#and you can make yellow dye from them eh

[vern-a]

Discovered what a wallflower actually is, time to do Lore

[yeeterthek33per]

Loved and Landed (Steph Catley x Reader)

A/n Requested

-------

Steph lives a busy life.

There's her football life. Obviously.

There's her schooling life.

There's the life she lives with her friends and family.

And then there's the life with-

"Steeeeeph, come on, I wanna get there early, I'm not dealing with Katie leaving something for me to find, again."

There's incessant tugging at the sleeve of her red Arsenal hoodie.

Of course, her football life keeps her the most busy.

Especially when she has to drive it to and from home all of the time now that Kyra's living in the house as well.

It had been a hectic process, but the young midfielder had settled in quickly, taking in the familiarity of the Aussie herself and her club teammates' closeness around them.

Quickly becoming a child amongst the older girls on the team, much like a sibling to them, within but a few months.

That being said.

Kyra was a little shit.

And she knew it too.

A demanding one at that.

Hence why Katie had taken to knocking the young brunette down a few pegs.

Her cockiness was starting to show under the protection of the older girls, so the Irish captain had been messing with her enough to take the invincible mindset away from her.

Leaving her ultimately latched onto Steph now.

A lot.

"Seriously, Steph, please, I can't deal with her leaving shaving foam in my boots again."

The older woman raises an eyebrow at the pleading look on Kyra's face.

"You did this to yourself, Ky. Katie's only retaliating because you decided you were king shit enough to put hair dye in her shampoo."

The younger girl whines.

"Don't you think she's retaliated enough? I've had my shoes violated, my shin guards replaced with slightly smaller ones. I mean, the other day, my water bottle was filled with pickle juice. Pickle Juice! For gods sake."

Steph sighs, rolling her eyes slightly, grabbing the last of her stuff to shove into her pack, she gestures to the front door, to which the midfielder eagerly hurries out of and towards the car, waiting impatiently for the defender to unlock it.

"You've seriously gotta apologise to Katie or something. The girl has ten siblings, I can't imagine she hasn't spent her whole life dealing with bratty behaviour from little shits like you."

Kyra scoffs as she hurriedly buckles herself in.

"Rude."

"The truth."

Steph smirks at the small pout that forms on the other girls lips.

"Hurry up and drive."

"So bossy."

-------

As expected, they arrive with hardly any other people around, decidedly much earlier than any of the other girls. Katie wasn't the earliest of player's anyway, so Kyra really shouldn't be worried about her beating them there.

Still, the youngin looks exceptionally nervous as she peaks into the changing room and gingerly makes her way over to her cubby, scanning it with a ridiculous level of detail.

Steph can only shake her head, watching the young girl sheepishly wander around the room, checking for what may well be hidden traps.

Maybe she should talk with Katie about getting her to take it down a notch.

The Irish woman was nothing if not relentless when it came to getting back at someone.

The last thing the team needed was a midfielder with serious trust issues stemming from their infamous yellow card magnet of a winger.

"Ky, relax. She's not even here yet."

"Yeah, but you never know."

"Seriously, it's game day, relax, she won't-"

"Oh, hello, you two. Stephy. Kyra."

The ever so loud and joyful Katie enters the changing room with a bang of the door as it slams open and hits the wall.

Her smirk quirks up a little wider at the sight of the midfielder, who's looking rather sheepishly around her rather than at the Irish woman herself.

"You two extra early today, eh?"

"Ha, something like that."

Steph gives her a look as she nods in Kyra's direction.

"Give the poor girl a break, would ya? I think she's been thoroughly humbled."

Katie snorts in amusement, eyeing her up.

"Eh, she’s fine. I wasn't gonna do anything."

Steph raises a brow at that.

"....Yet."

There it is.

"Of course. Don't mess around too much, though. We still have a game to play, McCabe."

She lets out an unconvincing hum in response, right as some of the other girls start to filter in, Caitlin one of the ones to settle into her cubby beside the defender.

"What's up with the kid?"

Steph snorts.

"Ask your girlfriend. She's been torturing the poor girl."

Caitlin rolls her eyes, turning to Katie, who's now got a cheeky glint in her as she eyes up the younger of the three.

"Katie."

"What? I didn't do any-"

She stops at the look she gets from the Australian, grumbling as she relents and turns back to her cubby.

-------

Kyra's finally able to escape the locker room out of sight of the defender the moment the Irish woman is distracted.

Heading down the hall towards the physio room, she ends up coming face to face with and bumping face first into someone.

She groans when she rubs at her face and her backside from where she landed on it as she stands up again with the help of her assailant.

The person is stood in a royal navy uniform, a patch on her shoulder with three horizontal gold stripes and a small circled loop on the top, hair slicked back and tight into a bun behind her head.

'L/n-Catley' the name badge reads.

Confusion crosses her face which you quickly notice.

"You're Steph's teammate right?"

"Uh yeeaah? Who are you?"

"It's a long story and sorry about the bump there. I uh, I don't know if y'all know yet but I might need your help. The staff were nice enough to let me in but I need an escort here."

"Where are you going?"

"I got told to wait for one of the trainers in the staff room?"

"Can I ask what you're doing?"

"Waiting to see Steph, but don't tell her, it's supposed to be a surprise."

Kyra is extremely sceptical, but she leads you down the hall to where the trainers are situated and one of them recognises you immediately, hugging you and dragging you into the room.

She's even more confused when the staff member is nearly in tears.

Wait.

Navy uniform.

Here to see Steph.

L/n-Catley on the name badge.

There's no way.

"Are you... Are you married to Steph?"

You chuckle softly, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yes I am. If you can't tell it's been a little while since we've seen each other."

"Yeah, I can tell, her house is far too empty for the size of it."

"Ah, so you're the new roommate. Kyra, right?"

"She's been talking about me?"

You nod.

"We would call every two weeks. When she found out you were moving to Arsenal, I couldn't tell if she was happy or mad because you'd already trashed her white towels."

"Hey! That was not my fault, the wine just fell... on it's own."

There's a sheepish look on her face.

You chuckle softly.

"She'll be fine, the pattern was ugly anyway, we needed new towels... Don't tell her I said that."

Kyra smiles at that.

"It's great to meet you, then... How are we planning this out?"

"I'll have my sister here sneak me somewhere I can wait and surprise her at the end of the game."

She nods.

"Alright, I better get going then before the girls come looking for me for pitch inspection."

You nod back and give her a warm smile.

"Oh, I'm Y/n, by the way, Lieutenant Commander Y/n L/n-Catley."

-------

The roar of the almost entirely red and white crowd as the girls enter the pitch is as usual, deafeningly loud.

Home games are always the most adrenaline instilling games, ones where their fans are always the loudest, chanting and screaming every time one of their own touches the ball.

Steph can still hardly believe it.

The growth in the game. Breaking records every single home match so far.

The FA Cup semi-final was no different it seems.

Her eyes subtly scan the crowd as she jogs out behind the others, shifting from clapping fan to clapping fan. There's an air about the crowd.

A massively high inducing air, one that she can feel in every nerve ending in her body as she practically bounces around the pitch in warmups.

She brushes it off as it being a semi final type of high.

Aston Villa would be a difficult opponent and she assumed that was the reasoning.

-------

It seems she's proven wrong in the first ten minutes.

It doesn't take long for Stina to score, the home crowd immediately losing their minds, and they barely have time to recover just two minutes later when the Swede swoops in for the double.

By the fourty-fifth minute, they know they have the game. Four to nil over the Villans thanks to a Stina hattrick and a goal from Frida. Her heartbeat is thumping in her ears as they approach the final minute.

This is the part they're in the dark. How many minutes left of stoppage? How much longer does she have to defend?

The players are taught not to worry about that. To just play until the whistle blows. And she does.

But she can't help the nagging awaiting of the whistle, wondering when it will go.

The moment it does, there's celebration, relief, and a lot of cheering and screams and congratulation from the air around.

A pair of arms and legs wrap around her from behind as Kyra jumps on her back, the young Australian whooping into her ear.

"Onto the finals, Stephy!"

The defender chuckles and celebrates with the team, the announcer shouting out the home teams win to wind up the crowd once more.

As they do the celebration walk around the pitch, the announcer announces player of the match, and then one more announcement catches her ear.

Her head snaps toward the tunnel the moment she hears it, heart stopping at the words of the female announcer.

"And finally, one last round of applause. Let us congratulate and welcome back someone very special to one of our own. Lieutenant Commander Y/N L/n-Catley returning from fifteen months of duty at sea with the Royal Navy."

And truly, there you are, her wife.

Dressed to the nines in your Black, long sleeved uniform, hands clasped behind you, standing with a wide, almost teary smile as you watch Steph bolt across the pitch towards you, catching her with little effort as she jumps into your arms, knocking the cap off your head with the force.

The rest of the Arsenal girls stand shocked, looking between themselves and their left back at the sudden appearance of a totally new member of the Catley family.

Before they can even try to work out who you might be to Steph, the defender has her lips pressed to yours tightly, tears streaming down your face.

The sensation of finally being able to kiss you, her wife. HER wife, has her trembling against you, her stomach twisting and curling as you hold her tight against you, your own hands shaking as they rest on her back.

It had been the longest stint you'd gone without seeing each other, having been on a cramped ship for the majority of that time.

Even having been used to long times apart, the immense relief of being able to hold your person, your love, YOUR wife, after so long. was like nothing else you'd ever experienced.

And you were glad you had all the time in the world to experience it now.

When Steph's finally able to pull back and look you in the eye, hands holding your face, eyes scanning your features, noting a small scar under your right brow, and then returning to make eye contact again with you, albeit very tearily, much like yourself.

Lifting your own hands, your thumbs swipe away the tears on her cheeks, leaning down once more to kiss her, forehead leaning against hers.

You take in the immensity of the screams of the crowd all of a sudden, especially the crowd around the players' tunnel.

With that, she buries herself back into your hold, her nose buried into the crook of your neck.

Your eyes scan the pitch, watching the applauding or shocked expressions of the players.

You'd already known her teammates didn't know she was married, however their shocked expressions still have you chuckling.

All except Kyra's wide smile as she watches the two of you and you give the girl a wink.

"I can't believe it. You're here."

It's half whimpered into your shoulder, and you just barely hear it over the crowd.

"I'm here. I'm home."

"They finally let you on leave?"

She's using a half joking tone beneath the watery chokes and sobs.

"Better than that, Love."

She pulls away shocked.

"You mean.."

You smile down at her teary eyed.

"I'm home for good, not retired but they're giving me an office in London. Full time hours still but I won't be needed for duty anymore."

She frowns softly after a second.

She knew you'd always hated the idea of an office job.

Catching the look on her face, you knew what she'd be thinking about.

"I don't care where it is, or what I'm doing. I'm just glad I'm home, with you. I've had my fill of travelling and front line work for a lifetime."

Leaning your forehead back against hers, you let the moment sink in.

You'd known it was coming for months now, haven spoken to your superiors, and them letting you know there was a position available remotely, you'd taken it in a heartbeat.

If it meant coming home to your girl, you'd have done anything.

A small throat clearing a couple feet from you, the team had moved to stand around the pair of you, eager to ask questions of the brunette in your arms.

You nudge her softly with a small giggle in her ear.

"Babe, I think they have questions."

"They can wait a little longer."

You don't fight her on it just letting her settle into you again, holding you tightly.

The moment she does let go, she's grabbed by the shoulders and interrogated by the team rather swiftly.

Leah stands arms crossed.

"Now Stephy, when did this occur?"

Steph sheepishly smiles around her at her.

"Alright alright, Gunners, meet my beautiful wife, Y/n. She's been in the navy since she turned eighteen, we met five years ago when she was on leave in Australia. We started dating less than a month later and she left on duty about four months later. We got married after three years, bought a house right before she left a year and a bit ago. We haven't seen each other in person since then. Until now, that is."

And just like that, you're immediately dragged into the group rather swiftly, squished into several hugs.

A firm handshake and then a tight hug from their captain, especially. The Scot making firm well you know how quickly she'd bury you should you hurt their defender, despite the fact you'd known Steph longer and you chuckle, nodding in agreement at the stern look turned cracked smile she lets go.

When you're finally free, Steph takes no time tucking herself under your arm and wrapping hers around you, looking up at you slightly with a proud, elated smile, eyes still slightly teary.

Returning the expression, you press a small kiss to her nose.

"Welcome home, Baby."

You shake your head.

"Congrats on the win, Baby, this is your moment right now. Go celebrate for a bit, we've got all the time in the world now."

She pouts but relents with a small peck and nudge.

"KYRA, YOU KNEW?!"

The shouts of the Irish captain make her jump but chuckle a little as a gloating midfielder teases the rest of the girls.

Yeah. She was in for it.

-------

[duchezss]

My favorite details/moments from Trolls Band Together because I have a problem.

Lemme just get this out of the way and say the soundtrack is a certified banger oh my god.

When brozone tries and hits the perfect family harmony the first time the colors that they get outlined in are all separate, the three colors don't blend at all.

Just Floyd comforting Branch....😭 😭

Branch's little hops when him and Floyd were talking about the bunker WAHHHH.

The real emotions of Branch missing his brothers while simultaneously not wanting to see them like???

"There goes my back" when JD was throwing Branch LMAOO.

The entire design of Mount Rageous is so whimsical and gorgeous I'm in love.

When the whole screen shakes when JD hits the counter eh oh el.

"If there was a brother I'd do this for...I'd be Floyd" WAHHHH.

The old MTV style music video Watch Me Work has.

Floyd singing with the posters of brozone floating around 😭

"Tiny, Poppy, Branch, and this random dude" I SPIT OUT MY DRINK LMAO.

"Are you a narc?" OH I LOST IT IM SO DEAD.

All of Branch's old hairstyles being references to Justin Timberlake's real hairstyles.

"Poppy seed" awwwww.

Branch's little "yay" is so cute.

The ongoing ring pop joke is actually so funny I'm sorry.

The way Bruce and JD just throw Branch on command.

Bruce still being considered the heart throb even though he's got a dad bod, a wife, and children 😭

THE BLEEPED OUT CURSE WORD I WAS IN TEARS.

The amount of songs they fit into Brozone's back is actually impressive, and the way they mesh so well together??? Legitness.

"That's not an idea, those are shoulder pads" I just can't...

When Floyd's hair started turning white and he was going transparent....WAHHH 😭 😭 WHEN I GET YOU VELVET AND VEENER WHEN I GET YOU......(But also the details to show how fast his health was declining? Someone cooked)

Branch's iconic clue board.

Bruce holding tiny diamond since he's also a dad.

Branch trying to be brave and talk to the clown but as soon as Viva came at him he backed up. That's such a real response I love is so much??

Clay's hair being green? Which kinda hints that JD or someone made him dye his hair yellow when he was younger.

Viva calling Clay "Mr. Clay" is actually the cutest thing everrr

Clay and Bruce's handshake, I also kinda like that it implies that they were really close, kinda like how Branch and Floyd were close. I think it really separates JD from them.

Also everyone's reaction to JD being super cold while everyone fawns over Branch.

Clay's so smart 😭 (and autistic) I love him so much.

All the brothers cute dancing in It Takes Two ❤️

The very real response of Viva not wanting to talk about her trauma and also not wanting Poppy to leave.

"I don't wanna lose my brother either" I feel like no one talks about how brave Clay is. He's in the same boat as Viva, he thinks Bergens still attack trolls, and he's going out into the world for the first time in who knows how's long. Just because he wants to help save Floyd, like that's so sweet???

Floyd's dead face was way funnier than it should've been.

"I thought ghosts just floated away" the delivery on this line is unmatched.

Floyd speaking one younger brother to Veener was so 😭, especially cause you know he felt like Veener did when Brozone was still active (on a lesser degree ofc) I can't.

We don't talk enough about how fire all of the choreos are, like they got professional dancers to make these dances, AND YOU CAN TELL OML.

JD's need for perfection constantly getting in the way of the greatness they all could achieve.

Branch being the voice for all younger siblings out there who will never be respected by their families hit me. But I also think there's something to say about the JD's of the world. The older siblings they took charge because they felt they had to. All parties end up getting hurt.

Also Branch actually wanting them to be a family so sweet. It really embodies the naive hope of wanting to stay together that youngest children have, but it's not unattainable. You can still be close with your siblings into adulthood, no matter how much time has passed, and that's what this movie represents as it's core.

"I didn't think we'd both find ourselves tied up on this honeymoon" WHATTTTT.

BRANCH AND FLOYD HUGGING THROUGH THE GLASS WAHHHHHHHH. Also Floyd being the only brother to respect that's he's grown....I just love them so much 😭

The whole interaction of all the brothers reuniting while in the diamonds is so funny for no reason lol.

Viva understanding she was wrong and striving to do better for her sister >>>

BRO THE ENTIRE CLIMAX IS SO GOOD??? THE TENSION?? THE MUSIC??? IT'S JUST PERFECTION. THE SONGS CHOICES WERE SO GOOD, AND THE WAY THEY REARRANGED WATCH ME WORK TO BE SO INTENSE IS BRILLIANT. THE SONG JUST KEEPS BUILDING AND THE STAKES GET HIGHER, IT'S WAY TO GOOD.

"Actually I've got two really brave sisters" When the message of this movie is that found family and blood family are just as important as each other, and that no matter what you get to pick who your family is >>> 😭

When Clay falls hard while in the diamond, Bruce and JD immediately check on him, meanwhile he's just focused on Floyd. The older brotherism... 😭

The message of this movie also being that perfection isn't important, but rather balance, harmony, and communication are key. ❤️

The acapella opening of Better Place....just.....wow.....

Clay's adlibs eating everyone up??? Kid Cudi I was not familiar with your game hold on.....

When they hit the perfect family harmony all their colors start mixing, showing their respect for individualism and also for the group.

The way Floyd eyes light up when they're all singing is just 😭

Branch building the bunker for all of them 💔, Floyd remembering the waterslide, all of them hugging?? Just peak filmmaking idk.

"Jail it is" also apparently someone did the math and in our world the twins would get over 6 life sentences for their crimes hello???

All of the boyband references are so funny idc.

Clay being excited to get to know Branch 😭 also JD reading a book in the back that presumably Clay recommended him?? That's so cute? He's really trying y'all, they're all trying, and that just warms my heart 😭

*NSYNC making their first song in over 20 years for this movie is actually the craziest thing ever I'm obsessed. Also they all designed their little trolls which I think is so cute.

The last songs....just bangers....I can't even, I sound like a broken record, why is every song in this movie so good.

Fav adlibs speedrun (from the last two songs): Floyd little "yeah yeah", Clay's "dohhh, ohhh," one of the nsync members "show the wayyy", Bruce's "so excited", Branch's "ohh" & "ayeee"

The layering when they all sing together is too good. It sounds so gorgeous and if you listen closely you can hear each persons vocals.

Also I just need to talk about the music production and mixing for a second. This movie has three version of Better Place, all of which are unique. The main one is the NSYNC version, which is notable for it's little rap section. The Family Harmony version use's the intro/pre-chorus as the main part of the song. It also lets the song slowly built, and adds instrumentals as the song progresses. The Reunion version doesn't use the intro/pre-chorus, but rather mainly focuses on the chorus. It also uses the bridge from the main song as the post-chorus/refrain. Just a very creative use of the song tbh. Also the instrumental differences between Watch Me Work and Mount Rageous? Like it's the same song, but the way they add more classical elements and more layers to build the tension and the song as a whole?? I have no words. Perfection.

Obsessed with this movie. If you haven't seen it pls go watch it.

[misc-obeyme]

I'm bored, could I draw Ciaran? I study Graphic and Fashion Design, but I draw for fun, and I'm no expert. I love character design, so could you give me some information on Ciaran's appearance and fashion style so I can give it a try?

Give me super-duper ✨️details✨️ appearance and fashion style please!! That would help me a lot.

If you want to ofc.

Of course! Anyone is free to draw any of my OCs/MC whenever they want! I know most of them don't have descriptions adslkfj but I actually spent WAY too many hours making picrews of them all so I could finally create their profile posts. I'm too lazy to make moodboards for everybody like I did for Ciaran and Arsenios.

Oh, anyway, sorry I got a bit off topic there!

You are absolutely welcome to draw Ciaran if you feel so inspired!

OH BOY. You want super duper details, eh? That's like... my specialty lol. Here I go!

Body-wise, Ciaran is on the shorter side for someone who is amab. I tend to think of them as like 5'4" and a half, but they round that up to 5'5" lol. That's pretty average for most people, but Ciaran comes from a family of tall peeps. Plus I think of most of the demons as being between 5'10" and like... 6'4" so comparatively, Ciaran is quite short. They're also chubby. Definitely all soft and round, with a sorta hourglass figure shape. Mostly hips and belly, but nothing crazy proportion-wise.

They're Irish so you know, rather pale. Not really freckled but will get them if they spend a lot of time in the sun.

Naturally black hair, but they dye it blue. This means the color can vary. Since they bleach their black hair to dye it blue, when they've freshly dyed it, it'll be a deeper more vibrant blue. But if it's been a while, it'll be a more sky blue color. It's short, the back goes to maybe the middle of their neck while the front stops around their chin. Side part that varies sides because it's wild. Not curly, but very wavy and just kinda all over the place. It's juuuust long enough to put into a tiny ponytail, which they will do sometimes. But more often if they need it out of their face, they'll clip it back with some kinda cutesy barrette. (I think Asmo has probably given them a ton of these lol.)

Their eyes are mostly dark green with maybe a hint of lighter green in the depths. They're also one of those lucky people who have long eyelashes. And they don't dye their eyebrows, so they're just black. And they're not super thick, but perhaps thicker than average? I'm not super dedicated to that detail, though.

Face is very round, due to the chubby lol. They get their ears pierced while in the Devildom, but they don't start out with that so it just depends. When the ears are pierced, they wear simple studs.

Style-wise, I describe Ciaran's style as hipster with a side of punk. They like corduroy and sweaters, but then they'll wear Converse shoes and leather jackets. Usually wears paint stained overalls when they're painting. They like bright colors so most of their sweaters/t-shirts are blue, yellow, or green. Pretty much always wearing sneakers, I'd say they have a single pair of Converse that are their favorites and they wear those all the time. Probably just black and white.

They carry around a brown leather messenger bag situation where they keep all their stuff.

Known to wear scarves whenever it's even a tiny bit cold and they're all like... plaid lol. Definitely has a preference for green/blue plaid, but will wear red/black plaid as well. Sometimes wears pants with those patterns, too.

When dressing up a little, they'll go with fancy pants, suspenders, and a bow tie with their usual Converse because they care most about comfort.

They often have their nails painted, but the colors vary depending on their mood. (Likely Asmo does this for them when they live in the HoL. Left to his own devices, Ciaran isn't super reliable about repainting his nails so they're often chipped as hell lol.)

HOWEVER. On special occasions, Ciaran will completely glam it up.

For instance, if the demons really want him to get snazzy, he will wear a three piece suit. Like it's kinda he doesn't care about this stuff. Most of the time, they prefer comfort, but if they want to, they can absolutely rock a suit and look good doing it.

Likely they're going to do some glitz with that, though. Wearing gold jewelry and having Asmo do their makeup. Style their hair so it isn't as crazy lol.

And sometimes, Ciaran will also glam it up femme style. This is very much a situation where they let Asmo dress them up, basically. But even back in the human world, they would do this. It usually involved borrowing their sister's clothes, which is funny because she's a lot taller. But Ciaran will just put on some heels and call it good.

When they do stuff like this, they like to get really flashy. So it's all sequins and glitter and such. They'll do their hair in a fancy updo or curl it or something. They definitely like that kinda old school Hollywood glam style. But this is a rare occurrence because they don't care to bother doing it most of the time. And they're also the type who will like... go to bed with a full face of makeup because they're too tired to take it off. And like if they're doing this, you know they're planning on partying.

Anyway, now that I've written an essay's worth about Ciaran's appearance and style, I hope that helps! You asked for details and well... here they are lol!

[eldritchsurveys]

1205.

What kind of pants did you wear today? >> Black shorts.

How old is your television? >> I don't remember how old the television in the living room is. Three, four years?

Do you have a laptop or desktop? >> I have one of each. When did you last talk on the phone with someone? .

Are you currently sleepy? >> I am not.

Do you own any television series box sets? >> I have American Gods season 1 on DVD and that's it. Unlike my peers, I don't really feel a need to collect physical media, which is great because I can't afford it anyway (that AG DVD was a gift).

Have you ever been in a fight with your best friend? .

When did you last receive a hug and who was it from? >> Can Calah hugs me all the time, idk. The last meatspace hug was... eh, who knows.

Was the last movie you watched a horror film? >> It was (Dead End).

Do you own a lot of tee shirts? >> I do, they're the bulk of my wardrobe. Honestly, I don't really know what else to wear. Blouses and shirts and suchnot are too fiddly and it's too hard to find ones that I like and that look good on me.

Do you plan your outfits ahead of time? >> I don't, it's pretty easy to quickly cobble together an outfit from my wardrobe so there's no need for planning ahead. Have you ever spent the night in jail? >> I have not.

Would you say you’re a bad influence on others? >> I have never heard this from anyone. As far as I can tell, my influence on others is nil.

Do you handle pain well? >> I don't know what it means to handle pain "well". There is no universally good way to handle pain -- I know people love a stoic but being unable or unwilling to express pain is counterproductive to getting pain treated, soooo... Have you ever been so nervous you threw up? >> I have no idea what that must feel like.

Where is your favorite place to go when you’re depressed? >> I don’t wish to go anywhere when I’m depressed. Because of the depression. Y'know.

In high school, were you in trouble a lot? >> I was in the psych ward a lot. Kind of the same thing, since it really did seem like I got thrown in there whenever I did something "bad" as opposed to out of actual concern for my health.

Do you enjoy your hairstyle? >> It serves.

Do you have long hair or short hair? >> Short.

How much make up do you wear on a daily basis? >> On a daily basis, I don’t wear makeup.

Do you have a leather jacket? >> I do not.

Do you have weak upper body strength? >> I have mediocre upper body strength, I guess.

Do you think hugs are awkward? >> They can be.

Do you think facial hair is gross? >> Not as a rule. Would you ever dye your hair an unnatural color? >> I am not interested in dyeing my hair at all. If I want a fun colour, I'd just get a wig.

What color was the last cup you drank from? >> White with yellow inside. Have you ever been to the zoo before? >> I’ve been to a few zoos.

What instruments do you know how to play? >> I don’t know how to play any instruments.

How late did you stay up last night? >> I think I fell asleep somewhere around 23:00. How late do you plan on staying up tonight? >> 23:00 is the average time I go to bed.

Have you ever done hard drugs before? >> "Hard drugs" as a phrase doesn't mean anything to me. I have done a variety of drugs, and that's that.

Has anyone ever been weirdly obsessed with you? >> I have never thought that about anyone.

Do you own a Snuggie? >> I do not.

What is your favorite band of all time? >> My favourite band is Zeal & Ardor, despite the fact that they seem to be leaning away from making the kind of music that spoke so deeply to me.

Would you consider getting a tattoo any time soon? >> Of course I'd consider it, if I had that kind of money.

Are you afraid someone might steal your identity someday? >> I have no fear of this.

Are there any paintings on your wall? >> I have a couple of art prints, but I don't know if any of them are paintings, per se.

What movie did you last watch with someone? >> Lisa Frankenstein.

Are you afraid of airplane rides? >> Not at all. I am very fond of airplane rides.

What do you think is the best smell in the world? >> I cannot choose one. I love a lot of smells for different reasons.

If you’re reading a book, what page are you currently on? >> Page 268 out of 310. Do you think people are intimidated by you? >> I’ve been told that by people in the past. I don’t really know what it means but I do know it doesn't sound as flattering as people probably think it does, and I certainly hope I never have to hear it from anyone again.

Do you have a job you like? >> I do indeed like not having a job.

Have you ever lived with a roommate before? >> I have only lived alone on one occasion, for less than a year.

Do you like candles? >> Some candles, sure. What is something you lose often? >> my goddamn mind

What will you be doing in the next ten minutes? >> I don't know, maybe I'll look at tumblr for a bit before I go shower. Although, eugh, the font change makes me want to hurl. How old is your oldest sibling? .

How many scarves do you own, if any at all? >> I don't remember. A few. Where did you last sleep? >> My bed.

Do you have Netflix? >> I do not, I unsubbed from that corny shit ages ago. I use Flixtor.to, or Tubi or Gomovies.sx in a pinch.

Do you enjoy dancing? >> I certainly do.

[solliewriter]

Archery for Writers

In this post, I'll basically tell you the small stuff: e.g., what your archer will complain about to other archers, how different bows sound, what it's like shooting in the rain or snow, finding the goddamn arrows, etc. I’m also going into technical details and will discuss the legendary Robin Hood shot.

If you want a good basic primer, T.S. Strange on Instagram did a pretty good job https://www.instagram.com/p/COat-W1rQ7o/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

But, if you're ready for beyond the basics, I've got you covered.

To be clear, my knowledge of archery is primarily Western traditional archery. PLEASE research the history of the type of bow you choose as they’re all unique. There’s a reason why Mongolian bows are so different than English longbows.

I have primarily shot in thick, brushy forest (not parks, actual wilderness), so when you read, that I'm talking about that setting unless specified. My favored bow is a reflex/deflex, which is basically a recurve/longbow hybrid. I have also been doing archery for as long as I can remember, so yes I know how to shoot.

SOUNDS

Different bows make different sounds. Recurve bows are loud. They make this twangy sound when you use them, unless you put a silencer on the string. This silencer is usually a fluff-type thing that is woven around and through the string. The silencer doesn't make them perfectly silent. It's more of a muffler than a silencer.

Longbows are quieter, but they still make noise. It's short, grunt-like hum that usually only the archer and their immediate compatriots can hear.

For Your Character (FYC): a recurve archer and a longbow archer will very likely pester each other about noise.

SIGHT, pt1

You can shoot blind. Sorta. No, you can't put on a blindfold and still hit your target, but you can and will extrapolate what you see. As mentioned, I've done almost all of my shooting in the forest, in the mountains. Visibility is  less than perfect. You have to aim through hundreds of branches, and the likelihood of hitting a branch and sending your arrow flying into No Man's Land is very likely as a beginner and amateur. Shooting through the forest isn't like in Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games, unless that forest is a well maintained park with marked trails made by things other than deer and bear. (FYI, bear trails are perfect for humans.) Half the time, if you move an inch the wrong way, your arrow will be way off target. Missing by an inch means missing by several feet, which is really far in archery.

More than once, you see your target at one angle, but can't shoot it at another. I've experienced this frequently because my Viking sized dad will pick targets that I, his 5'2" daughter, am too short to see. I have to stand on tip toes to see his target, then lower myself into almost a crouch to shoot. I still hit the target.

FYC: Besides the obvious banter that comes from discussing height differences, there are a few other things to note. In the forest, it can be hard to find two good angles to shoot something. This can lead to frustration, complaining, attempts to get the other archer out of the way, and etc.

SIGHT, pt 2

I’m talking about recurve/longbows, so there are no actual sights to look through. 

This is where things are controversial. There’s a gap shooting and an instinctive shooting. Gap shooters guess the distance, then aim. Instinctive shooters just sorta ... wing it.

I’m not going to throw shade at either method. But here’s a key reason why one would use one style or another: gap shooting is largely ineffective in mountainous, forested terrain when you can’t really see much. So, if you have an archer from a prairie and an archer from the mountains, it’s likely they use different aiming styles.

Side note: Flu-flu shots are unique and fun shots that use big feathery arrows. You shoot nearly straight up in hopes of getting your arrow on top of the target rather than straight toward it. When doing this, you can either look at the target or look at your arrow angle, but you can't do both at the same time. You have to shoot blind. Flu-flu shots aren't good for killing creatures, but they are pure fun. This is a good example of using instinctive shooting rather than gap shooting. Also, flu-flu shots are prone to being highly effective by the wind, and it’s very easy to get them stuck in a tree for all eternity. There’s a shooting area my roving family calls “The Valley of Lost Flu-Flu’s.” It’s called this for very good reason.

SMELLS

Bows don't smell, unless you've just added beeswax to the string (strings fray, wax stops that). Arrows smell for about a day after you paint them and glue them.

Leather, however, smells and remains smelly forever. I personally like the smell (though I suppose I'm actually smelling the oil, not the leather). It's very hard to describe, partially because I have so many memories involved. Unfortunately, I have to leave this to you. Just note, leather from armguards, quivers, and pouches don't smell the same as couches and your typical urbanite materials. Find your hippie friend and ask them to make you a leather bracelet or something. That'll teach you the smell.

FYC: Your archer will have very strong memories associated with the smell of leather and beeswax. They will be warm fuzzy memories.

TOUCH, aka shooting in the cold weather

All right, it's cold, and your character is wearing a big coat. Big, puffy sleeves to fit all those layers beneath. No biggie, just nock the arrow, draw, and shoot ...

FWAP!

The string hits the character's coat sleeve. The arrow goes about ten feet before falling limp to the ground like a sad puppy.

To fix this, you need to tie a thick band around your character's sleeve. Easy peasy.

Now, your OC tries shooting again. Unfortunately, it’s been raining, so to their dismay, they've noticed that their turkey fletchings (standard in the western US states) have flattened and shrunk. It looks like there is barely any fletching at all. Fear not, the arrow will still fly. It'll just make aiming a bit harder, but not terribly worse. Those fletchings are just stabilizers.

Your OC goes home. When they take off their shooting glove/tab, they notice their fingers are yellow. Oh no! Don't worry, your OC is not sick, the dye has just come off the leather in the rain. It'll wash off, but it'll probably happen every time the leather gets wet for the next few months unless your OC makes a new glove/tab that isn't dyed.

LEFTIE VS RIGHTIE

It is extremely uncommon to find a left-handed archer. This is because even if someone’s right-handed doing their day-to-day things, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be right-handed for archery.

In archery, whether you shoot left or right handed is determined by your eye dominance. Most people are right-eyed dominant, so much so it’s very hard for a left-eye dominant archer (such as myself) to find new bows. And I mean really hard. Go anywhere and there’s a severe shortage of left-dominant archery gear simply because it’s that rare (hah I’m special- jk).

BOWS

There are manufactured bows (lame), and there are good bows. Yes, there’s a huge difference.

I’m not sure of the technical terms, but here’s my experience.

Manufactured bows, i.e., the cheap bows you find at a renaissance fair, are typically made from a type of plastic. Good traditional bows, from almost any country, are custom-made from wood that the bowyer (bow-maker) has shaped, treated, and glued.

Bows are a lot like musical instruments. Essentially, manufactured bows (or guitars, violins, etc.) are poor quality because they’re made of cheap materials which make the shooting quality less than superb (more on that later), and because they aren’t given the attention they need, which makes them of lesser quality because they’re just ... eh. Special treatment makes for a better bow.

Like musical instruments, there are a lot of different types. Most websites say there are only four (recurve, longbow, compound, and crossbow), but that’s not quite true. These acknowledge the four general shapes of a bow, but not the subtypes. For example, Mongolian bows are recurves, but tend to be shorter than Western recurves because Mongolian recurves are meant to be shot on horseback.

SHOOTING QUALITY 

So, what is it like shooting a good bow?

Again, I’m speaking from experience with recurves, longbows, and reflexes.

A good bow has good speed. It moves the arrow faster than slower. This is a relative scale because recurves shoot arrows faster than longbows, and reflex/deflex tend to shoot faster than longbows but slower than recurves.

WEIGHT

Is it possible for people to have pulled 100 pounds of weight in a bow back in the olden days, or are people just confused?

Yes, it’s possible.

My dad, who used to do archery once or twice a week, had a 100 pound bow that he shot fairly regularly. That was before his shoulder injuries and, y’know, age. 

Also note that he’s practically a Viking.

I pulled 50 pounds at 28 inches when I was doing it regularly, although now I probably have to go back to 45 pounds.

BASIC SHOOTING FORM

This is going to be heavily effected by your character’s culture, bow, and upbringing.

There’s the English, upright stance for shooting a longbow. The archer stands very straight, and their pull hand goes to anywhere between the lip and the ear.

There’s the forest stance, which is my own, and that’s slightly bent over to avoid string-slaps, finger to cheekbone. Also, I made up the forest stance, so don’t Google it.

Then there’s Walt Wilhem, who, due to physical disability, had to shoot from the hip and was still one of the best archers in the world. Watch the video of him and his brother:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np8u69YfSA8

THE ROBIN HOOD SHOT

This is actually very attainable. I’ve done it six times. My dad has done it about 30 times. I have a friend who did it about 25 times.

In order for this situation to realistically happen (if you’re writing something unrealistic, you really shouldn’t bother reading all of this), the character needs to prep a few things.

1. Years of experience. At least six, and that’s assuming your archer shoots at least seven hours a week, without missing an hour.

 2. At six years the archer might get a few Robin Hood shots. Very likely, it’ll be at a shorter distance and the arrow they’re shooting will be cross-wise instead of straight down the shaft.

3. At ten years, it’s quite likely your Robin Hood has shot straight down the shaft a few times.

4. Your Robin Hood must seek to improve every week.

SOME QUICK TIPS

unless you’re Walt Wilhem, you always pull from your back, not your arm

you never fire an arrow

back quivers are quieter and more mobile than hip quivers (suck it hipsters)

it takes practice and long fingers, but it’s quite doable to hold both a bow and an arrow in one hand while shooting

there is a system for very fast nocking 

beginners have no clue what this system is and so take several minutes to nock their arrow.

contrast, it takes a second for an experienced archer.

someone who doesn’t take long to aim is often called a snap shooter, and this isn’t exactly complimentary.

This ought to take you far in your journey of writing an archer. I’ve been sitting on this post for about a year now, but still need to add to it. PLEASE google the following in case I don’t get to sharing the info.

arrow breakage

bow breaking

materials for arrows

types of wood for bows

types of wood for arrows

arrow spine weight

bow tuning

bow shelfs

different forms

holding a bow

stringing a bow

bow at rest

temperatures + bows

fletching types

aerodynamics 

quivers

moving around

how to find the goddamn arrows

[heresathreebee]

Wearing THAT

[Dewey Finn X Female Reader]

Summary: Reader teases Dewey in a Poison Ivy costume. You have a really hard time saying exactly what you want... Masterlist Next

Word count: 3.1k words (no beta) 

Warning(s): 17+ | teasing, lots of teasing and boners, lap sitting, near nudity, touching

AN: only Thots here, thots about Dewey Finn also is Ned British? He's British in my head

This was some sort of test. It had to be. God was testing him through you and you were not playing fair. It’s a costume party not a competition, you pompous little sycophant. And yet he can’t help but tug at the collar of his shirt. It’s not even anywhere near his throat but why else would he feel so constricted? It’s certainly not because of you…

You walked into his shared apartment wearing that and you had no idea the effect it had on him. 

Dewey watches you sling an arm around Ned and kiss Patty’s cheek in greeting. “Hi guys! Thanks for inviting me, I’ve been dying to put this on.” 

“Oh you look lovely,” Patty coos. She plucks at one of the plastic leaves on your corset. “Did you make this?! It’s so intricate.” 

You bark out a laugh. “Oh hell no! I have this cousin, right? And him and his fiancé own this shop where they make costumes for movies and theatre and if you pay ‘em right, ‘personal use.’ And they don’t ask questions what ain’t their business either.” 

“Well, I’m sold.” Ned raises his beer for a toast and Patty clinks it with her bottle of mysterious green juice. “Prost! What’s the name of the shop? Wanna see if they’re online– you know, for... support.” 

“Ned,” Patty swatted his empty hand (no need to be shy, we already know they’re freaky). 

You pat your friends on their backs and take a step towards the kitchen. “Gonna get myself a beer.” 

“Oh honey you don’t have to do that. Dewey!” The man in question nearly covered himself in his own drink when he heard his name. “Be a good host and get this lady her beer!” 

“Yes captain,” Dewey salutes and Patty can do nothing but glare in her Star Trek yellow shirt costume. Original series, of course, nothing but the best for Patricia Di Marco. 

Dewey takes a hold of the moment he has his back to you to take deep, calming breaths. He will not let this be the end of him. Your friendship means so much more to him than that and a little fancy green corset was not going to make him fuck things up with you. 

He’s ready for you when he hands you your beer. Your one arm hug is appreciated because he’s sporting a bit of wood and he’d hate to find out your corset isn’t thick enough to hide it– or god forbid you feel him on your thigh. And god, your thighs… those sheer green nylon tights were doing unspeakable things to him. Maybe if he kept you close and kept your legs out of his peripherals he could make it through the night without embarrassing himself. 

Or maybe not. 

“Are yoooouuu a college student?,” you ask and point at his inconspicuous clothes. 

“Actually– ” he opens the buttons of his shirt to reveal another shirt with a superman logo on it and buttons it back up clumsily as you laugh. “Ssshhh! Don’t tell anybody. Protect my secret.” 

“Of course,” you giggle. God you feel good hanging off him– usually he loves how physical you are but he has to figure out a way to keep his distance without offending you and quickly. “You like mine?” 

The way you pick up a thick swirling red lock and direct his attention to the very thing he’s trying not to look at is killing him. Of course you look even better up close. The leaves of your corset give the thing depth and texture, your gloves are fingerless and go over your elbows, and your heels are high, like make- him- feel- his- below- average- height high. 

“I like these.” Dewey plucks at the ring of leaves at the top of your gloves. It’s a way to keep his mind off your everything else. “Did you dye your hair?” 

“It’s a wig.” You tug on the top and then the bottom, wincing a little. “Sew in, so don’t go snatch it.” 

“I would never!” 

“Poison Ivy, eh? Think that’s one of Dewey’s favorites,” Ned blabs. 

Dewey sends him a death glare so powerful Ned chokes on his beer but you’re looking at your Spock-dressed friend so you can’t see it. 

“Oh, really?” You return your gaze to Dewey and say, “well you must be loving this, then.” 

Dewey swallows. No words come to him and there is nothing to stop the awkward silence that follows. You appear unbothered by it, maintaining eye contact as you smile almost knowingly… 

“We should play twister,” he says with the most unsure voice ever. 

“We don’t even have twister,” Patty mumbled. “Come on, there are like twenty other games setup, let’s play!” 

~

Dewey gives it a minute and when he’s free from you, he catches Ned by his pointy green ear and drags him into the hall. “Hey? What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Whah– what are you talking about?” Ned slaps at the hand fisted in his shirt but Dewey doesn’t budge. 

“You can’t just go telling people I’m into them, dude! Do you know how close you came to giving me away?!”

Ned scoffed. “Her? I hardly think she’s ignorant to your feelings, you’re not like that Steven from Austin fellow.” 

“– Are you talking about stone cold Steve Austin?"Dewey buries his face in his hands- "It’s his last name, not his birthplace–” 

“And besides…” Ned peeks around the corner to see you in the middle of some sort of posing game. Everybody's trying to take the form of some sort of vehicle, and you've got Chloe in a headlock and Vance's leg in the other hand. Ned never got to finish his thought because someone dropped a huge bowl of popcorn and that too became a game of ‘how many can you eat off the floor before Patty cleans it up.’ Ned’s got to help and he’s got to help now. 

Dewey finds himself on the couch with his fifth beer of the evening. Vance, Jeremiah, and Chloe are talking baseball stats when suddenly Dewey’s vision is filled with green and red just before you sit down. Right between his legs. He unconsciously scoots up to make room for you and before he catches on to your game, you nestle into his space by the arm of the couch and sling your legs across his like you belong there. 

Ok, something is definitely up with you. 

Would he describe you as cuddly? A little. Perhaps a more appropriate word would be… hands on. Long before he started wanting more than friendship with you, you two were always just touching. Your presence and your love language was physical. Dewey never felt like you were invading his personal space or overstepping his boundaries because he simply had none with you and the feeling was mutual. But this was something else. Something that wasn’t there before. 

Was it him? Was he fucking up his perfectly in sync companionship with you because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants or (his heart for that matter)? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to drag you closer or push you flat on your ass right now. 

You were listening to Chloe chew Vance out for hating Gritty the mascot when you felt Dewey plant a hand on your forehead. “Hey, are you feeling ok?” 

You gently shake him off and raise a single eyebrow. He seems serious, his voice gone all soft and making you feel gooey inside. 

“You just seem… I dunno,” he fumbles, “do you want me to take you home after this?”

Hellooooo opening! “Actually, can I stay here tonight?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Fuck, who said that? Dewey? Ah, shit… 

 “Thanks,” oh oh you should not be rubbing his thigh right now… “I think I’ll go change here in a minute.”

Oh please do, please please puh-leeaaase–  

~

After a brilliant movie drinking game (which Dewey tapped out of), the crowd began to disband. 24 became 20, then 18, then 12. You went out to your car to grab your overnight stuff and Dewey was hoping for a brief reprieve from the assault of your visage. He just needed a few more people to leave so he can sequester himself and rub one out– you know, get his head straight. Ever since you left his lap he’s been rock hard, there’s not enough blood flowing to his brain. The guest count is down to 3– 2 with you in your car, and he can’t wait anymore. 

Dewey slipped into the only bathroom in the house and prayed to god nobody noticed him. He barely got his hand wrapped around his shaft when Patty’s fist banged on the door demanding he help clean up. Sulking and agitated, Dewey managed to calm down while cleaning up red solo cups, glass beer bottles, cans, and small pocket sized objects that would need to be returned to the guests after their hangovers subsided (no keys, thankfully, everybody’s got a DD). His “predicament’ is nearly forgotten when you finally return with a bundle of clothes, disappear into the bathroom and reemerge in loose sleepwear with your makeup wiped clean and uh… braless. 

You catch him looking. Dewey– surprisingly sober after he gave up drinking half way through his sixth beer– does nothing short of raise a slightly irritated eyebrow at you. “Cold in here, huh?” 

“Shut up. You know how uncomfortable it is to sleep in a bra?” 

You help him collect a couple bottles that rolled under the couch and walk with him down to Ned’s car. Patty would sort the recyclables from the trash in the morning (late morning, she did a couple rounds of tequila shots thanks to you). It’s almost like the party never happened; you’re shooting the shit again and everything is right in the world. He’s got no ulterior reaction to putting a hand on your hip– that’s just a normal thing in your perfectly platonic relationship. God, he really must have been imagining things, he was beginning to think you were actually trying to flirt with him! 

Ned’s bent over the kitchen sink with Patty and holding her hair back. He looks up as you enter the apartment and shakes his head. You and Dewey make yourself scarce by slipping into the shared bathroom to hide. You try to giggle quietly as Dewey surveys the skincare products you covered the counter with. He points to your head and asks, “you wearing that to bed?” 

“It’s sewed in, I’m not taking this off for three weeks at least,” you answer. “Get my money’s worth. I can work it like my natural hair.” 

Dewey nods. You rub your arm nervously and look for something to say, something to circle back to the whole point of showing up looking like a sexed up goddess. What do guys like? Girls wearing their clothes, right? But you need to phrase it perfectly… 

“Dewey?” He looks up from the scrubby lip balm in his hands. “I’m not quite ready to go to sleep yet and it… it is a little chilly in your place. Can I wear your jacket?” 

Just to bring your meaning home, you tug on his sleeve– the very jacket on his back. You don’t want just any jacket, you want that one, already warm and scented by him. You don’t miss the way his eyes glance past you like he was reluctant to comply. And yet… 

“Yeah, here.” He slips out of it with ease and drapes it over your shoulders. You miss the sigh of relief he makes when you pull the zipper closed and obscure your pebbling nipples. “Think I’m gonna go help Ned put Patty to bed.” 

Ned was a scrawny little thing and couldn’t carry her by himself, and she needed to be carried. Competitive by nature, it’s easy to talk her into virtually anything, especially if it feels like girl time. You need Patty in a deep sleep for your plans tonight (sorry not sorry). Dewey’s very sexy as he bears most of Patty’s weight. She’s clinging to Ned, arms around his neck and babbling incoherently while Dewey’s got an arm around her waist and legs, keeping Ned on his feet. You skirt ahead of them and open the bedroom door, help pull her shoes off, her captain insignia, her earrings, you even wipe the spit from her lips and the eyeliner smeared on her cheek. 

“You’re my favorite ever,” she whimpers, “I love you so much, you’re like my best friend ever…” 

You shush her gently. “You say that about everybody when you’re drunk, baby. I promise I’ll make you a fat breakfast in the morning but you gotta go to sleep now, OK?” 

Patty nods. She snuggles into her pillow just as Ned is taking up position as the big spoon when she looks back up at you and asks, “can we go for a run together?” 

You blink evenly. “Yes.” You already regret it as she smiles big and wide. It would be just your luck this is the one thing she doesn't forget in the morning.

Finally it's just you and Dewey in the hallway. It feels like you're standing between two choices: his open bedroom door and the living room. But it seems like only you can feel the weight of it. 

"Are you sure you want to stay over?," Dewey asks, "you can use my bed." 

You perk up out of your heavy mood. "Really?" 

"Yeah, I'll take the couch tonight." 

He can't possibly miss the way you instantly deflate but he's still not putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "Dewey. I'm not going to kick you out of your own room." 

He shrugs. "Suit yourself. I'll grab a few blankets." 

There's a storage closet in the main building with this one extra soft blanket that Dewey knows you'll love. You on the other hand have got no more patience left. Once the man leaves, you stomp your foot and decide to try one final act.

Dewey returns to the apartment to find an empty, quiet living room. Ned and Patty are in bed, but where are you? He wanders past the bathroom door because it's dark inside and checks his room. There you are reclining on his bed. He could have sworn you were wearing pants before but your legs are bare and his jacket hugs the tops of your thighs. He also could have sworn you were wearing a shirt. He finds both items folded neatly beside you with your underwear right on top. 

Oh…

This cannot be happening right now. He just survived tonight by the skin of his teeth and now you were doing this to him. He’s going to pull his hair out, going to scream, it’s so frustrating because he can’t just ask you what you want– you’ll turn the question back on him and he’ll fuck it up. He lets the blanket fall from his grip and with a heavy sigh he whispers in a weak voice, “straight answers only. What are you doing to me? Why you doin’ this?” 

You cock your head and answer leisurely, your eye drifting across the items in his room. “You know that’s not how I roll, but if you want me to address the elephant in the room: I'm naked in your bed right now." 

Against his better judgement, Dewey moves closer. "I can see that." 

One step closer and your eyes find him again. Like an invitation you lean back more, even uncross your legs but go no further. Dewey swallows his tongue and waits for you to elaborate and every second is agonizingly slow. 

"You think you can just walk around here with your pretty face and cocky little attitude like it’s nothing,” you said accusingly. 

Dewey glared at you. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” 

“Well we're in agreement then,” you’re almost sneering at him, but he knows it’s because you’re really frustrated with yourself, “I look and I touch and I feel but I don’t know, you know?” 

“Not a clue,” he sighs and sits himself beside you. He’s done trying to keep his distance. “Let’s go back to you being naked in my bed.” 

“Do you like it?” 

“Do I like it?,” he repeats incredulously. Dewey leans back on his elbow to look you over from top to bottom. You look damn good in nothing but his jacket. You’ve got the long ends of your red hair in braids that sweep down to your navel. The zipper rests tantalizingly right below your ribcage. Dewey dares to reach out a mollifying hand and give a tiny stroke to that silver keeper. He cannot bring himself to speak above a whisper as he nods, “yeah, I… I like it.” 

The tension leaves your shoulders and you wear a small grin. “It’s not too late to take it back. Say no, and I’ll put my clothes back on and sleep on the couch like none of this ever happened. This,” you point between the two of you, “doesn’t change unless we want it to.” 

… this was real. In answer, Dewey’s chin wrinkles and he watches his finger travel upwards, drawing a light line up the expanse of your chest between your breasts to feel you shiver at his touch. Thing is he doesn’t want to say no, but wouldn’t it be better? Safer? He asks the question he’s been dying to know all night. “What do you want from me?” 

“Whatever I can get,” you answer truthfully. “Whatever you’ll allow. Don’t trouble yourself with labels and things ‘cause what we have has always been so much more than that.” 

Dewey feels a weight lift off of his chest. His hand works around your waist and drags you closer, halfway under him and he rests his perspiring forehead on your breastbone. Whatever happens next happens, for better or for worse. 

You’re not troubled when Dewey moves the jacket to expose one of your breasts, however you are taken aback when he bites you. You barely manage to stifle your yelp when you feel him growl against your flesh and the sound vibrates straight to your core. Dewey drags his head up and stares you dead in the eye as he kneads your savaged breast. 

“All night,” he growls, “all fucking night for this? We could have done this ages ago. The salon, the drive in, Chloe’s cat’s birthday– grocery shopping last week. But no, instead you pick a party full of people and you’ve had me riled up for hours.” 

Dewey pinches your hardened peak and you keen. “‘m sorry…” 

“No you’re not, but don’t worry: you will be.”

AN: Check Out Part 2 @hoodoo12 @go-commander-kim @escape-your-grape @softbeej @imma-fucking-nerd @werwulfy

[beelspillowpet]

could i get some hcs of the brothers (how many is up to you!!) with an epileptic MC? like, they end up having absence and myoclonic seizures, and maybe hurt themselves a bit? sorry if this is too specific adjkd it just happened to me this morning and. i accidentally flung my spoon across the room while eating cereal 🙈 i also stabbed myself in the eye with my thumb but Eh

OMG Anon!!! I hope you’re okay!? Seizures are really serious and dangerous, I hope you’re recovering alright?! Sending you a bunch of hugs and head pats u-u In other somewhat unrelated news, I’m glad people are so comfortable coming to me with these sorts of HCs. Means I really am doing an impactful job in my research and writing these sorts of things comfort you. It also helps me learn a little more about people's everyday struggles. Here’s to hoping for a bright future for you all!

I tried to include more symptoms and types of seizures (?) in this post, but I don’t think I was able to touch on them all? Usually when I do HCs like this, I have something like an “interview” with the asker beforehand to make sure I’m getting their experience probably, and a better understanding of the disorders. I hope this is portrayed properly!!! ~

Lucifer

He’s lecturing you, but pauses for a moment to question your reasoning for making pacts with his brothers. He’s expecting you to answer, but you don’t. You simply daze off at him. You weren’t trying to piss him off, but you weren’t all there in the moment. Your hands twitched and your hand accidently shot up behind you, as if you were pulling your hand away from a snapping dog. He took that as a warning.

The second time it occurred was over dinner. It was just you and him, enjoying the meal you prepared for dinner and waited for him to arrive home for it. You had another epileptic seizure, and spaced out for longer than normal.

When you came to, Lucifer was out of his chair at your side, checking to make sure you were alright. He was a bit rattled to say the least, but when he waved his hand in front of your eyes and they followed, he started to relax a bit more. He questioned what just happened, but with the slot of time missing in your brain, you couldn’t completely answer him.

It’s when you start jerking your body about uncontrollably, as if something is possessing you to behave in such a manner than he finally looks into it. Admittedly, he should have done so sooner, this isn’t normal behavior after all. What he discovers is a bit upsetting, as there’s no “cure” or “fix” for it. He doesn’t bring it up to you- you’re probably sensitive about the topic. But he’s far more patient with you now, knowing that these seizures are just a part of your life.

Mammon

Oh what the fuck was that? Are ya’ good? You just kinda... slapped the fuck out of yourself there? Why’d you do that?

This pea-brain probably doesn’t pick up on too many symptoms at first. You’re just his weird, hopeless human. While that’s nice, a little more attention would be grateful.

“Hey Mammon, when did you dye your hair yellow?” “What’re ya talkin’ about? My hair is white.” “Huh, in this light it looks yellow. And did you get a tan?” He thinks you’re weird but it’s okay. It sort of offends you that he thinks this way, it’s not like you’re doing this on purpose. You genuinely thought he dyed his hair yellow- and that he darkened his skin.

There are also times when he uses the same cologne but something smells different about it. The whiplash of suddenly having one smell and then be overwhelmed by something entirely different, or have this random dizziness... well, at least Mammon is always there to catch you if you lose your balance. As much of an airhead as he is, he’s still a helpful and supportive one.

Leviathan

Your seizures scare the shit out of them. You have the worst ones with him because while in his room, the bright flashing lights are somehow worse. Brighter, even more than before, and before you know it you’re having an out of body experience, feeling your body twitch and tremor, but unable to stop it.

You can hear Leviathan freaking out in the distance, making sure you lay down flat and keep you from swallowing your own tongue. Despite having a panic attack after the fact, he’s relatively calm for the most part. He doesn’t have any real knowledge on these things yet, and he’s not sure if he’s prepared for it.

Other times you may just pace the floor as if thinking. You’re constantly rubbing your hands together, looking left and right erratically. Sometimes when you do this, you’re muttering nonsense, and other times, you’re silent. Leviathan isn’t sure which one is scarier.

He does research on why you behave this way sometimes. You don’t have them too often, but it’s happened at least three times and it’s scared him each time. When he discovers his solution, he tries to bring it up with you in a calm and quiet manner. Either that or he waits until next time because bringing it up unprompted can be awkward.

Satan

Oh. He knows what’s going on. He’s got doctor friends. He sort of just... asks. Just to be sure. Whether you tell him or not, he knows what’s really going on here. He won’t judge. Obviously not. You can’t control your behavior with those sorts of things.

He’s aware that seizures can kick up anywhere, so he watches you carefully. You could have one while walking down the steps and end up falling and hurting yourself. You could get one while preparing dinner and accidently stab yourself- or you can even get one while driving. He’s always prepared to take over for you when you need it.

There was one time you finally did come to him. To confide in him about your problems. It was silly, you thought. Why would he listen? Except he set aside his book, turned in his chair to you, and listened. He never interrupted, and only spoke when you were taking a moment to breathe through your tears.

He was there for you, and he would never try to upset you. He knows how scary these sorts of things can be. While he doesn’t struggle with the same issues, having depressive episodes are not lost on him. He would gladly welcome you into his arms for a hug, and make sure you’re at least safe in these awful times.

Asmodeus

You and Asmo were at the club when it happened. You’re dancing with each other one moment, and the next you’re on the floor convulsing. You were embarrassed once it was all over, but imagine how terrified Asmo was???

You come back to yourself still on the dirty floor of the club, but now people are surrounding you, all concerned. You see Asmodeus crying, not knowing what to do. He’s panicked, and he’s gently holding your hand, hoping you’re okay.

You two leave the club early, and in your guilt, explain to him what happened. Although you’re vague because you aren’t entirely sure of the details, he puts together enough to know it won’t be the last time that happens.

he clings to you afterwards, and doesn’t let go. Even if you involuntarily jerk and hit him by accident. He knows. He understands and he loves you, darling. You would never want to push him away, and he would never want you to go. Next time, he WILL do better for you.

Beelzebub

You two were playing sports together when he accidently tackled you too hard. You fell over and hit your head hard, causing you to fall into a shock-induced seizure.

He kneels there by your side crying. He knows what to do but every time he touches you, you jerk violently. As if you’re afraid of his touch, afraid of him making things worse. Still, he does his best to assist you, making sure you don’t swallow your tongue and that you don’t harm yourself any further.

Once it’s all over, he carries you to the benches and gives you food and water. He’s still crying a bit, not sure what he should do now. He probably calls Lucifer for help, and while waiting, just talks to you. Makes sure you’re still all there.

When he’s alone, he does a bit more research on seizures and comes across epilepsy. After going over what can cause the seizures, he’s riddled with even more guilt. You hit your head when he tackled you. He probably caused that seizure, didn’t he? From then on, he refuses to play sports with you. He could never forgive himself for putting you through that.

Belphegor

Of course it was a nap. What else would it be? You wake him up on accident when you kick your leg out too hard, knocking him off the bed. When he gets up to yell at you for doing that, he notices you aren’t really paying much attention to him. Instead you’re twitching your arms and legs, grunting and groaning at the pain in your limbs when you slap against the bedpost.

You’re blinking rapidly and your lips are moving, as if you’re trying to ask him for help. All that manages to come out is something similar to your lips smacking. Like Beel when he’s taste testing his dinner.

Once the seizure is over, Belphie is sitting you up slowly, petting your hand. He brings you into a hug as  you tremble in his arms, whispering that its okay and that he’s here now.

He’d never experienced something so... unsettling in his life. He wonders if humans do this sometimes. Sometimes after... traumatic experiences. He cringes at the thought. Could he have caused this unintentionally? He didn’t think that the one time he snapped, he would leave you with irreversible damage. He tries to be diligent in helping you from there on, doing his thorough research and making sure you are taken care of in all ways possible should these continue, or get worse. To him, it’s more than a reason to redeem himself, it’s just doing what’s right.

[pocketramblr]

how his hair do that, 5 options

the following is a crack fanfic in five parts, each section on the same premise but not same continuity. also, very spoilerish

bnha manga spoilers below! very recent leaks below! very spoilery!

Better than a charcoal milkshake v 1

--------

When the heroes first attacked, alarms blaring, compound up in chaos, Dabi snuck away. He let the others pour out of the doors and down the stairs, and crept backwards, turning and running once he was certain no one would notice him.

Not that it would matter much if he did, but why waste the energy on killing them too? He’d need all his firepower today.

Dabi tore through the halls to his room, making it there and slapping his card against the scanner. No time to lose, not when he knew he needed to take care of a few more things before locating where Endeavor was in this heroes’ mission.

He kicked open his bathroom door, hands occupied with carefully pulling the black wig off his head- snagging that on his staples was just the worst, and he couldn’t have blood messing this up today.

Not yet, at least.

Under the bathroom cabinet he grabbed the bag of powery charcoal. It was supposed to be used for some beauty purpose or another, something about enriching hair that didn’t even work- but it would work to darken his white locks.

He poured it on, barely bothering to lean over the sink and keep it from going everywhere. As a final test, he once more wet a bit of it, the color seeping from the hair as it dripped.

He already knew it would work, that’s why he had intercepted so much of it before the quirk cultists could offer it to Toga or Hawks or whoever, but his heart was racing with both nerves and pure excitement.

Finally. The day he’d burn it all down, and make them see why.

He left his door open as he ran back out into the hallway, making a beeline for where he left Hawks. First things first, take care of that, then find Endeavor.

--------

Better than a charcoal milkshake v 2

--------

“Hey, put me down by that camping supplies store. And Skeptic too.” Dabi ordered, surveying the carnage of Jakku and glancing over at the man hunched over his laptop.

Said man looped up sharply at that, frowning and spitting that he wasn’t going to do that or something.

Dabi didn’t really pay attention to that.

“Where?” Gigantomachia asked, still rumbling forward towards whatever he smelled. Two masters or something.

Compress cleared his throat and translated for the currently blinded giant. “It’s at 4:05 o’clock, I’d say thirty feet forward.” He then looked over at Dabi, mask as unsettling as any of them. “You’ll be carefull too, on your personal mission?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Dabi waved him off, snagging Skeptic by the back of his shirt and tugging as Machia scooped them up and placed them on the pavement.

He ran inside the evacuated store, mercifully empty and not decayed, and started looking for the bags of charcoal.

When he found one, he tore it open. Charcoal fell to the floor, and he ground his boot down into it.

“What…” Skeptic seemed without words, for once. Good.

Dabi tore off his black wig, tossing it aside. He wouldn’t need it anymore.

“You wear a wig??”

“Yeah.” He started to scoop up handfuls of the charcoal, rubbing it into his hair. “Hey, go grab me some water, and then go set up the cameras. We got a show to put on.”

--------

Stinky dumpster boy

--------

“But my good name?” He sneered the word and all it implied in the world of false heroes, “is Todoroki Touya.”

With that, he dumped the water over his head, and it streamed down over his face, filthy.

The dirty water, practically mud, stung the places on his face where his skin was barely stapled together, and Dabi was reminded of why he didn’t bother with showers anymore- the pain.

But now his true colors- literally- were revealed and it was all worth it. All the truth was out, and the truth had always hurt him.

Shoto, who seemed to be trying to juggle first aid on like, five different people with two random heroes he didn’t know next to him, gaped.

“Come on, I know my face has changed, but my own family should still be able to recognize me, yeah? But you never did. You never did, Todoroki Shoto.”

Dabi suddenly found himself encased in ice.

Ah, this again.

“Yumi’s is colder.”

Shoto’s jaw dropped, then he glared. “Stand back.” He said as he stood up. “He just dunked water on his head, to cool him off I bet. If he is Touya, his body never could handle his own heat. If he’s not… those burns come from somewhere at least.”

Ok, now Dabi was offended.

“What do you mean, ‘if I’m not’?” he demanded. “I just revealed my white hair? I know that’s what the picture on my shrine looks like, you never even looked at that?”

“How do you even know what your shrine looks like?” Shoto sounded dangerously close to judgmental for a little brother who was probably as emo as Dabi had been at his age. “And wait, that cup of water was supposed to wash out your hair? What, do you never bathe or something?”

Ok, now Dabi was really offended.

“Of course I bathe! I just have to sponge bath, because I don’t know if you’ve noticed from having your own scars, but when they take up most of your body and are killing you they end up controlling a lot of your life!”

Ugh, asking him if he didn’t bathe. He’d understand that asked of Shigaraki, sure, but him? Shoto had gotten close enough to smell him, at least.

“Um, sorry to interrupt,” the hero in blue, the one that was tending to Eraserhead, raised his hands. “But uh… do you want some help with that?”

“I’m fine, don’t want to cool him off too much so he can fight longer.” Shoto shook his head.

“I was talking to him.”

“Oh.”

“What?”

The hero waved his hand, bubble of water pulling up from the ground. Then he pointed to his own head. “I can take care of that? At the very least it’ll be cleaned out and um, whatever color it should be?”

Dabi stared at him. Shoto stared at him. The other hero in green stared at him, and the one who’d offered help started to sweat noticebly.

“Eh, sure, whatever.”

The hero nodded, and the bubble of water floated over to him, disappearing in his hair.

The bubble floated out a couple of time, murky brown and black with ash, dirt, oil, blood, anything else he’d never thought about too much. It would wring itself thin, much dropping, and return to cleaning.

Finally, his hair was mostly white and thoroughly soaked.

“Thanks.” He called over.

“Yeah.” The hero answered, still frantically trying to help Eraserhead with his free hand, which he’d gone back too as soon as he thought Dabi was distracted. Buying time.

The other hero was on his fourth facepalm.

Shoto just looked contemplative.

Endeavor, one of the ones receiving treatment, sat up but looked like he was going to pass out.

Well all right then. Time to really start- the hair snafu didn’t matter. They were all going to die that day anyway.

--------

Weirdest commercial I’ve ever been in.

--------

“We’ll be dancing in hell together, Todoroki Enji.” Dabi finished his speech with a sneer.

The watching heroes were all stunned silent, mouths open, eyes wide. The revelation must be sending them, like it would all who were watching Skeptic’s broadcast. This would burn it all down, perfect.

“I don’t understand…” Enji managed to say, spitting out a bit of blood.

“What, you don’t understand how I survived, or how I hate you so much I’d hurt innocent people over it? Because that second part is exactly what you did, take out all that self-loathing and insecurity, rage at your shortcomings and condemn children not born yet to them. Guess it’s a family trait.”

“No, not that,” He waved a hand. “I mean, I totally get how you’re a wreck, even if all of your other siblings managed to not become mass murders, I mean- I don’t understand, how did that pint of water wash out all of your hair dye? Aren’t you better funded after the Deika merger, can’t you afford proper hair coloring?”

“I was also wondering that.” Shoto admitted.

“Same.” The hero in blue nodded. The hero in green facepalmed.

“Water?” Dabi repeated, then looked at the can he’d tossed aside. “Oh, no. This isn’t water- it’s a momento of the only true hero.” He bent down, picking up the can and studying the image on it.

“Stain was right, you know.” He mused. “About hero society being rotten. So rotton, so full of fakes, that there was only one that deserved the title. He just got the wrong hero, guessing All Might.” Dabi snorted at the very idea. “No, the only real one, the pure one, the one that defines heroism, the only one with a kill count higher than me- for all the dear old man and his biggest fan Hawks tried, of course- is Wash.”

“… Wash?” Shoto cocked his head. “Wait, like, Wash, Wash?”

“The one and only. That’s how this Official Wash’s Hair Washing Serum, the only product that can wash out all dirt, dye, and any other kind of grime, in just one go.” He shook the can around so they could see. “What, you all thought I could just magically lighten my hair from black to white in the space of one fight?”

“No,” Shoto said, like a liar, and then he threw a glacier at Dabi, and the fight was on in earnest.

--------

Old news

--------

“And now you’ll see who I really am, who you’ve created.” Dabi poured the bleach over his head, giving it a moment to sink into the hair before he shook it out, grinning wide enough to tear his staples.

The heroes on the ground and the few tending to them stared in shock.

Then Shoto gasped.

“Hawks?”

“What? Where?” Dabi whirled around, looked up, because he was really sure he had managed to make sure that pest wouldn’t be flying or fighting again, but well… he’d thought that once before and been wrong then.

“No, you- you’re Hawks, you dye your hair black when its in Dabi mode, and its that beachy yellow blond in Hawks mode.” Shoto nodded to himself.

Blond? Dabi tugged at a lock of hair, and huh. It did seem more yellow than white.

“How could he be Hawks?” The hero in green demanded incredulously, before the hero in blue grabbed his arm and pulled it back to holding down Eraserhead for bandaging.

“The burns and staples are part of the disguise,” Shoto explained. “Fake, and misdirection. You were trained from young childhood to be a hero, sent to join AfO and the league as a spy, where you gained a fire quirk and decided to switch to the villains’ side because you hated the life you were forced into.”

Dabi stared at him.

Shoto stared back.

Enji stared at both of them.

“How are you so smart and so stupid at the same time?” Slipped from chapped, burnt lips.

Shoto looked offended at that.

“I mean, you’re half right, yes that’s what up with Hawks, yes he was sent as a spy, but I knew and I killed him at the compound. And not, like, in a metaphorical way.” He added when he saw something spark in Shoto’s eyes. “Literally. I’m not him. He is completely separate person and body than me and I totally literally killed him.” Or like. Close enough. “And like, thirty other people who were completely innocent.”

Or close enough, he really didn’t bother to keep track, but thirty sounded like a big number. Especially of murders.

“So then who are you?” Shoto asked.

“What, you don’t recognize me, little brother?” He almost growled it, feeling very tired of this all of a sudden.

“Little brother?” Shoto repeated, eyes wide, then narrowing. “Wait, how…”

“Oh not again.” Enji muttered.

“Not again?” Dabi asked. “Wait, you actually managed to drive one of the others to this too? And cover it up? Man, Enji, you’re more rotten than even I knew then!”

“One of the others?” Shoto looked around wildly. “What are you talking about?”

“I was talking about how Shigaraki also randomly showed up and called a first year student “little brother”.” Enji looked back over at Dabi. “What were you talking about?”

“Shigaraki did what?” The pyro looked over his shoulder, finding the villain looking absolutely stoned on the ground, almost as vacant as some of the unconscious heroes, with a curly haired student laying bloodied nearby, staring up at him. “Wait, which student is his little brother?”

“Midoriya, apparently.” Shoto shrugged.

“Midoriya?” Dabi almost choked on the name. “As in, the green bone-breaking kid? Isn’t he like All Might’s lovechild or something?”

“That’s what I said too!”

“I mean, his hair was also lighter when he showed up today.” The hero in blue pointed out to his fellow in a voice that would have been too quiet for Dabi to hear had everyone else not gone silent as well.

“And bleach boy tried to do the same thing with the bleach, yeah. Here, I’ll tie this off, you go take care of Bakugo.”

“I’m Todoroki Touya!” Dabi snapped. “Or I used to be called by that name, anyway, before you nearly killed me, Enji. Let’s just- get back to fighting, yeah, I’m going to kill you.”

[starlocked01]

Dyeing to Meet You

AO3

Masterpost- Previous- Next

Summary: When your eyes could be the color of any shade of hair dye, Roman is positively upset his soulmate won't change colors. Especially since his color of choice is black. Content Warning: brief mention of kidnapping

Day 27 Prinxiety, background Intrulogical- Your eye color matches the color of your soulmate's hair, even when they dye it.

Roman kinda really hated his soulmate. Most people had brown or yellow eyes. His grandmother had silvery eyes that sparkled in the light. Remus had been a bit surprised when his rosey auburn irises went bleach blond for 3 months and then disappeared completely for a week. It had been pretty good evidence his soulmate was on the swim team so he'd started flirting with all of them, looking for brown eyes with a silver streak.

For the past four years, Roman’s eyes had been jet black. They never lightened, never sparkled, and he was convinced they were costing him leading roles in the school productions.

Roman decided to get even with his soulmate.

First, he got his hair bleached. After two weeks of rehabilitation, he had his hair dyed a bright bloody looking red. ---- Virgil woke up and found that his eyes had changed from bleached to the coolest shade of red ever. It worked so perfectly with his favorite red and black eyeshadow designs. Anytime someone pissed him off, all he had to do was stare at them and they left him alone quickly.

His soulmate had the best taste in color. ---- After a month, Roman’s hair had faded mostly pink and his eyes were still demonic. Not even slightly less black. Perhaps red had been a bit too natural. Next, he bought a bottle of dye and went full purple. It was a terrible job but it had to get the message across. ---- Virgil loved his soulmate. The purple with streaks of pinkish-yellow was absolutely edgier than the red that had faded so quickly. He wondered why the colors were changing so rapidly after natural brown hair for so long but shrugged it off. Perhaps his soulmate was just exploring his own identity. ---- Remus had managed to find Logan once his hair started growing back in its natural color. He was probably more enthusiastic than Roman was about his soulmate. The jet black eyes were still bothering him. It was time to get drastic. ---- Virgil stared in the mirror. One eye was still purple but the other was green. A wide grin broke across his face and he hoped his soulmate kept this style for a while. It was a shame he hadn't found anyone with such wild hair colors yet. Patton was watching for him too but it wasn't easy to find a soulmate unless they did something crazy.

He really wanted to meet them though. ---- Roman was at his wits' end. Nothing got the message across. Nor could he find anyone with wildly colored eyes and jet black hair. He decided it was time for his most daring attempt yet.

He went and got his hair bleached again. After 2 months of getting it progressively lightened he finally had platinum blond hair and was ready for the ultimate revenge.

Full Rainbow.

Roman adored his new look, as gay as he could make his hair, and he laughed every time he thought of his soulmate with rainbow eyes he couldn't change. ---- Virgil had an aesthetic. His eyes were no longer playing by his rules and looked gay as fuck. He guessed his soulmate was a gay boy who was probably very very flamboyant. Well, he wasn't flamboyant but he could match the energy of his tie-dye rainbow eyes. He started wearing rainbow eyeshadow instead of black, citing his eyes as the reason why.

He smiled, knowing his soulmate couldn't get to him. He kept dying his hair black with bangs long enough to hide behind if he didn't want his splash of colors immediately seen. ---- Remus was amazed he'd managed to drag his no-nonsense boyfriend and utterly preppy brother to a music festival. Although he might have been the only one enjoying himself. Logan was standing stoically still as Remus tried to get him to dance along or mosh or anything.

Roman sipped on his drink and stared at the sea of dyed hair, frightened of what kind of person might be his soulmate when Logan pointed out someone and whispered to Remus. Remus dashed off into the crowd and came back dragging another boy about their age with jet black hair and long bangs, head tilted down, and a scowl on his face.

"Let me go! I don't know you and I will press charges!" the boy shouted as Remus brought him back.

"Oh hush up and let destiny work its magic," Remus scolded, shoving the boy towards Roman, "look Ro, he could be your soulmate."

"Remus, you should have talked with him first. That was kidnapping," Logan glared at Remus.

"Eh, what's a felony conviction when true love is on the line?"

"I don't believe in true love, can I go back to my friend now?" the boy stared down at the ground. Roman found him fascinating, everything about him was as black as his own eyes and his sour personality had Roman intrigued.

"What color are your eyes, stranger?" Roman tried to ask warmly. He could see the movement as the boy's eyes flicked to look at him through his bangs.

"Your head looks like a box of crayons, what are you even doing here?" the boy smirked.

"I'm here with my friends, Count Monochrome," Roman scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure you guaranteed I'm never monochromatic," Virgil looked up, tossing his bangs to the side, eyes and eyeshadow on display.

"Oh my…" Roman stared into dazzling rainbows that perfectly matched his hair. Logan elbowed Remus with a smirk.

Virgil laughed, "look, I really dig the purple, and the green, and the red, basically all of it. Please never go back to brown."

"Well, only if you change to something less terrifying!" Roman found his voice again and laughed at Virgil’s shocked expression.

"Wait, you don't like the black?" Virgil asked nervously fingering his hair.

"Look at my eyes and tell me you would," Roman scoffed.

Virgil stepped closer, staring into Roman’s eyes, "I love them. Your eyes look so cool and edgy and mesmerizing. Yeah of course I would like black eyes."

Roman stared back helplessly, breath caught in his throat because of Virgil’s colorful gaze.

"Oh just kiss already!" Remus interjected, snickering at the two.

"Pass," Virgil raised a hand and shot a look at Remus.

"Why not?" Roman asked quietly.

"Uh, we just met. I don't even know your name. And it's possible someone else out there has rainbow hair and black eyes so like, we can't know for sure, right? Not until one of us changes," Virgil took a step back, not liking that he had to explain his thought process.

"You're right, I'm sorry… would you be willing to test the theory with me?" Roman backed off. He liked this rainbow-eyed emo and couldn't put his finger on why, "I'm Roman, what's your name?" he offered a hand to shake.

Virgil ignored the offered hand, "Virgil, and sure. We can try. What did you have in mind, Roman?"

"Well, you dig the purple, right?" ---- Roman was much better at dyeing other people's hair than his own. Virgil let him bleach out a swath of black and color it with the purple Roman had leftover. They avoided each other’s eyes until the dye was set and Virgil had rinsed and washed it well. He came out of the shower with his black skinny jeans on and a towel wrapped around his shoulders, stained black and purple from years of use. Roman looked up and met his eyes.

Virgil gasped. Instead of pure jet black eyes, Roman now had purple irises rimmed in black, similar to his hair. And he thought they were just as stunning as before.

Roman quickly pulled out his phone to check and gasped as well.

"Sorry, if I had known you didn't like the black, I wouldn't have changed a thing," Virgil grinned as Roman stood and walked toward him.

"Thank you for trusting me, Virgil," Roman smiled and held out his arms for a hug.

"I'm just glad you were right," Virgil blushed but accepted the hug from his soulmate.

It was a lot more fun to decide colors together.

Tag List: @stoicpanther @ifrickenhatedeverythingaboutthis @idontgiveafuckaboutshit @tsshipmonth2020

[suckitsurveys]

Do you have a common first name?   It’s more common now than it was when my I was born. I never met another Hannah until high school.

Do you like your middle name or your first name more?   I like them both but I wouldn’t want to go by middle name.

What year would/did you turn 21?   I turned 21 in 2010.

What was popular when you were a kid?   Barbies, Beanie Babies, jelly sandals…< we were kids at the same time so yeah.

Do you wear more rings or necklaces?   Necklaces, but if my wedding and engagement rings fit I’d wear those every day.

Have you ever been engaged?   ^

Can you see your veins through your skin?   In certain spots, yeah.

Do you have a certain song you sing aloud often?   Tons. Tik Tok has ruined my brain haha.  

Do you concern yourself with what’s in?   I mean, I usually keep up with stuff because of Tik Tok haha.  

Do you worry about having good grammar online? I don’t worry about it, it just happens naturally?

Do you know anyone with a lazy eye?   Yes.

Did your parents let you have pets when you were a kid?   Yeah, not til I was 8 though.

Would you rather live in an apartment or a duplex?   Neither.

Have you ever seen Boondock Saints?   No.

Do you like spicy chips?   Yeah. 

Do you have any ‘different’ keychains on your keys/purse?   What would be considered “different”? 

Do you collect pins?   Sure.

What band was on the last band t-shirt you wore?   Fleetwood Mac.

Do you wear more pink or yellow?   I guess technically Yellow. I have a yellow purse and a bag with yellow sunflowers I carry to work daily.

What’s the last movie you watched at a friend’s house?   The last thing I watched at house that wasn’t mine or my family’s was a John Mulaney stand up special at Sarah’s house in Boston in August.

Have you ever been out of the state you were born in?   Oh yes.

Do you have any tattoos on your arms?   Yes.

Have you ever owned or known someone who owned a black cat?   I have a black cat! Her name is Friday the 13th.

When was the last time you felt jealous?   I mean, I am jealous of people who own pools.

What’s the last thing you bought besides food/drink?   Jojo Siwa tickets lol.

What album is the last song you listened to from?   I forget what song I listened to last.

Do you know what the word lumiere means?   Isn’t it “light” in French?

Do you own a tea pot?   Yes, and an electric kettle.

Who scheduled your last doctor visit?   I did.

What’s the last video game you played?   It’s been a while. I’ve been thinking of getting a switch though. I wanna play animal crossing.

Do you have anything on your wrists right now?   Aside from a tattoo, nothing. I had a hair tie but I just put my hair up a few minutes ago.

Do you have any holiday theme’d socks?   Yeah, several.

What kind of accent do you have?   A Chicago one.

What’s the last funny movie you watched?   I haven’t watched a movie in a long time honestly.

Can you remember your parents’ birthdays?   Yes.

Is there anyone who you just absolutely cannot STAND being around? YES MY FUCKING BROTHER IN LAW.

What is the design on your shirt?   I don’t have one. I am wearing an olive green shirt and a grey hoodie.

Do you know anyone who just flat-out fails at life?   Uh huh.

Are you a Ghoulscout?   I’ve never heard of a Ghoul Scout, that’s really a thing?

Do you know someone who’s just always wrong about everything?   Yes.

Do you make fun of people often?   We all have our moments.  

Do you read your friend’s surveys?   I keep up with a couple people on here.

If you had to get a tattoo tomorrow, what would you pick?   More bats surrounding the bat I already have.

How do you feel about band tattoos?   I’d like one for Vampire Weekend.

Do you know anyone with a glass eye?   I don’t think so.

How much are you willing to pay for a pair of sunglasses?   No more than $15

Did you have a GI Joe when you were a kid?   No.

What is the origin of your last name?   Czech.

What piercing do you like most on the opposite sex?   Eh.  

What brand of hair dye do you prefer to use?   Pulp Riot/Privana Vivids or whatever it is.

What county do you live in?   Cook.

Did/do you ride the bus to and from school?   In elementary I would usually get driven to school and take the school bus home. In high school I’d be driven to school and sometimes would take the public bus home.

Do you prefer beef, chicken or steak?   Chicken.

What is your salad dressing of choice?   Bleu cheese or creamy garlic

Do you know anyone who’s a really funny type of weird?   Sure.

Do you make faces at certain people?   I mean, I have? It’s not like a thing I do?

Is there something you won’t let one of your friends live down?   No.

Are you any good at applying make up?   No.

Do you know anyone who’s hair looks like a wig?   No?

Do you misuse commas?   No.

Have you ever bitten your dentist?   No.

Are you someone who likes to make simple things difficult?   No?

Who makes you laugh the most? My husband.

[yume-fanfare]

translation - two people at the school festival

this is a translation of one of the four short stories HoneyWorks posted at the beginning of the pandemic!  it’s written by Kosaka Mari, you can read it in japanese here. this was translated from this spanish translation by mieltrabajos.

Other stories:

The whereabouts of the roasted beef

Who is the owner?

Aiming towards the heroine, Suzumi Hiyori!

Two people at the school festival

The day before the school festival classes ended early in the morning, and the afternoon was left to prepare the setup and atmosphere for the classrooms.

Yuujirou and Aizou usually couldn’t stay after school because of their jobs, but that day they also changed out of their uniforms and got to work.

Their class was working on a haunted house so some students were preparing the props in the courtyard while others sewed the costumes in the classroom.

Which was good, but remembering the squeaky screams of the girls made Yuujirou sigh tiredly. They had chased Aizou and Yuujirou after that, but luckily the boys managed to slip away and run to the courtyard.

Aizou and Yuujirou would be wearing vampire costumes. They had tried them on a bit earlier and the girls were very flustered at the sight of them.

And now, they were painting the walls for the haunted house.

Yuujirou stared at his partner’s face. Aizou’s expression was as serious as ever as he carefully painted each brick of the wall with a paintbrush.

Half an hour passed like that, without either of them saying anything.

Some classmates were making noise nearby as they set up some cardboard boxes. Apparently, they were supposed to be coffins.

(………………I’m sleepy…………)

Even though it was November, the weather was nice and warm and it made Yuujirou want to sleep.

He usually slept at his desk when they were in class but now he definitely had to help, as he was part of the class.

It looked interesting, so he added another one.

He took a bucked of red paint, put his hand inside and placed it against the brick Aizou had carefully painted, leaving a dripping red handprint. A bloody mark.

As he repeated the action, Aizou shook his shoulder. He apparently couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey!”

“Why are you carelessly staining what I so beautifully and tidily painted?”

“What?” Yuujirou turned towards him and was met with a piercing glare.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a haunted house?

“Yes but…! Put it somewhere else.”

“Where should I put it, then?”

“Hah?!” Aizou exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. “I was painting here first! So I’m staying!”

“No.”

After lifting his hand from the wall, Yuuujirou mercilessly pressed it against the brick Aizou had just painted.

“Ah!” Aizou yelled, irritated.

Yuujirou laughs, seeing his partner wiggle the brush he was holding.

“Oh, yes? If that’s the case… look!” Aizou added paint to the last color, trying to cover Yuujirou’s handprints.

“What? What are you doing?”

“You did it first~”

Yuujirou glared coldly at Aizou, who kept covering the handprints as vengeance.

He pulled the red paint can towards him, put both of his hands inside and pressed them against the wall again.

“Ah! What are you doing? Stop it, idiot!” Aizou hurriedly tugged Yuujirou’s clothes.

“Who are you calling an idiot?”

“You’re the only one here!”

“Ah, you’re going to make me fall, stop it!” As he said that, he purposefully hit his shoulder against Aizou’s.

Even though he was the strongest of the two, Aizou wobbled and screamed as they both fell to the ground.

“Well, actually... The colors look pretty good…���

“I know, right?”

Their gazes met and they laughed comfortably.

This is my daily life with my partner.

Even with some arguments, we’re a combination that works together perfectly.

Yuujirou remembered what the staff and the people who worked with them often said: “They look like really good friends”. Inside his heart, Yuujirou muttered “What gave you that idea?”

It had been more than a year since their unit was formed, but it didn’t feel like that much time had passed. 

Whenever they met face to face, they always fought each other. But even so, they were there for each other.

“Huhhhhh.... But still, you should apologize!” Aizou violently threw away the brush and grabbed Yuujirou’s shirt with both hands. “That’s for standing in my way! You’re ugly!”

Yuujirou tried to escape by pushing Aizou’s face.

Unexpectedly, Yuujirou burst out laughing.

“Hey! Now you’re getting paint in your face too!” Aizou yelled. A large red handprint covered his face from his chin to his cheeks.

“Today’s recordings are going to be so fun! You’ll stand out!”

“You too! You’ll see!” Aizou put his hand on another can and tried to paint Yuujirou too.

Yuujirou kicked him.

“Yes, sure!”

Some students were laughing in the distance. “What are they doing?”

Both of their faces turned still as they said: “Eh?”

“Stop playing around!” A girl’s voice emerged from the mess, surprising the rest. “Hey, I’m looking at you two!” It was their classmate, Suzumi Hiyori, holding two cans of paint.

This has taken an uncomfortable turn now…

She stumbled on some wood and dropped one of the paint cans.

They both got up to try to help, but in that moment, the can fell on top of Yuujirou’s head.

Hiyori who had fallen on the ground too furrowed her brow and stuttered:

“I-I’m sorry!”

“Ah, ahhhh… Um…” Hiyori opened her mouth, scared and nervous. “It’s… I…”

Both boys, covered in red and green paint respectively, looked at each other with a vague idea in mind. Yuujirou’s head dripped with paint. Another can slowly rolled down to his feet.

“Suzumi-san…” They both called at the same time, and Hiyori turned blue from fear, abruptly moving backwards.

“Uh, I’ll get a towel…”

She secretly had a part-time job as their manager-in-training, but she was supposed to be just a classmate now. Mostly, she tried to avoid them as much as possible.

Grabbing her shoulders as she tried to escape, Yuujirou and Aizou smiled.

“Can I defend myself…?”

---

As soon as they got to work after school, their manager screamed an “Oh!” and dropped her cup of coffee. The female staff member who was about to leave dropped her jaw too.

“What is this?! It’s too different to your image color! What is up with that pizza-looking hair, we have a TV recording today!” The woman placed her hands in her hips. She looked like a demon.

“Y-y-you two! W-why does you hair look like tomato or pepper?!” they exclaimed.

Yuujirou and Aizou looked at each other, frowning. They had managed to clean their faces and hands, but their hair was still dirty.

“I’m sorry…”

“I am sorry…”

They both apologized in a whisper, looking regretful.

Yuujirou gazed towards the ajar break room door. Hiyori, who had been observing from there, jumped to the hallway, her voice shaking:

“Uh! Eh… I’m going to buy blue and yellow dye… y-yes!” After saying that, she ran towards the elevator and got off.

“That’s all?!” they boys expressed angrily.

It had been a couple of months since she had joined with the problematic duo.

And so, she was getting used to a noisy daily life.

[lillabeast]

Order Feast

This took a week to write and its kinda rushed but oh well. Chismest is having their annual feast and Miriam and Audrey decide to celebrate with Kawn and Boni. (there is some bardriam so hecc,,)

Audrey woke up to a heavenly smell wafting through the air. She was sprawled across her cot in her shed. She should order a better bed because her back was killing her and she did not get consistent sleep. She realized that the sun had barely even started to rise. She brought her attention back to the aroma. It smelled of pastries and donuts, and boy was she hungry. She got up, cursing herself for sticking with a cot this long and got ready for the day. She grabbed her boots and gloves and put on her scabbard and sword. Lastly, she wrapped her beloved golden scarf around her neck, giving off a dramatic flair as the ends fluttered down.

She headed out the door and went immediately to the chicken coop and grabbed the bag of chicken feed and filled up the feed bucket for her beloved chicken Marmalade. The hen was fast asleep, so She continued to where the smell was coming from: Kawn’s House.

She opened the door and was greeted to the sight of a table with plates full of the most gorgeous pastries she had ever set her eyes on. She couldn’t remember the name of any of them but they looked delicious. Immediately, she went over and tried to grab one, but suddenly…

“Audrey NO!”

Audrey immediately stopped and looked over, it was kawn. They were wearing their greenish-white long sleeved shirt, but their capelet and cap were still on the hat rack. Instead they were wearing a green apron that matched his pants. They weren’t wearing any hat, but they had a hair net on. They looked kinda ridiculous like that.

“Kawn? What the heck are you doing??”

“It’s almost Lights’ Eve! I’m making pastries to bring for everyone when we start setting up the tree!”

“...What?” Audrey had no idea what any of that meant, but Kawn had an exhausted look on their face.

“...Did...Did I not tell you?” Kawn looked confused and stressed.

“...No.”

“Oh Eya’s sweet chords…” Kawn paced a bit messing with his apron. 

“That means I prolly didn’t tell Mim!! Ouugh I don’t have a ride to Chismest!!” 

“...Can I have a pastry?”

“Wh- I mean… That is really important to the holiday… but… Oh! Here, have one of these, I was practicing these for Light’s eve and I was just going to give them to the mayor as a gift!” Kawn proceeded to pull out a plate of these triangular shaped donuts with a cinnamon sugar glaze smeared upon the treat. Audrey quickly snatched one up.

“Aw heck yeah now you’re talking!” she proceeded to take a bite and was shocked by the fact it was cream filled. She looked at the cream as she finished her bite, The cream had blue and red dye swirling within, it wasn’t fully mixed to be purple. There was also a fruity filling.

“Wh-”

“It’s a light cake!” Kawn beamed, proud of their work. “The Baron family is in charge of hosting Order’s feast, Boni is the bard of Chismest so They’re resting til the feast! As the only one who remembers how to make Light cakes in my family, It is my duty to make them.” kawn was now bouncing slightly, excited to share their family tradition with Audrey.

“Wait, your last name is Baron?” Audrey choked back a laugh as she finished her light cake.

“Uhm… Ye?” Kawn tilted their head slightly. 

Audrey swallowed her donut. “How did you not know that The Baron was your Dad??”

 “...Well Baron is a title, I didn’t think it was his real name.”

“Ok yeah that’s fair.” Audrey thought for a moment. “Hey, can i come with you to the feast?”

Kawn’s face lit up. “Yeah!! It’ll be so much fun!! You can help set up the tree in the town centre!!” 

“Alright I’ll go get Miriam to get you to Chismest, She can come back and pick me up.”

“Wait I thought you could fast travel?”

“Eh I wanna experience a broom ride.”

She would soon regret her decision.

She was miles in the sky, clinging to Miriam for dear life. Miriam had the biggest smug grin on her face, probably enjoying the panic audrey was in. 

“Wow, so much for the ‘Brave hero!’” She cackled.

Audrey couldn’t find the strength to reply. Instead she just held onto Miriam tighter.

Miriam’s smirk grew, and she turned to the terrified ex-Hero. 

“We’re almost there, better hold on tight!” she called, with the most devilish grin anyone had seen. 

Audrey whimpered in fear, and managed to tighten her hold on Miriam. The witch was surprised she could even breathe at this point. She was living for it.

She pointed the broom down and dove towards the town below. Audrey let out a loud and shrill shriek of terror as she squinted her eyes close, waiting for the nightmare to be over. 

Suddenly Audrey heard a malicious cackle.

Audrey opened her eyes to see that she was in the town centre, no one was there yet but there was a table that had all the sweets that kawn made. The witch was cackling so hard that Audrey questioned if she even had lungs. She would have yelled at her, or have gotten angry, but she was still shaking like a leaf. She shakily and carefully got off the broom, and silently thanked Eya for letting the broom ride end quickly.

Suddenly the two heard singing. It was a very beautiful duet, a wordless melody that drifted through the air. The Ex-Hero and The Witch looked over to see Kawn, and their sibling Boni.

Boni was a tall and fairly buff figure, and they wore a light cyan sweater, a sea green apron, and turquoise pants. Their beanie was knitted from hand and was the same turquoise as the pants, though its brim was a bluish green. The beanie was also decorated with a single red flower with a yellow inside. 

Audrey pondered if they were like Kawn and just had a multitude of the same outfits because that is the exact same outfit Boni wore when they first met in the Lumber town in Xia-Tian. 

However, Kawn wasn’t wearing their usual outfit, instead they were wearing a spring green sweater, their hand knitted beanie was a darker green but with a mint brim. The pants matched the color of the beanie. Both of the siblings were wearing boots designed for cold weather and thick leather gloves.  Audrey and Miriam noted that, despite Kawn being 5’7” tall (taller than the two of them) they looked short next to their older sibling who was 6’7”.

Boni and Kawn seemed to be lost in their song, joyously walking to the town Centre. Suddenly, Kawn let out an excited squeak and ran over to their friends. Audrey barely had any time to react to Kawn running over and hugging her, before they turned to Miriam and offered a hug. Miriam was glad that Kawn learned that she hated surprise hugs, but she was a tad jealous of the running hug Audrey got. She decided not to dwell on it and hugged The Bard, who sang out a short and sweet melody. 

Kawn backed off and smiled at the two.

“How was your flight?” 

Miriam smirked evilly.

“Oh it was just fantastic.”

“Ugh… I’m sticking to fast travel.” Audrey groaned.

Kawn felt like something happened, but before they could ask, Boni stepped up.

“Bitty? What is she doing here?” they asked. They were glaring down at The Ex-Hero that burnt their sibling to a crisp. They weren’t as forgiving as Kawn. 

Audrey shrunk under the glare of the giant bard, she was sure her days were numbered.

“I uhm...I’m just-” 

“Audrey and Miriam are here to celebrate with us!” Kawn quickly piped up. They seemed oblivious to the tension, and Audrey was about to suggest she go home to Langtree when Kawn continued. 

“Why don’t you go get check if everyone is ready to set up the tree?” Miriam could tell kawn was panicking, their breathing had sped up a bit. She had gotten used to the small signs that showed they were upset. 

Boni gave Audrey a tired glare before looking back at Kawn. “yeah that sounds like a good idea…” They gave a slight smile and headed off. 

Kawn sat there for a second, and Miriam watched their breathing slow back down to a normal pace. 

“Guess Bon-bon hasn’t forgiven you huh?” The bard gave a nervous chuckle. 

“Can you blame them?” Miriam sneered, “You remember what Audrey did to you, and I know for a fact it still hurts!”

“Wait what!? Are we sure it’s not infected??” Audrey was now extremely concerned as she tried to check the scar. 

“W-Woah Hey no no I’m fine!!” Kawn held the sweater down and hopped back, they were still smiling but even Audrey could tell that they were uncomfortable. “It doesn’t hurt Miriam!” They gave Miriam their best attempt at a comforting smile. 

Miriam cocked an eyebrow, “Bet.” She grabbed some snow and rolled it into a ball and aimed for their chest. 

“Woah WOAH WOAH HEY NOW LET”S TALK ABOUT THIS” Kawn started to sprint as the witch started to chase them on their broom. 

Audrey watched the two run around the town square, Miriam was now using magick to form and chuck snowballs at the bard. While that chaos was happening, Audrey noticed a group of people. Well… “group.” It was three people, one of which being Boni. The other two were shorter than them but were also strong looking. One was carrying a pine tree, another was carrying lights, and Boni was carrying a generator for the lights. 

Suddenly, the adrenaline from the broom ride wore off, and it prolly wasn’t helping that she had terrible sleep and an aching back, so it was no wonder Audrey suddenly felt exhausted. Kawn noticed this and was going to go over to check on her, but was pelted by a snowball. 

“Ack!” the bard brushed off the snow from their head, “Audrey? You Ok?” Miriam frowned a bit, watching the hero. 

“Ouuughh…” The hero groaned, before face-planting into the snow. 

“AUDREY!!!!” Kawn ran over to their fallen friend. 

“Mmmmsnnzzzz…” 

“Oh…” Kawn frowned. “She must not have slept well last night.”

“We should just leave her there.”

“Miiiim! That’s mean!” 

The commotion drew the attention of the older bard, who walked over and looked down at Audrey. They didn’t like Audrey, but they didn’t want her to catch a cold out here. 

“You can take her to my room, you can put her in the guest room you’re using.” Boni sighed. Kawn nodded and struggled to pick their friend up. Boni may or may not have forgotten that Kawn wasn’t as strong as them. The younger bard slowly stumbled off with the sleepy adventurer to Boni’s house.  

Boni sighed when Kawn left earshot, “I don’t understand it. Why are they so quick to forgive her?” 

Miriam shrugged “I’m not sure, but it’s kinda annoying. But whatever, as long as they’re happy.”

Boni huffed and helped everyone set up the tree. They knew the first day would be uneventful as all the kids and families were busy at home making handmade decorations for the tree. Boni looked over at their two coworkers, Johann and Boris. 

“You two go get the automatic watering fountain for the tree and some buckets of water, I’ll get started on the lights.”

Johann and Boris nodded and headed off. 

Miriam huffed, “I can help with the lights, seems easy enough.”

“That would be great, thanks!”

After a few hours, the fountains were set up and half of the tree covered the tree when they ran out. Boni sent Boris and Johann to go get more lights. Eventually, Kawn and Audrey showed up again. 

“Sorry about that! I also took a nap!” The bardlet sang as they skipped up. Audrey groggily lumbered after them. 

“How are you so energetic all the time?”

“The trick is to be so upset with Eya that you enjoy life to spite her.”

“...Wait wh-” 

“Oh! The tree looks lovely!”

Kawn completely ignored everyone’s look of concern as they skipped up to the tree and examined it. The only one who seemed unphased was Boni, but Audrey and Miriam figured she was used to this. 

“Yeah we ran out of lights, I sent Boris and Johann to get more lights.” Boni said. They looked down at the smaller bard, before ruffling their hair. “I’m glad you didn’t sleep in a park bench, Bitty.” 

“Ack!” Kawn stuck their tongue out before throwing some snow at their sibling. 

“Oh is that what you wanna do?” Boni scooped up an enormous amount of snow and held it above the little bard, who squealed and ran. 

“NOT AGAAAAAINNN!!!” Cried Kawn. 

“YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF!!” Cackled Boni, keeping up behind them. Suddenly, Boris called Boni over. The two bards stopped and looked over. 

“Hold up,” Boni said, dumping the snow on Kawn and walking over to Boris. The two talked for a bit before leaving. 

“Ackpth” The bardlet dug themself free and playfully brushed themself off. 

“So... ‘Bitty,” Audrey sneered, but her smug grin ended quickly as Kawn gave her the coldest glare she and the witch had ever seen from them. 

The terrifying sight ended just as quickly as they looked over at the returning Boni and Boris, who were now carrying more lights, a ladder and another generator. Kawn ran over to help them, tho they weren’t very strong. 

“...I...Is that normal?” Audrey asked.

“...Nope.” Miriam replied, “I’m not sure if I should be happy that Kawn is capable of being angry... or terrified.” she murmured. 

The Ex-Hero only nodded in response before going to help. 

They started to set up the generators and ladder, and Miriam got to work on her broom and Audrey got on the ladder and helped Miriam with the lights. It was getting late as they went along, and the wind had started to pick up. Audrey was reaching up to the top of the tree to put the last bit of lights when a gust of wind managed to blow her scarf off. 

“NO!!” Audrey yelled before jumping off the ladder to try and catch it. The fabric slipped through her fingers as she fell quickly towards the ground. She did not think about how high up she was. Luckily, Boni was setting up a generator when she noticed the adventurer falling, and they quickly dove in to catch her so she would have a softer landing.

Audrey landed heavily in Boni’s arms, but still somewhat hit the hard cold floor, and immediately tried to get up and run after her scarf but Boni held onto her. 

“What the hell are you doing!?” They cried, glaring down. However, their face quickly softened when they saw tears well in The small one’s eyes.

“MY SCARF!! I HAVE TO GET IT!!” She cried. Kawn was looking over from where they were fixing any broken lights, they started chasing after the scarf after they realized what had happened. 

Boni wanted to stop them, but noticed Audrey wince when she put weight in her foot. 

“Hey shh calm down, Kawn is going to go get your scarf...” Boni said, trying their best to pull off a soothing voice. Their sibling was much better at this, and it was hard because they knew what Audrey had done but...

They decided to put aside their feelings about Audrey for now. 

They lifted up the protesting and sobbing hero, and looked over at Miriam who had floated down. Miriam started to say a snide comment about Audrey getting her comeuppance, but bit her tongue instead.

“I uh... How about I...” Miriam felt awkward trying to comfort the one who hurt both The bard and herself, “I Uhm... Brew up a potion to help soothe the pain. It seems she sprained her uhm... Ankle...” She shuffled nervously. 

Boni nodded, “Boris, Johann, Take over for now, I’ll be right back. C’mon Miriam, let's get to my house.” The two headed home, Boni carrying the distressed ex-hero.

‘It’s just a scarf,’ Miriam thought ‘Why is she THIS upset about it?’

Then she remembered when her original broom broke. She was so mad and took her anger out on Kawn after they ran off and decided to help the witches that did that.

Eventually the three got to Boni’s and they set Audrey up with an ice-pack on her ankle, with a blanket, some of the sweets from the table and a nice mug of hot chocolate. Audrey still seemed upset but had calmed down.

Miriam was busy in the kitchen, with a bunch of ingredients for the potion. Boni had left an hour ago to finish setting up the tree. She looked outside and noticed that a blizzard had started up, and saw Johann and Boris heading home. 

Suddenly, Boni walked in. 

“Has Kawn come back?”

The witch shook her head as she poured the warm brew into a vial. 

Boni huffed, “They’re gonna freeze out there.” The large bard seemed upset. 

Miriam frowned and looked back outside. It was getting dark and Kawn had been out there for a long time. 

She called her broom to her, “I’m going out to look for them.” Miriam knew Kawn would stop at nothing to find the scarf unless someone stepped in.

Boni huffed, “Not like that you’re not!” They dug in the closet before throwing a sweater at Miriam. 

“I was going to give that to you for your birthday next year but it’s more useful now.”

Miriam pulled it off her face and looked at the sweater. It was a dark purple sweater like her dress with a cyan stripe across the middle. 

“Thanks.” Miriam was thankful but her voice sounded dismissive. She put the sweater on over her usual outfit, pulling her cape over the sweater and heading off. 

She followed the wind, since Kawn would still be following the scarf. It was extremely cold and her face stung as the wind sliced against her. Eventually, she saw Kawn trudging through the forest near Chismest, past the Nexus Point. They were shivering and still looking around, digging in the snow and looking in the trees. 

Miriam swooped down and stopped in front of Kawn. 

They looked up in shock and stared for a moment, processing everything happening. 

“M-m-miriam?” The shivering bard cocked their head, “Wh-what are you doing here?” 

Miriam huffed and lowered the broom and pulled Kawn on, “It’s too dangerous for you to keep looking for the scarf, c’mon.” 

Kawn frowned and tried to resist but they were too cold to struggle much. Miriam flew back to Boni’s house. 

Boni had finished making sandwiches for everyone by the time they got home. Kawn was still shivering when they hopped off the broom and stepped inside. Miriam hopped off the broom and went to go grab a blanket. Audrey looked up from her mug of hot chocolate. 

“Did you find my scarf?!” 

“N-n-no...” Kawn whimpered. Miriam was laying a blanket on them, and led them to the guest bedroom.

Audrey frowned and looked at the ground. Boni gave her a sandwich. 

“Get some rest, tomorrow we’ll be decorating the tree.”

Audrey nodded a bit,”Thank you...” Her voice was low and sad. 

Boni frowned, before they suddenly got a text. They looked at their phone, and then smiled. Soon, they quietly headed off to go work on a surprise. 

The next morning, everyone was in the town centre. Parents, children, people who just lived here, all were working together to put their own creation upon the tree. Audrey’sankle still hurt but she hid the pain well, as she usually does when she gets injured. She was helping little kids find places to put their creations. She was still upset about her scarf, but she could just ask Kawn to go pick a new one up in Mount Ichor. It wouldn’t be the same, but... She couldn’t dwell on it. It was just a scarf. 

She totally wasn’t still incredibly upset by the loss of her scarf. 

Miriam was helping place the creations up on higher places, trying her best to prioritize children when working but usually just grabbing decorations and flying up. The two of them had been at this for hours, they were waiting for Kawn to finish cooking breakfast for them. Apparently it was tradition that at a certain point, everyone would go back to their home at select times for the three main meals of today, and the Barons, of all people, were the ones to call when breakfast starts.

Luckily, Miriam and Audrey were the Barons’ Guests.

Eventually, Boni showed up to let the town know that it was time for everyone to take time off for their family breakfast. Miriam quickly started flying home and Audrey started their way over to the house slowly on foot. They were still deeply upset about her scarf, despite what she would like everyone to believe. 

Miriam and Audrey came in to find plates of pancakes ready on the table, as well as a pitcher of orange juice and some bottles of syrup. 

“CREPES!!!” Audrey yelled.

Miriam rolled her eyes, “Pancakes.” 

“Whatever.” 

Kawn was passed out on the couch, holding a spatula. There was a cup of orange juice in front of them.

‘They must've been up extremely early’ Miriam thought, ‘They were cooking when I woke up and left.’

“Should we wake them up?” The ex-hero asked, lightly poking the bardlet.

“Probably not.” Miriam sat down in her chair and started serving herself. “Come eat or else it’ll get cold.

Audrey looked at the bard before going over and joining Miriam at the table and serving herself. Boni put a blanket on their sibling and joined the girls for breakfast. 

“Eat up because tomorrow-” Boni ate some of their pancakes and downed some juice, “-is Light’s Eve.” 

“Did you just eat an entire pancake in one bite?”  Audrey was almost jealous. 

“What’s Light’s Eve?” Miriam ignored what she just saw. 

“The day before the feast. Tomorrow, We are only eating light meals. So you will be eating one slice of french toast for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and a small chicken breast for dinner. I planned this all out ahead so i could give you two a heads up, you don’t have to join us with that but we won’t be cooking anything more substantial for you.” Boni was swallowing another pancake.

Audrey was watching in horror as Boni quite literally inhaled their breakfast. Miriam was a bit perturbed but ignored it. 

“I’m sure we’ll be fine with a light meal. We were lucky to even have so much as light meals during our adventure, we were mostly living off of dried fruits and nuts!” Miriam was very glad to be having meals again after the adventure, she hasn’t really complained about a meal since then. Audrey looked at Miriam with concern. 

“Excuse me, what!?” 

“What?”

“You and kawn lived off of...that??”

Miriam huffed, almost insulted. 

“Look-”

“I’m done eating, you two finish up so we can get everyone and continue the decorating!” Boni interrupted. Miriam realized they were trying to de-escalate the situation. Miriam huffed but nodded. Audrey still looked concerned but looked over at the sleeping Bard.

“What about them?”

Boni looked over at kawn, “They’re in charge of feeding you two, as well as me but like... I get special treatment? Basically I get today and tomorrow to be lazy, because at midnight during The Order Feast, I have to sing ‘The Order March’” 

Mim cocked an eyebrow “That’s just the Overseer Song, Kawn did that and they didn’t get tired.”

Boni huffed, almost insulted “I have to sing loud enough for all of Chismest to hear.”

“Oh” 

“At midnight.”

“...oh.”  Miriam sunk into her shoulders. 

Audrey was trying her best to imitate Boni and swallow a pancake whole, but was having a lot of trouble.

Miriam was taking a sip of juice when she went to look at Audrey and nearly spat out her drink. Audrey glared at Miriam as half of the pancake fell out her mouth. Boni smirked and got up to make sure Kawn was comfortable, and put the spatula on the counter. 

The rest of the day was spent eating meals and decorating the tree. Kawn was usually asleep but Miriam figured (hoped) that it was just that they were tired. 

During dinner, however, Kawn was awake and seemed pretty well rested and happy. They were talking with Boni while setting some gifts aside. 

“Wait, were we supposed to bring gifts?” Miriam had a hint of panic in her voice. 

“Well, you’re really only supposed to give gifts to your family. And like, traditionally they’re hand-made but people are busy, so most just buy gifts.” Boni said, dismissively. 

Miriam’s brow furrowed. “Ok well I’m gonna go do that then! Audrey, you want to come with me tomorrow?” 

Audrey still felt awkward without her scarf. Yesterday she could manage because she was busying herself helping with the tree. The tree was almost done, meaning she would have nothing to distract herself, and on top of that she had no gifts for Kawn and Miriam, who she kinda saw as her family. 

“Yeah I’ll come...Wait are you going to make the broom ride really scary like last time?” 

Miriam sighed, “No… as much as I want to.” 

Kawn smiled and gave Miriam a thumbs up. Miriam rolled her eyes

Audrey nodded, thankful that Miriam wasn’t being mean for once. Dinner wasn’t very eventful, but it was still fun. Everyone was cracking jokes and poking fun at one another, and everyone seemed to be comfortable. It was as if the past had melted away and that. 

Audrey and Miriam both wondered if this was what it was like to have an actual family. 

The next morning, Audrey and Miriam headed off on the broom. Kawn had packed them breakfast and lunch. They were light meals, just as Boni warned. Kawn offered to make them bigger meals but Miriam and Audrey were determined to try to celebrate the holiday with the Bards. 

“I’d go with you but I have to bake for tomorrow!” Kawn said apolegitcally.

“It’s alright, we kinda need this to be a surprise.”  Miriam said, dismissively.. 

The two headed off as Kawn waved goodbye, Audrey may or may not have been screaming the whole way up.

The girls got to Grandma Sapphy’s, and Miriam got to work on some potions. She insisted that Audrey not look for fear of her “ruining the surprise.” 

Audrey decided to ask Sapphy for help making gifts.

Miriam wondered why Audrey had three gifts, and if she had asked, Audrey would have asked The Witch the same thing. 

They returned just in time for dinner, placing their gifts in their own hiding spots. Dinner was light and quick to finish (Audrey had tried to steal many of the sweets) and everyone went to bed. Miriam was in a sleeping bag in the guest room with Kawn, and a thought creeped into her head. The two have been this close before so the thought shouldn’t have scared her. She carefully crawled out and got up and went over to Kawn. They were asleep but she had to be careful not to wake them, they were a light sleeper. 

She carefully leaned in, and carefully gave him a kiss on the head. The bard moved a bit which caused Miriam to dart away. They didn’t move anymore than that but they had a sleepy smile on their face. A small, yet genuine smile. Miriam, now content, went back in her sleeping bag and went to sleep. 

It was finally the day of the feast. The group of four were carrying the presents and sweets. Miriam and Audrey stood off to the side with the gifts as Kawn and boni set up their pastries with the other food. Everything smelled amazing and the band from Chaandesh was here, playing some music. Once Kawn finished up, They excitedly ran off to talk to them. 

Boni turned to the two girls, bearing a large grin.

 “Ok you two,” they said, crossing their arms “Time to gorge yourself, give gifts, and just enjoy yourselves!” 

Miriam immediately held a gift box up to Boni, who froze and looked down at it. 

“Wh-”

“Thanks for uh...letting us celebrate.” Miriam was quiet and looked away. She wasn’t used to giving gifts to others. 

Boni gave the witch a soft smile and opened up the box and gasped, pulling out a red leaf from Delphi. It was preserved and put in a frame barely big enough for it. 

“Aw sweet!!!” Boni pulled Miriam into a bear hug, and the Witch let out a squawk that caused Audrey to chuckle. 

Boni turned to the bemused Ex-Hero “Oh, did you want a hug too?” They gave a big devilish grin. 

“Ah no no! But uh yeah I got you a gift too!!!” Audrey said, panicking. She didn’t want to be crushed by the giant bard. 

Boni was taken aback. She was kind of mean to Audrey, yet she was giving her a gift? 

They carefully took the gift and opened it. It was a necklace with a glass crystal that contained a small red flower. 

“I uh… had help making it. I didn’t make it, Miriam’s grandma did.” The adventurer said, sheepishly. 

Boni gave her a soft smile before handing Audrey and Miriam their own gifts. “I loved these, thank you so much. I have to go get ready for tonight, you two have fun. Save me some food.” Boni walked off, humming softly as she lumbered off. 

“That was uncharacteristically soft.” Miriam commented. Audrey gave a sheepish nod as she opened her gift. She let out a loud gasp as she pulled out a long, golden scarf. It was just like her old one, but it didn’t have that annoying and itchy tag on it!

She immediately put it on, with an especially extravagant form to her flair. Miriam rolled her eyes and opened her own gift. Her eyes flew open as she saw a set of vials, perfect for potion making. They were just the right size to hold ingredients and potions, and were in a nice little crate she could place. 

“Woah…” It was all Miriam could manage as she carefully put her hand on one of the corks. She quietly put the box lid back on and placed the box where the group had set up their own little hang out spot. 

` Audrey was busy twirling and striking poses, but snapped out of it when Miriam whistled at her. The adventurer looked over and realized that Miriam was holding a gift out at her. 

“Look, Kawn would have wanted me to make you feel included, so i got you...this.”

Audrey looked at the gift before grabbing one of her gifts and walking over and handing her gift to Miriam and taking Miriam’s gift to her. Miriam stared at the gift dumbfounded as Audrey opened the gift box.

“Wh-”

“It’s a potion of power.”

“Wow. That’s low.” Audrey chuckled as she pulled the potion out and looked at it.

“I kinda feel bad because I wasn’t expecting you to give me a gift back, now I just look mean.”

“Nah it’s all good, i could actually use this for my job.” Audrey pocketed the potion and looked at Miriam. “Again your grandma helped with this, so… yeah.”

“Mmm I’m sure it’s gonna be embarrassing.” Miriam carefully opened the box and looked inside. “Wait what?” She pulled out a book with a leather face. She flipped through the pages and smiled a bit and shook her head.

“Wow. She REALLY wants me to get into potion making. I mean, not complaining. I got some new fancy viles so I guess i'm doing this. She looked at Audrey. 

“I guess you’re not too bad.”

Suddenly Kawn walked up holding gifts of their own to give. They were humming to the tune of the music as they skipped up.

“Hellooo!” they sang out. 

“Sup.” Audrey flashed a piece sign at the bard. Miriam rolled her eyes and looked at Kawn. “Hey Kawn. I got you a gift.”

Kawn looked surprised, before giving a big smile. “I got you two a gift as well!!” They handed their gifts over. “Go on! Open them! I really wanna see how you react!”

Audrey decided to go first, she opened the box and saw an axe. It’s handle was made out of wood that was found in langtree, and there was a design of a sky seal swirling up the handle brandished into it. The blade had a leather sheath for it, and it had Audrey’s name embroidered into it in gold. 

“Everyone in Langtree pitched in to make this for you!” Kawn piped up. Audrey teared up and blushed and hugged the axe.

“Wow- Gosh I’m sorry! I-if you don’t like it I cou-”

“NOO I LOVE IT!!” Audrey cried as she hugged Kawn, almost crushing them. 

“Ouukh! Aw… You’re welcome!!” Kawn hugged Audrey as she backed off and wiped her face with her sleeve and looked at the Axe. 

Miriam looked nervously at her box. Ot was small, it wouldn’t be nearly as flashy as Audrey’s gift. She was jealous of that but she couldn’t see herself using an axe. Miriam carefully opened her box, and she saw a small hair clip. It was dark blue with a yellow, star shaped jewel. Next to it, was a necklace that matched the hair clip. 

“I talked to Sapphy as well, and she helped me make these. I chose the shape and colors!”

Miriam carefully put the hairclip and necklace on. 

“Thanks.” She could almost feel her face burning. “I, uh, got you something as well.”  She handed them her box and hid in her sweater.

Kawn opened the box and sang a giddy little note and pulled out a potted flower. It was yellow and shaped like a star. 

“You also got me a star shaped gift!!” Kawn was ecstatic as they looked at the flower. 

Audrey gulped as they looked at their gift. She doubted it would be as good as a plant, but she handed it over anyway. Kawn excitedly took it and put the plant down. The gift was small, but Kawn didn’t seem phased. They opened the gift and gasped before pulling out the pretty black feather from its protective box. It’s colors shifted to a deep turquoise in a certain light.

“It’s so pretty!!! Thank you!! Oh gosh these gifts are great!!” 

Miriam smiled, they were always so easy to entertain. Audrey was still surprised by their simplicity but was busy hooking their axe to her sash. 

“I’m gonna go eat til i explode” Audrey said, simply. “If you want me, I’ll be by the spicy stuff.” 

“Ok!!” Kawn waved and turned towards Miriam. 

Miriam noted the current song was a waltz. Sapphy had actually taught her how to waltz. Claimed it was important for her to learn for whatever reason. 

Suddenly, an idea sprang in her head that terrified her.

“Miriam?” Kawn was wondering why Miram was suddenly blushing. 

“Oh uh sorry. What’s up.” 

“I wanted to know what you wanted to do!” Kawn presumed Miriam was just spaced out.

“I uh… How about we dance”

“Ok!”

“Together”

“Sounds fun!”

“I meant, like a waltz.”

“Su- wait what?”

Miriam grabbed the Bard’s hand and dragged him to a more secluded area where they could still hear the music.

The bard was still shell shocked as Miriam carefully took their hand carefully on hers, and carefully put their hand on her shoulder and her hand on their hip. She decide that she would be assuming the lead role, as she was the one who actually knew how to waltz. 

“We’re just gonna do some steps, nothin fancy.”

It was Kawn’s turn to blush as they sheepishly nodded.

Miriam led them as they kinda shuffled about. Kawn was having fun but could tell Miriam was still nervous about this. 

They decided to add a bit of their own pizzazz.

“I’m having fun, but ya know what would be greater?” Kawn smirked, Miriam raised an eyebrow, secretly terrified that Kawn didn’t like this. 

Suddenly, kawn lifted Miriam's hand and then tried to spin, giggling as they went. Miriam fumbled as she wasn’t expecting this and accidentally knocked Kawn off balance. 

“Oop-!” Kawn yelped, as they fell back. Miriam quickly caught Kawn and held Them up as they were leaning back.

“Woah-” Kawn gasped, “Nice catch.” Kawn blushed and sheepish;y smiled.

Miriam smirked and dropped Kawn,

“Ack!” Kawn flailed and sat up, giggling. “Aww c'mon, that was a good dance!” 

“Then let’s have a second go.” Miriam said, holding out her hand. Probably the smoothest Miriam has or ever will be. 

The two giggled and danced the night away, not really following the rules of waltz and just doing whatever came to their mind. Not caring what was happening or what the world might have thought.

It was the happiest Kawn had ever seen Miriam.

Suddenly, There was a loud and clear singing. The two looked up and saw the lights of the Nexus Point were at their brightest. 

“It’s midnight.” Kawn gasped. 

“We were out that long?”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, cmon!” Kawn took Miriam’s hand and ran for the tree, leading the confused Witch.

When they got to the town centre, they saw that the tree was lit up to match the Nexus lights. Boni was up in front of the tree singing to the entirety of Chismest, some sang along and some just watched. It wasn’t quite the same as the Lullaby, probably modified so that the Bard doesn’t just get chucked to the spirit world. The song was much longer, and some of the notes changed. Kawn quietly sang along, and rocked side to side. Miriam carefully laid her head on Kawn’s shoulder and hummed along with what she knew from Order March. She had a lot of fun the past few days, but she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed after today. She let out a slight yawn as the song came to an end. 

“Tired?”

Miriam sleepily nodded and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, but i’ll be alright.” 

“Nah let’s go to bed, we’ll fly home tomorrow.” 

Miriam nodded and sleepily followed the bard back to Boni’s after they grabbed the gifts. Kawn put the gifts in a safe spot and tucked Miriam into bed. 

“Wait isn’t this your bed?”

“Yeah but you’re flying tomorrow. Get some sleep.” Kawn gave Miriam a kiss on the cheek as they went and got ready for bed and slipped into the sleeping bag.

“...Kawn?”

“Hm?”

“...Can you sing the Wind Sonata?”

“I’d love to!”

The bard started to sing and the witch got comfy in bed. Today was a long day but she was happy she came. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, she was very excited to show Grandma Sapphy her gifts.

[purplesurveys]

1155

survey by shanynx73

Do you have a dry erase board? We probably do somewhere here at home. We don’t throw school supplies like that away just in case we’d all of a sudden need them.

What do you remember most from last summer? Thinking if I’ll ever get a graduation ceremony (which I didn’t); lots of pressure about applying for grown-up stuff like a bank account and social security; and being naive about my relationship that I had no clue was already quickly going down the drain.

Where is the last place that you shopped? If online spaces count, I was just at Lazada around an hour ago trying to see if there’d be a local shop somewhere selling Good Dye Young.

What kind of shoes did you wear today? Didn’t go out today so no shoes were worn.

Have you painted lately? No but it would be nice to, now that you’ve mentioned it.

Which season has the best clothes? We don’t get 4 seasons, soooooo can’t relate.

Do you know about the many uses of coconut oil? Not too familiar.

Do you watch Dr. Oz? Back when we still bothered to have cable I remember occasionally catching his show on TV as I’d flip the channels, but it never looked all that interesting to me.

When was the last time you got balloons? My dad’s birthday, three months ago.

What color is your favorite purse? I don’t have a favorite.

What are your plans for tomorrow? Take more surveys, try not to spend money, and maybe do a couple of daily reports I usually have to do at work so that I don’t have to skim through 4 days’ worth of data by the time I get back to work on Monday.

How was your past Christmas? It was amazing; it was the time I put my foot down and finally firmly decided to start moving on from Gab, so there was a lot of self-love and self-acceptance going on. It was a very personally enlightening time for me. It also helped that I got to spend time with my extended family (in the most socially distancingy way possible) to keep me distracted and remind me of what I do have.

Do you prefer the game Sorry or Trouble? I’ve never tried playing either and I can’t remember each of their main concepts off the top of my head.

What color are the sheets on your bed? They are blue.

Do you prefer pull-over sweatshirts or zip-ups? Zip-ups, so at least I have the option to open or close it.

Have you ever had quiche? Sure.

Have you ever had a conversation with a priest (etc.) outside of church? I might have. It wouldn’t be a kind of memory I’d save in my head, but a part of me thinks there is definitely a chance this has already happened before.

What do you order when you go to McDonald's? I feel like I’ve answered this recently lol but I usually get a Burger McDo. But now that I can afford to get pricier meals, I’m looking forward to the time I’ll finally be in the mood to get a 20-piece box of McNuggets all to myself hahaha.

What do you like to put in your coffee? I don’t really make my own coffee...I prefer mine made for me already, which is why 3-in-1 sachets work perfectly for me lmao.

What is a political issue you feel strongly about? Locally speaking? All of them. Being apolitical is just privilege at work. I do take breaks from reading the news once in a while for the sake of my mental health, but I’ve never stopped giving a shit.

How often do you have to charge your phone? The battery’s health has started to slowly dwindle down; and let’s be real, it was thanks to the time I had YouTube videos on 24/7 as a coping mechanism after my break-up. So for that reason I have to charge it 2–3 times a day; it now gets drained a little faster than it used to when it was still at 100% health, but overall I’d say it’s also still holding up well.

Do you have a song stuck in your head? Sugar on the Rim - Hayley Williams. I swear I listen to other artists too.

What makes a good movie to you? Screenplay. Lines can so very easily make or break a movie.

Do you have any yellow shirts? Yes, and other kinds of tops as well.

When was the last time you wrapped a present? 2015. That was the first and only time I attempted to, and when I saw that I proved to be terrible at it, I’ve since either 1) just bought paper bags, or 2) paid my sister to wrap the gifts I’ve bought.

Do you normally win or lose at rock, paper, scissors? I typically win, actually. No idea why.

Do you like Fruity Pebbles? No. This is honestly not a Filipino/Asian thing and I had absolutely never heard of it until The Rock started calling John Cena a big bowl of Fruity Pebbles like a decade ago on WWE TV. My tween ass felt like I had to fit in so I had my mom buy me a box of Fruity Pebbles the very next day even though it cost like a bitch, and it wasn’t even that delicious.

Do you have any stuffed animals from when you were younger? Nah, I wasn’t big into stuffed toys even as a kid.

What is the craziest thing you've heard or seen on TV lately? A guy getting arrested for picking up his own McDonald’s order outside of his own house. That is the clownery of the country I have to live in.

Have you ever hyperventilated? Yes.

What was your favorite book to read in English class? Without Seeing the Dawn.

Do you wear scarves? Nope.

Are your nails painted? They are not.

Do you like to dress up? Sure.

Are you looking forward to anything in the next week? Eh, not really. I was looking forward to this week because of the Holy Week break, so I’m actually dreading next week because there won’t be any other work break as long as this anymore until Christmas.

Do you buy lottery tickets? I’ve never done so.

What is your favorite flavor of Gatorade? I’m traumatized by Gatorade lol. My mom made me chug that shit down endlessly when I was 4 when I had multiple doubts of diarrhea or whatever it was, and I never got over it. To this day I refuse to even smell it.

Do you think most people wear masks? LOL I had already typed out a full-blown answer for this talking about Covid until I double-checked and saw that this survey was made in 2013, so it must’ve been talking about masks in the metaphorical sense...that’s my  “ohhhhh” moment of the day for sure lmao. Anyway, yeah sure.

What feature do you get complimented on most? Skin.

What are you planning to do next? Look for another survey to take, and maybe some nice instrumental music to listen to.

[jaschicken1]

In the possesion au what if the reader dyed their hair or gotten a tattoo that the pasta didnt like

(Creepypasta x Scenario) Reader dyes their hair or gets a tattoo the Pastas don’t like -

~~~~

Referring to this post - Here

Homicidal Liu’s part - Here 

~~~

Jeff The Killer: 

“Why? Just why?” Rolling my eyes, I proceeded to wander in the forests. Sensing my legs freeze from Jeff gaining control of them, I noticed him scowling at me from inside of my head. “Purple hair? Are you crazy? And it’s not even a good type of purple!” Sighing, I nudged Jeff inside my head with my elbow.

“It’s a pleasing colour. Besides, it was a dare.” Jeff crossed his arms, grumbling under his breath.

“I won’t stop complaining about it.”

“Oh, I know.”

BEN Drowned:

“Why must you do this to me?” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed for the hundredth time.

“BEN! It looks fine!” BEN gazes at me like I’m crazy, using my left arm to point at my leg.

“That seems fine to you?” Staring down at my leg, I see a tattoo of a heart with a sword stabbing through it.

“Yea? This is my body. You’re just sharing!” I smirked, poking BEN in the cheek.

“Whatever, I don’t wanna see that anymore.”

Eyeless Jack: 

“You’re awfully quiet today, Jack…” Taking another bite of my sandwich, I didn’t hear a response from the demon male from inside my head. “Jack? Don’t ignore me.” Going inside my mind, I noticed Jack was in the corner of my head. I walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I told you not to do it! But you did it anyway!” Raising a brow, I was confused on what he was talking about until it clicked.

“What? I’ve always wanted dark green hair…”

“BUT IT DOESN’T LOOK GOOD ON YOU!” Sighing, I left my mind and went back to eating my sandwich.

“At least it wasn’t neon pink…” 

Laughing Jack:

“You disappoint me…” Jack grumbles, watching as the tattoo artist worked on my arm.

“Eh, you say that a lot, Jackie. You’re lucky I can talk into my head for you, or else the tattoo artist would think I’m crazy.” I chuckled, nudging Jack with my elbow, looking through my eyes together.

“YOU ARE CRAZY! Why would you get a heart with candy in the middle as a tattoo!?” Jack screeches in my ear, causing me to sink down from the taller male.

“Because it reminds me of you! Besides, he’s doing a good job at the tattoo!” Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Jack going to the corner of my head to weep. “Don’t worry, Jack! I’ll show you the results when it’s done!” 

Masky:

Smiling sheepishly at Masky from inside my head, I watched as he walked us back to our cabin. “So, Masky…”

“Don’t talk to me…” Pouting, I crossed my arms and turned my back to the masked proxy inside my head.

“At least I like it! It’s my body that you’re sharing!” Feeling my body comes to a halt, I glanced around at the trees that surrounded me. “Masky, why did you stop walking? We’re nowhere near our cabin?” Going back into my mind, I noticed the male glaring at me.

“Neon yellow hair? You like that? Geez, and you wonder why I control your body most of the time! Because you do this when I’m sleeping!” Smiling, I poked the masked proxies cheek.

“You’re just jelly because you don’t have fabulous hair like me!” 

Hoodie:

“First you jump off a tree, and know you get your hair dyed!?” Hoodie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Well, yeah… ever hear of ‘Yolo’? I got one life! Why not get my hair dyed!?” Making eye contact with an annoyed proxy, I smiled awkwardly at him.

“Out of all the colours you could have picked, you picked dark blue with yellow highlights?” Shrugging my shoulders, I played around with my hair, smiling at the colours.

“It looks pretty! Kinda reminds me of the galaxy.” Hoodie let out a loud groan as he facepalmed.

“Whatever… if people laugh at it, it’s your fault…” 

Ticci Toby:

“Look, I appreciate it, but no!” Glancing down at my ankle, I raised a brow at the ticking male. I showed him my tattoo on my ankle that had two hatchets with his name on it. Now he won’t let go of my ankle, hugging my leg like a kid inside my head. “Toby! I love you, but please let go of my leg!” Shaking his head, he buried his head into my thigh, causing me to sigh. “Toby! I would like to control my body and go get some food!” Still nothing. “I’ll eat ice cream for the both of us.” With that, his head popped up, his eyes sparkling.

“You can control your body with me hugging your leg! This is your punishment for that tattoo!” 

Homicidal Liu:

Having two other people sharing your body is stressful, but it was even worse when they both found out I dyed my hair.

“(Y/n)! Why must you do this!” Sully cried, controlling my body to look into the mirror.

“What!? I wanted to do it! I don’t know what’s wrong with it! It looks nice.” I grumbled under my breath, crossing my arms.

“(Y/n)? Your hair is half-red half-yellow! Are you trying to be those Twizzlers?” Glaring at Liu, I smacked Sully’s hand as he held up the red and yellow Twizzlers to my hair.

“Don’t compare my hair to candy!”

“Well, when you dye your hair those colours, we’re going to.” 

Bloody Painter:

Smiling awkward at Helen from inside my head, I cupped my hands together. “So?” Helen stared at me before rested his head in his hands.

“Why? You know I could have done it for you?” The painter sighs, glancing at my wrist once again. I got a tattoo of Helen’s name with a heartbeat going through it.

“Well, I didn’t know you can do tattoos! All you do it paint and draw! Besides, I like it.” Noticing Helen suddenly walking towards me, I took a couple steps back, afraid of what he’s going to do.

“It looks nice, yes, but don’t do it again…” Pulling me into a hug, he buried his head into the crook of my neck, getting all his frustration out. 

Puppeteer: 

Biting the inside of my cheek, I glanced around my dark mind, waiting for Puppets responds. “I knew this day was going to happen…” Puppet sighs, letting my hair fall back down after he was holding it up for about three minutes.

“What? It means ‘family’ in Japanese! I always wanted a Japanese symbol on me! They’re so cool!” I smiled, bouncing on my tippy-toes as I turned to face Puppet.

“Yeah, but I don’t want ‘chicken soup’ on the back of your neck like that one guy did.” Huffing, I let out a chuckle, waving him away.

“Nonsense! That won’t happen.”

“Pfft, that’s what that one guy thought…” 

[that-one-girl-behind-you]

Illicio 5/?

Part 4

Mild content warning for Gerry having a panic attack

"Right... listen, does your boyfriend know about this?"

Jon, who'd been scowling at his hand for not mutilating adequately, snaps back up to look at her like a deer in the headlights.

"My- w- who?" He stammers out, and Melanie wants to sock him on the nose. Less in a 'bash his head in' and more like when she punches Gerry on the ribs because he keeps trying to look at her phone when she's texting Georgie.

V

"Please stop finding me."

Martin makes sure no one -a very specific someone, truly- is waiting outside for him, before he walks out to hail a cab. He used to grab the bus back to his flat, but lately the thought of being trapped with all those people sends a pang of nausea right to his stomach.

The driver forgets to charge him when they get to Martin's place, but he still drops enough money to cover the fare on the backseat before climbing out. The man looks back with a start when the door opens and closes, but he doesn't see him. If he somehow did, he will forget it, Martin thinks with relief.

A stream of heavy fog flows out of the flat when he opens the door, and the inside is colder than it ought to be. Martin drops his shoes on the rack by the entrance and watches them get enveloped in the swirling mist with a curious sense of detachment.

There's not much left to eat in the kitchen, but Martin isn't hungry lately. He realizes at times, that the reflections on the windows don't show him moving around the flat like they should. That's... nice. He doesn't want to see himself either.

When he crawls under the covers it's still far too early to sleep, but when he's not conscious he doesn't have to listen to the sounds of the world going on outside his window, and the soft gray dreams are always quick to come.

Martin wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later after a series of rapid clicks by the side of his bed, and he's relieved. He shouldn't be, he knows. The Lonely's taking to him almost naturally, and he should stop fighting it. These are the terms he agreed to, and it guarantees Jon will be safe.

A quick look to the window confirms he's visible again, and he turns to look, knowing very well what he's going to fin, with a tired smile already on his lips.

"Why did I ever think you'd do what you were told for once?" Martin asks the tape recorder whirring away where it's nestled snugly on his pillow. It brings Martin hope, at least the part of him that stubbornly checks for mails and opens his messaging apps and types out texts but can never bring himself to press the send button. "Still, listening to me sleeping is a bit too much, no? There's not even anything to record. Unless I snore. Do I snore?"

A long pause.

Click.

"Hm... Good to know." Martin lifts a hand up to his face, and it seems more solid than it did before he went to sleep. The tapes do help, then. Pity. "I really- I wasn't kidding when I told him I need him to leave me alone... and I think that means you too."

Click. Brrrrr.

"Having you here is a sign he still cares about me. A-a- and I like that! But that's the problem, I shouldn't. Peter's keeping a close eye on him as it is, with this whole pissing contest with Elias. If he knows I still... the people he sends away are also a punishment for me,you know? It's always the ones I talked to last. If you ask me, the message is very clear."

The tape clicks another button sympathetically. Or maybe it just clicks, it's just a tape recorder, for God's sake.

"Is he... well? I saw one of the deliverymen in the surveillance cameras the other day. I figured it was looking for him. Can't have been to easy to see a reminder of something so awful. God knows I still can't stand the taste of canned peaches."

The surveillance cameras are pointed towards the street -why would Elias need cameras to watch someone inside the building?- so Martin had only seen the monster go out and away from view. He'd also seen Melanie and Gerard Keay go after it, so Martin's pretty sure that's done and dealt with.

Martin is still not sure how he feels about Gerard Keay.

He's seen him with Jon a few times, when he's intangible enough that others don't notice him right away. He doesn't... it's not stalking or anything, Martin doesn't follow them home or look into their trash bins, he has just happened to be there when they're there too, and they don't see him because seeing them together tends to make him even more ethereal.

Gerard is always touching Jon, little points of contact here and there that feel almost sacrilegious to Martin, who's always had this idea that Jon is averse to being touched. Maybe because Tim had always been the only one to take that freedom with him, before he stopped wanting to.

The fact that Jon doesn't seem to mind only makes it more irritating.

"It's ridiculous, isn't it?" He tells the tape. The fog's starting to come back, thicker this time. He spares a look to the window, and he still hasn't disappeared, but he can see through his silhouette. "The world is at stake and I'm here being jealous over Jon."

It does make him feel better to know he never really had a chance, if Gerard -who is certainly attractive and flashy and assertive and everything Martin is not- is an indicator of Jon's tastes. But then why does Jon keep trying to get him to come back, and why are the tapes still following him? Is it some sort of mistimed loyalty for the last member of his original team still standing?

"I... I guess it makes sense. I'm doing this for him." Martin runs a hand down his face to wipe away the cold condensation of the fog on his skin. "He has to be safe, it's the only thing that matters and... and if Gerard keeps him safe, then we're sort of working for the same goal, right?"

Click.

"Don't be ridiculous, two people are barely enough to keep Jon out of trouble," he huffs. A loud yawn catches him off guard, and Martin burrows deeper into the covers. It's never warm with the Lonely, but the softness is still comfortable. "I suggest you click off now, unless you want more snoring."

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

Helen cracks her door open just an inch. Martin's snores are soft, just like everything else about him.

She adds the tape to her collection. It's growing very nicely.

Helen closes her door with a click, and moves it to a loud, busy nightclub with bright yellow doors leading to the loos.

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

"Do you really have to do that in here?" Jon groans when he walks past the open bathroom door and sees Gerry bent over the sink, making an absolute mess of the off-white porcelain.

"Now that you mention it, no," comes Gerry's voice from under the mass of hair, and Jon scrunches his nose at the offending smell of chemicals. "I'll just go dye my hair in the Tube station loos."

Jon rolls his eyes. "There's places that do that for you, Gerry."

"I've done it myself all these years. Why stop now?" Gerry shrugs and goes to spread a glob of black dye over an already soaked lock.

"You're not even-" Jon's hand shoots forward, "-you're not even getting all the roots! One would think after this long you'd at least know how to do it effectively." It's around then that he notices his hand is clamped down on Gerry's wrist, and he freezes. Gerry touches him all the time, but maybe it's not a two way street and-

Gerry shifts a little, and then there's a blue eye looking up at Jon, almost too bright amongst all the black.

"I mean, you could help me." Gerry's voice is still amused, and he takes a half step back to move out from under their joined hands. He then straightens up to full height, splashing a Pollock on the bathroom tiles when his hair whips back. "Or else I'm going to end up making a real mess. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"I should ask the Eye if there's some sort of... return rec- please don't touch my towels!" Jon groans. "Just get in the tub, alright?"

"I knew you'd come around. There's dye all over your hand by the way, you should be more careful with that." Gerry smirks as he climbs into the bathtub and plops down on one end.

Fixing an undead man's dyejob at four in the morning and then cleaning the entire bathroom afterwards is not exactly how he expected to not sleep tonight, but weirder things have happened, Jon decides.

He sits on the edge of the tub behind Gerry, and begins working the hair into a knot at the top of his head, like Georgie used to do when she did this. Gerard's hair is a bit coarse, probably because of the dye itself. He wonders idly if it would get softer with enough listening to Jon's voice. This texture is not bad anyways, he finds.

"Do you remember Andrea Nunis?" Jon asks as he begins to apply the dye to Gerard's roots. They're a dirty blond color, and it gets swallowed easily enough by the black.

"Uh... who?" Gerry's voice comes after a moment, and Jon can hear the confused frown in it. He disentangles another lock from the top; his grandmother was always a bit too rough with his hair -an old woman out of practice and without the energy needed to be anything other than ruthlessly effective- so he runs his fingers through Gerry's carefully to get rid of the knots. "I'm going to need more context, Jon."

"Eh? Oh." Jon snaps back to reality, and the question he just asked. "The- the woman. In Italy. You saw her in a café, and you told her to think of her-"

"Her mother," Gerry ends the sentence for him. "I remember. It's good to know she made it out."

"Was it... does it have to be a family member? A- a person?" The whole process is almost soothing in it's repetitive motions. Comb, apply, move aside. "Your anchor?"

"Not really." Gerry shrugs. His voice sounds the slightest bit drowsy, and Jon smiles. "Sometimes it's things... or thoughts? I knew a man that walked right out of the Dark because he and his wife had plans for brunch with his in-laws the next morning, and he didn't want to miss out on his father-in-law's quiche."

"... A man defeated the Dark through the power of breakfast food, is what you're saying?" It sounds as unconventional as anything else that has to do with the entities, but Jon is starting to get very tired of nothing making any sense.

"Must've been one hell of a quiche, don't you think?" Gerry's neck is bent at a weird angle as Jon tries to reach the side of his head, so Jon sits back for a second and twists until his legs rest at both sides of the tub, his knees framing Gerry's shoulders. "Why do you want to know?"

Jon has a lie prepared. He's had it for about a week when he read the statement of the man in the flooded house. He's practiced it enough that he can deliver it casually, no matter how bad a liar he is, it should be believable.

"Basira wants to-" Gerry lays his cheek on Jon's knee, and Jon flinches and sputters in surprise, his mind drawing a blank. "Sh- Daisy's in the coffin. The- the Buried, I mean. Daisy- I want to bring her back."

Gerry straightens up immediately at that -Jon has a spare second to wonder why he feels so incredibly aware of the spot on his leg where Gerry's face rested on for less than a second- and turns to look at Jon with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"What was that?" Gerry asks, voice low and serious enough to make Jon ignore the hastily made bun at the top of his head. "Jon?"

"Basira wants to get Daisy out of the Buried," Jon parrots off his well practiced lie. "I promised her I'd find out more about anchors so she-"

"Basira would have to be incredibly stupid to try that." Gerry's eyes are still narrowed at Jon. "Climbing into the Buried willingly is as good as killing yourself. But you know that already, right?"

Jon clears his throat. "She."

"Of course. She knows that." A drop of half congealed dye is tracing a long line down the wall. Jon follows it with his gaze, until Gerry pinches at his knee. "Jon."

"I'll- I'll let her know," Jon forces out, voice strained. He looks back at Gerry after a moment. His frown has softened, replaced by something that looks more like concern. He used to catch that look on Martin too sometimes. "I-"

"You can't let Basira into the coffin, Jon," Gerry says with such intensity that Jon wonders for a moment if he actually caught his lie, because surely Gerry worrying this much about Basira would be less weird than Gerry worrying this much about him. "For real. Promise it."

"I... I'll keep her away from it." Jon's nod feels a bit robotic to him. "I'm still not done. With you- w- with your hair I mean. The- the top..."

Gerry's eyes remain on him for another long moment, before he gives his head a little shake, and turns around again. Jon moves to grab another lock of hair.

"You say Martin is trying to keep you all safe, don't you?" Gerry says, and Jon's hands freeze. "He'd be pretty bummed out if Basira died for nothing, don't you think?"

"I-"

"So let's not let anyone into the coffin. For Martin."

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

Melanie recognizes the sound of a blade sinking into flesh the moment she walks past Jon's closed door. She stops for a moment to try and identify the feelings it brings her, and she's both happy and disappointed to find curiosity as the most prominent. She opens the door after her self exploration, a bit surprised to find it unlocked.

Jon is standing hunched over his desk and gasping in pain, one hand laid flat on top of a towel that's doing a piss poor job of absorbing a small puddle of blood, and a knife held on the other one.

"What are you doing?" Melanie asks, leaning back on the door to close it.

"Oh!" Jon's head snaps up to meet her, and he drops the knife into an open drawer he pushes shut right after. "I-"

"Yeah, that makes everything much less suspicious." She rolls her eyes. "Where did all that blood come from?"

"Uh- me, actually," Jon says apologetically. The towel makes a squelching sound when he folds if over. "I'm- would you believe me if I told you I'm trying to save Daisy?"

"Has your first idea for 'help" always been bullshit surgery, or is this a new development?" Melanie crosses her arms over her chest, and begins tapping a finger against her arm. Even just being in a room with Jon is irritating. Not enraging anymore, but he's just... eugh.

"... I'm- Basira said you didn't want to see me-"

"I didn't," she shakes her head, arms still crossed. The tapping finger is now a fingernail lightly dragging -not quite scratching- against her skin.

"-But I'm- I'm very sorry Melanie," Jon says, and Melanie rolls her eyes.

"Fuck off," she mutters, and even the way Jon flinches back at her voice makes her angrier. "You 'saved' me, isn't that what you wanted? Go, team Archives."

"I... I wanted to ask you." Jon's voice is low. "To-"

"Yeah, no. The only reason Gerry was able to get me off of you was because I was fighting the anesthetic, the sleeping pills, and the bullet was already off." Melanie gives a humorless laugh. "Basira was right, the only way to do it was to betray me and effectively destroy the last space I still felt somewhat safe in. So thank you."

"Basira said you were better..."

"Basira doesn't care if I feel better, Jon." Melanie sinks her nail into the meat of her arm, and the momentary flash of pain serves to keep her grounded. "She only cares that I'm a variable she can control. My condition was good when it kept us safe, but I was becoming too volatile, and now I'm de-clawed so I'm better, according to her."

Jon looks at her with a pained expression she somehow doubts has anything to do with whatever he was doing to his hand, and sighs.

"I know you won't believe me, but I care that you feel better. Maybe it's enough to start letting go of the an-"

"Oh, shut up. Please shut up, you don't even know!" Melanie snarls, her fingernails now well and truly sunken into her arm. She takes a moment to pull them out and take a deep breath. "My whole life, Jon. My whole life I've been angry because people look at me and think they know better, think I'm not good enough, not strong enough. This anger you want me to let go of is the reason I've gotten this far, it's what has pushed me to do anything in the first place, it's-"

"M- Melanie," Jon tries, but she whips a hand up to point at him and he shuts up immediately, flinching.

"No, listen to me! Do you have any idea what it's like? Of course you don't! You were picked to run this place even though they could hardly have found anyone less qualified, probably because Elias knew anyone else would see through his bullshit right away, what do you know about being passed over because of who you are?" She snarls. The rage, it feels... not like before. Or maybe that's how it felt before India, every word letting something out instead of drawing more back in for her to stew over. Jon is listening to her every thought, and she can see the hurt on his face but at least someone is listening. "And then this- this ghost shoots me. And suddenly something inside me is telling me that this is right! That this is my power, that I can. The bullet didn't stay because of some spooky bullshit, Jon. The only reason it was able to stay in the first place is because I wanted it."

The office is silent for a moment, the only sound echoing across being Melanie's hard breathing. Jon drops on his chair suddenly, like his legs feel weak. He gives her a slow nod.

"...Shit. I- Of course. I didn't- the entities choose their own," he says, which Melanie guesses is pretty on line with what Gerry told her. The Slaughter wanted her because she had always craved the power anger gave her, so maybe the Eye chose Jon because the moron ways craved to at least have an inkling of what's going on. "But I never thought about that. I'm- I'm very sorry Melanie."

"Yes."

"Melanie-"

"So-" Melanie interrupts him, because she's not about to have a 'you and I are one' moment with Jon of all people. "Why are you trying to chop off your fingers?"

"Oh- that, I'm-" Jon looks at his right hand like it just grew out of his forearm. "I'm going into the coffin."

Melanie arches an eyebrow. "The chained up coffin with 'do not open' scratched on the top?"

"Yes I know how it sounds like, thank you." Job huffs and rolls his eyes, and Melanie has a flashback to the first time they met, when he was so skeptical about her show and she tried to rile him up about his Institute's reputation. It feels like an eternity ago. "But Daisy's in there, and I'm the only one that probably won't die if I go in after her. I just need an anchor to come back."

"And you thought a finger would be enough."

"Well... it's a part of me. It doesn't get much closer than that," Jon runs a hand through his hair. His nervousness makes him appear a little more human, at least. "But I keep healing. Hurts plenty, but they won't come off."

"Right... listen, does your boyfriend know about this?"

Jon, who'd been scowling at his hand for not mutilating adequately, snaps back up to look at her like a deer in the headlights.

"My- w- who?" He stammers out, and Melanie wants to sock him on the nose. Less in a 'bash his head in' and more like when she punches Gerry on the ribs because he keeps trying to look at her phone when she's texting Georgie.

She rolls her eyes. "There's hair dye all over your hand." Jon seems to catch on at last, because he blushes enough for it to be noticeable against his dark skin. Back when they were dating Georgie used to say he was cute when he was flustered, but to Melanie he just looks constipated. "Kudos for fixing that by the way. But back to my point, does he know? Because this sounds like the kind of brilliant plan you hatch at three in the morning before going at your hair with the kitchen scissors."

"That's... oddly specific." Jon swallows. "I- Gerry doesn't know, no. Or- he knows I was looking into anchors..."

"But?"

"... But I promised him I wouldn't go in." He admits after a moment's hesitation. "I have to though. If Daisy's alive- I can't leave her there."

Again, Melanie doesn't care about Jon at all. But people around her do for some reason, even Georgie, despite how angry she is at him right now. And leaving Daisy in the Buried... she can see where he's coming from.

"But you can't go in anyways, can't you?" She asks, stalling for time as she tries to come to a decision. Jon seems awfully sure about the anchors, and he has to know if it'll work, the Eye wouldn't let him go in if it wasn't solid. "Without cutting the finger off, you don't have anything."

Jon sighs. "I guess. Hah, this would be a lot easier if we had the bone turner. Just... reach in and get me a rib."

Oh.

That's exactly the moment Melanie remembers she never told anyone what she did to Jared Hopworth, when stabbing heart after heart wasn't enough to keep him down.

"...Melanie?" Jon asks, suspicion coloring every syllable.

"Follow me. And don't talk," she warns before marching off towards the tunnels.

Jon does keep quiet as they make their way to the bright yellow door, terribly out of place in the tunnel's faded gray walls.

"I didn't know it was living here," he says then, and Helen's echoing laugh seeps from below the door. Melanie rolls her eyes.

"She's helped us a lot," is all she says before she opens the door. She doesn't know the rules too well, because Helen can open it herself just fine at times. Maybe it's only when there's no one else to open it?

"Calling me an it doesn't do you any favors, Archivist. What are you, then?" When Helen walks out of the door her knees are backwards and her lipstick keeps changing colors. "Especially as of late?"

Jon stiffens, before he jerks his head towards Melanie. "Do you trust it? For real?"

Melanie crosses her arms, unimpressed. "Don't call her that."

"Fine," Jon rolls his eyes. "Do you trust her? She's never helped me too much."

"Helen did," Helen says, smiling. "She locked the door, did you know?"

And that seems to take Jon off guard.

"Did- did she know? What would happen to her?"

Helen's smile zigzags across her face. "Helen was sharp."

Jon doesn't seem to know what to say to that, so Melanie steps forward again.

"I do trust her. And if you want the bone turner, you'll have to trust her too," she says seriously. If Jon can't take Melanie's judgement at face value then-

"Ok," Jon mutters almost to himself. Melanie remembers the testament tape, how she and Martin and Basira listened to it together, when it looked like they might be the only ones left. Jon's adamant voice as he declares 'I choose to trust' has a haunting quality in her memory. "Right. Then- then I'll- is he in there?"

Helen nods. She looks very pleased, and Melanie smiles a little. Helen may not be human, but she's still her friend.

"Mmm... he's not something I can really digest. Too meaty, you know?" Helen gestures towards her open door. "I'll make sure you run into him."

Jon takes a deep breath to steel himself. "Ok. I'll- I'll offer to let him out. For the rib. If he tries something-"

"I suggest running," Helen coos, and Melanie gets the feeling that she finds this very amusing. "Try to find a door."

"...Yes thank you," Jon gives her the stink eye before pulling a tape recorder from his pocket. At this point Melanie's starting to believe they give him the same sense of safety the knives gave her when she was still affected by the bullet. He turns to her. "Melanie..."

"I'm not going in with you. Good luck," she says, but he shakes his head.

"No, I just… it was never the bullet," Jon says and Melanie wants to groan because of course he has to go and make it awkward. "I'm- I'm very sorry you felt that way."

"... Jon please go in before I push you."

The door closes, and Melanie sits down against the wall. Helen quite literally folds herself by her side, and they wait.

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

"Oh, he's got his bone," says Helen an hour or so later when Melanie's just started dozing off. "He's not looking too good, though".

"Ugh. Of course he had to go and get himself all fucked up. What am I going to tell Gerry?" Melanie huffs, already trying to come up with a decent lie.

Helen tilts her head to the side. Her chin points at the ceiling. "We're keeping the secret?"

Melanie shrugs once, sharply. Jon doesn't deserve her loyalty, much less after everything that's happened lately. But she believes him when he says he's doing it for Daisy, and Melanie's personal grudges probably shouldn't get in the way of people doing what's right. Even if they're very reasonable personal grudges.

"Just this once," she tells Helen after a moment. "He'll owe me."

The door opens, and Jon groans and spills out like a boneless -Melanie can't hold back a snort- mess on the tunnels' floor, holding a startlingly white rib on his hand.

"He'll owe me big time."

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

"Oh shit, you're back early," Melanie looks up from her phone like a startled deer when he walks into the Archives.

Gerry arches an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I brought ice cream, but if you're going to be like this I'll just eat it all myself," he walks past her towards Jon's office.

"He's not there. He's- taking care of some business." Melanie's voice is painfully casual, and Gerry pinches the bridge of his nose with the hand not holding his half eaten treat. Who taught these people to lie and why did they do such a piss poor job of it?

"Melanie, where's Jon?"

"Doing Archivist things."

"First off, you don't know what that is. Second off, there's not nearly enough screams for that," Gerry rolls his eyes. "Where is he?"

"He-"

"The truth this time please." Gerry throws the plastic bag on top of a desk, and turns to her only to find her with the same dazed expression. "Why are you even lying? It's not like-" his stomach drops suddenly, and Gerry feels his mouth go dry. "Ah fuck. He did it."

He doesn't even want to think about what this means for him, because he's tied to Jon somehow, and now Jon is gone. Trapped. Unable to move, unable to breathe, dirt pressing all around him but never choking him enough to die. All to save another person because that's the only way he thinks he can justify his existence.

"He did what? Gerry, you're not making-" Melanie tries to talk over him, but he needs to get the words out because they taste rotten in his mouth.

"He went into the damned coffin didn't he? He promised he wouldn't, did-"

"He didn't-" Melanie slaps a hand on the desk to get his attention, and Gerry whips around to look at her. "Jon's fine. He just wasn't feeling well, you're making a mess." Gerry looks down. The half eaten lolly's melting on his hand, and a small red puddle has formed on the desk. "Wow, déja vu," mutters Melanie to herself.

"What's happened to him then?" Gerry frowns. It's not as if a migraine would be able to drop an avatar.

"I don't really like being Seen," comes a new voice, and Gerry whips around again, this time to see the yellow door that's now the entrance to a place that is not Jon's office. "And I didn't make it easy for him."

"So you two had a row?" That would make more sense, Gerry thinks. The Spiral is hard on the Eye. "About what?"

"Keep asking. Ended very well for him," Helen says smugly. Gerry notices however, that the Distortion hasn't even cracked the door open, much less come out, so Jon must've at least gotten a few good metaphorical punches in, whatever it was that they were fighting about. He turns to Melanie.

"What happened?"

Melanie rolls her eyes. "He called her an it. Everything escalated from there," she shrugs, and Gerry guesses from the way she averts her eyes that there's something she's not telling him, but that's ok. Whatever relationship she has with the Distortion is her own business. "He's on Basira's cot, by the tunnels."

Gerry blinks. "By the what?"

"The tunnels?" Melanie arches an eyebrow, like Gerry's playing dumb on purpose. "The ones under the Institute?"

"...Of course." Gerry forces through a suddenly too tight throat. "I'll- I'll go check on him."

"You forgot your loll- ugh," is all Gerry hears as he escapes the room, but he couldn't care less about the melting treat on the desk.

He walks aimlessly, trying to drown the cacophony of his thoughts with the loud sound of his steps, and he's barely aware -and vaguely thankful- that whatever tether his body was rebuilt around is pulling him toward Jon.

He shouldn't be this surprised, honestly. Gertrude... Gertrude lied about worse things. Did worse things. The entire conversation they had that evening is playing in his mind again, and Gerry feels his knees weaken as his pulse begins to race.

"Do you think they can reach us after death?"

Just when did he forget Gertrude was not his mother? How did he forget she could be just as cruel? Gerry's hands are shaking a little.

"Personally, I suspect death puts us beyond their power..."

Did she remember that moment as she mutilated his body in that American morgue? Did she even stop to think before she did it? His head feels like it's filled with crawling ants as he imagines, not for the first time, Gertrude peeling his skin off to make his page.

He lays a hand flat against the wall when the world starts wobbling a little. During the first few months in the book, Gerry had entertained the thought that Gertrude bound him out of some twisted version of love. She needed him around, they were a team, she'd burn his page when the job was done, and they'd be free together.

The fantasy only really lasted up until the hunters summoned him for the first time, and let him know they bought the book from a less than trustworthy cop that turned a blind eye to the two of them rifling through evidence for anything supernatural. Why does he feel so light-headed? He's breathing, he's breathing as fast as he can but there's no air in his lungs and they're starting to burn and-

"Gerry?" The voice is like a soothing balm, snuffing out all of Gerry's thoughts at once and leaving him only with blessed silence and the taste of the gentle concern poured into his name. He looks up -he doesn't remember when he slid down the wall- to find Jon crouching before him. "What happened?" He asks, and the words once again taste sweet with worry.

Gerry wonders if this isn't the Eye's cruelest joke yet, handing Gerry over to someone who actually cares, after the fate that befell him at the hands of his predecessor. After he's learned not to trust.

"Why's your hand all red? Your mouth- is it- oh it's sticky-" Jon's touch is clumsy when it lands first on Gerry's cherry-stained hand, then on his face. Yet another confirmation that he's not accustomed to human closeness. "You don't look good."

"You've looked better yourself." Gerry croaks, but it lacks the light teasing tone he usually gives Jon. It's... it probably wouldn't come across too well right now. "Why do you have a Flesh mark?"

Jon lips twist into a tired version of his usual, lopsided smile, as his hand curls into a fist and lays softly on Gerry's shoulder. Now that the panic attack is subsiding, the exhaustion is kicking in. "Helen has eaten some nasty things."

"You look like someone's fear bingo card," Gerry huffs. One would think Elias would take better care of his Archivist, even Gertrude never had these many close encounters and she practically looked for them.

"What's the prize?" Jon asks, his smile still tired but a bit more alive with amusement.

'You are', Gerry thinks, and at the same time he also Knows. Both certainties are puzzling enough, but he's not in the headspace to think harder about any of them. Besides, it's a bit heavy to just drop that out there. "Let's not find out. I'd rather keep you out of trouble."

"I- I picked up a statement. To read at home," Jon mumbles. Gerry chuckles a little. He doesn't remember if he ever really had something he could call home, but the little flat with the lavender-smelling couch and Jon on the coffee table feel welcoming enough. "But I think we could use it now. Both of us."

Gerry lays a heavy hand on Jon's shoulder and pulls him down, moving slowly enough that Jon can turn around before he lands, leaning half on the wall, half against Gerry's side.

"Sounds like a plan." Gerry leans his head back against the wall to look up at the old, flickering lightbulbs. He feels Jon's troubled eyes on him. An Archivist's gaze is not to be ignored, but Gerry can't bring himself to look back. It's already bad enough that he likes Jon. That he cares for him, trusts him.

Maybe being tied to Jon is not the price to pay for living again. Maybe the price is learning just all the ways Gertrude played him. Learning again and again that perhaps he did trust her after all, and that it was all for nothing. Living with the constant fear that the second time around will be just the same, and there's something in Gerry that causes people to leave.

Jon's hand lands on Gerry's knee suddenly, gracelessly. Reassuringly.

"Statement of Adam Rodak," Jon reads. His word taste of peace, and his hand squeezes around Gerry's knee. A small comfort, from someone so unused to getting them. Gerry lets his eyes fall shut and his head fall sideways to rest against Jon's. "Regarding a holiday on the countryside..."