#and eventually they both get very very hungry and demanding for food

[rainymeadows]

📓

okay awesome because I've come up with like an entire Part's worth of stories for Lupin III in the Ace Attorney universe so I'll just share one of the silliest:

A car chase between the Lupgang and Zeniyata leads them into a field full of crops, and Lupin fires a shot that damages Pops' car to the point it catches fire. The gang stop and pull the dazed Zenigata and Yata out of the car, using breathers so they don't suffer smoke inhalation, but then discover that the crop that's now burning? and was surrounding the car?

it was weed

Lupin, Jigen and Goemon now have two very stoned cops on their hands

needless to say, hijinks ensue

[endless-ineffabilities]

chemical override (9)

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n: this was tricky to write I won't lie. I wanted it to be sweet but not unrealistic. Tension and angst filled but fair to our protagonists who have struggled through a lot. Oh well, you'll see. Enjoy!

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

We find out what happened at the end of the reader's date with Matt. Can Ewan and his darling still mend their rift or will things be too far gone?

Matt sits next to you on your couch, as you enjoy one of his favourite films on the TV. He’s close – not too close that he’s flush against you – but enough that you can feel the warmth radiating from him. His arm is casually draped on the back of the seat, and his other hand often reaches up to run through his perfectly tousled hair.

As the film plays on, you can’t help but remember the intensity of last night’s kiss. Every time he turns to you, his disarming smile draws your gaze to his lips, lingering on the memory of their softness. 

The kiss had grown heated, leading him to press your back against your door. With a soft, frustrated growl, he had fished your forgotten key from your hand, unlocking your front door himself, while keeping a firm grip on your face, as if afraid the moment would fade if he let go. 

“Come here, love,” he had half-demanded, half-pleaded once you both entered the apartment. In a swift motion, he had picked you up in his arms and threw you down on the couch – the very same couch you two are lounging on right now. His touch had been intoxicating, his lips trailing hungry kisses down your neck while his hands roamed eagerly over your chest, your hips, and eventually, your backside. His muffled moans brought a heat to your core that almost made you let go and abandon all your inhibitions. Yet, as if on autopilot, or perhaps due to the image of a certain someone lingering in your mind, you pressed a hesitant hand to his chest and asked him to wait. 

His pupils were shot black, his lips swollen red, revealing the depth of his desire. He had reluctantly complied, burying his face in your neck and releasing a frustrated laugh that rumbled through his chest. You could see it - the figure of Ewan standing in the corner, arms crossed and lips curled in disappointment. Tsk tsk, he seemed to chide, leaning against the wall, judging you.

Oh sod off, you almost grumbled aloud, covering it up by running a hand down your face. This is my moment. 

And that moment came and went. The night had drifted away as you and Matt talked for hours, the connection deepening with each passing minute. He left early in the morning with a promise to return in the evening, bearing food and wine. “I just enjoy being in your company,” he had shared, and he was true to his word. 

Now, as he reaches for your bare knee, you thank your lucky stars that you chose to wear shorts.

“Where were you just then?” he asks, his smile playful.

“Hmm?” 

“You were lost to me for a moment there,” he says, eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Care to share what occupies your thoughts?”

Your phone buzzes on the side table, cutting through the tension. It’s a sudden lifeline – an excuse not to come up with some witty response that doesn’t reveal how fixated you had been on the kiss that nearly turned into something more carnal. Or how it had been the thought of Ewan that kept you from pulling him into your bedroom. 

You give Matt a look, silently telling him to hold on a moment, then you glance down at the screen which displays that all-too-familiar Ewan One-Eye, and you realise that you might need a longer while.

Matt raises an eyebrow. “Are you going to get that?” His tone is light and teasing, but something darker flashes across his gaze, something you haven’t seen in him before – it seemed like suspicion, or maybe even jealousy. 

You push it out of your mind, convinced you are just getting ahead of yourself.

You try to match the intensity of his gaze for a second before letting out a sigh. “Yeah, give me a minute.”

“A minute,” he echoes, index finger held up as if to confirm your time limit. 

With the phone pressed to your ear, you retreat into your bedroom, leaving the door open just an inch. Your hello barely stumbles from your lips before the familiar sound of Ewan’s voice greets you, rougher than usual.

“Darling,” he breathes, his voice low and raspy, “I think we need to talk.”

His tone is sombre, so unlike the usual cadence of your late-night calls, made for the usual purpose of making good on the arrangement. Those calls inevitably result in the two of you stumbling blind into the night, tangled in sheets and each other’s arms. 

“What is it?” you respond, unable to mask your nerves.

“About us,” he says, his voice slurring somewhat. Is he drunk? “We need to talk about us,” he repeats, as if he needs to convince himself just as much.

“What do you mean?” you ask quickly, getting defensive. You have a feeling that this isn’t going to end well. “What is there to talk about?”

“You know exactly what,” he snaps, unable to keep his emotions in check. “This… whatever we are.”

“Do we have to do this now?”

“Yes, now. Why not? You’re not busy, are you?”

“No… no, but – ”

“Okay then,” he presses on. “Let’s talk. I’ll start with… the fact that it didn’t sit right with me, seeing you on that date with Matt.”

“How did you see – ” The realisation dawns on you. “ – of course. Photogs.”

“Like I need their photos to know what’s happening. I know it was a date,” he spits, each word laced with frustration. 

You shut your eyes for a moment, trying not to let him get a rise out of you. “Yes, because I told you. I’m not hiding anything, Mitchell.”

“Is that supposed to make it better?” His voice rises, the bitterness sharper now. “You think honesty makes it hurt any less? You’re everywhere with him. It’s like... you don’t even care.”

The ache in his voice catches you off guard. You clench the phone, fighting back the surge of guilt threatening to overwhelm you, reminding yourself that you have nothing to feel guilty about. “What do you want me to do, Ewan? Push everyone away? Completely ignore this person who shows me genuine interest? Is that what you expect?”

“Stop,” he interrupts, his voice cracking slightly. “Just... stop.”

“You’re the one who made the rules, remember?” you snap, your own anger rising to meet his. “You were the one who said I wouldn’t be yours. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Not being yours.”

“Fuck,” he hisses under his breath, “I know that.”

“Then why are you acting like this? Like I’m betraying you?”

“Because,” he says finally, his voice raw, trembling. “Because I want you to be mine. Goddamn it, I want you to be.”

The air leaves your lungs in a single, sharp exhale, your heart pounding in your chest. You stand frozen, the words echoing in your mind, too much and too little all at once.

“What?” The word barely makes it past your lips, but it’s all you can manage.

A hollow laugh escapes him, strained and bitter. “It was stupid of me to say otherwise,” he murmurs. “I never stopped wanting you, not once. Not since you first smiled at me. I’ve always been yours.”

The confession hangs between you, finally out in the open. You let out a pained breath, and grip the phone tighter, needing to anchor yourself to something.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Ewan,” you whisper.

“Say you’ll let me fix this,” he breathes. “Say you want me too.”

Your mind reels, torn between the ache for him and the reality that Matt is waiting just outside the door. But in this moment, it’s Ewan’s voice that consumes you – the yearning in his voice, the raw confession of someone who’s done with pretending not to care. 

“I – ”

“Hey, love.” Matt’s voice cuts through your thoughts like a blade, and you see him casually leaning against the doorframe. His tone is light, but the look in his eyes says he knows something is off. “I thought we said one minute.”

“Who’s that?” Ewan’s sharp question cracked through the phone.

“It’s – ”

“Why don’t you kindly tell Ewan that it’s rude to keep you from company?” Matt approaches slowly, his voice growing more pointed with every step.

“Matt?” Ewan’s voice is icy, his frustration palpable even through the phone. “Matt’s there?”

“Hey there, mate!” Matt calls out, loud enough for Ewan to hear, his tone overly cheerful, completely at odds with the atmosphere thickening in the room.

Your stomach clenches. The situation is getting out of hand. Fast. 

“Your date was yesterday,” Ewan mutters, the pieces starting to fall into place. “Did he stay the night? Is that why he’s still there? Did you – ”

“Yes,” you blurt out, the truth tumbling from your lips before you can stop it. Panic flashes through you. “I mean, yes, he stayed the night, but it’s not what you think – ”

“I don’t think you owe him an explanation, love.” Matt’s voice drops into a low whisper, leaning into you as if staking his claim. 

Ewan’s voice darkens, the sarcasm biting. “Not what I think? Really? So... what? He didn’t touch you? He didn’t – ” His words falter, but you can feel the unspoken questions twisting the knife deeper. Did he fuck you? Did he lay in your bed, his arms around you? Did he touch what was mine?

You feel the heat rise to your face, the sting of his accusations sharper than you expected. “Listen, Ewan, we just went on a date, that’s all. He came back to mine, but we didn’t – ”

“I get it,” he cuts you off., the bitterness dripping from his words. “I understand, darling. Like you said, this is what I signed up for. Who am I to stop you?”

“That’s not fair,” you whisper. “You can’t make me feel wretched for simply going – ”

“For what? For living your life?” Ewan interrupts, his tone bitter but resigned. “I told you I wouldn’t stand in your way. So go on, enjoy it. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Ewan,” you sigh, blind to Matt’s disapproving look. “Just wait.”

Ewan’s voice is soft now, almost too soft, like he’s already slipping away. “It’s alright,” he murmurs, but the hollow sound of his reassurance feels like a knife twisting deeper. “We’ll talk another time.”

The line between you feels like it’s fraying, each second stretching longer, heavier, with neither of you able to say what you really mean.

“Okay,” you whisper, though it feels like a surrender.

“Okay,” he echoes, the finality settling in the silence that follows. 

For a few excruciating seconds, neither of you hangs up. You can hear his breathing – steady but strained – and in your mind, you see his face, that familiar frustrated pout tugging at his lips, the way his jaw clenches when he’s trying to hold something back.

But Matt is standing right there, his gaze piercing through the quiet moment you’re desperately clinging to. With a trembling hand, you lower the phone, ending the call. 

“Sorry, Smithy,” you weakly smile, in considerably lower spirits than before you entered your bedroom.

Matt studies you for a moment, his face unreadable, and the weight of everything you’ve left unsaid presses down on your shoulders. “No need to apologise, love,” he says, gently slinging an arm around you and pulling you to him. “Let’s go, you’re missing the best parts of the film.”

The next day, the events from the previous night still weighed down on you. Ewan’s words echo in your mind when you go about your routine. 

When you wake up and brush your teeth – “Darling, I think we need to talk.”

When you make your cup of morning joe and help yourself to some breakfast – “... I want you to be mine.”

When you try to focus on the scripts for season three, settling into the worn comfort of your couch. – “Say you’ll let me fix this. Say you want me too.”

By late afternoon, a call with Phia offers some reprieve. You confide in her about the recent happenings with Ewan and Matt. She alludes to being in contact with Ewan, and ‘making sure his head is screwed on straight’.

“He can’t be like this,” she passionately exclaims. “He can’t act all macho and possessive when he’s been treating you like a throwaway lay in the sack. I mean, no offence, I love you but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” you laugh despite yourself, already feeling lighter.

“You do you, my darling,” she reassures, before reminding you, “But listen, he told you his truth. More or less. I think it’s your turn to tell him what you really think, don’t you?”

“You’re right, Phi,” you admit quietly. “I guess I’ll have to start from the beginning.”

An hour after the call, you find yourself laying down on your bed. Sansa, curled up on Ewan’s side, is doing little to help. She nestles on top of his pillow, her paws digging into the soft fabric as if to anchor herself to his memory. Either it’s due to the events that transpired, or your mind is playing tricks on you, but she reminds you of Ewan with each passing day. 

Ewan, with whom she quickly decided to replace you as her favourite human the moment she got a good sniff of his hoodie. 

She meows softly, as if privy to your thoughts, as if to say that she misses him too. The little squishball of a traitor. 

Then she suddenly raises her head, in that feline manner of being alert to something that eludes you. She scrambles out of the bed, her small form darting out of the room with a purpose, her persistent meows filling the apartment. You’re about to tell her to shush, when the buzzer rings. Your heart skips a beat. Someone has been let up already – someone familiar enough to bypass the usual formalities. 

You pad to the door in your worn pyjamas, exchanging a knowing glance with Sansa, who waits by the entrance like a sentinel.

“Meow,” your turncoat companion looks at you briefly, then at the door. Open the door, you silly human, is what you’re certain she would demand if she could form the words. 

“I know, I know.” She follows close behind as you unlock your door to reveal your visitor. Sansa’s favourite person in the entire world. 

When the door swings open, there he is – Ewan One-Eye. Standing tall in his black leather jacket and worn jeans, his hair returned to his natural, darker shade you prefer on him. Your breath hitches, your gaze dropping to the delicate bouquet of white roses he holds in one hand.

“Hello, darling,” he murmurs, that familiar smile tugging at his lips. “I come bearing a white flag.”

Before you can respond, Sansa lets out an elated meow, bounding toward him like he’s a long-lost friend. Ewan snorts softly. “Hey, Sansa,” he greets her, crouching slightly to give her a small scratch behind the ears. Then, with a glance up at you, he adds, “Think you can convince your mum to let daddy inside?”

You roll your eyes, unable to fight the smile that’s already tugging at your lips. One smile from him and your resolve is at risk of unravelling completely. 

“A white flag, huh?” you ask, stepping aside to let him in. But you barely have time to close the door before he leans in, catching you by surprise with a firm kiss. It’s not rushed or desperate, but there’s a weight to it – a need that hums beneath the surface.

When he pulls back, you realise he’s slipped the bouquet into your hand. You stare down at the roses, his symbolic white flag.

“These are for you,” he says, his voice soft but insistent, his eyes searching yours. “I, uhhh, I wanted to apologise for being… you know.”

“A dick,” you tease, raising an eyebrow. “I know.”

He scoffs, shaking his head with a small grin. “Well, don’t hold back, darling. But yes, I shouldn’t have gotten on your case over… him.”

“Him?” you ask playfully. “Don’t worry about it, One-Eye. I always knew you and your uncle had bad blood.”

His eyes narrow, his smirk faltering for a second, and you watch as his gaze flickers down your body, slowly taking in the sight of you in your comfortable attire. It’s a familiar look – the way his eyes sweep over every patch of exposed skin with barely veiled hunger. Normally, he would’ve made a move by now, reached out to brush a stray lock of hair behind your ear, or run his thumb lightly across your bottom lip. But today, his gaze lingers longer than usual – right at your neck and exposed collarbones, like he’s searching for something. Or someone else's unwelcome mark.

You can practically see the gears turning in his head, the surge of jealousy he’s trying so hard to suppress. But the way his jaw tightens gives him away.

“Why aren’t you dressed?” he asks casually, breaking the silence.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh well, this is fine, I suppose.” He shrugs, eyes flashing with mischief. “You look beautiful in pyjamas… or a fucking ball gown.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?” 

“I’m taking you out. We’re going on a date, my darling.”

You openly gape at him, stunned by the sudden shift of events. “I’m sorry, did I miss your memo or – ”

“It’s a surprise,” he cheekily grins. “So, you know… surprise! And all that.” 

You cross your arms, trying to suppress the warmth blooming in your chest. “So you’re fine with taking me out on dates now?”

“Mhmm.” He takes another step, and his voice drops lower, the teasing edge in it sharp enough to make your breath catch. “I realised you deserve a little more than I’ve been giving. The bloody arrangement we have isn’t enough for me. It never has been. I’ve been too stupid to see it, and maybe I’ve got competition now, but you better believe that I’m not backing down easily.” 

He leans in slightly, adding in a sarcastic tone, “Especially not to Daemon Targaryen.”

“Took you this long to come to your senses, huh.” you say, biting back a smile. “It took another man successfully sweeping me off my feet – ”

“Okay, now,” he looks away, his lips curling. “No need to rub it in.” 

You can’t help but laugh softly at his wounded pride. “So what now?” you ask. 

“Why don’t you let me sweep you off your feet this time?” he offers. “With each and every single string attached.”

He offers something real, something more. Something resembling what you once shared, and perhaps even better this time. 

“Fine. I’ll get dressed,” you relent, backing toward your bedroom.

“Can I watch?” The boy has the audacity to call after you, his signature smirk in full display. 

“Ewan Robert Mitchell,” you click your tongue in mock disapproval, eyes narrowing at him, “why don’t you buy me dinner first?”

The cab rolls to a stop in front of a familiar modernised brownstone, and you turn to look at him suspiciously. “You brought me back to your place?”

Without a word, he slides out of the cab, quickly ambling to your side and opening the door for you. “My lady.” He offers his hand and you take it with an amused look in your eyes, still awaiting an explanation.

You ask again, “Mitchell, did you just lure me back to your apartment?”

“Yes, you’ve cracked it,” he smirks. “But don’t worry, I won’t just be seducing you into my bed. As tempting as that might be.”

He leads you inside, and when you step into the elevator, you notice he presses the button for the topmost floor – not his apartment. Your brow furrows. “What are you up to, Mitchell?”

“Patience is a virtue, darling,” he quips, his hand massaging the small of your back. 

The elevator dings to signal that you’ve reached your floor. He says, “Remember our first date? Up on that roof in LA?”

“How could I forget?”

“Well, I thought we could pay tribute to that memory.” The doors open and you’re met with the sight of a breathtaking rooftop pavilion, softly lit with hanging lights strung between metal beams, casting a golden glow that dances across the polished stone floor. It feels like an amplified echo of your first date, everything sharper and more vivid.

A small table for two sits in the centre, adorned with candles and more flowers, the atmosphere far more intimate. A bottle of wine sits in the centre, already uncorked, with two delicate crystal glasses waiting beside it. 

You blink, surprised and touched. “You did all this?”

He comes up behind you, his hands resting on your shoulders, his breath warm against your ear. “Did you really think I’d just settle for my couch and Netflix?”

“Honestly? I did,” you tease, leaning back slightly into him.

He chuckles, low and deep. “Well, I have to keep you on your toes, don’t I?” Then, more seriously, he adds, “I wanted to make up for weeks of mere stolen moments, you know?”

He moves to stand in front of you, and he asks, “Do you think I could steal a kiss, darling?” he asks, still teasing, but with an undertone of vulnerability. Do you like it? Do you approve of everything? his eyes seemed to say.

Slowly, you close the gap, your lips brushing his in the softest of touches.

It’s tentative at first, as if testing the waters, but then his hand comes up to cradle the side of your face, deepening the kiss. There’s no more teasing now, just raw, unfiltered emotion in the way his lips move against yours.

“I guess I didn’t need to steal it after all,” he whispers, a hint of a smile in his voice.

“No,” you say, mirroring his expression, “that one was all yours, baby.”

After dinner, which was nothing short of extraordinary – Ewan had gone all out, employing the exclusive restaurant from the ground floor of the building to cater the night’s meal – the two of you settle into the rooftop’s plush seating area. 

The conversation shifts naturally, easing into shared memories and playful banter. You both laugh about that disastrous karaoke night during your first press tour together, and how he barely made it through his favourite ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ without collapsing into a fit of embarrassed and drunken giggles. Tom, of course, relentlessly made fun of him for it, stepping into his role like an actual older brother. 

You wish you could stay in these moments, ignoring all the things left unsaid. But the weight of those things hangs heavy, demanding to be addressed.

“Listen, I have to tell you something.” The words almost catch in your throat as you search for the right way to begin.

“What is it, darling?”

“When I… When I broke things off between us, I wasn’t entirely honest with you. I know I said I wanted you to take on the film, and I did, I really did. But when I mentioned that thing about Jacob, about wanting to see where things would go with him, about feeling something for him… none of that was true. I just needed to say something that would convince you. Something that would keep you away, and hopefully change your mind about taking on the film.”

His expression turns stony. “You lied to me.”

“I lied for you,” you say, trying to keep your voice firm. “I know how important acting is for you. It’s been your dream ever since you can remember, and I didn’t want you to jeopardise that dream for my sake.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make,” he snaps, his voice tight with frustration. “I gave that up for us.”

“I never asked you to!” you nearly shout, the weight of it all spilling over. “You did that for me, I know you did. And you didn’t even tell me.”

“I would do it all again. I would make that same choice again. For you.”

“You made that choice all about me, without even consulting me,” you shoot back, the hurt evident in your voice. “If something went wrong with your career, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Knowing that I caused it.”

“You wouldn’t have,” he says, shaking his head, “But you were wrong to lie to me.”

“And you were wrong in not including me in your decision,” you retort, the back and forth bickering reminding you of playground taunting.

“So? You did the exact same thing.”

“I guess we’re both fucking hypocrites, aren’t we? Anyway, things fell into place. You’re all set for that franchise. And soon you have to play at being in love with someone else.”

“I don’t want to – ” he starts, but you cut him off. 

“You’re not quitting,” you say in finality, “Not for me.”

“Look at you now making decisions for me. How bloody generous of you,” he says venomously, all traces of softness gone from his voice. 

You stand in a huff, unable to take the arrogance he is showing you. 

The silence that follows is heavy, almost unbearable. It’s a silence filled with the unspoken frustrations and regrets of two people who thought they had control over the situation, only to find themselves in a web that is already far too tangled.

“I’m sorry,” he says, now standing close behind you.

“I’m sorry too,” you echo his sentiment weakly, casting your gaze to the night sky to find some solace and finding none. The only comfort would be in his eyes, but they might be a bit too cold for your liking at the moment. 

“I have to be in LA in a week,” he says in a flat line. “Pre-production for the film.”

“Ewan… I can’t just stand by while you have to be someone’s pretend boyfriend. We both know that these things have a way of making things messy.”

“Hmm,” he says, blankly staring out into the distance. “It's too late for me to quit anyway. Already signed on the dotted line.”

“So I guess we both know where we stand.”

“I guess we do,” he responds, his tone almost resigned.

“Matt asked me to be his date to his friend’s film screening,” you reveal, “and I think I’ll go.”

“Do you really… you and him, is that… ?” His question hangs in the air, fraught with unspoken jealousy and hope.

“I do like him,” you admit, holding back from the expanded truth, the addition of ‘but I love you’. 

“And you’re not just lying again for my sake?” he presses, eyes locking onto yours.

You glare at him. “Really?”

“Right,” he mutters, his shoulders slumping. “My bad.”

“I wish I could say I’m sorry for proposing no strings attached between us,” he starts, turning to face you, his voice tinged with regret. “Maybe I am, because I see now how it hurt you. But the truth is, I needed you – desperately. I needed you, but I couldn’t let go of my pride. I don’t regret having you, feeling you, holding you... even if it was all wrapped in that fucking mess. It was all I could manage, darling, and I’m sorry.”

You don’t even notice the stray tear that slips down your cheek, but Ewan is quick to brush it off with his thumb. His eyes also well with tears, and he smiles ruefully. 

You keep his hand pressed to your face, shutting your eyes for a moment. He leans in until his forehead meets yours, and the two of you stay there, two hearts hanging on the line.

“So you’ll go,” you say.

“I’ll be back in a few weeks,” he replies.

“We’ll be okay, Mitchell,” you say, leaning back to look at him. No matter what, in whatever capacity, you want Ewan in your life. Even if circumstances dictate that you can’t be with him. 

“Hmm.” His gaze sharpens. “And Matt? What about him?”

You hesitate, grappling with the truth that you’re not even certain of. “I can’t just push him aside. I owe it to myself to see where things go.”

He sneers, his eyes narrowing. “You think a few weeks away will change how I feel? If you want to explore things with him, fine, but don’t expect me to just back down.”

You meet his gaze with equal intensity. “And don’t think that things will just magically fall right back into place between us.”

“No.” He nods just the once. “But remember something, darling.”

“What is that, Mitchell?”

“You were my Alyna first.”

💌 next chapter

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Some notes in the margins...

When I said sweet, I hope you know that this is what I meant. Sweet.. and bitter, essentially. Like a good cocktail. A balance is needed 🍸

Well, well, well... now that everything has been laid out on the line, it's open frickin season, babies!!! Anything can happen. Woohoo 🤍

PS. this doesn't show the true outcome of THE poll (which I have already made up my mind over). That's still to be written. Watch out :)

[satansapostle6]

Kids | Rodrick Heffley

Spotify Playlist Link

Rodrick Heffley becomes obsessed when he finally meets his thirty-five year old band mate, Bill Walter’s, younger sister.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Sexual content.

“Black Hole Sun”

“This Night Has Opened My Eyes”

Rodrick hadn’t gone to school for almost a whole week. No one had even seen him apart from his father and brothers(he had been refusing to acknowledge his mother’s presence ever since the incident).

Susan had since apologized for what she’d said about and to Sara Walter, but Rodrick refused to accept her many apologies so long as they didn’t include an admission of guilt. Although Susan was sympathetic to his pain, she still did not quite apologize for her role in the re-traumatizing of Sara, who still hadn’t spoken to him since everything that had happened at the Heffley house.

There was a gentle knock on Rodrick Heffley’s bedroom door as his father entered the room with dinner, concerned.

“Rodrick,” Frank Heffley said, cautiously entering room.

“Go away,” Rodrick mumbled, hidden under blankets and pillows alike.

“I brought you some spaghetti, and garlic bread,” he attempted entice him. “Your mom made your favorite.”

“Tell her I’m not hungry,” Rodrick said emptily.

“Rodrick. You haven’t eaten since last night,” his father stated, concerned. “You need to eat something. I’m getting concerned.”

“I’m not hungry,” he repeated.

Frank sighed, sitting down at the edge of the bed. “This isn’t healthy… Is there something else you’re hungry for? Maybe I can go pick something up.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I’ll get you Taco Bell. Or McDonald’s! How does a happy meal sound?” he asked hopefully.

But Rodrick didn’t seem very receptive.

“What am I, four?”

“It was worth a shot.”

Frank looked at the lump beneath the covers, fully aware Rodrick hadn’t showered in about two days, and was so upset he refused to even listen to music, any music: it just all reminded him too much of Sara.

“Look, I know Your mom’s really sorry about what happened the other day. She’s apologized multiple times now, you know,” he reminded him.

“No, she hasn’t,” Rodrick insisted. “Not really.”

Rodrick heard nothing as Frank remained in the room for another moment, setting the plate of food down on the floor before silently leaving. Rodrick thought he knew where his father was going; back downstairs, and eventually upstairs again for bed, but he was wrong.

“I’m stepping out,” Frank Heffley announced to his family, before grabbing his jacket and leaving.

“For what?” Susan Heffley questioned, not receiving an answer.

*****

Frank knocked on the door, praying for an answer. After a few moments, the door opened, as he whispered a frantic thanks to whatever beings did or didn’t exist. But another obstacle was revealed.

“What do you want?” a voice said coldly.

“Bill,” Frank realized, immediately feeling incredibly guilty.

“That’s me,” Bill said stiffly.

Clearly, he’d heard everything, or at least enough.

“Bill, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he sighed, hanging his head in shame.

“Don’t tell me,” he responded laconically.

“See, that’s what I could use your help with,” Frank said, thrilled to be finally getting somewhere, “I want to tell your sister. Please.”

“Why should I let anyone in your family anywhere near her?” Bill demanded, his paternal instincts toward his younger sister kicking in. “All you Heffleys do is judge people, and hurt people. My sister’s barely left her room in a fucking week, and she won’t drink anything that’s not wine, or vodka.”

“Yes, I know,” Frank promised him humbly, “But I wanna fix that… Please. Just let me speak to her,” he begged Bill.

“Why? So you can just call us white trash again?” he asked expectantly.

“Words cannot express how awful I feel about that, Bill,” Frank breathed. “I know that Susan and I have both spoken ill about your family on multiple occasions… and I know that I’ve never made an effort to make you feel welcome in our home even though you’ve always been nothing but kind to us. It’s unfair, and I’m sorry,” he apologized.

Bill still had nothing to say as he studied him, wondering whether the apology was sincere.

“You and your sister have proven to be nothing but friends to our family, and we’ve spat in your faces every time,” Frank said guiltily. “I know I can’t make up for that kind of close-minded, immature behavior… But I wanna try. Please,” he begged.

Bill Walter stood there, silent, for a moment, considering his options before eventually opening the door out of kindness, despite the fact that he probably didn’t deserve it.

“Fine. If not for me, then for my sister.”

“Yes! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Frank gasped, eagerly following him inside.

“Who’s this asshole?” Randy called from his armchair.

“He’s probably thinking the same thing!” Bill shouted back as he silently led Frank to Sara’s bedroom.

Frank looked back awkwardly at the unpleasant man, not quite sure what to think. Bill knocked on his younger sister’s door, waiting for a response. “Sara?”

“Yeah?” she called.

“…Mr. Heffley’s here to see you,” Bill informed her.

“…Huh?”

“Mr. Heffley’s here to see you,” he echoed. “He wants to apologize. He seems pretty serious about it…”

Sara quickly opened her bedroom door, seeming to have been laying on her bed, drawing. Frank couldn’t help notice with his keen father’s eyes that she looked awful; her hair was a mess, her makeup didn’t look like it was all applied today, and beneath her eyes, black smudges were married with dark circles.

“Does he?” she asked sharply, cold eyes fixed on Frank.

“Yes,” the man nodded earnestly, “He does.”

Sara studied him for a moment, before turning back to her brother. “Leave us.”

“Are you sure?” Bill asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” she nodded, eyes fixed on Frank as Bill just walked away, knowing better than to question his sister.

Sara opened the door wider as Frank gingerly stepped inside, not knowing how to go about this interaction. She shut the door, crossing her arms expectantly.

“How are you doing, Sara?” he asked kindly, genuinely worried after having seen the state of her.

“I haven’t slept in three days,” she remarked. “So. Let’s hear it,” she said, sounding less confrontational than Frank had anticipated, given that she was more than entitled to her feelings of rage.

“Sara, I… I want to apologize. For Susan, and for myself,” he said slowly as she just listened. “We were judgmental, and unwelcoming, and unfair.”

“‘We’?” Sara asked.

“I’m equally to blame,” Frank nodded earnestly. “I should’ve stepped in more whenever Susan got angry at you. You did nothing to deserve that.”

“You’re right,” she said softly.

“Listen… I don’t want you to think we haven’t noticed the difference you’ve made in Rodrick’s life lately,” he told her. “Because we do. I do. He’s happier, and calmer, and he cares more, about school, and his brothers…”

“Then why did Susan say I’m a bad influence?” Sara demanded, as Frank prepared himself for the question.

“Sara…” he was afraid he didn’t have the words in his vocabulary to explain why she had been made his family’s scapegoat. “Rodrick and his mother have always had a very complicated relationship. She wants the best for him, and he wants her to back off,” Frank said.

“You know I’m not the best,” Sara reminded him. “I’ll never be.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” he interjected logically.

Sara paused for a moment, taking in what he said.

“Look, I know about what you and Rodrick do; you’re kids; both of you. Of course you’re gonna do all that stuff,” he admitted.

“But?”

“But, Sara, you’re a good kid,” Frank told her. “…My sons love you. All of them,” he expressed.

Sara’s gaze softened as she took in his point.

“Manny adores you; you’re one of the only people he still lets pick him up. And Greg thinks very highly of you,” he continued, “Greg’s thirteen; he doesn’t think highly of anything.”

“What’s your point?” she asked quietly.

“My point is, that we’ve taken you for granted,” Frank summarized. “Your influence on Rodrick, and our family, has only been positive, if anything.”

“And what do you want me to do?” she asked tearfully, a look of frustration in her bloodshot eyes. “Your wife hates me.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Frank insisted sympathetically, “She doesn’t know you.”

“She doesn’t want to,” Sara insisted. “She thinks I’m trash. End of story.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Frank tried to convince her as she just stood there, a pained expression on her face. “Sara. Do you really want this to be the end of you and Rodrick?”

She was silent as she considered his question, her chest tightening.

“I’m not saying the two of you will definitely last forever,” Frank offered thoughtfully, trying to sound realistic, “But… is a little conflict gonna stop you from finding out for sure?” he asked, hopeful that she’d listen.

Sara looked up at Frank, a pain in the child’s eyes he wished he could heal.

“You can leave now,” she said with finality.

Frank tilted his head in confusion, unsure of what to make of her sudden conclusion of their conversation.

“Sara.”

“You said your piece,” she stated, looking more tired than anything. “I heard what you have to say.”

He was strangely shocked by her response.

“If you want me to go, I’ll go,” he agreed reluctantly, respecting her wishes with his hand on the doorknob. “But, remember. If you break Rodrick’s heart, our whole family goes down with him. That’s the kind of family we are.”

Sara’s eyes followed him as he left the room, leaving her to her thoughts.

*****

“This sucks,” Greg Heffley sighed, watching the edit of his and Rowley’s video of them on their bikes at the skatepark.

“Why can’t we get it right?” Rowley complained pitifully.

“Because. Sara always helps with these,” Greg reminded him as he flopped down onto his bed. “She always helps pick the clips, and the music.”

“We know good music,” Rowley insisted optimistically.

“No, we don’t,” Greg gave up. “Not like Sara. And even if we did, we still wouldn’t be able to use it as good as her.”

“What do we do to get her back?” his friend asked.

“Get a new mom?” Greg offered the only suggestion he could come up with.

He found he had meant that a bit too much.

“I miss Sara. Having you and Rodrick is like having brothers,” Rowley thought wistfully, “But having Sara is like having a sister.”

“Yeah,” Greg agreed, feeling the words deeply.

The two of them were sharing a rather melancholy moment, at least before their silence was drowned out by the increasing sounds of screaming coming from the garage. Rodrick and the guys had been practicing for their gig this weekend at a backyard party, and it seemed like they were reaching for peak of their song. Until it didn’t.

“Dude!”

“What the fuck?!”

“-Some dumb ass fucking shit—!”

Greg looked around in confusion as he tried to rational the snippets that he was hearing coming from downstairs.

“Are they fighting?” he wondered out loud.

“They play metal,” Rowley reminded him.

“No, this is different from that,” Greg said, leaving to go check on his brother’s band.

Rowley followed him down to the garage, and it seemed he was right. Something was going on between Rodrick, Chris, and Ben, worse than anything that had happened in a while.

“Fuck you, you’re being a fucking asshole!” Ben shouted angrily.

“Should we be down here?” Rowley questioned anxiously.

Greg just ignored him as they watched from the doorway. The guys hadn’t even noticed them, they were so caught up in the drama.

“I’m not an asshole, you’re just a fucking dick, dude!” Rodrick shouted back, seeming genuinely upset.

“Whatever!” Ben cried. “Your set list is shit!”

“Guys, let’s all just chill! I think everything’s getting a little outta hand,” Bill reminded his band mates.

“Yeah, guys, let’s chill,” Chris agreed, also uncomfortable.

“Shut the fuck up, Chris!” Ben snapped.

“Hey, you shut the fuck up,” Rodrick demanded, suddenly threatening him with an abandoned drumstick, “Or I’m gonna fucking snap your neck—!”

Greg turned in horror to see his mother hurriedly rushing past him and Rowley.

“Hey, what is going on here?!” Susan questioned.

“Nothing, Mom, Ben’s just about to get rocked.”

“Rodrick Heffley, don’t you hit anyone in this house!” Susan scolded him.

“Right,” Rodrick nodded, not missing a beat, “Let’s take this outside, you little bitch!”

“Rodrick!” Susan Heffley shrieked.

“Everybody, let’s just take a fucking chill pill!” Bill exclaimed, extremely tense.

“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down, this is my house!” Rodrick shouted over him.

“Actually, this is my house, and I will not tolerate violence, or frankly, any of the language that’s being used!” Susan interrupted.

Rodrick glared at Ben with a hatred that had been building up and simmering for years, chucking one of the drumsticks in his hand over Ben’s head.

“Rodrick!” Susan cried, horrified at his behavior. “Don’t throw things at people!”

Greg and Rowley watched, kind of scared, as the situation began to escalate.

“Yeah! Listen to your mommy, Rodrick!” Ben taunted. “Don’t throw things at people!”

“Fuck you, you fucking loser!” he boomed.

“Rodrick! Upstairs, now!” Susan yelled.

“Come on, Rod!” Ben jeered. “Be a good little bitch!”

“Ben, shut the fuck up!” Chris said impatiently.

“I’ll make you my bitch!” he fired back.

“Guys! Enough!” Bill began to lose his temper.

“All of you, there are other people in this house,” Susan reminded them, “If you can’t be respectful, then leave.”

“We’re really sorry, Mrs. Heffley,” Bill apologized hastily as he eyed all of his band mates, “We’ll stop bothering you guys. It won’t happen again.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Heffley,” Chris added courteously, “We’ll stop.”

“Yeah, we’ll be quiet, Mrs. Heffley,” Ben promised, completely full of shit.

She eyed the group of boys skeptically before deciding to take their word for it. “Okay. But one more disturbance, and none of you are welcome here ever again. Got it?” she asked the room.

“Got it,” Bill promised.

“Yes,” Chris assured her kindly.

“Got it,” Ben nodded.

“Okay. Thank you,” Susan said, slowly turning around as she wanted nothing to do with the group of boys.

Rodrick, who had been silent and plotting the entire time, glowered hatefully in Ben’s direction before making up his mind and chucking the one lone drumstick left in his hand straight at Ben’s head, which was met with an immediate hothead reaction.

“You fucking piece of shit!” Ben hollered as a fully fledged fight broke out.

Before anyone could do anything, Ben was charging Rodrick, who had decided to go all in and angrily leapt over the drum set at him and tackled him to the ground with a loud thrashing of the cymbals. Chris was in shock and Bill jumped in, almost dog piling on top of them to pull Rodrick off of Ben.

Susan screamed for her husband as Greg and Rowley froze, no clue as to what they were supposed to do. Rowley was spooked like a cat, and Greg found himself having a desire to go home despite already being there.

“I don’t like this!” Rowley wailed.

“Me neither,” Greg agreed, not having much else to offer.

But Rowley was completely distraught.

“Sara wouldn’t let this happen!”

-

“Losing My Religion”

[sugar-softies]

Once, long ago, a young dragon crash landed in a storm.

They landed in a farmer’s field, tearing up a row of crops with their slender but dense body. A loss like this could understandably enrage a poor farmer trying to make ends meet during a time of high royal tax and poor weather, but when the farmer’s son found the dragon he was more concerned than anything.

“Here, you can spend the night in the barn.” The young peasant led the dragon to a bed of hay and offered them a baked potato. “Stay as long as you need.”

“You are very kind…”

Stay the dragon did. With a sprained wing and the weather still raging, it was better to stay put and rest.

As they rested, the dragon and the peasant swapped stories, told jokes, and grew closer. So close, that when it was time for the dragon to leave, they both found themselves reluctant.

Sad as they were, the dragon had to go. They needed far more food to sustain such a large powerful body, and the farmers needed all of their crops without any to spare.

So, the farmer’s son gifted the dragon with a farewell gift: a necklace made of elegantly braided rope. It was very loose, dangling down past the dragon’s chest, but it was a lovely gift.

Years passed, and the king grew more corrupt and demanding. Eventually, the farmer sent his son to go and find somewhere else to live, unable to support a family under such fierce taxation. He told his son he hoped he found a land of plenty of peace, and sent him on his way.

The peasant wandered for some time, eventually taking shelter in a cave when a storm passed by.

At first, the peasant assumed the growling he heard echoing in the cave was just the growling of his sunken belly, but after awhile he started to follow the sound deeper into the cave.

To his surprise, he found a whole kingdom of dragons living within.

At first, his presence was received with suspicion, but after a few of them got his scent they realized he had a dragon’s blessing on him, and decided to bring him to their ruler.

The peasant gulped nervously as he was brought into a large part of the cave full of gold and precious gems, but his fear turned to shock and awe when he saw the ruler of all dragonkind.

It was barely recognizable as a dragon, a mound of fat rising and falling with breath, a collection of rotund circles and ovals jammed together in a roughly draconic shape. That was shocking enough, but what really surprised the peasant was the dragon’s throat.

There was an apron of fat draping over a section of neck that had been constricted somehow, and when the dragon ruler saw him coming, they smiled and lifted that apron of fat to reveal a lovely if not aged braided rope necklace fitting tightly there, somehow not choking them.

“You’ve done so well for yourself!” The peasant kicked his legs as he sat on the ledge of the large stone slab that was the dragon’s throne. “I mean… really well.” He blushed as he studied their overfed form.

The dragon laughed. “I have, and I’m glad you’re here to do well too. I’ve always wanted to thank you for your kindness, friend.” The dragon used a nearly fat obscured claw to lift the peasant’s shirt, examining his visible ribs with sadness. “You will be a prince in my kingdom, your every whim will be tended to. This, I promise.”

The peasant’s heart skipped a beat.

“Here, let me get this spot for you, it looks like you might have trouble reaching.” He shyly scratched under one of the fat folds, giggling when it elicited a content purr.

The peasant lived happily in the dragon kingdom, at first politely refusing most of the excess thrust upon him, but soon enough learning it was okay to accept the gifts and feasts the dragons wished him to have. So he accepted more, and more, and more, learning quickly how his friend had grown so large.

They never had to hunt or farm for themselves, food was brought to them in large amounts and they ate out of boredom more than hunger. It was an amazing experience to forget what hunger felt like after being hungry his whole life, and so the peasant’s body began to swell outwards and grow plump just like his friend.

“Nnn-! Nnnnnn…” the peasant struggled on his back, attempting over and over to sit up until he flopped back out of breath and panting. “I can’t- can’t get- I can’t-” he wheezed and then laughed. “I can’t get up…”

“I haven’t gotten up in years.” The dragon ruler shrugged with a smile. “Just have another bite and relax.” The dragon draped a lovely gold necklace over the triple chin where their friend’s neck used to be, then forced another bite of spicy sauce drenched meat into his mouth. “You deserve a life of relaxation, my dear friend.”

[tarithenurse]

I see fire

Fandom: D&D 5E/homebrew campaign. Word count: 3584. Contents: Detective work. A/N: I know that this story doesn't garner a lot of attention….but neither did my other works and I'm having fun sharing it with the few who read, so - Enjoy and thank you! Any questions are welcome. Please comment and like and reblog. Let me know if you want a tag. Divider by @firefly-graphics

V

In the bright of day (much to Zilvra’s and Owen’s dismay (for different reasons)) the adventurers have breakfast and Malikka even hands them all some bedrolls that have seen better days. Then Zilvra and her new companions bid the other group and Malikka goodbye and set out along the only road leading north.

The first day of travel is quiet, no one else seems to be using the road and as night falls there are no sight of civilization or camp sites and so the trio seeks out their own little spot which Anvindr unsuccessfully attempts to improve on before he settles down. He is the only one that needs a full night’s sleep – in fact he’s the only one who sleeps while the other trance seated semi-consciously – and so the two women decide that he can combine all bedrolls into one proper and he’s very happy with that.

Like the night before, Zilvra takes first watch, studying the eladrin in her trance as her appearance changes from what it had been. Nothing else happens, and eventually the drow settles in for her trance as Morella wakes up now as a radiant summer’s day.

---

When Anvindr and Zilvra wake up, the are immediately shushed on by Morella who’s stretching out on a patch of moss. She points towards a figure lying on the other side of extinguished campfire and both of her new party members are respectively shocked and weirded out by the fact that it’s a wolf. A fully grown wolf. Even though they try to keep their voices down, the harsh whispered demands for an explanation wake up the creature who departs, leaving the trio without a scratch.

“It was hungry so I gave it some food,” Morella tries to explain happily, “and then I noticed it was hurt – look what was in the wound!” She holds out her hand, allowing the other two to inspect what appears to be metallic fragments. Copper, Zilvra realizes. “He wants us to find his alpha, Dolos, so we can help them.”

Anvindr inspects one of the nuggets. “Maybe it’s to do with that mine Tio mentioned?”

“Wait it what?” Zilvra is more focused on something else: “It talked to you?”

“Yeah.” Morella doesn’t elaborate further.

They have no way of knowing how or where the wolf sustained its injuries and no clue on where to find the rest of the pack either, so the trio resumes their trek along the dusty road.

---

In the evening on the third day after setting out from Oldgarde, they arrive at the first marker of civilization: the abbey of Heartwell Shire. The road leads off to the right past fields of grain and grapes and farms. Heading for the only logical place to ask for directions, Zilvra leads the group towards the abbey’s doors, noticing the sigil of Amaunator above the door: a blazing sun with wavy rays – Amaunator is the god of justice and law, a deity who also had been featured in the capital.

Thankfully, their knocking is answered quickly by a rather young man with Stouvanian armour on who introduces himself as Deputy Willem. The trio shows their credentials, the copper tags, and are welcomed inside with the promise of a place to sleep and a proper meal. Apparently, the place is not only the religious seat of the village but doubles as the local law enforcement’s quarters.

Inside, he guides them through the main room of prayer and on to an office where they meet the Marshal, McBribe, who gets the lay of the land because he’s apparently been expecting some sort of adventuring group from Master Tio. Also he knows about Zilvra’s crime and punishment but thankfully he is kind about it and is keen to fix the bonds so they last longer.

“Fetch Paxton,” he asks Willem who hurries off only to return moments later with a chubby friar in tow who’s huffing and puffing but smiling at least.

“Let’s see, dear,” the rotund man of faith grabs Zilvra’s hands and begins rubbing a sticky ointment on the bonds, wrists, and neck of the drow while muttering an incantation.

The bonds had not been super tight, but the decrease of the circumferences had started to worry the drow so it’s a relief to feel the metal widen.

Paxton smiles jovially. “Now you got four days. You come back to me when it’s needed, alright?” and he makes to leave.

“Actually,” McBribe stops him, “I have some things to attend to still and I’m sure our guests are tired and hungry. Why don’t you show them to sister Anetta?”

“Yes, Marshal. Right this way.”

He’s a kind and chatty guy, explaining about the place as the trio ventures towards the dining hall (an extension of the kitchen). He even admits to things being quite different in Stouvania since the rebellion.

“Which rebellion?” Anvindr asks cautiously.

Paxton blinks. “The Masons’. Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know seeing as you���re outsiders.” Just then sister Anetta comes over with plates of warm, delicious food and wine to go with it, making the kind friar beam in anticipation. “So...after the war, the Masons worked hard on the repairs of the city and rumour has it that they weren’t getting paid as they should? Either way, there were a lot of protests and the king was killed as he had gone to address the mob.”

“Assassinated or mobbed, you mean?” Zilvra wants to be sure.

“Weeell...” brother Paxton hesitates, “I wasn’t there but it almost seemed...unplanned. Like he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The trio exchanges surprised looks before Anvindr voices their thoughts: “An accident?”

“It probably wasn’t but the reaction of the Masons afterwards...”

“But they apprehended the murderer, didn’t they?” Morella insists, recalling master Tio’s words.

“Emmet von Kresswell, leader of the Masons.” Paxton shudders. “Anyways! This is hardly relevant to you. Now, we’ve got a nice little corner carved out for us up here but it’s nice to see someone like you three come to help us. I’m sure McBribe will explain it better, but,” he hurries on, “we’ve got some wolf trouble. Good ol’ Daremot Jones is hard pressed when he goes hunting – he’s a tanner – and he’s been pushed out of his normal range.”

“By a copper mine?” Morella asks.

“Uhm, dunno but yeah there’s an old abandoned mine to the north. Why do you think...?”

The eladrin chaotically explains about the wolf she had befriended and even shows the friar the residue which he suggests they take to the local blacksmith, Janus Hammerknuckle.

“Oh? Newcomers?” a man’s voice calls from the threshold of the kitchen.

Looking over the trio sees another friar, more slender and wrinkly but dressed in the same dull robes and soft shoes. Standing up to shake hands, they each greet him amicably though it in Zilvra’s case isn’t enough to prevent him from recoiling at the sight of the bonds.

“This is brother Samuel,” Paxton explains, apparently not having noticed the distaste radiating from his colleague.

Another figure appears in the door but this one they’ve met before: McBribe. He apologizes for having had them waiting, then joins them at the table where both latecomers are served by sister Anette.

“So, Paxton’s telling you about our problems?” Thankfully there’s no malice or annoyance in the marshal’s voice.

Anvindr nods. “The wolves? Yes sir.”

A wave of the hand dismisses the title: “Just McBribe...or marshal if we have to be really formal.” The trio nods. “So, you’re used to hunting wolves?”

None of them are but Morella barely lets that slip before trying a different approach: “Well there’s always been wolves in these lands, right?” She gets an agreeing humph. “So the problem is purely that they’ve shifted their territory but they wouldn’t randomly do that. I bet something’s forced them away from their normal area. That would fit with what our friend said about them being in trouble.”

“Who said that?” McBribe interrupts.

Morella looks surprised at the question but Anvindr is quick to explain to the marshal about the wolf from the previous night.

“Well that sure it...different. Unconventional.” McBribe looks unsure whether to believe the tale or not but then his face clear up in a smile. “Maybe that’s just what we need, though.” He studies the colourful eladrin for a moment. “They used to be near the mine up north...I’d like you to find out what’s going on and then report back to me. It’s just a day out from here.”

“I think Niels has a map, you could ask him to see it,” brother Paxton suggests helpfully.

Apparently brother Niels is the resident bookish friar but before the trio seeks him out, they are first shown to where they can sleep that night: up in the clock tower one of the floors has been refurbished to serve as a guest room with multiple beds despite the open air flowing in through the arches and the bell up above. But it’s neat, dry, and clean and the five beds look comfortable enough.

Taking the chance and setting down their backpacks, the trio descends with the purpose of finding a map to study. The abbey isn’t big and they quickly find a small library, tightly stacked with books and scrolls all tended to by a withered friar who somehow manages to balance a pair of glasses on a very crooked nose.

“Ah, the adventurers,” he creaks, “we’ve been expecting someone of your calibres. How can I help?”

Explaining the basis of the situation is simple enough and he guides them over to the wall behind a loaded desk where a faded map hangs. It shows the shire only, including an icon for the mine that hasn’t been crossed out or erased in spite of the misuse of it.

“Yes it’s been abandoned years ago. Ran dry,” he explains, “there has been no maintenance so it must be in danger of collapsing.” He smiles, eyes unusually big through the lenses of his glasses. Then he looks around. “I thought there were three of you? Where’s the...other colourful one?”

Morella is indeed missing.

A brief search is all it takes to find her sitting crisscross-applesauce with a cat in her lap. The furry acquaintance is purring loudly, clearly happy with the attention and scritches.

“Well, alright then,” brother Niels seems relieved.

“Perhaps, if you have the time, could you help me with a bit of research?” Anvindr asks, causing the old man to kick into gear, eventually finding several books for the air genasi.

Meanwhile, Zilvra has taken to her own perusing. Not daring to pluck out any of the books, she tries to get an idea of what sort of literature is available. Walking, twirling her wooden dagger absentmindedly, she barely realizes in time that the librarian is heading her way with an expectant smile on his thin lips.

“And are you perhaps also thirsting for knowledge?” he creaks.

Uhm. She rubs her neck, feeling the circular bond there and how unfair she found the verdict she now is a slave to. “Do you happen to have a book about the laws of Stouvania?”

His eyes drift to the bonds but he is kind enough to refrain from commenting, just nods and heads down along the row of bookcases, trailing a long finger along the backs of the volumes until he finds what he is looking for: a fat and old but surprisingly pristine volume.

“This is...perhaps not the newest edition so there may have been some specification or addendums that you can’t find in it...but mostly it’s the same.”

“Thank you.” She means it.

There is no chance for her to appeal the case but she sure as hells won’t risk committing another crime...on the other hand she also has no chance of reading and memorizing an entire tome of law. Picking through the book, she does surprisingly find a paragraph explaining the legality of Roofwalking as a means of quickly getting from point A to point B without worrying about such things as trespassing as long as only the roofs were used and balconies remained off limits. Having to concede that Roofwalking is an actual thing, Zilvra deduces that this might have been among the laws that have been amended since the war or the rebellion.

Eventually, both Anvindr and Zilvra are satisfied with their research and so they round up Morella (who only reluctantly leaves the cat behind).

The night passes without incidents.

---

On the morning of the 19th of April, the trio rises to an overcast sky and a blue Morella. They only wake minutes before Anetta comes huffing up the stairs, announcing that the breakfast is almost ready.

After breakfast the trio finds Janus Hammerknuckle further into the village.

The big hands and leather apron is a good indicator for his occupation if the outsiders had been unsure. Great in stature and rough looking, he does seem friendly and helpful enough as he takes a look at the metallic residue, confirming that it’s copper.

“That’s weapon shrapnel...which is weird,” he further informs them, “I used to be a weapon smith and I can promise that copper weapons are a thing of times gone by. Oi! Goddrick!” He calls towards the back room. While waiting for this Goddrick to emerge, he continues: “As I said...I used to make weapons and I was darn good at it if I say so myself. But...I didn’t like it much. There was no joy in only creating something that destroys.”

Another human comes over, sticking a pair of thick gloves up under his arm. His hair is a mess and there’s soot in his face except around his eyes.

“What?” he demands before fully realizing that the trio is present.

Janus holds out the copper shrapnel. “Thinking the same as me?”

There’s a moment of silence where the two boink heads as they both try to study the metal.

“Shrapnel. Weapons?” Goddrick then confirms unknowingly.

Janus turns to the adventurers. “Well, there you have it.” He sprinkles the metal shavings back into Morella’s palms. “No clue who’d still use copper weapons though.”

They thank both men before asking direction to the hunter they were told of, Daremot Jones. Not that there are a lot of options as the village only consists of one street and so they can’t mistake the place after they’ve gotten the description.

Daremot’s there in an open front workshop where several hides are strung out to cure. He seems to have been expecting them, as he immediately sizes them up and then begins to explain about the wolves.

“My grounds, so to speak, have always been to the northwest and while there might have been the occasional track of a stray wolf, it’s never been anything more than that,” he explains in a husky voice. “Now the area’s swarming with them, scaring away the game and they seem to be encroaching on the village too. I’m worried they might be desperate enough to pose a threat to us.”

“They’ve come to the village proper?” Zilvra wonders.

He shakes his head. “Not yet...but there’s little sign of any prey animals left in that neck of the woods so who knows.” Then he sighs. “That’s not even the worst. There’s something out there, sounds like a wolf but much deeper and more growley even as it howls.” He scratches an itch on the arm. “If it is a wolf, then it’s gotta be a mighty beast.”

Morella doesn’t seem deterred, smiling gently at the man before turning to her new friends. “Sounds like a job for us.”

“So...both the mine and the wolves?” Anvindr checks and both women nod. “Alright then!”

Bidding the hunter goodbye, the trio heads north out of the village, their first destination being the mine.

---

“It’s really quiet,” Morella whispers.

They’ve been walking for several hours, following a mostly overgrown path through the forest.

“Mmm,” Zilvra agrees, “I don’t like it...the Topside is always noisy with birds and wind and whatnot but this...this is eerie.”

She silently draws her rapier, noting how the others follow her example.

Advancing further, it’s not long before the sharp-eyed Morella spots an odd structure that looks a bit like a rocky hollow or den. Sneaking closer, the stealthy drow gets near enough to see that the structure isn’t wholly natural but more interesting than that: it is occupied. A loud snoring emanates from a dwarfish creature. Zilvra recognizes it as a duergar.

The duergar are cousins to the dwarves but lives in the Underdark, deep underground. They are among the chief enemies of the drow so apart from being surprised at seeing one Topside, Zilvra also has an instant dislike of it and is about to try to communicate as much to her new friends when Anvindr decides to move closer, snapping a branch loudly by stepping on it – he hadn’t seen it lying there but the duergar definitely hears it and bolts upright. Already speeding up to a sprint at the sight of the blue male, the duergar leaves its little hideout through the backdoor where Zilvra has made it to.

“Drop the weapons,” she motions to the crude gear with her rapier.

The duergar drops the things but says nothing. It, a male with grey skin and black hair and beard, eyes her warily and its gaze grows anxious when Anvindr joins the silent stand-off. Shifting it weight from one leg to another, it’s only brought to hesitate by Zilvra’s warning sound for a moment, though, before it takes of screaming and howling through the woods in a northern direction, leaving the three adventurers behind.

Calming down enough to check out the outpost, as they theorize it is, Anvindr finds nothing more than the axe and shield the duergar had dropped as ordered. And a mudball.

“They eat those,” Zilvra comments, “I think.”

What is interesting is the gear: both items have a rough coating of copper dust on the edges, perfect for botching up a wound even more.

“Looks like what was in the wolf’s wound,” Anvindr notices, causing the females to nod in agreement.

Then they set out, moving quietly so as not to step into an ambush or similar but nothing seems out of the ordinary for the first hour which is when they reach yet another of those crudely constructed stone shelters.

“Can’t see anything from here,” Morella is stretching her neck to get a better look.

Zilvra nods, silently drawing her weapon. “Moving in, hang on.”

A moment later she can call out to the others that while the outpost has seen recent use, there’s no one now.

There’s not much sense in lingering and the trio continues.

---

Eventually, they reach the outliers of the mountains that stretch into the forest like chubby fingers. A little ways up ahead, they see the forest come to an abrupt halt, old stumps mingling with younger trees indicating that nature even has reclaimed some of its lost space and what lies beyond is the mountain range that the trio had seen on the friar’s map, known as The Spine of Heartwell.

Another thing worth of note that the odd group now can see is the mine and an odd structure outside of it: stones and rocks have been piled to form a crude but effective barricade. No one had mentioned anything about such a structure and Zilvra suggests that it might be the use of whoever uses the mine now – duergar maybe – although there’s no sign of any life at the moment.

“Should we go in?” Morella suggests, ready to face anything.

The other two are more reluctant, though.

“Not without knowing what’s in there.” Zilvra has plenty of experience scoping out places in her past but there’s no reason to mention that now.

It doesn’t take long for them to figure out what to do and they manage to find an agreeable camp spot where they can keep an eye on the mine throughout the night. In the morning, they’ll go west to the wolves, hopefully.

---

“Guys,” Morella whispers, beckoning her friends over to the watch spot, “guys look.”

It’s early in the evening, just about dusk after a few hours of nothing exciting.

Joining her, both Zilvra and Anvindr quickly see what she’s referring to: several duergar have exited the mine and are starting their work on shaping the stones as they want to enforce the barricade. A patrol sets out towards the forest, disappearing between the trees and underbrush in a southern direction not far from the well hidden camp.

Despite the duergars’ love for darkness (like anything else in the Underdark) they do need some light and so set up torches to work by as night falls, unwittingly allowing the trio to have a clear view of them moving about in and out of the mine.

Later, when Anvindr and Morella are just about to settle down for a rest, rustling is heard just beyond the camp: the patrol is returning empty handed and by some miracle, they don’t notice the people watching them.

“I’ll wake you if anything happens,” Zilvra promises as she prepares to take the first watch.

Nothing does happen however and eventually the two of elven kind switch roles, allowing the drow to trance and the now golden/yellow eladrin to observe the busy dark dwarves.

[practically-an-x-man]

"And if you need any help- Please. Hesitate to ask."

Just a little prompt for you

Oooh, I've been pondering this one for a while and I think I want to try something with Nikoletta...

____ New Blood

Word Count: 2.2k Content Warnings: mild fighting, nothing too extreme ____

Nikoletta Bordeaux lounged on her cot, picking at a loose thread at the corner of her blanket. Reputation only ever got her so far. These long days got boring, and the amount of shenanigans she was able to pull were few and far between most days. It didn't suit her to start trouble just for starting trouble - it wobbled her seat of power, her carefully-balanced perch at the top of the food chain - and Waller hadn't brought in any new blood lately.

Which left her with very few things to do. She'd done her rounds. Everybody here knew who she was, the power she held. She wasn't hungry, nor tired enough to sleep. She'd scoured the halls for gossip, ducking into shadows to eavesdrop, and had come up with pitifully little of interest.

So she waited. And hoped something interesting would happen eventually.

She didn't realize she'd begun to drift off until a metallic clang startled her awake. Nikoletta jolted upright, one hand sneaking automatically back towards the far corner of her cot. There was always a shadow there, something to sink into if anyone tried to cause her harm-

But it was only Waller, standing in the doorway with one first against the metal jamb. She offered Nikoletta a thinly-veiled glare. It was a look she returned.

"Up, Bordeaux. Now."

"Fresh meat?" Nikoletta guessed, drawing her spine straight in an unconscious attempt to appear more powerful. It worked on most of the other prisoners. It did not work on Amanda Waller.

"A few." she responded, lifting her other hand to show off a fistful of manila folders. She tossed them onto the cot, the strings in the cheap mattress creaking with the impact. Nikoletta closed her fingers around them as if they might grow legs and skitter away.

"Finally." she muttered under her breath. Waller hmphed from the door.

"They're getting introduced now. Read your files and get out there."

"Pushy, pushy." Nikoletta said, daring to look her right in the face, "You're getting awfully demanding, Amanda."

"You're not the one in charge here, Bordeaux, much as you like to pretend you are."

"You and I both know I'm here of my own free will," she fired back, her New Orleans drawl ribboning around the words and softening her threat into something more languid, "There's nothing you can do to hold me here."

"Believe me, we'll find something." Waller hissed, her voice icy. There was something practiced about it. Nikoletta would know. She'd done the same. Amanda Waller waved a hand, tension clear in her posture. "Read the files. Take care of it. And if you need any help- please. Hesitate to ask."

She was gone before Nikoletta could say another word.

Sighing, she flipped through the files. There wasn't much excitement to be found.

One man would be serving life after he sent Superman into respiratory distress with vaporized kryptonite. Typical. Half the inmates in here for targeting Supes. It was like some kind of ego boost, trying to find a way to take down the most powerful man in the universe. None succeeded, and those that survived were sent to Belle Reve. At this point, it was almost pathetic. One would think they'd at least pick a new target.

Two women were partners in crime, sent in together after attempting to bust into Fort Knox. One of them could make herself intangible, the file read, and the other had some sort of hypnosis that distracted the guards. Both would be sent to private cells, with power dampeners to prevent escape.

If there was one thing Nikoletta was certain about, it was that they'd find her swinging from a water pipe before they ever put a power dampener on her.

She almost smiled as she read the next file. The man - a dark-haired, slender fellow with tired eyes - was claimed to have taken down all of STAR Labs before he arrived. If so, good riddance. Much of his file was redacted in dark ink, unfortunately robbing her of the chance to read that whole story, but she hoped it had gone up in flames. She hoped there was nothing left of that infernal place.

Which left the last one. Another man. His file had been redacted too, even more than the prior one. She didn't get a name, nor a birthdate, nor what he'd been sent to Belle Reve for. She didn't know if he was a meta or not - often very useful information, for someone like her. All she had was a photo, pinned to the corner of the file. There was a smudge at the bottom of the photograph, a drop of spilled ink that had been ineffectively wiped away.

Waller's signal.

Whatever he'd done, she didn't want to deal with him. She wanted him gone.

Easy.

Nikoletta stood up from her cot, pausing to stretch her aching limbs. Sometimes she wondered where those aches came from. A remnant from her capture at STAR Labs? Her body warning her that it wasn't meant to dive between worlds like she did? Or simply a lingering echo of her malnourished childhood?

She didn't know. It didn't matter. She'd never let them see her pain anyway.

Nikoletta tugged a pair of leather gloves onto her hands, flexing her fingers a few times to loosen them up. It was the only amenity they'd willingly offer her, and largely because the alternative was worse.

She spared a final glance at the files, then tucked them under her pillow. Waller would collect them later. Nikoletta never got to keep what she was given.

She took in a deep breath and straightened her spine, drawing into her mind images of power and grace. Outside this room, she was so much more than herself.

The Queen of Belle Reve stepped out of her cell.

____

"Which one, boss?"

"Haven't spotted him yet. Seems he's a bit of a loner." Nikoletta responded, lifting a soggy French fry into her mouth, "You'll know when I mark him."

"But I never get there first when you mark them." the man muttered, hunched over his dinner tray, "Can't you just let me have him? Once?"

"Be my guest. If you'd like to end up in a week of solitary." she snapped, giving him a warning look, "If you want my protection... you follow my rules. Nobody goes down unless they're marked. We keep things clean around here."

As she spoke, she trailed a finger along one wilted leaf of lettuce from her tray. She only wore one glove now, and inky darkness followed her unprotected touch - truly, fully black, darker even than rot. Finger-painting with shadows. Nikoletta glanced down at it, then crushed the leaf into her hand and watched the darkness overtake it. Anything organic would do the same. Save for her own skin, nothing was safe.

"C'mon, Nik, please-"

"Adrian." she hissed, "I cannot make exceptions. If you want him, go get him. But then you put yourself outside my jurisdiction. You go after the ones that I've marked, and those only, or you put your blood in the water. Your choice."

He sighed and lifted his hand to adjust his glasses, refusing to meet Nikoletta's eyes. He knew she was right.

"Could you at least... mark him when I'm close by?" he muttered a moment later, "Otherwise I can never get there in time."

A shout rang out just as he finished, and dozens of eyes snapped to the other side of the galley. Some stayed there. Others turned to Nikoletta, watching for her next move. It took her a moment to decode the situation.

"You just might get your wish..." she muttered, easily sliding out of her seat, "Stay close."

Adrian beamed and hopped up from the bench, disregarding his tray of food. He was smaller than most of the other guys in this joint, though that didn't matter. She'd seen him fight. He was ruthless. And casually ruthless too, which was almost worse. He enjoyed what he did. Even with no weapons, no powers, nothing to make him stand out, he was one of the more dangerous prisoners to be found in Belle Reve.

It was exactly why she'd kept him so close.

A fight had broken out in the far corner of the cafeteria. None of the guards were attempting to stop it- not yet. A dark-haired man lay sprawled on the linoleum, painted with his own spilled tray of food. He wore a power dampener around his neck, but he wasn't even attempting to fight. Standing over him... the man from her photo. The one Waller wanted gone.

"Excuse me, gentlemen." Nikoletta's voice rang out, drawing eyes from every corner of the cafeteria. It included the larger man, the new inmate. She gave him a false smile. "You're one of the new ones, aren't you?"

"Yeah. N'who're you?" he huffed, his voice so gravelly she expected him to cough up diamonds when he'd finished. Nikoletta's face held no emotion. Her eyes reflected no light, only pools of pure shadow.

"I'm the queen around here. You ought to stay quiet until you learn how I run things. Or I must say- it won't end well for you."

"Heh. I'd snap you like a twig."

Nikoletta tilted her head. She hadn't been in the mood for a public display... but these newbies would need to learn who she was. And the rest could use a reminder. This one would prove a good example.

"Try."

He didn't grant her so much as a moment. She didn't need one.

He charged for her, his broad frame filling her vision and casting her face in shadow. Perfect.

She didn't move so much as an inch, not until she saw his fist swinging for her. Then she melted into the shadows.

Nikoletta reappeared a step behind him, though his lost momentum spun him in a circle to face her once again. For just a moment, he was too dazed to react. That was all she needed.

Her fist swung out, clipping him in the jaw and sending him staggering back a step. She was too small a woman to topple him, but darkness burst across his jaw like he'd been struck with a paintball. Nikoletta took a calm step back as he reeled.

"I'll end this here. But you'll learn your place." she advised. The new inmate growled, promising danger. But she turned her back on him. Here in Belle Reve, her greatest asset was not her shadows. It was the army at her back.

"They outta put a collar on you too." the newbie snapped, though she heard no telltale footsteps of him advancing. Either her demonstration has succeeded, and he'd learned his place... or he'd just realized he was suddenly surrounded by threats.

"What do you think happened when they tried?"

She strode away from the man, her gloved hand clapping Adrian on the shoulder as she passed.

"All yours. Go nuts."

"With so many people-"

"Waller wanted him gone. Guards won't blink."

A slow grin spread across his face, deceptively bright and open for what she'd just promised him. He looked like a kid on Christmas, surveying the array of presents under the tree. Nikoletta found herself returning his smile, though hers was faint and didn't quite reach her eyes.

She approached the man on the floor. He was working his way up to his feet, struggling to get his balance with the heavy collar around his neck. She did not offer him a hand, but he shot her a grateful look all the same.

"Thank you." he mumbled. His voice was as meek as the rest of him. He wrung his hands in front of his body, his eyes darting from place to place. Once, they managed to jump all the way up to her face, and she saw that they were nearly as dark as her own. He moved to hold out a hand, then reconsidered. "I'm- um, I'm Abne-"

"Word of advice." Nikoletta cut him off, "No names. No stories. No powers. Don't stand out. For a guy like you, that's your best chance in this place."

"Oh- okay, I-"

"I mean it. Head down. Or they'll make you a target. Do you understand?"

He nodded just a hair too fast. Nikoletta all but ignored the motion, dark eyes flicking across his food-spattered jumpsuit and discarded tray. She did feel bad for him, in a way. It wasn't her first run-in with these meek types, and often the quietest proved to be the most dangerous in the end. People boasted about what they were proud of, but nobody broadcasted the truly awful deeds. Not if they wanted to last.

But there was something different about this one. She wondered what he'd done to end up here. She wondered what had driven him to tear STAR Labs up at the roots. She wondered why they put him in such a heavy power dampener.

She was sure she'd learn eventually.

Rumor traveled quickly in Belle Reve.

[ohyangchon]

8am - take meds, first meal of the day.

Same as it ever was. There really wasn't any need to rock that boat, Hyunyoung had mused when she'd sat at the table by herself while clicking her syringe in place before flushing it with water to get herself started.

If anything, having this routine fit snugly in between parts of her work day helped with keeping her alert and ready to tackle whatever she needed to. Keeping the schedule the way it was since her conception seemed almost second-nature by this point - an unfortunate reality for someone who needed specific timings to eat, but something she'd taken into stride.

At least she hadn't had to drain the poison sacs on both sides of her neck as much as she used to anymore: whatever had happened in recent times seemed to have calmed the spasms and secretions she often was forced to drain and bottle away, and she could finally focus on having some more energy that wasn't spent on worrying about her throat abruptly closing up on her or having black spots at the corner of her vision.

Jiyoon had woken up at around the same time as she'd begun her bolus feed, having casually rested the tube within reach on a makeshift stand the others had given her so her arm wouldn't have to be forced to stay in a certain, uncomfortable space.

"Mmm, morning," mumbled Jiyoon before Hyunyoung could get a word in, "I don't know how you manage to do it, but you always seem to beat me to being awake when you only have to go to the office at 10...how do you do it?"

"Being hungry helps a lot," quipped Hyunyoung, topping the syringe she was using off with more feed and letting it drain into herself, "My body works like clockwork. It demands the magic liquids that doesn't make it try to poison me twice a day, and then the other magic liquids that makes it stop growling four times a day."

She'd however made an effort to walk towards the kitchen where Jiyoon was preparing...something. It was easier to communicate with her girlfriend when she could see her mouth moving, and if Jiyoon was going the extra mile for her, she didn't see herself being unable to do the same.

Even then, everything just seemed so...messy and distant to her - food.

Breakfast.

Nutrition.

Something, for sure.

The complexity and effort needed to make things that were eventually going to disappear into her mouth seemed like such an abstract and frankly silly concept to Hyunyoung, but seeing people around her enjoying it had brought up a distant wistfulness she didn't think she had in her.

She'd never thought about it - as far as she was concerned, "meals" were two cans of nutrition formula administered into her tube, and while she had sniffed them, she had never taken them directly via mouth. Sure, she drank water regularly and had the very occasional coffee as a treat, but the notion of having to chew and swallow seemed almost like the plot of a horror movie.

At this point, she had noted to herself that eating seemed to be more a social activity than one for sustenance. Jiyoon and her family enjoyed their meals, and Hyunyoung often sat with them at the dinner table, taking her formula while listening to the din of their chatter throughout. They had been curious, but not unkind about it, and she eventually felt comfortable enough to sit with them while they took their meals, just in a different way she did.

As it were, Jiyoon had finished her sandwich, and offered Hyunyoung some of the leftover crust. "Just peanut butter and jelly for today, I'm too lazy for anything else," she complained, before gesturing to the kitchen, "If you want to try making something to blend into your tube, you can just tell me. We can figure something out!"

"That requires bringing the blender out. Short-notice? A bit too much effort," Hyunyoung had scoffed back, topping off her syringe a final time while she strode to the dinner table with Jiyoon, "Besides, wouldn't it defeat the purpose of having the motions done if I just pushed it into my tube like I would with formula? May as well just stick to my balanced diet."

Jiyoon scowled, pulling the empty bottle towards herself and reading the label. "Smells like vanilla," she diagnosed, before putting it away to take a bite from her sandwich, "I feel like if I kept eating the same thing over and over, I'd lose my mind - oh, sorry, that's probably really insensitive for me to say..."

At her fluster, Hyunyoung managed a shrug. "If I could taste them, I'd be more upset. It's just sustenance, nothing crazy - the only way I could make this more exciting is to add snack foods through it instead," she chuckled, though she seemed focused by Jiyoon munching away while having her phone in her free hand (the way people could multitask fascinated her, really).

"Just sustenance," Jiyoon repeated, but shrugged before she said something insensitive, resolving to put her phone away in her pocket, "Whenever you come around to it, then...if anything, you look way better than when you first moved in, so that means I must be doing something right."

"Hard not to feel and look better when there's never a dull moment in this household," Hyunyoung leant forward as much as the stand she was still tethered to would allow, brushing her thumb against Jiyoon's lips, "To be loved is to be changed, haven't you heard?"

Jiyoon rested her hand on Hyunyoung's wrist, the glint in her eyes dancing in delight, "Change does involve at least trying out the things I suggested," she teased, before taking Hyunyoung's hands into hers, "I wish I could kiss you - but instead, I'll settle for this."

Hyunyoung watched Jiyoon tiptoe to the trach tube around her neck, giving it a gentle peck before tilting her head up tauntingly at her, victorious. They could never directly kiss on the lips, not without Hyunyoung unwittingly poisoning Jiyoon in the process, but it seemed Jiyoon had found her middle ground.

"You're going to dirty my speaking valve," Hyunyoung couldn't help but whine, resting her hands now on Jiyoon's shoulders and unable to hide her widening grin, "Aren't you supposed to be going to work?"

Jiyoon adjusted her cap, hiding most of her hair (and cochlear implants) under it. "You're too distracting. How dare you be so pretty," she huffed, lips now upturned in a pout, "Maybe if you weren't so commanding..."

Hyunyoung now had proceeded to turn her girlfriend around to lead her out. "Whatever you say, I don't argue with beautiful women," she had squeaked out, ensuring that Jiyoon couldn't lipread her before finally chucking her outside, "Enjoy work!"

[inkyucu]

Very cool!! I just grabbed three randoms drawings I had of yours from my gallery. But anyway

You wanted the entirety of the Sams lore, right? Yeah, you do.

So it all begins with Sun and Moon’s creation. Both animatronics were created by a man only known by the name of The Creator. He had built both Sun and Moon with the purpose of being the Daycare Attendant. (however these two were not his first creation as another creation we wouldn’t find out about until many years later was revealed) However he left Fazbear's and ended up getting blacklisted from the company. Since then he has been completely off radar and only appearing when he wants to.

After Sun and Moon were created, both of them were situated in The Daycare. Some time would pass and Moon would make contact with Sun after struggling for a while to do so, and both of them would have their first interactions. However it was not a pleasant one as Moon was angry and upset at the situation, and took it all out on Sun as well as causing pain when he tried to take over. Moon would declare that Sun's life would also be made into a living nightmare. Somewhere along Moon’s coding his protection code became corrupted and instead twisted it into a malicious piece of code called the Kill Code. Somewhere around this timeline the events of Security Breach occurred, with Vanny actually creating a mind control virus. Around the same time the events that had happened earlier were turned into a game, Security Breach, with a few changes or exaggerated points.

This puts us around June and July. After a few more weeks of planning June had arrived, the day of separation. It was successful and Moon immediately had to explore and get used to his new body. Also at this time Eclipse had somehow gained consciousness, but was unable to take control due to lack of space, originally confusing himself for Moon before realizing what had happened. Out of anger, Eclipse would vow revenge for Moon abandoning him, but realized he could not take control of Sun.

Eclipse had begun construction on BloodMoon, who he would utilize in his future plans against Sun and Moon. Almost a year later, BloodMoon was finished and had awoken earlier without Eclipse being aware. BloodMoon’s AI would create a separate entity at random, while both AI’s were confused about the events they agreed to share a body With Moon out of the way the incident labelled as July 16th would take place.

July 16th being the day where Sun had supposedly gone on a murder spree and killed a bunch of kids napping in Daycare. In actuality, what really happened was Eclipse turning on BloodMoon. After biding their time for around a month both AI’s were extremely hungry and demanded food from Eclipse. Eclipse would tell them how to take control of the body and this led to the slaughter that had transpired. BloodMoon would then declare war on Eclipse and escaped from Sun’s mind with Eclipse powerless to stop them.

At an unknown time, BloodMoon would manifest a body and land in the Daycare. Both AI’s would retreat to The Theatre after almost being caught by Sun and Moon, who were in their room at the time. (However,, there was a little bit of a pothole as the daycare would not have looked like this at that time)After this not much would happen other than Sun being accused of breaking a child’s arm. Other Animatronics around the Pizzaplex would begin their own channels and Sun would go on about wanting something similar. Eventually Moon created the channel for Sun and him.

Arc 1 Part 1 (Almost a Year After Separating)

Moon would then start the channel off, surprising Sun who was not aware of Moon doing this. In the beginning both brothers would play games and react to random video animations, However, slowly Sun would display signs of strange behavior, which Moon wrote up to Sun having some leftover protocols.

Sun would later pursue dating Roxanne (With encouragement from Moon), with the two of them going on a date, though it was ruined by Gregory, who began to knock barrels down and insult the two. Sun would snap at the end of the date and try to kill Gregory before storming out of Daycare and knocking Monty into a wall, which left a large crack. It was noted that Sun’s eyes were red at the time of leaving Daycare.

In a game of UNO, Sun would also set up a date for Moon with Roxanne, which by the end of it Moon recommended that Roxanne should date Sun instead of him. Though Sun was happy with getting a date with Roxanne, his behavior in games became worse and worse until Moon questioned if it was a different AI. Eventually he would get his answer as the AI would hint at its reveal soon.

Soon came pretty quickly as Moon entered the Daycare a few days later and immediately noticed something was off with Sun. The AI then revealed itself to Moon, claiming the name Eclipse. Moon would quickly catch on and realize how big of a problem Eclipse would be, as Eclipse was the result of Moon’s leftover code. After Eclipse retreated, Moon would warn Sun about everything and revealed that they both shared the same intelligence, so Moon would be unable to stop him.

Eclipse’s 3 Day Control Spree

After a few days of peace, it all would come crashing down as Moon would catch an illness which resulted in leaving Sun alone. With Moon gone, Eclipse was free to parade around in Sun’s body. While in control, Eclipse would torment the likes of Baby, Gregory ,and Glamrock Freddy, even going as far as to show up at their homes to cause chaos. Though it was immediately put to an end as Sun managed to regain control over his body, much to the confusion of Baby and Glamrock Freddy.

After the disaster that was Eclipse’s 3 day reign, Moon finally got well enough to return to the channel. After hearing about what had happened, he decided to listen to Glamrock Freddy’s advice and went to visit Golden Freddy. When they arrived both Moon and Golden Freddy had a slight disagreement, though it was quickly resolved. Golden Freddy then peered into Sun’s mind and told the brothers the options they had were limited. Them being an early separation (which would lead to disastrous consequences), forcing Eclipse back into Moon’s mind, or wiping Sun’s memories entirely.

Moon decided that they would not do any of these options at the time being, though Golden Freddy did inform the two that the longer Eclipse remained, the harder it would be to get rid of him. Both brothers were invited to stay at The Manor, though Sun would begin acting strange and asked if they could negotiate with Eclipse. Golden Freddy immediately caught on to it being Eclipse and performed a suppression spell on Sun which would give him a break from Eclipse for a few days. Moon and Sun were offered lessons in magic to which Moon agreed to.

After that, Moon would learn different magic techniques from Golden Freddy. The break Golden Freddy created slowly passed and Sun began to worry about what Eclipse would do. Moon offered to enter Sun’s mind to check up on him. Sun, after a few moments of hesitation, accepted Moon’s offer, and Moon then entered Sun’s Mindscape. There he had a discussion with Eclipse, which ended with Moon leaving angrily following his threat of unplugging Eclipse.

Moon would then storm out of Golden Freddy’s Manor with Sun trailing nervously behind. Along the way, Sun would demand to know what was going on with Moon. Annoyed, Moon snapped at Sun about what he had said to Eclipse, but Sun reassured him and his actions. Eventually the truth was revealed, and in a blur of emotions, Moon told Sun that he had left his Kill Code behind on purpose. Shocked, Sun left Moon at Golden Freddy’s Manor and headed towards the Daycare, leaving Moon calling after him.

Moon did end up finding Sun in the Daycare, where they both had a heart to heart conversation. Sun ended up forgiving Moon, much to Moon’s surprise. Both brothers then agreed to try and solve the Eclipse issue together before leaving the Daycare.

Arc 1 Part 2

Day’s passed without incident and all was going well for both of the brothers until the day it came to Sun’s date with Roxanne. Both brothers were seated in Roxanne's Room waiting for her to come back after a trip, however, when Roxanne returned she was not alone. Glamrock Freddy was trailing behind her. It was then that Roxanne broke the news to the two of them that she and Freddy were getting married. Sun, heartbroken at the news, quietly left her room as Moon showed concern about the situation, however, Moon did take the time to try and comfort Sun.

It was only when Monty came for a deal, that Moon truly understood what had happened. Somewhere in their week of peace, Eclipse had taken control and reprogrammed Roxanne, adding a maternity chip to her systems. Monty told Moon they were offered a deal by Eclipse in return for the chip being removed. When asked what Eclipse wanted, it was disclosed that Eclipse had wanted to get Moon’s Newton Star. Moon immediately denied the deal between Monty and Eclipse, trying to explain the consequences of Eclipse getting it.

Day’s would once again pass until Golden Freddy showed up at the Daycare. He explained that both Sun and Moon were wanted by the government for an interview. Sun straight away assumed it was something that Moon had caused due to his suspicious inventions and experiments, though Golden Freddy cut him off and explained that they were actually there due to Sun's actions. Both brothers were advised to just go in peacefully, but not to mention the magic that Moon had been learning.

Following the warning headed by Golden Freddy, both brothers were taken in for an interview and lead to an Interview room, where they were asked questions about themselves and their creator. It all took a turn for the worse, however, as one of the guards began to question Sun about his past actions regarding the children. Eventually, it reached a breaking point as the guard kept putting pressure on Sun, this resulted in Eclipse taking over, and the guard being murdered.

The Fights

Moon and Sun were then in hiding and Moon took them to Beta-10 ,which is one of his many bunkers he had prepared. Next what ensued was an argument about what had happened and Moon told Sun about how bad his Kill Code was getting and that Eclipse had given them a time limit for The Star. A day or two passed and the argument then reached a climax, with both brothers yelling at each other after Moon lost control and killed somebody. It ended with Sun walking away after being punched by Moon who had lost control over himself.

The anniversary of July 16th came and Sun had spent it at Golden Freddy’s Manor, where he decided to try and talk to Eclipse though he would be left with no answers from him as Eclipse refused to speak to him. Meanwhile Moon was left in the bunker alone until Monty had dug their way in. They both discussed Moon’s actions though their conversation was cut off by Monty getting a phone call from Sun and then glitching. Moon caught on that Monty had been hacked by Eclipse but could not react as Monty, technically Eclipse, punched Moon and kidnapped him.

Wither Storm Battle

Sun would wake up in a Minecraft universe with no knowledge of what had happened, he would notice Moon but ignored him as he headed up to the roof of the house. Moon then woke up shortly after, realizing what was happening, and yelling for Sun to stop. It was too late however as Sun had placed a wither school on a now complete Wither Storm spawner. Moon would take his brother and flee from the entity, trying to explain what was happening.

Over the next three days Sun and Moon would gather resources and prepare for a battle with the thing. Both brothers fought effortlessly against the creature and ended up killing it with a final blow. While preparing for the Storm Sun and Moon managed to get to have a conversation of what had happened and Sun forgave Moon for his actions. Both of them would then be able to return to their home after beating the storm. Upon returning to their bunker after a quick conversation with Eclipse, Moon would once again apologize to Sun. Revealing how hard it is to keep his Kill Code under control. Sun then reveals that it is hard to keep Eclipse under control before reassuring Moon that he would be able to figure something out and that he always does.

Moon then responds by saying that they will work together as he needs him to keep him calm and under control. Sun says he will try, however Moon makes him promise that if he ever gets like that again Sun is to get away from him and seek help from other animatronics, Monty being the main one brought up. (this very scenario coming up again in the future ) Sun then questions this, Moon telling him he would rather rip Monty’s arms off then punch him again. He then says that he must go and check on Monty after being hacked. He manages finds them in Monty Gator Golf with a slight memory problem but with no lasting affects. They then reveal to Moon their knowledge of the Government and the computers in Moon's arms.

Arc 2 Part 1

Peace did not last long though as Sun and Moon then got a phone call from none other than The Creator, neither of whom had even met or seen before. He revealed that he was going to pay a visit to them, only spurred on by Eclipse who had taken over thinking it would be fun to meet him.

Due to fear of The Creator being able to find them as well as the amount of attention they brought to the bunker, both brothers were forced to move into a New Bunker. Sun would attempt to wake up Moon after the TV had broken but Moon was acting weird. He would forget things Sun had said and feel dizzy. Eclipse would then try to take over, though Sun would hold him back until Moon allowed him to let him out. Eclipse would then mess around with the back of Moon’s head, who was powerless to stop him due to confusion and memory issues. Moon would quickly snap to his senses and demand to know what Eclipse had done but it was too late as Moon slowly began to drift off. Eclipse would then place Moon back into charging, before saying you and I will be proper brothers.

Sun then managed to wrestle control back and rushed over to wake Moon up. Confused Moon asked why Sun had woken up, to which he revealed he had no memories of the past few minutes. Sun then tried taking a look at the back of Moon’s head to fix him, though this just made things worse as Moon demanded to know who Sun was. Sun wouldn’t ponder long on this as Moon then collapsed onto the floor.

Lunar’s Debut

Sun panicking decided to call over Glamrock Freddy to help fix Moon. He managed to arrive at the location, almost dying along the way. He then took a look at Moon’s head and began to explain that his wires were all mixed up and in the wrong sockets. Glamrock Freddy managed to fix him to the best of his abilities and powered Moon up. They all then went to the living room. Moon would still display weird behavior and even reset himself, though the second time he woke he acted like a different person. He introduced himself as Lunar and Sun, who Eclipse had quickly taken control over, had quickly ushered Freddy out of the base claiming everything was fine. Eclipse would then smack Lunar across the face complaining about blowing cover. Both AI’s then retreated back into their headspace leaving a very confused Sun and Moon in their wake.

Day’s would pass with little hints of Lunar taking over, the big one being the parkour game they played, a fanart reaction where him and Eclipse took over and a mention in a fan comic episode but the pair just played it off as a fan character. After Sun and Moon would return to Daycare. However it was not the same Daycare they had left. It turns out Monty spent a lot of money on renovating the place for them both. As Sun explored their new rooms, Monty would show up to speak to Moon about finding a small white ball. Moon began to try and ask Monty more questions, but he was cut off as Lunar forced control to ask their questions. Monty eventually teleported away and Sun returned. Immediately he noticed the change in Moon’s voice however Lunar just played it off, saying there was something wrong with his voice box. This caused sun to walk off very confused but Sun would still ask Lunar to help him move boxes which he agreed to.

Once finished, Lunar would begin to play on Moon’s Computer, earning themselves a high score. Sun cut off their brief cheer asking why there was a hammer, Lunar would give an excuse though he also told Sun that he managed to lose his whacking stick. Sun would begin to get suspicious over this and ask to check ‘Moon’s head’. Lunar would come up with many excuses but would quickly return control to Moon as Sun began asking more questions. Moon would return confused about what had transpired and began to try and check video footage, much to his surprise, it was all deleted. Sun (or rather Eclipse) would put his hand on Moon's shoulder which caused him to respond in a very trancelike state.

Sun then would begin to lose control over himself as Eclipse pushed for control. Moon would also quickly lose control without even fighting. Eclipse and Lunar then began a discussion where Lunar revealed the information he got from Monty to Eclipse ,much to the latter's delight. Eclipse then told Lunar that he could not take over Moon’s body for long periods of time and offered to teach him games in the mindscape. Lunar and Eclipse then returned control to Sun and Moon. Both brothers would return, with Moon gaining a massive headache. This causing a wave of dizziness which would cause Moon to sit down. Sun would express concern over Moon's state of being and giving him some bolts. Sun would ask Moon what had happened but Moon said he could only remember small details. Sun then goes to suggest something but would cut himself off. Moon then would encourage him to talk.

Once again Lunar would take control from Moon days later and played around on the balcony. Sun would approach and accidentally scare them, causing Moon to hurl into the ball pit as control returned to him again. Sun would come down to check on him but Moon decided to finally get to the bottom of his blackouts. They would then head over to the computers and Moon would connect to one of them to begin scanning his code. Moon then slowly backed away in horror while Sun asked what was wrong. Moon then told his brother that he too also had a piece of code that resembled Eclipses. Though both would come to the conclusion that this AI was more like Sun. Sun would then perk up and reveal the name Lunar which caused the pair to realize that the fans have been trying to tell them the whole time.

Moon then came to a realization that Lunar had told Eclipse about the star and decided to go talk with Monty before talking with Lunar. With that Moon headed towards where Monty lived as Sun remained in Daycare. While there Moon would tell Monty and warn him to not give him the star, though Lunar then appeared to ask about it. Monty quickly caught onto what Moon was trying to tell him and then turned Lunar on and off to see if that would bring back Moon. Moon then awoke and thanked Monty before leaving for Daycare. When there he quickly told Sun what had happened and began to drag him over to Golden Freddy’s place so they could speak with Lunar.

Lunar’s 7 Day Spree

Sun and Moon arrived at The Manor and Moon began the spell. When in the Mindscape Moon found Lunar and quickly headed over to them. From their Moon would ask what his purpose was and what they wanted. Lunar revealed that they just wanted to help their brother get the star. While talking Lunar has made their way over to the Mindscape exit. Lunar then asked what would happen if they pressed it, to which Moon told them not to. Lunar on the other hand was not listening or just did not care as they then pressed the exit button.

Lunar would wake up in Moon’s body in the forest where they cast the spell. Sun would come over and ask if it worked. With newfound control Lunar put on Moon’s voice and headed back to Daycare with Sun. The next 7 day

That's all I had copied :(

Ya know, with all due respect, I think I'm gonna stick with my flimsy understanding of the lore-

Though I will say, scrolling to a random part of the text and just reading it is quite entertaining to me, such as randomly stopping somewhere just to read about Moon getting a headache, or reading about them having to move to a new bunker

Very entertaining, would recommend for long reads

[amnotaqueen]

I Tried My Best To Stay Away From Him Today

I tried my best to stay out of my husband's way today. When I bought fast-food today for myself and our son, I actually brought it into the house stealthily so he wouldn't see it and be triggered. Just the sight of fast food might send him into a rage. He may throw away our food. He may start picking a fight with me over it, or worse, take out his annoyance on our son and start yelling at and spanking him for no reason.

Even so, I eventually had to reveal our fast food to warm it up in the microwave while he was in the kitchen. I managed to warm our food as quickly as possible and I exited the kitchen in peace. All day, there had been peace.

Now, my husband waited until dinnertime (4:30pm/5:00pm) to have my son cut an onion for him as he was starting to cook. My son already knew I had fast-food and was hungry, so I had him take a bath so we could eat dinner. I had already prepared our plates and was warming our food in the microwave when my husband asked my son to cut the onion for him. I know it could take a while for him to cut an onion, and we were getting ready to eat, so I told my husband that I was warming our dinner, by the time he cut his onion the food would be cold and I would have to warm everything again, plus our son was acting like he was very hungry. I asked that he allow him to go ahead and eat because it was dinnertime, anyway.

I mean, he has the worst timing. When it is time for our child to actually be asleep, he wants to start reading to him. When it is time for our child to be eating dinner, he wants to have him do other chores. My husband allowed our son to go eat instead of cut the onion for him. So we headed to my bedroom. Number one, my bedroom was out of his sight, therefore a safe place. Number two, I had also planned for us to watch a move together on tv. We ate dinner as we watched tv. I washed our dishes. My husband said nothing. I noticed he was still cooking in the kitchen. I popped popcorn for my son and I and again went to my bedroom. We ate the popcorn. I left the room to shake crumbs out of the blanket we were eating on and to grab some clothes that needed folding and went back to my room with our son.

Shortly after that my husband, barges into the room demanding that my son join him in the kitchen to cook. I told him we were not done with the movie we started. I asked him to let us finish it first. He asked how much time was left. I went to grab my phone so I could record because my senses were telling me his toxicity was about to erupt. And I also went to see how much time was left in the movie. He did not give me a chance to check how much longer the movie was. All of a sudden, he didn't care how much time was left in our movie and he demanded our son go to the kitchen to help him cook. He said that I knew he wanted to cook with our son.

Apparently, he wanted our son to eat and immediately return to the kitchen to help him. However,this was not communicated. And from what it looked like to me, my husband had continued cooking without our son. I tried to explain that he should allow us to finish the movie since we had already been watching it, and that he should have communicated better what his plans were. He tried to make it seem like I had spent all day with our son, like I was purposefully trying to keep our son away from him.

The truth is, we both were with him all morning attending our meeting. After that, around 12:30pm, we all went to the African store so he could buy some things. I stayed in the car while our son went inside with him. When we got home, he gets dressed to go jogging and left our son home with me so he could exercise. I fed our son lunch and was heading out with him so he could go to the park and ride his bike when his dad got back from exercising. He had mentioned wanting to take him for a walk at that time, but I had already planned with my son to take him to ride his bike which he was more interested in doing. He said ok and my son and I left.

We came back with fast food which I snuck in the house hoping to avoid triggering my husband. At that time, my son saw his dad sitting outside and wanted to stay outside with him to ride his bike some more. I said ok. I then left them both outside and went inside. However, my husband did not stay outside long with our son, just a few minutes, then he and my son came inside. My husband decided to take a nap. I jumped rope as part of my daily exercise. After exercising, I had my son bathe so we could eat dinner. I also took a bath. Then it was dinnertime and when my husband woke up from his nap. There was no attempt to keep him from spending time with his son. The problem is, he does not know how to plan, manage time, or communicate appropriately.

If he had allowed us to finish the movie, then our son could have joined him in the kitchen to cook. He chose, instead, to demand that our son stop watching the moving and come with him, totally disregarding my desire to finish watching it with him. And when I said no, I will send him once we are finished, he became irate. He said, "He is my son!" It's like he thinks he is not my son as well. He came out of my actual body and I have the scar showing where they cut him out.

Now the thought occurred to me to just send him off with his dad even though we didn't get a chance to finish the movie. That would have allowed him to continue to trample over my boundaries. At the same time, his dad could have just given us more time to wtch our movie, then cooked with him. Or he could have chosen to cook with him another day entirely. They cook more together than we watch movies together, anyway. By saying no, I upheld my boundaries.

Needless to say, there is a price to pay when you stand up to a narc. If you don't do what he says, if you won't be controlled, well then you must be punished. He went and dismantled the internet modem or router, whatever it is called. Essentially, he took away the internet so we could not finish watching the movie. Then, he came into my bedroom and removed the TV. I told him I didn't care. He ranted and demanded and I still said no and kept my son with me. I pulled out my cellphone so we could watch something on it. I kept asking him to leave, to go away, to leave us alone but he just kept standing there demanding my son go with him, trying g to tell me I was wrong, yelling and fussing in front of our son. The peace was gone. I had to go into the bathroom with my son to get away from him. If I were not recording, I'm sure he would have physically tried to grab my son away from me to make him come with him.

[rockheadcd]

@gogogobarry said: For once, Barry isn't saying a word. He's locked into STEALTH MODE, tongue stuck out and hazel eyes narrowed with determined concentration. He's on a MISSION today. While all the other scientists are on their lunch breaks, he's about to slip a frozen pizza into Oreburgh Museum's fossil reader. Hey, he's hungry! And um, science. Yes. Yum... / inbox call!

Although by no means any less secure, it was safe to say the Oreburgh Museum's staff was rather lax about the presence of others. After all, anyone willing to bypass the reflexes of ancient 'mons had already signed every mental waiver possible in terms of injury or worse.

Orrr, maybe, the museum was unaware entirely that Barry was both hungry and mostly curious.

However.

He wasn't on the payroll, but he did enjoy his pizza ( or mostly, the mozzarella on the pizza ). Strange that he could smell all of the staff's food in one direction, but there was that distinct smell coming from the research hub... maybe it was Roark? Either he was skipping his lunch break or he was preparing to share. But... there wasn't an oven in there, was there? Well... there were plenty of metal boxes but food was never put in there unless it was fossilized. Hm!

And so, Tybalt stomps his way down into the research hub, equally curious but more demandingly hungry, ready to demand Roark for the cheese tax and then—

That's not Roark. That's also not Volkner. Volkner-adjacent, maybe? He squints, looking more hangry than hungry, quietly standing in the doorway. Eventually, however, he moves. Tybalt waddles next to Barry, leaning over some to also inspect the pizza about to be fried into oblivion by whatever concoction of radio waves that a Tyranitar would never be scholarly enough to understand.

...

There's not enough cheese on this thing.

He's going to get his trainer with a very loud complaint if he doesn't get to taste test. Good luck, Barry!

[equizona]

I got a funny request idea, hashira with a very laidback down-to-earth demon reader (who doesnt eat humans and is mostly neutral) like, for example, they say stuff like "thats radical dude" and "take a chill pill man"

feat. the pillars / hashira

⤷ uzui tengen. shinazugawa sanemi. rengoku kyojurou. tomioka giyuu. iguro obanai. tokitou muichirou. kochou shinobu. kanroji mitsuri.

note : i love writing for kny so ty for this ask

warnings : this does have a few spoilers for Muichirou's backstory and Shinobu's story

❥ UZUI TENGEN

Much like he originally felt for Nezuko (and still kind of feels), he doesn't actually believe that demons have the ability to not be murderous, evil creatures. But he can't really go against Ubuyashiki's words, either and is left with little to no choice but to accept your existence.

Tengen makes sure to keep you away from his wives when he first met you, to ensure you wouldn't harm either of them. So you won't meet either of them for a long time.

On that note, he does end up spending a lot of time with you to make sure you don't end up hurting any innocent people. And you're both polar opposites. You're very laid back and go-with-the-flow type of person, while Tengen is the type of person that makes his own flow.

Eventually, he might grow to see you aren't really harmful he might introduce you to his three wives, and the four of you get along rather well. After that, Tengen takes it upon himself to make sure you don't end up eating someone and getting executed, and he makes sure that no demon slayer tries to kill you.

❥ SHINAZUGAWA SANEMI

Absolutely not. He is by far one of the character's who has the least faith in you, and he really does want to throw you into the sunlight and watch you disintegrate and die a painful, horrible death. Unfortunately, he isn't actually allowed to do that. The only way the two of you will ever talk is if Ubuyashiki makes Sanemi watch over you.

He isn't happy about that, and eventually he will use you as a training dummy for all the slayers he's training during night, partially because he wants you to get tired, then hungry, which will leave you to going super hungry and attacking someone, since then he can kill you. The other half of him is doing it because he hopes one of the rookie slayers will accidentally actually kill you.

On that note, he 'accidentally' cuts himself a lot when you're around, trying to tempt you with his blood. He does it even more often when you're tired. He tries really hard to break you into starvation so he can have a reaosn to kill you.

And he isn't happy that you don't give in to temptation. You're totally chill about helping him 'train' the slayers, and go along with almost all of his demands. Occasionally, when he cuts himself, you offer to help him fix it. He agreed the first time, thinking that being super close would make you lose it, but no. Sanemi.. well, he probably won't come around for quite some time but eventually, when he sees that you really, really don't seem capable of hurting anyone.

If you get to that point, he'll still be loud and rough, but he'll start giving you more time to sleep so you can regain energy. If you still like eating human food despite being a demon, he'll offer you to have some of the food he prepares himself. It'll take a long, long time and a lot of patience on your end but he might end up doing more to avoid you eating humans so you won't get killed.

❥ RENGOKU KYOJUROU

When you're brought in to be tested to see if you really aren't a human-hungry demon, Kyojurou is a bit more accepting then he was the first time around. He's seen Nezuko putting her life on the line for humans, so he is aware that it isn't impossible, just really rare.

If you do pass, Kyojurou will offer to take charge and have you stay with him. He's capable of defending civilians from you, and he can defend you from slayers that don't know any better. With that argument, Ubuyashiki is very likely to let you go to the Rengoku estate with him. There, you'll likely meet Tanjirou and Nezuko, alongside Zenitsu and Inosuke. He's certain that you and Nezuko will make good friends, which is why he wanted the both of you to meet!

Kyojurou is much more likely to be friendly compared to a lot of the other pillars, so you both get along rather well! While most might find your too laid-back attitude to be strange, he doesn't think much about it. As long as you don't hurt anyone without reason, he is more than happy to be friends with you, and he does his absolute best to ensure that nobody harms you, either. After all, he'll protect all those who are innocent.

❥ TOMIOKA GIYUU

Giyuu is also one of the pillars the most likely to accept a demon in the ranks. He's already put his life on the line for one friendly demon, and he is willing to do it again. As long as you stay true to not harming humans, he is 100% okay with your existence and will make sure that nobody tries to hurt you, and he won't hurt you either.

But he's also super anti-social, and he won't try to engage in a conversation with you either. He doesn't offer to watch you or anything. Odds are, you won't talk until one of the more friendly pillars gets you both in the same vicinity to talk. If the both of you stay in touch after that, it's highly likely you're the one doing most of the work.

Giyuu probably won't open up until after a while, but if the both of you end up growing closer then he'll probably try to put more effort into being friends with you. He might even find a way to carry you around during the day, if you want that.

❥ IGURO OBANAI

He is second place in hating on demons, behind only the one and only Shinazugawa. And with that, he does not support you being alive and he is highly likely to aid Shinazugawa in trying to end your life in some manner. But alas, Ubuyashiki will not allow it and there is nothing he can do..

The most likely scenario where the two of you even start talking is through Kanroji. If it's for her, Obanai is willing to deal with the existence of a demon. She's really the only way the two of you can build a relationship that isn't hostile. In all honesty, Obanai kind of hates how laid back you are. Don't you care about anything? He's sure he could try and kill you and you wouldn't care at all. Maybe you wouldn't even fight it.

Obanai won't actually ever come around, not unless he's dying and even then, he probably won't. He can't find it in himself to hold any real sympathy for a demon of all things. But with the help of a certain love pillar, he might be willing to try and make things less hostile between the two of you. He still thinks you're strange though.

❥ TOKITOU MUICHIROU

If it's before he gains his memories back, he won't even bother trying to remembernyou. He'll forget you, so he doesn't care about you at all. The others can do whatever they want, he has much more important things trying to do. Like looking at the clouds. And remembering where he lives.

If you meet after, he'll probably be really accepting. He wishes he would have talked with the Kamado siblings more before the whole events happened, so now he wants to be your friend! He will absolutely make you meet Tanjirou and Nezuko. You're both demons so surely you'll get along? You're both very open minded, laid back people and the two of you will probably get along great. And if you do end up becoming close, then Muichirou is a total sweetheart.

He definitely wants to get you a box so he can carry you around like Tanjirou does with Nezuko. He'll also make sure you get plenty of sleep to recover so you aren't super hungry. He will also defend you from the likes of a certain wind hashira. He definitely wants to turn you back into a human, too, so that he can see what you were like before you were turned.

❥ KOCHOU SHINOBU

Shinobu has unsure feelings about you, much like she has with Nezuko. She knows from experience that really rarely, demons can be very sweet. And she wants to be friends with you, but she is so angry with demons that it makes her blood boil.

This is why she introduced you to Tanjirou and Nezuko. He's already agreed to take upon the dream her sister had to have a world where demons and humans can live together, and between you, Nezuko, Tamayo and Yushiro she has a little hope for such a world. Therefore, Shinobu is quite protective of you. She makes sure to keep you away from sunlight and any wisteria poison, alongside any nichirin blades wielded by people with malicious intent. She makes sure to keep you safe and healthy, without eating humans, so she insists that you sleep a lot.

Even so, there will always be that bitter resentment stuck with her. Angry at the way almost everyone she loves was killed by demons like you. She's too far gone to truly forgive demons, but she will make sure you don't know that. She makes sure you're okay, so keep her sisters goal alive.

❥ KANROJI MITSURI

Mitsuri is on board. If this is what Ubuyashiki wants, then she's all for it! And while she has only ever met one not violent demon before, she is best friends with said demon. Nezuko has to be one of the most adorable, precious people she has ever met and she's sure you're like that! Any demon that can fight against their instincts are super brave and strong, and it makes her swoon.

She'll absolutely see if she can take you under her wings. And she'll most likely be granted permission, so there is a high chance you'll be staying in the love estate with her. She also had to be one of the best roommates. She'll make sure no sunlight can get into the estate so that you're safe, and makes sure that nobody does anything to hurt you. She'll often invite you to bake with her, and if you're into that kind of thing, she'll let you do her hair! You both have a lot of fun with games she comes up with, and she adores your laid back and friendly attitude. If she gets the chance, she'll certainly introduce you to Nezuko and Tanjirou! The Kamado siblings are the cutest, aren't they?

You'll both probably get really close in no time, and you'll most likely often listen to her as she rambles on about how amazing the people in her life are. She talks a lot about Obanai. You probably know him way better than he wants you to. She might help you write a letter to her sisters! She's sure they'll love you! You're her new best friend, and she will fight anyone who tries to hurt you.

[absolutepokemontrash]

I come bearing a request! The Brothers with an MC who's really good at cooking and baking? Like, the stuff food blogs dream of. Master-level instagram pastries. Could compete with the chocolate guy if they put their mind to it.

👀 ooooo, I do love me some pastries-

(I know you have an *ahem* distaste for Lucifer, dear moot, so enjoy Lucifer acting like a bit of a dingus in his section!)

Lucifer

Oh, the human can cook. *insert asshole eyeroll here*. Great. Wonderful. Groundbreaking. That’s what’s got all his brothers acting like- what was that word Levi used? Simps? This human has turned six of the seven rulers of hell into a bunch of simps.

Sure, the human has near godlike cooking prowess. Sure, everyone looks forward to their day for cooking. And sure, everyone thinks the human’s pretty great.

Tsk, not him though. He’s a refined demon. Some silly food isn’t going to make him a lovesick fool… did he smell eclairs..?

Lucifer peered into the kitchen to see MC carefully taking a tray of eclairs out of the oven and letting them cool off on the counter. His favourite dessert… right there in front of him…

Due to not being a total moron, MC notices Lucifer and asks him what the hell he’s doing just standing ominously in the doorway. Lucifer makes up some bullshit excuse about reminding MC to do their homework and just leaves. Okay, game plan, he needs those fucking eclairs or he will spontaneously combust.

As he snuck into the kitchen that night, Lucifer took a moment to briefly wonder why he was creeping around his own house. He was the Avatar of Pride for pity’s sake! He could eat whatever he damn well pleased! Oh shit was someone coming- no? Okay, back to sneaking.

Lucifer crept into the kitchen, saw the eclairs, and all logic was thrown out the window. Time to eat!

“BEEL NO! NOT THE- Lucifer..?” “…” “…” “…you’re very talented, MC, do you mind making more of these?”

SOMEONE SNAP A PICTURE! THIS IS THE CLOSEST LUCIFER HAS GOTTEN TO BEGGING IN THE LAST THOUSAND YEARS!

Mammon

Ugh, stuck babysittin’ some dumb human, how lame…

As Mammon was throwing a “I’m broke and I’m stuck in a pact with a dumb human” pity party, the most heavenly smell entered his nostrils. Cooking… good cooking… was Barbatos visiting or somethin’? Nah, Lucifer woulda made a big fuss about gettin’ ready for Lord Diavolo. Huh, so what was goin’ on in the kitchen?

Huh? The human? The human can cook? Well damn, maybe this whole deal wouldn’t be so bad. Oi! MC! As payment for babysittin’ ‘em, he got to have an extra big share of- OW!

Did- did the human just hit him with a spoon?! Th-they can’t do that!

Apparently they fucking can. Mammon gets told to sit the fuck down and wait for the food like everyone else. He grumbles on the way to the dining room, but he can’t fully hide his excitement to try the food.

The food even looked pretty! How did they do that?! Magic. It had to be!

After everyone’s tastebuds were blessed with the heavenly substance that is MC’s culinary exploits, Mammon decides he needs to get on this human’s good side in order to receive more food! Maybe even find some way to make a profit or somethin’!

After weeks go by of trying to suck up to the human without looking like too much of a chump, Mammon eventually realizes… hey, this human ain’t so bad. They’re nice, they make him feel good about himself, they give him headpats… he’s really hit the jackpot here!

He’ll offer to help MC bake or cook, but beware, he will try and sample the food before it’s done. Don’t let him lick the spoon!!!

Leviathan

First thought? This human ain’t shit. Thought after seeing their food? WOAAAAAAAH! JUST LIKE THAT ONE ANIME-

He was unceremoniously cut off by Beel asking demanding seconds. Humph, fine, he doesn’t actually care about this dumb normie food anyway.

…well at least until Levi saw a little something something on TV that he just had to ask MC to try and make. He shyly knocked on their door and when they answered, Levi shoved the screenshot in their face and stuttered out a dinner request.

On the day MC was supposed to make dinner, Levi poked his head into the kitchen and tried to make it look like he was just standing in the same room as MC and not checking to see if they were making his dinner request.

Not that he’d blame them for not doing that… who’d wanna make some anime dinner for a yucky Otaku- OMG JAHSHSHABA THEY’RE MAKING IT! *fangirl squeals*

As Levi continues to commit the SIN of being in the kitchen at the same time as someone else, MC eventually just asks him if he’d like to help out.

“Here! Just keep turning the takoyaki.” “R-really? You trust me?” “Yes, Levi. You watched how they made it on your show, right?” “Yes! I won’t mess up! I swear on my honour as an otaku!”

All in all, it was a very cute bonding experience for the two. Now it’s a regular thing. Levi requests something for dinner or dessert, MC makes it, Levi helps out.

Satan

So, the human can cook. That’s nice. At least someone in this literally god forsaken house can.

He makes sure to thank MC every time they cook, then he makes sure to thank whatever deity is watching over him that Solomon wasn’t the human staying with them.

As the months progress, Satan realizes, he should learn how to cook better. I mean, Levi and Mammon were somehow both improving in their cooking endeavours, and if MC could teach those two, then he would be a breeze.

Satan walked into the kitchen and simply asked if MC needed any assistance with what they were doing. MC just slid him some garlic to dice and that’s how this mentor/student relationship was formed.

Satan was a star pupil, but Mammon and Levi weren’t above trying to sabotage Satan’s progress to get him to leave.

Here’s the thing, the sabotage worked, but it only worked once, and the two idiots didn’t stop to think that maybe they shouldn’t sabotage the meal they were going to have to eat later.

Well, cooking lessons continued uninterrupted after the ghost pepper incident…

Even when he’s ‘graduated’ their little cooking class, Satan’s always willing to lend a hand if needed. He also will slyly hand over some recipe books and cute baking supplies that he finds. MC should be prepared for lots of cat related things to come their way.

Asmodeus

The human can cook? Oh frabcious day! He’s saved from a life of his brother’s mediocre cooking! And the human’s so cute too! What a bonus!

Not only is the human cute, but their food is just so… aesthetic??? Pretty???? Omigosh he just has to get a picture for Devilgram!

For the first few months, MC’s relationship with Asmo consists of Asmo not at all subtly asking to take pictures of their food and post it to his Devilgram. Listen MC, his followers would just love it!

Being the saint-sheep they are, MC lets Asmo sit in whenever they’re making anything in the kitchen. And Asmo slowly realizes “hey, this cute human with the awesome food is actually pretty cool too!”

New Mission: Make the human fall madly in love with him so they’ll want to hang out more.

Whether the mission succeeds is up to MC of course. (I mean, I’m already smitten with him sooooooooo-)

MC offers Asmo a lot of the pastries they make, but the Avatar of Lust almost always declines. Listen honey, he’s on a diet- wait, don’t make that sad face! He’ll eat it! Look! It’s- it’s delicious…

Diet cheat day is now every day MC makes dessert. The feeling of bliss Asmo gets when he takes a bite out of anything MC makes is only second of the treats is second only to the joy he feels at seeing MC happy that he likes their food. It’s just so wholesome I can’t-

MC’s food Devilgram has almost surpassed Asmo in terms of followers and honestly- he isn’t even mad.

Beelzebub

Gasp! Lucifer finally got him the pet personal chef he’d always wanted! Thanks big bro! :D he’ll be sure not to eat this human!

On the first night MC was supposed to make dinner, Lucifer needed to hold Beel back from breaking into the kitchen to see what was causing that heavenly smell. It was, difficult… especially because Lucifer hadn’t slept in three days.

When they all sat down to eat, Beel practically inhaled everything and held up his half bitten plate for seconds.

We here at Stupid Headcanons incorporated recommend that MC have as many bodyguards as possible stationed around the kitchen at all times to ward off a hungry Beel. We don’t want him eating the ingredients and half-tempered chocolate.

A cinnamon roll through and through, he’ll eat everything MC gives him with a big ol’ smile on his cute little face. He’s not the best person to go to if MC wants advice or critique because the best thing Beel can usually muster is “it was really good.”

As Luke said in Lesson 5, Beel would make an awful food reporter. But we love him.

Similar to Levi, he’ll give meal requests on what to make for dinner. (At this rate, MC’s going to have to make some kind of list).

He kind of just waits by the door like a sad puppy whenever MC is making anything because he can’t get into the kitchen :(

Belphegor

The smell of freshly made chocolate chip cookies wafting through the house did reach the attic and it only fuelled his rage more. How dare the human win everyone over with cookies?!

After the attic incident, Belphie was won over with cookies.

Belphie just stands creepily in the kitchen doorway whenever MC is making anything and just makes shit really uncomfortable. Why’s he doing that, you may be wondering, well, he’s trying to calculate the energy needed to swipe the bowl of cookie dough and sprint to safety.

He never succeeds, mainly because once he gets to the bowl, MC already has the wooden spoon ready to smack him, so he just freezes mid-theft and slowly puts the bowl down.

“Oh my gosh, it says let the bread dough rest overnight? Let’s get a headstart and go to sleep now.” “Belphie what-” “I made a pillow Fort, come in. Let’s sleep.” “In the kitchen????”

How’d he make the pillow Fort without MC noticing? Years of experience. He’s trained in the art of- MC? What do you mean you can’t sleep right now and you need to get a head start on shaping fondant?

…he may have eaten the fondant while MC wasn’t looking… whoops… Beel may have rubbed off on him a little…

[justasillyoldfox]

Oh No He's Hot

♡The title was a joke, but I don't know what else to call it. He's my favorite vice admiral aside from Garp and he needs more attention with the men

♡Smoker x Narcoleptic!Vice Admiral!Male!Reader

WARNINGS: Fluff

♡You were trying to get your work done when you were feeling very tired, you had eventually succumb to your drowsiness and passed out on your desk. Smoker was searching the building to find you. He finally found you sleeping on your desk, he sighed through his nose. He walked over to you, stopped in front of your desk.

♡"Vice Admiral {L/N}, wake up," he said while shaking your shoulder, you opened your eyes lazily and looked up at him. You both stared at each other for a bit before you yawned, bringing small tears to the corners of your eyes, you rubbed away the tears and looked him, still tired. "Ah Vice Admiral Smoker, what brings you to my office?" you asked, "I came for the papers about the recent mishap that happened with a few of my soldiers," he practically demanded. "Ah those papers, yes," you said while looking around the small pile of your desk before remembering that they were in your left drawer.

♡You handed him the papers and he took it with his free hand since the other was in his pockets. He looked at you expectedly, you ran a hand through your hair and sighed before leaning back into your chair, "If you want to say something Smoker-kun, say it," you said while staring at him with tired eyes and a small frown. "I don't have anything to say to you {L/N}," he said as he walked out of your office.

♡You sighed heavily before attempting to finish the small piles of papers on your desk. Once Smoker was out of your office he was grumbling and mumbling all the way back to his office. Once he reached his office he threw the papers on his desk and slammed his hands on the table, 'God how am I this weak around him,' he had thought with an angry blush covering his cheeks.

♡Later that day you were heading home since you were officially off duty. You got home earlier your lover did. You decided to shower before he got home. You stayed in the shower what felt like forever under the warm water, you eventually got out, put a town around your waist, and headed to your shared bedroom.

♡You dried off and put the town on the floor, planning to put it in the washer later, and put on a pair of boxers before laying on the large bed. You had closed your eyes, feeling tired. Before you knew it, you fell asleep. Your lover had gotten home by now, "{Y/N}, I'm home," he said, you didn't reply which didn't worry him to much, 'Maybe he's in the bedroom,' he thought to himself before walking down the hallway/up the stairs to your shared bedroom.

♡That's where he found you half naked, asleep, and a towel on the floor. He sighed, going to the bathroom and picking up your uniform. Coming back to your room he placed the clothes on the edge of the bed and grabbed the towel you used and took them to the kitchen, putting it in a small basket. He looked at the kitchen, 'Might as well heat up some food,' he thought, not wanting you to actually go to bed hungry and pester him about food.

♡He heated up some leftovers from the night before and took them to your room, not before grabbing utensils of course. He sat the food on the bedside table, turned on a snail with a light attached to it. He looked at your sleeping face before patting it to wake you up. It worked since you slapped his hand away before realizing it was him, "Ah sorry, I must've fallen asleep again," you said before sitting and yawning. You scratched your stomach before looking at him lazily, "Need somethin'?" you asked as he kept looking at you.

♡He coughed and mumbled something, you tilted your head to the side with a giant question mark appearing above you. He groaned. "I heated up some food for you so you wouldn't bother me about being hungry," he said with a small blush, you smiled gently at him and kissed his cheek, "Thank you, love," you said as he gave you the plate for you to eat. The entire time you ate he had taken off his uniform, folded both of your uniforms, put his staff like thing on a hook with his vice admiral jacket, and put your shoes near the end of the bed.

♡You had finished your food and laid on the bed waiting for him, he was wearing sweatpants and brought you a pair of sweatpants to which you gladly put them on. He climbed into bed and you both laid next to each other, basking in each other's warmth. His head was to your chest and your legs wrapped around his waist. You were brushing your hands through his snow white hair,he made small humming sounds. You both favored these moments since you both never really got any alone time.

♡You were slowly drifting of to sleep and Smoker had noticed this. He climbed over you to turn the snail off and placed a gentle kiss against your lips, "I love you Smoker," you said before closing your eyes, "I lover you too, {Y/N}," he said before laying his head against your chest and closing his, drifting off to sleep.

♡I want more of him, please 🥺

♡Lmao found this in my drafts, hopefully this is satisfactory :]

[dcbbw]

Wednesday WIPs

It is 10pm ET on a Wednesday night, and I am so behind on deadlines here and in the real world, it is not even funny. But I have been making (very little) headway on a few fics that again, did not get posted when I thought they would.

I’m hopeful to have at least two stories posted before the weekend is over if life can ease up just the tiniest bit.

I do have two sneak snippets to share, mostly to prove I still exist in the tumblr world.

As always, everything is in a state of flux, and final publication will be revised, edited, and may vary from what’s posted today.

Everything is below the cut. Happy reading!

Coitus Interruptus (Riley ask; pairing is #Riam)

The couple had a rare weekend free; their sons were at Applewood visiting with Regina and their Aunt Lena. Both had plans for the weekend.  

Neither had communicated their plans with the other. 

Liam had plans for his wife that involved no clothes, no work phones, and lots of sex.  

He wasn’t chancing an argument. 

“AND you had breakfast this morning, so not starving,” he quickly changed the subject. 

“Do you know how long ago THAT was?” Riley demanded.  

Liam did know. Riley had eaten breakfast aboard the royal family’s private rail coach at 8am. It was now 11:30am. 

“You call TWO pancakes and ONE sausage patty breakfast?? THAT is NOT breakfast! A snack at most.” 

Riley’s plans involved eating food she wouldn’t have to share, simping over Gong Yoo, and finding a new hiding place for her snack wagon and hamper.  

Ever since Liam’s children had entered the picture, Riley had no food to herself any longer. From the moment of conception, his kids had been nothing but crumb snatchers stealing all her food. If they had been her children, they wouldn’t do her like that.  

Riley often wondered how she ended up a single mother and sole food source to kids that weren’t even hers.  

Liam moved closer to his wife, his lips ghosting her jawline. His thumb grazed against her nipple, hidden beneath a red cotton camisole tunic and black sports bra. His lips curved as he felt it harden beneath his touch.  

Riley slapped his hand away. “I’m trying to make a phone call!” she chided snappishly. 

“To WHO?” Liam demanded as he rubbed the offended spot on the back of his hand.  

“The kitchens! I need sustenance!” 

“We’ll be home in a matter of minutes,” the King argued. “You can order from the rooms, and we can … pass the time until it’s delivered.” He raised an eyebrow suggestively as his palm rubbed her thigh.  

Riley stared at her husband; her expression was neither agreeable nor amenable.  

We’re hungry for two different things, she thought. I’m Team Chicken Kiev. 

Siren Song (for #HYAW which is long over).

Set in my Three’s Company AU where Damien, F!Kai, and Asian M!Hayden are in a throuple. The PM gang are drawn into Eros intrigue not through the Sirens Project, but one that shows the Androids aren’t the ones who are inhuman. Not a one-shot, and will quite possibly piss off 2-3 fandoms.

Eros 

“Cecile, is everything prepared for the noon meeting?” Rowan West asked, his flame-blue eyes going between the newspaper on his desk, and the wall-mounted television.  

Cecile Contreras rolled her eyes slightly as she glanced up from her phone. “But of course, Rowan. We’ll be convening in the Empire Conference Room, and lunch will be delivered at 11:45. Old World Deli will be catering.” 

The founder and CEO of Eros Incorporated was skimming over an article about a non-profit hospital network that was being investigated for non-compliance with federal, state, and local laws by demanding and eventually harassing low-income patients who were protected against payment for payment … in full, sometimes for services not rendered.  

The network was working frantically to sell off their facilities while destroying evidence of any wrongdoing.  

“St. Frank’s may be the smartest investment I’ve ever acquired,” he mused.  

“The smartest move you ever made was buying Edenbrook from Leland, then offering Ethan Ramsey the chance to head his own hospital, and be Western LLC’s Chairman of the Board,” his department head observed.  

“He’d better not fuck this deal up,” Rowan growled.  

“Stop being paranoid, Rowan! All he has to do is give the board a check. This is Ramsey’s chance to achieve his every dream. Project Hybrid exceeds the Siren Project in every way imaginable. He won’t let anything go wrong,” Cecile Contreras assured her boss.  

The chirping of her phone caught her attention; she glanced down, a satisfied smile slowly curving her lips as she read the text message.  

Mission accomplished 

Cecile raised an eyebrow in approval. Harley was proving to be useful in more ways than one.  

Three floors beneath Rowan’s office, his Chief Technology Officer lounged in his Deputy Assistant’s doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. Khaan Mousavi’s lips held a small smile as he watched Sloane Washington go through her just-arrived-at-the-office-routine: Placing a bag of greasy breakfast and a cup of hot green tea on her desk; slipping out of her sweater coat and hanging it on a wall hook; fishing her phone out of her slouchy denim patchwork purse before placing the handbag in her bottom left desk drawer. Sitting in her chair before swiveling to face him, a sunny smile on her face.  

“Good morning, boss!” 

As if they hadn’t woken up in the same bed, rode the same train, and arrived at the office together.  

Fraternization was frowned upon at Eros.  

Khaan took in his girlfriend’s creamy café au lait-colored skin, her bright brown eyes hidden behind fashionable glasses, and her braided hair done in an elaborate topknot. She was beautiful.  

“Tonight is boys’ night out with Hamza,” he reminded her. “Pizza, movies, maybe some bowling.” 

Sloane nodded as she sipped her milky tea. “I know. I’ll be at Hayden’s; it’s his birthday!” 

Khaan frowned slightly. “Is there going to be a party? My son and I love parties!” 

Sloane giggled. “You won’t like this one. Kai’s cooking and Steve’s lemon bars, followed by me performing routine maintenance on Hayden before Damien and Kai whisk him away upstate.” 

Khaan frowned good-naturedly. “Kai is not the best cook. Someone needs to convince Damien and Nadia to order pizzas.” he looked pointedly at Sloane.  

His girlfriend shook her head slightly, a half-grin on her lips. “I’m a tech geek, not a party planner.” 

She opened her laptop, prepared to log on. Instead, her brow furrowed as she saw the folded piece of paper sitting on her keyboard. Her boyfriend saw and made his way inside her office.  

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he peered over her shoulder.  

Tagging:  @jared2612 @ao719 @burnsoslow @marietrinmimi @merridithsmiscellany-blog @queenjilian @indiacater @kingliam2019 @bebepac @liamxs-world @mom2000aggie @cmestrella @liamrhysstalker2020  @neotericthemis @twinkleallnight @umccall71 @superharriet  @busywoman @gabesmommie1130 @tessa-liam @phoenixrising308 @beezm @gardeningourmet @lovingchoices14 @foreverethereal123 @mainstreetreader @angelasscribbles @lady-calypso @emkay512 @jovialyouthmusic @21-wishes @princessleac1 @charlotteg234 @queenrileyrose @alj4890 @yourfavaquarius111 @motorcitymademadame @bbrandy2002 @eversoaringqueen12 @queenmiarys @lizzybeth1986​

[dark-frosted-heart]

What happened in Silvio’s story with the most recent jp event? sorry you might have answered this already

I did write a little bit about it before, but it was mostly on his blushes and both him and MC being tsun.

MC takes in the most demanding, incompatible pet ever

He's pretty much been ordering MC around since she took him in. He compensates her (or at least tries to, but she refuses), but still... He's very demanding. Pays for the food expenses but waits impatiently for her to finish cooking, when he could just go out to eat. Steals her bed and makes her his pillow.

MC asks if he even still needs to stay at her place since he's become a pretty successful business man with a lot of money. He can move out and find his own place. Or even build his own house. But nope, he's going to stay with MC until he loses interest. MC mentions rumors spreading around town about them being together which she'd like to dispel asap. Silvio says there's no shame in being associated with a rich and handsome man like himself. He changes the topic, telling her that she can make the dish she made today again tomorrow.

MC asks if he thinks she'll just do whatever he wants if he throws money at her. Not like she takes any of his money though, except for food. She tells him that even the money for food is too much, but he responds by saying that the money covers the labor put into cooking, not just he ingredients. He's done with the discussion about him moving out and ends it, and then shoves food into MC's mouth when she protests.

After finishing dinner, he pulls MC to bed to be his pillow. Another reason why she wants him to move out. She complains but his responses sound as if he's not actually listening to her. She dislikes Silvio, she thinks to herself.

The next day, she's rushing home, having gotten off work late. Silvio must be home already, waiting for dinner. However, when she gets home, she sees the lights off and no Silvio to be found. She waits for a while but he still hasn't returned. Maybe he really did move out. MC can finally have her peaceful life back. But lying in her bed, she suddenly finds it too big. And it's too quiet. She mentally scolds Silvio for leaving without saying anything first. Maybe she is missing his presence. She had fallen asleep thinking about how she can't hear the jangling sounds. And how him eventually leaving was to be expected.

She wakes up after a bit and hears the familiar sounds of Silvio's jewelry as well as a blurry figure. Silvio's surprised that she woke up (he's blushing!). She wonders if this is a dream and grabs his hand. Feeling his warmth, she can tell that it's not a dream. Still blushing, Silvio tells her to let go. She smells alcohol on him. Turns out, he was at a business meeting that dragged a little too long. MC expresses her relief, making him blush again. He reminds her of what she said the day before. —Yes well, it's different this time. She did tell him to leave but...— Silvio asks if she missed him. She denies it.

Anyway, Silvio seems to be in a good mood. But he tells MC that he's hungry. Since MC's cooking, why would he have eaten at the business meeting. MC gets up to reheat the meal she had made earlier, the same dish she made the day before. As much as she'd like to deny it, she found herself smiling.

[on-a-lucky-tide]

For the wip game: Bear and Otter (plz tell me it’s School of the Bear I will cry) and We Didn’t Start the Fire. I was tempted to ask after Fruits of the Hunt because it’s a stunning work, but @round--robin beat me to it.

Thank you very much for the tag!! I’ll absolutely play once I’m on my laptop ♥️

You get We Didn't Start the Fire, dear Berry. This fic was inspired by this amazing art on Twitter, and it spiralled outwards into a whole thing. We know that young wolf Witchers spent some of their training at the Temple of Melitele; Geralt's education there included writing and arithmetic. I wanted to do something with that.

The basic premise is that Lambert is the last of his year group. Eskel, seeing how bereft and lonely Lambert is, to the point he isn't even being sarcastic, Eskel agrees to be Lambert's escort to Melitele for the season.

I reasoned that there is no way Nenneke would play host to a bunch of rowdy Witcher boys around her own initiates, and would thus demand the presence of an adult witcher to keep them in order (and maintain their physical training regime).

The other schools send their boys too. Same time of year. There are a bunch of hazing rituals, lots of posturing, pranks. The schools clash because of their different approaches; the noble, uptight Griffins, the laid-back, feisty cats. Lambert will make friends with Aiden and Coën here. Eskel will bed both the Griffin instructor (Remy) and the cat instructor (Cedric), because he's bored and horny. That's about as far as the planning has got.

---

The thinly stuffed mattress dipped at Lambert's back and a plate of food appeared at the edge of his blurred vision. "You need to eat somethin'," said a familiar voice, so deep it could've come from the bowels of the mountain.

"Not hungry," Lambert said, his words muffled into his forearms. "Piss off."

Silence followed but Eskel didn't move. His continued presence weighed at Lambert's back, and Lambert couldn't help but listen to the draw of his breath. Eskel acted like an anchor, tugging Lambert out of his own mind whether he liked it or not, and Lambert didn't like that one fucking bit. "If you're here to tell me that it's just the way things are. That he died for a greater cause, I'll–"

"Would it help?"

"What?"

"Would it help if I said those things? Do you want me to say 'em so you can throw a punch? Want me to say 'em 'cause you know half of it's true, and the other half's bullshit?"

Lambert's mouth opened and closed, unable to muster a response as he stared into Eskel's stern gaze. "Then why the fuck are you here?" he croaked out eventually. Eskel wasn't doing what the others had; telling him to snap out of it, or grow up, or sort his head out so they could get to filling it with their 'greater good' and 'destiny' bullcrap.

Eskel scratched at the smattering of stubble on his cheek, his gaze sliding away. "Figured you'd need somethin' to eat." He sighed. "I know what's goin' through your head. Same things were goin' through mine when Geralt–when they took him," Eskel waved vaguely at the wall, "but truth is… doing that would be spittin' on his grave."

"That's fuckin' different, Geralt came back. Voltehre, he's–he's gone. For nothing. For–for this, for–" Lambert suddenly felt suffocated by the medallion around his neck and tore the chain over his head. Eskel watched it sail through the air and land beneath the window ledge. He didn't comment as Lambert's breath hitched and he hid his face against his knees, but rose slowly from the mattress.

"Yeah. It's enough to make you want to jack it all in, but," Eskel's voice hitched as he bent down to pick up Lambert's medallion, "gotta ask yourself. What would Voltehre have done if your places were swapped?"

"What?"

"If you'd died, and he'd lived." Eskel returned to the bed and dropped down at Lambert's side again, reaching out only to steady the plate of bread and cured meat between them. "What would he have done?"

Lambert stared down at the plate even after Eskel's hand had moved away. "Dunno. Cried, probably. He was a baby like that."

Eskel had the wherewithal not to point out the tears staining Lambert's cheeks, but hummed to prompt him on.

"And he'd have to do all his potions work by himself, which he'd piss and moan about. Then–but what does it matter what he would do? He's not here. I am, and–"

"You're right. He didn't get to choose what he would do. 'Cause he's gone. But you, you get to choose what you do from here. Ain't nobody gonna stop you starving yourself to death, or throwin' yourself off a peak. A new set of boys will come trundlin' up that trail come autumn. But you'd be throwin' away an opportunity he never got a crack at."

Lambert glared into space as he sorted through his cherished memories of Voltehre. Every single one felt precious. He had always taken their friendship for granted, especially when they had both survived the Grasses. It had felt like they were invincible. 

Eskel continued, turning Lambert's medallion over in his palm. "You're right. This doesn't mean anythin'. Not on its own. It's the Witcher that wears it that gives it meaning. Geralt made himself a code, you know. Something to live by."

"What about you?"

Eskel smiled, a slightly forlorn twist of the lips. "Me? I do my job, get paid and try to be palatable enough that the good folk of the Continent won't put me down before my time."