#big puppy need skritches

[mama-ino]

A favor for a favor?

A demon lord, a hanyo, a two headed dragon, two humans, a kit, and a very loud and annoying kappa.

Their party unfortunately had somehow attracted a band of demons, hellbent on robbing them.

The sacred jewel was long gone, couldn't they catch a break?!

Apparently not. Somehow Inuyasha was thrown into Sesshomaru, slamming into a thick tree. Not a good move on their part, but hey they tried. Key word being tried.

The half brothers by some miracle ended up working together, probably unintentionally but at least the deed was done.

All seemed peaceful, well at least for a moment. Inuyasha cursed loudly, "God damn it! Fuckin' bugs!" He began to scratch profusely, cursing the entire time.

Kagome sighed loudly as the children laughed at his antics. "I swear," she rolled her eyes, "For Pete's sake Inuyasha! You're not a bear!"

He rubbed harshly against the trunk of a tree, "I am today damn it!"

She ushered the kids to follow, finally making camp a ways down the road. She swore she had a twitch in her eye, "I told you if you need itch cream, I have some-"

He scoffed loudly, "Fuck no!" He continued to scratch his poor skin raw, "That shit smells horr-"

Sesshomaru's fist connected to the boys head, knocking him right out. Shippo snickered, returning to the writing practice book Kagome had brought him and Rin.

Kagome watched as he lifted him and set him atop Ah-Un, tossing Jaken on for shits and giggles, "To a river. Far." The dragon took off with the unconscious Inuyasha and now bellowing kappa.

Kagome watched him sit stiffly, he was clearly uncomfortable. "Hey," she approached him, "Are you alright?" He had the gall to look at her like she'd been the reason for his discomfort, "Don't look at me like that."

He held out his hand, waiting.

"I don't have anything in my hands," she spoke showing him her palms.

He snatched her hand up, seeing her teal painted nails. "Assist this one," he grumbled.

She nodded, "I have medication." He shook his head, "Err, what then?"

He pulled his robes off his shoulders, silk pooling around him. She frowned seeing all the red spots on his pale skin, "Sit."

She sat behind him, "You want me to scratch don't you?" She saw the slight nod of what could barely called movement, "Err, you need to tell me if it hurts. These are acrylics, they're harder than-"

"You will not harm this one," he grumbled.

"Alright then," she mumbled and began scratching across his speckled skin.

He groaned breathily after she'd been at it a while, "Harder." Her hands stilled a moment as blood rushed to her cheeks.

She resumed her itching, trying to ignore his husky tones urging more from her. He brought his clawed hand to his face, muffling his groans.

Again his deep timbre called her, "Harder woman." When she apparently was not aggressive enough he scooted further into her lap, "What is it you want from this one?"

"Pardon," she nearly chocked, saliva thick in her throat. "This isn't you scratch my back, I scratch yours," she spoke flustered, "You asked, and I don't mind. You don't have to pay me back."

When his eyes rolled into his head as she itched a particularly prickly spot. "Perhaps not," he moaned, "But this one is willing to scratch the itch you have."

Kagome froze, forgetting how to breathe.

How delightful. 🖤

[nochiquinn]

lovm watch party 2: I said I wasn’t gonna do this but nobody told me it was live commentary. yes I am commenting on the commentary.

oh, liam got her

"putting laura bailey on the spot" is my favorite content

"depsite his cold exterior....he's cold all the way through"

"if you have light-up crystals, you use them"

"this is our whole relationship, right here" "now give me your money"

pickle 🖤

"don't wake the dead >:("

it's fun to say!!

changes my twitter name to "illegal immoral and fattening"

"how long have they been there and why haven't they clean"

my roommate that I finally bullied into watching dubbed grog "a big dumb puppy" immediately

update: still hate it

liam: everybody shut up my wife's on screen

none of us are over keyleth but liam o'brien is definitely not over keyleth

"don't go outside!" "that's where the bad is!"

wait no changes my twitter name to ghost skritches

nobody called out the table, I'm sad

"he pooped in a jar?!" "it's. it's complicated."

"I'm just gonna drink now."

"it wasn't THAT hard"

"somehow didn't put it a blindspot pun"

"I wanna make people cry"

so he's who I have to go after for emotional damages

oh daughter of the sea was SO GOOD

mala: moral of this story: shoot your shot

I would buy a metapigeon

"we can't joke about things here"

okay I know I said trigun but those are trigun as hell

"that's stupid and wouldn't work!" "I know! they don't!"

mala: there are too many bisexuals here, that's their problem

she didn't want to be a Big Titty Anime Girl

the fact that there are just wires going into their ears and I can't see the earpiece is bothering me for some reason

oh no undercut vax

"he's on time-out"

simon gets belts and a chain

[edna mode voice] NO BELTS

"that's my prom photo"

"we can sense each other like bats"

"you poopin?"

"we are used to screaming alone in a small room. also we record things."

"she will never move on from trinket" ask sam

"force matt to do all kinds of horrible things he doesn't wanna do" that's it that's the game

sunjin as the fandom and also liam

"why not both"

The Adventure Begins

#ithasbegin

"you gonna have fun byeeee"

their legs are made of fingers

changes twitter name to /pizza

"I'm the adult, none of you are old enough to drive" taliesin

"they're just doing what mama asked!!"

"whoops, saved us again"

"give her five seconds to think about something and it'll all go to hell" relateable

guiding arrow up the butt

JUST noticed vex pulling percy after her. this is my fifth time watching it.

"I can't believe you killed the horses!" "they had to go!"

"the vampiric energy is why we get such beautiful sunsets in whitestone"

just ten minutes of "oh noooo"

"she accidentally killed a lot of people"

laura validating my dissertation on the twins' codependency

"give matt a list of names and this is what happens"

"he needs a warm cup of cocoa and a blanket - " "AND HIS PARENTS"

"that's when we knew matt wasn't fucking around"

oh I did not catch the nails

"what do they see in each other" "she's hot" "he's hot"

"your brother's an idiot and everybody else is just goofing off"

take a nap and make a watch, maybe you'll feel better

catching the uwus

that was a hell of an analogy

I want this gifset. I'm not gonna make it but I want it

"I don't wanna murder on live television!"

flashbacks to travis and his zappy swatter

oh this is so weird without the music. like good, but weird

I love him calling out different people working on these shots

"girl u ok"

grog for scale

that is a sexy wagon tho

"wolf-abomination"

oh no bottom left I hate it

mala: instituting a 4 legs maximum

justin mcelroy talking about when they got to write for marvel: feels increasingly like a prank

"we should always talk about darin de paul" correct

we lost laura, laura has left the chat

laura beating taliesin up live on the internet

"were they body wind chimes?" "I mean not yet"

"we hired a real bird, he was excellent"

if they don't stop saying "zaddy" I'mma mcfuckin lose it for entirely unrelated reasons

"we get to keep light"

"I want this in my house"

"no one like a sober barbarian"

"this is what shooting in brooklyn is like"

"this is a beautiful show" smash cut to spitting blood

so much bass in one room

"sound design 10/10 but please stop"

dfslkd I also did not catch Reggie

Pocket Sausage

I Fell Out Of The Window

so much celery

oh THAT'S rahlia. mystery solved

"where's percy" doing hot girl shit

"percy's having therapy" that is NOT therapy taliesin

3D HORSES

"and then they burn with the house"

tallyessen jaffie

liam and laura what are you doing back there

taliesin trying desperately to get out of the accent

"percy just coming out" that ship has sailed

"I had a dream I was from california"

give us the lore taliesin

"draw me a bear riding a horse drinking beer in flowing water"

Speaking Of Nipples

"am I a bossy person" "I'm not answering that while I'm in arm's reach"

"thanks mica. ...what are you doing after this?"

"couch bros" [pours one out for Chaos Couch]

conceal don't feel

"I can fix him"

"percy at his core is still in his pajamas with his buttflap hanging out"

"how much of that is matt just torturing you"

"it was just never-ending stupid"

door episode dvd extra

[un-beel-ievable]

Obey Me! Headcanons - MC as a demon dog wrangler 🐶

Author’s note: Please do not repost!! If you like my writing, please leave a like and a comment (and follow me to see similar content in the future :D)!

_____

Lucifer ☕

• Let's be real here, Cerberus is nice to you because it quickly realises that Lucifer had it bad for you. The demon pupper caught on to Lucifer's feelings quicker than even Lucifer himself, which wasn't hard...especially after watching Lucifer pace around the tomb in the middle of the night, muttering about how he just can't get you out of his mind.

• (But Lucifer also may or may not have had a serious talk with Cerberus. Imagine Lucifer going on about how you were a very important person to him, and that Cerberus should treat you with the due respect that it treated him with...while Cerberus stares at Lucifer with puppy eyes and cocked heads.)

• Sometimes Cerberus sleeps in your room, at the foot of your bed. Lucifer wholeheartedly approves of this sleeping arrangement. He's glad that you've got Cerberus looking out for your safety on nights where he's busy and can't come home to you (and it also keeps Mammon out because Mammon is terrified). 

_____

Mammon 💳

• Mammon is pretty sure you're a god. He's never seen anyone besides Lucifer tame Cerberus before. And Cerberus isn't just obedient and respectful, it's downright friendly; nudging your hands for ear skritches, whining for treats, its tail wagging up a storm whenever you enter the room.

• Mammon is still afraid kinda wary of Cerberus though, especially when you're not in the room with him. He swears that Cerberus still looks at him with a murderous look in his eyes, and is pretty sure Cerberus is going to swallow him whole sometime soon.

• It's hard to take his worries seriously when Cerberus is flopping over at your feet for belly rubs.

_____

Leviathan 🎮

• He's pretty impressed too.

• "IT'S JUST LIKE THAT ANIME MY OLDER BROTHER HAS A FIRE BREATHING DOG AND SO MY GIRLFRIEND BECAME A DEMON DOG WRANGLER."

• There seem to be a lot of...very specific anime in the Devildom.

• He's kinda...envious that Cerberus is taking so much of your attention now. (Mammon would be super jealous too, but his fear of Cerberus overrides it.) "MC...why don't you leave Cerberus alone for a while for a while and come watch TSL with me..I'm sure it doesn't need you scratching it behind the ears the entire time...wouldn't you rather play a game with me instead?"

• Please remember to give the poor boy attention too.

_____

Satan 📚

• The better terms he's on with Lucifer, the better terms he's on with Cerberus.

• He's impressed that you managed to get Cerberus to like you that much though. The "demon dog" acts more like a playful puppy when its around you. (You refuse to tell him how you did it though, because that would mean telling him you sat in the tomb for several hours, throwing dog treats at Cerberus).

• He won't outright admit it to you, but he treats gaining Cerberus's affection as a competition between Lucifer and himself as well. Since you won't tell him how you managed to tame Cerberus, he starts doing research on dogs (demon and non-demon alike), to see if he can figure it out himself.

• You've caught him doing some odd things just for the sake of this "competition".

• Like trying to bake homemade dog treats at 3am and setting the fire alarm off.

_____

Asmodeus 👄

• He's impressed with you but...not impressed with Cerberus.

• "Darling, does it have to go everywhere with you? Yes, I know it's...cute. But it's getting drool over everything...do you even know how much this outfit costs?"

• (The truth is, he's jealous that you managed to gain Cerberus's affection so much quicker and more easily than the Avatar of Lust did...and without any magic to assist you. Was he losing his touch?)

• Cerberus eats a portion of Asmo's makeup collection, scorches the carpet in his sleep, and sheds all over the furniture (and there's a mischievous gleam in its eye that makes you think it did it on purpose). Asmo's mad but...ah. You look so cute when you're giggling at Cerberus's antics so...if it makes you happy...maybe he can put up with it?

• (I think you managed to charm Asmo.)

_____

Beelzebub 🍔

• He's never really had any major conflict with Cerberus, plus he occasionally throws Cerberus a scrap of food when he's ransacking the kitchen for midnight snacks...so the two of them warm up to each other pretty quickly.

• (Beel's basically like a sweet puppy anyway, so now you've got two puppers following you at your heels.)

• He trains Cerberus to sniff out his brother's secret stashes of snacks. (But he leaves yours and Belphie's snacks alone).

• Beel likes to make use of Cerberus's fire breathing abilities to roast marshmallows with you and make smores. Cerberus gets some treats too, for being a g o o d  b o y. (Chocolate probably doesn't affect demon dogs right? I don't think so...)

_____

Belphegor 🛏

• They're both kinda wary of each other at first...but once they warm up to each other?

• C u d d l e  p i l e s .

• Cerberus is essentially an affectionate space heater, and Belphie enjoys the warmth that it gives off. He enjoys taking naps with you snuggled up beside him while Cerberus curls around the both of you, keeping you warm.

• He's relieved that Cerberus is effective at keeping Mammon at bay...no more money boi running into his room at odd hours of the day, yelling about some ridiculous scheme and waking him up from his naps.

• However...big dog = more shedding. Belphie buys one of those hand held vacuum cleaners and spends an hour each morning removing dog hair from his sheets.

[delkios]

The Beginning of Forever (ToV)

I gotta say, the fact that the game ends with all the world's blastia turning into spirits, I'm shocked and somewhat disappointed at the lack of post-game spirit world speculation. I kind of like a Shaman King-esque situation where spirits (weaker spirits) are tiny floating figures that can lend a person of their choosing their power or empower items. I also like the idea that the barrier blastia became city spirits that can act in their own interests but also protect their respective cities. Eventually. After Estelle ran around for a year or two trying to talk the spirits into being cooperative. Title: The Beginning of Forever Fandom: Tales of Vesperia Rating: G Word Count: 2618 In Responds to: Fluri Week 2019: Sweet Sunday Characters: Flynn, Yuri, cameo by Judith and a couple OCs Summary: Future fic, it's the first day of the rest of Flynn's life. Flynn wakes up with the sun, even though he doesn't have to anymore. For a moment he's disoriented, mind automatically shuffling through his schedule, making lists of all the things he has to do in order to prepare for his first meeting and stalling out when he remembers he doesn't have any today. Or for the foreseeable future. He lays in bed, even though his body is already becoming restless, and wonders how the hell he's going to survive the rest of his life. Mornings in Aurnion are chilly most times of the year so, when it's time for the markets to open and Flynn finally leaves, he pulls on a coat. It's admittedly too fancy for something as simple as shopping, a parting gift from Ioder, but it's currently the only one he's unpacked. The house is on the outskirts of Aurnion- it's current outskirts, the original wall had long been taken down as the town grew -so it's a bit of a walk but it allows Flynn time to enjoy the sun and scent of dew-laden grass and the nearby forest.

The market itself is a little on the hectic side, mainly from all the people wanting to talk to him and give him gifts, welcoming him to the town he'd helped found. Then a couple knights joined the crowd, and the town's knight commander, then the mayor and even a couple guild representatives and Flynn will absolutely deny that he ended up making some awkward excuse and farewell before taking what groceries he'd managed to buy and running. He hopes the novelty of his presence wears off quickly. As he clears the last row of houses, Flynn spots Ba'ul in the open area behind his house- part of the reason for getting it, really -and quickens his pace. The Entelexeia hasn't changed a bit, though Flynn swears he gets a bigger each time Flynn sees him. As Flynn expects, Judith is there and he takes her hand in greeting. "Ba'ul, Judith. Always a pleasure." "Same." She reaches forward with her other hand, brushing her fingertips along his jaw. "The beard suits you." Flynn laughs- he's had that beard for over a decade now. "You always say that." "And it's always true. Karol asked me to apologize for missing your retirement ceremony on his behalf." "It's alright. You were all there for the important one." The one held a week earlier in the Lower Quarter which, despite spending nearly forty years living in and working out of the palace, still felt more like home to him. It had been a sprawling, raucous party that had lasted nearly to dawn, music and lights, dancing and laughter and so many people from all over eager to tell him how proud they were and wishing the best in his future. In contrast, his official retirement ceremony was as expected for an upper class event: stuffy with decorum and full of nobles and dignitaries and politicians who pretended they'd always liked Flynn and would miss him dreadfully. Estelle and Rita were about the only people worth sticking through it for. Especially when Rita would 'accidentally' wheel over the feet of particularly annoying 'well wishers'. If anyone asks, Flynn will freely admit he's glad he'll never have to go to one of those things again. "Speaking of which, Yuri brought your gift inside already." All the people he'd known and grew up with in the Lower Quarter had decided to make him a quilt, each square a message from a person or family. It ended up being about the size of a wall tapestry and Flynn had asked Judith to bring it to Aurnion for him. She turns back toward Ba'ul and Flynn asks, "Are you leaving already?" Judith winks back over her shoulder. "I'd hate to get in the way of your reunion." That enigmatic smile and her taste in clothes are the only things that hasn't changed. Honestly, Flynn is somewhat jealous of that. He hadn't thought himself a vain man until he began to visibly slide out of his physical prime, pushing himself harder through his workouts and trying to ignore the aches and pains that lingered longer until Estelle and Ioder and, finally, Yuri banded together to knock sense back into him. But Judith didn't care about how the passage of time changed her looks, unashamed of showing off her wrinkles and stretch marks and rolls. Flynn supposed having her as a sort of role model helped him cope with his own physical imperfections. "Besides, we'll be back soon enough for your house warming party." Flynn just huffs at her in reply, waving Judith and Ba'ul farewell. Then when he enters the house he's greeted by, "Well, well. If it isn't the former commandant," Flynn's breath catches. Sure, they'd seen each other a week ago but his breath always catches, his heart always skips a beat whenever he sees Yuri for the first time. It has since they were in their twenties. "Took you long enough." Flynn can't help a fond smile even as he shoots back, "Not everyone's retirement process is as simple as telling Karol you'll be retiring in five months." Yuri just shrugs. "You get the better pension, so trade off. By the way, Estelle know you stole one of her dogs?" Flynn reflexively looks down at Thierry at Yuri's side, his tail wagging lightly as Flynn's attention. "Estelle gave him to me. She figured now I'd have time to train a dog." Thierry's young, hasn't yet grown out of his puppy stage entirely. He's also Repede's great-something grandson though, asides from his tail, there's no other resemblance. He's mostly black sable with pale tan patches on his chest and around his red eyes. Flynn isn't certain if Thierry is stockier than Repede was or if maybe Estelle spoils her pets overmuch. "Just how I wanted to spend my retirement years," Yuri sighs, all for show, "babysitting even more things." "I'm pretty sure it's usually the other way around. Isn't that right, Luna?" Yuri's right hand from just below the elbow unravels into a dark mist before reforming into a long, flat spirit, not unlike a ribbon eel whose body is made out of midnight and stars, spine rimmed an iridescent yellow. Luna's full, glowing eyes curves into happy crescents as she swirls around Flynn in greeting. Flynn lets the spirit weave between his fingers. "You've been keeping Yuri in line for me, haven't you?" She trills in response. "I swear," Yuri says in mock indignation, "she likes you better than me." From behind Yuri's thick braid of silver hair, another spirit pops out, hissing at Flynn in actual indignation. Flynn winces and chuckles. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you, Aska. I only went to the market." Aska, a three legged bird-like creature with a ring for a body and a tiny sun floating inside, isn't placated, glaring at Flynn while allowing Yuri to scratch under its chin and coo about how mean and thoughtless Flynn is. Thierry grumbles at the lack of attention directed to himself and goes to thrust his head under Flynn's hand for skritches. "How'd Zaphias take you leaving?" Yuri asks as he takes Flynn's groceries and heads toward the kitchen. "Well enough, I think." Flynn goes to stand in the entry way, watching as Yuri begins to cook, their spirits finally switching back to their preferred people. Luna fashions herself back into Yuri's hand to help him cook. "It took a while for them to understand that I'd be leaving- really leaving -and that they'd need to work with the new commandant." Zaphias resides in the Sword Stair, right where their core used to sit. It had taken both Flynn and Estelle years of careful coaxing and handling before they agreed to lend their power, under direction of Flynn and Ioder, to protecting Zaphias instead of acting out on their own. "You think they'll listen to Ilka?" "I can only hope." Flynn has the utmost confidence in the new commandant, otherwise he wouldn't have retired. "I've seen her work with the spirits protecting Halure and the ports. I'm certain she can handle Zaphias. But," he says because he knows that look Yuri is side-eying him with, "that's not anything I need to worry about any more. So what was so dire it needed Brave Vesperia's founding members to get back into action?" Yuri waves a hand and says something vague about council troubles- Dahngrest has been trying to implement an actual system of government to avoid another succession issue -which he obviously doesn't care about on top of being retired and goes into far more detail about how apparently Karol and Harry's granddaughters nearly eloped and that Karol was needed to mediate his family on the issue. "It's not that anyone doesn't want them getting hitched," Yuri explains as they finish up their breakfast, "it's just the girls don't want a big affair but Harry's the former Don and Karol's the founder of one of the biggest guilds so people keep butting in." Flynn hums, draining the last of his tea. "I believe I'm still a legally recognized officiant. Just to throw that out there." Given one of the women involved is the daughter of Yuri's -and, by extension, Flynn's -godson, he feels obligated to help where he can. Yuri laughs, "If it gets that bad, I'm sure Karol'll be happy to ship 'em our way." He gets up to let Aska and Luna out of the house, Thierry playfully chasing and nipping after them. As they clean up, Flynn talks about the weekend he spent in Halure with Estelle and Rita and their family- the Ristelle Mob, as Yuri dubbed them -as well as the trip from Zaphias, being picked up by Patty despite her technically still being a wanted criminal. She gave Flynn her obligatory threat of kidnapping Yuri for her harem in the same breath she promised to come for the house warming party. Yuri just laughs. And when Flynn mentions swinging by Zaude to pay his respects to Raven, Yuri looks both sad and fond. It had been by Raven's request- when he refused to let Rita find an alternative to his failing heart -that he be buried in such a remote place where few, even now, were allowed to go. A place, he said, where he'd no longer be bothered, his simple grave kept company by two equally simple markers, one for Yeager and the other marked Casey. There had been flowers put there recently, Flynn notes, likely by Gauche and Droite who had all but disappeared after the Adephagos. On paper Flynn had, due to their involvement with Leviathan's Claw, put a warrant out for their arrest but put minimal resources into actually finding them. After a few years with barely even rumors of their presence, Flynn had quietly shuffled those warrants to where all others would eventually forget about them. He wonders, every now and again, if they ever a found a way to be happy. A finger roughly pokes him in the forehead. "Ow!" Flynn says out of reflex rather than pain. "What was that for?" "Because you're gonna scratch up my pan if you keep wiping it like that," Yuri says. "And also I know when you're thinking about work. Or what used to be your work," he added with a very pointed stress on the word. "Sorry," Flynn replies because it's not worth lying about it, putting away the now thoroughly dried pan. He takes a moment to watch Yuri wipe the sink and then his hand dry and stretch his arms up and back until his spine curves and joints pop. "So?" Flynn asks. "Now what?" "How was your walk into town?" Flynn sighs. Yuri grins right back. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Think we'd be better off taking a nap right now." Flynn looks at him as if he'd just said something completely alien. "Nap?" "Yup. I got up too damn early to get here and I'll bet you woke up too damn early yourself. And you gotta learn to take it easy so," Yuri grabs Flynn's shoulder and spins him around until he's facing toward the bedroom, "nap." "But... Thierry-" "Can use the dog door to get back in. And if he hasn't figured out how to to use it, Luna and Aska can show 'im." Despite his protests, Flynn makes it to the bedroom with only a bit of prodding though he feels somewhat foolish changing back into his sleeping clothes at Yuri's insistence. He's much more amendable to the idea when it becomes apparent that Yuri is joining him. As they get into bed, arranging themselves around each other with practiced ease, Flynn gets startled when, instead of tucking his face against Flynn's neck as he usually does, Yuri leans in close enough to cause Flynn to push into the mattress reflexively. "What?" "When did you last spend any time in the sun? I can see your freckles again." He chuckles. "Forgot you had 'em, actually." "Your memory must be going," Flynn quips dryly, "because you said the exact same thing last week." "Can't help it if I'm not used to you being so pale." Yuri laces their fingers together, holding their joined hands up where Flynn can easily see. "You're almost as pale as me now." He's not, really, but there's no denying Flynn is not nearly as tanned as he used to be. He lets their hands drop and Yuri slides around a bit so he can prop his head up on Flynn's chest. Flynn doesn't bother attempting to crane his neck to look at him, he knows that angle is too awkward on a good day. "So how was your first twenty four hours as a free man?" Yuri asks. Flynn's mouth and brow creases as he bluntly says, "Boring." Yuri doesn't try very hard to hide the fact that he's laughing. "I know how that is. Haven't figured out what you're going to do with yourself yet?" Flynn sighs. "When I first started the retirement process, I thought I had plenty of time to do so." "But you didn't," Yuri states, apparently unsurprised. "No." He snorts, then stretches back out next to Flynn. "Good luck with that." Flynn lifts a hand up just to drop it knuckles down on Yuri's back. "You could offer suggestions." "I have a hard enough time keeping myself busy, thanks." But he hums and tilts his head to look at Flynn thoughtfully. "Is there anything you've wanted to do but never had the time?" He looks up at the ceiling, dwelling on the question and coming up blank. Yuri snorts again but doesn't turn away. After a long moment, Flynn asks, "Should we get married?" "Oh, it only took you thirty years to ask," Yuri teases. "Only because I got tired of waiting for you to." "Couldn't. Made a bet with Judy 'bout who'd crack and ask first." Flynn turns to give Yuri a mild glare. "You did not." "Didn't I?" Honestly it's absurd enough to go either way. "In that case you owe me half of whatever you won." "Yeah, yeah." Yuri scoots over to rest his head on Flynn's chest, fingers scratching through his beard. "Yes, by the way." "Hm?" "To getting married. Your memory must be going, old man." Flynn rolls them over, pressing Yuri into the bed. "I'll show you how old I am." "Good idea. I better sample the goods before committing." Flynn sighs. "I can't believe I'm marrying you." "Me, either," Yuri quips but, as they kiss, Flynn can taste the words and I can't wait on his lips.

[maychorian]

Dear Maychorian, do you mind if I pick your brain a little bit? I'm trying to write a story that has Allura's mice in it, but I have no idea what having a mouse pet is like. Do you think it would be comparable to having rats? What's it like having a rat as pet? Do you know how they compare to cats or dogs? (which is my only frame of reference, sorry!) Is there anything you would recommend keeping in mind when writing rats? Thank you in advance! If this is a bother, please feel free to ignore.

Oh golly, this might the cutest request I’ve ever gotten. Yes, I’m delighted to answer!

Well, first off, the space mice seem to be fully sentient, so you can probably write them pretty much anyway you like and it would work. They do seem to have some pet-like inclinations, though, like hanging out with Allura, sleeping in her belongings, and taking every opportunity to find food. Their mousey minds are probably strongly influenced by their biology.

I’ve had both mice and rats, and that have some similarities and some differences. I think the space mice act more like rats than like mice, and they also seem to be relatively large, so they’re really like a cross between the two.

First off, rats and mice have individual personalities! Some like to explore, some like to play, some like to snuggle and sleep all day, and some like to just focus on their food. They all have different spots that they really like having skritched and petted, and they have their own habits and routines they like to follow, favorite foods, all that.

Mice and rats are smart! They can learn tricks and learn their names and follow commands, and they understand tone of voice, if they choose to ignore it when I say NO. My rats know my schedule and will be waiting to greet me at the usual time when I get home. Some rats like to sit in your lap and get pettings, and some are not comfortable with much contact. (I am lucky to have Max, who is a HUGE cuddlebug. He’ll sit in my lap or the crook of my arm for hours, sometimes turning over on his back so I can pet his tummy. His soft, soft tummy.)

Rats and mice are huge gnawers. Their teeth never stop growing, so they have to chew continually to keep them ground down. I’ve resigned myself to just having to replace things now and then when my rats get in somewhere they shouldn’t. Recently they chewed up the band of my Fitbit (WHILE I WAS WEARING IT OMG) so I’ll need to buy a new one. I have my eye on a metal one on Amazon.

Also, rats and mice are prey animals. They do not like wide open spaces unless they have someone they trust (like a good friendly human) watching out for them to keep them safe from death from above. They may cringe and run if a hand comes on them suddenly from above, but if it’s someone they trust completely it might not be a problem.

And yep, rats and mice TOTALLY love riding on their human’s shoulders, like the space mice do with Allura all the time. It’s sad my Max is getting old, so he’s developing hind leg weakness, and it’s harder for him to ride on my shoulder now. Usually I just carry him in my arms anymore.

As for cats and dogs, I think rats are more like dogs and mice are more like cats. Having a rat is basically like having a puppy that never gets bigger. It just always wants to chew and eat and cuddle and play and sleep and spend time with you.

Hope that helps! I recently wrote a chapter that featured the mice heavily, and I tried to give them each individual personalities. Chulatt got a bit short-changed, unfortunately. But that’s the one that snitched to Allura in the show itself, so I think you can characterize him/her as a big ol’ nosy gossip and it’ll be fine.

[dsudis]

Fic: Your Head Nestled Beneath My Chin (Bruce/Bucky + dogs)

@feanorinleatherpants asked for sick-day fic set in the same AU as Look About (All the Stars Are Coming Out), about Bucky and his Ovcharka, Boof. This is somewhat earlier (...eight songs earlier in All Eternals Deck), and I don’t know that reading Look About first will make it make more sense, strictly speaking, but... at least you’ll have an idea of what you’re getting?

The dogs were supposed to be for the goats.

That had been the idea, when Bucky brought home four more goats to be company for the one Bruce had accidentally acquired--they had a herd, at that point, and they needed dogs to guard them. And once they had dogs to guard them, it only made sense to add more goats to the herd, because two Ovcharkas for five goats was obviously overkill. 

The dogs were working dogs, though. Not pets. Bucky trained them, all the time fighting down memories of teaching little girls, working with the assets who had been meant to supercede him and turned out to be too aggressive to be controlled.

Ovcharkas, by comparison, were easy to manage. Bucky was strong enough to master them by force if he had to, and once the dogs  met Bruce in his Other Guy shape, they knew exactly where they fit in the pecking order. 

It was one of those days when it was hard to tell low clouds from the fog, and the whole valley was full of mist. They exchanged pings with the search drones in the morning, just like they did every morning unless they were actually out in the sub checking out a possibility. After that there was nothing much to do--no new building or repair projects to undertake, and the dogs were doing a fine job of managing the goats.

Bruce looked thoughtfully from the gray outside the windows to Bucky, and Bucky gave him a hopeful look.

"Yeah, okay," Bruce said. "We've got to see what the goats do when he shows up, anyway, right?"

"Yeah," Bucky agreed solemnly. "Just practical, really."

Bruce snorted and shook his head and went to change into the enormous shorts that the Other Guy wouldn't tear to shreds. Bucky went outside to see where the animals were, and found that the dogs were keeping all of the goats--there were nine now--on the stretch of grass where Bruce wanted to build a greenhouse, just north of the house and overlooking the ocean. 

So they'd get a pretty immediate reaction, anyway.

Bruce stepped outside a second later, squinting without his glasses and shivering a little in the clammy air, holding the huge purple shorts up with one hand. Bucky watched him tally up the animals the same way Bucky had, and then Bruce turned a crooked smile in his direction. "If I spook all of them into the hills, you're gonna have to chase them all down."

"It'll be something to do," Bucky said, returning a slightly wider smile. "Come on, get the experiment started. 

Bruce rolled his eyes, and the motion flowed smoothly into him turning slightly away as he went green, growing in a second into the giant.

Bucky jumped in the next second at a chorus of human-sounding screams, and ran toward the sound automatically. He realized a couple of strides in that the sound was the goats. He hadn't known they could make that noise.

The dogs were barking too--each one was a deep bass crack of sound like very small booms of thunder. They were circling around the goats, keeping them together, and just as Bucky reached them, one of the dogs bolted in his direction. Bucky planted his feet and threw up his metal arm, but the dog--he really had to name them, just to be able to say easily, the-slightly-bigger-one-with-darker-ears--ran past him to go after Bruce, barking his fool head off. 

Clearly he accepted that Bucky had taken his place on guard duty, so he could go press the attack.

Bucky turned to watch what happened next. He was pretty sure Bruce, even big and green, wouldn't hurt one of their dogs, and obviously the dog couldn't hurt Bruce, but...

Bruce raised one enormous green hand in the palm-out gesture Bucky had taught the dogs, and said, in a bass rumble bigger than the dogs' barking, "Halt."

The dog's feet slid under him as he tried to stop his charge, his barking cutting off sharply in confusion.

The dog who had stayed with the goats kept barking for a few seconds, and Bucky turned toward him. He didn't think when he opened his mouth, just did his own impression of a thundercloud to get in on the theme. "Boof! Boof!"

The barking dog stopped, staring at Bucky in confusion. That wasn't one of the commands he'd taught them.

He heard Bruce say in his giant's voice, "Good dog," and looked to see the other dog being picked up in enormous green hands like a puppy, flipped onto its back in Bruce's arms. 

Bucky looked back to the nearer dog--his dog, for the moment, as the other dog was the Other Guy's. The goats had quieted down in the absence of an actual threat from the Other Guy, and the dog was still staring at Bucky like he was waiting for Bucky to teach him what Boof meant.

"Doesn't mean anything, pal," Bucky said, walking over to the dog. "Just a noise. Got your attention, though, huh? Boof?"

The dog stepped closer, nosing at Bucky's hands.

"Guess that's as good a name as I'm gonna come up with for you," Bucky said, rubbing one hand behind the dog's ears. 

It only occurred to him as he said it that he had been waiting. He had meant to let Steve make up names for the dogs, the same way Steve had named him, when he was a kid complaining that there were too many Jameses on his street and Buchanan wasn't hardly a name at all.

Steve wouldn't have named a dog Boof. But Steve wasn't here--not yet. Maybe not ever, like Bruce had reminded him so many times. And even if they were working dogs, they deserved to have names.

"Boof," Bucky repeated, crouching down. 

Boof licked his face, which seemed like a deal, and Bucky slung an arm around his neck.

"Boof, halt," he said after a moment, holding up his hand, and Boof laid off the licking and looked at him attentively. 

"Good dog," he muttered, and Boof pushed closer again, pressing his huge head against Bucky's chest.

Bucky ducked his head and held on to the huge dog, reminding himself that what he and Bruce had here, it was enough. Even if they never found Steve, even if they were wrong... it was enough. This was enough. This was good, here. This could be a life, free enough and safe enough in this valley by the sea. 

He turned his head after a while to see what the other dog--Other Dog? It wasn't much worse, as a name, than Boof--was up to with the Other Guy.

Bruce had sat down, and Other Dog looked puppy-sized in his enormous lap, wriggling around as Bruce rubbed his belly. 

Bruce looked up and saw Bucky looking at him, and said, "Okay?"

Bucky nodded, giving Boof a few more skritches. "Okay." 

Bruce raised one big green hand, pointing with a thick finger. "Okay?"

Bucky looked, and realized that all the damn goats had run off into the fog. He hid his face against Boof's fur, realizing that Boof had decided it was more important to stay with him than to actually watch the goats.

"Guess now we're gonna have to get more dogs for the goats," he muttered, giving Boof one last scratch before he stood up said, "Boof! Goats!" 

Boof's tail wagged once, and he turned and started running. Bucky ran with him into the fog, knowing that between them they could find the goats and get them home.

For today, that would have to be enough.