#Or spent time in my Igloo at all

[profiteroleval]

A family can be the Island's number 1 public menace, his half-penguin half-mammal serial robber gf, and their crab child

[intimidating-fettuccine]

I think its time some of the creeps got some fluff :D

Puppeteer, Hobo, and Kate experiencing some wholesomeness with their S/Os? Mayhaps? Snuggles and cuddles oh my!

I tried to make it winter themed because it's that time of year :)

Puppeteer:

Listen, he's already pretty clingy over you, but once winter hits you basically never get rid of him. He always gets worried that you're gonna get too cold out there and get sick, and so he tends to hover over you, making sure you're dressing well and that you're staying warm enough in all of this winter weather. Winter is also the time of year when he starts (insisting) suggesting that you wear his clothes because they'll keep you warmer. He'll bundle you up in his sweaters, or a scarf of his, or a nice thick jacket, claiming it's totally necessary when really half of it is just that he thinks you look incredibly adorable when you're wearing his clothes, and so he gets super excited whenever you do so during the colder months. If you ever tease him and say that if you wear all his clothes he won't have any left for himself he will go out and buy doubles of his outfits so that you can't use that excuse anymore. Also, Pup never wants to let you out of bed in the mornings. He just wants to stay curled up beside you, cuddling with you, and spending the day resting with you because he feels much weaker and more tired because of the cold, so his solution to that problem is to get a good grip on you and just cuddle you until you can somehow manage to escape him about an hour later than normal.

Hobo:

Hobo is probably one of the cuddliest creeps, and you'll find that could pretty early on in your relationship with him. Nothing makes this poor touch starved bird boy happier than being able to get some love and affection from you, and luckily you're always happy to provide it. Nothing beats lazy mornings with you both sprawled out in bed, your body wrapped up in his arms and wings, the two of you content to lay there for as long as you'd like, in no rush to do anything else. Although, with it being winter, sometimes Hobo likes to get outside with you and spend some time exploring in the cold. He's never gotten to have fun with people out there before, and you're always excited to give him a chance to experience that. He's often entranced by the falling snow, spending hours just watching it fall. He'll sit out there with you, a wing protectively draped over you so you don't have to worry about it soaking into and chilling you. After you've spent some time outside, head in and make the two of you some hot chocolate, curl up in front of the fire or on the couch, put something on the TV, and just relax together underneath a blanket, and you'll have Hobo thinking he must be in heaven with how relaxed and content he feels beside you. He's a simple guy, and it doesn't take much for him to feel fully cheery and at ease beside you.

Kate:

Kate absolutely loves wintertime, and she loves it even more when she gets to spend it with you, her favorite person in the entire world. I'm talking about building snowmen together, having snowball fights, making snow angels, fuck it, she might even ask if you want to put in the time and energy to build an igloo together. Kate just absolutely loves being outside and fucking around and exploring, and all of that is even more fun when you're out there with her. If you get too cold she's more than happy to go in with you, but she loves spending as much time as possible with you running around in the snow. When you finally go back in, she'll make the two of you some of her famous homemade hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and whipped cream if you'd like it, and she'll sit by the mansion fireplace with you, laughing and telling jokes and stories with you to pass the time while you warm up together. After that is a nice warm shower, and then throwing on your pajamas and jumping into bed to snuggle up together. She'll make a blanket fort or just drown the two of you in a big pile of blankets, snuggle up to you, and just lay there and relax with you in utter bliss until both of you are too sleepy to stay awake any longer. Kate never thought she'd be lucky enough to have someone to do things like this with, so it makes her so incredibly happy to be able to have you by her side. 

[angelpuns]

The Igloo - TMNT Minific

( Herr's my fic from the @turtlestogetherzine !! I kept forgetting to post it ;-; )

It had taken him nearly all morning, but his masterpiece was finally complete!

Donnie stepped back to admire his creation - a real-life igloo! 

He turned, hearing a couple of shouts behind him. Just as he predicted, Leo had dragged Raph into a snowball fight - which meant Donnie was gonna get cold snow shoved into his jacket at some point. Not this time, though! 

He wasted no time crawling inside. 

He'd been planning this for months - he'd done a ton of research in igloos and how they worked.

If he remembered correctly, the super packed snow would help keep him warm. At least, a little warmer than it was outside. 

Donnie dragged the tools he'd brought in behind him, setting them in a corner of the igloo. He could at least make it a bit more homely in here, since he was gonna be stuck til their snowball fight finished.

He spent the next few minutes working on the inside - drawing out diagrams in the snow walls and imagining it was actually an elaborate laboratory. He'd been wanting to start one for a while, but Papa was not being reasonable. He could be safe with a propane torch! 

Donnie only stopped when someone poked their head in the igloo - his plastic shovel held up in defense. 

"Whatcha doin' in here, Dee?" It was just April, but Donnie found her coy smile a little too untrustworthy.  

"I decided to make a fortress. I've been researching igloos for months now and decided this was the best way to prevent getting roped into yet another snowball fight," He explained, still holding up the shovel, "it's my safe-haven."  

"Mind if I join ya? It's a bloodbath out there." She sounded friendly enough, but Donnie could see from here that she had her hand behind her back - likely a planned ambush. 

"Sorry, April, but I cannot let anyone in without a security check."

April scoffed, poking her head even further into the entrance, "Let me in or I'm telling Splints about your little scrap yard escapade last month.” 

Donnie grimaced at that, quickly compiling a pros and cons list of why he should agree. 

No matter which way he put it, letting April in was his best choice. 

Donnie sighed, setting the shovel aside and gesturing inside. 

"Fine. But don't you dare bring any snowballs in here, " He muttered, pulling his arms in close and zipping his jacket further up his neck, "I worked hard to keep the heat in!" 

April shrugged, a snowball plopping onto the ground next to her. As always, he was right. 

April crawled into the igloo, eyes widening when she saw how big it was inside. It could fit all of them if he really wanted (he most certainly did not).  

"Wow, Donnie! This is amazing. You built this by yourself?" April sat cross-legged across from him, admiring the dome, "What's with the drawings?"

Donnie flushed a little, shrugging, "I was pretending it was a lab…but yes, I did build it myself. Did you know that the tighter the snow is packed the more heat it keeps in? And, the reason it doesn't melt is cause-" 

"WOAH! Donnie, did you build a house!?" 

Donnie frowned when he was interrupted, turning to aim a glare at Mikey. His younger brother had poked his head in the entrance, but was craning to see farther inside. 

"Actually, Michael, it's called an igloo-"

"COOL! Can I please please pleeeeaaaase come in?" Mikey poked his head a little further in, "I'll be the goodest hou-igloo  guest ever!"

"First of all, goodest is not a word. Second, no you may not. I only have so much room in here," Donnie scoffed. He was stretching the truth a bit, but what did Mikey know? He was only six!

"But…but I said I'd be the goodest- the bestest house guest ever…" Mikey murmured, his expression quickly falling into the sad puppy dog eyes. 

Donnie hesitated, before quickly shaking his head, "Sorry, I can't bend the rules for you, Mikey."

April gave him a look, but that wasn't what made him change his mind. Sniffles came from the entrance of the igloo, Donnie regrettably glancing over. Mikey was fully sobbing, huge crocodile tears slipping down his cheeks. 

"Oh- don't… Sigh. Don't cry, please don't cry, Angelo…" Donnie attempted to soothe him, crawling over to the entrance and beckoning his youngest brother a bit closer, "I…guess we have room for one more. Just please don't cry." 

Somehow Mikey's tears always ended up getting to him. He felt so…icky making him cry. 

Mikey brightened up at that, crawling inside and practically tackling Donnie into a hug. 

"There…there. I let you in so now you can't cry," He murmured, giving Mikey a couple of pats on his beanie-covered head. 

Mikey rubbed his face a couple times on Donnie's coat, no doubt leaving a trail of slime and who knows what else. Eugh. He really wished he'd thought to bring tissues. 

"Thank you, Dee. You're the be-bestest." Mikey murmured, happily squeezing Donnie once more before thankfully moving away. He wiped his face and sat cross-legged next to April, watching Donnie expectedly. 

"Soooooo, what now?"

"Well I didn't exactly plan for visitors. I suppose I could finish explaining the thermal capabilities of the igloo itself, but-" 

"You guys havin' a party in here or somethin'?"

Donnie groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face and dead panning towards the entrance. 

"No, Raph. I've simply been a weak turtle," Donnie explained, Raph just giving him a slightly confused look, "Sigh…I suppose you're going to try and convince me to let you in?" 

Raph blinked at him a couple times, before grinning, "I got just the thing!"

Donnie opened his mouth to argue that it wasn't an invitation, but Raph quickly left. Donnie didn't know what he'd try to convince him with, but he wasn't going to let it work. Even if it was lunch (he was getting awfully hungry…) 

Raph was back moments later, poking his head in with a grin. Donnie was relieved he'd made the specs so large. Even if he hadn't anticipated guests, he adhered to the phrase 'go big or go home'. 

"How's this for an invite?" Raph shoved several blankets through the entrance, watching Donnie with a grin. 

Donnie thought for a moment, before audibly sighing. The igloo could only keep them so warm anyway. One more body and several blankets wouldn't hurt.  

"Alright. Make yourself comfortable, but be mindful of the walls," He warned, watching as Raph slowly crawled into the igloo. April and Mikey had already grabbed blankets, the both of them scooting over to make room for Raph.

Raph pulled a blanket over himself as well, though it was severely lacking in size. 

Donnie grabbed a blanket for himself as well, relishing in the warmth for a moment before sighing. 

"Everyone comfortable?"

Nods around the room. 

"Alright, finally. As I was explaining earlier, the igloo obviously doesn't have a heating system, but it keeps the person inside warm through a very specific building process-" 

"GUYS!? WHERE'D EVERYBODY GO!?" 

Donnie groaned, pulling the blanket up and over his head. Of course Leo still found a way to interrupt him. He just wanted to explain how the igloo worked! Was that too much to ask!?

Leo's shouting grew louder and louder until it was just outside of the entrance. Donnie grabbed his plastic shovel, holding it up to defend himself. 

A moment later Leo poked his head into the igloo. 

He was crawling inside before Donnie could stop him. 

"Oh, hey! You built a igloo-"

"Stay back, Leo. You're not allowed in here." Donnie huffed, moving to block Leo from coming in, "It's supposed to be a sanctuary."

"Sanctuwhat..?" Leo poked his head in a little further to see the rest of the group. He frowned, turning back to Donnie, "What, everyone else is allowed but me? I'm your twin!" 

"So? You're not allowed in cause you're gonna start another snowball fight." Donnie scoffed. He felt a little twinge of guilt, but he knew Leo. And he knew he'd figure out a way to rope Donnie into a fight. 

"You let Raph in!" 

"He came bearing gifts," Donnie retorted, holding up the corner of his blankets, "Anyway, I have a sign here. No Leos."

He pointed to the wall, where he had in fact scrawled a sign that said 'no Leos'. 

"I can't even read that!" Leo scoffed, "Just let me in, Dee, you're not playing fair!" 

"I said no, Leo. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some explaining to-"

"What if I promise no snowballs?" 

Donnie shook his head, fixing Leo with a stare. One that he hoped was intimidating. 

Leo stared back, expression just as hard. But then his eyes drooped a little and he hurriedly turned away. His boots crunched the snow around the igloo for a moment before fading.

"Wow. I didn't think he'd actually listen..." Donnie chuckled, tossing the shovel back in his bucket, "Now as I was saying…" 

"Donnie, don't you think we can let him in? Raph feels a little bad…" 

Donnie sighed, "No, Raph. I wrote a sign and everything. I spent a long time on this and I don't want it to be destroyed by hurricane Leo." 

They were silent for a moment, Donnie clearing his throat to start again. Only to be interrupted by Mikey. 

"But…Leo can play nice if you ask real polite! " He added, "And- and he promised no snowballs!" 

Donnie groaned, "I know, but that was probably just a lie to get in. I do not plan on having snow shoved down my jacket today, alright?"

He glanced at April, "Have anything to say or can I do my speech?"

April just shrugged, "Go ahead, Donnie. But I'm leavin' once you're done" 

Fine. He didn't invite her in anyway. 

"So! The way the igloo keeps in heat-" 

"...Donnie?" 

"What is it now!?" Donnie turned towards the voice, only to see Leo poking his head in again, "Leo, I said no. What do you want?" 

"I just thought you guys might be hungry…" He murmured, holding up a lunchbox and a thermos, "Dad made hot chocolate. and sandwiches."

"Ooh hot chocolate! " Mikey crawled out from under his blanket, fumbling his way towards the entrance. April followed. Raph glanced between Donnie and the entrance, before making his way over as well. 

Donnie watched them go with a frown. Fine! He hadn't wanted guests anyway. 

He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, staring at the No Leo sign. So what? He wasn't hungry. His stomach growled in response. Okay, he was a little hungry. 

He made another pros and cons list in his heads, potential mishaps flooding his brain. Donnie groaned. There were - unfortunately- more pros than cons. 

And he was hungry. 

And lonely.

He had to tell someone about how igloos worked. 

So, he set his blanket aside and crawled out of the igloo. He squinted against the sudden sunlight, his family a few feet away.  

His brothers and April were all sitting in the snow, sipping from the thermos and eating their sandwiches. 

Donnie walked over, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He hated being wrong. And he hated doing apologies. But he…wasn't playing nice. And that was probably why he felt so icky. 

"...Do you all wanna eat in my igloo?" He murmured, staring at his feet, "It's warmer in there."

"Donnie-" 

Leo cut April off, “I never thought you'd ask, Dee! You gonna tell us how that thing works or not?" 

Donnie stiffened a bit at that, nodding. He didn't move, the rest of them gathering up their lunch and heading for the igloo. 

Leo stopped and held out a sandwich, "Here. I know you're real bad at 'pologies. But that's okay." 

He wrapped an arm around Donnie's shoulder and gave him a warm squeeze, "I promise I won't start another snowball fight….yet.”

Donnie chuckled a bit at that. 

"Just let me win, okay?" 

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Warmth

Paring: Hemmer x fem!Reader Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Words: 1.6K Summary: She couldn't be sure if it was an Aenar thing or just a Hemmer thing but as pacifist as he was, just as stubborn and proud he could be.

Not my gif!!!

WINTER WRITING PLAN!!!

"Are you sure?"

She looked at him sceptically, if amused, leaning against the doorframe. Hemmer snorted snidely and wrinkled his nose. "I am Aenar. I grew up in snow and ice. That little bit out there won't hurt me."

With that, he pointed above them where a glass ceiling revealed a snow-covered landscape.

It was December and the Enterprise had actually found time to stay in space dock for repairs, allowing the crew to spend Christmas with their family.

Her family, however, were either no longer alive or currently nowhere near Earth and instead, after asking if it was all right, had decided to go on holiday with her fiancé. Hemmer had given her permission to choose the holiday destination and in the end she had decided on Lapland in Finland.

She had been more than lucky to get one of the ice igloos, which served as a kind of hotel.

They were not very spacious, but there was enough room for a double bed, a small bathroom and a small kitchenette, as well as a small fireplace in front of which a fluffy carpet was placed...

At first Hemmer had protested. He did not want to travel to a place  where she would be so cold, but she had not given in.  Hemmer had spent most of his life on a ship, where it was far too warm for him. So what was two weeks in the cold for her?

After a while, he had scowled and agreed on the condition that they would stay in the hotel for the first few days so that she wouldn't immediately suffer a shock freeze. She had agreed and

the last two days they had spent in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket, leaning against each other and just enjoying each other's presence.

They hadn't had to talk much. If she had wanted to tell him something, she had only had to think about it and if he had wanted to say something, he had leaned down and whispered in her ear so softly that it would not have been heard under other circumstances.

And she loved this togetherness and closeness, but she wanted to finally make good on her promise and give Hemmer his coldness. However, the Aenar turned out to be quite stubborn.

"I believe you, darling. However, you might want to wear something more than a rather thinner jacket after all."

Hemmer just shook his head. "It's not that cold for me. These temperatures were summer on Andoria. Here, though..." He didn't finish his sentence, just wrapped a scarf around her neck, pressed gloves into her hand and topped off his creation by pressing a pink bobble hat onto her head, which had little flashing lights built in and which she had never seen before.

"So I can find you in the dark too." He grinned impossibly smugly and, jokingly, she swatted at him with her gloves.

"Idiot. But fine, if you say so. Don't complain if you're cold, though."

"I won't be cold."

She was still sceptical but could not suppress a smile when Hemmer held out his hand and bowed to her. "May I ask the lady for this dance?"

She laughed out and placed her gloved hands in his exposed ones and curtsied slightly.

"It would be my pleasure."

Hemmer gave a short laugh as well and pulled her close so that she slammed against his chest, pressing a quick kiss against her temple, followed by a strand of transmitted thoughts that she couldn't quite follow, but all of which radiated gratitude and appreciation.

Before she could return this, however, Hemmer pressed the panel next to the door, whereupon it slid aside and an icy wind whistled at them.

" Sure you don't want to wear something thicker?"

At her question he just shook his head vigorously and began to pull her energetically behind him, which in turn elicited a laugh from her.

She hadn't seen him this eager and keen in a long time.

However, she could understand him. The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful.

Their igloo was in the middle of a forest. Although it was accessible by vehicle and the area was cordoned off enough so that they were not in danger of being attacked by wild animals, this patch of untouched earth seemed so peaceful that she felt she could stay here forever, despite the biting cold.

It was already dark, but the snow glistened in the pale light of the occasional lantern. Her breath danced in the air, forming the most beautiful shapes before mingling with Hemmer's and rising towards the sky.

To the stars, as they always did.

During the walk, she had hooked her arm with his and wrapped her hand around his, while at the same time resting her head on his shoulder. She felt his calm, even breathing and the light pressure his fingers exerted on hers and had to sigh.

While her fiancé liked to pretend he was grumpy and standoffish, he secretly loved physical contact and the full range of it.

Holding hands, hugging, resting his head on her shoulder, or the other way around, cuddling, kissing, he was open to everything.

Once, as they lay in their quarters on the Enterprise at night, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her and her hand on his chest to feel his heartbeat, listening to the ship's engines, Hemmer had spoken quietly, in a whisper, of his home.

About the majestic ice caves and structures the Aenar had built over the last millennia. About his family, whom he loved and missed more than anything, but who supported him in all his deeds. And about the Aenar culture and how important physical contact was for them.

They lived on an ice planet, a moon of cold, where warmth was something precious. Sharing one's own body heat was therefore a sign of a high level of trust, appreciation and love, and something that was not done lightly.

His words had brought tears to her eyes and since then she had appreciated every single touch of his body and had not taken it for granted.

Now to have this physical contact, in a place that was similar to Hemmer's home planet and where this custom, this culture, would make sense again and could take up its original intuition, was more than proof enough for her that Hemmer loved her.

Even if she really didn't need this proof.

During their walk, Hemmer had started to talk quietly about the possibilities of excursions for the next few days, the future five-year mission of the Enterprise and everything else.

It did not bother her. She would never tire of listening to him.

However, she was beginning to notice something that was not normally common for Hemmer. His voice was shaking, getting quieter and he was stumbling over words.

At first she didn't give it much thought. Maybe he was tired or distracted by his surroundings, but the further they walked, the more noticeable it became and she became sceptical, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

At first glance there wasn't much different from before, though on closer inspection she noticed that wasn't the case.

His lower lip was trembling, his shoulders were hunched and he seemed to shiver with every gust of wind. She had to avoid rolling her eyes in amusement.

"Hemmer, dear?" she interrupted him gently and instantly he turned his attention to her, which in turn warmed her heart.

"Yes?" They stopped and she disengaged her arm from his to touch his cheek with her hand, looking at him amused and loving at the same time. His skin was ice cold.

"I don't want to tease you, of course, or say that I said it, but, could it be that you are cold?"

Hemmer straightened up and almost seemed to bristle. "Of course not, that's ridiculous. I am an Aenar, I hardly feel this cold."

Just at that moment, a particularly icy wind brushed against them, making him shiver.

"Mhhh, of course."

Hemmer glanced to the side and she instantly felt bad as she thought she saw shame on his face. She now took his entire face in her hands.

"Hemmer, there's nothing wrong with that. Everybody gets cold sometimes."

"But I shouldn't be cold. I'm an Aenar, these temperatures are nothing compared to Andoria."

"Maybe." Lovingly, she let her finger run over his dominant cheekbone. "However, you must remember that you have spent the last few years on Earth and on starships, all of which are not geared to the normal temperature tolerance of Aenar and Andorians. So it's normal for you to have to get used to it again."

Hesitantly, he looked up. "So you don't think that." He hesitated."... that I am broken?"

She gasped and immediately pressed a kiss to his lips. "Hemmer, don't even think of putting words like that in your mouth. I love you and I don't care if you walk around in sub-zero temperatures in short clothes or suddenly find only desert temperatures comfortable. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, do you understand that?!"

He nodded hesitantly and she kissed him again. "And that you'll never forget it."

She then let go of him and started twiddling with her scarf, which elicited a frown from Hemmer.

"What are you doing that for?"

"Giving you my scarf." Hemmer protested, however she didn't listen and managed to wrap the piece of fabric around his neck.

"You'll be cold!"

"And you are cold," she countered. He started to protest again, however she pressed her finger to his lips. "Please," she whispered, "let me share my warmth with you."

For a few moments Hemmer held still, looking at her with admiration and love and wonder all at once, before he glanced to the side and pulled her close.

"You are impossible."

"I love you too, Hemmer."

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

@bigblissandlove1

@akamitrani

@moonlightshaiku

@indignantlemur

[valpogossip]

VALPOGOSSIP TEACAP: JULY 2024

You lot sure have be busy the last month. If I was of lesser mind or simply someone with something better to do, I would have resigned myself to my silence and let you all carry on. But business pays. And unfortunately for you, it's yours that pays me, and you're all not going to believe this.

July saw the epic failure of the anticipated winter festival ! A freak snowstorm left all of our beloved residents forced to face their biggest fear: talking to people they don't know ! Before we get into the general tea, let's recap what happened at the winterfest shall we ?

Putting any so called foodie to shame, Javi Domginuez-Herrera, Jackie Grimaldi, and Tobias Northcott risk carbon monoxide poisoning to get their snack on. While poison might not have been in the food, that didn't mean something wasn't as they began having hallucinations of the truck being similar to the wardrobe to narnia. Thinking if they left they wouldn't be in kansas anymore, wrong movie? Oh well. They're all still here, anyway.

In a much sweeter turn of a event, Noah Fontaine, Leia Munoz-Silva, Rachel Kang, and Seba Dominguez-Herrera huddled closely together for warmth. They spent time discussing the age old philosophical debate: is it a sneed or a snood. Also mentions of wondering if befriending a mountain lion would go faster if they used weed or if they used catnip. Yeah, I'm not sure how anyone made it out alive either. Though I don't think we should tell Astrid Blackwell about the cuddling though. Something about a rule being broken.

Lucky for Rania Chadha, Luna Dominguez-Herrera, Salem West, and Reyna Artiaga they were tucked away extra safely: locked backstage. Don't know if they ever solved the mystery of who locked them inside, but they had bigger things to worry about inside! Like Salem getting her something on her feet after getting her ice skates of, Luna's boyfriend freezing to death, and Reyna's unconventional hobby of picking locks? They all moved past that last one a bit too fast for my liking.

Moving on too quickly, let's talk about Felix Kang, Charlie Hastings, and Sade Akerele. For a trio locked in a game booth, they had no interest in the games around and instead, like your baby cousin who breathes a little too hard and always has a snack in their hand, opted to play games on their phone. Sade and Felix tried to convince the group chat of Felix's disappearance and Charlie tried to convince God that it was simply his time to go.

Back to ' how did any of these people make it out alive' we turn to Arlo Hwang, Wylie Henderson, and Rafael Cisneros in the ice skating rink booth. They skipped right over the small talk, and went straight to the worst case scenarios. Cannibalism was discussed and Rafa had the idea to make a fire inside using the ice skates around.

In the Igloo with Nevaeh Thompson, Quinn Hawley, and Giovanni Vallato the only thing bright in there was Nevaeh's lighter. Quinn was overly confident in her abilities to claw it out like she did in ireland (which could mean anything). Vanni wasted his signal, battery, and time on tiktok but made sure to share his empanadas, cold as they were. And Nevaeh had a lighter.

Something about being trapped in the dark in a Parade Float made Delilah Jane Harrison, Abril Valdivia, and Spencer Westin want to share their deepest darkest secrets. I guess they thought they'd stay secret but here they are: Delilah Jane forged her cosmetology license, Specer stole their dad's grammy and sold it and making him believe it was a robbery, and Abril has been spending more and more time with a certain pop star ! (She didn't say that, but I think if she was honest with herself she might've)

Saffron Barton and Poet Hawley were locked inside a security guard car that Poet was determined to get hotwired with the help of the blade she keeps on her, interesting fun fact. Despite Saffron's disbelief, Poet got it going ! Not far though. They just went around in circles until security got them to stop. Wonder if Poet and Saffron saw the voucher promised to everyone.

It's a good thing that Leon Amos, Yazmin Taylor, and Rohan Kaur were in The Washroom, the tissues surrounding them were a must need. Everyone was at each other's throats, there was a lot of sharing between strangers about babies and lifelines and Rohan unsettled by the display of emotional vulnerability. Unfortunately for us, there was no punch thrown but they did all make up and shared their deepest philosophies on life.

Trapped on the Tilt-A-Whirl, Astrid Blackwell, Zaid Hassan, Drew Crane, and Nikhil Hari went on a Dr. Seus like journey. They were out in the open and with Nikhil's generous offer of his body heat everyone decides they'd rather face the cold! They manage to get into a booth where Drew becomes the winner of the only Jolly rancher available, and they all freeze their hands off to text their loved ones.

NOW onto the general drama you don't want to miss:

Arlo and Reyna seem especially jittery and stuttery at the Inherited Escapes counter.

Charlie is running the risk of getting a restraining order if he keeps popping up at Secondhand Style without plans to purchase anything.

Delilah Jane and Rohan seemed to have finally gotten a good jog set for those circles they keep running around in.

Vanni and Yaz are expecting a baby after a few months of dating ! Congratulations ! We think?

Jackie and Spencer? I don't know what's going on over there, but I'm watching very closely.

Leon took the bold step to Salem's door and Salem took an even bigger step to show him the door. For how long? Only time will tell.

Nevaeh has run in to not only 1 but 2 of her exes? Omar and Seba, whichever one of you is praying for her downfall must have a direct line to god.

That's all I have for you today, but don't worry. We'll be back next month with even more delicious tea for you to catch up on. Let me know what you think, my inbox is always open.

[beatricebidelaire]

When I even hear the word process, I can only think of a terrible afternoon I spent in a windowless room. After writing nine drafts of a screenplay for the Lemony Snicket movie, I’d been fired, and they’d filmed a script written largely by someone else. There were parts of it, after filming, with which the people making the movie were dissatisfied, and so they called me on the last day of a grueling book tour and asked me if, instead of flying home into the arms of my wife, I would fly to them and tell them what was wrong. I said no. They offered a pile of money and I called my wife and she said, darling, just go. I got on an airplane and then into an automobile, and as the automobile approached my ugly destination, my film agent called me and said that my financial offer had been reduced, while I was in the air, to the amount of zero dollars. I went into the building anyway, wondering what I was doing. Inside, the arguing commenced, interspersed by watching rough edits of scenes of the movie—the first I had seen of it—and one of the people in the room, sitting alone on a little sofa, asking if anyone else felt cold. Nobody did, so as we continued to argue, she took cushions off of the sofa, first the decorative ones, and then the structural ones—the ones you lean against, the ones you sit on—and piled them up on her lap and limbs, for presumptive warmth. Eventually only her head was visible on the top of the pile of cushions, the argument continuing all the while. Finally someone just up and told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and while I largely agreed with this—then as now, I had no idea how to edit or improve an already-filmed film—I asked why then they had flown me out here to sit in this room. The woman sighed on the sofa. She looked like an igloo, or maybe a ziggurat, with her face at the top where people get sacrificed in offensive adventure movies. I understood then that I was among raving lunatics. Previously I had considered these people innocent, and then maybe dumb, and then maybe a pack of vicious demons. I understood, too, that they were, at least obliquely, the reason I owned a house. But now I saw that to argue with them, to talk with them, to spend time with them, was to spend time with utter, gallivanting, wide-grinned, swerving lunatics, and I was a lunatic, too. It was my own lunatic story they had filmed wrong, and I had entered this windowless room, of my own free will and for no money, to listen to lunatics tell me I was wrong. “Daniel,” this lunatic said to me, head atop the cushions, “you have to trust our process.”

And Then? And Then? What Else?

[artiststarme]

On a completely unrelated note and not the real life story that happened to me today at work that prompted me to write this, I'm quitting my job! Lol, I hope you guys like this and please leave your thoughts in the comments.

~*~*~*~

On a particularly hot and miserable summer in June, Family Video lost power. The AC whirred to a stop, the computers went dark, and Steve groaned. Without the computers, he couldn’t check out tapes or load information on returns. And without the AC, Steve couldn’t function. Since it was only Steve in the store, he made the executive decision to close for the day. 

He stuck a handwritten note to the door that spoke of inconveniences and waived video fees the next day then went home. His house was practically an igloo in comparison to the sweltering heat in the shoebox that was Family Video. It felt amazing. 

Steve spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around. He was enjoying the extra time off that he didn’t expect and he didn’t think of the early close at the store any further. 

Early the next morning, he was awoken to the shrill screeching of the house phone. Thinking it may be something important or perhaps one of the kids that needed something, he answered. 

“Harrington residence.”

“What do you mean ‘sorry for the inconvenience, we’re closed today but we’ll waive your return fees tomorrow’? Are you out of your damn mind, Harrington?”

“Oh hi Keith. Um yeah, we lost power and I couldn’t really do anything so I closed the store a few hours early. I didn’t want anyone to get upset about late fees so I said they would be waived,” Steve explained calmly. 

“That’s ridiculous! You’re an idiot, Harrington. We used to do things without the computer before and you’re telling me that you couldn’t do it again? You’re so stupid! Do you even know how much money you’re costing us by closing for hours and waiving late fees? Are you even listening to me?” Keith ranted on and on without letting Steve speak. 

“Um hello? Are you still there? I actually can’t hear you right now,” Steve faked, his voice quivering slightly with shock. 

Keith grumbled a little bit more before hanging up with a slam. Steve was surprised. First of all, he couldn’t believe that his manager had called him stupid. And over that? Second of all, he was offended. No, he didn’t want to have to deal with a bunch of paper trails and lists or the scorching heat when he was only making $3.25 an hour. 

What was he going to do about it? He was going to skip his shift that day and hang out with Eddie instead. The fucking lunatic was probably going to key Keith’s car or something once he heard about this. And that’s why Steve loved him.

Permanent Tag List: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes

[pony-central]

Winter Lovers Part 2 - SMG4 Story

Summary - After receiving emails from Mario, telling them that they were going on holiday, SMG4 and SMG3 prepared their bags and set off to find their destination. Ultimately, they were driven away to the Arctic and locked in an igloo. Can these two Meme Guardians escape in time, or will they once again be... Snowtrapped?

SMG3 was banging his fists against the door, trying to get Mario's attention. But the door was locked, so there was no way to get out of there.

SMG4: He wants us... To relive... The igloo incident...

SMG3: MARIO! LET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, OR ELSE I'LL SLAM THE DOOR ON YOUR PINGAS AGAIN!!! 😠

No response from the red plumber. SMG3 sighed in frustration. He didn't know how to entertain himself. All there was in the igloo was himself, a TV, a toilet, and his friend, who wasn't having a good time.

The blue Meme Guardian sniffled. He didn't like the igloo, as it was the same one him and SMG3 were in eight years ago. SMG4 started to whimper, and then, his whimpers turned into crying. SMG3 got slightly concerned.

SMG3: Uhhh, hey. SMG4? What's wrong? 🤨

SMG4: *whimpers* I don't like it here. I wanna go home! 😭

SMG3: So do I. But, Mario won't let us leave. Plus, there's no fucking heater in here! We're gonna freeze to death unless we get warm somehow! 😫

SMG4: *sobs* I know! 😭😭😭

SMG3: Oh, SMG4. Please don't get all emotional. We're grown men, not babies. It's time to man up.

SMG4 sniffled and got up.

SMG4: OK. But, how do we heat up? There's no heater around here.

SMG3: That's what I was saying.

SMG4: Well, I guess we could... Share body heat. That could warm us up.

SMG3 was blushing. SMG4 smirked at him.

SMG4: Ooh, you're being a Tsundere again, SMG3. 😏

SMG3: N - No, I'm not! You... BAKA! 😳🫣

SMG4: *laughing* OK. I guess that DID cheer me up a bit. Good thing I have a blanket here.

He pulled out a blue and purple blanket from his luggage. SMG3 was relieved that the blue boy had a way of staying warm during the brutal winters. SMG3 huddled up with SMG4 and they spent their time watching TV.

SMG3: You feel better now?

SMG4: Yeah. I do. I bet you miss Eggdog. 😊

SMG3: I guess so. But still, it's been a while since we last, well... You know... Shared body heat and went crazy in here. *sighs* Memories. Even if over a million people remembered it. 😔

He was then surprised at SMG4 snuggling next to him. The blue boy had fallen asleep.

SMG4: 😴

SMG3: *soft chuckle* Aww. *hugs him back*

SMG3 started shivering. The coldness was getting to him. SMG4 was still fast asleep to even notice.

SMG3: *mind* Fuck. I'm still cold! Is the blanket not cold enough?

He noticed SMG4 was shivering, too. But not in the "I'm freezing" way. More like the "I'm having a crazy dream!" way.

SMG3: Huh? Why is he shaking in his sleep? 😟

SMG4: *soft whimpers* Please... SMG3... Go... H... Mmm!

SMG3: *mind* Is he.... Dreaming about me?

SMG4: *soft whimpering* I... I love... I love you...

SMG3: *mind* Oh, my God. He IS thinking about me.

SMG3 snuggled up to SMG4 and hugged him. SMG4 could only muster up a small smile. It would be a long night in the igloo. 😊

To be Continued...

[oneatlatime]

The Avatar Returns

Exposition as an opening theme song is an interesting choice. I thought that was a quirk of the first episode, but nope. Less catchy than an actual song, but probably less annoying that hearing a song 50+ times in a row.

Episode 2 starts right where episode 1 left off, making me think that this must have been a two part premiere.

Yeah, Sokka is right. Gran-gran is right. Katara's known this boy for five minutes and she's already breaking what seem to be basic, long-established, life or death rules. See this is why gran-gran weighs Katara down with washing Sokka's dirty socks (and probably any other chore she can find). The first time this girl has more than five minutes to herself she endangers everyone (albeit with help). But Aang seriously doesn't get how dangerous the situation is, what with him being frozen for a hundred years. Katara had to be the responsible one with regards to the ship and she blew it. And now presumably they're all gonna get melted to death. Or burnt. Fireburnt? Firebended? Killed a bunch.

"Well I'm banished too!" UUUGGGHHH wrong hill to die on! This girl goes from 0 to 100 lightning fast. Although if the Fire nation do attack, Katara may be setting herself up to be the sole survivor of her village.

Why does the temporally dislocated 12 year old have more sense that Katara? So bossy and hotheaded and teenage girl-like. And she's known him for five minutes, why is she heartbroken by his leaving? Girl you feel too much.

"I haven't cleaned my room in 100 years" such a simple joke but it completely caught me off guard. Aang's priorities are so in line with what an actual 12 year old prioritises. I love it.

Laying it on thick.

You know it's too bad that igloos don't have wooden doors because I think Katara would feel a lot better slamming one right about now. Don't yell at your grandma.

Can ice do this? Also Appa looks so comfy. The one time I lived somewhere with bay windows & box seats I sat like this all the time. Messed my neck up every time I did, but that didn't stop me. The comfiness outweighs the pain.

They weren't kidding when they said all the men went to war. I was expecting a Helm's Deep type situation where old men and younger teenagers would be there to man the defences. But it's really just Sokka. That's an impossible burden.

This is the second episode of a kids' cartoon so I don't think they're going to kill anyone, but if this were a more realistic show, or real life, that whole village would be doomed.

What a shot! And he's not running. That's an unquantifiable level of courage.

Boat's got no brakes

That is not where I was expecting that ship to open.

The fire benders have horns. And I bet that steam coming out of the ship smells sulphurous.

That might be the best possible outcome. Head first in a snowbank is embarrassing but not fatal. Also war cries are manly but they give advance warning to your target. Hush up.

I love the "show no fear!" kid. Sokka's genuinely got these little kids believing in him. The potty break scene last episode shows that he pretty much has no idea what he's talking about but he's got the kids convinced! And the moms probably appreciate him taking charge of them for a few hours, even if he has no actual combat experience. And he keeps getting up!

How hard did he throw that boomerang!?! It took 24 seconds according to my DVD for it to come back.

It honked. Lord have mercy it honked. I have a weakness for well-placed sound effects and this one got me. Also these other soldiers must have orders to be as useless as possible. And do they all have the same face?

Zuko's spent years meditating? Don't believe it. Unless angry meditation is a thing? Maybe he has to meditate himself into angriness before he can burn stuff? Like work up a rage? Just guessing.

"Well you're just a teenager" They're all babies! All of them!

I repeat, Katara you feel too much! You need to grow up apathetic and cynical like the rest of us dried up adult husks ASAP or else you're really gonna be hurting.

"Take care of Appa for me until I get back!" I love this. He's announcing at maximum volume that he's going to escape and none of the fire soldiers react?

Sokka my man of practicality and action. Gran-gran my grandma of practicality and action. Katara my annoying little sister.

Is Zuko's little speech to Aang supposed to be a veiled insult or is he just making small talk? Obviously it's exposition for the viewer re: how monks are raised, but why did he feel the need to say that? Also your dad likes sticks? Cool. We all have hobbies.

So pretty.

Sokka, my man of synonyms. So Appa understands basic language commands but not spoken English. Heartfelt pleas won't get him flying, but yipyip will.

These two are such siblings. "big deal he's flying" careful there Sokka, you were nearly uncool in front of your younger sister. That can be fatal.

Aang is so polite when he's wiping the floor with full grown men. Also he has crazy good aim. That trick to break the ropes? How?

To be fair, Aang said he'd go with them, not that he'd stay with them.

Burrito Zuko

Aang's whole defense is running away. And it's working! Not the bit with burrito Zuko but he's actually winning this fight.

That mattress slam is brutal. I know this is a cartoon and physics isn't real here, but that caught me off guard. How is Zuko still conscious?

Prince burrito is a parkour champ.

Appa! Has the same problem as Sokka re: announcing sneak strikes.

Zuko what was your plan? Knocking him into the water doesn't recapture him.

Yep. Appropriate reaction to cyclone Aang.

So Aang does know how to waterbend. Katara didn't need to go north after all.

Love the head bonking callback.

This is genius on the fly problem solving. Only works backwards? Then do it backwards! Also these guys are dead. They'll suffocate long before they freeze.

"Shoot them down!" He orders... himself?

Siding with Zuko over the old man on this one. Aang is crazy powerful.

I just realised his eyes are different sizes. Does that impact his vision? For that matter, if that is a burn from taking a fireball to the face, how does he still have an eye?

So so pretty.

A literal cloud passes over when a cloud passes over their conversation. Clever.

Aang's waterbending was instinctive? Or only accessible during the glow-up. So they do still need to go north.

Katara you know your brother so well. He does indeed want to knock some fire bender heads. Sokka, having defeated his nemesis the potty break, now moves on to greater targets.

No matter what goes on in the show, all episodes end on a high note because that credits song is just so good.

Final thoughts

This was good! I think I liked this episode better than the first one, which makes sense. The first episode has to do all the set up, it's the next one that can have fun. Those moves Aang was pulling in the ship were really impressive. And really clever too.

Still loving Sokka, still loving Aang, Zuko was less of an asshole this episode. He also felt more competent, or maybe coherent? Like his character hangs together better, despite the butt honking. I laughed just typing that. I'm still not used to Zuko's voice actor though. I like how unique all of the characters' voices are in this show so far, but Zuko's still feels out of place to me.

The show doesn't dwell too much on Sokka facing down the fire nation ship (there is lots of build up but it gets played for laughs), but I think it's the stand out moment for me in this episode. Obviously it was foolhardy and a doomed effort, but it was also Sokka very literally fulfilling his responsibilities to the village. He was tasked with protecting his sister; he did. Goofy as it is, this moment is a win for Sokka. Not wise, but a win.

I love that Aang is 12, and feels 12. So often fiction about kid heroes that is intended for young readers/viewers has characters that feel like adults despite their stated age, but Aang feels 12. Katara feels like she's trying to be a grown-up so hard but keeps slipping up and acting her actual age. Sokka feels like he's trying to act as he thinks a man should, but keeps getting called out by Katara and responding in a way that fits his actual age. They close out this episode with plans for a multi-stage animal-riding safari. I love these priorities. Saving the world can wait, hopping llamas cannot.

My one problem with this episode is Katara. She needs to slow down, dial it back, stop yelling at grandmothers, and stop feeling everything at 110% before she exhausts herself. I get that the South pole and a grand total of like 25 people is probably a really boring way to grow up, but she threw herself heart first at Aang with near-suicidal enthusiasm, assuming that banishment in the South Pole would actually be a death sentence. I don't know how old she is, but that is such a teenage girl thing to do. And she's gonna get hurt!

Next episode needs more Sokka quips and more Appa. I would watch whole episodes with just Appa. I'd watch a whole Sokka episode too.

[noellesnowelle]

Monthly (& weekly) Update

Missing almost all of Octobers spooky, autumn mood ... but it's going upwards again

October Recap

A lot of time was spent in some kind of mind fog. I rewatched all 50 episodes of 'The Untamed' before the 24. of October because Netflix showed me that the series will be taken down then. Weirdly, but luckily, it is still there but I wasted a lot of my time and energy on watching Netflix. Originally I planned to rewatch the series during winter break when I actually have more free time, but because it is my favourite series and Netflix wanted to take it down, I had to watch it again.

Because of that my mental and physical health suffered a lot during that two weeks...

But I also did a lot of art in October! I did my first ever Bob Ross tutorial and it was so fun! I also went outside and did tree and leaf studies around my house (in the picture). Hopefully I will do it again sometime soon.

Besides that I also jumped into research about Romania and Romanian (prompted by a question in my Finnish course).

Romania is such a beautiful country and Romanian is also such a beautiful language! I didn't realize before that Romanian is a Romance language (even though it is literally in the name) and it is so useful! Because I learned Spanish for 6 years in school I can already understand a little bit. But I also love the sound of it. Especially because of the eastern-european influnces like 'sch' sounds.

I hope I can travel to Romania in the future. (I also have such a strong longing for the mountains. That is really the only thing I am missing here in Finland...)

Now a good old Weekly Update

28.10.-03.11.2024

finally a good week again... studying, dancing and the first snow!

Studying

I had a schooling for the Hygiene Passport and it felt so good to finally learn something else again besides Finnish

during this week was another self-study day and it is so nice to have these inbetween regular days (I can focus better on things that I don't know already, plus I am quicker with completing all the tasks!)

I took a deep dive into research Finnish Art as preparation for the coming week, it is so interesting!

Languages

I still need to work on my method for studying vocabulary, this is definitely a project for the next weeks

I studied a bit of Romanian. Every time it is so much fun trying to pronounce a new language. Although it is like taking wobbly baby steps. But it is an exhilarating feeling!

Health

the dry and cold air outside and the dry and warm air inside is not good for my skin and eyes...

I did a few dance workouts this week - my favourite form of cardio!

feeling a bit stressed this weekend and relaxing was difficult, but Yoga helped a bit

For myself

I learned the chorus dance of Kiss of Life's 'Igloo' Dance and it was so much fun. The dance is so addicting. I actually managed to learn it in 2 hours which is super fast for me. But it probably helped that it is in a style that I move more naturally in.

I took time to watch the old Addams Family movies for the first time and it was nice. I want to catch some of the remaining spooky, autumn vibes (even with snow outside) as I feel like I missed my favourite time and month of the year...

this week's

reading / watching / listening

Bitterthorn - Kat Dunn (2nd time I am reading it)

Addams family 1 & 2

Ronja Rövardotter

Imaginary Friend - ITZY

Igloo (Igloo) - Kiss Of Life

Smoke - Otyken

(I literally accidentally deleted this post right after posting it and instead of letting the hour of writing go to waste, I am rewriting it now stubbornly instead of crying and never doing it, even though I already wanted to sleep. Which is why it is also shorter than it was, but maybe that's a good thing... Good Night... 40 min. later than planned...)

[starlightwoofwoof]

💜💙✨ A Bunch of Buddy Headcanons ✨💙💜

hey welcome back to My Jellyjam Madness

today I decided to make a headcanon list for (Counselor) Buddy because I love him with all my heart (AAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHH) :D

I’m just gonna leave a bunch of them here, in different categories (and also a few drawings for, uh, “demonstration”)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

alright, let’s get the lore/angsty headcanons out of the way first (okay maybe now that I think about it, some of these are lore about the book itself but whatever-)

Buddy’s father owns the camp, and Buddy attended the camp for many years, and also worked as a normal counselor for a few. After Buddy turned 18 that year, Buddy’s dad finally promoted Buddy to head counselor. He decided to leave the camp to Buddy for that summer to go on vacation, letting him do whatever he wanted with it, even including changing any of the branding if he wanted. Buddy’s dad trusted him with the camp since Buddy practically spent most of his life there. (spoiler alert : literally the worst thing that could’ve happened, happened)

The igloo-like building in the woods was used more often previous years. It was more used as a building for actual counselor meetings and the occasional theater play. The cave inside the closet was used as a kind of ‘hang out’ spot to roast marshmallows and stuff. This is the place where it all began. Before the camp was about to open back up, Buddy went down to the cave area. He did notice the gut wrenching, horrible smell, but he simply ignored it and his curiosity got the better of him. That’s when he found a … certain purple, gelatinous creature. King JJ didn’t have to do much to convince Buddy to do his dirty work, he just had to simply threaten him with violence towards him and even the kids, and Buddy simply gave into King JJ’s hypnotism out of fear.

The whole incident lasted almost the whole summer before Wendy (and Elliot ig) came to save everyone. Buddy couldn’t control what he was doing. He couldn’t feel anything and he could barely think at all. He was still conscious during it all, and so were the other counselors. All of this for at least more than a month. Buddy can sort of remember things that have happened, but his memories from when he was controlled were very fuzzy, almost like a dream he couldn’t really remember.

Luckily, the other counselors seemed kind of okay after the incident, most of them were just afraid and confused. But Buddy was … pretty f’ed up for a while, of course, since he was the head counselor, and the first target in all of this. He only repeated ‘only the best’ for a few days, and even after he started speaking normally, he wanted to be left to be by himself. During the two weeks between the incident and the end of the story, Buddy was taken in for a lot of questioning by the police. He wasn’t arrested or anything, but he had to answer a lot of this. Since he was speaking incoherently, it was pretty hard at first, but it became easier over time. Buddy also took the time to just think this all over.

Despite not remembering too much about the whole incident, Buddy still felt terrible for what he was told he did. Some of the other counselors tried telling him it wasn’t his fault, but the guilt just wouldn’t leave him. He felt like some kind of monster for having all the kids and other counselors suffer like that.

Luckily, though, Buddy finally had an idea to help ease his guilt. He was going to go to each and every one of the kids’ houses to apologize to them directly. Well, maybe he couldn’t do everyone, but he was determined to go and apologize to as many as the kids as possible, including Wendy and Elliot.

This all did help a lot, but Buddy still felt a little bad, and doesn’t like the whole incident being brought up to him. He also still feels queasy near things like grape gelatin and absolutely horrified when earthquakes occur. He even sometimes has strange hallucinations and nightmares.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OKAY ENOUGH OF THAT here’s some more wholesome headcanons to calm all the angst

Luckily for Buddy, after the incident, he made friends with a lot of the counselors since then, especially with Holly

Holly and some of the other counselors were very patient with Buddy throughout his whole ‘guilt era’, and Holly was even the one that made Buddy get the idea to go to the kids’ houses and apologize in the first place

Outside of his hypnosis, and even sometimes IN his hypnosis state, Buddy really does care a lot about the children and their wellbeing.

Buddy LOVES physical affection and hugs and stuff

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

okay I don’t really have anymore ideas for wholesome headcanons, so let’s move on to the more random headcanons

Buddy’s hair is actually completely dyed (not so sure about this one cause idk how popular dying your hair was in the mid-90s, especially for dudes, but yeah) but his eyes are naturally that blue

Buddy nibbles his nails or bites his lip when he’s thinking too hard

Buddy is definitely not the guy to swear, but he’ll say others words as replacements- (fiddlesticks, fudge, etc.)

Despite being a huge sports dude (obviously), Buddy isn’t really that muscular

Speaking of sports, Buddy likes a lot of them, but his personal favorites are baseball and surfing

Since he loves surfing, Buddy loves going to the beach

Buddy’s favorite food/fruit is apples

Buddy wears hats a lot

Buddy drew all the cartoon King JJ pictures himself (not sure if he’s naturally good at drawing, or if he was good because he was controlled-)

okay this is more of a fun fact than a headcanon, but my interpretation/how I draw Buddy is mostly inspired by his look on the original cover (well, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be Buddy, but I think it is-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And I think that’s it! (or at least what I could think of for now)

Thank you for reading my ramblings about some obscure, silly counselor man :] 💙💚✨

okie byeeeeeeeeee

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

The Romance of Anonymity

Part 1 / 2

@polyshipweek 2023 Day 1 - Road Trip

What universe is better for road trip vibes than the 90's strip mall AU? As per usual in this universe there's virtually no plot to this, just flirting and Vibes™. Part 2 will be 'Bed Sharing' for day 3 of the prompt list ♥

--//--

Sunlight flickers red and burning orange against Meng Yao’s eyelids, the searing heat of it tempered slightly by the intermittent ruffle of the breeze through his hair. Under the monotone rush of the wind past the cracked-open window and the hum of the asphalt beneath their tires, he can just barely hear his boyfriends talking quietly together in the front seat, a soft, safe countermelody to the road noise that had lulled him to sleep some indeterminate amount of time ago.

“I can’t believe he’s short enough to lay across the seat like that,” Mingjue marvels, snagging Meng Yao’s pleasantly wandering attention away from contemplating a second nap.

“Well darling it’s not like he doesn’t have his legs curled up as well,” Xichen laughs quietly. “He only barely fits on it better than you or I would.”

“Still!” Mingjue protests, on the verge of laughter that Xichen quickly shushes through his own chuckling. “I feel like I always forget how small he is and then he pulls shit like this.”

“I may be asleep but that won’t stop me from kicking your ass, da-ge,” Meng Yao pipes up, smiling blindly up at the roof of the car when his boyfriends laugh without muffling themselves, all of them a little giddy from the hours they’ve already spent in the car over the last day and a half.

“A-Yao, sweetheart, you’re going to get a crick in your neck,” Lan Xichen frets with a soft hand laid on his bent knee. Meng Yao cracks an eye open and turns his head enough to squint through the sunlight on his face at his boyfriend turned around halfway to reach over the top of the front seat of Mingjue’s Cutlass. “Do you want us to pull over and get the pillow out of my suitcase?”

Meng Yao stretches his arms straight up towards the roof before he turns onto his side to face the front seat with a sigh, one eye still stubbornly shut against the early-afternoon sun cutting through the window above his head. Lan Xichen lifts his hand to allow the movement but puts it back the moment he’s settled, palm rasping pleasantly over his jeans as he rubs it back and forth, calf to knee to thigh and then back down.

“Mmm maybe. How long did I sleep?” he asks around a yawn.

“About an hour and a half,” Mingjue tells him, head lifting a bit as if to look at him in the rearview mirror though Meng Yao can’t see the mirror well enough to meet his eyes at this angle. “A-Huan and I were planning to switch at the next rest stop in about ten miles, so we’re pulling over anyway.”

Meng Yao spends another long moment indulging in the sleepy lassitude of the hot sun, the rumbling of the car, the road, and the attention of his boyfriends before he lets it slip away in favor of waking up properly.

He sighs again, mutters a grumpy, “No, I’ll wake up it’s fine,” and props himself up with a hand on the seat beneath him, forcing himself upright with the promise of kissing Xichen for a reward. Xichen smiles and goes up on one leg to lean back over the bench seat and accept his kiss easily, the both of them ignoring Mingjue’s grumbling about the unfairness of being the driver and why doesn’t he get any kisses just because he has to pay attention to the road.

“Ten more miles, da-ge,” Xichen soothes when they break apart. Meng Yao gives himself a little shake to wake himself up properly as Xichen turns to lay his head down on Mingjue’s shoulder, beseeching and teasing as he tuts over Mingjue’s many hardships and how he’s so brave to endure them anyway just to get him riled up.

Smiling at the familiar tune of his boyfriends’ banter, Meng Yao reaches down to the beat up igloo cooler from the gym down in the footwell behind the driver’s seat to rummage around for something decent to snack on. (The problem with dating two health-conscious gym rats is that they think grapes constitute a snack. Which…fine, maybe, but Meng Yao is of the opinion that cheap, filling junk calories of any kind are far superior, and he’d insisted they pack accordingly.)

“A-Yao?” Mingjue calls when they seem to notice his foraging up front.

“Hm?”

“Did we bring beef jerky?”

Oh of course, how could he forget the only other acceptable snack for the non-vegetarian gym rat boyfriend?

“I could never part you from your one true love, da-ge.”

This time he’s in the perfect spot to look up at meet Mingjue’s eyes in the mirror when his boyfriend sighs and raises an eyebrow at him, unimpressed.

“Sassy. Go back to sleep, you’re still grumpy.”

Meng Yao withdraws the package of teriyaki jerky and pinches it delicately between thumb and forefinger to slowly drape it over the middle of the seat between Mingjue and Xichen, wiggling the package back and forth a bit to make it crinkle.

“No thank you, da-ge. You’re going to eat what you want of this, brush your teeth at the rest stop, and then we’re going to make out in the back seat while Xichen tries not to run somebody off the road from trying to watch us.”

Nie Mingjue’s eyes in the mirror crinkle up as he grins widely enough Meng Yao is sure his dimples are as deep as they can go.

“A-Yao,” Xichen doesn’t quite pout but it’s close, turning to look at him again to better hit him hard with his best pleading eyes. “Can’t we stop somewhere for a while so we can all…relax?”

Meng Yao offers Xichen a sweet smile and stands up a little, hunching over to avoid hitting his head on the roof (though his hair still rubs against the microfiber lining) and leaning over the seat to bury his face in the crook of Xichen’s neck. He presses a few kisses to one of the spots that makes him shiver and punctuates them with a little nibble.

“Of course, er-ge, that’s why we’re stopping at a motel tonight,” he purrs. He’s still getting used to so many things: being wanted – by two handsome men – and telling one or both of them ‘no’ (even temporarily) are probably the biggest ones. But he hopes he never gets so used to the effect he has on them that it becomes mundane. Xichen tips his head to the side to give him better access and swallows thickly, turning into putty even from such a light touch.

“The faster you drive when it’s your turn the sooner we can make that happen,” Mingjue adds, always his partner in crime when driving Xichen up the wall is on the table. Meng Yao feels Xichen shiver again and he peeks an eye open to see Mingjue’s taken one hand off the wheel to rub it slowly up and down Xichen’s thigh with clear intent. “Just, you know…If you need an incentive to drive faster than the average 90-year-old.”

Meng Yao snickers into Xichen’s neck, effectively ruining the sexy vibe he’d been going for but he doesn’t mind. He smacks another kiss to the skin under his mouth before he sits back down again and resumes his hunt for his own snacks as Xichen sighs and opens up the bag of jerky to start handing pieces to Mingjue while he drives, the 5-mile sign for the rest area flashing by the window just as Meng Yao sits up with a triumphant cry for having found his bag of goldfish tucked safely in a separate bag where they wouldn’t get crushed.

--//--

As all motel rooms are, theirs is dingy and unimpressive. Meng Yao lugs his suitcase in first with a grunt, sticky in the small of his back and under his arms even just from the short walk from the parking lot up to their room on the second floor. He steps aside to let Mingjue and Xichen through, relieved when Xichen immediately heads for the AC unit under the window to flip up the lid and start fiddling with the dials. Mingjue barely even bothers to kick the door shut behind himself before he yanks his shirt off over his head by the back of the collar and rolls his shoulders with a sigh of relief.

“Mingjue, darling, you have got to get a car with a working air conditioner,” Xichen whines from where he’s draped himself over the humming unit, cold air fluttering the strands of his hair hanging damp with sweat over his forehead.

“Can’t hear you!” Mingjue shouts back from where he’s soaking a rag at the bathroom sink to scrub over the heat-flushed back of his neck. Xichen rolls his eyes at the blatant lie but seems a bit too wilted to bother arguing. Meng Yao drops a kiss to his sweaty hair in consolation before he makes what is, objectively, the best decision out of the three of them and goes to monopolize the shower.

“There is absolutely not room for two in this shower, da-ge,” Meng Yao hums a few minutes later when the man pulls the curtain back about halfway, enough to lean against the wall so they can chat without the floor getting soaked.

“Could be, you don’t know.”

“Considering what happens when we shower together, yes I do know.”

Mingjue smirks at him and gives him a long, appraising look down the length of his body while Meng Yao turns to grab the complimentary bottle of shower gel that contains enough soap for roughly half a grown man’s body.

“Fine, suit yourself. We’re thinking about ordering pizza from that spot we passed on the way in, A-Huan’s too hot to pretend like he doesn’t want to be spoiled with junk food. I’m assuming you have no complaints?”

“Not a one. Don’t let him order mushrooms though, he doesn’t have to pretend to like them for our sakes.”

“Sure. You want soda?”

Meng Yao shrugs and preens under the way Mingjue’s watching him attempt to stretch the shower gel as far as it can go to clean the sweat-salt off every inch of his skin, looking very much like he’d absolutely be the one doing it for him if Meng Yao would let him.

“Coke’s fine, or there’s always water from the sink.”

Mingjue nods, pushes off from the wall with a sigh, and finally looks up to meet his eyes again, clearly unembarrassed by his own brazen behavior.

“ ‘Kay. Hurry up, that looks really fucking nice and I think A-Huan’s actually going to fuse with that air conditioner if I let him lay there too much longer.”

“Him you can send in to share,” Meng Yao turns his face out of the spray to say, earning himself a heartfelt, “Oh fuck you,” that makes his laughter bounce off the walls of the tiny closet of a bathroom when Nie Mingjue turns to head back out into the rest of the room.

Xichen, when he arrives just as Meng Yao is finishing his rinse, plasters himself to his back and crowds him under the weak spray with eager kisses along his neck and shoulder that make Meng Yao laugh, quieter this time, as he reaches back to pat clumsily at Lan Xichen’s thigh.

“Hi, Huan-ge,” he hums. Xichen nuzzles into his hair and wraps strong arms around his chest to hold him close as he turns them around with shuffling steps to sigh as the cool water hits his back. Meng Yao chuckles again and leans his head to the side to pillow his cheek on Xichen’s bicep, eyes drifting shut to better appreciate the contrast of smooth, warm skin and the cool slide of water between and over them both tangled up together.

They stay there like that for long, quiet minutes, just standing together under the water, swaying ever so slightly as Xichen hums something that they’d had on in the car earlier under his breath. Meng Yao relaxes his (yes, sore) neck a little further until his cheek is fully smushed against Xichen’s arm, lazy and utterly unconcerned with how he looks. He’s just held and comfortable in the too-dim bathroom of a Motel 6 in some tiny town where no one but his boyfriends knows him.

They’ll be gone in the morning, a few strange faces in a rotating cast of them through this place, a battered blue car on the road going somewhere no one around them will care about. Meng Yao feels the weight of years fall off his shoulders in the anonymity of it, secure in the knowledge that he won’t be lost, he’s still known by the most important people in his life and they’re right here with him, but outside of his partners no one else cares.

It’s more freeing than he would’ve ever expected.

They get out of the shower when Xichen decides to unstick himself from Meng Yao’s back with a few parting kisses tender enough to make Meng Yao’s eyes sting. Xichen pats him dry, smiling, with the scratchy motel towels that smell of strong industrial bleach. Meng Yao returns the favor with another identical towel, ruffling up Xichen’s long hair for good measure to stop it dripping on his shoulders and making his boyfriend wrinkle his nose at him when he emerges from the towel, rumpled and soft around the edges.

“Hi,” Meng Yao says again and earns a kiss to the tip of his nose for it. The careful brush of knuckles against his cheek.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Not fair not fair not fair. Meng Yao tries not to melt at the tenderness in Xichen’s voice and realizes immediately that that will be impossible while stuck in this tiny bathroom looking up at him and his stupid kind eyes. He needs Mingjue.

He returns the kiss to his nose with a smacking one to Xichen’s bare chest and then he’s wrapping his towel around his waist to head out into the room again in search of something sharper to force him back into the shape of his body.

Mingjue’s sitting on the edge of the bed nearer the door still in just his jeans, hunched over enough to rest his elbow on his knee to better hold the room’s phone to his ear. Meng Yao climbs up onto the bed behind him and knee-walks his way across the slippery (stained? Ew) bedspread to drape himself over his back the way Xichen had done to him in the shower, arms over Nie Mingjue’s shoulders and his cheek resting against the back of his head.

“I told you Xichen left food in the fridge for you to have for dinner,” Mingjue snaps in the way he only talks to Nie Huaisang – beleaguered and affectionate in equal parts. Meng Yao has been reliably informed that that’s simply the curse of having a little brother. He privately thinks his own brother wouldn’t feel like that if they were on speaking terms. (Or...’acknowledging each other’s existences’ terms.)

Nie Mingjue covers his eyes with his free hand at whatever Nie Huaisang says in reply. Meng Yao ghosts his fingertips up and down the familiar contours of Nie Mingjue’s chest as he focuses more on the vibration of his boyfriend’s voice thrumming through him where they’re pressed together chest-to-back while Xichen putters around them, getting dressed and turning down the covers on the other bed for the evening.

“Okay, fine, whatever, but if you spend all of your allowance eating at every restaurant in town I’m not giving you more. It’s your choice, money for the arcade for the week or dinners with your boyfriend.”

Meng Yao smiles a little as Nie Huaisang whines on the other end of the line, too garbled up for him to hear from here, and brings one hand up to card lazily through Mingjue’s hair, brushing it back from his too-warm forehead.

“Alright, A-Sang, whatever! Did you go help Zonghui with the gym today like I asked?”

Meng Yao ducks down a bit to start pressing featherlight kisses along the shell of Mingjue’s ear, smiling when his boyfriend leans his head further to the side to allow it as well as hold the phone receiver between his shoulder and his head to grab Meng Yao’s hands in both of his to squeeze his fingers, raise them to his mouth to nip at his fingertips in between his own little kisses in return.

Meng Yao sharpens his kisses into little bites the longer Mingjue spends hemming and hawing to his brother on the phone, until finally he’s gnawing on his boyfriend’s earlobe (much to Xichen’s entertainment where he’s pretending to meditate on the other bed) and Mingjue gives up with a huff of irritation, sitting up straight again abruptly and catching the receiver before it can fall away from his ear.

“A-Sang I have to go, we need to order dinner and get to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow night, okay?”

Meng Yao smirks in triumph as Mingjue practically slams the phone down to turn and tackle him to the bed, teeth bared as he lunges in to return the favor with hard bites up and down the expanse of Meng Yao’s entire neck.

“No fair!” he gasps around breathless laughter, “I only went for your ear!!”

“I’ll order dinner,” Xichen offers, reaching for the phone and the laminated page of listings for restaurants that deliver in the area off the nightstand. Meng Yao doesn’t even have time to chide him for this betrayal in not rescuing him before Mingjue is kissing him hard and dirty, fitting all the too-soft parts of him that Xichen drags out into the light with barely an effort back under the surface where they belong.

For now.

Xichen orders dinner and Meng Yao makes Mingjue leave him be long enough to get dressed in lounge pants at least before the pizza arrives. They all pile into the bed they won’t be sleeping in to eat, sitting cross-legged with knees knocking and toes brushing ankles, dinner piled up between and around them on the bedspread that has absolutely seen worse than some stray pizza grease. Meng Yao lets the feeling of it settle into his bones, and he decides that before this road trip is over he’s going to tell them both that he loves them. Out here, where it’s just them and the road and a string of motels they’ll never see again, he feels like this is the way he can say it first.

Unwatched.

Unmonitored.

Just a man who loves his chosen People.

One of many.

[sapporo-division]

👪 for Yuki (Christmas is his birthday, isn’t it)

☃️ for Iwao

🎁 for Yoichi

~Happy Early Christmas :)

👪 Does your OC or their family invite a lot of people with them to celebrate it? Is their house filled with tons of relatives, cousins and other family members? Or do they keep the celebrations relatively low-key and only invite a few people? Or do they celebrate it by themselves?

“I tend to fly back to UK one week early to celebrate not only my birthday but also spent time with my family on holidays. All of my younger brothers and sisters were very excited to see me coming home every year. I even planning to bought many gifts as possible for them for their liking. Well there is one person I’m not looking forward to see… I do have other relatives from UK coming to our home for my birthday, as well. I knew myself I’ve done this before but it feels like such a long time to see familiar faces after staying in Japan.”

☃️ Does your OC enjoy the winter time? Do they like going outside and playing in the snow, building snowmen, having snowball fights, etc.? Or do they prefer to stay inside where its warm?

“Well I am a street magician so of course I enjoy going outside playing the snow on winter season. There are times I tend to play with the children at the nearest park doing bunch of fun activities with snowboarding, building snowman/small igloo and my favorite snowball fights! I’m always the one to be the elements of surprise of throwing snowballs at my dearest friends and no one knows I did it~ usually at Yoichi, it was the most entertaining 💗 Haah~ I really love that game so much. At the end of the day, I went straight back home and rest on my couch with drinking hot chocolate.”

🎁 Is there a particular gift that your OC wants this year? Are they hoping someone bought it for them? Have they worked hard to buy it themselves? Or are they hoping for a small miracle, and it will magically appear under the tree on Christmas morning?

“I-I’d like to think I’m the one who’d work my butt out earning much salary I have rather than waiting for someone to give me a present. It-I’s just that……I kind of feel bad for someone to buy me gifts for me that I wanted. You can say it costs…a lot of yen and yeah…I sound a bit selfish and impatient. F-for that question, I usually bought things in online shops. It’s way more easy than going out to mall of lots of people, especially on Black Friday. That was a nightmare……”

[changterhune]

ATTACK OF THE NEW NOVEL!!!

I started a new novel about a week ago and no one is more surprised than I. 

For starters I’ve not been focused on writing of late. Most of my free time has been devoted to art or music. Some writing but only on existing stuff like the mythical 4th issue of Bunnyhead, a horror novel and writing for Igloo Magazine.

The main reason though has been due to my chronic clinical depression. Yes, I’m an artist suffering from depression. Ain’t that a surprise? But seriously I have it and it’s been better and worse depending on the time of day you ask. Heh. But it’s real and for whatever reason I’ve not been too interested  in it frankly. 

The pandemic was what kicked off my dry spell. My father’s death in late 2021 flattened me and I’ve spent the better part of the last two years grieving and recovering. Writing seemed to be the hardest thing to do in that period. Story ideas came and went but few made me feel like they needed to be written down. It was low on the list of priorities. I’ve been more focused on music of late so writing wasn’t where the muse went to either gift me or shit on me depending on how you look at it. 

About two weeks ago though a funny thing happened. I’d been thinking about a character in the horror novel I’m working on (sporadically I admit). And I had a revelation about them after wondering about that age old question one ponders when they write fiction: what makes this guy tick. 

Then all of a sudden it clicked, this thing that I’d been wrestling with suddenly came together. I wrote several thousand words of diary entries for them and they held up under the fierce scrutiny of the morning after. I edited, wrote more, edited again and wrote more. It was a good work and I looked forward to more.

A couple nights later I was watching tv with my wife and out of nowhere this idea hit me. I was surprised because it was later in the night and I was thinking more about sleep than anything else. But the idea stuck in my head. I tossed it over a bit as one does when this happens, wondering if it had legs or not. So I did what I often do and wrote some notes, basic premise and rough outline.

I did go to bed kind of excited because it had been so long since a story. The next morning it seemed good enough to write so I sat down and started typing. First chapter emerged pretty easily considering the writing muscles in the brain hadn’t worked in a while so there was some awakening of those. But the words came and after a bit I’d enough to write out a rough general outline of beginning middle and end then some more for a possible second book. 

Well then…

As I said no one is more surprised than I. The detail will remain with me for a while until it’s time. But writing’s continued apace and will until it’s either done or I’m sick of it. 

Next I’ll say about it you’ll either hear I’ve got a book deal or I’m self-publishing it. 

Until then stay away from the demons unless they’ve got pizza.

[dirtwatchman]

PARTIES: Caleb (@dirtwatchman) TIME: Early August SUMMARY: Caleb gets caught doing something unsavory by a random stranger. How unlucky for said stranger. WARNINGS: Death, grave disturbances, cpr, blood, surgery (not descriptive, just mentions), unsanitary (also not descriptive, just want to be safe), mentions of child/domestic abuse

He didn’t know his own strength anymore. Even when he was well fed and less of a threat to society, Caleb apparently had more strength than he realized. It was probably all of those years spent digging in a cemetery so that people could lay their loved ones to rest or maybe even the years spent working his odd end jobs but no matter what it was he needed to remember this moment so that it didn’t happen again. Flashes of the night kept replaying in his mind as he dug up the soft earth beneath his feet, undoing the progress he’d made to re-bury a body Caleb had just stolen a brain from earlier. 

The person had come out of nowhere, their eyes wide as they roamed over the various tools the zombie used to pry the dead person’s brain from their skull, until they stopped on said brain resting in a plastic container inside of his Igloo cooler. A scream rang out in the night causing him to realize he wasn’t alone, a breath he didn’t necessarily need to take hitching in his throat as his eyes met the other person's panic stricken ones. Caleb stammered while he tried to think of an explanation to give but how did one explain this scene? How was he supposed to tell them that Caleb was only trying to keep people safe? He couldn’t, a full sentence hadn’t gotten the chance to form before the other person was yelling.

“Oh my god, you freak, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Maybe if the person hadn’t uttered those words at all they would still be with the living but when he’d heard ‘freak’ Caleb saw red. It brought him back to those nights he’d spent with the Ellsworth’s, bringing back the words that his own foster father had shouted at him far too often in his youth. ‘Freak’ seemed to be a trigger for him, something that had been completely unknown before that night, and a fact that only instilled more fear in his mind. This couldn’t happen again and yet the word was a common insult to throw around. Maybe not at him but there were a multitude of other ‘freaks’ walking through the streets of Wicked’s Rest and just as many disrespectful human beings, if not more.

Looking back on it, the person calling him a freak was valid. How often did someone come along and find a man with a dead person’s brain sitting next to them on the ground? Nobody could blame them for wanting to go to the authorities, not even the zombie who was doing his best to sustain his and others appetites. But in the heat of the moment Caleb had lost the ability to think clearly and now the stranger was laying on the ground, blood pooling from the wound to their head. One minute they were yelling about going to the police and then the next he was pushing them so hard they’d cracked their skull against a particularly sturdy headstone.

The worst part? For a split second Caleb had felt vindicated, relieved, some sort of sick satisfaction as he moved closer to them and watched them bleed from their open wound imagining that it was Gary lying there not breathing. 

Then he finally realized they weren’t breathing. 

“Wait…wait, no!” 

Caleb shook his head as his own words echoed in his mind, the panic lacing his voice still palpable even within a memory. The shovel in his hand hit the top of the coffin he’d already said goodbye to once tonight, causing a vibration to move through his hands and his arms, arms that should have been sore after trying to revive the person he’d killed. But after wiping away more of the dirt, all Caleb could do was stand there and stare at the gray coloring of it. The color matched the body sitting at the edge of the grave, his gaze cutting to the hand now hanging over the edge. It was as if they were pointing at him, accusing him, ignoring the apology that repeatedly slipped from his lips earlier in the night.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry!”

Caleb’s arms moved in sync to the rhythm of Staying Alive, the song they told him to hum if he’d ever needed to administer CPR to anyone. His hands were clasped together over the person’s chest, pumping as hard as he could in hopes of bringing them back from the murky depths of death. It was useless though. They were gone. He knew they were gone and yet he couldn’t stop the motion until he heard the tell tale crack that told him he’d broken their ribs in more than one place. 

That sound pulled him away from the song. He sat back on his legs as defeat joined the despair filling his entire body, tears rolling down his cheeks when he finally accepted that they were dead. How did this happen? He was careful about keeping himself fed so that he could avoid situations like this and yet there was a body on the ground next to him with their skull exposed. 

“I’m sorry.”

It slipped from his lips again, his mouth moving with the ghost of his own lips as he pulled himself back to the present once more. This time it was whispered as opposed to being spit out like poison against his tongue. The apology disappeared into the night, joining the sounds of the crickets playing a mournful tune. At least they were getting a proper funeral.

Caleb wiped at his nose with the sleeve of the flannel shirt he had wrapped around his waist before he threw the shovel over the edge of the grave. He crawled out himself, situating himself so he was sitting next to the body with his legs hanging over the side. A proper funeral held goodbyes, words of sorrow from loved ones. Even if he wasn’t a loved one, even if in their last moments this person was terrified of him, they deserved to know that Caleb hadn’t meant to do this. They deserved…something.

What did one say about someone they didn’t know? Especially when he was the cause of their demise? He looked over at them, their eyes wide open with fear. Rigor Mortis had already started to set in so there was no use in trying to close them but he wished he’d thought to do it earlier. Again, he felt like he was already on trial for the murder he hoped would never be discovered, those lifeless eyes boring into him, burning him up from the inside. 

“If it helps, I’m…never going to get this out of my mind.” And he wouldn’t. This person was a part of him now. They would forever be a part of his history, of what makes him who he is. They were molding him into a new shape even now. “Even if you don’t come back as a ghost you’re going to haunt me. Isn’t it fun that that’s your legacy?” The words dripped with sarcasm usually only reserved for himself. He supposed they still were even as the body continued to stare back at him.

It was time, though. He needed to get moving and make this body disappear quickly. If he kept this up somebody else was going to come along and all the effort spent would be wasted. Sighing, he stood up and unceremoniously kicked the body into the grave with one foot. It landed with a thud against the coffin below, causing him to flinch. How primitive of him. 

“Here lies…a person who didn’t deserve this no matter how harsh their words were. They join Mrs. Darcy in the dark depths of the earth, forever bound to her with their too early demise. I wish you all the peace death can bring.” Swallowing thickly, Caleb moved to grab his shovel but before he started to entomb them within the earth he repeated the words he’d said a hundred times that night. 

“I really am sorry.”

[squenble]

collection of things that have happened on our minecraft server:

discovered thag playing any sort of goat horn near my friend causes their entire game to crash

another friend has stolen almost 20 crafting tables and lives in a pit above our house

spent almost 20 minutes walking to a lush cave just to find 1 singular glowberry bush and nothing else (then proceeded to accidentally destroy it)

somehow discovered a friend's faraway ice base, then proceeded to accidentally kill their only snowman

I found a horse that jumps really high and almost launched myself into a ravine with it

friend has a diamond axe and an enchanted diamond pickaxe, despite none of us having diamonds yet

been digging a giant tunnel through the mountains and haven't found a single diamond

witnessed a massive fucking horde of zombies attack a village, then watched them all get stuck in a single house

friend handed an allay a bone.

spent multiple minutes walking back and forth trying to find an igloo before realizing it was right next to us

friend got blown up by 2 creepers at the same time