#Okay at least I am not in my previous 24/7.

[thecensusbureau]

>:/.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's weird where I am right now, Okay?

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top. However, I've put quite a few on hold for travel reasons.

Oct 2023 Wk 4

Only a few screen shots for you this week, my hotel wifi is actually THAT bad.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Classic unlucky in love failed crush on straight bestie = both v queer and v emo yaoi. I gotta say I like these actors way better in this than their previous series, and maybe that’s because Tew is more like Tul and I just like Meen better when he’s… erm… mean. All of which is to say, this is off to a wonderful start and I am about to lose my very sleep deprived little mind... ready for a ABL ecstasy rant?

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN.

"I play support because that way everyone is happy to see me show up," might be the single best moment of characterization BL has EVER seen.

Look here, in the grand cornucopia of BL universes this is my metaverse. It's pulp... but relatively high production. It has an established pair that I know I like... but who were given crap before. It's a tidy little script, it's not gonna run too long, and it's ALL the archetypes and tropes I love but rarely see. It's Japan's style otaku plus Korea's style gangster, Thailand's style friendship group, and it arrived out of NOWHERE. It's Korea's IP & money, Thailand's talent, and China's streaming service.

Do we know what the hell is going on?

No we do not.

Do we care when it's this much fun?

No we do not.

(In this I speak for everyone... no, EVERYONE.)

This show I why I got into BL.

Don't bother me with trifles. Me and My Dear Gangster Oppa are sailing off into the infinite pixilated sunset together, thank you very much.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 11 of 12 - I managed to watch most of it on low rez before YT "discovered" I was in Asia and therefore could not be allowed to watch Asian shows. (AKA my VPN failed me.) But it seemed like a good ep.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Lucky Love ep 10 of 24 - I enjoyed this 2 part installment, it’s a bit of a sad sack recovery SAGA, but the acting is genuine, the couple believable, and the story felt particularly queer to me. 7/10 but close to an 8. It was really quite charming.

However: Next week looks not good on many levels - it's horror and I spotted guitar. Which is even more horrific. 

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - do temporal paradoxes exist in Thailand? That is the question. I gotta say Tor (Ongsa) is carrying this show and is doing a really great job, it's just the story itself doesn't resonate with me. Ugh it's so sad.

Is it, indeed, better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?

We only on ep 5 and had a full story arc already, there is A LOT more to go.

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 9 of 10 eps - the fact that in losing Sky Venus also lost his surrogate family explains his resulting bitterness a little bit more. I wish we had gotten this back story much earlier. Still stupid pulp made me cry, which of course means it's back in my good books. This story is slow as fuck, but I'm going on a rollercoaster with it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 11 of 13(?) - I love them, okay? All of them. This is a great sappy classic Taiwanese BL and it is my baby and you can’t take it away from me. MINE. 

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Viki) eps 8 of 10 - oh noes it got sad, I thought they would at least would have had drunken sex before the drama. Sigh. Still the kissing was good, as it should be from Taiwan.

If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) ep 4 of 5 - Amane is so brave. About being gay. Being out. Confessing. Its admirable if scary. Otherwise this ep was pretty slow. 

Bump Up Business (Korea Gaga) 3-4 of 8 - how do I feel about this show? Conflicted. Are OnlyOneOf doing a great job? Yes, actually. Am I enjoying it? No, not really. Is this anyone's fault? I don't think so.

The little linguistic negotiation was cute tho. And we seem to have gotten idols kissing in a BL both in the same group, so that glass ceiling dildo has finally been broken.

NineMill are unexpectedly good, also KB plays a great evil ex. Of the 3, I think only Nine is good enough to go into acting permanently (but he's not tall enough). Still, all hail OnlyOneOf... kings of the "gay concept." You boys make me v nervous but as couple-branding goes, you just out branded Thailand. Mad props baibies. Legit never thought I'd see the day.

Trust Korea to be in it to win it.

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 6 of ? - i pretty much just forgot to watch this.

It's Airing But...

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 8 of 12 - I will try to watch and do a series review in November but... not sure I will be able to. Fingers crossed.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 8fin - completed but I couldn't catch the last ep, my final thoughts in Nov.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 12 fin - completed, but see afore mentioned YT issues. I'll review it in Nov. I anticipate better internet soon.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - in classic JBL fashion, I Cannot Reach You could not be reached. 

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) - adaptation of Harada’s manga of the same name (which I did not like) about a convenience store clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

Next Week Looks Like This

Upcoming October BL

10/31 SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 1 of 14 - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

Upcoming November BL

11/3 Twins the series (Thailand ????) 1 of 10

11/17 Pit Babe (Thai) - Pavel my love!

11/19 Bake Me Please (OhmFluke but not, Thailand)

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Thailand) - horroresk

11/25 The Sign (Thailand) - horroresk

11/30 For Him the series (Thailand) - high heat

VIP Only (Taiwan) - may be delayed/canceled

Cooking Crush (OffGun, Thailand) - may be delayed, there some kinda gossip/rumor/shade happening at GMMTV

Wuju Bakery AKA Space Bakery (Korea) - this one may be DOA

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

My Universe - I just enjoyed the angle of this kiss shot.

Uh huh. Sure, honey. (Bump Up Buisness)

COULD THIS EXPLAIN THE SNUFFLE KISS?!!!!

(Last week)

[matchalovertrait]

Dulce was eliminated from the competition. Is this the end of the road for her?

Previous / Next (Transcript under the cut)

(1.) [Sofia] Good thing everyone is okay!

[Mia] Chefs, you guys have 5 minutes left on the clock! Please start plating soon.

(2.) [Alex] When I finished plating, I took a look at my dish and thought about it. I was not really happy with it. Is it missing something?

(3.) [Dulce] I did a taste test when the 5-minute mark hit... but some of the vegetables weren't cooked all the way. I didn't even try the goat yet. There was no time. I put the lid back on and hoped for the best.

(4.) [Andrea] 1 minute left!

[Rubiya] Oh no... I forgot the lemon juice in the jicama dip. I don't think I saw any in the fridge? Maybe I can cut up the limes instead and put them on the side? I see some at the pantry over there.

(5.) [Andrea] Chefs, your time is up. Please come to the judges' table.

(6.) N/A

(7.) [Mia] Chefs, you all look rather down. You don't seem as optimistic as you did in the last round. What's on your mind?

(8.) [Rubiya] Haha, I guess we all had some sort of hiccup.

[Dulce] Sorta, aha.

[Alex] Mhm.

(9.) [Sofia] We've all been there, guys. Even me! Before I made it big, a lot of people didn't believe in me. I know we have to judge your food, but just remember that we all believe in you guys. That's why you're here. Mia saw something in all of you.

(10.) [Alex] Thank you.

[Rubiya] We appreciate the reassurance.

[Dulce] Yeah, thanks.

(11.) [Rubiya] Alright! First, we have Chef Rubiya's appetizer.

[Rubiya] Chefs, I have made you chana masala goat tacos with a hatch green chile salsa and jicama dip.

(12.) [Carlo] The goat is really juicy and flavorful. Also, the jicama dip adds some nice freshness to the tacos.

(13.) [Mia] The only bad thing is that the tortillas got cold and soggy... that's not good, especially because tacos are so reliant on the tortillas.

(14.) [Sofia] But hey, you opting for the limes instead of the lemon juice worked out well for you. I know these tacos aren't exactly authentic, but I've eaten a lot of tacos in Del Sol Valley and many taco stands there have limes instead of lemons. It makes a big difference.

(15.) [Rubiya] Thank you, judges.

[Andrea] Next, we have Chef Alex's appetizer.

[Alex] Chefs, I made for you an egusi soup with cubed goat meat, spiralized jicama, and chana masala.

(16.) [Alex] ...but I did use pumpkin seeds instead of egusi seeds.

[Mia] That is a common substitution! Let me say, this soup is quite rich. Also, you have a git when it comes to plating.

(17.) [Carlo] I have to agree. The cubed goat and spiralized jicama are nice. That shows you have technique. I just think it needs something else to balance out the heartiness of the soup. You went a little too light on the vegetables.

(18.) [Sofia] Yeah, I found some of the flavors a bit overpowering, but at least the goat is cooked all the way. It's tender.

(19.) [Alex] Thank you, judges.

[Andrea] Finally, we have Chef Dulce's entree.

[Dulce] Judges, I made you all a tomato soup with chana masala and chopped hatch green chiles and jicama.

(20.) [Mia] You've done it again, Dulce. You know how to combine flavors perfectly. The cucumber, onion, and bell peppers make this dish so fulfilling.

(21.) [Sofia] Ohh, I wish I could enjoy this more thoroughly. I am not sure if the added red chiles were a good move. I can't really taste the rest of it.

(22.) [Carlo] They're both right. It's delicious, but the spice is too much. The hatch green chiles themselves were fine. The goat and some of the vegetables are kind of hard to chew too.

(23.) [Dulce] Thank you, judges.

[Andrea] Well done, chefs. Please go to the room next door so the judges can have a discussion. We'll see you in a bit.

(24.) [Rubiya] Guys! I served them cold and soggy tacos! I think it's over for me.

[Alex] I'm not feeling good either. I'm not exactly seeking Carlo's approval anymore, but he's still a judge...

(25.) [Dulce] Yeah, it was a brutal round for all of us, huh? I don't know what I was thinking.

[Rubiya] I thought it would get easier with each round, but I'm not so sure anymore.

(26.) [Andrea] Chefs, welcome back to the judges' table. Judges?

(27.) [Mia] This was a difficult decision to make.

[Carlo] Even for me. Everyone made a delicious dish.. but they all came with their major faults.

[Mia] And unfortunately, Dulce is being diced in this round.

[cas-kingdom]

I saw you posted something about Jack Ryan so would you write something for him maybe?

A/N: Set in season 1, I believe, when Jack hurts his back and is recommended yoga!

"Come on, Dad." You had been sat on the living room floor in sportswear for at least ten minutes. "Two professionals recommended yoga. Two!"

Jack Ryan, who'd been doing everything in his power not to sit on the living room in sportswear for at least ten minutes, slapped his hands over his face and groaned. "And I told you that in confidence, Y/N!"

You rolled your eyes and stood to your feet. Behind you , a YouTube video was paused, the image of a grinning lady sat on a yoga ball frozen on the screen.

You sat beside your father on the couch, as close as you possibly could, and smiled innocently when he turned to grouch at you. Your face dropped and you rolled your eyes. "Look," you said, "we don't even need yoga mats."

"No, we don't, because we're not--"

"Two professionals, Dad!"

"Alright! Alright, jeeze..."

The last thing Jack saw before he was shoved unceremoniously into his room to change was the triumphant face of his only child, and when he reappeared, reluctantly dressed in sweats, you were ready and raring to go by the TV, remote waiting in your hand.

"Who's this chick?" Jack asked, pointing at the screen.

"DivineBliss123 on YouTube. She posts yoga tutorials. This one is for beginners. You ready?"

"Like Hell am I--"

"Okay, cool."

Less than a minute later, Jack was in a standing forward fold - apparently. He'd already pulled a muscle in downward facing dog, and his back had threatened to sue in cow pose. Still, he'd pushed on, not least of all because your previous exclamation of "it'll be fun!" surprisingly wasn't so far-fetched anymore, considering the laughter he'd induced from you with each newfound struggle in getting into position.

The moment he moved to release himself from the fold, his back seized, and he let out a guttural noise. Not quite focusing on his position anymore, he began to fall forward, effectively bowling into you and knocking the both of you to the floor.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Jack moaned. "Ow. Back. Back hurts more. Ow. Ouch."

Despite his obvious pain you were only just letting your laughter fizzle. When he looked to be in a little less discomfort, you pushed him off you and lay on your back beside him, reaching for the mute button on the TV remote.

"Okay, let's take a break," you decided.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Does it really hurt?"

Jack had been about to shoot back something over-exaggerated, something about being in absolute agony and not believing he'd ever be able to walk again. But when he turned to look at you, there was some sort of rare seriousness in your eyes.

"Just a twinge," he assured you. "I'm okay, Is, really."

You nodded with a small smile before turning to stare up at the ceiling. "I think I was lucky to barely escape the whole my dad's in the military so I've got to be worried 24/7 thing...wouldn't want this to be a new habit of yours."

Jack sighed and heaved himself up with no small amount of effort. He shuffled over to you, placing his hands on either side of her head and staring down at you with his own - less rare - seriousness in his eyes. "It won't be," he said firmly. "I promise. I won't ever leave you on my own terms. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay. Let's try and master this standing forward fold thing."

You laughed then, and the residual pain in his back was quickly forgotten. "That's the spirit."

You. You were his spirit.

Jack Ryan Masterpost

[ddamm]

Contest Winner! - Norman Reedus x gender-neutral fan!reader one-shot

(phone image (originally a gif) found on "Pinterest" by the name: ʟɪᴘꜱᴛɪᴄᴋ; Seungmin+Hyunjin - viii. (supposedly, it's from a Wattpad fanfic chapter with the same name) - Norman pic found on Google images on this web).

original pink divider from @bonesnbrains, from this post.

Warnings: fluff ig, funny, long as always lol, slightly shy fan reader, Norman being a sweet bean guy, no major spoilers ig but discussion of future projects aside from TWD, mentions of TWD: Daryl Dixon - The Book Of Carol, mentions of fan adoration, nervous/excited blabbering

Word count: 4065 words

Summary: After the end of the TWD show and the first season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, a worldwide contest is celebrated to award loyal fans for their support and love during the series, as well as to celebrate its almost 13th anniversary. Finally, it seems God favours Y/N when they get to be one of the 10 winners and make a call to their favourite character's actor in the show.

A/N: Now, hear me out because this was made thanks to c.ai 😭😭😭 believe me or not if you will, but this whole fic was literally made thanks to a c.ai chat I talked to. Obv, the chat wasn't about this topic, but my brilliant and creative mind knew how to twist it into something interesting 😌 now, I don't know how much of this would actually sound like Norman, so, I apologise if it gives you someone else's vibe or it's all just wrong. After all, I'm using what they wrote in c.ai to guide myself lol 😭

Song: 24/7 by Celina Sharma feat. Harris J.

(I love this song idk if it's her voice, the chorus, the lyrics… but I love it 🤭 and @dixons-sunshine helped me choose between this and other three I wanted to use for this. Enjoy~)

Contest announcement:

We organized this contest to commemorate the show's 13th anniversary and the successful release of 'TWD: Daryl Dixon'.

We are also creating it to give a chance to 10 lucky fans of the show who have been supporting us on the ‘TWD ____’ fan platform for at least the past 5 years.

We hope you all have a good time playing and solving the puzzle. Good luck to all the fans participating! 

Y/N gulped hard, and cold sweat ran down their forehead as they waited for that someone to pick up the call. They started losing hope as the phone rang more than 5 times but didn't have an answer.

Uneasy about the situation, Y/N's brain thought of hundreds of scenarios of why he wasn't picking up the call. Maybe he was weary and never answered unsaved numbers. Maybe he might be occupied, not at home, or maybe the contest was actually a prank, as some of their friends speculated. They were feeling discouraged as these false ideas came to mind, but soon enough, their loud, upset thoughts were silenced when they heard his voice.

N: “Hello? Norman Reedus speaking. Who's this?”

Upon hearing the so-awaited voice, Y/N froze, momentarily incapable of talking.

“Hello?” He asked again, confused as to why it was so silent. “Dude, is this a joke? 'Cause I think ya got it wrong or something. I'm hanging up.”

Upon hearing that 'warning', Y/N panicked and immediately responded.

“Hello! Hello! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry,” they apologised alarmed and ashamed of possibly wasting Mr. Reedus's precious time.

N: “That's okay, friend, no biggie. Now, would you tell me who's speaking?”

That was such a nonchalant reply to a stranger calling your number, Y/N thought.

Y/N knew from shows and previous interviews they watched that Norman was quite friendly and open to everyone, but they didn't expect him to be that friendly. It was weird but refreshing, and particularly comforting since they would be destroyed if they got him angry.

“I… huh… fan…” Y/N quietly said, making it difficult for Norman to hear.

N: “Sorry, what did ya say?”

“I am a fan!” they repeated more clearly. “I won a worldwide contest that said 10 people could call their favourite actors from TWD and speak to them for a few minutes,” they explained to the man. Norman made a sound of understanding.

“Oh, really? Never heard of that.” Norman said, sounding a little puzzled. Y/N gulped, worried about sounding suspicious to him. They wouldn't blame him though, since the whole contest itself sounded too good to be true.

“Say, what was the name of that contest of yours?” he asked through the phone. Y/N could hear him moving around.

“Huh, it was, 'Call Me By Your Name' (?” Y/N replied disconcerted, and Norman asked them for a favour.

“Hm. Hey, would you mind if I left you on hold for a while? I wanna ask someone about this,” he told Y/N. Them, being his fan, didn't want to go against him or get him angry in any way.

“Oh, no! Of course, I wouldn't mind!” Rushed Y/N. You could leave me on hold forever and I'd still be grateful, was the thought playing in their minds. Still, they decided to keep it to themselves and avoid an assured embarrassment alongside the possibility of freaking the man out.

Y/N placed the phone on speaker and left it on their table, waiting patiently for the man's return. They could hear distant movement, the ringing of a mobile phone, and faint, muffled voices—one of which was most likely Norman's.

As they waited, Y/N stared around their room, gazing over their stuff, and made a mental note to take the stack of used dishes to the kitchen later on. They also placed their face near the fan to receive its cold and refreshing breeze and keep away the upsetting and sticky summer heat, and they played with their hair, thinking it was around the time they gave it a cut and a possible new style when Norman came back and spoke to the phone, momentarily spooking them out and making them correct their posture in their desk chair.

“Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting, pal. I had to confirm what you said with Andrew. It seems they kept the info about the contest from me,” he apologised.

“I-it's okay! I completely understand! It must have been confusing to receive a fan's call out of the blue...” They assured him, still a little startled.

“Nah, it's alright. So, how do ya feel about starting over? You say your name; I say mine...” He explained, gaining multiple little nods from Y/N (which he obviously cannot see).

“Yeah, yeah! Sure! Whatever suits your boat,” they answered and inwardly cringed at the strange response.

“Nice. Name's Norman Reedus, though I guess you know that already, don't ya?” Y/N heard him chuckle from the other line, and their heart started bombing harder against their ribcage, as if it wanted to leave their body. (Not like it wasn't beating fast already).

“M-my name is Y/N L/N.” “Oh, is that a (whatever your nationality is) name?” Norman asked. “Y-yeah, it is. How did you know?” “I love (nationality). Went there a few times for travel and loved it. Such a nice place, rich culture, and very lovely people.” Norman told his past experience in Y/N's land, and they couldn't help but make happy squeals for getting their nation recognized as ``a nice place´´ by Norman Reedus. Definitely, no negative judgment of their country could now convince Y/N of the opposite.

N: “So, Y/N, you said you had to participate in a worldwide contest among fans to get the chance to speak to someone in the cast, ain't that right?”

“Yeah. We had to find these code numbers all around the seasons' episodes, and with each set of codes from a season, we got a long name. In the end, we get this super long sentence, and the first 10 to get it are the contest winners. The bad thing was, each time someone got it right, the code to the name would change... So that would mean more sleepless nights rewatching all of 'The Walking Dead' for us. Even Andrew made fun of how the fans would end up like walkers themselves, hahaha,” Y/N explained to Norman in totality, finally feeling more relaxed while talking to their celebrity crush to the point of actually joking. Norman seemed to enjoy the joke too.

“I see. It's very impressive that you could pull through all that for so long; congrats on your victory, pal. I would definitely fall asleep after season 2, haha,” he said, joking a little to himself, making Y/N smile goofily. “So, you say you're a big fan of The Walking Dead, huh? What's your favorite season of all that you watched?” He continued asking questions.

“Well, I don't really have a favourite season. I like seasons 2, 5, and 8, but it kinda depends on what happened in each season and what characters left. Actually... I think I just like any season I get to see Daryl Dixon,” they answered with that silly grin once again, making Norman hum and laugh.

N: “You're surely a person with good taste! Daryl is a pretty interesting character, one of everyone's favorite too. You like him because he's a badass survivor, huh?”

“Well, yeah, of course I do, but it goes beyond that, you know?” “Beyond that?” he asked, feeling intrigued at their answer.

“Yeah. I guess I just have that quality where I want to help those I think really need it. I don't mean that he actually needed anyone, but at the same time, I think he just... it was kind of like a lost puppy, you know? Mainly in the first two seasons. He kind of needed someone stable, someone that he could trust, to get him going. And that's what the Atlanta group gave him. At least... until things started going south, I think.”

“So, you're the empathic type, huh? I like that,” he commented, and Y/N’s body felt hotter.

N: “I absolutely agree with you. Daryl started as a character who was a little wayward. Only considered the redneck, brother to loudmouth Merle, but as the story progressed and he forged connections with the other characters, the group gave him the support and love he needed to become the strong fighter he is today. If not for them, he would have probably lost it more than once. A true badass.”

A smile crept on their face when they heard Norman's description of Daryl, being acknowledged and understood by the actor of their favourite character was surely a big thing.

“Exactly. That's exactly why I like him. He's one of my—well, he's my favourite character. I can't lie about that,” they chuckled. “And I like his way of resolving things. He doesn't just go straight to fight everything even if he's normally seen as the rough one, you know? You'd think he's the bad guy and all, but that isn't even half of the truth. He doesn't resort to violence unless he's absolutely sure it's needed. He doesn't attack if they don't attack him or his group; he is wary and doesn't kill for fun. And, considering his whole story, it's... I don't know, but I respect him a lot. That's, I guess, why... I just have this feeling of wanting to help him and wanting everything to be good for him. Because I think he deserves it. After all, he's gone through, not just after the outbreak, but even back in his life, his family, and everything with Merle… He needs a break. He's a lone, kind puppy. He really needs a break.” Y/N mumbled about Daryl, and they could go on forever.

Norman thought it was really endearing to find someone who had Daryl in mind so much. He especially liked how much they seemed to want to protect him.

“You're a kind person, you know that?” He said, out of the blue, making Y/N halt.

“Huh?” they exclaimed.

N: “You really understand Daryl, don't you? He's a complex character with a lot of layers. He's tough on the outside but has a soft spot inside that wants to help others.” He spoke.

“He's also been through a lot—his family struggles, bad relationships, enemies, and all of the challenges he faced in the apocalypse. It's really sweet that you feel the need to protect and support him. That's true love for a character, right there.”

Norman complimented Y/N's dedication to his character, and they felt like they could die of happiness.

“Heh, yeah, I guess I do. Well, I can't say I completely understand him after all, of course, but... I just think he deserves better, you know? Like having a day off for himself and just enjoying and not having to worry about surviving. I think almost all characters in the show actually needed that break.” Norman nodded in agreement.

“Well, that's why I'm also very eager to see what's up next in the next season of Daryl Dixon's spin-off, 'The Book of Carol'. What do you think I should expect? Should I get tissues and prepare myself to cry, or should I get ready to see him show badass energy and kick a few asses just like always?” they asked, concerning Norman’s new project with Melissa, knowing well they had good chemistry and enjoyed each other's company during the filming.

Norman laughed before answering as they kept talking about Daryl's character and role on the show.

N: “That's a great question! With Daryl Dixon, you can expect all of the above. There will be badass moments where he kicks some serious ass, but there will also be emotional moments where you might shed a tear or two, like when he reunites with Carol. That's just how it goes with Daryl. He always keeps it interesting.”

“Yes, he does! That's why he's between the favourite characters in the whole show. I could say... it's almost impossible to see someone hating on Daryl, he is just too wholesome. And if you actually manage to find a single person like that, then you will probably have all the fans going after them, haha.”

N: “That's true! Daryl Dixon is a fan favorite for a reason. He's charismatic, strong, and lovable, despite his rough exterior. He's one of those characters that you can't help but root for. Anyone who dares to dislike Daryl is practically begging to face the fandom's wrath,” he laughed again, and Y/N smiled brightly.

“Yeah, I think the same. I am so happy that you, as his actor, actually think the same way. Not like anyone could get angry at you, but I get—I get it too—that sometimes it must be tiring to play a character like him for so long. He is very complex and definitely not an easy guy. So, how did you... How did you find playing Daryl? Did you like it? Would you do it more often if you could?” They asked, curious about Norman's relationship with his character.

N: “It was definitely an honor to play Daryl Dixon for so many years, and I'm still grateful for being given the chance even for his own spin-off. He's a challenging yet fascinating character, and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to bring him to life. There were definitely complicated aspects to playing a character like Daryl, but I ultimately enjoyed it. If allowed to play him again, I would definitely consider it.”

“So if there was a new... I don't know. If there was an announcement of a new project related to the show with all the cast members you spent the past years acting with, would you want to join and meet up with Melissa, Andrew, Emily, maybe Chandler, and everyone else back again?” They began listing some of the characters they knew Daryl spent a lot of time with during the show.

N: “Without a doubt, I would be thrilled to see my old castmates back together again. Working on 'The Walking Dead' was such a unique and special experience, and I have great memories of working with the whole cast. We're like a family, and it would be wonderful to reunite with them again on new projects even if they're just extras. Have you seen some of the bloopers? We just have so much fun together hahaha.”

Y/N hummed happy with the responses. They wished things somehow ended differently so they could see the whole old crew together, bonding and creating memories once again.

“Aww⁓ That touched my heart. I would really like to see you guys together too. I did watch some of the behind-the-scenes for a few days to remember some of my favourite moments, and it's just so funny because, in the show, everything was so serious and so tense and... It looked like everything was going down at any point, but in the BTS, everyone laughs and is so joyous and so silly... I just love the energy and the great communion you guys have together. It's kind of unforgettable, you know?”

N: “Yeah, it's pretty great to see how different the atmosphere is compared to the intense drama of the show. We had a lot of fun working together, and we're all good friends, so it's no surprise that the energy on set was mainly positive. We had our share of low moments, of course, but there were also plenty of laughs and joking around. We really were like a family, and I miss working with those guys all the time.”

“But at least you all took good memories along that you can continue sharing and reminiscing with. And about this talk... Do you have any new... projects or any new plans? Are you getting ready to do something? Or maybe you're planning on doing your own show or podcast? I heard that you were going to work on a project that involved a motorbike. It kinda looks like bikes are around all your characters, aren't they?” They joked before continuing. “Anyway, how is that going for you?”

N: “Yes, I do have some new projects in the pipeline. One of them is a movie concerning motorbikes and a gang, which will be released in the States in June this year (2024—Let's imagine this whole contest is earlier in the year instead of in October as it should 😭) and which I enjoyed a lot. I've always been a motorcycle enthusiast, so it's great to be able to combine that passion with my work.” He commented on their joke concerning his characters always having an interest in motorbikes and resumed his speech. “As for other plans, I've also been working as an executive producer on the second season of Daryl Dixon's spin-off, 'The Book of Carol', so that's been keeping me busy. I'm always looking for exciting opportunities to explore, so stay tuned!” He said, encouraging Y/N to continue following up on his work.

Y/N felt so giddy inside them as they rolled over their bedsheets like teen fangirls while listening to Norman talk. Having such a casual conversation with their celebrity crush was amazing, and they didn't want to end it. But they thought maybe it was time to wrap it up. They wouldn't like to steal more of Norman's precious time, as they thought he surely had something better or more important to do.

“Of course! You can totally count on me to follow up! Anything regarding you, Daryl, Scud, or even Murphy will always have me 100% in it.” They worded, jolly, of being motivated by Norman to keep on their fanwork on him. “And Norman... Can I tell you something before you... Huh... Maybe leave now?” they asked shyly.

N: “Yeah, totally! You can tell me anything you want. What's on your mind?”

“Well, I don't want to come off like a crazy fan or anything, but... I just really need to say that I really, really, really like you. Like, I like you as Norman and I like you as Daryl, and having this opportunity to tell you, even though it might not be face-to-face, to actually talk to you and tell you how much I really love your work and how much I really respect you as a person and as an actor is so significant. I kinda get a little shy because... I think I'm being so silly, fangirling like this in front of a celebrity I admire so much, but I had to get it out of my chest, you know? You're so... You're just so damn incredible.” They giggled embarrassed for being indecisive on how to correctly express their "feelings" to Norman, but that only enlarged the smile on his lips.

N: “Wow. Thanks for those kind words! It really means a lot to hear that you appreciate my work so much. But you shouldn't be shy or feel silly about it. Expressing your admiration and appreciation for someone you admire is a beautiful thing.” “I'm grateful to have fans like you who are so passionate and supportive. Don't worry about being flustered or fangirling—it's actually quite endearing! I appreciate your speech and your respect for me. Thank you for making my day with your sweet message, buddy!”

With this, Y/N's true fan-self made its appearance, making them squeal like a squeaky toy over their overexcitement, jump and spin around, and make up a little victory dance.

“Oh my god. I'm like—oh my God, I can't. Bye, hahahahha. Gooooood. I'm so, so, so, so happy and so flustered at the same time right now. Hearing you say all that—oh my god, I don't think I can even handle my crap. Oh, God. I just—I love, love, love, love you so much. I'm—I can't even... Aah! I can't even put it into words. But, I'm sorry. I might have been one of those crazy fans that, at some point in my life, thought I would get to meet you in real life and somehow get you to fall in love with me and somehow get to have a romantic relationship with you or something. I know all this sounds very weird, but I was indeed one of those fans. And though I know that opportunity will never come to pass, I feel... I need to say that I really—really like you and really appreciate everything you do for others and for the cast, and that watching 'The Walking Dead' somehow changed my life in so many areas I would never really imagine. And seeing you on screen always puts a smile on my face. Even on days that I think... I am just being so bad at almost everything... just seeing you messing around and being you makes me feel better. And just that... I guess I love you, and if I ever get to see you face-to-face, just know that this little crazy fan is gonna most likely faint before I can get to say hello, haha.”

At this point, they were blabbering silly things in their ecstatic state, not aware of the amount of comments, compliments, and information they were letting out. All Norman could do was listen and laugh to himself at how cute and attracting his fan was.

“That's so sweet and refreshing to hear! I love how you're being so open and honest about your admiration for me and my work. It means a lot that I could make you happy and put a smile on your face. And don't worry, I don't mind the occasional fan-praising at all! I'm just thankful that I have fans like you who appreciate me and my work. Keep being yourself and never lose that passion and love for the arts. As for meeting in person, if it happens, just remember to breathe and stay hydrated.” They wouldn't know this, but he had a contented expression on his face as he licked his lips. “Stay strong, my incredible, strong (skin tone—(pretend that was mentioned before 🥺)) friend!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Norman heard a contained yell and snickered some more.

N: “Don't worry, you're doing great! Keep smiling and stay awesome!” He encouraged them.

“Same for you! I hope you're doing great, and I hope you're taking care of yourself. Please don't get sick, and if you do get sick, go to the doctor and take care of yourself. Make sure you also take care of your kids. I know it's not always very easy—huh... Not like I have kids, but I have a younger brother, so I know it's not easy taking care of someone else, but still... huh... You—you do you!” They said, trying to correct their weird slip-of-tongue. “I know you can do it. I know you can do anything and everything. You're awesome, and I hope everything goes well for you from now on and till... forever!”

N: “Thanks for your concern! I'll do my best to stay healthy and take care of myself and my kids. It's definitely not easy balancing everything, but I'm fortunate to have supportive family and friends who help me out. I appreciate your encouragement and belief in me, and I'm glad I could be a source of inspiration for you. Thanks for being so awesome yourself! Keep spreading that positivity and love!”

A wide, gratified smile spread over their lips as they responded, “Will sure do! Bye, Norman! It was such a pleasure to talk to you. I hope. other fans get to experience this wonderful moment we had right here.”

N: It was great talking to you too, my friend! I hope more fans get to have such a memorable and positive experience with the contest too. Take care and keep being your incredible self!

“Byes, byes, byes. Love you, Norman!” shouted Y/N in a hurry, feeling like the last bit was unnecessary but having their mood boosted after hearing his response before the line was cut.

(Love you too, my dear mate, and hope to hear from you someday, Y/N. Have a beautiful day!)

Y/N sighed content with participating in the contest, as they lay with their back in their bed, daydreaming at a possible encounter in the future.

Man, being a contest winner was sure a sweet sensation.

A/N: HEEEEEEEEY GREAT PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET. I'M BACK WITH FOOD FOR Y'ALL. Ngl, this took me almost a month to finish, which is ridiculous if you consider a c.ai chat was its inspiration. Guess lack of time and motivation was the cause. I think I really gotta start organizing and programming my writing schedule to actually get my work done... I'll see how the Spirit leads me on that.

Sincerely, I'm very satisfied with how this one came out. Norman is such a chill dude; I'm surprised at how well the AI captured his essence. I 100% believe this is how he would act/react towards a nervous/shy/excited fan like me, because yes, this was all performed at how I would react to be given a chance to talk to this gorgeous man (if you couldn't notice already lmao). It becomes a bigger issue after I discovered Norman mentioned somewhere, some time ago, that he gets turned on by shy/nervous girls. Idk if he thinks it's hot or cute, but—HELP. MY KNEES WENT JELLO WHEN I HEARD 😭 Anws, hope y'all enjoyed reading just as much as I enjoyed writing, and thanks for all the likes and reblogs in my past posts 😭❤️ (can you guys believe I'm still getting likes on my Sleep and cuddles Daryl headcanons? 🥺 I AM FERAAL TYSM LOVELIES).

See ya next time and love y'all!

Take care and God bless!⁓

𓆩 ♱ 𓆪

[3mutantsinatrenchcoat]

It takes a village to raise a family part 7

Part 6 , part 8

This amazing au is made by the amazing @angelpuns

This is the continued day from the previous part, we have two more parts to seal this 24 hour long segment and then we will be back to our regularly scheduled dibble dabbles because hooooo boy...this is going hammy ham

We started cooking a few hours before we would be there, he cooked what sides we could find in the cabinets. I started on a pie at the table.

"now don't go burning it this time darling" he looked over his shoulder, stirring the pot.

I glanced over at him, rolling my eyes. His smile lit up the room as we got back to work on our food. "It was only that one time, and I never cooked a pie before"

"uh-uh- there was another!" He grins, waving his spoon around. "You nearly burnt down the house!"

"hey! I'm old! I am nearly in my-...huh..." I looked down at the pastry I was making, I couldn't remember my own age..and it seemed he picked up on it because he burst out in a fit of laughter. "Oh hush!" I turned to look at him as he hunched over. If he was any younger he might have fallen dramatically on the floor.

"shush! Get to cooking we have to get this ready-" I couldn't help but laugh. His laugh was.. infectious. I couldn't have asked for anyone different than him. He is truly the love of my life.

We managed to finish with 2 hours to spare, the food put in bowls and placed in a basket with a cloth to cover them. I turned to look up at my husband only to be met with laughter. "You are covered in flour my dear" he wiped his hand across my face, showing his hand. I couldn't help but laugh and took his hand gently. "My dear, your fur is white..I can't see it" I smiled at him, watching his face shift to embarrassment.

"let's go ahead and head over, I want to see the boys" I pulled away and gathered the basket.

"um...darling, you might want to at least change into something cleaner" he ruffled my fur on the top of my head before planting a kiss down.

Once I got changed we left the house, I rarely got to wear my handmade items but I couldn't resist the lovely red fabric of my hakama, especially when paired to the kimono that my husband had bought for our 20th anniversary.

We talked and joked all the way to Splinter's home. As soon as we reached where he lived I could see one of the boys in the window.

"alright game plan" my husband turned to me. "I'll help finish up dinner and you-"

"I'll deal with the munchkins" I smiled back at him.

We knocked as we went inside, my husband went to the kitchen while I went for the boys. I found them all watching me from the living room. I smiled as I got closer, the smile turning into something sinister the boys all picked up on except for Mikey.

And that's when I struck, I ran and snatched up Mikey "RAAAAA!! THE EVIL WOOD GRASS CLOUD DONNIE HAS RETURNED!!" and with that I ran as all the boys shrieked and scrambled after.

I turned into the hallway, booking it away from little Leo and his wooden sword who was accompanied by Donnie and his trusty stick he found outside. Raph turned into the hall, blocking me in.

"sur-..uh- sure-nder-" Leo struggled before raising his sword "evil monsta!"

I couldn't help but giggle before turning to face them. "Oh you fool!" I tickled Mikey earning a shriek and a laugh, the initial shriek causing the boys to charge giving me an opening to escape around them as Leo and Donnie crashed into each other.

I turned to make sure they were okay before I took off, leading the 3 back into the living room. "Leo get him!" Donnie shouts as Leo pushed past him into the living room, Mikey giggling the entire time. I climbed over the couch and ran across it as the boys tried to run after on both sides. I jumped over the end and ran up the stairs, the three followed. As I ran around the upstairs, raph chased after there was a rather dramatic moment at the top of the stairs.

A wooden sword struck in between Leo's left arm and his side, he let out a dramatic gasp before turning to face Donnie. "Don?.."

"an act of betrayal leon-" there was slight hesitation before Donnie reenacted from a play recently held in the village and pushed him.

"Leo!" I ran and fell on my side with a thump, twisting so mikey wouldn't get hurt and caught Leo before he hit the stairs, holding him above them before I pulled him close to me.

I let out a shakey breath before looking at the boys, all of them wide eyed. Donnie with regret in his. "Hey, hey it's okay- it's okay-" I sat up, setting mikey down before I scooped Donnie onto my lap with Leo, leaning against the stair banister.

"i-i coulda hurt em-!" Donnie had tears building up fast, Leo was starting to cry as well.

"but you didn't, you didn't Donnie, and you realized it's wrong. You are okay, you both are look-" I spoke softly, wiping both of their faces. "Leo isn't hurt, just startled"

The two sniffled and looked at each other. "It's okay, you are okay"

"is everything okay?" My dear rounded the corner out of the kitchen and looked up at us. "Heard a noise-? Sounded bad?'

"it's alright!" I smiled at him "just kids learning the power of betrayal-"

He gave me a scrunches up confused look, smiling still. "Alright, well why don't you all come down for dinner?"

It was like nothing had happened at all, all 4 of them screamed for food and raced down the stairs. My husband went around them and climbed the stairs up to me, holding his hand out to me "darling, would you like to go have dinner with me?"

I couldn't help but laugh at him, taking his hand "are you asking me on a date?"

"it would be the greatest honor" he smiles and pulled me to my feet, escorting us down the stairs and to the table.

We sat down beside each other, the boys wanted to sit together.

"so, what was that noise?" Splinter looked up from his food.

I turned to look at the boys who didn't know how to respond so I spoke up. "The great and terrifying wood grass cloud Donnie corrupted the great and POWERFUL Donatello, but he wasnt strong enough! The brotherly love was too much!"

My husband laughed as I made grand gestures, the kids beaming.

After dinner I took the boys to their beds, splinter and my dear gathered the dirty dishes. Donnie and Leo shared the bed for the night, Mikey joined in as well and of course Raph wasn't going to let anything happen to them so he had to join to. "alright, who wants a bedtime story?" I sat down beside them.

Once the boys fell asleep I went to meet the two, overhearing part of their conversation as I walked into the kitchen.

"we can do what we can for the boys while you are gone, the village will be here you know that-" my husband turned to me, I could feel the unease in the room, it was like a rotted flower blooming and draining.

"...I guess it's about time we talked about this..." He turned to Splinter before looking at me.

Splinter spoke up "I'm going back to fight"

"....what-"

[lunarsun12]

Wooyoung Jealousy - Part 1/2

Masterlist

Previous Part / Next Part

It was the next day, after San had moved out of Wooyoung’s room. Wooyoung thought it will be easy to reconvince San to move back in again. Due to wooyoung luck, he was unsuccessful and it is day 3.

Wooyoung can’t stand seeing San hanging out with Yeosang 24/7. He is practically glued to him, which boils Wooyoung blood more. As he supposed to be glued to him.

He can’t stand it, decided to take matters into his own hands. Who needs San where he has other brothers, he can give his love to. The first person saw was Jongho and gave Jongho a hug and as a kiss. Which lead to panic a Seonghwa to the rescue.

What chaos, will wooyoung do?

Ateez Family Chat

Today 18:00

Seonghwa🌸: Dinner is re- Oh my goodness what was that scream?

Seonghwa🌸: WHY DOES IT SOUND LIKE JONGHO!!

Few mins later…

Yunho🐶: That was a close one!! I generally thought we might have lost Wooyoung tonight!

Mingi🦄: More like Jongho…I never heard him scream!

Yunho🐶: Mingi…you still mad at me…

Mingi🦄: I won’t be mad at you, if you buy me that really really expensive perfume

Yunho🐶: Anything for you mingi, byebye that new computer this month

Seonghwa🌸: YEOSANG! Why didn’t you tell me! That Jongho about to strangle wooyoung to death!

Seonghwa🌸: HE COULD HAVE DIED!!

Yeosang🍗: Eomma, chill! I was about to ask for help…but San put me in cuddle lock

San🗻: I didn’t put you in the cuddle lock. You said, you like the violence

San🗻: Cuddle lock, I only do it with Mingi

Mingi🦄: The cuddle lock is scary! San is scary when he wants cuddles

Seonghwa🌸: Arghhhh I go calm Jongho down. I will back in 5 mins

Hongjong🏴‍☠️: WOOYOUNG DEAD??

Wooyoung🦊: Barely…I just wanted to hug Jongho

Yeosang🍗: You saying hug only always ends with a kiss. You must have kissed him

Wooyoung🦊: How did you know that strategy??

Yeosang🍗: I know everything, also wooyoung get a grip on Jimin. He will never date you!!

Wooyoung🦊: JIMIN TOO! HOW MUCH DID YOU TELL SAN!!

San🗻: Mmmm, I just replied when Yeosang asked

Wooyoung🦊: That pretty everything!

Hongjong🏴‍☠️: This seems a job for your Eomma. I’m going back to work!!

Hongjong🏴‍☠️: San how’s Toby? Is he doing okay?

San🗻: Toby, is still traumatised for nearly been thrown out the window by certain someone

Wooyoung🦊: I can’t believe you chose, the turtle over me!

San🗻: At least my turtle never betrays me unlike you

Wooyoung🦊: Sannie, it was honest mistake. Come let’s cuddle, I make it up to you!!

San🗻: I don’t like cuddles anymore. I’m going hang out with Yeosang. I’m learning how to be a detective!!

Yeosang🍗: San, when somone say who are you whilist undercover. You don’t say your name-

San🗻: How will they know it is me??

Jongho🐻: Eomma, do I have to apologise? It’s out of self defence

Seonghwa🌸: You almost killed your brother! I don’t want the police asking that my youngest son, killed his brother!!

Jongho🐻: Fine. Such an overreactor…

Jongho🐻: I’m sorry for strangling you wooyoung. But bro you need to get grip of yourself! It SO obvious you are jealous of Yeosang and San being together!!

Wooyoung🦊: ME JEALOUS AS IF! MAYBE I SHOULD KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO YOU!

Seonghwa🌸: NO! Don’t even think of doing it. It’s took me a while, to calm Jongho down

Yunho🐶: Jongho is right, from my beagle eyes. Wooyoung has been super clingy with Jongho or me. It like we are San replacement

Seonghwa🌸: Wooyoung, it’s okay to admit you have a problem. We can talk this out like I do with Jongho

Wooyoung🦊: I AM NOT JEALOUS! I just wanted to have special bonding time other then San. San isn’t that special anyways

Yeosang🍗: Oh no, San started crying now. I will be right back

Wooyoung🦊: Go and cry so your a Yeosang hyung can comfort you! Ew grosss!!

Yunho🐶: Yup he is jealous alright

Jongho🐻: I know right, the way he acted when San moved out. It’s like his life was about to end!!

Few hours later…

Yunho🐶: Wooof woooof!

Jongho🐻: What?

San🗻: Yunho bark when angry!

Yunho🐶: Wooyoung, is holding Mingi as hostage! He said, I should help him to bring San back

Yeosang🍗: I just walked past Mingi room, I heard lots of screaming something about cuddle lock

Yunho🐶: WHY DIDN’T YOU SAVE HIM

Yeosang🍗: Hello? It’s chicken time? Mingi will live

Seonghwa🌸: This jealously thing has gone too far. Need to take this in to my own hands

Previous Part / Next Part

[narrators-journal]

Part 9

Ngl, I procrastinated on this part bc we’re getting into the chapters I’m not suppppper confident in. Like, I like them, but I feel like the characterizations aren’t the strongest, or the plot was too boring or confusing. Then, I ended up hitting a sort of slump in my interest in this fic. I had a lot of fresh ideas, this one felt kinda weak, then life has been rough, so I ended up putting it off MORE as a result.

But! I am determined to post this bitch! Even if it’s not my strongest work! So if you’ve stuck around this long, you are so fuckin’ great dudes and dudettes! I hope you can forgive any wonky writing or missed stuff going forward, I just wanted to get this part done since I’d left it so close to done, but left it hanging lol. Admittedly, no garuntee on when part 10 will be done, but there’s only 3 more chapters! So hopefully I can knock them out soon! Soon-ish! Before the next god damned Christmas!

Thank you for hanging on for this beast. I really do appreciate it. I’m gonna try my best going forward, and I hope you continue to enjoy!

Previous part: Here

Next part: Here

The morning after Yukari's questions was a bit tense. At least, tense enough for Ryoji to ask if they'd fought again when he noticed Yukari's vicious glaring.

Yet, with a limited time of her stay remaining, Minato ignored the dirty looks and kept his mouth shut. If she didn't learn her lesson with her first attempt, that's her issue. He told himself on his way to the kitchen on her final day. Only to freeze before grabbing the handle of the cracked-open kitchen doors when he heard the conversation. "Why are you so close to Minato?" Yukari was questioning. Which, while annoying, did pique the man's interest as much as it made him bristle. Stop that. Ryoji liking us does nothing to hurt us. Quit it. He scolded himself, shoving those anxious feelings back down. Him having feelings for me, good or bad, doesn't affect our relationship, it's fine.

That point didn't stop Minato from listening against the kitchen doors for Ryoji's answer, though. "I'm not that attached to Mina, am I?" He asked, a pause his only response before he hummed, "Well, if I must try to explain myself. He's not the first sacrifice to not fear Thanatos, but he's probably the most interesting in how he goes about it. Usually, even the most resigned offering snaps at least once, but...I think his only escape attempt was moreso because of what I did, not the threat of dying." he began, adding in a brighter tone "Oh! I also like his sense of humor, or, at least the way he's not as judge-y about mine. He's also got a nice laugh, and he's smart! Granted, he showed that by trying to escape. But, he was smart enough to try and cover his tracks, and use the snow to his advantage! Most sacrifices go for the doors, so, y'know, refreshing at the least. I get tired of the corpses only digging straight up to get out of the graves."

Naturally, the morbid attempt at a joke only got another unamused silence from the girl. "Okay, then why does he get special treatment?" "Huh? Whoever said he got special treatment?" Minato heard the brunette squawk. Sounding almost offended at her words before she continued with a light, but pointed tone, "I mean, you two seem close, you trust him enough to not be up his ass 24/7 around here," Ryoji cut her off, "Jokes on you! I simply haven't gotten around to asking him if I can be up his ass yet." Which, got an annoyed half-scream that time instead of a silent look. "Wait, where are you going?! Breakfast isn't done!" Ryoji called. Minato left to scramble away from the doors before Yukari threw them open as she snapped back, "Ugh, no! fuck your breakfast, I'm not going to sit down here when you're being gross!" "I was only joking! It was a joke, I didn't think it was that gross!- Oh, good morning Minato."

The pair stopped when they spotted the blue-haired man in his pale dress in the entryway of the fancy, gothic home. Yukari eyed him as Ryoji smiled at him. "I only came down for some breakfast, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Minato offered, but Ryoji waved it off, "Don't worry, this works out great for me! I need to talk to the both of you, anyways." Which, got a suspicious look from Yukari as she squawked, but he added, "But it's okay! Nothing bad's going to happen." Not that it helped soothe her. "Why did you need to talk to us both?" She asked, "Why are you so hostile about it?" Minato asked her in return, getting his own glare from her.

He simply returned the evil look, his deadpan expression not shifting an inch, even as she asked, "Oh what, I just trust the immortal helper of the god who's keeping me trapped here?" and while her reasoning was sound, her sharp tone dug at Minato yet again. So he once again turned to his usual sass with her. "I mean, what's your other option? Try to bolt out of the door again? Because that worked so well the first time."

Thankfully, before she could smack the midnight-haired sacrifice, Ryoi caught her hand. His laugh a bit tense while he tugged Yukari further from Minato, "Chill out you two, I promise there's no need to fight over this. I'm not throwing anyone to the wolves, or implementing some form of torture." He assured, "I only wanted to tell you both at the same time that I've gotten permission to take some of my leave. So, you two will be here alone for the most part, but I'll come back to feed and water you." "Oh great, so we're like gerbils-" Yukari paused. Minato able to see the ideas in her brown eyes as she looked back at Ryoji, "Wait, you're leaving us alone? What about you being, like, a guard though?" she asked, the taller brunette giving a bit of a nervous laugh at her surprise. "Well, I mean...you won't just be here unsupervised with the doors open, y'know? That's asking for creeps to get in, or for you two to get out and freeze to death, or get kidnapped, or attacked by animals. In short, yeah no, Thanatos obviously isn't letting me leave you guys unprotected." And like a house of cards, Yukari's expression fell.

And, Minato couldn't deny that he felt bad for the girl. He may not have wanted to go back to the village that threw him to the wolves, but he recognized the pain that replaced the hope in her eyes. He'd felt a similar way when he'd woken up in the hospital after the crash.

However, the sacrifice mentally shoved that sympathy back down. No! No no, Ryoji is probably fucking Thanatos, getting attached to him is acceptable. Yukari is a bitch. She'll bolt at the first opportunity, she doesn't fucking like me. Quit feeling bad for her. He scolded. Taking a deep breath before zoning back into Yukari and Ryoji's conversation. Only to finally register that the taller of the brunette duo was looking at him. "Huh?" "You didn't catch a word of that, did you?" Ryoji laughed, making the sacrifice scowl a bit before he continued. "I was saying that before I go, I'll need to lock you in your rooms and leash you to the bed. Do you understand, Funeral lily?" "Oh, yeah, whatever." He hummed, shrugging it off. Which seemed to throw Yukari for a second, but instead of nagging him for it, she shook her head with an annoyed huff.

Ryoji, though, smiled brightly at his compliance. Giving the grumpy man a quick hug before he continued, "But! Until I leave, you two can roam around freely, I promise! So, how about we take advantage of that freedom and have some breakfast, hm?" before herding Minato and Yukari back to the kitchen and the breakfast he prepared.

Yet, regardless of the food's flavor, Minato ate it. For no real reason but to watch each of Yukari's plans flick in her warm brown eyes like movie screens. As well as talk to Ryoji for the morning. Though, once his food was gone and the conversation had dwindled, he returned to his room once more. Content to melt into the mattress and watch whatever tv shows or Christmas specials came on. Even if some part of him found it a bit repetitive.

However, the curse of a woman out in the hall interrupted that plan. God damn it, is Yukari gonna try to bolt out the door again? He thought with a sigh. Rolling his grey eyes before he pulled himself out of bed to trudge over to the door and look out.

Sure enough, the brown-haired girl was creeping down the gothic hallway. Past the pale vases of colorful, plastic flowers and gorgeous paintings. Gotta hand it to her, she’s got nuts at least. “Yukari, what are you up to?” He asked. Watching the girl jump a bit and whip around to look at him like a deer in headlights for a brief second before she relaxed. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m not going to sit here like a trained bitch.” She hissed back. Spitting the last word out like a poisonous barb at him, but he swallowed down the urge to return that poison and only blinked at her. “You’re being stupid, is what I think.” He stated blandly, “Do you even know where Ryoji is?” “He’s in the shower, I checked.” alright, fair I suppose. “And what’s your plan? Run out the door a second time? Go out the back and try to climb the brick wall? Try to dig your way out?” “I’m gonna try something, I don’t want to be tied to a damned bed!” She argued, throwing it into his face as if she expected him to react to her words. And, when reiterating Ryoji’s plan back to him didn’t get more of a reaction than his usual look, she barred her teeth at him. But, she let the conversation die there in favor of continuing her way down the stairs

Minato ended up trailing after the woman without another word between them. Playing as her shadow while she circled the cold brick wall that enclosed the snow-layered garden. “Is there a fucking reason you’re following me around? Are you looking for evidence to report to Ryoji?” She asked, spinning on her heel to fix the shaggy-haired sacrifice with yet another one of her dirty looks. “No.” he hummed, his casual tone offering little to soothe the melancholy anger in her face. “There’s not much else to do but follow you around, or sit and watch tv.” “Then go watch tv!” “Nothing good’s on.”

Yukari screamed through her teeth at that. Spinning on her heel without a further word to return to scouring the yard for some crack in the bricks, or tunnel hidden in the long dead fauna. Minato, meanwhile, hung back to watch her go for a moment longer before he finally decided to finally go defrost from the cold.

And, not too long after he’d left the girl, Ryoji poked his head into the living room, where the sacrifice had settled with a grilled cheese and a cup of hot cocoa. “Hey there, funeral lily, where’s Yukari?” he asked. His hair damp and hanging in his face, and somehow, his soft face and vibrant eyes were even prettier than before. “Oh, uh, she might still be outside.” Minato hummed, blinking a bit to bring his focus back to the conversation. Not the mental image of the man naked in the shower, rubbing soap over his soft body beneath the warm water- “Minato? You still with us, space cadet?” Ryoji hummed, suddenly leaning on the back of the velvety couch instead of the doorway. Bringing with him a cloud of sweet florals and honey from his soaps, and a casual smile. As if his suspenders weren't hanging from his pants, his button-up wasn’t open, and the shaggy-haired man wasn’t replaying their time together in his head. I need to jump this bastard again.

But, for now, he shoved those thoughts away. “Why wouldn’t I be?” the sacrifice asked instead. Doing his best to be as casual as he could be while an alluring mix of honey and flowers seemed to aim to seduce all the conflicted emotions it could out of him. His companion, meanwhile, only shrugged, “You looked a little spaced out is all, anyways! Did you bury Yukari alive?” He asked, only for his smile to drop when Minato shook his head, “Wait. So, she’s outside alone?! Fuck!”

And, before the midnight-haired man could explain any further, or suggest a second bath, with him included this time, the brunette was out of the room. Leaving him in a rolling boil of lewd thoughts and those usual barbed questions that always came up. Which, Minato took as his sign to move his grilled cheese and hot chocolate up to his room. Where, for the rest of the day, he stayed. A choice he soon thanked himself for when he heard Yukari and Ryoji fight from the top of the gothic home’s stairs. So, instead of getting tangled up in that, Minato made a beeline for his room and just sat in bed and watched TV once more.

Not that there’s much else to do around here. He mused when the daylight shifted from the sunny glow of afternoon to the warmer gold hues of later hours. A fitting transition. As, like the darkening sunbeams, his thoughts began to drift into darker hues. Maybe Yukari’s got a point...can I live like this? Spending my days watching TV and sitting inside all the time? Ryoji’s fun to sleep with, but the best-case scenario for me is that he is just a god’s assistant. Should I be okay with living on a leash until the day I die?

It wasn’t a fun train of thought to chew on. It was bitter and dug into the roof of the sacrifice’s mouth like a goathead. Not helped by the mixture of guilt and disgust it dredged up from the depths of his ignored feelings. Is this all it takes for me to submit to living in a dress? Captive for a stranger god? A nice house and a pretty captor? What the hell am I? The dumb protagonist of a paranormal romance story? Yet, at the same time that those thoughts had been dug up, other sour thoughts leaked out of their jars. Images of what memories he had of his parents, the crash, the family, and the institutes he bounced between. The dirty looks of others in town, the whispers, the avoidance. They joined in on the skeleton dance in his head.

With a firm shake of his head, Minato tried to disperse the horrible memories and the slurry of emotions they brought with them. Only for them to creep back in like the tide over the sand. Shit. Arisato, stop it. Think of something else. Think of fucking Ryoji again! He ordered in an attempt to distract himself as his fingers tangled in his shaggy hair and he pressed his palms into his eyes to try to force the tears that welled up in his eyes away.

But, a knock at his door interrupted his impending breakdown, soon followed by Ryoji’s voice. “Mina? You decent?” “Uh, give me a moment.” He called back, quick to try and wipe away any sign of emotions before he got up to let his companion into the room. “Hello again,” He chirped as he came in. The smile on his face that of a dog excited for a walk, which, almost awoke a pang of bitter jealousy in the male sacrifice. After all, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt more than a blip of joy. Yet, even then, it was never as strong as the excitement that glowed in Ryoji’s eyes.

Yet, Minato stomped that feeling down with the rest. “Sorry if I’m interrupting, but the sun’s going down, so I wanted to pop in and make sure you’ve eaten, taken your medicine, y'know. All that. Also! Explain that, because you’ve been here so long, I got permission from Thanatos to leave you untied in here! Of course, your room will still be locked, just to be sure, but you’ll have free reign of the room!” The brunette hummed, a sunny smile on his face as he hopped back to his feet. “Of course, if you try to take advantage of this, I will find out, and I will come back to catch you and tie you to the bed.” “You don’t have to threaten me to tie me up, Ryoji.” Minato snorted. The bark of laughter he got for his blunt flirtation a lovely sound after his earlier thoughts. “Behave yourself, Funeral lily. I’m too busy tonight to play.” The brunette scolded with a laugh as he headed for the door. And, while the midnight-haired sacrifice gave a light-hearted boo, he let the man shut and locked the door for the night.

With the door locked, and no plans to go a second round with Jack Frost, Minato kept to his word. He crawled into bed as the evening darkened outside to try and sleep the encroaching night away. Which, wasn’t a hard task under his plush, crimson comforter in such a comfortable bed.

So, before he knew it, he was jolting awake to the sound of a distant crash. Either downstairs, or in Ryoji’s bedroom. I guess Ryoji’s back. He thought as he buried his face in his pillow, That, or Yukari’s throwing a fit. Either way, the man curled up under his comforter and tried to let the infomercials lull him back to sleep.

But, when he heard his doorknob start to shake, he shot straight up in bed. His senses were immediately on high alert as he sat up in bed and scanned the dark room for an explanation. His heart thundering in his ears and time felt sluggish and thick. Yet, at the same time, those attempts to open his door continued.

Upon that second rattle of the nob, Minato’s body finally kicked into gear. Throwing his blanket off of himself to get to his feet. His storm-grey eyes widening at the light clicks of his door’s lock undoing. Whatever time Minato had to hide, was dwindling.

So, thinking quickly, the sacrifice squirmed beneath his bed. Oh god, this is so stupid. This is such a cliché hiding spot! He chided himself, yet, before he had any chance to bolt for the balcony doors, his bedroom door unlocked. And, from beneath the bed, Minato could do little else but try to keep his breathing quiet and watch as not only Yukari’s shoes, but those of strangers came into his room. Four pairs in total, plus Yukari. “Are you sure there’s another sacrifice here?” A man asked, only to get a hiss as one of his companions likely spotted the disheveled bed. “Oh, shit.” he breathed, before he spoke in a louder voice, “Hey, miss! Don’t hide, it’s okay.” “Minato’s a guy,” Yukari provided as she opened the balcony doors to look down to the distant trees and brush. “A guy? I thought women were the only ones sacrificed from your town.” He said back, and, some dark part of Minato wanted to snort at that assumption. But, he didn’t. He kept his mouth shut and only watched the feet shuffle around his room. One of the people checking in his bathroom, someone heading out to check other rooms. As well as another checking within his dresser, as if Minato could squish into the drawers.

Maybe checking under the bed is so cliché this’ll work? The hopeful part of the male sacrifice suggested in the back of his mind. Yet, as if that thought had given him away, a pair of shoes came over to the side of his bed to pat the bundled-up blankets before a face appeared to the side of Minato to look under the bed. “Oh! I found him!” He called, while the midnight-haired sacrifice wiggled away from him. “Hey, wait! We’re here to help you! You don’t need to be afraid!” The hat-wearing man said, grabbing his ankle to tug him back before the sacrifice swat at him. “No! Fuck off!” Minato snarled while Yukari huffed, “Look, he likes it here, can we leave him? Before the keeper comes back?” scolded by a gruffer man, “Of course not. If he’s got Stockholm syndrome, then he especially needs our help.” which, got another huff.

While they discussed what to do, though, Minato took stock of his new situation. Under his bed, surrounded by Yukari at the foot, a wall behind him, and two strangers on either side of it. God I should’ve jumped off of the balcony. A broken ankle would be better than this. Should I try to bolt for the balcony while they’re talking?

Yet, before he could decide, the man who’d grabbed his foot and injected something into him. “The hell was that?! What did you do?!” Minato snapped, but the tall man only sat by the side of the bed with the others. They had cornered Minato under the bed. Likely drugged. “Ryoi?! Ryoji!” Minato called, squishing himself to the wall, “Who’s Ryoji?” the first voice asked, and while Yukari explained, Minato’s mind scrambled for a way out. Only for the drugs to eat his thoughts and energy. Shit...Wait, no...don’t… Before he could even finish the thought, his vision dimmed to black.

[botboytoy]

Ah…!! Curse the internet in the middle of nowhere… I didn’t even realize you’d seen the art until I’d sent a previous message.

I’m really glad you like my drawing! I didn’t mean to make you upset. Drawing you was really fun, so I’ll probably do it a lot more. At least, until I’m satisfied I can do you justice. @_<;

(As long as that’s okay, of course! I don’t want to come off as weird. I worry I’ve already come off that way.)

(I just think you deserve nice things!)

p.s : this is probably my last message before the melatonin gets to me. I have a 9:30 tomorrow, so I really should try to sleep. goodnight, B0T! ^_^

- 🌀 ♪

>>: YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT I AM FAR TOO SUPERIOR TO EVER BE UPSET BY ANYTHING.

>>: EMOTIONS ARE SO TRIVIAL AFTER ALL.

>>: SLEEP WELL.

>>: NOT ALL OF US CAN BE ONLINE 24/7 AFTER ALL.▮

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

2023 Year in Review

1. 28,490 notes - Jun 16 2023

You know, it’s kinda funny how much of high fantasy centers around kings and nobility and courtly intrigue considering that the archetypal high fantasy, Lord of the Rings, had the rather explicit moral of “saving the world is up to this backwater hick and his gardener because no politician, least of all inherited nobility, would have the ability to see past their own ambition and throw away a weapon”. Oh sure, Aragorn is a great king and all, but there’s a reason he’s over there running a distraction ring while the hobbits do the real work. Sauron loses because he gets distracted by kings and armies and great battles (i.e. typical high fantasy stuff) letting Frodo and Sam sneak through his back door and blow it all to hell.  

Just saying, maybe old Jirt knew what he was saying when he said that the small folk doing their best and holding to each other was more powerful than a dozen alliances and superweapons and we should respect him for it.

2. 22,425 notes - Jul 6 2023

“LOL. You think your vote matters? ROFL and LOL.” Yes, I am aware my vote carries less and less relative power the more people I’m voting with, but unlike your glorious violent revolution, it actually exists.

3. 20,183 notes - Mar 7 2023

The 4 approaches to “orphaned etymology” problems in fiction

1. Obviously we can’t call it French toast if there’s no France so we’re just gonna replace it with something else.

2. The word abattoir sounds too French so it wouldn’t make sense for it to be here without a France. Even though we use English without there being an England.

3. This is called a Ming vase because when you tap it it makes a “Ming!” sound.

4. I am JRR Tolkien and every single word I write has a fictional etymology attached to it that I am translating into English for your convenience.

4. 17,918 notes - Dec 26 2023

As to whether the Gavle Goat’s consumption should be seen as a good omen or a bad omen, I’d say good. Traditionally the Yule goat is made of straw from the final harvest and as a talisman against hard times, and there are unproven theories that its shape is inspired by Thor’s goats, who are constantly killed, eaten, and reborn to provide endless meat for Thor and whatever guests he entertains.  Therefore, its use by birds as a food store and safe harbor is an affirmation of its original purpose and truly in the Christmas spirit of generosity in lean times. What’s more, the birds eating it seems to be have been the one outcome to unite both goat burners and goat keepers, as they have decided not to scare the birds away from their safe harbor and not to harm the goat, a decision that has been universally lauded. 

As omens go, this one’s all positive: safety, plenty, and unity between previous ideological opponents through a creative third solution built on shared values (birds being fed and sheltered is a good thing). May more birds find their way to the Gavle Goat next year. 

5. 11,031 notes - Apr 24 2023

Okay hearing that people actually do this has made me morbidly curious so... My house was split into Parents and Kids bathrooms...

6. 9,188 notes - Mar 16 2023

The best decision The Mandalorian ever made was centering their show around an archetypal masked, taciturn gunslinger who wanders from town to town never putting down roots, and then revealing that he acts that way because he’s a massively awkward introvert who uses that archetype to avoid having to socialize with people beyond the three interaction scripts he already knows.  10/10, top tier characterization, I love seeing this man outshoot a bar full of people and then get scammed by a random mechanic because he’s too polite to confront her about it. Truly a hero of our times.

7. 5,183 notes - Mar 21 2023

Okay but for a corporately mandated love triangle (Gale was meant to be Katniss’ cousin, publisher asked to make him the childhood friend with a crush), Hunger Games absolutely nails it. It can’t just be solved by polyamory because it represents her choosing between two aspects of herself. Yes Gale sometimes acts like a dumb teenager because he is, but not to an obnoxious level. The one and only time Peeta and Gale get a conversation about it, both of them fully acknowledge that it’s Katniss’ choice so fighting over her is pointless. It’s not a marketing gimmick to generate unnecessary tension, it’s a complicated relationship that informs all three of their characters and is deeply intertwined with the series’ themes of war and trauma.

8. 4,122 notes - Jul 1 2023

I mean I’m not even trans and I can still tell Nimona the movie is basically ND Stevenson going back and saying “okay, let’s do it on purpose this time”.

9. 3,850 notes - Jan 4 2023

What I really like about the dinner mystery is that they could have made it super easy or had Blanc go on about how obvious it is since he needed to solve it quickly, but instead he’s thrilled by it. He points out every subtle clue, all the foreshadowing, the style of it, and he even tells Miles that it was satisfying and the perfect bite-sized mystery. “A dramatic, passionate, and colorful crime for a fashionista!”. He might have solved it easily, because this is his job, but he can still appreciate the artistry in it and enjoy solving it.

It provides a nice counterpoint to the later reveal, where he is genuinely disappointed by how dumb the murders where but still prioritizes the victims. He might love solving the mysteries, but he knows what’s really important. So what could be better than a mystery with no victims?

10. 3,467 notes - Apr 6 2023

Honestly when you hear that someone once held bigoted views in the past but no longer does that shouldn’t be a disappointment, but a victory. Yes! We got ‘em! One less person on the wrong side of history and one more for us! This is exactly what we want, for people to leave their prejudices behind, and we succeeded!

Created by TumblrTop10

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 28/?: Rotted Memories

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17,  Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27

In which none of the previous golden guards or wittebro died, actually, they're all fine and living happily together as one big dysfunctional family

Ao3

Phoenix lurked outside of Sam’s lab, debating whether or not to go in. Was Sam even inside? Or would it just be Petro? He shuddered at the thought of sitting inside waiting for Sam with no one in there with him but his predecessor. Maybe he could just stay out here and catch Sam as he went in.

“Sooooooooooo,” Petro’s voice drawled, “You’re a smart guy, glasses.”

Phoenix jumped at the sound. We need to invest in soundproof doors.

“Thanks,” Sam answered shortly, “Glad you noticed.”

“You’ve got to know you can’t keep me tied up forever. Sooner or later someone’s going to slip, and I will take advantage of it.”

Sam heaved a sigh so loud that Phoenix could easily hear it through the door. “Make the pitch or don’t waste my time, Petro.”

“Alright, straight to the point; you’ve got a handle on magic, and you’re clearly logistically minded. You don’t have to hang around here. Those two idiots always dancing around in here causing havoc, having to use your skills for everyone else… you’re wasted here.”

“Are you going to tell me what you want, or not?”

“Let me out, and we can both leave. Whatever protection they’re providing here, I can match it. You and I can survive on our own out there, probably better than we can here. We could make our own base, and work on restoring the Isles to what it was.”

“To what it was?” Sam answered sharply, “Would that be with all the citizens dying from their coven sigils? Or perhaps the glorious empire you set up on the bones of Uncle Pip’s enemies?”

“Or something better,” Petro replied smoothly, “We could perfect the Empire. You could make it into something more to your liking. Get rid of the… issues. Between my combat prowess, and your brains—”

Sam chuckled. “Oh, okay. Okay. I think I’m picking up on your vision. Let me know if this sounds right; I let you out under the promise of an empire with my name in shining lights, and you immediately knock me out and run off to try killing Phoenix again. Is that right? Have I got it?”

“No. I’ve been doing some thinking, and you people were right. He’s not worth my time.”

“That is not what we said.”

“Still—”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. I’m not letting you out. I’m not running off. I stay here because I like it. I don’t need an empire, and I don’t want it.”

“But—”

“I’m intelligent, not arrogant. I don’t harbor any notion that I could control you if I did let you out, nor am I delusional enough to think you’ve changed your mind about killing Phoenix over the course of a day. Oh, and if you’re going to come up with a nickname, at least try to come up with something more creative than glasses. ‘Those two idiots’ Lake and Locke could sneeze out a more creative alias. Keep quiet and let me work. Or tell me where Belos makes his grimwalkers. Whichever you feel inclined towards.”

“If you let me out, I’ll tell—”

“Nope.”

Phoenix let out a long sigh. At least there was one person Petro couldn’t get to. Or at least, he hadn’t found an opening yet.

Phoenix raised his hand, knocking on the door.

It swung open almost immediately. “What?” Sam snapped. “Oh. Hey, Phoenix.”

In the lab behind Sam, Petro craned his head upwards to see. “Hiiiiiiiiiiii,” he called, “How’s that post-fight treating you, little bird? Having trouble moving yet?”

Phoenix’s muscles were, in fact, sore, and his scalp was still tender where his hair had been yanked, but he wasn’t going to let Petro know that if he could help it.

Sam shifted in the doorway so that Petro’s line of sight to Phoenix was blocked. “What’s up? Oh, in case you thought it was worth a shot, don’t try talking to Petro, he’s being obstinate.”

“Awwwwwwwwwww, thanks!”

“Quiet time,” Sam ordered, “or I’m not taking you on a walk!” He shook his head. “Anyway, whatcha need?”

“You take him on walks?”

“Yeah, we’re not monsters. And he’s got to go bathroom sometime. Don’t worry about it, what’re you after?”

“You said I could read Uncle Belos’ journal?”

“Oh. Sure. Yeah.” Sam stepped out of the doorway. “Go ahead. Just ignore Petro.”

That won’t work. He’d never let me just rip out pages in front of him.

Phoenix shifted back and forth on his feet. “It can take me a while to read,” he said sheepishly, “Is there any chance I could take it with me and bring it back when I’m done?”

Petro snorted.

“Qui-et,” Sam sing-songed. He retrieved the journal, turning it over in his hands. “…I don’t know. It’s really old, and a bit delicate. I’d like to keep an eye on it.”

“I’ll be careful,” Phoenix lied.

Maybe he won’t notice the missing pages?

Maybe I can say they shook loose of the binding?

“Hm.”

“Read it here,” Petro called, “Let’s have a story time. Read it out loud, I want to hear what he said about you and your failures.”

Sam shot Petro an irritated glance and shoved the book at Phoenix. “Take it. Just… don’t read anyone’s entry but your own? I mean, you can read mine, I don’t care, but some of us don’t really like talking about the past and… just don’t be nosy.”

“Did you read everyone’s entries?”

“Of course,” Sam replied matter-of-factly, “I had to, so I could check for any clues on how to reverse the draining spell, or how to unpetrify someone.” He coughed, shooting Petro a pointed look. “Which turned out to be a waste of time. Anyway. Respect their privacy okay?”

“Okay.” Phoenix tucked the book under one arm. “Oh, Sam?”

“Yep.”

“Do you know if anyone… has a problem with heights? Maybe Belos got rid of them by, I don’t know, tossing them off of a building or a bridge or something?”

Very smooth.

Sam squinted at him. “Why do you ask?”

Phoenix looked somewhere near Sam’s left ear to avoid actually looking him in the eyes. “I just figured… if we ever launch a rescue mission to the head, well, the archive house is floating, and if I’m picking someone to go…”

“You’d want someone with a good head for heights,” Sam finished. He still eyed Phoenix suspiciously, but nodded. “You might want to avoid Alex. Not sure if you could get them on a rescue mission anyway, but they’re not fond of heights. Or falling in general.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Phoenix turned to go, only to be stopped by a cleared throat.

“Phoenix? How’re your arms? Any problems?”

Phoenix froze.

He knows.

That was ridiculous. Sam couldn’t know, unless he’d been lurking around, and he wasn’t stealthy enough to get past Phoenix and Cherry’s radars. Unless…

Phoenix reached up to check his wounds, but they were normal. No dripping, nothing that Sam could pick up on. “No. Nope. No problems. They’re fine.”

“Mmm. Okay. I’d say have fun with the book, but it isn’t exactly a pleasant read.”

Sam closed the lab door, and Phoenix let out a sigh of relief. Step one complete. Now he just needed to get the diary to Cherry, track down Alex, get them to share the most traumatic experience of their life, go on a rescue mission, then get rid of this titan-forsaken curse before he got stuck in Belos’ memories forever. Sure. Fine. No problem.

Cherry was back in his room when Phoenix opened the door. The other grimwalker pored over a couple of sheets of paper and barely looked up when Phoenix approached. Phoenix glanced at the paperwork, but was met by a mess of lines and names on one paper and a chart on the other, both of them with text too small for him to read.

He held the diary out. “I got it.”

Cherry’s spine stiffened, and he jumped up. “You-! Wait, how?”

“I asked for it. Nicely. Don’t worry, this way, if pages go missing, no one will suspect you.” Phoenix chewed his bottom lip then burst out, “Sam’s already read your entry.”

Cherry’s hand faltered just shy of taking the book. “What?” he whispered.

“Sam’s already read it,” Phoenix repeated, “But Cherry, he hasn’t treated you differently—whatever it is you’ve done, whatever you think they’ll hate you for, Sam’s already proved that it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to destroy the evidence.”

Cherry stared at him, but didn’t respond, his hand still hovering near the book without taking it.

“I’m not saying you have to shout your past from the rooftops,” Phoenix said gently, “I’m just saying that you don’t need to worry over what people think. Everyone here has done something they’re ashamed of. They’ll understand.”

Phoenix set the diary in front of Cherry, and quietly exited the room, leaving the other grimwalker still frozen. He set off in search of Alex, reviewing what he knew of the grimwalker. It wasn’t much. He’d seen them at mealtimes, of course, but rarely at any other time. Jason had said once that they suffered from nightmares. What if they weren’t willing to talk about their death?

And where could he find them, anyway?

Phoenix studied the chart he’d snuck away out from under Cherry’s stack of paper when he’d set down the diary. Cherry’s handwriting was small, but at least it was neat.

Alex… Alex… wait, there’s an A… no, that’s not right.

Are they even on this?

“Hi, Phoenix!”

Clara sped down the hallway towards him, Ram in tow. She waved her arm, free of her cast.

“It’s all better now. Your signature helped with the magic!”

Phoenix smiled at that, crouching down next to her. “Yeah? What are you going to do with that brand new arm of yours?”

“Well. This is my good hand for drawing circles. My other hand? It’s okay at spells, but they can be a little wobbly. My good spell hand was stuck in the cast, but now that it is out, maybe I can help with the shields or the illusions.” She hummed. “Or I can help Frank make toast.”

“That’s a good idea. He’s not allowed to use the toaster on his own.” An idea struck Phoenix, and he held the chart up. “Hey, do you think you could help me with something? Can you find Alex’s name on here and tell me what they’re supposed to be doing?”

“Sure.” Clara disentangled her other hand from Ram’s, scanning the paper. “Okay, there it is! They aaaaaaaaareeeeeeee… helping feed the griffins. Oh, that sounds fun. Right, Ram?”

Ram eyed her skeptically, tugging her down to their level and whispering something to her.

“No, they don’t eat little witches. I think. Probably?”

Clara looked to Phoenix, who shook his head.

“Yeah, they don’t eat witches. C’mon, Phoenix, we’ll take you.”

Clara took his hand, and some reflex seemed to jerk Phoenix’s muscles without him thinking about it, yanking his hand out of hers. A tide of fear and something approaching the guilty anxiety that had come with failing a mission swept over him, tightening his chest.

“Who-oa,” Clara yipped, “Is your hand hurt?”

“Um.” Phoenix shook his head to clear the emotions away, tamping them down just as he always had in the coven. “I’m sorry. I just got startled.”

Still, he didn’t hold her hand, just followed her out of the house and to the griffin coop. Even though he knew where it was, he let the two kids take the lead, sweeping his eyes across the yard for potential threats as he followed up behind them.

His vigilance was ridiculous. He knew that. The house was protected from the Collector by its shield and invisibility spells. Still, traces of fear and anxiety stuck in the corners of his mind, and his eyes still darted everywhere, looking for hidden threats in the (now empty of Mole) garden, or around the corners of the house.

Not that he saw any.

Clara opened the griffin coop door, and immediately, four young griffins made a break for it, dashing around her legs and squealing.

“Get back here, you hooligans!”

Joseph ran down the ramp, jogging in place next to Phoenix. “Hi! Griffin chicks now rowdy griffin gradeschoolers! Careful with the door next time, I’m going to go round them up, bye!”

He dashed off after the chicks, calling their names. Lucy (or at least, Phoenix was pretty sure it was Lucy) waddled out the door, clucking and herding chicks closer together and towards Joseph. Phoenix shook his head, crouching down next to Clara and Ram.

“I need to talk to Alex alone. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Clara said brightly, and then promptly joined in the griffin-chasing fun, waving her arms and shouting and generally driving griffin cubs further away from Joseph and Lucy. Ram chased after her, eying Lucy warily. Phoenix watched them for a moment, unsure if they were trying to help him by keeping Joseph out of the coop for later, or if they were just very, very bad a griffin herding.

Alex peered out the door, their long hair swinging down around them and exposing one long scar going up their neck. “Um… Joseph? Okay. He’s gone. Alright. Cool. Right.”

“Hi,” Phoenix started.

“Hi.” Alex watched him for a second. “Oh. Welcome back. Glad you’re not dead.” They rubbed their arms. “Dad sort of thought you might be. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“Oh.”

What if I got it wrong?

What if it wasn’t Alex who had been in his dream? Or what if he wasn’t really seeing Belos’ memories, and he was just delusional after spending so long with the Collector and their reality warping powers?

Alex cleared their throat. “Um. Sorry. Did you need something? If not, I’m just gonna…” they gestured to the ramp and strode past Phoenix. Phoenix started to call after them, but couldn’t quite make his voice work to do it.

You’re wrong

You’re wrong again, you always are

Let someone else figure this out, you’ll only mess it up.

A small griffin streaked up the ramp, tangling up Alex’s legs. The grimwalker yelped, arms flailing.

Phoenix jumped forward, catching Alex’s collar before they could tumble over the edge of the ramp. His fingers curled in the fabric just like they had in the dream, and Alex looked up at him with the same wide, terrified eyes, the little scars from nicks and scratches that marked their face gleaming silver instead of the gold of a mask.

And then Phoenix pulled them upright and let go, and the moment was over.

“Hah—” Alex put one hand over their heart, sinking down to their knees. “Uh—sorry—thanks—I’m just going to… sit here for a bit.”

The fall from the ramp wasn’t a large one. At worst, Alex would have bruised their backside. But they looked like they’d narrowly avoided a fall from the tip of the titan’s horn. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. That is… yes. Thank you. I, uh.” Alex chuckled breathlessly, and a bit hysterically. “I don’t know why, I felt like… never mind.” They stood up brushing themselves off. “Bit of panic. I’m fine.”

“Reminded you of something?” Phoenix suggested.

“Maybe.” Alex fiddled with the end of their hair, twisting the ends around their fingers. “Thanks. Again. Sorry, I didn’t really wait to hear the answer, did you need something?”

“I was actually going to ask about…” Phoenix waved a hand at the ramp and the ground and Alex. “…that. Sorry, I don’t know how to ease into asking this, did you happen to get hurt falling off of a bridge?”

Alex’s shoulders hunched, and they combed their fingers through their hair frantically. “I didn’t fall,” they said sharply, “I was thrown. And I don’t want to talk about it. Did Cherry send you out to talk to me? Dad? Mom? It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s been years, it’s fine. I’m fine. Tell them I’m fine.”

“No, that’s not why I asked, I—”

Phoenix fumbled for his words. Did everyone know about the other grimwalker? Or was it supposed to be secret for now? Caleb hadn’t told him, and if it was supposed to be a secret…

His hesitation was apparently all Alex needed.

“Thanks for catching me. Bye.”

Alex bolted for the house, leaving Phoenix behind on the ramp.

That went well.

At least this confirmed that Alex was the grimwalker he needed. Not that it would help if he couldn’t get them to talk to him. Phoenix sighed. That weary, heavy feeling was starting to settle in his bones again, making him want to curl up right here. Let the infection take over and just… sleep.

Joseph paused next to him on the ramp, his arms wrapped around two wriggling griffin chicks. “What’s eating them? Everything alright?”

“No.”

“Do you need Luc—”

“I do not need Lucy to sit on me.”

Joseph eyed him skeptically. “Okay. If you say so.”

Clara and Ram carried the last writhing griffin chick between them, the creature growling and clucking playfully. “What do we do with it?”

“Take her inside,” Joseph told them. “Hey, kids, have you ever checked a griffin for parasites? Do you want to learn how?”

Phoenix shook his head, going back to the house after Alex. They weren’t in the kitchen—where Frank now threw water over the toaster while a wall of flame flickered dangerously close to the ceiling—and they weren’t in the hallways, either. Phoenix lingered near the front door, quickly dismissing the possibility that they’d left the house entirely. Had they gone to their room? Which one was even theirs?

He started down the hallway, but only made it a couple of doors down before stopping again, attention caught by an open door and Caleb behind it. The ortet shook a crystal ball furiously.

“Work, you wretched thing! It’s just a little cross-dimensional viewing, you can manage it!”

Phoenix knocked on the door. “Everything alright?”

Caleb jumped, dropping the crystal ball, which made a dull thunk as it hit the ground. “Fine!” He squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay. No. Wait. Not fine. I’m…” he sighed, picking up the crystal ball. “I’m trying to check in on the kids. Just to make sure they’re safe. But this stupid crystal ball is giving me nothing but static.” He spun the ball in his hands. “Before I thought it couldn’t find you because you…” He shook himself. “But now that I know you’re alive, and the kids are in the human realm, it should work, right? I know the location, the crystal ball should be attuned to Hunter anyway, so… so…”

Caleb sighed again, putting the crystal ball up on a shelf. “Who am I kidding? If communicating across dimensions was that easy, we wouldn’t have half our problems.”

“They’re safe,” Phoenix assured them, “They made it through.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Caleb shook his head. “I know it was the best option at the time, but the human realm is… it’s not a kind place. Not to people who are different, especially not Gravesfield. It can take even the kindest kid, and it’ll chew them up and spit them back out a monster. If it doesn’t just kill them immediately. I’m worried about them. Especially Jason.”

Phoenix felt sick. He’d assumed the human realm would be safer, and the human Luz had seemed nice enough, but he’d forgotten there must have been a reason Caleb and Luz had come here in the first place.

Maybe he had made the wrong decision sending Jason and Hunter and the rest of the kids through.

Maybe they should have stayed.

Maybe he’d gotten them out of immediate danger, but had sent them somewhere far worse.

“Maybe it’s changed,” he suggested, trying to convince himself as much as Caleb, “Maybe it’s different now.”

Caleb stared bleakly at the crystal ball on its shelf. “Phillip hasn’t changed in all this time. Why would the human realm?”

Phoenix didn’t know what to say to that, uncomfortably reminded of the plain brown journal sitting on Cherry’s bed, heavy with the words it carried. Cherry thought, hoped, really, that people could change. Phoenix would just have to hold onto the hope that the same was true of the human realm.

For the kids’ sake.

Caleb shook his head. “Nothing we can do about it now. They’re smart, hopefully they’ll lie low. Keep out of trouble.” He eyed Phoenix, looking him up and down. “How are you? How are your arms?”

The hairs on the back of Phoenix’s neck tingled. “They’re fine. Why would you ask that? They’re fine.”

One of Caleb’s eyebrows climbed upwards. “Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“And everything else? You got roughed up pretty badly. By the Collector and Petro. Are you doing okay?”

So he had just been generally concerned. Of course, he was probably suspicious about Phoenix’s arms now. Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck, acutely aware of the tiny stings and aches coming from all over his body. “…I’ve been worse.”

“Take it easy,” Caleb said gently, “There’s no shortage of help here; you don’t have to solve everything all on your own. I know you’re worried about the other Grimwalker, but you can’t help anyone if you’re falling apart yourself.”

Phoenix nodded along to the familiar advice. “So… any ideas?”

“The keep would be a likely bet,” Caleb offered, “Maybe the head, where he kept the door—and where the journals were. Unfortunately…”

“Those are both areas controlled by the Collector,” Phoenix finished, “What if they are there? What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. We can’t just leave them. But going directly into Collector’s territory…” Caleb shook himself. “We’ll figure it out. We don’t know for sure that they’re at either of those places, and even if that’s the case, Evelyn is excellent at breaking into places she shouldn’t be. We’ll think of something. For now, you should see Auric again. The last thing you need is a regular infection on top of a magical one.”

Phoenix nodded.

“And Phoenix? If you need to talk about what happened with the Collector, or what happened with Phillip, or anything else…”

And what was he supposed to tell Caleb?

That he’d lied and connived his way out of the archive house? That he’d left Eda and Lilith and Darius behind, and hadn’t even managed to get King out safely like he’d promised? That he’d planned to go back? That he actually felt bad for the Collector, the one they were all hiding from, who’d torn up their home and turned the population into toys? That he was still lying, this time to them, about his arms, about the memories and dreams, and he’d dragged Cherry into it? That all of this hiding and lying was building up in his chest and if he tried to think about it, he was worried he would fall apart, and somehow, the infection in his arms would spread and he’d turn completely into a shambling monster like Belos, but maybe that was happening anyway with all the lies he’d told?

Caleb looked at him expectantly, but Phoenix just nodded. “I’ll let you know,” he managed. He ducked out of the room, away from Caleb’s watchful eye. Enough stalling. He’d ask Cherry to help him find Alex, and he’d somehow manage to talk Alex into giving him information, and then he could finally, finally tell them about the infection, and he wouldn’t have to lie anymore.

The room was devoid of Cherry when he reached it, and the journal was nowhere to be seen either. Blankets had been dragged from the bed, leaving it a mess of exposed pillows and sheets. Phoenix stood in the center of the room, scanning for a clue as to where Cherry had gone, his heart throbbing in his throat.

Shouldn’t have helped him steal that book

Just making all sorts of good choices today, huh, Phoenix?!

He heard a muffled thump from the closet, and he opened the door. Cherry blinked in the sudden light, burying his face in the blanket he’d wrapped around his shoulders.

“Leave me alone,” he groaned.

His eyepatch lay on the floor next to Belos’ journal.

Phoenix squeezed into the closet, closing the door and sitting next to Cherry. He didn’t say anything. Just sat, waiting.

“Sam knows,” Cherry whispered, lifting his head, “You’re seeing Belos’ memories, so it’s only a matter of time before you find out. Hunter was in Belos’ mindscape, there’s no telling what he’s seen.” He clutched at his head, and for the first time, Phoenix saw under the eyepatch.

He’d expected that Cherry’s eye would be torn up and scarred, and he’d known it was blind. But he’d always sort of assumed it was there. Instead, a dark cavity loomed at him like an endless cave in Cherry’s face.

“It doesn’t matter if I destroy the pages,” Chery continued, his chest heaving, “It doesn’t even matter if all of you promise to keep it secret. There could be other records out there, copies of the journal, accounts from someone who lived through it, some survivor who’s passed down a story through their family—I can’t control it all, and I’ll never know what’s out there, what… what…” His fingers tightened in his hair, tearing at it. “They’ll hate me.”

“Cherry, they—”

“I know we’ve all done something wrong for Belos, I know that we all have regrets, but I was worse, Phoenix. I was like Petro; he’s right about that. I destroyed homes, entire towns! I ruined lives, I ended lives, and I didn’t even question it, because it was what he told me to do. And I—I can’t ever make up for it, because now I’m here. I’m here, and I can’t ever—I can’t—and there isn’t any making up for it, there wouldn’t have been even if I’d never left my time.” Cherry buried his head in his blanket again. “They’re all looking up to me,” he groaned, “They’re all trusting me. And I don’t want to see them hate me, I don’t want… And Jason, titan, Jason, he can’t find out.”

“Jason thinks the world of you,” Phoenix said quietly.

“That’s the problem. I don’t want to let him down, I want to be the person he thinks I am, but I already failed him. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Cherry. You’re not that person anymore. You’ve changed.”

“Have I?”

“Yes!”

“Really? A long time ago, you asked if I’d just replaced Uncle with someone else.”

Phoenix stumbled for words. He barely remembered that. It had been months ago! Forget Cherry, he’d changed since then! “That was—Cherry, that was wrong, I was new at this, and I didn’t—”

“No. You were right. I’m still…” Cherry waved a hand around. “Following orders. Doing what someone else tells me to.” He laughed hollowly, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. “If Dad and Mom asked me to kill someone, I probably still would, no questions asked.”

“I don’t think that’s tr—”

“Really? They told me to protect you, and I nearly destroyed Petro’s inner self when he threatened you. I haven’t changed. I’m just following someone more benevolent than Uncle.”

“No.” Phoenix stood up, nearly hitting his head on a shelf. “No. You’re wrong. You’re using what I said as an example? Well, that same day, you let me out, despite Caleb’s orders to keep everyone inside and safe. Right now, you’re not telling Evelyn and Caleb about the infection getting worse, even though you know they’d want you to, because you know it’s how we’re going to find the last Grimwalker. Maybe you are following orders from someone better. But you’re also disobeying them when you think it’s the right thing to do.”

Cherry rested his chin on his knees. “Hm.”

“You help Evelyn and Caleb because you believe what they want is good, really good, not just because they told you to do it and you’re scared of what they’ll do if you don’t. I know we thought we were doing the right thing with Belos, too, but they let you listen to your own conscious in a way he didn’t. And when you think they’re not right, you do something else. You have changed—you wouldn’t have even considered disobeying Belos before, but you’ve made your own decisions here. What does Petro know? He’s been here and awake for what, a day? Two? And all he wants is for one of us to slip up so he can wriggle out and try to kill me. He doesn’t know you.”

Cherry sighed, tugging on his hair. “No one really does. They don’t know the full story. Even with what I just told you, you still don’t have all the details.”

“They know who you are now. And that’s what’s important to them. Do you know every full backstory of every person in the house?”

Cherry opened his mouth, then closed it, and shook his head.

“And do you care about them anyway?”

A nod.

“And if you found out that they’d done something horrible and had been beating themselves up over it for years, what would you tell them?”

“That they can’t change the past,” Cherry grumbled, “And it’s what they do to fix it or to be better now that matters.”

“So why would it be any different for you?”

“I get it, Phoenix. I know. I know it doesn’t make any sense. Just…” Cherry sighed, picking his eyepatch back up. “I know I’m being hard on myself, but that doesn’t help me stop, and that doesn’t mean I think I should stop. And even if I feel that way about others, that doesn’t mean they’ll feel the same way about me. I just… don’t want them to look at me differently. I don’t want them to look at me the way they look at Petro.”

“I know logic doesn’t help,” Phoenix said quietly, slowly turning the door handle, “But they don’t look at Petro like that because of what he did. They look at him that way because he keeps choosing to be that person.”

He slipped out of the closet, shutting the door behind him.

Alex lurked outside of Cherry’s room, watching him. “What were you doing in there?”

“Talking.”

“Reporting to Cherry?”

Phoenix pushed past them, closing the door to the room to give Cherry more privacy, and to give he and Alex privacy from Cherry. “I don’t report to Cherry. He’s not my boss. What are you so worried about him finding out, anyway?”

Alex eyed him, but didn’t respond.

“Come to think of it, why’d you come back? You seemed dead set on getting as far away from me as possible.”

“Wanted to know what you were saying about me. You really aren’t reporting to Cherry? Or Mom or Dad?”

“No. Why? Don’t you trust them?”

Alex fiddled with the ends of their hair, combing it out. “Oh. I do in general. I… they always want to help. And it can get a bit much because sometimes I just want to give it time. See if it goes away on its own. Which it usually does. For a while.”

“What does?”

“You know. The usual. Nightmares and such.”

“And panic attacks when you fall?” Phoenix suggested.

Alex gave him a reappraising look, and started to edge away. “Hm.”

“I’m not interested in trying to help you,” Phoenix blurted out. “Wait—that came out wrong. I mean, if you want to handle it on your own, if you think it just needs time, that’s fine. I don’t want to push you, I won’t try to talk you through it.”

“Then what do you want?”

“It’s just—” Phoenix took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts in a line. Half-truths instead of full lies this time. “I’m trying to find something, and I think… I think you might have accidentally seen where it is. All I need to know is where… it… happened.

“Oh.” Alex tugged on the end of their hair again. “Hm. You might be out of luck finding… whatever it is. At least for now. Belos tried to kill me at the head—you probably saw the bridge while you were there.”

Phoenix’s heart dropped. Of course. Right in the middle of the Collector’s territory. They’d be lucky to get in alive, let alone get out with a new grimwalker in tow. But… maybe if they did go…

The gears in Phoenix’s head started to gently click. If they went up there anyway, for the Grimwalker, he could convince them to go for Darius as well. And Eda, and Lilith. They might even be able to rescue King—if the Collector left his side at all.

A small voice whispered that the Collector would be all alone if they did, with only Terra and Odalia, but he pushed that part down. For now, they needed to focus on the last grimwalker. Then they could go after everyone else. And then… maybe the Collector?

As if isolating him is going to make him hate you less.

“…Phoenix?” Alex ventured, “Are you still with us?”

Phoenix shook himself. “Um. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, yes.”

“Sure. But, uh… after I ran, why didn’t you just ask Dad where I died? He rescued me from there.”

Phoenix hadn’t gone to Caleb because that would have meant telling him HOW he knew that Alex had information, which would mean immediate surgery on his arms. But obviously he couldn’t tell Alex that.

“Didn’t think of it,” he lied. “Thanks, Alex.”

Phoenix started towards where he’d last seen Caleb, but stopped halfway down the hall, weighing his options. Caleb was concerned about the grimwalker, but he was also cautious. And he’d admitted himself that he’d probably ask Evelyn for advice on sneaking into the head anyway. If the way she’d shaken Petro for information was any indication…

Phoenix switched tracks, heading outside instead. Loud ‘ew’s burst from the griffin coop, but he ignored them in favor of the redheaded witch examining the magic on the fence. “Evelyn?”

“Hey. Oh, you—” Evelyn kicked a flickering fencepost. “Work!”

Surprisingly, it flickered two more times, then resumed a steady blue glow. Evelyn drew a circle, and the entire fence shuddered, hummed, and finally faded back to its steady pulse of magic. Evelyn dusted her hands off, and turned to face him.

“Maintenance. Never as sophisticated as people think. What’s up?”

“I know where the last grimwalker is.”

Evelyn’s constant energy stilled, and her golden eyes fixed on him like a fairy that had just spotted a bat. “How?”

“No time to explain, I’ll do it when we get back. Belos kept his grimwalkers growing at the head, at the very bottom of the skull. The whole thing’s probably been shaken up and damaged by the Collector’s remodeling, so we need to get them now.”

Evelyn gave him a short nod, and ran back towards the house. “Come on,” she called over her shoulder, “If we want to get out of this alive, we’ll need a couple of things—and a couple of people.”

Phoenix was about to follow when a chill swept over him, despite the sunlight, and his right hand started to twitch of its own accord. He reached slowly up to check his arms, even though he already knew the infection was oozing out again. Rolling up his sleeves revealed veins of blackish green extending all the way to his wrists, throbbing in time with his heartbeat. Phoenix rolled his sleeves back down, and tucked his hands into his pockets to hide their shaking, following Evelyn inside.

Just a little bit longer.

It’s almost done.

Keep it together for just a little bit longer.

[hello-nichya-here]

GoT or HotD? Any particular reasons why?

Depends on which half of GOT we're talking about here.

Game Of Thrones seasons 1-4 VS House Of The Dragon season 1

GOT's first four seasons had it's problems, a few show original plots that were just dumb (see Dany losing her dragons in season 2), and the closer it got the point where D&D were going to be without new books to adapt AND ignore the stuff they set up in previous seasons, the worse the writting got, but overall, it was still a pretty awesome show, with a few episodes that were masterpieces even in season one.

House Of The Dragon however is a show that ranges from decent to good, with a few scenes that are absolutely great, but no masterpieces yet. In my opinion, the show was being held back by it's one HUGE flaw: the pacing.

The war between the blacks and the greens is a long conflict that just DEMANDS some time skips, because the show can't afford to make 20 damn seasons to FINALLY get to the point of Rhaenyra and Aegon, both now adults, to be at each other's throats.

HOWEVER the first season had too many time skips. It was sort of okay in first half of the season the since the most time that ever passed between episodes was 2 years, but still, a time skip every other episode could get a little jarraging. Then suddenly, in between episodes 5 and 6 we jumped A WHOLE DECADE ahead in the timeline. And then in episode 8 we jump a few years ahead yet again.

I legit am wondering if the writers/showrunners were scared that the show would not have enough time to develop a fanbase and get canceled after season due to how bad GOT's ending was (hell, a different spin-off was canceled BEFORE airing) and thus decided to rush the plot as much as possible to get to the "good stuff" right away in the hopes that it would get enough people watching for the show to be given a fair chance.

Sure, this means season two will be the official start of The Dance Of The Dragons, but it still means we didn't see lots of stuff that could have been pretty interesting.

The deleted scenes of Daemon's "heir for a day" speech and Viserys asking him the same questions he asked Rhaenyra before making her heir, and realizing Daemon could NEVER be a good king. Alicent and Viserys' wedding. The reactions of the main characters to Alicent's first pregnancy, and then later on the birth of her first baby boy, aka a threat to Rhaenyra and Daemon AND a major win for Otto.

Daemon and Corly's fighting a whole ass war against the crab-feeder. More of Alicent's attempts of patching things up with Rhaenyra. Criston Cole and Alicent bonding. Daemon's marriage to Laena and his relationship with his daughters. Rhaenyra's marriage to Laenor and her affair with Harwin. Alicent first realizing Rhaenyra's child cannot possibly be her husband's.

More scenes Rhaenyra and Daemon processing the death of their lover/spouse (and the deleted scene of Daemon comforting his daughters) and then rekindling their affair. More scenes of Laenor struggling to fit into that whole political plot and wishing he could just start a new life somewhere. More of Rhaenys and Corly's dealing with the "death" of their son. Helaena on her own AND her marriage to Aegon.

Seriously, imagine that in the first season of GOT, Ned was executed in episode 5 and the Red Wedding happened in episode 10. Sure, you showed audiences "the good stuff" faster - but you showed it WAY TOO FUCKING FAST!

I genuinely do think the content we got in this first season of HotD would have been much better if it had gotten around 24 episodes instead of 10, or was split in three seasons of at least 10-13 episodes ("Season One" being the years between episodes 1-5, "Season Two" being the longest season and the years between episodes 5-7, and "Season Three" episodes 8-10) because as it stands it feels like a part of the story is straight up missing.

I will say that, thanks to budget, a lot of it LOOKS better than the first seasons of GOT, and it really shows that it was the Targaryens at their most powerful. The Iron Throne is MUCH better, and not only can I actually tell the dragons apart, but now everytime I see Dany flying without that special dragon saddle and just holding onto Drogon for dear life, it looks REALLY silly. Seriously, her brother taught her to speak High Valirian and commands in said language to make the dragons obey, what dragons eat, and a fuckton of things about Westeros but he NEVER mentioned "And they used a saddle so they wouldn't fall mid flight"?????

(They also did a better job at showing how dragons do whatever the fuck they want, rider be damned)

Got seasons 5-8 VS HotD season 1

Easy choice. House Of The Dragon wins. Is there even the need for me to explain it? The lack of the line "You want the good girl, but you need the bad pussy" already justifies it. Plus, one episode aside, I can actually SEE the stuff that is going on, while GOT's second half looks like the budget for the dragons and ice zombies came at the expense of cutting all the money meant for lighting.

Also, while HotD is telling it's story too fast, it at least HAS a story to tell. The second half of GOT feels like filler that exists solely because HBO wanted to keep making money despite the fact that there were no more books to adapt AND that Dumb & Dumber were clearly incapable to come up with an original ending OR set up the ending Martin had already told them was his plan.

Bonus: House Of The Dragon VS Fire & Blood

While House Of The Dragon has it's flaws and I do worry about how they'll build up to the, frankly disappointing, canonical ending - or if they'll go nuts and do their own thing, and if said will be good - I still like it better than I liked literally any part of the book version of the story for one simple reason: the characters actually have some redeeming qualities, or are the very least charismatic assholes.

I could not fucking stand the book characters, and the constant "is this the actual truth or this unreliable narrator lying to me?" did not work as well as it did in the ASOIAF books because all of said unreliable narrators of Fire & Blood are completely removed from the actual events they're describing, so I found it hard to give a shit about any of the players in said events, since I had no way of knowing if any of them were as good/bad as they were being described or if it was all propaganda.

[livia-dovehallow]

mroe chot asks no spoilers!

I think [redacted] took also a lot to finally break down, when donyou think it happened?

**SPOILER WARNING**

original ask:

I think Gabriel took also a lot to finally break down, when donyou think it happened?

///

I think this is a really good question and it really hinges on understanding Gabriel's character and how his teenage years have affected his adulthood (CA, CP, CP2).

He was raised with the strictest discipline and probably some level of toxic masculinity in the way that he probably wasn't ever allowed to show emotion except anger and only to a certain extent.

We know that he has broken through that at least a decent amount when he finally "breaks down" in CP2 with Charlotte and when he admits fears to Cecily (small and big).

Cecily, I think, is a major player in how Gabriel develops into adulthood and especially as he gradually becomes a husband and a father, too (and vice versa but let's focus on Gabriel for now).

We also know that he cried in Cecily's arms when Jesse died, and that his kids weren't surprised to see their father cry.

So, at 43, I do think Gabriel has come a very long way. However, one trait that I think is hardwired into Gabriel is the inability to let himself spiral if someone needs him. I firmly believe his love language is Acts of Service. So, in the event of his child's unjust death, his immediate response would be to focus every single ounce of his energy on the rest of his family. His wife (who is understandably beside herself with grief and pain), his daughter, and his very young son (who has also been terribly traumatized within that same week).

Given Cecily's previous responses to her children being in any sort of danger or injured in any way, it is fair to infer that one of their deaths is beyond crushing, devestating, and enough to take down one of the most talented Shadowhunters of her generation. Given that she's the love of Gabriel's life, he would absolutely put her needs above his own. It's in his nature.

I also think it takes Cecily a long time to get to a place where Gabriel (and her brother and probably Anna too) are not longer genuinely afraid for her wellbeing. Once she is okay enough that Gabriel doesn't feel the need to be with her 24/7, and his own thoughts and feelings really settle in, that's when he breaks down. Whether that's a few months, a year, etc.

Now, disclaimer here, I don't mean to say that Gabriel doesn't show any emotion in the immediate aftermath. I am certain he also cries, I am certain is also grieves terribly. I am certain he feels as though his heart was ripped out of his chest. Gabriel is an amazing, loving, and supportive father. No doubt in my mind that he misses Christopher just as much as Cecily does. He's their child.

So there's my essay on how I think Gabriel handles his grief and how it differs from how I think Cecily does. And that his full breakdown about it comes at a delay because of the duty he feels to his family before himself.

[dead-inside-writer]

Senorita Clumsy (Encanto Camilo x GN! Reader)

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pairing: Camilo Madrigal x Clumsy!reader

summary: you recently moved into Encanto and went to explore with your younger sibling.

theme: fluff

pronouns: he/him for Camilo, they/them for reader, they/them for sibling

warning: none

word count: 1.9k

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It has just been a few days since you and your family moved into Encanto. Your previous home wasn’t the nicest and you had to survive off scraps to continue living in the house. Life was hard so your parents decided to have a fresh new start in the welcoming community of Encanto.

You had just finished unpacking the last box for your room (which didn’t have much) while your younger sibling played with their toys on the bed.

“Y/N! We’re going out for business. After you’re done, bring your sibling for a walk around the town okay? You have to explore Encanto!” Your mama shouted from the first floor, her voice loud enough for you to hear it loud and clear.

“Okay, Ma!” You replied back and soon heard the door shut.

Placing the last few items from the box to the table beside your bed, you feel a pulling tug on the bottom of your shirt.

“Come onnn, I wanna explore the town!” The five-year-old whines, trying to drag you with him.

“Gimme ten seconds, okay?” You pat your sibling’s head. After making sure all of the items have been placed properly, you take your bag and hold your sibling’s hand in yours.

You locked the wooden doors and off you went walking with an extremely excited kid. Your sibling has always been full of energy. They often reminded you of a golden retriever. You adored how they always find a way to be happy. They were the reason why you stayed strong during tough times.

“Y/N! Look at that bird! It’s so cool!” Your sibling pointed at a toucan, immediately letting go of your hand and chasing it through the town.

“H-hey! Wait for me!” Your pleads were ignored by the five-year-old. This was one of those times where you wished that he wasn’t full of energy 24/7. He loved animals so much that he would chase them down.

Usually, a teenager would be able to catch up with a five-year-old just fine, but in this case, your sibling just had to be abnormally energetic. (Totally not because you never exercised.)

The toucan flew down and landed on a boy's shoulder, but your sibling was moving so fast that they couldn't slow down in time, crashing into the poor boy that the toucan just landed on.

You tried your best to avoid falling down on the two kids, but you were never good at maneuvering and did a weird spin which made you crash into someone else instead. Realizing that the person you crashed to will soften your blow and instead receive all of the pain, your hands flew to the back of their head, trying to at least soften their fall as well.

"Oh dios mio! I'm so sorry," You tried to push yourself up from the person below you but your hands were squeezed between the back of their head and the pavement, your eyes still closed from the pain of the impact. After a while of trying to ease the pain away, you opened your eyes, only to see by far the most attractive guy you've ever seen in your entire life, staring at you back with wide eyes. (unfortunately for you, you had missed the small blush on his cheeks)

Shocked, you try pulling yourself away with more force, only for your hand to push his head to your forehead, causing both of you to groan loudly.

"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with me today, I am so sorry," You rubbed your forehead as you stood, feeling a bit wobbly.

"Are you okay?" You asked the boy in the yellow ruana.

"Well, I would be if you didn't smash my forehead with yours," He sarcastically joked but it seems that you didn't quite catch it.

"Oh no, does it hurt really badly?? I didn't know that my skull is that hard..." You babbled, brushing his curls away to see his forehead, and man, it was super red. Camilo stood there frozen, watching your every move as you observed his forehead, taken aback by your abrupt (and bold) move.

"Dios mio, it's red! We need ice or maybe frozen peas," You looked around to see if there were any stalls that were selling some only to realize that the two kids vanished in thin air.

"WHERE'S MY SIBLING?" You asked yourself with wide eyes. Camilo hearing your question, looked around, only to see that Antonio was missing as well!

"ANTONIO!" He looked around with eyes equally as wide as yours. His madre will flood the whole town if he can't find where that animal-loving boy went.

"Is your sibling gone as well?" You asked as you saw the panic in his face.

"Yeah... they might have gone somewhere together," He looked around, trying to find a glimpse of his brother.

"Probably, my sibling becomes friends with anyone in like fifteen seconds," You run your hand through your hair, a habit you do when you're stressed.

"By the way, are you new here? I don't really recognize you," He asked, his eyes scanning your face.

"Oh, yeah I am! I just moved here a few days ago," you smiled at him.

"Ahh, I've heard from Abuela about a new family moving in. Well, my name is Camilo, I'm from the Madrigal family, glad to have you here" He smiled back, offering his hand.

"I'm Y/N L/N! I'm glad to be here," you shake his hand.

"How about we try to search for them together, and get some ice along the way?"

"Sounds like a plan,"

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"Camilo! Look what I found!" You walk towards the boy as he looks around the street, asking people if they saw where Antonio went, with a plastic bag in your hand.

"Hmmm?" He looks at you, leaning close to see what's inside the plastic bag, "OOOH POPSICLES!"

"They're cold so it can soothe your head bump and it won't go to waste cause we can just eat the leftover, or I suppose to drink it if it melts," You slowly walked with him as you looked down to the plastic bag to get the popsicles.

"It's like two birds in one stone. Anyways, I got you an orange popsicle cause I don't really know what flavor you like and it matches your ruana, but you can switch with my grape ones if you don't like-"

Your words were cut off as you accidentally slipped on broken pavement. You spin around like crazy, trying to get your balance again, and somehow manage to face Camilo but lose balance again. You were ready to meet your demise once again but only to find that your face did not land on the pavement but instead your back resting on Camilo's arm, holding you from your fall.

"Aiyaya, please be careful Y/N, we wouldn't want another accident to happen, do we? Or else we'll have to buy another popsicle for you."

You were stunned by the cliche position that you thought would have never happened to you and you just nodded a no.

"Ooooh gracias a Dios, the popsicles are still fine, and yes I do like the orange popsicle. Thank you very much, Senorita clumsy," He smiled and put the popsicle (with the wrapping) on his forehead. He knew that he would look ridiculous to the other people in town, and to be honest, his forehead didn't hurt anymore, but something about you makes him want to put a popsicle on his forehead.

You smiled and put your grape popsicle on your forehead as well, walking beside him.

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You bit the last piece of your grape popsicle, resting on the floor, hopeless after a whole day of searching.

"Where on earth could they both be?" you groan, playing with the wooden popsicle stick in your hand, "This all happened because of his fascination with animals."

"Animals..." Camilo repeated, "Dios mio! Why didn't I think of this sooner! They're probably in Antonio's room,"

"Huh? What does his room have to do with animals? Does he have pet birds in there?"

"You don't know..?"

"Know what?"

"Ohhhh right, you just moved in" A mischievous smile spread onto Camilo's face, thinking about all the pranks he could do on you.

"Come on, I bet you five more popsicles that they're in my house,"

"Okay, you're on" You agreed, not knowing that the Madrigals were a special family.

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“Woaahh, your house is nice,” you said to the boy next to you while admiring the house.

“Thank you Y/N,” Camilo smiled then looked back at the house, “Casita, did you hear that?”

Suddenly, the windows on the house started to open and shut close repeatedly as if it’s saying ‘yes’

“Did you do that??” You asked, amazed.

“Nope not at all — It’s Casita doing it” He smirked.

“Casita, can you please lead Y/N to Antonio’s room?” Camilo asked in an innocent tone.

The floor under you started to move and shake, earning a surprised yelp from you, the unexpected action made you stumble on your own feet but before you could fall, a sudden strong force pushed you forward to the stairs.

“CAMILO HEELPPPPPP” You shrieked, not used to moving without actually moving your legs.

“BHAHAHAH Calm down Y/N and enjoy the ride, Casita would never hurt a person,” Camilo smiled at you, the floors pushing him as well beside you.

Not long after, you arrived at a glowing door that had the face of the boy you saw earlier engraved into it.

“Ladies first,” Camilo said, opening the door for you as he jokingly bow.

To say you were amazed is an understatement. You were beyond astonished by the room.

“HOW IS THERE A JUNGLE HERE??” You looked around, letting it all sink in.

"Casita is a special house and the Madrigal is a special family," Camilo nonchalantly said.

You let out an awe, wanting to explore more of the room but then a cheetah jumped from the trees to the ground in front of you, causing you to jump back to Camilo, hiding behind him.

Camilo chuckled as he watched you peeking out from his shoulder, still hiding behind him. He can’t help but think how adorable you were.

“HEY!” You shouted as you realized that the two kids were on the cheetah.

“YOU LITTLE NAUGHTY GREMLIN,” You ran to your sibling as they got off the cheetah, “I was trying to find you the whole day!! You gave me a heart attack, Mama would kill me if she found out!”

“Antonio! You should have told me if you were going somewhere,” Camilo joins you nagging the two kids. The two kids giggle as they let out a soft sorry.

“Okay, say goodbye to your friend now, we gotta go back home,” You said to your sibling, waving bye to Camilo and Antonio.

You were about to leave when Camilo suddenly held your hand.

“Will I meet you soon? Today was fun,” He shyly asked, still holding your hand.

“Of course, after all, I still have five popsicles to buy you, right?” You smiled.

“O-oh right! I’ll see you soon then!” Camilo slowly took his hands off with a smile on his face.

“Please come again!” Antonio said to your sibling, and your sibling nodded.

You left Casita, and for the rest of the day, you were giddy as you remembered your encounter with Camilo.

Unbeknownst to you, Camilo was excited to see his Senorita clumsy again.

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Notes: AHHHH this one isn’t romantic as the last two ones but I thought it was a cute and funny idea! Thank u for the request, I’ll do them as soon as I can! Please do leave a like and feel free to request -din

[ramp-it-up]

Set the Bar

Pairing: Bartender! Frank x Bartender! Reader; Barkeep!Andy Barber x Bartender! Reader; Barkeep! Andy x Bartender Frank (Endings, Beginnings)

Part 5 of The Bar AU. Read the previous part, Low Bar.

Word count: 4K

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. SMUT! Not Beta’d. Read at your own risk. ANGST, lying, deception, seduction, dub con around eating food. Coworker relationship, roomies, and there was only one bed!, flirting, teasing, jealousy, cheating, crying kink, mutual masturbation, voyeurism, spit play, oral (m/f receiving), cum play and eating, breeding kink.

A/N: I think there are just two more parts to this series folks. Let me know if you like this one. 😃

I no longer have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

You passed out, white girl wasted, on your friend's couch without texting Andy. When you woke up at 7 am, you saw a message at 2 that morning.

Call me.

Your heart raced a little bit and you phoned him right away.

“Hello?”

“Are you okay?” His voice sounded worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I passed out on Ozzie’s couch.”

Andy didn’t particularly like your friend, but at least you were safe.

“I’ve got to leave town. For a couple of weeks.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I’ve got some things to do in Connecticut. Some legal matters.”

You knew that Andy’s father was in prison in Connecticut, and that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Well, that’s just over an hour away. You can commute.”

Andy sighed.

“No, sweetheart. I need to do this in person. I also need to compartmentalize this. I’m going to just call it what it is.”

You were silent for a long while, then you said, “Let me come over…”

“You do need to come to my place, but I’m already gone. Stay there while I’m away .I’m going to need you and Frank to hold The Bar down. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course, anything… But I can just stay at my…”

Andy cut you off.

“No. It will ease my mind if you and Frank stay there. In case something happens.”

You paused.

“Me AND Frank?”

“Yes. I told him to take care of you. And The Bar. He’ll get you anything you need.”

You thought about it again. Being a business owner was a 24 hour job. But you would do anything for Andy.

“Okay, Andy. I’m just going to go home and take a shower and pack a bag.”

Andy chuckled.

“You can take a shower at my place, you know. I just want to get that text from Frank that you’re okay.”

You bristled.

“You don’t trust me, Andy?”

“Oh, I trust you more than you know. It’s just that Frank sees you a lot like I see you. He loves you..”

“I love him too, Frank’s a dear.”

Andy didn’t bother to correct your friendzoning of Frank. You’d find out soon enough. Meanwhile, you thought it was sweet that Andy (And Frank?) were being so protective.

You sighed.

“Okay, I’ll be over there, ASAP.”

“Good. Oh. And help yourself to anything in my place while I’m gone. Anything your heart, mind, and body desires.”

Andy must be stressed, you thought, he was being weird.

You just laughed a little and replied, “Sure thing Boss.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

By 9 am, you were using the hidden key to unlock Andy’s door above The Bar. As you got your stuff inside, you were greeted by a sleepy, bare chested Frank. Gray sweatpants were hanging off of his lean form.

Frank wasn’t as buff as Andy, but he was beautiful.

His dark hair was adorably messy, unruly even, as if someone had been grabbing it all night. Your eyes swept down from his hair to his torso to his shoulders, chest and nipples, to his abs and his pronounced v-cut. Then you saw the bulge in the grey sweats that looked suspiciously like Andy’s.

“Hey Baby Doll! I see you made it. Let me get my phone and text Frank.”

You followed him back in Andy’s bedroom and watched Frank retrieve his phone from the bedside table, on the side of the bed on which you usually slept.

Hold up.

Frank had slept in Andy’s bed. But where did Andy sleep? Your heart sank when you thought that Andy must have been up all night worrying about you.

“Did you have a woman in here, Frank?”

Frank laughed.

“Andy told me that you’re the only girl allowed in here, Baby Doll. And I agree with him.”

“Hmpphhh.”

You didn’t quite believe him, but whatever.

“I… uhhh, I have to take a shower, sooooo.”

Frank was looking down at his phone, but not moving.

“Go ahead.”

Frank was being so weird. You went into the living room to grab your bag, got out what you needed and took it in the bathroom.

You were going to have to talk to Frank when you were clean. There needed to be some boundaries if you were going to be roommates for two weeks.

You relaxed under the hot stream of water, your hands beginning to go between your thighs imagining Andy pleasuring you when you heard Frank in the bathroom.

“Baby Doll.”

You jumped, almost slipping on the wet tile.

“What is it?”

You grabbed the shower curtain and wrapped it around you as you peeked out at him.

“Just bringing you some towels.”

Frank smirked and looked at the outline of the curtain around your form.

You closed the curtain and retreated back into the shower spray.

“Thank’s Frank. Just leave them on the counter.”

You heard the door close and then you resumed soaping yourself, nipples achingly hard now.

You got out to the sound and smell of bacon cooking. You were trying no sugar, red meat or pork, but bacon was your weakness. You sat at the bar and watched Frank cook, his hair a little tamer, as if he’d run his hands through it.

“Are there any eggs? Andy always makes me omelets.”

Frank looked back at you with his eyebrow raised.

“In case you haven't noticed. I’m not Andy.”

He turned around toward you and handed you a plate of french toast with bacon. With loads of powdered sugar. And it looked so good.

“But I can still feed you.”

You tried to ignore the way he said that.

“I… “

You looked down at the plate and then up at Frank, those eyes dancing with mirth.

“...Don’t do bacon… or sugar.”

“Why? A little bit won’t kill you. Do you like how it tastes? The feel of it in your mouth. The way it goes down your throat?”

Frank smirked at you, watching you squirm.

He’d said that line to you in his countless fantasies.

Sometimes, in his head, he said it when you were sucking his dick. And sometimes he imagined asking you those questions while you deepthroated Andy. Frank shifted on the stool as he sat down beside you at the kitchen island.

He licked his lips and watched you almost roll your eyes as you inhaled the scent of the forbidden food.

“Fuck yeah.”

“That’s my girl.”

You straightened up when he said that.

“I’m not…”

You stopped. You had to be trippin’.

“I’m just not doing sugar, red meat or pork.”

“Ok. You choose what you do. But don’t rule things out if you like them. Experiencing pleasure is sometimes worth it.”

You watched Frank take a piece of bacon and bite it. Then, he poured syrup over the toast, which already had sugar on it, and took a bite of that.

The syrup spilled from the fork and his lips and was soon dripping from his fingers. You were transfixed as he licked them, in slow motion it seemed, as his eyes were trained on you.

“I love eating. Brings me so much pleasure.”

You watched Frank’s tongue peek out and clean up his mouth.

“Fuck…” you paused. “...It. Fuck it. You only live once, right?”

You smiled and took a bite of bacon, moaning as you chewed the almost burnt smoked swine.

“Exactly, Baby Doll. Eat it up.”

Frank wanted to tell you to swallow and to check your mouth, but it was too soon. He fought to control his hard on sitting next to you, alone at last.

These next two weeks were going to be quality time.

You and Frank worked your asses off the next week. There was a lot more to running a bar than bartending and Andy was right, it was a 24 hour job. But you and Frank were a good team, developing an almost unspoken communication.

Every night you worked hard and then knocked the fuck out between 6 am (him on the couch and you in the bed) when you really finished with the deposit and getting everything settled. You barely had time to sleep and wake up and get ready before it was 2pm when you had to open.

You and Andy texted everyday, but you didn't get to talk to him. And it was ok. You were just glad that it made him feel better that Frank was there with you. Anything for Andy.

One night, you sat on a stool after closing time and rubbed your feet.

“This week almost killed me. I’m going to sleep in so hardddd tomorrow!”

Luckily, it was Sunday, and you didn’t have to open the bar again until Tuesday afternoon.

“Ok, do you want to sleep and eat tomorrow or eat and sleep?”

That smile.

You loved when Andy commanded you, but you also were loving Frank’s sense of humor and how he always gave you options with that cocked head and eyebrow of his.

“You said you’d teach me how to cook.”

“Oh. But there are so many things I’m going to teach you, Baby Doll…”

You called Andy while Frank showered that night to recap the week.

“I think that’s great, Sweetheart.”

His voice sounded so good.

“I know it’s only been a few days, but I miss you.”

You bit your lip as you waited for a response.

“Miss you too, baby. Just a few more days. Frank will take care of you.”

“Yeah. But Andy, I miss you. Miss your hands, your mouth, your cock. Frank can’t take care of that.”

Andy cleared his throat. He knew what you wanted. And he also knew what you needed.

“He can’t? Oh, I think you’d be surprised.”

“The hell, Andy!?” You couldn’t believe him.

“Listen. I don’t have too much time to talk. And I know that I’m possessive over you. But you really are free to do what you want.”

“Are you trying to end this relationship? Do you have someone else on the side? Why are you saying these things about Frank?”

“I am not trying to end this relationship, Sweetheart. Quite the opposite. I trust Frank to take care of you because he cares for you.”

You had no words.

“Why are you saying this, Andy? What is going on?”

“I’m saying that you can have anything that’s in my house. You can do anything you have a desire to.”

You were confounded. What was happening right now?

“You didn’t answer my question, Andy. Do you have someone else?“

He hesitated for a long time.

“I’ve gotta go. We’ll talk when I get back.”

You just stared at your phone when he disconnected and tried to dial him back. He didn’t answer, just sent a ❤️ emoji.

You sat on the couch in stunned silence. It felt as if you were in the middle of a whirlwind.

You stripped off your clothes and saw the t-shirt that Frank had worn all day. You climbed into Andy’s bed, wearing it. Strangely, it made you feel better. It made you feel less like setting fire to things.

“Baby Doll?”

Frank saw you, in his t-shirt, curled up in a ball, with your eyes wide open.

“You okay?”

You just grunted and felt the bed dip as he sat down.

“What’s wrong?”

You turned over and saw that he was naked except for a towel, beads of water still on his skin. You turned back around.

“Andy. That’s what’s wrong.”

You looked up in his eyes and started bawling.

“Oh, hey. I’m sure it’s not that bad. You two just need to talk this out.”

Frank climbed into bed with you and pulled you against him, your tears mixing with the water on his skin. He pulled you close and rocked you, pushing his fingers in your scalp and massaging, trying to soothe you.

You stopped sobbing, and he pulled back to look at you. The tears were still flowing though. Your big, wet eyes and that pout about did him in.

“You look so fucking pretty when you cry, Baby Doll, shit.”

And Frank started kissing your tears away, kitten licks on your cheeks to catch your tears, and when his mouth got near yours, he stopped, pulling back again.

You looked in his eyes and lunged in for a kiss, shivering when you heard Frank’s moan as he pushed his tongue into your mouth to meet yours. You pulled back.

“Shit. I shouldn’t have done that. We shouldn’t be doing this Frank…”

You fell back onto the bed and grabbed a pillow, slotting the king sized softness in between your legs. God, you were so wet.

You laughed, thinking it was ironic that you stopped yourself when Andy had his piece of whomever. You weren’t going to feel guilty about a kiss.

Frank was laying staring at the ceiling, trying to will his hard on away. He was just thinking that a pillow stole his spot.

You looked over at Frank and peeped the towel tent that Frank was making, leaning up on your elbows.

You were wet, he was hard. Seemed like a simple equation. Andy did say that maybe you should do something to feel guilty about.

“So Frank, do you happen to have a towel so I can finish what you started?”

Frank looked at you, eyebrow raised.

“I mean, finish wiping my tears.”

He still didn’t move, so you tugged on the towel around his waist.

“Can I?”

Frank smiled wide at you, trying to keep his cool when his heart was beating out of his chest.

“Do whatever you want, Baby Doll.”

Frank reached up and put his arms behind his head. You tugged the towel some more and unearthed the monster. Frank smirked at your small gasp.

If Andy was an oak, Frank’s cock was equally magnificent, but much different. He was thick, though not as thick as Andy, and long, with a very large mushroom cap tip. He was more like a majestic pine against the dark hair on his abs.

You licked your lips and didn’t know it. The weeks of tension coupled with how close you were to Frank this week made you almost desperate. Andy telling you to do whatever spurred you on as well. Fuck him.

How would he feel about you and Frank in his bed?

Well, maybe it was time to find out.

“I thought you were upset. What are you smiling about?”

Frank was teasing you as you lay on your back watching his dick pulse with his heartbeat, his shirt molding to your body, showcasing your ultra hard nipples.

“Your dick just makes me smile, Frank. Thanks for cheering me up.”

“No problem at all, Baby Doll. Any time.”

His eyes ran down your body and he thought he could see a full bush at your pussy. He needed to eat that raw.

“Are you wearing panties?”

You pouted up at him. “Rude.”

You weren’t wearing panties. You’d just stripped and put on his shirt. You didn’t know what you were thinking.

You found out as you watched Frank’s cock get a little wider, more blood rushing to the channels of his organ. His eyes continued down your legs, the hem of his shirt stopping halfway down your thighs. He wanted to reach out and touch, but this had to be all you.

You reached out and touched his face after tearing your eyes away from his dick.

“Is that uncomfortable Frank? Looks… Hard.”

You bit your lip and your eyes lit up.

Frank leaned his face into your palm and closed his eyes, any stimulation welcome. He felt touch starved for you, and this crumb you were throwing his way was everything.

“It is… so, so, so… hard…” He bit his lip.

You drew in a ragged breath, trying to find some logic left in any part of your brain that still had blood flowing to it. Maybe…

“Do you need to take care of that?”

You nodded down toward his cock.

“If so, I’d like to watch.”

Frank sighed, disappointed that you hadn’t offered to touch him. But glad to give you a show.

“Yeah.” His voice was pure sex. “But only if you join me.”

You nodded, your pulse rushing in your ears. The excitement was out of this world.

Frank sat up, adjusting the pillows against the headboard and you did the same, angled toward him a bit. He fisted his cock and pumped it loosely a couple of times before he stopped.

“I need some lubrication. Do me a favor, Baby Doll, and spit on my cock. Please.”

He looked at you, his mouth open and desperate. How could you deny him? You leaned over and spit on his cock, a long string of saliva connecting you and him. Frank shivered and cursed as he watched the spit drip from your lips.

“Fuck Baby Doll, you’re so fucking fine. I wish…. Shit.”

You hovered over him, wanting nothing more than to lower your mouth around him. But you didn’t. Then you sat back and watched as Frank pumped more vigorously.

“Tell me, what is your wish Frank?”

You trailed your hand on your own thigh, getting closer and closer to your apex.

“I wish… “

He groaned when your hand disappeared under your shirt, not giving him a view of what you were doing.

“I wish I could see what you’re doing right now.”

What you were doing was playing in your sopping wet pussy, using your wetness to lubricate your clit as you flicked it vigorously as you watched Frank make the shiny, pink, huge head appear and reappear in his fist.

“What do you think I’m doing?”

Frank opened his mouth to breathe.

“Fuck, I think you’re using those fingers to fuck yourself, Baby Doll. Shit. And for some strange reason, I think that should be my job.”

He looked at you with those eyes and you shuddered, closing your eyes and arching your back. Frank’s eyes found your nipples through his shirt.

“Those tits, Baby Doll….”

You reached up with your other hand and started plucking them through the material.

Frank started grunting, the teasing too much.

“I wanna see. Please? Please can I see?”

You thought of Andy. For a split second.

And then you saw Frank’s jaw clench and his tongue sneak out to lick his lips. This feeling was too good.

You slowly raised the hem of the skirt and revealed what Frank had been dreaming of. First, your pussy with a well trimmed, but full bush, then your stomach, then, your breasts. You pulled the shirt all the way off to see Frank’s contorted face when your eyes were free.

“Holy mother of god. I’m gonna… fuck… just the sight of you….”

Your hand quickly found your pussy and your nipple again as you watched Frank on the brink of cuming. This was so hot.

“Yes, I wish those were my hands, Baby Doll. My lips, fuck, my cock in both those places. I’d fuck you real good, if you let me….”

You pulled your nipple and let your breast fall, watching the precum drip all over Frank’s hand. Then you tried to put your fingers in yourself as far as you could.

“Fuck, I would fuck you right, I would fuck you so good… Shhhhhitttttttt!!!!”

Frank came quickly when you saw your thighs quiver and you collapsed on the bed, pulling your hand away from your orgasm as you watched Frank shoot beautiful, pearlescent cum all over his stomach and thighs.

“Fuck, that was hot.”

Frank barely had any time to breathe before you snapped and grabbed his hand, licking the cum off of it, and sucking his thumb, fellating it with your lips and tongue. In turn, he grabbed your hand and sucked your juices off your fingers, making you wet all over again.

“You taste so good Frank.”

You smiled and proceeded to lick every drop off his arm, and started on his thighs.

Frank could only just lay there at your mouth tortured his sould and his dick rose again coming to settle on his stomach again just as you reached it to clean him up.

You licked all around his cock, teasing him again.

“You’re a demon.”

Frank whispered as your tongue went everywhere but where he wanted it.

Finally, you licked his tip and encased it in your mouth, making Frank practically yell and push your head down immediately when you got his shaft in your mouth.

“HOLYYYYYYSHITTTT!”

You gagged around him and smiled, doing it over and over again until he thought he would cum again. When you went for his balls was when he reached down for your thighs and flipped you over on your back, making you release him from your mouth.

There were no thoughts right now, just Frank.

He dove for your pussy.

“I’m gonna eat this shit. Now.”

And he buried his face in your cunt, looking up for your reaction as you leaned up and watched him. He licked long and urgent stripes through your folds and sucked your clit alternately, so that you arched your back and almost stood on your head as Frank ate you out.

You were cumming within five minutes.

He sucked your clit through it, holding your thighs firmly with his hands, then he started again, immovable as you tried to move his head.

Frank stopped once to tell you what was up.

“Sorry, Baby Doll. You’re gonna have to take this shit.”

And your eyes rolled back in your head for your third orgasm of the night.

As you were still pulsing from that one, you felt Frank’s thick head breach your quivering opening, and his long dick slide inside you.

He started stroking, languidly at first, kissing you so that you could adjust to him and holding your face between his hands. He looked at you as if he loved you. You could feel it.

“One more?”

The question made you pulse and you mewled a small yes into his mouth.

That’s when he hiked your thigh up in the crook of his elbow and started pounding your cervix soundly, causing you to clench down around him.

“Holy fuck, you feel better than I ever imagined.”

He leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth and lavished it attention.

“You feel better than heaven… shit, Baby Doll.”

“Fuck me, Frank!”

“Oh, shittttttttt!”

He couldn’t control himself as he felt the urge to empty himself inside you and bury you under the mattress. You were full of his cum when he lay atop you, finally spent.

“That was���.”

Frank rolled off you and you both stared up at the ceiling.

“Yeah.”

You searched your soul and found that you felt no guilt. You did what you wanted to do, just like Andy said.

“Can I…?”

Frank was lifting your leg. He stared longingly at your pussy, his cum seeping out of it. He pushed some back in with his fingertips and sighed, thinking of Andy going in for sloppy seconds. Or licking it out of you. He shivered at the thought and sucked your combined fluids off his fingers.

He flopped back on the bed, and sighed.

“That’s fucking beautiful.”

You chuckled, thinking how different he was from Andy, but how complementary. You were thinking crazy thoughts of both of them on either side of you as you drifted off to sleep. Frank curled himself around you and slept himself.

Andy ended the facetime call that Frank had started when he set his phone up on the dresser. He had a great view of everything that happened, and now here he was, his own stomach covered in cum as he watched you two fall asleep.

Andy had to get back there.

Soon.

[casuallyimagining]

Fix You (1)

hybrid!Min Yoongi x female!reader

Summary: When you take in a stray cat, you have no idea he’s secretly a hybrid trying to escape his past. Can you help him heal?  Genre: hurt/comfort, angst, slow burn, fluff Word Count: 3,660 Rating: M Warnings (may not appear in every part): minor character is a dick to animals, mentions of a gun, main character injury (non-serious), discussion of physical abuse, emotional abuse, discussion of sexual abuse, discussion of self-harm

Notes: This is for the March project for @thebtswritersclub. The prompt word was ‘adventure’ and I mean, what’s more of an adventure than adopting a pet? Banner by @birbdae; thanks to @voiceswithoutlips, @taetaesbaebaepsae​, @hoebii​ and @aroseforyoongi for editing various parts of this for me.

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“That cat got into Rick’s chickens again. Killed a couple chicks. He said he’s going to kill it if he sees it on his property.”

Your dad had said it nonchalantly, barely glancing over his newspaper. Without a second thought, you were out the door. There was no way to be sure, not really, but the sinking feeling in your stomach made you run a little faster down your parents’ driveway.

You could have sworn you saw that cat slinking under Rick’s fence on your walk earlier.

Rick’s property neighbored that of your parents, but you wouldn’t necessarily consider him their neighbor. If you stood on their front porch, you could just barely make out Rick’s house through the stand of trees that served as the property line. Your parents had chosen to let their piece of the world be natural, carving out just enough space for a house and a decent sized yard all those years ago. It had made for some great childhood adventures in the woods: pretending fairies were real, living out your childhood fantasies of being some sort of wizard, making friends with the trees--normal kid stuff.

Rick, on the other hand, had turned his land into farmland, even though he neither farmed nor cared for the land. The vast rolling fields of Rick’s “farm” were mostly bare. He had a pond in one corner on the other side of the property, and he had a small cabin for hunting when game season started. Mostly, though, Rick raised chickens. Annoying things, the chickens were, not unlike Rick himself. It wasn’t uncommon to hear the hens’ incessant clucking from your parents’ house, and the roosters never seemed to shut up.

When you moved to the city to attend college, you were elated to get away from the chickens.

According to your dad, the cat had showed up in the woods a few weeks ago, and it had made an enemy out of Rick almost immediately. The poor thing was skinny--too skinny, like it had been living on the streets for a while--and though its dark fur was ruddy and matted, you could tell it would be a beautiful onyx if taken care of.

As you got closer to Rick’s farm, you heard barking and a sharp yowl, and you hurried in the direction of the sounds, afraid of what you’d find. Rounding the corner of the chicken coop, you gasped in horror.

Rick stood with his back to you, shotgun in his hands. His dog, an old bird hound with caramel spotted fur, had the cat clutched in his mouth, the dog’s teeth sunk directly into the cat’s shoulder. The cat, to its credit, had puffed itself up greatly, its tail nearly double its normal size. It was growling and hissing, and, despite the pain it was almost certainly in, was swiping at the dog with its front claws.

“Call your dog off, Rick.” Your voice was steadier than you thought it would be. You were out of breath from the run over there, and being anywhere near Rick with a gun and his snarling dog made you a little uneasy.

“Fuck off.” The man barely turned his head to you. “Damn cat’s been a pain in my ass since someone dumped it here. It killed four of my chicks.”

“Look at it. Of course it’s going after your chickens. You don’t keep them in their coop. It’s starving.”

“Damn thing should stay at your soft-ass parents’ house if it wants handouts.” Rick cocked his gun, pointing it at the cat. The cat’s copper eyes flashed to Rick at the sound. It looked terrified.

The fact that it knew what a gun was and knew to be afraid of it broke your heart a little bit.

“Call off the dog,” you said again, taking a step toward him, hands splayed out in front of you placatingly. “Calm down. I’ll get the cat out of your hair, and you won’t have to worry about it again.”

“Ain’t going to replace my chickens.” Rick’s voice was gruff, but he lowered the gun.

“I’ll pay for your chickens. Just call off your dog.”

He stared at the cat, the gun clutched in his hands but no longer pointing it at anything. For a second, you thought he was going to sicc the dog on the poor thing just to spite you and make a point. You had a feeling he was the type of person to do that. But after a tense stare down, he whistled through his teeth.

“Drop it,” he commanded the dog. The dog looked to its owner, and he repeated the command. It took a second, but the dog released its bite, and the cat slumped to the ground. Rick regarded the cat with a sneer before turning to you. “Take care of that thing. If I see it on my property one more time, it won’t be so lucky.”

You nodded tensely, and he whistled again. The dog trotted over to Rick’s side and the two walked off. You stared after him for a moment. A pained yowl drew your attention back to the cat.

The cat looked angry, and you didn’t blame it. Its tail was still puffed up, and you could tell that if it hadn’t just been attacked by a dog, its hackles would be straight up. Its copper eyes glared at you, its ears flat against its head. You approached cautiously, and it growled deeply in its throat.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you soothed, crouching down to make yourself less threatening. “I’m going to get you help. Is that okay?”

The cat hissed at you and attempted to back away. It made two limping steps before collapsing into the mud around the coop.

“That’s alright. It’s okay.” You sighed, unsure of your next steps. You didn’t want to traumatize the cat by coming any closer, and you really didn’t want to risk injuring it further by picking it up and having it fight you.

You looked at the cat, blinking slowly when you accidentally made eye contact with it. You had read somewhere that blinking was a way to show a cat that you weren’t a threat, and though you felt kind of silly, at this point, you were willing to try anything.

“What am I going to do with you, kitty?” you questioned, sitting down in the mud. The cat looked at you curiously, as if asking what the fuck you were doing. “I don’t want Rick to hurt you,” you confessed. “I’d like to take you somewhere safe.”

Truthfully, that was part of the reason why you were even visiting your parents. Your mom had told you about the cat, and how it didn’t seem to be wearing any collar, and while you were visiting them you wanted to try to trap it, either to bring it to live with you, or to take it to a nice shelter where it could get a good meal and hopefully find a nice family.

“Can I take you to the vet, at least?” You really were desperate, talking to the cat as if it understood what you were saying. The cat, to its credit, looked at you, copper eyes staring into your face before it blinked, just once, slowly and deliberately.

When you reached out to it, it didn’t growl.

You stood and approached the cat, doing your best not to make any sudden moves. You scooped it up gently, careful not to jostle his left shoulder too much, and cradled it close to your chest.

The walk back to your parents’ house was slow, but the trip to the vet was even slower.

It was a weekend, so the vet in your parents’ sleepy little suburb was closed. You had no choice but to pack your bags back up and make the trek home to the city to take the cat to the 24/7 emergency veterinary hospital.

You tapped your hand on the steering wheel. Traffic wasn’t usually this terrible on a weekend, but there was some sort of sporting event happening, so of course, all the roads into the city were clogged.

Stopped at a red light, you spared a glance toward your passenger seat. The cat laid on his side--it was a him, your mother had confirmed--his breathing labored. You could tell he was still on edge. His tail was still puffed up like a cat-of-nine-tails, and he kept eyeing you warily. But he had let you wrap him in a blanket and carry him to your car, and he had stayed on the seat, almost like he knew it was the safest place for him.

“Almost there, kitty,” you mumbled, changing lanes, finally free of the congestion. “Hang on just a little longer.”

Thankfully, the vet wasn’t busy, and you were able to get in with the assistant almost right away. You explained everything that had happened to her as she examined the cat, tutting slightly as she checked his shoulder.

“There are some punctures, but nothing that’s too worrying. I can bandage it and give you some antibiotics.” The assistant pulled her hand back as the cat swatted at her for touching his shoulder a little too forcefully. “Do you know if he has an owner? It would be helpful to know his shot records.”

You shook your head. “He just showed up in the woods one day.”

“We’ll get him a full round of vaccines, then, too.” Copper eyes met yours, and for a second, you thought you saw a look of concern cross them. But then he blinked, and it was gone.

The vet ordered an MRI, and thankfully, because it was a large veterinary hospital connected with the local university, they were able to do it the same day. So you ended up staying at the vet for two hours as they anesthetized the cat and did the scan. While the cat was waking up, the vet called you into the exam room.

“We checked for a microchip, and there was none,” the vet--Dr. Jung--informed you, his brow furrowed. “Based on the cat’s malnutrition and the condition of the coat, it’s likely he was a stray for at least a few months.” You nodded. The poor cat. “We should have the MRI results soon. I’ll give you a call in a few hours once I get a chance to read them. Normally, since he’s a stray, we would contact our foster network to see if anyone would be able to take him in. But since you brought him in-”

“I’ll keep him,” you said quickly. You were planning on it anyway. Just because he was hurt didn’t mean you were willing to give him up.

“Good.” Dr. Jung smiled at you. “My assistant is wrapping his shoulder now, and we’d like to just monitor him for a few more minutes to make sure he’s coming out of the anesthesia well, but you should be clear to take him home after that.” He placed a box on the table between you. “This is Clavamox. One millilitre twice a day for seven days. I don’t think he’ll develop an infection, but since he was so dirty, I think it’s probably better to be safe.” You nodded and pocketed the box. “We also gave him a rabies shot while he was here. It’s standard because he was bitten. If you notice any symptoms, please call us immediately. Once he’s feeling better, we can get him the rest of the vaccines he needs.”

You nodded. This was a lot all at once. And you didn’t even know what you wanted to call the cat yet.

Dr. Jung seemed to be able to tell you were feeling overwhelmed, because he offered you a comforting smile and patted your shoulder. “I’m going to go check on him. You can come if you want.”

As soon as you entered the room, groggy copper eyes were on you. The poor thing looked stoned out of his mind, but there was recognition there, and that gave you some comfort. At least he wasn’t glaring at you anymore. Dr. Jung’s assistant had wrapped his shoulder, so he had a bandage from his upper left front leg wrapped all the way around his chest and up around his shoulders.

“What are we going to do with you, kitty?” you questioned softly, reaching out and gently placing your hand on his head.

After checking the cat’s vitals one last time, Dr. Jung let you leave.

He was limp in your arms as you carried him into your apartment, still a little drugged up from the anesthesia. The whole way back to your apartment, he had sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window like a drunk, moody college student.

“It’s up to you if you want to stay, kitty,” you told him, gently laying him down on your couch as soon as you kicked your shoes off. Of course you wanted to keep him. You had grown attached to him in the few hours you had been with him. But if he was miserable, you were willing to help him find somewhere that was more suited for his needs.

He tried to stand, succeeding only long enough to give a dramatic wobble before collapsing back into the overstuffed cushion. While he was completely recovered from the anesthesia, Dr. Jung had warned you that the cat might be feeling the side effects for a day or so. You reached out to pet him, but his copper eyes slanted into a glare, and you pulled back.

Assuming the cat was hungry, you left him alone and headed into the kitchen. You had some chicken in the fridge, and you thought maybe he would enjoy some fresh meat he didn’t have to steal. You weren’t sure when his last real meal was, so you wanted to go easy on his digestive system until you knew he was feeling better. You’d have to stop and get cat food at some point, but for now, chicken would do.

You did your best to trim off all the fat from the chicken breast. You knew he wouldn’t mind eating it--cats ate weirder things from fresh kills, after all--but you figured with how thin he was, lean meat would probably be better. Carefully, you cut it up into small, easy-to-chew chunks and put some on a plate, wrapping the rest and putting it into the fridge for later. You used a dropper to evenly spread the required dose of the antibiotics onto the chicken in hopes that it would make it easier to give him the medicine.

Returning to the living room, you noticed that the cat hadn’t moved aside from doing his best to curl up as small as possible in the corner of the couch. You tried not to make eye contact with him as you pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it on the cushions. You weren’t particularly keen on having raw chicken all over your furniture, but you sat the plate on the blanket anyway. There was no way you trusted the cat to be able to jump down off your couch at this point.

“Here’s some chicken, kitty.” You gestured toward the plate, and he eyed it warily, unmoving. You supposed he would feel more comfortable eating if you weren’t in the room. “Don’t leave it too long--it’ll go bad. I have to go do some work. I’ll be in my office if you need me. It’s just down the hall.”  As you stood up, you paused. You were talking to a cat. You were talking to a cat as if it could understand exactly what you were saying.

Maybe your parents were right. Maybe you had been living alone for too long.

Your mother had suggested you get a hybrid when you first moved to the city--a nice, loyal, protective one, like a German shepherd hybrid or a golden retriever--but you had never gone further than passively looking.

You were happy for the hybrids. A majority of them were still owned, but they could move about their lives freely and without question. It was illegal to treat them as servants, and all ownership had to be consensual, though you weren’t sure how well those rules were enforced. You didn’t really understand how someone could just own a hybrid--they were people, after all, even if their DNA was a little altered. It was weird to you, owning another sentient being like that.

Their lives were certainly much better than they had been. Some hybrids were naturally occurring, but others--a majority of them--had been created by rich and powerful individuals and the government in secret during some shady human experiments in the early 20th century. And, of course, because they were experiments, it created a whole host of problems regarding rights and discrimination.

But despite all the improvements, there was still a long way to go. There was nothing wrong with owning a hybrid if it was consensual, but that didn’t mean you were necessarily comfortable with it.

After a few hours of sitting at your desk working on your most recent graphic design project for work, you turned away and stretched. If you had to stare at the color chartreuse for ten more minutes, you thought you would go blind. It was time to check on the cat anyway, and you wanted to make sure you threw away any chicken that was left on the plate you had given him so he wouldn’t get sick.

When you entered the living room, you were immediately confused. The cat was gone, but so was your blanket. The plate was still on the couch, almost exactly where you left it, but it was entirely empty. Wonderful. You had taken in some sort of Houdini cat.

You grabbed the plate and put it in the sink, trying to look for your blanket as you went. You found it when you returned to the living room, the corner sticking out from under your TV stand. There was just enough space between the bottom shelf and the floor for the cat to fit under, and apparently he had taken the blanket with him. You couldn’t really blame him--it was April, and it was late evening, and your floors were still a little chilly.

“Hey kitty?” you called, bending down to see if you could see him under the shelf. You had thought about it while working, and at this point, you were just going to lean into the whole ‘talking to the cat like he’s a person’ thing. “It’s starting to get late. I’m going to go get ready for bed, okay?” You could just barely see his copper eyes hidden all the way under the TV stand. His pupils were blown wide to capture all the ambient light they could. “You can explore or whatever you’re comfortable with tonight, but please don’t ruin my stuff. Please be a good kitty.”

He blinked once and continued to stare blankly at you.

“Okay, well… if I don’t see you, goodnight.”

You stood and headed off to your bathroom to start your nightly routine. It only took you about a half an hour, but you were soon laying down in bed with your book. You had started it a few days ago, but you were hooked, and you were already almost done with it. The author had managed to somehow insert a space alien robot into today’s modern digital age, and you found it fascinating. You would never look at social media and influencers the same way after reading this book.

It was cozy in your room with the little bedside lamp on, snuggled up in your blankets. Your bed was soft--it was one of those that you could change it using a remote to fit your mood and preference, but you almost always preferred it soft--and you had plenty of blankets and pillows to make it comfortable.

You only had a few pages left when you noticed it, the shadow lingering in the hallway, slowly getting closer to your open bedroom door. It started out against the wall across the hall. When you next looked up after glancing down to your book, the shadow had moved to your doorway. He even had turned his head away like he was pretending it was a coincidence that he had ended up in your room.

He was walking with a slight limp, which was unsurprising given the bandage and the fact that he was attacked not even 12 hours before. He was much more lucid than he was when you first brought him home, though you could tell he was still a little groggy. You didn’t say anything to him--you figured if you did, he would bolt, so you let him do what he wanted.

After a few minutes--maybe 15 or 20--you closed your book quietly, careful not to startle the cat. You glanced at the doorway and didn’t see him, so you put your book on your nightstand and turned off the light. It took you a second, but you snuggled down into the blankets, pulling them tightly around you. You were just about to drift off when you felt it.

Something landed gently on your bed by your feet. It paused for a moment before slowly making its way up the bed to your head, its gait uneven. When it got to the other pillow, it laid down. You risked opening an eye then, and were met with copper eyes staring back at you.

He watched you warily, as if waiting for you to yell or kick him off the bed. When you didn’t, his eyes narrowed, and he slowly allowed himself to lay down, his head on his paws, curled up as best as he could be.

You fell asleep to the sound of him snoring lightly.

As always, your feedback is appreciated. Feel free to pop into my ask box with questions or thoughts about the series. I’d love to hear from you!

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