#and that i didn't write them ooc...

[typing-catastrophe]

I have been so cooked for this man lately that I need to talk about him— I genuinely think that with a ADHD/autism/AuDHD partner Ford takes notes on your stims and quirks, even before any serious relationship. Just little things like “waves hands when excited :)” and “prefers baggy sweaters” just like a little way of understanding you better 🥺💖

yesss definitely! as an AuDHDer who stims a lot myself, this is everything!! jfskhfshsk

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

"Aaaahhhhh oh myy-" the rest of what you were saying was incomprehensible because the words slurred together in an excited squeal. A gleeful expression upon your face, you waved and shook your hands in front of your body, then pressed them over your mouth, to stifle another squeal.

Ford smiled to himself as he watched you from the other side of the room, where he propped his notebook open to scribble something down.

"Heeyyyyy Grunkle Ford, watcha got there?" Mabel's voice rang out right beside him.

He snapped the book shut and whipped his head around.

"Mabel!"

"Waves hands when excited." she cited what she had just read, "Were you talking about-"

"No, I was certainly not!" Ford said, while his cheeks started to turn a deep red colour.

"Are you suuuure? Because to me it looks like you diiiid." she said, a cheeky grin on her face and dragging some of the vowels.

"You are mistaken, dear child. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." he excused himself and stood up, holding the notebook close to him.

Without letting her get another word in, he moved past her and made his way into his study.

There, he propped open the notebook to the page he'd just added a new note onto.

- likes to hum when no one is around - seems to prefer more loose fitting clothes. possibly because the don't restrict movement as much - will subconsciously play and fidget with any jewellery they're wearing - sorts and eats their food in a particular order - would rather not eat at all than something not appealing - skin irritating clothing causes great discomfort. remove tags!! - wants to talk but holds back. encouraging them has positive effect - avoids eye contact but will look at faces when the person isn't looking at them - do not touch without warning and do not force contact! expressed great discomfort to me after being forced to physical contact by someone else - repeating phrases and noises (quite endearing) - easily startled by sudden and loud noises, as well as irritated by high pitched ones, almost too quiet to hear - shows behaviours similar to felines. has stated that they would be delighted to posses the ability to purr (he would be delighted too)

Ford smiled as he looked up and leaned back. He really hoped Mabel hadn't seen too much, otherwise she might figure out how interested in you he really was. And we wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

For now he would be very much content continuing to dreamily gaze over at you and notice all the little things, so he could understand you better.

Maybe one day he could work up the courage to ask you out.

-------------------------------------------------- thank you for reading <3 reblogs are appreciated

[feroluce]

I love the fact that the Silvermane Guards are essentially just a very devoted "We Love Gepard Landau" fanclub, and I desperately need for all of them to get into ship wars about it behind their Captain's back. The soldiers are all split into several factions:

Some of them ship him with Sampo 🛡💣 (enemies to lovers/hateship enjoyers; this does not necessarily mean they like Sampo- in fact it's more like most of them want to sic their Captain on him skzjsmdm)

Some of them ship him with Bronya 👑🛡 (knight and princess trope enjoyers and also a sorta-kinda "that is our mom and dad" type of deal; this faction gets riled up and ridiculously hypes Gepard up to Bronya every time she comes down to the frontlines mskdkxmd)

Some of them ship him with the trailblazer 🛡💫 (the smallest and newest faction, but steadily gaining!)

Some of them ship him with Pela ❄🛡 (workplace romance enjoyers; Gepard once charged out into the Fragmentum alone to save Pela from an expedition gone horribly wrong, and when this faction saw Gepard carrying Pela back princess style they threw a whole party)

Some of them ship him with Dunn 🛡🗡 (also workplace romance; Dunn is very flattered by this because yeah wrong Landau, but wow, the troops really think he's good enough to woo the Captain, what an honor)

And some of them ship themselves with the Captain 🛡❤ (yumejoshi enjoyers; this faction throws a massive group effort every Valentine's Day and are also all very supportive of each other)

The final faction is an odd one, because they're defined not by who they ship their beloved Captain Gepard with, but rather by who they don't ship him with. Their name is generally shortened to the A.B.S. Group- Anybody BUT Sampo 🚫💣 DKSZJJSMSOZ

[talentforlying]

need more people to get mean as fuck with constantine. for good reasons, bad reasons, unstated reasons, righteous reasons, mistaken reasons...just mean. they're out here calling him 'abomination' and 'blight' and 'judas' in the comics and some of the ones calling him that are his friends, man.

[r3dblccd]

Chat, how many benefits of the doubt do I give someone that keeps kind of ghosting me

[iruludavare]

{ ooc. healing from the serena/cal.em forceshipping fiascos of 2013-2016 is being in a place where serena is allowed to have f!meowstic back on her main team and I don't immediately get bombarded with memories

She WILL reduce that boulder to a pile of dust at any minor convenience. She WILL suspend you upside-down in mid-air down if you refuse to give her enough attention. And she WILL find it hilarious. Marguerite (like all meowstic) harbours horrifying psychic power and she will make it everyone else's problem }

[shepcdr]

psa!!! i have moved to a new blog that i am currently keeping off the radar/off of tumblr recommended -- i worked out a system where i'm slowly following back the mutuals i have here once i finish writing the drafts i owe to y'all. which i feel is making it very nice and low pressure for me 😌

once i've whittled down my draft count, i'll switch the urls back over so that i'm at this url again... so no huge rebrand or anything, and it'll be back to business as usual! i expect it to be a process of another month or two, so for any of my mutuals i haven't followed just yet: if i've got one of your drafts cooking, i promise i'm getting around to it! and for any new followers, that just means a potential delay on me getting around to looking at your blogs until i'm officially moved over.

after the move, i am going to be more selective going forward in the sense that i want to keep a cleaner dash, as well as to be actively plotting/building dynamics/writing with mutuals. "writing" is last on that list because i will never judge reply speeds, ic or ooc!! i do however want to have some intial ooc back and forth, a foundation to build narratives upon, and some active interest in building character dynamics/rships.

i'll expand on all this when i make the move official!

[rambles-on-dragon-age]

Varric doesn't give you the nickname Rook, your whole faction calls you Rook. It makes no sense to give you a faction specific last name and then your faction doesn't even use it, but yeah.

Hi hi!

This will be a bit of a ramble, sorry.

Varric, as a character, gives nicknames to those he's around for any length of time. (Solas is Chuckles, Merrill is Daisy, Vivi is Iron Lady, etc. Very few people in close contact with him will escape earning a moniker. I can go on about how I think it's one of his ways of telling people he sees them, but I digress.) The player character has been traveling with him for a year/the better part of a year. Varric would have definitely given them a nickname in that time. (Honestly it shocks me Harding doesn't have one by now but maybe he tried and she shut that down like Aveline once did lol) When you're putting out your things in the Lighthouse one of them is his shaving mirror and you have a moment of reflection about what he said when he hands it to you. There's also the whole time where he's giving you advice and guides you (IYKYK) and it's clear he means a lot to a Rook and they're close.

That is to say, no matter what faction you were with, you left in disgrace. You broke some code the higher ups held dear, messed up well laid plan, ignored orders to save people, etc. You didn't "fit the bill" for your faction and were summarily "adopted" by Varric to help in his hunt for Solas. Those things that made you a bad fit for your original faction? Made you perfect for what he's doing. A good person that doesn't let the potential costs stop them; they see what needs to happen to help people and will run head first into it and manage to figure a way through the most fucked up situations possible.

When you first meet Neve, you're introduced as Rook. "Like the chess piece?" Yes! One of the most powerful pieces on the board, "but tends to think in straight lines". Which becomes evident in all our shenanigans as Rook through the game. Rook's ability to claw their way through the worst situations and be flexible and creative means that Solas wouldn't be able to predict them or what they'll do. Which turns out to be right; he doesn't expect you to drop a statue on him in the middle of a massive ritual. Rook saw only "this ritual needs to stop NOW" and found a way, no matter the consequences.

I didn't hear that dialogue my first game, though, because I did my first run as a Shadow Dragon. Neve doesn't comment on the naming convention because instead Varric says you both do work with the Shadow Dragons and she just skims past the naming convention to say "Oh, what a coincidence." You are still introduced as Rook at first; it's not until later when you're in the Lighthouse where you can have the conversation that you've heard of each other even though you've never worked together.

Because even if I've worked in the group beside you under the same boss for 20 years, if you're introduced to me as "Rook" instead of "_____ Mercar" I'm not going to know who you are. It's not until later, probably while you're unconscious and she has a chance to speak to Harding, that she says she knows who you are. (Based on what Bellara says when you find her in the forest, you've been out cold for two or three days. Can you imagine what our detective figured out in two or three days?)

All that to say, if "Rook" was given to you by the Shadow Dragons, Neve would have said "Oh! I heard of a Rook." instead of just "Oh! What a coincidence we're both Shadow Dragons." She doesn't comment on who you are and what you've done until later when you have a chance to talk to her in the Lighthouse.

And throughout the game, you continue to be introduced as Rook. Even if you started as another faction, if you're written a letter about "Rook" and not your real name, why would anyone know who Rook is until they meet and go "Oh this lil shit right here. I know this asshole."

[skyeslittlecorner]

Can I request a Raphael x angel MC please 🥺

The Gabriel x Michelle and Lucifer x Michael were so good 😭😭

I'm stuck with you and your scenarios now 😠

You're welcome, dear~! I see my total eclipse of the brain bring some good after all. I hope I will be able to fulfill this request. Rafael is on the verge of being a character I dare write for, but let's try.

It was all your fault, that you make Raphael feel so special, then forget about it, and after all, you died. Lowly, pathetic human being. How dare you? Do you think he will forgive you for this? Tsk. Not only stupid, but naive, too. You are lucky that you chose to be reincarnated in heaven. Maybe there's still a chance for your pitiful soul.

And *maybe* you will repent if stop teasing him and start to suck.

Even though you were below him, licking his piercing and letting him tug at your hair, you knew who was boss. Poor, unaware angel. Blessing? Being the chosen one? Good joke. Only few strokes and his tip was already covered with whitish ooze. You raised an eyebrow and snickered.

“And who is the pathetic one?” 

He grabbed your hair harder. 

“Shut... up. Do your work.”

“Truly pathetic…” Your tongue stroked his trembling manhood. “Swayed so easily.”

“Enough!” 

As you opened your lips once more, he thrusted deep inside your mouth. Smiled vindictively as you chocked. He wanted you to lose your breath, to finally be quiet, and obediently end the act of his ascension. As cruelly, as holy. New madness hitted his insides as you murmured with a trickle of saliva ran down your chin.

“Better…” Those full cheeks, clenched throat and murderous intent in your eyes make you both dirty and perfect. Perfect to be used. Clouded with pleasure, he thought that he found his new favorite toy.

All Raphael stans! Let me redirect you to @livelaughlovesubs and her wonderful fics - here you got first and second part. I assume you've already seen it, if not, check it out~ She can write and catch his personality way better than me

[byanyan]

ok minor updates to byan's carrd: updated file to include neurodivergent developments, added their arcane verse (i'll do a proper writeup for it one day i swear), and removed someone from mains who isn't in my life anymore + the verse associated with them

[shinysteph]

Is this a safe space to say I liked the bnha epilogue and didn't see anything wrong with it? 🧍🏻‍♂️it was just a fun little bonus chapter I honestly don't know why people are upset about it

Anyway I love Shouto and I hope he enjoys his bowl and chopstick making classes

[oldestfriend-invisibly]

Playdate- Little Pril & Little Jennifer

Hello!! Sorry I went a month and a half without posting any fics, I was having an extremely stressful time.

I made a post a few weeks ago about April and Jenn hanging out together when regressed and decided to write a whole fic of it.

There's a mandatory, all-day meeting at the Washington office and whilst April is too small to attend it, Ben can't get out of going. Instead she gets to spend the day with Jenn who is also regressed (though older) and has been told she can't be in the meeting and agrees to watch over the younger girl.

4.8K words (I got carried away.)

Warnings- brief mention of harmful stimming during a meltdown. I've put [red brackets] around the paragraph it's mentioned in if you need to skip it.

...

Until now, Ben hadn’t actively taken April into the Washington office when she was regressed. She had slipped a couple of times whilst already there before, but he’d been able to let her nap or sit quietly next to him in his office. And if she was small in the morning, Ben would just call and request the day off work altogether. 

But today, April hadn’t been obviously small when she woke up. Ben had noticed she was a bit more tired and grumbly than usual, but April wasn’t exactly a morning person, so he brushed it off. Now however, they were in the car, running late, and all Ben was focussed on was preparing himself for the big important meeting they had that day that everybody in the office would be attending.

Ben was so focused on mentally running and re-running his planned discussion points and planned schedule for the day, he completely missed the fact that April’s Scooby Doo audiobook CD had been left in the player and that it had automatically started playing when he turned the car on. 

He was only made aware of this by the soft humming of April in the passenger seat beside him mumbling along to the Scooby Doo theme song that played between the end of one story and the beginning of another. Internally, Ben started panicking, knowing instantly that she was small, though wasn’t sure how far April had regressed. From the singing which was somewhat coherent- not quite bordering on babbling- he guessed she wasn’t as young as she often was, but also, probably wasn’t big enough to be able to sit through the meeting. 

Ben couldn’t exactly just get April to be big, knowing being forced out of her headspace would most likely cause April to melt down later on. Equally, Ben could not miss this meeting. The current project was in its most critical phase, and as its leader- they couldn’t coordinate it without him there.

Additionally, Ben knew the others back in Pawnee were currently equally as busy, so likely wouldn’t have any free time to sit on a video call to April to keep her company. The thought of leaving his girl alone in the office made Ben’s heart constrict with anxiety. 

Glancing momentarily away from the road and at April he observed the way she was wriggling around in her seat and heard the way she was parroting back the words spoken by the narrator on the CD. Whilst not understimulated to the point of upset, Ben could tell that today was a day where April was going to need pretty constant sensory input and thus ideally- supervision. However, whilst Ben would never ever describe April’s stimming as disruptive, he knew that the ignorant, irritable idiots he worked with would tolerate hearing the small girl absentmindedly echoing each word they spoke back to them just about as well as April would tolerate having to silently sit still for hours on end. 

Running out of time as they were nearing the office building, Ben’s only plan of action consisted of getting April sat down in a quiet corner of the empty office and queueing up a day’s worth of movies for her to watch, with a handful of toys to fiddle with. He’d try his best to insert a few breaks into the meeting which he could use to get her to eat and use the bathroom, and maybe later in the day he could even get her to nap for the last few hours of the meeting. 

“Dad, what are we doing today?” April questioned, drawing out the words out in a way that Ben knew meant that she knew exactly what was scheduled for that day, but was hopeful that she could convince Ben to change the plans.

“I’ve got that big meeting today, remember? Do you think you’ll be fine to keep yourself busy on your own?” 

Ben winced at the pout and frustrated whine from beside him. 

“Meetings are stupid and boring though. Why can’t you cancel it, aren’t you meant to be in charge?” her tone was as biting as a five year old could reasonably manage.

Ben got out of the car and opened the passenger door, crouching down face-to-face with April as she turned away from him, crossed her arms, and huffed- refusing to get out of the car. He sighed, trying to remain patient, yet keep the conversation short enough that they wouldn’t be any later than they already were.

“I am in charge, April, which is why I absolutely have to be in the meeting. I’m going to need you to behave really well for me today or else we might have to go to bed early and then you wouldn’t be able to call Mommy for a nighttime story.” He hated to use the threat of punishment like this, but he urgently needed to get her out of the car and into the building.

April didn’t respond further than another very grumpy pout, and Ben doubted he’d get anything else out of her. She still shifted back straight in her seat to let him reach over and unbuckle her seatbelt, so she obviously wasn’t irreconcilably mad at him, though she didn’t accept his outstretched hand to hold as they entered the building. Instead she swung her arms back and forth, eyes fixed resolutely on the ground as she trudged behind Ben and angrily muttered a mix of complaints about the meeting, complaints about Ben, and Scooby Doo theme song lyrics. 

…

Whilst the meeting wasn’t due to start for another 4 minutes, by the time the two of them got up to the office it was already empty- everyone else had already made their way to the conference room. But as Ben didn’t technically have to be there until 9:30, he was going to stay with April, making sure she was settled, until the last moment; he didn’t care if it made him seem like a cold and distant boss.

When Ben scanned the room to determine the best place to get April situated, he realised he was incorrect in his initial assessment that the room was empty. 

Sitting in one of the corners closest to the door was Jennifer. This was slightly strange, but Ben wouldn’t be surprised if she too was taking advantage of the remaining four minutes of freedom she had that day- she had always been incredibly efficient when it came to putting in the exact amount of time and effort needed to do a good job and get paid and not a second more. 

“Avoiding the inevitable too, Jenn?” Ben called as he made his way over to where Jenn sat, deciding it would be a good idea to put April close to the water fountain there in the hope that maybe it’d prompt her to stay hydrated. He could hear April’s shuffling steps following not too close behind him, though she had gone silent in the unexpected presence of another person.

Jenn fixed Ben with a glare halfway between judgemental and disdainful, not uncommon, but didn’t provide any other response.

“Jenn…?”

“Ugh I’m so annoyed. I told them that I’m supposed to be in the pointless meeting and they can’t kick me out  because I’m important then them, but no! I’m not apparently because I’m not ‘fit for work today’ which is so stupid! I literally don’t even care about the meeting either because it’s probably going to be mind-numbingly boring because everyone in there are actual idiots, and they all acted like I’m a baby and I’m not! I hate them so much!” 

Ben was slightly taken aback by Jenn’s outburst. April seemed equally as wary as Ben felt her move closer behind him peering round at Jenn, similar to how a much smaller child would hide behind an adult's legs. 

“Jenn,” Ben wasn’t completely sure of the best way to go about this, so decided to just ask plainly, “are you regressed at the moment?” 

“Ugh no. Ok yeah fine, I am, whatever but it’s not even a big deal, I’m not even a baby or anything. I’m basically an adult and I’m definitely way more responsible and reasonable and smarter right now than any of them have ever been.” 

Ben was stumped. Not only did he not realise Jenn regressed, but he also had extremely limited experience with teen regression. Before he could reply, Jenn noticed April and spoke first. 

“Is she regressed too?”

April stepped out from where she was hidden and nodded, though she did grab onto Ben’s hand- clearly slightly intimidated. Although Andy was almost always older than April was, April had never been around an older girl.

“Do you have to stay here all day as well?” April asked, confidence growing when Ben squeezed her hand. 

“Yep” she popped the p.

April’s eyes widened in excitement.

“Da, please please can I play with Jennifer today?” It seemed her previous upset with Ben was completely forgotten. Jenn was older and kinda mean which in April’s eyes made her really cool. 

Ben hesitated. Whilst he realistically couldn’t stop them hanging out together and wouldn’t want to stop April having fun, he knew Jenn could be intense and often quite loud, and Ben was somewhat worried that April might get overwhelmed and Jenn wouldn’t be able to help. 

The meeting was due to start in only a minute now, so Ben really couldn’t stay deliberating any longer. 

“Yes you can, so long as you behave and stay with Jenn and don’t leave.” April nodded excitedly.

“Jenn, I’m gonna show you my evil torture prison dungeon on Minecraft.”

Once April had run over to her desk to retrieve her stuff, Ben turned to Jenn.

“Look, Jenn, I really need to run off now but you have my number right? If anything happens or she needs me please let me know? I’ll let the others know I’m waiting on a doctor’s call. She’s never been without one of us before and I guess I just really worry about her, she might be a bit high-maintenance today.”

Jenn just rolled her eyes at him. “Please, you’re so lame, it’s not like I’m going to let her loose on the streets, we’ll be fine. I’ll let you know if there’s an emergency.” 

“Thank you so much Jenn. Have fun, April!” He called back as he all but sprinted away. 

Pushing her own chair out from behind it’s desk, Jenn pulled another round next to it, patting it to invite April over. 

“Come over here and show me your prison then, kid.”

… 

April had a ton of fun showing Jennifer the different rooms in her prison. The one where the pistons pushed the chickens into the lava pit made the older girl snort with laughter, and April was so excited about Jenn thinking it was cool that she even let her push a few chickens into the lava herself. 

Once Jenn had received a full tour of not just April’s prison but also her castle with all of her pets and the rocket that Andy had insisted on building, Jenn decided it was her turn to show April a game. April had never played a fashion dress-up game before but she quickly found that she absolutely loved picking the worst outfits and hairstyles possible, and then laughing at how stupid the models looked. The robotic announcement of the in-game judge- “te-rri-ble! Zero stars!”- in particular sent her into an uncontrollable fit of giggles, and had her repeating “te-rri-ble” and “Zero stars!” for the next twenty minutes with the same annunciation as the man in the game. 

A little later on, the two were sat on the ground playing dolls. Or more accurately, Jenn was passionately explaining the intricate web of drama between her dolls whilst April rocked back and forth with her head on her knees, listening enraptured to the story whilst she mouthed along with Jenn’s words as she had done earlier with the audiobook.

“And then, just after Eleanore found out that her dad was going to jail for breaking into the city records office to destroy her popstar best friend’s birth certificate and erase her from existence, she also found out that her boyfriend Jake had been lying about being her boyfriend and he was actually an undercover robber all along trying to steal her diamonds!” 

“Then what happened??” April was entirely invested.

“Then Eleanore called her other best friend- Cindy, the karate champion- and she fought Jake by-”

“by using her secret evil witch powers to turn him into a tiny beetle and trapping him in a jar until he says sorry and agrees to be her servant forever!” 

“Well actually first she karate kicked him in the head but sure then she trapped him as a beetle.”

“And then he lived in Eleanore’s dungeon forever and ever and had to bring her and her friends cake and presents and new pet sharks every single day!”

“Yeah, sure, kid!” Jenn agreed, slightly thrown off after having her well planned out storyline derailed by April, but not particularly upset about it. 

“Hey, wanna hear a secret?” Jenn leaned close to April conspiratorially.

“Yes, yes, tell me!” gasped April.

“Well, I’ve got a whole bag of chocolate in my desk from back when I was working in Pawnee. And I know your Dad would probably say no because he’s probably packed you a lunch with like fruit and stuff, but he isn’t here so he’d never find out… do you want some?” 

This was the most exciting thing that had happened to April since Andy visited DC, and she was too eager to even speak, instead nodding enthusiastically and clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides. 

Ben in fact did find out. Even if not for the empty wrappers conspicuously flowing over the top of the bin, the sight of April giggling and propelling herself round and round in the desk chair as her hands flapped were obvious signs that April was on a sugar high.

“Hey, guys, I’ve got thirty minutes off for lunch, but something tells me you’ve already had a feast.” Ben sighed but ultimately wasn’t angry with the pair. He knew today was probably difficult for both of them, so he was glad they were at least having some fun.

“What? No. We didn’t have any feasts, you’re lying.” April was an awful liar, and Jenn had to suppress the laughter that had started the moment she was sure Ben wasn’t about to get annoyed at her. 

“Oh you haven’t? Well then I’m sure there’s lots of room in your tummy for lunch?” Ben smirked.

April, unable to continue her lie, simply huffed and crossed her arms. After making sure had a drink and a bathroom break, Ben did convince her to eat at least half of her sandwich and some grapes. She sat on his lap to eat whilst Jenn sat beside them picking at her own lunch. 

Ben had to keep reminding April not to chew and talk at the same time as she immediately went into an explanation of everything the two of them had gotten up to that morning. However, by the end of the thirty minutes, April had fully crashed down from both the sugar high and the emotional high of the morning. Knowing one of the smaller rooms attached to the main office had a couch inside, Ben decided to try and get April to nap earlier than initially planned. 

In anticipation for the meeting, April had worn comfortable leggings and a long sleeved t-shirt so luckily Ben didn’t need to get her to change into something she’d actually sleep in. All he needed to do was fetch her blanket and whatever stuffie was currently in her bag- which ironically was Jenn, her monkey.

It didn’t take long at all for April to drift off, and Ben gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he left to resume the meeting, but not before quickly stopping by Jennifer on his way out.

“The meeting should last roughly another four hours, she’ll probably stay down for at least half of that time, and once she wakes up, just to get her to stick a movie on her tablet or something.” 

Jenn nodded, attention split between Ben and the Monster High dress-up game she was playing. 

“Yep”

“Thank you again so much, Jenn, remember call me-”

“Yes, I will call you if there’s an emergency. You’re already late getting back.” Jenn snickered as Ben noticed the time, and like he had earlier, sprinted out.

…

Ben had been right in his estimate, and about two hours later, April stirred from her nap. 

She was immediately disoriented, taking a few seconds to remember where she was, and where Ben was. Upon recalling her morning, April had the distinct thought that whilst she loved hanging out with Jenn, she kind of just wanted her Dad and to go home now. She wasn’t going to cry about it. though. She knew that Da really couldn’t abandon the meeting and had asked her to behave whilst he was gone. Yes, she could be a big girl and play with Jenn again and behave and not cry, though all her earlier enthusiasm seemed to have left her. 

When Jenn heard shuffling footsteps from across the room she looked up to see April, hair frizzy on one side, and holding her orange monkey. The subdued expression that revealed the girl’s change in demeanour set Jenn on edge slightly, as she tried to decide how best to handle this. 

“Hey April” she winced as the girl startled at the sudden loudness of her voice, consciously softening her tone as she continued. “Wanna do some colouring?” 

After a beat, April nodded. Stopping by her own desk on the way first and retrieving a green chewy toy which she immediately put in her mouth, April hesitantly walked over to Jenn. The blanket trailing behind the girl made her look a bit like a snail, and the thought made her smile. 

April didn’t want to accidentally make a mess of the picture Jenn was colouring, so she decided to make a start on the other page. It was a picture of two girls sat together in a coffee shop. April thought this seemed boring, but the idea to give them purple skin and red eyes and make them drink neon yellow radioactive coffee did sound fun.

April wasn’t the biggest fan of colouring. She would get very frustrated when she went out of the lines, and would often abandon a picture altogether in response. She didn’t want to waste any of Jenn’s colouring pages though, so she picked up a light purple pencil and started very carefully filling in the picture.  

Ann once told her that colouring was a calming strategy to help deal with big loud emotions. April hadn’t understood that. It was too quiet and still- leaving nothing to combat the loud emotions she was trying to avoid, and some types of pens made bad squeaky noises on the paper, and combined with the aforementioned frustration of having to start a new picture every time one went wrong made colouring a surprisingly overwhelming activity for April. 

She tried to stop thinking about missing Da and focus on the picture but tears sprung to her eyes, blurring her vision. Not being able to properly see the page, April accidentally ended up colouring in some of the table purple by accident. But April had to carry on. She had to behave and making a fuss and leaving Jenn’s book with an unfinished picture because she was overreacting was not being well behaved. 

These swirling thoughts brought more tears to her eyes and thus, more mistakes on the page. A moment later, Jenn noticed the tears about to spill down April’s face and started to panic, unsure of what had caused this reaction. 

“Hey, April? Kid, are you ok?” In response, April only nodded, Jenn was cool, she couldn’t know April was being a big baby and crying about messing up a picture and missing her Dad. That was stupid and not cool.

Changing tactic, Jenn tried to steer the conversation to the picture April was colouring in, not expecting that this was in any way related to the problem. 

At the mention of the colouring, April choked out a gasping sob as her emotions boiled over. She threw the pencil down with force, a purple dot now stood out against the girl on the paper’s still-white eye, which made April cry harder. 

“Oh, uh, is it the colouring that’s upsetting you? What’s wrong with it?” 

[April was now pressing her nails into her arms in a way that Jenn thought had to be somewhat painful, though she refrained from intervening terrified of making it worse, unsure if April would want to be touched. April’s crying unnerved Jenn slightly- her choked, strained gasps and low whines sounding nothing like how Jenn’s little sister used to cry, and for a moment Jenn worried that the girl was having some sort of asthma attack, her sobs seeming more pained than emotional. ]

“Bad colouring. Terrible, terrible, terrible.” Jenn would’ve snickered at the reappearance of the earlier vocal stim if not for April’s failure to communicate otherwise indicating how distressed she truly was.

Jenn felt awful. April had been excited to hang out earlier and she had assured Ben that April would be fine and now she wasn’t and she didn’t even know what went wrong. She suddenly felt very out of her depth, despite being older than April, she was still regressed herself, after all, and she was not equipped to deal with the situation. 

Shakily reaching for her phone, she decided that this probably counted as an emergency. She glanced at April while the call connected, making sure she wasn’t at any physical risk, which she didn’t immediately seem to be, having thankfully removed her nails from her arms in favour of clutching the soft fur of her toy monkey. Ben, predictably, picked up barely a moment after it started ringing, and she heard a muffled “I really have to take this” over the top of some light murmuring, followed by an opening and closing door, and then just silence punctuated by Ben’s heavy breathing.

“Jennifer? Are you two ok? Is April ok?”

“I don’t know, Ben. I’m so sorry. She woke up and was all… quiet and we were colouring and she was crying I think? And when I asked her what was wrong, she started crying harder and I think… she seems really overwhelmed but I don’t know why.” Jenn rattled off in nearly one breath. 

“It’s ok, Jenn, is she safe?” Ben tried to keep the panic out of his voice as he ran to the office. Jenn nodded, before realising he couldn’t see her nod, and replied “yeah, I think so.”

Ben soon arrived and ran straight over to where April stood swaying as she skittishly shifted from one foot to the other. 

“Hey, Pril, shh. I’m here. Can you open your eyes for me, sweetheart?” 

April opened her eyes, and once she registered Ben stood in front of her, she all but collapsed into him. 

Catching her, he lowered them both down, swiped the blanket from where it was discarded a few feet away, and wrapped her up tightly in it. He gently rocked her back and forth, knowing the gentle, repetitive movement would help ground her. 

“Da, terrible!” she whined in between gasps.

“Shhh, I know, Pril. Just keep doing deep breaths for me.”

April nodded, dropping her head to lean against him so she could fully focus more on her breathing. Her Da was here now and the emotions in her head were getting quieter and quieter. 

Jenn wasn’t really sure how to help. She spotted the chewy toy discarded on the floor and picked it up, quickly running to wash it off. 

When she arrived back, she wasn’t entirely sure if either of the other two had noticed she’d left so she nervously cleared her throat.

“Uhm, I washed this off. For if April wanted it.” She held out the toy which Ben gratefully took, he gave it to April who immediately started chewing on it again, letting out a shaky but calm sigh.

“Thank you so much, Jenn.” Ben smiled at the older girl who clearly felt very lost in the situation. 

Then he tilted his head down to look at April. “I still have 30 minutes until I can leave, are you ok here until then, Pril?” 

“Go home straight after?” She asked.

“I promise we’ll go home as soon as the meeting’s over.”

“Will Jenn stay until then?” she asked with a slight hopeful tone. 

Ben looked up at Jenn who nodded assuredly, relief flashed across her face with the confirmation that April wasn’t upset at her.

“Yeah, she’ll stay with you.” 

Deciding the easiest thing to do was to pull up a movie for April to watch, Ben went about setting the tablet up.

“Do you want your headphones, Pril?”

“No. Jenn needs to hear too.” Both Ben and Jenn smiled at that.

Eventually, Ben left to finish the last half hour of the meeting and Jenn and April were left together, sitting side by side on the floor with April’s tablet in front of them. 

A couple of minutes in, Jenn noticed April twisting her fingers together and panicked once more thinking she was getting overwhelmed again. 

“April? Do you need me to get your Da again?” 

She wasn’t expecting the reply April gave- “Can I sit on your lap? Please?” she looked down, obviously nervous to ask, and Jenn sighed in relief.

“Yep” Jenn popped the p as she had earlier which made April smile. Jenn stretched her legs out and still holding her monkey, April moved to sit in the space. Jenn gently rewrapped the black blanket around the younger girl, making sure to include April’s monkey in the bundle. 

“Your monkey looks nice and cozy in there.” Commented Jenn.

April nodded in response. “She has your name.”

That was not what Jenn expected to hear. “Wait, does she really?” 

April nodded again. “Got her in DC and you’re from DC so she’s called Jenn.” 

It was so sweet that Jenn didn’t even feel it necessary to comment that she was actually from Chicago not DC. 

“Well, it is a spectacular name.” 

This time April’s nod wasn’t accompanied by any following comment so Jenn let the silence settle between them. 

From her position with April’s beck to her front, Jenn couldn’t exactly see April’s face. However, after five minutes with no sound or movement from the girl, Jenn was certain she’d fallen asleep, and made it her own mission to stay stock-still until Ben returned.

When he did, only ten minutes later, Jenn was barely awake herself. The soft lull of the movie and the weight of the younger girl in her lap relaxing her after the stress of the day. 

When Ben returned and saw the two girls so obviously exhausted, he had to refrain from taking a photo to remember it, knowing Jenn would likely try and find a way to sue him for it later. Whilst the scene was undoubtedly very sweet, Ben’s heart did pang with the realisation that April clearly hadn’t been getting enough sleep recently, explaining her sluggishness that morning, and almost definitely contributing to the day’s upset. He sighed, not wanting to disturb either of them, but equally wanting to honour his promise to April to take her home as soon as possible. 

“Girls?” he half-whispered. Jenn cracked her weary eyes open whilst April offered only a grumble.

“I know you’re super comfy there but it is time to go home now.” Hearing this, April slowly got up and moved over to Ben, immediately leaning all her weight against him- she was practically dead on her feet. 

Jenn also got up, noticing the colleague she was getting a lift home with entering the office.

“I gotta go too now.” She informed the others. “Bye April, play another time?” 

April looked up, nodded, and extracted herself from Ben’s arms to throw herself into a tight hug with Jenn. 

“Bye bye, Jenn. Thank you for playing and being cool.” 

“Any time, kid.” 

April was practically asleep again by the time Ben got her buckled into the car. With the promise of a future playdate from Jenn, and a quiet Da & Pril evening and a call to Leslie and Andy from Ben, April curled up in the passenger seat with monkey-Jenn in her arms, and finally felt calm.

[misericorsalvator]

An Epitaph

Henry didn't know where he was. It was cold, freezing, but that was all he could tell, from the sharp chill that tore through his damp clothes, to the frigid air that felt like icicles in his lungs when he breathed. Even if he was someplace familiar, it would have been impossible to tell through the veil of rime in the air, the thick hoar that coated the ground. But wherever he was, he had to find shelter. soon, before his limbs grew any number that they already were and he lost the three fingers he had left on his right hand to frostbite. It took a good deal of walking, trudging through the snow, before he found something resembling sanctuary. A rocky hovel dug deep into a mountainside he hadn't even noticed was there. The crooked mountaintop loomed far overhead like a wind-swept pine tree, towering over the barren expanse and shielding the small patch of land near the cave's entrance from the worst of the snowfall. It was a narrow fit, the opening more narrow than a coffin, but it opened up into a wide chamber beyond, dark, lit only by the little light reflecting on the snow outside.

Panic stabbed at him suddenly. That chamber felt familiar, though he couldn't recall from where. The rockface of the walls was smooth, man-made, and the stalactites hanging from the domed ceiling above were unnatural, all the same length, jagged and sharpened to fine points. But he had no time to waste on the unnerving interior. The weather outside was getting worse, the wind howling like wolves on a hunt, and soon his shelter would be just as cold and dangerous as the outside. He had to think, find a way to keep the warmth in. Henry returned to the entrance. He twisted around in the narrow space as best he could and began piling up snow with his numb hands, stacking it, pressing it into shape, mouthing breathless curses to himself, until he had built a solid wall halfway up to his neck. It should last. He didn't know for how long, but at least for now, until he could catch his breath. It had to last.

Henry slumped against the wall of the cave. The barrier he had built offered some protection, but he could still feel the cold creeping in, seeping through the gaps and cracks in the snow. A damp chill gnawed at his bones, freezing the air in his lungs. He knew he had to keep moving, to do something, anything, to stay warm and awake. He couldn’t afford to fall asleep. Not here. Not now. But his limbs were leaden and his body creaked in protest with every movement. His teeth chattered as he tried to think, tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. The harder he tried, however, the more his thoughts seemed to slip away, like sand through his fingers. Panic clawed at his chest once more as he looked around the cavern. The walls seemed to close in, the smooth stone shimmering with a thin layer of rime frost. The ceiling above with the unnaturally sharp stalactites, loomed over him like a mouth full of fangs. He had to get out.

Henry pushed himself off the wall, his legs shaking beneath him. The snow was piling up faster now, further in through the entrance than the wall he had built, and he frantically began to shovel it away with his hands, trying to clear a path through the narrow gap. He shovelled harder, floundered, grappled til his fingers were too numb to move, but for every tiny hopeful opening he made, more snow took its place, as if the storm outside was determined to bury him alive. The cold was unbearable now, seeping into his very soul. Outside, the wind roared, a feral sound that echoed through the cavern and made the air thick with cold. Each breath now was a knife to the chest, each inhale burning his lungs. The snow crawled closer, blocking the entrance fully, and began to cover the cave floor inch by painful inch, forcing the hunter back step by painful step.

Henry's mind was reeling. He stumbled further into the cave, away from the encroaching cold, the bones of his legs creaking in protest. The deeper he went, the more the walls seemed to close in on him, the smooth rock pressing down, suffocating. The quiet there was unnerving, an oppressive stillness that made him painfully aware of his own laboured breathing and the pounding of his heart. The silence of the grave. For what felt like an hour, he pushed himself forward against the stone walls, cowering under the stalactites which were now low enough to graze the top of his head. No matter how far he went, the snow followed close behind, blocking the way back. Henry's movements grew slower, more sluggish, until he could no longer outrun it, and that white frost began piling up around his boots. He felt the fight leave him, his breathing weakened, his heartbeat slowed.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw it—a single snowflake, delicate and perfect, drifting down from the ceiling above. His breath caught in his throat as he watched it fall, impossibly slow, through solid rock. It glowed faintly in the dim light and Henry’s eyes followed its descent, almost hypnotized, until it landed softly on the ground. On something dark, something that wasn’t stone. He crouched down, his stiff knees cracking in protest, and wiped away the snow, his fingers brushing against a cold, unyielding surface.

A hand.

His hand.

His breath caught in his throat. He was looking at himself, at his own lifeless body, crumpled and broken, half-buried in the snow. The wounds were horrific—deep gashes and punctures that were draining the life out of him-- and the realization hit him like a sledgehammer.

This wasn't real.

The snow, the cold, it was all in his head, growing blurry as his brain ran out of oxygen. And the cavern wasn’t just familiar—it was the place he was dying, right now, in the real world. The place where his body was lying, bleeding out into the cold ground, his blood darkening the stone ground.

For a third time, panic surged through him, but it was laced with a deep, bone-weary exhaustion. The wind howled louder, and now Henry could make out voices, battle cries, screeching and yowling in twisted satisfaction. The snow now poured into the cave through the solid ceiling above, burying everything in its path. He wanted to claw his way out, to escape this nightmare, but his limbs wouldn’t respond. The snow was too thick, too heavy, pressing down on him from all sides. As his vision began to blur, the walls of the cave pulsed, breathing with a life of their own, in tandem with his own slowed breaths. The snow continued to fall, endlessly, burying him, until all he could see was white. And then, from the heart of the storm, he saw a figure—a tall, imposing silhouette that moved with unnatural grace, cutting through the blizzard as if it were nothing. Henry tried to focus, but his mind was slipping, the edges of his consciousness fraying like old cloth.

His final thoughts drifted to Bran. A deep guilt welled up inside him. He wouldn’t make it home for Christmas this year. He wouldn’t see his boy’s face light up when he opened his presents, wouldn’t hear his laughter echoing through the house. Regret gnawed at him, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. In his last moments, as the darkness closed in, Henry barely registered the sharp pain in his chest—a bite, cold and searing, as if winter itself had latched onto his heart, and his eyes froze over with unshed tears until the world faded and he breathed his last.

In a long-forgotten catacomb in Wales, as the last drop of Henry's blood soaked into the humid ground, something ancient stirred. Beneath the layers of earth and stone, within the crypt that had long been forgotten, a pair of eyes snapped open. After centuries of entombment, something awoke. The blood of the dying hunter seeped into its consciousness, filling it with the remnants of Henry's life, his memories, his regrets. And once the blood had ran dry, the ancient knight rose from his tomb, his eyes burning with a cold, unholy fire.

He tore through the killers, the blood-thirsty beasts who had chased their prey to the ancient tomb, splattering the walls with their undead blood that burnt to ash, until none were left. Then, he looked down at the broken body of the hunter who had unwittingly become his saviour. With a grim sense of purpose, the knight knelt beside Henry’s lifeless form. He whispered words in a dialect long dead, a prayer, perhaps, or a vow. Then, with a reverence reserved for fallen comrades, the knight lifted the hunter’s body and carried him deeper into the crypt, where heroes were once laid to rest, where the knight's own tomb stood, broken apart from within. The hunter was gone, his spirit entwined with the ancient knight’s own, but his legacy would live on, honoured by one of the very creatures he had once sought to destroy.

The knight sealed the tomb with a final, solemn gesture, then left the catacombs behind and stepped out into the warm summer night, into a world which had long outlived him.

[the-blossica-fan]

Guess who got injured not once, but twice at work today. Nothing serious, but I think this calls for Mesmer Jr to suffer a bit.

Also, to answer your question from last time, Mesmer Jr is growing on me as a character from not really having a strong opinion on her at the beginning. Also she's just really easy to put into situations.

Anyways, there'll be two for this time:

1: Mesmer Jr has been having trouble sleeping. Well, more than usual, at least. She'll suddenly wake up in the middle of the night unable to move and see a shadowy figure standing by her bedside, looking down at her. After several nights like this it is somehow revealed that it was Voyager, wanting to apologize for sending her to the Actors AU by accident that one time(she does it to Actor Mesmer as well).

2: Ezra and Mesmer Jr bodyswap for a week.

Have fun with these, and I wish you a lovely rest of your day~!

You're getting injured quite frequently, I hope it's nothing life altering or that can have consequences to your health aside from pain or bruises, if it does get dangerous do treat them fairly.

It's hard to say Mesmer gets any sleep, her dreamless sleeps have been consuming her overworked brain to a point where a single hour nap could be like sleeping for eight hours and the other way around. Though, Mesmer is aware of her sleeping habits, so this strange thing of waking up in the middle of the night so frequently began to cause concern.

She's almost a hundred percent sure the footsteps and rustling sounds are not from Vertin, as she has asked before and received a standard response such as "I don't break into anyone's room past nighttime, so ruling her out left her with no one to suspect. So, she had to make a plan, a simple one: pretend to sleep, wait for the sounds, shine a flashlight at the intruder.

In her mind, that's a simple but effective plan indeed.

So she laid still, as she did every night, and waited for the usual sounds. Footsteps, the door unlocking, rustling sounds, and a weight by the side of her bed. Curious, she hadn't noticed that, but it made her work easier.

She pointed the flashlight at the side of her bed quickly, making sure not to miss, and then she saw... Voyager.

"Hmm--?" The astral being scrunched up her face at the light, making a sound similar to a hiss, but not quite.

"...Oh" And Mesmer had not a lot to say about this. In fact, it made sense, but not quite. Why would Voyager break into her room?

She lowered the flashlight, raising an eyebrow before moving to turn on the lights, receiving a pleased hum from the intruder.

"Voyager, right?" The astral being nodded in response, squinting her eyes.

Sorry, must've been painful to the eye... Still, quite deserved.

"What are you doing inside of my room? For the past two weeks no less" Mesmer sighed as she adjusted her position in bed, getting back under the covers. "Do you have no one else to bother?"

"Hmm..." Voyager didn't respond with anything that could be easily translated, just a hum and a frown. She then lowered her head and whispered: "I'm sorry"

"...? For what? Breaking into my room multiple times? Yes, you should be."

"..." Voyager shook her head "For... The incident of sending you to the other..." She didn't finish her sentence, but the point got across.

"Ah, that. Don't worry about it, it's been a month, I don't care anymore"

"Oh"

An awkward silence took over the room. Apparently that's all Voyager wanted to say, but it seemed excessive to break into the room of the sleep deprived Mesmer for it.

"And, is that all? Is that why you broke into my room multiple times?"

"...Give you a better sleep..."

"You made it worse"

Voyager lowered her head, looking like a kicked puppy. How pitiful. "...I'm sorry"

Mesmer sighed, choosing to not say anything else for Voyager's sake. Not because she felt rather guilty of her behaviour, what? Instead, she pointed at the switch. "Turn off the lights, I still need to sleep"

Voyager did so without hesitation and went back to her spot, watching Mesmer sleep as she had done for the past week (or weeks, Mesmer wasn't counting).

Mesmer sighed, rubbed her eyes and stared at where she assumed Voyager would be with a tired gaze. God knows she needs a night of rest after all of this.

"Why are you still here?"

"Give you a better sleep"

"...No, it'd rather you leave"

"Oh..."

————

If X's lovely machine for his "Xtreme Talent" show hadn't gone wrong, Mesmer would be enjoying an evening of taking care of a patient's mental health and reviving traumas of theirs and sometimes of hers. Though, without it, they wouldn't be here.

Ezra, in her body, sat awkwardly on a chair, looking apologetic as if this had been his fault. In a way, it was. He gave X the mushrooms for the experiment, so he must feel guilty for it.

"Oops! Seems I overdosed the machine with the wrong mushroom spores. My bad" X simply shrugged with a nonchalant expression.

Oh, how she wanted to strangle that guy.

"Uhm, Miss Mesmer, please don't worry" Ezra, like the pacifier he always has been, took Mesmer's glare away from X. "The effects of this specific spore is not as lasting as its counterpart, this should only last for twelve to sixteen hours at most"

What a nightmare.

"No need to worry" Mesmer rubbed her temples, Ezra's gloves felt uncomfortable against her skin, which also felt uncomfortable. "I can still work with the patients in this body"

"Negative," Said X. "Your expressions don't match with Ezra's, and your arcane skill is no longer the same; I'd recommend not going to the Laplace rehabilitation center for the duration of this exchange"

He says "recommend", yet Mesmer can see he has written a letter to excuse both Ezra and Mesmer from work.

It would be nice if it wasn't because of him.

"...Fine," It didn't take much convincing. Well, it would have, but she relied on her arcane skill for her treatment, so what else could she do?

"Don't worry, Miss Mesmer, I can learn how to manage your arcane skill and help the patients you are required to take care of today" Ezra's confidence would have been charming if he wasn't trying to fix the skirt or the shirt Mesmer usually wore.

"I'd rather you don't, thank you"

"Ah... Well, you're right. Learning a new arcane skill in such a short amount of time would be problematic for my, and your, health, as I don't know the basics of your arcane skills and could confuse it with mine"

Mesmer didn't continue listening to his ramblings. It already felt strange looking at her own face smiling so brightly and without a care, and the added weight of Ezra's equipment began to tire her.

Thankfully, it would only be for sixteen hours, right?

. . . .

It did not, in fact, last sixteen hours. The first few hours were peaceful, by hour sixteen, Ezra began to do research over why they hadn't changed yet.

What they did change, however, was garments. Neither could handle their clothing. Especially Ezra, he couldn't deal with the skirt or the exposed chest. Or the chest in general.

Turns out he confused spores, the weak spores he meant to give X were mixed with the cousin of that mushroom, a much stronger variant of it, whose effect meant to last from a hundred and sixty eight hours to a hundred and seventy five hours.

A week, to be more specific.

And good lord, they both hated the idea.

"I cannot leave work for a week, I have patients to attend to"

"Ah! The research on the strange mushroom I collected on Friday! If I leave it for too long, the mushroom's properties could not be the same as before!"

The awkward part of working side by side had to be pushed away, or else they'd have to pay the consequences of not taking care of their business for longer than expected.

Mesmer could manage just fine Ezra's arcane skill, and Ezra could at least use the artificial somnambulism machine perfectly. Mesmer's arcane skills are not to be messed with by a rookie, or so said Mesmer.

They'd rather not speak about sleeping, changing and bathing, however. That part of their week in hell has been erased from their minds.

[templeofvengeance]

[Y'know considering I've been sending those bingo sheets full of notes that clearly aren't from Khon and full of insults, maybe in-universe, someone else is writing/sending them out on his behalf.]

[moonlitkata]

hi 🧡