#cricket web stories

[rajexpress-seo]

Famous Female ''Kaathavachak'' Of India

Web Stories - Visual Stories

1. Jaya Kishori:

Jaya Kishori is an Indian musician and spiritual speaker, known for her motivational talks and religious albums. The stories of Shri Krishna are described in his stories.

2. Chitralekha

Chitralekha is an Indian renowned storyteller and spiritual speaker who is famous for her motivational talks and sermons. She preaches Bhagwat Geeta.

3. Prachi Devi:

Prachi Devi is an Indian female storyteller, famous for her sermons. She preaches Bhagwat Geeta.

4. Palak Kishori:

Palak Kishori recites Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta in a musical manner. People have liked her style of storytelling so much that now she has become quite famous.

News Web Stories - Sports Web stories

5. Pratibha Devi:

Pratibha Devi is an Indian famous story teller, who is famous for giving sermons. She preaches Bhagwat Geeta.

6. Krishnapriya:

Krishnapriya is a 27 year old famous female storyteller, who is famous for her Bhagwat stories as well as Ram stories.

7. Devi Nidhi Saraswat

Devi Nidhi Saraswat is a very famous preacher of Srimad Bhagavad Katha and Ramayana. It narrates the story with her sister Neha Saraswat.

8. Neha Saraswat:

Aligarh resident Neha Saraswat, who has been propagating Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta since the age of 7, recites the story of Shrimad Bhagwat Katha and Ramayana along with her sister Nidhi Saraswat.

[mossmx]

love this movie, I mantain the idea was perfect, ecco una dimostrazione del mio amore:

[flawseer]

#29b - "Pokémon"

Smaugust 2024

I felt bad for kind of phoning this one in. So I cut into some of my down time to resurrect a small portion of my original plan for this prompt.

You may or may not be confused by some of the typings I have chosen for these characters, foremost likely why none of them have "Dragon" as their type. Dragon, in the source material, is supposed to be a rare type, and I believe this characteristic would become muddled and meaningless if it was given to basically every character in the story. So the Dragon type here is reserved for Queens, great leaders, and characters of mythical significance. This means that Glory will evolve into a Poison/Dragon type somewhere down the line.

Another, smaller source of befuddlement may come from making Starflight a Dark type. I had this idea that, in ancient times, Nightwings used to be Psychic types, but then became Dark types when they lost their powers.

And lastly, it's not relevant for the characters on these cards, but the Fairy type is reserved for animus dragons.

Here are some other characters who didn't make it:

Moonwatcher, PSYCHIC, Quiet nature, Forewarn

Winter, ICE, Serious nature, Dazzling

Kinkajou, POISON, Impish nature, Vital Spirit

Turtle, WATER/FAIRY, Timid nature, Battle Armor

Qibli, GROUND/POISON, Naughty nature, Adaptability

Peril, FIRE/FLYING, Lonely nature, Flame Body

Riptide, WATER/FIGHTING, Serious nature, Contrary

Deathbringer, DARK/GHOST, Quirky nature, Infiltrator

Fatespeaker, DARK/PSYCHIC, Jolly nature, Anticipation

Flame, FIRE/DARK, Hasty nature, Pickpocket

Squid, WATER, Naive nature, Damp

Ochre, GROUND/ROCK, Lax nature, Gluttony

Viper, GROUND/POISON, Bold nature, Aftermath

Anemone, WATER/FAIRY, Sassy nature, Klutz

Icicle, ICE, Serious nature, Competitive

Ostrich, GROUND/POISON, Impish nature, Keen Eye

Tamarin, POISON/GRASS, Modest nature, Flower Gift

Webs, WATER, Timid nature, Defeatist

Dune, GROUND/POISON, Calm nature, Slow Start

Kestrel, FIRE/FLYING, Hardy nature, Anger Point

Morrowseer, DARK, Lonely nature, Mold Breaker

Scarlet, DRAGON/FIRE, Bold nature, Bad Dreams

Coral, DRAGON/WATER, Adamant nature, Merciless

Burn, DRAGON/GROUND, Bold nature, Beast Boost

Blister, DRAGON/POISON, Careful nature, Corrosion

Blaze, DRAGON/GROUND, Relaxed nature, Emergency Exit

Darkstalker, PSYCHIC/FAIRY, Impish nature, Wonder Guard

Clearsight, PSYCHIC, Serious nature, Telepathy

Fathom, WATER/FAIRY, Timid nature, Triage

Indigo, WATER/FIGHTING, Hardy nature, Stalwart

Whiteout, DARK/PSYCHIC, Quirky nature, Own Tempo

Blue, BUG/NORMAL, Mild nature, Simple

Cricket, BUG, Jolly nature, Power of Alchemy

And probably many more that I didn't get around to.

The default ability of Rainwings would likely be Color Change, for Mudwings it would be Earth Eater... Maybe Sturdy for Sandwings.

Okay, I think that's enough.

[sudokuplayer]

I agree with you about the ridiculous book titles but I don't think the ones you mention are so great. Like what's so good about them👀

hiii 👋🏻 I apologize for this long answer. This is so serious for me lol I could talk about it for hours.

I think Giovanni's Room is a perfect title. As I said, it's short and evocative, and I think it's also mysterious but not that mysterious. You don't know what's up with the room in question but you can gather, for example, that this guy Giovanni is Italian, otherwise the name would be John or something, so for sure his Italian identity will be relevant. You have to assume there’s intention behind something as significant as a main character’s name. Also, and more importantly, there's no last name attached to Giovanni so it suggests intimacy—being on a first name basis. It lets you know that whoever tells the story is close to Giovanni; for sure close enough to have been inside his room. Name and last name creates a sense of distance and formality, or it suggests the person is 'important' or special; preternatural like Dorian Gray, famous like that woman Evelyn Hugo (probably, I haven't read it). But just ✨Giovanni✨ ... you can tell it's going to be a first person account of the events by someone who knows Giovanni very intimately. But obviously I’ve already read it and my interpretation is biased. Nothing about the title guarantees it'll be a first person account. This is just what I mean by evocative; it makes me theorize and read into it.

Now, just Giovanni, like Emma or Carrie or Rebecca, wouldn't work because—and this you find out once you read the novel but the title is already telling you—the room is the main character; it's the metaphor. But I wanted to mention those single name titles just to say I don't like them lol. I get them but I think they don't really work nowadays. A recent example I can think of is Eileen. Crickets, right? Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. It's a good novel though.

And I also don't like "[Name] [Last Name]" titles very much:  - Anna Karenina  - Jane Eyre  - David Copperfield  - Oliver Twist 

As I said, full names give a sense of distance (imo!), BUT those I mentioned make sense because the novels span the lifetime of the character. Of course the title of a person's life should be their name, and at least it's not something like The Unbelievable Life of David Copperfield, which would be so silly. I think full name titles had their time too. Just Evelyn Hugo would be crickets but it doesn't mean its original title is any better lol 

Giovanni's Room is perfect because I think "[Name]’s [Noun]" is a good title formula: - Charlotte’s Web - Ender’s Game - Sophie’s Choice

Adding an adjective to any of these would truly fuck them up. Imagine if it was Giovanni's Mysterious Room… flop! It was already mysterious. Or Giovanni's Peculiar Room, also a flop and an awful sounding adjective. 

You have to be very particular about the adjective to make "[Name]’s [Adjective] [Noun]" work. Howl's Moving Castle is a perfect example of a good one because it could have been something like Howl's Magical Castle, right? But that sounds basic. The chosen adjective, Moving, couldn't be more perfect.

The other title I mentioned in my post is The Bell Jar. Just picture a bell jar; something so delicate that can trap or protect or display or contain. You can already tell the metaphor game is going to be strong. Also, its formula is my favorite ever: "The [Noun]": - The Trial - The Metamorphosis - The Waves - The Tunnel  - The Goldfinch

This formula is serious business for me. I think it's perfect. Short and so sure of itself. They demand to be taken seriously. I see them and I feel reassured that the author is confident and clear about their work. 

"The [Adjective] [Noun]" is good too but it really has to need that adjective:  - The Virgin Suicides  - The Savage Detectives

I love "[Adjective] [Noun]" — Short yet compelling. Just two words so you can have them tattooed on the back of you ankles or something: - White Teeth  - Wuthering Heights - Sharp Objects - Invisible Monsters (Chuck Palahnuik’s titles are always a hit with me. Short and straightforward; they come across as very cool and crude, Fight Club, Choke, Snuff, and then he delivers cool and crude. The 3 titles below are by authors with a similar vibe to Palahnuik, and look at those titles… chef's kiss) - Exquisite Corpse  - American Psycho - Mysterious Skin

I also love "[Noun] and [Noun]" — To contrast, to compare, to complement each other, whatever it is it's always a hit. The alliteration in both Jane Austen's titles is more poetic than whatever long wordy title you can think of: - Pride and Prejudice  - Sense and Sensibility - War and Peace  - Sons and Lovers - Crime and Punishment 

❌ Now, the ones I consider flops no matter what. The long “creative” ones that come across as eager and insecure and make me roll my eyes.

Anything that tries to sound like The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Also these wretched formulas:

"The [Adjective] [Noun] of [Fuckass Name + Last Name]": - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August  - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (Two adjectives! Get out of here!)

"A [Noun] of a [Noun] and a [Noun]": - A Song of Ice and Fire - A Court of Thorns and Roses - A Book of Spirits and Thieves

"The [Person’s Job/Occupation] [Relative]" — The relative is usually a wife or a daughter: - The Surgeon's Daughter - The Time Traveler's Wife  - The Zookeeper's Wife - The Shopkeeper's Daughter

"All The + [Some Bullshit]": - All the Bright Places  - All the Light We Cannot See - All the Dangerous Things - All the Colors of the Dark

"Where the + [Some Bullshit]": - Where the Crawdads Sing - Where the Red Fern Grows - Where the Dead Sit Talking

"This Is How + [Some Bullshit]": - This Is How You Lose the Time War - This Is How It Always Is - This is How You Lose Her

"We Are All + [Some Bullshit]": - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - We Are All the Same in the Dark - We Are All Birds of Uganda - We Are All Made of Molecules

I also don't vibe with titles that instruct you to do something: - Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone  - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (good novel though!) - Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters - Go Tell It on the Mountain (adding one by the author of my beloved Giovanni's Room so you know I'm serious about this lol)

💌 To finish my rant on a more positive note, there are always exceptions, and I do like some poetic titles: - Tender Is the Night

One of my favorites and I haven't read it, I just like how it sounds. That would be "[Adjective] is the [Noun]". I don't know if there are more like this. I like that it's taken from a poem but it's not too wordy. 

And the following are all by John Steinbeck. His title game was insane! And they are all references, which shows it can be done with grace and measure: - East of Eden — biblical reference - The Grapes of Wrath — lyrics from hymn which references a bible passage - In Dubious Battle — from Paradise Lost - Of Mice and Men — this one could go in the [Noun] and [Noun] category but the preposition adds a little something imo, and it's also taken from a poem.

Anyway, I hope this wasn't a bore! 💌

[gardenofnoah]

i pulled you from the sea to hear you howl

note: i wrote this as a love letter to myself, because things are hard and i needed something soft. i hope this silly little story is a warm hug to you, too. <3 wc: no idea, i wrote this in drafts. my guess is around 8k tags: bakugou x reader, soulmate au (mild fantasy? idk), no quirk (bkg is a firefighter/first responder, reader is a baker), fated strangers to lovers, mentions of drinking (not unhealthily), meddling friends (cute though), sappy romance, smut (mdni)

Once, when you were five, the wind slipped in through the crack of your bedroom window. It whispered through the linen fibers of the thin drapes, a friendly ghost taking shape under a sheet. There, by the sea, the nightly breeze was as expected as the rise of the sun each morning. But on this night, the cool, coastal air brushed over your body with a murmur of something different—a gentle beckoning toward an embrace both ancient and yet known to you somehow.

Pulled into the dreamland with the brine of the ocean on your lips, the air was a warm quilt over your shoulders, shimmering with the hum of crickets and tree frogs hidden by the dark of night. You found yourself in a clearing, illuminated by the shining face of the moon, larger than life and swelled to its peak above your head. So opposite was this dense wood—absent was the marshy swell of the sea, the crunch of saturated sand beneath your feet—but you felt no fear. You’d no reason to know this place and yet it was a welcoming back—not home but older than that, like the marrow in your bones from your greatest grandmother.

Each step forward was a whisper to the webs of roots and mycelium twisting deep into the dirt below you, each one echoed back to you in taps against the soles of your feet. It propelled you forward, your tiny feet stomping with gusto as a backtrack to the sounds of your giggles, this conversation with the earth that only you and She were privy to.

You reached the perimeter of the clearing and pushed forward still, thick brambles of the wood curving outward, welcoming you in and clearing a path of stardust, iridescent in the moonlight. Deeper into the forest you went, the pad of your footfalls against the soil growing louder and then louder still, like the rhythmic strike of palms against a goblet drum. By the time you reached the source of the sound you felt the beat under your skin, thundering through the networks of sinew and nerves that kept you upright and pushing forward. The path opened into another glade, this one smaller and hugged tight by a ring of willow trees.

There was no drum to be found, though—in fact, the only other apparition in the meadow was that of a wolf before you.

Five years old and only knowing a life of brackish water pounding against steep cliffs and secret, sandy coves, you'd no reason to be able to identify the beast before you, and yet you were certain. Coat of lustrous gold by the light of the moon, it merely blinked its bleary, crimson eyes as you approached, none too cautious as you should have been. All the sound around you—the drumming, the crickets, the tree frogs, the whispers of the wind—quieted with the presence of the wolf. All that remained was the gentle sigh of breath from your new companion, who you knew, somehow, was just that.

But as you finally were close enough to feel the puff of heat with each breath from the wolf’s snout, you found it to be no wolf at all; you sunk your fingers into the thick, silky fur only to watch as feathered, inky wings unfurled to a great height from either side of the creature’s spine. The darkness cradled you then—downy feathers curling into a shield above your head as you settled between the maw and the chest of the wild thing, tame as a house cat in your presence.

You felt the beat of a heart and a rumbling against your back as you curled into its warmth. Your eyes grew heavy again, lulled by the chuff of the wolf that deepened with every stroke of your fingers through its coat. You whimpered, fighting against the pull of the inevitable day and wanting to stay here, if only a little longer.

“Not yet,” you heard, unsure even now if the beast had spoken the words or imparted them onto you, raspy and deep, “but soon.”

.

..

…

The absence of light in the sky and the knowledge that it was a Saturday meant little to you as you dragged yourself from the warmth of your sheets. Truthfully, you rarely needed an alarm clock these days—not when the smell of baking sourdough dutifully wafted up through your apartment each morning.

You slid your feet into your slippers, jamming them a little further inside on each trudging step to the bathroom. Toes curling into the fleece lining, you surveyed the damage you'd done in your sleep—hair in varying states of matted disarray around your head, and deep, darkened indents on one side of your face. You'd slept like the dead—dreams muted and indistinct, as they always had been. All except for that one.

No amount of taming could fix the rat's nest atop your head, but you tried anyway—ignoring the snag of knots as you forced every strand you could into some semblance of order, tight and secure on the crown of your head. You brushed your teeth and washed your face on autopilot, your mind already downstairs and 12 steps ahead.

Still in your slippers, each wooden step creaked its loving good morning to you until you reached the landing, shoving at the heavy wooden door with both hands, instantly warming at the sight revealed to you behind it.

Aiya stood at the great brick oven, more inside of it than not as she poked and prodded at the smoldering logs toward its opposite end. The smell of yeast and heat hit you like a wave as it permeated its way into every fiber of your being. It didn't matter that it was 5:30 in the morning—no one was as lucky as you in this moment.

"You'll get stuck one of these days."

Aiya swore, backing carefully out of the mouth of the oven to face you fully, her dark eyes already narrowed into a glare.

"You scared the hell out of me. Walk heavier."

You grinned, nudging her with your shoulder as you moved past her, deeper into the kitchen. Butcher's block already floured, thanks to your counterpart.

"We don't have any delivery orders today, yeah?"

"Nope," Aiya called, still fighting with the flames inside its brick container, "just a regular ol' baking day."

You hummed, scanning over the recipe cards pinned to the drywall in front of you—all recipes you'd sourced from years of harassing the community grandmothers and scouring local thrift stores. You settled on one of your favorites: a simple rye loaf, earthy and malty and beautifully sour. It was a best seller for a reason.

"I didn't hear you get up this morning," you murmured, grabbing the light rye flour off the wooden shelf above your head.

Aiya snorted, resting the metal poker against the brick of the oven and making her way toward you. "I don't know how you could've. I could've jumped on you from the top rope and you'd have slept through it."

She bumped her hip into yours, a silent request to shift so she could open the cooler below you, under the counter top. You did this dance every morning—the small size of the kitchen inconsequential to the knowledge of being so in synch with each other.

Despite feeling as if you'd known her in another life, Aiya had only entered this one in its second half, with you serendipitously knocking her clean off her feet at an early morning farmers' market, not quite awake and distracted by the merchant grinding flour in a portable mill. She'd been focused on the same thing, and your shared love of baking started a friendship that quickly became inseparable.

The decision to open a bakery came from an evening of drunken idealism—giggling and plotting the rest of your lives together, sighing over a possibility that felt too far fetched, even with the wine.

"I mean," you'd started, sitting back into the threadbare cushions of the couch you'd hauled in off the sidewalk a few years before, back when you'd moved her into your spare bedroom, deciding you needed it filled with her light. "We could just. Do it?"

Aiya snorted into her glass, whining when red splashed back in her face. "Damn. Right in the eye."

"I mean, why not?" you pressed, feeling emboldened, "the space downstairs is open. And our credit is...good enough? For a loan?"

Aiya ran a sleeve covered hand over her face, blinking bleary eyes at you in the dim of your living room. "I'm with you. I probably shouldn't be? But I am."

The rest were pages in your history—some less fondly remembered than others, but ultimately, you opened your bakery, right below your shared apartment overlooking the sea. It was dreamy, a thing you never could've imagined would turn into your reality. But here you were.

So you spent your mornings like this—waking up to the smell of rising bread, covered in flour and sweat before the sun came up. Over the years you'd become something of a staple in the community, and you were grateful for the assurance that your regulars would show up dutifully every time you flipped the little sign to 'open'.

Three hours later, you had a tray full of warm, oval shaped loaves to put on their wooden display shelves—all lined up like books in a library behind the serving counter. You placed them on their racks just as the morning sun streamed in through the front windows—your favorite part of the morning.

"Hana coming in this morning?" you called over your shoulder, making your way toward the front door to flip the sign and open for the day.

"Think so," Aiya made her way out to the front to join you, untying her apron and hanging it on the hook next to yours. The saloon style doors clanged shut behind her—a sound you never got tired of hearing. It reminded you of your great grandmother's kitchen.

Hana was Aiya's kid sister—she'd gotten into some trouble in the last few months, and you'd offered her a part-time job manning the counter to keep her on the straight and narrow. To your surprise, she was really good at it. Her grades came up shortly after she'd started, and although you'd given her the option, she kept coming back.

You returned behind the counter, adjusting and readjusting the wall of breads while Aiya filled the pastry cooler. The bell of the door rang out, signaling the start of the day.

"Good morning!" you called over your shoulder, pulling the metal cooking racks out from under your now-cooled rye loaves. "How are y—"

Turning around to face your first customer, your grip went slack—your racks clattering to the floor. You'd barely registered the pain of one bouncing off your slipper-clad toes, because in your doorway was your wolf—looking just as astounded to see you.

"What the—you good?"

Aiya bent down to pick up the racks, returning them to your still outstretched hands. She looked from you, to your visitor, who was a—man. A man, standing there before you, his definitely human hands shoved inside jean pockets that human people with human limbs wore. But—you knew.

It was his eyes, first—such an unusual shade of carmine that somehow felt like the most natural thing in the world to you. But then you noticed the hair—shooting out in all directions in the most familiar shade of gold—the exact shade of your wolf. It was him—it had to be—

You shook your head—this was insane.

"Sorry about that," you chuckled, fighting to shake off the momentary lapse in reality that you had to have just experienced, "I, um—yeah. What can I get you?"

The man in front of you blinked—wide, achingly familiar eyes still displaying the shell-shock that you felt.

"Just a—uh. Rye."

You fought through the second blow to your nerves, fingers stabbing at the register screen too hard, because—his voice. It was the voice, the one you'd carried inside your heart for the last 23 years.

You rang him up on autopilot, wrapping the loaf in its crinkly brown paper, your mind screaming at you not to drop it as you handed it over the counter. You sucked in a breath through your teeth as his fingertips brushed yours—it was all you could do not to wrench your hand back like you'd been burned. You forced a smile, though you didn't have to see your face to know it wasn't convincing.

"Thank you," you compelled yourself to say, "have a good one."

He nodded, turning swiftly on his heels. The bell chimed as the door swung shut behind him—giving you permission to slump against the counter, forehead to the wood as you fought for control over your own heart rate.

"What," Aiya drawled, peeking out from behind the kitchen doors, "was that all about?"

.

..

...

You sighed, flipping the door sign to 'closed'. You felt no satisfaction in hearing the lock click—not after this morning.

You'd never told Aiya about the dream—because why would you have? Kids had weird dreams—that was like, the cornerstone of being a kid, probably. It was weird that you had fixated on it, all these years. You were pretty sure you shouldn't have been able to remember it at all, with what stage of development your brain had been in, much less with such aching clarity.

Trudging back up the stairs to your apartment, you only half-heard the gist of Aiya's chittering—undeterred by your refusal to tell her what had affected you so suddenly this morning, and unconvinced by your half-true excuse of "I thought I knew him from somewhere". Only when you'd gone nonverbal did she drop it, but you had a hunch that her silence was strategic—it would come up again, undoubtedly.

You crawled into bed far earlier than appropriate, but you were wiped—you'd wracked your brain longer today than you ever had, trying to identify the meaning in all of this. The back and forth of okay but that was totally the wolf—bird—thing that visited me in my sleep when I was five, to at what point should I start considering psychiatric help was exhausting and giving you a bit of whiplash. Maybe there was no meaning—maybe your budding subconscious had leant into its creativity when you were small, and now the universe had just randomly dropped the human embodiment of the thing that had stuck with you for the last two decades at your doorstep.

You didn't believe that, though—not if you were really honest with yourself. You had—for better or worse—not been hardened by the state of being a human trying to forge a life in an unforgiving world, and you still believed that things happened for a reason. Which did not actually feel like a good quality to possess in this moment, because normal, jaded people would probably not sit up in bed and fixate on if their customer was actually a mystical creature. But here you were.

You reached for your nightstand—relying on muscle memory more than sight to seek out the thing that had always served to calm your racing mind. Tattered from over the years and embarrassingly obvious now, your hand curls around the belly of your stuffed dog—it's matted fur dulled to a dusty beige. It had been your first stuffed animal when you were born, and posed a striking resemblance to your wolf, though you supposed you could see him in anything if you tried hard enough, with your serendipity-loving mush brain.

Window open, the ocean breeze brought in a salty draft that flirted with your curtains and tickled your face. Tugging on a pointed ear, your eyes drifted closed as you drew in breath after deep breath, settling deeper into your bed. Crushed velvet under the pad of your thumb, you thought of the sound of the forest again—and what it would feel like to step onto that mossy ground now.

.

..

...

You were no more desensitized to his presence when he came back.

In the kitchen, you heard the bell clink off the door as it swung open.

You stiffened, like instead of the outside breeze something like knowing curled at your skin and raised goosebumps.

"Well hi there, stranger." You could hear the shit-eating grin on Aiya's face even behind the wall. "What'll it be today?"

Despite all of your brain's attempts to keep your feet firmly planted where they were, they carried you out to the register anyway, feeling nothing but especially foolish at the way you had no real reason to be out there.

"Good morning," you told him, voice quiet and smile still a little wobbly, but mostly recovered this time.

He nodded at you, a clipped thing that should've felt rude but only served to flip your stomach.

Aiya made no attempt to disguised the way she openly gawked at you both, curiosity morphing into something plotting as she plopped another rye loaf into a bag, dropped it on the counter, and walked back into the kitchen without a word. Leaving you and your stranger in silence.

It was only a minute before it felt oppressive. "I haven't seen you in before this week," a carefully worded half-truth, "you new to the area?"

He let out a grunt that you took as an affirmative. "New to the coast."

You hummed, trying to feign nonchalance, typing nonsense numbers into the screen in front of you just to have a reason not to look at him.

"Well," you smiled with what you were certain was too much teeth, sliding the bag toward him, "welcome to town."

"This your place?" he asked, careful to wait until your hands were off of it to reach for it this time.

Your smile was genuine this time. "Yeah. Mine and Aiya's, for a few years now." You told him your name, and only the important points of the shop's back story. "It's my baby. I'm always grateful when new folks find it."

You weren't sure if the drop in his shoulders was a trick of the light. "S'good," he muttered, nodding to the bag in front of him. The small praise curled around your heart.

"I appreciate that. What's your name?"

Florid eyes met your own, then, and their hardness should've been off-putting. Should've been.

"Katsuki," he said softly, breaking your gaze to reach into his pocket and drop a few bills into your tip jar.

"Well thanks, Katsuki," you suddenly felt a little bashful about having the jar at all, "I'll see you soon?"

He was nearly turned around by the time you saw him nod, here and then gone like he'd been the time before.

The saloon door creaked behind you - and you knew your best friend had been pressed against it for the entirety of that conversation.

"Okay," she started, huddling next to you, head titled toward yours conspiratorially, "you have got to tell me what's going on with him."

You sighed, looking around the shop. Empty for now, but there was no way to tell her any of what you were feeling without sounding insane, so there was no such thing as too little privacy.

"C'mon," you muttered, towing her by the elbow into the kitchen, all the way to the back wall.

"Out with it," she grinned, leaning against the counter and not worried at all about the flour now coating the underside of her sleeve.

So you told her. All of the details about the original dream from so long ago — the wolf, it's brilliant coat and inky feathers. The voice you heard, the eyes you now saw peering back at you each time Katsuki made an appearance. There was no stopping the heat that crawled up your neck as you explained your suspicions.

"I feel nuts," you groaned, leaning back against the counter, face in your hands. "This is nuts, right?"

Aiya was oddly silent as she considered it. A minute passed — and another before you started to squirm.

"I mean..." she mumbled, clearly still sliding pieces together in her mind. Her eyes snapped back to yours, bright. "It is. Definitely. But I'm inclined to believe you."

"I am not at all surprised by that."

"Hey," she chided, reaching over to shove at you, "I'm just saying. Stranger things have happened. Not to me. Or anyone I know. But I'm sure they have."

Her rambling made you laugh. She had such a way of telling you you were insane and affirming your insanity all at once.

"He's handsome, though," she grinned at you, far too knowing, "eh?"

"Don't you have something to do?" Groaning, you turned away from her, cheeks burning and unnecessarily grabbing stray pieces of parchment paper off the counter. She snorted, reaching out to squeeze your hip before walking back out to the register.

You let out a breath, sagging against the butcher block. Handsome, yes — unnervingly so.

"Dude!" Aiya screeched, startling you out of your commiserating, "He left like—" a pause, "thirty dollars in here!"

.

..

...

Katsuki returned with some regularity, after that. It was a good two months before you stopped sweating just watching him walk through the door. Longer still to stop the incessant hammer of your heart when you spoke to him.

Even through your nerves, you learned about him. He'd grown up around the deciduous forests inland (a tidbit of information that hit your stomach like a bomb), playing in streams and catching tree frogs. He'd grown up and been trained as a firefighter—eight months ago, he'd come to the coast to complete an emergency medicine certificate, and had decided to stick around.

"So like," you sipped at your tea, letting the warmth settle the lingering shakiness you'd felt since you (very bravely) joined him at his table during a lull between customers, "ambulance rides, IVs, all that?"

He'd taken to ordering something other than rye bread over the last few weeks. It could've had something to do with the way Aiya had started not-so-politely pestering him to order from the brunch menu on Saturday mornings. Until a couple months ago, you did not have a brunch menu.

He shook his head, leaning back in his seat. You felt your gaze slipping to the strain of his black t-shirt against his chest, but the mortification at getting caught kept it trained on his face. Not a bad alternative.

"S'what happens before the ambulance gets there. The idea is to station us at checkpoints in national parks, protected forest areas — places where help ain't as fast to get there. Some asshole ashes a cigarette and starts a forest fire — we go haul his ass outta there and treat the life-threatening stuff so that he's stabilized enough to be transported."

It was the most you'd ever heard him speak in one go, and the most animated you'd seen him to boot. To imagine him out there saving lives sent a wicked little thrill up your spine that you fought hard to ignore.

You brushed the pad of your finger over the rim of your mug, considering it. "So why fire?"

He shrugged, turning his gaze from you to something out the window, squinting toward the coast in the distance. The silence stretched on long enough that you started to fear you'd struck a nerve.

"My old man," he said finally, quieter than before. You watched as he pushed his hands into his pockets, shoulders raised slightly, like he meant to protect himself from a threat that hadn't materialized yet. "Our house caught fire when I was a kid. Electrical. By the time the smoke detector went off, the whole place was burning. Got me and mom out, but," he drew in a breath, held it. You found yourself mirroring him. "Yeah. No good."

You let out the breath and with it went all of the air in the room. You followed his gaze out, down to the ocean, pressing your palm to the ache in your chest.

"You must be proud," you told him, because it felt marginally better than something so meaningless as an apology for such a painful burden to carry.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him puff up a little at that. He hummed, a low, clipped thing. Cleared his throat.

"It's cool that you have a path that's so meaningful to you," you offered, trying to take away some of the strain of the last few minutes. "I always thought I'd be a librarian."

You watched him deflate, watched the wall come down just a hair, as he turned back to you. "What happened?"

You shrugged, taking another sip from your mug. "I hated the research part. Which turns out, is like...the whole part."

That earned you a rare and incredibly disarming hint of a smirk. It felt like Christmas.

"I just like to read. I like storytelling." You tilted your head toward the direction of the street outside. "There was a bookstore I worked in before we bought this place. This little old lady owned it, and when she died, I asked her husband if I could continue to run it." You smiled, drawn into the memory. "She'd told him under no circumstances was he to let me run the store."

Katsuki's eyebrows knitted together, and it was almost boyish enough to feel like a sucker punch to the gut. "Why?"

"She'd heard me talk about baking. She knew that was where my heart was." You rubbed a watermark off the side of your mug with your thumb — your turn to feel a little too vulnerable. "I would've been content there, but she wanted me to have more. No sense in settling for contentment when all I really needed was a kick in the ass to have what I actually wanted."

"I miss her," you said, nearly a whisper, "She taught me a lot. I didn't have someone like that until I met her."

Katsuki was quiet again, his default setting, watching you fiddle with your tea and considering what you'd said.

"Husband still around?"

"Yeah, actually," you grinned at him, relieved to be back in less unguarded territory, "he lives down the street. Hana takes him dinner rolls every Monday." You nodded toward the girl stationed at the counter, who was very obviously trying to eavesdrop unnoticed.

"He calls me every few days. He says he's lonely," you chuckled, shaking your head, "he's not. He's a busybody and he wants to gossip about the neighbors' yappy dog that pees in his yard."

Katsuki let out a surprised little laugh at that — a soft, raspy thing that hit your ears with such devastating sweetness that you weren't sure you could look at him. Blessedly, he looked down at his phone and cursed.

"Thanks for chatting with me," you told him, watching him wrap up the remaining half of whatever egg sandwich Aiya had forced on him this morning and stand from his seat.

He nodded, turning to leave, but paused halfway to the first step. Turning back to you, he said, "Nonfiction or fiction."

Smiling, you tilted your head to the side, confused and amused and assuming his statement to be a question. "Fiction. Not even close."

Nodding again, as serious as if you'd told him an answer far more grave than you had. Without a word, he left — the clang of the door behind him landing a little more melancholy on your heart than you thought it should. You watched him walk across the street — all roping muscle and broad, sure strides — until he was out of sight.

You shook your head in a feeble attempt to dislodge that last part, tipping back to drain the last of your tea before getting up to check on today's sandwich bread — a loaf that was notoriously difficult to bake to the correct rise and texture.

"I would say you're down bad," Hana drawled, leaning over the counter with her chin in her hand, "but that would pale in comparison to what I just watched."

"Shut it," you tried to be stern, but to suppress the flush was impossible. "Go get a bag ready for your deliveries."

She rolled her eyes, clearly not taking you seriously. You shook your head, unable to stop the smile pulling at the corners of your mouth as you walked back into the kitchen.

"Down atrocious, maybe," you heard her mutter behind you, "Dreadful? No. Down abominable."

"Oh my god, goodbye Hana," you groaned, grinning still at the sound of her answering cackle.

Down abominable, indeed.

.

..

...

A week later, you’d trudged down the steps in your slippers to pull the mail from the box, starting when your fingertips met something harder than you were expecting. Inside a careful wrapping of brown paper was a hard copy of a book you hadn’t read, but been eyeing in the shop down the road. A story about a baker and the mystical creature she befriends, that leads her on the journey of a lifetime. You shook your head, tucking the book under your arm and trudging back up the steps, a feeling blooming in your chest, expanding with every step.

.

..

…

You warmed at the sight of the caller ID on the phone, too near to closing to answer had it been anyone else.

"Well hello, little bear. How are you?"

You smiled at the nickname — you'd no idea how the couple had landed on it, but it'd stuck.

"I'm good, Jiji. How are you? You still having trouble with that little guy across the street?"

"Oh, he's just a nightmare. But that's not why I'm calling you."

You grinned, already anticipating this week's gossip. "Oh?"

"Now why did that little girl come down here and tell me you had a boyfriend before you did?"

Hana. That nosy little witch.

"I don't know why she would've done that, Ji," landline caught between your cheek and your shoulder, you were already drafting a sternly-worded text to Hana, "because I don't have a boyfriend."

"You might as well have a husband with how much he seems to be up in that shop with you."

You sighed, abandoning your ranting message for the moment only to pinch at the bridge of your nose. "You sure seem to know a lot about him."

His gravelly chuckle made you smile. "You like him, honey?"

"I do, Jiji," you said earnestly, warmed by the old man's concern. "He's good people."

"Well you'd better not settle for anything less than the best, you hear me?"

You swallowed, made difficult by the sudden onslaught of emotion. "Yes, sir."

"You know, when Kimina and I were dating, I got her one hundred roses and took her out on a canoe ride during sunset. That's where we fell in love."

"Is that so?" You choked back a snicker, remembering a very different version of events told by Kimina that ended in several bee stings and a capsized canoe.

"Oh yes, I was quite the Casanova. Anyway, did I tell you about the squirrel that keeps breaking into my bird feeder?"

You let Jiji drone on about his squirrel, thinking only about this feeling in your chest that seemed to grow with each passing day. The weight of it was astonishing and yet you knew you could — wanted to — carry it.

Was it such a bad thing? You couldn’t believe it was. You’d never shied away from a challenge, but this didn’t feel like that. It felt inevitable, like all you had to do was stand still and let it happen.

Like the sea, you'd let it swell up, spill over. There was no fear now — only the inevitable push and pull between you and this man that had both walked right into your life and been there the whole time.

.

..

...

The ring of the front door bell caught your attention — surprised that it was unlocked, and not at all surprised at who was standing underneath of it.

"Good morning, Katsuki."

He grunted his own greeting, setting down a to-go cup on the counter in front of you, only marked with your first initial, like it'd been too much for him to tell the barista your full name. This man.

You murmured your thanks and watched him linger, absolutely thrilled by the space he took up in your little bakery. "I'm actually going to close today," you told him between sips, "Aiya has to take Hana to get a physical, so it'll just be me, and I figured I'd take advantage of an off day."

He blinked, processing, and then his eyebrows pinched together something terrible. "You just leave your shit unlocked?" You watched him bristle, clearly embarrassed that he'd strolled in without knowing you were closed.

"You'd have to talk to Aiya about that," you told him, amused and not at all rising to the bait.

You let him flounder for a little bit — clearly fighting the urge to bolt. It was fascinating to watch him be ruffled by you, of all people.

"Actually," you offered, finally taking pity on him, "I thought I might go down to the beach today. Nice as it is out. Would you like to join me?"

His begrudging acceptance was not nearly as biting as it would've been had his face not mirrored the color of his irises.

You leave the bakery behind you (after locking up, at the not-so-polite request of Katsuki) and start the trek down the roadway to the beach, loose stones crunching and rolling under your feet. Late spring brought with it a cool breeze to dim the heat of the sun — your favorite time of year to throw on a big knit and sneak down to poke around in tide pools during slower days. You'd brought a blanket and some sandwiches for lunch — both of which Katsuki promptly snatched away from you and insisted on carrying, even though it was only a ten minute walk to the shore.

Which was convenient, because the second you stepped onto the softer silt that gave way to the ocean, you were off like a shot — cackling like a lunatic at the 'what in the fuck—" behind you under you couldn't hear it anymore, sweater torn off and discarded somewhere behind you. You ran toward the water until it caught you — wrapping around your shins, your thighs, and finally swallowing you whole as you dove in.

The sea was cold enough to steal the breath from your lungs and lock up your muscles, but you were used to it. Each swell picked you up and set you back down gently, almost enough to be lulled into some catatonic state of security had you not lived here all of your life and known acutely of the violence the ocean was capable of. But there were no grudges to be held. The ocean could never be expected to be anything but herself.

"Don't ever be foolish enough to settle for someone who believes you can be tamed," Kimina had told you, arm in arm as you walked down the beach all of those years ago.

"Jiji hasn't tamed you?" you'd asked, not quite knowing if she was being serious.

"God, no. That man couldn't tame a chihuahua, much less a woman. Listen to me," she'd pulled you to a stop then — surprisingly strong for how brittle she was — and looked you straight in the face, "There is something wild inside of you. You don't give that to anyone — it is yours. When a man tries to take from that wild — and he will — you let it out. It will keep you safe until the right someone comes along and can live in harmony with it."

You'd blinked — not wholly surprised by the impromptu lecture, because Kiminia was prone to those, but they weren't usually as...on the nose. Her usual disquisitions were a little harder to interpret — this one was not.

She'd looked at you expectantly. "Okay," you'd said, still a little bewildered, "I understand."

Satisfied, she'd gone on like she hadn't said a word, chattering instead about that year's prediction of the best vegetables to plant in raised gardens. You'd half-listened, mostly focused on the push and pull of the water along the shore. Heeding Kimina's warning — learning more than you thought you would when you'd agreed to walk with her that day.

You let the ocean hold you in it's embrace until the cold reached your bones and became less than tolerable. You paddled back, wringing your shorts and tank top out as best you could once you could stand and walk back in.

Katsuki stood at the water's edge, expression entirely unreadable but waiting for you nonetheless. You walked until your chest was only a few inches from his. He squinted at you, mouth twisted in some sort of scowl. Your smile was slow to spread, but once it started, you couldn't stop it.

He clicked his tongue, clearly trying to decide what in the world was wrong with you. "You gotta death wish?"

"Mhm-mhm," your cheeks ached with the grin that wouldn't go away for anything.

"You gonna walk around like a wet cat for the rest of the day?"

"There's a towel rolled up in the blanket."

"Course there is."

You followed him back to where he'd dropped your stuff — surprisingly orderly for having just watched you dive into the freezing ocean on a whim. You filed that one away for later.

While Katsuki stooped down to rummage through your bag, you worked on wringing your hair out — curls coated in brine and sand, a problem for later tonight. You twisted it tight enough to squeeze the water out let it fall back down over your shoulders.

Then it was dark — your towel thrown over your head. You squawked, caught of guard, and tried to bat it away; but your protests died out the second you felt a new pressure.

Separated by the towel, you felt his hands ghost over your shoulders, down the length of your arms, in between your fingers. You'd never been so aware of your body before that moment — and only what he'd touched. A floating torso in the middle of the beach.

You let him preen you, careful not to breathe for fear that you'd scare him off. Only when he stopped and stepped back did you snap out of it enough to pop your head out from under the towel.

He was quiet for a moment, studying you, and then —

"You look crazy."

You whipped the towel at him then, screeching something absurd at him if only to get him to laugh. But you were warm. Despite the bone-chilling water and the breeze, everything was warm.

Pulling your sweater back over your head, you settled in next to him on a flat rock, heated by the setting sun. You pulled your knees to your chest, resting your chin on the flat of them while you watched the tide come in.

The silence was an amicable one, punctuated only by the static current you felt between your bodies, and the way you fought the urge to scoot closer to him.

Until the right someone comes along and can live in harmony with it.

And there it was again — that searing, unignorable feeling that you'd been here before. Not the beach, but the closeness. The silent safety.

"Can I share something with you?" You asked as the sun began to dip below the horizon, bathing everything in a deep coral.

He hummed — your long-learned interpretation of his permission. He didn't look at you, but you knew he was listening.

You took a deep breath. "When I was a kid, I had this dream. It was the strangest thing — I was walking through this forest, and I'd never seen it before, but it was like I knew where I was going. I walked on for a while until I walked into this sort of clearing. And there was this giant wolf. It was the most striking thing with these really intense eyes."

You could've sworn you felt Katsuki tense beside you. "And again, strange, because I just walked right up to the thing. And like, plopped down in its...whatever the equivalent to a lap is on a wolf."

"And I didn't want to leave," you murmured, "it was so devastating. I felt myself start to wake up and just. Fought the hell out of it. But wolf tried to calm me down. It said, 'not yet, but soon.' And that was the end of it. I never had that dream again, but I never forgot about it."

"This is the part that's really, really weird," you warned him, forcing out a little laugh to dispel your nerves. "You walked into the shop for the first time, and it was the most jarring thing because you looked exactly like the wolf. Same eyes, same hair color. Freaky, but like, coincidences are a thing."

"But then you spoke. And it was the same voice I'd heard in the dream. And I just...haven't been able to figure that one out."

Immediately the silence was crushing, the regret of mentioning it at all pressing, pressing, pressing, until you had to say something to get it to dissipate.

"It was just a weird thing, I think—"

"You were a rabbit."

You balked, not quite believing your ears. "What did you say?"

"In my dream," if you hadn't been as focused as you were on every word out of his mouth, you might not have even heard him, "you were a rabbit."

There was not a thought you could possibly voice as a follow up to that.

"...huh," is what you settled on, wholly unable to get your brain to catch up.

"It was a beach. Never’d even seen a beach, and there I was," he was incredibly matter-of-fact about it, like it wasn't shredding your insides to know that you'd both carried this thing the entire time.

"The first time I heard ya talk I thought someone was playing some sick joke on me," he murmured. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him turn his head to look down at you. "I cancelled my train ticket back home that day."

You nearly snapped your neck with the force you whipped around to look at him with. "You did what?"

"I know," he said, with a smile that gored you straight through the heart. "I called mom 'cause I thought I was losing it. But she knew about the dream. She just said 'dad sent you there."

Hand over your heart to keep it where it was, the other reaching out to tether you to something, the tears came hard and fast — blurring the image of the man beside you. Your tether was him — the strength rippling through his forearm under your fingertips, but the only thing you could feel was the warmth. His skin, the calloused palm he settled over your own.

"I watched you run into that freezing fuckin' ocean like a psychopath and that was it. I knew exactly who y'were to me," you felt him shrug with a nonchalance you weren't sure you'd ever feel again. "There was nothing I could do."

"Oh," you choked, snotty and gross and suddenly indignant, "you pick right now to say the most romantic thing I've ever heard anyone say in my life?"

His head fell back with a laugh that burned through you. He didn't give you any room to think too hard about it — he just pulled you under his arm, into his chest. Your temple rested over his heartbeat like you'd been here lifetimes before.

"This is crazy," you whispered, quiet in the dark, held by the ache in your heart suddenly soothed by him.

"Yeah."

You fell back into the silence easily — thoughts fragmented and dull, except for one. You sat up, seeking his outline in the fleeting light.

"Where have you been staying?"

He looked away from you, choosing now to suddenly get sheepish. "Hotel."

"Wha — you've been living in a hotel for this long?"

His silence was more than telling.

"Jesus Christ, Katsuki," shaking your head, you gathered your things, balled up bigger than you in your arms and glaring at him. "C'mon then."

He followed you without a word, his amusement a tangible thing. You muttered to yourself the entire way home, absolutely incredulous.

You shoved your key into the lock, pausing to turn over your shoulder, pushing the door open.

"And what would you have done if I hadn't just spilled my guts to you like that? Live in that room permanently? That is so —"

"Ahem."

You froze, turning slowly to meet Aiya's gaze at the top of the steps. Her and her unbearable grin.

"Were you right?"

You looked at her, over your shoulder to Katsuki, and back again. "I was."

She hummed, her smile growing as she started down the steps. You moved to let her pass, but she stopped on the last step, opening her mouth and—

"Say goodbye to your balls, Katsuki."

Your jaw dropped, all indignancy stolen quickly by the sound of Katsuki's howl behind you. The sight of him nearly doubled over doused your fire immediately.

"Yeah, yeah," you rolled your eyes, shoving into Aiya with half-hearted strength, sending her into the wall with your shoulder. "Bye, whatever, love you, bye."

The door clicking behind her cut off her giggling and draped you in quiet. From your spot on the step, you stood eye to eye with him, and the nerves came back like a freight train.

"Alright, let's—"

He caught you before you could turn away — his fingers warm as they circled your elbow. It happened in slow motion — the drag of his fingertips up to your shoulder, his approach, the slide of his palm up the side of your neck, grip tangled and gentle in your curls, the breath you fought to drag into your lungs, the brush of his nose against your own —

"Please," he murmured, lips nearly brushing yours. It was all you could do not to unhinge your jaw and swallow him whole.

You settled for this — both hands fisted in his t-shirt, dragging him the extra centimeter to you, swallowing such achingly beautiful sounds he made. The glide of his lips over yours felt holy, felt like a firecracker detonating under your skin, felt more necessary than air —

He held you to him by the back of your neck and something about it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

This is what we are, you thought, tugging his bottom lip between your teeth just to hear the rumbling groan he'd give you in return, this is what we were always going to be.

It was soft until it wasn't, and then it was something entirely animal. His kiss was bruising, and you could only take — more of his affection, more of this feeling, more of him —

"Upstairs," you whispered against his mouth, breathy and pleading —

In another reality with far less urgency he probably would've let you at least walk up the steps yourself, but you couldn't find it in your heart to mind too much when he hauled you into his arms and up them himself, choosing to occupy yourself instead by using the new angle to your advantage — fingers hooked under his jaw, dragging his mouth back up to you, him going willingly.

Somehow he found his footing on the landing and promptly sought out the nearest soft-ish surface. When he found the couch, you braced yourself to be deposited on the cushions — to have him over you, to be contorted to his whims, already the panic singed up your spine —

It didn’t happen.

His back hit the couch and his hands never left you, looking up at you all flushed and breathing heavy and adoring, like you’d never done a wrong thing in your life —

Oh. Oh.

The realization took the wind from your sails and replaced it with a sort of molten pleasure, like a marionette pushing and pulling you toward him, chest to chest, fingertips prying and searching, needing to be so much closer than you physically could’ve been.

His hands were gentle dragging up your back, under your shirt. His lips ghosted across your jaw and down your throat, kisses syrupy and disarmingly affectionate.

But there was something wild in you, after all. And it called to him louder than you’d ever heard of it.

“I want to touch you,” you told him, slurred against the onslaught of his mouth, “I don’t want to be gentle.”

The thrill you felt at the shiver that pulled from him was unimaginable. More still at the whimpered “please” against your lips. Like a crackling whip, it set something free in you — and it was all the permission you needed to tear into him like you needed to.

His hair tickled your palm as the dulled ends brushed against it. You curled your fingers into it, grabbing a fistful and pulling back hard until he could only stare up at you, eyes hooded in unbridled want. Your unoccupied fingers set to explore, trailing up from his throat, to his jaw, to his bottom lip.

Like you’d asked him to, his lips parted. Heat lit up the space between your hips as you slipped two fingers inside, groaning at the feeling and at the shameless work of his tongue around you. Still held in place by your grip, he had to wait for you to move — and once you did, you understood the appeal.

His eyelids fluttered with every push forward and back drag of your fingers on his tongue. Swollen lips wrapped around you, only reluctant to let you go. The soft scrape of his teeth against your knuckles, the deep breaths through his nose, his low, little whines — the curl of his hips underneath you, all of that hardness seeking out any sort of soft relief. All of it was more captivating than you could’ve thought possible.

You let him go eventually, painting his skin with wetness and replacing your fingertips with your tongue. The poor thing — panting and so eager to wrap his lips around whatever you put between them.

Your fingers fell to the curve of his throat, thumb and pointer finger finding both sides of the delicate skin below the cut of his jaw and pressing down. That ripped something loud and broken from him — you let go of your grip on his hair just to watch him writhe underneath you, his powerful, assured posture given way to this blind, desperate search for friction, for more.

It felt like a god — to do so little and have this wall of a man shattered beneath you. You’d have done it forever, had you not been soaking through your panties and reaching a boiling point yourself.

You pushed back and off of him, no limit to the swelling in your chest at his whining protests.

“Take your clothes off, Katsuki.”

You blinked and it was done, and he was so wickedly beautiful you’d have looked away if you’d had any ability to do so. Flushed down his chest, head tilted back over the back of the couch, eyes nearly closed in his overwhelm but still glued to you. You took the liberty of a thorough inspection, eyes drifting down the length of his body, unable to part with the sight of the seemingly involuntary thrust of his hips, his cock angry and heavy and leaking against his stomach.

You pulled your sweater over your head, and then parted with your tank top and shorts, still damp and the only coolant for your fevered skin. Every layer removed pulled an almost inaudible whine from the back of Katsuki’s throat, like every second under this fog of sensation pulled him closer to animal and further away from man.

You stood just out of his reach, reveling a little in this picture of him and also considering something.

After a moment of thought, it came to you with such a wave of arousal that you nearly buckled under the feeling.

You took a step to him and leaned in, hands coming to rest on his thighs, pressing down to hold yourself up. His head followed your own, mouth seeking yours like a moth to a flame, like the most inevitable thing in the world.

“Mm,” you left yourself lay it on thick, the moan low in your throat and genuine, just to feel him shudder into your kiss, “you want to eat my pussy baby?”

He pulled away with a whimper, eyebrows knit together and those beautiful red eyes hopelessly unfocused but wanting, nodding fiercely, needing you to know that there was not a thing he wanted more than that.

“Get on the floor.”

He was there in an instant, body seemingly turned liquid to slip underneath you and settle there, head tilted back over the cushion, mouth already gaping, panting and searching —

You settled on either side of his face, knees pressing into the cushion, feet draped over his chest. Both of his hands wrapped around your heels, whether to keep you there or to attempt to tether himself to something, you didn’t know.

His tachycardic inhales were more gasping than anything else, like he could get a taste of you just by sucking in hard enough. You let him want it for a little while, hovering over his face just out of his reach, swollen and aching and nearly dripping —

He was patient until he wasn’t, and then he was on you — hands coming up to paw at your hips, to slot you firmly over his face, mouth open and tongue lolled out to catch you.

You pitched forward, body collapsing into the back of the couch with a strangled sort of cry, immediately overwhelmed. You pressed your forehead to the padding in front of you until you hit the resistance of wood, all of your limbs suddenly deadweight and numb, only feeling the drag of his tongue.

He worshipped you, taking the liberty to pull you forward and down and pushing you back, your swollen clit catching on the wet meat of his tongue, his mouth like a vacuum seal over the entire thing, swollen and open and made to please you —

You took to moving your hips yourself, the vibration of his groan rattling up your spine as you fucked his face, taking, taking, taking — using the entirety of it to your satisfaction, the cut of his jaw and the curve of his nose sending delicious little pangs of pleasure up your spine with every quick catch of your clit on them.

“Fuck me,” Katsuki rasped, gasping and needing, “fuck me, fuck me—”

His grip on your ass was bruising, pulling you down and spreading you open. The feeling of his tongue spearing into you, soft and dexterous and searching along your walls, pulled something like a wail from you, your body taking over, pushing you up and dropping you back own on it, needing more of the gentle stretch, his wet exploration —

“Oh, I’m gonna cum—” your voice sounded pitiful, pitched up and muffled in the crook of your elbow in a feeble attempt just to hold on. You reached to find your clit and pressed tight, quick circles into it, hard and hot and achingly sensitive under your fingertips — “Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum—”

And you did — hard and fast and nearly painful, your pussy squeezing tight around his tongue, every other muscle seemingly contracting in solidarity. Eyes shut tight against the onslaught of feeling, your body curled into itself, bucking into his mouth, trying to get more of it, trying to get away from it — static filled your ears and drown out the sound of your broken cries —

And then it was over — the pleasure turning molten and pooling outward, down into your limbs, and dissipating. You trembled in its wake, still for a minute until you remembered you were probably suffocating the man underneath you. You popped up quick — a little too quick, apparently. Your vision swam and you grabbed for the couch back — the feeling of hands at your thighs to steady you and the murmured “easy” hitting your senses like you were underwater.

Your movements were slow, nearly liquid as you made your way down to him, thighs split over his own to settle there, immediately noticing —

“You came,” you murmured, earning a soft snort from Katsuki, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. You pressed forward into him, trapping his soft cock and the mess he’d made between your stomachs, leaning into his chest and feeling his arms cage you in like you’d done this all your life.

The press of your cheek against the dusting of blond hair was a soothing thing, rubbing against him like a satisfied cat. His head tipped down to hold you there, his jaw still slick with you as it came into your view, silently beckoning for you to meet him halfway —

His kiss was a balm to your frayed nerves — warm and wet and solid against your mouth, for no other reason but to kiss you. It cut the rest of your strings — you felt the clench of your stomach release and sagged boneless into his hold. This time, there was nothing particularly erotic about it — no residual arousal pooling in your gut, no tingle up your spine. It just felt good, like warm water over cooled skin.

Satisfied, he pulled away from you with a sigh, dropping his head back to the cushions. You pressed a kiss to his jaw and settled underneath it, fighting the urge to let your eyes close.

“We need to shower,” you croaked, lips brushing his skin and making him shiver, “we’re gross.”

Katsuki hummed, his palm smoothing up the path of your spine. Making no attempt to move. You switched tactics.

“You know, Aiya usually brings a guy home with her after she goes out —”

“Yep, got it,” he said, suddenly full of life as he dragged you both off the floor, heeding your directions down the hall and to the bathroom through your giggling.

He took his time with you in there — washing the sand and salt from your hair, your hands pressed to the tile as he covered every inch of your back, with his hands and then his mouth, moving down, moving slow, under the curve of your ass to where you were burning again. You pulled back to turn, your back meeting the slick wall, to watch him swallow you whole — more captivated by the stroke of his fist along the satiny skin of his cock, tugging hard in time with flicks of his tongue against your clit —

You stood there, shaking and collapsed against each other under the steady stream of the shower. Trading sweet presses of his lips to your temple for murmured, affectionate nonsense until you were pruny and exhausted. You let him dry you off — something he appeared to gleam real satisfaction from, and who were you to stand in the way of that, really — and towed him down to your room, the warm embrace of your mattress nearly enough to bring you to tears.

He slotted in behind you like the most perfect puzzle piece, every inch of him molded to your backside like it was the way you’d been shaped from the start. Pillowed by the crook of his elbow, you sighed at the decadence of it all — settling in to him, nearly purring at the brush of hair away from your neck, replaced by the airbrush press of his mouth.

“We’ll talk tomorrow?” your voice was quiet in the dark.

He hummed, and the rumbling against your back was like a sedative — pulling you with gentle grasp into sleep. You had a fleeting thought that you might just see your wolf again after all, now that you had the real thing wrapped around you like this.

Tomorrow, then.

note: thanks for reading, love u <3

[shurisneakers]

being on this webbed site and seeing 2 levels of media legacy is insane. supernatural trends every week and a meme from its penultimate episode 4 years ago has become a permanent part of the culture here. every major news story has castiel's face before an actual article.

on the other hand you couldn't escape the mcu from 2014 to 2020. sebastian stan was tumblrs boyfriend for years. the newest mcu movie dropped on friday and i haven't seen a single post about it. they just announced that rdj whose character died in 2019 is coming back as one of their flagship villains in a movie directed by the same guys who directed Avengers 3 and 4. crickets.

[cherrynflowergarden]

stranger? yes. danger? no. || shubman gill

summary; yn sturniolo is in italy and so is shubman gill.

@love-belle pookie wookie cookie this is for you🎀💋🫀‼️

an; hiiiiiii soooooo sorry for disappearing just like that my results for this very important exams were declared few days ago and i'm so disappointed w it :( anyways i'm back pls pls pls someone tell me how to login on tumblr web 🙏🙏🙏 picture quality in the app is horrible idk if you'll be able to read it properly 😓

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yourusername italy through my eyes🌷

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username A MAN??? MOTHER DID YOU FIND OUR FATHER????

yourusername maybeeeee😝

username GIRL WHAT

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tagged: shubmannotfound, chrislovepepsi

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urbffswife italy pt 2 (heh)

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birdhater who tf

urbffswife my husband your brother in law😍💋

taraunyummy gc update when

ynswife rue when was this 🤨

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ynswife you scare me sometimes

urbffswife 😇🙏

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shubmannotfound 💔

birdhater 👺

shubmannotfound 😓

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shubmannotfound 💔😓

shubmannotfound last slide?????!!!!!!;;;;;;;;/////???

urbffswife 😝

pagalwagalhaikya he was mine first

urbffswife 🎵🎶 he's mine you might have him now but i have him all the time 🎵🎶

urbffswife stay mad, kishan😹

mattybraps you actually are insane.

urbffswife 😈😈😈

chrislovepepsi go back to psyc ward yn🙏

urbffswife LEARN HOW TO SPELL FIRST YOU COMMON VILLAGE WHORE👺

yourusername via instagram stories

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username GIRL WHAT

username NOOOOO NOT MY WIFE💔

username did you find our father, mother?

mattewsturniolo 🤨

teeheeheehee😈

urbffusername OH????

hehe🤭🎀

username yn bby come back home the kids miss you😿👩‍❤️‍👩

username EXCUSE ME?????????

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♫ mitski • my love mine all mine

tagged shubmangill

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yourusername cause my love is mine all mine💌

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username EXCUSE ME MA'AM?????

username yeh wali toh sundar bhi hai aur funny bhi ab hater kaise bannu 😔😔 translation; she's pretty and funny, how can i be a hater

username i hate couples❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

username MOTHER??? FATHER???

yourusername CHILD????

username OMGGG

username wife noooo not a man💔💔💔

username why he kinda

yourusername 🤨⁉️

username sorry mother😔

yourusername i get it bc same😊‼️

username omg

username cricketer x yn???? wow i was not ready for this crossover

username he's yummy

yourusername 'cuse me🤨

username did i lie

yourusername no tbh😝

username not yn fighting for her man and also thirsting over him all together in the comments

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[violentkisses999]

preys and predators

summary: the story of preys and predators unfolds as you exchange numbers with wanda maximoff: a predator of nature your wedding planner.

pairing: fem!reader x wanda maximoff

cw: death of animal, light depiction of blood, (i'm an asshole when it comes to poetic metaphors, pls stick w me)

there was once a swampy bayou. humid breezes raked over soggy lumps of leaves. it was midday when a white swan gracefully flapped near the edges of peaceful waters. its webbed feet squelched into clay like mud as it ventured closer.

the bird's long neck bucked as it peered its head around: checking if the coast was clear. all that could be heard were screaming heaps of cicadas and the occasional yelp of a cricket. once the swan decided that it was safe to do so, it dipped its bumpy beak into the murky water.

the resting waters of the bayou rippled as the waterfowl sipped. its tired eyelids drooped as it drank. it hadn't seen the bubbles of air that emerged from the water.

as the bird's body grew heavier with relaxation, it was submerged further into the thick mud. so far to the point where it could feel its stomach rest against the soft land. unbeknownst to the pure creature, the ripples in the body of water redirected. instead of moving away from the bird's beak, they were flowing right towards it.

once the greedy swan had finally quenched its thirst, it lifted its dripping beak. its eyelids never opened as it ruffled its feathers. its body was graced with a warm gust of wind.

its eyelids fluttered as they peeled apart. though instead of the peaceful swamps it expected to see, the bird's eye view was met with gaping jaws ready to feast. the snout of the slick predator dripped as it lurked further open.

before the swan could retrieve its feet from the mud-

chomp

drops of blood flew to paint the sharp blades of grass. like water colors, the brownish water blended with the crimson substance.

the scene was terrifying, but so is nature. the tailed beast drew back into the murky swamp. the cicadas still screamed, and the crickets still yelped.

after so long, another greedy creature would naively sip from the forbidden bayou. that sneaky gator will be there too. patiently watching its prey fatten before striking. just another day in the wild.

the circle of l- "hey?" wanda repeated, "you okay?"

suddenly, the sounds of civilians chattering, and cars honking infiltrated your senses. busy gusts of wind fanned her fragrance right towards you. miniature bumps rose on your skin.

the tender rasp of her voice had your hands fumbling with your phone. your voice shook, "yeah- no, i'm all good, " you explained pathetically.

a moment of silence passed. though subtle, you managed to notice it. her green eyes sharply peered into yours. the space between her auburn brows creased as her head tilted in the slightest.

before you could further reassure her that you were present, her hands firmly clapped together. her matte lips pursing in disregard.

chomp

"anyways, now that you have my number, we can discuss cake tasting plans over the phone." her stating of the obvious was met with your dumb nodding. you'd be lying if you said that you'd been listening.

"text me later?" her eyebrows raised as she slightly raised her shoulders: physically begging for words. you cheeks warmed as if you had only just noticed your limited responses.

"absolutely!" you blurted out before your lips could stop. your eyelids squeezed shut, and your cheeks heated. your grip on your phone only slipped as sweat drew from your palms. "i mean, yes. i will text you, and i will give mark your number as well."

wanda's shoulders seemed to relax at the mention of your fiance. you wouldn't have noticed, you were too busy staring down other random pedestrians. anything to make this interaction feel more casual.

"well, you do that." with that, she zipped up her coat and drew back into the busy crowd.

and just like that, the chattering civilians and honking cars became real noise again. the autumn breeze still graced your skin. no more goosebumps. huh... weird..

anywho, you should really call mark. planning you guy's wedding has been driving you crazy.

about me main masterlist

[artstar1997]

Here’s the poster for @georgi-girl’s Trolls Elemental AU fanfic, Winged Reign, which coincidentally is a crossover between Trolls and Neopets. It follows the story of Princess Poppy, Branch, and the Snack Pack as butterfly fairies as they grew up with the dragonfly fairies alongside their childhood friend, Princess Rosetta a.k.a Princess Rose after they were scattered from their court during the escape, which is “orchestrated” by the Darkest Faerie. Together, they’d spend the day playing hide-and-seek and flying without a care at day and wishing upon stars at night.

When Princess Rose made a wish, she gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when she got an unexpected call from her ancestors to reunite the seven fairy courts and take down the Darkest Faerie together. As they travel throughout their home, the Isle of the Fay and all over Neopia, they met humans, neopets, and other mythical creatures as they learn the key to making their dreams come true and the connection between stars, wishes, and the soul.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The trolls characters in this AU are mythical beings and I wanna start about the trolls characters as fairies. The fairies are a subspecies of fae who are the more colorful cousins of the faeries. They have longer, pointed ears, colorful skin, hair, and eyes, insectoid wings that vary in shapes and size, and matching antennae. There are seven fairy courts that rule over fairykind, the earth court (its fairies have beigetone coloration, cricket-like antennae, and their wings are shaped like fruit slices, flower petals, and leaves), the water court (the fairies have neon colors but lacked antennae, have webbed-like ears, and fish fin wings for both swimming and flying), the fire court (the fairies that belong to the fire court are muddy-colored, with beetle-like clubbed antennae, beetle-like wings, and beetle shells as armor), the air court (they’re mostly yellow skinned but have bee antennae and wings with a light plaster of glitter), the mind court (the fairies there are colorful have moth-like antennae (the men have thick feathery antennae while the women have refined and threadlike antennae) and wings, are African-coded, and they’re powerful empaths), the energy court (the fairies are very colorful, possess butterfly wings and antennae, and some can have glittery details on their wings, which makes them emit fairy dust in flight), and the light court (the fairies of the dominant tribe have a variety of colored skin, hair, and eyes but some have some have luminous, chrome, metallic, pastel or vibrant hair and eyes, straight antennae, and dragonfly wings). The subtribes are the noble houses that were the nobility of the light court, with spring, summer, autumn, and winter houses leading them.

As for the Bergens, they’re giants in Neopia, the Party Crashers are drakes, the vacaytioners are merfolk, and the rageons are elves while the known neopets, both heroes and villains, are mostly humans but the others being pixies, centaurs, satyrs, minotaurs, ogres, and other mythical beings and creatures.

Enjoy the fanfic that me and @georgi-girl made.

[britishraptor]

Gonna kick the hornets nest here, but the file from the most recent episode of The Magnus Protocol was incredibly underwhelming. It didn’t take into account at all anything that actually makes snakes scary, little to no foreshadowing, and basically attempted to jumpscare the audience with a reveal that reads more like a parody of a horror story than an actual one.

I might look like an idiot or a fool when everything all strings together later than the line, but I’m questioning so much about this episode.

Parasites are scary. Worms, and insects and mold and rot. Decay, possession. Spiders are scary because they’re hard to see, hard to pinpoint and they move fast, plus the connections with webs related to control, and manipulation. So yeah, a worm lady, sure, a person filled with spiderwebs, also sure. But the only connection between snakes and parasitism could be a joke about ‘shedding your skin’ or how disturbing that one scene in Harry Potter was.

Snakes are scary for two reasons:

1) the same reason bears and tigers all that are scary. Hunt style being hurt, and killed, and eaten. Simple.

B) uncanny valley reasons. Snakes don’t blink. They don’t have facial expressions. The way they move and eat and exist is totally different from humans and mammals. They’re often described as alien and cold.

My questions:

a) why rodent control? why was he even actually brought in? His walls are FULL OF SNAKES. It wouldn’t have lasted five minutes. It doesn’t make any sense even if you know he was concerned about parasites. Snakes don’t give a shit about other snakes. To call someone a snake is to literally call them callous and prone to betrayal. A snake eats the rodent, so you kill the snake. Plus a snake store would have access to medications to kill mites and deal with snake illness? Why call the guy at all?

b) the foreshadowing on the owner is terrible. You could have mentioned his skin needed moisturising. That it seemed dry, flaky. Scaly. But just. A red rash? A rash? Are you saying being full of snakes is an infectious disease? That’s what he said at the end, right? That his throat itches. It was swelling. You can just?? Grow your own snakes?? Is that the implication?

No uncanny valley mention on the owner either at all. He didn’t move weird, being full of snakes? Didn’t sway or limp as he walked, didn’t move sluggishly? Bad hearing, didn’t know what to do with his hands? No? Just a short tempered customer. Okay.

c) You lost me at the thousands of snakes. THOUSANDS? What is this, a clown car? A snake clown car in some random guys skin, who explodes because he was mad a customer walked out.

Look, I’m Australian. And when I ask my friends ‘hey, how big do you normally picture a snake being?’ we picture snakes about 1.5m long. Dinner table length is pretty common for all of our common brown, tiger snakes, red bellies, and even longer for our common carpet pythons. But even if I adjust to like, other countries’ grass snakes, thousands?

The throwaway line at the end was plot relevant I’m sure, but I’m all around confused, and totally not even a little bit scared.

The only praise I have is that the description of the crickets was very creepy, and I loved the visual of them moving around like a shuddering wave of pixels on a screen, only really perceived by their screaming.

But yeah. The setup, the foreshadowing, the coherent theming and consistency all just fell totally flat for me. The only thing I learnt was that this guy applied to the institute and was rejected, and that snakes can’t do dishes.

[quaker-oatz]

"As you turn the corner to the living room, you look back at the android where he still lingers in the doorway. His form is silhouetted against the warm light of the kitchen. The barest cool blue glow filters from his eyes, illuminating his fingers where they brush against his cheek."

This drawing ended up more abstract than I originally intended, and I think there are definitely some improvements I would make in the future color-wise. However, I'm still proud of the work I put in and I wanted to share! I love Sunspot!! And I had a lot of thoughts about the mistletoe scene in the latest gitm chapter...Rambling under the "read more."

Sunspot is a character from the Ghost in the Machine fic by @venomous-qwille A super awesome story!!! I highly recommend it!

I loved the Christmas chapter so much!!! And that mistletoe kiss melted my heart the first time I read it. However, after rereading the chapter I started thinking (obviously this is all my interpretation), and I suspect that the language surrounding the mistletoe and the kiss as foreshadowing to more tension and conflict between Cricket and Sunspot.

Fool's mistletoe is described in two ways in this chapter: twice as a fly caught in a web, and once as the sword of Damocles. At first, these are comedic descriptions. For the fly-in-a-web metaphor, it’s silly that Fool, in the spirit of the season and mischief, decides to pin up mistletoe using a ridiculous amount of tape (it might even go against his protocols to try and handle it any other way). However, this imagery is most commonly used in a more malicious light: as a trap (which Cricket themself calls it when Fool puts it up). For the sword metaphor, it is a looming promise that literally comes down on Cricket when they decide to kiss Sunspot. I think that while cute descriptions of a silly holiday tradition, this language also invokes imagery that presents a deeper conflict that Cricket began when they kissed Sunspot.

Something else that made me a little suspicious of how feel-good this moment is are these lines from Cricket's POV as they are trying to untangle the mistletoe from their hair:

"'Can you help me—? I think I’m just making it worse.'

You are definitely making it worse."

Visually, the line break makes the sentiment come across more seriously by isolating it from its original context. Additionally, I think that this set of lines are important because of the recent and extended conflict that Sunspot and Cricket had about Spot’s bounding box. Sunspot does not shy away from separating himself from Cricket. While they are friends, and enjoy each other’s company, Sunspot almost always puts himself in the position of caretaker, and is quick to delineate himself as a synth. Therefore, he acts like he does not need the same care in return. I think that the implications of Cricket’s kiss could bring up another, emotional bounding box that Sunspot is hesitant to cross. I think that this is shown in the way that Sunspot acts for the rest of the chapter after the kiss. Sunspot, rather than smiling or blushing as he had during his dinner with Cricket, avoids Cricket’s eyes. And, he’s described as frowning. Additionally, while Cricket laughs in response to his suggestion that this stays a secret from Fool, I think that Sunspot was thinking about this much more seriously than Cricket was.

Now, later he does say that he's, "feeling festive,” but that doesn’t contradict the fact that Cricket crossed a line. I guess the question is, how will Sunspot respond to this ambiguity? Will he actually talk to Cricket about it? Will Cricket remember the kiss? And if they do, will they want to talk to Sunspot about it? I don’t know if either will want to disrupt the even ground they've built after their original conflict because they both care a lot about what the other thinks of them. But, I'm unsure if they will be able to act the same way around each other. Or, I could be completely wrong!! I fell down a rabbit hole of speculation!!! If you read through all this, please let me know what you think, or if you read it differently!!! And thank you for reading and looking at my art!

[xandriagreat]

Fate Be Changed

Chapter 8: Cleaning up/Dig a little Deeper

First chapter | Last chapter | Next chapter

Author’s note: reminder: The song’s lyrics are going to be bold and italic.

Notice/warnings: naked, showers/cleaning, food, scary moment, pain, transformation

▪▪▪

As they followed Granny Gumbo to her place, there were some stilt houses and there were some other people living.

It felt like a whole community. 

Diane noticed the sound about people talking to each other, music playing, the chirping of birds and crickets, and the water streaming. To her, the sounds made this community all more alive.

Then they soon got to some type of tree house. Of course it was big and beautiful. Almost like a mansion but it was almost like a cottage somewhere around the late 18th to early 19th century.

The lights inside were on as they approached the tree house.

When they went inside, Diane saw Ruby (who was still human) and an alligator wearing a suit.

The both of them just finished talking about something.

Diane gasped excitedly when seeing Ruby. “Ruby!” said Diane, running to her.

Ruby turned around and her eyes lit up with excitement. “Diane!” Ruby exclaimed, hugging her when she got to her.

“Thank goodness you're ok!” Ruby said, looking at Diane again after they hugged.

“Same with you.” Diane said, smiling.

Ruby’s eyes sparkled with excitement when looking at Diane, gently petting her fur. “You are so fluffy!!!” Ruby exclaimed with a big smile. Then she pulled her hand away and quickly said, “Sorry, I should have asked.”

Diane blushed a bit red after her fur was touched. “I am fluffy but thank you for stopping.” she said

Ruby nodded and looked at Lou, Pepe, Moe, Herbert, and Webs. “Are those one of your new friends?” she asked, looking back at Diane.

The ‘fox’ looked at them before looking back at Ruby, nodding. “Yes, this is Lou, Pepe, Moe, Herbert, and Webs.”

Ruby hummed and nodded with a soft smile, waving at them.

While that was happening, Rhonda was still carrying Webs as she walked over to the alligator wearing a suit. Then she offers Webs to him, as if to say ‘Here’.

The ‘alligator’s’ eyes lit up in excitement and in relief when seeing the spider, smiling big. “Webs! You okay?” said the ‘alligator’, picking up the ‘spider’ from the ‘Tasmanian Devil’.

Webs stared at the ‘alligator’ in confusion before her eyes widened in realization. “Wait… Milton?!” Webs said in shock, realizing that it was her other friend.

“Yes! It's me!” Milton said, putting Webs on a nearby table. “You, Moe and Herbert weren't at the place of the meeting and showed you guys a place to stay. So I knew something was up finding you until I found you guys with-”

“Yes, Marmalade, and we made a dumb deal with him.” Webs said flatly as she got on a table. 

“Yeah, I was completely affected by it by the time I alerted Granny Gumbo about it.” Milton explained.

Webs nodded before pausing and stared at him in silence for a bit. “Wait… How did you get infected.” she asked, pointing at him.

“It's a long story.” Milton said “But that’s why I’m also here. To see what’s going on and see if it can be reversed.” 

“Ah. Got it.” Webs humming, nodding.

Then everyone looked at Granny Gumbo as Granny looked at the two ‘water animals’ and asked, “Do you two fishes need a bath too?”

“We’re good but thanks.” Pepe said, shaking his head.

Granny Gumbo looked at Diane, Moe, Herbert, and Webs. “I’ll show you four where the showers and baths are.” the old woman said to them. “Did you bring extra clothes?”

The four looked at each other before looking back at Granny Gumbo. “Well… uh… Lou made us some clothes.” Moe said, pointing at Lou.

Lou took a bow and smiled. “I can go get them.”

“Alright.” Granny Gumbo hummed with a soft smile. Then she looked back at the four. “Now, let's get you four washed up.”

Moe, Diane, Herbert, and Webs nodded to her.

Diane picked up Webs before Granny Gumbo began to guide the four to the bathroom.

◇

The four followed Granny Gumbo to the bathroom.

“So, how long have you four been animals?” Granny Gumbo asked.

“Two days.” the four said in unison.

Granny Gumbo hummed and nodded before opening and going through the door to the bathroom.

Moe, Diane, Herbert, and Webs followed after her and the four ‘animals’ looked surprised when seeing the bathroom as they got in.

There were multiple showers and a few bathtubs. There were even some sinks. There were also a few wooden benches. It was like it came out of another country.

The bathroom looked more like a bathhouse, just with privacy options and curtains.

“Well, this is very interesting.” Moe said, continuing to look around.

The other nodded in agreement.

Then they looked at Granny Gumbo as the old woman got a basket. “This is for dirty clothes.” she explained before she plugged one of the sinks and began to fill it up with water. “And this is for Ms. Spider.” 

“Thank you.” Webs said.

Granny Gumbo nodded and then pointed at one of the cabinets. “There’s soap, shampoo, and conditioner in there, along with fresh towels.” she said before turning around. “Now I’ll leave to give you four privacy.”

Then she left the room to give them privacy, closing the door on her way out.

Moe, Diane, Herbert, and Webs looked at each other.

“So, how should we do this?” Diane asked as she put Webs on the counter.

“Well, let's get the toiletries and towels out first.” Herbert said, slithering over to the cabinet. 

Moe walks over to help as the ‘snake’ opens it and pulls out a few towels. The ‘wolf’ got the bottles and both of them put them on the counter.

Moe looked at the cabinet one more time and pulled out a med kit before closing it. “Just in case.” he said, pointing it at Diane.

The ‘fox’ hummed and nodded in agreement.

Then the four start to sort the bottles, for who gets what bottles and who gets which shower.

There’s liquid hand soap and travel bottles of shampoo and conditioner set up for Webs. The others are the normal-size bottles for the animal's fur, like for Moe and Diane. And lastly the other bottles are good for scales, like for Herbert.

After sorting the bottles and picking which shower, they all start to realize something.

It seems Granny Gumbo has been prepared for this. 

“It looks like Granny has been doing this for a long time.” Diane said as she realized.

Moe, Herbert, and Webs nodded, looking very worried.

“Let’s get clean.” Moe said, taking his bottles and towel to the shower that he’s going to use.

The others nodded.

Diane and Herbert got their bottles and towels, taking them to their showers that they’re going to use.

Then they each got undressed, putting the very dirty clothes in the basket (except for Webs’ hoodie and Herbert’s hat, those were put on the counter) before going to wash up.

Webs got in the sink while Moe, Herbert, and Diane got in their showers after getting them going.

Diane, Moe, and Herbert begin taking a shower while Webs was taking a bath in a sink, washing off any dirt from their bodies to clean and getting their furs and scales soft. 

They start to feel clean as they clean themselves. 

After cleaning and washing up, Diane shook her body a bit to get some water off of her before she got her towel and wrapped it around her as she got out of her shower. 

She dries herself a bit as looked around to see Webs just got out of the sink and got the hand towel over herself.

Then Webs looked at her and the both of them made eye contact, both starting to blush a bit.

“I- sorry!” Diane started, sounding panic as she covered her eyes with one hand while the other kept her towel up.

“It’s ok!” Webs reassured, wrapping herself in the towel to cover herself. “I promise it’s fine!”

Diane, slowly, uncovered her eyes and lowered her hand to look at Webs, who was still covered by her towel and got something from her hoodie pocket and started to unwrap it.

Both the ‘fox’ and ‘spider’ looked at each other for a moment.

“I've been bathing and showering whenever I can while on the run and doing my business. I normally use gym showers, sometimes rivers, motel bathrooms, or bath houses, depending on the area that I’m in.” Webs explained a bit embarrassedly. “I hope that wasn’t too much.”

Diane hummed and nodded. “It’s ok.” she reassured her, getting her undergarments.

Webs looked at her for a moment before smiling softly and then pulled out a new light green tank top, which got Diane looking confused at her. 

“I told Lou earlier to just make a new hoodie. I have a spare top.” Webs said as she got her backup sports bra on before getting her new tank top.

“Ah, got it.” Diane said with a hum, getting her undergarments on before grabbing the aid kit to get a new bandage on her foot.

“How’s your foot?” Webs asked, tossing the dirty hoodie into the basket.

Diane looked at her and shrugged. “Meh…” she said as she got to one of the benches and sat down. She opened the kit and set it down next to her before lifting and checking her injured foot.

Diane looked at her foot after unwrapping the bandaging.

The cut was still there but the bleeding had stopped.

“Hm…” Diane sighed softly and started to clean her foot with disinfecting cream, which got her to hiss a bit in pain.

The sounds of running water stopped and then Moe asked, “Need help?” 

Diane looked over to see Moe and Herbert just got out of their shower, with their towels over themselves.

Diane nodded. “Yes, please.” she said, putting her towel over herself to cover herself.

“Alright. Give me a moment, then I’ll help.” Moe said, walked over to get his undergarments. After he got his undergarments on, he went to Diane and knelt down in front of her. He checked her foot before getting new bandages from the kit.

It looked like he knew what he was doing as he wrapped her foot.

“I did this all the time back when I was young and while I was on the run with Herbert and Webs.” Moe said, continuing to wrap carefully the foot.

Diane hummed with a soft chuckle. “That’s interesting.” she said, nodding. 

Then the ‘fox’ looked at the ‘snake’, who was looking at the door, as if to either distract himself or know something was coming.

Then there was a knock on the door, which got all four of their attention. 

“I’ll get it.” Herbert said as he slithered over to the door, holding his towel around himself tight so it wouldn't slip.

He carefully opened the door to see Lou, who was holding the new outfits.

“Hi. I’m back with the new finished outfits.” Lou said, showing the outfits in a folded pile. 

Herbert nodded with a hum and carefully took the pile from him, bringing them inside.

Lou turns the other way as he gives the outfits to him.

“Thank you, Lou.” the four ‘animals’ said as Herbert put the clothes on the counter.

“No problem.” Lou said, his head still looking the other way. “Could one of you put the basket of dirty clothes out? There’s a washing machine that Granny has, it’s fast and quick with cleaning.”

“Alright. Here you go.” Herbert said, taking the basket and putting it out into the hallway before closing the door.

The four ‘animals’ looked at the door as they listened Lou pick up the basket and then walked away.

Then Moe went back to bandaging Diane’s foot. “Alright, here go.” Moe said when he was done. 

“Thank you.” Diane said, wiggle her toes for a moment before standing up. Then Diane started to sort out the clothes in order while making sure her towel doesn't fall off her back.

“Ok, I just sorted out the outfits so we don’t get a bit of a mix up.” Diane said when she was done sorting. 

The other ‘animals’ nodded and all four got their clothes.

Diane, Moe, Herbert and Webs smell great, they hadn't washed up since yesterday, aside from the river. They got dressed after they finished washing and drying off.

Diane got on her clothes, which is a violet purple pinafore dress over a royal blue t-shirt, and black flats that fit perfectly. 

Wolf got an ocean color blue suit coat along with a gorgeous grass green swirl design on it, green pants, white socks and even brown shoes. 

Snake got a white shirt with a unique ruby red snake scale-like design on it. He put on his bucket hat back on.

Webs got on cyan blue hoodie with red lining.

All four of them looked at their reflections and they were amazed by their reflections.

The four animals left the bathroom when they were ready.

◇

When Moe, Herbert, Webs, and Diane got to the others, they could hear some of the conversations.

The four of them looked around as they entered the room.

Granny Gumbo was the first one to notice them as they entered the room. “Ah! I see that you four are done.” she said to them before pointing at a nearby table. “I made warm drinks for the four of you.”

“Thank you.” the four ‘animals’ said together.

They noticed warm hot drinks for them on a table as the four went to the table while Granny left the room with Lou and Pepe.

Diane put Webs on the table when they got to the table.

It's been a while since they had warm drinks. There were three normal cups with one small cup.

They each picked up one of the cups.

Moe sniffed his cup before drinking it. 

Herbert and Webs looked at their cups before drinking theirs.

Diane blew her cup before she drank hers.

The drinks tasted good.

They were able to drink some of it.

When Diane finished drinking her drink, she got up and went after Granny Gumbo.

“Hey, wait for us!” Moe called after her as they put their ups down and started to follow her to get the same answer.

They found where Granny went around the house.

It looked like she was looking for something.

“We are so glad we found you, Granny Gumbo. Pepe and Lou have been telling us all about you. We’ve been traveling quite a long way. And you can’t imagine what we’ve been through.” Diane said, walking over to Granny Gumbo, who looked like she was looking for something. “And we heard that yo-”

Then Granny Gumbo began to interrupt her by calling out, “Zee!”

Then a lizard jumps onto a desk and squeaks, getting Granny Gumbo’s attention.

“Come on, over here, you bad boy. Give me some love now.” Granny Gumbo said with a smile, offering her hand to Zee. 

Zee got on her hand, nuzzling, as Granny Gumbo gently pets him and said, “You just missed your mama, don’t you?”

Diane, Moe, Herbert, and Webs all look at each other with weird looks.

Granny Gumbo chuckled as she put Zee on her head. Then she looked at Pepe and Lou, smiling at them. “Again, it’s good to see you both again, Pepe and Lou.” she said as she went to a recliner. “How's everything been since we last talked?” 

“Yeah, it has been a while.”  Pepe said, smiling.

“We have been surviving but we’re good.” Lou said with a soft chuckle.

Granny Gumbo sat down in the recliner and laughed warmly, “That’s nice.” 

Diane, Moe, Herbert, and Webs went to Granny Gumbo, who got comfortable in her seat.

“Granny Gumbo… We don’t want to take too much of your time.” Diane said

“You want some candies?” Granny asked, opening her hand to reveal some candies that looked a bit old and could break your teeth if you tried to bite them.

The four look at each other

“No, not really.” Moe and Daine said while Herbert and Webs said, “No, no thank you.”

Granny looked at them and hummed, nodding slowly.

“Well now, that’s too bad.” she started as she took one of the candies, putting the rest away and wiping one of them off the dust before eating it. “This is a special candy. Woulda turn y’all human.”

After hearing that, Moe, Diane, Herbert and Webs’ eyes widened in a panic. “No, no, no, please!” the four said in a panic. “We’ll take it!”

Granny Gumbo just started laughing, like she just pulled a good prank. “I’m just messing with y’all!”

Moe, Diane, Herbert, and Webs sighed in relief after realizing that it was a bit of a joke, laughing a bit and calming down.

Diane smiled at the others as she started “How on earth did you know that we want to turn back-?” 

She was cut off when seeing Granny Gumbo napping in the chair.

“Um… Granny Gumbo?” Herbert asked, tapping her arm a bit with his tail.

Then Granny Gumbo jumped out of her seat, startling the four (again), and ran into a different room, shouting, “Zee! Why didn’t you tell me my gumbo was burnin’?!”

“Gumbo?” Diane asked before smelling air to smell the scent. It was one of her favorite father's cooking when she was a kid (No offense to her mother's or her friends or even her own).

She followed the old lady to the kitchen, seeing her stir a big pot.

“I can’t believe this…” Granny Gumbo grumbled to herself. “Got to do everythin’ around here…”

Diane glanced over to see what was in the gumbo pot before looking at the old woman. “What type of gumbo is it?” Diane asked, checking and inspecting. She's seen many different types of gumbo, so much so though she couldn't identify which one exactly it is.

“It’s a recipe that I made.” Granny Gumbo said, glancing at her as she stirred the gumbo. “You can taste it if you like.”

The old woman pulled one of the nearby drawers to show where the silverware was.

Diane got a spoon out, so she could taste it. She got a spoonful of the gumbo and tasted it. She noticed that it was a bit sour and a bit sweeter than any gumbo she had tasted.

“Well? What do you think?” Granny Gumbo asked, looking at her.

“Hm… Your gumbo is pretty amazing actually unlike anything I have seen since I was child but… add a little cumin, hit the parsley, lemon zest, additional cinnamon, with a mix of Tabasco and red peppers and it'll have a good taste.”

Granny Gumbo hummed and went to a cabinet, looking for the things that Diane suggested.

Zee got the cheese grinder out, for the lemon zest, with his mouth holding onto the handle of it, while Granny Gumbo got the things on the counter.

The others peaked in as Granny Gumbo got the things into the pot and then stirred the food together.

Then she began taking a taste after letting the ingredients mix together.

It tasted better than expected.

Granny Gumbo started to  laugh and exclaim excitedly, “That got some zydin’ to it! I guess that’s what we needed.” 

“No problem.” Diane said with a confused chuckle.

Granny Gumbo chuckled and looked at her. “Now, you figured out what you need?” 

Diane was confused by the question as Webs crawled onto her shoulder while Moe and Herbert walked over to them.

“Uh… Well… It’s just like you said, Granny Gumbo. We need to be human.” Diane said, pointing at herself and then at the others.

Granny Gumbo’s smile faded into a frown and then she gave a loud forced laugh in her face, making the ‘fox’ jump back a bit and bump into the ‘wolf’.

Webs quickly got onto Moe's shoulder after the bump, clinging onto him.

“You are blind to what’s in front of ya!” Granny Gumbo said with sass, pointing at Diane in the chest. 

Diane was confused about what saying and looked at Webs, Moe, and Herbert to see if they understood what she’s saying.

The three of them looked equally confused.

“What’s going on in here?” Pam asked, walking in with Emmlylou, Joy, Rhonda, Ruby, and Mitlon.

“Well the thing is-” Herbert started but was interpreted by Granny Gumbo clearing her throat, which got everyone’s attention.

“You want to be human…” Granny Gumbo started, sounding calm. “But you blind to what you need.”

“What we want, what we need… It’s all the same thing, yes?” Moe asked with a shrug.

Then Granny gave the ‘wolf’ an angry glare before slapping on the back of his head. 

“Ow!” Moe exclaimed a bit in pain, rubbing where he got slapped.

“It’s the same thing? No!” Granny Gumbo shouted at him before walking away, going to the .

“Come on, there has to be something!” Ruby said angrily. “I don’t want my friends to be hurt or dead because of an animal mix up from hunters!”

Granny Gumbo began to think for a moment as she walked to the main room, where there’s a huge open sunroof on the ceiling and some neighbors went over by the rooftops.

“Well I got an answer.” she said, turning a crank of a record player to play music. 

Everyone (except for Pepe, Lou, Milton, and the other guests) were confused of what’s going on.

Granny Gumbo around to look at everyone, chuckling, “You all better to listen to Granny now!”

She set the tone as she hopped back a bit, smiling at them. Then she begins to sing, “Don't matter what you look like!” 

Granny Gumbo summoned a sort of cane as she continued, “Don't matter what you wear! How many rings you got on your finger, we don't care!” She summoned magical rings on her fingers, showing it to the four animals before making the rings disappear.

“No we don't care!” The neighbors (suddenly appeared on the rooftop) singing like the chorus, which startled most of the ‘animals’ again.

Granny Gumbo chuckled softly as she picked up Zee and put him on the floor.

“Don't matter where you come from. It doesn't even matter what you are.” Granny Gumbo sang before snapping her fingers. “A dog, a pig, a cow, a goat! Had 'em all in here!

She turned Zee into different animals as she listed the animals before turning him back to a lizard.

“We had 'em all in here!” The neighbors repeated.

Granny Gumbo chuckled and spun around a bit as she continued, “And they all knew what they wanted, what they wanted me to do. I told 'em what they needed. Just like I be telling you! You got to dig a little deeper! Find out who you are! You got to dig a little deeper! It really ain't that far! When you find out who you are, You'll find out what you need! Blue skies and sunshine guaranteed!”

Granny Gumbo got her magic cane out and did a digging motion.

“You got to dig!” “(dig!)”

“You got to dig!” “(dig!)”

Then Granny Gumbo looked at Moe, Herbert, and Webs. They looked like they were about to step out of the room, like this doesn’t infect them.

The old woman got a crate that was near them, looking down at them while they tried to step out.

“Hey, Mr. Wolfy, Mr. Snakey, and Websy.” Granny Gumbo sang as Moe stepped away with Herbert and Webs. They stopped and looked up at her when she tapped her magic cane.

“Hey!” the three exclaimed as she pulled them back into the spotlight to them.

“You wanna keep on running with your lover? That ain't gonna make you happy now, Did it make you happy then?”

Moe and Webs were about to say something but were cut off by Granny Gumbo shouting “No!”

With the tap of her cane, Granny gumbo begins to use some wind with her magic spinning all around the three of them.

“Running means no stopping! Running means to let go!”

Moe and Herbert held onto each other while Webs clung onto Moe’s suit jacket like her life depended on it.

“All you need is to stop and look around.” Granny Gumbo explained, tapping her cane and the magic wind stopped blowing. “Make yourself a brand new start! You got to dig a little deeper.”

Moe and Herbert let go and looked at each other before starting to laugh while Webs started to slide off the suit jacket and onto the crate, looking at Granny Gumbo in confusion.

The old woman smiles down at her while she hops down from the crate and then points a hand to someone as she explains to her, “Don't have far to go.”

Webs looked to see that Granny Gumbo was pointing at Diane, who was dancing Rhonda.

The ‘fox’ looks happy and beautiful while dancing. 

“You got to dig a little deeper!” 

Webs start to recognize that she did feel different when she was with Diane. She stared at Diane in awe, a small smile and blush a little appeared on her face as she started to realize what Granny was singing.

“Tell the people Granny told you so!” Granny Gumbo chuckled, putting a gentle hand on Webs’ back. “Can't tell you what you'll find, maybe love will grant you peace of mind. Dig a little deeper and you'll know!”

Webs looked up at Granny and nodded to her, showing that she started to understand.

Granny Gumbo chuckled softly as she gently patted Webs’ back before she started to walk over to Diane.

Then Moe gently tapped the crate top, getting Webs’ attention. She looked up at Moe and smiled softly at him. “... Moe, can I ask you something?” Webs asked, walking over to him.

“Sure.” Moe said, offering his paw to her. “You want to talk about something?”

Webs smiles soft and nodded, climbing up his hand and up his arm. “Yeah… The question is this… How do you tell someone that you… like or love them?” the ‘spider’ asked a bit embarrassedly, looking at the ‘wolf’.

“Here are a couple of suggestions. Pick a good time to tell the person how you feel and don’t rush into it. Also be your real self and be the better person that you want to be.” Wolf explained as he looked at Webs, a soft smile on his face.

Webs nodded before looking at Diane again. ‘Maybe I’ll ask her.’ she thought, smiling softly.

Diane stopped dancing when she noticed Granny Gumbo walk over to her.

“Miss Foxy, might I have a word?” Granny Gumbo asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Diane said, nodding.

“You're a hard one, that's what I heard.” Granny Gumbo chuckled as she took Diane to the kitchen and to the gumbo, while her friends followed them and stood by the doorway.

It shows Diane a memory of her childhood with her parents (the one with them at the potluck).

Diane’s eyes lit up when seeing the memory, smiling softly at it.

“Your father is a loving man. Family through and through. You are your father's daughter. What he had in him you got in you!”

Granny Gumbo patted Diane's back and guided her out of the kitchen by a different door, taking her up the stairs to the rooftop.

“You got to dig a little deeper! For you it's gonna be tough. You gotta dig a little deeper! You ain't dug near far enough! Dig down deep inside yourself, you'll find out what you need!” 

Everyone starts to follow them, very into the song.

… except for Ruby. 

Ruby looked dizzy as she tried to follow everyone but kept on stumbling until she just stopped and leaned on the wall, panting softly while watching everyone go to the next level as the song continued.

“Blue skies and sunshine guaranteed!”

“Open up the windows! Let in the light, children!” Granny Gumbo exclaimed, using her magic to light up the darkness.

“Blue skies and sunshine! Blue skies and sunshine!” Everyone sang happily. 

“Blue skies and sunshine!” Diane sang, a big smile on her face.

“Guaranteed!” Granny Gumbo sang.

Everyone sang and held a long note until the music finished as a grand finale, the magic lights shined bright. 

Everyone started to talk with each other when the music stopped.

Diane had never felt this joyful since New Year's Eve of Y2K.

The neighbors talked with each other as they went back to their homes

Lou and Pepe thought the music was still on but Milton snapped them out of it by tapping their shoulders. “Hey, it’s done.” Milton said to them.

The two looked at him and gave (more of tried) a thumbs up.

Granny Gumbo chuckled softly and looked at Diane as she asked, “So, Ms Foxxy? Do you know what you need?”

Diane nodded excitedly. She didn't know what to say but before she could say anything, a loud crash came from down stairs and a loud scream, “SOMEBODY HELP ME!” 

Everyone jumped and looked at the direction where it came from.

It was Ruby… and she sounded like she was in a lot of pain…

Diane was the first to snap out of the shock. “Oh my- Ruby!” Diane exclaimed worried, rushing over to where Ruby was. 

“Ruby!?” Diane, Pam, Emmily Lou, Joy and Rhonda called out, quickly rushed downstairs to help and see what’s going on.

The other ‘animals’ and Granny Gumbo quickly followed after them.

“Ruby-!” Diane started as she got to the room but she stopped when seeing what was happening to Ruby.

There were different colors spinning around the friend.

Ruby was on the floor, she stopped screaming as different colors spin quickly around her, starting to transform her into an animal.

When the transformation was done, the different color lights were gone and Ruby was a German Shepherd. Ruby panted as she passed out from pain. 

The five friends stared at their passed out friend, processing what happened, as the rest of the others and Granny Gumbo just got into the room.

Before anyone walked over, Ruby let out a groan, “UGH…”

Ruby slowly opened her eyes as she slowly sat up and looked at everyone, confused about what happened. 

“What… happened?” she asked, looking at everyone before looking at herself. Her breathing became heavy and quick, tears peeking at her eyes. “What… What happened to me?” Ruby whimpered, fear in her voice as her ears went back to her head and she looked at her hands that just became paws.

Pam and Granny Gumbo quickly went to her and checked on her.

Ruby looked at both of them, hoping there was an answer to what was happening.

Everyone was worried and wanted an answer for what’s going on too. 

“Is she ok?” Emmy Lou asked, worried.

“Does it look like she is ok?!” Diane snapped angrily at her.  

Emmy Lou looked at Diane, a look of confusion on her face. “I’m just asking if she’s ok! I’m worried for her. We’re all worried!”

Diane froze for a moment and then took in a breath, trying to calm down. “I… sorry about that…” she apologized. 

Then Diane walked out of the room to get herself to calm down.

Moe looked at where Diane went before going after her. “Diane?” he called out to her.

Diane was in the hallway, leaning against the wall. She took a deep breath before looking at him.

“Hey… You ok?” Moe asked, walking over to her.

Diane stared at him for a moment before looking at the ceiling and sighing, “I don’t know what I’m feeling… Mad? Upset? All I know is that the emotion I’m feeling it’s at myself…”

Moe nodded in understanding. “Can't blame ya.” Moe said, shrugging a bit and looking up at the ceiling. “When Herbert, Webs, and I woke up after our transformations, I was mad and upset at myself…”

Diane looked at Moe. “You were?” she asked.

Moe nodded sadly, looking down. “Yeah…”

They pause for a moment, silence filled the air in the hall.

Then Diane started to ask, “How are you so calm?”

“What do you mean?” Moe asked, looking at her again.

“I mean you sometimes calmer in situations.” Diane said

“Well, remember I told you about how I grew up with my mother?” Moe asked with a chuckle.

Diane nodded.

“I was taught to be calm during situations.” Moe explained, a small smile on his face. “Ever since Young age with my mother's guidance but not only that but along with some of my father figures.”

“Father figures?” she asked “I didn't know you had father figures other than your mother?”

“Yeah. It does also make sense on how I act and treat others.”

Diane hummed and nodded.

Then they looked down the hallway at the room where they came from, seeing Herbert slithering over to them.

“Everything ok?” he asked, looking at both of them.

The two ‘canines’ nodded.

“Yea… I feel a bit better now.” Diane said.

“That’s good.” Herbert said before pointing into the other room. “Granny and Pam just finished checking on Ruby. We’re most likely going to have an answer about what’s going on.” 

Diane and Moe nodded before they both followed Herbert back into the room where everyone else was in.

The others were still in the room when they got back in.

Granny Gumbo and Pam finished checking Ruby to see what was going on with her. 

“Oh… this is bad… this is not good…” Granny Gumbo said under her breath, shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?” Pam asked, worried.

“This curse is different from the others… The curse is spreading.” Granny Gumbo answered loudly, turning around to look at everyone.

“What?!” Milton shouted angrily, walking in. “Granny! You said that it wouldn't spread unless it was fresh made contact!”

“She didn't touch any of the water.” Pam said while Ruby said “I didn’t touch the water.”

Granny Gumbo sighed and looked at the ‘animals’. “This curse is acting more like a sickness that can spread like wildfire instead of just  infecting a few people at a time…” the old woman explained, worried in her voice.

Pam’s eyes widened when hearing this, like it reminds her of her studies. “Like a plague…” Pam said, very worried.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock and worry, unsure of what to say.

The quiet silence filled the room.

“Is there a way to break this curse? Or is there nothing?” Herbert asked, breaking the silence.

Granny Gumbo looked at him before nodding and pointed at Herbert, Moe, Webs, and Diane. “You four, follow me.” she said as she started to leave the room.

As the four began to follow her, Diane looked back at her friends then at Granny Gumbo.

Diane had a lot of things going through her head and it made her worried. ‘Hope everything will be okay and this will all be fixed.’ she thought.

“There’s one way to break this curse.” Granny Gumbo said to them as they walked out of the room and into the kitchen.

They made it to the kitchen, seeing that Zee was helping with the gumbo by watching it and making sure it didn’t burn again.

“And that’s what?” the four ‘animals’ asked together as they watched Granny Gumbo as the old woman got a spoon out, tapped it and made it glow gold.

“Look in the gumbo pot.” Granny Gumbo said as she got to the gumbo pot, putting the spoon into the pot and begins stirring the gumbo

The four ‘animals’ went to the gumbo pot and looked at the gumbo inside as Granny Gumbo started to chant something.

“Gumbo, gumbo in the pot…” Granny chanted as she stirred. “We need answers, show what you got!”

The gumbo shined for a moment before showing Marmalade with Cuddles in a hotel room.

“Huh?” Diane, Moe, Herbert, and Webs asked, confused and looked at Granny Gumbo.

“Just watch the gumbo.” granny said, repeating what she said earlier as she pointed at the pot.

The four ‘animals’ looked back at the pot to watch the scene.

“Everything will be ok.” Marmalade reassured Cuddles.

(But what we don’t-!) Cuddles started to sign but stopped when Marmalade shouted, “We will!”

Cuddles stared at him, worried on his face.

Marmalade took in a breath, calming down, and then smiled softly. 

“Thankfully, I have a plan,” Marmalade said, taking something out of his jacket pocket. It was a voodoo doll.

The voodoo doll looked like Vinny Wolf.

“Once the shadows come back and we get the Wolf’s blood, things will get back on track. You play as Mason Wolf for the wedding.” Marmalade explained, showing him the voodoo doll. Then a dark smile around his face as he said, “After the ‘I do’s, Vinny Wolf will be taken care of.” 

Cuddles look at him, unsure about all this. (Ok, but what about Mary? She will find out that I am not Mason.) Cuddles signed.

Marmalade stared at him before smiling softly at him. “Don’t worry, everything will be ok, Cornelius.” Marmalade reassured him, putting the voodoo doll back in his jacket pocket.

Then Marmalade went to the door, “I’ll be back.” he said to Cuddles, looking at him as he opened the door.

Cuddles nodded.

Marmalade left the room and closed the door before walking down the hallways.

He sighed as he went down the hallway and went into the stairwell.

Marmalade got something else out of his jacket as he went to one of the walls of the stairwell, drawing a door.

When he was done drawing, he snapped his fingers together and the drawn door started to glow before it became a real door. 

The door was a dark purple.

He opened the magic door and entered this new magic room. 

It was a dark room, full of other voodoo dolls that look like they’re from different centuries. In the middle of the room, there was a table. On it were some tarot cards, a candle, a science kit, and a spell book.

Marmalade walked over to the table, flicking his wrist and the candle lit up.

He got the Talisman out, looking at it with his shadow. Marmalade sighed as he looked at the Talisman.

“Come on, now… I’m running out of time, I need more for the harvest- wait…” he said to himself then an idea popped into his head. Then he looked at his shadow with a dark smile before grabbing and opening the magic book.

Marmalade looked at a page with his shadow.

On the page, it showed how to combine a good soul along with a sinister soul.

“Combining two souls, one good and one sinister, it’ll make a bigger soul. That’ll be more than enough for the harvest.” Marmalade said out loud, pointing at the page.

A sinister smile began to form on his face while his shadow nodded.

Then Marmalade looked at his shadow and asked, “Could you get some more of the shadows?”

The four ‘animals’ were shocked and looked at each other then at the gumbo again.

Marmalade’s shadow showed a bit worried by -body- shadow language.

“Don’t worry.” Marmalade reassured the shadow. “It’ll give us a bigger chance.”

Marmalade’s shadow showed calmer and nodded as Marmalade smiled at his shadow.

Then the vision in gumbo faded away and went back to being gumbo.

“This can't be happening…” Moe breathed, worried as he looked at Herbert, Diane, and Webs. “We need to stop this from happening. If he does this, who knows what horrors will happen…”

Herbert, Webs, and Diane nodded. 

Then they looked at each other before looking at Granny Gumbo.

“What should we do?” Diane asked, worry in her voice.

“There is one way to break the curse.” Granny Gumbo said, putting up a finger. “Break the talisman.”

The four ‘animals’ nodded.

“Ok… Break the talisman…” Webs repeated, recapping what was told before asking, “Then what?”

“I’m getting to that.” Granny Gumbo said, looking at her before stirring the gumbo again.

The gumbo glowed again and showed the silhouette form of the talisman.

“You four, or at least one of you, need to break the talisman.” Granny explained, pointing at the silhouette of the talisman “When you do, BOOM!” She tapped on the form and a burst of light shined and then showed everyone’s silhouettes as human in the pot. “The curse will stop and you’ll all turn back to human!”

The four started to smile with excitement but then stopped when Granny held up a hand and added with some worry, “But… if the four of you aren't back being human again after the talisman is broken… then I’ll try and find something else to help.”

The four ‘animals’ looked at each other, worried expressions on their faces.

“Like a kiss or something?” Webs asked, looking back at Granny.

Granny Gumbo stared for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe.”

That didn’t ease their worries.

“We need to go and stop this from happening.” Moe said, looking at the others before starting to leave the room with Webs. “Come on!”

Herbert nodded and followed after them while Moe talked to the others in the other room.

Diane was about to follow them but stopped by Granny Gumbo grabbing her arm.

“Hm? Granny?” Diane asked, confused.

The ‘fox’ tried to shake her arm to get Granny to let go of her, but the old woman had a tight grip on her arm.

Granny looked at Diane, worried in her eyes. “Diane, I need you to be strong when you face Him.” the old woman warned, not letting go of her arm.

“Um… What do you mean?” Diane asked, getting more confused and worried.

“I see two paths when you face him.” Granny Gumbo explained with warning in her voice, still holding her arm. “He gives you a deal, a deal that you can’t refuse. You MUST say no to him.”

“And if he eventually wins then that means…?” Diane asked, starting to get scared.

“Everyone will be nothing but food and play things to his ‘friends’ while he joins them as being a powerful being… along with you…” Granny Gumbo explained before begging, “So, Please… when the time comes, say no to him!”

The ‘fox’ snapped out of the fear and nodded. “I understand. I won’t let you down.” she reassured her.

Granny Gumbo sighs with a small smile as she lets go of Diane’s arm.

Diane looked at her before leaving the kitchen, looking at the other ‘animals’.

They all begin checking everything and getting their things before they leave.

Diane walked over to them, going to Ruby first.

Ruby looked at herself in the mirror, looking at her new form in the reflection. She looked like she was close to crying, whimpering a bit as her ears went back to her head.

Diane went over to her and asked, “Hey, you ok?”

Ruby looked at Diane and shrugged. “I don’t know…” she replied, holding her hands close to herself.

“Everything will be ok.” Diane reassures her.

“But what if I never-” Ruby started, sounding panicked, but was cut off as Diane held her hands to get her attention and interrupted, “You will go back to being human again, along with everyone else. I promise.”

“That’s right.” Pam said.

Ruby and Diane looked over to see Pam, Emmy Lou, Joy, and Rhonda nodding in agreement.

Ruby started to calm down before hugging Diane, who hugged her back.

Meanwhile, Webs was on a table as she looked at Daine with her friends. She sighed softly and hugged herself.

“Webs?” Milton asked with a blank around his face

Webs look up to see Milton walk over to her. He had a satchel bag full of something. 

“You ok?” Milton asked when he got to her.

“Hm? Oh, I’m ok.” Webs said, trying to sound reassuring.

Milton raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. “Come on, I know you. Something is on your mind.” he said.

“It's just…” Webs started, trying to get out what she wants to say. “I’m just thinking… of asking someone out… It’s stupid…”

Milton hummed softly, nodding. Then he noticed the others starting to leave. 

“How about you tell me while we leave?” Milton asked, looking back at Webs.

Webs nodded.

Then she looked at that satchel bag. “What’s in the bag?” she asked, pointing at the bag

“Some light. Just in case those Shadows come out and attack.” Milton said, adjusting the satchel bag on his shoulder.

Webs hummed and nodded. 

Milton smiled softly and offered his hand to her, so she could crawl up.

She got on his hand and crawled up his arm.

Milton started to walk as Webs explain, “It's just… being on the run for so long and just going from place to place, barely stopping. I just… I’m also scared she would say ‘no’… after everything.”

Milton hummed softly and nodded as he continued to walk. “Well… you can still ask her to see if she wants to. It’s good to ask.” he reassured, smiling softly at her as they got outside.

Thank you.” Webs said, smiling back before then realized something. Then she looked at him and asked, “Wait… how did you and Diane’s friends get here?” 

Milton got quiet for a moment before laughing softly. “Well… It's a long story. A complicated one, but…to cut it short, we got here by a yacht that Emmly Lou owns.” Milton said

Webs hummed and nodded. “Interesting.” 

Milton nodded with a chuckle. “Yeah, but anyways, you got this. Ask her.” he said as he continued to walk.

Webs nodded a bit before looking at where Diane was, who was talking to Pam and Ruby for a bit.

Webs couldn’t help but smile at her. ‘Got to dig deeper and tell her.’ she thought, chuckling softly.

▪▪▪

Author’s Notes: Just to explain, Granny is older and she doesn’t always remember the right things. Like the witch from Brave; she forgot the bit of the spell when Merida left but then remembers sometime later.

[welcome-to-ratterrock]

Hello! I read your FAQ about the animals in this world, but I was curious, what about insects? Are they consider nothing but pests?

Cats and dogs won’t be featuring in our story, but by rodentdom at large, they’re seen as beasts of burden at best and dangerous, predators at worst. They have their own form of sentience amongst others of their kind, but communication between other animals, especially rodents…that’s never happened and any chance of that happening is far fetched at best, dangerous lunacy at worst. After all, what would be the point of talking to your food, hmm? 

As mentioned before in another ask/post, birds are by and large merely steeds for the truly daring of mice - think of them as a horse equivalent, if you will. They can be trained, but it takes a certain daring for a rodent to leave the ground. 

But as for insects like crickets and moths and spiders and butterflies, it’s very common for rodent families to have them as pets! Sometimes they serve a purpose - spiders can be trained to spin their webs in certain areas, and their silk can be used to make clothing. Fireflies can be gently put into little paper lanterns or have leashes attached so mice can  walk around at night. And crickets can be trained to play certain tunes as well. 

Baji had the wonderful idea that the rodents have domesticated caterpillars into big fat fluffy weird breeds, and I know for a fact that Rilla definitely had dainty, darling pet butterflies when she was a wee girlie. There’s competitions for showing off your special breed of caterpillar/moth/butterfly, and flight demonstrations too! 

While there’s definitely a few insects that are seen as nothing but pests, there’s a good number that have become very popular with rodentdom and who have even gone on to being treasured family pets.

[demvalhaken]

Hiiiiiii!!! Here’s me yapping about Insect culture and stuff

I drew this little thing of Mrs. Creek, who’s a Dragonfly by-the-way. This is probably just a doodle cus I didn’t work that long on this drawing of her. The architecture in the back is based off on some Greek temples and stuff like that. The Library of Aldaros is basically where she lives as she’s like literatures number one fan. Also don’t judge, she’s bald on the top of her head.

(Random language thingy cus I like making weird words in fictional languages)

So the language of Aldaros is called Aldarin because you know, but Aldaros/Aldarin are exoterms (I think that’s the right word?) Aldaros and Aldarin are actually from ancient Wasps who discovered the continent and it’s inhabitants (Ex: Crickets, Dragonflies, and Flies) The name comes from the ancient Waspian root Aldar/Aldor which means “less or fewer.” Basically the name of the continent means “Land of the lesser/inferior” to people who understood the ancient Waspian language. The endoterm actually used by its people is Ultoria, where Ult means foliage or flora and Ria means land or area. The endoterm is Ultoria (Land of great flora/foliage) and the exoterm is Aldaros (Land of the lesser) There’s actually unique letters for both Wasp and Ultorian but it’s better to show them in English then the actual native letters. Hold on, let me write them for your own curiosity!

I might change these letters but remember THIS IS NOT MODERN WASP LETTERS!!! This is from around 4,000-6,000 years ago when the term was created.

I forgot to mention but in Ultorian if there is an G-like letter in-between two other letters it means there is great/many of the first letter. A lot of people just write it without the G-like letter but some like to describe it better with great/many.

You should probably know who Bevel Stingheart is by now if you’ve seen my post but for those who haven’t I’ll basically just say who she is.

Bevel Stingheart is a descendant of Henry Stingheart, who was a royal guard like her. Bevel is in a secret marriage with Queen Snow Seaclaw (Current ruler of Wasp City) and is her royal bodyguard. She’s also a General of the People and General of War, as for General of the People that means she can arrest people and do whatever to keep the people protected and/or safe. General of War means that if there’s a war, she’d probably help make plans and get everyone ready for combat/give instruction or help.

I think Bevel is really silly, I really need a break from all this nerd talk help :l

Ancient Queen Bloodlust/Bloodlust 2,000 years ago when she was actually visible to the public. I based her clothing off of Ancient Chinese wears like the Han Dynasty I believe (I REALLY HOPE IM SPELLING THAT RIGHT) I never really had a crown design for her so I just put a giant jade on her crown cus like I don’t really have any Spider culture down just yet BUT I PROMISE I WILL! There are claw marks on her neck because of a recent war that happened in the Ancient Spider Kingdom (War of Webs) THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE THOUGH!!! I believe as of right now the war is about territory, Bloodlust’s kingdom wanted more land as their population was growing but the lesser weren’t cooperating. NOW THATS A LOT OF YAP I KNOW, BUT I LOVE THESE GUYS THOUGH!!! CATECIS IS JUST A WAY FOR ME TO SHOW MY LOVE FOR STORIES

So sorry I haven’t been posting a lot, I haven’t been doing too well mentally and I feel like shit 24/7. I love all of you so much!!! Especially my children (Followers)!!!

(If you have any questions, you can ask. If you like this yapping, consider supporting because there’s a lot of Catecis art on the way)

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION BUT BLOODLUST’S HAIR IS TIED IN LIKE A BOW SHAPE!!! No the hair on her head isn’t ears or stuff like that, it’s just a hair-tied bow. Spiders don’t even have that kind of hearing

[web-novel-polls]

Have You Read This Web Novel?

If you’re in the process of reading this web novel, please choose whichever option best fits your situation. You do not have to be completely finished with it to answer “yes.”

If you’ve never heard of it, please read the description below the cut!

See similar polls and results here!

Humans embody the spirit of all living things, while Gu hold the essence of heaven and earth.* Twisted by his own corrupted beliefs, he rises as a demon, a shadow of his former self. The past fades like a distant dream, but a familiar name returns with newfound purpose. This is the tale of a time traveler who plays a dangerous game with fate, never knowing if each death will bring his next rebirth—or his final end. In a unique world that nurtures, refines, and wields Gu—magical creatures of the cosmos—legends like the Spring Autumn Cicada, Fortune Rivaling Heaven Immortal Gu, Hope Gu and Destiny Gu come to life… And at the heart of it all is a great demon who follows his whims! A story of a villain, Fang Yuan, who was reborn 500 years into the past with the Spring Autumn Cicada he painstakingly refined. With his profound wisdom, battle, and life experiences, he seeks to overcome his foes with skill and wit! Unbound by morality or mercy, he stops at nothing in his relentless quest for eternal life. Read how in a brutal world where cultivation hinges on Gu, Fang Yuan rises above all, wielding his intellect & power to conquer and defy the limits of life itself. Note: * Gu are legendary creatures in various insect forms—venomous worms, snakes, crickets, and more—sought after for their unique powers. Masters refine and wield them in a relentless struggle for survival, where only the strongest and most cunning can prevail.

- Novel Updates

Wiki Link

[lukes-curls]

by the way, i read r. f. kuang’s ‘babel’ the other day and holy secret history, i was obsessed. a literal dream bleeding ink and bound with glue and paper. i have never ever read anything like it— the ingenuity of using a mortar and pestle (figuratively speaking) to grind truth and fiction until the two blend into some frankenstein’d being not unlike the english language. the thesis of its fiction is a function of its very structure.

there is a point to this paragraph. i was brought up aware of many religions (i received communion in my hometown catholic church every sunday with my great grandma, and afterward sipped grape juice and played cricket at an anglican sunday school with my best friend and her nan, read ‘buddhism for kids!’ at the local library when i was eight and now i study theology and english at uni) which is to say i was introduced to the tower of babel parable in genesis veryyy young. i remember thinking it was so curious probably because i was young and everything was exciting and it was one of those moments where so many things align and it just feeds your interest. i think the same year i learned about the story i also started learning french. (i can speak at a toddler’s capacity thanks to self doubt but writing and reading, i am fluent).

coming into my adult years, dragging all of that with me, i wrote my thesis loosely based on this slippery idea of absolution (because really that’s what this is all about— trying to get to the absolute ideas of things) and how we are practically locked outside of the absolute truth of things by our language, first, and by each other, second. babel emphasises this in ways i can’t even fathom or put into words. i guess what i am trying to say is that as someone who was brought up in an in between of sorts, who was blessed and so exposed to a multitude of perspectives of one thing, i believe that absolutes are moot. thinking and writing in absolutes are kapoot. we are fluid beings. we change our mind, nothing is as permanent as a kiss to a backspace key and i just think that we must account for this before we bring ourselves to ruin.

kuang’s mind is genuinely so immense and i would love to walk around her mind for a day. it was so interesting to me this idea of flying too close to the sun, of grasping at rocks and binding to get at god through literature and being punished cardinally for it. lord, deliver me from evil! and forgive my trespasses! and though i’m not necessarily an expert in any of this, just a philosophy/english student who loves to read and build my web of interests, and nor am i necessarily loyal to a sole strain of faith (this was clear when i learned about how the spanish bury god in their architecture), it really awoke something that has laid dormant in me for too long of a time. also RAMY!!! RAMY AND BIRDIE!!!! i cried. like actually cried. i don’t think i can even talk about them. i will admit my sole critique is that some of the characters fell flat to me but this is definitely a sacrifice to make the novel read as an academic transcript, something that exists after (the immortality of fiction is frightening but i love it) (WHY ARE WE STILL BANNING BOOKS IT MAKES ME WANNA TEAR MY HAIR OUT D:).

also i adore how it reads as an academic transcript, complete with footnotes and citations that i implore you to look at as you read if not to learn actual factoids about translation theory then to further your immersion in the fiction. the insanity of writing additional notes in the margins ties into that idea further— in a paragraph, one can TRY their hardest to communicate an idea but there will always be more to explain to successfully convey an idea or action from one person to another. language is an ouroboros— and translation is a product of fallacy we delude ourselves into thinking is real. but still we try! and still it is a necessary endeavour!

the narrative itself pulls from many inspirations, one of which is so glaringly obvious; orwell’s 1984. i mean, double speak— professor LOVE-ll, HELLO! the cantonese robin recites warning father and death. i think gulliver’s travels is blatant, too, among others i admittedly dont recall because this was like a week ago.

anyway i guess what i’m trying to say is kuang’s ability to smelt the idea of translation between languages into the translation between people who are displaced from one country to another and distill it into this potent idea of loss. THERE IS ALWAYS LOSS IN TRANSLATION (which babel proves extends beyond going between one language to another) because of context, bias, and the fallacy of truth. it was immaculate. five stars. i can’t stop thinking about it and i read it a week ago.