#but i think this is around the time where even hoppy is looking up to the prototype as a parental figure - which is HUGE considering her+

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

Angel accidentally promoted the Prototype to parent #2 three months before the programmed schedule. Oof.

[donutz]

Yandere Smiling Critters x male child reader

Request from Wattpad-! Here you go Dracunyan1987☆

An employee escorted you to Playcare, after the train ride and Elliot’s long speech of course. You were a new kid added to the bunch. You’ve been hanging around in Playtime co for a while, so the employees told the upper staff, then they told Elliot.

Elliot instructed them for you to stay at Playcare, so you’re here now. This place was huge. There’s… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... 5 buildings, you counted. You looked up at the ‘sky’, and saw ‘clouds’. Further up, you could see glass, is that the real sky?

The same employee escorted you over to home sweet home, and you were pretty shy, due to you being new to the huge place. The tons of people, toys, big buildings, it's all so new. And kind of scary, due to the big toys. But you do like one.

Kissy… Missy? You think that's her name. She's really sweet.

You entered Home Sweet Home and saw a bunch of kids running around. And… Are those animals..? A dog, a bunny, a bear, a chick—

“Oh, hello!” Somebody greeted you, being out of your vision so you had to turn around.

“You’re new here right?” You nodded your head, being a little surprised by the sudden interaction.

“Ok! I’m PickyPiggy! What’s your name?” You said yours, and she brightened up by that. Even if you were shy, you could at least introduce yourself. Hm. You’re an interesting one.

“Here, follow me! I’ll introduce you to the other critters!” You raised your eyebrows at that, there’s more? How many? You hope there isn’t too much.

Picky took you somewhere, hopefully actually taking you to the critters. She did, no worries.

“Guys! There’s a new kid and—” The other critters were dealing with the kids, not having time for introducing themselves. “Oh.. Uhm..” 

Dogday was dealing with telling kids not to be rude. Kickin was trying to get his soccer ball back from the kids. Craftycorn was trying to get her art supplies back from little 5 year olds. Bobby was being crowded by random 7 year olds. Bubba was looking for his math papers, that were stolen by kids. And Hoppy was being dragged around by younger children.

You, as a 6 year old, not knowing what’s going on, couldn’t even take a bit of charge. So you were standing there, waiting for something(other than this) to happen. Picky was getting impatient, so she raised her voice, just a little ^_^!

“GUYS! THERE IS A NEW KID HERE!! YOU NEED TO INTRODUCE YOURSELVES!!!!” It went quiet. Nobody expected for a critter to raise their voice! Picky had no problem though.

“... Oh uhm! E- Everybody gather at your tables and PLEASE resume your activities!” Dogday spoke up, if he could sweat, he would, he’s never seen or heard Picky yell before…

You hid behind Picky, somewhat trusting her more than anybody else at this place. Also you were shy. And new. I’ve said that already, right?

Dogday saw your shyness and reassured you, “It’s okay little one! This place is safe! Even with the chaotic kids… Anyways, we are the smiling critters! I’m Dogday! … Guys, introduce yourselves—”

“I’m KickinChicken! I like sports—”

“ANYWAYSS!! I’m Hoppy Hopscotch! I’m the better version of Kickin!” “HEY!”

“I’m Bobby Bearhug, I do love.. Stuff..”

“I’m Craftycorn! I do art, and accentuate creativity!”

“I’m Bubba Bubbaphant! The ‘smart one’, that’s what the kids call me…”

“I’m sure Picky Piggy already introduced herself to you, right?”

You nodded your head, still being behind her. You were such a cutie!

“Alright! There’s one more, but he’s.. Somewhere… I’m not sure where he is…” You looked around, trying to see if that ‘he’ is in the room.

“D- Do you mean that one..?” You asked, pointing to a high area. It looked like nothing was there, but you could see his white beady eyes in the shadows.

“Oh! Yeah! That’s Catnap!” Dogday said.

You stayed staring at him. Slightly wondering why he was up there and not down here. He seemed mysterious, especially with that purple color.

“Oh and— What’s your name buddy?” You tensed up, you have to say your name… Again?

Picky saw that you didn’t really like speaking that much, so she did it for you. “Okay kiddo! Would you like to do the activities, or take a tour of the place?” Well, you were hungry, but he didn’t state it as an option.

Your stomach spoke for you, saying you were hungry with a loud rumble. Some of the critters giggled from it, “Guys… Anyways, you’re hungry right? Do you want some food?”

You nodded your head. No duh you’d want some food.

After eating, you wanted a tour of the place. There were a ton of rooms, but since you came out of nowhere, there wasn’t really a room ready for you. The critters had a room, so you could stay there when it was time to sleep.

The critters now having an introduction, and a bright smile, you could trust them. For now.

You did the activity with Picky by your side, because you trusted her the most. You quickly did the activity, proving your smarts to somebody. Bubba Bubbaphant. He found you quite the smart kid, and it’s your first day here!

Good job.

For the next few weeks of being at Playcare, you had a lot of reasons for the critters to like you, you were also clingy to them, so they can’t ever be lonely.

They wanted to keep you here, particularly getting a little bit more mad than usual if somebody was rude to you. One time a kid stole your art supplies, Craftycorn got more mad than usual, she was kind of holding back on fully outlashing at the kid.

… You were doing something to them.

They didn’t want you to have your own room. They wanted to keep you in theirs.

Hm. You wanted to meet Catnap, but couldn’t, he didn’t come out at day, he came out at night. And at night, you were asleep. What if you secretly stayed up one day?

“Good night everybody!” Dogday said, everybody said it back, but you didn’t. (Almost) All of the critters noticed this, wondering why you didn’t respond back like you usually do.

“What if I stayed up..? I wanna see uh, Catnap. That’s his name, I think.” The critters looked at each other, communicating whether it was a bad idea. “Well, the workers never come in here. So we won’t really get in trouble..” Kickin spoke up.

They all agreed to stay up, for some time, not pull an all-nighter or something. They’re all talking, while you were silent. Finally, the sound of a door creaked open. There he was! Catnap!

It went quiet again, you got out of ‘your’ bed(Which is Catnap’s) and went up to the cat. You two stared at each other. You didn’t know what to say, Catnap didn’t want to talk. It wasn’t awkward, for you two at least. The other critters didn’t know what to do in this situation.

You let out your arms, signifying you wanted a hug. The other critters were wary about that, Catnap wasn’t really into that stuff, especially when it came to children.

But, he actually hugged you! Everybody in the room was bewildered by this! You really are the chosen one! Yeah you’re staying here.

Forever. Hopefully.

A/N|| I almost broke my back putting in the different colors on my computer🤣🤣

[heaartzzforcupidzz]

Just some smiling critters x reader fluff where they get jealous when reader spends more time with someone

“please.”

relationship(s): smiling critters x reader

warning(s): fluff

you were new to playcare but you instantly bonded with the critters. you don’t why but it was kinda magnetic? if that’s the word. you first met Hoppy Hoppscotch and tried to “hop to the moon” with her. you then met Picky Piggy and you guys talked (mostly about her life there) and ate apples. you then met Catnap. he was abit off putting but still sweet nonetheless, he warmed up to you as days went by and even laid on your lap, purring sometimes.

you then had met Bubba Bubbaphant while he was helping Ms. Delight educate the kids. he was sweet but very nerdy. it made you smile. as it was time for ‘recess’, you had came out to meet a cool bigger body name “Kickin’Chicken.” you could tell he wanted to impress you so whatever he did, you looked and smiled as if you were impressed as you watched him beam each time. As you tried to find your office, you ran into a red bear. at first, you had gotten a little scared before she smiled and hugged you. “you must be Ms. Y/N!” you nodded as the bear softly put you down and grabbed your hand, walking you to your office as she talked about how much she lovedd you already.

when you finally made it to you office; you took a breath realizing those were the type of ‘things’ you’d have to work with everyday. you opened the door and seen a big orange dog, Dogday. and on the other side of him was CraftyCorn. awh, they were decorating your office even though you wanted to do it yourself to pass time.

Dogday turned and looked at you. he quickly came over and pulled you into a giant hug. you guessed he was the gentle giant. “Hi, Ms. Y/N, you’re gonna love it here!”

and in fact, you did. you loved the critters so much. they were all so nice, kind, and touchy. but the touchy part had to be as friends even if it’s Dogday placing his hands right above your ass or catnaps tail wrapping around your thigh or Bobby laying her head between your thighs. these were all friendly remarks! (no they weren’t.)

one day, the higher ups made a new critter. just to spice things up. his name was “Jolly Roger” He was some type of sheriff that was a Kangaroo. you had grown to like him and spent less and less time with your critters and more time with the second hopping animal.

the days, turned into weeks, and then months. and the times you did hang out with the OG critters, you also smelled like ground coffee. Jolly’s scent. They hated it. so they decided to speak up. sooner than later.

you were in your office when Dogday came in. Catnap had tried to follow but he quickly told Catnap to leave. “Angel and I have to discuss this, alone.” Catnap didn’t like that too much but he obliged after the other critters told him to.

“okay, Angel.. on behalf of me and the other critters.. you’ve lost your mind and you need to find it.”

you were appalled as you looked up at him with a questioning look. He quickly changed demeanor and chuckled nervously.

“w—what I meant was.. you’ve been giving a lot of your time to the other newest critter and hanging out with us less and less and.. we don’t like it so .. please think about that.”

you looked at him and thought his words over. you were spending a lot of time with Jolly and you didn’t even process it. you quickly sat up and walked over to Dogday, bringing him into your arms.

“oh, Dogday, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even notice..” you whispered into his fur before you went outside to the others and hugged them all each one by one.

“I’m sorry, everyone.. I didn’t even notice and that’s my fault.. I promise to be better to and towards you all.”

they all forgave you and from then on, you spent more time with your critters. equal time with them all. which usually consisted of you all in a big fur pile, happy and content as Catnaps tail gripped your plush thighs and Dogdays head laying on your tits. ah, good times indeed.

A/N: sorry didn’t know if you wanted romantic or not so inbetween!

TAGS : @2faced-fairy @alyssalololol

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

Reign down on me - Part 6

Pairing: Ghost x Hybrid!reader (eventual poly!141)

No use of y/n or mention of gender/race

Summary: Reader is a wolf hybrid in a world that treats them like second class citizens, given a horrible start in life after being thrown into the military with no preparation. After years of struggle, they're finally taken away from their base by Ghost, now a permanent member of taskforce 141 reader struggles to come to terms with the fact that perhaps there's a life there for them - if only they reach out and accept it.

Warnings: hurt/comfort, Angst, abuse mentions, self doubt, violent scenes

A/N: Hi, helooooo! Sorry for the long update times, my life has been super hectic. So this chapter didn't go where I thought it would end up going, so there's some things I think I said I was gonna explore that will be in the next chapter instead. However I hope you enjoy this one 💕 thanks for waiting

-🐺-

There was a quiet hum pulsing through the room, the buzz of everyone around you tending to their own conversations and hoppy drinks which allowed you to relax and attempt to tune out the busy environment. After another successful mission, the 141 wanted to unwind- which apparently meant going to the pub for drinks, darts and, according to them, mediocre grub. Although after dining fine on MRE’s for the majority of your life, you had to disagree. That sausage and mash was the some of the best you’d tried. 

Ghost had forced you to change into some civvies before you’d left, which meant doing another embarrassing repeat of the shopping experience hed’d taken you out on. You still weren’t convinced you were able to put together a good outfit, fussing and trying a few different combinations of things, but once Ghost had looked you up and down and given you a nod of approval you’d relaxed.

When you’d all gotten to the pub and you’d seen that less people stared at you while in your new attire, you were soon thankful for the change. A hybrid in military gear drew attention, it probably made people think the area was being worked, but a casually dressed and collared hybrid was apparently nothing to get too concerned about. Huh.

Once you’d pressed yourself to the back of the booth, you barely worried about being out in public anymore. The world was the confines of the table, the edge of it stretching no further than your now trusted teammates. That became all the more true after you were offered a drink and then another and another. Once the buzz had started, the last of your lingering anxieties around being out floated to the back of your mind and disappeared like smoke. None of the other patrons were even a blip in the back of your fuzzy little head. 

“So Pup, what’d you reckon?” Gaz asked, spinning his pint glass around in his hand. “‘Nother drink?”

How many were you actually allowed, you wondered, you’d already had a few. When you turned to Ghost to try and gauge your answer, he was too busy talking in hushed tones to Soap, so instead you employed your backup. Price smiled wryly the second you clocked eyes with him across the table. 

“Like most things, Pup, this ain’t a test,” Price chuckled. “You know your own tolerance don’t you?”

“You think I’ve done a lot of drinking before?” You asked back, innocently dodging his question.

You twiddled with your own glass, rolling it between your palms and watching the dregs inside twirl. Bubbles of the beer still continued to fizzle across your palette even as you watched it dance below you. The hypnotic show only served to further make you aware of the hazy sheen across your eyes, and you were sure that if you stood up you’d probably feel like you were walking on foamy clouds. 

You’d have to be careful. Wouldn’t do to overindulge, you tried to remind yourself. Though that voice was quiet compared to the euphoric beast in you that cried out for more, that wanted to keep going until you forgot about every sordid thought in your head as easily as you forgot about how uncomfortable crowds made you. 

“Well you sunk those pretty quickly,” Gaz said, motioning his glass toward you.

“Not to mention Branhaven has one of the highest rates of contraband seizure for a UK base,” Price noted, finishing the last of his drink. “Reckon you’ve probably indulged a time or two, no?”

You couldn’t conceal your smile. Though your ears soon pinned to your head, realising that the implication that you were engaging in illegal behaviour was floated out wide in the open. It was true, hybrids would often do chores or other kinds of favours for human soldiers in exchange for goods, which often meant working for booze or cigarettes or stronger stuff on occasion. You’d been more than happy to help with boot polishing and patch sewing on an occasion or two. Some nights it helped with the pain, on others it just kept you from going mad.

“Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone your secrets,” Gaz winked. “I’ll go get us another round.”

You bit your lip and nodded, watching as he made his way over to the busy bar, casually floating around a group of men before seizing an opportunity to break through to the oderous wood top. Once at the counter, he folded his arms over it and leaned his body out ever so slightly, his hips angling back toward the table. 

It was hard to tell if it was entirely the drink, but as you watched him, you found yourself really looking what you saw. Gaz was a well built man, lean and proportioned well, but it was his face that your eyes were stuck on. He looked good that night, his smiles came easy, the full ones that showed his fang-like teeth. They glinted in the soft light when he turned around to say something to the man next to him, shining like pearls. His shoulders were relaxed, back untensed, his body shook with laughter when the other man made a joke. 

Truth be told you couldn’t be sure how long you stared after him, but it was safe to say your roving eyes didn’t go unnoticed. 

“See somethin’ you like over there?” Price asked, jerking his head back to the Sergeant. 

You blinked slowly. Your head felt like it was rushing with syrup, getting flustered but too tipsy to respond with anything smart.

“What?” 

“You’re lookin’ awfully hard is all,” he shrugged. 

The room felt like it heated a few degrees. In an effort to not meet that crinkly eyed grin of your captain, your gaze floated along the arm hed slung over the back of Gaz's chair. However, that only gave you more problems. You immediately imagined him slinging that arm over you, holding you close and sharing his heady body heat. Smelling his scent, bathing him in yours.  

It’s happening again! 

Your ears perked up like lightning rods when you realised that some baser part of your nature was taking over yet another time that week. The feral little creature that usually kicked around somewhere in your hindbrain was clawing its way to the forefront. Now you were practically panting after half your team. You needed to get a hold of yourself, you reasoned,  surely you weren’t going to give into whatever random desires you were getting for closeness. Stupid Pack bond - or whatever it was that Ghost had chalked it up to. 

“I, uh- there’s pool over there,” you shrugged lamely, gesturing to the tables just off to Gaz’s right. 

Someone managed to pot a ball not long after you’d said it. Your ears tilted toward the sound, then swivelled again when you heard Gaz’s familiar huffs and puffs of effort. He was now stepping toward you with a trayful of glasses, clenching his teeth whenever he came close to spilling or bumping into someone, walking ever slower with the wobbling glasses as he realised how precariously they were balanced. His muscles bulged a little with the effort. 

Price caught your stupid staring again, but he didn’t say anything about it this time. His eyes just narrowed knowingly at you, not with accusation but with concealed humour. You could tell by the subtle pull of his lip. 

“Gazzy. You up for a game?” Price barked.

“Depends, what are we playing?” Gaz asked, raising a brow as he snatched his pint.

He took a sip of it, coating his upper lip in a little sheen of foam. He licked it off in short order. 

“The wolf wants to play pool,” Price said. 

Price once again interrupted your brain fog from taking over. Knowing full well that he would be wearing that same stupid ‘I know what you’re thinking’ look on his face, you looked up at Gaz and reached out for your own drink. That one had to be your last before - god forbid - you were left drooling over anyone else. 

“Oh yeah? You a secret pool master?” Gaz asked. 

“Oh…no,” you clarified, awkwardly swallowing a gulp of beer. “I’ve watched it being played enough times though. I always wanted to try it.” 

You’d never actually been that bothered about it, you preferred to blend in rather than get caught in competition, especially when it came to games with humans. However as far as any of them were concerned, it was your life’s dream. Anything, as long as it stopped anyone from thinking that you were obsessed with your teammate. 

“You wanna pair up with me then? Reckon you should be on the winning team for your first game.”

“Pfft, winning team? Sure that’s with you, son?” Price scoffed.

“Beat you last time didn’t I, old man?”

“Fuck off.”

Price took a dramatic gulp of his beer then loudly pushed off from the booth, marching toward the pool table as if it were a mission objective. You laughed noiselessly to yourself, but soon had to stop yourself from choking on your own drink when the little demon inside you commented on how nice his big broad shoulders were, perfect for holding you close.

How were you going to survive the night?  

You looked back over at Ghost to try and regain some sense of composure only to see that Soap was shuffling along the bench to leave and your handler was about to follow him. Giving him a slight head tilt in question, you wondered where they were going. To which, Ghost answered by pulling you in close, wrapping his arm around you and leaving you practically choking on his forearm for a second, before he released you with a messy pat on the head.

“We’re goin’ for a smoke,” he chuckled, watching your annoyed glare with amusement while you fixed your hair. “Be good while I’m gone.”

The smile lines broke out under his eyes, and for a ditzy second all you could do was stare. All thoughts of telling him off left your mind, instead you were stuck looking above his face mask, drinking in the glittering pools of his irises and the blush tinged tops of his cheeks. Your tail wagged traitorously when he continued to stare back.

“What?” he huffed, smile still not leaving his eyes.

Your entire body flamed at being caught this time. 

“Nothing,” you shrugged, shrinking back into the chair.

You hoped that the chair would swallow you. 

“Silly thing.”

Ghost gave you a scratch behind the ears then finally slid off to join Soap. However, you weren’t left alone to your own self-deprecating thoughts. Gaz was watching you, his lips curving in amusement. He started to twirl his glass again, spinning it around on it’s axis. 

“So how do you like being with the 141 so far then?” 

The question caught you off guard, but you had to admit it was a welcome distraction. You unpinned your ears from your shameful, burning head and relaxed once more. 

“I like it,” you said simply. 

“Oh yeah? How’s staying with Ghost?”

“Oh uh, Ghost is nice. It’s been cool having my own room,” you said, smiling as you thought about your big comfy bed. “He’s been really good to me.”

Gaz snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. 

“What?” You glared. “What’s so funny?”

“Nice isn’t the first word I’d use to describe Ghost, but….” He shrugged. 

“Ghost is nice though,” you frowned, body growing tense at the hint of any accusations of the contrary. 

“Sure, when he’s not telling awful jokes or burning holes into your head with that stare he has,” Gaz laughed, outstretching his hands and wiggling his fingers. “I’m from Manchester and I’m gonna steal your soul with me spooky eyes.” 

You giggled at his terrible impression, back unfurling from its defensive hunch, then hit his hands away playfully. Normally you would’ve worried about the repercussions of doing something like that to a superior, but the drink was still buzzing through your head and if that weren’t enough Gaz’s smile shone brightly back at you. 

“Ghost isn’t spooky,” you affirmed.

“Seriously? Next you’ll tell me that you don’t live in a big haunted castle together.”

“We don’t!” You laughed.

“I bet it has skeleton decorations everywhere. Skull pillows and skeleton paintings, table and chair legs shaped into bones.”

“No!”

“Really? Damn, the man isn’t as predictable as I thought…but honestly tell me. Does he have little skeleton jammies? You can’t seriously tell me that he doesn’t keep the skull look going when he gets home. He probably sits and watches Netflix with his skull top and bottoms and skeleton cuddly toy and skeleton sockies. No? Genuinely?”

You only continued to laugh and shake your head, denying his silly accusations. Gaz smiled back at you, shifting his eyes over you as if he were cataloguing every sign of your delight. 

“Oi, time for hilarities is over,” Price said, appearing through the parting crowds. “get ready to get your arses handed to ya. I got us a table”

“You sound awfully confident, Captain,” Gaz said, scraping his chair across the rough floors. 

“Because I’m not drunk this time.”

“Don’t need you to be drunk to beat you. Got Pup on my team, we can’t lose.”

-🐺-

“Maybe I should sit this one out,” you murmured, flinching as the cue white ball barely even tapped the yellow ball that you were trying to hit. 

Your ears pinned low to your head and your temperature grew as you looked up and down the table and failed to see how you were going to pot even a single ball at the rate you were going. When you’d watched the game being played in the past, you’d assumed it was easy, but apparently the human soldiers were just skilled at it.

Your failure was made all the worse by the fact that Gaz and Price had very dutifully stood and explained the rules and how to use the pool cue when the game had begun. In fact Price had been so thorough on his explanation it prompted Gaz to assert once again that you were going to beat his arse easy. However…

You had taken two attempts and in that time had only nudged that mockingly cheerful yellow ball once. The first attempt where you almost missed even hitting the cue ball altogether didn’t bear thinking about. Meanwhile Price had already potted four. You chewed your lip, hoping Gaz wouldn’t be too annoyed that his tutoring was apparently falling on deaf ears.

“Aw, don’t worry Pup. You’ll get it,” Price chuckled.

“Yeah, don’t sweat it. It’s your first game!” Gaz reassured

He leaned over then and zeroed in on a striped orange ball, setting his cue across the back of his roughened hand and sawing it back and forth like a wary snake. He’d taken off his brown trucker jacket at the beginning of the match, so now his arms were out in full display, practically suffocating inside the short sleeves he wore and bursting to get out. Your eyes grazed along the cue and danced between the thick hairs on the backs of his forearms and up to his biceps, mesmerised by the shifting muscle. 

You missed seeing him finally hit the cue ball, but your ears twitched at the sound and your heart sunk when you both saw and heard the resulting ‘plonk’ of the orange stripe rolling merrily into its pocket. You were so screwed. 

“Gonna hold back on making eyesight jokes now, Garrick?” Price questioned, already lining up his next shot.

“Only if you manage to get that blue,” Gaz winked, pointing to a ball that sat nowhere near the cueball. 

“Easy, I’ll just hit the ball off the side, let it bank left and then it’ll roll into the pocket,” he grinned.

“Oh yeah, easy,” Gaz scoffed, nudging you with his shoulder. “Watch this, Pup. Captain’s about to embarrass ‘imself.” 

“Oi. Keep your shit opinions to yourself!”

Gaz rolled his eyes, but nevertheless the two of you watched in concentrated silence as Price actually started to line up the shot he called. After a few tense seconds of watching him adjust and readjust once more he took a breath then whacked the ball with all the force of a train going through a brick wall. The white ball smacked into the fuzzy green side then banked just shy of the blue striped ball, rolling furiously into the pocket straight after. It landed with a heavy thunk to boot. 

“Fuck me,” Price muttered to himself, immediately grabbing for his beer straight after.

“Wahey! Look at that Pup, we’ve got two shots,” Gaz said, heavily patting your shoulder. “We’ve got this.”

“Yeah,” you laughed weakly, handing him the cue. “You got this.”

“Woah woah woah,” Gaz said, tilting his head dramatically. “We’re a team, we got this.”

“Well it is your shot.”

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

He shoved the pool cue back into your hands, but he didn’t step away from you after. He pressed you insistently toward the table and caged his arms between yours, taking your hands with his and adjusting them up the smooth wood. You shivered at the feeling of his warm breath tickling at your neck and teasing through your hair. You stiffened up like drying clay when he moulded himself closer into you.

“Don’t freeze up like that, you’re not under attack. Look, I’m gonna show you how to hold it properly and that way you’ll get a good hit alright?” 

You chanced a look back at him and caught a look into those molten honey eyes, knowing full well you were a goner. You’d just have to go with whatever he said. After giving him a gentle little nod, you swallowed the lump in your throat and turned back toward the table, allowing him to slowly arrange your body so that you were in the supposed perfect stance.

His hands were silk, gliding delicately across your arms so that you would place yourself how he wanted. You had to hold yourself back from shivering every time his touch came. Once you were standing how he wanted, he took to laughing and tutting at you until you got your finger into the correct position to support the cue, and only when that was Gaz certified did he allow you to start readying your shot. 

“Ok, take it away, Pup. You got this!”

After a couple of practice slides, you drew the cue back one final time, holding your breath as you prepared to send it flying forward and into the purple ball that Gaz had lined up for you. You finally took your shot, watching with wide eyes as the cueball barrelled forward and shunted straight into the purple, sending it toward the pocket while it landed neatly beside a couple more of your balls, ready for the next shot. As soon as the purple landed fully down, you were jumping up in an instant.

“I hit it! I hit it and scored a point,” you said, full smile beaming as you turned to Gaz. “Did you see how fast it went? I wanna do that again!”

Gaz’s sharp canines were on full display again. His eyes travelled low down on your body and he chuckled, and only when you followed his eyeline did you see that your tail was furiously wagging up a storm behind you. It wafted up a big draft of air, blowing gusts through the old newspapers that were piled on the low table behind you.

“I saw. You did good,” Gaz praised, laughing while rubbing the little spot on your cheek that he always did.

“Yes, Pup - very good,” Price added dryly, shaking his head while taking another swig of his drink. 

With that the newspapers behind you turned from almost the front pages, toward the nonsense stories at the back.

“What’s got you so excited, fuzzy lugs?” 

You turned and saw Soap leaning over the end of the table, slowly swirling his whisky while he assessed the game. His blue eyes rolled from one end and to the other then settled on you, pinning you in place for a moment until you’d realised that he’d asked you a question. You bit your lip and shrugged, trying to downplay yourself a little as you remembered that your victory was being celebrated a little too early. 

“I potted a ball,” you shrugged, trying to hide your mellowed tone with a drink. 

“Oh did ye, aye? You’ll have to do it again for me and Ghost,” he grinned. 

Soap motioned his head to the left, pointing toward Ghost who was taking his time wandering back to Soap’s side. You could smell the cigarette smoke cloying to him as he walked by. It made your nose wrinkle. Though you soon forgot all about it when he shot you a wink.

“Gonna show us your new skills?” He asked. 

Now everyone was watching you. No pressure. 

You gulped and made your way back to the table side, using your cue like a walking stick. Poking your tongue out, you stood for a second and swayed a little on your unsteady tipsy feet, thinking through your next move. Your eyes roved over the balls, moving between the two most likely candidates until you settled on the green. 

After looking up and confirming everyone was still staring, you shuddered. However Gaz gave you an encouraging smile, which spurred you on all the more. A few awkward seconds passed while you tried to reform yourself into the same position Gaz put you in before. Even in your drunken state you still recalled most of the ways he’d shown that you were supposed to position yourself, all the while keeping your hands further up the stick so that you could hit harder and keeping your finger ridgid against it. 

You slid it back and forth, once, then another two times and finally you made your move. The cue thwacked into the cueball and sent it rocketing into the green, sending the green ball rolling forward and flying toward the left side pocket. The ball began to lose its momentum just toward the end, it slowed just a little more and then a little more and just when your ears started to collapse downward in disappointment, it managed to creep into the pocket at the last second. 

“Holy shit I did it! I did it all by myself!” You squealed, perking back up again and grinning like an idiot. 

You turned, making sure everyone had seen it, but before you could take stock everyone you were surrounded by two massive chests. The pressure came quickly crushing you up like a scrapped car. Though you didn’t mind, when your panicked mind realised they were hugging you, you settled into it and wagged your tail. 

“That’s my good Pup,” Ghost crooned, his voice even more gravelly than usual. 

“You did so good!” Gaz whooped.

They both parted from you and just when you’d adjusted to having full lung capacity again, Soap all but whacked all the air from you with a couple of big pats on the back. 

“Well done, furball,” he said lowly, throwing you a sly smile. “Knew you had it in ya. You’re my wee pack mate after all, aren’t ya?”

Your tail wagged even harder at that. 

“Yes, very good,” Price barked, smiling despite the faux stern expression he tried to hold. “You taking your next turn or not, Pup?”

“I get another one?” You gawped, looking at the last few balls in awe. 

“You get one every time you pot. And if you don’t get on with your next one I’m confiscating it from you.”

“Don’t think that’s in the rules, old man,” Gaz laughed. 

“Gotta give myself a chance here, Garrick. You two have bloody hustled me,” Price retorted.

“Oh you think you’re hustled now? Just wait for this next turn.”

-🐺-

You helped Gaz win that game in the end, and as a reward he insisted on carrying you to the taxi on his back. Well, that’s what he intended anyway. He stumbled just as he got out the pub door and collapsed in a fit of drunken laughter. At that point Ghost took over and hoisted you up on his shoulder, carrying you like a sack of potatoes. 

Had you been in any state to complain you might’ve, however you were still riding on a winning high and your head was full of bubbles and fizz. No matter how hard you tried to stop it, your tail continued to sloppily wag even while Ghost carried you, and for the rest of the night he complained about having fur in his mouth. Normally something like that would worry you, thinking you’d annoyed him, but you’d been so carefree you fell asleep on him once he’d lugged you to the sofa. 

You’d woken the next morning stretched out fully over a sleeping Ghost and Soap, jumping up in mortification when you realised what you’d done and running to your bed for what felt like an extra five minutes of sleep. Then as a grand result of your wild night out (compared to anything else you’d ever done), you were exhausted the whole next day. So much so that you’d been flagging through a lot of your exercises, but luckily Ghost went easy and structured training so that you got more breaks and got easier tasks to complete. Whether that was more for you or him, you couldn’t really decide. 

“Sleepy Pup,” Ghost chuckled, rubbing your cheek with the back of his greasy hand. “We’ll get an early night tonight, huh?”

You hummed in response. The sound of him cleaning his rifle had been relaxing, the cloth fibres smoothly running along the barrel while you leaned against his leg and caught up on a little napping. Normally he would send you off to do something while he did upkeep, but given your low energy he was quite happy to have you rest with him while he worked. 

“Alright then, Pup. Time to head off home,” Ghost grunted, giving your shoulder a gentle shake. “We just gotta swing by Price’s office first.” 

“Ok,” you said through a yawn.

Your tail crooked off to the side more than usual, and you could feel the fur on your ears sticking up like an animal that had just emerged from hibernation. Had there been a mirror around, you knew you’d be jumping back from it,though luckily that wasn’t the case. Instead you followed listlessly along after Ghost, plodding through the hallways like a mindless golem after its master. 

“You ok to wait out here?”

It had barely even registered that you’d reached Price’s door. However when your mind came too, you were out in the dingy hallway that proceeded his room. The two of you standing by the chipped paint patch that looked suspiciously like someone had slammed a chunk out of the wall. You slowly nodded when you finally caught up, the joint in your neck rolling as if automated.

“Try not to fall asleep out here. I’m not carrying you again,” he chuckled. “You need anything, just knock.” 

You nodded again and watched him quietly open the door and click it shut. He left you alone in the corridor, staring bleary eyed at the flickering light, absentmindedly falling back against the wall and counting out the seconds between its full beam and little strobe dance. Without fail it would flicker every five to seven seconds. 

Footsteps marched down the hallway in the distance, and your ears twitched to their rhythm. The boots slapped against the floors at a quick pace, and slowly muffled voices echoed from out of obscurity and rang through your ears. The two men became clearer by the second, and before long they were crossing your path, just about to walk past you until one of them caught eyes with you and halted as if stopped by an invisible force.

“Care to explain what you’re doing leaning around like that, hybrid?” he growled.

You frowned at him. The man had dark hair closely cropped to his head, save for a small combed over patch on the top and big bushy eyebrows that fell heavy over his dark eyes. His friend meanwhile was almost completely bald, but had a striking scar across his cheek and a birthmark on his neck. Both of them seemed young, though not young enough that they were too fresh to think about messing with you apparently.

“I’m waiting for my handler to finish his meeting with Captain Price,” you said evenly, figuring it was easiest just to answer him. 

He didn’t look satisfied with your answer though, his eyes lit up in challenge and his jaw twinged as if biting through bone. All traces of tiredness left you in that instant. Whatever was about to happen couldn’t be good, you were experienced enough to know that much.

“What was that?” the man said, tilting his head for emphasis.

His friend raised his brows, looking between the two with a vexed expression. He musn’t have been as familiar with hybrids, you thought dully, glancing at him while still keeping yourself focused on the combover man. If only one of them was going to be aggressive then defending yourself from whatever they were going to do would be easier.

“I said that I’m waiting for my handler,” you ground out, stiffening your posture.

“Waiting for your handler, sir,” the man corrected, his thick eyebrows casting a dark shadow over his eyes. “You have to show respect to your superior officers.”

You said nothing in response, only nodding your head once and gritting your teeth. Technically that was true, but given Ghost was a Lieutenant that meant that you likely outranked them (given that you were automatically ranked the same as your handler as a hybrid). Those assholes could kick rocks as far as you were concerned, you’d earned your right to speak on their level.

“Do you want a last chance to fix your attitude, hybrid?” he asked, tensing his arms as he leered over you.

His shadow flickered in the wavering light and you couldn’t help but think of him as a demon. His friend put a hand on his back and urged him to ‘just forget about it’, but still the man didn’t budge. He continued to loom over you and stare expectantly, though as far as you were concerned he could wait forever. 

He didn’t though. The little shit, took your silence as insolence, and just when he was about to reach out and grab you, you strafed back from him and growled. The sound had the other man widening his eyes, but your main attacker only glared. It spurred him to come for you once again, but again he missed you and then failed to grab you another time after that.

“Get the fuck over here, you little-”

He reached out again to grab you, and finally he’d succeeded, clenching his hand painfully around your arm. However you weren’t going to let him manhandle you like that. You barked out a fearsome roar of defiance and dug your nails, more like claws, into the thick uncovered flesh of his arm and yanked it backward while spinning away from his grip. The yowl of pain he let out interrupted his sentence and sent his friend into a panic trying to drag the man back.

“What the fuck is going on out here?”

The shout echoed out across the concrete walls and all at once you all ceased your rebuttals. Your teeth stayed bared and you continued to pant, staring down the hallway as if possessed by a vengeful force. Meanwhile the two men looked fearfully over at the source of the voice, paling noticeably when they were forced to reckon with your fearsome handler. 

Your attacker gulped, loud enough that your sensitive ears picked up on it and swivelled in his direction. He flinched at the movement, but soon straightened up. The pitiful man held out his arm and set his face in a grim expression, using his other hand to motion down at the bleeding claw marks.

“This hybrid attacked me, sir,” the man said, voice far more subdued than it had been before.

Ghost raised his eyebrow from behind his mask and looked over at you. Once he’d finally assessed the state you were in, he put his body in between the two of you and set to work calming you down. He took your collar in his hand and directed you to look at him, smoothing his hand down your back and blocking your view of the perceived hostile. After which, he took to gently shushing your panting and making calming noises.

“Can you tell me what happened?” He asked after a few moments, smoothing his hands over your ruffled hair.

“Well, what happened was-” the man’s friend began. 

“Wasn’t fucking talking to you,” Ghost growled, not even sparing a look back.

Your mouth twitched into a smile, but Ghost didn’t indulge it. He set his eyes on you with a serious frown and forced a sigh from your lips. Part of you had thought that Ghost might be on your side, but now a little voice in the back of your mind was trying to scream past a crumbling barrier - it told you that maybe Ghost was going to give up on his gentle handler act. It would make sense, you thought, you were a bad soldier, you didn’t deserve the nice treatment to begin with. 

“I was waiting for you and then…I was asked what I was doing and then, when I explained myself, I was told I wasn’t being respectful enough. He tried to grab me and I fought him off,” you said awkwardly, not wanting to meet his eyes any longer. 

“Sir, that hybrid was leaning around - not even waiting at attention and when I tried to address their behaviour, I was given nothing but bad attitude back. I was trying to correct it’s bad behaviour when it saw fit to scratch me up like a fucking feral cat!” The man fumed.

“Correct their behaviour?” Ghost asked, turning to man finally. “How were you going to correct my hybrid’s behaviour exactly?” 

Your heart dropped into your belly. Every instinct within you screamed out that you were about to meet Ghost’s iron fist at last. You were going to experience a lashing at the very least and at worst, he might take everything you had come to care about away from you. Hot salty tears brimmed on top of your cheeks, finally overflowing at the thought that Ghost might’ve only given you all those things so that it would hurt more having them taken away again. 

You made sure to sob quietly, sniffling softly  into your hand so that you wouldn’t antagonise Ghost any further. Tears won’t get you anywhere in the army, mutt, Maddox’s voice chirped in the back of your mind. You almost missed the man’s pathetic whimpering answer.

“Well…I was going to give it a slap, sir. Strike some sense into it.” 

“I see,” Ghost replied, wide back still obscuring the man from you.

You doubted you’d make anything out past your tears anyway. In your mind everything was in the process of being ripped out of your life again, the team were going to look at you like the disappointment you knew you were, your things were going to be scrapped and stripped down to bare essentials once more and you’d never get to feel Simon the cuddlytoy’s soft fur ever again. However you were ripped out of your little pity parade with the sound of a hard smack. 

Your ears perked up and you jumped back a pace or two, looking around for the source of the noise until you looked past Ghost and saw your attacker rubbing his cheek and groaning. For a second, you couldn't quite believe what had happened, but soon enough the man was wrenching his hand away from his face in an effort to save face and it revealed an angry looking red patch of skin. It really had happened - Ghost had slapped the soldier. 2

“You think that’s knocked some sense into you, Second Lieutenant?” Ghost sneered. “Don’t you fucking dare breathe in the direction of another handler’s hybrid ever again, nevermind think that you have the right to discipline them, you self-righteous little cunt. Get out of my sight the pair of ya.”

The man opened his mouth, about to say something in his defence until his friend nodded sharply and began to drag him away. Not wanting to cause more of a scene the man relented, but the way he glared as he turned told you that this wasn’t over. There was a new target on Ghost’s back now. 

However, said back was turning away from you now and Ghost was facing you once again and pulling you into his arms. After a shocked second of fear, readying yourself to be hit or similarly reprimanded, you slowly came to realise he didn’t mean to hurt you at all. He was hugging you and rubbing your back, telling you that it was alright. 

“Wh- what are you doing?” you asked feebly, trying your best not to hiccup or sniff through your words.

“Trying to comfort you, if you’ll let me,” Ghost snorted, slowly walking you backward. 

You walked with him, but only grew more confused as he dragged you into Price’s office and forced you to sit on the old ratty couch and curl up with him. Out of the corner of your bleary eyes you saw Price sitting at his desk and watching you both with concern, gathering up a few bottles of water onto his desk. In front of you, Ghost wrapped his grip ever tighter round you and got you to bury your head into his neck.

“It’s over now, Pup,” Ghost said softly, smoothing over your salt scorched cheek. “You’re ok.” 

“But…you- aren’t you going to punish me?” you asked, freeing yourself from his hold a little and drawing away from his usually relaxing scent so that you could make an effort to think straight. 

“You’ve not done anything worth punishment,” he said gently.

“I scratched someone,” you whined, looking down at your still bloody hands with a wobbling lip. 

“Someone that saw fit to break protocol and try to discipline a hybrid that wasn’t theirs. You had every right to defend yourself. You’re not going to be punished for that.”

“Especially not when the punishment he had in mind didn’t fit the crime in the first place. Corporal punishment is supposed to be reserved for serious offences Pup, not for leaning or having a bad attitude,” Price added, coming to sit at your other side. “Here, take a drink of this. You need it, you’ve made yourself unwell.” 

He handed you a water bottle and gave you a serious look until you finally took it from him and slowly uncapped it. Through a series of uneasy sips, your heart began to regulate and your body stopped shaking. You hadn’t even realised that you had been shaking. The realisation made you sign, taking a couple breaths until you could clear your mind enough to reach some level of proper awareness again. 

“I thought it was all going to go away,” you sighed, leaning against Ghost’s chest when you knew that things were normal again. 

“What was going to go away?” Ghost asked, rubbing his thumb over your cheek. 

You bathed in his and Price’s joint attentions, letting Ghost rub your cheek and Price smooth a hand over your shoulders and back. For a few luxurious seconds you let yourself revel in the fact that you were wrong. The stupid little panicky voice in your head was a liar. Everything was just as it had been. 

“Everything,” you said eventually, voice barely a whisper. “I thought you were going to take all my things away and start treating me like they did at my old base. Thought I was going to be sent to the post…”

“Mark my words, anyone tries to lash you again and they’ll have the entire 141 to answer to, Pup,” Price said, voice coming through in a low growl. 

“And I’d never take away your things,” Ghost vowed, cupping your cheek so that you had to look at him. “They’re given to you as payment for your service to us. They’re not for me or anyone else to take away, just like Price can’t rip my things from me. Nothing’s going away and you’re never going to be treated the way you were ever again. You’re ours, alright? We always protect our own.” 

You stared at them both in disbelief, but couldn’t think of anything to say. The exhaustion and the upset combined and you were left feeling more drained than you had been in days. Instead you settled down back into Ghost’s collar bones and let yourself be petted and fussed over, sleepily letting your eyes close for the last time that day.

“Just wait till Soap and Gaz hear about this. That bastard’ll be lucky to see sunrise tomorrow,” you only just heard Price whisper darkly, before scratching a calloused hand over your ears. 

“Now now, Price,” Ghost murmured back. “Gotta make it look like an accident.”

[sinnersweets]

DogDay x Reader part 15

<-----part 14

I slept for about four hours before DogDay woke me up saying he needed to head out and that I should go home and rest up. I didn’t want to leave but I needed to run errands and make some calls. DogDay then carried me to the cable car and continued to hold onto me while we waited. “So, what are you going to do about CatNap?” “I can’t talk to him now but later tonight I’ll have a word with him. I’ll also talk to Sarah; see if she knows why he’s acting like that.” I nodded and leaned into his chest. I started thinking about some stuff; that is until I remembered something very important. 

Its Damians birthday today. 

“Oh my gosh! It’s Damians birthday today!” I looked up at DogDay and said, “I can’t leave, it’s his birthday and I wanted to spend it with him.” “Oh man, I had nearly forgotten about his birthday; but Angel you’re not looking the best right now. I think you should just go home and rest up there.” I shook my head no and said, “I can rest up in the infirmary. I need to tell Damian happy birthday and tell him the good news.” With a heavy sigh DogDay nodded and carried me inside Home Sweet Home and had one of the doctors look at me. 

--------------- 

Surprisingly I didn’t break anything, just had bruises. The doctor gave me Tylenol and was about to leave when he suddenly said, “I hear you’re taking Damian.” I swallowed the pills and replied, “Yes, I take him home tomorrow.” The doctor smiled and nodded while saying, “He’s a good kid, always past the tests with flying colors. We were this close to having him-” The doctor suddenly stopped talking and laughed nervously. “Having him what?” I asked. “Nothing, I misspoke. Get some rest Ms. Y/N.” The doctor quickly exited the room before I could say anything else.  

--------------- 

It had been two hours and already I was feeling much better. Laying down was starting to bore me so I decided that I would go out and try to find Damian. 

When I exited Home Sweet Home, I spotted Hoppy playing hopscotch with her group and KickenChicken playing duck duck goose with his group. I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing them interact with the kids made me feel happy. I would miss them both, even if KickenChicken did hit on me from time to time. Hopefully DogDay will convince them to leave here and come with me. 

Hoppy spotted me and called me over to her group. “Hey Y/N! Wanna play some hopscotch with us?” I politely declined and asked her if she had seen Damian. “Oh yeah little dude! I think he and DogDay are in the Playhouse.” I could feel my palms getting sweaty just thinking about going back into the Playhouse. Three hours of hiding and not getting caught. “Y/N? You okay?” I shook my head and focused back on Hoppy. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. On second thought, I think I will join you for a game.” Hoppy smiled and said, “Atta girl!” She then took my hand and led me over to her group. 

--------------- 

Once I played a few games of hopscotch KickenChicken then called me over to play a new game with his group. I really wanted to go see Damian, but he hasn’t come out of the Playhouse yet. With a heavy sigh I agreed and KickenChicken held onto my hand and led me to his group. 

“Ms. DogDay!” is what KickenChicken’s group yelled out when they saw me. Even though I wasn’t in uniform they still called me that; it was cute. “Hello.” I waved at them with my free hand. “Looks like I don’t need to introduce you Ang- I mean Y/N.” I gave a small smile to KickenChicken. “Thank you for using my name, now can you please let go of my hand? Your feathers are making my hand itch.” “Oh sure, sorry.” KickenChicken then let go of my hand and I softly scratched my hand that he was holding. 

I looked around and didn’t see Emily around. Thinking back to when I was with Hoppy I didn’t notice Edward around either. “Hey Kicken, where’s Emily today?” “She hasn’t been scheduled in a couple of days, not sure why though... In fact I think most of the helpers haven't been put on the schedule; you and Sarah seem to be the only ones here.” “Huh, I wonder why.” KickenChicken shrugged his shoulders and said, “Makes no difference to me. I can handle these kids all on my own. Now to our game.”  

KickenChicken decided to play red light, green light which I was all for it. I was chosen to be the one who says the words while he and his group tried to get to me. I headed up to the duck pond and turned around before saying, “Red light green light one two three!” I quickly turned around and everyone froze in place. I then turned back around, repeated the words, and turned around even faster next time. Some kids moved up a little bit while others moved and got out.  

“Red light green light one two three!” When I turned around, I was surprised to see both DogDay and Damian playing along. DogDay was the closest one to me while Damian was a few feet behind him. I swallowed hard as I knew that DogDay would get me. I slowly turned back around and said, “Red light- AHH!” “I gotcha Angel!” DogDay picked me up and gave me a gentle squeeze. “Haha, seems like you did.” DogDay then put me down and I smiled over to Damian and walked towards him. “Happy birthday kiddo!” I held out my arms towards him and he happily ran up to me and hugged me. “Thank you, Ms. Y/N. Mr. DogDay said you needed to speak with me?” I looked over to DogDay and he gave me a thumbs up. “Uh yes, I have a present for you.” Damians eyes gleamed with joy. “We’ll be down the hill when you’re done Angel.” Before he walked away DogDay kissed the top of my head and ruffled up Damians hair a little bit. “Talk to ya later Y/N.” I heard KickenChicken call out to me while he and DogDay walked down the hill together. 

I took Damians hand in mine and I led him over to the duck pond. “Go ahead and have a seat.” I said gently to him. Damian sat down and looked at me with patience but also curiosity. I took a seat next to him and suddenly felt nervous telling him that I was now his mom. “So um, how is your birthday going so far?” “It’s alright. Mr. DogDay gave me another card.” “Ah yes, he told me that’s what he normally gets you. Not to sound rude to DogDay, but I think my gift is much better than that.” Damian smiled at me. “Okay let me not stall anymore.... tomorrow will be our last day here because I have officially adopted you and I am taking you to your new home tomorrow.”  

Damian just stared at me for a couple of seconds before he said, “You mean you adopted me? And I get to go with you?” Suddenly Damian started crying. “Damian are you-” I was cut off when Damian jumped on me and gave me a very tight hug. “I can’t believe I finally got adopted! You're my mom now! Does that mean Mr. DogDay is now my legal dad?” I cleared my throat and chuckled nervously while saying, “No, me and DogDay are not married.” Damian looked at me and said, “But is he coming with us?” My heart sank when he asked that. “Not right now. I am trying to make it possible so that he can come with us; and everyone else too.” I then explained what my plan was to Damian and I’m not sure if he fully understood it, but he smiled and seemed excited about it. 

--------------- 

Once I finished talking with Damian, I led us both down over to DogDay. When we reached the bottom, my phone started ringing and I handed Damian over to DogDay while I checked to see who was calling me. “Hello? Yes, this is her. Uh huh. Really? That’s wonderful! Yes yes I’ll be there in an hour! Thank you!” “You seem excited Angel.” I squealed in excitement as I said, “I just got a call from the city and my request for a plot of land has been accepted! I need to head over there and start planning everything!” “Really? That’s amazing Angel!” “I don’t know what that means but yay Ms. Y/N! I mean mom!” 

I hugged Damian goodbye and stood on my tippy toes and gave DogDay a kiss on his nose. “I’ll call you after I finish, okay?” DogDay smiled lovingly at me while saying, “I already miss you Angel, but I look forward to your call.” “Bye mom! See you tomorrow!” “Bye, I love you both!” “We love you too!” I waved goodbye and headed over to the cable car, excited to get started on my project. It’s all coming together.  

A/N: THANK YOU FOR 500+ FOLLOWERS!! TRULY NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER GET THERE! I LOVE ALL OF MY FOLLOWERS <3

(If you wanna be tagged in the next part lemme know in the comments!)

@my-anime-garden

[tekumaniac311]

Open Arms: Mission Part 2

As the menacing monsters approached, the Riders took a stand and attacked. FixFox swung a wrench at a Bloodline Picky as it came at her, it's head split open from the swing. "Looks like some of these are unfinished or weaker than others!"

Picky meanwhile tried to punch at the Bloodline Dogday but it barely flinched, until Hoppy jumped up and kicked it in the face, Leopardaisy then phased through the roof above and kicked it in the back of the head causing it to collapse down "These are really just ugly." Leopardaisy said "Aye" Picky replied "Look out! Another!" She then added, they ducked to avoid the Bloodline Kickin that came at them and prepared to attack it.

Bobby, Crafty, Berserkerine and FixFox were struggling with not one but 4 Bloodline Hoppy's. "Bes, I think you need to overdrive.." Berserk removed his helmet and clicked his neck in confidence "Got it." with that Berserkerine stepped forward towards the approaching Bloodlines sparking with gold electricity. Fox, Crafty and Bobby watched as Berserk's body changed fur colour to a black starry mist with gold lightning, the Bloodlines stepped back in fear. "Bad move, bub." Berserkerine snarled. Fully becoming his Overdrive mode he roared at the Bloodlines and started decimating them.

"Holy.." Bobby and Crafty muttered. "Yeah, he's only allowed to use it as a last resort." FixFox explained.

Avoiding rampaging unfinished Bloodlines left and right was Lemur, ducking to avoid another, he was pulled back by Mama Mammoth just in time "Stay close to me, Lemur!" Bubba then put his hand on her shoulder "And you better stay close to me!" The three then ducked to avoid a rampaging Bloodline Bubba. "No, YOU stay close to me." Mama sternly said to Bubba.

"Mama! Bubba! Look!" Lemur said, pointing. Several cultists ships were taking off "Looks like their escaping." He added. "Their not worth the trouble, honey. Let's focus on the mission" Mama said to Lemur.

Elsewhere deep in the bowels of the factory, Dogday, Z, Catnap and Drago approached a large door "Stand aside, i'll burn us through." Drago said as he brandished a ball of blue fire and hurled it at the door, melting it open. There they found...no one strapped to the wall?

"Dogbite??" Dogday called out as he looked around "No..she can't have..." Were they too late for him? Did the Seraphim take Dogbite with him? Dogday began to sink to his knees in defeat until.."WATCHOUT!!" Catnap yelled but it was too late.

The four where swung into the wall by a Bloodline monster, gathering their bearings they see it was a Bloodline Catnap along with a Bloodline Dogday, Hoppy and Kickin. The Bloodline Hoppy looked at the wall in confusion, as if saying: Wasn't our prisoner supposed to be here?

A loud yell came from above the Bloodlines as a very-alive Dogbite hurled a sunblast at them and landed in front of the team. "Dogbite!" Dogday said relieved. Dogbite turned to his older brother "Oh hey big bro...guess you heard of my dumb decision." Dogday simply put his hand on his shoulder "Dogbite, you've just been mislead, that's all. We've all come to save you...heads up!"

They swiftly dodged the Bloodline Catnap and made quick work of them with their powers. As the other critters meanwhile were fighting more Bloodlines off, Dogday contacted them "Everyone, I've got Dogbite!" Craftycorn replied "Copy that, captain! We've got to go!" The other Riders received the news to and with that, everyone headed out the base back to their cycles, meanwhile the two brothers got on their cycle.

"Hey...Thanks for..coming after me, we're even now." Dogbite spoke "Brother's don't keep score." Dogday replied smiling and they flew back to the Critter ships, with them clear FixFox pressed the detonator and the entire factory was destroyed, the mission was a success.

Later, both teams were in the ship congratulating eachother, Dogday and Dogbite meanwhile were talking "So yeah..i've really just been my own worst enemy, it's not a competition, it's a war...I've really just been..."

"An arrogant douche?" Z asked crossing his arms. "Z!" Dogday barked, on the defensive. Dogbite sighed "What he said, big bro. I've just been that the whole time since forming my own crew, we're on the same side and my alienating only strained my teams relations. My ego got too out of control..." He looked down at the ground, ashamed. Dogday and Z looked at eachother, Z then approached and lifted Dogbite's chin to look up at him "Hey, acknowledging your issues and wanting to fix them are always a start, bud."

With that, the hologram of Poppy and Mr Ludwig himself appeared via the meeting table. "Mr Ludwig? Poppy?" Drago asked them. "Congratulations to all of you, this had put a major dent in the Cult's work. A job well done." Dogbite then walked up to the table "Hey, director. You were right all along about me, I was indeed getting too reckless and competitive, it's what got me captured in the first place, all I can say is how sorry for how stupid i've been."

Mr Ludwig gave a gentle nod to Dogbite "I am relieved you have learned your lesson Dogbite and understood the big picture that we are all working to a common goal, not competing against eachother." Dogbite smiled and his ears raised at Ludwig's comment.

"But your still on suspension." Ludwig added

Leopardaisy, overhearing stepped in "Ah, come on boss! Our captain learned his lesson but he still can't lead for a while?" Ludwig sighed "Suspended is suspended." Dogbite looked down, a little sad "however..I will shorten the suspension to just two weeks. He will be back in time for the upcoming gala." He added with a smile. "Have a good day, Riders." He said as the transmission ended.

"Guess I'll see you guys in two weeks" Dogbite said to his brother who put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's alright now little brother. Go back to Eden, chill out, enjoy yourself and freshen up."

The two brothers then shared a hug with everyone watching.

TO BE CONTINUED

AU by @onyxonline

[puttersmile]

Through the Looking Glass

Chapter 1: Carnival in Critterville

Bobby Bearhug nervously sidled up to the young dog. “Dogday you know the carnival is finally opening this weekend!”

The bright orange dog’s ears perked up at the girl’s words. 

“I know and I can’t wait!” His eyes brimmed with excitement. Bobby grinned at his infectious enthusiasm. 

“What if both go together? I think it would be nice to go with you.”  Bobby was careful to not use the term “go out” in her proposal on purpose, she didn’t want to be so forward. 

Dogday nodded. “Actually I planned to invite everyone to go together. It’ll be a big day for everyone!”

“Mhm!” The enthusiasm in Bobby’s smile faltered but she carried on. “A big day for everyone. I’m sure they’ll love it!”

Finally the weekend came and excitement was the prime word in Critterville. Everyone loved the carnival. A place where friendships and spirits could shine. The atmosphere of laughter and the scent of sweet treats, provided a perfect backdrop  to bond and challenge each other in fun games. The carnival was more than just a collection of rides and attractions; it was a celebration of the critter community and the happiness they found in each other's company.

“Come ooon you guys are too slow!” Hoppy Hopscotch tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the others to catch up.  Her friends faithfully trotted down the path behind her but at a much slower pace. 

“Give me a break,” Bobby Bearhug used a paw to sweep non existent sweat off her brow. “Hoppy, I don’t want to be exhausted before I even get there. Just go on ahead!”

“How about  a race?" Dogday picked up his pace to match Hoppy’s. "Last one there buys a cotton candy bucket!”

Hoppy’s frown flipped into a smirk. “Hah, I’ll point you out to the shop guy. He’s going to need a description by the time you get there.”

“You’re on.”

“Snooze you lose!” The little green rabbit was off in a flash, leaving a dust trail for the others to follow. Dogday giving his all just to keep up. 

“Wow Dogday is getting faster.” Craftycorn complimented while Bubba sighed. 

“He still doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Geeze it's not like the carnival is going anywhere.” Kickin shrugged. “It’s going to be here all summer.”

The vibrant sounds of laughter and excitement filled the air as Bobby Bearhug and her friends strolled through the bustling carnival grounds. Critters from all over the island were gathered here, mingling around vendors, rides and games. Kickin motioned towards Picky who had gotten there extra early to set up her own stall to sell caramel apples.

The smell of popcorn and cotton candy wafted through the air, mingling with the distant strains of carnival music. The sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, and the colorful tents and rides stood out like a lively patchwork quilt.

Bobby looked around with a warm smile. Her friends were just as excited as she was, each of them buzzing with anticipation for the fun activities ahead. Craftycorn, was practically bouncing on her hooves. Dogday and Hoppy were well ahead of everyone else scanning the area with eager eyes, ready for action. It seemed Dogday hadn’t bought a cotton candy bucket…yet, but Hoppy didn’t seem to care as she eyed the rides. Dogday’s glare was set squarely at the carnies, a giraffe wearing a sharp vest and hat was waving a cane at all of his prizes, daring anyone to come and try and win his game.

“Its about time you slow pokes got in here. Look at all the rides and games!” Hoppy exclaimed, she seemed ready to burst. “There’s so much to do! Even more than the last time!”

“I want the front seat on every rollercoaster!” Kickin claimed. “That is the only way to ride!”

“I’m going to test my luck at the balloon darts,” Dogday announced, rubbing his paws together with determination. “I’ve got a good feeling about today.”

“Win a big fluffy doll for me!.” Craftycorn shouted. “But I’m going straight for  the Ferris wheel. I want to see the whole carnival from up high. The view would make for a great painting!”

Bubba  continued to observe in silence, more reserved, then surprising everyone by showing interest in the art activity tent. He pointed his trunk  in its direction. “I think I’ll check out the art tent. It seems… interesting.”

Craftycorn tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Art? Since when did you get into art, Bubba?”

Bubba shrugged, a thoughtful expression on his face before crossing his arms defiantly. “ Why wouldn’t I? It’s interesting how colors and shapes can express emotions and ideas.”

Craftycorn giggled. “Well, look at you, Bubba! Maybe some of my incredible love for creativity is rubbing off on you. Hmmm?”

The elephant’s ears turned a slight shade of pink, and he looked flustered. “I wouldn’t go that far,” he mumbled, avoiding her amused gaze.

As her friends chatted and made their plans, Bobby found herself standing a bit apart, her eyes wandering over the various attractions. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. The ferris wheel sounded nice and she could go now with Crafty, but she figured it would be best to save that for later. Maybe during the sunset. Maybe with Dogday. Ahem, but that was a distant hope. In the now, the excitement around her was contagious, but nothing seemed to call out to her.

Just as she was starting to feel a bit lost, her eyes landed on an intriguing tent at the edge of the carnival grounds. The sign above it read “Mirror Maze,” the entrance was adorned with swirling patterns and reflective surfaces that shimmered in the sunlight.

“A mirror maze? That wasn’t here the last time the carnival rolled into town.” She thought. 

Curiosity tugged at her, and Bobby felt herself drawn to the tent. She took a few steps forward, her heart beating with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. The idea of navigating through a maze of mirrors sounded both challenging and fun.

When she reached the entrance, Bobby noticed there was nobody attending it. The tent seemed abandoned besides a painted sign which said “FREE ADMISSION. PLEASE ENJOY”. Bobby squinted suspiciously yet there was an inviting allure. A mysterious urge compelled her to go ahead and explore.

The cool air inside was a welcome contrast to the warmth outside, and the reflective surfaces created a dazzling, almost magical effect. She could see countless versions of herself, each one leading in a different direction.

For a moment, Bobby felt a pang of uncertainty. Should she actually be here? She quickly brushed her doubts away remembering the sign outside. With a determined smile, she decided to embrace the challenge. She started forward, her eyes scanning the maze for clues and pathways.

The mirrors played tricks on her perception, making it hard to tell which way to go. She giggled at her own reflections, tall, short, thin, wide. The maze was like a puzzle, and she was determined to solve it.

Finally, after what felt like both an eternity and a brief moment, Bobby reached the end of the maze. She found herself in a small, secluded chamber. In the center stood a large, ornate mirror. It was grander than the others, its frame decorated with intricate designs.

Next to the mirror sat a small card. Bobby picked it up and read the words written in elegant script: "Is this the worst you?"

The question confused her. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, feeling a slight chill run down her spine. “The worst me? What is that supposed to mean?”

 Being alone in the maze, with this enigmatic message, unsettled her more than she cared to admit. She hugged herself, the coolness of the maze was suddenly too much. 

Bobby took a deep breath. “Oh come on! Shake it off, Bobby. This is probably just some kind of riddle.” The  cryptic question was honestly baffling, as she glanced around the chamber for other clues. She was about to turn away from the mirror when suddenly her reflection moved in a way she did not. Her reflection smiled and waved at her sweetly at first, as if acknowledging her presence. Bobby’s heart skipped a beat.

The smile warped. The reflection’s eyes became hollow, dark voids that pierced into Bobby’s soul. The sweet demeanor turned sinister.

Bobby screamed, her voice echoing through the empty maze. She turned to run, panic surging through her veins. But as she did, the lights in the maze went out, plunging her into complete darkness.

Bobby felt dethatched, like floating in a void, before the lights flickered back on. She blinked, disoriented, and found herself still in the maze. The mirrors reflected her confused expression as she quickly made her way back to the entrance. Her heart pounded in her chest, the unsettling experience still fresh in her mind.

As she stepped out of the maze, she realized it was now nighttime. The carnival was eerily silent, the once lively grounds now deserted. The vibrant colors of the tents and rides were muted under the dim light of the moon. Bobby’s sense of disorientation grew as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

Confused and scared, she began to run towards home, her mind racing with questions. How long had she been in the maze? Where was everyone? Why did everything feel so wrong?

“Bobby!” a familiar voice called out.

She stopped abruptly, turning to see Dogday running towards her. Relief washed over her for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by terror when she noticed his appearance. His right ear was half missing, the remaining half covered in bandages. He looked thinner and exhausted, like a shadow running though the grayed city of tents.

“Dogday, what happened to you?” Bobby asked, her voice trembling. "Your ear is-"

“You know how dangerous it is at night,” Dogday interrupted, his voice filled with ragged concern, ignoring her question. “Where have you been? I was worried.”

Bobby’s heart ached at the sight of her friend. “I was… in the mirror maze, but then… I don’t know. Everything went dark, and when I came out, it was night.”

Dogday’s eyes widened. “The mirror maze? Bobby, you’ve been missing for hours. We thought something terrible had happened.”

“Hours?” Bobby repeated dumbly. Nothing made sense. She looked around the empty carnival grounds, the eerie silence pressing in on her. Dogday reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her attention back to him with an insistent yet timid yank. 

AN: Attempting an attempt at a fanfiction. Based on @sctigthesecond 's selfish critters au. I'm using them as the basis though I might add my own ideas. I've wanted to write a fic like this for a while but yeah I'm a draw person not a write person so we'll see how well this goes. It's time for me to traumatize my Bobby girl. If I make it any farther then I'll post it on A03. Yee!

“We need to get inside. Thank the stars it isn’t raining.” Was the last thing he said before he started to pull her towards the carnival entrance and back towards the path through the forest heading for their homes.

Part 2 Here

[kingtrash-fox]

Smiling Critters headcanons while I continue my C&C AU

This is for the 5 people who want to actually read the damn thing and anyone who likes the Smiling Critters

(Note: Might contain a bit of Shipping. This is about the Cartoon characters not the Toys)

🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪🟥🟧🟨🟩

If any of the critters have to go to the doctor whether it’s for a checkup or something you need to have like 8 plans in place for both Catnap and Dogday. You can make a life a bit easier on yourself if you schedule them together but they will still refuse regardless. Only Bubba has the knowledge to contain them.

Kickin has broken both arms and legs at least once and it’s always when he’s doing a stunt.

(Warning:Platonic Shipping): Catnap and Dogday have licked each other (Mainly cause it’s a way to show affection , and a way to bond for actual Cats and Dogs) on the forehead on a handful of occasions. Bobby and Bubba are the only ones who know what this means and are the only ones grinning while everyone looks at them like madmen.

Hoppy has the absolute worst schedule of the critters going to bed at 4 am on average and waking up at 8:30 am and somehow is a functional Critter daily. Catnap and Picky work together to give them a better sleep schedule.

No one in that friend group is Straight. I don’t make the rules.

Picky is the 2nd messiest eater of the group being beaten by Crafty who is just as messy with her food as she is with her craft supplies. Like if she has spaghetti she will have sauce just all over her no matter WHAT you do.

(Quick note for some HC Like the Above: Some of these are just for the funny and not to be taken seriously. Please don’t attack me)

Hide and seek champion of the Critters is Hoppy mainly cause they hide in places not even Kickin would think of.

Bubba and Catnap actually share the same house being a tree and a Treehouse on top respectively. Whenever Dogday visits Catnap a platform drops by Bubbas front door so he doesn’t have to cut through his house to get to Catnaps.

Bobby is the hugging type of friend. Catnap actively dosent like being hugged by anyone except Dogday. Bobby mostly respects this except in moments of joy where she just hugs whoever is closest and frequently it happens to be Catnap.

Everyone besides Picky and Kickin have monstrous sweet tooth’s to the point where if you locked them in a bakery overnight it will be cleared out by morning.

Catnap is nonverbal except around Dogday. If he’s talking to the audience he will speak but it’s like Garfield logic aka no mouth movement and only he will hear it.

Going back to Crafty being messy she once got stuck to a wall because of glue for 2 days. Everyone assumed she was just working on a project that weekend.

(Shipping warning) For the longest time everyone assumed Dogday and Catnap were just friends till Catnap just kissed Dogday on the cheek and everyone went NUTS

Edit cause I just came up with this one: On the night of the Storm a little bit before it hit Catnap are a weird mushroom and gained the ability to put people to sleep. Everyone wanted him to sing a lullaby but didn’t expect a gas attack. He fell asleep a few minutes after his friends.

[lemonmatronics]

THE POPPY PLAYTIME CHAPTER 3 TRAILER IS SOOO!,?!.?.!.

What a great treat to wake up to—Excuse me while I go insane and spill some thoughts, reactions, theories, and predictions below please

ahem

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SO LIKE FIRST OFF this chapter is gonna fuck, like this looks SO good holy shit

The setting and environment looks amazing but also the new hands mechanic along with the mask ohhhh this is gonna be FUN

Okay rambling about screenshots I took time

First off the environments look great, holy wow

The house itself looks kinda small so idk if that is the orphanage itself or some kind of set. Cause you can see fake sky walls around it, but like this is Playtime Co they would definitely do that to the orphanage also to give an illusion of outside. Either way it looks GREAT and I’m really excited to explore this setting

Just a nice shot of all the critters

I’m really curious if all the critters are gonna be utilized somehow. We know about Catnap and Dogday already, especially after the trailer itself. Though there was also the footage of Bobby running down the hall, looking like a normal plushie, and possibly seeing Hoppy in the trailer too. (I’ll touch on that later)

New Poster

Definitely looks like some company propaganda to try and keep kids from being afraid of CatNap. Judging by the files we got before looks like the results were a mixed bag. Considering the gas is there in the poster it’s definitely a company only poster, not something they could sell outside. They manipulated this kids so bad man :(

A CLEANER LOOK OF THIS THING,,,

THATS A SKELETON COMING OUT OF PUGAPILLAR’S MOUTH…Like that’s just straight up human remains.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen that before in this game. Like blood yeah plenty but BONES? They’re definitely amping things up for this chapter and I’m 100% here for it.

Besides that there’s a ton of plushies and such stabbed onto this weird thing. Is it a shrine? It doesn’t look like it could really move tbh, and if it was meant to be alive those parts aren’t doing anything to help it.

This poor mf

I’ve seen a lot of people speculate this is DogDay, which is a valid guess, but tbh my first thought was Hoppy. You can tell they have long droopy ears, which lines up with both candidates to me. Though I think the ears look a bit slimmer than what Dog Day’d would be, plus the angle on the head looks more like they’re dropping from the top of the head rather than the sides. I feel like if this was DogDay the whole head silhouette would be different because of the ears, which makes me lean towards Hoppy more.

I know her toy gives her long pointed up ears, but going off art and animation her ears can definitely fold

So I don’t think it’s out of the question that as a Bigger Bodies being her ears could fold over like that, especially while stuck like this.

Now I could be the one wrong here but I really think this is Hoppy. Won’t know until the game itself though so, I won’t treat either as divinities yet. It could just as easily be the case everyone else is right and it is DogDay, there’s evidence for that as well (Again, I’ll touch on that later).

So much happened here where do I even start

Obvious out the bat I guess, Kissy Missy is back!! And looks like Poppy isn’t ditching us alone either! Man I cannot tell it Poppy is good or not at this point, gray area? Trailer dialogue definitely sounded like she was supporting us.

“We’re coming! Just hold on!”

It’s really nice seeing Kissy back, really excited to see how she’s gonna help and play into this. I’ve been on the stance that she’s good ever since she helped in chapter 2 so this is really cathartic for me lmao.

As for what Poppy says here I found it interesting, like really interesting. Like, hearing it the first time made me think she casually confirmed something massive interesting. Granted, actually thinking about it longer, it could mean something else entirely. But was that the whole point?

“What’s happening down here is bigger than all of us. I need you. So we can revenge on those monsters who’ve tortured you, who’ve tortured us.”

“Those monsters who’ve tortured you”

Now, once I thought about it this is most likely referring to the literal monsters in the factory. Huggy, Mommy, CatNap, so on and such. But that’s not what my initial assumption was.

When Poppy referred to “monsters”, by first thought was the people working at the factory. I thought she said people at the factory tortured us.

I thought she confirmed that we’re a toy.

Once I thought about it longer, it doesn’t actually confirm that. But what if that’s the entire point? A double meaning line?

Now the player being a toy theory is something that’s been around since chapter 1, a theory I’ve fully stood by since then and still do. I like to think that’s why our character is completely silent, we’re a toy that can’t speak. Mute toys is something we’ve seen plenty of in the factory, more so than toys that actually talk. (Unless you count stuff like the Smiling Critters cartoon or the cardboard cutouts, but I’m talking purely living beings here.)

So while this doesn’t confirm the theory, this line is definitely throwing wood into the fire for me.

DogDay

Wether or not the chained Bigger Body above us DogDay or Hoppy, we have it confirmed here that DogDay is featured heavily in this chapter as an enemy. Again, I really wonder if the other Smiling Critters will show up as threats as well. Maybe a mixed bag of good and bad critters. If the chained up Bigger Body is DogDay, I wonder why he chases us after we assumingely set him free.

One note I’ll give that is to evidence for the chained bigger body being DogDay is that in the thumbnail you can see a shackle on his wrist

His arms are also long and lanky, which is why I won’t completely rule out it possibly being him there. It’s just as possible that it is him, both feel very plausible to me.

Though looking at the game footage, I’m not sure if can can see anything on his wrists. Additionally his arms look much wider than the one in thumbnail.

Additionally, the DogDay in the thumbnail looks so much like a…mascot suit? You can see seams and stitches all over him. Even other Bigger Bodies don’t look like that. Which is something I wanna give its own post to to figure deeper on.

So is this even the same DogDay at all?

It’s not completely out of the question there could be multiple DogDays, though that begs the question, what about other Smiling Critters? What about other toys as a whole?

Here’s my prediction on it. One Bigger Bodies experiment, and then there’s smaller ones approximately the size of their normal toys.

I think the DogDay in the thumbnail is a result of the Bigger Bodies testing, and the one actually chasing us is just a smaller more “normal” DogDay.

But if that’s true then it begs the question, what about other critters? We’ve seen a smaller Bobby before, does she also have a Bigger Bodies version?

Do they all have a Bigger Bodies equivalent?

Is there still a normal CatNap?

Again, all speculation but this chapter especially is really tickling my brain.

And finally we’ve got the man of the hour

Man he is so much lankier than I thought he would be. That definitely explains why his face was so high up on that one cam footage though. Here I was thinking he’d be bulky!

There isn’t too much to say here other than CatNap is definitely gonna be an imposing threat, and I’m very excited to see him in game. So far we’ve mainly seen him through silhouettes, and light peeks at small portions of his design. Seeing him better is game is gonna be a thrill and I’m so ready for it!

Additionally, just for the sake of adding on, we’ve seen these posters apparently from overseas get spread around lately

Both of these definitely look like they’re meant to be company only posters, ones you’d find in the schooling and orphanage areas.

The left poster telling kids to go inside right away when recess is up, nothing super deep here. Just a peek at the schooling that had here, and that these kids had their lives completely contained within the factory.

The second poster is CatNap telling Huggy to go to sleep, another attempt at convincing children CatNap isn’t dangerous. If Huggy is fine they will be too, right?

Anyways that’s my initial thoughts and reactions right after watching the trailer. VERY excited about this game, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to brainstorm on my own over a game like this so I’m really looking forward to what this chapter has to give.

[blues-of-randomness]

could you do more headcanons for the Smiling critters please

(Maybe when they’re Sad )

Good suggestion and yes I can.

Cw for self harm and involuntary age regression

Catnap - When Catnap gets really sad he retreats to his home and hides there for who knows how long, it could be days or even months before he comes out again. All the curtains drawn, not a single like in the house, if you're hoping for Catnap to eat or drink during this time peroid, other than a cup of juice or two...it's very wishful thinking. he'll most likely just be laying around on the floor or on the furniture. This is also when involuntary agere sets in, during this time he just feels so small and even simple tasks are two scary or frustrating for him (like brushing his teeth or even turning on the lights). During this time he might just were a bathrobe or his pajamas for some form of comfort. He'll hug himself and squeeze his arms very tightly, most of the time his claws are out when he does this so it leads to him cutting himself frequently. I have a feeling he might also wear dresses as a comfort.

Dogday - Remember that MLP episode where Pinkie pie lost her color cause she thought her friends didn't like her anymore? Yeah that's basically Dogday when he gets sad, any bright colors drain from his fur and his smile fades from his face. In my Dogday headcanons I mentioned that his fur feel like a warm mini sun, well when he's sad his fur becomes frigid cold. Unlike Catnap though Dogday still spends time outside, looking for anything that could cheer him up as quick as possible. He still has a hard time talking about what made him upset but he'll try. if what made him said was say him disappointing his friends he'll have a lot of self depricating thoughts (specfically about falling them in some way). he's not nearly as self destructive as Catnap is though, he still takes care of himself. I'll be honest though I could see Dogday having a tea party with stuffed animals when he's sad.

When Kickin gets sad he just gets angry. Like any kind of sorrowful feeling will vented through aggression before the tears eventually come. You can't tell me that Kickin hasn't gotten super overwhelmed thrown himself to the ground and started having a tantrum like a little baby. Kicken grew up with a father with very toxic views on how men should behave so he's not very comfortable crying in front of anybody. The only one who's seen him cry is Bubba, Bubba is reall the only one he's go two if he's sad. he might all himself stupid or an idiot depending on what he's crying about. He also has a teddy bear that he talks to when he's upset.

Bubba is a man who doesn't were his emotions on his sleeves per say as he always tries to keep his cool. You wouldn't even realize he's upset unless he get's really upset. Like Kickin, his sadness comes out as anger, he does cry but not often and not in front of his friends. Bubba would probably be the type to just pick of book or try to do some brain puzzles in order to take his mind of what he's upset about, if that doesn't work he tries to solve the problem on his own.

Hoppy is another critter who i imagine can get very aggressive when she's sad. Her first instinct is just to walk away, blow off the steam and come back when she's ready. She might yell or hop and down depending on how frustrated she is but she would take a deep breath and say "I need to go for a walk" or something like that. She prefers to do this alone but she wouldn't say no if you offered to walk with her and talk about it. It actually means a lot to her that you'd wanna help her.

Picky's ultimate coping mechanism is food though contrary to when she's stressed and stress eats, i feel like when she's sad she makes treats for everyone else. Since she already makes an unholy amount of food for everyone, espically when their doing an activity or going on a trip this just seems like her normal behavoir. Other than baking she might do something calming like apple/berry/flower picking. A nice picnic is also a good way to calm down.

What does any Artist do when they are upset or down in the dumps? Dump every single raw emotion on anything that doesn't move. Craftycorn has had her far share of vent pieces, some she's actually proud of, some that are just nonsensial scribbles soaked in tears. The only vent pieces her friends have seen are the ones that look cute and don't have any concerning elements to it. All the others go straight into the fire, those are not for the critter eye to see. Music, blankets and toys also help.

Bobby is a very emotional person, when she gets really upset it is instant tears or instant bawling. It's real easy to calm her down though, give her a hug, a flower, take her somewhere safe, play a game with her, and voila! If you couldn't tell she does not like being alone when she's upset, She'll cling to the closest person until she isn't upset anymore. If she's bawling she'll be begging you for a hug, she won't make yu hug you if you're uncomfortable with that though.

[c0zy-fluff]

Do you have any headcanons for Starstudent? 💙💛💙💛

Oh, PLENTY.

- They'd have multiple tropes: the oblivious x obvious (or boyfailure) trope, (obviously) the dumbass x smartass trope, mutual feelings (but neither of them see it, except for everyone else around them), etc.

- When given affection by the other, Bubba's ears would flap and his tail would wag from side to side cuz he's flustered (y'all can thank @skelexguts for that one- ...and a couple of others-)

- They'd be a sassy duo in public, but really wholesome n cute when alone together (Like they'd both give off slightly sassy remarks towards others, as a joke ofc, but would later be all cuddly and comfy together)

- (I've already said this one in another post, but I'll say it again) When Bubba's stressed, he'd huddle himself into a ball and his ears would mostly cover his face, while Kickin will give him unconditional support and love

- When Kickin's stressed/frustrated w/ smth (or maybe even himself), Bubba would calmly attempt to get Kickin's attention away from his slight breakdown. Once he does, Kickin is basically left breathing heavily for a split moment due to his breakdown, while staring at Bubba. After a few moments, he immediately hugs Bubba tightly (but not enough to actually hurt him) while Bubba would console him and softly whisper to Kickin saying stuff like "It's okay", "You're safe", "Nothing can hurt you here" and also wipe any tears he sees off Kickin's face

- After either one of them calm down from their mini panic attacks, the other would tell them to give a genuine, happy smile, then the other would compliment on how adorable they look when they smile and then they'd laugh about how they know they both love each other very much <33

- Bubba is definitely the big spoon (and Kickin would always feels so safe, comfy, and protected by da elephant's cuddles)

- They'd joke around w/ each other and crack lil jokes from time to time while playing some video games

- Hoppy teasing Kickin for his crush on Bubba when she first notices Kickin staring at Bubba would be a complete understatement. She would absolutely tease him for making goo-goo eyes at Bubba and Kickin would either be too proud to admit he likes Bubba or be too embarrassed by how Hoppy's teasing him

- When receiving affection from the other, such as smol kisses, one of them would get butterflies and start giggling, which leaves the other to stare at them lovingly while thinking "Wow... He has the most adorable laugh I've ever heard..."

- They'd definitely have a dynamic where one info dumps about stuff they like while the other listens lovingly to them

- Sometimes if one of them starts to slowly fall asleep on the other (on their shoulder, head, lap, etc.), the other would find it absolutely adorable to look at them sleeping so soundly

Welp- That's all from me! ...For now. :]

(yeah, i came up w/ some of these hcs w/ the help of @skelexguts , go check them out! Cuz they pretty cool :P)

[power-up-girl]

another one shot on the great smiling critters space riders au created by none other than the one and only @onyxonline

inspired by this post

...Crafty and her fear of spiders...

Everyone was peacefully enjoying their evening on board of the critters spaceship,

kicken and hoppy were sparing, bubba was analysing some data they got recently, bobby and piggy were off baking cookies, dogday was peacefully laying on the sofa while catnap was taking a nap while defying gravity by floating aimlessly,

But wait, where's crafty?,

Oh she was in her room the last time she was seen, she said that she wanted to draw something ,

Everything was going perfectly until...

a scream echoed through the spaceship, snapping every rider from their peaceful haze ,

Dogday who was laying peacefully , sprang on his feet like lightning, and catnap who was floating a couple of feets of the floor fell but landed on his feet,

Huh, guess cats do land on their feet after all ,

Bubba, alongside hoppy and kicken came dashing over, after a few seconds piggy and bobby came, they had to make sure the oven was turned off, then dogday frankly asked,

" what's going on !?!, is everyone alright !?! "

He asked his crew,

" yes we're fine , are we under attack!? "

Asked kicken,

" I don't think so , the sensors would have picked if any object was around "

Said bubba,

" we all heard a scream right ?? "

Asked piggy,

" yeah ,but who was it ?? "

Questioned hoppy,

// guys , guys, where is crafty?? //

Signed catnap, everyone immediately realised that crafty wasn't with them.., then there was another scream, and a call for help,

" HELP !!, GUYS !!, HELP ME!!! "

Yup that was crafty, they didn't think twice before making a run for crafty's room,

When they arrived they heard

" STAY AWAY !!, DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!, HELP!! "

They knew crafty was a very capable strong lady and she being in trouble was never a good sign...

' she's in danger! , we need to act quick ! ' dogday whisper yelled,

' on the count of three !, one... two... three! ' dogday again whisper yelled,

bubba quickly opened the door, dogday and catnap rushed inside energy beams on the ready in their hands, followed by kicken and hoppy,

the others stayed at door to block anyone from escaping,

Crafty was standing on her table and she was shaking, but there was no one other than the riders... Kicken then spoke lowering his defense,

" there's no one here , where's the intruder? "

He asked , looking at crafty's shaking form ,

" it's over there !! "

Crafty said as she pointed to the other side of her room,

" we don't see anyone here crafty ! "

Said hoppy her defense still up,

" careful, the intruder might be using some cama flashing device "

Dogday warned his team as they all were on high alert,

// I can't sense anyone here //

Signed catnap, feeling uneasy,

" me neither "

Said hoppy,

" crafty are you sure there's is something or someone here ? "

Asked bubba,

" yes! , it was right there ! "

Said crafty , covering her head with her hands ,

Then catnap went to the other side of the room and checked, but there was nothing,

" what did it look like crafty ?? "

Asked piggy,

" it was hideous! "

Said crafty loudly ,

" but there's nothing in this room! "

Yelled kicken,

" THERE'S A SPIDER IN THIS ROOM !! "

Crafty finally snapped,

And it was like everything stopped,

" wait so you're telling me, that you were screaming like you're gonna get killed, because of a spider?? "

Hoppy asked trying to remain calm,

" I was in danger!, there's a spider in my room!! "

// you mean this spider //

Catnap signed before picking up a small spider that was on the floor,

" Yes!!, look how big and hideous it is!! "

Crafty screamed,

At that moment no one could hold their laughter, well bubba facepalmed , bobby and dogday were trying to stifel their laugh because they are just so nice and kind, but they did laugh,

At least not like hoppy who fell on her knees laughing..

" WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?!, I WAS DIEING HERE!! "

Yelled crafty,

" it's - it's * wheeze * , we thought you were in real danger! "

Then kicken proceeded to continue his wheezing,

" who thought that the great crafty , whom everyone fears , is afraid of a little itsy spider !? "

hoppy was dieing cuz of laughter after she said that, crafty huffed angerly

Catnap took the spider to the garden they had and came back , still chuckling softly,

" come on cut it out guys, that's not very nice "

Said dogday, they did calm down after,

" sorry crafty, we found the situation funny "

Smiled piggy,

// yeah it's fine to be afraid sometimes//

Catnap signed, while floating slightly,

" we are sorry , here let me help you down "

Said hoppy as she extended her hand for crafty as she climbed down from the desk,

" it's alright, I think I did overreact by screaming like that .."

Sighed crafty,

" nah it's fine!, we all get crazy sometimes .."

Said bobby,

" come on everyone!, let's enjoy some cookies "

Said piggy,

" yes!, cookies! "

Kicken cheered,

" let's go ! "

Exclaimed dogday, the rest nodded and smiled in agreement,

They spent their evening watching some movies and just chilling in general

| The end |

Hope you enjoyed!

[ask-the-critters-survival-au]

Static dances out from the speaker of the monitor... which is probably power by magic now that you think about it-

"I am sorry children... Picky does not seem willing to listen... It hurts me to think she still considers Dogday to have abandoned you all- especially because it was her own words that confirmed my knowledge of where he is. She seems so... scared to believe what I have said. So quit to curl her ears and ignore it. So quick to turn her emotions into rage... I feel like forcing her to confront that truth may break her."

"I hope you have a plan children. One that does not involve making a deal that could permanently disable you or make this situation even worse. As Hoppy explained the rules behind our contracts? I hope so- if only for you not to fall victims to one of my fellows suggesting a deal that will do more harm then good."

"I have been hard at work devising a way to create a deal that could help you all without harming you or making the situation worse... and I believe I have finally found it. I am to assume that much of the food you all have is food either to rotten to eat or stuff your bodies cannot consume? Picky has told us of your carnivore diets... which does not make sense do to what was used to make you. Studying of that strange issue must be dealt with later."

"Using the rules established- it should be possible for you to use the rule of equivalent exchange to turn that rotten and uneatable food into something you can eat. Again, it perplexes me that none of you can eat other things- Ah sorry, Lost in my thoughts again. I will warn you now that you may end up with an amount of food a small bit less then what you use for the deal- but that should be made up for in spades by the meat sent back being cooked- allowing your bodies to absorb much more of the nutrients then simple raw meat."

"As of the recording of this message... Crafty has only been revealed to me. For the sake of future proofing I have also prepared a deal for her as well. I am not sure of the nature of her episodes of madness... all I do know is that she may freak out at no having anything to paint with- and even that is faulty knowledge. So, with this extra deal, it should be simple to change any spare art supplies you have around into another color. In the case you don't have any... I will attempt to devise a safe deal for that for out next contact."

"All you must do is gather the proper items listed for the magics to consume and warp and accept the deal as per our rules. I hope this can help you all moving forward. I got suggest rationing what you can and eating slowly, as flooding the body with nutrients during starvation can cause a multitude of issues. Perhaps getting you all glass jars to preserve the food is in order. I'll attempt to keep the spell work up so you may continue to do this at any time... but magic can be finicky."

"Maybe making this deal to Picky in return for stopping her pursuit would work, but I am still unsure any magic can be done away from the monitor. What are your thoughts on this Children?"

"I will also look into this issue of you not being able to eat food stuff other then meat- that should not be so yet it is... what has Playtime done this time- How would one warp the human stomach that way? Possibly an inhibiter to the brain? or possibly an certain change in the enzymes your bodies produce?- Ah sorry- Rambling once again. Talk to you all soon. Please- Be safe."

(Heh- Magic time : ), Hopefully everything here makes sense and seems fair to you mod. No need to have our beloved stars starve no? Of course if not that is always alright! I simply wish to fulfill my promise of doing all I can to aid these young souls! Hope you have a great day!)

YES YES! FOOD! IM SOOO TIRED OF EATING ROTTEN FLESH! WE ARE SO TAKING THAT DEAL.

I’m not surprised about Picky. She’s…always been a little ignorant.

She’d still hunt me down even if she got that deal. Me and her...have history.

And Crafty not having paint isn’t exactly the problem. She doesn’t have hands to paint with anymore.

You can thank CatNap for that.

[Mod note: I hope you have a good day as well! I love getting your asks :)]

[michaels-office-hours]

What if Dogday was best friends with Catnap, and was maybe having feelings of “is there more?” (Catnap definitely was, but was too nervous to make a move) But Dogday is so “everyone is my buddy” coded, that he didn’t wanna mess up their friendship by saying anything.

And what if Craftycorn was Dogday’s blatant crush? Like… “oh crap you’re cute… HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN STARING?!” Kinda crush. He doesn’t really know her that well because of it even. Cause anytime he tries to talk to her it just comes out as

Dogday: H-hi! I’m- Dog. You- you

Craftycorn: Yes, I’m Craftycorn. We work together, live together, and have been doing this for at least a year. You don’t have to keep introducing yourself. *rolls eyes and walks away sassily

Dogday: Y-yeah. Hehe. I’m Dogday. She talked to me.

Catnap: You ok man?

Dogday: hehehe. She said we work together.

Catnap: … you need help man.

And then when the Hour of Joy happened? Most of the smiling friends went with Dogday. (I think Bobby Bearhug went with Catnap though. And got left behind cause they couldn’t keep up.And Bubbabubaphant died in the chaos on one side of the other. Not sure which. Leaning towards Catnap) Tempers flared because tension was so high you could cut it with a knife. Kickin Chicken and Hoppy Hopscotch went off to try to help kids get out, and never came back. Making things worse. Craftycorn then betrayed the whole group when she realized Piggy Piggy was eating more than her share. Craftycorn went absolutely nuts, getting a full monster form like Catnap and everything. So Dogday watched as kids, smaller toys, and nearly himself, were killed by yet another of his friends. Before Catnap, hearing the commotion, came to end things.

Craftycorn didn’t last long. Already wounded from the other toys fighting back before they were trampled and skewered on her horn. Catnap toyed with her, took his time. Got out some aggression since… “He chose YOU.”

When her carcass had finally stopped twitching, Catnap sat back on his haunches to look at the wreckage. See if anyone else was alive. Dogday, around a corner, had watched the whole thing dead silent. Now seeing what all of his friend had become? He couldn’t help it… he choked. Sobbing and retching. Catnap turned and was on him in a flash.

Unlike with Craftycorn, Catnap was fast this time. Too fast for a distraught and surprised Dogday to handle. A searing pain ripped through his torso the second Catnap’s dead eyed face loomed over him. Thankfully he blacked out before much else. Although he did catch the sudden shift in Catnap’s expression. Was that… regret?

Dogday was left hanging for the rest of his life. He didn’t know how long it was. It felt both like a blink, and an eon. Catnap only came by to gloat. And to put him to sleep. That horror filled sleep with nothing but nightmares and pain, where he had legs but couldn’t run. His friends needed him but he didn’t help. Then he’d awaken hours or days later to the lower appendages gone. The pain a constant reminder of the fact he should have used them when he had the chance.

At least he can warn you to do what he should have done. Save those you can save. Help those who are help-able. And when you are met with horrors beyond your comprehension? Or someone beyond hope? Run. RUN!

RUN AWAY NOW!!!

(Anyway those post started as “haha I headcanon bi failure Dogday.” And then… this happened. :D Cause what if everyone he trusted either betrayed him? Or he thinks he betrayed them. Who knows. He might blame himself over Catnap and Craftycorn too. :3)

[no-sleep-fox]

Some People Shouldn't Cook

Warnings: Kickin being a silly dummy /silly /affectionate

Note: don't ever let him cook or bake anything…by himself or with others. This is based off of a lil idea of a Kickin I roleplay as in a discord server btw! :]

The small door to the chicken coop opened and shut softly with a click. Standing there, now leaning a skateboard against the wall next to the door, KickinChicken stood. A relaxed, small smile on his face as he took off his jacket and hung it up on one of the nearby hooks.

Kickin was slow to make his way to the kitchen in the small home. It had been a long day that summer day. Having spent most of it playfully competing against Hoppy to see who was better at soccer and surfing.

Obviously Hoppy won soccer multiple times, while Kickin was able to easily beat her at surfing. And having to sometimes ensure that she was ok whenever the rabbit did fall off of the board. Before the day was even over, Kickin had decided to part ways with his friend group for the day and head on over to his skatepark to have a bit more fun there.

So, all-in-all, Kickin was actually quite tired now after such an eventful day. And what better way to end off the day by having a small snack before going to sleep? The chicken certainly didn't feel like cooking or baking much of anything. Mostly baking due to his…last attempt at it.

With a small sigh of exhaustion, now in the kitchen doorway, where there was actually no door. Kickin shuffled over to his fridge first to see what he could find that was small and simple to just plop in the microwave. Finding nothing, Kickin moved to check in the pantry. The chicken looked around in there for a while before finally settling on something; Mac and Cheese!

There's no way something could go wrong with that! And it was in one of the little bowls made for itself. Exactly what Kickin was hoping for, so now he doesn't need to look for a pot or a microwaveable container! Or even a microwaveable glass bowl. With a small yet tired smile, eyes half lidded due to the sleep slowly trying to take hold, Kickin closed the pantry door and moved away from it.

With tired eyes, the chicken quickly, and lazily, scanned over the instructions to ensure he knew everything. Which usually wasn't much. Without even reading all of it, Kickin undid the lid halfway before taking the cheese packet out and placing it to the side. Without even thinking much, the chicken soon opened the door and lazily placed it in there before closing it.

Pressing one of the numbers, the microwave started up, slowly turning the plate inside with the cup and macaroni in it around. With a small yawn, Kickin took a seat at the small table he had placed in the kitchen further away from the fridge, microwave, and stove. Watching the macaroni do its thing to be down halfway so he can put the cheese in it.

After a couple of seconds, Kickin's eyes narrowed in slow realization, slowly realizing that he didn't even put water in the cup yet. Or at all for that matter, and just put the macaroni in there without doing anything besides taking the packet out. The chicken was about to slowly get up before the cup inside the microwave had suddenly bursted into a flame, startling Kickin.

“OH SHIT!”

Kickin had yelled out, hurrying out of his chair, knocking it down in the process, and opening the microwave door. Panicking, Kickin was about to nearly pick it up before at least a small bit of logic kicked in again. Panicking further, Kickin didn't know what to do, let alone think of something logical at the moment to figure out what to do.

Then a thought crosses his mind; he could possibly call Bubba! The elephant is way smarter than him, so perhaps he would know what to do. Instead of calling 911, like a normal person (/jjj), Kickin dialed up Bubba after rushing out of the kitchen. Having to snag the Smilephone out of his jacket pocket before going back to the kitchen and staring at the microwave and the still on fire cup.

“Come on, Bubba, pick up. Pick up, pick up…please oh go-”

The phone finally stopped ringing with a click, Bubba had finally picked up after two minutes.

“Kickin? Why are you calling me?”

“Bubs! Heeeey! So, I have this funny question. Heh…how do you stop a fire inside of a microwave?”

“A fire inside of a microwave? Kickin, what did you do this time?”

“Nothing!! I mean— uh…ugh, well…I might have forgotten to add…some water to a cup of macaroni…”

Kickin answered Bubba, feeling a bit embarrassed for having forgotten such a simple thing. Especially now that he had said it out loud and was admitting to it. Even if it was to someone in his friend group. It was just so…embarrassing to him.

Kickin heard a heavy sigh on the other side, a bit of grumbling which made him feel a bit more embarrassed for being so forgetful. Rubbing the tips of his fingers with his free hand as Bubba didn't answer for a few seconds. Just those few seconds made him not only worry about his own situation, but also worry if he had finally gotten on the elephant's nerve once and for all.

“Alright, I'll explain what you need to do.”

Kickin beamed at that, glad that his friend was still willing to help. Giving his thanks, the chicken listened carefully. Doing exactly what Bubba instructed him to do, with a bit of fumbling with some items. Mostly due to the still lingering panic he felt from seeing the cup of macaroni on fire, though was doing well nonetheless!

Once the fire was out, with a sigh of relief, Kickin spoke to Bubba once more.

“Thanks again, man. I own you one, heh.”

“It's nothing, Kickin. Just be sure to add water next time. Now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Kickin.”

“I’ll try. Goodnight, Bubs!”

“Kickin…do actually be careful. Don't just forget this within two days.”

Without being able to say anything else, Bubba hung up. Rubbing the back of his head, Kickin looked over at the microwave with a small frown. Welp, he isn't going to be making any Mac and Cheese for a while now…

[bropunzeling]

for the never have i ever meme: slow burn!!

god a real true slow burn is my white whale, concept wise; i want to write one SO BAD. obvi there are some pairings where that is easier than others (brady/anyone, ducklings could also make a great slow burn but probably more stupid than swooningly romantic lol) but i keep thinking about matthew/leon as like, a personal challenge. like, ofc i have written them fucking and falling in love [redacted] times but a version of them where they don't fuck and still fall in love??? now that's a CHALLENGE challenge

for more realism points, you could have some future fic wacky trade shenanigans, and perhaps someday i will write somethign with those so i will selfishly keep them to myself until i know more. but a thing that i am not going to write (but think about often) is my version of "both of them get drafted by the kraken in the expansion draft (and no one knows how edmonton or calgary could've let that happen)"

because the thing is, the kraken are gonna be shit. everyone knows this. seattle isn't vegas, they're not going to be going to the cup finals their first year out the gate. ron francis has time to build up the franchise. they won't be good. and that eats at leon, because like, when in his life has he ever been satisfied with not being good? never. and now he's stuck on this shitty team just starting out and got abandoned by his franchise and what the fuck is he supposed to do now.

and the other thing is, 2020 was not all that long ago. and yeah, leon never actually hated matthew tkachuk, not in the way it got spun up, but that doesn't mean they're best friends. not even buddies. they are teammates, and they have a job to do, and leon doesn't need to get along with the guy except on the ice.

except a week into the preseason, he and matthew go for some pr thing to a local brewery, and in between tasting beers that are disgustingly hoppy and eating too many pretzels, matthew hisses across the table that look, he knows leon doesn't like him, that leon isn't his biggest fan, but doesn't he want to work together? doesn't he want this to work out? and when leon glares back, matthew adds that he at least wants to prove his old team wrong.

well. leon can't argue with that.

first season is shit. the way everyone knew it would be. but it's not - absolute shit. they get a lot closer to the playoffs than they have any right to. leon and matthew and mccann are producing. and - turns out matthew isn't so awful, once he's out of calgary. turns out he's down to do whatever - team bonding experiences, checking out new restaurants. and half the time, leon gets roped along. he stops protesting after a while.

second season, though -

they're better. they're a lot better. francis made some solid moves; they managed to snatch up a first overall pick at fourth. matty beniers is here from ann arbor, and yeah he looks at matthew a little like matthew hung the moon, but that's mostly funny instead of annoying. the ntdp really is a cult. matthew and leon aren't always on a line, but when they are, they click.

and matthew hasn't stopped being down to do whatever. has continued, in fact, to insist on doing things. exploring the city. becoming regulars. they'll get lunch after practice. drinks after games. on the road, more often than not, when leon's making plans, he's making them with matthew.

halfway through the season, they're on track to at least get a wild card spot. maybe better. during their bye week, they join a group of guys going to cabo. at the bar, matthew orders them both drinks in flat midwestern-accented spanish, clinks his shot glass against leon's. leon spends half a second staring at matthew's hand around the tiny glass, then his mouth, wet and red, before he remembers to take the shot.

when leon takes his shot, he opens his eyes to find matthew looking back at him, eyes dark and heated and unmistakable, and oh, this is not something leon wanted to know that he wanted. not now, when they still have so much to prove.