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angelizs · 2 years ago

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[Club Activities - part 2]

Summary: Crowley keeps knocking at your door, quite literally, wanting to hear your club choice. You might as well get this over with.

Notes: gn!reader, humor, it's kinda long, reader is oblivious, mentions of minor injuries but in a funny way dw, it's the looong overdue pt2

Part: 1.0 / 2 (you're here!) / 2.5 (soon!)

"So, have you decided?"

Crowley stands by the doorway. He looks completely normal, a pleasant smile plastered on his lips. You blink, sluggish, resisting the urge to slam the door on his face.

"It's five a.m. on a sunday."

"Yes, that's correct, good to see you're keeping up with the passage of time."

You feel there's a jab aimed at you for taking your time on choosing a club. Or on answering the door. In your defense, Grim was sleeping on top of you and you didn't want to disturb his sleep. Nor yours. You were hoping the Headmaster would just give up and leave you alone, but instead he only knocked louder.

"Well?"

"Uh..." You take a bit to remember the first thing he said. "No, I still have some meetings to go to."

"Were the sports clubs not to your liking? I'm sure you'd do well in one, should you put your efforts on it."

"Nah, I'll pass."

"I see. Then, you'll tell me your decision by the end of the week, yes?"

"Since when did we agree on this." It was a question, but with your drowsy state it just fell flat.

"Since now, of course! I was very kind to let you take so much time to chose a club, but you must understand I'm under some pressure as well to make sure you'll have the best possible education here. We can't afford to lose too much time!"

You blink again, your brain still sleepy. "Oh. Alright."

Crowley claps his hands in an excited manner. "Wonderful! I'll be eagerly waiting for your decision, then!"

Only as you watch his retreating back getting farther away that it finally registers just what you agreed on. You groan, closing the door and leaning against it.

Well, nothing to do about it now. You should really get onto it, anyway. Still, your break will be missed.

Film Research Club (Vil, Ortho platonically)

You had finally left the sports clubs behind, time to try something new, like arts!

Since you've worked with Vil at the SDC, you were already used to his strict personality and thought you'd be able to handle yourself pretty well. You might not have that much experience with acting but you did know how to pretend everything was ok and your life wasn't falling apart, so you think you might have potential.

It was quite surprising to see Ortho there, but the sight of your friend's welcoming eyes and cheer made you feel relieved, relaxing amidst the Pomefiore students. They were intimidating, though in a different way the guys from the Spelldrive club were. The latter looked like they could easily beat you to a pulp, while the former looked like they'd give you a disgusted stare and call you a peasant in such a condescending tone you'd implode on spot. They were all very pretty as well, but you wouldn't let that make you self conscious since you knew no one could beat Vil anyway.

Speaking of, Vil himself comes to speak with you and explain about the club with a professional conduct as he says that Crowley had warned him of your special situation and that he'd let you help out, since they always needed extra hands on deck. You got hopeful at that, perhaps it was time for you to shine and discover a hiden talent of yours! These daydreams are soon crushed as Vil puts you on backstage duty and turns around, having something or other to talk about with the other members.

Well. That was... not what you were expecting. Ortho explains that in order to enter the club as an actor, you must audition beforehand and prove yourself worthy. That makes sense, you guess, so you accept it with grace. Backstage work might not be as exciting as being on the actual stage, but you had Ortho by your side to make sure things won't be too dull. And a side of you wants to make Vil proud of your work, so you suck it up and ask Ortho to lead the way.

Ortho shows you around the set you'll be working on for the day. It's one of Pomefiore's dorm ballrooms, and it's huge. You look in awe at everything, even though it's a bit plain in terms of furniture, it's quite detailed. In moments like this you remember Pomefiore's dorm is a castle, as you feel the royalty emanating from the ceiling, with it's luxurious chandeliers, to the walls, with it's intricate golden patterns, even at the floor, by it's quality.

He teaches you how to operate the lights and sound for a bit while the actors decide on what they'll film that day. You feel just the tiniest bit of jealousy at them, especially because Vil seems to be very focused on everything they say. Ortho must notice this (of course he would), and tries to cheer you up. After all, you're his friend! He doesn't want you to feel bored at the club when there are so many insteresting things to do!

You move from the more technical parts and go to the storage room, where they keep most of the props and extra accessories. You explore it, looking at everything but not touching, not wanting to get in trouble if you break anything on accident. As you're looking at an old mirror, Ortho picks up one of the pink cowboy hats and puts it on your head. It looks goofy, not matching with your uniform at all, and it makes you laugh.

You retaliate by putting a pirate hat full of colorful feathers that's way too big on him. It slides down and covers his eyes, making him look like a little kid trying on their sibling's clothes. Not to mention the feathers, that also clash with his body's design. You both laugh and go to different directions, trying to find more things to put on.

Ortho ends up with a vivid red sash wrapped around his waist and a wooden rod in hands, while you've got a pink feather scarf around your neck and a hollow steel rod in hands. You stare down at each other from your sides of the room, pretending you're on one of those western cowboy movies, even acting like it too. You drawl out something about the town not being big enough for the two of you. Ortho goes along, putting up the worst pirate accent with his robotic voice and telling you to prepared to be boarded.

Between giggles, the two of you meet at the middle, your rods clashing as if they were swords. You make exaggerated moviments that would be impratical in any fight while dropping the most cliche lines you can think of. Ortho dodges your attacks in slow motion and retributes with his own, making it seem more like some funny dance than a sword fight.

You were having so much fun you kind of forgot you were there to do a job. You're quickly reminded as the door suddenly opens and you, startled, let the steel rod slip from your hands mid attack and hit the wall with a loud clang. There stands Vil, hands on his hips as he stares at the two of you with one arched eyebrow, an unimpressed look on his face even after almost being hit right on it. You're not looking the most dignified, with your whole attire. Nor is Ortho, which helps you to not feel alone on the receiving end of Vil's judgment.

The three of you leave the props behind and return to the main area. More precisely, to the actors' dressing room part. It's not an actual separate room, but rather a space of the ballroom reserved for this. Most have put on their costumes and are adjusting the finer details, Vil instructs you to help them while he sets up the stage.

You try your best, but every actor sends you a glare as you approach them, making you turn on your heels and try another one. And another. And another. You're not feeling very helpful. How you wish you could just ignore it like Ortho does. The only thing you actually do is helping zip up some clothes when they can't reach their backs and do it themselves. You don't dare to touch their hair or you feel they'd explode you with their minds. There is one instance when you have to lace a guy into a corset, but you get a bit confused with all the laces. Maybe it's like tying a shoe? You pull on it with too much force at first, leading him to complain at you the entire time. In your defense, you've never done this before! You tie it up with a cute lace at the end to make up for it and scurry away before he could release more of his wrath upon you. You settle on following Ortho around like a lost puppy.

Finally, everyone finishes up and you move to the middle of the room, where the scene will be taking place. From what you gather, the movie they are making is about a royal family that's having their heir assume the throne, but there's a plot against him going behind the scenes. The main character seems to be corset guy, who still glares at you whenever you pass by his camp of vision, much to your (un)luck.

Ortho leads you to the first place he showed, since they'd start recording soon. You watch him work with the lights, turning them on dramatically as they start the scene and making it follow the main lead as he monologues about his woes of assuming such a big responsability and how he feels between the sea of people present. The actor does a good job, good enogh to appease Vil, who watches attentively near the camera. The thing is, he's trying to replicate a foreign accent and that, combined with his melodramatic lines, makes you have to stifle a laugh.

You try your best to stay quiet and pay attention to the story, but some of the lines and the way they dramatically deliver them sound so silly you can't help but giggle in your palm. Ortho looks at you inquisitively, tilting his head and trying to understand what you found so funny. You whisper an explanation to him, making him see the words in a different manner. As you laugh, he laughs along discretely, both of you having fun again.

Vil motions for you to keep your volume down, as to not disturb the actors and break their concentration, and you send him a thumbs up. Still, you keep on reacting, even mouthing their words with exaggerated facial expressions. Ortho seems much more interested in what you have to show than the lights, since he misses some of his cues and gets it later or sooner than intended. Which is also funny, since the confused looks on the background actors' faces are very entertaining.

It comes to a point in which you're holding in your laughter so much you're a bit out of air, and you end up bumping into one of the controls, making the background music change suddenly, from a calm waltz to an action scenesque one. Your startled eyes meet Ortho's, and in true friendship fashion you both burst out laughing. Vil cuts the filming and strides up on you two, reprimanding you once again, and you feel like a guilty puppy being scolded by their owner. You must look like that too, since he sighs like an overworked mother and takes pity on you, deciding on something else for you to do and leave Ortho to do his job without distractions.

Vil gives you the role of an extra to play, just for you to have an idle conversation with the protagonist that won't last even five minutes. He shows you exactly how the scene should go, taking hold of your hand to conduct a dance and dropping casual chatter with you, looking you in the eyes, with a conduct that's so charming you're sure you feel your heart skip a beat (too bad it's just acting though). You feel like you can do that as well, so you hurry to change into one of the formal outfits and repeat the line Vil told you over and over again in your head, heart beating way too fast.

There is just one thing you didn't count on: you apparently have a bad case of stage fright. Or perhaps it's happening especifically because you know Vil will be watching you like a hawk. As you position yourself amidst the other extras, you feel your heartbeat accelerating and your hands start to sweat. You try to relax your tense shoulders and clear your throat, looking at the floor to steady yourself.

As your cue approaches, you move closer to the corset guy, whose attention snaps at you as soon as you enter his vision field. Even if his face looks polite, like a prince, you can feel the glare he's still sending your way, just on a more subdued level this time. You can also feel the stares of the others on your back and your tongue seems to have been tied. Your head comes up with a blank when you try to remember what Vil told you to say. Oh, this is not good. Why did this have to be so nerve wracking?

Time passes slowly, seconds feels like hours as the protagonist waits expectantly for your words. Trying to not disappoint, you blurt out a joke improvisation line, like the ones you see on movies sometimes. Unfortunately, your sense of humor is vastly different from Pomefiore's students', and the joke falls so flat everyone has to take a moment to recover. You wish for the ground to swallow you as Vil yells a "Cut!" and the other actors look judgmentally in your way. Maybe if you close your eyes it will go away? You can still hear the other's whispering, and although you don't understand what exactly they're saying, you can only guess they're mocking you. Welp, guess it's time to become a hermit at ramshackle and never show your face at school ever again!

It takes only a minute, but as soon as Vil has recomposed himself he commands everyone to be quiet. You open your eyes again, gathering all your courage to see the disappointed look on his face, but you're surprised that's not what greets you. Instead, Vil's got a nasty glare that's sharp enough to cut a man, and it's not directed at you at all! Vil procceds to reprimand the rest of the cast for being so inelegant as to make fun of a begginer and even mocks their need to feel superior. You've never felt more grateful for him in your life, maybe you can still go to classes after that, since no one will dare to mess with you and risk his wrath.

As the others look ashamed for being yelled at by their leader, Vil pulls you aside and tells you that maybe it's better to try something else if your stage fright is going to affect your performance so much. He sounds strict as always, but he has an almost soft look in his eyes as he congratulates you for trying to overcome that fear and that you did well enough for someone with no experience. You feel a lot better after that and thank him sincerely, promising to give it your all at whatever other job you can do to help! He smiles at your enthusiasm and it's as if the clouds have parted ways for the sun to shine. (The other club members look amazed, as they've never seen such a soft smile on Vil's face before.)

He then asks you if you know how to work with a camera. If taking pics with Cater to post on Magicam counts then yes, you do have some experience with it. Vil says he's got the perfect job for you: being part of the camera crew and helping to film everything. You accept, after all, how hard can it be, really?

Apparently, a lot. Vil had just left out a little detail from this job: you'd be filming the aerial angle of this scene. Which meant using Kalim's magic carpet. As you recall, you're not the most adept at riding it, flashbacks from winter vacation entering in your mind. Still, you had promised Vil you'd help on this, and you weren't sure if he'd find you another thing to do or get your complaining the wrong way, so you decide to give it a try anyway.

You wobble on it, camera propped up on your shoulder and secured by a sling strap just in case you losen your hold on it. (Which is very likely). Surprisingly, you manage to get the carpet off the ground without many complications, so things are looking up (quite literally)! And then comes the part where you have to guide it and you're almost thrown out of a window with the force it makes a turn. Your grip on it tightens and you try to wrestle it into submission, with little success.

Things procced like this, you trying to learn how to drive the carpet while making turns on the air and holding on for your life. (And making sure the camera is safe. You don't want a repeat of the chandelier accident from the start of the year, so you're not taking any chances). Anything you might have tried to film is probably so shaky and blurry it isn't even usable, but you have more important matters to worry about.

That goes on until you make a particularly sharp turn, causing the carpet to lose control and go spiraling straight to the floor. Luckly, you manage to land on a convenientely placed couch (has that been there before?) and doesn't get much hurt. You're clutching the camera to your chest in a protective manner, so it isn't damaged either. At least, not much, but it isn't anything the Ignihyde guys can't fix.

Vil and Ortho are by your side in an instant, asking if you're alright. Vil extends his hand and pulls you up like a gentleman, fixing your hair softly. He's really close to your face and you can feel your heart beating faster, though you're not sure if it's due to that or the adrenaline of the fall. Ortho reassures you that not even him got the hang of piloting the carpet, as it seems to only actually obey Kalim, and that you did your best!

You really did try, so you can safely say you won't discover any hidden acting talent any time soon. Time to check out other clubs.

(Ortho tells you to drop by another time at practice and watch the recording with him, since he had a lot of fun! Vil tells you that should you wish and work hard for it, you may have potential and he'd be willing to help you reach it. You agree, since it was very nice to visit and, most of all, to get to see Vil on his element like this. There's an added bonus of you not having ended up at the infirmary as well, which is enough to put the club on a positive light in your books. It's a bit sad that's the standard, but oh well, nothing to do about it.)

Science Club (Trey, Rook)

Alright, art may not be for you, but maybe science is! Or... whatever it is that they do in this club.

It's a bit intimidating since there are way too many people there, more than you've seen in any other club. What could they possibly be doing to attract this many people?

Rook, as observant as ever, notices you before you've even set foot inside the lab, coming close to greet you and ask if you were going to join them for the day. You relutanctly agree, staying close to his side as he leads you deeper into the room, opening the path. You make sure to not bump into anyone and cause an accident.

Trey is at one of the work tables at the back, sharing it with Rook. He sends a calming smile your way and explains that it's a club with a vast variety of activities, as long as they're not of the physical sort. You sigh in relief, listening to him reciting things such as plant cultivation and chemistry experiments. You already have to do those things on your regular classes, so you're confident in your ability of succeding for once. Rook adds that this flexibility in activity has attracted many people, creating a beauté diversity of members. (Trey explains that there's a lot of odd people as he side eyes Rook).

You sit with them, since you don't know anyone else. Rook goes on about the experiment he'll be doing this time, something that will leave a beautiful impact and stay on the mind of anyone looking. It sounds a lot like what happens when you partner up with Ace and Deuce at alchemy class, that is, stuff is about to be blown up. You scoot closer to Trey.

Taking pity on you, Trey reminds Rook that there's an ingredient missing, since they had used all from the lab's storage on their last class, and offers to get it at the botanical garden for him, inviting you to come along. You jump at the opportunity, agreeing and getting up to follow him. Rook thanks his generosity and explains that there's no way a gentleman like him would leave all the hard work onto the two of you, so he follows along. Trey looks a bit annoyed, but you only wanted to get out of being roped into a crazy experiment so you don't mind much, as long as you keep Rook away from any potential explosive plants.

The fresh air from the gardens is much better than the stuffy feeling from the crowded lab, and you take a deep breath to appreciate it. Trey takes you to the temperate zone, the path filled with beautiful flowers of all colors and scents. The sound of the little river below you only adds to the pleasant atmosphere, the sun rays warming up your skin and soul. It's wonderful. You'd like it if your club classes were to take place there. It might be enough to convince you to join, the nature so full of life energizing your mood, a smile blooming on your face.

You pass by an area that has thicker vegetation and stands out from the whole, attracting your curiosity, so you ask Trey what could be there. He warns you to not wander to that side of the garden, as there were carnivorous plants being cultivated by the third years. You wave him off, saying you had those back in your world and they were pretty harmless. Trey looks at you in doubt, but decides to not question it, aceptting your answer and going back to his search for the missing ingredient.

Since you have no idea what you should be looking for, you leave the boys to it, deciding to observe the flowers instead. Distracted, you end up getting farther away from them, the flora enticing you and putting you under a spell, demanding your attention. It's not until you bump into a tall... something, that you realize how far you had gone. You lift up your head, wondering if you had bumped into a tree, only to find two open hinged lobes dripping with sap closing on your face.

A scream gets caught in your throat as you take in the gigantic carnivorous plant in front of you, that's only coming closer. You didn't know that when Trey had mentioned them, he didn't explain that they aren't like the one from your world at all. Not only were they huge, but also seemed ready to eat a human at any given chance.

You're pulled by someone behind you, falling into a secure chest and feeling strong arms embracing your waist as the plant's jaw's close into the air where you were just a second ago. The sigh you let out shakes your whole body and you let your weight be supported by your saviour. You find out his identity soon enough, as a familiar voice by your ear calls you chéri and asks if you were fine.

After thanking Rook, he guides you to the main area of the garden with a protective hand behind your back, making sure you wouldn't stumble into any more potential dangerous plants, as he goes on about how they were "the hunters of the natural world" and how "such danger has it's own alluring charm, non?" You don't catch the glint in his eyes as he asks the question, too busy trying to get your heart beat back into a normal rhythm.

Trey scolds you lightly for ignoring his advice, but he seems busier trying to equilibrate the plants he harvested in his arms and glaring at Rook, probably for leaving him alone to do all the work. Rook stays unbothered, putting his hands on your shoulders and staying close as he directs you to the exit, his usual smile stamped on his face.

As you put the fresh ingredients near the others that Rook had selected earlier, you notice some strawberries in the mix. You shot a questioning stare at Trey, making him laugh and explain he took the chance to harvest some of his hand grown special strawberries. He takes some from your hands, brushing your fingers together before lifting them up to inspect closely. The strawberries are a beautiful shade of red, making you salivate only by looking at them. Trey has a contemplative expression as he murmurs he should use them as soon as possible in order to make the best use of their ripeness.

You suggest him to make a strawberry tart with them and offers your help, on the light price of getting to eat it as well. He smiles and agrees to your proposal, telling you to follow him to the kitchens. You do, happily so as you carry some of the strawberries in your arms, leaving Rook to take care of the potions experiment. Really, you feel like you've killed two birds with one stone, so you pat yourself on the back for doing a good job.

Back at the first month of classes, you remember cooking with Trey, Ace, Deuce and Grim, and how much fun you had, despite the circumstances. With the group reduced to two, it might be more toilsome, but you were confident it would be worth it.

Trey finds an extra apron for you, tying it himself to make sure it would stay in place. He gently explains the steps to prepare the ingredients, helping you whenever you didn't understand something. It was quite nice, seeing Trey look so in his element, an unconscious soft expression on his face, as if he was enjoying himself. It's domestic, even, how you dance around each other in the kitchen, passing bowls and cutlery back and forth. He is good humored as he recalls stories from the club, making you laugh whenever he bemoans Rook's experiments.

The stories he tells are very captivating, so much so that you don't look at the recipe book, doing the steps on automatic. Once or twice you almost spill what you were mixing or use too much force to cut something, but it's salvageable every time, so you don't comment on it. You leave the crust on the oven for a bit too much, but it's only slightly charred, so you're pretty sure it's still edible. One of the flour bags slips from your hands and falls on the sink, covering your face in flour powder. Trey helps you clean up, but he's laughing at you and your now white hair. It comes to the point in which you're mixing the crème pâtissière and you get too close to the stove, making the ends of your sleeves to catch on fire. Trey quickly puts it out and runs your arm under cold water. The crème ends up a bit too lumpy, since neither of you were stirring it for a while, but it's not too bad.

Alright, maybe you're not the best at cooking. Still, arranging the strawberries in a circle on top of the tart was pretty fun. The last thing left to do is to let it cool. You lick your lips thinking about eating it once it's ready. You're about to help Trey clean the mess you've made in the kitchen when Rook bursts through the door, looking excited. He tells you there's no time to explain and takes you by the hand, dragging you back to the laboratory. You send Trey your best regards and wish him luck in cleaning everything alone. He sends you a pitying look back.

You should wish yourself some luck as well, since the motive for Rook to have brought you to the lab was for you to help him with the new formula he thought for his experiment. He explains that the one he was trying didn't have it's desired effects, as you could clearly see from the scorch marks on the table you were sitting before. He says that for the new formula, he'll need help to get the ingredients prepared and handed over, since he couldn't stop stirring it until everything was added in. You don't know how he came up with this solution, and honestly? You don't want to know.

Having no other choice, you agree to help him. He reminds you to put your gloves and safety googles on before starting, making a comment on how your cute apron would do as your lab coat. After getting into place, you follow all of Rook's instructions, preparing and handing over the ingredients he asks for. You have no idea what it is that he's going for, as your potions classes are still on a basic and more theorical level, but you decide to trust that he, as your upperclassman, knows what he's doing.

Dread pools on your gut as you watch the ingredients going into the cauldron. There's a hissing sound and bubbles emerge from the deep purple concotion. You have no time to react as Rook thows his arm in front of you just in time for the explosion to take place. You grip onto the table tightly and manage to stay upright, thanking the Sevens for your safety googles. If it were not for them, your entire face would be covered in a sparkling purple powder, some getting into your hair as well. Rook laughs and tells you that you shine bright like the sun. You look on unamused. Trey appears, having heard the explosion, and sighs, clearly being too used to this happening. He tells you and Rook to clean up as he starts to clean your mess, bless him.

Rook takes you to the nearest bathroom available, both of you trying to wash the explosion's results off. It has stuck like glue, and you have to splash your face with the cold water over and over for it to go away. You think there's still some of it on your hair, but can't bring yourself to care much. The apron wasn't enough to cover your body, so your clothes weren't spared either. Rook doesn't comment on it, but you can see him looking at you funny by the corner of your eye.

As you enter the lab, you see that the students that stayed after the first explosion had left. Rook wonders out loud on why they didn't like the innovation of his experiment, sighing as he goes on about the beauty of curiosity. You and Trey exchange glances as you clean everything together. You feel like you stayed way past the club's scheduled time and your arms hurt from moping the floor. At least you get to share your wonky strawberry tart. It doesn't taste as good as Trey's usual ones do, but you like it. You can't decide if it was worth all the trouble though.

Grim laughs at you once you get back to Ramshackle, your face is itching for the rest of the day, there's some sparkles in your hair for the rest of the week, your slightly burnt arm won't stop aching, you sent your clothes' laundry bill for Rook to pay. As much as you respect scientific advances, you feel that being involved in the research isn't for you (nor the cooking). Time to check out other clubs.

(Rook keeps approaching you at the halls to update you on how he's thought of possible changes to make the potion work. Trey comments he liked having company in the kitchen and help for cleaning up for once. They aren't very subtle. You don't even have to agree to visit the club again another time, as Rook has already volunteered you as his lab assistant and Trey has gifted you a recipe book with markings on which recipes you'll try to bake next. Guess you have no other choice but to go back now.)

Pop Music Club (Cater, Kalim, Lilia)

And back to the arts you go. But this time, instead of performing, how about playing some music? Joining the school band might be fun!

You're surprised to only find three people in the club. All the others had a bunch of people, but in this one, once you enter the classroom you're met with three of your friends hanging out in a couch. Why was there a couch in this classroom in the first place!?

It's not just three random people, either. It's the chillest and most extroverted people of the school, the ones that got along with everyone and were very popular. They whip their head so fast to the direction of the door once you enter you get a little worried for their necks. They seem elated to have a visitor, so you suppose this won't be so bad, even if you don't feel confident enough to play an instrument in front of other people.

Kalim jumps at you and envelops you in a big hug, a smile shining on his face as usual. Lilia pats you on the back, pushing you closer to the center of the room and welcoming you. Cater takes out his phone and takes a selfie with everyone, declaring it would go viral to have the cutest people of the school all together in one place and gushing over how many likes he'd get. They sure are a lively bunch.

Lilia plops you down on the couch, telling you to feel at home and winking. There's a center table with food containers in front of you, Kalim offers you a bite, explaining they made the snacks to bring to their club meetings, and Cater proposes to make it a culinary competition, in which you'd judge which one was the best. You were pretty sure you had left the cooking behind at the science club, what did it even had to do with music? Well, you weren't going to complain about getting free food!

Cater insists you try his first, a round tupperware with fried corn tortilla chips and guacamole in a dipping bowl at the center. It looks amazing, making your mouth water a bit. You take one of the chips, lightly lower it on the dip and take a bite. It's overall very good, the consistency and the crispness are wonderful, there's just one little problem: it's very spicy. Very spicy. Not the "oh no there's a tiny bit of spice in my otherwise bland food" type but the "my eyes are burning my thorat is burning my stomach is burning I'm going to burn from the inside out" type. And that's how you feel as you fan your face and drink the water Kalim brings you, though it only makes the burning worse, spreading it throughout your mouth and making your eyes water. Lilia appears upside down, hanging from the ceiling and scaring you, and offers you a glass of milk instead. You gratefully take it and chug it down as quick as you can.

Once you've calmed down, Lilia explains how he keeps milk around for Cater's food, that's way too spicy for his liking. Cater looks at you with puppy eyes, asking if you liked the chilli peppers he added to the recipe. You didn't, not really. It would be one thing to add some, sure, but it's like there's more pepper than anything else. You weakly smile at him and explain apologetically that it might not suit your tastes so much. Cater seems a bit down, but he only shrugs and jokingly says that not everyone can have good taste.

Kalim bounces up to you next, shoving his container in front of your face and telling you to try it. He proudly says he made it all without Jamil's help and that he hopes you'll like it. You look at the fried dumplings, remembering it's a sweet called awameh. It looks good as well, although a bit burnt, nothing that would stop you from eating it. You take one, getting surprised by how crunchy they ended up being, the sweetness exploding in your tongue. It would be very good, but you have the impression Kalim must have used the wrong measure of the ingredients. Yes, it was sweet, but it was way too sweet. Not only that, the sugar mixed with the cinnamon on the syrup also left you thirsty, as you downed another cup of water. It was like cinnamon was impregnated on your mouth, there was definetly too much.

While you accept your tongue will never be the same after the combo of strong flavours, Kalim reveals he tried to follow one of Jamil's mom's recipes for it, declaring it to be the best he's ever proved. He just got a bit confused when taking the measures for some ingredients, but he was proud of his work! You make a mental note to try to eat one of Jamil's awameh later, sure that it would taste delicious, and compliments Kalim on his efforts, suggesting gently to ask for help next time he has trouble with it.

The last one is Lilia, and you start dreading what might be hidden on his container. He seems preppy that someone will get to try his food, telling you that he's the one that cooks dinner at Diasomnia and how Silver and Sebek love his food. Cater and Kalim look at you with pity, shaking their heads. You've heard of Lilia's infamous cooking skills before, so you have to mentally prepare yourself before looking at what he prepared. It's... uh... something alright. Though it's unrecognizable, a dark glob that just looks sticky and burnt after the point. Your desperate look does nothing for Cater and Kalim to try to save you, as they look away furtively.

Aceppting your fate, you take one of the spoons Lilia brought and take the smallest bite possible while he stares at you attentively. It tastes foul, as expected, as if something had died in your mouth. You resist the urge to gag, trying to go for a smile and ending up with a grimace instead. It's horrible, there's no other way to describe it. All the rumors don't do it justice, it's way worse than what they say. You suspect you will get food poisoning later, as you down another glass of water. At least you're keeping yourself hydrated. Lilia seems to either not notice or pretend he didn't, as he keeps his cheery attitude and asks if you liked it. You nod weakly, hoping it would be enough for him to not force you to take another bite. He mercifully looks satisfied with the answer and you sigh with relief.

In the end you tell them you don't know which one was the best (you side eye Lilia's, thinking on how you knew which one was the worst at least). They don't look disappointed, content in having you prove their food as each munchs on their own snacks happily. You wonder how they manage to do it. Suddenly you miss Trey's baking and the wonky strawberry tart you've made.

As everyone sits together, Cater puts on some electropop song on the background that reminds you of the famous vocaloids from your world. You have an epiphany that Cater would listen to Hatsune Miku. You're not sure what to do with that information, staying quiet in shock as the other three talk between themselves. You remember him mentioning something like it when you went to do the SDC auditions, but you had other things to worry about and it must have slipped your mind. Once you've recomposed yourself, you ask what the food had to do with music, since the question had been burning in your mind for some time (not as much as your tongue burned tho).

They explain that the pop music club doen't really do much music, as the name suggests, they mostly just hang around to chat and chill. It has gotten them in a bit of trouble with the Headmaster, as they don't do anything that could actually be considered a club activity, causing him to have threatened to disband the club. Not to mention there's no new members for a while, no matter how much they try to attract more students. You consider joining this one just to spite Crowley. They clarify that they do play their instruments every once in a while to cover some song, but with their different music tastes they never reach an agreement on what to play most of the time.

You're curious on how they might sound as a band, sure it would be a chaotic but entertaining sight. You would ask to see this, if it was not for Cater excitedly declaring it's "gossiping time". They put on elevator music to play at the background and huddle close together, leaving a spot open for you to join their little circle, as if you were about to be in into the school's secrets. And that's exactly what happens, as the three of them seem to know about everyone and everything that goes on Night Raven College. There's so much drama you've never heard about, and you feel you know way too much about the lives of people you've never even met, but it's nice to create conspiracy theories about what would happen next in the soap opera that was other people's lives.

The topic changes to Magicam, since you were lowkey stalking the boy that had caused a ruckus in the cafeteria the past days. Cater likes his account's aesthetic, saying it passes the bad boy vibes he has, and whines about their club's magicam page. You weren't aware they even had one, so you ask to see it. It's... not what you were expecting. They might as well not have an account, since there are no photos other than their icon, which was the symbol of the club. Cater complains that they couldn't come to an agreement on how the page should look and were too lazy to try to work something out, so it has stayed like that for months.

Since you know how much he cares about this stuff, you offer your help! After all, it could be a lot of fun, and it'd feel as if you're the manager of the club. Cater lightens up with joy, throwing his arms around you and bringing you close to affectionately rub his cheeck on the top of your head, thanking you for being such a prestative underclassman. You enter your business mode, thinking on how you could go about this. It makes sense to promote the club doing something other than hanging out, so you tell them to pick up their instruments and pose.

You go around them and try many different angles. Kalim and Lilia have fun doing weird poses that makes very clear they aren't playing at all, but there's a charming genuine smile on their faces. Cater poses with his guitar like a professional, making captivating facial expressions that make even you swoon, only encouraging him to make different ones. He could be a model, you think, with how he knows all the right ways to smile at the camera and tilts his head just so to make him look cute and alluring at the same time, fingers skillfully positioned at the eletric guitar's chords, eyes lidded, hair messy deliberately, body facing forwards with confidence. He has everything to ace the rockstar persona, at least in looks.

You try taking some of them together as an unit, but none pleases you enough. There's something missing, but you can't quite put your finger on what. You give his cellphone back as you ponder about it. Cater looks through the photos, commenting how one looks "super cool~" and in the other he's "slaying". He decides it'd be a great moment to take advantage of his cuteness streak to take a photo with everyone together, yourself included. Cater drapes his arm around your shoulders and keeps you close to him, cheek coming to rest at your forehead. Kalim and Lilia make poses behind you two, laughing at how silly they look with all the filters Cater tries on.

He ends up telling you to decide which photo looked better, as he couldn't chose just one, something like: "any photo with you would look cute, of course I can't chose!" You look through all of them, but only one gets your eyes, the only without a filter. Everyone looks genuinely happy, making your heart warm. Cater's is not looking at the camera itself, but slightly to the side, where you are, with such a soft expression you can't help but be endeared by it. It's him, not a forced smile and exaggerated pose, just Cater, happy. That's what the other pictures were missing.

You show it to him, insisting it's the best and should be the first photo on the club's Magicam page. He pouts about the lack of filter, saying how the other ones look much cuter, but you explain that you like the real him much more than any filter, since nothing could ever come close to the real deal, no filter in the world could make him justice. You're very genuine with it too, since it's the truth. Cater stares at you, caught by surprise, and turns his face away from you, ears tinted pink, taking a minute to recompose himself, leaving you confused. Lilia looks on knowingly, smirking at him. You weren't alone in your confusion, as Kalim seemed to be just as clueless as you.

Your argument manages to convince him, though, as he soon comes up with an eye catching description and posts it, grumbling that you should be happy now. You are, actually, so you simply smile at him, giggling at his playful eye roll. Only after the picture was already posted and you entered on your own account that you notice your eyes were closed. You yelp and try to convince Cater to change it to another one, but he refuses, telling that you were the one that chose it so you should stick with it, sticking his tongue out at you in a childsh manner. You whine some more before giving up. Cater seemed really content with the choice, if the soft smile on his face as he glanced at it meant anything, so you let it be, resigning to your fate. You weren't even a member, so you hoped you wouldn't attract that much attention. (You really hoped Ace wouldn't find it, otherwise you'd never hear the end of it.)

He suddenly gets an idea to decorate the classroom to make it look more "magicamable", dragging Lilia with him to get the decorations. Lilia whispers something to him that makes him glance back at you with a red face, quickly scurrying away and leaving you and Kalim to look on in confusion. How weird, what had gotten into him?

At that moment, the playlist shuffles, coming up with a song that has a very upkeep beat. Kalim jumps in excitement, saying that was his favorite song and he couldn't not dance to it. You can't help jumping your leg and moving your head to the beat, swaying to the contagious rhthym. Kalim notices and extends his hands in your direction, inviting you to dance with him. You know you're nowhere near his skill level and you'd look clumsy compared to his fluid moviments, but his earnestness convinces you to give it a try. You were sure he wouldn't make fun of you, so why not have a good time too?

Hand in hand, the two of you move together, not completly in sync, but in a rhythm that feels right, that's only yours. It's nice, seeing his content expression up close, foreheads almost touching, feet following the other's steps, hips swaying together. You spin once, laughing, he spins once, grinning wildly. You're lost in the trance of the hypnotizing beat of Kalim's heart.

The song gradually comes to a stop, making both of you calm down too. Kalim has one hand on your waist, the other still holding yours. You hold onto his shoulder, your noses touch, breaths coming in puffs, his eyes crinkle and it's warm, he's warm. Your chest follows his in it's rise and fall, your stomach does pirouettes, to the point you're dizzy, your cheeks feel hot. You start worrying you might have really gotten food poisoning from Lilia's cooking.

Before either of you say anything else, the sound of Cater's giggle burst your bubble, bringing you back to the real world. You whip your head to the door, watching as Lilia and Cater giggle deviously, Cater's fingers working fast on his cellphone's keyboard. You separate from Kalim's burning touch, your hands suddenly feeling cold, and stride up to them, demanding to look at what they found so funny. Lilia shows you, on his own phone, a videoclip of you and Kalim dancing together, nearing the end of the song. Your focus is initially on Kalim, as he glows, movements showing years of expertise, it's... beautiful. Then your gaze averts to yourself, and how, like you suspected, you were looking goofy near him, not matching the tempo at all.

You whine up at Cater again, asking him to delete the stories he posted, but he refuses, saying it was way too precious to miss. You lightly hit his chest and look up your lashes at him, pouting. His teasing expression falters, as if you were on the brink of convincing him. Lilia pulls you away and explains it was only on close friends anyway, so you needn't worry about the whole school seeing it. Kalim agrees that the video is very nice, beaming as he watches you two having fun. You sigh and give up, not having the heart to be a killjoy.

Lilia and Cater's hands are empty of any decorations, so you question them about it. Cater frowns exaggeratedly, drowning on dramatically on how they couldn't find any and how it was such a pity. Lilia covers his hand to hide a giggle, only making the action more obvious. Cater glares at him subtly. Kalim notices how the club's reserved time is almost coming to an end, deciding that to make a grand finale you should play an instrument, after all they should at least pretend they did something club related for you to report back to the Headmaster. And it'd be a lot of fun for you to play with them!

Lilia claps his hands together, agreeing it would be a most gleeful experience. He insists on teaching you how to play the bass, not wanting to hear whether you already knew how to or not. He gives you the instrument and shows how to hold it in the right way, trying to teach a few chords. It's a bit difficult to understand the confusing terms he uses, so he sighs and comes behind you, taking your hands in his and doing the movements, pressing his chest against your back, his deep voice right by your ear as he explains. You can't pay attention to it all, for some reason. You kind of feel dizzy again. Perhaps it's the food poisoning for real this time?

His fingers guide yours along the strings, gently pressing on the right spots, strumming the chords at the bridge. He murmurs the instructions, voice ressonating like the low pitch of the instrument, hot breath tickling your skin. You let him do as he pleases, dazed. The simple notes ring in your ears, lulling you into calmness, eyes closing as you let your sensations take the wheel, the frequency making your heart vibrate in your chest, as if dancing along, your head floating in the clouds.

It's all good and well until Lilia starts singing along. Or whatever it is that he calls "singing". In reality, he starts screaming some punk-rock lyrics right by your ear. Your heart jumps so quickly you swear you almost had an arrhythmia, your soul leaving your body for a second. Your eyes snap open so fast the lights from the classroom blind you and make black spots appear in your vision. You elbow Lilia in your surprise, thankfully making him stop trying to burst your eardrums. You get away, taking off the strap of the bass and giving it back to him. You think that's enough practicing for now.

Later on the day you confirm your food poisoning suspicions to be true. You've gained a new found respect for Sebek for enduring the poison Lilia calls cooking everyday and still managing to keep that impressive disposition of his. At least you helped the pop music club get more followers on magicam and spread their word out there. A bunch of people sign up to know the club, so you're all really happy! You felt like you've done a good job. (In the next week, the people arrive and see no sight of you, only of the dynamic trio. They don't show up again, leaving the members number back to it's original three.)

It was pretty fun, all things considered. You didn't get hurt other than in your pride and your social image, so it's a win in your books. Still, you're not sure you could handle their energetic and chaotic personalities combined like this evey week and risk getting deaf or suffering stomach failure. Time to check out other clubs.

(Cater comments on how the photos you took together got the most likes, insisting you come over again for a photoshoot. Kalim says he's got new songs to dance with you and that he's asked Jamil to help him cook for the next club meeting. Lilia tells you that you still have to take some more bass lessons to get the hang of it. Well, you suppose you could pass by sometime to be in the know about what goes on at the school and to get to prove Jamil's cooking. And to enjoy your friend's company, of course!)

Masterlist

#twst x reader #vil schoenheit x reader #trey clover x reader #rook hunt x reader #cater diamond x reader #lilia vanrouge x reader #kalim al asim x reader #ortho shroud #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #new tumblr user angelizs lore drop: I used to be part of the theater club back at school #I did two years of it. I miss acting sm #Ortho and MC are the besties ever #Rook and Trey act like rivals from a shoujo manga lmao #I was inspired by the culinary crucible and decided to make MC suffer the same thing they make the judges go through: Lilia's cooking #oh and also by Lilia's ceremonial robes vignette #I've been dying to prove some awameh it looks so yummy. I want it too !!!!!!!#now I have smth to confess. I've had this written since 9/3. but once I've reached the board games club I got into a writer's block #and I wanted to post all the other clubs at once so I tried to write it and couldn't come up with anything good #and that's why I took so long to post pt2. bc I don't have the board games club written yet to this day 🤡#I'll try to write smth I'm satisfied with for them! until then pls enjoy pt2!#wonderland wonder

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misc-obeyme · 6 months ago

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i've been.. sick.. auhrgh. (its a simple cold but my body can'teven),, if you still take tiny drabble requests can I request Barb helping mc when they got a cold.. just tooth rotting fluff.. (if you dont/aren't comfortable thats fine :0b)

Oh noooo I hope you're feeling better!! Being sick is the worst...

And I am still doing drabbles, yes! So I may have written a little more than what I consider drabble length but uh... well I can't help myself when it comes to Barb, so.

Anyway, here's a bunch of fluff!

You were sick. You knew it and even though you were trying to hide it, you were sure everybody else knew it, too. You kept your sneezes as quiet as possible, burying your face in your elbow to muffle their sound. You refused to sniffle unless you absolutely had to. And you went into the bathroom to blow your nose in private. You tried everything you could to suppress the shivers that ran through your aching body, even while you kept wiping the sweat off of your forehead.

All day at RAD, you felt like despite the obvious signs, you were doing a decent job of powering through it. If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything.

Until you got home, that is.

You were surprised to find Barbatos already in your room.

He smiled at you, but there was a sternness behind it, too. "MC. You are in no condition to continue pushing yourself the way you have been. I have changed your bedsheets and washed your favorite pair of pajamas. Now I must insist that you get changed and get into bed so you can rest."

You frowned and folded your arms. "I don't need to get into bed, I'm fine," you said.

Barbatos walked over to you, removed his glove carefully, and put his hand on your forehead. You shivered a little, partly because you knew he would feel your fever and partly because his touch awakened a burst of butterflies in your stomach.

Barbatos let his hand descend to cup your cheek. "You cannot hide the evidence of your illness from me," he said. His voice was soft, the firmness of moments ago melting away into indulgence. "I know you feel that it is minor, but you will recover quicker if you rest now. If you will allow me to, I will take care of you until you are well again."

The tinge of heat that rose up in your cheeks wasn't something you could blame on your fever. You nodded.

When you were in your pajamas and snug beneath the covers, Barbatos brought you a tray of soup and tea. He sat beside your bed while you ate. On your bedside table he had already placed a supply of tissues and water.

"This is delicious," you said when you were halfway through the soup.

"It is a recipe of my own design," Barbatos said. "It incorporates all of the best nutrients a human would need to fight off a cold. The tea is also a special blend of Devildom herbs. They are safe for human consumption, of course, but they contain just enough magical properties to boost your immune system and speed your recovery."

You smiled at him. It was just like him to be so meticulous in what he served you.

"Isn't it a bad idea for you to be this close to me?" you asked. "What if I'm contagious? I don't want you to get sick, too."

"You needn't worry about me, MC," Barbatos said. "I am not capable of contracting an illness of this nature."

You didn't have the clarity of mind to question that statement further.

When you had finished eating, Barbatos cleared away the tray, then positioned himself back in his chair.

"Are you really just going to sit there all night?" you asked.

"I wish to be here should you need me," he said.

You sighed. You were feeling sleepy. The warmth of the food made you heavy and the softness of your mattress caused your body to relax. Your senses were dulled by the fever still running through you. Your eyelids were slowly descending, but you kept them open. You reached out a hand toward Barbatos and murmured his name.

Barbatos knew what you wanted without you needing to say it. You were still sitting up in bed and after removing his shoes, Barbatos sat beside you. Instead of laying back on your pillows, you rested your head on his chest. His arms enclosed you and your breathing synced with his. You fell asleep listening to the beating of his heart.

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

#I couldn't resist ending on that super fluffy moment lolol #I can't help myself #anyway I do hope you feel better soon Kian #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me barbatos #om barbatos #obey me barbatos x reader #om barbatos x reader #x reader #expressionless-fr #cc mutuals #misc writes

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coquettebratzdoll · 5 months ago

Text

ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

Making this post in case anybody else had this question. Please note that although I am directing the post to Starlight, anyone can take this advice.

So my secret to believing in yourself is to just do it. Ik it's sounds hella unhelpful so lemme elaborate.

So you didn't specify how exactly you wanted to believe in yourself. Do you want to believe that you can shift ? That you deserve to shift ? Something else ? Regardless, it doesn't matter so much as there are ways that you can start:

1. Robotic affirmations - these are exactly as they sound. You just choose an affirmation and repeat it over and over again. It doesn't require you to actually believe in what you're saying, as your subconscious mind is always impressed. It will take whatever you give it without question or filter. It's great cus it will build whatever belief you want over a period of time. I recommend saying the affirmations when you are going to sleep, in the state akin to sleep (stat), immediately after you wake up, and any time you are left with your thoughts (like making your bed, or brushing your teeth). These times are more convenient as you aren't doing much anyway. Plus, when you are sleepy or tired, you are less likely to refute whatever you think.

2. Subliminals - these are great for you if you can't robotically affirm. Instead of what you're used to, let's make it fun ! Find ones with music that you like. Dance, sing, draw, do whatever while listening to it. If you want to sleep to them, many creators have rain versions, which are more relaxing and calming. This, this, this, and this are self-concept subliminals that I really like and use whenever I'm feeling down. Find some that resonate with you and have fun with it !

3. Vaunts - I already made a post discussing this in more detail. The basics are that vaunts are affirmations that you say to sorta 'brag' about your desire. This is really easy to do. It's just faking it till you make it. Don't see your results yet ? Yes you do what are you saying 😒😒 ?? Don't stress with it. Make it up as you go.

4. Shadow work - according to Google, "uncovering the hidden parts of your psyche to understand yourself more, heal from old wounds, and improve relationships. In other words, it's the work you do on the darker side of yourself that you don't want or cannot see." To summarise, this is doing certain things (usually asking and answering questions to yourself) to really discover things about yourself. It is useful to unpack why exactly you don't believe in yourself.

5. Journaling - this relates to the shadow work point. Whether you use a physical notebook or the notes apps, it's great to write down how you feel as you feel it. Acknowledging your feelings is really important. It can really help once you allow yourself to feel the full extent of any emotion (whether 'negative' or 'positive') is a healthy habit to have. I personally use the digital version of @anemoiashifts shifting journal. Look into some that fit your style

6. Actually applying the law 🫣 - there is no other way around it. Although the above methods can help out, you still need to actually apply the law of assumption I order to benefit. As I (sorta) explained in the affs section, we are constantly manifesting - whether aware or not. Whatever assumption you persist in the most will harden into fact. Assume that you have a strong sense of self belief, and you will (hence the 'just do it' comment above).

That's all for now. I hope it can help you !

@starlighteez

#reality shifting #shifting community #shifting #shifters #shifting antis dni #shiftblr #shifting blog #reality shift #shift

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lazyjellyfish300 · 10 days ago

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Helloooo! Happy Flufftober! Can I please request Shiu Kong with Cabin and either Falling asleep together or sharing a bed (whichever isnt taken already/whichever youd have more fun writing?). Can it also be slight age gap, like reader is in mid to late 20's while shiu is mid to early 30's (again whichever number youre more comfortable with I just have literally no idea how old Kong is) Thank you so much and I hope you have a wonderful flufftober!

A/N: OFC U CAN! goddddddddddfdfdddd I love that man!!!!!! 😭😭😭 Yeah tbh I'm not sure how old he is either, I think I hc him around 35-38???? Idk but thank you for requesting my love!! 🥰 Hope you enjoy and happy Flufftober to you too! 🍂🎃

My Fall Masterlist 🍂

Words: 548 ish

CW: X FEM!READER, AGE GAP(READER IS 27 SHIU IS LIKE 35-38) MINORS DNI, MILD SUGGESTIVE, FLUFF

"Happy Birthday, darling..." Shiu whispers as his thumbs slip gently underneath both sides of your oversized shirt. One of his old tees you quickly usurped as your own in the short time you'd been married. "And you said you weren't sleepy..."

"I'm not sleepy, I'm just resting my eyes..." You whisper, weight of your eyelids no match against the soothing world of comfort you found yourself entangled in with your beloved Shiu.

"That's exactly what a sleepy person would say.." He teases.

Your body was pressed against his underneath the ample quilts of the charming cabin you rented for an entire week in Alaska right in the blooming center of fall.

The fire was reduced to a low cackle at the foot of your king sized bed with the wide shadow of your rotund basset hound, Stella, taking up the entire view. Buzzing snores like a mini generator as she settled temporarily for the warmth of the cabin's fire as opposed to her usual occupation in Shiu's study underneath the calm lights of his aquarium.

"Did you feed Stella, tonight, sweetheart?"

"Course I did.." Shiu answers. He side eyes the caramel ripple blob of brown and white asleep on the rug. "She loved the steak."

"Honey, she's supposed to be on a diet."

"Relax, dollface. I made sure it wasn't seasoned." He coos as his hands become more daring underneath your clothes with a soft groan. "She deserves to indulge on vacation just like us."

"Mm...and to think you almost told me no when we adopted her."

Shiu laughs. "Baby, that's not fair. Saying no was never gonna be an option anyway..."

"Mmm..I suppose you're right." You sigh as you allow yourself to fight off the grip of sleep just a little longer. "I'm really glad we got the dog friendly cabin, love."

"I agree, sweetheart." Shiu brushes his lips over the corner of your mouth. "Wouldn't be a vacation if we didn't bring the queen herself."

"Mmm...I love you..."

"And I love you, dollface..." His heart swells like the tides. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"I had a wonderful birthday, darling. Three more years to 30..."

"Haha, enjoy while it lasts, sweetheart.." Shiu's thumb moves in lulling circles over your cheek. "But don't get hung up on the numbers, doll. Being in your thirties is pretty neat, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm..my thirties have been especially good to me, darling. Brought a beautiful thing like you to an old man like me..." He fiddles sweetly with strands of hair around your face.

"Mm, do I sense you fishing for compliments, darling?"

"How'd you guess?" He whispers huskily. "So wrong for a man to want praise from his angel of a wife?"

"Mmm...flattery will get you everywhere, darling. You silver fox."

"Haha, well that's a new one." Shiu wiggles his eyebrows as he props himself on his elbow.

"I'm so lucky."

"Ah, I'm the lucky one. Why don't you get some sleep, dollface? I'll hold ya..."

And so you did in his arms, heartbeats and steady breaths in hushed rhythm as the evening melted into cuddle induced dreams before the hand that was tracing a little love letter into the small of your back slowly came to a stop.

#from my trees . ˚ 𖧷 ·𓇥 ° . ♡#shiu kong #shiu kong x reader #shiu kong x you #shiu x reader #jjk shiu #jjk fluff #flufftober #jjk x reader

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littlespacereader · 5 months ago

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(sorry I'm asking anonymously i get nervous doing requests because my brain is silly) i have read your recent couple of doctor who fics and i love them!! they are so sweet and cute, i was wondering if you would ever do a cg Amy and Rory with a little reader?

When I tell you that this is one of the cutest ideas ever, I mean THIS IS ONE OF THE CUTEST IDEAS EVER! I love Amy and Rory so much! I love their relationship and their dynamic with the Doctor so much! So to add a little one to the mix is just *chefs kiss*. I really hope you love this super fluffy story! Make sure you read till the end! It could open the door to a part 2 possibly👀 Anyway! Please enjoy! Thank you for the request!!

Little Flower in the Garden🪴🏡

Caregiver! Amy Pond, Caregiver! Rory Williams & GN Little! Reader (SFW!)

Tags - sleepy cuddles, forehead kisses, gardening, hugs, water gun fight, and a surprise at the end👀

The sun cast its rays through the window of Amy and Rory’s house with the blue front door. They both groan, not really wanting to get up just yet. It’s the weekend meaning they both had time off to just relax.

Rory pulled the blanket back up so he could go back to sleep, but it would budge. He pulled again, the same result. Finally he opened his eyes and sat up to see what was causing his blanket to be weighted down so much.

Y/N laid snug between Amy and Rory, thumb in their mouth with one hand while the other held onto Amy’s arm.

Rory couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Lately they’ve been trying to get Y/N to sleep in their own bed so they could have a little privacy at night. But it seems it isn’t working as much as they tried.

Amy started to wake up herself, pulling in her arm only to find it held only by her sweet little one. She smiled, leaning down to place a kiss on their head before turning and looking at Rory.

Rory raised an eye brow, “You know they’re never going to learn if you keep encouraging them.”

“Well I think maybe they needed a little extra comfort last night.”

“Yeah? What about my comfort?”

Now it was Amy’s turn to roll her eyes, “You get plenty of it too.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“Plus,” she added, “They’ve been really good at staying in their own bed this week.”

“No they haven’t.”

“Yes they have. They slept in their bed…what was it…Oh! Tuesday night, they slept through the night in their own bed.”

“Yeah they did….but what about the other nights?” Rory smirked.

“Well…progress is progress.” Amy shrugged.

By this time their Little one was starts to wake up to the sounds of their Caregivers talking above them. “Mama? Papa?” I mumbled with a yawn.

“We’re right here sweetheart. Good morning to you too.” Rory said, placing a kiss to the top of their head.

Y/N rolled over and snuggled closer to Rory. He smiled, as he wrapped his arm around them pulling them closer.

Amy smirked “So much for not wanting them in the bed.”

“Shut up.” He chuckled.

~~~

It’s a beautiful day! The sun is shining! It’s clear skies! And best of all, we had no plans. Those are the best type of days!

Papa made breakfast while I sat at the counter top eating along side Mama. “What are we gonna do today?” I asked looking to her.

“Now that is a very good question….” She put her fork down and made a funny face like she was thinking very hard. I started to giggle.

“All I know is I gotta fix the fence.” Papa pointed out front.

One of our flower gardens out front has a small little fence wrapped around it. I went to bed one night and it was fine, but when I woke up the next morning it was broken! What could’ve happened?

I asked Mama and Papa about it but got strange responses from either one. So naturally it was my turn to play detective and figure it out. No animals, no foot prints! The only thing I could find was that the shape of whatever broke it was a big square. What box hit the flower garden? It didn’t make sense!

“Papa might have the right idea. We shouldn’t waste this beautiful inside. Let’s work on Mama’s garden together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

I happily nodded my head. That would be the best!! I loved helping Mama in her garden! So the two of us left the dishes for Papa and made our way to the backyard.

Mama helped me put my shoes on before we walked hand in hand to the shed. Truth be told….the shed is a bit scary. So as we got closer I started to hide behind Mama.

She noticed this right away and decided to play a game with it. “Don’t worry Y/N, I am your knight vowed to protect your royalty with my life!”

She swung the door opened and pretended to point a sword inside the shed. “Back foul creatures! Back!” She waved the pretend sword around.

She turned back to me and offered her hand again, “There is no monster in here. I’ve made sure of it.”

I smiled and took her hand again, “Thank you Mama.”

She squeeze my hand lightly, “Of course. Can’t have anyone trying to take my little bug now can I?”

We walked into the shed and grabbed our supplies! A sun hat for both of us, two hand shovels, a rake, gardening scissors, some new seeds, and a watering can.

With our supplies in hand we began our gardening! Mama made a new flower box for us to start planting new flowers in. “Alright Y/N why don’t you dig small holes in the planter why I snip some of the dead leafs off the rose bush over there. Sound good?”

I nodded my head and got to work! It’s a nice warm day out, but not terribly hot for what we are doing. I made small holes in rows so that each seed would have a nice place to sleep and grow into a flower.

“Excellent job!” She came back over, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Now we have to plant our seeds. Here,” she handed me the small bag. “You do the honors.”

I happily took the bag and began to gently place each seed into each spot. Once done, I covered all the seeds with the rest of the dirt.

I grabbed the watering can and ran over to Mama. “Mama! Water!”

“The spout back here is broken but I think the one out front is working. Ask Papa to help you, he should be out there.” Mama said as she clipped the roses.

I nodded and ran around the house to the front. There Papa was beginning to fix the small fence around one of our flower garden.

“Papa!” I dropped the watering can and gave him a hug from behind.

He jumped at the surprise hug but smiled all the same. “Hey! There’s my sweetheart! What are you trying to do? Give your Papa a heart attack?” He joked, turning around and giving them a proper hug.

“I need help with my watering can.” I pointed out.

“The other spout is still broken isn’t it?” Papa sighed.

“Yeah…”

“That’s okay. I’ll add it to the list.” He joked, “Let’s get your can filled up so your plants have something nice to drink.”

Hand in hand we walked over to the spout. He turned it on and filled it up for me. “Alright see if that too heavy for you.” He handed it to me.

When I went to grab it it was too heavy as it slipped from my hands and splashed up at us. I giggled and Papa laughed too.

“Hey! You dropped that on purpose!” Papa teased.

“I did not!” I laughed again.

“Oh alright. But I’m keeping my eye on you.” He dumped some of the water out before handing it back to me. “There, that should be better.”

I grabbed the watering can and it was much easier to hold now. “Thank you Papa!”

“Of course sweetheart. If you need anything I’ll be trying to build this fence again.” He sighed as he returned to his work.

I returned back to the backyard and right over to my flower garden. I made sure not to give my seeds too much water but just enough so they had something nice to drink.

With the remaining water I walked around and gave our other plants something nice to drink.

“Y/N! Come over here quick!” Mama called out.

I dropped my watering can and ran over. She turned around with her hands cupped over one another. “Put your hands out.”

I did as she asked and she dropped a small caterpillar into my hands. I gasped and looked at the cute little guy walking around slowly in my hands. “Wow!”

“Found him eating all my rose leaves! Must’ve been very hungry!”

“Do you think he’s going to be a butterfly one day?” I asked looking up at Mama.

“Oh definitely! What color do you think he’ll be?”

“Purple!”

“Oh I can see it now! Him with his purple wings flying around the garden.” I smiled at the mental image.

“Now put him down somewhere safe. We don’t want him to get hurt.” Mama instructed.

I nod my head and went to a separate planter box with tons of leafy plants. “Here Mr. Caterpillar, this will be a nice home for you.” I gently place him down and watch him slowly make his way to another leaf to eat.

“Y/N,” Mama called out to me, “Go wash your hands real fast before you go back to watering.” I nod my head and run back inside.

I made my way into the kitchen and start to wash my hands in the empty sink. I look through the window and see Papa working hard on the fence. Since he’s doing something more strenuous than Mama and I he’s starting to sweat in the heat.

With my hands clean, I grab a cup from the cupboard and open the fridge. I move the custard over to the side and grab the pitcher of lemonade. I pour a glass for Papa and bring it outside.

I pull on his shirt to get his attention and not scare him again. When he turns towards me I hand him the cup. “Here Papa, I got you lemonade!”

“Awww! For me? You’re so sweet Y/N. Thank you so much!” He takes the cup and places a kiss on my head. “You take such good care of me.” He wraps an arm around me.

“How’s the fence?” I lean into his side and look at the progress he’s making on the fence.

“It’s going. Hopefully this time the wind won’t blow it down again.”

“I thought Mama said Betty across the street fell on it?”

“That’s what I meant! The…The time before! Yeah the time before it was the wind.” Papa quickly said.

“Hey you lot!” Mama called from behind. She threw two water guns infront of us before she sprayed us with hers. “No slacking on the job.”

Papa quickly put his cup down and grabbed the water guns, handing one to me. “Are we going to take this? Let’s get her!”

And so the rest of the afternoon was spent with the three of us chasing one another around the yard with our water guns in hand laughing and giggling.

~~~

It was the middle of the night. I yawned and opened my eyes realizing I’m in my own bed. That’s wrong…I should be with Papa and Mama. So with a big stretch and a yawn, I grab my blankie and made my way out of bed.

But I only make two steps out of my bed and toward the door when I hear a strange notice outside followed by the sound of cracking.

I quickly run to the my window and look outside. There, where the fence was just fix is…a blue box?! What?

I stare out the window at the strange blue box now sitting in the flower garden. That’s what broke it the last time! But…how did it get there? And what is it?

My curiosity takes over as I run downstairs and out front in pjs with my blankie in hand. There, staring at the box, stood a man…a tall man, with brown hair and a bow tie.

“I’m sorry Amy, I think at this point the Tardis just doesn’t like your planter-.” He turns around and stops when his eyes land on me.

“Oh! Hello! You must’ve be Y/N! I’ve heard so much about you from your Caregivers!” His whole face lit up seeing me for the first time.

He walked over with a big smile on his face. “I’m the Doctor.”

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fuxuannie · 1 year ago

Note

First time requesting so sorry if this doesn’t make sense, if you’re willing could you write about Yanqing comforting a reader who’s been feeling down because their feeling burnt out? So so sorry if this doesn’t make any sense but thanks anyway for possibly considering it!

-🌝 anon

↳ pairing : yanqing x g-neutral reader

↳ synopsis : request ♡

↳ authors note : CLEARING OUT DRAFTS 🧸‼‼ i i really wananana get back into writing n i dont wanna leave what i started here!!!

YANQING noticed how much more you tended to zone out within the day. Sure, you'd stop paying attention 5 minutes into his ramble about swords - but at the very least you'd make it to the discussion of how they're made. Nowadays, you're forgetting hes talking to you before he could even start.

Not only that, but you seemed to work and work but seemingly not out of the passion you had before, but almost as if you were doing it in hopes to find a purpose. He couldn't explain it properly, but it was like you were no longer working cause it made you happy, more over because was expected and wanted of you.

Sure, it was your job to serve, but you were allowed to ask for breaks and such if it was needed and you DEFINITELY needed one.

So he had approached Jing Yuan and asked for permission to pull you out of work for a few hours. "Oh, Yanqing.. You kind soul, you're more than free to be able to help them." He does his usual precious smile, bows to his superior and hurries off to find you.

He asked around with the locals if they had seen you, his expression of worry worsening by the second as people would answer more no's and no's. And when all hope seemed lost, a certain fluffy tailed woman had known exactly where you were, and told the concerned blonde once she noticed his usual smile curl downwards into a frown.

"Thank you, Miss Tingyun!" Yanqing bows before running off towards one of the trees in the training grounds, it was a private & closed off area for the Cloud Knights with various different training equipment but a giant tree in the center of it all.

His worry faded away when he saw you asleep against the trunk, snoring softly as your hair was a slight mess due to the wind that was blowing.

The young swordsman sits next to you, his head faced your sleeping form as he hesitantly puts a hand on your shoulder and shakes you. Waking you up from your peaceful nap.

"..Mm.." Was the first sign that you were waking up, watching your head shift slightly before settling in his general direction. Your eyes slowly flutter open, and are greeted to the sight of Yanqing smiling at you fondly and gigglig at your rather sleepy state. "Good Morning." You could hear him saying.

He can see how your expression immediately changes, first confusion and then panic. "W-wait.. Did I doze off?! Oh no, oh dear, I'm sorry for troubling you! I'll return to work-" But Yanqing grabs your hand before you could even stand, theres a small silence for a moment, wind blowing through your hair as you stared into his eyes.

"Don't leave."

You want to protest, but Yanqing shakes his head before you can get another word out. "Worry not. The General allowed you to rest for a little while longer." He reassures you with a closed eye smile, the hold on your hand had no sign of letting go or allowing you to leave.

Grinning at your sigh of defeat, the boy moves a little so you may sit down next to him.

There's a few moments of silence, not exactly awkward but.. comforting. The feeling of gentle wind brushing against your skin, sounds of birds or leaves rustling, and the slow clouds passing by in the distance. You finally take a moment to appreciate everything going on around you, and maybe one of those things was the warmth that wrapped around your hand. How Yanqing's fingers intertwine with yours as he admires the very same things that you are, humming a gentle tune to hopefully soothe your stress away.

"You know.. I don't think I'm built for this line of work sometimes."

His head is quick to turn to you, though your gaze doesn't drift away from the sky up above.

"I dunno, sometimes I can take it and other times.."

You lay against the tree trunk, closing your eyes and take a deep breath.

"It feels like I'm drowning in a pool of my problems and getting dragged further down to the bottom."

He's not sure whether to comfort you with words or with actions, so he simply guides your head to lean down comfortably on his shoulder.

In time, if you'll ask for it, he'll tell you the words of comfort that he's sure you'll need to hear.

For now, he'll be quiet and listen to your problems that you've kept bottled up for far too long.

#˚₊· ͟͟͞➳❥ bailu's candy stash #honkai star rail x reader #hsr x reader #yanqing hsr x reader #yanqing x reader #yanqing x you #yanqing imagines

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gamerbearmira · 1 year ago

Text

We Don't Talk About Alma❓❗

I hope no one's done this. Like I'm going insane with this idea. I'm serious.

Basically, after Mirabel's ceremony, after everyone had left and the family had gone to bed, she doesn't immediately go to Bruno for a vision. She kind sits in the candle room and looks at the candle. And what does she figure? It's her fault Mirabel didn't get a gift.

Now you might think she thought it was because she out pressure on the family, but that's not it. She doesn't even think about it. The candle flickered in her hands. So her logic is she must not be fit to be the candle her, she did something wrong. So when she's sure everyone's asleep, she leaves the candle in the nursery, telling a sleepy Mirabel to watch over it, and leaves. How she ends up in the walls I'm not sure. Casita probably showed her and she saw it as a chance to be with her family but not hurting the magic, so she stays in there.

Mirabel is out in charge of the candle. It was left in the nursery. Mirabel didn't really hear Alma that night, as Alma was telling her a lot of stuff, but she did hear the last part. And then that was the last anyone say of her. Literally, Mirabel was the last to see her, and then was gone. The next, Mirabel's door reappeared; she was holding the candle. This was because Alma, technically speaking, stepped down from being the candle holder, so it went to the next one in line; which was Mirabel. Of course the family was ecstatic, and another party was being planned. They hadn't even actually realized Alma was gone. Mirabel didn't reveal what she heard last night yet and everyone in the family kind of just assumed Alma knew and was around. Even though...no one...saw her???

Anyway, it isn't until townspeople start coming to Casita that someone asks "Where's Alma?". That prompted the family to search for her, on the DL of course. Mostly the adults, the kids were having too much fun playing in Mirabel's new room. When they couldn't find her, they didn't quite announce it. Once the party was over and the kids were asleep, they went looking for her all throughout Casita more throughly. Bruno was the one who finally noticed that Alma's door had gone dark. And when they went in, it was like no one had been in it for years. It was dark, dusty and there was scorch marks in certain places. The candle room looked abandoned, and the actual candle had been placed in Mirabel's room.

Kids found out later on and Mirabel's told everyone what Alma said to her the night of her birthday. Dolores couldn't even find Dolores; she said she could hear something but she wasn't entirely sure if it was her or not. Morale was made candleholder, but didn't step up to the role as leader until she was about 10. Courtesy of her parents.

Though, Antonio, afyer learning about gifts and what not, had a, very rational actually, fear that Mirabel would just disappear like Alma did. Other family sort of have a fear of that as well. Mirabel assures the family, and more importantly Antonio, that she wouldn't of course.

Also Alma's line the The Family Madrigal is changed.

"My Abuela Alma-"

"We Don't Talk About Alma!"

"...One day they she saw the candle flicker, and then she suddenly disappeared."

The thing is, it was implemented not because they didn't like her, or because she was weird. It was because it made the triplets sad to talk about her. Pressured or not, that was still their mother, and they loved her, so when she just uped and disappeared, it was kind of jarring to them. So, Agustín and Félix told the kids not to talk about Abuela near them, and then the town kind of picked up on it. Kind of an unspoken rule. Antonio has no idea who she is, and Luisa, Camilo and Mirabel barely remember her. They were too young.

No one knows why she left. Dolores can’t properly hear her, and Bruno’s visions never make sense.

#my asks #my asks are open #encanto #encanto au #au #encanto mirabel #encanto alma #we don't talk about alma #wdtaa #wdtaa au #encanto Agustín #encanto felix #encanto antonio

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crystalninjaphoenix · 2 months ago

Text

Old and New Family

Shadow City AU - Chapter Two

A JSE Fanfic

Well I did not expect to post another part to this so soon, but I am going on ANOTHER trip so I figured this would be a good time to do a second part so I can actually use my free time instead of writing all the time while I'm there XD Remember, this AU is still TECHNICALLY in its concept stage, I am NOT posting this regularly yet. But hey, maybe this could be a thing, whenever I'm too busy to write something new I could post a chapter of this? No guarantees but that would be fun.

After the double-length first chapter, this is a much more reasonable (for me) 6400 words fdjsahdljkh Chase is still getting used to being dead... undead? One of those things. But there are some practical matters that need to be taken care of. Meanwhile, we get a look at what it's like being a werewolf through Jackie's experiences. Surely nothing will go wrong! Heh. Hope you enjoy!

First Chapter Found Here

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Being a ghost was very different from being alive. Well, obviously it was. But Chase didn’t really understand how different it was until he was a ghost himself.

There were the big differences. The whole ‘not being able to touch things unless you think really hard about it’ thing was probably the biggest difference of all. He was also invisible. He didn’t cast a shadow, and he couldn’t see his reflection in the bathroom mirror. But he could see his own body and his clothes... or... his ghostly clothes? Were they part of him now? It felt like they could come off, but he didn’t want to risk losing them so he left them on. Another thing he noticed was that he couldn’t go too far from his house. He could get a bit into the street, or into his neighbor’s gardens, but beyond that it felt like a tether around his chest was keeping him in place.

There was also the thing about breathing and blinking. While being alive, those processes happened automatically. Now they only happened when he made an effort to control it. And there was no benefit to doing it. Air didn’t go into his lungs. Tears didn’t moisten his eyes. Breathing and blinking were now pretty much only to ground himself or to communicate his feelings to other people.

All of these were pretty big changes.

But there were also the small differences. Chase spent most of his first night as a ghost—after he’d gotten used to the whole ‘being dead’ thing (or managed to put it out of his head enough to function)—trying to touch things. He could never manage for more than a few seconds. But when he did, he found that things didn’t tickle or itch anymore. He then took a moment to really think about himself, and noticed that he didn’t feel any spit in his mouth. His mouth wasn’t dry, either, it was just... normal. He noticed as well that he couldn’t feel temperature anymore, or that draft that always breezed through his hallway. And when he wanted to move somewhere, he didn’t actually have to walk. He could just think about going somewhere and he would float over. But he kept moving his legs out of habit. It made him feel more... like a person.

And only after a night of experimenting, once he saw the sun rising again, did he realize that he didn’t feel tired. He didn’t have any of the dully fuzzy feelings associated with sleepiness. Which made sense, but he hadn’t realized how used he was to feeling tired until it was gone.

Out of curiosity, he tried to lie down on his bed and sleep anyway. He passed right through it and ended up on the floor. Hey, why didn’t he pass through the floor, too? That was a mystery. But if Jack really came back like he said he would, Chase could ask him. He might know. For now, he laid on the floor instead and tried to sleep...

Sleep didn’t exactly come. But something else happened. Chase had never meditated before, but he thought that this was similar. He didn’t think. He didn’t move. The world around him faded away, but didn’t disappear completely.

As evident when he heard a knock at the door.

Chase sat up, and started to head towards the living room... then remembered. He was a ghost. He went through stuff. His head was currently sticking up through his mattress. So instead, he stood up and went through the outer wall, going in a straight line towards the sound.

Jack was waiting on the doorstep. Chase went up to him, half-wondering if he should see if he could scare him... but Jack saw him coming first and turned to him. “Hey.” He smiled in friendly greeting. He wasn’t wearing the SPDFI jacket from yesterday—that must have been a uniform. Instead he was wearing a white T-shirt with a red circular design on it, and had a pair of glasses. “I told you I’d stop by tomorrow. How are you holding up, Chase?”

“I’m... fine,” Chase said slowly. “This is still… weird. It’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“Well I’m here to help!” Jack said cheerfully.

“Is that what you do? You just go around helping ghosts?”

“Uh... basically, yeah.”

Chase narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to exorcize me or something? Make me, uh, move on?”

Jack chuckled good-naturedly. “That’s not how it works. There’s not a force in the world that can make a ghost move on if the ghost isn’t ready.”

“Really? Nothing?” Chase asked, surprised.

“Well, I’m told there are spells that could exorcize a ghost from their current location,” Jack said. “Like... kick you out of your house, for example. Or if you’re possessing someone, they’ll kick you out of their body. But no, they can’t send you to the other side or wherever.”

“I can possess people?”

“If you’re a strong ghost.”

Chase nodded slowly. “Am I a strong ghost?”

“Yep.” Jack smiled. “You’re actually the strongest ghost I’ve met!” He leaned against the closed door, scanning the street—making sure that no one saw him talking to himself like a crazy person.

“Really? Huh.” Chase looked down at his hands. “What’s it like to be a weak ghost?”

“Well, the weakest ghosts out there aren’t really people,” Jack said. “They’re more like... just a presence. Like emotions that soaked into a place. To me, weak ghosts look like disembodied glowing lights that change shape. Like amoebas. But regular everydays can’t see them at all—uh, an ‘everyday’ is just a normal human without powers or anything. Anyway, as ghosts get more powerful, they become more and more human. An average ghost will act like the person they were when alive, but focused solely on their unfinished business. They look a lot, uh, wispier than you do.”

“That’s... that’s so strange.” Again, Chase looked at his hands. They were a bit translucent, but weren’t ‘wispy’ in any way. He glanced up at Jack. “I, uh... still have questions. A lot more questions.”

“I’m here to answer,” Jack said. “But first, I have some questions of my own first. They won’t be... They might be troubling, but I need you to answer.”

Chase got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Sure... go ahead.”

“Well, I... gotta know some... legal stuff,” Jack explained. “Did you, uh... have a will?”

“...no,” Chase said quietly. “I thought about getting one, but... I-I don’t know. It felt like... giving up.”

Jack nodded. “Well, in that case. Do you want to keep any of your stuff? That’s not, uh, legally allowed, not normally, but I’m getting an idea, so I can arrange it, if you’re okay with it.”

“I...” Chase thought about it. About all the things in this house. Most of the furniture came included with the rent, so it wasn’t his to give away. And he wouldn’t need stuff like his clothes and his bedsheets. He thought about keeping things like pictures and souvenirs from vacations. For sentimental value. But... Stacy and Declan probably deserved to have those. After all, he couldn’t... couldn’t go back to them, could he? The least he could give him were things that reminded them of him. “Nothing’s coming to mind...” He decided to get off this train of thought before it got too existential. “Wh-what do you mean, you’re getting an idea?”

“Well I was looking for a new place anyway,” Jack said slowly. “So I figured that if you were okay with it, I could... move into your place. I wouldn’t change anything too much,” he hurriedly added. “I’d be more like a roommate than anything. But if you want, I could stick around to help out.”

Chase stared at him silently. His first instinct was to protest. This was his house. What if he didn’t want a roommate? But after a moment, he sighed. “Mr. Wood is probably gonna put the house up for rent soon anyway. If anyone else is gonna move in, it might as well be the guy who can see ghosts.”

“That’s the landlord?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. He’s a jackass, I’m warning you now. I bet he’s gonna charge you way too much for a house that someone fucking died in.”

Jack laughed. “God. Sounds terrible.”

“He’s a real piece of work. But he’s mostly hands-off, so there’s that at least.” Chase paused. “D’you think I could go haunt his ass?”

Jack laughed some more—then abruptly stopped. “Hey. Do you know that car?”

A blue sedan was pulling up to the side of the road... right outside Chase’s house. It was soon followed by a dark gray truck. That sinking feeling was back. “The... the truck is Mr. Wood, s-speak of the devil. The blue Accord is... is Stacy’s car.”

Jack glanced at Chase. “...your wife.”

“Yeah,” Chase whispered.

The doors to the cars opened up, and people started to get out. Mr. Wood was first, and he marched straight up the front path to where Jack was standing against the door. “This is private property, you know,” he said sternly. Mr. Wood was an older man with steel gray hair who always wore tweed. Chase had always thought he was intimidating, but that might just be because he reminded Chase of a teacher, and he hadn’t done well in school.

But Jack just smiled and stood up straight. “Sorry. I’m a friend of Chase’s. I thought I’d pay my respects.”

“You’re a friend of Chase’s?”

Chase inhaled sharply at the sound of the voice. Stacy was right behind Mr. Wood. She looked mostly the same as she always did. Her hair was a darker brown than Chase’s, naturally curly, kept in her usual shoulder-length style. She wore the same sort of outfit she usually did on her days off the office. A white blouse with puffy short sleeves and dark-colored jeans with a brown belt and matching brown boots. The only real difference from the last time Chase had seen her was her eyes. Her dark brown eyes were rimmed with red, with dark circles underneath.

And holding onto Stacy’s hand...

“Oh no,” Chase whispered. “Stace, you couldn’t get a babysitter?”

Declan didn’t much resemble his parents on the surface. He’d inherited his white-blonde hair from his grandmother—Chase’s mom—and while Chase and Stacy both had rounder features and slender builds, Declan’s tiny face was more square through the baby fat, and though he was tall for his age, he was already shaping up to be more solidly built. But Declan had Stacy’s eyes and Chase’s nose, so there was still a resemblance when all of them were together. He was usually very independent for his age, but right now he held tight to his mom’s hand, clinging to her. His blue t-shirt with the killer whale graphic was rumpled, and Chase immediately knows that he slept in it.

“Yes, I’m a friend of his,” Jack said, staying remarkably calm. “My name’s Jack. Jack McLoughin.” He held out his hand for a handshake. “You’re Stacy, aren’t you?”

Stacy didn’t take his hand. Chase laughed a bit. She was never all that fond of handshakes in the first place. “He never mentioned you,” she said slowly.

“We met, uh, fairly recently,” Jack explained, slowly lowering his hand. “I’m... sorry for your loss.”

Stacy nodded curtly, but Chase noticed the way her mouth trembled. He knew when she was holding back tears.

“Yes, well, your respects have been paid,” Mr. Wood said curtly. He walked around Jack to get to the door, opening it up. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have business to take care of.”

Jack looked surprised at the sheer insensitivity of this statement. Chase leaned closer. “Told you. He’s a jackass.”

Mr. Wood grumbles something about the lock on the door being broken—apparently the police had to break it down yesterday to get in—and he walks into the room, followed by Stacy and Declan, and, after a moment, Jack. The living room looked the same as yesterday. Well... someone cleaned up the blood. But there was still a slight dark discoloration on the carpet. Stacy’s eyes flicked to it, an expression of horror crossed her face, then she subtly stood between Declan and the stain, blocking his view of it. “The furniture is house property, including the mattress,” Mr. Wood was saying. “Leave things that would benefit the house, like toilet paper and cleaning supplies. But you can take everything else.”

“Um...” Jack coughed. “That’s not legal, you know. If Chase bought the cleaning supplies, they should go to his next of kin, regardless of where he lives.”

“What are you, a lawyer?” Mr. Wood asked.

“No... but I do work with the police and so I do know some lawyers.”

Mr. Wood’s face immediately drained of color, and Chase couldn’t help but laugh. “Well... take it if you want,” he grumbles to Stacy.

“Thank you,” Stacy said politely. “C’mon Dec. Let’s go look at... Let’s go get Dad’s stuff.”

“I wanna stay here,” Declan said, speaking up for the first time.

Stacy’s eyes flicked to the stain. “I... don’t think that’s a good idea, pumpkin. I-I mean, what if I need help to carry everything?”

Jack coughed. He glanced at Chase, a question in his eyes. “They can have it all,” Chase said. “I don’t mind.”

Jack nodded. “If you need help, Mrs. Brody, I could—”

“Oh I don’t—I um... Stacy is fine,” Stacy said. “And that would be... appreciated, but don’t trouble yourself.”

“No, it’s no problem,” Jack insisted. “Do you have boxes?”

“I-in the car, with some bags, too,” Stacy stammered. “I thought we’d look, first.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. Makes sense. You know, most people don’t... move stuff around at this point. This... early, I-I mean.”

Stacy shot a glare at Mr. Wood. “Apparently there’s a policy that if things stay in the house for up to a week after a lease is broken, they become house property. I figured sooner was... was better.”

Chase’s eyes widened. He knew about the policy, but he just assumed that there could be exceptions. Like someone fucking dying, for example. He glared at Mr. Wood, then leaned up and whispered into his ear. “I’m gonna haunt you for this, fucker.”

Mr. Wood jumped and looked around the room wildly. When he couldn’t see anyone, he cleared his throat and moved on. “Yes, well, go on then. Start in the bedroom.”

Stacy nodded and started to walk down the hall, taking Declan with her. Or at least trying to. Declan didn’t move. He was too busy staring... right at Chase.

Chase stares back. Declan couldn’t see him, could he? He gave a little wave, then swayed back and forth. Declan didn’t wave back, nor did his eyes follow Chase’s movements. Maybe he... caught a glimpse of him, or something? Did he hear him whisper?

“Declan?” Stacy asked.

“I wanna stay here,” Declan insisted.

Chase went over to Jack. “Uh... can kids see ghosts?”

Jack subtly shook his head. Looks like he’s also noticed where Dec was looking. “He can stay here a bit, can’t he, Stacy?” he asked. “He’s old enough to take care of himself.”

“I...” Stacy sighed. “Alright, Declan.” She let go of his hand. “Just for a bit, though.” She glanced at the stain again. Then she headed down the hallway. Jack and Mr. Wood followed her.

Declan looked around the living room. This wasn’t the first time he’d been here. He stayed over on weekends, bringing his sleeping bag and an air mattress to make Chase’s recording room into a makeshift bedroom. So he wasn’t looking around because this was new to him. He seemed to be... looking for something.

Chase stayed where he was, looking at Dec in turn. Should he... try to say something? Or would it just spook him?

After a moment, Declan reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a piece of paper and a coin. He sat down on the floor by the coffee table and unfolded the paper on its surface. Chase went over to look. On the paper were the words “Yes” and “No” written in pencil. Declan put the coin down on the paper between the two words. “Um...” He stared at the paper for a moment. “Dad, are you there?”

Chase realized what Declan was trying to do right away. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Did you get this from the internet, buddy?” He asked, sitting down at the other side of the coffee table. “Hope you didn’t go onto any shady websites for it.” He looked down at the coin on the paper. Maybe he could move it? He reaches out, concentrating...

For a split second, he could feel the cold metal of the coin beneath his fingertip. And then his hand passed through the table.

“Shit,” Chase muttered. He tried again. But got the same result. He managed to touch the coin for a second but when he tried to move it, his finger slipped through. He tried a couple more times, but couldn’t move the coin a hair.

Declan was staring intently at the coin, clearly waiting. He cleared his throat. “Dad? Are you there?”

“Yes, yes! I-I’m here, Dec, I promise!” Chase said desperately.

Declan jumped slightly, looking towards where Chase’s voice was. “Dad?” He whispered. “Dad, i-if you’re here, move the coin.”

“I’m trying, I promise,” Chase said, reaching for the coin again. He just had to focus! He knew he could do it if he just focused! Maybe—maybe he could move the paper instead?! Maybe he could pick it up and cause the coin to shift?

But no, he couldn’t grab hold of the paper, either. He went back to the coin, but made no progress there either. Maybe he felt it shift slightly? But there wasn’t anything significant.

After a few minutes, Declan slumped, shoulders drooping in disappointment. He scooped up the paper and the coin and stuffed them in his pocket, then walked down the hallway towards where all the grown-ups were gathering.

Chase stayed where he was. He watched Declan go down the hallway, then slowly looked down at the table’s scratched surface. Why couldn’t he focus? Why couldn’t he do it? Jack said he was a strong ghost, didn’t he? So... why?

He was vaguely aware of people moving and talking, of the light from the open window shifting as time passed. But he stayed where he was. He didn’t think anything at all.

“...no problem, really.”

“Still, thank you. It was good to meet you. I know it’s only been one day since... everything, but you’re the first person who’s been kind about it.”

“Really, it’s nothing. It’s for Chase, you know?”

Chase finally snapped out of his trance. He looked over at the voices and saw Stacy talking with Jack, while Declan waited nearby. Stacy nodded. “Still, thank you,” she said softly. “We’ll be going, now. Are you serious about moving?”

“Well I don’t want to be.. . rude,” Jack said slowly. “But clearly this guy is going to put the house out for rent again as soon as possible. I... think it’s better than a stranger moving in.”

“Whatever helps you,” Stacy sighed. “Chase probably wasn’t too attached to this place anyway. He didn’t move in all that long ago.” She looked around the room. “Personally, I’ll be happy to never see this place again.” She opened up the front door. “Goodbye, Jack. See you at the... s-see you there?”

“Of course,” Jack said. “Goodbye.”

As they all left the house, Chase stood up and followed them. He watched as Stacy and Declan got into the car and drove off. Mr. Wood had already left, it looked like. Jack started walking down the sidewalk, but then looked back at Chase and stopped.

Chase hurried over to him before he left the range of where he could go before getting pulled back. “H-hey.”

“Hey.” Jack nodded. “Do you think everything went—”

“Can I tell them?” Chase asked.

Jack blinked. “Huh?”

“C-can I tell them that I’m—I’m still here?” Chase clarified. “Or is there some supernatural set of rules that says I can’t do that? Because—cause there’s always something like that in stories, a-and I mean, when I was alive I definitely didn’t know ghosts existed—s-so can I tell them?”

Jack’s expression softened. “That’s up to you, Chase. If you think that’ll help them, and you, then you can tell them. But... you probably can’t do that on your own.”

“I-I have to learn how to talk and stuff first, right?” Chase said. “To do that.”

“Yeah.”

“Then—then you have to help me!” Chase instinctively tried to grab into Jack’s shoulder before he remembered that he couldn’t touch things and stopped himself. “I have to—I have to figure this out!”

“Yeah, of course.” Jack smiled. “I’ll do what I can.”

Chase relaxed. Good. Good, he could... he could tell them. They would know he didn’t leave them like that. With that settled, he turned his attention to other matters. “So, uh... d’you know why I don’t pass through the ground but I go through everything else?”

Jack looked surprised, then laughed. “Ghosts can’t pass through things that are six feet—two meters thick or more, and the ground is usually thicker than that, unless there’s a basement or cave.”

Chase nodded. “Got it. Also, uh, I think I’m really starting to process that you said vampires and werewolves were real, so like, what the fuck? Are you going to elaborate on that?”

Jack grinned. “I am, but I think you should really get used to all this before I dump the whole fucking lot on you.”

“That’s fair, that’s fair.” Chase nodded. “So uh, are you going to come back sometime soon?”

“Well it’s getting late, but yeah, of course. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.”

“Okay.” Chase exhaled. Weird how he could just do that without inhaling first. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you!” Jack smiled. “In the meantime, you should probably practice being seen and such.”

“Got it. Uh, well... Bye, then.”

“Bye.” Jack waved, then continued down the road.

Chase watched him go. Then he turned back and headed back to his house. It was emptier now. But Chase tried not to dwell on it. He sat down on the floor and decided to spend the day practicing with his ghost powers. The sooner he got used to them, the sooner he could adjust to his new life. Or rather, his new afterlife.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I dunno, Jack, I’ve never met a ghost before,” Jackie said.

“Well Chase would be a good one to start with, then!” Jack said cheerfully from the other end of the phone call. “He’s basically just a guy who floats and disappears sometimes.”

“Hmm...” Jackie glanced around. He was currently outside the city, sitting against a tree. The tall buildings of Scuabyrg were visible in the distance, tinted orange with the sunset, but his immediate surroundings were sparse trees and rolling hills. “I dunno.”

“Look, you don’t have to decide now,” Jack said. “It’s going to take me at least a week to move into the house. You can wait until then. But if it works out, I think that having you, Schneep, and Marvin over would be a good way to introduce him to, uh, everything.”

“You don’t think it’ll be a shock?”

“I think it’ll be a shock no matter what. But he’ll have a lot of questions, and you guys would be more qualified to answer questions about werewolves, vampires, and witches than I am.”

“Speaking of which, I’m in the middle of werewolf business right now and it’s kinda rude that I’m just on the phone while it’s happening.”

“Well you didn’t have to pick up.”

“I’m not gonna just not pick up a phone call!”

Jack laughed. “You’re like, the only person I know who thinks that way.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I gotta go.”

“Talk to you later then.”

“Later.” Jackie hung up and looked around to see if he’d attracted any attention.

There were eight other people out in the field with him. Seven of them were busy cleaning up the picnic they’d had earlier. But one was hovering nearby. A younger guy, with long blonde hair and big gray eyes. He looked a bit like a stereotypical American surfer guy. The impression was probably helped along by his ocean scent—not like Schneep’s ocean scent, that was closer to a candle mimicking a salt breeze. This guy’s scent was a bit rougher, like sticking your nose in beach sand. “Oh, uh... sorry,” he said. “I just—I realized I-I could hear the guy on the other end of your call. It was weird.”

Jackie smiled. “No problem, Bryson.” He stood up. “So, having fun?”

“Yeah, so far!” Bryson smiled a little. “I didn’t realize there was all this space so close to the city. Cities usually tend to all run into each other... you know?”

“Yeah. Well, the Night Council makes sure that there’s some stretches of nature nearby, where everydays aren’t gonna just walk up and interrupt stuff like this.” Jackie shrugged.

“Hmm.” Bryson looked around. “Are you, uh... sure this is gonna work?”

“Shifting while the sun’s still out? It’ll be harder than during the night, but you can do it.” Jackie patted his back reassuringly. “The rest of us are here to make sure everything goes good. I mean, not everyone, but when you have sixteen people it gets kinda hard to coordinate stuff, y’know?” About half the pack had work or other commitments today. Almost all of them had wanted to come, but this wasn’t too high a priority, so they had to bow out. They’d all meet up for the full moon in a couple weeks.

“Hey Jackie!” A woman with long brown hair shouted over at him. She wore a white scarf around her neck, as well as a cream sweater and a brown skirt with leggings. This was Lily. “Are you going to just stand there or are you actually gonna help?”

Jackie made a face at her. “Gimme a moment!” Lily rolled her eyes and continued putting tupperware containers into the picnic basket.

Bryson looked at Jackie nervously. “Are you allowed to talk to Lily like that?”

“Huh? What d’you mean?”

“Well, she’s the alpha, isn’t she?”

Jackie took a step backwards. “Uh... so, still getting used to things, huh?”

“Ohhh right, I’m not supposed to say that word, am I?” Bryson remembered.

“I mean, you can, but wolf packs have just been using ‘leader’ or ‘head wolf’ for a long time, so they’re used to it. And ‘alpha’ has some, uh... implications.” Jackie shook his head. “But it’s not just that. Look, don’t think that you can’t talk back to Lily or make comments like that. You can do whatever. I mean, as long as you’re not a dick about it. Being a leader does ask for some respect. But if you ever find a wolf pack that actually buys into that ‘obey the head wolf without question’ ‘alpha, beta, omega’ hierarchy bullshit, try to avoid them. The leader’s probably on some... some fucking power trip.”

Bryson nodded understandingly. “I, uh... still think I’ll be nervous for a bit. But thanks. That helps.” He smiled, a bit more relaxed.

“Jackie!” Someone jogged over to the two of them. She looked a lot like Lily, but instead of long brown hair, she had bright red hair styled in a pixie cut, and wore a red tank top with slightly darker red jeans. Fittingly enough, she was named Scarlet, and she was Lily’s sister. “Have you seen Leo?”

“Leo? No, I haven’t.” Jackie shook his head. “Didn’t he have an evening shift?”

“Yeah, true...” Scarlet frowned. “But I thought he said he’d leave early so he could be here.”

Jackie shrugged. “Maybe his boss wouldn’t let him leave.”

“Maybe. Ugh.” Scarlet shook her head. “Well, we’re going to start soon. We can’t wait for him. It’d kinda defeat the purpose if the sun set. You okay, Bryson?”

Bryson nodded. “Y-yeah.”

“Great!” Scarlet gave a thumbs-up. “Okay seriously, Jackie. Come help pack stuff up.” Then she turned and headed back to the others.

“So... Scarlet is a nickname, right?” Bryson asked, trying to sound casual.

“Nope.” Jackie shook his head. “Apparently their parents weren’t very creative. The kid with red hair is called Scarlet, and the kid with a floral scent is called Lily.”

“Their parents knew their scents when they were born?”

“Yeah, didn’t the two of them tell you? Their parents were also wolves, so they’ve been wolves since birth, like the Singh twins and Tasha.” Jackie grinned at him. “They didn’t have to learn all this stuff like we did.”

“That... does make some sense,” Bryson said. “Now, uh... we really should help, I’m starting to feel bad about it.”

Jackie laughed. “Let’s go, then.”

A few minutes later, everything was neatly put away into bags and baskets. Scarlet shaded her eyes and looked over at the sun. “We better start soon,” she said. “You ready, Bryson?”

Bryson took a deep breath. He bounced up and down on his feet a couple times. “Alright. Fuck it.” Then he took his shirt off—

“Whoa!” Scarlet blinked, then laughed. “I thought we said you didn’t have to do that!”

“I like this shirt, I want to make sure nothing happens to it.” Bryson stood there awkwardly, holding the shirt, until Jackie walked over to grab it and put it in a bag with the picnic baskets.

“Remember to concentrate,” Lily advised him. “Breathe steady! You remember the exercises?”

“I do, I do.”

“Do you want us to look away?” asked another wolf—Kelly, who was around Jackie’s age.

“No no no, I got it,” Bryson insisted. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. The others tried to stay quiet so he could focus. Some did look away after all. Jackie’s mind drifted a bit, remembering his early days of shifting as well. It was difficult to get used to. Jackie himself really struggled with changing in the daylight hours, feeling self-conscious about changing shape while in bright light where people could see. But just like any other physical skill, it got easier with practice. To the point where shifting could be as easy as breathing.

Jackie blinked—and suddenly, while he wasn’t paying attention, Bryson was gone. In his place was a gray wolf sitting on its hind legs. The others all shouted and cheered, and Jackie snapped back to attention. “Wait wait wait, I missed it!”

“Well, sucks to be you, then, Jackie!” shouted another wolf named Paul. Two more wolves suddenly shifted form and jumped at Bryson—Jackie recognized them as Charlotte and Rodrigo, who were close to Bryson’s age—and the three of them wrestled on the grassy ground, barking and rolling around.

Lily laughed. “Alright, alright! Stop horsing around!”

“Don’t you mean wolfing around?” Jackie asked.

Scarlet made a ‘ba-dum-tss’ sound with her mouth, and Lily rolled her eyes. But the three younger wolves did stop wrestling. Bryson seemed very happy with himself, tongue sticking out as he panted heavily. “Here we go!” Lily said, clapping her hands together.

The rest of the wolves all shifted as well. Jackie stretched, blinking and shaking his head. Even in human form, a werewolf’s senses were more keen than an everyday human’s, but being in wolf form sharpened them further. He could hear birds chirping in the farthest trees, and the city was now emitting a distant hum—the sound of cars and buses and other busy things. Not to mention the smells. The enhanced smells had been the strangest thing to him when he first transformed, being able to pick up on the scents of people and animals even while in human form. In wolf form, it could be overwhelming to a new werewolf, to know that everything had a smell that you couldn’t pick up on before—sometimes multiple smells, if an object had been in contact with a lot of other stuff.

The pack all took a moment to socialize, nudging each other, wagging tails, a couple play-fights. Then there was a howl. A white wolf was asking for everyone’s attention. It was Lily, of course; she and Scarlet were identifiable by their bright coats (Scarlet’s was red, of course.) Lily pawed at the ground, then jerked her head to the side. The other wolves all barked in agreement. Then, in unison, they started to run.

Jackie had enjoyed sports and running even before becoming a werewolf, but there was something about running in wolf form that other exercises and physical activity couldn’t compare to. It was something in the combination of the wind in his fur, the feeling of the ground rushing by underneath his paws, all of it going faster, faster, faster! Jackie howled with delight, and a few others howled back in agreement.

The sun set, but that didn’t make much difference to them with their enhanced night vision. Jackie ran faster, up to the head of the pack, where Lily was running with Bryson, making sure that he was getting used to his new wolf body. Jackie barked and nudged Bryson as he ran, asking him how he was getting along. Bryson looked back at him with a big grin on his wolfish face. Jackie barked again and fell back. Lily had a handle on this.

Unlike regular wolves, they weren’t out on a hunt—though they would definitely be capable of hunting down animals if they wanted. This was just to blow off some steam, hang out with each other, and help Bryson get used to being a wolf with the rest of the pack. So, not long after sunset, the pack circled back to the place where they’d had the picnic. They grabbed the bags—which had handles for humans but also connected to each other in a way similar to saddlebags for wolves—and ran back to the city.

Jackie’s pack lived in a big brownstone apartment building called The Heartwoods Complex. Not the whole building. Just the seventh floor. There were nine total, including the ground floor, so they were pretty high up. Meaning they couldn’t just sneak into their homes through a window or something, so halfway there they all shifted back to human form. They made small talk, asking about each other’s work and lives and friends outside the pack.

But as they got close to Heartwoods, they all slowed down, falling quiet.

There was a smell of blood in the air.

Jackie looked down, noticing small red dots on the ground. A blood trail. It would have been very easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. The others saw it too. “This way!” Scarlet shouted, darting forward, and Jackie followed, the rest of them soon behind.

They ran the rest of the way to the Heartwoods building, and then ducked to the side, as the blood trail went down the alleyway between it and the neighboring apartment building. Lying right outside the side entrance to Heartwoods—the one that only residents had the key to—was a lump of gray and black fur. The smell of blood converged around it, nearly covering up all the other scents that came with a living thing. The musk that identified it as a werewolf, and the scent that identified the individual... which in this case was a familiar scent, something citrusy.

“Leo!” Lily gasped, running past Scarlet and Jackie. The others all seemed frozen for a bit before rushing forwards—“No no no, give him space!” Lily shouted. They all stopped. “Leo, can you hear me?” The wolf whined in response.

Jackie leaned forwards. The blood was coming from... bite marks. And scratches. An animal attack. Of course, there were plenty of werewolves in Scuabyrg, so that’s where Jackie��s mind went first. But Leo didn’t have any enemies among other wolves... why would one have attacked him? Was it just a random animal? But there weren’t many normal animals that could beat up a werewolf like that. So—was it something else supernatural?

“Someone call 9990!” Lily shouted. “Someone else call everyone upstairs!”

“I got the hospital!” Jackie said, taking out his phone. He dialed 9990 and held it up to his ear while other people took their phones out to call the rest of the pack. He could hear Paul calling Ishani, his wife, and Kelly checking on her best friend Cassandra.

Jackie’s phone call was picked up immediately. “Night Emergency, what’s the problem?” asked the operator.

“H-hi, we’re outside Heartwoods, and—Do you know where that is? Nevermind!” Jackie shook his head. They could probably figure it out! “M-my friend is hurt! He was attacked by an animal—I-I think he’s too hurt to turn human again—”

“Calm down, sir,” the operator said. “You said turn human again? What is he now?”

“A wolf—we’re wolves,” Jackie explained.

“How severe are his injuries?”

“I-I don’t know. He’s been bleeding for a bit.”

“Alright. And where are you?”

“Heartwoods Complex—it’s flats and stuff. Do you need the address?”

“No need. We’ll find you, sir. In the meantime, do what you can to stay the bleeding. Do you need first aid instructions?”

“N-no, I think we got it.” Jackie pulled the phone away for a second. “Can we stop the bleeding?!”

One of the wolves, Nao, ran forward, taking off her jacket and pressing it to the worst of the wounds, applying pressure.

“Someone will be on your location in five minutes,” the operator said.

“Oh good.” Jackie let out a breath. “Should I stay on the line?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay.” Jackie looked around at everyone. “They’ll be here in five minutes.” He saw the rest of the pack relax. But the tension didn’t completely leave them. Not until the emergency services came to take Leo away, leaving the rest of the pack waiting there, nervous and confused.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #jacksepticeye au #chase brody #c!jack #jackieboy man #brigid writes fanfiction #shadowcityau

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audioandart · 4 months ago

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Have you considered doing an analysis on Aqua’s Theme in Kingdom Hearts? (If you haven’t already) First playing BBS it’s almost shocking how dismal her theme can be until you know her story, I’d be interested to see how you discuss it

oh my god! Oh my god! My first request! wormthejay I would be ECSTATIC to do an analysis on Aqua's Theme. The BBS version 🫡

Also, normally these analysis wouldn't delve super deep into this sort of thing, but you're right about the shock value of her theme. Ventus sounds sad, but you know from the start of the game he's had a rough time of it. Terra sounds determined, which he is the entire game. Then you get to the end of the game and their theme is suddenly a double meaning. Ventus' theme always sounded sleepy (like a lullaby). Terra's theme always sounded a little desperate, but then there's Aqua. The entire game her theme doesn't really seem to make sense, as it either doesn't fit or it implies Aqua is that sad the entire game (which the novel actually implies she is, but we're focusing on the game rn.) Then you get to the end of the game and boom. Everything makes sense completely. Anyway I'm supposed to be doing music lol I got carried away 😅

Aqua's theme is very sad, like we said. It starts with this piano melody in the F Major scale, that, if you remember back to Dearly Beloved (KH1) edition, with the higher pitch, makes for a sad sounding song. (The more flats in a scale, the more sad it'll usually sound. F Major has 1 flat.) This piano carries through the whole song, and starts as the main melody but very quickly turns into the background melody once the violins (and likely other assorted strings) come in. The violin starts similar to the piano, a high sad sounding melody of it's own. Both the violin and piano sound a bit frantic with the speed of their notes, all quicker and adding a sense of desperation, (however it is different from Terra's. When I eventually get to his theme I'll explain.) However, the violin eventually switches to a slower note series, calmer, and it's lower now as well. This could be seen as Aqua's resignation at being in the Realm of Darkness, but in terms of the song it sounds like the desperation has taken a back seat (as the piano is still there in the background) to the feelings of the piece. Sadness is being focused on completely now. And yet, starting with the switch to a slower violin, there is a brass section in the background that occasionally plays a few notes. Brass is often used for triumphant, heroic, or determined music. In this case, the brass is very much a determined instrument. It plays what could be thought of as a musical cherry on top, a piece of determined (perhaps even hopeful, though it doesn't quite reach that level) strength on top of the sad sundae. It also joins the background melody on occasion, much softer than it's usual playing. There is an undercurrent of determination with the desperation. And then it repeats, as video game soundtracks often do.

This piece sounds like Aqua's journey in BBS start to finish. She starts desperate and sad, she's chasing after Terra and having to convince Ventus to go home, and neither are listening. She's worried Terra is falling to darkness. Etc etc Aqua had a real terrible time. Suddenly, final battle and she loses both of them. Still very desperate, looking for how to get them back. She fights Xehanort while he's possessing Terra, ends up in the Realm of Darkness. She realizes she can't get out and so, resigns herself to her fate. That is where the slower violin comes in. And now she has all the time in the world to focus on how she feels and how much she misses home (in a place made of darkness which very much pulls out all your worst feelings. Yikes.) But even with all that has happened, she feels determined to get home and get back to her friends. She walks on for a decade, fighting, to return to what is essentially her family. No matter what happens, she moves forward.

Also, if we're gonna include the novel here, (just as a little treat,) she feels inadequate of the title of Master. She feels some imposter syndrome. There's where part of the sadness in the beginning is coming from as well. Great theme! It conveys SO much with THREE INSTRUMENTS. (Technically, the violin is actually the whole string section, but you get the gist.) Dearly Beloved did well with the few it had as well, but Aqua's Theme conveyed a whole arc. Praise be to Yoko Shimomura!

#just a silly goofy girl in a silly goofy mood #kh music #kh aqua #kh bbs #Answering an ask!#Kingdom hearts music analysis #kingdom hearts aqua #Kingdom hearts music #kingdom hearts birth by sleep #Terra and ventus mentioned

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cheesy09 · 11 months ago

Text

[CN] Kiro's Frank Date Prologue + Event

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for content that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

[Note: This has been translated with the help of Google Translate :>]

[PROLOGUE]

Buzz--

I turned off the alarm clock on my phone and was about to quietly get up, but the next second a hand pulled me back into bed.

Kiro: So early... where are you going...

MC: I want to make some breakfast first. You can sleep for a while longer~

I lifted the quilt and tried to slip away from Kiro's arms, but he hugged me tighter.

Kiro: But compared to having breakfast, I want to stay with you for a while longer.

Kiro: After all, after today, I won’t see MC for half a month...

Seeing him trying to fight sleep to talk to me, I couldn't help but reach out and touch the fluffy top of his head.

MC: It's up to you. I'll stay by your side and won't go anywhere. We'll have something to eat at the airport later.

MC: You can sleep for another half hour...

Kiro: I'm not sleepy anymore. Let's talk. I'm already awake.

Kiro said as he rubbed his sleepy eyes and deliberately opened them wide. He wanted to prove the "fact" that he had woken up, but all it did was make me see his tired and bloodshot eyes more clearly.

MC: Liar.

MC: You didn't get home from work until 2 a.m. and only slept for more than 4 hours. How could you possibly be awake?

Kiro: It doesn't matter, there's plenty of time on the plane anyway. 12 hours is enough for me to sleep for a long time.

Kiro: But there's no Miss Chips on the plane...

Kiro held up my face and pinched my cheek gently.

Kiro: But after I've wrapped up this show, I can rest with you for a few more days.

MC: Actually, if you ask Savin to schedule your work so tightly, you are squeezing yourself in advance.

He smiled, hiding his little thoughts that I had revealed.

Kiro: By then, we'll be having fun in France~ Let me stay with you, and you can stay with me.

Kiro: It's time for you to relax. Although I didn't finish work until 2 o'clock, who was still revising her plan when I came back?

MC: I just drank too much coffee during the day and couldn't sleep...

I looked away with a guilty conscience, but he gripped my chin and half-"forced" me to look into his eyes.

Kiro: What about the day before yesterday, the day before that... and last week?

MC: Hehe, don't worry, I can take a breather after handing in the documents today.

MC: But you should pay attention to your rest during rehearsals. I've heard from Savin that you've been working really hard on set these few days and have overused your voice.

MC: I made some lozenges yesterday. They should be cooling by now.

MC: I'll help you pack it into your suitcase later, so be careful with your voice during rehearsals!

Kiro: They must be way more delicious than the ones got outside.

Kiro: With Miss Chips' loving throat lozenges, I'll be full of energy during the rehearsals~

Buzz--

The cell phone alarm went off again, announcing that we had to get up.

Although I've become accustomed to the normalcy of his work, I still felt a little bit reluctant every time we were separated.

While Kiro was washing up, I left him a small note in the bag containing the throat lozenges.

TO DO LIST:

Remember to take the throat lozenges prepared by MC

Try not to stay up late

Pay attention to the temperature difference between morning and evening

Share interesting daily life

Plan a special tour itinerary

I hope you can gain a little surprise and warmth when you see it.

[Day 1: Dream Route]

Because I woke up too early to see off the plane, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier on the way back, and I uncontrollably started to doze off.

MC: No, now is not the time to sleep... You still need to familiarize yourself with the meeting materials.

My remaining sense of reason woke me up and I managed to dig out the information from my bag. However, unexpectedly, I found a bear-shaped velvet bag at the bottom of my bag.

MC: Looks like it's a secret treasure left by Mr. Kiro Bear~

After opening the velvet bag, there sat a small bag of apple candies and a short list left by Kiro.

Take Apple Box out for a walk

Water the catnip

Attend the award ceremony for me

~\(≧▽≦)/~ Come and meet meet me on the day the closed rehearsal ends

From: Kiro

The joy of discovering this secret treasure dispelled the worries caused by my sleepiness.

The fresh taste of apple candy in my mouth brought a hint of sweetness to my longing.

Memory Diary:

The apple candy flavor is sweet and a bit sour. Although we have just separated, I already feel a little bit missed when I look at the list he left behind. This is probably the chain reaction that opens the secret treasure.

[Day 2: Heart-warming Walk]

The park was fresh and pleasant after the rain, with green grass and crystal water droplets.

The setting sun reflected the happy smiling face of Apple Box. He loved his newly bought bone toy very much.

I took a lot of photos of him playing, picked the cutest one and sent it to Kiro.

MC: I had a lot of fun with Apple Box~

Kiro: I'm so jealous of Apple Box! His eyes are filled with happiness!

Kiro: Not only does he have a new toy, but he also has Miss Chips to accompany him. He's now the happiest puppy in the world!

MC: Judging from your tone, you don't seem jealous of Apple Box~

Kiro: Hmph, even though he's the happiest puppy in the world, I'm also about to be the happiest person in the world.

Kiro: When I see you, I'll definitely make up for the happiness that I've missed during this period of time.

Memory Diary:

Apple Box was really well-behaved. When we were in the park, many children wanted to play with him, and many young ladies took the initiative to take photos with him. It is said that dogs will become similar to their owners after being raised for a long time. In terms of attractiveness, seems like that they are indeed similar.

[Day 3: Sunshine Mint]

The weather was exceptionally sunny over the weekend. Cello spread herself out on the floor, lazily basking in the sun.

She didn't want to move a step after she was full, and no matter how much I tried to tempt her with cat teasing sticks and cat toys, she remained indifferent.

While it was normal for her to be reluctant to move in such hot weather, she has been tending to be overweight recently

MC: Little lazy cat, it look's like I'll have to bring out the secret weapon!

For the sake of Cello's health, I turned to the balcony and prepared to pick some catnip that Kiro had planted before.

Note: "Cello's pot of catnip, I'll leave it to Miss Chips to take care of it~"

Signed: (★ ω ★) Kiro & Cello /ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

MC: Then I'll water the catnip first and then play with Cello~

Memory Diary:

After pouring a lot of water and enjoying the beautiful sunshine on the balcony, Catnip is also in good spirits today! In addition, it quietly announced: Kiro = my human mint.

[Day 4: Limited Surprise]

In the blink of an eye, the queue at the door of the handicraft store had already stretched outside the mall.

While I was glad I came early, keeping my feet to one side, I counted the number of people in the line in front of me.

After all, for this sale, some styles didn't limit the maximum purchase quantity for each person.

MC: I hope that all the styles are available when my turn comes and that they're not sold out... let me buy the whole set!

The queue moved slowly, and when it was finally my turn, there weren't many figures left on the shelves, but fortunately I got a complete set.

MC: Wrap one of each for me. Let's go with this yellow gift box~

Memory Diary:

I had the foresight to get up early and queue up! This set of Kiro figurines has been in my heart for a long time. It would be a pity if I didn't buy them... As his cutest girlfriend, of course I have to give him a surprise~

[Day 5: Stage Focus]

Courier: Hello, please sign for the express delivery.

MC: Okay, thank you.

I carefully opened the outer packaging till a delicate silk box was revealed in front of me--

Inside, was a performance costume specially customized for Kiro, which took a full three months to complete.

Kiro designed the outfit himself and hired famous tailors to make it. It was the first time they collaborated, but they had a tacit understanding.

MC: It looks better than expected.

The metallic threads he specially selected had hidden secrets, and their true charm could only be revealed under the stage lights.

MC: When Kiro comes back and sees it with his own eyes, he'll definitely be very happy~

I hope the next concert will come soon so that I can see him in his costume earlier.

Memory Diary:

I can't wait to see Kiro wearing this suit~ I'll be sure to take lots of photos of him and appreciate the most dazzling star on stage!

[Day 6: Have Fun]

I turned on the computer and connected the game controller.

Note: (づ￣ 3￣)づ Help me get the daily rewards. The password is Miss Chips' birthday~

Signed: Kiro

MC: Hehe, with such a simple numeric password, aren't you afraid that your account will be hacked?

MC: (￣▽￣)" Oh yes, why would he be afraid of that...

I entered my password effortlessly and after a successful login--

Appeared a full set of equipment, a full set of skins, a full set of characters, all maps open--

MC: Hehe, today I can also experience the fun of a game master's account~

Memory Diary:

Turns out that the game is more enjoyable when two people play it. Compared to the fun brought by clearing levels, his company is the source of my real happiness.

[Day 7: Care Bear]

I downed my third cup of coffee and took a few bites of cold instant noodles.

I've been working overtime for three days. Looking at the night sky outside the window, I can't help but sigh - quarterly reports were really life's enemies.

Every time I had to compare data and business conditions vertically and horizontally, I felt overwhelmed.

Ding--

It was so late. Could it be that the business partner was urging me? I opened the new email that popped up in the lower right corner.

Title: Sweet reminder from Little Bear

Sender: Kiro

Recipient: MC

If Miss Chips didn't reply to my message, she must have been working overtime in front of the computer and lost track of time...

I hope the program in the attachment can help you solve some minor problems. And I ordered a delicious late-night snack - finish it before working!

The little bear figure in the attachment was jumping around, guiding me to upload the report step by step, and quickly started the comparison calculation.

Little Bear: Sweet tip: The calculation time is the standard time to finish a bowl of hot rice dumplings.

Memory Diary:

It seems that no matter how far apart we are, he will always give me the warmest help and support when I encounter difficulties. Thank you, Mr. Bear!

[Day 8: Childlike Innocence]

Clerk: Small fries~~Fries~~Small burgers~~Hamburgers.

MC: Big fries~~Fries fries! Big burger~~Hamburger!

Although I was a little shy, I still shouted the slogan firmly.

Clerk: Congratulations on your correct answer. What would you like to eat?

MC: Take away children's set meal for 10 people, and gift giveaways of a Super Burger Man toy, a Burger Man water bottle, and a Burger Man musical instrument set!

With the envious looks from the children, I sent Kiro a "family picture".

MC: Reporting to Mr. Burger! Miss Chips has successfully completed the task! Now enjoying the free fries~

Kiro: Wow! It's a Burger Man set!! Miss Chips is the best in the world~

Kiro: But there are so many... Are you going to eat hamburgers all day long?

MC: Hehe~ Of course not~ I will take the rest to the company's pantry and divide it up!

Memory Diary:

I got excited while I was eating the children's set meal~ I've collected a complete set of Burger Man toys. Kiro will definitely be very happy when he sees them!

[Day 9: Heart Song Composition]

After a lot of twists and turns, I finally found the stationary store hidden deep in the alley of the shopping street.

When I accidentally visited here before, I felt that the hand-made stationary was very interesting. I even made several music score books and planned to give them to Kiro.

Unexpectedly, when it was time to pick up the goods, I forgot the route while I was looking for it and wasted half a day.

MC: Boss, please give me your business card. I'm afraid I'll forget how to get here when I want to come here again.

I took the business card, took a photo and archived it, and then put the paper business card in my bag.

MC: Double insurance, so I don't have to worry next time~

Memory Diary:

Although it took a little effort, the customized hand-made notebook may be more conducive to his creation~ I'm looking forward to him writing a music score on it.

[Day 10: Fruit and Vegetable Companion]

Apples, lemons, bananas, kale, beets...

Supplementing multiple vitamins was for good for one's health, and some special combinations are said to be effective for relieving fatigue.

I followed the recently popular recipes on the internet and combined them with Kiro's preference in taste to make fruit and vegetable juices.

MC: Mm! This ratio is not sour or astringent, but it's still a bit lacking in sweetness. Seems like I'll have to add more apples.

MC: When the superstar comes home, he'll definitely like MC's healthy fruit and vegetable juice~

Memory Diary:

When Kiro is filming, he's most likely to have a single diet, and he often eats irregularly... Making several different fruit and vegetable juices should also help him replenish his energy.

[Day 11: Proud of You]

With the announcement of the nominations for the "Most Popular Award of the Year", the atmosphere at the awards ceremony reached its pinnacle.

Host: Now I announce that the winner of the "Most Popular Award of the Year" is--

I stared closely at the big screen, filled with countless expectations and tensions.

Kiro was unable to come to the scene due to rehearsals, so as his partner, I was entrusted to receive the award.

The variety show I collaborated with him on just won the "Best Variety Show of the Year" award. If he won the "The Most Popular Award of the Year" again, we would be wining the two most valuable awards at this year's Variety Awards.

Host: Kiro! Congratulations to this double crowned king!

The host made an inviting gesture, and I stood up and followed the usher's guidance to the stage.

MC: Hello everyone, I'm MC, head of [MC's Company Name] Company.

MC: Because Kiro is currently involved in closed rehearsals abroad, he is unable to be here in person today.

MC: I'm very happy to receive this award for Kiro, and I would like to thank everyone who supports him on his behalf.

MC: We will work together on more and better programs in the future. Thank you all!

I took the trophy from the presenter and returned to my seat, eager to share the good news with Kiro.

MC: Congratulations! Our big star won the "Most Popular Award of the Year"~~

Kiro: Hehe, this is an honor shared between Miss Chips and I! Our program is the best!

Kiro: (￣︶￣*\)) Miss Chips looked so confident and good-looking when she spoke! Today's dress is so cute!

MC: Huh? Are you watching the live broadcast?!

Kiro: Of course~ I specifically asked the director for 10 minutes of leave!

Kiro: Just to see MC standing on the podium for the first time~

Memory Diary:

When I accepted the award for Kiro, why did I seem more nervous than when I won the award? The trophy was heavy in hand, and he was also heavy in my heart.

[Day 12: Sweet and Refreshing]

MC: Please send it to this address for me.

Courier: Okay, but the cost of cross-border express delivery may be more expensive than the candy you sent. Are you sure...

MC: It doesn't matter, just send me the fastest one. Also, please add more shock-absorbing cushions. I'm worried it will break if transported over a long distance.

Courier: Okay, please fill in the details here.

Memory Diary:

He finished the throat lozenges I made so quickly. I hope he can receive the ones I sent today soon. Even if he was rehearsing, he would do his best. This was the time when his voice was most taxed.

Kiro's Frank Date has been translated by Bai7_Journey on youtube and can be read here :>

#mlqc #mlqc kiro #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #i got bored so i translated this for fun...#didn't expect to die of cuteness overload from this 😭💕#their relationship is so <333 #they really are so sweet to each other #and mc gosh... she is literally the best girlfriend ever no shot

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