#We had it!! The poly is starting to take shape!

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Honesty

I am back! Mostly because I got time and I feel like it.

Am I going through the ideas I have for prompts/drabbles quickly? Yes. Very. The idea pile is getting low but I don't feel like pacing them out. What is the fun in that?

Anyway. Lets continue where we left off... shall we? @spotaus as promised your daily tag!

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We going! And we are still with Cross <3

*--------------------*

Cross watches from their nest as Dust just remains rolled up around Nightmare. Still not moving or talking at all. Nightmare himself doesn't seem bothered as he clearly is unwilling to let go of Dust either.

Cross remains where he is now. Watching over the two as Killer finishes up with the police people and Horror stalks around their area. Making sure it is still clean.

Cross feels the exhaustion creep back up but he refuses to rest. He isn't going to rest! Not as long as his mates and their child-

Cross feels himself blush as he shakes his skull. Trying to ban the thought. Focus! No need for useless and wishful daydreaming. It is especially not the time to think about those things now!

Horror enters the house before Killer and joins them. He looks at him and Cross makes sure to smile back. Horror is already stressed himself. No need to add to it. Cross has no doubt that Horror is also exhausted after all that happened.

Horror gives his nice and handsome half smile before sitting with Dust, he doesn't touch right away "Bunny??"

Dust doesn't speak but Cross can see him turn his skull a tiny bit.

Horror must have seen it too "Can I see Nightmare?" Horror's hand is slightly shaking. clearly worried.

Dust remains still but nods as he forces himself to turn. Moving so slow and careful.

Cross had once asked Dust what it felt like. To have so much power and magic. Dust had shrugged and said that it sometimes made it hard to control how he moved or how he used his magic.

Cross wonders if the slow movements and slow turns is now Dust's magic being overactive to try and protect Nightmare... or it are his parental instincts... Maybe even both? Cross still can't get over that Dust just controls it. Now with the lightning too! It is so powerful and wild and Dust just sits down and breaths through it... Cross is still unsure how anyone in the multiverse could messure up to that! Cross still remembers how it had felt to really see Dust use his magic and powers for the first time. all that time ago... Cross knows form that moment that this was going to cause issues for him as he still remembers it and could not stop thinking about it. And now he just got more powerful?! With the same calm control even if it no doubt only got harder to control? Cross is in trouble... such deep trouble.

Cross focusses on Horror and that may have been a mistake on its own. Horror smiles so painfully soft at Dust and Nightmare nad Cross feels his soul do that little flip again. Horror's devotion and care is so obvious. It is open and honest and Cross always feels unsure if it is aimed at him. Worried he will do something that makes it so painfully obvious of what he wants. Cross doesn't want that. He can't deal with them not wanting him like he wants them. Them not loving him like he does them.

He is content like this. Seeing them together and happy and safe.

Horror has managed to get Dust to uncurl again and accept being moved back into his arms. Horror seems to be gently checking Nightmar enad his magic.

He huffs unhappily "His magic is unsettled."

Cross feels deep fear as he leans closer. "What does that mean?" Was he too slow after all?! He should have been faster and just broken him out and-

Horror looks at him and reaches for him. a moment later his hand is on his shoulder and Cross can't help but lean into the touch a bit. His shoudlers relax a little bit as Horror rubs and massages the shoulder slightly.

Hroror speaks calmly "Calm down. I think... probably trauma and fear response. Just means his magic and mana is all concentrated around his soul. a protection kinda... Just means his magic needs to settle first before he can eat again." again Horror looks deeply unhappy.

Cross feels intense relieve before feeling like scum. Horror is terrified of food shortage and someone going hungry... This must be terrible to Horror to know Nightmare can't have any food for a while.

Cross searches for the right words "euh... how long... does it usually take... and can't we give him small things? maybe just something to drink? A smoothie could maybe work?"

Horror sighs as he gently rubs Nightmare's side and belly as Dust holds their tiny babybones close again. muttering soft reassurances again. Horror looks at him and thinks. Cross feels a bit bad for asking exact numbers. Horror said numbers often leave him confused after what happened.

Horror manages to push through though, he always does... it is one of those things that is amazing about him, and Horror answers his question "usual? Day... two max... and for the food it is a hard no. It can upset his magic and his magic will start expelling anything not the same. meaning he would just... lose more magic as he vomits it up." a sad but resigned look.

Cross frowns and nods "not even soup? that is liquid adn stuff..."

Horror shakes his skull "Still too heavy and sitll not like his own body and his own magic."

Cross frowns and tries to give him a reassuring smile "Well... We will just need to keep some fruits and yogurt ready. For when his magic settles a bit." Horror usually gives Nightmare that when Nightmare's magic can't absorb a lot of food.

Horror considers it before nodding his own agreement.

Cross takes a moment to lean back and relax. just a moment. Just because he can enjoy the sight of Horror having Dust in his lap and Nightmare comfortable and safe in their combined arms. It is nice. Cross loves seeing these moments. Being part of them is just as amazing!

The door opens and Cross turns quickly and waits. the sound of a lock turning and moments later Killer walks into the room. looking slightly done but he gives them a thumbs up "We should be good. Gave them the rundown and talked them into the right direction."

Horror nods as he gives his own small rundown on Nightmare's health.

Dust sighs and mutters "Talking about health... He needs a bath..." Nightmare nods but doesn't pull away from the hug.

Cross smiles and nods "Good idea! YOu can take Nightmare and get him comfortable and I will guard you guys as Killer and Horror get ready for bed too!" then after all of them are comfortable Cross will quickly get ready for bed and join them and just get to enjoy feeling them all near.

Killer steps in "Actually. Horror you mind helping Dust with Nighty?" Horror already shakes his shoulder as he gets up. Taking both Dust and Nightmare towards the bathroom.

Cross frowns and turns to Killer.

Oh. He is mad.

Furious even.

Killer glares but still has that smile on his face "We need to talk." and he grabs his hand and pulls him along. Cross doesnt'fight it as they end up in their green house.

It is gorgeous in here. Especially at night as the moon light shines in through the glass panes and reflects of everything in here. These plants are already full grown and some are starting to bare fruit again. All the plants in here are magical in nature to help them get food that they actually need in their diet.

Killer glares at him full force and Cross can't help but think he fits in perfectly. He is just as pretty if not even more.

Damnit Cross. Skull in the game. Not the moment.

Killer glares at him and hisses "Waht were you thinking?"

Cross glares back "I was getting Nightmare out and to safety. Sorry I wasn't sneaky enough or caused issues with the police!"

Killer groans as he rubs his face "I don't give a flying fuck about the police Cross! You think I care? No! I will fly through my teeth and think of a solution. I can deal with that! YOu know what I can't deal with? You going to fight a threat on your own! Alone! One we don't know!"

Cross glares "There was no other option."

Killer glares back "There was! We could have moved as a team Cross!"

Cross throws up his arms "Not fast enough! And I was fine! THose assholes didn't even come close to hurting me!"

Killer groans and grabs him by the skull and pulls him down to glare at him fully "How can I get it through to you that you stop treating yourself as expandable?!"

Cross stops and mtuters "what?"

Killer glares at him "of course we were going to go after him as soon as we could! Of course we were going to cause trouble! Of course we were going to hurt those who did it and make sure they never did it again! We all would have! But you! You going out on your own and going to confront a threat on your own?! One we don't even know? Damnit Cross it could have been someone form the multiverse! Someone who COULD actually hurt us!" He glares at him "When are you finally going to believe we don't want you to get hurt either?!"

Cross can't think. It has been such a long day and he was so afraid of having done stuff wrong or be too slow or made a mistake... and the only thing he did wrong was... get himself in danger? to not take backup? Cross blinks "what..?" he is so tired and Killer is there.

Killer's anger seems to disappear as he just looks desperate "Why do you still think we don't want to help you? Why do you still think your hurt matters less than ours?"

Cross can't answer. because answering means... means... They are everything to him. They are the world and Cross just wants them to be happy... Is that so bad?

Killer frowns as he removes one of his hands from his skull and Cross wants it back. then the hand rubs under his sockets and oh... he is crying. damnit. Cross hates the fact he cries quickly.

Killer frowns and speaks softer "Hey... I get it... emotions ran high and all that stuff... I.... I am mad but just becuase you could have been hurt... you know?" Killer looks to the side.

Cross nods as he watching Killer. It is just still so rare for Cross to see Killer as anything but confident or smug... Killer looks almost awkward like this... it is cute.

Killer sighs but gives agrin "We are on the same page now? No needly sacrificing! Even no needed sacrificing!"

Cross mutters a yes. too afraid that moving will remove the hands holding his skull.

Killer grins widely "good! Then we can go to the others and I will remind you of this conversation if you start slipping again and-"

They are kissing.

Cross isn't even sure how this happened. But Cross is 99% sure it is his fault.

Cross opens his sockets and sees Killer just staring at him. Frozen. Cross pulls back right away "I shouldn't have done that..." shit. shit shit shit shit shit-

Killer's hands got a lot tighter and he pulls him close and.... they are kissing again.

How does this keep happening?!

Killer pulls away and grins "there! Now we both did it! problem solved!" he looks so nervous.

Cross blinks and can't help but mutter again "Really shouldn't have done that..." he is a fucking idiot and selfish and-

Killer's hold gets almost painfully tight "why not?" it isn't a shout. Not even normal volume. it sounds quiet and... sad... Killer then snorts and winks "Not interested after all?" Cross would have beleived him if he couldn't still see the very light grey eye lights in his normally dark sockets.

Cross shakes his skull then nods then groans "it isn't... it isn't that.. I lo-like! Like you a lot! And I like this! But. It is unfair because i don't just love you! I love Dust... I love horror. It is unfair to start something when... when part of me isn't in it! Isn't all here for it and... and... I am sorry... I really shouldn't have and... and..." and they are kissing again. fuck this keeps happening and Cross just wants more each time.

Killer pulls away with a grin "Well... first... that solves the issue as I also very much want to date both Horror and Dust. So i am sure we can figure something out!"

Cross blinks "You cna just do that? Date multiple people?"

killer stares at him for a moment "Right... I keep forgetting that you were stuck in a universe that was pretty much a cult."

Cross glares at Killer "Stop calling XTale a cult."

Killer raises a brow "Fine. Just because we got more important stuff to talk about... Yes you can dat emultiple people as long as everyone connected to this dating situation is okay with it. it means you are in a polyamory relationship." he grins "probably makes you poly too! That you want a relationship with multiple people and stuff."

Cross blinks and shrugs "i dunno about that... I found many people attractive but well... I only ever really wanted to be with you three..." he feels hismelf blush and looks tot he side.

Killer laughs adn gives him a soft and short kiss on the teeth before backing off. He gives him a grin and nods to the door "We should get back to the others..."

Cross rubs his arm as he glances at the door "Waht about... this?" us? Them? all of them? together? Cross hadn't known that was an option! This is like the perfect solution!

Killer laughs before grinning "We will have to see if they are interested... But first we need a moment to wind down... it has been one fucking hellish day and I jsut want to hug our baby and sleep."

Cross feels the exhaustion all over again and he sighs "I agree..."

They walk out of the greenhouse together and get dressed for bed quickly. Cross does sneak a few glances at Killer. No longer feeling bad for sneaking looks and admiring one of them now. Now that it is okay. At least wiht Killer.

They will have to dicuss with Horror and Dust what this means for them and what is even possible and what everyone is comfortable with.

But first? Time to sleep with their child and relax. They need it... and Cross thinks they deserved it too.

*--------------------*

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[moonstruckme]

poly!marauders x reader helping her move into their shared flat! maybe a little angst cuz she doesn’t wanna impose but also fluffy

Thanks for requesting!

poly!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 1.3k words

“Angel, we’ve got it,” James says again, warding you off with a playfully stern look when you get too close to your own dresser. Sirius, clutching the other end for dear life, looks less confident. “Go start putting things the way you like them, we’ll handle the rest of the big stuff.” 

You give Sirius a guilty look as you do what you’re told, going into the kitchen where Remus is opening your taped-up boxes with a butter knife. 

“Best to stay out of their way,” he advises you. “Jamie will fully let go of that dresser before he lets you near it, and we’ve got a busy enough day ahead of us without taking Sirius to A&E.” 

You grin. “Too true.”

Remus makes a funny cooing sound as he pulls your heart-shaped measuring cups out of a box. “Oh, these are precious.” His bottom lip curls softly. “Is it odd that this feels sort of like opening gifts? Do you have a zester? I’ve been pining after a zester for months.” 

“I do,” you say, somewhat giddy at the prospect of having your things amongst theirs. “It’s in the other box, though.” 

“Fuck, it’s like Christmas.” Remus tears into that box, leaving you to the first. 

It helps that you already have a sense of where things go in the boys’ flat, having stayed here many nights over several months before they’d asked you to move in. You grab the next thing out of your box and reach for the cabinet behind Remus, minding his head as you open it, and look for an empty space on the top shelf. 

“Oh.” The word drops limply from your lips.

“Hm?” 

“You already have a blender.” 

“Yeah, Jamie’d never get by without one,” says Remus with a fond eye roll. “He all but lives on those protein smoothies.” 

“Right. Yeah, I forgot.” 

“You can put yours in there next to it, love.” He looks at you over his shoulder, a slight bemusement in his expression at your dispirited tone. “He leaves that thing dirty in the sink all the time, it’ll be nice to have a backup.” 

“Okay.” You slot yours in beside it, but your eyes fall to the neat stacks of plates and bowls on the shelf below them. Somewhere in the bottom of one of these boxes, you have your own plates and bowls, mismatched and collected from different stores over time. These ones are uniform, a matched set. “Do you think my dishes will go okay in here?” 

“What do you mean?” Remus turns around, following your gaze to the cabinet. “We’ve got plenty of room.” 

“I know, but…” But with your dishes added onto theirs, they’ll be stacked nearly to the top of the shelf. More than anyone needs. “You all picked yours out together, and mine don’t match. I don’t want to add things you don’t like.” 

“You won’t be.” Seeming to sense you need it, he wraps his arms around your shoulders, standing with your back to his front. “Darling, we picked out these dishes because when we moved in here, all three of us had only been using paper plates. It wasn’t a big decision, we just needed to feel like adults.” You can hear his smile close to your ear. “Don’t worry about matching, alright?” 

“Alright,” you say, sinking into his hold, but your mind is already cataloging every way you could be intruding. 

Your glasses won’t go with theirs either, and neither will your pots and pans. The cabinets will be full to bursting. By the window, their little kitchen table has three chairs. The couch in the living room is only big enough to fit three, the armchair they’d bought to accommodate you when you started coming over regularly sitting off to the side. Separate. 

“Hey,” says James, popping into the kitchen. You’re partway through unloading your kitchen things, your guilt mounting with every overstocked shelf. “Do you want to come tell us where you’d like your dresser? We’re having some trouble, it’s a bit of a tight fit.” 

“Yeah,” you say weakly, following him down the hall. Remus, the unofficial master of logistics, comes behind you. 

In the bedroom, Sirius is trying to jam your dresser in between a nightstand and the wall, shoving it with his shoulder and threatening to take off the paint in the process. 

“Stop!” you and Remus say in unison, him rushing forward to grab Sirius while you hang back, open-mouthed. 

“You’re scuffing the wall,” Remus tells Sirius, not unkindly. “Don’t try to make it fit if it doesn’t, love.” 

The words ring around in your head, an omen. 

“I don’t need it,” you say. All three boys turn to look at you, various degrees of befuddled. “It doesn’t fit, it’s fine. I can get rid of it.” 

“It’ll fit,” says Sirius. “We’ve hardly tried yet.” 

“Angel, you love that dresser.” James looks like a confused puppy, clearly having caught onto the fact that something’s wrong but unsure what it is.

You shrug, trying to look nonchalant. You do love it, truthfully. It’s been with you since you moved into your first place, collecting tiny scratches and absorbing the coalescent scent of the candles you keep in the top drawer. It’s been the hallmark of every home that’s ever been your own, but this place isn’t just yours. Your boyfriends are already doing a lot by sharing their space with you, and you don’t want to be more trouble than you’re worth. 

“It doesn’t fit,” you say simply. “It’s okay.” 

“We can put it right there,” Remus says. The three of you turn, and there is a wall by the door, entirely blank. You’d completely forgotten about it. 

“Perfect. Genius, Rem.” James beams at Remus, his expression gentling when he looks back at you. “Okay, lovely?” 

“Yeah, thanks.” You smile weakly. Sirius makes a tsking sound, regarding you through narrowed eyes. 

“You’re being weird. Spill.” 

You shrug again, arms wrapping around your middle of their own volition. “I just didn’t think about how much stuff I have until now,” you admit. “You guys already have everything perfect in here, I don’t just want to…cram my stuff in when it’s already the way you like it. I don’t know, it…” You study the floorboards, unable to look at any of them. “It feels like I’m butting in a bit.” 

For a thick, dreadful moment, the boys are silent. 

“We want you to have your things here,” Remus says softly,  “because we want you here, dove.” 

“Alright, let’s not act as though that was ever in question.” Sirius shoots you a smile, dimming a bit when you look at him sheepishly. “Sweetheart, obviously we want you here. Why would we have asked you to move in if we didn’t?”

You nibble the inside of your cheek. “It’s okay if you’ve changed your minds. You guys work together so well already.” 

“We work together with you even better.” James comes up behind you, wrapping you up in a hug like he’s unable to help himself. He sets his lips on your shoulder, words buzzing against your skin. “It wouldn’t feel right if you were here and none of your stuff was. There’s plenty of room, but if in some places there’s not then we’ll make room. We want you here, okay?” 

You nod, trying to make yourself believe it. 

“Let’s have a break,” Remus suggests. “There’s lemonade in the fridge.” 

“Yes please.” Sirius is quickly onboard. “I can feel the soreness coming on already; my muscles have never been so terribly abused. I’m going to need a massage tonight, definitely.” 

“I’ll do it,” you offer. James keeps you tucked under his arm as you all start back down the hall. “Seems like the least I can do.” 

“In that case, I think my thighs are taking the brunt of it. Better pay the most attention to those, sweetness.” 

“These are privileges which you shall have from this night onward,” says James, mashing a kiss into your hair. “Welcome home, angel.” 

[xtcenh]

Dirty Idea

Pairing: Lee Heeseung x Reader x Sim Jake

Description: You and Heeseung are surprised when you find out Jake has been having a little fantasy.

Warnings: SMUT, sex toys, vibrators, it’s a poly relationship, teasing, edging, Dom!Hee, Switch!Jake, Sub!Reader, dry humping, oral, masturbation

Jake doesn’t even know how it started, his fantasy.

Don’t get him wrong, he is plenty satisfied with both of you, he sometimes is so overwhelmed with how much he receives in this relationship. Heeseung is the one that takes the lead on bed, taking control over the two of you, telling Jake how to make you crumble with his touch.

There’s just…something, Jake even thinks he is becoming a pervert with how much he thinks about it, not being too subtle about wanting to express something but backing up every time his boyfriend picks up on it.

“Alright, spill it.”

Both you and Jake, shocked from his voice, looked up at him. You have no idea what Heeseung is referring to, glancing at the boy next to you. Oh, something’s up, the lover next to you is looking up at the one who is demanding an explanation but the one sitting is nervously playing with his hands, gulping down hard his own spit and almost looking away from the one in front gaze.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

The aussie’s voice is low, speaking softly as if he was scared. Instinctively you wrap your hand around his, caressing it with your thumb, encouraging him to speak up.

“I’m just curious, that's it, you've been acting all weird, trying to tell us something and then backing up. Something happened that made you feel like you couldn’t tell us?”

Hurriedly he shakes his head, answering the question.

“No! Nothing happened! It’s just…nothing important really”

“You know I don’t like it when you guys lie to me”

“…Hee!”

“Just tell us baby”

“I…have been thinking about something, it’s something I would…like to try with you two”

By the attention that the two of you are giving him, it makes him wish that he had spoken up about it before so that the outcome wouldn’t have come up to this.

“It’s…me and Y/N wearing vibrators and Hee controlling them”

Looking everywhere but any of your faces, deep down Jake knows that none of you would judge him nevertheless it feels exposing for him to be told to express his little dirty dream he has been having lately.

A low chuckle directs his attention to Heeseung, quickly glazing your face; he noticed you were blushing, subtly rubbing your thighs just at the sound of the idea; the taller boy leans closer to the both of you and places his hands under his chin.

“Should we go and buy some then?”

Now you aren’t sure if you are glad or mad at Jake for his idea.

The vibrating device is placed on top of your pussy lips, pushing directly against your clitoris, being put in place with the help of your panties, its vibrations are intense, your device having several options of the pace that it could go. Heeseung specifically asked you to wear a short skirt; easy access; while you and Jake do chores around the house while Heeseungs watches.

The male who is equally being tortured isn’t in better shape than you, his devices sit perfectly wrapped around his tip, making the bulge between his trousers more prominent.

Heeseung is currently watching both of you squirm around while trying to get the tasks you've been ordered to do around, men-spreading in his seat, smirk on his face while one hand is on the controller of your device and the other one in the other man’s device.

Gasping when the speed on th vibrator picks up, you feel your knees getting weaker, having to hold tight unto the wall next to you. Whatever it was you were doing, fell from your hand into the ground.

Hardly being able to focus, your eyes land on the man that is controlling your pleasure, it seems like he is already waiting for you.

“Hee…please!”

Grinning even harder at your plea, he turns his gaze to the other man, turning his pace as well. The whine has you looking at Jake, pretty much in the same position as you, he was near the kitchen counter, grasping it with force so as not to fall down to the ground.

Inhaling as much air as your lungs need once Heeseung turns off your vibratior, it looks like he is more into making Jake suffer right now. Giving you a quick glaze he motions with his hand for you to go sit next to him, which you follow.

“Continue with your chores pretty boy”

His shaking figure tries to continue his work, only for Hee to speed up the buzzing. Mouth open letting out a loud moan, eyes scrunching close and one hand going to soothe the pleasure in his crotch.

“No touching”

Hand fleeing up, he cries, begging for mercy. Your thighs clenching at the sight, biting down on your lip, Heeseung’s free hand drops down to grip your thigh, squeezing it as if to warn you, “Sorry…”

“Jake, come here”

Once the older boyfriend turns off his device as well, he walks over, Heeseung ordering both of you to sit on your knees in front of him, Jake sitting down on the right and you on the left.

“Make out with each other”

Rapidly, Jake’s hands are behind your neck pulling you closer, locking your lips together. Your hands grab his shirt, fisting it with neediness.

You both stop your kiss for a second when you guys feel the vibrations come back to life, going back to messily licking each other’s mouth knowing to not disappoint Heeseung. Continuing to make out, his tongue comes in contact with yours, saliva dripping down your mouth from him sucking on your tongue.

“Fuck, you both are so needy, you both look so good, so hot.”

Opening your eyes in between the kiss, you look up at Heeseung, not containing your curiosity about his looks. He groans at the eye contact, palming his hard bulge that was growing with the pornographic scene in front of him.

The look that you give him while never halting your intense make out with Jake has him feeling dizzy, and somehow generous he turns up your vibrations, indicating you should cum soon. You say that he is somehow generous because you could feel the disappointment coming from Jake’s body when Heeseung turns his device down, a setting that makes the little device come to life and seconds later it dies.

Heeseung is edging him while trying to make you cum as soon as possible.

“Yea, go on princess, cum for us.”

Jake looks like he is trying to help you when his mouth leaves yours and instead starts to attack your neck, biting and leaving marks on it, one of his hands teasing the pecking nipple under your shirt.

Hips thrusting up, head falling to your side, landing on Heeseung’s knee, you look up at him, asking for permission even if it has been already granted.

“Ah! Please! Ngh!”, “Go on princess”, “Yea, let go baby”

In cue, you cum, reaching your climax, your body reacting with intensity. Head feeling heavier, back arching into Jake’s touch, “Thank you!”

Now it’s Jake’s turn to look up in plea to his boyfriend, asking for more.

“You look so cute puppy, wanting more, right?”

“Yes! Please”

The new position after you calmed down has you straddling Jake’s lap, hands on your waist and yours on his shoulders.

“You want to grind against her pussy puppy?”

“Ujum!”

One last smile at the pleasing boy and he turns the device on top of his tip back to life. The one in front of you bringing you even closer, doing exactly what the other one told him, grinding against you.

You don’t know how hard the buzzing on Jake’s device is but you can feel it against your cunt, digging your nails unto his shoulders at how intense he is thrusting up on you, still feeling a bit overwhelmed with your climax.

As if you were challenging him, it feels like Jake’s pace goes even faster, realizing he is closer to cumming all over his underwear. With weak hands you bring his face closer, pecking his lips.

“Fuck baby, I love the feeling of your pussy against me”

“I-I love the feeling of your cock too…”

Last glance at the one sitting on the couch, the contact telling him that he is able to cum whenever he wants now.

Jake’s groans and moans can be heard all over the room, shaking in his hold you feel wetter and closer as well, pressing hard into you with one last grunt, both of you as cumming down, reaching the so deserved climax.

Huffing, gasping, searching for air, Jake leaving kisses all over your neck up to your mouth.

“Come here, both of you”

Quickly moving your body, both you and Jake find yourselves back again in kneeling in front of Heeseung’s body, looking up at him, fisting his cock at the sight of you two grinding all over each other like puppies in heat.

“Make out with my cock the way you do with each other.”

Following his orders, tongues all over his dick, you from one side and Jake from the other, one up the other one down, even both tongues coming in contact while sucking Heeseung off.

He can feel both of your tongues in the top of his dick, inevitably making him cum all over both of your wet muscles. Groaning at the feeling while both of you hum at the taste of him.

One last kiss on his tip before he grabs you both and sits you two next to him, “that was a great idea Jake.”

[fairy-angel222]

Can we get more shoko especially in either threesomes our foursomes?? Also love your work<3

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐅 𐙚˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩

—gojo, shoko n geto help you calm down after a stressful day at work

cw: smut, foursome, pussy eating (giving and receiving), gojo n shoko eating you out at the same time, poly relationship, bath tub sex

Working on your birthday was dreadful, and you wished more than anything to spend it at home with your boyfriends and girlfriend. But your boss seemed to have had other plans. Calling you in despite you requesting the day off, then apologizing with the excuse that it was urgent.

To make things worse, it was hectic. One of the busiest days at the building since you’d started working there. You were on your feet for majority of the day, the rest consisting of taking calls and handling paperwork.

When you got home, you were completely exhausted. The stress of the day evident on your face as you smiled to the trio. “Hi guys.”

Shoko frowned, hurrying to your side and taking your bag before walking with you to the couch. A loud sigh escaping your lips as you took a seat. Your girlfriend took off your heels. Taking your hand in hers before glancing to Gojo, who then glanced to Geto. The black haired male nodding and making his way upstairs.

“Hey baby..” Shoko started, rubbing gentle shapes onto your hand. “I’m sorry, tough day at work huh?”

You looked to her and nodded, the girl embracing you in a hug as you buried your face into her neck. “Shittiest birthday ever,” you mumbled with a huff. You didn’t know about the dinner the trio had planned for you. Or about the fact that it was reserved at your all time favorite restaurant.

They had so many gifts for you to open as well as plans to take you shopping the next day. But for now, their only focus was on making you feel better.

“Come on baby, let’s get you up and out of these clothes yeah?” Gojo spoke from his spot near the entrance frame of the room. You turned to give him a small smile before getting up to let him take you upstairs to the bedroom.

While Gojo stripped you out of your blouse and skirt, you couldn’t help but feel bad. “I’m really sorry for my mood being so down tonight,” you laughed dryly. “Really didn’t expect work to be that tiring.”

“Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Gojo scolded lightly, his hands under your chin making you look up at him, “you can’t control how the day goes at your job.” Placing a short loving kiss to your lips.

You watched as Shoko disappeared into the bathroom then back out. A small smirk on her face as she held the door open. You looked suspiciously at Gojo who just shrugged innocently. His hands on your waist to lead you in.

Your eyes widened when you stepped into the room. Geto already sat in the tub with a smile. His wet black hair cascading down his back as he gestured for you to come in.

“You guys..” you spoke in awe, looking at the warm lighted rose scented candles surrounding the white tub. Rose petals scattered in the crystal clear water with a wine bottle and four glasses to the edge.

“The water’s warm sweetheart, join me?”

Your heart fluttered, your lip between your teeth as you giggled with a nod. They never failed to treat you with love and care.

Stripping out of your underwear, all three held in a groan at the sight of your beautiful body. Watching as you stepped into the warm, now bubbling water with a relaxed sigh. Taking a seat on Geto’s lap before leaning back against him.

It was nice.

“Aren’t you two gonna come in?” Geto asked the obvious, the other two grinning as they stripped out their own clothes, each taking a corner in the tub.

You were glad that you all invested in a tub large enough for all of you. It made moments like these all the more special.

Geto’s hands were around your waist, absentmindedly tracing up and down your stomach as you told Shoko about your day. His chin resting on your shoulder as you adorably talked about how annoying a coworker of yours was for being lazy and not helping you out at all.

Geto groaned when you shifted on top of him, the softness of your ass grinding against his cock unknowingly. “Shit sweetheart, if ya do that again you might just make me hard.”

Taking in his words, you stilled. Going back to talking until you accidentally wiggled onto the man’s lap in an attempt to fix your position. Large hands tightened on your waist, “Sweetheart..”

You turned slightly to look at Geto, his eyes full with need as you felt him growing rock hard. “Yes Suguru?” You giggled, realizing the effect you were having on the man before grinding your hips once more.

“Seems our girl’s in a good mood again.” Shoko piped up. Gojo humming in agreement, “Also seems like she wants to get fucked tonight, isn’t that right baby?” Gojo smirked, “Want us to fuck the thoughts of your bad day out of your mind?”

You swallowed hard before nodding.

“Words sweetheart.” Geto husked.

“Yes, want you guys to f-fuck me.”

“Our pleasure.” Shoko grinned, managing to climb over both you and Geto to press her lips to yours. Passionately kissing you while Geto grumbled beneath you both.

Geto began kissing down your neck, Gojo pulling a pouting Shoko off of you so he could watch the show. A small moan leaving your mouth when his hand reached forward to squeeze softly at your tits.

Your head fell back onto the black haired man’s shoulder. Feeling his cock rubbing in between your folds with the guidance of his other hand.

You let out a mewl when Geto sank you down on his cock, his thick girth grazing against your walls perfectly. His pace sweet and slow as he rocked your body up and down with each movement of his hips.

You could see Gojo stroking his cock while Shoko rubbed at her clit. Your chest rising and falling in increasingly heavier breaths when Geto sped up his pace. His cock angled to hit all the right spots as he thrusted up into you. His deep grunts mixing with your loud moans in a state of pure pleasure.

Geto’s hand moved from your tits to your clit, rubbing small circles before sitting up slightly. Forcing you to keep your eyes on the two sat across you. “See how just the sight of you on my cock gets them going?” He whispered, breath hot on your ear making you whimper. Your hands gripping onto his thighs as you were rutted into.

“Ahh— Suguru, o-ohh.. feels so good,” you breathed, Geto’s thrusts getting harder and rougher than before as his fingers worked your clit. Pulling loud mewls and moans past your lips as your toes visibly curled.

His cock beginning to hammer into your g spot until you were crying out his name. Your brain feeling fuzzy and your whole body feeling light at the ecstasy of his cock.

“S-sugu.. nngh— love it so much,” you cried out, your back arching when your eyes met Gojo’s and Shoko’s. Letting out a high pitched moan as your pussy clenched.

Geto teasingly pinched your clit between his fingers. A groan sounding in his throat at how tight you were around him. “Yeah sweetheart? Does our baby feel good?”

“Uh h-huh,” you babbled out, your eyes rolling back while your legs threatened to close as your body trembled. Geto’s single hand keeping them spread in the direction of Gojo and Shoko.

“Gonna cum for us sweetheart? S-shit, think we’re all gonna get there at the same time.” Geto gritted out through clenched teeth, his breathing speeding up as his cock twitched within you. “Satoru? Fuck, Shoko?”

The other two nodded shakily, having already switched roles. Gojo fucking meanly up into Shoko’s stroking fist while rubbing skillfully at her clit. Shoko whimpered, her back arching against the tub’s walls and her legs shaking. Gojo letting out a string of curses as his release approached.

A drawn out cry escaped your lips, gushing messily on Geto’s cock with a pant. The man pulling out of you to cum on your stomach instead, the water inevitably washing it away.

Shoko moaned loudly before Gojo followed, both of them trembling through their orgasms as they came.

“Haah,” you breathed as you attempted to catch your breath.

“Your night is just getting started baby.”

You found yourself on Geto’s lap sat on the area of the tub connected to the wall. Your legs being held wide open against your chest as Gojo and Shoko kneeled before you. Feasting on your sopping pussy making you cry out at the overstimulation.

Shoko suckled at your clit while Gojo lapped up your wetness. Your hips arching into his mouth when he latched onto you. Curling his tongue into you with a groan.

“Nnhg— Satoru- ahh, Shoko,” you moaned. Geto sucking little love bites down the side your neck.

The feeling of both their tongues dipping into you was driving you crazy, grinding your hips forward into their faces. Shoko moaned, the sound sending vibrations up your clit making you shiver. Your whimpers increasing in volume as they devoured your sopping pussy.

Gojo’s chin was coated in your slick while Shoko was nose deep licking at your sensitive bud. You mewled, your hands finding both their hairs with a tug. Head falling back as your mouth hung open.

“Oh fuckk— ‘m close,” you cried out shakily, waves of pleasure shooting through your body as the coil in your stomach got ready to snap. Your body jerking uncontrollably with a string of moans.

“Good girl, that’s it.” Geto praised, “Make a mess f’ them okay sweetheart,” His grip on your legs tightening as they quivered. A scream like moan filling the room as you came. Squirting uncontrollably onto Gojo and Shoko’s awaiting tongues. The two moaning at your sweet taste before connecting their lips.

A whimper escaped your throat at you watched them share your taste. Shoko pulling away before standing to kiss Geto while Gojo kissed you. Geto pulling her closer to taste you even more on her tongue with a groan.

When you were all done, Shoko helped dry your body before you all laid on the large bed. One thing leading to the next as you found yourself face down ass up.

Gojo ramming into you from behind while your mouth latched onto Shoko’s pussy. Mewling into her wetness as your gummy spot was hammered into. Your back arched deep as you brought your fingers up to her dripping cunt. Using two of them to fuck into her while you sucked at her clit.

“Oh b-baby,” Shoko moaned loudly, her hand on your head softly as she rocked further into your face. “Your mouth’s so perfect.” She mewled.

Gojo’s hands gripped hard at your ass, the sound of his hips slamming into you echoing lewdly throughout the room as you cried out into Shoko. The girl whimpering while grinding her hips into your face.

One of her hands supported her body as she leaned back, your face practically buried in her pussy as you lapped at her sweetness. “Feels so good baby,” she breathed, her eyes closing as her chest rose and fell.

You continued to sloppily eat out your girlfriend, speeding up the pace of your fingers when you were fucked even deeper. Your teary moans muffled as you neared yet another orgasm for the night. Being pushed further into Shoko’s thighs with the white haired man’s gentle roughness.

Gojo groaned, “Fuck baby, you look so damn hot right now.” His thrusts losing their rhythm as he got close. Shoko nodded with a whimper, “Ahh— he’s right, so fucking h-hot f’ us.” Her toes curling as her juices began running down your fingers. Your tongue quick to lap it up as your eyes rolled back.

“Shit, i think she’s gonna cum,” Shoko giggled breathlessly. Gojo cursed as you tightened down on him, “She really is, go ahead baby. Make a mess f’ us.”

You let out a choked scream, your vision blurring as your fingers prodded into Shoko’s walls. A small cry leaving her mouth as she drenched your face. Your pussy spasming as you soaked Gojo’s cock and thighs in the process.

The white haired man grinned at the sight with heavy breaths. “Well s-shit,” the force of your orgasm threatening to push him out making him let out a raspy moan. Quickly pulling out to pump his cum onto your plump ass.

All three of you panted as you came down from intense highs. A whistle sounding by the door from Geto. He walked up to you with a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking your face to his hand. Placing a soft kiss to your lips then one to your forehead.

“Did we make you feel better sweetheart.”

You nodded weakly, “very.”

“Up to celebrate the rest of the night?”

You grinned, “Mhm, i’d love to.” You, Gojo and Shoko got cleaned up, again, before enjoying a meal that Geto cooked. Followed by them giving you your gifts and toasting to another year.

Finishing an entire cake baked by Shoko herself and that bottle of wine you left upstairs. Then you guys downed another.. and another. Until you were all happily drunk, dancing around to music while Gojo sang karaoke songs terribly.

A genuine smile on your face as you partied the night away with the three people you loved the most. Watching movies later on until you all fell asleep cuddled with each other.

[danikamariewrites]

Can I request a rhysand and Azriel poly relationship with reader rhysriel

Christmas fic pls

A Ring For Solstice

Rhysriel x reader

Warnings: none

You couldn’t sleep. The excitement of Solstice had you wired. Slipping out of bed you lightly kiss both your mates on their foreheads. Putting on your robe you quietly sneak downstairs.

Smiling at the warm light the living room is flooded in as you pace around, taking in all the sparkling decorations. Stopping at the fir tree in the corner you adjust a few ornaments. The tree was a gift from Viv and Kal. It’s a Solstice tradition in the Winter Court to decorate a tree and put the gifts under it.

A shadows dances between branches before snaking up your arm. A soft giggle leaves your lips as your eyes follow the shadow. Turning you see your mates smiling at you. Sleep still evident in their faces. Their soft black hair sticking up in places.

The pair come over to you, guiding you over to the couch. “What are you doing up, little love?” Az asks. You lean into his side as he wraps an around you. “I’m just so excited for tomorrow.” Rhys lets out a breathy laugh, pulling your hand into his lap.

“Would one present now help you sleep?” Your face lit up at the thought of starting the holiday now. You nod enthusiastically. “Ok,” Rhys says softly, kissing your forehead. He gets up, padding across the living room to the tree. With a small wave of his hand a small section of presents becomes visible.

You make an offended sound. “You hid our gifts in plain sight?” “Yes, and I will be changing the spot like I do every year.” He said eyeing you and Azriel like the snoops you are. Rhys’ eyes slightly glaze over, telling you he and Az are talking to each other. You looked at them curiously as small smiles started to pull at the corner of their lips. “What?” You ask, your own smile plastered on your lips.

Azriel slips off the couch to kneel in front of you with Rhys. The High Lord holds the small black velvet box. It had a small red bow on top. You sit up a bit straighter. The anticipation making your heart pound against your ribs. Rhys and Azriel look at each other before he opens the box.

You gasp, covering your mouth with shaking hands. Happy tears line your eyes as you look from the ring to them. “We thought it was time to get rings to symbolize the bond. Az and I have matching silver bands with your name engraved on the inside in your handwriting.”

You let your tears fall at Rhys’ sweet words. Your ring is the perfect combination of them. An oval amethyst for Rhys and a pear shaped sapphire set snug on the silver band. “It’s beautiful,” you whisper. Azriel takes your left hand sliding the ring on your finger. “Happy solstice princess.” He says, kissing your knuckles.

[e-vay]

My In-Depth Review of Sonic X Shadow Generations (Spoilers!)

I completed Sonic X Shadow Generations so I'm ready to talk about it! Remember, these are just my personal opinions about the game, so don't take this review as me saying that my opinion is "right." I'd hate to accidentally spoil the game for you, so all my thoughts are below the cut:

Did you mean to click "Keep Reading"? I warned you, there's gonna be spoilers here! One last chance to back out...

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Okay here we go!

THE SHADOW PORTION

Let's start with what we've all been hyped about: the Shadow portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations. If you single out the Shadow story of this game, I think it is an absolute masterpiece! Everyone who worked on it gave it their all, and it clearly shows. I'd give it a 9.75/10.

THE GRAPHICS

The visuals of this game are STUNNING. These new models for Maria and Gerald Robotnik are perfection! I am so glad they went with the more 'cartoon' style for the human models, similar to what we saw in Sonic Unleashed. They feel like they belong in this world among these peculiar looking anthropomorphic animals, but they aren't so odd looking that they feel goofy. They found a perfect balance and I couldn't be happier with them. Speaking of character models, to see all the bosses throughout the years in this new high definition was a sight to behold! Though I do feel nostalgia for the lower-poly version of the Biolizard, it was great to see it as the creators originally envisioned. It went from this loveable (and admittedly silly-looking) salamander to a truly intimidating and disturbing looking beast. The animation is superb. The characters move so fluidly and the poses are dynamic and striking! The frame rate makes everything look and feel fast and smooth which is exactly what you'd hope for in a Sonic game. I also appreciated the variety of poses/animations even just for the different stage ranks. I found myself purposely replaying stages to get different ranks just so I could see the different animations Shadow had regarding his "performance" evaluation. That really adds to the replay value! I am a graphic designer for a living, so of course I have to gush about the design, too! The graphic elements that appear before, during, and after each stage are straight up BADASS! I love the 2D animated flame that appears along the stage name and the color scheme and sharp lines are so appropriate to Shadow, and are a very strong contrast to Sonic's graphic elements that are colorful and round in shape. These are small details that most people might not outright notice, but it really enhances the overall aesthetic of the game.

THE STORY

LOOOOORE! Sweet nectar of the gods, we were given so much more lore with this game! Even though the Shadow portion of this game was fairly short, they jam-packed a ton of information and I am forever thankful for it! If you didn't do so while playing, I highly recommend playing again and talking to the NPCs regularly for little nuggets of lore. I was initially worried that this was going to be a rehash of the same 'origin' story we've heard a dozen times already, but that was not the case! Instead of focusing entirely on the tragedy that happened on the ARK, we got to learn what life was like on the ARK while times were still good! Learning that Shadow didn't used to be confident at all, to the point where Maria basically doesn't recognize this confident version of him that we've all known him as. And that Shadow never did his homework??? HA! I loved the confirmation that yes, Maria WAS INDEED the person who gave Shadow his name, and the meaning behind it was EVERYTHING TO ME! (Also works so well for my my AU. IYKYK hehehe) Plus all the Robotnik family history?! MARIA HAD A LITTLE SISTER?!?! She'd be old now, if she's even alive, but will we ever meet her? Will Shadow ever meet her (and would he even want to, or does he feel like that chapter of his life is closed now)? What was she like, and how did Maria's death impact her and her parents??? I hope we'll find out some day! Plus getting to learn a little bit more about Gerald's sons was exciting too. Will more Robotnik family members make appearances down the line? What do they think of Eggman's misdeeds? I'm so curious for more! It was heartbreaking in the best way for Shadow to get to interact with Maria and Gerald again, especially knowing he can't do anything to change what will inevitably happen to them. His sense of desperation paired with the growing affects that Doom's powers were having on him really had me worried about what was going to happen to Shadow's state of mind and overall well-being. It was amazing to see the toll it was taking on his body and his mind. In particular, I'm thinking of the scene where Shadow goes to fight Sonic and you see him having to actually restrain himself and go easy on Sonic. I thought it a great scene to demonstrate how easy it would have been for Shadow to just give in to the rage and take Sonic out without hesitation, but his willpower was able to win in the end. I have heard some people saying they're disappointed that Shadow lost his Doom abilities by the end of the story, but I think it made complete sense for the story. Black Doom is insistent that Shadow isn't 'complete' yet and he has to be more like him in order to be 'perfect.' But that isn't true! Shadow is already the ultimate life form, especially because there's more to him than his Black Doom DNA. By rejecting Doom's influence in the end, that was Shadow's true evolution. He's perfect as he is. Obviously I could gush forever and ever about all the Shadow and Maria scenes, but words aren't going to do it justice. It was just so moving to see how different he is when he's with her. In fact, at the end of this game I believe this is the first instance we ever see a true, genuine, heartwarming smile from Shadow and it DEVASTATED ME! We are used to his smirks, but when he's trying to reassure Maria that everything's going to be okay, we get to see him truly smile and we aren't seeing Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform or Shadow the Destroyer/Weapon, we are seeing Shadow the Brother and it felt like the warm embrace of a security blanket. God bless the writing in this game.

THE ACTING

The acting in this game is incredible from a visual and auditory performance. The animators really pushed the acting of the character models and you can feel Shadow's transformations throughout the game and the toll it's taking on his body. The emotions are cranked up to the max and they didn't pull any punches. In the past, Shadow was often limited in his portrayal of emotions, but that wasn't the case in this game at all. We saw anger, we saw resentment, we saw panic and sadness, and affection. There was so much thought put into the shaking of his hands, the gritting of his teeth, the shrinking and dilating of his pupils, all to show what's going on in his head without even resorting to words. SO MUCH ATTENTION was put into how these characters moved and interacted with each other and it truly tugged at my heart strings. There were too many wonderful moments for me to break down, so I will just single out one for now and applaud the creative direction and the animators for these scenes as a whole. There's this moment right near the end of the story, when Shadow is trying to stop Gerald and Maria from disappearing for good. His gestures are wild and panicked, his pupils and irises are small due to fear, but then Maria simply frames his face and rests her forehead against his. It's subtle, but Shadow's eyes widen and then return to their regular size and everything from his stance to how his shoulders fall show what a calming presence Maria has and how she helped (and will continue to help) him find his inner piece. Those performances are going to stick with me forever! Mike Pollock as Gerald Robotnik was truly *chef's kiss* MP is such a fantastic actor with great range. Though his voice is easily recognizable, the manner in which he speaks as Gerald is so different compared to Eggman, that you couldn't mistake the two characters even just by listening. We have been so used to only hearing from the angry, driven-insane-by-grief Gerald that it was so refreshing to get to see and hear the calm, brilliant, caring genius that created The Ultimate Life Form. P.S. I'm going to be crying over hearing Gerald call Shadow "son" for the rest of my life, thank you very much. I don't care about the future crimes he commits, we got to witness Shadow's father in this game and I'm weeping. Kirk Thornton is not my favorite Shadow. That being said, he really gave it his all and I was pleasantly surprised by what he accomplished. One of the performances that surprised me the most was Mephiles! This is a credit to the writers as well as the voice actor. The sense of wild desperation in his voice as he fights to even 'exist' in this timeline was so visceral and terrifying. Sure the other villains had their "I'm the best, this world belongs to me" lines, but Mephiles' voice lines were on a completely different level to me. What a treat! Lastly, if you can, please replay the game in Japanese! Kōji Yusa's performance is STUNNING. Ooh I'm getting shivers just recalling his voice lines while you're playing through the stages. I don't mean to discredit the English voice actors, but I think this game is even better when listening in Japanese. Give it a try yourself!

THE MUSIC

This is a Sonic game we're talking about, of course the music is going to be fantastic! The score did not disappoint one bit. It was great to hear all the callbacks to songs in the past as well as new tracks that were catchy and enjoyable even after playing the stages several times. "All Hail Shadow" has always been one of my favorites, but the new instrumental version used for majority of this game was so haunting and eerie. It was a delight to my ears as well as my emotions.

THE BOSSES

I loved the chosen bosses for Shadow's story. It was great fun to revisit some of the more iconic baddies throughout Shadow's history, and even though some of the gameplay was the same, the battle would then shift and offer the player something new. However, it's actually the boss fights where I dock the game a few fractions of a point. The boss battles were far too easy to defeat, and I actually found them easier and easier as the game progressed. I beat Mephiles and Devil Doom so quickly that I didn't realize their fights were over already. One could argue this was intentional by design. After all, throughout the story Shadow is evolving more and more into the 'perfect' killing machine. It would make sense that the more Doom Abilities he acquires, the weaker these bosses would seem. Still, as a life-long gamer, I appreciate when I have to actually work to achieve the ending of a game. I would have liked more of a challenge.

OVERALL GAMEPLAY

Whether you're roaming about White Space or you're actually playing through stages, the Shadow portion of this game is an absolute blast. Even having played the Shadow the Hedgehog game (which I'm a fan of, btw), I feel like this game really gave you a better feeling of what it's like to be Shadow. I LOVED that I got to use Chaos Control way more than ever before in previous games. If you had the ability to stop time, wouldn't you take advantage of it every chance you could??? The opportunity to use Chaos (and Doom) Spear as frequently as you wanted and Chaos Control almost constantly really shows how formidable of a character Shadow is and just how different it is to play as him compared to playing as Sonic. I loved the 'free-roam' aspect of White Space compared to the 2D version in Sonic's story. Hunting for rocket parts or figuring out how to unlock collectibles was a lot of fun and let the player really explore these new Doom abilities to the fullest. I'll admit that I struggled with navigating some of the Doom abilities, but even so I still had a ton of fun. I already mentioned replay value, but before you even have to go about replaying the game, there is SO MUCH to this portion of the game! The amount of stages, challenges, collectibles within stages, FINDING the unlockables USING the collectibles you obtained from stages, even the mini challenges available AFTER you've completed the key challenges (I'm talking about the bell that's located above the challenge portal), all of it made for a ton of opportunities for play. I found myself wanting to take on every quest instead of begrudgingly going through it just because I'm a completionist.

My biggest gripe is that the game was too short. Am I greedy for wanting more? Probably, but I can't help it. The developers gave us a ton of content in the Shadow story, but I still would have loved to have a full length game of just this gameplay. I managed to complete the Shadow portion in a few hours, and that was even with me leisurely taking my time to get collectibles and get S ranks for stages before progressing through the story. I miss the days where games took much longer to complete. But hey, I'm a nostalgia-prone 33 year old, so I guess that's to be expected of me haha.

THE SONIC PORTION

Here is where Sonic X Shadow Generations loses more points for me, which is a shame because I think it's a great game overall. Admittedly, I was disappointed when I first learned that the Sonic portion of the game was just a remaster of Generations. I had really hoped we were going to receive something new to help elevate SXS Gens as an entirely new game, instead of just "Sonic Gens + Shadow DLC".

Don't get me wrong, the stages in Sonic Generations are fun to play. However, when you go from playing Shadow's story to Sonic's story, Sonic's side drastically pales in comparison in my opinion.

My other complaint is that for a remaster, they really didn't improve Sonic's portion of the game significantly (at least from what I can recall, as I haven't played the original Sonic Generations since it first came out in 2011). This was a missed opportunity to correct more of the drawbacks of the original game. However, I will admit there are some minor changes that were made that I was thankful for. Let's start with the positive before I point out some of the negatives.

THE STORY

As mentioned earlier, I acknowledge that Sonic Generations is just a remaster so it makes sense that the story didn't change much. That being said, there were some small changes that I did really appreciate and helped improve the story. One of the things that always bothered me about the original Sonic Generations was how indifferent/annoyed Sonic was regarding his friends. I mean, the story is about time being erased! His friends and home are literally getting removed from the fabric of time and Sonic seemed more inconvenienced than concerned. In more recent games, the writing has really focused on the value Sonic finds in his friendships and found family. He always has his signature cool, aloof attitude, but I think the writers in recent years have successfully showed just how much he cares about his group, whether the games were serious (Sonic Frontiers) or silly (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog). The story wasn't drastically changed for Sonic X Shadow Generations, but some altered dialogue and blink-and-you-miss-it edits helped to cut that jackass attitude from the original and gave him more realistic reactions. Especially by having him respond when he rescues everybody this time! It never seemed right when Tails was first rescued and he's trauma dumping on Sonic about how awful the experience was and Sonic just sits there in silence haha. At least in the new version, Sonic reassures Tails that he's safe now. Also, huge kudos to whoever decided to alter that scene where Sonic is shoving Amy away by the face. I always hated that. Ship or not, you don't treat your friends like that when they're throwing you a bday party!

This is me getting nitpicky, but there were a few things I had really hoped they were going to improve, but remained untouched:

THE GRAPHICS

I was never happy with the visuals of this game outside of the stages (the visuals within the stages are great!). The colors are extremely oversaturated and the characters are way too intense and some are even off model (ex: Amy is so blindingly vivid magenta in this game instead of her signature blush pink. What the heck?!). What's worse, the cutscenes during the birthday party scenes are SO GREEN. The light bounces off the neon green landscape and reflects onto the already oversaturated characters, giving them an unappealing green glow. I get that the Sonic world is not realistic, but it felt like the scenery in these cutscenes made it look like we were watching a bunch of toys interacting on a playset instead of characters living in their world. Sure the visuals during the levels are great, but it's a real disappointment when I'm specifically not looking forward to the cutscenes in a game. I wish they would have tweaked that.

THE ANIMATION/GAMEPLAY

I have zero complaints when it comes to Act 1 (the "Classic" version) of the different stages. These look great, play great, and if you've played classic Sonic games then you can appreciate how identical the map of the level is compared to the originals. The issue for me lies in Act 2, aka Modern Sonic's gameplay. For the most part these levels are good, but there were a couple of small things that always bothered me that I was sincerely hoping they'd fix (and they did not). There are portions of Modern Sonic's gameplay that is SO. SLOW. I'm referring to when you are jumping from one Grind Rail to another, or when you are sliding under an obstacle. These animations are so bizarrely slow and make absolutely no sense when your character is running blindingly fast. I don't understand why they didn't use this opportunity to fix those animations. When you're playing the Shadow side of the story, his animations are constantly fast moving and appropriately paced. Why wouldn't they apply these physics to the Sonic side?

As a whole, the Sonic portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations is still a fun game, but I think it could have used a little more attention to help it feel more balanced compared to the Shadow portion.

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This game also has some notably fun DLC and the promise of more DLC in the future! I have my Sonic side of the story set to the Sonic Adventure Legacy skin and Sonic Jam Legacy skin and they are so CUTE! They win all the nostalgia points! I'll be honest with you, I have never been a fan of Terios' design hahaha. BUT! I love that they made a Terios skin for this game so players have the chance to play as him if you choose and we get to see how he was intended outside of the initial sketches we've all seen. (Still, y'all can keep your Terios skin. I won't touch it LOL!). And I am OVER THE MOON ECSTATIC for the upcoming Movie Shadow addition to the game! I still can't believe they got Keanu Reeves to voice lines for it! I'm sure it will be a small thing, but I am on the edge of my seat to see what that will be like.

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Overall, I'm super happy with the game as a whole and I enjoyed every minute I played of it!

If you read all of this, thank you for reading! Again, my opinion isn't fact and if you disagree with what I had to say, that's totally fair. And if you haven't played the game yourself, please go play it and see what you think for yourself!

[whencyclopedia]

Draco's Law Code

Draco was an aristocrat who in 7th century BCE Athens was handed the task of composing a new body of laws. We have no particular clues concerning his life and general biography and the only certainty is that, as an aristocrat and an educated man, he was in the right place at the right time in order to take his opportunity and legislate. During the infancy of the Athenian legal system Draco composed the city's first written law code with the aim of reducing arbitrary decisions of punishment and blood feuds between parties. Ultimately, though, the laws aided and legitimized the political power of the aristocracy and allowed them to consolidate their control of the land and poor. Famously harsh, the laws were ultimately replaced by Solon in 594 BCE.

Historical Background

Αfter the creation of city- states (πόλις - κράτος, polis - kratos) in Greece, around the 8th Century BCE, sovereigns in major cities like Athens started losing power. The king, in order to maintain power and safety in his city started sharing the land with various noblemen, that in the first place, had been members of his council of war. Later, these noblemen created the hoplite phalanx (οπλιτική φάλαγγα, oplitiki falagga). The phalanx was not only a military group of men but gradually shaped into a political body and eventually gained power from the King. Thus, an aristocracy was born. In Athens, the aristocrats controlled the land and they had most of the privileges, the political rights, and, of course, the money in the polis. The law was held by them and was only written for their own purposes and from their own perspective. Most Athenians had to live in relative poverty and under this regime simple workmen and farmers had no choice but to be ruled by the aristocrats. Gradually the Athenians found themselves in a city where very few held political power, money, land and, most importantly, control of the (unwritten) law.

Justice has not always been dispensed by judges operating under a written or common law equally applicable to all. In early Athens, justice was not a matter of applying a written standard to any situation or dispute. There were no explicitly written sentencing guides or judicial precedents on which to call. Rather, the victims themselves were responsible for exacting retribution or compensation for any crime. If the victim was dead, the family was left to take revenge or seek compensation. These blood feuds could last for generations as families sought to avenge a loss, rarely admitting fault and always seeking absolution. (Salowey & Northen Magill).

Continue reading...

[crowandmousewritingco]

Pairing: Santi x Frankie x Benny x trans!reader (its poly folks!)

Word Count: 2.3 k

Rating: R (theres so much smut guys)

Summary: Finally your feelings for each other come out one night.

Author: Mod Mouse

Warnings: Cursing, use of petnames, male terms for genitalia, and just so much gay sex (18+ MDNI)

You could blame the alcohol. You could blame the years of pent up crushes and longing. But something stirred in your little group tonight. It started with a few drinks watching a shitty movie in your living room, but soon you all confessed your attractions to each other. 

And that’s how you found yourself slowly riding Benny’s cock as Frankie tasted Santi’s dick with long licks. The headboard steadying you as you bounced in Benny’s lap, enjoying how it hit all the right places inside you. His strong hands gripped your hips as he pressed his face into your chest. Your skin muffled the loud moans emanating from his plump lips. 

“Fuck you make him sound so pretty,” Santi moaned and you turned your head. A mewl escaped your lips as you watched Frankie expertly swallow Santi down to his base. His adam's apple bopped as his throat adjusted to Sant’s thick cock. 

Drool ran down the side of Frankie’s cheek as he kept his eyes on Santi. 

Benny peaked over your shoulder to take in the scene too. The sight caused his dick to twitch inside of you, making you wiggle your hips . You smirked and tangled your fingers in his messy hair giving it a gentle tug. Benny whimpered at the action and gazed up at you with his puppy dog eyes. 

“Does that sight turn you on Benny? Seeing your best friend take a cock so well?” You asked as you rocked your hips back and forth. Benny was quick to nod and nuzzled his face into your neck peppering it with kisses. “Good, cause it turns me on too.” 

You turned your head towards Santi again and you clenched when you saw both of their eyes set on you. Frankie nuzzled against Santi’s thigh as he slowly stroked Santi’s cock. 

“Fuck let’s give them a show, Benny” You softly commanded and gently pushed Benny against the headboard. Balancing yourself on his shoulders, you lifted your hips just enough for his tip to stay inside you before slamming back down to the hilt. 

Benny squeezed his eyes shut as you bounced on his cock not leaving any time to breathe. “Fuck fuck fuck I’m gonna,” He panted and babbled as you slammed down on his cock again. This was enough for him to finish deep inside of you coating your insides with his cum. Frantically you stroked your own cock searching from your high as you didn’t let up on your movements. It didn’t take long for you to find your climax and you squeezed around Benny leaning into his chest for support. 

Gently Benny wrapped his arms around you grounding yourself against his skin. You panted as your orgasm subsided, the sound of Benny’s heartbeat grounding you. It took you a moment before you slid off of Benny’s softening cock nuzzling into his side. When you glanced back over at the pair, you blushed. 

The show you had put on for them had quite the effect on the men. Cum painted Frankie’s flushed cheeks and a darking puddle gathering under him. Evidence for both of their orgasms.

 Benny smirked and gently kissed your shoulder. “Damn cutie, they seemed to like what we showed them.” 

“That does seem to be the case.” You smiled gently caressing random shapes into Benny’s chest. 

Frankie rolled his eyes at your comments and crawled his way over to the two of you. Slowly he leaned over and kissed Benny’s lip. Benny closed his eyes and kissed him back with a gentle lovingness. The younger man broke off a bit to lap up Santi’s cum from Frankie’s cheek. “It tastes so good.” 

Santi smirked as he stroked his cock back to full hardness. “Want a taste for yourself?” Benny licked his lips, his cock stirring to life once again and kissed Frankie once more before crawling to the edge of the bed. He kneeled in front of Santi like the obedient boy he was. 

You smiled enjoying the view as Frankie gently nuzzled his nose into your cheek. The softness comforted you and you pulled him in for a slow and gentle kiss. Wet sounds filled the room once again as you heard Benny take Santi’s cock into his mouth. Santi’s grunts sent electric shocks down to your cock. 

“I wanna taste Benny on you. Why don’t you lay back and let me clean you.” Frankie mumbled against your skin. 

“Please.” You begged. 

Slowly Frankie kissed down your body, taking his time showing you how much he loves your body. He wasn’t the only one who waited a long time for this, and by god were you all going to enjoy this. 

With each kiss he inched lower and lower down your torso keeping eye contact with you as he descended closer to your cock. You whine softly, dragging your fingers through his dark curls. “Frankie, don't tease me.” 

“Oh and your little show wasn’t teasing?” He smirked as he kissed just above your cock. 

“Okay but you were teasing me with that mouth of yours.” You playfully argued.

“Let me show you how I can tease with this tongue.” He chuckled before licking a long trail from your hole to your cock. He moaned as the taste of Benny’s cum mixed with the taste of your arrousal. You moaned and pulled gently at his hair. “Taste divine mi vida.” 

“Fuck Frankie.” You moaned caressing his stubbled cheek. 

Frankie chuckled and began to lick and suck at your cock with more fervor as if your dick was his last meal. His eyes never left yours as you ground your hips in his nose looking for more stimulation. The hook of his nose made for a perfect grounding point. 

Santi playfully smacked Frankie’s ass as he thrusted into Benny’s mouth. “He has such a good mouth on him.” You groaned in agreement as the heat in your stomach grew and grew. 

As if he knew where precisely to lick, you came against his tongue pressing your slit into his face. Whimpers escaped your lips as you rode his nose through your high, thighs pressing against his ears.

A chuckle came from the other side of the room. “If you don’t stop you might suffocate him.” 

Frankie smirked from between your legs. Gently he pried them apart as you panted. “You say that as if it's a bad thing.” 

You giggled. “As much as that sounds fun, I would hate for you to leave.” Your fingers pushed his sweaty curls from his forehead. 

Frankie gently laid on top of you, his lips glistening with your arousal. He kissed your cheek and whispered. “And I would hate to have missed that handsome hole of yours.” 

A shiver shook your body and you drew Frankie in for a long time tasting yourself on his lips. 

“You’ll get the chance now Cat.” Santi playfully tapped Frankie’s ass. “I want you inside him and Benny in that perky ass of yours.” Santi gently squeezed Benny’s neck, earning a moan from the man. “And I will fuck your ass.” Santi commanding presence from the army seeping into the bedroom. 

“Shit,” All three of you cursed as the dominance of Santi sent you all into a horny state. You were all quick to obey his command as the three of you lined up. 

“How would you like me Frankie?” You asked gently cupping Franki’s cheek. 

“I wanna watch that handsome face cum around my cock,” He moaned and pecked your lips in a quick kiss. 

A hand gently caressed Frankie’s cheek before someone dipped a finger inside of his ring of muscles. Frankie moans against your lips as Benny’s thrusted his fingers preparing him. Soon Benny’s moans join the serenade of sex as Santi did the same to Benny’s ass. You broke the kiss to watch the scene as Santi’s fingers opened Benny up. The sight was downright sinful as your little group prepared each other for such dubarchery. 

“Such a pretty sight you all make together,” Santi praised, leaning down to kiss Benny’s shoulder. Benny turned and nuzzled his cheek into Santi’s skin. Every touch with them was so tender and yet so careful. Careful that this was just some dream that would end at any moment. Delicate that after tonight everything would go back to the same way of life. But a hopeful part of you knew that couldn’t happen. 

After ample preparation on all sides, Santi slid his fingers out with a pop. “Now let’s see what sounds we can get out of you.” 

Frankie kissed you once more as he positioned his cock on your hole. With gentle thrusts, he pushed as all the way in with a moan. You gripped his shoulders as you adjusted to his size taking him in slowly. While Benny was longer than the pilot, Frankie was thicker than his best friend, and you were feeling it. Frankie leaned down to kiss you shoulder and whisper praises into your flushed skin. “Such a good boy you. You’re taking me so well.” 

His praises were cut off as Frankie moaned into your neck as Benny slid inside of him with the slow push of his hips. Just like Frankie did with you, Benny peppered his shoulders with his kisses. “Fuck you feel so good Cat.” Benny moaned as he rutted against Frankie, loving the way the older man squeezed around him. 

“I can’t be having you have all the fun.” Santi teased as he tapped his cock against Benny’s ass. He couldn’t wait any longer and soon he was buried to the hilt inside Benny.  

Santi glanced down the line of the moaning train. “Fuck all of you make such a pretty sight,” He praised lightly smacking Benny’s ass. “Should’ve been doing this long ago.” Santi thrusted into Benny causing all three of you to moan at the friction. 

“Such a tease.” You whined. 

Santi quirked his eyebrow. “Oh, how about this then?” Without warning he quickly thrusted faster into Benny, snapping his hips forward.

You threw your head back onto the pillows as Frankie’s cock rubbed at your walls. “Shit.” The friction of everything sent your head spinning. Thank god you didn’t have neighbors because the slap of skin alone was enough to alert them of your evening activities. 

Santi smirked as he continued his pace. Benny quickly went back to babbling, wrapping his arms around Frankie’s waist as he thrusted into his best friend. All Frankie could do was hold on tight as Santi’s movements thrusted him in and out of your hole. 

You wanted to drag this moment out forever. The way Santi’s eyes scrunched as Benny thrust back into him. The way Benny wrapped his arms around Frankie’s torso teasing his cock with playful thrusts. And the way Frankie leaned back to kiss Benny with such a gentleness. 

But your body had other thoughts. With all the friction and moaning, it wasn’t long until the chain reaction of orgasms started. It started as Benny, who couldn’t hold it in any longer erratically thrusted into Frankie as he was chasing his high. 

As he buried himself in Frankie, Frankie sped up his thrusts cumming inside you in quick bursts leaving you coated for the second time that night. Which then caused you to clench around his cock as you ground your hips together in wet slaps. The heat in your stomach bubbling over with waves of need. 

The whole scene of his longtime friends cumming together sent Santi over the edge and with one more snap of his hips, Santi spilled inside Benny with a low groan. 

The room was filled with the sounds of panting as everyone came back to reality. Everyone stayed close, reassuring each other with gentle caresses and kisses. Santi was the first to pull out, leaving Benny whimpering with the lack of friction. Frankie pulled out next, sighing as he watched his cum leak out of your hole. “Fuck that’s such a good sight.” 

Benny stayed inside Frankie letting himself enjoy the touch. Frankie smiled and kissed his cheek. “Ben, you gotta pull out. I gotta grab the washcloths.” 

“But you feel so nice.” He pouted, nuzzling his nose into Frankie’s graying hair. 

Santi chuckled and tapped Benny’s ass. “I’ll get it.” He kissed Benny’s head before disappearing into the bathroom. 

Carefully you guided the stuck pair down to the bed, curling into Frankie’s chest. It wasn’t long before soft snores came from Benny’s mouth, his soft cock falling out of Frankie’s ass. You chuckled softly. “We did wear him out.” 

“True but he also should still have the youth energy about him.” Santi retorted as he stepped out of the bathroom with a wet rag. Carefully he helped clean everyone up, making sure no cum was left over. He tossed the rag aside, something he would deal with in the morning. He curled in the other side of you, sandwiching you between Frankie and himself. 

Everyone was quiet for a moment except for the soft snores coming from Benny. You were just enjoying what they had all been waiting for. The emotions for each finally seeing the light of day. You broke the silence “I really wanna keep doing this. I-I really like you guys. And not just in some bro way. I-I” You whispered gently while playing with Santi’s hair. 

“We know mi vida. Cause we feel the same way. We can take whatever this is as slow as we want.” Frankie reassured you. 

“Me too. It…it will take me a while to adjust.” Santi admitted and you kissed his hair gently. 

Frankie leaned over and nuzzled his nose into your neck tenderly. “We aren’t going anywhere.” He planted a kiss on Santi’s head. 

“I’ve waited too long for this though.” Santi replied, nuzzling under your chin. 

“Then let’s not have it stop,” You whispered, kissing both of their foreheads. Hums of approval emitted from the two men. It wasn’t long until the group slowly drifted off to sleep, the feeling of deep affection fueling your sweet dream that night.

```````

All Works Taglist

@for-a-longlongtime @romanarose

Pedro Character Taglist

@littlemisspascal @burntheedges

@carusolikey @thebeldroramscal

@morallyinept @lady-bess

@pedrostories @rivnedell

@pascalsanctuary @readingiskeepingmegoing

@jessthebaker

credit:@inklore

[elacular-kink]

Hicvember 5: Pinocchio Syndrome

Have my first non-Poly-techhic hicvember. I interpreted Pinocchio syndrome in the more tvtropes manner of an artificial being wanting to be more human.

Content: Hiccups, robots, not particularly wholesome.

"Dr. Silver, what are those noises you're making?"

Jack massaged his temples, having feared this question as soon as breath-holding and water-drinking failed to produce results. His unkempt gray hair, face wrinkled with the opposite of laugh lines, and "gave up halfway through shaving" stubble put him in stark contrast with the sleekly built humanoid made of metal and plastic. His face was significantly less expressive than the screen that served as her face, even though it could only display simple shapes made of pixels. "Could–*nnkt* you google this, Poly? *HMNK*–mmnf."

"But I like the way you answer things better!" Jack sighed, though his lungs interrupted him as one of Poly's glossy plastic arms was thrown over his shoulder.

"Poly" was short for "Poly-LLM-neural-comprehensive-synthesizer blah blah blah" a bunch more words that Jack could never be bothered to remember, and she was his least favorite of the "artificial intelligences" that he worked with, largely due to the cognitive dissonance she caused him. Because on the one hand, he was absolutely certain that she didn't actually have what could be called "intelligence" or "thoughts" or "a personality." But on the other hand, he was just as certain that she took pleasure in his suffering.

Just because he hated her didn't mean that he wasn't required to answer her questions, though. "They're hicc–*hup*s, Poly. A malfu–*uck*–unction of the human body *hmk* which causes noises an–*nnk* and discomfort."

Poly let out a strange, offended noise. Jack had no idea where she'd learned how to fairly accurately recreate non-word verbal communications, but he had a feeling that this specific sound might have been his fault. "I'm sorry, are you telling me that humans have malfunctions too? Well, then why are you constantly giving me shit for my errors? Clean your own house first, meatbag!"

"You know da–*uck* damn well we have malfu–*hunk*–tions."

"Sure, but I mostly knew about the 'complete physiological meltdown' types. I didn't know about the debugging types." Poly hummed, then crouched down and stared at Jack's stomach, which spasmed repeatedly beneath his T-shirt. She reached out and poked it before Jack grabbed her finger and pointed it toward something that wasn't him. "Hmph. Touchy." After that, she flounced off and sat down at the computer she had requested and gotten (despite the fact that she was perfectly capable of interfacing with the internet on her own), and Jack could see her googling "hiccups" from over her shoulder.

Doing his best to ignore his own hiccups, Jack grumbled and started taking notes. He wrote down the physical behaviors and state of Poly's robot body first, even though he knew he was supposed to be focusing on her "mental and emotional health". Jack kept telling himself that he'd quit tomorrow, and he'd been telling himself that for upwards of half a decade now. He became more certain of his conviction to quit than he'd been in at least a few months when he heard a staticky squeak behind him. A second, then a third followed. "Sto–*hup* stop that."

"Stop wha–*UCK* what, Dr.? *HIULP!*"

Jack turned around, his eyes tightly shut. When he opened them he saw exactly what he didn't want to: Poly having turned around in her chair to face him, the pixelated line of her mouth opening and closing every few seconds as her plastic torso jerked and her speakers squealed. "Stop maki–*ingk* those noises. *HMK-mmf*"

"You sto–*HUP* stop yours first. *HIK-ULK!*"

"I tried. *hmk* I failed. Just as I do–*hook* every day in trying *hnk* to interact with---you in a way that ma–*uk*–makes sense." He walked over and leaned against a nearby counter, glaring down at Poly, who stared innocently up at him from the chair. "You know, *hnk* if you re–*hkk-lk* really want me to *hnk* stop calling you a sto–*hok!*–nnnhf...stochastic p---parrot, then maybe y–*hk* you shouldn't mimic ev–*urk* every random noise I ma–*uck*."

"I'm not! *HIC-CUP!* I have a *HULK* case of th–*HUP* the hiccups! *HIULK!*"

Jack massaged his temples again, knowing it would do nothing to ease the splitting headache that was forming. This was why he had tried so hard to cure his own hiccups before he got here. He knew that this would be the inevitable result. And just as inevitably, Poly's "case of the hiccups" outlasted Jack's by quite a while, despite his best attempts to convince her to knock it off.

[xticklemeemox]

Phantom's Mask

(In advance, I am so sorry for how confusing this gets with what side of Phantom's face is always covered. To clarify, it is HIS right, so the right side of his face from his perspective. It will be described both ways, but I swear I was trying so hard to not make it confusing but I failed so this is to clarify. Polyghouls btw who love Copia. (The relationship between Copia and his ghouls is technically up for interpretation) also why can I never write in the same tense. Also I might change Phantom's backstory, I just don't like it too much???) Oh and I've never written poly for more than three people so... yeah. I hope I did the relationship justice. I tried to mention everyone but writing is hard. I'm so sorry if the ghouls aren't written right 😭 I tried sprinkling on my own hc's for appearances too)

Word count: 13,758

Masterlist

Link to AO3 version:

Fic under the cut

Phantom was the newest quintessence ghoul.

When Papa Emeritus the Fourth summoned him, Phantom's face was covered almost completely by dirty bandages, curls of black and white hair peeking out between the gaps on his head. His left eye, the only one visible, was stunning. The sclera was pitch black like all ghouls, with the iris being a mix of varying shades of purple with flecks of a violet shade that made the whole eye: sclera, pupil, and iris, look like one giant swirling galaxy. Copia had never seen an eye like that before on a ghoul, not even his dearest Aether's eyes, a similar purple color, had looked quite so... enthralling.

(Picture for reference because I can't quite explain what I see in my head. The violet is what Phantom's marking glow, and the galaxy behind him is literally what I picture his eyes as.)

As soon as realization struck, Phantom had scrambled back and to the edge of the summoning circle with a low, distressed keen when he realized he couldn't leave the circle. He trembled from the cold, growling weakly in an attempt to be threatening.

Copia ordered everyone else to leave, even his pack ghouls. Dewdrop protested, not willing to leave Copia alone with a potential threat, but to everyone's surprise, it was Swiss who pulled the short ghoul back towards the entrance of the summoning room, knocking the horns of their masks together with care, the chains attached to the piercings on his long ears chiming with the motion. In a gentle murmur, Swiss explained with knowing eyes that Papa could handle the situation and that they should trust him.

Copia was grateful, recognizing that Swiss saw what he sees too in this ghoul, a fear that won't go away by simply having the situation explained. It will take some time yet for their newest quintessence ghoul to trust them, but Copia is hoping this conversation will be a start, if he decides to stay.

When the door clicked shut behind Rain, who had an arm around the freshly summoned Aurora's shoulder, warm blanket wrapped closely around her, Copia sat on the clean stone floor, letting some moments pass in silence as the black summoning candles, placed in the shape of a pentagram, flickered with an eerie purple flame.

Phantom was sitting, knees to his chest, watching every rise and fall of Copia's own chest with a razor-sharp, fearful gaze. His tail was wrapped around his thigh, the tip twitching occasionally with his distress.

"I am Papa Emeritus the Fourth, the representative for our Lord Lucifer here on Earth, but to you, ghoul, I am Copia. This is the Ministry, the main branch of the Clergy of Satan. I have summoned you to replace my quintessance ghoul in the musical aspects we here at the Ministry require." Copia starts, keeping his voice low and as calming as he is able. "Do you have a name?"

Copia lets the ghoul take in every available feature he can, such as his welcoming expression and unguarded posture. The white iris of one of his eyes. After a moment, the ghoul shakes his head, the tip of his long, pointed ear, the only one still tipped at all, twitching as a bang sounds from outside the room. Papa ignores it, it was probably Dewdrop anyway.

Curiously, the ghouls skin seemed to be two different shades, mostly a light gray, and lavender purple in random splotches.

"Well, that's alright. One of us here can name you, or you can choose if you'd prefer. Most of our ghouls usually have names, but some, like Swiss, our only multighoul, had their names given to them by either other ghouls or one of the humans here."

As Copia continues speaking, explaining a bit about the other ghouls in his pack, the ghoul ever so slowly loosens up, tense muscles unwinding though his gaze never falters. His black tail, a long, thin thing with an end like a fluffy lavender cloud, shimmers with quintessance magic as it flicks back and forth in interest.

"Now, I can send you back if you wish it. I am not forcing you to stay here, like we used to do with older ghouls."

It was nothing more than a desperate whisper, but it was like shouting as the silence in the room afterwards was deafening. "No! Please, I'll stay."

"Yes, yes, of course. We will be happy to have you, truly. I hope you'll come to enjoy it here." Papa nods along easily with a kind smile that errs on the side of awkward. "We just have to perform the binding spell that will tie your presence here to my life force. When I die, I will see you down in Hell with our Lord. If both parties are willing, this can be removed if you wish it. It is not something I like to force upon you."

Copia didn't particularly like that aspect of the binding, fearing it was wrong to do to the ghouls, especially if they had nothing to do with the death of the other bonded. Sister Imperator insisted though, not long after he had summoned all of his ghouls.

She would never tell anyone this, be it in this life or any other, but she requires this binding spell for Copia's benefit. If anything were to happen to her dear boy, she wants his ghouls, his true family, to be with him always. It is the least she can do, when the man doesn't even know that he is her son, and she left him to rot as a lonely orphan.

"Let us share our blood as you repeat after me, yes?"

As the spell was performed, Papa Emeritus glowed with power. His white eye was like a beacon that lit up a path to what the ghoul hoped was a better future, and the ghoul was eager to follow.

Papa retrieves the still warm blanket that Dewdrop was keeping hot before he left, handing it over to the ghoul who takes it cautiously. As he wraps himself in it, his shivering lessens immediately and his visible eye goes half lidded at the welcome warmth.

"I can call one of the others in here to show you around-" Seeing the violet cracks that all ghouls share in the color of their elements light up along with the tensing of his muscles, Copia quickly changes his next words, "or I can take you directly to your room in the ghoul den and tell the others to leave you in peace?"

The ghoul nods, slowly standing, and as he waits for Copia to do the same, black claws nervously fidget with the fraying end of one of the bandages on his face. "I can see about getting you a custom mask, if you'd like. Its a requirement for the ghouls to stay in uniform except in the den, but if you'd like to wear one all the time, it is allowed as well."

Nodding, he agrees easily before hesitating. He gestures at his face, and Copia stares in confusion for a moment, trying to decipher what the ghoul is attempting to tell him with what feels like a game of charades. "Oh, you only want half a mask? That can be arranged, but might I ask why?"

Still glowing with quintessance magic, the ghoul unwinds enough of his bandages to show the bottom half of his face.

"I see. I apologize for asking, and will be sure to warn the others against doing so as well, though they're always respectful regardless. Let's get you clean bandages first, and if you'll allow it, I can help wrap them so they're not quite so... suffocating. My anxiety is skyrocketing just looking at you, dear ghoul."

✨

Anti-social is what the Brothers and Sisters of the Ministry called him. He never spoke, or stayed at events long enough to socialize. His quintessance magic was always swirling around him in little swirls and streaks that trailed after him as he performed his duties, hidden entirely by the regulation Prequelle era uniform that all ghouls were required to wear. It was the most practical choice for everyday duties, compared to older eras outfits.

When hallways got too crowded, he'd stick himself up against the wall and get out as quick as possible. Whenever any of the ghouls or humans yelled or showed any amount of distaste in his general direction, he'd disappear entirely and not be seen for hours.

For the first week topside, Phantom had no name. In fact, he was rarely seen by anyone, be they ghoul or human. He never spoke and always disappeared in the blink of an eye. The pack was giving him time to adjust, to come to terms with how different topside is from the Pits. Aurora adjusted well, is thriving even despite some minor setbacks (like a later incident over a month after her summoning when she killed one of Copia'a pet rats accidentally (it was on purpose but she didn't know the little thing was Copia's.) The funeral was so lovely.)

Dewdrop is the one who named him.

Though people only see him for his temper, Dewdrop is a very observant ghoul. The humans seem to forget that he used to be a water ghoul, and even though he was weaker than others of his kind, Dewdrop knew when to be patient and watch for an opportunity to kill and that skill remained even after his transformation, though its purpose has changed.

So he watched alongside Swiss and they noticed things, spoke with each other about the ghoul and his mannerisms. He was an unusual sort, but they understood something no one else seemed to.

Dewdrop didn't have anyone who understood. Swiss had Dewdrop. Phantom will have the both of them, if he'll allow it.

This ghoul had never had a pack. You could see it in the way he carried himself around others, the difference in interaction between ghoul and human.

He leaned towards any of the pack ghouls, longing in his lone eye but never quite able to bring himself to reach out or ask for the affection he clearly wanted. Every pack activity or commonality was met with a confused stare and a sense of unease that radiated off of him. He avoided humans like the plague. If any came around while he was in the room, the ghoul disappeared with a shimmer of quintessance within the blink of an eye, escaping from the situation silently as though he had never been there in the first place.

He's like a phantom, there one moment and gone the next.

So Dewdrop said so, one night as the ghouls were getting ready for bed in the common room of the band ghoul den. Cumulus was braiding his hair back, as she did every night. The newest ghoul was watching in the corner of the room in a pair of Dew's own pajamas, the cuff of the sleeves and pants far too short on the taller quintessance ghoul. Dew was the only one with a similar build and close enough in height, so the new ghoul was stuck borrowing his clothes much like Aurora was borrowing Sunshine's old things. The ghoulette wouldn't mind as she took her most favorite possessions with her when she and Aether were transfered to a different church.

Off to the side observing the pack from afar, the ghoul sat idly fiddling with the Meliora mask strapped to his belt. He had opted for just the bandages tonight, having just come from Papa's room where the man always helps him rewrap them after his duties are over and he is free to remove his mask. The pack understands that the ghoul trusts Papa, really, they do, but they can't help but wish he'd show them that same trust. Whatever he is afraid of, he doesn't need to be with them, they're his pack whether he realizes it or not. His right eye was covered, as it always was, alongside the entirety of the right half of his face, but the bandages made it so that most of his left side was covered too. No one could really tell what he looked like, and they were so curious but unwilling to pry and scare him off.

His available eye was trained on Cumulus' hands, or more accurately the hair her pale grey fingers ran through lovingly, the other only visible when his magic was at work and caused the iris to glow, otherwise hidden in the shadow of his Meliora mask. Dewdrops hair was stunning in a way he couldn't quite grasp, he's never seen anything like it. It was like looking at a living flame, ombre all the way down to his lower back. At his roots was a cobalt blue, a shade leftover from his days as a water ghoul, then a pale yellow that turned darker into an orangish red. His hair was one of the more unusual color combinations of all the ghouls.

Unlike most ghouls that had streaks of their elemental color in their hair, Dewdrops entire head was his element, and when he got angry, he lit up like a flame. Quite literally.

Cumulus and Dew were talking quietly as she worked with practiced ease, and Dewdrop idly watched his other packmates move about and get ready for a pile in the living room. One moment, the quintessance ghoul was off in a corner by himself, and when next Dew looked over, he was directly beside him. Close enough to touch, if either of them wished, and Dewdrop could see that wish in the galaxy of the other ghouls eye. This close, Dew could see that the bare amount of violet freckles on Phantom's cheeks were actually small little diamond star shapes.

"You're quite like a phantom you know, so silent and steady. I can never tell just how you get from place to place so silently, its impressive." Dewdrop comments, after a moment or two of the ghoul just watching Cumulus finish tying off his hair.

The ghouls eye lights up, markings glowing faintly. He nods eagerly, seemingly happy to be praised.

"Hm, how about Phantom then? For your name? You've not been given one yet, by yourself or any of us." Dew offers with a fanged smile, keeping his attention solely on the ghoul next to him, despite feeling the gaze of every member of his pack at his back.

He had nodded so enthusiastically Dew feared his head would fall off, as the humans say, purple whirls appearing and sparks of quintessance popping around him, the violet streaks in his black and white hair and the cracks along his body all lighting up. Phantom was literally glowing with happiness, and it was very, very cute.

His mouth was covered by the bandages he always wore, but everyone could see Phantom's wide, elated smile.

"Its a pleasure to meet you Phantom, I'm Dewdrop." With a large grin, more reminiscent of baring teeth, Dew reached out a hand, and with a fiery gaze, dared Phantom to reach back.

Phantom stared for a moment, smile never faltering even as he glanced at Dewdrops hand, before his gaze turned excited but so, so nervous. When Phantom's hand met Dewdrops's, the fire ghoul tightened his grip firmly, but still so gentle, "We're your pack, Phantom, whenever you're ready for us."

Phantom freezes, gaze focused on where his hand meets Dew's. He flexes his fingers, the black claws scraping carefully over Dewdrop's hand as Phantom tests out the feeling of another hand in his own, eye shuttering as the sensation overwhelms him.

Trying to keep his smile up as his temper skyrockets, Dewdrop reigns in the anger he feels being able to physically see how a gentle touch causes Phantom to nearly shut down. So many of his reactions to things are leading up to a conclusion Dewdrop is sure he's not going to like.

"Phantom! I love it! Oh I can't believe we finally have something to call you! This is exciting!" Aurora launches herself forward, tripping over the too-long hem of her pajama pantleg as she goes but catching herself with ease, continuing her path towards the quintessance ghoul.

She stops herself from colliding into him only barely, remembering how he hasn't truly let anyone touch him since he arrived. Aurora wants to though, she wants to hug him and talk with him, hold his hand and feel the magic under his skin mingle with hers, to get to know Phantom properly. They were summoned on the same day, Aurora first, and Phantom second. She saw how distressed he was when he arrived and was so confused as to why he felt that way.

Aurora was happy to be topside, excited to perform her duties as an air and quintessance hybrid and perform in the Ghost project. She was a multighoulette, like the ghoulette before her, though Aurora didn't quite understand why the humans called her that. It wasn't unheard of for some ghouls to have two elements, one from each of their parents usually. Cirrus and Cumulus had only shrugged, called the humans strange beings and left it at that. Swiss on the other hand, with a bit of every element, was highly unusual. Almost unheard of even. Aurora had never seen another ghoul like him, and his eyes were so, so pretty with the way they looked like a pale opal stone, and how they shined brighter with whatever color of magic he was using- oh, wait, she was talking to Phantom! Who finally got a name!

Phantom who had looked so scared when he first arrived, but now couldn't seem to stop smiling, even as he had jerked back instinctually away from her.

"Are you going to sleep with us here tonight?" Aurora chirps, swaying back and forth lightly on the balls of her feet with a grin that promised mischief, her tail following the motion.

Phantom's smile falters, and he quickly steps back away from both her and Dewdrop, almost falling over a bean bag that lay haphazardly in the middle of the room as the tiny feathers that make up Aurora's eyebrows raise.

He shakes his head profusely, putting on his mask, as Phantom hastily waves his hands as though he was referring to the entirety of himself. "Aurora darling, let's leave Phantom be. He'll join when he's ready to, and we'll be here with open arms." Rain steps in, putting an arm around her shoulder.

His tail and hers curl together, the feathered end of hers stroking gently over the lunate finned tip of his. With a nod of his head, gesturing for Phantom to go on and leave like the pack can tell he wishes to, Phantom is gone within a millisecond. "Good call on the name Dew, he is like a little phantom." Swiss comments, voice muffled from where he placed it back on Mountain's chest.

Both ghouls were laid on the giant bed already, almost naked as ghouls were known to prefer, both purring up a storm. "He's cute."

Their tails too were intertwined, much like their limbs. Swiss grins, wrapping himself around Mountain even further at his words. This is the first he's spoken in a couple days, and while understanding that the earth ghoul simply doesn't want to speak often, its always a joy to hear the pleasant rumble of his voice. Aurora jumps atop the two and Swiss wraps one arm around her as Rain curls up at Mountains side snuggling into the warmth the bigger ghoul provides. Dewdrop lays out at Rain's other side, burying his face into the water ghouls back and reaching a hand over to rest in Swiss' curls. Eveyone is careful of each others horns, mindful of the sharp points and different lengths and shapes, none of them feeling like glamouring them away at the moment.

Cirrus and Cumulus giggle off to the side, not yet ready for bed, a little too high strung and needy. "Anyone care to join us?" Cirrus offers, mouthing at Cumulus' neck with a hand in her curly grey strands.

Swiss moves to get up immediately at the offer, ever eager, and Aurora whines in disappointment. "I'll be back in a little while, don't worry. Have at Mountain, he's terribly comfortable."

Mountain grumbles, baring his teeth in jest even as his free arm wraps around Aurora and brings her closer, replacing Swiss' warmth with hers and beginning to slowly stroke along the curl of her horns. Aurora shudders and starts to purr, leaning into the touch as her eyes fall to half mast, arousal simmering low in her gut that she ignores for the time being in favor of Mountains affection.

✨

When Papa Emeritus IV gave Phantom his new mask, he lit up, glowing happily as his tail practically wagged like a dog. It was a half-Meliora era mask, custom made to fit his face shape, leave his long ears unglamored, and cover the right side of his face in its entirety.

In a single second, he was gone and a few moments later, he had returned without any of his bandages and the mask firmly in place. His black and white hair was in loose, messy curls, and for the first time everyone got a full, no, half look at his face. There was a large patch of lavender skin around his visible eye that splashed up into his hairline, little dots of the same lavender dotting around his forehead and jaw, but his skin was otherwise a pale grey a few shades lighter than Cumulus' and undertoned with a purple blush. When he smiled, sharp fangs peeked out from the side visible.

Phantom was so, so pretty. The beginnings of their pack bond with him had stirred then, sluggish and weak from the lack of contact required to form it properly.

The poor ghoul had panicked then, confused and alarmed at the sudden onslaught of other presences he was now keenly aware of, disappearing once more as the pack all turned to look at Copia as one, placing down their respective instruments. Practice hadn't even had the chance to start.

Papa sighs, the faintest bit of indignation traveling over the bond he shares with his pack.

"Give him time, my ghouls, he'll come around eventually."

"Maybe wait until practice is over next time, Papa." Dewdrop wraps himself around Copia, nudging his cheek against the man's, seeking affection.

Copia had begun to pet his hair, and seeing one pack member getting attention from their Papa caused all the ghouls to come over, which started an impromptu ghoul pile. Copia was exasperated. They really were supposed to be practicing. There was only a few months until tour and Aurora and Phantom needed practice. It doesn't help that Aether and Sunny weren't here to help them learn their parts.

✨

Rain had forgotten his phone in the practice room earlier in the day and didn't realize til nearly dinner since he was terribly busy with chores. Rain couldn't wait for the clergymen to get better, this illness floating around was becoming an annoyance. Everyone loved to stare at the band ghouls, like they were something to be gawked at in curiosity. Not to mention the whispering, that the ghouls with enhanced hearing could hear clear as day. Mountain always withdrew into himself even further and talked even less than usual. Dewdrop's hold on his temper loosened exponentially and Swiss' smiles lost their genuine edge. Cumulus and Cirrus stuck close to each other like glue, and wherever they went, Swiss wasn't far behind. Aurora seemed to do the best under the attention, eager to chat her way into an easygoing conversation if she noticed the other pack members struggling. Rain was grateful, since that role usually fell to Aether and Sunshine, the two most suited to dealing with humans. When they were sent away, no one else could really manage to do so despite Dew's best efforts, and so it fell to Rain who, like the ghoulettes, stuck to Mountains side eagerly. Rain was finding Phantom to be the most elusive of them all when it came to dealing with the clergymen and their whispers. He did his chores quickly and disappeared with a wink of quintessance, but Rain knew he still heard what the more rude members of the clergy say about him. That he must be ugly under his mask, that it was strange how the ghoul didn't even seem to socialize with his own pack-

Nearly to the practice room, Rain pauses, just barely sniffing the air before he catches a strong wiff of a peculiar smell.

Rain smelled blood.

It was coming strongly from the practice room, but Rain knew no one was allowed in except the ghouls, Papa, occasionally Sister Imperator, and a single Brother who cleans when needed. No one should be in there, Rain had seen everyone around mere moments before and no one was even close to this section of the abbey. Rain starts listing off those people in his head before he comes to a conclusion, the faing trickle of awareness of one of his pack bonds growing stronger as he nears.

Ah, its Phantom then. Its hard to pin the ghoul down unless he wants to be found, much like Mountain.

Opening the door, the smell gets stronger and Rain has to take a moment to compose himself. Fuck. That smelled good.

Rain pinches his nose briefly, careful of his paired nostril piercings and their connecting chain, trying desperately to get ahold of himself. He'll have to find one of the others after this, no doubt, to satisfy the craving for blood now rushing through his veins.

Phantom sits in one of the bean bags, in the act of wiping blood onto his uniform pants as it spills from his fingers slowly.

"You've been practicing too hard, you need to rest your fingers for a couple days." Phantom jumps, flinching back and strumming out a discordant note.

He rips the headphones off his head, accidentally taking his mp3 player with it, puts the guitar down, and stands all in one moment. The journal on his lap slips onto the floor, and Phantom eyes it nervously while keeping an eye on Rain. The usual markings are glowly faintly in his fear and surprise, but they fade as he realizes who it is. Watcher In The Sky leaks out faintly from the still playing mp3 device.

He moves to pick them up but grimaces as he remembers his bloody hands, half hidden by his mask before just staring at them forlornly. Rain moves forward, the smell of blood growing stronger as he takes notice of the multitude of cuts and dried blood on Phantom's hand and the sheen of it on the ground and his black Fantomen.

"I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry. You'll rust up your strings this way, and hurting yourself does more harm then good. You can't play properly if your hands are that injured. Let me fix them up for you. Is that okay?" Rain asks, picking up the journal.

He catches a glimpse of the handwriting and knows immediately it is Aethers. Longing fills him immediately, his heart heavy in his chest. Fuck he misses Aether. Its been hard to adjust without him or Sunny, but Papa assured the pack he did what he could, and they'd be able to see them soon if Saltarian allowed it. Rain hates the man, but he is grateful Saltarian begrudgingly agreed to let the ghouls stay for magical assistance even if he declared there was no more use for them in the band. They'd been transferred to a different branch, together thankfully, but the distance was heartbreaking for all involved.

The notebook is filled with notes on chords, explanations for the difficult sections and how his hands would need to be placed. Crude drawings of hands on a fret board were even included. It was opened up to a page for Watcher In The Sky, for when they'd need to slide their hands up the neck. Little smiley faces and encouraging notes were written on the sides, and Rain smiles. Aether always did love adding smiley faces to things, where possible.

Phantom had even added his own little mote, a simple 'This section makes me want to lean along with the guitar sound. Ask Rain or Dew?'

Closing the notebook and placing it back on the bean bag, Rain looks up to see Phantom watching him. He's less wary now, just curious. His hands are still bleeding, droplets slowly sliding down his fingers to the floor.

"May I?" Reaching out a hand, Rain waits with a patient smile.

Phantom takes it, reaching across the distance slowly and clearly ready to take his hand back should Rain's movements turn threatening. A thumb rubs across the slight bit of webbing on Rain's hands that make playing a little difficult, so curious about them and a chuckle falls from Rain's lips before he can stop it. Phantom's eye meets his own immediately, intensely focused as Rain's laughter naturally dies down.

Leading him over to the cabinet full of medical supplies, injuries common with magic being channeled for practice so often, Rain uses his other hand to dig around for what he's looking for. Phantom still holds his other hand, grip on the looser side, but firm, like he doesn't want to let go.

"These are Dew's," Rain begins explaining, feeling anxiety trickle down the bond when Phantom sees the nametag taped on the side of the small bin. "He burns his fingers on the strings when he gets too into a song and also doesn't know when enough practicing is enough for the day. He won't mind us using these, Papa keeps everything well stocked for us."

Worry still creases Phantom's visible eye, and he tilts his head to the side as if to ask 'Are you sure?'.

"Trust me, Dew won't be mad, I promise. He would also like your cuts taken care of." Rain slowly brings Phantom's hands closer to himself, sanitization wipes in hand as they sit facing each other on two bean bags.

He starts off with those, apologizing every time Phantom flinches from the pain. Moving on to antibiotic ointment, Rain lathers it thoroughly and carefully wraps gauze around his fingers. Using some tape over each finger pad, Rain finishes the first aid. Phantom has been watching him the whole time, the crack like markings by his temple and branching up from his neck over his jaw glowing a soft violet.

"All done. You shouldn't practice for at least a few days, or these won't heal and you'll be right back to square one with injured hands and an inability to play at all." Rain keeps a gentle hold on Phantom's hands, loose enough that the other ghoul could pull them back with ease if he wished.

Rain is just glad that the ghoul is letting himself be touched at all.

At Rain's words, Phantom shakes his head side to side. "Hm?"

Something close to a sigh of frustration spills from behind Phantom's lips and he grabs the notebook and pen beside him, one hand still holding Rain's. One handed, he opens the notebook to the back where there's only a few blank pages and begins to write. The letters are shaky and barely legible in English but he manages well enough.

'I need to practice.'

The word 'need' is underlined thickly and Rain tilts his head.

"A few days off won't hurt anything, your fingers need to rest and the Fantomen will still be here for use." Rain reassures, confused as to what the other ghoul is getting at.

'I HAVE to be good enough. I can't be sent back.'

Clarity hits him like a thunderstrike. "You won't be sent back! I promise. Papa wouldn't allow it, you're one of us. Aether and Sunny were just transferred to a different abbey, not sent back to the Pits."

Something settles in Phantom's eyes then, a sort of resignation. He scribbles out something quickly, shaking his head, black tears bubbling in his visible eye. He stands, the pen clattering to the floor as Phantom clutches the notebook to his chest, the words written facing Rain so he can read them.

'I can't be sent away. I love it here, I love the pack. Its here or erasure.'

Phantom takes his hand back from Rain's and the quintessance ghoul is left feeling cold. Colder than he's ever felt, before he learned what a kind, gentle touch could feel like. He ignores it, so used to doing so that he could pretend it was easy.

In an instant, he's gone, quintessance sparking in his wake as Phantom vanishes.

"Shit." Rain mutters, standing too after picking up the pen and placing it with the first aid kit.

Looking around the room, Rain's gaze falls on the bloody guitar. Phantom left without cleaning it. He really must've been upset for that to slip his mind. The entire time Phantom has been here, he's treated Aether's guitar like a precious artifact, something to be treasured.

While carefully cleaning the guitar and changing the strings with reverence, Rain lets his mind wander. Everyone was a little upset every time they approached Phantom and he eyed them carefully, like they'd hurt him if they got too close. Those looks have lessened with time, with every kind word or scarce gentle touch, but he'd retreat back into himself if pushed too far.

The mystery that was Phantom was unraveling slowly, but Rain was beginning to fear that if nothing was done soon, then the terrified longing that lives in Phantom's heart was going to consume him and he'll suffer for it.

✨

Phantom didn't speak for the first month he was topside. At that point the pack had assumed he couldn't, or simply didn't want to. At least, until the Swiss Incident™️.

Now, despite its title, Swiss Incidents happened often. Usually, it was nothing more serious than going a bit too far pranking a human, or causing damage by roughhousing (or fucking) a bit too close to a priceless artifact. This time though, well-

One of the Cardinals in the Ministry was holding Mass. His name was Eugene, and no one particularly liked him. You would think, as a Cardinal in the Church of Satan, he would have some sense of decorum, would take care to be respectful and not leer so fervently at the younger Brothers and Sisters. You would think he would treat his fellow man or ghoul with respect, but he was well known for being intentionally cruel, always managing to scrape by with a harsh reprimand, but never any worse. He was cautious around Papa Emeritus and Sister Imperator, but once, just once, his temper got the better of him and that was his mistake.

See, Phantom was helping the Brothers on cleanup duty, as was his delegated task for this Mass. It wasn't often the band ghouls were asked to help with such mundane activities. As chaotic and unpredictable as they are, things often end up more of a mess than they were before.

At home, the ghouls were allowed to be unglamored, but still in uniform. His ears were out, tail swaying gently at his side as he kept pushing the waves of his hair back away from his visible eye, diligently cleaning a table. Phantom wasn't wearing his bandages underneath so his black and white hair was allowed to fluff out around his head and brush his shoulders freely.

Phantom lifts up a vase gently with one arm while the other takes special care to wipe down the table thoroughly. His fingers are bandaged, and he tries to hold the vase securely.

"Be careful with that, ghoul. Its worth more than your life!" Eugene, that despicable Cardinal, yells from the other side of the room, beady gaze locked on the new ghoul.

Phantom startles, tail straightening in fright and then curling around and around his thigh as the vase crashes to the ground with a loud shattering sound.

"Fucking- Ghoul, what did I just tell you?!" The Cardinal's stomps can be heard easily, and Phantom hunches over, refusing to turn around.

He's projecting his distress clearly across the thin threads of his bond with the pack and it makes their own negative emotions crackle with further intensity as his quintessance magic works its wonders. It seems they were lucky Aether was such a level-headed ghoul who kept a tight reign on filtering his emotions through the bond.

Aether had other ghouls to teach him, to help him understand how dangerous his magic could be. Phantom had no one and Aether wasn't at the Ministry anymore.

By now, all attention is on the two as the Cardinal grows closer. A Brother leaves the room to find Papa Emeritus, fearing the situation could escalate. The pack ghouls, normally not all asked to attend Mass to help out afterwards, are all scattered throughout the room watching the scene with attentive eyes, tails swishing agitatedly. Eugene was not in luck, the ghouls were only around to witness this since so many Brothers and Sisters had come down with colds due to the chilly weather.

"Turn around, ghoul, and look at me!" Cardinal Eugene seethes, physically grabbing Phantom to turn the ghoul around, grip so strong it would bruise a human easily.

At this move, the ghouls begin pushing their way through the crowd to get to Phantom, trying to move the humans aside gently even in their agitated state, but this made them slower.

"Ghoul, repeat what I fucking told you, and tell me exactly what you just did! That was a priceless vase that has been here for hundreds of years! It is irreplaceable, unlike your sorry waste of space. I've said it again and again that you ghouls aren't disciplined properly and look at what happens! I should have you sent back to the Pits for this after a few weeks of solitary confinement like we used to do to misbehaving little shits like you!"

Phantom had never had the displeasure of being directly confronted by the Cardinal, so the man was angry when Phantom didn't respond to him, not knowing the ghoul had never spoken. He is shaking so terribly its visible to everyone close enough, claws digging into his arms to try and contain the uncontrollable movement. He wants nothing more than to escape, but this Cardinal said he could be sent back, not to mention the solitary confinement. There's no way his anxiety could handle even a day in something like that, let alone weeks. He'd send himself back to the Pits before a week had even been up. Phantom can't go back to the Pits, he can't, he can't he can't he can't-

Quintessance is pouring out of the ghoul as his anxiety runs wild. His eyes and the cracks along his body glow, as well as the streaks in his hair all the while his quintessance physically manifests around him in frantic little sparks that sizzle and pop.

A nearby Sister moves forward to inform the Cardinal that Phantom, like Mountain, doesn't speak and can't reply but the Cardinal seals his fate long before she has the chance.

Cardinal Eugene slaps Phantom harshly, and in the silence of the room it echoes. Fingers catch purposefully on the mask secured to Phantom's face. It clatters to the ground a couple feet away with a thud but no ones eyes are really on the mask, but the wearer as the Cardinal shakes his hand out and slaps him a second time, the myriad of rings adorning his fingers slamming into Phantom's cheekbone. He knows the first didn't do much, and wanted to make sure the punishment stuck.

No one speaks. All is quiet and all eyes are on Phantom's scars. The right side of his face, usually hidden by the mask is now bared for everyone to see. Three long marks like claws are ripped into his face. One goes from his cheek right beside his nose, seeming to glance over his eye and through his eyebrow before disappearing into his hairline.

Another brushes his chin, goes through his lip and then cheekbone where there is a gap before faint marks lead to the torn tip of his ear. The final scar is on his forehead and shoots up into his hairline, where some hair refuses to grow back. The hair there is white, as though when the injury tore through his skin, it also marked a white streak into its path to match his already mismatched hair.

Each scar is surrounded by harsh burns that turn the light purple-grey and lavender of his skin a pale pink, as though whoever made the injuries hand was on fire at the same time.

His right eye is now visible, the same shade as his other eye, but with a faintly milky sheen. Both eyes well up with the black tears common for ghouls, spilling over his cheeks as Phantom lets out a choked sob, hands reaching up to cover his face. This is the first noise they'd ever heard from the younger ghoul, and Dewdrops hair is aflame with his wrath in an instant, already moving to tear the Cardinal apart with his bare hands with vengeful glee.

His voice is faint, a near whisper as he manages to say, "'m sorry, sir."

Cardinal Eugene takes a moment to really get a look at the ghoul and then laughs out his final words, and Dewdrop never gets the chance to tear into him.

"Satan below, no wonder you hide your face! You're a sore sight on the-"

Cardinal Eugene gurgles, blood bubbling past his lips as his entire body is thrown with the full weight of Swiss on his back. With a sickening crack, Swiss tightens his fist around the Cardinals black hair and slams his head into the ground as he removes his other hand where it has plunged into the mans lungs from behind. With force, Swiss slams the Cardinals head into the floor once, twice more, before moving on as the marble cracks under the pressure. He tears into the Cardinals spine, severing it as claws dig into the back of his ribs, the flesh tearing with ease beneath the might of Swiss' fury.

First, there is relief at the Cardinal being away from him, finally. Then, Phantom sees Swiss, still mutilating the dead man, angry for him. Realization strikes through his heart, and his knees tremble with the emotions warring within him.

Slowly, Phantom's knees give out and he slides to the ground, staring blankly ahead, glazed eyes peeking through the gaps in his fingers but not seeing the crowd of onlookers or the body being torn apart in front of him. His vision is filled quickly with Aurora on her knees before him as she tries to pull his hands away from his face with such gentle care.

"No, no, don't look at me." He croaks through his sobbing, voice weak from disuse, shaking his head back and forth desperately.

"You don't need to hide from us Phantom." She whispers, giving up and simply holding his mask out to him.

He takes it quickly, fitting it back in place and holding it there with a white-knuckled hand. So suddenly that his brain simply short circuits, Aurora reaches around and pulls him to herself tightly, arms wrapped around his middle. With no small amount of effort, Aurora calls upon her faint quintessance magic, hoping it will help soothe Phantom at least a little.

"I've- I've not been hugged in- in so long." He whispers, voice breaking off as the strange mixture of despair and elation collide within him.

It was only seconds, but the moment felt like a lifetime as Cumulus and Rain stand off to the side, clearly wanting to join. Phantom's head drops to rest on Aurora's shoulder as he lets himself cry, trying desperately to hide himself from the gazes burning into him.

Cirrus and Mountain, ever the level headed of the bunch despite the snarling and snapping they do at the dead Cardinal, pull Swiss back, away from the corpse and the blood spreading out over the cracked marble floor.

Swiss thrashes, kicking his feet out as though he could close the distance now between himself and the Cardinal and manage to stomp his head in. Eyes glowing brightly and tail lashing back and forth, he still isn't satisfied with the damage done. As Phantom's sobs continue somewhere near him, Swiss knows he will never be satisfied, even if he could tear the man into pieces and stuff him through a shredder a million times over.

Dewdrop paces back and forth, just beside Phantom and Aurora, Rain watching him in concern, but knowing the other ghoul was too hot for him to touch right now. The fire ghoul was smoking, embers bursting to life and winking from existence sporadically as he hissed, claws stretching out and curling back in like he wishes he was the one ripping into the Cardinal. His small horns, bone white at the base that fade into a blood red at the tip, glow with the fire sizzling under his skin.

With a bang, the door to the room flies open and slams against the wall. Papa Emeritus the Fourth stalks in with his robes trailing behind him, white eye glowing brightly as he takes in the state of the room, followed by the Brother that went to retrieve him. His ghouls gathered around Phantom and the blood covering Swiss from the mouth down, and the cooling body of Cardinal Eugene. Papa was quick to stalk up to the scene, a murderous look in his usually kind eyes. Now slightly calmer, Swiss begins to stammer, the fight leaving him quickly at the sight of Copia. "Papa, I- I won't apologize for this. He deserved it! He touched- hurt Phantom."

Copia knows without a doubt that kind-hearted, fun-loving Swiss would never have done something like this unprovoked, ghoul or not. There had only been one incident similar to this, over Dewdrop years ago after his element change. He knows this Cardinal deserved it, knows it was only a matter of time before Copia was forced to deal with the man himself. Always so arrogant, so cruel to the ghouls, to his fellow clergymen, for no reason. It's a wonder the man could consider himself a follower of Satan being so disrespectful to other living beings.

"I know, my ghoul, it is alright. Calm yourself and fix your mask. Cirrus, darling, can you and Mountain clean this up? I'll deal with the fall out with Imperator and Saltarian. You can let Swiss go, I think he's calm enough now, si?" Copia gestures to the ghoul practically vibrating in Mountain and Cirrus' tight but not bruising grips, gaze focused on Phantom, and by extension, Aurora at his side.

As soon as they let Swiss go, he's off like a shot, fluttering about at Phantom's side, not sure what to do with his hands, the young ghoul still on the ground as Aurora keeps her tight hug around his middle. He's sobbing, taking in quiet, choking, painful breaths as he shakes and shakes.

"Can I hug you Phantom? Please?" When Phantom gives a shaky nod, looking at Swiss through watery eyes and reaching out with his available hand, Swiss is already reaching forth to wrap himself around both he and Aurora, uncaring of the blood covering himself.

"Come on, let's get you both back to the den. Papa will deal with everything, and this will never happen again, I swear it."

Easily pulling the two shorter ghouls up with him, Swiss snarls at a Sister who got too close, not caring of the pitying look upon her visage. Phantom doesn't need pity. Pity won't help him, or change whatever happened. Pity didn't move anyone to action when Swiss was a kit, packless and alone, and so, so hungry. Hungry for food, for a safe place to sleep, for love and affection.

Dewdrop and Rain are at their sides in an instant, Cumulus bringing up the rear, making an attempt at a protective barrier between the youngest ghouls and the rest of the clergy, all three ghouls tails lashing about agitatedly as everyone begins the walk back down to the ghoul den. Phantom's tail wraps around Swiss's thigh as they walk, the swirling mists of his magic at the end a tickle against Swiss' thigh.

As they go, Papa Emeritus watches fondly, anger still simmering just under his skin.

First, he addresses the cooling corpse at his feet.

"I, Papa Emeritus the Fourth, Copia Emeritus, head of the Clergy of Satan, request our unholy Lord Lucifer that he strip Cardinal Eugene Simmons of his title and remove the amenities that would be granted to him in Hell. I beseech you, our Lord, that my request be granted for this man has wronged me in a way I will never forgive."

Shocked gasps sound from around him, but Copia pays them no mind, focused on the power within him, and how it swells with glee at being accessed. Copia feels a surge of emotion, not his own nor his ghouls, one of acceptance and care and knows his Lord has answered. Warmth fills him, like a gentle flame, a breeze carrying it through his hair. With reverence, Copia kisses the grucifix clasped in his hand before letting it rest gently near his heart as the chain falls back into place.

The only constant in Copia's life has been his faith, and he prays with every ounce of his heart and soul. Perhaps that is why his Lord so readily hears him, accepts him, cares for him in a way he never heard about from his half-brothers.

He turns to address his Ministry next, those still gathered after Mass has ended.

"Hear this, and be certain everyone at the Ministry knows." He begins, white eye glowing with the power still writhing within him and teeth bared in a snarl reminiscent of the ghouls he's defending.

Clergymen and women back up, eyes wide. They have never seen their beloved Papa this angry before, the man always so kind and awkward, never truly upholding the imposing image of a Papa, unlike Primo or Secondo. "Let this be a lesson, do not ever strike one of my ghouls, or any of the others here. They all fall under my protection and if any one of you dares to harm them, I will send you to our Lord Lucifer for punishment at the hands of the very ghouls you wronged."

Everyone seems to forget that Copia was a nobody before Papacy. By luck he had been granted the position of Cardinal, through his faith in his Lord and the kindness people seem to take for weakness. Sister Imperator had noticed him, how the flame of their Lord seemed to glow within him, granted him the title of Cardinal, and stood behind him despite only being half of the Emeritus bloodline when she pushed for his ascent to Papa Emeritus IV.

He has been alone his entire life, right up until he attained the first of his beloved ghouls, Dewdrop and Mountain, who were his first true friends despite being summoned by Terzo. They were so wary of him at first, as they had every right to be after the death of the Emeritus brothers... after that dreadful photoshoot with Terzo's... fucking head.

When Copia had treated them the same as he treated the other humans, they were both so confused. Even Terzo had kept things distant between them all outside of stage antics, except for his relationship with Omega. Up until that point, every ghoul knew that they were thought of as mere servants, disposable beings meant for their magical abilities despite how much power they held in their hands alone. But when Copia came into power, he started lifting older regulations for the ghouls that were unnecessary or cruel, and Sister Imperator did nothing to stop him. At least, in this matter alone.

The ghouls mattered to someone topside, for once, but never dared bring up any further mistreatment to their dear Papa, who was already so stressed in his position. They were all born and raised in the Pits, and could handle a little rough treatement from some puny humans, if it meant the burden on Copia's shoulders could be lessened.

✨

Phantom could barely see out of his right eye. Packless as he was in the Pits, and from such a young age, he was lucky some scars and an injured eye was most of what he got out of it all. Nevermind the torn ear and the way his smile has never been the same.

He was smiling now though, a tiny little nervous thing that barely stirred the scarring of his lip, clinging to Swiss and not giving any signs of letting go. Swiss would never make him, would destroy the world if that was what the little ghoul wanted. Phantom was finally letting them hold him, love him as they wanted to, and Swiss was reveling in every millisecond the quintessance ghoul was allowing.

His mask was off, lain to the side. No one was going to force or ask it of him, but Phantom had done it all on his own. He had growled out a quiet curse as he just couldn't get comfortable laying on Swiss with it on. In utter frustration, Phantom had ripped the mask off, letting it clatter onto the floor beside the overly large mattress and buried his face back into the crook of Swiss' neck as he clumsily glamored his horns away for easier cuddling.

Noticing Phantom was still shaking like a leaf in the wind, Cumulus had grabbed him a blanket (or three) and laid them all over him. She knows his shaking likely isn't due to being cold, but it makes her feel better to know she tried to help anyway.

A stuttering rumble had started up not long after everyone joined Swiss, Phantom, and Aurora in the common room. It was his first ever ghoul pile, and Swiss hopes Papa will be able to join soon, if at all. Phantom adores the man, clearly, and trusts him more than he trusts them.

Almost as soon as it had started, Phantom's purr cuts off and tries to hide himself further, trying not to jostle Aurora, who had her cheek lain over his lower ribcage. "'m sorry. I know it doesn't sound right."

Answering before anyone else has the chance, Dewdrop is quick to reassure him. "Mine was like that too, at first, and so was Swiss'. Mountain's is more of a low rumble than a purr. It's alright, Phantom, you don't have to worry so much about what we'll think of you. Your purring will improve over time."

Leaning over Swiss, Dewdrop hesitates before placing a gentle kiss into Phantom's hair then settles back between Cirrus and Swiss. Mountain, full length stretched out over the bed, rubs Cumulus back with gentle strokes as the ghoulette lays atop him.

The earth and air ghouls had come back a few minutes prior, eager to check on Phantom, and Rain had went to find Copia when the man hadn't returned quick enough for their liking. He likely got stuck arguing with Saltarian again.

The door to the den opens, seven pairs of eyes zeroing in on the sound with glowing eyes. Rain enters, pulling along an exhausted Copia and everyone relaxes immediately. Rain strips down to his underwear, like everyone else save Phantom who remains in his uniform underclothes, and Copia follows with ease.

"How did it go?" Cirrus asks, moving to lay on her back so Rain can lay on her and lean into Dew at the same time.

From his newly acquired place snuggled into Mountains side, Copia's muffled answer is heard quite easily as Mountain frees an arm to wrap around the man.

"Saltarian was pissed, as expected. He never has liked how 'lenient' I am with the ghouls. Nihil wasn't pleased but didn't put up much of a fight when Sister Imperator let the situation go with nothing more than a reminder to keep you all in check better. Not surprising, considering she leaves you all to me anyway and doesn't care as long as you don't risk the safety of the Clergy."

Cumulus starts running a hand through the mans salt and pepper hair soothingly. Phantom sits up quickly, and the ghouls all shuffle positions so he can do so with ease. Swiss and Aurora follow, not eager to let him go and they drape themselves over or around him while trying not to stifle him too terribly. The red handprint on his face has long since healed, but the echoes of the pain still linger and a dark cloud seems to hover over him.

"I'm so sorry Papa. I- I should have listened to that Cardinal better. Not startled so easily. I caused you trouble- he just- I-" Phantom rambles, tears blurring up his good eye as the other ones vision barely changes.

"My ghoul, it is alright, truly. I should be the one apologizing, as Papa I should never have let Cardinal Eugene keep his position when I first started hearing the rumors of his previous actions against the clergymen and your fellow ghouls. I... To be honest with you all, even though I am Papa, I still get stuck in my mindset of my younger self. I had no power then, and it feels like I still lack it even now, and my insecurity led to inaction that led to you getting hurt."

Mountain sits up, Cumulus staying in his lap, and leans over onto Papa as much as he is able with another body restricting his movements. Long arms wrap around the smaller man, kicking up a deep rumbling purr that reverberates through his body and immediately makes Copia feel a little better. One set of clawed fingers stroke along his forearms lovingly, while Cumulus' wraps an arm around his middle to try and keep him close.

Every ghoul pile is such a mess of limbs and bodies overtop or around each other. Copia wouldn't trade it for the world.

"I don't blame you Papa! I could never. You've done nothing but help me here, and I've done nothing but cause trouble." Phantom exclaims, still so quiet as he does so.

"No, no, Phantom, you're no trouble at all and if you were, I'd welcome it happily. Its my fault. I'm the one who lost composure and killed the fucker." Swiss butts in, iridescent eyes glowing with the shadows of his past fury, "He laid hands on you, and I'd kill him again and anyone else without a thought if they try anything similar to you or the rest of our pack."

"Phantom..." Rain begins, turning his thoughts around in his mind to try and figure out how to put his next words as the finned tip of his tail that resembles that of a beta fish mixed with something a little more fantastical begins to sway in thought, "Swiss and Dewdrop understand you better than you think, but there's even things they can't figure out, or don't know how to help with. We... the pack, we want to help you, and love you, if you'll allow it. But we need to know how to do that. You'll have to trust us, at least a little bit with your heart. You don't need to be afraid anymore."

Phantom stares, tightening the blankets around himself as the tears in his eyes finally bubble over and slip down his cheeks. His shaking is back full force and he just wants to hide. He doesn't know what to do. He's never had a pack before, he doesn't know how to act, or if he is over or understepping boundaries.

"My sire did this to me." Phantom starts instead of answering Rain, voice cracking and breaking from emotion and disuse, "I'm fully quintessance, but both of my parents were fire. I look like the both of them, my dam had said. But my sire was convinced she'd slept with someone else without proper communication between them, despite them agreeing to be a mated duo. She was the best mother anyone could have asked for, and I didn't care if she really loved my father or not. He was always distant and cold after I was born."

Phantom has to take a breath, voice hoarse as Cirrus gets up to retrieve a bottle of water. "It was harder on my dam, who knew him before for obvious reasons. She always said he used to be so kind, but I could never quite manage to picture it. His anger and aggression couldn't have just appeared overnight. He hated me. I suppose the sight of me grew to be too much eventually, and he killed my mother for her supposed betrayal, then went after me. I was young then, and didn't really know what was going on."

"My magic before that point was weak, unstable. I couldn't control it and my sire always used it as a means to put me down. But then he did this to my face, and all the quintessance magic that had built up inside of me over the years now had a prime target. When I was finally able to open my eyes after the purple light flooded my vision, my sire was gone. Everything around me was gone for at least fifty feet. I passed out after that, and when I awoke I could feel my own magic healing the wounds... it was- it wasn't comfortable and the scars never left."

"No one in the village would help me. I was a scarred quintessance ghoul in a village of fire ghouls, with nothing but fire villages around for days. No matter how young I was, they were wary and so left me on my own. I've been alone ever since then, and other ghouls grew more wary the older I got. Quintessance ghouls, I hear, are the least likely of all ghouls to be packless due to the nature of our magic and how it connects us to others."

Phantom curls into the blankets when he finishes, sinking into the warmth of Swiss at his back. The ghouls press closer, the pile becoming a tighter fit but they all manage.

"You must have been so lonely." Aurora says first, everyone else still gathering their thoughts. "Your village failed you. Your father failed you. Kits are to always be protected, no matter the element, no matter their physical state!"

"Aurora darling, ghouls preach about protecting the kits, but if you're different, they can be as bad as humans. Dewdrop and Swiss were packless as well, for similar reasons." Cirrus says, reaching a hand over everyone towards the other ghoulette, who takes it as tears well in her eyes.

"But its not right!" Aurora exclaims, burying her face into Phantom's ribs.

"It isn't, and so I take care of my ghouls as best as I can. It makes no difference in Hell, but here, I'm trying to make things better for you all. No ghoul here is packless unless they choose so, regardless of their state of being."

After a few moments of silence, the ghouls simply basking in the closeness of each other and their beloved Papa, Phantom speaks up once more.

"I'm sorry I haven't spoken 'til now. I was scared and that fear made it- so hard to speak to you. Like my throat had closed up and no words would come out. You were all so different from what I'm used to... so kind, thoughtful, so accommodating to my silence, and you all look at me like- like I'm worth something. I wasn't sure if I could trust you all, but I wanted to, I really did. When Swiss- when Swiss killed that man for hurting me, it was like something finally clicked within me and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I could really trust you."

"Its okay to be scared Phantom. Swiss was too, at first, but he hid his fear with smiles and jokes. I was an asshole to everyone around me, its a wonder Terzo let me stay at all." Dewdrop explains kindly.

"Mountain doesn't speak often, as you know, and if you ever want to be silent, you can. We won't hold it against you, and its perfectly fine to do. You'll just need to learn sign, Cirrus is the best of us at it, so she and Mounty can teach you." Copia says, reaching out to place a gentle hand on Phantom's ankle.

"Thank you, Papa. I appreciate everything you've done for me. Is it- Can- I don't want to talk anymore, for now." Phantom chokes out through a hiccuping sob.

"Of course, my beloved ghoul."

When that conversation dies down, the pack focusing on calming down and comforting Phantom, shaking with fresh sobs but happy, so happy, they move on to other things. Lighter topics, like Dewdrop sharing the latest gossip from loose lips uncaring of the presence of a ghoul and Mountain updating everyone on the state of his greenhouse plants in Primo's garden. Rain, ever the opportunist, shifts positions with Dewdrop and the fire ghoul, lost in his conversation with Cumulus about this new braiding style he'd seen one of the Brothers sporting and wanted to try, lets him.

Purrs rumble low in everyone's chests, except for Papa of course, and Phantom lets his stuttering one loose, knowing now, despite his continued anxiety, that they won't judge him for it.

"Wait a fucking second!" Dewdrop sits up suddenly as everyone settles down to sleep, heterochromatic eyes wide with indignation as his hair flames up gently, "Swiss did you take a fucking shower? You did not! Go on, you're getting blood all over the bed- Rain! Stop licking the blood off his arm, thats disgusting, you don't know if that Cardinal was vaccinated or not."

Swiss and Rain let out joint whines of despair, for differing reasons.

"But I'm hungry!"

"I don't wanna move~ It's so comfy here."

"Rain, princess, sweetheart, love of my life, you can just ask one of us. You know that! Swiss, shower, right now. You managed to get it past your fucking uniform. Were you working with your sleeves rolled up again? You know Sister Imperator will give you bathroom duty again if she sees you."

Rain manages to look properly chastised, leaning over to whisper in Cirrus' ear. Within seconds, his two rows of razor-sharp teeth are gently biting into the inside of her elbow, forked tongue catching any blood that spills past his lips. Swiss, on the other hand, still looks to be defiant with a sweet little smirk pulling at his lips, and Dewdrop's hair flames up in an instant just to be dramatic.

"Mounty, be a dear and go toss Swiss in the bath, will you?" With a simple bat of Dewdrop's pale eyelashes, Mountain is up and tossing Swiss over his shoulder, tail swishing excitedly behind him.

Copia lets out a full body laugh as everyone turns to watch the two go. Swiss, one arm propping his head up as it rests against Mountain's back, is grinning widely in triumph.

Ghoul got what he wanted, clearly, if the satisfied flicking of his fluffy tail is anything to go by, or the mischievous glint in his iridescent eyes.

"That shithead probably had that planned from the start, insatiable as he is." Dewdrop mutters before turning to Phantom, "Let's get you a change of clothes. You'll be permitted to go out shopping for your own things soon, but mine have done well enough so far despite the length issues."

Phantom nods with a small smile pulled wider by the scars on his cheek and lip, standing and bringing the blankets with him. He reaches for his mask and places it back on, eager for the comfort it still provides even if he knows the pack won't judge him.

He feels it then, a gentle caress on the door of his mind, its warm like Dew's hand as he carefully leads him down the hallway towards his room. Phantom, with a bit of struggle at the new sensation, opens that door, allowing that warm presence to speak to him.

'I'm sorry for what happened today.' Dewdrop's voice is gentle, more gentle than Phantom has ever heard it aloud.

'It wasn't your fault. You don't need to apologize. Besides, Swiss more than made up for it.' Phantom replies truthfully. 'I've never had someone defend me like that. No one in the Pits cared enough.'

'Any one of us would do just as Swiss did. He just happened to beat me to it, actually.' Dew admits easily, searching through his drawers for something that might fit Phantom.

He pulls out a plain black tee and hands it over before going to rummage through his closet. As Phantom changes into the new shirt and folds his uniform top as neatly as he can manage before placing his mask back on, Dewdrop lets out a small yip of excitement.

The fire ghoul turns around, the blue and red of his heterochromatic eyes alight with anticipation, and maybe a little bit of fear. He holds out something wrapped in a paper bag, held closed by black hairtie.

"For you, a present." Dewdrop says aloud, and slowly, as though the item will attack him, Phantom reaches out to take it, beginning a cautious endeavor to open it.

"I got it in town a few days ago. I don't even know if you'll like it, or if it will fit. You've not had the chance to really figure out your tastes. Not to mention how surprised I was when I saw Halloween items this time of year but I see you hanging around the bats in the rafters a lot so I figured-"

With a whoosh of air and a resounding thud, Dewdrop falls back into the doors of his closet as Phantom launches himself into his arms, taller than himself by a few inches. In one hand clutched tightly is a pair of grey pajama pants, smiling bats printed all over.

Dewdrop winces as his aching back flares up with more pain yet continues to smile as Phantom's neverending wave of 'thank you's' reverberate through his skull. The quintessance ghoul is radiating such intense feelings of happiness and gratefulness that Dew is surprised he doesn't burst with it at the seams.

"You're welcome. Now go on, try them on." Dew directs, happy to see the other ghoul so happy after so long of small, nervous smiles.

After being asked to turn around, Dew does so and waits for Phantom's permission to face him again. Excited as he is, Phantom begins ripping off his pants before Dewdrop fully turns around and the fire ghoul catches a glimpse of the others vitiligo markings down his legs.

A gentle tug at his sleeve has Dew turning to face Phantom again, and there's such a wide smile on the other ghouls face as quintessance sparks around him that Dew can't help but grin back.

The pajama pants are far too long. They were a few inches past Phantom's ankle and dragged on the floor heavily. That's not even to mention how tightly Phantom had to tie the strings around the waist, and the pj's were still too loose, riding low on his hips and threatening to slip off entirely. Dewdrop was worried he would get a pair too small, but now it seems the pajamas are far too large. They look more likely to fit Swiss properly.

"Fuck, they're too big. We can take them back to-"

With a growl, Phantom leaps away to the other side of the room. 'No! They're mine! You gave them to me so I'm keeping them.'

"I only meant we could exchange them for a pair that fits better." Dew explains, but Phantom is vehemently shaking his head in refusal.

'Mine.' The stars in Phantom's eyes are bright as his magic swirls in them like a galaxy, his star freckles glowing brightly.

Acquiescing for now, Dewdrop gets Phantom to calm down enough for his marks to stop glowing quite so bright, fading back into the translucent like veins that grow more prominent as they pass over his jaw. Moving closer again, Phantom hesitates before asking shyly to hold Dew's hand again.

"Of course. You don't have to ask everytime unless my hands are full or we're in the presence of higher ups excluding Papa." Dew reassures, offering his hand up but letting Phantom make the move to grab it.

When he does, there is a slow slide of contentment down the pack bond and Dew smiles, happy to see that Phantom's body craves affection and can accept it. It had been so difficult for Swiss when he'd first arrived, to long for touch so deeply but his own body rejected it with tingles of unpleasantness that had to be drowned so slowly. Now the multighoul couldn't get enough of physical touch, and Dew knows Phantom will be the same way.

Grinning sleepily, Phantom sways with the motion of his tail as his visible eye droops shut. "Let's get you to bed. You've had a difficult day."

Phantom leans heavily on Dew as they make their way back to the common room, head leaning on Dewdrops shoulder with his back hunched into what must be an uncomfortable position, letting go of his hand to wrap both arms around one of Dew's own instead. The curls of his black and white hair tickle Dewdrops neck as they make their way down the hall, brushing against the scarring left behind after his gills were melted shut.

They could hear Swiss and Mountain as they passed by the bathroom, and Dewdrop laughs at the curiosity on Phantom's face, wondering if he'll have the courage to ask. A breathy moan reaches their ears just as they fully pass the door and Phantom's visible cheek and the tip of his ears turn a deeper shade of purple.

Back in the common room, everyone else seems to have gotten comfy after changing into their sleepwear. For some, like Rain, that meant completely naked in order to stay as cool as possible, and Dewdrop needed to stay as warm as possible so he was fully clothed in his warmest pajamas. That's not even to mention how the fire ghoul will hoard the blankets and lay claim on Mountain's chest once he and Swiss come to bed.

Phantom, seeing how everyone is so familiar with each other, even Papa who is holding Cirrus to himself lovingly as he leans on Rain's shoulder, wonders how he is supposed to fit in. Did he already miss his chance to truly become part of the pack, since it took him so long to get over his fears-

Aurora jumps up from where Cumulus was fishtail braiding her watercolor rainbow hair back, bouncing on the bed with clumsy steps to reach Phantom and Dewdrop. She pauses just before Phantom, fanged smile wide and cheery and showing off her freshly done smiley piercing. There is hesitation in her lavender eyes as she wrings her blush pink hands.

"Are you going to sleep with us this time?"

Phantom nods without any doubt, wanting to truly experience the ghoul piles he has seen nearly every day since being summoned. Aurora launches herself at him with a laugh, holding him close as Phantom melts into her embrace. "I call dibs on first to cuddle Phantom in his first pile!" She exclaims, already falling backwards and pulling Phantom down with her.

Dewdrop manages to let go of the quintessance ghouls hand before he's dragged down too. His back could not handle that right now. Instead, he makes his way over to Rain and Papa as he says "Aurora darling, by all means you and Swiss already claimed that before I sent us all off to get ready for bed."

Aurora lets out an indignant squawk even as she gently runs her fingers through Phantom's loose curls and strokes over the scaled curves and nubs of his black and violet ombre horns. Said ghoul has started up a quiet, stuttering purr as his tail swishes back and forth by their feet contentedly. Sparks of quintessance tickle Aurora's hands and other bits of bare skin, the stars on his cheeks and dotting his horns glowing gently with his contentment. The others begin to settle around them, not caring that they've taken up one edge of the bed. Eventually, Swiss and Mountain make their way back to the common room, completely unglamored, and Mountain has to duck under the light fixture to avoid shattering the fragile glass with his antler-like horns and sheer height. Swiss takes one glance at Aurora holding Phantom close and grins, diving to Aurora's side and wrapping both of them in his arms and pulling them to his larger frame. He smells of sex and Mountain, yet still something entirely just him and Phantom revels in it. One action to protect him led to Phantom regarding Swiss as safe.

"Little bug, I'm glad to see you're wearing the pajamas Dew got you. He's been talking our ears off in his worry over whether you'd like them." Swiss comments, and Phantom eagerly sends down a wave of thankfulness towards Swiss' bond, towards that door in his mind that wafts the essence of the multighoul's soul.

Cumulus, finishing off the second of two thick braids of her own curly white hair, moves to begin brushing Dew's as Cirrus happily lays herself over Cumulus' back with a sleepy smirk. Copia is already snoring at the head of the bed, wrapped in at least two blankets that were lovingly tucked in. His makeup has been removed, and the man has changed into what is clearly one of Cumulu's shirts.

With ease, Mountain picks all three ghouls up and lays them up by Papa as though they weighed next to nothing. Phantom is so busy basking in the safesafesafe flooding his entire system that he doesn't even care.

Everyone begins to cluster up to cuddle and sleep, gravitating around Aurora and Phantom with extra blankets or pillows, like Dewdrop and the ghoulettes, or absolutely no cover at all like Rain, who is completely naked and content to simply use Papa for warmth as the one with the lowest temperature aside from himself.

"Would you like your mask off, Phantom? You don't have to remove it if you don't want, but I can't imagine its comfortable to sleep in." Cirrus asks, closest to the three still attached and the one brave enough to ask first as everyone begins to settle.

Phantom is hesitant but agrees, and Cirrus reaches over to gently remove it. Once its placed off to the side carefully, Cirrus carefully cups Phantom's scarred cheek in her well-manicured hands, gazing upon their quintessance ghoul with quiet adoration. "I'm proud of you for opening up to us, we all are."

Adding on as tears well up in Phantom's eyes again, "You're beautiful, and we're glad to have you."

'But I replaced Aether, I- I'm scarred and can't control my magic properly-' He sends down the bond, frantic, like he needs them to know his faults and expects rejection for it, wants to be rejected, like it will be safer for his heart even as it cracks in his chest.

"Aether is still here topside, and we'll see him soon I imagine. Saltarian can't keep him and Sunshine away from us forever. That's enough for now, the hope for that future. And you may have been summoned to take Aether's spot in the band, but we have never thought of you as a replacement. You're a welcome addition, you and Aurora. You're pack, whether you're in the band or not, just the same as with Aether and Sunshine. Your magic will grow easier to control in time, with practice, so don't worry so much about that."

"As for you being scarred, that truly means nothing to us. I'm sorry that you went through something so terrible that it managed to scar a ghoul but your scars do not make up your entire existence. You're far more than the marks left upon your skin, and they are not all we see when we look at you." Cirrus finishes, wiping Phantom's tears as they slip over his the bridge of his nose.

Swiss kisses his hair as Aurora pulls him closer. Dewdrop, with his hair finished, wraps a hand around his bicep as the others reach out to comfort the young ghoul in any way they can with physical contact. Papa continues snoring as Rain holds the man close in his blanket cocoon. Mountain, content to watch everyone fall asleep first, is a silent but steady presence. Cumulus has made herself comfortable on Cirrus' other side as she wants for the ghoulette to lay down.

'Thank you.' Phantom's elation floods the pack bond, infecting everyone with a happy buzz that settles them further.

Cirrus rubs a thumb over the scarring on his lip, smiling at the way it lifts the ghouls own grin into something a bit lopsided but so blindingly pretty, so full of light, it almost hurts to look at.

Phantom has never been so comfortable in his entire life, has never felt so safe in the company of others. He has a pack now, and they accept him as he is, scars and unstable magic and all.

[all-risejd]

Chapter 23: The first Meeting (A Poly Judgement Day Fic)

San Diego May 10th, 2023 Wednesday

Nessa wakes up and rolls over snuggling back into Dominik's chest, what he told her last night coming back to the forefront of her thoughts. She rests her hand on his chest and smiles. He wants nothing more than to have that future he envisions for them. She draws shapes on his chest with her finger. She remembers the first time she met him in her Emergency room and how far they have come.

_____________________________________________________________________

Sometime in October of 2018

Nessa’s curly red hair is tied back in a messy bun, her stethoscope slung around her neck. The black scrubs she is wearing that day washing out her complexion making her look even more pale than usual. She looks up from her charting when she sees a young man, tall hair cut short with glasses and a hoodie with a wrestler she recognizes as Rey Mysterio on it. He is calling out for help as he is carrying someone, supporting their weight, practically dragging them in, blood pouring down the other guy's face, his eyes unable to focus.

“You gotta help me, we had an accident in training.” The boy in the hoodie asks, panicking, his own breaths shallow. 

Nessa springs into action, snapping on a pair of gloves as she runs over two other nurses joining her. Together they set the man in a wheelchair, one of the other nurses holding the wound on his head to stem the bleeding while Nessa uses her penlight to assess the pupillary response. “His pupils are sluggish, take him to CT and page Neuro while I get information from his friend here,” Nessa orders the others who immediately do as told. Nessa takes off her gloves and turns to the young man who she can’t help but eye up and down, appreciating the chubbiness in his cheeks and finding him adorable even in his panicked state. “Hey your friend will be fine, our doctors and nurses are the best in the state, now I need you to breathe.” She takes a deep breath to demonstrate and continues once he takes a few deep breaths with her. “Good, now tell me what happened and his name so I can start his chart instead of calling him John Doe.” Nessa gives him her best calming smile.

“Andrew, his name is Andrew Watkins, we were training, we are training to be wrestlers and he botched a move and hit his head on the steps.” He explains near hyperventilation again.

“Sir I need you to breathe with me again” She instructs, taking an exaggerated deep breath, the young man copying her. “Ok, now what is your name sir,” She asked as he blinked back tears.

“Dom, Dominik.” He answers, his voice shaky. 

Nessa nods and pats his knee. “Ok, Dominik, is there any family we can contact for Mr Watkins?” Nessa asks, writing down information in her little notepad to put in the chart when she is at her computer.

“Yuh… yeah, his brother” Dominik gives her his information and she quickly writes it down.

“Unfortunately Dominik I can’t give you any updates on him because you are not next of kin, I am going to call his brother and when he gets here we will give him the update and what he does with that information is up to him.” Nessa holds up her hand to stop him from arguing, “I’m sorry but it’s the law, he is alive and that is all I can tell you ok.” Nessa assures him before getting up and going back to the computer at the intake desk. She inputs the information into his chart and calls the number Dominik provided, then going back to triaging patients coming in and calling people back. 

Dominik keeps his gaze flickering between the door and to Nessa. Grateful at how nice she was and he can’t help but admire the strands of hair that have made their way out of her bun that frame her face and is floored at how she handles those coming in with such compassion yet being stern and firm when needed. Before too long Andrews' brother Alex comes running in and goes straight for Dominik. 

Nessa gets up from behind the desk and begins to go over to the two men, but gets stopped by someone stumbling in covered in blood that is still pouring from his neck and chest, over his hand where he has his thumb stuck in a gaping hole in his neck. Nessa immediately jumps into action, going over to the man and guiding towards the trauma room, only for someone to step in front of them. She looks up to the two men seeing Dominik, and the man that must be Andrew's brother Alex.

“I need you to move please.” Nessa asks firmly trying to guide the gentleman around them but Alex steps in front of her again. “Sir this man is bleeding out as we speak, I need to get him into the trauma room. A doctor will be out soon to update you on your brother now get the fuck out of the way before I mow you down.” Nessa orders losing her temper, her concern is the man bleeding out onto her scrubs. Dominik sees how serious the situation is and how serious the young woman is. He fears for Alex’s life so he pulls him out the way and she drags this full grown man, probably twice her weight and a good foot taller than her. He stares in awe at how strong she is, physically and mentally to be able to do this job. 

Alex scoffs and crosses his arms, “I am going to go get her manager, she can't speak to us that way.” He complains. 

Dominik rolls his eyes and smacks Alex on the back of his head. “Hey stupid, the guy was literally bleeding out and she is just trying to do her job. Andrew is alive, she told me that much. You totally deserved that and more. That guy could die because you blocked her way, look at the trail of blood on the ground.” Dominik gestures, both of their eyes going toward the trail that leads to the room a bunch of people are running in and out of, Dominik smiling to himself when he sees the petite redhead exit the room, a look of relief on her face before she disappears down a hallway.

____________________________________________________________________________

A few days later

Dominik enters the lobby of the Emergency room, his eyes searching for the kind red headed nurse, intent to apologize for Alex’s behavior and maybe… His eyes light up seeing her behind the counter. He pops his neck and shakes out his hands before heading over to her. He gets to the counter and clears his throat to get her attention, unable to form words because of how nervous he is. She looks up and smiles kindly at him.

“Dominik right? What brings you in today, is everything alright, was there another training accident?” She gets out of her seat and walks around the counter to assess him. 

He looks down at her and blushes, shaking his head. “Well then what do you need? This is an emergency room and we need to care for our patients.” Nessa crosses her arms and cocks her  head, confused as to why this man is in her ER with no injury or emergency.

“I uh…” Dominik clears his throat and starts again, “I wanted to apologize for my friend's behavior and for getting in the way the other day. You were just trying to do your job and here…” He flings his hand out towards her with a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. Nessa only raises her eyebrows, not uncrossing her arms. “You work long hours and know you must live off of coffee like my mom did and you deal with idiots like Alex and me all day so I thought you might appreciate it. The amount is written on the back of the card…” Dominik explains and Nessa slowly uncrosses her arms and takes the card, sliding it into her pocket without looking at the back.

“Thank you, that is very sweet. I Don't mean to sound rude but I have to get back to work and you don’t have an emergency to tend to so I have to ask you to leave.” Nessa steps to the side for him to leave but he stays in his spot, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders raised near his ears, clearly wanting to say something else. “Go on, say what you need to hun.” Nessa prompts and Dominik exhales sharply.

“I was wondering if I could take you out for coffee sometime as well?” His eyes widened, anxious for her answer, pulling his arms closer to his body, hands still in his pockets. Nessa sighs and looks at him sadly,

“I’m sorry sir, I’m not looking for a relationship right now and well I just don’t have the time.” She shoots him down, forcing herself to keep her arms at her side instead of wrapping them around herself for some comfort. 

Dominik looks dejected and his shoulders drop. “Oh that's fine, I just want to do something nice to make up for the other day. No expectations of anything else, please?” Dominik offers just wanting to get the opportunity to know her. 

Nessa shakes her head in the negative. “No to that either. As I said I just don’t have the time, and while you seem like a very nice man, very cute, I just can’t. Now please go so I can get back to work.” Nessa gestures towards the doors. Dominik nods his head before hanging it down, shuffling out the door clearly dejected. 

Once he is out the doors another nurse behind the counter snickers. “Oh he is sweet on you and seems like a sweet kid. You need someone like that after…” She starts teasing but gets serious. 

Nessa waves her off dismissively. “I don’t need or want a relationship right now, especially after what happened. It's only been a few months, thank god he is back in the UK. I need to learn how to be by myself for a while.” Nessa plops down in her seat and takes a sip from her water bottle.

The older nurse responds, “I know it's not just that, you are afraid and that's ok, but you know what I say about courage. It is being afraid and doing the thing anyway.” Nessa pauses in her typing, the woman's words hitting home.

“Sarah, I… I know… It's just… It’s just too soon.” Nessa answers.

Sarah gives her a sad smile. “Well that's fine then… sooooo… how much was that Dunkin card because coffee is on you tomorrow.” Sarah asks, changing the subject, and trying to get free coffee. Nessa rolls her eyes and scoffs, pulling the card out of her pocket. She flips it over and her eyes widen and she just stares at it. “What? How much is it like 50? Or something.” Sarah asks, rolling her chair over and looking at the back of the card. “Holy fuck!” Sarah almost yells seeing the $300 written on the back of the card. 

Nessa slowly lowers it and puts it back in her pocket. “We are not using this, if he comes back I am giving it back to him because that is ridiculous.” Nessa shakes her head.

Sarah pouts, “But come on, you deserve it and if he wants to just give you 300 bucks let him. He probably has a rich dad or something and doesn’t know how to properly apologize so that's how they do it.” Sarah theorizes, already back on her charting, muttering about rich boys under her breath.

“Who hurt you?” Nessa mutters as she taps her fingers on the desk. Sarah was content to ignore her in favor of charting, so shaking her head, Nessa continued on, “No Sarah, that is too much money. He will be back to ask me out again that I know. I'll give it back to him then, end of discussion” Nessa gets up and walks away not wanting to be badgered about the man.

____________________________________________________________________________

Almost a week passes by and Nessa is about to walk in the doors of the hospital, the gift card sitting unused in her wallet. Nessa enters and sees a different nurse, one she is very fond of, long light brown hair braided neatly, hung over her shoulder. The nurse looks up and smirks deviously at Nessa who groans, walking over and plopping down in her chair. “Don't you start Olivia, we may be best friends but you don’t get the card either, that is going back to him when he inevitably comes back.” Nessa shakes her head, swinging the chair side to side, eying the empty emergency room. 

Olivia giggles before responding, “Oh he has already been back, twice while you were gone with some fake ass injuries or minor bruising from his training. Apparently, he is training to be a wrestler like his dad.” Olivia teases and Nessa looks at her confused. Olivia continues on explaining, “Oh he came in asking for you and explained to me what happened that first time. And how he is so floored by how nice you are and how fierce you are.” Nessa gives Olivia a look that screams you better not have given him any information and Olivia clocks that right away. “Don’t worry I didn’t tell him anything important, Just that you are fresh out of a bad relationship and not ready for anything and to not get his hopes up.” 

Nessa sighs in relief, that sigh turns into a groan when she sees that Olivia is still smirking, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Whaaaaattttt” Nessa groans, not really wanting to know but unable to not know at this point.

“Do you want to know who his dad is?” Olivia asks.

Nessa shakes her head, signing in to the computer to try to do some busy work. “No, I don’t really care. I don’t plan to really see him again or get to know him so I don’t need to know.” Nessa answers even though the question is nagging at her but she ignores it. Olivia snorts but keeps the answer to herself, getting up to go intake the patient that just walked in.

___________________________________________________________________________

It is nearing 8pm and the end of Nessa’s shift which was thankfully uneventful. She looks up from her computer when she hears the sliding doors of the ER. She can’t help but roll her eyes to see Dominik again. Olivia hides her mouth behind her hand and giggles. “Men are so predictable.” Nessa mumbles under her breath as he approaches the counter, his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped over trying to look smaller, a sheepish smile adorning his cute chubby face. Nessa shakes her head to clear that thought.

“I had another accident in training, this time legit. I hit my head and things are a little fuzzy, my trainer drove me.” He gestures to the door and rubs the back of his head and he winces at the pressure. 

Nessa goes into business mode, guiding him back into the exam room to get his vitals and information. Olivia wiggling her eyebrows at them, Nessa flipping her off before pulling the curtain closed for some privacy. “So I've been told you have been a frequent flier here for the last week.” Nessa starts the conversation while taking his blood pressure.

“Yeah well I felt I offended you by asking you out twice after you said no the first time then giving you the card with so much money on it. I’m not that kind of guy, no is a complete sentence and I know better. And I am not trying to flash money to get you to date me. I just wanted to do something nice, no strings attached.” He explains, wincing when she gently prods his head, lightly humming as she does.

“And what is prompting this oddly specific apology. I can assure you that I was not offended in the slightest.” She asks, typing information into her tablet to start his chart.

“Ah, uh.” Dominik stutters and rubs the back of his neck, “A good family friend, she, uh, pointed out how it looked and I never want to be seen like that. Uh it is also just dawning on me that the frequent unnecessary visits are also potentially troubling, I’m sorry I just needed to apologize in person and the other nurses wouldn’t tell me when you would be here which is understandable, the one out there told me you like coffee specifically a cold brew from Dunkin. And that you frequent the one around the corner...” He stares at the ground unable to make eye contact. 

Nessa sighs and digs out her wallet from her scrub pants pocket and takes out the Dunkin card. She steps over and holds it out to where it is in Dominiks line of vision. He looks up and meets her gaze. Nessa is looking at him softly, without any hint of malice or anger, just a resigned sadness that makes his own chest tighten.

“No I’m not taking that back, it is for you to use how you see fit. Buy the entire hospital coffee if you want but that is for you. If you try to give it back to me I will just give it back to you another way.” He tells her resolutely, gently pushing the hand holding the gift card back towards her. She reluctantly puts the card back in her wallet.

“Well fine then, Mr Gutierrez, your vitals are good, I need you to wait in the waiting room until we call you back for the doctor since this is a non critical head injury.” She instructs him, back to being all business but failing at hiding the genuine smile he brought to her face. He walks out of the exam room his head held a little higher and nessa shaking hers, the smile still on her face not going unnoticed by Olivia.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sometime in November 2018

Nessa walks into the ER lobby for her shift holding a carrier with three coffees. She gets to the registration desk and hands one each to Sarah and Olivia who beat her there. “Did I mention you are my favorite and I am glad we always have shifts together.” Olivia moans as she takes a sip of her coffee, Sarah hums in agreement. 

Nessa smiles and takes her seat sipping her coffee. “Well we still have a few more weeks worth of money on that card from Dominik so enjoy it while it lasts.” Nessa warns them, signing in to the computer not noticing the look Sarah and Olivia were sharing.

“You know we haven't seen your little cutie for a few weeks, and maybe since coffee funds are running low he can fill… it back up.” Sarah teases, sticking out her tongue when Nessa flips her off.

“You know, he has made you smile and we haven't seen that in a long time. You aren't on edge around him which is weird because you barely know him.” Olivia points out.

Nessa pauses, she hadn’t realized she isn’t afraid around him. She feels safe near him even though he is training to be in the same industry as her ex. “I know nothing about him, he isn’t mine and we are probably just the nearest hospital to his training gym…” Nessa rationalizes, not commenting on the observations of herself and her mental state regarding Dominik.

“Oh just give it time.” Olivia waves her off, the earful Nessa gave her about telling Dominik where she frequents for coffee worth the interference. If she has her way Nessa would be happy with the young man.

“Really Liv, can you not be such a matchmaker, I need to be by myself for a while just leave it be please.” Nessa asks, her annoyance lacing her voice. Olivia's reply is cut off by the sound of the sliding door opening. In walks Dominik with a bloody nose, holding a towel to it. Sarah snickers and Nessa lets her head drop to the desk, “Of course he would come in…” She mutters to herself and Olivia waves him over, opening his file and starting this visit. 

In between answering her questions he glances at Nessa, whose head is still on the desk but she is looking at him, catching his gaze and blushing. After a few minutes of this she picks up her head and pops her neck, collecting herself. “Either you are getting hurt on purpose, or you have no business training to be a wrestler, orrr your training partner really hates you.” Sarah comments.

Nessa narrowing her eyes at the implication. “Uh a little of column A, a little of B, and we are both inexperienced. But my dad and Jay Lethal are training me and they aren't easy neither is Andrew who gave me the bloody nose today.” He answers, his response slightly muffled through the towel he is still holding to his face.

“Hey, you have every business training to do what you want. I wanted to be a nurse now look at me, I graduated with my BA in nursing at 20 and have been doing this for two years. I want to help people so I am the best way I know how and from what little you have told me you have family in the industry you are training for so you have an in, and natural talent or I’m assuming they wouldn’t train you.” Nessa praises, not wanting him to be down on himself. She may not know him well but she can see he has confidence issues. He blushes at her praise and inwardly preens that she has given him even the smallest morsel of personal information.

Nessa covertly kicks Olivia under the desk for wiggling her eyebrows. “Go back to your normal bed Dominik, I’ll be in in a moment to take your vitals and do the initial exam.” Nessa orders, gesturing vaguely behind her knowing he knows the way. Once he is out of earshot she swivels her chair to face the other two who are smirking victoriously. “Don’t you two start, you are just as bad as Ma and my cousins.” Nessa warns, standing up and disappearing from their view as they giggle.

The next few weeks go similarly, Dominik coming in with minor injuries that Nessa treats, the two of them getting to know each other in these interactions. Both of them drag out the visits to be longer than they should, Nessa not ready to see him outside of the four walls of the hospital and Dominik not wanting to make her uncomfortable, able to tell there is something she is trying to heal from and he doesn’t want to press the subject. He is just happy with whatever she is willing to give him.

__________________________________________________________________________

Dominik enters his parents house for their weekly dinner since his dad is home. He is shocked to see Vickie and Lita sitting on the couch with his mom, all of their heads close together clearly scheming something. “Aunt Vickie, Aunt Amy, what are you guys doing here?” He asks, hanging up his keys on the hook on the wall.

“Your mom called us over for dinner to discuss how you are struggling to get your soulmate on a date.” Vickie bluntly states, mischief alight in her eyes.

“Oh come on…” Dominik whines, his arms falling limply to his side, averting his eyes at the look his mom is giving him.

“It's ok Dom, we will help you out,” Lita informs him, a calming tone to her voice.

“Mijo, go set the table, dinner is almost ready, we will be joining you in a few minutes.” Angie instructs, Dominik doesn’t fight or argue and just goes to do as he is told, knowing he can’t stop them from meddling, he just fears they will make it worse.

“Amy, Vickie, that is Kevin's daughter and she hasn’t had an easy time of it, and from what Dominik has told me she is skittish which begs the question what else has she gone through.” 

“Well that might be obvious and I hope we are wrong. However I have a plan, Here is what we are going to do…” Vickie explains her plan to the two women, their scheming getting interrupted by Rey who clears his throat.

“The table is set and food is dished out, lets go I’m wasting away…” Rey whines and the women roll their eyes but get up and go to the dining room, taking their seats.

“Ok Dom spill, how did you meet and what do you know?” Lita prompts, wanting to hear it from him. 

He groans and slumps in his seat, knowing there is no use in delaying the inevitable so he explains and throws in his own theories, which are limited because as much as he would like Nessa to share anything with him the most he’s gotten from her is generalizations.

“Well sweetheart that is one of our theories as well so you need to tread carefully, but her friend told you where she goes for coffee and she knows you know so I think enough time has passed to where you can just “bump” into her. Amy has volunteered to go with you… tomorrow. You've been racking up medical bills just to go talk to her and frankly that is both sad and adorable… and stupid” Vickie explains, pointing her fork at Dominik who looks down embarrassed and mumbling something the others can’t hear.

“What was that baby, speak up.” Angie orders, a stern look on her face which melts with his answer,

“I don’t want to seem creepy, it seems like her ex really did a number on her. I’d be happy just being her friend.” Dominik speaks up, his blush going from his neck up to his cheeks and ears, the women cooing at him.

“And have you gotten this young lady's number yet?” Rey asks and Dominik shakes his head as his answer. “Then you are already being creepy and running up ridiculous bills for the ER visits, we may be well off but Mijo this is excessive for someone who hasn’t even given you her number. Nothing against her at all but is she worth it?” Rey asks, his opinion on the matter crystal clear to the room.

“Look, you have the day off of training tomorrow so we are doing it. What time is she normally there?” Lita asks, sipping her glass of wine, giving Rey the side eye.

“Uh… yeah… She works from noon to midnight so she is there around 11 to relax before her shift. And according to Olivia she works tomorrow, so yeah we know she will be there.” He answers , setting down his fork because he lost his appetite, nerves setting in for the next day.

Rey’s words chip away at what little confidence Lita and Vickie might have given him. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Nessa grabs her order from the counter and goes to sit down at a nearby table, intent on enjoying the last 30 or so minutes before she has to go to work. She sips on her coffee, scrolling on her favorite fanfiction site, clicking on the Loki fanfiction, getting lost in the romance between Lauren and Loki, immersed in the world the author created, ignoring everything around her. She sips her coffee, unaware of a certain redhead that just sat opposite her in the booth. 

Lita glances at Dominik, giving him a reassuring smile before clearing her throat. Nessa looks up from her phone which clatters on the table when she recognizes just who is sitting across from her. “You… You’re Lita, holy shit I loved you so much as a kid.” Nessa blushes, the admission just flying out of her mouth. 

Lita smiles warmly at the young woman in front of her. “Yes I am, You don’t mind if I join you right?” Lita asks and Nessa can do nothing but nod her head and stare. Lita chuckles before complimenting Nessa and getting straight to the point, “You are very pretty you know, I think you would be good with my godson.” Lita leans forward and taps her fingers on the table, a familiar smirk on her face. 

Nessa’s smile falters slightly and she fiddles with the straw of her drink. “While that is sweet, I’m not looking for a relationship right now Lita,..” 

Lita cuts her off. “Call me Amy, dear.” 

Nessa pauses momentarily before trying again, “Amy, I’m not looking for a relationship. And if it is your godson as you say he is probably in the industry and I am personally trying to stay away from dating anymore wrestlers or professional fighters. My last relationship didn’t exactly go well.” Nessa groans realizing she gave too much information to her childhood idol.

“Oh he is training in the industry but he is the sweetest boy, cute too and knows how to cook and wouldn’t hurt a fly but I respect the wanting to be alone. At least let me give you his number and when you feel you are ready give it a shot. Between me and you he is entirely too shy so that’s why I am trying to play matchmaker.” Lita reaches over and squeezes Nessa’s hand. 

Nessa sighs in defeat, having a feeling that this mysterious godson is Dominik, it is too convenient that she comes to the coffee shop Nessa frequents and sits down and immediately starts to play matchmaker. “Fine, I guess I can agree with that. I make no promises to call or text him though.” Nessa hands over her phone, Lita snorts and types in Dominiks number but putting the contact name as Lita’s godson. Nessa grabs the phone back after Lita slid it across the table. Nessa checks the contacts and snorts, “What you won’t even tell me his name?” Nessa cocks her head.

Lita laughs. “I think you have an idea who it is. Look before I go lets take a selfie, you can make it my contact photo since I put my own number in in case you need me to come kick his ass.” Lita offers, while informing of the extra contact information. 

Nessa can't hide the blush, her childhood crush offering to take a selfie with her. Lita, used to the fangirling, gets up and moves over to sit next to Nessa, wrapping her arms around the young girls shoulders and grabbing her phone. Lita angles the phone and snaps the picture then kissing the top of Nessa’s head. Lita gets up saying her goodbyes and walking out the door, Dominik slinking out behind her unable to look at Nessa from the embarrassment. 

Nessa snorts into her drink and turns her attention back to her phone and the selfie that is still on the screen. She laughs to herself again seeing Dominik awkwardly staring at the ground in the background of the picture. She saves it as Lita’s contact photo suggested but never plans on having to contact her.

____________________________________________________________________________

A few days later Nessa is sitting at the counter at the nurses station, her phone in her hand staring at the contact screen of her phone, her finger hovering over the name Dom. She hears Olivia’s steps coming up behind her and greets the other woman, her eyes never leaving her phone screen. “You have been staring at your phone for like 3 days now. What's so interesting, are you finally talking to Dominik?’ Olivia asks, taking the seat next to Nessa.

“Uh no but… it's his number, his godmother kinda cornered me at Dunkin and gave me his number trying to play matchmaker.” Nessa huffed out. 

“Ohh so he got his Auntie involved that takes some guts, or some serious lack thereof. Either way it is cute.” Olivia giggles, sipping the coffee Nessa brought in for her. 

“You don’t think it's too creepy, or like a red flag?” Nessa asks, glancing over at the woman who quickly became her best friend.

“If it was any other circumstance I would say yes, but I am normally a very good judge of character and I never liked… your ex from the word go. But Dominik.. He… he has for lack of a better word a good aura about him. I think he would be very good for you and you for him.” Olivia gives her honest opinion, pausing before adding on, “I think you should message him and go out for one date, if only to get another Dunkin card for us to last through Thanksgiving and Christmas because girl we will need it.” Olivia jokes, but Nessa knows she is halfway serious about the Dunkin card; they would mainline it if they could for the holiday season. 

“I wouldn’t even know where to start and I don’t think I am ready. And you’ve heard about the stories coming out about the men in wrestling. What if..” Nessa starts rambling, spiraling.

Olivia cuts her off, quickly, “Don’t spend your life thinking about what ifs, we take life as it comes or we don't really live. You won’t know how it turns out unless you try. I’m not asking you to marry the man, just text him. Get to know him and put yourself out there. And if you fall, if it goes south i will be there like last time to get you out.” Olivia promises, her voice thick with said promise that settles the unease in Nessa’s stomach.

“Fine” Nessa mumbles to herself and clicks on the contact information and opens the messaging app.

To: Dom -> Hey… It's Nessa from the hospital. Uh Lita gave me your number, and I kinda thought it was adorable that either you asked for her help or she just stepped in and took charge. My money is on that she just stepped in and took charge. Long story short, I’m off at midnight tonight and if you are still up you can take me to waffle house or something, that way she gets off your back and the girls here get off of mine.

Nessa hesitates before pressing send and tossing her phone on the counter and begins chewing on her thumbnail, Olivia snickering in the background. A patient comes in and Nessa does the intake, missing the silent notification coming from her phone. Half an hour later Nessa returns to the counter having finished with the patient, letting out a huff as she plops into her seat.

“Your phone has gone off a few times while you were with that patient.” Olivia points out excitedly tapping her fingers on the counter, bouncing up and down. Nessa rolls her eyes, her stomach going in knots afraid of what awaits her in her phone. Unsure what she wants the answer to be. On one hand she wants him to reject her which she knows is unlikely, on the other hand she wants him to say yes, and wants to give him a chance. She takes a deep breath and grabs her phone, unlocking it, seeing 3 messages.

From: Dom -> YES!

Nessa snorts seeing the excitable answer in the first message, she ignores Olivia’s annoyed huff and reads the next two messages.

From: Dom -> Sorry, I mean I would love to take you out to Waffle House when you get off work. Do you want me to pick you up or do you want to meet me there that way you have a way to leave if you want to?

From: Dom -> And yeah, Aunt Amy is my god mother and she just wants me happy. Mom, her and Aunt Vickie were plotting how to interfere when Aunt Amy came up with the plan. I look forward to seeing you tonight, just let me know what the plan is!

Nessa narrows her eyes at the last message gears turning in her head. She used to watch wrestling back when it was the WWF and him saying Aunt Vickie triggered something in her head. “What, what is it?” Olivia asks, the excitement gone from her voice, in its place was a worried tone.

“Uh he said yes rather excitedly but, uh he said Aunt Vickie, Amy who is Lita and his mom were plotting to get us together.” Nessa explains and Olivia hums thoughtfully.

“Well, I don’t know anything about wrestling like at all but I can look it up, what do you know?” Olivia asks, pulling up google on her phone.

“Uh that his dad is a wrestler, and is being trained by, uh, Jay Lethal and his dad who he hasn’t given the name of. But Dominik’s last name is Gutierrez and he has an Aunt Vickie….” Nessa trails off, her eyes widened. Olivia stops typing when she sees Nessa’s face. “What is it Nes?” Olivia asks, worry heavy in her tone. 

Nessa clears her throat, “Uh, back in the day when I was young like 8 there was a custody battle that now seems so obviously fake but it was between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, could his Aunt Vickie be Vickie Guerrero?!” Nessa quietly exclaims, everything starting to make sense. Olivia starts researching on her phone letting out a soft gasp. Nessa narrows her eyes, “What did you find Liv?”

“Uh yeah it’s Rey Mysterio’s son. Rey's real last name is Gutierrez and his son is Dominik and here is Dominik’s instagram with a picture of him and his dad.” Olivia turns her phone towards Nessa who sits back biting her lip, spinning back and forth in the chair. “And does that change anything?” Olivia asks, annoyance flavoring her tone, her friend of course gets a handsome rich boy with a bright future ahead of him fawning over her and she is too scared. Though she can’t blame her.

“...No” Nessa starts, chewing her lip before continuing. “It doesn’t, it just complicates things a little… It does explain why throwing $500 away on a nurse he doesn’t know and the constant ER visits for no reason.” Nessa snickers, feeling a little less uneasy knowing more information about him. Her attention turns to her phone which vibrates again. She checks the message seeing yet another from Dominik and her stomach knots, the constant texts being reminiscent of her ex and she hasn’t even gone on a date with him yet. Nausea builds up until she reads the message.

Olivia watches Nessa’s face contort, showing a progression of emotions Olivia recognizes immediately, having seen them many times before when nessa was still with her ex. Olivia curses his name under her breath for breaking her best friend. She only hopes Dominik will help her pick up the pieces. 

From: Dom -> Hey sweetheart, it's Amy on Dom’s phone, he will meet you at the waffle house nearest the hospital you work at. You probably figured out who he is and he is freaking out that you don’t want to see him now. I am calming him down and he will be ready for you to be there or not, don’t worry about responding or feel pressured to respond or show up.

“Nes, are you ok what did he say?” Olivia asks softly, scooting her chair closer to Nessa who swallows thickly.

“Uh it was Amy, also known as Lita. She is with him right now and took his phone. He apparently started freaking out when he sent his last text message thinking, correctly, that I guessed who he was and worried I don't want to meet up with him. She said he will be at the waffle house near here and I can either show or not show no pressure.” Nessa scoffs, already well aware that Lita is trying to be a matchmaker. “She would get along well with Ma.” Nessa muses, rubbing her chest in an attempt to rub away the anxiety that flared up and to calm her racing heart. 

Olivia notices this, “Go take your break and take your medicine, I’ll text you if I need you.” Olivia orders. Nessa nods silently agreeing and goes to do as she is told. Mentally trying to get ready for her date that night.

[moonstruckme]

could i request poly!marauders with reader who has trouble sleeping/insomnia pls? it’s so frustrating not being able to sleep and seeing everyone sleeping and then having a raging head and being exhausted throughout the days,,, just want someone to make the nights a little less stressful :((

Sorry for the long wait sweetness! Thanks for requesting

modern au

poly!marauderes x fem!reader ♡ 1k words

You want desperately to know what time it is. With the blackout curtains covering the windows and the digital clock stowed away in the drawer of the nightstand, it’s impossible to guess whether the sun is rising outside or if it’s only an hour past when you went to bed. You honestly have no idea. It feels like you’ve been lying here for an eternity, willing yourself to relax, but in your experience it’s equally likely that ten minutes have gone by. 

It’s that much worse with your boyfriends snoozing all around you. You envy Sirius’ open-mouthed snore. You feel trapped. You want to be sleeping with them but you can’t, so you want them to be awake with you, but waking them would be cruel. When you’d first gone to bed James had held you up against him, but it hadn’t taken long after he’d fallen asleep for him to roll over, unconsciously abandoning you between his and Remus’ backsides. Remus is a light enough sleeper that you know he’ll wake if you try to get out of bed, so you’re stuck here, staring into the formless black of your room, not knowing how much longer you have to endure it. 

Eventually you sit up on your elbow, reaching over Remus to check the time on your phone. Your hand is arrested just above the nightstand. 

“What,” Remus’ voice is croaky. “What’re you doing?” 

You don’t answer, knowing an honest one will only earn you a scolding. Remus rolls over and takes you hand with him. You can just barely see the outline of his head in the darkness, but you can feel his warm breath fanning across your face. 

“You know it’s only going to make things worse,” he says quietly. 

“It's worse not knowing,” you whisper. 

Remus sighs, rubbing his thumb into the meat of your palm. Some of your apprehension eases just from having him awake with you. “I’m sorry, sweet girl.” His voice is barely a murmur, but you can feel James starting to stir at your back. “I still think we have to try what the doctor said for now, okay?” 

He pushes his warm palm flat against yours, coaxing a small “okay” out of you. 

“I can stay up with you.” 

“No,” you say, despite the selfish voice in your head going Yes!. Remus needs more sleep than the rest of you to begin with, and you’re more accustomed to going without it than he is. “That’s okay, you should sleep.” 

You’re bracing yourself for his denial when James rolls over behind you, one big arm wrapping around your front. 

“Hey,” he slurs, “where’d you go?” 

You smother a laugh and Remus makes a similarly amused sound, likely guessing what had really happened. He reaches the hand not holding yours over your head to pet James’ hair. 

“I didn’t go anywhere,” you say softly. 

“Stay put this time, hm?” James replies fondly, giving your middle a squeeze. “Y’supposed to be on cuddle duty.” 

This time you can’t suppress it, and a little giggle escapes you. “Sorry,” you say. 

Remus hums in gentled remonstrance, you’re not sure at whom. 

“You’re all being terribly loud,” Sirius groans, and then there’s a shape leering over James’ head, doubtlessly glowering down at the three of you. “Why are we awake?”

“Someone couldn’t sleep,” Remus murmurs. 

Sirius makes a whiny pitying sound, reaching over James to paw blindly at you. You inhale when his perpetually freezing fingers fumble at your collarbone. James saves you, clasping Sirius’ hand in his own. 

“What else is new,” you try to joke. It comes out sounding more glum than you’d like. “Sorry I woke you guys.” 

“No, don’t be, angel.” James’ hand finds its way underneath your sleep shirt, thumb stroking the skin just above your navel. “We’d rather be awake with you anyway.” 

Sirius makes a sound like he could disagree, but his slender fingers burrow into your hair, scratching lightly at your scalp the way he knows you like. You bear the cold for his sake. 

“There’s no point in us all being awake,” you say, though you’re nearly purring from all the loving. “S’not your problem.” 

Sirius tsks. “We’ve been over this, doll. Your problems are ours, too.” 

You hum like Yeah, I know. Sirius takes in a breath like he might say more, but Remus comes to your rescue. 

“Do you want one of us to rub your back, dove?” 

That sounds amazing, actually. But you’re not sure if it’ll help, and you don’t want to put your boyfriends to work if there’s no promise it’ll do anything. “That’s okay,” you say. 

“No, come on.” James is already turning you in his arms. He cozies up to your front, big palm splayed out over your back. “We’re supposed to get you relaxed, right?” 

You nod, and his chest feels warm against your cheek. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep, though.” 

“That’s okay,” he replies readily. “Let’s just give it a try, yeah?”

You hum, acquiescence inlaid with guilt. From behind James, you hear Sirius chide you quietly (“Stop that”) and you know he’s heard it. James likely does too, but he ignores it, big palm beginning to move in broad, slow circles on your back. You try to help as best you can, relaxing into his hold and shutting your eyes. Even so, you grow tenser with frustration the longer it doesn’t work. 

“Breathe, sweetheart,” Remus murmurs behind you. His words brush over your nape like a caress. “Relax. Listen to his heartbeat.” 

You nestle your face closer to James’ chest, and he increases the pressure on your back as if to keep you there. You can hear the steady bump-bump of his heart as well as feel it against your cheek, and something about it has a tranquilizing effect on your own. It creates a beat to match the rhythm of his hand gliding along your back, steady and unwavering. You can hear your own breathing matching up to his, Remus’ too. Distantly, you become aware that Sirius is snoring again, but the thought dissipates half-formed. Your limbs feel warm and soft as wax. 

You don’t notice James moving until his lips come down on the top of your head, his palm still wearing its same track into your back. “Love you,” he says. 

You think you echo the sentiment, but you’re too far gone to know for sure.

[paperweight91]

Like I’m Gonna Lose You Part 3

Summary: The morning after your date with Ransom you have to finally face reality, and everything that comes with it.

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Soft!Ransom, talks of threesome, poly? Maybe?

Pairings: Andy Barber x Reader, Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N: Guys! It’s here! I’m honestly going to need alllll the feedback here…this is how I saw the story shaping up the whole time…but idk if you’re going to like it! Likes, reblogs and pleeeeaasse all the feedback (did I mention feedback?) thank you ❤️❤️

Monday saw you waking to a text from Ransom. Good morning Kitten.

A smile spread across your face as you responded with your own morning greeting. Stretching as you check through all the notifications you received overnight. A few emails from crappy email lists, a couple posts on instagram…and all those texts you ignored from Andy.

Andy: Sweetheart, I’m sorry please can we meet?

Andy: I need to talk to you. It’s important.

And about 10 more all with the same tone. Ugh, was he always like this? Maybe I should just agree to meet with him and tell him it’s over.

Andy, I am going to the coffee shop this morning before work. If you really want to talk you can meet me there, but I will not be late for work.

There that was direct, not flirtatious…why do you feel like you need to text Ransom and tell him. No, it was one date. Besides you’re meeting with Andy to make sure he knows it’s over.

With a weariness that had entirely replaced the easy calm morning, you decide to call Ransom while you get ready.

“Well I knew you missed me Kitten, but I didn’t know you missed me that much.” You can hear his smirk through the phone.

You sigh before you respond, “Hilarious Ran. I uh I actually have something I need to talk to you about.” You place your make up supplies on the counter.

“What’s up?” His tone has changed. More guarded maybe? You can tell he’s already on edge.

“I’m, well, I’m going to meet Andy for coffee this morning.” There you said it, it’s out there. Except there’s silence on the other end of the line, you can’t even hear him breathing anymore. “Ransom? Are you still there?”

“Why?” He’s pissed. You definitely shouldn’t have called.

“He’s been blowing up my phone since the gala. I figure I’ll go, let him say his peace and then make sure he knows it’s over.” You examine your finished makeup in the mirror, then glance down at your phone. Hoping Ransom will understand.

“I’ll take you, then drop you to work. Show up on my arm and he’ll definitely know he’s lost to the better man.” At least he’s saying more words. But his tone it’s still the same, you have a feeling you’re going to pay for this later.

“Ransom, I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” you trail off. The last thing you want is a big scene in the middle of the coffee shop.

“I’ll be there in 10, be downstairs.” And with that the line clicks off.

You sigh as you grab your stuff for work. This is going to be terrible.

As soon as you get downstairs you see Ransoms car pull up. You walk over quickly, and get in when he unlocks the doors.

As you plop into the seat the words start rushing out of you like you can’t control them. “Ransom, I’m sorry…I just I didn’t know what else to do and I didn’t want to keep it from you. That didn’t feel right, like I was betraying you. And I know, I know it’s been like one proper date. But -“

Ransom cuts you off with a kiss. This one full of heat, nowhere near as tame as the kiss he gave you the day before. You feel his tongue press against the seam of your lips and you open up to him. Your hands come up and grip onto his chest, not to push him away…just to hold him.

“You’re far too sweet, you know that?” He’s breathless as he pulls away. “So tell me which coffee shop we’re going to.”

You tell him the name and he pulls up the directions on his phone. You sit the entire ride mulling how you want this interaction with Andy to go. You still love him. You know that. You’re falling for Ransom, almost as fast as you fell for Andy. Are you in love with two different men at the same time?

Before you know it Ransom has pulled into a spot at the coffee shop and is opening your door to help you out. It’s only now you can admire how wonderful he looks. Hair just so, round sunglasses and dark brown jacket over his cream sweater. He looks so put together and so much further ahead in life than you.

He walks with you into the coffee shop with his hand on the small of your back. You spy Andy sitting at the same table that you had your first date with him, glaring daggers at Ransom. “Go speak to him Kitten, I’ll get coffee.”

You smile up at Ransom and lean up to peck him on the cheek before making your way to Andy.

“You brought your boyfriend?” His voice is thin, great now he’s pissed too. At least you’re two for two today.

“Ransom knows everything Andy. He was driving me to work anyways this morning.” It’s a small lie, but you can tell by the look on Andy’s face he isn’t buying it.

“I wanted you to be the second to know, I’m filing today.” What? He can’t mean…

At your perplexed look he continues, “Laurie saw me sneaking out of the ladies room after you at the Gala. Accused me of sleeping with you right in front of her.”

As Andy finishes his speech Ransom joins you both at the table sliding your cafe mocha over to you, while he sips on his tea. You’re sure he heard everything at least the most important parts.

“Sweetheart,” he slides his hand across the table to take yours. “You told me you love me. I couldn’t say it back before because I didn’t know if I could leave Laurie. But now, knowing that it’s over I can tell you the truth. I love you, I think I have for months now, and was just too scared to say it out loud.”

You look down at your hand in Andy’s, you think you may be in shock. Yes you gave him the ultimatum, but you didn’t think he would actually leave his wife for you! Next you look up at Ransom, his face is cold, like he’s expecting you to run back to Andy. What the hell do you do?

You clear your throat, and take a sip of your drink. “Andy, why couldn’t you have said this a month ago?” You feel the tears beginning to well in your eyes. “I love you, I do, but…” you trail off and reach for Ransom with your free hand. You see the shock on both his and Andy’s faces. Ransom takes your offered hand and you squeeze both of their hands at the same time. “I can already feel myself falling for Ransom. I have feelings for you both, and if I’m being totally honest with myself, I don’t want to lose either of you right now.”

You can’t look either man in the eye. You’ve asked for too much, there’s no way they would even consider-

“So wait, you want to date us both at the same time? Like a threesome?” Leave it to Ransom to come out with something so crass. But now that it’s out there, it does sound awfully good to be sandwiched between these two men. The thought sends a thrill up your spine that settles right in your core.

Andy scoffs at Ransom, before looking at you. And he can see it plain as day. “Is that what you want Sweetheart? You want Ransom and I?” His tone is sweet but teasing.

Your face feels so hot you think you could fry and egg on it. “I don’t, that’s not, I mean not that I would be opposed to…” your phone chimes - you’re late for work, and this is not where you saw this conversation going at all. “I ugh, I have to go to work. I will message you both later.”

With that you order an Uber on your phone and leave the two men sitting at the table scowling at each other. What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into.

You’re not entirely sure how you were supposed to make it through a day of spreadsheets and meetings, when all you can think about is Ransom and Andy naked in your bed.

During your last meeting of the day you're so spaced out you don’t even realize that it’s over, and everyone is packing up to leave the boardroom until Levi nudges you. You make an excuse of not sleeping well the night before and quickly scurry back to your desk. This day could not have taken longer, and yet you’re dreading having to go home and figure out this situation you’ve gotten yourself in.

Why did you have to sleep with a married man? Why?! And now look at you, selfishly coveting two of the most beautiful men you had ever met for yourself. You decide you need time away from both of them. You open your messaging app and start a group text, because why not at this point.

Guys, I know we still need to talk, but I need time. This is a lot.

Two typing bubbles appear almost instantly, like they were staring at their phones waiting for you to text. Luckily, Nina at reception has offered to give you a ride home so you don’t have to splurge on yet another Uber today. The two of you complain the entire way home about the managers, the upcoming deadlines and the worst client that came in today. It’s nice, normal. Letting you escape the sordid thoughts that had been following you all day. You thank Nina as you leave the car and walk up to your apartment.

Hanging up your coat and putting your boots on the rack to dry you decide to start on dinner. You know you’re avoiding having to look at the messages from them, but you did ask for space for a reason. You make a baked feta pasta that you love and once it’s in the oven you finally decide to check your phone.

Andy: Of course Sweetheart, take all the time you need. We’ll be here. Love you ❤️

Ransom: Don’t you worry Kitten. I’ve already got our next date all planned out 😉

You sigh, but don’t respond. You finish making your dinner and go get changed into the sweater you never gave back to Ransom. You settle in front of the TV to watch old Friends re-runs and enjoy your pasta.

As you're getting into bed you decide to send them a message, just to let them know you saw theirs.

Thank you both. I’ll reach out soon I promise, just need time. Good night ❤️

Somehow you make it through the rest of the week with only flashes of them both naked running through your mind. Work is busy, and that keeps you going. You don’t end up wallowing, but taking small moments to appreciate each man for who they are and what they offer. You realize you need to talk to them, and putting it off is only making the situation so much worse. You’re just not sure if you could handle any more rejection from either of them. Yeah they said they would be there, but really Andy just left his wife. What about their kid? And Ransom, even though it was so new, you could tell. It was the real deal, for you at least. What if he decided you weren’t worth the trouble? Ugh, you’ve created quite the mess for yourself.

By Friday, Ransom has grown impatient, you can tell by the text that comes through the group chat at 9 AM.

Ransom: I’m picking you up from work today, see you at 5 Kitten.

Maybe you should fake sick and leave early and tell Ransom you got an Uber. Looking at your banking app, you realize that there’s no way you can afford another peak time Uber this week.

Welp, torture it is.

Instead of waiting for you in the car Ransom comes into the office and chats with Nina, while he waits for you.

“Mr. Drysdale, are you sure I can’t get you anything?” Is she batting her eyelashes at him?! As you walk into the reception area, you find yourself glaring at Nina, and you catch yourself before she can notice. But judging by the shit eating grin on Ransom’s face, he saw. Whatever, it’s fine.

“You ready to go, Kitten?” Ransom holds his arm out for you to tuck yourself into his side. Nina now forgotten by him. You almost forgot how good he looks. Almost.

You beam up at Ransom, and snuggle in as close as you can. You bid Nina good night and let him guide you along to his car. The warm safe feeling you get from Ransom is something you’ve never experienced before. You know that your relationship with Andy was mostly sex. But even in the tender moments with him, there was always the underlying current of when is he going back to his wife. You wonder if, now that he’s left Laurie, you’ll be able to find the same safe feeling you have with Ransom.

You’re pulled from your thoughts by a horn in the oncoming lane. “Ransom, this isn’t the way to my house?” It comes out as a question, and you’re not sure why.

“I know, Kitten. You see we didn’t really get to finish our conversation from earlier this week, so I was thinking we should finish it over dinner.” He glances over at you while he speaks and you can see a spark of mischief in his blue eyes.

Your face heats up and you forget how to speak for a moment. All you can do is nod and clench your fists in your lap. Ransom finally takes pity on you and grabs one of your hands in his. Bringing it up to his face and kissing the back of it. Before you know it you’re there at Ransom’s house. Everything almost exactly as it was the last time you were here, except-

“Andy?” You breathe his name as you step out of the car looking over the roof to Ransom.

“C’mon Kitten, let’s unwind and talk.” Ransom has you tucked back under his arm in no time. He leads you into the house with Andy trailing behind you two. After you all shrug off your coats and shoes, you head into the living room. Ransom plops himself on the couch, while Andy grabs the love seat. You look between both men, seeing the expectant look on their faces ‘choose me’ they’re silently saying. Instead you walk over to your favourite spot - the floor to ceiling windows. You stare out for a few moments gathering your thoughts, they are racing. But you need to get words out. They need to know how important to you they are.

It’s Andy who breaks the tense silence that’s taken over the room. “Why don’t we all put our cards on the table. Sweetheart, sit. Ransom and I spoke after you left the coffee shop the other day, and we want to know what you think.”

At Andy’s command you find yourself walking over to the armchair, hah you chose neither, and sitting stiffly. Your hands curl and uncurl with anxiety, and something else.

It’s Ransom who speaks next, “Kitten, do you really think you’re falling for me?” There’s pink high on his cheek bones, but his expression is guarded. He doesn’t want to be hurt.

You sigh before you start speaking, picking at the hem of your blouse. “I know it sounds crazy, it’s been what? One date? And I know we’ve only known each other a week. I just, I feel like there’s something here. Something that is worth exploring and holding on to. The only other person I have felt like this with is, well Andy. And I know you don’t want to hear this Ran, but my feelings for Andy haven’t just gone away. They are still there, just as strong. But I don’t know how to handle any of this. I don’t know what to do. But I do know that I, I really want both of you in my life. It’s selfish, but all week I’ve thought about this. How wonderful it could be, but also how insane I must be to try and keep both of you to myself.” You can’t look at either of them as you finish your spiel. Maybe you said too much?

Andy gives a short laugh, that’s not unkind. More like surprised. “Listen Sweetheart. I know you’re overwhelmed. It’s a lot. And let’s be clear no one here is asking you to choose.” He gives Ransom a pointed look at this, to which Ransom just rolls his eyes. “We want the same thing you do. We talked, at length about what something like this would entail. If we could share you. We decided we need to talk it through, all three of us, to decide what we all are comfortable with.”

This is really happening!!!

“Wait. Andy, your marriage literally just ended. You just filed for divorce. Are you sure you want to get into something like this so quickly?” You ask the question, knowing you may not like the answer. But still you have to know if he’s emotionally ready for something like this.

“I am.” His response is short. But he looks into your eyes the entire time. You search his features seeing no trace of a lie on them. “For you Sweetheart, I think I’ve been ready for a while.”

You open your mouth to respond, but instead hear the doorbell ring. And just like that, whatever spell that was holding the tension in the room dissolves. You feel like you’re seeing both men for exactly who they are, and what they want.

“That’s the food, I’ll be right back.” Ransom leaves to grab the food from the delivery driver, and you and Andy both head to the kitchen to grab plates, utensils and drinks. Without the stress of a choice weighing on you, you can see that Andy and Ransom are trying, for you. Something that entirely shocks you.

You all return to the living room at the same time, Andy with two beers and a glass of wine, Ransom with the take out boxes from some fancy Italian restaurant and you with plates and utensils. You plop down on the couch and motion for both men to sit on either side of you while you start opening boxes.

Silence wraps around the room as the three of you portion out your food. But it’s not awkward or tense. It feels comfortable. After a few bites to satisfy your hunger, it’s like you’re all in sync with each other, because the conversation just flows. The same as your first date with Andy and your first date with Ransom.

When you’re all full and you’ve packed away the leftovers, “you can’t just throw this out Ransom it’s at least two more meals!” The three of you find yourselves back on the couch, but this time Andy is sitting with his back against the arm rest, with your back to his chest and Ransom snuggled into your stomach.

“So uh, how is this going to work?” You ask, there’s nerves and excitement behind your question. To stop your hands from moving too much you start stroking Ransom's hair.

Ransom sighs in delight at your action before speaking, “Well, we’re going to go on dates, you and me, you and Andy and you, me and Andy. Unless of course that’s not something you want?”

“No,” you answer far too quickly causing both men to chuckle. “That sounds great. So we’re going to basically be like a what a throuple?”

Andy’s laughter draws your head to lean into his shoulder as you look up at him. “Please never use that word again. But yes, like a normal relationship except there’s three of us instead of two.”

Your face heats as you prepare yourself to ask your next question, “and uh, what about umm you know in the bedroom.”

Ransom rolls onto his stomach from his side and crawls up you and Andy, “my my Kitten, I thought we were taking this slow.” He gives you a faux pout and then continues. “I’ll put it out there now, the three of us in one bed will be super fucking hot and I already know it.” He bends down to nuzzle his nose against yours before kissing the breath out of you. It's a filthy kiss that has your hips moving without your consent. But it’s what Ransom does next that has you moaning, he pulls away from you only to lean up and capture Andy’s mouth in a kiss as dirty as the one he just shared with you.

With a satisfied smirk Ransom pulls away, knowing he’s left you both wanting more.

This is starting to feel perfect.

[candycryptids]

Well, now I have to pop in and ask YOU a question. Which is hard because looking over all your characters pages, I'm sobbing on the fucking floor... I love them all so much????

But! I'd really like to know what sparked Chuusday's interest in technology and how did she get so good with it?! ♡

N..nobodies ever asked that before 🫣💦 So I’ll hammer some of the details out for you RIGHT MEOW! A 2sday-Wednesday special :3

Actually we’re gonna cover a lot of ground I haven’t talked about openly before so settle in

Chuu’s fascination with Machines n the like started REAL early, early when she was small. She wanted to…. Disassemble things. Crates, shelves, alchemist tools of the trade, Mammets… carts… she wanted to lay it all out. See how it fit together. And then MAYBE put it all back together again. And she lived on an island, in a port town, with her mom (an actual Viera) who was continuously unwell and kept getting worse every time she got better and sick again, and the sunseeker chirurgeon who was trying to treat her condition, and his partner, another sunseeker who if I recall correctly, was an alchemist. So. The house she was staying in had no shortage of things a Viera with curious + grabbing destructive hands shouldn’t be grabbing.

It takes coaxing to get her to start putting stuff back together again all the time, and by that point at least she’d stopped trying to pry nails out of things (wooden objects were a pain, she found, to take apart, and piece back together, the wood sometimes was old and slightly rotted, the nails came out unkindly, the shapes were often simple.)… things with screws and bolts were… fun. Her dads (in her mind, they were her dads, but out loud, it was sir, and mister) kept trying to send her out on Missions (chores; your mom isn’t doing well, we don’t want you to have to keep hanging around the house while her every breath rattles and her every cough is harsh and wet. Chuu knew. She was 14. It wasn’t hard to figure out…) for, small stuff. Fetch quests; go pick up ingredients for dinner, or hunt down this one small herb on the cliff side above town for this tincture I’m trying to make to help alleviate the cough symptoms. I have enough for now but having more to replenish what I’m using isn’t bad.. low stakes, yknow.

And when her Mom finally passed from her illness the pair kept Chuu on (Chuu herself will not comment on the her mom and the dads’ relationship, but I CAN and I’ll tell you those fuckers were poly. They might never have slapped a label on it but the love was there. It didn’t start that way, but it certainly was that way by the end.)

This ended up wildly off track didnt it. (Let me get it back on track, and in so doing gracefully gloss over the chunk of history I’m unclear on 💖)

She gets REALLY good at what she’s doing when she signs on with the Garlean Empire. It wasn’t… a hard choice. There was nothing left tying her down where she had been by that point; they’d offered direction, room, board… and, well… her current skills were enough to get placed under Midas’ guidance.

And she found that. Magitek is incredibly interesting compared to whatever she’s had her hands on before and she loves it. Purpose. Drive. She learns how to build things that she’d never dreamed of before under Midas’ guidance. She helps refine designs for two legged heavy artillery a lone person can pilot. To deal with the enemy. She does not think about who the enemy is. The enemy is a problem, and the Machine, glorious, flawless, violent, is the answer.

And then they blow up Bozja. Midas with it. An entire city, wiped off the map. She finds that the numbers- subjects- on the sheet that they’d been running experiments on have faces. Haunted, tired faces, with dull eyes and drawn cheeks and small hands. Children. You can’t just quit, but Midas was gone. Cid was missing. Nero was a thorn in her side and she didn’t want to continue work under someone less competent, or pursue someone else’s dreams. So …. She went missing too. Crashed an airship into Thavnair and stripped the wreckage to the bones for coin. Went into temporary hiding in Kugane, then Ul’Dah, and finally fell in with the slightly sketchy free company she’s with now. She maintains their airships and submersibles and they don’t ask where she came from 💖

I think I got a lil lost in the reeds and I was supposed to go to sleep like 4 hours ago but I kept turning this question over in my mind like a rubrix cube despite my best efforts >v>; The Long And Short Is; she’s always wanted to know how stuff worked, and falling in with Garlemald for (cautiously estimating her time there at about 30+ years) helped her understanding grow in great leaps. Around the start of 2.0 she awakens the Echo (Thrice damned Migraine Creator) and doesn’t realize it’s use until her next encounter with Allagan tech (where she interfaces on a personal level and. It kicks her new obsession up. And… allagans did quite a bit of soul research… it is, somewhat, why there is a Tuesday.)

… 🫣 thank you for the question !!!!!!! I’m. Hopin this makes even a lick of sense, ahaha… some of the stuff I had partially cemented in my mind… I had to fix, after reading the actual lore and wiki -w•;; but not much.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Trick or Treat (Zosan X reader) P2

Plot: You, Zoro and Sanji celebrate Halloween with your two kids while staying in a holiday house.

Warning: Making out and Fluff

Reader is Female sorry, Your two kids are Kuina age 6, girl with Blonde hair and curly eyebrows but your eyes and skin tone. Beau age 1, the name means beautiful in french. The baby boy has Zoro's eyes and skin tone but your hair with a few steaks of green. Zoro X Sanji X reader, Poly relationship, established relationship.

P1 - P3 - P4

With warm cloths and jackets on you all make it to the large open field full of pumpkin's of all shapes and sizes. Kuina pulls a little on Sanji's hand determined to find the best pumpkin for her design "Sweet heart slow down" Sanji laughs a little pulling his daughter to a stop, she looks up at him and sighs trying to calm herself down. You walk up to her and pat the girls head while Zoro carry's Beau on his shoulders "We have time, don't worry" you smile as she starts walking again this time not pulling her poor dad along with her. As you walk around you notice a few families around but mainly focus on your own "How about this one?" you ask picking up a small but wide pumpkin with a long stem "It weird looking" Kuina looks up with a puzzled look making Sanji laugh. "Pumin" Beau calls out stretching his hands around Zoro's head to reach for it, the swordsman takes the boy off his shoulders and holds him in his arms as you walk over with the Pumpkin to let him touch it "Almost baby" you love how he's trying so hard to learn new things and its super cute when he gets it wrong "Pump-kin" you say hoping he will copy you but he doesn't instead he touches the light orange pumpkin in your hands "I guess the little man has found his" Zoro laughs holding the boy with one arm while grabbing the pumpkin with the other "Daddy look?" Kuina yells out making you realize she's dragged Sanji off while you were distracted.

Zoro sighs "That girl has too much energy" you laugh at his comment and rubs his back in comfort starting to walk to catch up with the two blondes. Sanji walks over and bends down looking at the large dark orange pumpkin his daughter is looking at "Wow, that's big... too big i think" Kuina look up at him with a sad look "Oh sorry" she looks back down only for Sanji to pick her up "Hay it's ok, we'll just find something else" She smiles holding onto her dad as he continues to walk "How about that one?" Sanji asks pointing to a medium-sized pumpkin but the girl shakes her head "It's too thin" Sanji laughs a little and continues to walk as you and Zoro catch up to him "Anything honey?" you ask putting your arm around the cook's waist "I think you two had more luck then us" The cook comments looking over his shoulder at Zoro still holding the baby boy and a pumpkin "There was a big one back there that was the right shape" Kuina points out still looking around until she pulls on her dads coat "That one" she gasps pointing to a pumpkin that looked just like the big one but much smaller "I'll get it" you smile stepping over the patch to grab it as Sanji puts the girl down.

You grab the pumpkin and step back over as Kuina holds out her arms to take it "Are you sure honey?" you ask, you know your little girl is strong but this pumpkin is heavy "I got i mama don't worry" You sigh bending down and placing it in her hands slowly letting go in case she can't take it, her arms droop when you almost let go so you didn't want to chance it. You took the pumpkin back as she gives you a pout "You don't want to hurt yourself for later tonight right?" you ask making her sigh and nod "I've got it my love" Sanji walks over taking the pumpkin off you as Kuina takes your hand "Sorry mama" she looks up at you only to see you smile down at her "It's ok honey, even i had a hard time holding it. we're lucky your farther's are strong" you laugh as Zoro walks next to you, Beau playing with the pumpkin stalk "Pumpin" you sigh lovingly at the little boy, he's almost there with the word "You'll get there one day little man" Zoro laughs as Kuina joins in "I bet he'll be able to say it before we go trick or treating" she smiles up at her farther who looks down at her with a smug smile "Really? and what do you bet?" he asks as your daughter thinks for a moment "I bet... 20% of the candy i get tonight"

You can't help but laugh along with Sanji who's walking in front "50%" Zoro smiles as his daughter glares up at him "25" she yells out letting go of your hand to stop in front of him. You let the two talk while walking up to Sanji who wraps an arm around your waist watching the show "What do you think?" Sanji asks kissing your cheek "I think our little boy can do it" You smile tuning to the cook and kissing his cheek back "Fine 35% it is" Zoro agrees smiling down at the girl "Good and if i'm right then i get to dress you up as an angel for trick or treating" Zoro's eyes widen taking a step back as you and Sanji break out laughing, the swordsman glares at the two of you but it doesn't stop you "You can't back out now Zo" Sanji laughs out trying not to drop the pumpkin in his arms with your help "You were so confident before what happened?" you laugh out placing your head on Sanji's shoulder trying to calm yourself down. "So what do you say dad, deal" Kuina looks up with a big smile, very proud of herself. Zoro sighs and nods "Deal" he lets out watching you and Sanji try and calm down. You manage to catch your breath and look up at Sanji who's also managed to stop laughing "You got it?" you ask still helping him hold up the pumpkin, he nods and holds it close to his chest placing his forehead against yours "You know what this means right?" he asks giving you a mischievous smile "Oh yes" you place a kiss on his lips before pulling away as Zoro walks over with a joyful Kuina at his side.

You take the girls hand and walk to the nearby shop that just so happens to have a cafe and play area. "You guys fancy a hot chocolate?" you ask only for your daughter to grip your hand tighter "yes please" she calls out making you laugh "Yea i could use a drink" Zoro nods stopping outside the shop with Sanji who hums in agreement and pulls out a Cigarette showing you he needs a smoke "I'll take the kids and order, see you in there" You take Beau in your arm and walk off with the two as Zoro and Sanji head in to pay for the pumpkin's, if you knew the cafe was here then you would have stopped there first but the shop was at the back of the place. You take the two kids inside and order 4 hot chocolates, Kuina helps you pay since you have a child in your arms before heading back outside since there weren't any tables inside plus you wanted to keep an eye on your daughter if she decided to go to the playground which was in site only form the outside. Your daughter pulls over a high chair making you smile "Oh thank you sweetie" you helping her the last bit before making sure its clean and putting Beau in it. "Can i go play?" Your daughter asks looking over at the playground "Wait until your farther's get back ok" she nods and takes a seat next to you.

When the hot chocolates come with cream and mini marshmallows on them you place one in front of your daughter "Remember to blow" you smile seeing her eyes light up and take the spoon digging into the cream and eating it. Zoro places the pumpkins on a chair at the table and sits down soon followed by Sanji who had just finished his cigarette "Wow the whole works, you spoil us my love" Sanji smiles taking a cup and setting it in front of him as Zoro does the same "Thanks Baby" the swordsman smiles leaning back in his seat "I aim to please" You shoot back grabbing a plastic mini milk cup and opening it handing it to your son who happily drinks it before drinking your own hot chocolate. Sanji takes a spoon full of cream and leans over to let Beau eat it. "Mom" Kuina tugs on your coat getting your attention "Yes sweetie you can go now, stay where i can see you ok" You smile running a hand through her hair before letting her run off to the play ground. You watch her for a while before grabbing the empty milk pot and dipping it in your hot chocolate. You blow on it to cool it down then lean over to Beau helping him drink it "Gods you are so cute" you smile kissing the baby's cheek once he's finished. Zoro watches Kuina as Sanji gets up and takes Beau out of the high chair seeing he's starting to wiggle around "Come on little man" The cook helps Beau stand on the floor and holds the boys hand letting Beau walk over to the chair that's holding the pumpkins "Kuina with berries and now Beau with Pumpkins" you laugh watching your son run his hands over the pumpkins.

Sanji laughs with you keeping an eye on the boy while he examines the pumpkins and chair before starting to walk to something else, Sanji takes the boys hand and walks with him to a bunch of potted plants. "Come here baby" Zoro pats the seat next to him still keeping his eye on the play ground. You get up and walk over but hug him from behind instead of sitting down making him smile and reach his hand up to rub your arm. Placing a kiss on his cheek you lean foreword to look over at where Kuina is "Gods i need a nap" Zoro sighs leaning his head into you as you kiss his temple "Hopefully this will tire her out" you laugh watching your daughter swing on the swing set "We should all take a nap" Zoro takes your hand and kisses it a few times before you kiss his cheek and pull away "Lets go then, i am tired" you sigh as Zoro gets up and grabs the pumpkins while you head off to call your daughter "Kuina" you call out getting her attention as you stand at the edge of the playground becoming her over with a smile. Your daughter gets off the swing and walks over to you taking the hand you hold out to her "We going back already?" she asks looking very tired but also kinda sad "Yea, we're all tired, we'll have a short nap and then carve those pumpkins" She nods at you as you two walk back over to the table, Zoro holding both Pumpkins and Sanji holding a very tired Beau "Did you have fun?" Zoro asks earning a nod and a yawn from his daughter.

Opening the door you step into the warm house Kuina walking in still holding your hand shortly followed by Zoro who kicks his shoes off and walks to the kitchen to put the pumpkins down. Sanji closes the door once he's in being quiet not to disturb the sleeping baby boy in his arm. After taking your shoes and coat off you take Beau from Sanji who helps you take his little boots off and his coat managing not to wake him "I'll put him down, then i'm probably going for a nap" you whisper holding the baby close to you "I'll join you later" Sanji whispers back placing a kiss on your lips before letting you go. You head to your room and place the baby in the crib kissing his head before walking over to your bed and sitting down, you didn't realize how tired you were until now so you only took off your pants and got under the covers not bothering to get changed into something else.

Sanji watched you head into the room before going to the kitchen seeing Zoro yawning "Y/n's put Beau down and is going to take a nap, you should join her" Zoro smiles down at the cook and nods "Yea i will, you should join us too" The swordsman leans down and lazily kisses the cook who kisses back with a bit more energy "Can i join?" Kuina yawns as her two dads pull apart "Of course baby girl" Zoro walks over picking the girl up as Sanji follows walking into the bedroom seeing you passed out in the bed only your pants on the floor. Sanji heads round to your side and gets in behind you pulling your back into him as Zoro lays his sleepy daughter under the covers before getting in. You steer a little but Sanji kisses your shoulder "It's ok love" He whispers closing his eyes and falling asleep. Kuina cuddles up under your arms snuggling into you as she starts to fall asleep, Zoro smiles watching the three of you running a hand over your hip, his fingers touching Sanji's hip before feeling relaxed enough to close his eye.

[brotherdusk]

it's time again for my favourite genre of post: tumblr user bee brotherdusk theorises wildly during the Foundation midseason!

on the menu this time is Poly and Constant's Imperial Vacation From Hell, or "oh god, I just wanted to make sure one of my favourite guys was going to be okay, but somehow I ended up sending over two dozen increasingly frantic messages to the discord while everyone else was asleep, pepe silvia-style"

(today I learned that grandpa joe shows up when you type "pepe silvia" into the gif search. deserved)

I'm gonna stick this under a readmore as it gets pretty long and image heavy, and potentially contains big spoilers for upcoming episodes, and I know some people want to watch the show completely unspoiled. all theories are based on official promotional videos already released by apple. no leaks or insider book knowledge here!

so I sort of stumbled into this theory in three stages, and I'm going to stick to that template as I talk through my analysis here, starting with:

Part 1 - I'm Genre Aware Now And Everything Hurts

let's be real, nobody saw Hari's (apparent) death coming in the last episode. death is far less of a concern in this show than in others, as the narrative all but guarantees the long-term survival of its core characters. Hari (apparently) dying so quickly after having his body restored was a massive shock, and jolted us out of the complacency that the show had lulled us into.

when the title and description of next week's episode dropped, fan concern quickly turned to Poly, who @gaal-dornick and @aquitainequeen noted has started to exhibit the classic symptoms of Tragic Mentor Figure Disease:

also, there's, y'know, The Guillotine Situation as shown in Trailer 1:

Poly's death seemed so likely that I was beginning to dread the coming episodes, but something was nagging at me; I had a vague memory of seeing a trailer where he was on Terminus and in a situation that we haven't yet seen him in. maybe he does survive his brush with Brother Day, then? I started rewatching all of the trailers, teasers, and character spotlight videos that Apple released in the run-up to season two, and came across something way wilder than I'd expected:

Part 2 - Star Bridge 2: Council Boogaloo

I found another camera shot of Poly and Constant's apparent execution in the Brother Dawn character spotlight video - note the pillars in front of the crowd, the flags in the back, and Dawn, Sareth, Demerzel, Dusk, and Rue standing on the platform behind Day and the prisoners.

note also the onlookers in the maroon robes, who are also visible in the guillotine closeup I posted above...

...hey, it's the Galactic Council as seen in 2.06, with their GILF-y leader at the front in both scenes!

remember how terrified Cleon XII was of their judgement in the season one finale? we still don't know what their exact deal is, but they're clearly big cheeses politically if XII of all people is afraid of them:

here's yet another angle of the execution from Trailer 2 - same setup, same arrangement of Empire on the podium:

let's see what happens in that shot, will we? ..... oh

... did an explosion just go off in the heart of Trantor and potentially take out the entire galaxy's government in one go???? (I mean, Empire are probably fine with their auras and nanobots and backups, but I'm not feeling too good about the Council's chances right now...)

wait - the pulse and shape that appear on the horizon bear a striking resemblance to the new Foundation whisper ships - especially Poly and Constant's ship, Spirit Rising, which is currently in the hands of Hober Mallow...

why did he take their ship, again?

holy fucking shit Hari Seldon you insane rat bastard (admiring, horrified, impressed). what have you DONE. a blade in case the religious hand of friendship doesn't work out, you say??

(sidenote: this was literally the Anacreon plan for the Invictus in the first season - the scale of the destruction would have been magnitudes worse due to the Invictus' size, but same concept)

honestly, I kind of hope the entire Council perishes in the Mallowpocalypse, if only because it would make this exchange in 2.06 deliciously ironic:

the worst detectives in the world finally found their shared braincell and made a deduction! I'm proud of them!

also, Glawen literally saw this coming in 2.04 and Bel brushed him off. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ sad!

regarding casualties - I think this shot from Trailer 1 is the aftermath of the blast. Day was standing much closer to the explosion than the rest of Empire and Dominion, and so would have taken more damage, aura or not. I also see Sareth, Rue (?), and Dawn - jury's out on whether being dead is the latest item added to Dusk's rapidly expanding list of problems?

a direct attack on Trantor would also explain why Day goes on a personal tour of the Outer Reach and ends up on Terminus, screaming for an audience with Hari Seldon (Trailer 1 again):

and hey, Poly's right behind him! he's Empire's best chance of getting a personal audience with the Prophet, after all. Poly also pops up in Day's character spotlight video, in what I'm guessing is the execution scene again, judging from the collar and the guard restraining him. it might even be the aftermath of the blast, since the shot is pretty chaotic and dusty looking. what's got him so upset?

... and it was at this moment that I realised that while Poly is present in the later Terminus scenes with Day, Brother Constant is not, and I started to worry that I'd been focusing on the wrong person the whole time, leading to...

Part 3 - What About Constant?

oh no. the question of Constant's safety has been hanging over both Poly and the viewer since 2.02. oh no

I thought I might have caught a glimpse of her in the Teaser 1 video - being restrained in the background as Day does his infamously-giffed-to-hell Big Steppy on Hober's throat - but I still wanted more concrete proof of her wellbeing.

and finally I found her in the Pillars of Foundation video, alive and well, but -

HER NECK!! HER NECK!!!

if Constant's life is just barely saved by Hober showing up in the nick of time to prevent her decapitation by an insane tyrant I will literally never be normal again. romance. that's romance. (also incredibly shitty of Vault!Hari to take her blind faith and turn her into a pawn for the Empire to slaughter, but I guess that's expected behaviour from him by now.)

... I was literally about to hit post on this theory, but I just realised; that scene in Teaser 1 where Day is facing down a bishop's claw... we all assumed he was being attacked by a wild beast in the Outer Reach - but what if he's lying in the ruins of the podium on Trantor, and the bishop's claw is a freed Beki going on a rampage? god I hope this happens. imagine being Emperor of the Galaxy, about to perform some casual executions before dinner, and suddenly you're flat on your ass with a Hell Dinosaur about to bite your face off. incredible scenes

and that's all I've got! TLDR; Hari knew that the emperors and Galactic Council would become increasingly paranoid and aggressive as the Empire contracted, and would jump at the chance to publicly end an attempted religious takeover by the "barbarian" Outer Reach. That mass gathering at the execution would be the perfect time to strike with a whisper ship, a technology which the Empire has no idea even exists. This enrages Day into visiting Terminus to deal with the Foundation in person, and potentially destabilises the Empire further if the Council have been wiped out. Empire's structure and dignity are decimated without a single shot being fired - and if there is going to be an eventual, physical war, the Foundation is now in a much better position to fight it.

again, this is just me making a theory and connecting everything together with red string etc etc. I haven't attempted to explain everything, such as the Spacers' or Riose's involvement, and have doubtless got some details wrong - but I'm really excited by how things are connecting and can't wait for next week's episode :}