#SMOOSHES FACE INTO KEYBOARD

[prosopopeya]

cat health update, as positive an outcome as possible

so her kidney levels (BUN and creatinin) are off the chart they’re so bad, literally. her urine gravity is bad, which tracks with the above. her kidneys are also apparently very small. by the numbers I think she’s lost 90% of her kidney function.

but, her blood pressure is okay. her potassium is creeping toward too low but is still in range so far. her phosphorus is also okay. these are things to keep an eye on. she has no problem eating and in fact with the appetite stimulant she is on (bc eating is crucial and she’s lost 7lbs) I feel like all she does is eat. she’s even eating the renal food so far okay.

we took her to a new vet today that tried more soothing approaches. she hated every second of it but allowed them to do things including show us how to do subcutaneous fluids at home. we’ll see how that goes long term. I need to acquire a supplement for her and we also need to give her two pouches of what looks like straight up soup every day to improve her water intake.

we did drug her for this appt, the first time using something called bonqat. I can’t say how much it helped at the appt but boy was she like a fun drunk when we got home. Like heyyyy what’s in here!!!!! And trying to GO OUT THE FRONT DOOR which is insane. she has now progressed to sleepy drunk which includes walking across my keyboard, something she hasn’t done in nearly 14 years bc she’s usually picky about what she walks on. Not now.

upsettingly she only had a few bites of her soupy food mixture before rejoining me on the couch where she is now face down passed out.

I am glad we took her to a new vet bc they did everything in the room with us and will strive to do that where possible in the future. I do think that helped her a LOT bc she didn’t pee or poop herself which she has so far every time the old vet would take her in the back. this place took their time to be gentle with her and had ocean sounds and feliway soaked things, and they brought the blood pressure machine into the room and let me try to smoosh her head into my hand to distract her while the tech tried to get a cuff around her leg (which was quite close to her mouth, an understandable danger zone).

we’re at that point where we had several travel plans set up and now I don’t know if we can do any of them. how can I leave her? she’s going to need food constantly, and kidney disease can just swoop in and take a cat whenever, or she could live another few years. she’s going to need subq fluid injection/infusions twice a week. she needs two medicines smeared in her ears every day.

here is the cat face down passed out.

[heartthumpnovel]

Heart Thump: Chapter 4

“Where Trouble Begins”

Word count: 5233

Jason messes up big time.

Thank you to those reading this and having patience for releases. I've been doing re-writes and actually have my boyfriend helping me edit my work. I've been gaining more momentum though and hopefully should be putting out more chapters sooner than later :'D cw: Minor claustrophobia Last chapter: Growing Imagination Next chapter: Carrying the World

----

Ding. Going up. Jason moved his finger from the buttons of the elevator and placed them on his phone as his fingertip was shaking considerably. Swiping upwards through the search results of the page; ‘sudden growth spurt’ ‘growth spurt mid age?’ ‘Symptoms of elephant man syndrome’ ‘Alice in wonderland syndrome’ ‘cute kitten images’ ‘endocrine disorders’ ‘signs of schizophrenia '. Wondering page after page with his questions not revealing anything coherent or was completely unrelated to his little ‘problem’. Something wasn’t right about the day before- or the day before that one for that matter. 

Ding.

None of that could have possibly happened right? Of Course no one could just survive a lighting strike like that in such a coincidental way? Sure there might have been many survivors from many lightning strikes. He had a pretty bad one. It’s not like anyone up there could have heard Jason scream his mournful monologue into the cold late night breeze. He was drunk after all and it could've been an alcohol induced nightmare. But what about the pain he felt when he was struck by a force greater than anything he had felt in his entire 26 years of life? The screen of his phone turned dark as he pressed the home button and stuffed it into his pants pocket. Ding.

Nah, nah- Jason had felt pain in his dreams… strange but it did happen before. Constantly in fact. As sad as it may seem, if experience did equate to knowledge, Jason should be awarded for being an expert on night terrors. Plus having the room shrink around him just had to be regular strange dream stuff sealed the deal. Even if it all felt so realistic… it just had to be a figment of his imagination. 

Ding.

That decided it then. It was a dream. Nothing more, nothing less… Ding. How ridiculous. 

Dong.

                                                    ~~~~~~~~~

Jason gave out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors opened and he got onto the bustling office floor as workers left to right were rushing around trying to get work done with concerned looks upon their faces. It’s been a rough hour with tons of call-ins and more or less organized chaos going around. Jason had to slowly push through the crowd of coworkers to try to find his cozy cubicle so he could punch in for another day of work.

All the pushing and shoving made it difficult for him to get to his cubicle. Gripping and pulling the plastic divider had gotten him smooshed into his office as he barely had the space to push through all those busy people.  With his new found space he sat down at his desk and started to boot up his computer as he reached the time card machine and clock into work. 

As Jason entered his ten-digit password, he realized something was different. There was no cheery voice chatting on the phone or a particular blonde coworker peeking over the paper-thin cubicle wall. It wasn't until the office finally started to quiet down, and people became focused on their work that he decided to investigate. He stood up and went on his tiptoes to check on his neighboring colleague.

Plants were generously placed around the cubicle, with potted ferns and cacti on almost every corner of the well-used desk. It made the workspace feel cozy, with an odd bowl of discolored stones in the far corner adding to the homely atmosphere. 

However, there was no sign of the overworked woman who often napped at her desk, face smacked down on the keyboard. It was about time for her daily nap. 

Suffice to say, Ellie just wasn’t there. 

Jason wasn't surprised to find Ellie absent from her cubicle. She was an overworked master's degree student, constantly taking on an unhealthy amount of credits and sleeping irregularly. It wasn't uncommon for her to collapse into a never-ending coma-like sleep.

Jason assumed Ellie was having one of those days and didn't blame her for it. However, Anyone who worked in this place knew Natasha would cut her a break.

Turning back to his computer- which at this point was logged in and displaying a deep gradient blue default desktop image with a few important shortcuts neatly pushed into the left corner of the screen. It was time to bend down into the workload he was expecting as the room seemed to be beaming with people rushing to get stuff done in the last quarter. Upon clicking the mail shortcut he was met with.. nothing new. An eyebrow raised as he clicked his spam, trash and even sent to make sure there weren't any important emails hiding. Strangely, he wasn’t sent anything containing any replies he would have gotten from him sending out vitally important marketing data to the other sectors of the company. Surely someone should have gotten back to him? Even Natasha didn’t reply back to an email about a good time for another meeting with the department for him. Something tickled his guts wrongly, he frowned before trying to send out an email. 

Unable to send. 

“Fantastic.” Jason grumbled under his breath.

This wasn’t the first time that he couldn’t receive or send emails, though it always caught him off guard every time this happened. Jason turned to the phone on his desk, staring at it wondering if contacting IT again would be worth it. While they do eventually put duct tape on the issue, which Jason appreciates they can even fix it at all, it takes nearly a whole day for everything to go back to normal if he was lucky. “Now what am I supposed to do?,” Jason mused as he turned away from the phone, patting his fingers down on his knees. “Can’t really get any work done right now until things get back in order…” 

His eyes slowly moved away from his knees and drifted to his filing cabinet. His eyebrows rose with the metaphorical bulb in his head lighting up. Quickly, he peaked over on the wall in his cubicle with his knees pressed on the bottom of his chair in a frantic kneel. The whole department still looked busy with no one paying attention to the cozy cubicle smushed onto the wall. Jason lowered down from his observation as he thought, since he couldn’t work for a bit and well- Ellie was going to be late, he might as well catch up on some important reading.  He grinned widely.

His boney fingers fiddled the edge of the filing cabinet shelf and yanked it open with a forceful tug. Files upon files of the company’s past dues nearly overflowed the poor filing cabinet. If it weren't for the fact that Jason hardly ever touched these files due to the wonders of technology, he would have had to throw them out like he was supposed to have done the day he was hired. However the papers did have use to him as a clever facade to what was truly important there. He pushed the junk files aside to reveal his secret library of paperback novels of varying degrees of cover quality and romance plots. The smell of the aging pages had bubbled the excitement in Jason’s chest in glee as he pulled out one that still had a bookmark in it. 

Goodness, he was overwhelmed by emails and crunching numbers that he hasn’t been able to check into the exploits of the great knight dame Elisabeth and her star crossed princess lover Thaladortha. Normally he wasn’t too interested in fantasy rubbish but, this one did tug his heart strings so far as it was filled to the brim with wholesome sincerity. Plus it wasn’t completely inappropriate for a workplace environment, a welcome addition. 

The little office employee leaned back into his office chair comfortably and plopped his shoes on top of the filing cabinet half heartedly like a rascal. Flipping open the page, Jason flicked the tip of his thumb to the most recent paragraph and began to dive.

“Dame Elisabeth for gods’ sake let the poor man go!” Shrieked the desperate servant as they hung onto the bulky woman dawned in burning stainless steel armor. The weasel would scream if he could if it weren’t for his throat being clutched shut by a coiled fist. Rage blinded Knight Elisabeth to the point of nearly crushing his scrawny throat, her teeth gritting harshly. “ This shall be the last time I remind you; MY FAIR MAIDEN WILL NOT SETTLE FOR ROSES.” 

She dropped the frazzled noble onto the ground with him trying to grasp onto oxygen. “Only the most beautiful succulents will suffice for her wedding you fool.” she proclaimed.

The noble tried to stutter out an excuse of roses being the traditional choice for a wedding, however he was quick to shut up when the dame gave him an ice cold glare that chilled him to the soul. “She cares not for tradition. If she’s going to be forced to have a wedding- At Least have plants that will bring her joy!” She turned away from him and strutted down the hallway heavily. The servant trotted worryingly behind her. “M-madam I.. I think physical violence was going a bit far isn’t it? Just for some flowers?” they spoke up- freezing up when the knight stopped in her tracks.

She went quiet.

Until the servant could clearly hear soft.. Sobs? Coming from the dame herself? It couldn’t be. Dame Elisabeth turned her head- revealing tears sweltering down her cheek. Shaking her head in shame.

The servant quickly grabbed the dame's hand before she could hide her sorrow. "Please forgive me, my lady. This is all my fault. I didn't want to upset you so much." They bowed their heads low.

"Hmph... fine. You can stay here for now." Elisabeth said softly before she continued onwards.

The servant smiled warmly and thanked the dame. The Dame then told her sad tale to the servant, how she fawned over the maiden ever since they were small and how she wished she could be the one taking her hand in marriage that day. That's why she had no intention of settling for anything less than the best. Though at the same time, she didn't want to see her beloved maiden marry someone else just because of political gains.

"It is a cruel reality we must live with," Spoke the Dame in despair, "Even if we must never have our love for each other be seen by the world. " Her voice cracked as her eyes began to well up.

The servant felt awkward at first but decided to comfort the Dame by holding her hand. She gently squeezed her hand and told her everything would be alright. "I'll do what I can for you my lady." They stood there, silent for a moment.

"You really care about her don't you?" The servant asked as she wiped the tears away from her face.

"Of course. She's my best friend!" Elisabeth replied with enthusiasm, "And lover!"

Both of them chuckled quietly, though the servant was too nervous to say the next part.

"So um... Why not court her?"

Elisabeth's face went blank.

"What? Court her? What do you mean 'court'?" She was confused.

"Well.." The servant trailed off.

"That would put both of us in danger!" The dame crossed her arms, trying to avoid having to talk about treason.

"But... She'd be happy wouldn't she? And she's the only person who truly understands you," The servant pleaded.

"No, this isn't right. We should never act on our feelings... Though." The Dame continued, thinking of the times when her maiden would laugh in joy at her jokes, and the times when they kissed under the moonlight.

"Are you sure it's okay with doing this?" Elisabeth asked worriedly.

"Yes. I'm quite positive," The servant answered with confidence.

"I trust you. If you feel like we should do this, then I am all for it."

----

Jason let out a deep sigh as he melted back into his office chair, or at least he attempted to. He shifted side to side, feeling a bit uncomfortable in his chair despite being engrossed in the heart-wrenching story. He noticed that his knees were rising higher, and he seemed to be a bit higher up than usual. The armrests were hugging his hips tightly, which was odd for his petite frame.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that his chair was in the wrong adjustment. It wouldn't have been the first time that Motor had pulled this trick on him, nor would it be the third. Jason reached down and adjusted the seat lever to make himself comfortably leveled again before leaning back in his creaky chair to continue reading.

----

"And do you, Alice, take his hand in marriage?" The pastor asked the maiden, who was dressed in a bleak white dress.

Alice's heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the answer. Looking around the room filled with people. All of them eagerly waited for her response.

"I...." Before Alice could finish, Elisabeth shoved the doors open, loudly exclaiming, "I OBJECT!"

Everyone gasped, except the priest himself. He merely sighed and looked at the knight.

"Dame Elisabeth I suppose you wish to object?" He inquired.

"I do, sir. because... Alice wouldn't be happy marrying him! She should be with the one that SHE chooses!" Dame Elisabeth roared as the guards began to surround her and Alice's father screaming angrily at the Dame.

"Be silent! You are not to speak unless spoken to!" Alice's father bellowed in rage. "Now please leave, Dame Elisabeth."

Elisabeth growled and glared at the priest. Before she could continue, Alice spoke up for the first time in confidence, holding her hands to her chest and approached Elisabeth with tears in her eyes.

"Dame Elisabeth..." She whispered in awe, "I wanted to marry you. I always did. But... I couldn't. Because of my father, and you being a knight. Please...marry me. For real this time. Marry me, Elisabeth."

The knight fell into silence, staring at the young maiden. When she finally looked up, her face softened and she saw nothing but sincerity in those blue orbs.

"Then.. YES, I will marry you Alice," Dame Elisabeth said happily before she took the maiden's hand and kissed it passionately. Alice burst out laughing as everyone in the room cheered and clapped.

----

Jason was yanked backwards with a sudden force, causing him to fall onto the aging carpet. His swivel chair came down with him, and its wheels spun helplessly in the air, no longer in the safe grasp of the floor fibers. He groaned, struggling to get himself off the ground as he felt a strange bloated sensation throughout his entire body. He wondered what caused his chair to suddenly give out, but the answer he was looking for came quickly as he realized his cubicle was feeling a lot more cramped than usual. The plastic walls were slowly closing in on him, and his computer seemed to be … shrinking? ‘No. Nooo no no no.’ It couldn’t have been happening again. That whole thing couldn’t have been real, he had to be asleep in his bed still. It’s much more possible that he just missed his alarm this morning than whatever this crazy sensation was. His hands scrambled to grab hold of the desk but his fingers kept slipping off of the smooth wooden surface and he desperately tried to get off of the floor. Breathing had gotten much harder to do- it felt like his chest was about to explode.

Jason almost stood up to get his bearings, but then he noticed that he was getting taller than the cruddy plaster cubicle walls. Everyone who wasn't buried in their own work was going to notice him, and public humiliation would be his worst nightmare.

 The red-cheeked office worker bent down on their knees as he saw that his body was still keen on getting bigger. Was he actually growing, or was he losing his grip on reality? He wasn't sure which one would be worse; Jason would have preferred being late to work.

His heart felt like it was going to fall out of his chest from the rate it was beating at. The office chair that was currently laid on the floor disagreed with the notion that he was going bonkers and that this impossible body fluctuation was the real deal. Drat. If he had to make a quick scientific guess from someone who majored in business, he had about 50 more seconds until someone would notice that little 5'3" Jason wouldn't be so little anymore with the rate at which he was growing. ‘Why did Ellie have to sleep-in today?’

Finally, his long forgotten survival instincts kicked him in the backside and he decided it would be for the best if he could find a good place to hide, somewhere roomy and quiet preferably. It was the best he could think of right then. Calming down until he was normal again seemed to work last time but.. He didn’t have anyone there to guide him now. 

Jason went on hands and knees, giving him a chance to peek outside the cubicle entry way, which was now starting to barely graze his shoulders and slowly sink into them. The work rush seemed to be in full swing as his fellow coworkers were in their own little cozy spots making phone calls and typing away. Strange no one noticed the crashing sound. The ignorance of loud noises was a little concerning to Jason but, at the moment he didn’t have much time to worry about that. 

Fortunately, it seemed that someone was smiling down upon him as Jason spotted the largest conference room on the entire floor, which was conveniently empty. The oak double doors were wide open, beckoning him to safety. Despite some hesitation, Jason managed to clamber across without breaking the cubicle he was escaping from. He quickly slid into the conference room ungracefully, feeling a bit of carpet burn but otherwise unscathed, even though he was now as large as a Honda civic. Adrenaline continued to pump through his veins as he sat up and grabbed the door knobs, but he immediately paused when he realized his palms were nearly 30 times larger than the knobs and still growing. Jason yelped as he gingerly took the tiny knobs and quickly pulled the doors shut.

Right. Immediate crisis over. For the moment anyways. He still was having the issue of his heart beating faster than light and he was getting taller by the second. Inch by inch. He closed his eyes just trying to grasp at something to calm himself down. He usually took those slow breathing exercises when he was with Ellie right? Well, trying to recall exactly how to breathe calmly turned out to be harder to remember than one would imagine. His fingers brushed through his hair thinking about the technical bits of that exercise. Okay- four squares. Wait did it include the inhale and exhale or were those things separate states. Wouldn’t it be technically two square breathing? Who even decided that calling the stages squares anyways? Wouldn’t that just be counting? This scattered thinking was soon interrupted by the feeling of something pressing on his head and snapping him out of it with a scare. Jason fell back onto his backside again and realized he was definitely pressed for time. 

Jason thought for a moment what made him happy, surely something that makes him feel better might make his head calm down right? The first thing that came to mind on the subject of happiness was the thought of his hands being held gently by Natasha’s soft fingers. “OW!” Jason yelped as his height suddenly doubled and he smacked the back of his head on the wall.

To his horror, even the thought of Natasha's soft, meaningful gaze was making his heart beat more pronounced. The supposedly massive conference room, meant for department-wide meetings, was now feeling just as claustrophobic as his shrinking cubicle. Jason's head lowered, and he was left speechless as the walls seemed to close in around him. His leather loafers scraped along the carpet, unintentionally taking some wooden chairs for a ride. His heart couldn’t help but to race, how was this happening and more importantly why was it happening? Jason’s heart felt like it was going to claw its way out of his throat and hop out to go on a paid vacation because god did it deserve a break. Jason’s face felt like it was lit on fire and it was getting harder to stop and breathe. Things can get any worse from here? Right? 

A knock came from the miniature door in front of him with a sickeningly sweet voice coming from the other side. “Jason, are you good?”

The overpriced deco chandelier got him right in his temple as he suddenly felt a jolt go through his system as he felt an explosion of gigantism hit him harder than an oncoming freight train. His shoes basically pushed the whole table to the other side of the room along with all the tiny chairs falling over onto the floor. 

Quickly, Jason tumbled over onto his stomach and slapped his palm right on the front of the door. It was just his luck that Natasha had to hear his pathetic yelp. As his fingers were eclipsing the door- he could feel tiny pushes on his palm. There was no way Jason was going to let her see him like this. In fact he wouldn’t want anyone to see the horrific transformation Jason was going under. 

                                                                  ---- “You okay lil guy- wait. Why’s the door locked? Jason.” 

Natasha, try as she might, couldn’t get the door to push open. What was he up to? Pink hair pressed on the oak wood door to try to decipher what his groaning and panicked British mumbing meant. Natasha’s worry got worse as the thought of needing to call an ambulance was going to be called. Eventually she did get a response- a rather loud one at that. 

“Y-yeah the door locked. Uhm- I am not.. Feeling that great. I felt under the weather and HUGHk- … I might have made a really-really big mess in here.” Jason half-truth as he was facing the challenge of not screaming in agony when he felt the talons of the pure gold chandelier pierce into his mid back. His hair was getting squished down by the popcorn ceiling and the room was quickly becoming his coffin. 

Natasha scowled with her nose rising a bit as she pulled her head away. “Why didn’t you call in then?!,” Natasha retorted back as she gestured her hand. “ You shouldn’t be working when you have the flu! You could get everybody here sick! For God's sake, I didn’t send you home yesterday just because I was giving you a day off.”

 She waited about five whole seconds for some sort of explanation and when she did get a response it was just a really sorrowful “My bad…” mumbled its way through the oak. 

Natasha brushed her bangs forcefully from her face with a long sigh. “It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. She muttered before she turned to look at an elevator that finally arrived on their floor. Natasha turned to the door once more with a soft voice, “Go home Jason and see a doctor, Call me up later to let me know how long you need to rest alright?” Natasha didn’t bother to stick around for a response as she started to walk towards the elevator. However she had to step out of the way for a sleep deprived college student that rushed out of the cases with papers literally flying out of her grip and nearly caused a foot traffic collision with Natasha. “Woah-WOAH ELLIE-” Natasha sputtered out when she managed to side step out of the way. Ellie’s heels came to a shrieking halt and nearly hauled over from exhaustion. However she didn’t let herself waste time by catching her breath and began to conjure a whole rant of apologetic lyrics. “OhmygoshNatI’msorryIwasstudingreallylatelastnightandIlosttrackoftimeandIgotreallytiredandIsleptin!Iknowit’sbeenthethirdtimethismonthbu-” Ellie whipped out in a panic before her tongue got twisted by a hard pat on the shoulder. 

“It’s alright, Ellie. You’re not that late. Just clock in, hun,” Natasha said with a stern yet sympathetic smile. Ellie let out a fluttered sigh and grazed her fingers on Natasha’s wrist, nodding slightly in a blissful silence and letting her shoulders relax. “Thanks a ton,” Ellie commented as Natasha swiftly pulled away from her and they made their way into the waiting elevator. “Oh yeah and could you let Motor know he’s needed in conference room A113? Jason ain’t feeling great. Thanks~” Natasha added.

As the elevator doors closed, Ellie's brief moment of calm shattered.

---

Crisis averted- for the most part. Jason grumbled in this tight box he was shoved into and the increasing pain he was feeling wasn’t making things any more comfortable. Not to mention the creaking noise he was hearing wasn’t making him confident either. Now that he wasn’t about to be exposed- he wondered how in the world he could get out of this room and more importantly, not be an impossibly giant human that defied science.

Frantic knocking came from the oak door- who did Jason have to lie to next? “J-Jason, are you okay in there???” Ellie whispered, “Did … it happen again?” Ellie spoke more quietly at the last statement to not raise an alarm in the office room. Thankfully it seemed there was quite a buzz in the office due to a sudden flow of work and calls. So no one was noticing the commotion happening in the conference room. 

Ellie tried the door but she was also denied entry, However Jason this time was at least willing to at least come clean. “It-it got worse Ellie.” Jason murmured as to not drag attention to them.

 Ellie’s demeanor changed like a lightbulb getting shattered by a baseball bat. She frowned as she plastered her body against the wall and lowered her voice to a solid whisper.  “Well bud you’re going to have to let me in and help you.” Ellie replied back with a worried grin plastered on her face, wondering what he meant about it ‘getting worse’. 

“I don’t think I can literally let you in…” Jason spoke solemnly. “I can barely fit myself in here.” “Uhhh… what do you mean by that?” Ellie tilted her head as she took a double take at the door. A voice didn’t respond to her but loud jostling as if there was a moving crew pushing around furniture on the other side. Noticeably however, the door no longer had any pressure on it and the handle became turn-able again. When Ellie managed to discreetly push the door open slightly ajar- she wasn’t greeted by her best friend, but a huge, looming, hazel eyeball staring worriedly back at her. 

[Image Description: A big hazel eye is staring at Ellie as she pushed open the door. Ellie is covering her mouth.] Its lids twitched sporadically and grew more watery as Ellie had to cover her lips to not scream in abject horror and alert everyone in the room that there was a giant occupying the room. What did come out of Ellie’s mouth however was a high pitched whine that could have broken glass if uncovered. 

“This is a bit awkward, innit?” Jason quietly mumbled- trying to be inconspicuous as he possibly could be in his situation.  Though his leg was becoming more numb and fuzzy the longer he sat on it. Shifting it to the side might do the trick, but as he tried to move his leg over- his heart dropped as he suddenly heard an ear piercing shriek moan from the overly stressed floor boards below him.  

...

clink

“Sick.”

Another abandoned plastic bottle was slammed into the trash can for 50 points and Motor was just killing it in his little makeshift game. However, even with his high score, he still couldn't compete with his reign as the grand champion of disposing of all abandoned cans, which was never-ending and filled with sticky glory. He then noticed a helpless Sprite that had been left behind and without hesitation, he grabbed it and threw it into the recycling bin at the other end of the room.

clink   

“Nnnnnnice!” Sizzled the janitor under his breath that was followed with a victory pump. That sick dunk called for another celebratory soda. Motor turned to the vending machine, popping in his quarters as he jammed out to the ear-splitting majesty of electric guitar riffs and the lead singer screaming about his personal problems, which he probably needed therapy for.

How relatable. 

Right as he was about to chuck another can, his aim was thrown off by the ceiling shaking above him. The can flew onto the wall beside the trash with a disappointed thunk. Motor was baffled and took a few steps back to check up on the ceiling. “... Swear to godzilla if the goddamn pipes broke again, construction is going to have their bones twisted into pretzels -”   The room suddenly collapsed in on itself, and Motor narrowly avoided losing his head by falling debris. He let out a string of curses and had to pause to process what had just happened. After collecting himself, Motor got up to inspect the damage and see what had caused the catastrophic event. … Leather? Motor had to stare at the large boulder of dark brown leather that was accompanied by a chunk of scuffed rubber. Before Motor could look into the destructive object further, as fast as it arrived- it lifted back up in the air and nestled into the hole it made. With a careful ear Motor could now clearly hear Ellie’s and that one stuck-up coworker’s voice. It only took him a few seconds to connect the dots and he got this emotion where he was full of confusion and anger but strangely enough, excited.

Finally, a cure for his boredom. 

It didn't take long for Motor's thunderous footsteps to reach the service stairs and ascend to the floor above. He pushed past shocked suits and cubicle rats, determined to reach the source of the commotion. As he approached the crowded door, people were starting to panic and wondered if they should call for emergency services.

Motor elbowed his way through the crowd and joined the group of water cooler guys who were trying to force the door open. Despite their efforts pulling it, the door wouldn't budge.

"Relax, bozos. I'll see what fell over. Probably just a light fixture," Motor said sarcastically, trying to calm the onlookers. He gave the guy at the door a stern look, causing him to back away a few meters. Then, with ease, Motor pushed the door open.

Due to his large stature, no one could see what Motor was witnessing. The conference room was in ruins with the whole fancy light fixture crashing into the floor. Right in front of that light there was a sight of Ellie holding onto a hyperventilating Jason’s shrinking hand. Seeing a man that was the size of a truck become Jason sized was more than surreal. Ellie was the first to notice that they had an onlooker right as she was finished with calming Jason down with a wide terrified look and color draining from both of their faces. 

[meadow-roses]

Meet the Family part 2

Grace consults with her fellow team members on the safety of inviting her boyfriend to join their undercover rebel group. They be scheming.

This scene is around three years old, and was started as a character study/exploration for Grace and her friends to get a feel for how they are involved in Felix's backstory plot. This is not a scene in the actual story and a lot of the "plot" is not canon, but I thought it would be fun to share with you guys! Enjoy!

Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4

*******

“Well,” Erin said, pushing her chair away from the desk and spinning to face Grace. “As far as background checks can go he seems in the clear. Medical records, work history, social reports, all completely normal.”

Grace hummed in response as she read over the profile summary displayed on the computer screen.

Erin took her glasses off and began polishing them on the corner of her open vest. “On top of that,” She said with a shrug. “I think we all trust your gut, so if you think he’s a good guy he probably is, and the info checks out on that. Plus-” she emphasized the next sentence by putting her glasses back on. “We could really use the help.”

Grace looked away from the screen to meet Erin’s gaze. “I just don’t want necessity to drive us into endangering lives.”

“We’ve accepted new members on less evidence than this before and we’ve been fine,” Erin said, crossing one leg over the other to make a place to set her elbows on.

“That was at a different time though,” Grace pointed out. “With the government like it is right now, they’re probably going to be looking for rebel groups more than ever, and they’ll have plenty of loyal associates unemployed to do that with.”

“I don’t know, Grace.” Erin said, her face scrunching into a smirk. “I don’t think a guy that gives names to all the squirrels in the park is gonna end up screwing us over.”

“He could have made the names up on the spot,” Grace pointed out.

“So you think he’s lying?” Erin slouched her chin into her palm, folding her fingers around to smoosh into the side of her heavily freckled face.

“No,” Grace tightened her arms over her chest. “I’m just, worried I might miss something and end up regretting all this. I don’t think he would betray us, but I haven’t known him for that long.”

“Well,” Erin kicked back in the chair and spun back around to face the collection of monitors. “If you’re that worried about it, why don’t you take him to meet Grandma, see what she thinks of him. It’d be hard for that to go wrong.”

Grace sat down on the edge of the desk, her face illuminated blue by the computer screens. “I guess so,” She said, after thinking the suggestion over.

The dark room, lit only by Erin’s computer screens and the light coming in through the open doorway from the hallway, was suddenly no longer dark. A blonde man very much in need of a haircut was standing just inside the door, his hand still on the lightswitch. “What are you guys doing in the dark?”

“Tychus, turn that off!” Erin moaned, throwing her hands up to cover her eyes. Grace laughed at her, blinking in the sudden light.

“If you keep this up you’re going to ruin your eyesight,” Tychus said, coming up behind Erin’s chair and leaning over the back of it. “Oh wait, you already did.”

“You’re so mean to me,” Erin said.

She tried to scowl disapprovingly but a treacherous grin pulled at the edges of her mouth. With this comical expression she turned in her seat to shove his arms off the headrest. Tychus laughed and sidestepped her chair, taking a seat on the desk in front of her and putting the keyboard up in his lap.

“Wow you just came in here to pick on me, didn’t you?”

Tychus shrugged playfully. “You’ve been in here all day and I got lonely.”

“I’ve been working,” Erin said, reclaiming her keyboard.

“Would you two just get married already?” Grace said, laughing and shaking her head.

“Hmmm, how’s two months from now sound?” Tychus said with a wink in Erin’s direction. “Maybe the 15th? To choose a completely random and not at all specific date.”

Erin shook her head at him, unable to keep herself from smiling broadly as her face turned red. Tychus chuckled and the two exchanged a quick kiss.

“So when do I get to meet your boyfriend, Grace?” Tychus asked as Erin resumed her typing.

Grace gave a quick laugh. “Erin’s been running a background check on him.”

"Ooo, you girls are getting a little serious now. I don't know if this qualifies as a misuse of your hacker skills, Babe, but, what'd you find? Nothing too shady?"

“Nothing at all,” Erin said. Her eyes remained fixed to the screen as she spoke, her fingers continuing without slowing their dance across the keyboard. “He’s just a perfectly normal guy. You know, aside from the weird things.”

"Weird is good," Tychus nodded in approval. “Only the best for our Grace. She’s pretty weird too, after all.”

Erin snorted. “Speak for yourself, you weirdo."

"We're not running an investigation so I can date him," Grace said. "I was thinking about asking him to join the team."

"Oooh, you're not spying on him, you're just spying on him." Tychus smirked and tapped the side of his nose as his fiancé rolled her eyes.

"Sure," Grace shook her head with a smile. "He passed all of Erin's tests, but I still want to be extra careful with all those loose agents lurking around. Erin suggested I bring him over to Grandma’s for dinner.”

“Well that sounds fun,” Tychus said. “Can I come too and pretend to be your cousin?”

Grace grinned. “We don’t look related at all, but sure.”

“You know what would be fun,” Tychus continued, lifting a leg up onto the desktop and propping his elbow on his knee.

“If we got as many people as we can spare to come over. Just say we’re your extended family and it’s a farewell party at your grandma’s so we can see how he reacts. Not being secretly evil or something isn’t the only qualification for the team, it’d be nice to know how well he can roll with unexpected situations.”

Grace nodded slowly. It was a good point. If this sort of a scenario would stress him out too much, he probably wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of leading a double life. On top of that, she could have more than just her own and Grandma’s opinions about him, he could also meet his potential teammates before being thrown into life-or-death situations with them.

She smiled, one finger thoughtfully pressed against her bottom lip.

“Tychus, my dear brother, I think that is an excellent idea.”

[maria021015]

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CHAPTER 36!

Researching who had broken into the vault and how they had done it did not take them minutes, as Stiles had promised Derek. Instead, it took them hours - and come morning they still didn’t have any answers.

“Kids!” Noah shouted at the three teenagers asleep in various strange positions scattered around his son’s bedroom. Stiles himself was face down on the floor with his cheeks smooshed against stacks of newspaper articles and beside a crime board with red string connecting printed papers. Scott was sprawled awkwardly over the desk chair and Zaida was spread out right on the edge of the bed with her arms dangling over the edge and reaching towards a laptop that was on the ground, her fingertips barely brushing the keyboard where it must have fallen at some point in the night. “Hey, time to wake up! Kids!”

“Am I late?!” Zaida yelped and woke with a start at the Sheriff’s raised voice, quickly losing her balance and crashing to the floor with a resounding thud and grunt of pain. She groaned as she rolled over onto her back and looked around the messy room to see Stiles in the process of getting up and Scott rubbed his eyes.

“I gotta get to work. You three? Get to school.” Stiles’ father instructed them firmly.

“Dad! Heather?” Stile blurted out the question, wondering if there was any news about the girl.

“No. Nothing yet.” The Sheriff shook his head grimly and headed downstairs to prepare his morning coffee.

“Ten hours and nothing.” Stiles sighed hopelessly, getting to his feet and gathering all of the papers that were covering the surfaces of his bedroom almost entirely from view.

“We're gonna find something,” Scott reassured the boy.

“Finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead, or Boyd any less about-to-be-dead…” He groused bitterly, feeling helpless against the clock that was steadily ticking in the back of their minds. They were running out of time.

“Well, we still have time.” The werewolf tried to look on the positive side, but the reality was that they were steadfastly running out of time.

“For now,” Zaida snorted, trying not to be the pessimist in this situation but failing miserably. She couldn’t even find it within her to sit up right now. The floor felt better than it ever had.

“Is this whole, like, ‘remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster’ thing a part of the Be A Better Scott McCall Program?” Stiles grumbled sarcastically.

“Uh, not if it doesn't work…” Scott answered hesitantly, not knowing if Stiles meant it as a good thing or not. He was just trying to be helpful.

“No, it works.” Stiles smiled warmly at his best friend, appreciating his efforts. The smile dropped from his face along with his jaw when he looked at a paper he had just picked up in shock. Shoving it into Scott’s hands, the boy then hurried out of the room and after his father. “Oh, Dad! Dad? DAD!”

“What is he yapping about?” Zaida muttered and turned back over onto her stomach crawling across the floor with minimal energy toward the chair Scott was sitting in so he could flash her the image printed on the news article. A younger Sheriff Stilinski was pictured making the arrest of the criminals who broke into the vault. “How did we not think to ask him sooner?” She huffed and collapsed back onto the carpet lazily.

“Come on, you gotta get up. We have to get ready for school.” Scott urged her and she held up her arm in the air.

“Drag me.” She grunted in a deep voice, still heavy with sleep.

“To where?” Scott blinked at her blankly, and Stiles came running back into the room like a hurricane, tearing through his things to grab his backpack and shove a bunch of papers he’d just retrieved into it. He stopped only long enough to take one look at Zaida’s zombified form, and picked up a half-drunken bottle of water from his desk, unscrewing the lid and emptying the rest over her face as she gasped and shot straight up into a seated position.

“I am going to rip your testicles from your body and force-feed them to you, Stilinski!” Zaida shrieked loudly and shot him a dangerous glare.

“You gotta catch me first,” He shot back with a mischievous glint in his amber eyes and she launched herself off the floor and straight at him as he practically flew down the steps and towards the kitchen, hiding behind the form of his incredibly confused father.

“Whoah, hold up. What’s going on?” He held up his hands in an appeasing gesture as Zaida went skidding to a stop in front of him.

“Your son just poured half a bottle of stagnant desk water on me and I am going to kill him!” She growled in a low voice.

“Hey! It woke you up, didn’t it?” Stiles defended himself.

“Don’t you think killing is a little bit extreme?” Noah winced and Stiles nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“Fine. Then I’m going to seriously maim and injure your son.” She settled for a midground and the Sheriff nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that I can live with.” He stepped aside, placed his freshly brewed coffee on the kitchen bench and gave her a clear path to the boy, who looked at his father with narrowed eyes and his mouth floundering open and shut.

“You handed your own son over? Just like that?” Stiles shook his head, flabbergasted. “This complete and utter betrayal is appalling! I am your flesh and blood! The fruit of your loins!”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Noah tilted his head at Zaida, encouraging her forward, and her lips spread into a slow, evil smile as her eyes darkened at Stiles and she picked up the Sheriff’s mug of coffee. The boy barely had time to start running before she launched herself at him. He hooked around the kitchen bench and bolted through the dining room, looking back as he reached the living area just in time to see her gaining on him. In an instant she was leaping onto his back, wrapping an arm around his neck and her legs around his middle as she screamed profanities into his ear and tipped the coffee mug upside down over his spiky hair.

“No! Not the hair!” He whined as the girl released him and smirked smugly at the brown liquid running down his face. His hair was stuck to his forehead, a flattened mess.

“Clean it up Stiles,” Noah instructed the boy as he walked past them on his way out the front door, folding a new cup of coffee.

“What? Me? But she’s the one who-” The boy protested and sighed in defeat when the front door closed behind his father. Zaida smiled at him innocently as he glared at her. “You’re evil.”

“Maybe,” She shrugged nonchalantly and started climbing the staircase to get ready for school. “But I definitely won that round.”

“It wasn’t a competition! Just so you know!” He yelled out after her and was left standing alone, sopping wet in a puddle of coffee. “This is just great.”

“All right. So, we meet at Derek's at five to go over the plan, and then we don't get started until dark.” Scott summarised as they walked through the hallway lined with blue lockers.

“'Kay. What do we do 'til then?” Stiles nodded, fiddling with the straps of his backpack as adrenaline coursed through him in anticipation of their upcoming mission.

“What, right now?” Scott asked with his brows furrowed in confusion. “We've got English.”

“Yeah, and we really need to hurry up or we’re gonna be late.” Zaida huffed and quickened her pace as she glanced at the time flashing on her phone screen.

“And who’s fault was that, Zaida?” Stiles raised a brow at her in challenge.

“Yours,” She shot back with a sarcastic smile, finding it easier and easier to fall into their natural rhythm despite her growing feelings for him.

“How was it my fault?” The boy looked at her in bewilderment.

“You didn’t clean up the coffee fast enough, you didn’t run away quickly enough, you initiated a war by drowning me first thing in the morning - that’s three ways, you can choose your favourite.” She counted on her fingers as she listed them and then turned to walk backwards, holding up the three fingers she had raised to him - her index, middle and ring fingers. “Oh, and before I forget, read between the lines, Stilinski.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. Yeah, as if ruining my hair and my favourite flannel wasn’t enough, you just had to flip me off too.” He shook his head bitterly. “Are you seeing this, Scotty? You’re on my side, right?”

The werewolf pursed his lips and kept his mouth shut, not saying a word but being unable to fight off the amused smirk on his face. “Unbelievable! Betrayed by the man who gave me life and my best friend since the sandbox on the same day!”

“And it’s only eight.” Zaida winked at him, leaving him floundering as she stalked off to her locker.

“We should never have invited her into our group, you know. She’s getting between our friendship, and I really don’t like it.” Stiles sighed dramatically.

“Neither of us actually invited her though. She just barged in one day and sort of stuck.” Scott snickered. “Besides, where would we be without her?”

“You can’t love two people at the same time, Scotty. So pick. Is it gonna be her or me?” Stiles laid down the ultimatum in jest.

“Didn’t Captain Jack Sparrow once say that if you fall in love with two people, pick the second one because if you really loved the first, you never would have fallen for the second?” Scott mused.

“Have you been watching Pirates of the Caribbean without me?” Stiles’ jaw dropped practically to the floor.

“Zaida and I watched the other night after Heather’s party,” Scott admitted casually.

“Oh my God! I’ve been begging you to let me lead your movie education for years, and she waltzes in and after one night you actually let her ?” Stiles exclaimed exasperatedly, his hands flailing about wildly. “You totally Anakin Skywalkered me!”

“She was drunk! I wasn’t about to tell her no.” Scott defended himself. “I don't think anyone can tell her what to do, anyway. She’s Zaida,” He shrugged as if it was an explanation on its own, and it truly was.

[killemwithkawaii]

'Strange Nightmares' pre-kickstarter stream lore drops, game and kickstarter info 🎲

[Note: Contains Sally Face video game spoilers. Questions are from stream chat and quotes are (mostly) answers from Steve. Quotes and questions are paraphrased and may be minimally reworded. Feel free to let me know if I missed any key details!]

Watch the stream here

Subscribe to the kickstarter here

Subscribe to the Maestro Media page pre-launch to get an exclusive Gizmo standee

Kickstarter and board game info:

-'Strange Nightmares' is currently a 2-4 player game, but developers at Maestro Media are working on possibly making a single player route

- Base pledge for the kickstarter is $40 (those who subscribe within the first 48 hours will receive a free 2" dark glitter pony figure)

-Game is still in development. There may be expansions to the game which add additional stories and game aspects, depending on how successful the kickstarter is.

- 3 stories in the game at launch, each with multiple endings. Steve has written about 30 storylines, and they are currently working on implementing story number 4.

- The digital version of the board game will be available

- Game takes 45 minutes to an hour to play

-About a 60/40 win to loss ratio, stories get progressively more difficult.

- Game and merch will feature both art from the original video game and fanart

- There will be social media challenges following the kickstarter launch 'please don't break the law doing these challenges... (or don't get caught!)'

- Travis is not in the board game (but he may get a vinyl figure, which will be available through the kickstarter)

-'Strange Boxes' are SF themed loot crates/ puzzles that will be sent out quarterly. They will contain t-shirts and other merch featuring art from various artists, as well as mystery puzzles to solve. You can purchase single boxes, subscribe to receive them as they're released, or purchase all of them and receive them all at once after they've all been released.

- Will there be sheet music in the Strange Boxes? 'No... I never learned music theory... I don't write anything down, its all in my head. I just play what feels good.'

-There will be Kenneth merch

Misc. SF lore and questions for Steve:

- Will Sal return in physical form (in SF2)? 'Depends on your definition of 'physical'.'

- Is Larry a hot dog or hamburger guy? 'He likes both, he just smooshes them together and eats them at the same time.'

- If the characters had voices, is there anyone who you can name? '...I have a particular voice in my head for Sal, I cant think of anyone who sounds like him... Ash sounds like Michelle Trachtenberg or Sarah Michelle Gellar... Larrys voice is like Keaneu Reeves from Bill and Ted but a little less doofy.'

- Steve has not watched the (Featherfall Studios) fan dub, but will watch it eventually

- What happened to Bob (Todds fish)? 'No comment... hes fine, don't worry'

- Are Sal and Larry devious enough to run from the police? 'Probably, it depends on what they did.'

- ' The friends tried to start a band together but it didn't go far... Sal plays guitar, Todd plays keyboard, Ash sings and plays base, Larry plays drums... they didn't play well but they loved it. Played 90s vibe grungy rock. Larry would have definitely been screaming. I didn't come up with a band name... they probably had a big list and kept switching the name.'

- 'Janice's favorite color is yellow.'

- Philip was not one of the people being sacrificed my the cult in ch 5

- Did Sal recognize pastor Phelps as the same person who shot his mom? 'Sort of. He thought it might be the same person, but he wasn't sure.'

- Did Travis ever end up hanging out with Sal? 'Sal tried... They didn't end up hanging out... Travis' feelings were conflicted on becoming friends... he is so stubborn. '

- Have you read any SF fanfiction? 'I haven't... I didn't want it to influence any story decisions.'

- Sal and Travis or Sal and Ash? 'No comments on ships.'

- Why was SF set in the 90s? 'That's when I grew up... a main inspiration was 90s cartoons, so it's set in that time.'

- Was Travis made in a test tube or does he have a mom? 'He has a mom.... I don't wanna give too much away.'

- Do you watch SF cosplay tiktoks? 'Sometimes. If people tag me in stuff I usually watch them... sometimes I search the tags.'

- Are Lisa and Janice friends? 'Of course they're friends!'

- Did Sal ever introduce Soda to Megan? 'No. He wouldn't want to freak Soda out... especially because Chug is freaked out by her. He wouldn't want to go against Chugs wishes. If Soda would have gotten older, maybe he would have.'

- What happened to the art book? 'We had a publisher, but we lost it. We have a new one that's interested... still trying to get it published.'

[queenofbaws]

Hi Queenie, I hope you had a nice Christmas and doing are well.

Can I get a Bobby skit with your fancy new keyboard? 😁

Whoever'd been the one to design the room like that was an idiot and a half, but there was an upside to the weirdness of the den: With the naked bulbs on one side of the room and a whole blank wall across the way, all you had to do was find the right spot to sit and suddenly your shadow multiplied. Not totally, that was...they kind of smooshed on top of one another, fanning out from the middle, each one lighter than the one before it, but it was still cool enough.

That was what he kept thinking as he hunkered down onto the brown-and-browner nap of the carpet, throwing glances over his shoulder every couple seconds or so to make sure the kids were watching - all those shadows. He pulled out the old standby, the real easy shit, and with just a couple adjustments, the wall filled with a shadow puppet pack, four wolves cast by four bulbs, each tipping its head back to sniff the air and howl at the moon, and...

They weren't laughing like they usually did.

"You guys always love this stuff, what's - " Bobby began, unbending his fingers and turning to the couches where Kaylee and Caleb sat slumped, the looks on their faces not making any sense...until the exact moment they did and it was all he could do to stare down at his hands, trying with all of his might to remember another shape - any other shape - that might make up for such a stupid mistake.

six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

[shubaka]

Does slowly passing out while you are lying in bed, clutching your phone and tiredly typing out lines of a fic with your face smooshed into your pillow with one eye open squinting to make sure you are in fact hitting the right keys on the tiny keyboard, count as telling yourself a bedtime story? (only it's ten times worse)

[sanriopupwife]

unforeseen problem with the new glasses

my eyes are crossing so badly holy fuck. like they won't. stop

please I had to take them off to type i'm literally face smooshed up on the keyboard

[aspaceformbf]

Leaving the House

(Day 4 Spoilers!!)

I twist the doorknob aggressively. The rattles ring throughout the house.

I sigh in boredom.

I head to his room, and open the door slowly, as quietly as I can. I narrow my eyes at the sight of him staring at his computer.

---

I tiptoe through the door in this weird exaggerated manner and quietly close it back shut. A smile creeps on his face, but he does not turn from his laptop.

I sneak behind him, hiding behind his laptop chair. I peek through the left, squinting at his laptop. I whisper menacingly.

"Nice laptop. Detachable keyboard. Pretty nifty." I whispered, almost to myself.

His smile turns to a grin. Chuckling, he turns towards me.

---

I lean back behind the chair and poke my head out the other side, the right side. I lean towards him, my face almost smooshed against his.

He turns his head towards me and gives me a quick peck on the lips, pulling away with an amused grin. His face is getting red.

I place a hand on his knee.

"Can I grope you?"

He purred.

"Always.. ~"

I pull his chair away from his desk and turn him around. I squeeze both hands under his lap, and paw around his rear end a bit.

"Mm.. ~"

He bites his lip and lifts himself off the seat. My hands wander from his back pockets to his front pockets and I feel a hard bulge.

"Gotcha~"

I give it a squeeze. His hand rushes down to cover my hand, the one that has grasped onto the bulge in his pocket.

His keys, I mean.

He pulls my hand away and deftly takes his keys out with his other hand. He balls his house keys in a fist and lifts his arm out of reach. He grins deviously.

---

"I want to get out of here."

I say, standing up straight. His drunken smile fades a little, his brows creasing up in mild confusion.

" H-Huh..?"

I lunge both hands at his waist and start tickling, complete with the whole "coochie coochie coo!" routine.

His body jerks forward as I manhandle him, and he giggles incoherently. I can't tell whether he's actually ticklish or if he's just enjoying the attention.

---

I lean forward and give him a few wet kisses on the neck. I pull back and stand straight to look at him.

He looks like a puddle of a man, draped on that chair of his. I smile proudly at myself.

I clear my throat and he raises his eyebrows, the side of his mouth quirking upwards in acknowledgement.

"I want to take a walk."

---

"O.. Of course. Anything.." he mumbles, and I fish the keys out of his hand.

I take his hand and pull him up.

"I hope you're not too busy to accompany me.."

"N-No, of course not.."

---

He drapes himself over me as he gets on his feet. He is warm, feverish. He wraps his arms around me tightly.

"I love you.." he whispers, needily. Hungrily.

I scratch him on the cheek. I feel him grin, his body rumbling into a purr. He nuzzles into my neck.

"Come on, you big kitty cat. Let's get some fresh air."

He nods, his face still buried in my neck. He eventually straightens up and loosens his grip.

His hand in mine, I push the key into the lock and open the door.

His hand in mine, we walk out the door.

[rviner]

"It's not as rude as saying one thing and then doing the other." Bella chuckles about Callista. She's not sure what's worse, the disappointment or the fact that the disappointment is expected. But at least, expecting it means they're always prepared. Bella chooses to only allow herself a few moments of wallowing, picking up her hope after that and dusting it off. It's a little battered and worn from the past two years, but it's not gone completely. "Well, they're not the only tutors we'll be able to find. Especially now Nadia is interested, The Society probably have a whole bunch that would be...well, better." she doesn't mean to slight Callista and her family, but it's the truth, Bella would argue.

However, she's also aware how big this is. Nadia Belcourt, after what happened...even showing the slightest interest in Outreach is a step that could change everything. "We have to make sure we say everything just right for the proposal. You know, maybe we leave The Wards out of the discussion entirely?" it's not really what Bella wants, not her long term vision either, but between Genevieve and David as their parents, both Westwood girls know the power of clever words. "To begin with, obviously. Because, maybe after time, when she sees the positive impact...she might be more warmed to the idea. Or, more willing to listen." Bella shrugs then, knowing everything is a shot in the dark until they're sat across with Nadia Belcourt. But, the fact Felix knows her well is another positive.

"Perfect, I'll talk to Felix and see what he says. But I feel good about this!" Bella brightens and she can feel the hopefulness seep back into the conversation, ideas spinning all of which lead to just the simple task of improving people's lives. It shouldn't be as difficult as this, not really, but Bella knows to hold onto the positives as much as possible. "Oh, yes! Amazing!" she gets giddier at the idea of NeuroVisions and VeraTabs. "The open day is coming up, right? Maybe after? They're probably so focused on that, it won't even register if we try and talk about something else." she chuckles, but she taps her chin, thinking now through who they know there. "Oh, Lina! Felix also knows her pretty well. Maybe a little dinner party with some of Felix's contacts is gonna go a long way." she hates the schmoozing, but if it works, it works.

Bella nods with a slight grin, now taking out her own VeraTab to organize herself and her thoughts. A musing "Mmm," leaves her in agreement to her sister, head bopping. "And sometimes, something is only bad because you're not looking at the good." she tacks on, typing away on her keyboard. "Okay so, you and Felix can talk VeraTabs and Lina. Or, Lina and then VeraTabs. I'll talk Nadia with Felix and after...you can see when we can get a meeting? Or I can? Or Felix can?" Bella is now nodding to the schedule. But then, she closes it all down.

And then, she flops. Like someone just pulled a plug from a robot, arms hitting against the table as her face smooshes against it. "Oh, Fee. Am I that woman that uses her partner's contacts to be successful? We wouldn't even be here if Felix didn't fund about half of the programs we have right now." Bella whines, giving her sister a pitiful but desperate look when she looks up from the table. "I'm not a strong independent woman, Fee!"

It might be easy to say that no one told them how hard it would be to gain support for their organization, except that's all anyone had said. It's going to be a lot of long nights and thankless work. But it never felt thankless to Ophelia. Everything has a purpose, even the struggle. Even the shut doors, as frustrating as they are. "I think her mom is eyeing a seat on someone's board. I kind of stopped listening when I got her message...is that rude?"

She cracks the slightest smile before sighing. "It just would've been a great opportunity. And already when I was on Equinox people seemed excited by the prospect of getting some tutors in, even once a week. That's Equinox. Imagine how much of an impact they'd make in The Wards." Fee shakes her head. She doesn't have to preach to her sister, knowing full well that Bella has the same thought. "Yeah, she seemed pretty set. I'll see what she says when we meet. See if there's anything I can do about the language of the agreement...just...not holding my breath."

But the mood of their office lifts with Bella and hers as they begin to talk about the Alexandrian Society. "It would. I know there's a lot of red tape, especially for the Society but...if she's willing to talk. That can only be good." Unless she wants to meet to ask them to stop sending Star Links petitioning for their support. "Oh, that's a great idea, Bells." Fee rifles through her bag for her VeraTab, already beginning to take notes with the digital keyboard that projects from it. "I'm sure we can get people and passes. I'll look at how many we can independently sponsor and how much an organization can." She adds, typing away as her excitement increases.

"Whatever he'd wanna do...it's not like we can't use the help," Ophelia snickers before waving a hand. "But I bet they could work together on it since he already knows all our core values and what we're trying to do here...oh!" She brightens, this time standing up as another idea strikes. "What if we go to Neurovision and ask for some of their old gen VeraTabs?" She snaps her fingers as she speaks, "I mean, they've got to have hundreds just sitting in a storeroom somewhere. We could even pre load them with the presentation. Maybe just on Station history? Kinda start easy. But that's basic knowledge everyone should have access to."

She nods with conviction, already trying to think of how they'd make their request to Neurovision. But then she cackles at Bella's plan, a dramatic gasp escaping. "Isabella Westwood!" She grins, "that's amazing. Maybe we wanna get one of those holo plaque things. Goes on the walls and displays new donors so everyone knows how generous they are." At least those who want to be known because not everyone does when it comes to Outreach. Something they're still working on.

Fee nods vehemently, hands clasped together as she takes a seat, criss crossing her legs again. "Yeah, you're right it was. Sometimes bad news is really bad, but all you need is good news for it not to be as bad." She laughs, "I don't even know who we're talking about," she's, giddy now with the promise of something productive. "Should I see if Nadia wants to meet here? You should definitely be in the meeting too."

[zet-sway]

Spiritual Shrios Summer Fill - “Caress"

My third fill for @rosenkow's Spiritual Shrios Summer! I wanted a happy ending for these lovebirds, so pardon my AU. I slammed down the rough draft while vibing hard to Hozier and Ed Sheeran.

PROMPT WORD: CARESS | WORDS: 2246 Rated: "S" for "Soft & Spicy" AO3 Link: "Safe, Warm, and Whole" Pairing: Thane / FemShep Setting: Recently Post-War, Thane Survives AU Summary: "I can't sleep," she mumbled. "If you aren't too tired..." Her voice trailed off, her statement finishing with telling hand trailing across his hip, straying close to the sensitive scales below his abdomen.

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The soft chill of night air filtered through the open window in their shared flat as Shepard stepped out of the bathroom on sore, aching feet. Fresh from a cold shower, shoulders dropped with fatigue, she managed a smile at him across the room. Thane looked up from his reading. "Siha, how are you feeling?" "Exhausted." She looked it, too. Ever since the war had ended, combat seemed to always take a heavier toll on her body. Her armor powered her through the field, but in their private quarters, she carried herself on tired legs, fresh bruises peeking out from beneath her shirtsleeves. He would kiss them away if he could. Thane stood and guided her into his arms. "Come to bed with me. I think you've earned a good rest." Their flat - if it could even be called a flat - was barebones, no better than any military dormitory she's ever stayed in. White walls, cold floor tiles, and almost no décor to speak of. It was clean, at least. Six months since the war had ended, humanity had made little to no progress reclaiming the comforts they'd enjoyed before the reapers. Still, some inspired soldier had managed to requisition an old bed that was bigger than the standard issue Alliance bunk size - a gift for the legend herself, and her partner. He eased her down onto the sheets with steady arms. "It's too quiet in here," Shepard groaned as she laid down. "I'm sure the Alliance would be willing to relocate us to one of the orbital stations," he said, undressing before joining her in bed. She made an annoyed sound. "They need me here." It was mostly true. The alliance was still uncovering disorganized pockets of reaper forces, most of them in the underground byways of urban centers. It's what she spent her days doing. Strapping on the same old armor and delving into close quarters to fight cannibals, brutes, and whatever other monsters lurked in the dark. He wanted so badly for her to rest, but she wouldn't have it. The three months she spent held up in the field hospital were agony for her, and not simply because she was in pain. That restless mind, her patchwork cybernetic body giving her inhuman reserves of energy that her organic parts simply couldn't keep pace with. Even the Alliance had tried to offer her diplomatic work - something she had laughed off. "Come back when you're ready to let me do my job." Still, Shepard found planetside silence deafening. Sleep was harder to claim without the white noise of a cruiser. She talked often of the thrumming of engines on ships she'd lived on for most of her life. Thane himself rather enjoyed the quiet sounds of Earth, but it didn't much matter to him where they were. As long as she came home to him at night. "What will you do once the ground work is complete?" he said, settling in beside her. "I can't fucking wait," came her muffled response, face stuffed into a pillow. "Maybe then we can get back into space. Help with the Citadel reclamation." She turned to look at him then, squinting against the light on his nightstand. "If that's okay with you." "My love," he said, switching off the light and kissing her forehead, "I would follow you to the edge of the world if you'll have me." She swatted at him weakly. "You're sickeningly sweet." Thane's face contorted in an exaggerated frown, but his voice betrayed his mirth. "I make you sick?" She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." "I love you too, Siha," he chuckled, and gathered her into his arms. Indeed it had taken him a little while to get used to living with humans and their ample use of sarcasm, but he did understand her. By now he had long since stopped using his translator. Earth was becoming more familiar to him by the day, and he was surprised to find so many humans eager for his help. That he wasn't Alliance didn't seem important when so much needed doing. When he refused to leave her hospital bedside, they busied him with menial tasks around the infirmary and he was surprised to find he enjoyed the small role he had in healing the injured. Most of all, he thanked Arashu each and every day for her unbelievable

blessing, to have Shepard here, curling into his chest, safe, warm, and whole. She wriggled against him, humming quietly as she found a more favorable position with her knee over his and her face in the warm velvety frill of his neck. Soft breaths rolled over him and he trilled in response, the sound vibrating in his chest. They fit together so seamlessly that he could never be sure if she teased him like this deliberately or simply out of comfort, but warmth of her breath over his throat made his body stir in irresponsible ways, considering her state of fatigue. With some amount of guilt, he shifted away from her. She reacted, her arm tightened about his waist to press him close and this time she did it on purpose, gentle lips kissing his throat once, then twice with an open mouth, with a small hum of satisfaction. Her intentions were loud and clear. "I thought you were exhausted," he mused into her hair. Ambient light from outside spilled through their open window and illuminated her in the dreamy shades of nighttime. Her eyes were closed, body tucked tight against him. Like holding the entire world in his arms, he swelled with adoration. "I can't sleep," she mumbled. "If you aren't too tired..." Her voice trailed off, her statement finishing with telling hand trailing across his hip, straying close to the sensitive scales below his abdomen. "Mm," he pretended to consider, knowing exactly what she wanted. "I may be able to help. What do you require?" It would be a cold day in hell when he was too tired for her. She kissed his neck again, her palm flattening against the small of his back and dragging it slowly over his backside. "Touch me," she whispered. Warmth bloomed in his chest, the heat of desire washing over him. "It would be my pleasure," he rumbled. Slowly, he pushed her shorts off her hips and eased her on to her back. Eyes closed, licking her lips in contented anticipation, he watched her chest rise and fall with each contented breath. Hands slid across her belly, easing her t-shirt up over her head and she accommodated him, rising just enough to pull it off and flicking it lazily on to the other side of the bed. Relaxed as he'd ever seen, her undressed body laid before him, dotted with scars and stories he knew so well. He pulled himself over her, meeting her lips in an unhurried kiss. She stretched against him, warming beneath his body, hands wandering across the defined lines of his shoulders and spine as though she knew his stripes by memory alone. He gathered her breasts together from where they rolled to her sides and gazed up at her face as he kissed the deliciously soft valley between them. Thumbs running over each hardening peak, he watched her expression as he teased her if only just to see the gleaming edges of her teeth drawing her lower lip into her mouth. Her eyelashes fluttered as he squeezed her flesh gently, closing his lips over first one nipple, then the other. She arched up to meet his eager tongue, heavy breaths rushing from her lungs as though the pressure of his hands drove the air from her body. Beneath him, he could feel her core flex with each flick of his tongue and twist of his fingers "Fuck," she moaned. He couldn't help but watch her, eyes closed, lips parted, chest heaving against his hands as he stoked her lust from a smolder to an irresistible flame. His gentle mouth began to work its way down across the hard plane of her abdomen. Beneath the scent of standard issue soap, he could smell the salt of her skin, pausing to place an appreciative kiss atop her mound before his hands curled around the juncture of her hips. Her breathing was ragged as his thumbs parted her eager, heated flesh for his appreciation. The first time they'd done this he'd had to talk her down from her insecurities. The memory made him feel possessive, nearly angered by the notion that some other man had turned down privilege of knowing her this way. Thane let his breath ghost over her glistening center, thumbs dragging firmly up and down her folds just to hear her moan for him. The urge

to tease her was irresistible. It was with a knowing smirk that he finally bent his mouth to her, tasting her earthy, salty flesh - her hitched gasps like music to his ears. She told him once that he put human lovers to shame, and he was proud - perhaps the only man in existence who pried the secrets of her pleasure straight from her lips. He knew exactly how to touch her simply because he'd asked. The sounds she made when he laved his tongue over her clit were low and resounding reminders of how painfully hard he was in his shorts. Her fingertips trailed along his sensitive jaw, feeling him work as he ate her greedily. "Don't stop," she whispered. He grinned against her sex, teasing her entrance with two fused fingers, pushing slowly inside her heat only to brush against her center and slip out, again and again. Patiently, he devoured her, walking her closer to the edge one searing second at a time until her head was thrown back, her spine arched off the bed, fingers trembling against his scalp. He loved this. Every time he went down on her his mind trailed over every single time previous - recalling the exact intonation of her voice, the press of her hands, the way she tensed her thighs as she neared the peak of her pleasure. By now, he could tell precisely when to set her off. He edged her for a few seconds longer. She was close, so close. She came with a shout, her clutching fingers carefully telegraphing how long he could continue to draw out her climax before she trembled and sagged, clenching her oversensitive flesh away from his hungry mouth. "Holy shit, Thane," she gasped, heaving for breath and sprawling against the mattress. He climbed atop her and she kissed him without hesitation and he growled - he couldn't deny he found it irrefutably erotic how she cleaned the taste of herself off his lips. Clumsy hands fumbled at his shorts, stroking his burning length, urging him to bring it to her lips. Maybe another night - he thought. Right now he burned to bury himself inside her. He felt her tense in anticipation, her eyes cracked open and gleaming in the moonlight, slowly blinking up at him with a look so unguarded he could have wept. She guided him to her slick entrance and he slowly pushed inside, groaning as her hungry, supple flesh tempted him into her scorching depths and at last, he hilted inside her. He set a languid pace, cradling her hips in his hands, searching for the perfect angle to make her see the stars she missed so dearly behind her closed eyes. With her core hypersensitive in the glow of her climax, she clutched at him desperately, nails digging into the scales of his back with such force he thought for sure they would be discolored before long. He didn't care. Becoming one with her, seeing her completely blissed out by each roll of his hips and knowing he could make her feel this way made him shake with wanting. He covered her with his body, ravishing her lips against pleasured cries that came so resoundingly he was sure to hear "who was getting lucky last night?" in the morning. He belonged to her - this night and as many nights as she wanted him. She made him delirious in her pleasure. Her body demanded his release. Held within her wanting arms, he finally succumbed with a hoarse, drawn out cry. For seconds he was infinite, a whirlwind of white hot ecstasy fraying him apart until he found his sweetest end in her embrace. And then there was nothing but her and the caress of crisp, evening air wafting over him. A gift from the earth to bless their joining. He shivered with the aftershocks. Soft hands trailed down his back. He didn't know how long they remained before separating. In the afterglow, memories overtook him easily. Vivid remembrances of Irikah and Shepard tumbled together and he slipped in and out of them like the rolling of coastal waters. It was difficult to rationalize how he could deserve either of them, what he could have done to earn the love of the fierce and cosmic women who touched his heart. But as Shepard's breathing slowed from heavy to peaceful beside him,

his doubts were pushed aside. Arashu herself had sent him a divine protector, and he would not refuse her gifts. "You're the best," she murmured against him, and he could hear the daze of sleep trailing her gentle voice. Just a sigh of breath as she tucked her head against his chest and whispered:

"I love you." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks for reading!

If you like creating shrios content, you're welcome to hop on board the challenge! My previous fills [AO3]:

Secrets in the Steam [Prompt: Wet]

Your Gods are My Gods [Prompt: Pray]

[etherrreal]

“8:26PM”

Pairing: akaashi x fem!reader Genre: fluff Summary: after a late night at the office, you're ready to skedaddle, but your work husband akaashi is draped over his desk, fast asleep, and what kind of work wife would you be if you just left him there? WC: 1,319 A/N: how can I not write something for the prettiest setter in all of haikyuu? -Luna

"Again?"

You’re on your way out of the office when you pause to see Akaashi passed out on his desk for the umpteenth time, face smooshed against his arm as he attempts to lay on the tiny amount of space in front of his keyboard. His glasses are half off his face, one of the arms sticking across his forehead while the other half of the frames are pressed against his face. Nothing about his position looks comfortable in the slightest, but his gentle snoring says otherwise.

You tiptoe over to his desk as quietly as you can, getting a closer look at his face to see the drool trickling out of his slightly open mouth. You’ve always known he’s a hard worker, but you’ve never thought it was so intense that he would crash and begin drooling at his desk.

Carefully, you place your hand on his shoulder, whispering his name in hopes that you don't startle him too badly. His head shoots up, eyes open but unfocused as he looks around his environment. It’s amusing to watch his brain boot up like an old dell computer as he slowly registers that he’s fallen asleep at work and it's dark outside now.

"Damn, that must've been a good nap," you joke, watching him take long blinks as he finally sits up.

He rolls his chair back when he stands, hands reaching above his head while he stretches. His shirt becomes untucked as he does so, showing a sliver of skin above his pants that you try your best not to stare at.

"Thanks for waking me. I guess this article was so boring it put me to sleep," he says, cleaning up his desk.

"It's no problem. I can't have my work husband slacking. It'll make me look bad as your wife," you playfully chastise, leaning against the desk next to his.

He rolls his eyes, but you know by the small smile forming on his face that he finds you amusing.

Your relationship with Akaashi is an interesting one. You both were quick to click in the beginning, bonding over a book you both happened to be reading at the time. It gradually evolved into a mutual friendship where, on the clock, you would be each other's primary soundboards for headline ideas and rephrasing sentences, and, off the clock, you would discuss your current reads and talk about your mutual disdain for your coworkers, sometimes even more personal business.

Said coworkers observed your closeness over the months and started making jokes about your relationship, saying that the way you two interacted and how much time you spent together at your workplace made it seem like you were work husband and wife.

It was so prevalent that you and Akaashi started using the terms ironically yourselves, whether it be you accepting your morning coffee from him and saying, 'thank you, work husband' or him calling you the 'ol' ball and chain' when you needed help thinking of a better lead to an article. But, like most things that begin ironically, it eventually became unironic in its use and more of a reflex with how you refer to each other. There are some instances where you wonder if it's still a joke or being used with genuine affection, but at this point, you're too afraid to ask, fearing that you might not like the answer.

You’ll never admit that him referring to you as his work wife—whether it be ironically or affectionately—makes you feel giddy every time. That you’re hoping that maybe he'll come to bring you your coffee and stay a little longer to flirt a little while on the clock. That every time you see his notification ping in the corner of your eye as you're working, you hope that it'll be the one asking you to do something outside of work without the ties to your job.

It's a secret you're prepared to take to your grave if the topic never comes up organically in conversation, or at least until it becomes something that Akaashi brings up himself. Until that fateful day, you're going to keep your little work crush to yourself lest you make a fool out of yourself by confessing.

"I'm shocked you're here this late," you comment, cocking your head while you watch him pull out his flash drive to put into his computer. "You're usually one of the first ones out. You shouldn't make it a habit to stay here so late."

"You're here late, too, though. More often than I am. What's your excuse?"

"Well, yeah, but I, uh, ya know—" You attempt to come up with an excuse for your unhealthy habit, knowing that regardless of the reason, he'll still scold you, but nothing comes. It doesn't help that he's giving you a look, a knowing side-eye with an arched brow. What a handsome asshole. "Shut up. I should've left you sleeping here all night if this is how you were gonna treat me."

"And neglect your wifely duties? I don't think you'd be able to sleep at night if you left me here."

"I would sleep like a baby knowing you're here, I promise."

"So, what? Waking up every few hours to cry for me?" he snarks.

Suddenly, there's a pen flying by his face that he barely manages to dodge, chuckling at your tantrum. He sits back in his chair as his computer shuts off, capping and uncapping his flash drive in one hand while the other rubs at the exhaustion still in his eyes. It's easy to tell how sleepy he still is with how slow he's moving and how unfocused his eyes are as he looks at the floor.

He also happens to look adorable like this.

"You okay to drive?" you ask, watching as he slowly stands up and sets his backpack on his chair so he can once again stretch.

"No, I'll probably have a cup of coffee first to wake me up."

"It's, like, 8PM. You'll be up all night if you drink caffeine right now."

He shrugs, looking quite apathetic at the moment.

"I can always give you a ride," you suggest, hoping you don't sound too eager. During the very few times you've carpooled together over the length of your careers, it's always been a pleasant experience, but it's few and far between simply because there's hardly a reason to do so since you both have your own vehicles.

"But my car—"

"I can just pick you up tomorrow, then. No biggie." You can only hope that you pull off the nonchalant act very convincingly.

Akaashi chuckles, turning around to put his flash drive away and sling his backpack over his shoulder. "Like real husband and wife."

"Y-yeah, pretty much, I guess," you stutter. And maybe it's your own confirmation bias, but you swear you see a twinkle in his eye that's never been there before when he speaks. It feels like an out-of-the-ordinary comment to make, at least with the addition of the word ‘real,’ but you’re not sure what’s ordinary for you two anymore. 

He gestures for you to walk in front of him, the twinkle still bright in his eye. "Alright. Lead the way, honey."

Fuck, he’s smooth. "Of course, darling." It flows off the tongue so naturally, and you try not to let the exchange affect you at all, at least not to his knowledge, but you can't help the little giggle you let out with it.

Even as you drive home, the giddiness from hearing him call you ‘honey’ never subsides, and you fight to keep a smile off your face the entire drive home. But, at one of the red lights, you look over at him and see him already staring at you, and you’re absolutely sure that the twinkle is there because it’s no doubt being reflected back at him in your eyes, too. 

Written by: Luna

feel free to join our taglist~

[finniestoncrane]

📸 for dano!riddler? :3

of COURSE my sweet bb

thank u for the prompt!!

reply under here, minors DNI!! 🔞 cw for nsfw stuff

📷 - favourite picture of you/them together

his favourite picture of you together is one he took by accident. he was setting up for his stream, sitting in his chair with his mask on. you had come up behind him, lifting the mask up just over his mouth and kissing him as you settled into his lap with his arms around you. but he wasn't ready to support you though and you fell back, gripping round his neck and smooshing your face into his, knocking your hand into the keyboard where you hit whatever key it was that took the screenshot. it's his desktop background now because the way you're smiling, the way he looks in his full regalia, and the knowledge that someone as pretty as you was willing to kiss him makes his heart warm

[sidespromptblog]

What to Do?: Chapter 10

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine

Warnings: General Angst, Remus being spooky, Hurt/Comfort, Brief Food Mention, and Sad Stuff. 

Summary: Logan realizing that his first mistake was seeing the other sides as anything other than coworkers. They weren't a family. They didn't even like each other. How had he not realized sooner?

Word Count: 2,067

Logan heard the springs in his bed behind him squeal as someone sat down on it, and for a moment he didn’t look away from his computer. His eyes were already straining against the glare of the computer screen in front of him, he just wanted to close his eyes and rest for even just the slightest moment… but the presence behind him forced him to keep his back straight and his eyes trained professionally on what he was doing. It was only when he had made more than one spelling mistake on the same sentence did he direct his attention from that, to his cold cup of tea sitting right next to his keyboard. 

Logan grimaced, now of all times he could have much rather preferred coffee, at least the caffeine from that would have helped keep him awake. But he just grimaced and took a sip, the sweetness mixing with the spices over his tongue making him scrunch up his face a little bit. Yes, he much rather preferred the bitterness of his old coffee, and despite what he’d said to Roman and Virgil… 

He missed it so damn much.  

He moved to take another sip, and the bed behind him squealed again, as the person behind him finally stood up. 

“That’s enough nerd,” Logan felt his body jolt in surprise as he felt Remus’ hand smoosh over his face, and covering his mouth so that he couldn’t take a single sip from his drink. Looking up, he found his eyes locking with Remus’, as his head was bent backwards so that he couldn’t have even tried to look at his computer even if he had wanted to keep working on it. Remus’ stance was clear, even if his methods were… odd. “That’s enough…” The creative side spoke again, with a surprising amount of softness in his voice, the wild chaos that had been present the other day all but gone. 

Nevertheless, Logan attempted to bat the other side’s hand away. 

Clearing his throat he wheeled his chair around so that he could properly address Remus. “You’re a bit late,” He began, before holding up his hands before Remus could talk. “But given your track record, lateness is better than nothing. Do you have your paperwork Creativity?” 

Remus’ expression spasmed, and his hands clenched tightly for a moment, as if he had gone through all of the stages of grief and had gotten stuck in the process of rage for a moment. His eyebrows pinched, and the dark look in his eyes took a moment too long before it finally cleared away to a blank kind of smoothness, that told Logan more than enough about how Remus felt in that moment. 

“That’s not my name,” The creative side said carefully, his fingers clenching and unclenching into fists, as if he was still contemplating decking Logan right then and there. “You know that… Logan.” Remus’ teeth bared themselves in a fierce smile, that was more of a threat than pleasantries. “So do not call me that. My name hasn’t been Creativity for a very long time, that’s Roman’s title… not mine.” 

“Don’t you forget it.” That smile said, “Or I’ll rip out your throat.”

Logan cleared his throat, and in an instant the look was gone, replaced instead by a simple look of impatience. 

“That being said…” Remus groaned to himself, as he flopped back onto Logan’s bed, completely ruining the neat and orderly presentation of his blankets and pillows when he did. “I'm supposed to be here apologizing.” He grumbled, sounding very… not sorry in the process. “Apparently…” 

Logan’s head cocked to the side, curiosity curling in the bottom of his stomach. 

“Apologizing?” He asked, “For what?” 

Remus kicked his legs out, scattering Logan’s starry blanket and nearly making it flop onto the ground, only caught by the creative side’s leg at the last second. An angry frustrated huff left Remus, as he snatched up one of Logan’s pillows and pressed it over his face as if he was trying to suffocate himself so that he wouldn't have to answer these questions anymore. In Logan’s honest opinion, he looked all too similar to a child throwing a temper tantrum, and just like that… the image of Remus wearing the dunce hat while pouting flashed into his mind like a streak of lightning. 

Logan had to press his lips together to keep his smile down. 

And just like that another groan sounded from Remus, “For ruining your schedule!” He finally shouted, throwing his hands up in the air as he suddenly sat up, the pillow flying off of his face and falling at Logan’s feet. “Janus says that if I apologize that it’ll help things, and things certainly aren’t supposed to be like this!” The creative side swept his hands out dramatically, emphasizing Logan’s room, and how it was supposed to look like a cubicle until Logan had started feeling too tired to hold up the illusion of it all. “You’re supposed to be the boring ordinary one that bests me! But this!” Remus stomped his foot, “You’re letting me win with this!” 

Bending down Logan picked up his pillow, and dusted off a speck of imaginary dirt before tossing it back over to Remus. The creative side caught it with no problem, before hugging it tight to his chest, a borderline desperate look on his face. He hadn’t looked sorry before, especially now with knowing that Janus had been the one to make him apologize. But now… now he truly looked sorry, even if it wasn’t for the reasons that Janus had wanted him to be. 

“Remus,” Logan began, his voice much softer than it had been with any of the others. “You don’t have to apologize to me, not for finally getting me to see what I needed to see in order to get the others to listen to me.” Remus’ face blanched for a moment, and a look of miniscule guilt that Logan didn’t exactly understand passed over his face within a second. “Truthfully… I understand how you feel.” Logan began again, this all felt so easy to explain to Remus than it did with any of the other sides, and he had no idea why. “I understand how you felt… by constantly being ignored all this time.” 

For a long moment, Remus looks solemn. Up until the moment that Logan finally stands up and makes his way over to the bed. Sitting next to the creative side Logan stops for a moment, before flopping back much of the same way that Remus had and after only pausing for a moment Remus does the same. The two of them laying there, side by side, as Logan stares up at his ceiling and Remus stares at him 

A heavy sigh leaves Logan, and without even thinking about it he presses his pillow over his face in the same way that Remus did. “I deluded myself,” He mumbled into his pillow, before dragging it off of his face. He feels weak when his eyes start to sting and water, “The others weren’t ever my family, or even my friends. They didn’t like me… I was just.. just annoying to them. So… so…” Logan hates himself for how his bottom lip trembles, but he knows that he’s right and that it needs to be said to the one person who might get it. “So boring.” 

For all intents and purposes… Remus feels crushed. 

It’s a new feeling for him, being this hurt by someone who isn’t Janus and isn’t his brother. And what’s worse is that Logan isn’t even meaning to hurt him, this is a hurt born from feeling empathy for another person. He knows that he should hate it, and that he should hate Logan for it as well. But the kicker is…

He can’t. 

He can’t hate Logan for this, not when he made this happen. 

“I’m sorry.” He wants to say it again and again, until Logan truly understands what he’s apologizing for, until Logan understands that he’s apologizing for the others as well and everything that they've done to hurt him, and until Logan felt that he could go back to the way that things were before all this. 

Instead he just nods his head, “I know.” He turns over, so that Logan can have his tears in peace, “The others miss you though, they… think of you as family…” Remus winced, while the words didn’t exactly feel like a lie, it still felt… 

Hollow.

Like it was too little and very much too late after everything that had been done, he knew that had he been in Logan’s shoes his reaction wouldn’t have nearly been so.. so nice. In his eyes, Logan was giving them far better than what they deserved, despite what he had said to Virgil… he knew that there wasn’t much he could do to help this situation, and that anything he did would mostly just make Logan pull away more and more. If anything, his ranting and even his presence here probably made things worse for the others already… 

Just like with everything that he did. 

Logan snorted roughly, and just that Remus was dragged back to the present. 

“That too bad,” The logical side muttered sourly, his lips twisting into an angry frown. “They can imagine whatever they want, but our relationship was nothing more than them taking what they wanted from me, and leaving me in the dust. They don’t get to miss that just because I decide that I’ve had enough. No matter how much I regret that this is how things are, and no matter how much I miss them… this is how it is from now on. They ensured it.” Logan didn’t like the dark feeling that had seeped into his chest, the anger that burned there, or the hurt that seemed content with lacerating his heart every time he thought about how things used to be. 

He could have been content, and he could have just turned a blind eye to all of this and just… looked at the good moments. Like when Virgil smiled at him after their mock debate, or when Roman had made him his book, and when Patton smiled at him after he had gotten the moral side his new hoodie. He could have just pretended, and learned to take things how they were, and make himself look away from the bad parts. 

He could have…

But he didn’t want to anymore. 

“I’m tired…” Logan finally sighed out, when only silence had answered him after his long spiel. “And maybe that’s boring of me too, but at least I can be happy with that.” 

For a moment there was nothing, before Remus finally moved. 

His arm tucked its way around Logan, pulling him in tight and holding him there firmly. “I know.” Remus merely said, those two words holding a deeper meaning than the logical side could ever truly know. “I know…” 

Logan… 

Logan wanted to break apart into a million pieces the moment that Remus had touched him, in a good way. It had felt like forever since he'd last touched one of the other sides, let alone a good touch that didn’t reek of annoyance from one of the others. It had been forever since he’d sat with the others, everyone touching everyone as they all watched movies late into the night. It had been forever since, Virgil had just casually sat with him on the couch, the anxious side leaning against him without a second thought. It had been forever since Roman had slung his arm over his shoulders to show him something new and interesting. And… and it had been forever since Patton had swiped his hair out of his face, in an act of care and love.   

He hadn’t let them touch him, because he knew that if they did...

Logan heaved a shuddering breath, and turned into Remus’ one-armed embrace and shoved his face into the other side's chest. Letting his tears get soaked up by the fabric of the creative side’s shirt, just this once… he let himself do this. 

While Remus…

Remus let his touches linger as he curls his entire body around Logan, as if he were protecting him just as it always had countless times with Janus.  

It comes to him as easy as breathing does.

[twisted-crumpets]

The soft Vil and kissing headcanons I'm- 😭😭😭😭😭 Could I have headcanons for NRC having a ball and MC just walks up to Riddle, Azul, Vil, Idia and Malleus (seperately ofc) being like "I've decided that you're gonna be my date for the ball 😊". I know I picked like, the 5 worst characters for this, imagine the audacity and guts you gotta have to pull that on Vil and Malleus 😂

Pff MC strolling up with guts of steel

I- Imagine like slamming down a corsage or smth and being like “you, me dance a lil, get to know each other, maybe smooch idk” to Vil 😂😂

Also, thank you very much for liking my Vil headcanons, it made me smile.

━━ Riddle Rosehearts ━━

To say that Riddle wasn’t stressed out of his mind would be a complete and utter lie.

After spending a good chunk of his time dedicated to scolding Ace and chasing Floyd the poor crimson leader was staring at his watch, panicking as the seconds tick by.

Hearing soft footsteps, he whipped his head ready to berate whoever was dawdling in the dorms and not laying out the table for the upcoming unbirthday party, but froze upon the sight of his darling.

“Oh! Love, I’m sorry you have caught me at a bit of a bad time. What is the reason for your visit?”

He was not at all prepared for his darling to demand his presence at the school ball and couldn’t help but splutter as his face slowly began to turn into a shade that could rival his hair.

“I- you... do you have any sense of decorum or poise?”

Ignoring the blush smeared across his cheeks, Riddle began to criticise the “invitation” and how it did not comply with the rules of the queen of hearts.

However, he soon quietened down when his love teasingly asked if that meant he was rejecting them, reducing the strict dorm leader into a flustered mess.

“That most certainly was not a no!... I just, I believed that we were automatically going to arrive together... I didn’t expect to be asked so abruptly.... I... let me try this again.”

Clearing his throat, Riddle knelt onto the ground, surprising the dorm members who were slowly filing into the room, sweetly holding onto his dearest’s hand.

“Darling, it would be the upmost honour of the highest degree to accompany you to the ball.”

Laying a kiss onto the back of their hand, he couldn’t hide the smirk beginning to grow onto his face as he amusedly watched their face grow as brightly as his own.

━━ Azul Ashengrotto ━━

Due to the rise in contracts during the exam season, Azul’s paperwork began to increase as well and the poor octopus could already feel every part of his back creak in protest everytime he leant down.

Opening the heavy door to his study, his darling was not surprised that he barely even looked their way before pressing his nose against his documents, scanning their contents tiredly.

Attempting to gain his focus, his darling decided to demand that he join them at the ball.

His response was lacklustre at best, not even taking his eyes off his his work to reply.

“Hm? Ah yes, of course my treasure.”

Suddenly, his quill paused in its journey across his contracts and he froze, dropping it against the pristine desk.

At first, his response was “hmmm? Ah yes of course, my treasure.”

That was until, the demand finally processed in his mind, then he just stood wide eyed and froze, dropping his quill.

He gasped at his darling, his azure eyes getting increasingly smaller in shock.

After a few minutes, his darling was finally able to call his name through their giggles, and he snapped back to life.

“Oh my angelfish~ what a tempting command. But, I can only make wishes come true if they are a request.”

Smiling coyly, he observed his darling floundering for the proper words to ask him.

Crooking a gloved finger, he beckoned them closer, mischief practically glowing in his eyes, and gently pulled them into a slow kiss.

“That is a deal I could simply not turn down. Alright, I will gladly join you, my pearl.”

━━ Vil Shoenheit ━━

As a deep lover of all things intricate and organised, this was nothing short of messy.

Fabrics ranging in colour, texture and pattern covered every inch of his room, and Vil was extremely critical of which would be worthy to be used to decorate the dorm room.

He revelled the peaceful silence that lingered in the room, which demanded complete and utter focus, until his darling came barrelling into the room.

“Ah! Fairest no! You could’ve sullied the fabrics... whatever possessed you to come stumbling in like an elephant better be of high importance.”

Returning to his work, he did not expect shaky warm hands to cup his face, and he slowly moved his gaze to their face, observing the rosey flush due to their exercise prior.

In a shocked trance, Vil watched as his darling bolted from the room, after loudly proclaiming that he was coming with her to the ball.

Snapping his manicured fingers, his poor love was dragged like a sack of potatoes over the shoulder of his loyal huntsman, who overheard the events that unfolded with a wide grin.

“My dear, whilst your confession was executed rather... uniquely, I believe I must be the one to give an answer on whether or not I shall attend with you.”

With a cat-like smile, he basked in the nervous gaze of his darling which bounced around the room, whilst he pretended to find his nails exceedingly interesting, before finally accepting with sophisticated air.

Striding up to his darling briskly to tenderly cradle their face, peppering sweet kisses and giggling at the look of bewilderment and shock that graced their face.

━━ Idia Shroud ━━

Finding Idia furiously slamming his fingers into his keyboard, fully enamoured with the happenings on his computer, was not new.

Observing his hunched and focused figure, his darling decided that it was due time for him to take a break and attempted to tear his eyes away from the harsh glare of the screen.

“Oh pixel, I promise I will stop right after this round don’t worry.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t even press a single key when he heard his lover announce that he would be attended the ball alongside them.

Turning a blind eye to the blatant ‘game over’ on his monitor, Idia’s hair began to burn a vibrant assortment of deep reds and he muttered incomprehensible half sentences, his current state akin to a phone after being dropped into a pool.

“You... me... public... together... d..dancing..”

Like a mouse, he burrowed his way inside the cozy depths of his hoodie, squeaking out his agreement, before flinging his arms around their middle and smooshing his face into their stomach in an attempt to distract them from his vermillion hair and face.

“.. I would love that very much thank you.”

 ━━ Malleus Draconia ━━

For Malleus, midnight strolls are the highlight of his day.

From exploring the picturesque ruins of castles he might’ve known once upon a time, to marvelling at the loyal gargoyles that remain standing guard at the entrance, that frequently remind him of the two guards of his back at his dorm.

Although, he couldn’t deny that, the main reason for his enjoyment in his nightly activities was when doing so with his truest love.

On this day, instead of the usual lighthearted air between them, a nervous yet determined one replaced it, filling the horned boy with curiousity, which grew as he gazed deeply into the eyes of his love, who appeared to be summoning every ounce of courage to look back into his.

“Truest, what is ailing you?”

Nothing could quite prepare him for the explosive torrent of words that spilled from their lips that took his brain a whole series of seconds to decipher.

When it finally clicked that he had received that invitation, no one could’ve possibly smiled brighter or laughed merrier than he, as he whisked his beloved into his arms, pressing his lips against theirs passionately.

Pulling away, his chest rumbling with laughter, he cheekily beamed at the dumbfounded expression that graced his love’s features.

“My my, inviting me so suddenly, and with such a demanding tone too. Why this is an interesting declaration, and I would be a fool to not accept. Very well my truest, I accept. You best do well to not be late, I am looking forward to this.”

I’m so sorry this took so long, school said no❤️

I hope you enjoyed your meal!

[st4r-c0d3]

tokotodo hcs because me and my partner have the exact same height difference as them

Tokoyami will randomly walk up to Todoroki and just- smoosh his face into his chest

Whenever this happens Todoroki just rubs his back

Tokoyami keyboard smashes whenever Todoroki compliments him over text

Shoto is more often than not on the receiving end of pet names

Their relationship is very awkward but wholesome

Fumikage usually doesnt sleep that much so sometimes when texting Shoto, they get really confused when Shoto stops answering

It's because Shoto falls asleep midsentence sometimes

They hold hands a lot

like a lot a lot

Tokoyami learned how to write with his left hand just so that when they do homework together, they can hold hands still

Tokoyami likes to make Shoto playlists to work out too

They like to annotate books together