cynical. Grian isn’t sure if it’s because of the nature of this new game, or if it’s simply because Scar is on red. 

“No, Grian!” Scar exclaims, reaching for his diamond sword. “You know, I was planning on hitting Team BEST first, give ‘em a real good thrashing. Send a message and all that! Can’t mess with ol’ Scar! Not anymore, no sir!” He takes another step toward Grian. 

It’s the instinct of green life, Grian knows, that has him backing away slowly. He takes a few tiny steps backwards. 

Scar looks at him, something angry and hurt in his gaze, “But I think you’ll make a good first message to the masses. You were the first to take advantage of me, after all.” 

Grian’s back slams into the wall behind him, crushing his wings. He cringes at the feeling, but he doesn’t move. Scar is cornering him, holding the blade to his throat. He easily towers over Grian, putting just enough pressure on his sword to spill a bit of blood. 

Looking at him, Grian doesn’t see a hint of the Scar he once knew. He isn’t quite sure what’s going on here, what the Grian of this game has done to wrong Scar, but what he does know is this. 

He killed Scar. 

And the hatred in Scar’s eyes isn’t misplaced or even misdirected. 

He doesn’t fight back against the blade on his throat, the blade that is spilling his blood. He simply stands there and meets Scar’s hazy red eyes. To Grian, he thinks this is good retribution for the cactus ring. He sees no point in fighting against Scar when this is something he believes he deserves. 

Yet Scar thinks otherwise. 

See, he had expected a lot out of today. He’s on red now, and he had a goal in mind. He was going to make everyone on this forsaken server regret thinking they could just use Scar as they please. He was going to start with BEST, and then work his way to the others. But then Grian just came waltzing in like they were old buddies and Scar wasn’t going to let a golden opportunity slip past him. 

He has a whole separate issue with Grian, after all. 

But as he stares into Grian’s eyes, he sees something odd. Firstly he stares up at Scar with blatant confusion and hurt. It makes him want to laugh. What does Grian possibly have to be hurt over? 

Though that isn’t what makes him pause. No, what makes him truly falter is the guilt he sees in Grian’s eyes. 

He observes the green life in front of him (Wasn’t Grian yellow? Did he swindle someone else out of a life?) and notices that there’s no fight. Grian isn’t pushing back against him. He’s not arguing or drawing his own weapon. Not even as Scar draws blood and pushes the blade harder. 

Suddenly the appeal of killing Grian leaves him. What fun is a kill that rolls over and exposes their weak point? 

Scar scoffs at him before making up his mind and taking a step back. So much for that perfect message in chat. Looks like Team BEST is back as his number one target. He lowers his sword completely. 

Grian watches him with confusion, “Scar?” 

The red life meets his gaze, a deep frown settling on his lips. “Who are you?”

[cinnamon-stixs]

TADC EPISODE 3 HAS DRIVEN ME INSANE SO HERES A REALLY LONG RANT ABOUT ALL THE THINGS I NOTICED!!

-The horror visuals fucking SLAYED. SLAY.

-I LOVE that Ragatha loves horror and Pomni HATES it.

-"Zooble turns straight" 10/10 line.

-2 new points of evidence for the NPC!Jax theory: He acknowledges the audience directly, and refuses to share what happens when he holds his breath. This could be shown as a similar clue to him not having a visible room on his enamel pin art.

-Caine made a scary adventure just to get zooble interesteddd 😭❤️

-Gangle's comedy mask can just be ripped off of her face??

-Ragatha's face, I love her

-Caine has a fundamental inability to understand other people's emotions and empathize. Neurodivergent coded king I love him

-Kinger says "I'm starting to think" when they first enter the scary room, and not only is it funny as hell, IT WAS ALSO FORESHADOWING?!

-Kinger is VERY aware of the game mechanics in the world around him

Oh how I love you, Pomni.

-I LOVE THE LITTLE 2D ANIMATED SECTION OF THE EYES

"You look beautiful honey.." KILLING MYSELF. AUGH. POOR BABY..

-"Any torture I inflict is 100% accidental! like any good war criminal!"

-Zooble's trans/dysphoria allegory with their digital body has my whole heart

THEY DID NOT DESERVE THIS.

"What you're saying could imply that I'm bad at.. they only thing I'm good at..." HE IS SO ME FR WHAT THE FUCK. I THINK I KIN HIM WHOOPSIES

-I think Mr. Mildenhall's story reflects kinger's more than we think.

-Living for Pomni and Kinger's father-daughter dynamic

She's hot.

Kinky! (looks like something Amy would do to him)

-THE POSSESSION SCENE WAS SO COOL?

-So he was hitting pomni! I remember a lot of debate about that.

-Kinger and Queenie were canonically married

-Kinger took 7 years of computer science

-Kinger has a SURPRISING amount of emotional intelligence.

-BEING IN THE DARK REMINDS OF HIM OF HIS LAST MOMENT WITH HIS WIFE I'M FUCKING CRYINGGG

-Kinger hated bugs, but now he loves them because they're a subconscious reminder of his entomology loving wife.

-The line "In this world, the worst thing you can do I make someone feel like they're not wanted or loved" paired with Mr. Mildenhall's story of mistaking his wife for the monster and killing her makes me think Kinger caused Queenie to abstract somehow.

"Don't worry about me. As long as you remember, things will be okay. You're very strong pomni." ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Pomni canonically hates physical tough, but felt trusting and comfortable enough with Kinger to hold his hand.

Fucking sapphics

"FUCK-"

-Caine turning Zooble's therapy session into his own is so him omg

-"Welcome back my meowing milkmaids!" CRAZY.

-Kinger's new side wasn't actually all that surprising. Neither was him being the 'supportive dad' type. but i LOVE it

-KINGER VINYL FIGURE AHH NEED!!

This is my fave episode so far!! I love this show augh

[misc-obeyme]

Lesson 37 spoilers below - it's screenshot heavy again because OH BOY we had a lot going on this time too. I took almost 100 screenshots lol. But don't worry, I narrowed it down... uh but there are still a lot so I apologize for that.

I do believe I said in my last post that if they were going to go full Dante, they would bury Lucifer in ice.

I only said that because I WAS NOT EXPECTING THEM TO GO FULL DANTE.

Now listen, it's been a long time since I've read the Divine Comedy, so there may be a lot more references that I am missing. I can tell you that the four circles or sections or whatever that Simeon named for us are from Dante. That right there is straight from Dante's Inferno, along with their names and who they're supposed to punish. I don't really feel like any of this has much relevance except that they used it as a backdrop and to create reasons for us to lose most of the people who came to help us as we went.

And truly the lore was fascinating in general, but there are a couple of specific pieces about this that made me go EXCUSE YOU.

It's the Celestial Realm again, guys. Cocytus is part of their domain. And the last area is for those who betrayed "him" as they so eloquently put it lol. Both Mammon and Lucifer are considered traitors in this regard, but I kind of suspect that if the rest of the bros made it to that level, they would've had a similar experience.

Anyway, I was pissed. I was like Diavolo in the hard lesson.

Right, so let's talk Mephistopheles. I'm not familiar enough with the legend of Faust or its variations to know if the way they described his special power is based on that. However, I highly suspect it is at least somewhat inspired by it. Considering making a deal with the devil is what that story is all about.

But aside from all that - I LOVE HIM OH NO.

WHAT. This guy... all this time I thought he was really stuck up. And like I kinda get it, considering how he was supposed to be Diavolo's right hand man and everything. But he's straight up saying that he underestimated them. He seems to have no problem saying yeah, turns out I was wrong and you guys impressed me. So don't go around giving up now. AND he says they learned it from Lucifer? Like... he gets them. He understands them. And I was not expecting that at all. He keeps surprising me and I'm loving it.

Welcome to my life, Mephi.

It's pointless to resist.

I'm telling you, this is just how it always goes.

BUT OH! I'm not gonna lie, this made me feel something. All the brothers usually say such nice things to me, but this guy is basically like ARE YOU STUPID? And I love it?!?!? Augh I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance before, sir.

Okay, now let's talk Solomon being the hot old grandpa that he is. I SWEAR every time he shows up lately it's been making me more insane about him.

WE SUMMONED HIM. We needed him in Cocytus and he wasn't there, so we straight up SUMMONED HIM. We couldn't do it without Mammon giving us his power 'cause our magic is weak, but STILL!?!?

I think Simeon referred to it as teleporting, but really it was the same as summoning him. I think the words were even the summoning spell words.

If this was actually me we were talking about, I would start doing it ALL THE TIME. Consider yourself on call, old man.

And then we got this excellent exchange:

Not only am I always here for big bro Mammon getting protective, but Solomon bringing it right back was also great.

Okay, now let's talk about Raphael and Simeon.

Do you think we're dealing with Michael disguised as Raphael again? For some reason I don't think so, but... at this point, it's like how do you tell? I'm going to talk about it with the assumption that it's actually Raphael and not Michael.

Simeon during this part gave me chills. Because when Raphael showed up and spoke the punishment or whatever and Luke was about to protest, Simeon silenced him. Simeon wouldn't let Luke protest because he knew that wouldn't be good for our baby boy. Simeon was prepared to take the fall instead. And he wasn't about to just let things stand.

I can't accept it. I swear, Simeon's character is far more complex than anyone gives him credit for. He doesn't get anywhere near the amount of appreciation he deserves. I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT IT.

Right, but back to Raphael.

Baby. He's crying. He was just delivering the ultimatum, the decision about the brothers' punishment, and he was crying. I was so surprised, it was so soft and sad and I wanted to hug him. And look at Simeon's frown. AND THEN

EVEN LUCIFER. This man is chained up in some ice and he still sees how Raphael is struggling and feels sorry for him. (Like maybe he's been there before himself...)

This is why I think it really is Raphael. Because this feels like such a significant revelation of his character, I think it'd be a disservice to him if we found out later it wasn't him at all. So I'm hoping it's still him.

Now. Let's talk about Diavolo. I'm pretty sure this was in the hard lesson, so be aware of that!

He is so pissed. I don't think I've ever seen Diavolo quite like this. Worried, sometimes serious, but angry? Like to the point where he thinks he might lose control? I don't think that's happened, has it?

AND BARB. His reaction is so interesting! At first he has this look of surprise, but then LOOK AT THAT SMILE. Here's Dia being like, I need you to stop me, but you can't tell me that smile on Barb's face belongs to anyone who's going to stop anyone. He looks like he's looking forward to it. I love him so much it's stupid. (Also I think Barbatos is just as much of a menace as Solomon is, he's just better at hiding it. Where do you think Sol gets it from??)

And of course the lesson ended with Lucifer BREAKING THROUGH HIS CHAINS. Ugh another cliffhanger.

In general, I really loved the brotherly affection that was running amok in this chapter. They were annoying each other and protecting each other and sacrificing for each other and it was all amazing. They banded together because they care so much about Lucifer, there's no way they would leave him to his fate.

And once again, the Celestial Realm is to blame. I think it makes sense that they're doing this. Before, they said that the seven brothers assuming positions of power in the Devildom meant that the power balance between the Devildom and the Celestial Realm was out of whack. That's why they wanted the brothers back. But the brothers wouldn't come back.

And while the Celestial Realm threatened war, they didn't do that, either.

Do you think perhaps the Celestial Realm collaborated with the House of Lords to get Lucifer trapped in Cocytus? The House of Lords controlled the train where everything went down. The Celestial Realm controls Cocytus. They probably knew that Lucifer's brothers would try to rescue him and counted on them getting trapped in the ice, too.

But perhaps they weren't expecting any interference from Mephisto or Simeon. They had to be expecting MC, I would think. Maybe they underestimated MC because they're human? And maybe they thought Diavolo would just accept it? (If so they are duuuuumb lol.)

Okay just a couple more screenshots because they made me laugh.

PLEASE. I love their dynamic SO MUCH.

Hmm. Is that a threat, Barb? 'Cause uh... you can casually threaten me with that slight smile any time I MEAN yeah, you tell 'em.

I cackled about what do you mean "ahaha" like I can't believe Levi actually said that out loud lol.

Cheer up, Belphie. Let Asmo live the otome dream, won't you?

Okay, okay, I'm done. Overall, I quite enjoyed this chapter, but I'm still sensing more drama, probably until the end of the season, honestly.

You think Nightbringer will make an appearance before it's over? It's almost like I forgot this whole new app was made to tell a story about him. He's just been mostly MIA. UNLESS someone else has been him in disguise all along...

Nope. No. I refuse to get into theorizing, this post is already too long.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Lakeside

[This got longer than expected. Dew gets introspective with Rain.] Below the cut.

Dew lays sprawled out on the dock, legs dangling off the end just above the water, a hand thrown over his face to block out the sunlight filtering through the clouds, turning his head slightly when he hears Rain approaching and giving a little huff of acknowledgement.

"Feeling alright?" Rain questions, crouching down beside his friend, deliberately leaning over him to cast his shadow over his form.

"Not really, no." Dew mumbles, "I came out here to get some fresh air, but... I dunno. Head hurts from thinking too hard about bullshit, and I just... It's nice out here, cold, but nice. Calm, quiet..."

"Did something happen?" Rain asks, moving to lay down next to him.

"Ehn... Yes and no." he says, closing his eyes and letting his hand fall slack at his side, "Talked to Aether about some stuff... feelings stuff. We're good."

"But?"

"...When you..." Dew bites his lip, "D'you think Mount and me come off a-a certain kind of way?"

Rain rolls onto his side, propping his head up with his palm.

"Like, gay?"

"I mean, I guess that's what I'm..." Dew makes a grumbling noise in the back of his throat, "If I said that wasn't the case, what'd you think?"

"That you're not gay or that the two of you aren't an item?"

"See that's-" The other ghoul finally sits up, running a hand through his hair, "It's not that I'm NOT, ya know, into dudes I'm just... It's complicated, and, like, with Aeth, people thought we were a thing for a while but we weren't, and then with Mount, we're buddies and all, but he isn't into me like that, and he's not totally my type, and I just..."

Dew shakes his head.

"Why is it that when it's ME in these kinds of situations that people think I'm dating my friends?"

Rain shifts and sits up as well, shrugging, "Honestly, I couldn't tell you why. I guess, maybe, people see that you're happy or comfortable around someone and they just assume... You know. That you're into them, maybe."

"But they don't do it when I'm around Cumulus or Cirrus, now do they?" Dew points out, "Why's it only when I'm friendly with a guy?"

The water ghoul clicks his tongue.

"What?"

"Real talk?"

"Noo... Don't do this, come on-"

"Dew, I'm gonna have to level with you." Rain starts, placing a hand on his shoulder, "When you like a woman, it's obvious, yeah?"

"Yeah...?"

"When you like a guy... it's really, really obvious."

Dew scoffs, "No it's not-"

"The waiter at that restaurant in Spain, who you kept eyeballing all night."

"Now hold on, I just wanted free tapas-"

"That time that guy at the bar rolled up his sleeves and you almost passed out because all the blood rushed from your head to your-"

"Hey, that was objectively sexy-"

Rain snorts, "I'm not arguing with you, I'm just saying that compared to how you treat women -which, you know, you're respectful and that ain't a bad thing- you treat men more like... like something you wanna fuck, I guess... I dunno, I wanted to put it more eloquently than that, but that's pretty much the most straightforward way I could think to put it."

Dew tents his fingers, deep in thought.

"So what you're saying is that because I don't objectify women, but DO objectify men... people think I'm gay?"

Rain tilts his head and then shrugs.

"Are you saying you're not gay?"

"NO!" Dew shouts immediately, "I mean, no, but... maybe-Augh! I like both, I guess, I just... with women it's like... Women... ya know? And with men it's like... men."

Rain blinks.

"Jesus Christ..."

"Oi, no need for that kind of language now." Rain jokes, then clears his throat, "I kind of get what you're saying, I guess... You like women, you're attracted to them, but with guys it's more... physical, would you say?"

Dew makes a face and pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, the tips of his ears turning a bright shade of pink.

"I mean, yeah... Yeah, that'd be..." he swallows, "When you put it that way, it just sounds so... Don't tell anyone I told you about this."

Rain mimes zipping his mouth shut.

"Your secret is safe with me." he says, "But, Dew, there's nothing wrong with liking men, even if your attraction to them is different from the kind you feel towards a woman..."

"Thanks..."

"No problem."

Rain leans back on his hands.

"Question though."

"If you say something stupid right now, I'll smack you like I did Aether."

"When you think about yourself with a guy-"

"...Are you seriously asking me if I'm a top or a bottom right now?"

Rain gives him a once over before meeting his gaze.

"I was actually asking what your type is, I can already hazard a guess as to-OW! YOU BIT ME-"

[indigos-stardust]

Violet, Blue, And Bruised All Over: Long Talks part 2

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6/ Part 6 2/3

Sorry for the hiatus lol, Vio and greens Convo is next part, should be fun, Comments and reblogs appreciated!! I wanna hear y'all's thoughts!

"Green was right about those too being similar. But it wasn't just cuz they were so stubborn. More like they were both weirdos that had a vendetta against sleep. Seriously, would it kill Blue to sleep in for five more minutes..."

Blue unlocks the gate to the training yards, practically yanking the key out before he shoved his way into the door. Yep, there it was. Blue, folks. Mr. King of Emotional Repression. Red couldn't help but roll his eyes. Sure, he was kinda bullying Blue right now, but it was only in his head! And it wasn't his fault Blue dragged him out here before the Hylias light could even grace the sky.

Blue just kept moving like some stocky stiff machine, aggressively setting up the training dummies. Oh no- That layout and choice of training dummies and lack of shields meant he wanted to be competitive. Usually Green was there to rise to the challenge in those "everyone's the enemy and lets see who'll score more points because I actually feel angry at the world but I don't know how to talk about it cuz I'm Blue!" duel things. But today, it was only Red. Hell no.

Ok, all he had to do with turn up the charm! Just cuz there wasn't any sun didn't mean he couldn't shine bright enough to make up for it! Probably.

Red's plan was to softly put his hand on Blue's shoulder, start with that emotional support you know, but then Blue immediately stiffening and clenched his entire body so hard before he'd even grazed his fingers against him. Oh this was bad.

"Hey Blue?"

Blue grip on the wooden training swords was so tight his knuckles were white. If he breaks another one he'll get splinters again.

Time to turn up the charm, "Blue? Hey! Why are you being a grumpy silly head??"

He tried to really bring some light soft teasing into it, with wide open eyes and a non judgemental silence aaaannnnd-

Blue turned around with the most pathetic look he'd ever seen Blue wear in his entire life! Or well, since they became four people anyways- Is that what I look li- NO PAY ATTENTION TO BLUE.

He looks like a toddler trying desperately to NOT bawl his eyes out! Face all scrunched up, eyes unsure, and a wobbling uncertainty. He was obviously trying to look mad, but the way his furrowed brows and eye kept twitching it was clear he couldn't hold on to Red's all consuming gentleness.

All at once Blue yelled an ugly curse and kicked into the weapons rack. Red had to flinch back to avoid the whiplash.

"UEGH! Don't you get it?! Of course IM NOT FREAKING OKAY?!!"

Hook, line, and sinker.

"WHY IS IT THAT WHENVER SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS ITS ALL MY FAULT?! OH ILL TELL YOU WHY, ITS CUZ IM THE BAD GUY RIGHT?! RIGHT?!!"

Oof, and there it is. Raw and true, and oh so Blue. Red had been tempted to zone out on Blue's rant's since they could get.. slightly lengthy, but he still needed to pay attention. Cuz buried under all those sharp cold layers was something very raw and in pain. Lashing out like a cornered animal. Oh Blue...

Blue kept stomping and huffing as he went on, hands clenching and grasping as thought he was trying to strangle an enemy that wasn't there. Stomping feet leaving little clouds of dust in his wake as he went back and forth.

"I'm NOT some kid!"

" HE'S THE ONE WHO-"

"I didn't even DO ANYTHING?!"

"I trIeD to DEAL with the NERD but NoOOOOo I'm THE BAD GUY-"

"Teaching him a lesson and THEN GREEN-"

One after one, a dam broken, the hot waters gushing out with a force so great it'd overwhelm and push away anyone who tried to stop it. But Red didn't try to stop it. He let it pass around him as he observed. He was ok, and Blue would be ok too.

He loved Blue.

"And- AND- He- I JUST- AUGH!"

Suddenly, Blue stops in his tracks. Flustered, red and sweating, feet together like some shy and embarrassed kid. He's got a grip on his own arm, shoulders hunched, like he's trying to keep himself together. A look of frightened shock overcomes him, as though he's only just now realized where he is.

Red just keeps sitting on the bench though, head tilted, mind open. Puppy vibes c'mon. He watches Blue crumble inside, a deep sigh overcoming him.

"And I-"

"Yeah?"

"I just-"

Red quietly smiles, and pats the spot beside him. Before he knows it, Blue has already plopped beside him, exhausted without even picking up a sword.

"I just don't get it."

"Whaddya mean?"

Blue fists grip his knees tighter. "Why he was even so mad..."

"Green?"

"N-No, I... I deserved that. ONLY a little bit though I-"

Red incredulously raised a single eyebrow.

"AUGH! Ok fine! I deserved it a lot! Is that what you want?? To rub it in more?!"

Red blew a strand of hair out from Infront his nose. He seemed so disinterested at first, but then, like the flick of a finger, a mischievous little smirk grew.

"AWH, Blue!! I didn't know you thought of me so highly!" he beamed.

Blue couldn't have looked more unimpressed if he tried.

Red couldn't help but a giggle a little bit before he softed.

Blue sighed and mumbled remorseful, "Didn't mean to stress you out I just.."

Blue paused, watching the light join the horizon. His whole mood just reminded Red of a damp campfire. Or maybe a wet cat? One of the two for sure. Red couldn't help the surge of love and pride, Blue really had gotten SO much better at talking about his feelings! Blue worked so hard on it, Blue was amazing.

Red pressed up against his side and slipped his hand over Blue's.

Blue finally broke, "I just can't figure out how I messed up so bad- Vio- I know he doesn't like me, I get why I just- What did I do to make HIM outta all people get so... mad? at me?"

Oh. Red got it now.

"He never gets like that, that's what I do! And- I just don't get how I messed up that bad?!"

Red frowned, thoughtful, "Well, what happened before you guys started fighting and stuff?"

Blue grimaced, "I was just.. Telling him to do the laundry for once- Wasn't even telling him to do it correctly this time either!"

Red mentally facepalmed, but schooled his expression. This was like when he almost got into a fight with the radish seller guy isn't it?

"Blue," Red started quietly, "Do you remember how you asked him to do the laundry?"

Blue froze, stupefied, like he'd never considered in all his history that that could do anything with what happened. Probably because he hadn't. Blue was, extremely, tone deaf.

"I uh, joked about it? I mean- I he mentioned me like- being all frozen and stuff like a jerk! I was trying to "lighten stuff up like you said I should!"

Oh for Faron's fate-

"Blue," Red deadpanned, " Tell me exactly what you said. And what you guys were talking about BEFORE that. "

The absolute clueless, oblivious, and unaware look that screamed "thoughtless gerbil in a field with hawks" was. So painful to watch.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Well uhhh Vio was kinda like. Being a btch?"

Red somehow managed to resist the urge to slam his skull into the brick wall behind them.

"Blue."

Blue, in question defensively puffed up like some startled baby kitten, " Hey! I- I'm telling the story and its the truth! It's not just me being mean about it! And- I won't even swear again ok! Don't tell Green- Please-"

Red silently stared into Blue's soul for half a minute. Din give me strength- "Okay."

Blue straightened up, like he was talking to some higher ranking knight, confident and steady. Or as confident and steady as you could be when you had baby rabbit ears that flicked and burned crimson with shame.

"He- He thinks that he's better than everyone else, you KNOW how big his head is-"

"Bigger than yours, Blue?"

"H-hey n- No! ANYWAYS, he was being all judgmental and crap!"

"Uh huh?"

" And- And all 'oHHOoOHH IM ~ViO~ And I'm- I'm smart and you're stupid! 'AND THEN- Get this! He goes all, freaking 'You don't care and you're hearts frozen HAHAHAh'-"

" Really, Blue? Really?"

"Oh come on! You know he's got that weird like- Theater kid laugh?? Like he learned it from that Shadow or something I dunno- Weird little sorta- kinda maniac-"

"Blue."

"Geez OK! Fine!," Blue relented, " Ok maybe he didn't laugh, but he did say like- my- My heart might as well still be frozen and-" Blue choked off.

"Oh. That's.... pretty messed up."

"Yeah. And- I've been thinking at least I have a heart..." Blue concluded grimly.

"Well there's more to it than that right?" Red prodded.

"Well! I tried to- Ya know, make it into a joke or whatever- And told him that oh hey! Maybe, maybe HE broke his brain like how the mirror was all smashed! Like- A you're making fun of me so I'm making fun of you joke-"

Blue made airquotes, "Banter, or whatever," he shrugged.

Was this how Green felt? Like several of his veins were just going to pop? Like he just wanted to lay on the ground and cry? And just eat a bunch of cupcakes and hide in his plushie pile? Okay, that last part was definitely mostly Red, but still! Blue was. The whole fight thing was... Yeah, yeah this just meant Red was right. They were being all emotional while trying to not be all emotional. That plan NEVER works! Stupid idiots. Big ol' dummies. His brothers.

"Blue, you know he's like... Sensitive about what happened in the tower of winds right??"

"He's what?"

"BLUE! He- He never talks about it! He gets all weird when WE talk about it! He- He goes off all quiet to "sort out his thoughts" or whatever! He doesn't go off and get all angry like you do!! He- He acts all mature and stoic and stuff!!"

"Oh."

"Bluuueee!!"

"Wait. Wait- So he actually- Wait are you saying I HURT his- his little twinky feelings??"

"BLUE!"

"What! I didn't know he cared about stuff!"

"You didn't think he had feelings??!!"

"N- I mean- Maybe- Have you met the guy?"

"BLUE WE USED TO BE THE SAME PERSON HOW ARE YOU SO-"

"...."

Red groaned, "Sorry Blue..."

"So Vio was right then huh?"

"H-huh?"

"I'm, I am kinda stupid huh?"

"Heh, well... hm... maybe jus' a lil bit.."

"He's still a jerk though."

"Ok, but now you guys can apologize?"

"..."

"BLUE-"

[qqtxt]

[🎈] that's not my name [🐧]

[!] this is for the 1k followers mini fics. click here to find out more ✿ pairing: huening kai x reader / idol!txt / non.idol!you / fluff / 681 words / potentially excessive pda (without knowing...) ✿ request: [kiss] + huening kai (for one muse to put butterfly kisses all over the others face) [main masterlist 🌸] / [event masterlist] / [tag: #qqtxt: 1k]

some mornings at the dorm allow you to... do whatever you want considering it's empty. and by empty, you mean empty given that the rest of the boys are gone for the day and that just leaves you and–"holy shit, kai! you scared me!" your voice comes out in a half-yell, half-whisper at the feeling of arms snaking around your waist, with a rather heavy head dipping down to rest on your shoulder. you can hear him smiling as he presses his lips to your neck, "g'morning..."

"gee, good morning to you too," you huff–initially sounding a bit sulky but then it fades to–"did you sleep well?"

"not really," his voice scrapes into your ears, like deep gravel that makes you feel warm inside. he clears his throat, managing to sound like he usually does compared to his morning voice that barely has drunk any water, "woke up. didn't find you there. got upset."

you snicker and use a hand to hit his arms around you, the other resuming to–"well, someone has to put the water to boil for us to drink something before we eat. so sorry for the disappointment, mr. huening."

"no," he huffs, shaking his head as he half-wiggles you around, "that's not my name to you."

"oh?" you use an elbow to nudge him back just as your other hand is free to set the kettle onto the electrical slot and you flick it to switch on to boil. turning around in his arms, your hands now smoothen on his chest before you give it a playful tap. "i didn't know that huening wasn't your name."

his lips resist the urge to pout as he watches you grin up to him like that. he knows his puppy eyes are on display but you're still avoiding it, able to dangle him around by a thread and he'd still follow you till the end. shamelessly, his arms untangle themselves around you just to have his hands free; so he can gently grab you by the face and start his attack of feathering kisses onto your face.

he starts off with your forehead, nose, then it has a free reign to anywhere he can land his lips on your face just as your eyes snap shut in the fit of laughter. your hands shift up to squeeze his shoulders, leveraging him down to not overpower you but be honest, be fair... the second kai grabbed you by the face and started kissing you all over it was game over.

"okay, okay!" you manage to yell past your giggles and his, "baby, you win! you win!"

that grants him to stop just as he kisses your cheek, pulling back with a raised brow, "sorry, come again?"

you exhale deeply and look into his eyes this time; a resigned smile that still shines brighter than any pretty thing he's laid his eyes on. so full and radiant of love; all for him.

"you baby. you win."

satisfied, he hums with a nod. his arms glide back down so he's able to wrap around your waist and he tugs you into his embrace; effortlessly. "good," he sighs, resorting that the time it takes for the water to boil, that's exactly how long he'll be able to hold you for–he taps your bum when he doesn't feel your arms on him–"augh, you man baby." you snort into his shoulder but your actions prove otherwise when your arms mirror his; sliding around his figure and sinking into his arms.

(("i can't believe i just sat through all of that." a voice breaks through your little bubble with kai. it's not too surprising when yeonjun nearly blends into the surroundings but he makes himself known as his head pops up from the sofa.

"oh... hyung... we... i didn't–"

"go for lunch with me and i won't tell a single soul."

"who's paying?" you peep over kai's shoulder, to meet with yeonjun's deadpan expression.

"i'm paying you brats. now get ready so i can eat away my feelings from watching how disgusting you two were in public."))

[fairyysoup]

Can I slow dance? No. But oh my lord what I would give to slow dance with Eddie Munson as chaperones at the snowball dance! Ahh

augh ok i was holding onto this for when i could properly sit down and write out my thoughts bc i have many.

since eddie presumably only met the younger kids once they started high school (i know we get a snippet of him meeting will in FOI but ehh) i'm thinking he doesn't really even THINK of chaperoning at the snowball dance until you and he start dating. even then he's still hesitant bc even though he's older and less of a proverbial stain on the map of hawkins, he's not really considered a role model?? but you have a little cousin who's going to the dance and her mom can't make it so YOU have to be the one to chaperone her. but you will not be doing this shit alone.

so you force eddie into a tux and you wear your special snowball chaperone lanyards. he whines the whole time you're trying to put it over his head in the parking lot. ducking away from you hissing like a cat and you're like "ffs eddie get OVER here" and you have to wrangle your grown ass boyfriend into wearing a lanyard by going pspspsps and chasing him around the parking lot so you can just chaperone your cousin for a couple hours.

but you finally get in there and then he just stands for a minute looking at all the lights over the dance floor with all the sparkles and the snowflakes, and you're just staring at him bc he has this look of wonder on his face and the lights reflect in his eyes and make them sparkle too <333 and he's like "hooooly shit" and you're like "what? it looks like this every year" and he's like "well i wouldn't know i never really went to the snowball" and you're like "wait back up. you what now?" and then eddie blushes and he's like "yeah, I didn't.... i never got to go to the snowball because we couldn't afford the tickets, and my dad wasn't really around much for me to talk to him about it. and then i didn't go to prom because... well, fuck high school, yknow."

and so that's the story of how eddie munson finally gets to go to the snowball dance, aged 25-30, bc you dragged him along as a chaperone <3 and he was just way too pretty under those lights to NOT dance with <3 and he totally kisses you to the tune of wonderful tonight and he'll deny it later but you know better bc eddie munson is a softie <33

[windandwater]

so recently I've been wanting to paint the moulding in my bathroom navy blue, because 1) I thought it would look cool, and 2) I want to paint other rooms too but wanted to start small and my bathroom is extremely small so it would be a quick job. and I've kind of been planning on this for a couple months now but not getting around to buying the paint, until recently when my super came by to fix the giant hole over my bathtub (don't worry about it) and he painted the whole bathroom while he was at it.

which was really nice of him but he didn't do like. the best job. paint everywhere. and it's popcorn walls so it's not easy but he also used zero blue tape and got it on all kinds of stuff it wasn't supposed to be on and like. my guy.

so anyway a few days after this I woke up on a Saturday with a burning need to do something with my life, which is unusual because I've been in a depression hole (let's all speculate here about what could possibly be the reasons, plural). but the more I thought about going out the more I was like, augh, the ankle pain is just not worth doing any of these things. cost-benefit. sometimes it is. sometimes it's not.

so I bought paint instead

and

y'all

this is the most fun I've had in months

maybe over a year

I have been ripping apart my bathroom walls I have been peeling up paint I have been restoring the doorknob plates that were covered in paint but are actually kind of a pretty color once you get all the dark brown rust off of them. I have been repairing and covering up the sins of landlords past. I have been fighting with popcorn walls and winning.

I pulled the resin craft kit I bought months and months ago but never used off my shelf and did it last night around 10 pm because I realized it would look nice in there once I'm done. I'm going to put art in there, a risky business with all the leaking that happens in there (upstairs neighbors be like), but I'm going to find a way to waterproof everything or risk it.

the entire bathroom is in chaos and it's too small to be upended like that for so long, my apartment floors & rugs are covered in paint that flaked off and dried spackle pieces, I keep refusing to change into painting clothes so all my clothes have paint on them, and I'm having the best fucking time of my life. I want to paint my kitchen. I want to paint my whole house. I want to attack everyone I see with a paintbrush. this is great. I'm awake and alive and it's not even that bad.

[glasswingowl]

HERE WE GO LADS FINALE TIME

EP 8 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

I AM IN FEAR

not the bugs noooo

WAS THAT FUCKING REBECCA???

this entire bit is great. showing what's going on from the pov of someone who doesn't gaf

oh. oh SHIT

the silence gets me every goddam time this is such a noisy show everyone's always clinking and whirring so hearing nothing is just…

"WHOOPS"

NORI SAID (wrote) A SWEAR?? SHE CAN DO THAT??

AW CMON

SPACESHIPT?? V??

ah. N. I keep getting my hopes up lmao

"I'm kinda like actually mad about what you did" BIG words coming from someone who could barely muster up a "J, you're kinda mean to me" at the start of the series. great job buddy <3

N's a great spaceship pilot he was just set up to fail the first time around

SHE CAN SWEAR?? i'm choosing to believe the solver unlocked that bc i refuse to believe she wouldn't be telling people to fuck off 24/7 otherwise

oh yeah cyn's still here

awwwww :3 three cheers for communication!

nevermind i guess-

that's my girl!

fuck you j

"i'm fine and calm and GO AWAY-"

V V V V V YESSSSSSSS MY GIRL BELEIVERS WIN BELIEVERS WIN

V'S THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME SUCK IT J

I LIVED BITCH V and Lizzy are just fantastic love these two. world's biggest haters

THE RAPTOR IS STILL STRAIGHT UP EVIL LMAO-

ahhh so J knew and decided to go along with it to save herself

HOW ABOUT YOU BITE ME AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH YEAAAAAAAAAAAA-

WE STAY WINNING

ABSOLUTE POWER COUPLE

and here's the guest of honour herself!

oh eugh she's all bendy.

no no don't flinch now-

oh that's AWFUL i love it

OH SHIT THAT ACUTALLY HAS CONSEQUENCES

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

SHE IS MENACING-

FUCKED UP LIZARD- OH WHAT THE HELL

this entire scene is genuinely freaky.

OH THE HOLOGRAMS OH SHI this is genuinely really good. playing off the fear from both sides to create a believeable misunderstanding. love it

the solver wants to swear SO FUCKING BADLY LMAO-

the gang's all here again

WAIT WAIT KHAN CLOSED THE FUCKIGN DOOR LMAO-

"no one traumatizes these weirdly hot robots but me" <- i'm just going to leave this here.

"glad you're not dead or whatever" GOD SO AM I

YEEEEEAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

FUCKING NIGHTCORE FIGHT SCENE USING J'S HEAD AS A PROJECTILE LMAO glitch is just flexing on us at this point

OH MY GOD UZI RECOGNIZING THE HOLOGRAM FUKCING LOVE THAT

uh oh. ah. oh what did she just do

WHHY DID IT JUST MELT BODIES DON'T DO THAT AUGH oh damn

she's…. ok? thad, lizzy and khan ok!

LMAOOO NORI- "KINDA HOT"?? YOU'RE BOTH FREAKS YOU'RE PERFECT FOR EACHOTHER

OH THE GRADIENT EYES LOOK SO COOOOL-

callback to the first sccene, teacher's alive but wishes he wasn't, EVERYONE IS HERE-

"THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND!!" V AND LIZZY WORLD'S BIGGEST HATERS

half yellow now! so she's the new host?

J's alive, Khan and Nori reunite(!), Doll's… memorial??,

Oh yeah she's just gotta deal with that now-

In conclusion: WE GOT THE GOOD ENDING LETS GOOOO-

[deadbydangit]

As I was about to write something else, I noticed two bunnies hopping along in my backyard and it gave me an idea for something else. Please enjoy!

When the Reader brings home an animal.

Deathslinger, Nightmare, Spirit, Trickster, Ghostface

Deathslinger

He would've been perfectly content just drinking in the bar with just you.

And it had been that way for a long time.

Till you came back one day hiding something in your shirt.

"Okay. I'll bite. What is it?"

He thought you were hiding a gift or something.

He wasn't expecting you to pull out a kitten.

"No."

No matter how much you plead and cry.

No, don't give him those puppy dog eyes.

No, you can't-

Ugh, he can stay the night.

Okay, only till he finds a good home.

Well... He's your cat now.

You walked in on him one day, speaking to someone.

"Alright Fluffy. Now I may be the man around here, but if I'm not around you gotta promise to protect them. Ya' here?"

The cat was on the bar table next to him, lapping up a bowl of water.

Talking to the kitty like they were old friends.

He doesn't really do the baby talk thing.

"I trust you. I know you love them as much as I do. So we have to work together."

Don't tell Caleb you saw that.

He'll totally deny it.

But if his little Fluffy catches a rat, he's going to put that cat on a pedestal.

He's super proud of his cat.

"Look at that Darlin'. We won't be having any pest problems."

Nightmare

No, stop. Stop right there.

You're trying to sneak something in. He can tell.

Empty your pockets....

Both of them!

A frog?

Where did you get a frog?

Whatever, no, you can't keep it.

No, don't look at him like that. The answer is no.

No. Seriously.

Augh! Fine! But he wants nothing to do with the damned thing.

It's your pet. Not his. He won't be taking care of it.

You started noticing books on frog care around the house.

"It's not good to give them water that hasn't been purified."

"You aren't feeding him enough."

"You can't touch them like that."

So much for it being all your pet.

He's basically taking over.

It's like he's taking the frog as his own child.

It's pretty cute to walk in and see Freddy having full conversations with the frog.

"So yeah, trials were pretty good today. That David asshole really got what was coming to him."

Don't remind him of the time when he didn't want the little critter.

Because he will firmly deny it.

Spirit

It's a toss up over who would be the first to bring an animal home.

You don't even have to try and sneak it in.

Is that a puppy?

And Rin is all over the dog.

Kisses, hugs, plans on what you'll need to get, and all the possible names!

She is a huge softy for animals, especially fluffy ones.

"Oh! Let's keep her!"

She's the type to bring any animal home and ask to keep them.

And the baby talk this girl can do.

"Who's my wittle pumpkin? Who's the cutest wittle baby ever? It's you! Mommy woves you. Yes she does."

She won't even care if you're in the room to witness this.

Hell, join her in spoiling the puppy.

And outfits, she has so many outfits for the dog.

You have no idea where they even came from.

You will never see that pup without something on.

Hair bows, bandanas, hats, sometimes even little shirts or dresses.

She will find matching clothes for the three of you.

Don't think this dog won't be the most spoiled thing ever.

Trickster

Are you hiding something from him?

You are!

What's this? You've been hiding a bunny in your closet?!

He doesn't really care that you've been hiding it.

He's upset that it might receive more attention than him.

Ji-Woon is the super jealous type.

So jealous that he'll be glaring at this rabbit whenever you're carrying it.

Whenever you say you're about to go feed your bunny or play with them, Ji-Woon refuses to let you go.

You should pay more attention to him.

You should only pay attention to him.

Isn't he enough?

He'll come around though.

If the bunny makes you that happy, then he'll tolerate it.

Just make sure to give both of them lots of attention.

Ghostface

He actually was the one to bring the animal in.

"Hey babe, check out what I found!"

That's a snake.

That... Is that safe?

"Don't worry. He's super chill, see?"

He will shove that snake in your face.

He seems to have really tamed this animal.

You're going to be the one taking care of the snake.

It's name is Hisses, apparently.

"Yeah, like kisses, but he hisses. So it's Hisses. Get it."

Being terrible at naming things aside.

Danny is really happy.

The way he shows off his darling snake.

"Hey Sally! Look!"

He really enjoys showing people who are or potentially are afraid of snakes.

That power he gets over them.

It's going to get him into a significant amount of trouble.

But he's just so happy, and who are you to take that happiness away from him.

[felice-jaganshi]

Alastor's Leash

Chapter 9

(Warning: major character death this chapter)

The battle was chaos, if it could even be called a “battle” at this point. It was mostly everyone just trying to distract Lilith and stay out of Lucifer's way. The only one actually able to stand on equal footing to her other than him was Charlie. But even then, she didn't really know how to fight, having been sheltered most of her life.

“Charlotte, dear… stop this silly rebellious phase. You know I'm your favorite.” Lilith was trying to turn Charlie back to her side.

 

“Oh fuck off with that shit!” Lucifer yelled back, “You're the one who drove a wedge between us to start!” He was not about to let Lilith slander him in front of his daughter anymore! She laughed at his anger and swiftly moved into his face.

 

“ I did, didn't I?” She purred the words, placing a hand on his chest and leaning close like she was going to kiss him. He was frozen in shock.

Charlie shot explosive sparkles between them, breaking her spell on Lucifer and allowing him to shove her away.

“Augh! Fuck you! I'm not your toy anymore! Thanks Char char.” It made sense now, how she was able to make him agree to ditching out on his family, agree to anything she wanted… it was all a fucking lie, a magic spell. “Did you ever love me? Even… even in Eden?” 

 

“Hm… perhaps. It was so long ago I hardly remember. I certainly found you more attractive than Adam. Far more… submissive and adorable. Like a pet, my good, silly, little duck.” She smirked, and tears filled his eyes. That's what he was afraid to hear…

 

She was about to lunge again when something caught her ankle. She looked down to see what, only to suddenly be wrapped up in cables and shadow tentacles!

“Now! Do it now!” Vox screamed, focusing all his power into restraining her. Alastor was focusing hard as well, not sparing any energy on words.

Charlie lunged with Vaggie's spear, only for Lilith's arm to break free long enough to smack her away and send her head crashing into the ground. She stopped moving…

 

The spear landed at Lucifer's feet. “Charlie! No!” He was about to reach out to her but Vaggie flew in and scooped her up instead pulling her away.

“Charlie, baby, look- look at me!” She supported her head, checking for a pulse or breathing.

… Lucifer grabbed the spear and lunged forward, but before he could stab Lilith, he froze, the spear inches from her heart. Just one more step forward and… but he couldn't. He… she was… he shook his head and-

She broke free!

She kicked Lucifer in the chest and grabbed the spear from him before summoning giant knives to stab into his shoulders and hips, pinning him to the ground with a scream.

 

She smiled, turning her head to Charlie, seeing Zariah healing her. “It's okay Vaggie, she'll live. Just get her out of here.”

“Hm, now this won't do… who do I take out first? My beloved husband? Or my fawn’s lover?” 

She turned back to Lucifer, “No, you're the only real threat to my power.” She pointed the spear at his heart and locked eyes with him, smiling cruelly. “You were a wonderful experience.”

“You were… everything.” He replied bitterly.

 

One quick movement, and an angelic blade went through a heart… except it wasn't Lucifer's, but Lilith's!

Becca leaned over to whisper in Lilith's ear, “That's my man and my daughter, bitch.”

 

Lilith's hand went limp as the spear fell from it, her face turning to a grimace. “You… heh, well… played… whore…” She went limp on Becca's blade and the blades pinning Lucifer disappeared.

 

Lucifer shot up off the ground, “Becca!! I told you to stay at the hotel!” Becca dropped the blade, letting Lilith clatter to the ground. 

 

“If I did you'd be dead!” She yelled back at him, tears in her eyes. “Then everyone else would be too. I'd lose my whole family. And that's not happening while I'm breathing!” She hugged him tight, and his wings wrapped around her in an equally tight embrace.

 

Alastor looked over to see Vox starting to walk away. He sent his shadow to trip him, and began walking after him.

Vox swore on the ground before looking at the shadow, “You fucker! What? Is this where you stab me in the back?! Alright, let's fucking go then!” 

But all Alastor did was extend a hand. “I believe I owe you a drink. Come with us to the hotel, old friend.”

Vox looked shocked, “wh… really?”

“Don't make me regret this.” He growled, and looked away, but his hand was still there. Vox took it.

“Alright. Did your bartender survive the fight?” He stood up, holding his hand like a lifeline. 

“Of course, Husker would never die for me.”

Zariah then ran up and hugged both of them. “Aw, you're friends again! This is the best outcome!” Vox growled at her, about to shove her away before Alastor nearly crushed his hand and gave a warning look. Vox groaned and accepted his fate, gently placing his free hand on her shoulder instead. “Ugh, now I'm the one who's gonna have regrets…” 

Alastor chuckled, “oh this will be delightful.” He linked his fingers into Vox's, just the way the tv demon used to love doing. He understood why now, and though he didn't really feel the same, Al could humor Vox if he behaved himself. Vox stopped grumbling and nearly blue screened for a second.

 

Vaggie huffed out a small laugh, blushing just a little. “All the time babe, but you got one thing wrong. Because you're the most beautiful person ever. You feeling okay though?” 

Charlie woke up in Vaggie's arms, her wings acting as a shield for the two. Charlie smiled, “Hey beautiful… wow, have I told you how beautiful you are? Because you're literally the most beautiful person ever.” She sounded a bit loopy.

“Yeah, but… I almost died today, didn't I?... Vaggie, I don't want to waste another minute not married to you. Will you marry me?”

Vaggie's face flushed red, “I- Charlie… yes absolutely. I… was actually working up the nerve to ask you for a few months now. I was going to do it at your dad's wedding, but Alastor stole the show.” 

“Yes I did!” He suddenly poked his head into the cocoon of feathers, making Vaggie jump a bit and screamed, her wings flying open for everyone to see the two. Lucifer and Becca came over next.

 

“Hey my little duckling, how's the head? That was a pretty nasty fall. And I would know a thing or two about those.” He teased, tapping his knuckles on his own head.

“Hey dad… I think I'm fine, just a bit dizzy still, and a bit of a headache.” She tried to sit up, only to lay right back in Vaggie's arms, “Ugh, more of a migraine actually.” 

Lucifer couldn't help but smile, even though he was still extremely worried for her. “Here, let me help with that.” He used what he had left of his powers to heal her some more.

Once she was well enough to sit up, she looked around. “What happened to…” then her eyes landed on Lilith's body. “Oh… who did it? Dad?” She looked at Lucifer, who shook his head. “I… I froze. She almost got me.” He spoke softly, “It was actually Becca. She saved my life.”

Charlie looked at her for a moment before pulling Becca into a tight hug. “Thank you… can… I call you mom now, instead?” She sounded hesitant and uncertain. 

Becca hugged back and sobbed, tears falling freely. “Absolutely. I'd love that.”

Lucifer hugged all three of his girls, “Now, let's all go back home… I think we all need to rest.”

[nightskylonging]

Nightsky's thought log of the Monaco GP 2024

That was an awful crash (Checo & the Haases), thank God everyone is okay.

Carlos and Oscar - that got overshadowed quick

KMag's getting a race ban out of this, isn't he.

I scrubbed through the red flag, why isn't Esteban restarting??

It's a good thing I didn't watch this live, I'd have had to leave for church in the middle

'This is the only opportunity' George your 40s fighter pilot is showing

Fastest lap to Carlos (lap 9), boys, play nice

Carlos Sr in the captain's chair (cry-laugh emoji)

Is it just me who gets kinda nauseous from the driver's eye camera? It's not so bad for this because it was a day race, but still

'Pootling around' Never change George

The top three are just juggling fastest lap like a hot potato

Oscar leave your father alone

And a decent pitstop for Sauber! That puts Valtteri so far back though

I don't know why but seeing the straight along the harbour suddenly awoke a distinct memory of watching Top Gear with my dad as a small child

Carlos is upgrading from strategizing himself to strategizing the whole team

nvm valtteri's about made it back up, he's just sailing along

Oscar! Leave your dad alone!

Jolyon it is too early (Lap 22) to talk about potential wins you will jinx it

George is just backing up the whole field, my goodness

Don't remind me that Carlos is leaving Ferrari, I'm not ready yet

Esteban had contact? With who? Gasly?

The camera directors have done this particular mirrored lenses shot (a marshal I think?) a couple times now, it's kinda cool

Lando?? (Lap 29)

Ayyy that was close to the wall

Are they playing Senna footage in the tunnel? For whose benefit?

'I wonder if Fernando's enjoying slowing everyone down' I mean, probably

Oscar's radios have been great today. Just calmly, slightly perplexed

'Charles, slow down please' *Charles does his personal best* help

¡Carlos, la pared por favor!

If Lance is gonna take this pit stop I think --- ah there it is

Very neat work from the Aston Martin team

Thirty seconds between Yuki and Lewis (skull emoji) ya gonna take that pal?

Matching carlando father shots (Lap 46) (laugh emoji)

'That's rude' tell 'em, Charles!

Annnd there goes Lance. Oof.

Jolyon! No! Jinxing! Shut up!

Hamilton in and out, he's gonna have no trouble keeping his place with that gap

Valtteri passed Logan I think?

They just showed the replay, neat work, that is

Much more and Lando's gonna have enough time for a stop as well if they want to take it

Max got fastest lap and the Jaws theme started playing in my mind

This undercut threat graphic is funnier than it should be for me, it makes me think of like. an inclement weather warning

Nice overtake for Lance there

Make that two, my goodness

Carlos is playing 5-D chess out here doing his own race and managing the thing as well

How much of the field has been lapped now? (Lap 61)

Okay why do they call it the swimming pool?

Jolyon! Jinxing!

They're finally letting Yuki go racing (cry-laugh)

Logie bear why are you saying you hit the wall.

Okay thank goodness it wasn't bad

Okay you can discuss the podium now I suppose

Only five more laps. Is it gonna happen? Is this it?

Logie bear past Zhou - Meanwhile, Fernando sails across the chicane (I think that was the chicane)

Not a single Piastri-Leclerc joke on the F1TV broadcast, missed opportunity

Mbappé - first flag waver I've recognized this season (I do not watch football, I don't know why I know him)

Here we go, final lap. Let's go, Charles!

The boats blaring their horns for Charles <3

YEEEEEAAAAHHHH

The curse is broken!

He's so happy augh he did it!

[dooplissss]

Long time lurker, saw your tag, go off about emmett and his gf im nosy.

thank you beloved i am kissing you if you so desire

ok. god. where do i start. ok so my oc Emmett is my newest dnd pc, he's. his life sucks so much.

my beautiful little guy had this lovely life on top of a mountain in the town of Annona, a quaint colorful place that is a bit of a tourist destination. His dad died about 8 years ago, right before his family adopted his little brother Eliseo, and so Emmett and Eliseo are really close to their mom Jazmin. They run a small restaurant together and importantly Emmett's dad was essentially the spiritual leader for the town for their goddess Mama Pallay (pal-lay), so losing him put the whole town in a bit of a tizzy. It wasn't said outloud that Emmett had to take his place but it certainly was implied, he just wasn't ready to take it up yet. Maybe someday, just not now.

Cue Marasmus, a little mushroom on the hillside that was plucked and sold at the farmers market, where Jazmin picked him up and served him to Emmett for dinner. She didn't know what would happen next, she really didn't and she's gonna seem like a bad guy but she isn't. Emmett ate this mushroom and it began to eat him alive, putting Emmett to sleep and walking and talking in his place until Emmett was barely conscious for months at a time.

Then one night at a congregation Emmett was about to feed a mushroom to his brother and it Woke Him Up, he wasn't asleep inside his body anymore. And he ran, he went home and packed his things as fast as he could only for his mom to block his way. And she knew that voice in his head, Marasmus, by name, begged Emmett to stay. Emmett escaped her grasped and ran away from home as far as he could, all while this voice in his head is yelling at him to turn back.

And he's been running ever since, while this awful thing possessing him tears him down and tells him he should feed people mushrooms that he doesn't understand the purpose of. He's done some dangerous things to get rid of this thing but nothing works, it always brings him back to life with more and more rot every time. So now he's a Pact of the Undead Warlock and hates every second of it

Then comes Yulissa, this lovely 6'6 deer firbolg who is so sweet to him. They run an errand together where she accidentally gets dunked into the ocean and Emmett offers her his gloves and she's immediately like. Oh. This man is so sweet. I think I'm a little in love with him. and Emmett (and me) is completely oblivious to this until later on he divulges some of his story and Yulissa promises she's here for him, he's not alone anymore, and he instantly falls in love against his better judgement. he has nothing he can give to her but she doesn't ask for anything other than to like her, not even love her just tolerate her and he can't help being head over heels for her

And now it turns out Yulissa is supposed to be a human sacrifice and over his already dead body will that happen, he's gone from so woe-is-me to I need to save her and I'll do anything it takes to get there, we will get our happy ending, I need her to see her worth just as she sees the worth in me. also they are purple and yellow bc i love complementary couples so much and they just AUGH

like he's basically a shambling corpse thats slowly rotting away and this person sees him and says 'I'm going to protect you, you've been through enough, let me help you' when all he's heard in his ear is consume consume consume i'm. i'm crazy about them. i could go on and on and on and i sure have i'm just having such a fun time with them. and it helps that the friend i'm playing in the space with is so fun and always has such brilliant ideas about them and we're just circling each other around this sweet little ship that could and i'm just having blast ok post over

[secondsonaym]

"Well. At least she's taking it out on spiders this time instead of me!" Marbas managed with a laugh before directing his attention to Stolas.

Stolas simply stood there, staring at the ground. He wasn't sure what to say. What to do.

He knew his existence had been artificial from the start--Created as he was, not born and developed--but to hear that it wasn't even unique in that capacity...

You shouldn't exist.

Those had been Zagan's words.

Why did they hurt so much?

He raised his head, glancing between Marbas and Decarabia, not really able to bring himself to speak. Though they tried to seem casual, he knew what they were thinking.

He wasn't Stolas. He wasn't their Stolas. He had only been made to fill a slot. And it was actually making Haro's condition... Worse?

... Why did he exist, then?

"Kid." Monch spoke up, though Stolas only registered it enough to glance at them. "Stop thinking about it. Zagan's a bitter soul. His main pastime is spreading that bitterness to whoever will listen. Let's find you something to distract yourself."

"Y-Yeah!" Marbas agreed, now moving closer. "You're in a library! I'm sure you'd love to have a look around, if you're anything like--AUGH!"

Decarabia stomped hard on Marbas' foot, cutting him off. He seemed to get the message, however, as he sheepishly looked away from Stolas.

"There's lots to read here!" Decarabia agreed. "Mister Monch, do you have any suggestions?"

"Well," Monch began, fiddling with their mane and looking around. "This main room is just genealogy records. I skimmed them, but they get pretty boring after a while.

"In the west wing, there's what seemed to be Shamura's more private offices, as I found notes and stuff that are written by them! A few journals, even!

"The east wing seems to have scriptures and materials for rites and rituals--but not just Shamura's sect, all sects of the Old Faith.

"And finally, in the basement, um..."

They paused, once again fiddling with their fur as they thought.

"It was behind some sort of locks that only opened to the Purple Crown. I haven't had a chance to look in-depth, so I don't know what's in there, specifically, but... Seems like stuff only Shamura had access to."

"Well, Stolas?" Decarabia asked. "Which do you wanna go check out?"

"Um..." Stolas mumbled, head feeling like it was full of sand. "I guess I want to read..."

[eliasiis]

don't go

word count : 1k

for @italeean

first of all. i need everyone to understand what a BITCH this was to post. like..... i posted it last night and then it just. poof. disappeared for everyone but me. i tried copying the link and it tumblr said it didn't exist. so here it is again! except posted off my laptop this time.

"Noooo!! Big brother, don't go!!" Teucer clings to Childe's leg.

"I'm sorry, Teucer, but I have to get back to work," Childe ruffles his little brother's hair. Watching those big eyes squeeze shut, overflowing with tears- He can't resist it. It's the only thing that can really tug at his heart anymore.

He pats Teucer's head and goes down on his knee to be eye-to-eye with him. "You can be a big boy and wait for me to come back, right? I promise I'll be back soon."

It's late at night. The others had known he was leaving today, of course, it wasn't a secret. But when everyone else had fallen asleep, Teucer had stayed up. He wanted to make sure that he could make every minute with his big brother home count.

But even so, Childe still finds himself near the door with Teucer crying into his chest.

"...Okay, how about this," He starts, wearing a big, playful grin. "We'll play a round of hide and seek before I go, okay? Now remember, when we're done, I have to go back to my toy-shop, alright?" He brings his hands up to Teucer's cheeks and wipes away his tears.

Still sniffling, Teucer nods. "O-Okay... But I want to hide!" He declares, and Childe chuckles.

"Sure. You have ten seconds! Go, go!" Childe puts his hands over his eyes, and despite his little brother's sadness he still hears Teucer giggling while the little tip-tap of his footsteps get further.

"Ten, nine," He already hears Teucer giggling, over in the next room. He never really was that great of a hider, but Childe wouldn't tell him that. In fact, the only thing Childe would tell him is how great he is at it. "Eight, seven, six," The giggling only gets louder. Childe smiles to himself and thinks about how little he actually wants to leave. "Five, four, three, two," Archons, how he'd love to stay here. "One! I'm coming, Teucer!"

He hears the gleeful, loud giggling and wanders into an entirely different room. "Teucer... Where are you?" He wanders around, loudly exclaiming how hard it is to find him. "Augh! Teucer, you're too good at this!"

Grinning, Childe enters the room that he knows Teucer is in. It's the room Childe had been sleeping in for the duration of his stay. Or, in more simple words- His room. He misses staying here for more than a few days at a time. "Teucer... Are you... In here?!" He dramatically throws open the closet to find it empty. Teucer's giggling gets more muffled, as if he's put his hand over his mouth.

"Aw, what? Where could he be?" He puts a finger to his chin, tapping it 'impatiently.'

"Hmmm... Could he be under the bed..?" Childe wonders, slowly making his way to his oversized bed.

"No!!! No, I'm not there!" Teucer shouts, giggling wildly still. However, Childe continues making his way towards it.

"No, no! I think Teucer might be under the bed! What do you think, strange voice?" He asks, lowering himself to his knees as slowly as possible. He feels little hands start batting at his knees as soon as he gets on the floor, and he chuckles.

"No!!" Teucer scrambles out the other side, bee-lining his way to the door. Childe gives him a bit of a head start before he starts barely speed-walking his way after him.

"Teucer! You can run, but you can't hide~!!" Childe sing-songs, but he doesn't even try catching up to his speedy brother.

After barely a minute, Teucer almost trips- But Childe catches him. He wouldn't forgive himself if he allowed that to happen.

"I've gotcha now, Teucer," Childe grins, cradling him in one arm and threateningly wiggling his fingers above Teucer with the other.

"Noooo!! Don't tickle, don't tickle!!" Teucer squirms and flails, but otherwise makes no attempt to get away. They'd been playing this game since Teucer was old enough to walk. Childe isn't above admitting how much he'd missed it.

"Don't what? I'm sorry Teucer, I couldn't hear that last part," Childe says, threatening fingers still static still in the air, making a scribbling motion while Teucer's childish giggles fill the air.

"Tickle me!!" Teucer says, but then slaps his hands over his mouth, still flailing. He never fails to fall for that.

"Oh? If you say so!"

Childe digs his fingers into Teucer's stomach, laughing along when Teucer gives a delighted shriek. His childish laughter mixes with squeals while he squirms and kicks and flails his arms around. "aaAHH!! Eek!! Brohohotherr!! Noohoho!!"

Childe pokes gently into Teucer's sides, smiling fondly- They used to do this much more often. Maybe he'll have to make it a habit again. "Teucer, you gotta make me a promise, okay?" He says, louder over Teucer's thrilled laughter. "You'll take care of our siblings for me, right?"

Still squirming and squealing, Teucer nods rapidly. "Okayokayokay!! No more, nohoho moree!" Teucer curls up, kicking his legs about and smacking at Childe's tickling hands.

"Okay, okay! Just one more thing..." Childe gently places Teucer back on the ground and takes Teucer's hands and moves them out of his way. He takes both hands and scribbles as quickly as possible on both Teucer's sides, avoiding the involuntary kicking his brother immediately reacts with.

"EEK!! Brohhohohotherr!! Ah!! Bwaahahannooooo!!!!" He starts pushing Childe's hands away and that's when he knows to stop. He picks his brother back up and boops his nose. "Ready for bed?"

"Mmmhm.." Teucer says, rubbing at his eyes. He still wears a silly grin that Childe matches with his own.

"Alright. I'll tuck you in." Childe makes his way to Teucer's own bedroom, laying him down on his bed. It's late now. He has to leave quickly if he wants to-

"Brother?"

"Yeah?"

"...Come back soon, okay?"

"Of course, Teucer."

[unknownarmageddon]

killer found a another sundress. that, in of itself, shouldn't be anything new. typical killer activities often include finding sundresses, after all. killer seemed to really like them, and cross could understand that; sundresses were colorful.

by definition, killer and sundresses were synonyms. bright little things, sticking it through the societal crash.

but for some reason, killer really really liked this one. it was nearly white, splattered with abstract blotches of bright red poppies and hazy purple buds. perhaps it was the variety of colors? maybe it was because cross had been the one to point it out?

whatever the reason, killer had scuttered off to put it on, snickering and grinning like a dork, and now cross was here, leaning against a pillar in the crumbling remains of a food court, rubbing at a misplaced sticker on the pommel of his machete. he doesn't know how or when killer got it on there, but the little pop of color was textured. bumpy, like the soles of a soccer cleat.

it was little cat. he vaguely remembered it being popular at one point, hello kitty or something. killer liked cats.

cross slid his machete out of its casing, flipping it around, a fidgety habit he'd picked up from watching killer so often. killer had so many knives on him, and he always seemed to have on spinning on his fingers. because of that, cross had somehow wound up doing about the same with his own blade. it wasn't a nice as the way killer's flipped his knives, but, then again, killer was on another level with most things like this anyways.

cross clicked his tongue, and sheathed the weapon. he had to break that habit; he'd end up cutting a finger off if he kept trying to pull weird fancy tricks like killer. he could just watch killer do it, get his kicks that way.

"crisscross! yo!"

arms draped around his neck from behind, killer jumping onto him and clinging to him like a racoon trying to climb a tree. his legs wrapped around cross's waist, and then gravity pulled killer down again, and cross choked, stumbling backwards before finding his balance again and reorienting himself. he instinctively twisting his arms behind his back to grip killer's femurs, keeping the idiot from sliding off and alleviating some of the pressure on his neck.

"i told you to not do that," he grumbled, to which killer snorted and wiggled around in response to.

"quit whinin', ya big pup," killer cackled, but he wiggled a little more aggressively and cross let him go. killer slid off cross's back, jumping around to dramatically spin in front of cross. the yellow-white dress fluttered around killer's knees, the flowers on it rippling, and cross's mouth went dry.

at this rate, cross was going to like the sundresses as much as killer did, but for all the wrong reasons.

killer beamed up at him before grinning down at himself, running his hands over the pale fabric.

"it's a little loose, this definitely wasn't made for boney fellas like me," killer commented, despite the fact that, in cross's opinion, it was perfect.

"and, it has pockets! hah!" killer stuck his hands in the dress's pockets, demonstrating that it, in fact, did have pockets, and cross chuckled despite himself.

"it looks great, 'coon."

killer's face flushed with a pink-ish hue, his grin wide and genuine as he bounced on his toes, "fuck yeah it does! i'm so fucking pretty, look at this, watch this, watch this,"

killer started spinning, and cross knew immediately that he'd fall over afterwards, but he did have a point. he was pretty.

-proximity anon :]

OHHHH oh my god dude I’m so fucking unwell

I love themmm I love them the guys ever wawawawa

I love all the little mannerisms and details and just. Everything in this one a lot actually aughhh augh

This one is. Very good it really is