#felt like doing something light hearted and as wholesome as it's possible to get with these guys

[nevesmose]

Fic ideas: Sevatar's first week as First Captain, where he realizes how many cats he has to herd as part of his new position? Konrad and Mortarion being awful bffs together? Horus and his scrungly new goth brother? Kyroptera joint venting session?

Last Chance on 8th Street

So in a perhaps too literal interpretation I combined "Sevatar's first week herding cats" with "Horus and his scrungly goth brother" and this was where things ended up. Trying to go for a kind of The Iron Giant "stereotypical 1950s USA that never really existed" vibe I think?

Somewhere in the idealised American past, a no-good street punk is sentenced to community service.

He's just so bald, Sevatar thought unkindly as he looked at the back of Police Chief Horus Lupercal's head. So goddamn bald.

It definitely wasn't the first time he had been in the back of a police car, but it was the first time he'd done it without his hands cuffed behind his back.

"You should consider yourself very fortunate to get away with community service after what you did," Horus said, staring daggers at him in the rear-view mirror. "But my father the mayor has decided to try out a new rehabilitation policy on you instead."

That explained the personal chauffeur treatment, Sevatar supposed, grimacing at yet another mention of my father the mayor. If they ever made a talking Horus Lupercal doll, that's what it would say every time you pulled its string.

"Gee whiz, Chief," Sevatar said insincerely. "All this fuss over a little jaywalking?"

"Jaywalking," Horus repeated flatly.

"Yeah, jaywalking. I jaywalked all the way across town at three in the morning to a nice suburban house and then I jaydrove off in their Cadillac. I pulled some jaydonuts in it and then I jayburned it." He shrugged expressively. "But it started with jaywalking."

Horus didn't reply as they halted next to a low, nondescript building with a sign saying 8th STREET MUNICIPAL CAT SHELTER.

"Here we are," he announced. "Your community service. Get out. It's time you met my brother."

"Oh yeah?" Sevatar left the car, scowling, and adjusted his leather jacket with an air of immense self-importance. "And which brother would that be exactly? Because it feels like there's about a hundred of you. Which reminds me," he added nastily, "give my sympathies to Mrs Mayor."

"A real comedian, aren't you?" Horus replied. "Let me put it this way. He's not one of the ones my father the mayor allows to be seen in public."

"Oh shit, is it the crazy one? The one the Army did all those psychic UFO mind control experiments on?"

"Is that what they say about him?" Horus asked innocently. He shouldered open the main door of the building and led Sevatar into a small, dimly-lit reception area empty except for a few metal folding chairs, a desk with a disconnected rotary phone on it, and a poster of a cat on one wall.

"He must be out in the yard," Horus said, gesturing to a door leading to the rear of the building. "And just remember," he continued, turning to point a finger at Sevatar, "when you fail at this, which you will because you're nothing but a worthless punk, I will be here to arrest you personally. Have fun."

With that he left, either ignoring or not hearing Sevatar's response. Sevatar shrugged, lit up a cigarette and headed out into the yard behind the building.

Whatever he'd expected, it wasn't this - an open, grass-covered space dotted with trees and what looked like a variety of homemade cat-sized climbing frames, scratching posts and houses.

And above all, what looked like thousands of cats, everywhere he looked. The most cats he'd ever seen. Like in that horror movie about birds, but... with cats. For some reason every single one of them was some variety of black, grey or white in colour.

Sitting cross-legged in the centre of the yard, surrounded by his own personal clowder, was Konrad Curze, the crazy one of the Mayor's sons.

He was tall, tall enough that you could see it even sitting down, and far thinner than any healthy person should be. He wore grey jeans and a black turtleneck sweater which, combined with his long black hair and intense dark eyes, made him look like a kind of depressed, disappointed beatnik.

The cat hair all over his clothes didn't help.

"Those things will kill you," Curze said, looking over at Sevatar. His voice was raspy, like he'd either used it far too much or far too little.

"What, the cats?"

He shook his head and gently pushed a tuxedo cat with a peculiar marking on its forehead off his lap so he could stand up and walk over to Sevatar. "Cigarettes. Cats will just eat you after you die."

He had to be seven feet tall at least. Sevatar, who fell back on humour at times of uncertainty, found himself compelled to make some kind of remark.

"What's the weather like up there, Legs?"

"Bright and breezy," Curze replied in the same whispery tone. "You must be Jago Sevatarion, here to serve the community."

"It's Sevatar. And yeah, I guess so. Didn't think it would be a community of cats though."

"Cats are vital to the community," Curze replied. "While their actions in keeping down pest populations may seem brutal, or even downright sadistic, their overall contribution is very positive to society."

"Right. But what about, like... endangered birds? Don't they hunt them too?"

"That's utterly irrelevant to me, Sevatar. I just like cats."

They walked together around the yard, with Curze describing in great detail the various duties involved in running the shelter and Sevatar mostly trying not to step on any of the residents.

Eventually his curiosity got the better of him. "You know, they say you're crazy," he ventured at a stopping point in Curze's feline monologue while he was being shown the special-care area.

"They're right," Curze answered bluntly. "Now, Malcharion here is very old and needs his food mushed up with some water."

"Okay. But you don't seem too crazy right now."

Curze paused and looked at him. "I have good days and bad days," he said. "Today is a good day. Do not under any circumstances let Gendor near any of the other cats' food," he added, pointing at a malevolent-looking grey tabby. "He is entirely untrustworthy."

In the end they agreed that Sevatar would be back at nine the next morning, but when the next morning came he woke up at half past eight with no possible way to get to 8th Street on time.

So he gave up and just kind of wandered around, smoking and making vague plans to skip town. That was something people did, after all. Just vanishing one day.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blurry black shape looming up in his peripherial vision. It quickly resolved itself into Konrad Curze and his cat-hair-covered turtleneck who grabbed him forcefully.

"You should be at the cat shelter," Curze rasped, somehow making the phrase into the most terrifying threat Sevatar had ever heard. The taller man had him pinned up against the wall, just about lifting him off his feet through sheer wiry strength, but then he suddenly drew back.

"You weigh hardly anything, Sevatar," he said. "When did you last eat?"

Sevatar told him, and that was how the man who up until that point had seemed intent on killing him insisted on going to the nearest diner instead.

Curze sat opposite him in their booth with a cup of coffee while Sevatar, who had taken the statement to get whatever you want well and truly to heart, was working his way through a cheeseburger, fries, soda, milkshake and a sundae the size of a toddler.

"Today hasn't been a good day," Curze said, as if that explained everything. "I'm given to understand that for you it's this or prison. Is that right?"

Sevatar shrugged. "And, so what if it is?"

Curze thought for a moment, clasping his long fingers around his coffee cup.

"It's very much the same for me," he said eventually. "If I fail at this I'll be of no use at all to my father the Mayor, as Horus so endearingly puts it."

"Is that so?" Sevatar said, or at least intended to say, around a mouthful of burger. It came out as more of a generic inquisitive sound which didn't seem to bother Curze.

"The next step from there would be a long stay at an institution somewhere very far away and, I think, an eventful appointment with a lobotomist. It would be as if I never existed at all."

"That's rough," Sevatar said, not entirely unkindly.

Curze gave a rueful smile. "That's my father," he replied. "He's done it before with his little disappointments. Did you know there used to be twenty of us?"

"No," Sevatar replied, "I didn't know that."

On impulse, he wiped the fry grease off on his white T-shirt and then held out his hand to Curze.

"I'll make you a deal," he said. "Let's help each other to stay out of institutions as long as we can. Just don't try to kill me again."

They shook hands and started discussing how to herd cats.

[danosrosegarden]

I’m still think about nashton going ape on a flesh light. Give us the whiplash baybee!!!

wear me out, turn me on - edward nashton x gn!reader headcanons (NSFW) ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚♡

{contents ♡ bit of fluff, male masturbation, toy usage}

{word count ♡ ~700}

♡ a hot sheen of shame was already sizzling like oil in a pan on his reddened cheeks before he even took it out of the package. it was almost as if he'd already used it. his trembling hands. the skipping of his heart.

♡ edward really wasn't one for porn. the videos smelled like plastic. they felt thin and easy to break through. cellophane. it just wasn't appealing. he'd much rather think of you.

♡ a good roommate in gotham was his biggest, brightest blessing. work peeled his skin away and his thunderstorm brain ripped out the exposed guts. he was so used to life washing out any droplets of happiness that ran through his blood, he assumed joy just wasn't for him. but then there was you.

♡ you brewed him coffee early in the morning. you sat with him in warm, thick, comfortable silence when he came home deflated from another exhausting workday. you even helped him work through the tough clues on his crosswords. he knew the answers already, but it was cute to see the cogs turn in your brain as you sifted through possible options.

♡ your friendship was something he held gently in his cupped hands as if it would shatter into pieces if he squeezed too hard. it was wholesome. it was sweetness. it had also been his masturbation material ever since you moved in together.

♡ it was your fault, really. it's not like he was sending out requests for a gorgeous roommate with twinkling eyes and a beautifully beaming smile with a wonderful sense of humor and a soft heart of kindness. it just happened.

♡ the littlest things set him off. you breezed by him and he caught a whooshing slash of your scent? suddenly he needs the bathroom for a few minutes. you were doing laundry and he saw a peek of your underwear hanging out from your basket? he needs to get something from his room real quick. he'll be right back.

♡ he'd never used something besides his hand to help out before. so he takes his time. he runs his finger along the silky smooth silicone. he wonders what it would be like if it was his fingers on you right now. how you might shiver at his gentle touch, how you might bite at your lip when he gets close to brushing against a sensitive spot.

♡ it's a good thing he's home alone right now, because he's loud when he finally gets his new toy wrapped around his flushed cock, already lubed from the dribbles of precum running down. the squeeze is warm and tight, and he thinks of you, you, only you, as he drags his hips back and forth.

♡ he can't help the quivering words that climb from his throat. they spill out between high, breathy whimpers. god, that feels so fucking good. you feel so good. please, please, please.

♡ he's trying to hold back, trying to wipe the light dusting of sweat that's causing his glasses to slip, but it's difficult when he finally has something to help him imagine what you'd feel like if it was you around him. he feels it brewing and bubbling up in his gut. his hips stutter and shake, his breathing is loud and jagged, and the groans pouring from his mouth are just pathetic. if it was really you, he'd try harder to last. he'd be good for you. but now, in this moment, he didn't give a fuck about any of that. he wanted to be selfish, chasing his pleasure with a bounding, sweat-soaked sprint.

♡ he tries to bite down on his lip, but the whining cry comes tumbling out anyway as his orgasm engulfs him. he doesn't care if anyone in the complex heard his muffles moans. he doesn't care that he probably looks wrecked. he doesn't even care that thick streaks of cum are dripping down the opening of the toy and onto his hand. it felt good to be greedy.

♡ in that moment, it didn't matter to him that he may never work up the courage to make his filthy dreams turn into truth. now he had something to at least help him pretend, and he couldn't wait to cook up more fantasies to play with.

[whatswrong7]

Part 1 Part 2

Ghost was sweating bullets, feeling a little too warm for comfort as he stared at the articles of clothing he had on his bed, his closet practically empty. Since when was he a ‘I don’t have anything to wear’ guy? It wasn’t anything special, just dinner. He could throw on any button up and slacks, but the mere thought of appearing like he didn’t care had him wanting to strangle himself. He got you flowers, and a reservation at a nice Mediterranean place he’d been saving for, remembering a comment you made about how much you loved their food, but how expensive it was. He couldn’t do all that just for you to think he wasn’t serious. He had to have you! He gulped thickly, wondering how pretty you would look. Would you doll yourself up just for him? His heart threatened to break a rib from the inside at the thought.

A headache was starting to form in his skull as he carefully stared at what he had to work with. How did you like men dressed? He had never paid enough attention to your rambles before. You had to have said something though, that he couldn’t help but overhear. Alas, no matter how much he wracked his brain, the thought wouldn’t come to him. He wipes his sweaty palm on his bare thighs. You may have said something about black button ups, but he couldn’t remember if you had actually said that, or if his brain was just making something up out of desperation. Either way, he quickly put it on, choosing black slacks to go with it. Usually he wore silver, but he noticed you usually wore gold, not that you got the chance to wear jewelry often on base.

He wanted to match you, his face felt a little hot at the thought people would think you two were a couple, even if you technically weren’t yet. He quickly chose his few gold rings, along with a small chain around his neck. You had a similar necklace, only smaller and daintier. Maybe you’d be wearing it tonight. He had the image in his head, the pretty color on your skin, your pretty skin he wanted to bite and-

No, he reminded himself, we aren’t doing this right now. Checking the time, he figured he should get going soon if he wanted to show up early, and see that cute face of yours light up when he gave you the flowers.

Sure enough, once you opened your door and took in the sight before you, your pretty eyes Ghost had been admiring lit up, your lips quickly finding their way to his cheek. You might as well have electrocuted him. He stood dumbfounded at your door while you placed his gift in a vase. He quickly snapped out of it once your tapped his bicep, asking if he was ok.

"Oh, yes, love, more than okay"

Your face heated up at the look he gave you, his eyes obviously lingering on places a gentleman shouldn't be looking. It was the same when you got to the restauraunt. He knew in the back of his mind he appeared like a creep, but you were such a pretty one, he couldn't help but stare obsessively at you, especially now that you were so much closer, and he could see more details he couldn't spot from the distance he usually sat from you. Besides from that, as stressed as he'd been earlier, it was so easy to fall into conversation with you. He tried to keep the subject on you as much as possible, not because he didn't want to share anything about himself, but because he wanted to make up for lost time, learn as much about you as possible, so he could be your perfect man. If you would accept him, that is.

Shit, he wasn't even sure if you wanted to pursue something serious, meanwhile he was already trying to guess and imagine what wedding dress you'd like, and how you'd give him such cute babies. Little does he know you were more than happy to think about a future with him, though, to be fair, your thoughts were a little more impure, but still wholesome.

He was starting to question why he didn't start chasing after you sooner, when you knocked over your drink of choice. Ah, right, he had considered you useless and clumsy. He chuckled to himself, but practically got whiplash when you started apologizing profusely, turning red out of embarassment. How had he missed that before? God, you were just so cute. Ghost practically seethed at himself for not paying more attention and snatching you up sooner. But that thought quickly flew away as he started thinking about how he wanted to see you jump and yelp and laugh at your mistakes again and again, forever.

And sure enough, you did, as you knocked over various things as he dragged you along the darkness of his home, his assurances and kisses on your head that it was 'ok, love, just keep following him', until you both landed on his bed, soon to become yours too.

Most likely not gonna write a part 4, besides some more cute drabbles about Ghost x incompetent! Reader cuz idk I just love the concept

[vhyunjinverse]

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

j. jungkook x f!black reader || (18+) || reblogs would be appreciated!!

warnings : fingering, pussy eating, hair pulling, public sex,

Jeon Jungkook had to have you.

His eyes wouldn’t leave your frame. Your jaw-dropping smile taking over his mind.

You weren’t aware though, part from the slight glances you made his way, knowing he was there. As an actress, and the star of his upcoming music video, it was fair to possibly keep your distance. It wasn’t- but you felt like you should. You’re both fairly famous people, so when news sparked online about you staring in his video, of course questions were raised.

His team reaching out to you felt like a dream come true. You’ve been in countless films and other videos, but this was insane, for you and for fans. The camera on you, the light illuminating your face. The first scene, you reaching out to the camera that supposedly represented Jungkook. His beautiful voice blasting through the speakers. He could stare at you through the little screen all day.

It lifted you in ways unknown to everyone there. The first scene representing the morning after. You on the soft looking bed, reaching out to him, giggling but so flushed. Something about you taking his shirt after waking up. Through the screen it seemed as if he was the one recording you. Something wholesome yet so intimate. Your heart thumped in your chest, the oversized shirt exposed your beautiful shoulders, your bare thighs caught in the thick comforter.

The atmosphere was light, but the tension between Jungkook and your body couldn’t be penetrated by a knife if someone tried. Running a hand through his hair, the camera cut as to wrap up. You smiled, falling back into the bed laughing, your eyes filled with compliments which you responded to with little ‘thank you!’s.

As you get up to walk off set, your eyes meet Jungkook’s once more. He gave you a slight nod, you didn’t miss the way the sliver on his lips curled up as he smiled.

Jeon Jungkook had to have you. Despite the media, how a certain collective group of fans would act towards you, it didn’t matter. They didn’t matter.

“Oh..oh fuck-“

“Keep your legs open f’me.”

“..Trying-“ Jungkook’s tongue pushes deeper into you. On the floor of your dressing room, him on his knees. Your legs are spread wide, hand entangled in his hair. His thumb pulled at your sensitive clit, rubbing the spit coated muscle gently. He knew how loud you can get.

Soft whispers of his name rolling off of your tongue, plump parted lips swollen from when he sucked on them just moments before. He quickly replaces his tongue with his fingers, chin glistening while he glanced up at you with such an innocent smile. Your fingers tugging at his hair, a grin mirrored back at him from you. “Good girl..doing so good.”

Jeon Jungkook is not innocent. That’s what you had learned. No matter how much he wanted to fuck you on the prop bed just moments before- he got you alone in your dressing room (away from anyone that would talk about you two to the media) and immediately went down to ravish his long awaited meal.

[majoryeager104]

You + me = three

Summary: Headcannons of Touya with a pregnant partner 🥹👍

Touya/Dabi x fem!reader

Warnings: language, and general wholesome behavior (these hc’s are my therapy atp)

Telling Touya you were pregnant was a worrisome task to say the least 

Because even though you both worked to be as emotionally available to each other as possible

This was a subject that you had no idea how he’d react to

Because pregnancy wasn’t something the two of you had talked about, even in your late night discussions of what you wanted your futures to look like, a child was never mentioned 

He knew that he was barely alive as it is

And I suppose he thought that the trauma his body had experienced would probably put the possibility of being a father out of his reach. 

he would be lying if he said that this saddened him, if only a little

Because even though he never mentioned having them

He thought about kids with you

A lot. 

Because currently he was in a relationship with the only person he’d want to start a family with

But as mentioned, he wasn’t really sure if that would be possible for him

So you’d bet that when you decided how you’d tell him

And you took him out for dinner at his favorite soba place

And those two momentous words left your mouth

He was beyond shocked. 

He’d stare at you for a long moment, his eyes drifting from yours to your belly, over and over again, while a wide smile spread across his face

“You serious?”

And when you’d confirm? It was like there was a light at the end of the long tunnel he’d been stuck in since the night he’d burned up

Something to look forward to, beyond the repercussions he’d wished upon his father

A family with you, something to go home to, hell, a home in general

Because he’d make it happen, now. No matter what. 

Because that light at the end of the tunnel, that glimpse of hope in the flames he’d been burning in for so long

Made him feel alive again. You, and the little one you currently carried, were his reason to exist. Beyond his revenge, beyond the dark clouds overhead

Because he now had the privilege to be a father

To do for you and your child what his father had never bothered to do with his own family 

To give to your child something he’d never received from Enji

Love. 

After he’d finally stopped grinning

And the two of you were walking back to your apartment 

He made sure that you wanted this, too

He wanted to be absolutely sure that you wanted this child

Especially if it would be with him

And dammit the smiling confirmation from you once again

Sent his heart soaring. 

He had to stop himself from smiling too much to make sure he didn’t pop his staples out. 

He was absolutely elated

He’d be such a great partner during the pregnancy 

He’d act annoyed when you woke him up for snacks

But secretly when he’d turn over to look at you when you nudged his shoulder and quietly requested it, he’d be on cloud nine just looking at you

Because just look at you 

His beautiful girl, and his future beautiful girl

Because he was secretly hoping for a daughter

The least he could do was go get you your chips from seven eleven

He’d constantly be rubbing your belly too

Like “holy shit there’s actually a baby in there? And it’s mine?”

Like I said, cloud nine. 

And the first kick? He was already cuddling you when it happened, so you best believe he felt it

If he could cry, he would have been 

Because that little kick cemented the entire thing for him

Like, this was it. This was gonna be the best thing in his life

And he’d be damned if he wasn’t gonna be there for every second of it with you. 

So he decided taking revenge could wait

Because he was a father now, and had better priorities

This is one of my favorite songs and it reminds me of Touya often, but I found it through my favorite Attack on Titan animatic (here but spoiler warning if you haven’t finished the show), and the LYRICSSS 😭🙏

Banner Creds to @ Buttonheart 🙌🙌🙌

[ruruvxz]

“Today’s rain.”

College!Ahn Yujin x College!Reader

↳ synopsis: Ahn Yujin found herself stuck in the middle of a storm, with only a flimsy sheet of metal above her to somewhat cover her from the rain. Thinking this was the worst day of her life until she bumped into a certain someone, her heart thumping inside her chest.

↳ cw: fem!reader once again, use of language, nothing much it’s more of brainrot fluff…

↳ word count: 1k

a/n: once again an old fic i wrote back in December and was heavily HEAVILY based on that manhua “soulmate” by Wenzhi Lizi… you don’t need to have read it, but i strongly suggest you do. it’s so wholesome and genuinely made me shed a tear, gosh i love lesbians!!!!!

The droplets of water thumped onto the flimsy metallic sheet, protecting the dark-haired woman from being smothered by the cold rain. Putting her hand out to let the water come in contact with her soft skin, the contact of the harsh beads of water bounced off her palms, she let out an exasperated sigh. How could she let herself get stuck in the rain like this, and without any way of transporting to get her back home…

"Shit, I guess this storm is going to last longer than I expected." She muttered, her voice groggy and filled with vexation, turning behind her she expected to be met by the radiant light of the corner store but only the light peering from the curtains greeted her. Nothing was going well for her today, she expected to catch shelter from the storm but now she was stuck outside with a thin sheet of lead metal protecting her.

With another long dreadful sigh, she took her ID and wiped off the water from the picture herself, next to the picture displayed her full name "Ahn Yujin, Graduate of 2024", it was her last year as a student, and she went to fulfill her full “adult life”. Thoughts of the future flooded her brain, letting herself drown out the rain with bittersweet feelings and memories.

Admittedly she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, of course, she was proud of what she achieved as a student, but she couldn’t help but yearn for more than that. Almost as if her life was missing something— no, it felt as if she was missing someone, but she couldn’t place who she was missing.

As her mind wandered off with all the possibilities of life, she jumped as she heard loud footsteps. Puddles of water that filled inches of concrete splattered everywhere, she turned her head hurriedly to see who was running amidst the rain. Yujin’s gaze locked on what appeared to be someone around her age, they looked so familiar, but she couldn’t tell since the student had damp wet hair from the rain. It took Yujin aback, as the person in front of her was holding out a bright red umbrella. Their eyes met for a second as she came closer.

The damp-haired girl held out the red umbrella for Yujin to take, the storm started to die down as they looked at each other. "Oh— I'm alright, thank you though!" Yujin responded as you continued to hold out the umbrella, awkwardly insinuating that she should take it, her response was a slight bow before pushing it away. 'She's gorgeous' Yujin thought to herself in astonishment, as she studied the woman's features intently.

You bit your tongue, not wanting her to get sick because of the rain. "No, I insist! Take it! Unless you want to be stuck in this dreadful storm forever." You hurriedly insisted as you were drenched with rain water, her smile breaking through the gloomy weather. Yujin just stared at your worried gaze. You just took the initiative to put the umbrella into her delicate hands. Your hair covered most of your recognizable features and the water dripping off your hair to her facial structure interfered with Yujin's ability to decline out of pity. (And your insistence)

"Thank you..." Yujin replied, her face red with the blood rushing to her cheeks, the dim atmosphere made it hard for anyone else to see it. Yujin smiled softly at your gesture, you took a quick bow before straightening your posture. "No problem! I'll take my leave now—" Before she could leave she grasped onto your wrist tightly, both of your eyes never leaving each other.

"Wait— What's your name?" She asked staring deeply into every feature she could remember, hoping that she could see you once again.

"Y/N... Y/N L/N" You responded with a smile, the rain slowly stopping nearing this moment, you both stared silently at one another. Yujin felt the lump in her throat fade away, it felt so odd at the moment, like the feeling of obtaining something you had long forgotten about. Yujin started laughing hysterically, breaking the silence that was created by the both of you, till she felt tears welling in her eyes.

"Ah! Did I do something wrong?" Y/N muttered in shock staring at Yujin.

"No... it just feels like this was a long-overdue meeting Y/N." She laughed, letting the tight grip on you go "But, my name is Ahn Yujin." You both looked at each other, the storm abruptly coming to an end as you turned around from the woman to check if she could still let her hand out to feel the water droplets. They both stared at the clouds parting and the sun beaming through the clouds.

"So much for this umbrella." Yujin joked as she folded the umbrella back, you cocked your head back as you stared into Yujin, never truly realizing how beautiful she was. Yujin met your glance and smiled softly, after a few seconds you both broke out in laughter.

"Yujin right?" You asked, her laughter still filling the air, you moved your hand out to Yujin. "Yes, that's right Y/N," Yujin answered jokingly as she grabbed onto your hand respectively, the girl shook it softly as you looked up to meet Yujin's smile.

"Give me your number, let's be friends."

(this was the scene I was talking abt bruh… it’s so fucking cute I can’t…..😢😢)

[mae-is-crazy]

I was wondering if you could do Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes one shot where Mae and Noa are sitting by a fire in a cave, like you know how some movies do like silhouette scenes where the light shines on them but you can only see their silhouettes and they're talking very softly I'm not really sure you can come up with something maybe it's something serious or like something touching or heartwarming. But I always imagine they would be tired and like exhausted or something or emotionally or physically but they're like getting closer to each other I mean they're Bond or something which eventually mae fall asleep on him and he feels all awkward X3

Okay, I'm being so serious right now what I say that I LOVE THIS REQUEST!! So frickin' wholesome and cute. I'm usually one to go into serious and darker content, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to write some fluff. I had a lot of fun writing this. I hope you have just as much fun reading the finished product :) :)

Signs of Constant (Noa/Mae)

Synopsis: A quiet night by the fire leads to sharing the beauties of two different world.

(This story is unedited. Edits will be conducted at a later date).

In the serene warmth of the fire in front of him, Noa observed Mae.

He studied her face like it was the last time he’d see it. And it very well could be; she’d been gone for two springs, off with who he assumed to be a group of intelligent ech- humans- so who knew how long she’d be gone for next time. When Anaya alerted him of her presence, Noa had felt this warm wave in his gut that pushed him to see her without a second thought.  

Through the limited lighting of the dancing flames, Noa took in her every feature.

Noa could see a faint scar on the bottom right side of her chin, one that hadn’t been there the last time she was around. Her hair looked different too. Darker? No, it was just the night. It did look shorter, but only slightly. It was still in that lose braid he last saw her with.

Something that hadn’t changed, however, was her eyes. Even with hues of orange engulfing the small cave the two were huddled in, its raging colors were no match against the cerulean shade in her eyes. Even before the two were formally introduced he’d first noticed the striking color, a color that shood out against the earthy browns and greens of his clan. They somehow seemed to shine brighter on the night.

As if reading his mind, Mae blinked in his direction. She smirked slyly as Noa quickly looked down at his lap. “Gotcha,” she teased lightly.

Noa silently prayed his dark pelt could hide whatever heat was radiating off his face. He turned to look behind him, instead focusing on the massive silhouettes on the rocky backdrop. It was clear enough the height difference between the two, but the fire only made it more obvious- almost monstrous.

An ape and a human. Two different species, two different worlds. Different ways of life and how they think the world should work. And yet they were at peace with one another.  It shouldn’t be possible, and yet here they were, sharing a fire.

Mae follows Noa’s field of sight. She watches the shadows behind them bounce across the rock wall. Noa side eyed her. A smile began creeping upon her face.

“My mom always did this when we had a fire,” Mae explained as eh shuffled herself to turn around, her back facing the fire. “You can tell stories with the fire.”

The put her hands up and together. She stacked her thumbs on top of each other and made a slight cup with her hands. She displayed it in front of the fire, and…

“It’s a bird,” Mae moved her hands in a fluid motion as if the creature was in flight. Noa couldn’t’ hide the amused chortle, only making the girl’s smirk grow into a toothy smile. Noa could feel a quickening sensation in his heart. Her eyes seemed to shine brighter through her smile- brighter than the flames in the pitch black night- because of her smile.

Mae changed her hands to form a new shape. This beast had a snout similar to that of a boar, but without jagged teeth or short, flappy ears- whereas this thing’s ears stood at attention. “It’s a dog.”

Noa gave her a confused glance. Mae put her hands down immediately after.

“The hands… are like sign.”

“I don’t know sign.”

Noa twisted his whole body to fully face Mae and she silently did the same. He put up one hand and took a deep breath before slowly twisting his fingers into different shapes. He’d tuck a finger into his parm or point to the side. He took a moment before moving onto each letter to let Mae absorb what she was seeing.

“Fire,” he whispered. Mae looked at her own hand. She glanced up at Noa’s hand and back down at hers before trying for herself. Noa watched the girl tale her time forming each character. When she’d make a mistake, he repeated the sign until she’d get it right.

Noa released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He softly smirked. There was so much to learn from one another. So much to teach as well, it seemed.

Mae looked outside past the fire. The only thing visible in the dead of night was the celestial body of stars. It was a constant in this rapidly changing world. Noa found reassurance that, no matter what happened, he could as least look up each night and find that the stars hadn’t left him.

Noa signed without looking away from the girl. “Stars,” he murmured. She followed quickly in suit and mirrored his gestured. “Stars,” she mimicked quietly.

The ape nodded in approval. He raised his hand one more time, this time spelling out each word as he shaped it.

He tucked his thumb between his pinkie and ring finger. “M.”

Made a fist but being sure to keep his thumb exposed. “A.”

Noa’s fingers touched each other tightly and sat atop his thumb.

Mae beat him to finish the word.

“E.”

The two watched one another carefully. The silence that once brought Noa comfort now made him feel awkward, almost uneasy. Whereas Noa would stare at Mae, it seemed that she was doing it to him- thinking to herself, forming possible judgments. What did she see that he couldn’t?

The intensity in her glare suddenly shifted and her she relaxed her shoulders. Mae squeezed her eyes shut and dipped her head. She stretched out her arms and yawned. Before Noa could register what was happening, Mae leaned closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder.

Noa stiffened like a board. He heard his breath and eyed the fragile girl (though she was far from fragile outside of the physical scene). The fire was beginning to die down. Even so, Mae still did not shiver against Noa’s body.

He waited a minute, two, ten before settling on the idea that she’d fallen asleep. He tilted his head to catch a glimpse of her peacefully slumbering form.  The young ape felt truly honored to feel trusted with this precious girl’s life in such a vulnerable state.

Noa was just about to allow himself sleep when he heard a tiny voice against him:

“Tomorrow, I want you to each me your name.”

[shinidamachu]

inukag was born to be shipped by me and I was born to ship inukag as well

For ages now I've been meaning to write about the reasons why I ship Inukag as fervently as I do and @inukag-week felt like the perfect opportunity to indulge myself, so here we go.

I want to start with how aesthetically pleasing they are. From their perfect size difference to the complimentary color scheme of their outfits plus contrasting hair and eye colors, Inuyasha and Kagome just look absolutely good together.

Their character design makes it clear from the get go that they're visually a great match. The association is so strong that the audience becomes unable to picture one without the other, as if they're two halves of the same item. Different, yet unequivocally a team, a pair.

Decades ago, they already had that classic quality to them and I bet they'd never get out of style even decades from now. And the rich lore that surrounds the pairing only adds to that aesthetic: the well, the tree, the beads, the robe, the sword, all of it enhances how iconic they are. Even something as ordinary as star gazing becomes uniquelly theirs.

Futhermore, I just absolutely love the entire concept of it. The subvertion of the fairy tale archetype, the idea of a love that transcends time, of soulmates who actually work on building their bond. Loving each other was both inevitable and a choice they made every single day.

Inuyasha and Kagome were just two teenagers from different worlds — literally and figurativelly — discovering together what love was. This made their relationship very compelling, because the excange between them is insanely substancial.

And their overall dynamic is so wholesome. There was a push and pull, a give and take, that made it fluid rather than static. Every single milestone felt organic and kept the audience thirsting for the next one.

Nothing felt forced or rushed. The slow burn was competently written to showcase their relationship being build on a very strong foundation, consistent in intimacy, mutual trust and acceptance — recurring themes for them and for the story — and so the stages of their bond had such a natural pace, it highlighted how genuine and healthy it was.

Consequently, there are so many aspects of their connection to explore. There's a never ending room for angst and for light hearted moments and you can adopt a more mature perspective or go for comical instead: they manage to be versatile without being generic and to embod the best clichés in fiction without becoming one themselves.

It's hard to think of a trope they couldn't pull off or an alternate universe that doesn't work for them. It gives the fandom plenty of freedom to be creative and to have the best time with it.

Plus, their chemistry was off charts. The romantic tension bleed through every single interaction. Their passion is so strong you could feel it even in scenes that had nothing to do with romance. And they didn't even need to kiss to achieve that level of synchrony.

They were also compatible. Inuyasha and Kagome balance each other quite nicely. Even in a relationship, they still keep their individualities and remain interesting both as characters and as a ship.

The very thing that dooms most pairings — opposite personalities — is precisely what keeps them together. Inuyasha and Kagome are completely different from each other, but they're actually extremely similar where it actually matters: their morals and goals.

And they longer they stay together, challenging one another, growing through trials and tribulations, inadvertently learning what each other's needs are and fulfilling them, easing each other's sorrows, covering each other's backs, saving each other's lives in every possible way, learning each other and learning with one another, the more their dichotomy turns into a duality, because they gain a more nuanced perspective of themselves, of each other and of the world.

It's a level of understanding, closeness and respect incredibly difficult to match. And for Inuyasha and Kagome, no one else even came close.

Another thing is that they're not just complementary to each other, but to the story itself. Their romance enhaces the overall plot. It has a structural placement in the wider narrative, strengthening its core themes and fulfilling the characters individual arcs, ultimately resulting in a more compelling journey.

So many romances are disposable to their own story, but Inukag was detrimental to theirs. Inuyasha and Kagome's interactions served as pivotal points of their respective arcs. Taking only the narrative into consideration, their relationship holds a lot of weight and greatly influenced everyone around it and it tied everything together.

That's why their happy ending felt so satisfying: it feels earned because everything went full cycle. All of that symbolism, all of those parallels paid off. Anything different from what we got would simply lack narrative and thematic cohesion.

And even if they didn't end up together, they could never be circumstancial. There was a real reason why they met, a reason why the fell in love and why they had ever lasting impacts on each other's lives regardless. It wasn't just love for love's sake.

This is what makes them, in my opinion, an epic ship.

BONUS: their soundtrack is lit and their quotes are simply legendary.

[tonowarii]

can we have light nsfw with spider x human!reader and they are like making out and spider (being the teenage boy he is gets handsy) one thing leads to another and there just exploring each others bodies not really knowing what there doing since they’ve never been to earth and never been taught about it but they just have that sexual feeling and later reader tells jake? or norm? about it and they sit reader and spider both down and explain to them and tell them they have too be careful when they get feelings like this for one another.🤭🤭

SORRY IF THATS ALOT TOO ASK FOR BUT I NEED MORE SPIDER LOVE THERES TOO MUCH SLANDER ABOUT HIM IT HURTS MY HEART RHIS MIGHT OFFENDED PEOPLE BUT HES MY FAVOURITE AND IM ASHAMED TO SAY IT YA HEAR ME🧏🏾‍♀️🧏🏾‍♀️🧏🏾‍♀️🧏🏾‍♀️🧏🏾‍♀️🧏🏾‍♀️

my hearttttt 😩💕 tried to make this as wholesome as possible, hope you liked it!

tag: @liyahsocorro

Code Blue

Spider Socorro x GN! Human! Reader

wc: 1.2k

warning/s: mature themes but nothing too explicit, kissing and touching, spider and reader are both 18! and somebody catches them in the end 🤣

You and Spider had the lab all to yourselves.

That wasn’t too great of an idea considering you two were teenagers, who were in a relationship, and now having time to yourselves and being left with your reckless selves… well- it was a mess.

“So..um..” You spoke up, the silence was getting the best of you. “Hm?” Spider perks his head up at you while he was inspecting some writings on the table.

“Do you want to do something…?” You ask Spider. “Maybe go outside, play a game or two…?” As you heard yourself, you suddenly found it stupid, but hey, you’ve got nothing to do.

Spider tilts his head, eyes squinting in thought.

“I want to try something.”

That sentence alone made you nervous, but what got your heart beating is that Spider was now in front of you, looking at you. “What’s that?” You gulped.

Spider found himself backing you until the back of your legs hit the edge of the table, making you gasp. “Spider, what are you planning?” You asked nervously.

He gulps. “Can I..?”

You did not know what was coming, but you didn’t refuse.

Spider then hoists you up, making you jump as it only aided him in sitting you upon the table. “Spider!” You gasp as he laughs, placing his forehead against your shoulder. “Sorry.”

Then only you realized the awkward position you two were in. You were sat on the table, your legs pressed on his either side while he was pressed up against you, making you blush and an unknown feeling bubble up in your gut.

Unbeknownst to you, Spider could feel the same feeling pooling in his gut as he has his forehead pressed onto your shoulder. With a daring move, he softly lays a kiss on your shoulder, making you shiver at the new feeling.

“Spider…” You whisper, making him pull away and look at you. Your unreadable expression made Spider almost regret his actions. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“ He was about to pull you back to stand when you shake your head, using your hands to tug him back close to you.

“Kiss me.”

It looked like the two of you were taken aback from what you just said as the two of you stared at each other in silence, your heart booming in your chest, afraid that you just pushed your limit.

Spider then slowly inched closer, closer, and closer until your faces were inches apart. “Okay.” He spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.

Then you found yourself closing your eyes when his mouth met yours.

The two of you weren’t exactly skilled in this, you’ve only ever kissed a few times and it was just simple pecks on the lips, or on the cheek and forehead in the span of your relationship. And you never even kissed outside the lab because of your damned exopacks.

But now as his lips longed on yours, you found the feeling exciting, placing your hands on his cheeks, pulling him closer, slowly kissing him back.

It was hard finding a good rhythm at first, but the second you got in tune with him, it felt like you didn’t want to part any time soon. You both found yourself taking quick breaths before being on each other again.

Then you felt Spider’s hand, that was safely placed on either side of you on the table, start to move on their own accord. Slowly, his hands climbed up to your hips, then to your waist, up your sides, then back down on your waist, his one hand giving a soft squeeze making you gasp into the kiss.

“Damn…” You hear him whisper through the kiss as you laugh, suddenly feeling shy as you pulled away, looking at his hands on your waist. You only realized how much Spider had an effect on you. It was irresistible as you found yourself pulling him close again, bringing your lips back together, now it was your turn to have your hands on him.

Only then you felt how strong his body was, how his muscles tensed under your touch, how his biceps felt, down to his toned chest and stomach due to his nature of climbing and running. You could feel Spider take a breath, his stomach muscles flexing under your touch, now you transferred your hands to his chest.

Your lips were locked, getting hotter by the second as the feeling in your gut only grew, you didn’t know what was happening, but you only knew Spider was easing the pain. You sigh, nails digging onto Spider’s torso, making him wince slightly.

Pulling away from him, you took the time to catch your breath, so did he. Both of you were staring at each other, panting. His hands were now positioned behind your hip, giving a gentle squeeze as his eyes were wide.

“Uhm... wow.” He breathes out, absolutely drunk in love as he stares at you, goofy grin on his face. “I-“ You spoke, the both of you were rendered speechless, but what happened was still implanted on your mind.

“Do- do you feel it too?” You ask out of the blue; you weren’t even sure if Spider got what you said. But his answer proved he did.

“Y-yeah… its- it’s weird.”

You blush. “M-maybe we could do it more some-“ Spider was about to say when he was interrupted by a door opening.

“Hey guys, we’re back- Woah, woah , woah hey!” Both of you jumped at Norm’s voice as he saw the position you two were in. “Oh my god!” Norm said, his eyes screwed shut as the two of you fix yourselves, you hopped off the table, standing upright with Spider beside you, embarrassment now replaced the unknown feeling.

“Guys-“ Norm said, now opening his eyes to find the two of you standing awkwardly. He facepalms, muttering under his breath. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to give the talk, its 2172 for goodness’s sake.”

You and Spider look at each other curiously, before turning your eyes back on Norm.

“Hold on, I can’t do this on my own.” Norm said, leaving the shack.

Now the two of you were sat in front of Jake and Norm. Jake was complaining why he had to get dragged into this, but Norm only said, “It’s your kid too, man!”

The embarrassment was still planted in both you and Spider.

“Okay, first off, guys. What you two were doing is fine, its normal, everybody has done it in their lives, even back on earth.” Norm explained as the two of you stayed silent.

“But you guys must know your limitations, okay? So how do I begin this-“

After that long lecture from Norm and Jake, who only participated by adding jokes to make things lighthearted, you and Spider now find yourselves outside to get some fresh air after that whole ordeal.

“I can’t believe that happened!” You groan, covering your face, or mask, in your hands. Spider laughs, holding your hands so he could pry them away from your face.

“I mean, at least we learned something new, right? We know what that feeling’s called…” Spider said, trailing off. “I guess…” You sigh.

Spider holds your hand in his, smiling cheekily at you. “But earlier was amazing. Y’think we could do it again sometime?” This boy and his hormones! All you could do was laugh and shake your head.

“Sure, unless we get caught by Norm again.”

[shroommush]

Mr Cicle & Robert oneshot

Hey!! Its finally done!! And just in time before i leave on a cruise for a week! I started this like a month ago, so im very happy to see it finished.

As always, this little fic is based off of two characters, Robert and Mr Cicle from Paradoxcicle by @blipple-is-confused on ao3. None of this is canon to that fic and ive added a lot of my own headcanons around, especially when it comes to character backstories, so just keep that in mind.

This is set during the events of chapter 27 and onward, and the word count is 13,308 (i put way too much effort into this)

Warning for: descriptions of gore and lots of death (only mentioned in talking, none actually happens) and general angst

I hope you enjoy this mostly angsty, kinda wholesome attempt at making my two favourite characters bond.

~~~

Robert stared down the basement stairs silently.

After spending some time in the kitchen with Exterminator, Robert had gone to see where Quackity and some of the others had ran off to. Last anyone heard, they'd gone down to the basement.

And so, he found the basement door and stared down its long winding stairs wearily. He felt an unusually cold gust of air blow over him as he stood there, and he couldnt help but get the feeling there was something in that basement he wouldnt like.

It wasnt helping that his cameras exposure was so bad he could barely see half way down the stairs before it was just pitch black.

Well wasnt that great. He was gonna have to go down there to find quackity, wasnt he?

He leaned a little further through the doorway to get a better look- subconciously loosening his grip on his camera by just a bit.

It was then when Mr Cicle came turning the corner, peeking over Roberts shoulder to see what he was looking at.

Robert squinted at the darkness, his cameras lens zooming, still not having noticed the man behind him.

Mr Cicle paused, grinning at Robert as he stared down the stairs, unaware of his suroundings. He raised his hands, gently crept them onto Roberts shoulders and whispered- as hauntingly as possible- "Boo!"

"AGAHAAA!!!" Robert shrieked, his heart dropping as he felt the camera slip out of his grip and go tumbling down the stairs, into the darkness.

"GAH- NO no no no!!" He cried, watching the light at the top of the stairs get farther and farther away, flinching every time the camera hit something. "Not like this!" He gripped the sides of his head like it'd do anything to stabalize his vision.

Was he gonna die? Reset? All because he dropped his camera down a flight of stairs? It sure seemed like it. But he stood there in horror as he felt his stomach go queezy from the motion of the camera flailing, tumbling, and smashing into every stair imaginable.

Until finally, it came to the bottom of the stairs, hitting the basement concrete with a clack and falling onto its side pathetically.

Robert could see himself at the top of the stairs standing beside Mr Cicle, the two of them illuminated from behind. He stared wide eyed and devestated.

He could hear Mr Cicle make a whincing noise and felt him awkwardly pat him on the shoulder, making him flinch.

"Thats my fault, Robert.." he muttered. Robert could see him rub the back of his neck, grimacing down at the camera. "Sorry."

Robert stuttered, stumbling a bit to stand properly with his newly inverted vision. "I-its fine! Dont- dont worry about it." He spat out quickly. "Just- uugh shoot-..." he paused, pushing his lips together in thought. "Could you... help me down the stairs to get it..?" He asked Mr Cicle hesitantly.

Robert could see Mr Cicle turn to look at him, a curious but confused look on his face.

"..uh, sure?" He agreed.

Robert sighed, reaching out a hand for Mr Cicle to guide him. "Sorry its just, really dark. Cant see much." He lied.

Robert took a deep breath. This sucked. So much. This sucked so, so much. But.. he sighed. At least he could still sort of see himself. Losing his camera is never a good thing, but most of the time, as long as its still in close proximity, he's usually able to remotely guide himself until he finds it again.

With Mr Cicle here, though.. it couldnt hurt to get a little extra assistance. Yknow, his visions still completely out of wack, so on his own he could misplace his foot and go tumbling down the stairs. Which wouldnt be fun! But with Mr Cicle guiding him, that possibility's at least a little less likely to happen.

At least he hoped. Mr Cicle gladly took Roberts hand and began taking the first steps down the stairs. Robert grabbed at the walls for support, his legs shaking as he gently reached his foot out to find the next step down. He took a sharp breath each time he put his weight down, the image of him losing his balance and falling face first into the wood playing on repeat in his minds eye.

It wasnt going great so far. But after a moment of awkward silence, he began feeling Mr Cicles eyes on him.

Robert couldnt get a good look of Mr Cicles face through the camera. The two of them were too far away, so their faces were basically just jumbles of colorful pixels. And even worse, Mr Cicle had bright green glasses that completely stopped him from seeing the mans eyes.

But despite all that, he knew he was looking at him.

Maybe it was the fact that he couldnt go down the stairs on his own and was acting like a blind man- even though he technically was. He honestly doubted he was legally allowed to drive at this point.

Or maybe he had made it too obvious that his visions trapped on that camera screen. Most normal people wouldnt shut their eyes and grab for something to steady themsleves after dropping a camera.

Robert grumbled to himself. This was just going great.

Eventually, the two of them made it to the middle of the stairs. It was a lot darker here, and now it seemed like even Mr Cicle was struggling to see.

"Man.. is there a light down here?" The game show host muttered to himself. Even for Robert, it was starting to get kind of hard to see himself in the dark.

Robert hummed, hesitantly putting his foot down on the next step. "There has to be, right?" He added. "I mean.. Quackity and some others went down here, they wouldnt be walking around in pitch darkness, would they?" He suggested.

"Yeah..." Mr Cicle trailed off. "They wouldnt."

Robert flinched and stopped moving as his vision shifted.

Mr Cicle paused and looked at him, confused. "You okay?"

It was then that a faint blue light appeared at the bottom of the stairs, an icy chill running down the twos spines. Mr Cicle slowly turned his head to look at what it was, and was met with a ghostly figure, floating at the bottom of the stairs.

The ghost picked up Roberts camera, turning it around and inspecting it curiously. He had a christmas hat on, the pompom end flopping around his head with randomly flowy motions.

It hummed and grinned to itself, both of the men on the stairs stunned silent.

The ghost glanced up at them and Mr Cicle flinched, Robert grabbing the sides of the stairs harder to keep himself from getting too dizzy.

"Oh, well isnt this an interesting little piece of tech!" The ghost- which looked uncannily similiar to Charlie (it was probably just another one of his characters) spoke, flipping the camera to face himself and smiling again, showing his teeth more. "This belong to you?" He asked.

Robert grimaced at the ghostly sight, instinctually moving his head back to get out of the ghosts face. It did nothing, and he felt stupid.

"Uh- yeah! That belongs to Robert here!" Mr Cicle called out. "Would you be so kind as to return it to him?" He requested, gaining a mischevious look from the ghost.

"Hmmm..." the ghost hummed, performatively stroking his chin and looking at the camera contemplatively. "I could..." he muttered.

A grin crept onto his face.

"...or" he continued. "I could use it to record the next episode of the podcast." He spoke with a grin that showed he was all to proud of himself for coming up with that.

Mr Cicle paused, furrowing his brows and reaching out a hand as if to stop that idea in its tracks. "Uh- no, I dont think you can use that for your podcast, or, whatever it is.." he tried to explain, watching the ghost shoo his hand at him and roll his eyes.

"Why? you dont like sharing?" The ghost asked half heartily.

"W-well no, cause.." Mr Cicle paused. "Uhmm.. well it doesnt belong to you!" He reasoned.

"Okay." The ghost shrugged. "Can I ask the owner for permission to use it?" He asked monotonely.

"Uuh.." Mr Cycle paused, looking over at Robert with a hesitant glance. "I dont know, Robert. Can this man use your camera for a podcast??" He asked.

"No!" Robert exclaimed. "Absolutely not! I need that camera! A-and- it doesnt even work like that, you couldnt properly record anything on there!" He frantically tried reasoning.

"Well, then why do you use it?" The ghost asked with a raised eyebrow. "If its so broken, im sure you wouldnt mind me taking it off your hands." He spoke with a shrug.

Robert cursed under his breath. Why did he say that?? Of course he had to say it was broken, now the ghost will never give it back.

Even Mr Cicle seemed confused by this, looking at Robert and tilting his head. "Wait, yeah... if your cameras broken why are you always recording with it..?" He asked.

"T-that doesnt matter!" Robert tried to distract the two. "Just- give me my camera back! Please!" He pleaded.

"Mmm nope! This is mine now!" The ghost laughed. "If you want it back, you better come get it!" He taunted, turning and zipping out of view.

Robert groaned. "NO! Uughh.." He put a hand up to grab at his hair, shutting his eyes as the vision from his camera turned and moved out of synch with his body. He was starting to feel really motion sick, and it was only getting worse.

Mr Cicle reached out to try and help steady Robert, a look of concern on his face. "Woah- woah! Hey, Robert, you okay??" He asked.

"Im fine! Im fine.." he grumbled. "Can you please go get my camera!" He pleaded.

Mr Cicle paused, looking between Robert and the bottom of the stairs for a moment. Then, he turned to Robert and nodded. "Okay- i'll get it, dont worry." He spoke, turning and dashing down the stairs after the ghost.

"Hey! Come back!" Robert could hear him run off into the basement, his voice getting quieter as he got farther away.

Robert sighed, leaning against the wall as he tried to ignore what was going on in his vision. He took a deep breath, tuning into the sounds around him to try and stay grounded with his body.

He listened to the creaking of the stairs beneath him, the way they felt unstable under his feet. Running his hands along the wall behind him, he tried to visualize where he was standing right now.

He was stood in the middle of the stairs.. leaned against the left wall...

..he could hear some noise from down the stairs..?

He paused, turning to listen for what he had heard. Was that talking? It didnt sound like Mr Cicle. Who was it?

He stood completely still for a while just trying to figure out what it was that he heard. Until it got closer. And slowly he started to realise that people were coming up the stairs.

"Yeah, I dont know what was up with him, man.. I- oh. Robert?" One of the voices spoke, calling out to him.

Robert cleared his throat, leaned against the wall as casually as possible, and turned his head to smile in the direction he'd heard the voices. "Oh, hey guys!" His foot slipped slightly as he tried to lean against the wall, but he managed to catch himself and somewhat keep the pose.

He felt the stairs settle a bit, and he assumed this meant the people coming up them had stopped walking for a second.

"Hey! What are you doing down here?" The voice that had called to him came closer.

"Oh im just- ugh-" Robert stuttered as he felt the stairs shift again, shoving himself back against the wall as it felt like a few people walked past him up the stairs.

A person stumbled a bit and accidentally walked into him.

"Oh, sorry Robert from the backrooms!" The person called, continueing up the stairs again after patting him on the shoulder.

Robert shivered at the slimy texture, reaching up to wipe it off his jacket before pausing. "..from the.. what? Wait what are the backrooms..?" He muttered, following the movement of the stairs shifting with his head, waiting for an answer.

There was no answer, so he turned back to face the other voices, still confused. "Um.. okay, well.. you guys wouldnt have happened to see a.. ghost.. down there, would you?" He asked.

"Oh, boy.. yeah we did." A voice from farther down called out.

"Ough.. yeah.." the voice closest to Robert grumbled. "He forced us to sit in a podcast with him.. I do not reccomend it."

A voice slightly farther than the previous one made a noise of agreement. "Yup. He literally possessed me.. " they shivered. "Stay clear of him if you can." They advised before continueing up the stairs past Robert.

Robert hummed, taking the suggestion into consideration. "Okay... " he nodded. "Well.. he kind of stole my camera, though.. so that might be a bit hard.." he sighed.

"He did?" The voice closest to him asked, and he felt the stairs shift as they came closer to stand beside him. "You mean, like.. the camera you see out of..?" They whispered the last bit, sounding a bit more concerned now.

Robert hesitated. "Um. Yeah..? Wait how do you know that?" He asked anxiously, reaching a hand out to try and find who he was talking to, only to meet something sharp and electric that caused him to pull his hand away fearfully.

"Woah! Okay- dont touch that." The person quickly warned, grabbing Roberts hands gently to keep them from touching anything dangerous. "Its me! Backflippo! I know about your camera thing because i was there when we met you. Do you remember?" He explained hopefully.

Robert wiggled his fingers in backflippos hands, trying to get a feel for where they were but also because he felt awkward with him holding them like that. "Um, yeah, I remember." He nodded. "You have that.. green electric stuff on your shoulder. Im assuming thats what I touched a second ago?"

"Yep.." Backflippo sighed. "Sorry about that, its usually pretty under control.. " he added, sounding a bit defeated. "But- so.. you cant see me right now, right?" He asked.

Robert blinked, noting the fact that right now all he saw was the semi-transparent face of a ghost smiling at his camera. "No. I cant see you." He confirmed.

"Okay, what can you see?" Backflippo asked.

"Uh.." Robert hummed. "The ghost that stole my camera? Dark basement?" He shrugged.

"Okay, that sounds.. dissorienting." Backflippo muttered.

"Tell me about it..." Robert grumbled.

He flinched as he felt the stairs under him shift again, and what he assumed was someone else coming up beside them.

"Hey so, whats going on right now?" The voice asked, and Robert recoiled at the sound of slime moving and dripping right beside him.

Backflippo shifted, Robert assumed he turned to look at the other person. "Oh, I'm just gonna see if I can help Robert get his camera back." He explained.

"Oh- uh, actually." Robert interrupted. "I got Mr Cicle to go get it, you dont- you dont have to go get it for me." He assured Backflippo.

"That weird show host guy? You sent him?" The second voice asked.

"Yes?" Robert answered. "What makes you think he isnt capable?" He asked. "Also, who even are you? I thought the slime guy went upstairs already?"

Robert reached out hesitantly and tried to find whoever it was he was talking to. He grimaced as he felt his hand touch more slime, taking it back and wiping it off on his jacket with a disgusted look on his face.

The voice snickered. "Hey man, keep your hands to yourself! You dont know if I bite or not." They laughed to themselves, which only made Robert more repulsed.

"Ugh okay.." Backflippo spoke up. "Robert, this is Slimecicle. The other guy was just Slime. Theyre both.. made of the same stuff, but theyre very different." He explained.

"Uh, yeah? That other guy is like the exact opposite of me. He doesnt even hide in people's shoes for fun!" He huffed, garnering confused silence from both Robert and Backflippo.

Backflippo took a slow awkward breath and placed one of his hands on Roberts right shoulder. "..okay... well, about your camera." He began. "Are you sure I shouldnt go looking for it anyways? I mean, Mr Cicle doesnt know about your vision thing, does he?" He asked.

Robert sighed. "No, he doesnt.." he muttered, gaining a considerate hum from Backflippo. "..but, I was probably gonna let him know about that once he'd gotten back. I'd feel bad not telling him after this.." he admitted.

"Oh, and he saw me freak out when I dropped my camera, so if I dont explain what was going on, he's just gonna think I was acting crazy." He spoke with an awkward chuckle.

"Ah, fair.." Backflippo sighed. "Okay, well.. we've got a vampire to catch, so we should go." He spoke, gently patting Robert on his shoulder. "Will you be alright here on your own?"

Robert nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Im mostly just standing around waiting for Mr Cicle to come back, so as long as I stand right here, I'll be fine." He smiled, trying to reasure Backflippo.

Backflippo made a noise of hesitation, but sighed anyways. "Alright.. we'll be upstairs. If you need help anytime, just yell." He patted Roberts shoulder again and slowly began walking up the stairs.

Robert smiled and waved them goodbye, listening to the creaking of the stairs get higher and higher as he walked off. He heard Slimecicle snicker closer by and felt a tap on his nose that made him flinch.

"See you later, Rob." Simecicle chuckled. Robert listened as he turned and walked up the stairs behind Backflippo, and slowly dissapeared from his senses.

Robert sighed, silence filling his suroundings again. He didnt like being alone now. But, it would be fine. He reassured himself Mr Cicle would get his camera soon.

He took a deep breath. He was gonna be fine.

~

Well this was going great.

Mr Cicle stared into the pitch black room he'd followed the ghost to. He couldnt see a thing, and he was supposed to go in there to find Roberts camera?

Well great. Just great. He reasured himself it would be fine. Walking into a pitch black room with a ghost he couldnt see, yeah this was fine.

"Ookay..." he huffed, taking a deep breath, pumping out his chest, and taking a shaky step inside. He looked over his shoulder at the small bit of light from the stairs and watched as it was slowly obscured by the door frame.

He sighed, turning to face the darkness again. He jumped as the door slammed shut behind him.

Mr Cicle spun around to face the door, noting how all possible light coming into the room was now completely gone.

He stared wide eyed into the darkness. "U-uhm." He gulped. "Okay.. cool. Awsome. This is great." He spoke to himself. "I love.. the darkness."

Mr Cicle cleared his throat as he slowly started creeping deeper into the room.

"..hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to.. the void." He muttered. "I'll be your host, Mr scared." He recited to himself, like saying those familiar lines- all be it a little humorized- would help him be less frightened. He kept walking, speaking more to keep himself grounded.

"I know the maze has a lot of different traps, but 'The Hall of Eternal Darkness' is not one of them." He huffed to himself.

He heard a ghostly chuckle echoe behind him. Spinning around frantically, he saw nothing.

He took a shaky breath, slowly backing away from the noise and continueing slowly in the direction he'd been going.

"Okay.. you want to be scary? Be scary!" He huffed, continueing to step backwards. "I've seen things you cant imagine. Nothing can scare me anymore." He threatened, slowly feeling a shiver run down his spine as he stepped into something cold from behind.

Mr Cicle stopped, standing frozen still as an icy breath could be felt on the back of his neck. He gulped as the room slowly lit up a blue hue, the light coming from something right behind him.

He shut his eyes in resignation as he heard that same chuckle from behind him this time.

A blue semi-transparent face peeked over his shoulder. "Boo." It grinned.

Mr Cicle shivered. He turned and looked hesitantly into the ghosts eyes. "Oh, there you are.." he sighed shakily.

The ghost glared at him for a moment.

"Really?" He droned. "Really! Not even a jump? A flinch??" He gaped. "I do all that work to build up the suspense, and all you say is 'oh THERE you are' EUGHH." He gagged, turning and pouting to himself in the dark.

Mr Cicle hesitated, turning and raising an eyebrow at the ghost, confused. "I.. I mean, yeah?" He shrugged, flinching as the ghost turned to glare at him again. "All you said was 'boo.'" He blinked. "I feel like you were the one who ruined the suspense."

The ghost looked at Mr Cicle and rolled its eyes. "Okay.." it paused. "..fair."

"Well- look." Mr Cicle sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to calm his hastily beating heart. "Where's the camera?" He asked.

"Why do you care." The ghost droned.

"Because it belongs to my friend." He grumbled. "And you cant just take things because you want them, thats rude." He reasoned, taking a step closer to the spectre.

The ghost scoffed. "Oh you wanna know what's rude??" It asked rhetorically. "Blowing up your best friend because they decide to leave your podcast!!" He cried. "Like who does that??" There was a slight crack in his voice.

Mr Cicle blinked, going silent for a moment.

The ghost looked away indignently, and Mr Cicle got the feeling the ghost wasnt talking about him.

"Uh.. wow..." Mr Cicle mumbled. "..that is kinda messed up.." He hummed, scratching his chin.

"Right??" The ghost cried. "Augh- you get it! You know- my friends did that exact thing!" He gasped, pointing his finger at Mr Cicle as to punctuate his statement. "I was all like 'hey guys, ive got a lot on my plate right now, i think im gonna go!' And they were like 'thats fine Charlie! Take care of your own needs!' And then on my final episode of the podcast, they send a pipebomb in the mail and fucking kill me!!" The ghost exclaimed, Mr Cicle watching him cross his arms with a huff.

Mr Cicle watched the ghost for another moment, observing his behaviour curiously. He was beginning to get an idea of what this guys deal might be.. so, to test the waters, he decided to take a step closer.

"Well.." he began, taking a small breath. "..I cant say I've gone through that same thing, but, wow.. thats horrible.." He sighed, watching the ghost cautiously to make sure he hadnt accidentally set it off.

The ghost sighed. "..thank you!" He huffed.

Mr Cicle smiled and nodded before going silent. The ghost also remained quiet, avoiding eye contact.

The two of them said nothing.

The ghost made a noise of defeat and visibly slumped down a bit. "..the camera's on the shelf over there... just take it." He sighed, pointing off to his right.

Mr Cicle blinked. "Oh! Wait, really?" He asked, standing still and staring at the ghost.

"Ugh, yes." The ghost grumbled. "It wont really do me any good, and I was just taking it to get attention." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It gets kind of lonely in hell.. and I can only visit the living once a year, so I guess..." he paused. "..I dont know."

Mr Cicle frowned. "Hey.. I.." he paused, something about what the ghost had said made him go quiet. "I've gone through something similiar, so I get it." He muttered. "You just have to find people who will understand what you've been through." He offered with a sympathetic smile.

The ghost sighed. "Yeah.." he agreed. "I guess the only people who know what ive been through are Schlatt and Ted.. but theyre the ones who blew me up." He shrugged.

Mr Cicle paused. "Oh."

The ghost huffed. "Yep." He nodded. "Well I might just go see what theyre up to either way. And now that I'm free from the podcast, they dont get to send me back down to hell once theyre done talking to me.." he spoke with a mischevious grin.

"Ha ha.. okay, well you have fun with that.." he laughed hesitantly, watching the ghost rub its hands together and grin to itself before blinking out of existence, plunging the room into darkness once more.

"Oh-" Mr Cicle groaned. "Great." He sighed. This makes finding the camera harder, doesnt it.

"Alright, well..." he hummed to himself. "He said it was... this shelf?" He turned to his right, running his hands along the plank of wood he'd found that was probably the right shelf.

Going slowly- because he literally could not see a thing- he bumped into a few random items, paint cans, and work tools. So far nothing that felt like a camera.

He was starting to wonder if the camera was actually here, until he heard something. A faint mechanical wrring further down the shelf. Looking over in the direction he'd heard it, he noticed a small blinking light reminiscent of the one on Roberts camera.

He sighed in relief as he went to grab it, feeling his hands come into contact with plastic and metal. "There you are.." he huffed, pulling it off the shelf and slipping his hand into the strap on its side. He turned it around in his hands and confirmed to himself that this was in fact Roberts camera, and not some random item that just felt like a camera.

"Lets get you back to your owner." He huffed, slowly walking back in the direction he thought the door was.

Taking a few steps, he stopped as he realised he, in fact, did not know where the door was.

"Uuhmmm..." he stopped, looking around in the darkness for anything. Literally anything. But despite how much he squinted, he just couldnt pick anything up.

Mr Cicle grumbled to himself. "..shoot." he cursed, tapping his foot against the concrete floor impatiently. "This is going to be a problem.." he muttered.

Mr Cicle looked around for a bit, continueing to try and spot anything that would help him leave. But he just couldnt find anything in the dark. He was about to give up and try something else, when he noticed something.

That same wrrring that he'd heard before. Mechanical movement from the camera. He looked down at the illuminated screen on the camera and noticed it was zooming in and out. All on its own.

Mr Cicle watched it hesitantly for a moment as the thing focused and unfocused, repeating the same thing over and over. What was it doing?

"What the.." he gaped, holding the camera up a bit closer as it continued moving all on its own. Was this thing alive?? Is that why Roberts so protective of it? Because its not just a camera, but a living thing?

Mr Cicle scoffed at his own thoughts. "Either youre alive.. or just broken." He huffed, but he paused as he noticed something on the camera screen.

There. In the dark. There was something in the dark.

He looked up from the camera to see what it was, but-

There was nothing there.

"What?"

Mr Cicle looked back down at the camera. And there it was again. There was something on the camera that he couldnt see in person. What even was it?

He squinted at the image, trying to figure out what the vague shape was. The camera kept zooming in and out, which made it a little harder to focus on the shape, but slowly, he started to see more.

The faint outline of a plastic chair slowly began to appear on the camera screen. It was vague, and just barely visible, but it was there. The camera zoomed in and out a couple more times, at which the chair became clearer. And then it stopped. Hesitantly zooming back out and resting at a wide view.

All of a sudden, Mr Cicle could see so much better on the camera than he could in real life.

"Oh.. " Mr Cicle began to realise what the camera had been doing. "You were adjusting to the darkness.." he remarked, holding the camera up and peering around the room with it.

Now that the camera had better adjusted to how little light there was in the room, it was doing a lot better at seeing things than Mr Cicle was. He took this to his advantage, though. By looking through the camera screen, he spun around until he found the vague outline of a door. As soon as he found it, he dead-lined it straight in that direction, grabbed the door handle and shoved it open as hard as he could.

The door swung open faster than he'd expected, causing him to lose balance and stumble forward. "wAGH-"

Mr Cicle yelped, keeping hold of the door handle to try and catch himself. He managed to stay standing, but almost lost his grip on Roberts camera.

"WOAH! O-okay!!" He gasped, tightening his grip on the camera again and properly standing up. He cleared his throat, rolling his shoulders and brushing his suit vest off. He then adjusted his glasses and acted like it never happened.

"Okay! Wow!" He huffed, taking a deep breath and looking around. "That was quite an.. eventful adventure..." he sighed, spotting the staircase out of the basement and feeling a wave of relief wash over him.

"Lets get out of here.." he smiled, making his way towards the stairs.

~

Robert watched the stairs get closer, watched as Mr Cicle turned the corner, and finally spotted himself standing awkwardly in the middle of the stairway.

"Oh." He gulped. "Mr Cicle!" He put on a smile. Robert tried his best to puppet his body into the right position to make it look like he was facing Mr Cicle and waving at him. "You got my camera!" He called, still struggling to stand upright.

"Hey, Robert.." Mr Cicle sighed. "Yeah, I got your camera." he spoke with a smile, huffing as he started walking up the stairs. "It doesnt look too badly damaged, and it still works.. I think.." he muttered, gently holding the camera towards Robert as he finally made it back to him.

Robert reached out tentatively, feeling his whole body relax as he grabbed hold of his camera. "Oh, thank you.." he exhaled, pulling the camera up to his chest and holding it like a lost child. "Ugh.. fuck..." He let out a very relieved groan.

Mr Cicle looked at him with a hesitant smile. He really was starting to wonder what the deal with that camera was..

Robert smiled and let out a very loud exhale. "Wow! Alright, yeah.. uh.." he hesitated, seeming to think for a moment, flicking his camera in Mr Cicles direction. "I have uh.. some stuff to explain..." he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"..yeah." Mr Cicle hummed, furrowing his eyebrows, a bit confused. "I.. well I dont want to sound rude, but you have been acting strange since dropping your camera." He confessed, looking back down the stairs. "..and... that thing was moving on its own down there... " he added a bit hesitantly.

Robert grimaced. Of course..

"I dont know if its.. alive? Or.. just, really good at adjusting to different light levels- but something's up with it." Mr Cicle concluded, looking at Robert with a concerned gaze.

Robert knew it was coming. After all of this, he couldnt have possibly expected Mr Cicle to not be curious. Which was fair, he supposed.. he just hated having to figure out a way to explain all of this to him.

"Yeah.. thats the thing." Robert sighed, looking back up to the top of the stairs. "Its a little.. complicated." He paused. "..Confusing..." he grumbled.

Mr Cicle chuckled. "Alright? Everything about tonight has been confusing. I'll be able to handle whatever it is." He spoke with a smile.

Robert grumbled an agreement. Everything about tonight had been confusing. He supposed his own thing might not be as confusing as some other things he'd seen.

Robert looked away, sighing.

"Okay, well.. I cant tell you here." He muttered. "I dont know if you heard, but that vampire guy is on the loose, and I dont want him hearing about this." Robert grumbled, peering up at the top of the stairs hesitantly.

"Oh!" Mr Cicle blinked. "You mean the vampire that puppeted people into attacking everyone??" He asked, a new concern appearing on his face. "That vampire's on the loose??"

Robert sighed. "Yes."

"Huh. Well then." Mr Cicle gulped. "I uh.. I guess I could find somewhere he wouldnt hear..? Or.. probably wouldnt." He huffed, glancing up the stairs as well and slowly stepping up towards the basement door.

Robert raised an eyebrow and followed behind him slowly. "Oh? And where would that be?" He asked.

Mr Cicle smiled. "Somewhere quiet." He answered simply, only confusing Robert even more.

Robert furrowed his eyebrows, and slowed a bit, trying to think of anywhere quiet in the house he could be talking about.

He scoffed to himself. Considering how many people were in the house right now, he didnt think anywhere in the place was quiet.

Well, he couldnt be so sure. Clearly Mr Cicle had somewhere in mind, so he might as well follow and see where this went.

So, following the game show host out of the basement, he kept a keen eye out- or a keen lens out- for anyone that looked vageuly vampirish. Mr Cicle didnt look quite as worried, but he seemed at least a little cautious as well.

Eventually, they reached the back door of the house where Mr Cicle stopped.

Robert paused as Mr Cicle did, looking between him and the outside.

"Oh." He blinked. "Of course. The quiet place is outside." He huffed.

"Yep." Mr Cicle smiled. "Hope you dont mind the cold.. but it should be away from most prying eyes." He offered, gently opening the door and gesturing courtly for Robert to exit.

Robert chuckled at him, bowing his head as he walked through the door and onto the backyard porch. Mr Cicle hadnt been lying about the cold. Robert felt his whole body shiver once he was outside.

Mr Cicle huffed as he stepped through the door behind Robert. He kept hold of the door handle and smoothly shut it right behind him. He then turned to watch Robert look around for a moment, who was looking a little hesitant as he sat down on the porch stairs.

Mr Cicle sighed, going to sit down beside Robert. Robert seemed to be collecting his words for a moment, so Mr Cicle took the time to look up and watch the stars while waiting for him to talk.

Robert on the other hand was fiddling with the strap on his camera as he thought of what to say.

He couldnt just say, straight up, 'hey my camera is my eyes.'.. could he..?

It would be dumb.. but...

Robert groaned. He might as well just go for it. Say the first thing that comes to mind and go from there.

Robert turned to look at Mr Cicle, finding him dead silent facing the sky.

He hesitantly cleared his throat.

Mr Cicle snapped out of his star gazing. "Oh." He saw Robert looking at him a bit cautiously, so he turned to face him better.

"..go ahead." He encouraged with a soft gaze.

Robert let out a tense breath, glancing away for a moment and rolling his eyes.

Get it over with.

"Uhm.. " he gulped, quickly glancing over his shoulder at the back door, just to make sure that vampire wasnt actively listening in. Or, anyone else, for that matter..

He sighed, turned, and started to speak.

"My vision is trapped on this camera." He admitted, not looking at Mr Cicle, who remained silent.

"I havent told anyone yet, because- well its a pretty dumb weakness.." he muttered. "Especially with all this evil bug stuff going on, I'd hate to know what they might do if they found out." He spoke, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"There are a few people who know about it already.. but they only know because they were there when I first showed up." He sighed. "I think it was.. Xiv.. and gillion, and.. Backflippo and Charlie... and they only found out because Xiv thought I was acting weird and decided to find out why." He spoke with a slight chuckle.

He hesitantly glanced over at Mr Cicle, noticing how his eyebrows were furrowed and his lip pressed into a thin line. The show host almost looked at Roberts eyes for a moment, before pausing, and slowly looking down to gaze into the camera lens.

Robert felt his whole body tense as for the first time that night- or for the first time in who knows how long.. someone actually looked him in the eyes.

He immediately pulled the camera away to face straight ahead, a strange feeling in his chest flaring up like electricity.

"Uhm-" he stuttered. "Yeah- so.. when I dropped my camera down the stairs, I honestly thought.." he paused, wondering what else he should tell Mr Cicle about this dumb curse of his. "..I thought... " he trailed off.

"..Robert." Mr Cicle spoke up, making him jump.

Robert turned to look back at Mr Cicle, finding that he was still looking directly down the lens of his camera.

"I.. I did hear you correct, Right? Your vision.. is trapped on that camera. Meaning, all you see comes out of that little lens right there." He spoke, pointing at the cameras lens.

Robert gulped, gritting his teeth and looking away awkwardly.

"Y-yeah.. thats pretty much the situation..." he muttered.

"I cant.. imagine.. what that must be like..." Mr Cicle spoke slowly. "..to have your.. entire perception of reality come out of, this tiny little box." He gently reached out a hand towards the camera, almost subconsiously. Like he was so curious he didnt realise he was moving.

Robert jerked the camera away from Mr Cicles hand, seeing him snap out of his curiosity and pull his hand back.

"Sorry." Mr Cicle blinked. "Its just.. interesting." He hummed.

Robert laughed at that, rolling his eyes at the idea. "Yeah.. interesting is one way of describing it." He spoke grimmly.

Mr Cicle raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at Robert. "Well.. how would you describe it?" He asked, watching Robert pause and contemplate the question for a moment.

"I.." Robert hesitated. "I dont know.."

"Its like.. that feeling when you wake up and you've been lying on your arm all night, and its circulation is so cut off you cant even feel it. And youre just.. holding it with your other hand feeling it move around out of sync with you." He muttered, looking ahead deep in thought. "But even that isnt a good comparison, cause I can still feel my body, im just.. disconnected from it." He held his camera out in front of him to almost show the distance he felt between him and his body. "Its weird... it feels bad." He concluded.

Robert turned to look at Mr Cicle again, seeing his eyes flick about under his green lenses as he tried to rationalize Roberts description in his head. He seemed to understand to some extent, nodding faintly as he stared ahead.

"Thats.. a horrible way to be stuck living.." he mumbled, running a hand over his face and resting it over his mouth, a look of almost disbelief and sympathy in his expression.

"Heh, yeah.. tell me about it.." Robert grumbled. "Oh but imagine trying to escape giant snake lady monsters and skin men in some archictural nightmare of a maze while also having to deal with this camera thing." He offered, turning to grin at Mr Cicle and gesture his camera around like a dumb toy.

Mr Cicle gasped. "Oh- goodness, thats horrid." He spat, looking at Robert with a grimace.

Robert smiled. "Ha! Yeah!" He actually laughed. "I am honestly so glad Charlie found me, because if I had spent another day or two in that hell I might have actually lost it." He spoke with a sigh, not noticing how Mr Cicle went quiet.

Robert let out another sigh and stared out at the backyard. "I do not want to go back there once this is all over." He huffed, leaning back on one of his palms a bit.

Mr Cicle chuckled faintly. "..that makes two of us..." he muttered.

Robert hummed, turning his camera to look at Mr Cicle. The man was leaned forward, elbows rested on his thighs and his gaze focused on the distance.

"I do not. Ever. Want to go back to my place." Mr Cicle spoke, such certianty in his tone that it made Robert sit up a bit.

"Oh...?" Robert trailed off. "..what was it like?" He asked hesitantly. He grimaced as he noticed the instant look of discomfort that came over Mr Cicles face at the question.

The game show host was silent for a moment. But after a small while, he looked over at Robert with a soft smile and a faint laugh. "Are we really doing a joint therapy session right now?" He asked somewhat humurously. "I thought we came out here for you to talk, I dont want to intrude on your time to speak."

Robert scoffed, tossing a hand forward to brush the idea away. "Who cares. Weve all got issues. Weve all come from the head of the same guy. Were all here together." He offered, giving Mr Cicle a considerate smile. "I think the most we can all do for each other is offer some solidarity in how fucked up our lives can be." He spoke, looking Mr Cicle dead in the eyes as best he could.

Mr Cicle looked up into Roberts eyes, smiling for a moment, before hesitating as he noticed just how empty they actually were.

He could tell Robert was moving them to look at him intentionally. But they felt as if they were prepetually staring at something far off behind him. Staring off into the distance with no set target.

Mr Cicle huffed, glancing down just below Roberts chest and locking eyes with his camera. "You make a fair point." He muttered, turning to look ahead in silence again.

"But where do I even begin..." he huffed, wringing his palms together between his knees as he furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation.

"Well, where did it all start?" Robert offered.

Mr Cicle chuckled. "Ah.. well its been so long I can barely remember.."

"I.. used to have a good life. I had friends- who I've since forgotten the names of. I had a home- which I've since forgotten as well... I guess the only thing I was missing was a job." Mr Cicle huffed

"Somewhere. Somehow. I found a job at 'The Maze' as the host of the show. Out of everyone who auditioned they chose me, and I had been so excited to put my acting skills to use, and make a name for myself on the big screen..." He spoke slowly, Robert noticing a faint, reminiscent smile on his face. "I guess I'd been so happy I hadnt questioned a lot of the red flags about that place.." Mr Cicle trailed off.

"When they were making my persona for the show.. they asked me what my name was and found it simple enough to let me use my last name for the show.. 'Cicle'.. Charlie Cicle. Thats my actual name." He looked gently over at Robert. "It fit well enough, and I was all set. They gave me my suit, showed me to my studio, and shut the door for my first day on the job.."

"And it was one of the worst days of my life..." he spoke weakly.

"That show wasnt a show at all. The contestants woke up without any knowledge of how they ended up there, and once they actually entered the maze, they started dropping like flys." He hissed.

Robert noticed Mr Cicles hands twisting around each other tightly, his knuckles almost white.

"Traps at every corner. Pitfalls at every slope. The first group didnt even make it past the second section before they were all dead.. " Mr Cicle grit his teeth.

"Jesus..." Robert gasped.

Mr Cicle chuckled. "Yeah..." he hummed. "I was horrified, to say the least..."

"But.. when I had had enough... and I'd decided to leave.. never come back.." Mr Cicle trailed off. "..I couldnt."

Robert stared at the empty look in Mr Cicles eyes.

"The thing is, they hadnt even locked the door to my recording studio. They didnt need to.. when I left that room and started walking down the hallway to the exit... it just didnt end..."

"I remember passing the door to the studio three times before I really started to panic.. running, and running, and running.. just the same thirty feet of hallway repeated over and over and over..."

"After that... I.. sort of gave up." He admitted, looking away meakly. "Started counting the days. One day, after the next, after the next.. after the next... and each new day there was a new group of contestants. Each new day, a new group of bodies litering the maze.. " he muttered. "I lost count of how long I'd been there once it had been longer than a year..."

Mr Cicle went silent for a moment. Robert did the same, and stared off into the backyard with a horrified look on his face.

After a tense moment of quiet.. Mr Cicle took a deep breath and spoke up again. "After a while... and I mean a while... I got good at hiding the pain." He spoke slowly. "Cameras could come on live at any moment, and being seen sobbing your eyes out on live television was never the best experience... so, I had to switch it up. Put on a facade. I got good at acting like everything was fine."

He looked down a bit awkwardly for a moment. "Thats why.. if youve seen me around much today, you probably will have noticed how little I react to most things." He spoke with a slight chuckle. "I think I spent so long acting like im fine, Ive stopped being able to actually express my emotions properly." He muttered, not seeming to give the idea much thought.

Robert stared open mouthed at Mr Cicle, who wasnt reacting much.

Yep, okay he really wasnt lying. The guy was practically stone faced talking about this.

Mr Cicle looked over at Robert, who seemed absolutely gobsmacked about what he'd just heard. Mr Cicle coughed, sitting up straight and rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away. "Ah.. sorry..." he apologized. "Thats a lot to just.. let out in one go..." he admitted.

"Oh- uh" Robert sat up. "No! No its fine! I asked, okay? You just dilevered a bit more than i was expecting..." he muttered, looking away a bit dazed.

He had known Mr Cicle spent a long time in whatever place hed come from, but geez... that was a lot worse than hed thought it would be...

Mr Cicle was looking off to his side, avoiding eye contact with Robert as he tapped a finger impatiently against his knee. Robert couldnt see his face, but he clearly noticed when he took a deep breath, and gently looked up at the stars above them.

The show hosts anxious fidgeting slowed to a stop once he was watching the sky.

Robert smiled at that. "Well, hey.. at least youre out now, right?" He offered, Mr Cicle pausing and turning to look at him again with a silent gaze. Robert huffed. "And the stars are still here. So, however long you were in there for, it wasnt long enough for them to burn out just yet." He smiled at Mr Cicle.

For a moment, this seemed to comfort the man. Mr Cicle nodded, a faint smile forming on his face as he thought about it.

But then he paused.

Robert realised what he'd done.

"I never told you I was afraid the stars would die out.." Mr Cicle muttered, looking up at Robert with a hesitant expression on his face. Though, for a moment he chuckled. "I mean.. thats one lucky read on me, huh.."

Robert stared at Mr Cicle wide eyed.

"Oh. Yeah. Right, haha! Uhm..- one lucky read!" He started to sweat.

Mr Cicle squinted his eyes at Robert.

Robert stared back really hoping Mr Cicle wouldnt think any harder about this.

The show host tilted his head at Robert and raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You know, just because your vision is trapped on that camera, doesnt mean your face is too." He droned.

"What." Robert blinked, turning his camera around to face himself.

He groaned as he realised he'd been staring wide eyed at Mr Cicle the whole time. "Okay. Uh, fair. I dont have the best poker face." He grumbled, turning his camera around again to face Mr Cicle. "I guess theres still some stuff I havent told you..."

Mr Cicles gaze softened a bit and he tilted his head at Robert. "I see." He hummed. "Maybe you should have a turn telling your story." He offered.

Robert sighed, letting his shoulders fall a bit. "Maybe.." he huffed. "My story's.. surpisingly similiar to yours, I guess."

Robert raised his camera, staring off at the city in the distance as he took a slow breath. "Things started out pretty unassuming.." he began. "My sister had gone missing a week before, and I was determined to find her. So, the first place I decided to check was her school, which had been closed down since."

"I brought this camera with me- which, at the time wasnt what I was seeing out of. But I drove to her school, broke in, and went to find the breaker so I could turn all the lights on. Once I found it..." Robert trailed off.

Mr Cicle gave him a sympathetic look, listening quietly as Robert took a moment to find his words.

"Well.." Robert continued. "I turned on the breaker, and walked back up to the rest of the school. And thats when I realised something was wrong."

"The school wasnt the same as when I'd entered. The layout changed all on its own and the halls and the classrooms just kept going for as long as I could walk. It wouldnt have been that scary if I was all on my own in that maze... but I wasnt.." Robert spoke almost under his breath.

"Monsters, and ghosts, and little girl dolls, all trapped in that hell the same as me. I remember.. the first of the entities I met was a small doll, dressed like a little girl. She'd move when you werent watching her. I tried and failed to trap her in a broom closet.. and when she got me..." Robert trailed off.

"Well.." he sighed. "I think thats when my vision got trapped in this thing." Robert spoke, tapping his camera and turning it to look at Mr Cicle.

"She ripped my eyes out."

Robert saw Mr Cicles eyes widen an inch.

"She tore them right out of their sockets, letting me bleed out from the gaping holes in my face." He spoke, a slight crack in his voice. "But the thing is..." he looked away. "I didnt die."

"Once that doll had actually killed me, I woke up back where I started.. completely unscathed." Robert shrugged.

"I dont know how, or why.. but from that point on, my mortality was directly linked to this cameras survival." He spoke, turning it to face Mr Cicle again. "Every time a new monster killed me, I'd wake up again somewhere new and start the whole escape process over again."

"Oh yeah!" Robert sat up a bit, making Mr Cicle flinch at the sudden movement. "I forgot to say, there were different levels." He hummed. "First it was the school. That was the beginning of it. Then, after finding an elevator, I managed to take it down to a new level, which was a library."

"That levels monster wasnt really that special- I mean, I actually managed to escape it without dying even once!" Robert laughed, still a little proud of how easily hed escaped that one. "It was this humanoid thing with an ear for a head, and it wore a jumper. If I made any noise, it would immediately come running after me and tear up whatever spot it heard me at last." He explained.

Mr Cicle nodded at that, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought about it.

"Yeah.. so pretty easy." Robert shrugged. "The next level was a lot more.. unnerving.." he trailed off.

"I managed to escape that one unscathed too, but it was still one of the scarier ones.. its monster was this.. tall, skinny man walking upside down on its hands.. and it made this- awful gutteral groaning noise all the time." He recalled, shivering at the memory.

"The next few levels were.. fine.." he sighed, leaning forward a bit and running a hand down the back of his neck. "There was this ghost in one of them. It would only show up in the dark and it... I honestly dont know what it did when it caught me.. it was so fast it was kinda just, searing pain and then I woke up back at the start again." Robert shrugged. "But none of that compares to the next level..."

Mr Cicle raised an eyebrow and listened to Robert silently. He had this look in his eye, that Robert could tell he was listening and feeling for his story. He just didnt show it much.

Robert huffed. "Yeah.. uhm.." Robert gulped. "Do you know.. what it feels like.. to be fully conscious while your entire body is actively being digested inside of a giant snake?" He asked Mr Cicle, turning to look him in the eyes with a pained expression.

The show host blinked, his lips parting for a moment like he wanted to say something. But he just stared wide eyed at Robert without a word.

"No.. no I dont." He finally muttered.

Robert chuckled to himself. "Good. You dont want to!" He laughed, turning to stare into the distance again. "This snake, lady, thing. It would slither around the next level- these pool rooms. And if it saw me moving, it would lock onto me with its big fucking eyes and come slithering over faster than I could run. It made these horrible whispering noises- but it wasnt even actual words, just.. a poor imitation of human speech.." he spoke with a sigh.

"Not only did the pools have that snake monster, but it also had the skin man- again! He was just there." Robert shrugged, looking back over at Mr Cicle again.

He paused for a moment, thinking back on everything that happened and whincing at the memories.

"..I dont want to be.. shoved under clorinated water again, and.. ripped open within seconds... " he muttered, his shoulders rising a bit as he remembered the bloody water he laid in, slowly drowning on his own gore. "..Or eaten alive and digested for hours..." he grit his teeth, shuddering at the feeling of crushing bones and melting skin. "..or... have my eyes torn out by little doll hands.." he muttered, shutting his eyes at the idea of it happening again. What felt like uncontrollable tears streaming down his face, actually just being his own blood pouring from his open skull.

"I cant do that again. I'd lose it." Robert spat. "And- im so glad to be out here with everyone- even if its, flipped my perception of reality upside down. Knowing all of that was just some scary story in the head of some guy.." he sighed. "I dont really care. Because i'd rather be just some guys character in the real world, then go back to that hell."

Robert flinched as he felt Mr Cicle put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned his camera to look over at him, finding the show host to be looking at him with such sympathy.. it felt uncharacteristic.

"You're free now." Mr Cicle spoke, his eyes looking at him so certianly, it made Robert sit up a bit. "You dont have to worry about any of that anymore." He spoke as reassuringly as possible, a look of genuine pain and empathy in his gaze.

Robert looked at Mr Cicle for a moment. He forced a bit of a smile at those words, but turned to look away again in discomfort.

"But I do.." he muttered, ignoring the look of confusion Mr Cicle gave him. "Even though im out of that maze, im still trapped to this camera. Mr Cicle.." he trailed off, looking back over at the show host again, a tired look in his eyes.

"..I've seen you die." He spoke slowly. "I've seen everyone in this place die, in one way or another... because I'm still cursed." Robert took a long shaky breath. "When those bugs first showed up, you were outside stargazing.. and the sound of your dying screams was the first warning of their arrival."

"I watched Troy murder Peter in cold blood before coming after me.. and then I died, and woke up again minutes before the attack."

Mr Cicle was silent, his eyebrows furrowing more as he looked away slightly.

"I died.. so many times.. just to get everyone in that house out safely... and no one even knows it happened." Robert spoke, incredulous. "They all just think it was luck that we got out of there alive, but I saw every other outcome where we didnt. And all the pain. And the agony. And all of that horror.. it just didnt happen... but I saw it.. and it hurt." He choked out, going to quickly wipe away tears that began to form.

"I cant be free as long as im stuck with this stupid camera." Robert huffed, taking a few deep breaths to try and re-steady himself. "And even if we manage to escape these bugs without dying anymore, the plan is still to send everyone back to their own worlds- and I cant do that! I dont wanna go back!" He cried, finally feeling his emotions well up more and more, failing to keep them down.

"I cant.. I cant do that..." he sniffled. "Not again. Never again. I'll find a way to run off here before I let them send me back."

Robert sat there for a while, sniffling and stuttering, trying to wipe small tears away and act like he wasnt crying. But he wasnt doing a very good job.

Mr Cicle merely watched, his eyes half lidded and his gaze unsettled. He looked like he wanted to say something, but watching Robert struggle to keep himself together, he thought it best to let him sort it out himself. Anyways, he might not be the best at comforting him.

Robert looked away as Mr Cicle did, the two of them now just staring out into the quiet backyard without a word.

"..sorry..." Robert sniffled a small apology as he finally dried all his tears.

"Its okay.." Mr Cicle gently reassured him.

Robert sighed, a loud, exhausted sigh as he properly sat up. Mr Cicle did the same when he noticed Robert, readjusting his bowtie a bit as he sat up better.

"So, uhm.." Robert gulped, running a hand through his hair as he took a deep breath. "I guess i went a little off topic there.. but.. the reason i knew about your fear of the stars burning out, is because you told me about it once when i was trying to stop you from going outside."

Mr Cicles gaze softened a bit at that, glancing over at Robert.

"You were going out to look at the stars, and i asked why you were so adamant about it.. and you basically said that, youd spent so long trapped in the maze, you thought that by-"

"..I thought that by the time I was free, all the stars would have burnt out..." Mr Cicle interrupted, finishing Roberts sentence as he trailed off.

Robert turned to look at him, stunned quiet for a moment. "Yeah." he nodded slowly. "Yeah thats.. basically what you told me.."

Mr Cicle chuckled quietly to himself, a small, genuine smile on his face. "Interesting to think i mentioned that to you before, and yet here, talking to you now, i dont remember it ever happening."

"What, like- us talking to each other like this was always going to happen?" Robert laughed.

Mr Cicle shrugged. "Who knows." He hummed. "But i guess theres something about each of us that we can both find comfort in."

"Hm.." Robert nodded faintly. "Like what?"

Mr Cicle raised an eyebrow, turning to glance at Robert silently for a moment.

"Well.." he started. "I guess were both parralels of each other."

"You were trapped in a maze, cursed to relive the same nightmare over and over. And i was trapped as the conductor of a maze, isolated and cursed to narrate the sufferings of others." Mr Cicle explained, looking gently over at Robert.

"You experienced so much death. And i experienced none of it. And we both had too much of what one of us wanted.. it became a burden."

"You- im assuming- wanted isolation from the pain and the horrors."

"And i wanted... death. Something you had too much of."

"Woah- okay-" Robert stuttered, raising his hands a bit as he looked at Mr Cicle concerned.

"Too much??" Mr Cicle whinced.

"Too much." Robert gasped, looking at Mr Cicle with a concerned gaze. "When did you become such a morbid philosopher?"

Mr Cicle laughed. "Ah.. well when you spend so much time with only yourself to talk to, you kind of start to over-analyze your very existence a little too much." He spoke with a shrug. "So I guess I can get a bit preechy sometimes."

"Yeah..." Robert muttered. "That would make sense.."

Mr Cicle sighed and looked away a bit awkwardly at that.

"Woah! No hey-" Robert blurted quickly. "I think its cool! Honestly- id be stoked if i was able to talk so dramatically all the time!"

Mr Cicle glanced over at him with a faint smile, slightly confused. Though, he seemed amused, at least. "Really.." he scoffed.

"Yeah! Totally! OH OH-" Robert gasped, excitedly going to grab Mr Cicles shoulders and turning him to face him better. "I need you to say.... 'luke... I am your father'." He spoke with a deep grovelly voice, and the biggest grin Mr Cicle had ever seen on his face.

The show host stared slightly dumbfounded at Robert for a good moment, wondering how exactly he was supposed to go about that.

Robert noticed his slight hesitance and gasped. "Do you not have star wars where youre from??" He asked, astounded. "Oh my god- wait you have to- NO- no its.. forget it, just say the line..." he sighed, shaking his head and sitting back a bit.

Mr Cicle blinked at that, opening his mouth but not saying anything for a moment.

After a second.. he cleared his throat, shut his eyes for added drama, sat up a bit, and slowly began to speak...

"Luke.." Mr Cicle hissed, furrowing his eyebrows and opening his eyes to stare into Roberts camera dramatically.

"...I am your father."

Robert kicked his feet up and grinned even wider than before. "AAAAAAHHH YES!!!" He squealed, shaking his fists in excitment. "Thats awsome!!!" He exclaimed with a laugh.

Mr Cicle smiled, laughing a bit at Roberts reaction.

"OH!" Robert gasped. "Can you say 'come with me if you want to live'." He spoke with a strange accent, gaining another confused laugh from Mr Cicle.

"Okay.." the show host chuckled.

"..come with me if you want to live." He spoke sinisterly.

Robert was practically jumping out of his seat at this. "Agh!! Thats so cool!!" He grinned. "Okay! Last one! 'Fly, you fools!' "

"Fly! You fools!" Mr Cicle grinned, adding some dramatic hand gestures and leaning forward a bit.

"DUDE!!" Robert was exstatic. "AGH you could be an actor!!"

"I am an actor!" Mr Cicle laughed.

Robert slapped a hand against his forehead with a groan. "Right! You are.." he laughed.

"Okay, uuuhh..." Robert hummed, bringing a hand up to scratch his chin. "You could be a... really... ominous.. weather reporter." He joked half heartedly.

Mr Cicle chuckled. "Really."

"Look, I dont know.." Robert sighed, grinning a bit awkwardly. "First thing that came to mind." He shrugged.

Mr Cicle nodded at that, humming thoughtfully. "Well.. I could be a really ominous weather reporter." He spoke with a grin, reaching into his vest and pulling out a microphone from seemingly no where.

Robert blinked. "Wait- where did you get that-"

"Ahem!" Mr Cicle cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your local news station where today, I will be giving you all a brief summary of todays weather forecast.." he immediately got into character, speaking into his mircophone which wasnt connected to anything.

Mr Cicle gestured a few things to Robert with his hands, but Robert just looked at him a little confused.

Mr Cicle groaned. "You're the camera man!" He huffed, sitting back up again and readjusting his suit like he was actually in front of an audience.

"Oh!" Robert gasped, rolling his shoulders and positioning his camera up to frame Mr Cicle nicely for whatever bit they were doing.

Mr Cicle cleared his throat. "So! Skys are clear, with no clouds in sight. All of... whatever city this is.. will be staying up late to see just how bright tonights stars can get..." he trailed off, pausing for a moment.

Mr Cicle looked over at Robert, whispering. "Robert, what would an ominous weather reporter say?" He asked. "How do I make the weather seem ominous??"

Robert shrugged. "I dont know. I thought you were an actor! Youre supposed to be good at improve! Just figure something out!" He whispered back.

Mr Cicle huffed, sitting back up properly and readjusting his bowtie. "Well, ladies and gentlemen.. dont star gaze for too long, tonight, because these stars are a little dangerous." He spoke a bit unsure, but smiling none the less.

"Theyre so beautiful.. you might just.. lose yourself... watching them...." Mr Cicle slowly trailed off, opening his eyes wide and dramatically looking up at the sky with a look of mock wonder on his face.

Robert snorted, grinning at the show hosts suprisingly unsettling acting.

He chuckled to himself, slowly panning his camera up to look at the sky. He kept smiling for a while, panning around to see if he could find any stars, but eventually, he paused.

Roberts smile faded a bit as he realised.. he couldnt actually see any stars.

Mr Cicle must have noticed his dissapointed expression, because after a little while, he paused, coming out of his acting bit and looking over at Robert silently. He hesitantly put his microphone away.

Robert huffed, zooming in on the sky, and zooming back out again to see if he could adjust to the skys light levels, but it didnt seem to do much. He kept trying, but it wasnt getting much better.

Mr Cicle tilted his head. "Whats wrong?" He asked, gaining a bit of a sigh from Robert.

"I think my cameras exposure is so bad it cant pick up any of the stars light." He whined, dropping his camera to look back out at the backyard again with a huff. "Figures.."

Mr Cicle furrowed his eyebrows, looking back up at the sky, and all the twinkling stars that filled it.

He frowned.

"I could try and up the exposure?" Mr Cicle offered, turning to look over at Robert again.

Robert looked over at Mr Cicle curiously.

"I know how to work most cameras.. since, it was kind of a requirement for my job at the maze." Mr Cicle shrugged. "So I should be able to help you see more, hopefully.." he smiled, gently reaching out a hand towards Robert, offering to take his camera.

Robert moved his camera back slightly, a little unsure at the idea of handing his camera over. He looked at Mr Cicle with a hesitant gaze, stopping as he noticed the expression on his face.

Mr Cicle looked at Robert, trying his best to look as friendly as possible. "..only if youre okay with it." He spoke, genuinely.

Robert paused for a moment. Hesitant.

But after a tense minute.. he gently handed his camera over to Mr Cicle.

The game show host took a careful breath, carrying the camera over to hold it in front of him, peering down at the illuminated screen.

Despite having held it a little while ago, now he knew just how important this camera was, and felt much more nervous holding it himself. He could see Roberts livelyness in it now, noticing the way it focused on different things and zoomed slightly at each movement. It wasnt just a camera, but his friend.

And he was holding it in both of his hands. So very gently.

Hesitantly reaching up to touch the screen, he found the buttons that let him access the settings.

Robert would have liked to see what Mr Cicle was doing, but the best he got was watching as his vision flashed between different kinds of weird.

Super bright, to super dark, then somewhere in between, and now the colors were all off. It was all starting to feel a little strange.

But after a moment, Mr Cicle slowly raised his camera up to face the sky, peering into the screen as he kept adjusting the settings. Robert held his breath and tapped his finger against the porch beneath him anxiously, just hoping hed find something that worked soon.

Mr Cicle bit his lip, furrowing his brow as he kept looking for a setting he could adjust to help make the stars show up better.

After a quiet minute.. Robert gasped.

Mr Cicle perked up, glancing over at Robert to see his eyes wide and mouth open. His shoulders dropped slightly as his body stared out into the backyard. But Mr Cicle looked back to the camera, held up at the sky, and noticed just how many stars he could see on its screen.

"Oh wow.." Mr Cicle muttered, looking between the sky and Roberts camera, and noticing that somehow, hed managed to get it to pick up more stars than even he could see in person.

Mr Cicle smiled, leaning back on one of his hands to look up at the stars. He kept holding the camera up facing the sky, just so Robert would be able to keep watching them too.

And boy, he sure was.

Robert stared ahead in wonder. Watching the stars in all their pixelated glory, he even started to notice a few colours faintly behind them. It was like he was seeing a ghost he couldnt see before. A very sparkly, colorful ghost.

He didnt even realise he was starting to smile.

They both sat there in silence, neither one of them feeling the need to say anything. Just listening to the wind, and focusing on the lights. It was peaceful. So, very peaceful.

A nice change of pace compared to how the rest of the night had been going.

For just that moment, they didnt have to worry about a single thing.

But then, a rain drop hit Roberts camera lens.

He sat up, eyes widening at the sudden distraction.

Not only had a raindrop appeared on his screen, but slowly, the stars began to dissapear as dark clouds came rolling in over the LA sky.

Another raindrop hit Roberts lens.

And then it started to faintly fall one by one on the porch around them.

Roberts breath hitched, and he sat up as more and more rain began to fall around them.

Mr Cycle looked around, confused. "Oh.. I guess.. my weather forecast wasnt the most accurate." He mumbled, slowly lowering Roberts camera and resting it on his lap.

More and more rain began to fall, water no longer only hitting the cameras lens, but pattering onto its casing as well.

Robert felt his heart skip a beat. "No!" He panicked. "NO! My camera breaks in water!" He cried.

Robert fumbled to find where his camera was, feeling his hands grab onto Mr Cicles shoulder, leaning closer to try and reach towards his lap. His anxiety only grew as the rain grew stronger. And stronger.

It started to pour unusually quickly.

"Mr Cicle!" He couldnt lose this. He begged, please he couldnt lose this.

Not after this. He couldnt die and go back right after opening up to someone like that. He couldnt lose his new friend. Not now.

Mr Cicle noticed Roberts frantic behaviour, awkwardly standing up a bit and trying to shield his face from the now pouring rain. "What? Are you okay?" He asked.

"No!" Robert cried. "If my camera gets wet i'll die! Where is it??"

"Oh!" Mr Cicles eyes went wide.

Robert didnt even have time to get it himself as Mr Cicle jumped into action.

The speed at which he managed to unbutton his vest was unprecedented. Instantly using the right half to wrap up Roberts camera and tuck it close to his chest, cradling it with his right arm as he used his other to guide Robert beside him.

Roberts breathing was fast and his hands were fumbling to figure out where he was. All he could see was the inside of Mr Cicles vest and the rest of his forest green dress shirt. And all he could feel was pouring rain and an arm around his shoulders, slowly walking them both somewhere he couldnt tell.

"Can- can I-" Robert stuttered, wanting to ask for his camera. He was interrupted as he ran into a small ledge by his feet- "aAH!" He gasped, feeling Mr Cicles arm pull him back to keep him from falling forward.

"Woah! Okay-" Mr Cicle cursed. "Just step over. Thats the bottom of the door frame, were heading inside." He gently explained, slightly drowned out by the rain shower around them.

Robert paused, taking a breath to steady himself and raising his foot slightly higher. Stepping down, he felt it hit carpeted floor.

The inside door mat.

Robert let out a sigh as he walked forward, stepping out of Mr Cicles grasp. He grabbed a hold of the open door to keep himself from falling over, but managed to get inside and shake himself off well enough on his own.

Mr Cicle seemed a little suprised by that, but shrugged it off. He used both hands to hold Roberts camera under his vest now, stepping inside and shaking himself off as the door slowly closed.

The show host sighed, raising a soaking arm and looking at himself with a defeated frown. "This'll take hours to dry..." he whined, adjusting his bow which sat half undone, soaked as well.

Robert put his hands against the sides of his head, taking a deep breath and leaning against the wall to try and calm down.

He was fine. Everything was fine.

"You alright?" Mr Cicle called to Robert, watching him perk up as he took his camera out from under his vest. He wiped it off from the remaining rain, and handed it to him, watching Robert relax again now that it was back in his own hands.

Robert stood up a bit, nodding his head. "Yeah. Im alright." He huffed. "Thanks for that."

Mr Cicle smiled. "Its no problem." He nodded.

It was just then that Gillion Tidestrider came walking around the corner.

"Woah!" Gillion paused. "Did the undersea start pouring out there?" He asked with a bit of a smile.

Robert and Mr Cicle both stared back at him, dripping wet in the middle of the hallway.

"The what?" Robert blinked.

"Uh.. i guess you could call it that?" Mr Cicle glanced between gillion and the back door. "Yeah?" He shrugged.

"Huh. You guys look like youre well aquanted with it, then." He shrugged, turned, and walked off to find the living room.

Robert and Mr Cicle stared down the hallway at where the fish man had been last, both too confused to say anything.

Mr Cicle opened his mouth, about to say something.. but he paused. Shook his head. And took off his glasses to wipe the rain off them.

Robert turned to watch him grab his wet vest, use it to wipe off his glasses, put them back on, and then grumble as they remained exactly as wet as theyd been before.

Robert scoffed. "Try your shirt. It looked pretty dry under there." He suggested.

Mr Cicle looked at Robert as he spoke. He paused. "Okay.." and then tried again, as suggested.

He took his glasses, opened up his vest and wiped them on his green dress shirt by his ribs. And sure enough, they came back clear and he smiled as he put them on.

"Would you look at that." He grinned, turning to look at Robert again with a smile.

Robert smiled back, a little amused at how he looked. Mr Cicles previously well kept hair was now dripping over his face, and his whole outfit was practically a puddle.

Mr Cicle, despite this, smiled anyways, and put a gentle hand on Roberts right shoulder. "Robert." He spoke softly. "Im sorry I havent been looking you in the eyes before." He apologised.

Robert hesitated at that, though he rolled his eyes half heartedly after a second. "Dont worry.." he reasured him. "Really, I wouldnt have expected you to know."

"Now, I need to go find somewhere to dry off..." Robert groaned, turning to start walking down the hallway, shifting uncomfortably in his heavy wet jacket.

Mr Cicle sighed, going to follow close behind him. "Me too..." he grumbled. "Getting the wrinkles out of my suit wont be fun either..." he complained, pulling his shirt collar away from his neck uncomfortably as the two continued off down the hall.

Robert hummed. "I wonder if they have a fireplace here, I could curl up by it like a fancy little dog."

"Im not sure we want to have a fancy little dog in the same house as slarf." Mr Cicle commented. "Wolves arent known for being friendly to prey sized hounds."

Robert was quiet for a moment.

After a second, he sighed. "Well im not a shapeshifter-"

"I was joking!" Mr Cicle defended. "Play of words! 'Oh no! Wolves eat small dogs- you compared yourself to a small dog-' is that not- a joke?"

"Not a good one."

"..fair enough."

[blush-bblushing]

Blush blush guys headcanons pt 2

Guys: anon, garret, Dimitri, ichiban, William, and myx

Cws: none

Hc's under the cut!

Anon:

Everyone knows Anon despises being touched. At least 99% of the time he does. During the rare 1% where he likes it, there's one thing he loves doing. That would be linking pinkies. Something so small, almost childish, and it brings him joy. If he trusts someone enough he'll do it. Mainly for pinkie promises and walks. It's fun for both parties involved. He also doesn't have to tolerate too much skin contact! So it's a win/win in his book.

He can deny it all he wants. He could make fake posts about hating it. And he could even hide the game from his library- none of that could disprove the fact that Anon loves stardew valley. It's a cute game! It's the feeling of living a life outside of norms. No "real" job, no stress(unless he's speedrunning), and especially no sun to fry him. He can simulate going outside! I'm not saying Anon doesn't go outside often. But like any gamer he prefers his air conditioned bedroom

In game he already has freckles. It came free with being a red head. If one were to somehow convince him to be outside longer than 4 minutes, they'd get to see them multiply. Freckles will scatter among his arms and face. As a kid he used to be embarrassed about this. No matter how often his grandmother called them angelkisses/stars. With enough effort, he can one day grow to like them.

(Fun fact: this is the last headcanon I'm writing for this post :]) Anon canonically can hack just about anything. Who's to say he doesn't hack marshmallows devices for wholesome pranks. A virus that just reminds them to take a break from being online. Their social media bios being changed ro some copypasta. Or something else more ridiculous than that. The possibilities are endless for him

Garret:

As much as some people may clown on him, I believe he's actually quite intelligent. The problem is that English isn't his native language. What this language is could be German or another language with an accent similar to his. If marshmallow/mc spoke that language, they could see how much he truly knows. And to be frank- I like to believe that over time his English gets better.

Speaking of his intelligence: garret is smart in the nontraditional sense. He's great with outdoor skills, basic medicine (mainly human, a bit of animal car too), cooking, among other things. That doesn't mean he cannot read or so math! He's at an average level with most people. His heart is simply set on knowledge that, according to him, can help people. And the way he met marshmallow proves that. Had he not been a bull, then I'm certain that cat would've went right into his arms ♡

This is kind of self indulgent- he sleeps with weighted blankets. Garret's quite strong. He's probably used to everything being light for him. On nights where the blankets don't cover him enough, he'll grab the weighted alternative. And I don't mean the smaller ones that are 5lbs or 2.26kg. I'm talking 25lbs or 11.33kg. Something that takes a bit more effort to move. Yet it still comfortably holds him down.

As a kid he was shy. This is primarily due to him feeling more comfortable with animals. They're calmer, quieter, and a lot easier to get along with. It felt like he could show his intentions a lot easier. Once the game begins he's just barely beginning to socialize more. Which also explains his oddly forward/awkward dialog. Aside from the language barrier.

Dimitri:

This might be a bit too deep for the game. But underneath his romantic front I think Dimitri is pretty vulnerable. It isn't like he's pretending to be someone else. It's moreso he needs to grow into his skin. Appreciate his less suave side. Not everyone can be perfect all the time. Marshmallows a good influence on him. Behind closed doors he's relaxed. There's a lot of ways this can be seen. The biggest is when he lets his hair down. Letting mc touch it, even braid it of he's in the mood. Dimitri's vulnerable side isn't extremely different. If he were to get comfortable and slip up around the guys, it may not be noticeable. For him however: it means everything. To be able to feel authentic.

On a lighter note he has multiple favorite flowers. Roses are obvious. Their association with love is the main reason he enjoys them. Another favorite of his azaleas. A flower which represents platonic/familial love. They remind him of his sister. (Who happens to be his closest friend). When he finds someone particularly enjoyable, he'll associate a flower with them. Marshmallow could honestly apply to any flower depending on how the player views them. So I'll leave that up to interpretation.

(I forgot if this is seen in any of his sprites) Dimitri adores getting his nails done. He mostly has them shaped & polished. Though occasionally he'll paint them to match an outfit such as the masquerade suit. Masculinity for him is having the confidence to take care of himself. He's actually a regular at the local spa! Sometimes, he takes his sister with him if she's stressed.

Ichiban:

Warning: youtuber inspired characters like ichiban, myx, and sven are a bit difficult for me. As not only are they inspired by real people, but they personally don't have much to them in my opinion. Please pardon how bare bones these (& other) headcanons may feel.

His hair wasn't always that colorful. At the start of his career ichibans hair was only dyed green at the ends. Videos from this era are considered lost media. He posts so much that the oldest hairstyle you can find is when he dyed it with 3 colors for the first time. The video he made about it changed his career forever. It's still one of his most watched videos to this day.

Some fans theorize he wears a wig. Surely his hair must be FRIED by now. Or if it isn't, he's been wearing a wig since the aforementioned video. Pretending to have multicolored hair so he can keep his hair healthy. There's fan videos supposedly finding "wig caps" or "odd hair" placements. Most have been either deleted, proven false, or ignored.

Lastly, his fan base got pretty torn about the whole tiger thing. Some claimed it made them love him more. Others claimed it turned them off. This uncertainty of opinion can be overwhelming. Luckily marshmallow was there to assure him when things got stressful.

William:

One HUGE headcanon I have is that Williams' parents were into animal care. Regardless of if it was their job or not. From a young age they taught him the importance of animal life. From the cutest kitten to the worst rat. He doesn't view any animal as more/less loceable than any other. Because of this, he's cared for animals that most vets refuse to care for. Personally, I think he's researched animals outside of his profession. You never know when you'll be nursing a lion.

(Might draw this in the future), but at one point his hair was longer. Before his career William had long dreadlocks. He took pride in how well he took care of his hair. Obviously, he still nurtures that hair now. He's just kept it short for work. Maybe one day he'll begin growing his hair out. Possibly if marshmallow reassures him he'd be able to work just fine. Considering it's been years since he first began working

I just know he has multiple playlists. At least one for every occasion. He's a man with good taste. And in my opinion I don't think he's one to box himself up. He may be dead set on his career, but he still appreciates fluidity. This also applies to his clothes. You'll never know what you'll get from him. Despite how often his style shifts, one thing is consistent: his personality. It'll shine through anything. It doesn't matter what he does. Something will scream "William".

In slight relation to the previous headcanon: part of his love language is gift giving. To fulfill this language he'll study his partner. Minor examples are what foods they eat the most and what songs they play the most. He collects a list of the little things. Until the occasion arises for him to spoil his partner. If you've ever seen those posts where someone has overly elaborate gift boxes, you'd know what Williams gifts look like.

Myx:

I don't see this talked about enough: his crochet/knitting hobby. Myx absolutely can make clothes and plushes. He probably even made some for marshmallow. (Or the other guys if you go with the whole shared house thing) Each item he makes with his yarn is catered to whoever he makes it for. I personally think he's collected multiple yarn types for different people. Have sensory issues with things that are too soft/too rough? He's got yarn for that. So.much.yarn. half his closet is yarn.

His "why wolf" costume was made last minute. His clever explanation was done on the spot. Man has been making content for yeeeeaaars. You can't tell me he doesn't know how to improv by now. Man forgot to dress up so he threw on his highschool jacket, drew a black nose, and called it a day. This costume ended up inspiring a Halloween special on his channel! Ended up becoming a hit. Mainly due to how silly it felt.

A man who cares that much about his hair is bound to have a complex night routine. After a long shower he has at least a 4 step skin care routine. Then a hair routine, stretch routine, and goodness knows what else. He also sleeps with a night mask and fluffy robe. He just loves to pamper himself <3

And done! Please do tell me of I should make more of these. I only have a few left of the main cast before I go into dlcs. That is if my memory is correct

[stayfictionalforever]

Santa tell me.

ship: Peter Park x GN! Reader

summary: you write a letter to Santa but you're in for a shock when your boyfriend shows up with your wishlist.

TW/CW: vague descriptions of injuries and mentions of pain

word count: 944

tags: angst, comfort, fluff, cute, wholesome

a/n: feel free to imagine any version of Peter, I tried to keep it vague. also was inspired by 'santa tell me' by Ariana grande

you were usually better at navigating the holiday crowds than this. having a cloudy head caused for countless apologies after bumping into multiple people. this time you bumped into a couple with their child. you started to share apologies but were interrupted by the child.

“hey! do you know where to drop letters off to santa?”

the loud child was in luck, you knew exactly where the red oversized mailbox that was for kids to drop their letters off. you gave directions to the parents and they thanked you. the kid screeched a loud thank you. you let out a small laugh from the exuberant child and kept walking through the busy streets. you were almost home and you should be thinking about what to have for dinner but the idea of a wishlist for that jolly old man stuck to your mind like glue.

after a couple flights of stairs, you were finally home. you ignored the fridge in order to look for a blank paper. once, the paper was found then came the task of finding a pen that worked. sitting down at your desk you felt ridiculous. ‘i can’t really write a letter to santa’ you thought as you put the pen down. you wanted to just drop this silly mission but then you thought about what you could ask for. you were grateful for all that you had in your life but you still had something. you had a question and if santa could deliver presents in one night for everyone in the world he could give you a solid answer.

☆ later ☆

after a satisfying dinner of takeout once you discovered that the fridge was bare, you returned to the new book you’ve been reading. you heard something tap your window. then it slowly pulled up. this in any other situation would be terrifying but this told you that he was back. you put your book down and went to the almost opened window. “peter!” you exclaimed when a certain man draped in red popped out.

“you say my name like you missed me” peter joked. you gave him some space to pull himself out of the window and into your home. the hero took every opportunity to make a joke.

you rushed over to embrace him. you hug was short lived, the moment you heard him wince in pain you pulled away. “peter? what happened?”

it took him a couple moments to answer but in the short time you tried to recall the location of the first aid in your home. the story was classic for spider-man, there was an insanely strong criminal, a fight broke out and spider-man got the criminal but also ended up with a ton of pain. by the end of his story peter took off his mask and revealed a black eye.

“i got one more surprise” he reached towards his back. you assumed he was going to show you another grotesque injury. when he revealed the surprise a small part of you would’ve rather seen some misshapen body part than the letter.

you looked at the words you wrote just hours ago. you were confused on how it was possible for peter to get the letter but you were even more embarrassed that peter had definitely read it.

‘Dear, Santa. I don’t want anything I just need you to tell me one thing. Santa tell me will he be here next year? I can’t fall in love again, if he won’t be here next year. I can’t give my all my love away if by next december 25th he’s not going to be here. I just want him beside me. I have to be smart and know if he’ll be here’

“that was a big ask for santa, didn’t want to ask for a new ball instead?” it was a light hearted comment but it lacked peter’s usual comedic tone.

you didn’t have it in you to laugh. “where did you find it?” you were positive you put the letter in the mailbox on the walk home after getting dinner.

peter handed you the letter. “nick and i go way back actually, he handed me the letter after my fight then we went out for milk and cookies.” you gasped fully believing him. peter had the oddest friends, why couldn’t Santa Claus be one of them. peter shook his head. “not really, i did find the letter after my fight so i guess he trusted me to answer your question.”

the silence consumed the room. “peter, i just get so scared. i get scared that one day spider-man is going to save everyone but that means i won’t ever see peter parker again.” you knew it was selfish. peter does so much for this city, so much for the world he has such a great responsibility but, you cared so much about him. you wanted to apologize, dismiss the letter and tell peter you understood. you opened your mouth to start but you were cut off by peter pulling you into a hug. he still winced in pain however, holding close felt too good.

“i will be with you forever no matter what.” it was oath. just like his oath to being hero he will do everything in his power to keep his oath and that was good enough for you in this moment. you cracked a small smile at the realization Santa did answer your letter.

when the two of you would eventually pull apart, you’ll find the first aid kid and feed peter some takeout. while fixing him up peter will tell you about his past adventures with Santa.

☆ end ☆

[lv-iceprince]

If you have time I have a request for ateez!!! I’m curious how long it takes each of them to realize that they have a crush on someone and how long afterwards they confess? Thank you!

 Hey! Thank you so much for requesting something and for my ult group nonetheless!!! And don’t worry I’ll always have time for you guys <3 <3  

This also took a little longer because my cat deleted all of this 🙃

A Crush and a Confession **Ateez Edition**

ੈ✩‧₊˚Hongjoong~ 

There is an underlying sense of self-confidence with him, pair that with his intelligence and you get a Hongjoong that realises he should be upfront with his feelings. Hongjoong may seem composed but he does enjoy falling in love, but for a crush to develop he would actually prefer there to be a mutual connection first like a very platonic, thoughtful friendship. This works in his favour since he would actually be so aware of his crush on you, to the extent that he noticed the slight flutter he felt in his heart one day and immediately knew what it was that he was feeling. Hongjoong likes to be prepared for when he does finally confess so it might take him a month or two at most to collect his thoughts, but rest assure by the time he finally confessed he did it in the best way possible. In comparison to the other members, he really is a pro at expressing his feelings in a way that would leave a lasting impression on you. A result of the late nights he spent creating music with your face in mind.

~Seonghwa ੈ✩‧₊˚ 

Seonghwa is actually a pretty bold guy. He is probably the second quickest, behind Hongjoong, to realise that he is crushing on someone. Mostly because he is so open-minded. He had always been open to the idea of letting himself fall for you. It seems very cocky but he really just doesn’t want to dismiss what he is feeling, he will always want to go with his heart. Essentially, he already felt that there was a good possibility that he could start to catch feelings, even if everything started off very standard and platonic. So, in true Hwa fashion, Seonghwa will make it very obvious that he is attracted to you through undivided attention, kind words and the occasional flirting that is definitely designed to catch you off guard so he can just chuckle at your reaction. But despite this he will actually take his time confessing to you, which could span into months of waiting on your behalf. However, you don’t find yourself feeling that disappointing considering he is so obvious. So even if he takes him time to verbally confess you still know the full extent of his feelings.

ੈ✩‧₊˚Yunho~ 

 Probably the most normal of the lot, he really does have the most perfect progression of love. Yunho isn’t as quick as the other members in realising that he is crushing on you. See it as the friends to lovers or next-door neighbour trope, he will spend a lot of time around you but it isn’t really a guarantee that he will crush on you quicker, golden retriever just wants to have fun and enjoy your company. Sometimes it could even take a whole year or two for him to finally start seeing you in a romantic light. Yunho is sentimental and has a huge heart, so the moment he starts crushing on you his smile would get bigger and his energy would skyrocket. Basically, his crush hit him like a train, but our ever-resilient Yunho would know exactly what to do in this situation. He is literally just so wholesome and attentive, when he did sense a deeper connection with you, he would wear his heart on his sleeve and make up for lost time by confessing to you a couple weeks after his huge realisation. Part of this is because he is so incredibly empathetic, he would be motivated to confess because he didn’t want you to feel like you were being led on if it turned out your feelings were mutual.

~Yeosang ੈ✩‧₊˚ 

Yeosang may seem a little unenthused by love in comparison to the other members but he really is just a guy who has an appreciation for human connection. This means he would remain quite platonic in his interactions with you, which could be disheartening because you 100% would be the one crushing on him first. So, it does take him a long time to realise he has a crush on you, purely because his priorities were on having a really good friendship. But once it clicks in his mind that he has a crush on you it really changes how he perceives things, it somehow made things between you feel daunting because he gets so goddamn nervous around you. Now the smallest favours that you do for him, like checking in on him when he’s preparing for a comeback, buying fried chicken to share, sending a good night text, literally anything will plague him with butterflies. That was really when he knew that he had a crush on you. From that point on he would gradually work his way up to confessing, however he definitely finds it much easier to confess to you so it wouldn’t take long at all for him to come clean.

ੈ✩‧₊˚Mingi~ 

Mingi is in the sub-unit of members who fall so easily in love it’s actually surprising. “Fix On” confident on stage Mingi is literally just all talk, he really has such a soft heart and has an optimism for love and being loved. Now, Mingi has definitely had crushes in the past and though it is so predictable that he will fall for someone in a heartbeat, it still catches him off guard. He is secretively emotional, so when he develops a crush, he is crushing hard. This also means that he confesses so quickly its actually surprises both of you. Love for Mingi moves quickly, because he just really wants to fall for someone. So, it isn’t out of the ordinary for him to meet someone, know them for a month or two then immediately confess. His mind just has a way of beautifying everything around him aka he definitely has moments where he sees life like his own personal k-drama.

~Sanੈ✩‧₊˚ 

San is like Yeosang but in overdrive. He really is all about that human connection, he likes to feel comforted in knowing that whoever he falls for will be falling for him because they love his personality and they understand his emotions. But since he is very in tune with his emotions and wears his heart on his sleeve, he will find it very easy to develop a crush on someone. His crushes just make him want to squeal in delight, so when he realises, he has a crush on you he is cuddling his pillow and kicking his legs in the air like a lovesick fool. Despite his eagerness for pure love, he has a sentimental side to him and that’s what made him fall for you. You did things that took him aback, it made him imagine what it would be like if he was able to become closer to you. That’s when everything clicked where he felt that, he needed to close this imaginary distance and confess. Since it is San all of this took place in about four months, he met you, he was smitten and he said it how it was. He didn’t want to hide behind a calm and collected persona when there was the possibility that you could have returned the feelings he had for you.

ੈ✩‧₊˚ Wooyoung~

I stand by the fact that Wooyoung is a certified babygirl. Which means he rivals Mingi and San for the member that would crush on someone the quickest. But for him the realisation comes later than he would have preferred, it definitely wouldn’t take long for him to realise he is crushing on you but the fact he didn’t realise it sooner is something that would really bother him. Considering how witty he is he feels that he should at least know these things, he should know the difference between friendship and love. But he really had the cutest reason for it not clicking. He was preoccupied with the happiness he felt around you, he was literally blinded by his love and affection. Once he realised, he had a crush on you he would definitely want to confess as soon as possible, so he would just say it one day. It may have seemed like confidence but in reality, so many things were on his mind that it just slipped out. So maybe he is just a fool for love, but there are definitely worse things to be.

~Jongho ੈ✩‧₊˚ 

 Now Jongho is pretty reserved in this sense, he is definitely capable of falling in love and he does want to experience having a relationship, he just really takes his time with everything. He would most likely realise he had a crush on you much later in comparison to the other members, the only one he outdoes with realising he has a crush is Yeosang. It just never really occurred to him that he would be feeling that way considering everything that is going on in his life. He was preoccupied with other things, but over time his tunnel vision faded away. He began thinking back to all the things that you had done for him and he really started to realise just how much comfort you were bringing him. After realising that, he couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. But no matter how eager Jongho is to confess to you he would wait. He still remains pretty laid back and would take time to confess, he just knows that there will be a time in the future where will be the best time to confess, so for now he’s just out here enjoying your company. 

[allthewriteplaces]

A Magnolia in May ~ Chapter Twenty-One

Author's note: Writer's block kicked this author's butt pretty good so it took a while for the motivation to continue writing this story to return, but here we are once again, dearest reader and now, without further ado, let's see what happens next in the story.

Chapter Summary: Thomas' birthday celebrations continue with opening gifts, which turns into something a lot more amusing and wholesome at the same time. Chaos ahead! Chapter Warning(s): None, unless you count Karl being against any sort of PDA and recounting accidentally walking in on his parents. It's not in great detail, but still.

Word Count: 4079 - I was inspired!

Chapter Twenty-One

Dinner was ready at five o’clock sharp and shortly afterwards, we were all seated around the dining room table, digging into the meal we call helped to cook.

At first, I wondered if there would be enough seating for all thirty of us, because back at Lizzie’s place, most of us sat on the sofa or one of the armchairs, while the children sat in a circle on the floor, which they didn’t mind because to them, it was like an indoor picnic. But then I remembered that the dining room at Arrow House had enough chairs for everyone, including my family, and besides that, Thomas was determined to have his whole family together on his birthday.

So now, here we were, all of us, chatting, laughing, just living in the moment and I couldn’t imagine a better group of people to be spending time with. I wanted to freeze time, just so that I could live in this moment forever, but that wasn’t possible, therefore I did my best to tune every irrelevant thought out and focus on what was happening around me.

My cousins and the other children seemed to be getting along splendidly, which was more than I could have hoped for. If Ada was right, if Thomas and I did end up being married one day, it was important that everyone got along with one another, even though that wasn’t necessarily the case for some of the female members of the Shelby family, that it took a little more time for everyone to warm up to one another than it did for Thomas’ siblings and I.

“Jessie?”

I opened my eyes and saw Thomas looking my way, a concerned and curious expression on his face, the way he always looked at me when he knew I was thinking about things and wanted to know what they were.

One of the buttons on his white dress shirt was askew, but I couldn’t point it out before the words ended up evaporating into the air around me. Instead, I watched the way the warm candle light flickered in his eyes and shone on his cheeks, which made him look even more warm and angelic.

Yes, who would have ever thought I’d use the word angelic to describe the mastermind behind one of the most notorious gangs in all of England?

Without saying anything, my hand found his underneath the dining table and when he realised what I was doing, he interlocked our fingers, gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, and then said, “I found you.”

I tilted my head to one side. “You found me?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You looked lost in thought, so I found you.”

I blinked a few times and without me even knowing, fresh tears came into my eyes. I hadn’t expected to be this emotional tonight of all nights. He leaned over and kissed my cheek softly, chastely, much less chastely than he did in the kitchen when we were cooking.

Subconsciously, I brought my hand to my cheek and my fingers brushed against the spot where his lips touched my skin and it felt warm. My heart rate accelerated and I was glad I finished my food because my stomach started doing little flips.

“And I’m glad you did,” I answered, recovering myself. With a smile, his hand left mine and though I immediately felt the warmth leave my body, I knew that if I didn’t finish the rest of my food, it would get cold.

There was enough food for everyone to have a second helping if they wanted to, which a majority of us did. Even Henry and William, who were what you might call picky eaters, ate every last bite off their plates and not just because they didn’t want to seem rude by pushing it aside, either. I noticed the way that their eyes closed in satisfaction every time they took a spoonful of the stew or tore into their bread.

“I wish we could eat this everyday,” said Henry.

“Me, too,” William agreed.

“I’ve made stew for you several times,” said Eliza, “but you never eat it.”

“That’s because this one is better,” William stated quite bluntly.

“It has the right amount of spices and doesn’t have too many vegetables,” Henry added, tapping his spoon handle against his chin thoughtfully. He wasn’t trying to sound hurtful or offend Eliza in any way, and neither was William. It was just them expressing their thoughts and giving suggestions.

Children tend to be less afraid of stating their opinions on things, whether or not it is actually warranted. I learned this pretty early on in my career as a governess, but I would much rather them be honest than hold back how they truly felt about something. Eliza felt the same way, because instead of feeling offended as one normally would when their dish is compared to someone else’s, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Perhaps I will add less vegetables next time.”

“And more spices,” Henry insisted.

“And more spices,” Eliza smiled, kissing the top of his head, which he rubbed off with an irritated little grumble before resuming to eat.

Elsewhere, Marie was pointing to the drink in Ben’s hand. “What’s that?”

“It’s champagne,” he answered, holding it up so she could see the bubbles.

Moving a little closer, she leaned close. “It smells sweet, like flowers.”

“Doesn’t taste like flowers, though.”

“How do you know what flowers taste like?” asked Ada.

“I may have eaten one or two on a dare,” he admitted, somewhat sheepishly.

Ada shook her head in motherly disapproval, but she smiled.

“Can I try some?” Marie asked.

“It’s a grown-up drink,” said Charlie, who was seated next to her. “Daddy wouldn’t let me and Ruby have any, either.”

“Our daddy says it makes your head fuzzy,” Alice put in. She’d been quiet up until this point, which was odd for her since she could usually strike up and carry a conversation until the cows came home — an expression Uncle Albert used endearingly whenever he spoke of her — which meant she was really enjoying her food.

Marie’s head tilted to one side. “Fuzzy? Like a cloud?”

Ada shook her head. “No, fuzzy as in it makes you dizzy and sick. Grown-ups can handle it a little better than children can, but even we can’t have too much.”

“Oh,” Marie adjusted her position so she was sitting a little further away from the drink. “Then I’ll wait until I’m older to taste the flowers,” she decided.

“Good idea,” she smiled. Marie smiled back at her and they went on to talking about a cat that she and the rest of my cousins had seen wandering about.

As for the rest of the conversations that floated around me, I couldn’t quite catch what was being said, but it seemed like both my uncle and Aberama, and both of our aunts appeared to be getting on splendidly.

Eliza was a generally approachable person who everyone easily warmed up to and trusted, however, like I’ve said before, gaining the approval of the Shelby matriarch was a rather difficult feat and if you did happen to get on her good side, you’ve essentially won the jackpot. Truth be told, it was much easier for the children than for any grown-up.

She had her reasons, of course. Far too many people had let her down in the past and nothing hurts more than trusting someone with your entire being only to have that sense of security ripped out from underneath you like a rug.

It was only when she met Mister Gold, who also understood what it was like to have people he trusted stab him in the back or to lose someone so near and dear to his heart, that she was gradually able to truly open herself up to the possibility of love and companionship and the idea that happiness can exist for someone like her.

One of the things she told me during the few times we spent together, was that there was a reason they called it ‘falling’ in love.

Because you don’t expect it to happen, it comes from out of nowhere and trips you before you can even gain your bearings, but then even when you catch yourself, you still feel the effects of the fall or you may even feel like you’re still falling.

If this doesn’t make sense to you, dear reader, then I have probably jumbled up my words, despite writing it out several times before putting it into the typewriter. I truly do wish I could articulate things as well as she can.

“Right then,” I heard her say once everyone’s plates had been cleared and all eyes turned to her. “I think it’s time that our dear Tommy opened up his gifts.”

The mention of the word “gifts” was enough to rouse Thomas’ attention.

“Gifts? You know you didn’t have to get me anything,” he said.

“You say that every year,” said Arthur, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he put a loving arm around Linda’s shoulders, “and yet when we say the same thing you show up with the most expensive gifts out there. Therefore, we choose not to listen.”

“Besides,” said Ada, “That’s usually code for ‘I don’t mind if you don’t buy me a birthday present, but I’d love one anyway.’”

“Well, in that case,” he said, using both of his hands to push himself up out of the chair with a grunt and then smiling softly. “Let’s get on with it.”

“Open mine first, Daddy,” said Ruby, taking his hand and leading him into the living room as the rest of our procession followed him. He looked over his shoulder at me, trying to find my face among the crowd and once he did, he threw a helpless smile my way, followed by a cheeky wink.

He pulled me down next to him on the sofa once we made it to the dining room and kept his arm firmly around my waist. He always held me like he was afraid I might vanish into thin air.

“Alright,” he said, watching as Ruby went over to the window seat and picked her gift out from among the selection of bags and boxes. She’d insisted on picking out the blue wrapping paper since she insisted that blue was his favourite colour. She made sure none of the tape had come off or that none of the paper was ripped before handing it over to him.

Thomas didn’t care much about saving the wrapping paper, but still, he took great care into opening the present his daughter had gotten for him in case it was something fragile or breakable. When he opened it, he noticed the bear she got. He had a blue ribbon.

“The bear with the red ribbon needed a friend, so I got her one,” she said, climbing up onto his lap and leaning her head against his chest. “See? That one’s supposed to be you because you like the colour blue and the red one is supposed to be Jessie because she said she likes the colour red.”

“Did she, now?” he asked, turning to me. I offered him a smile. “Well, then, I suppose the two teddy bears will have to get to know each other, eh?”

He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close to him.

“I love it sweetheart,” he whispered and she smiled proudly, going to sit with Alice and Marie, both of whom were sitting cross-legged on the floor, the way a lady should behave, as Eliza always said. Of course the baby was much too young to understand such rules and expectations and was making quite a fuss in her arms, however, she settled once Polly offered to take her for a while.

“Why am I not surprised?” Arthur joked, and then added, “She’s got that magic touch, I’m telling ya. One minute a baby will be crying and fussing and would rather be anywhere but where they are now, and the next, once Pol takes hold of them, they stop. I dunno how she does it.”

He was right. Isabelle was a rather fussy baby and it didn’t take much for her to get into a bad mood or for something to frighten her, but as soon as she was in Polly’s capable hands, she quieted and looked quite content. I couldn’t help watching in awe for a few minutes.

“Magicians never reveal their secrets,” she answers, throwing me a conspiratorial wink, “but years of experience teaches one a thing or two. Jessie knows that, don’t you? What with so many years of looking after children.”

“I’ll admit, my maternal instincts come naturally, but I’ve had my fair share of fussy and colicky babies who just wouldn’t settle no matter what or how hard I tried; it does get easier the more knowledge you gain and the longer you’re in the profession.”

“Makes sense,” she said.

“Open mine next, Dad,” Charlie said, handing Thomas the present he wrapped.

The wrapping paper he chose was red and black chequered and there was a matching red bow taped in the centre of it. When we went to the shops to pick it and the presents out, it was in a bin along with the Christmas paper that had been sitting there for six months, but he didn’t mind too much, he also didn’t understand why a chequered or star or snowflake-covered paper should just be used at Christmas.

Either way, he didn’t mind what paper he used, as long as his dad liked the gift he had for him, that was all that mattered to him.

Much like with Ruby’s gift, Thomas was careful with the paper, setting it to the side and what he saw made his eyes widen.

It was a book, and not just any book, a book that Charlie had written himself.

He’d kept it a surprise from everyone, including me and told me that he’d worked on it in the school room once lessons were over and that he’d asked Mister Collins to help him if he had trouble spelling something or if he needed help deciding what should happen next. Not even Ruby, who’d sat with him during said lessons knew about the book and she was just as interested in it as Thomas was.

“You’re the hero of the story,” said Charlie, pointing to the man he drew on the cover of it, “because you help keep good people safe from bad people, and look! See, the little girl and her dad in the corner? That’s the family you’re trying to save from those guys there. They were going to hurt them, but you stopped them.”

He turned the page to reveal another drawing.

“And that’s you jumping from a tall building. Don’t worry, you have a cape on so you won’t fall on your face or break your neck because that would be really bad. And see? I wrote all of those words myself.” He paused. “Dad, are you crying?”

Thomas’ eyes were in fact glazed over. He reached up and brushed his hand across his face to dry the tears that had formed in his eyes. He was not the kind of person to cry easily, or if he did cry, he preferred to do it once he was alone.

Probably because he didn’t want people to worry.

But right now, surrounded by his family, he felt safe to express how he felt.

“It’s funny,” he said a moment later, “You don’t realise how much you take for granted until it’s taken away from you. That night I was injured, I never thought I’d ever wake up again. I thought I’d never get to see my children grow up, or to tell the woman I love how I feel about her.”

His eyes met mine; I felt his hand gently squeeze my shoulder and I moved closer to him. Ruby reached her hands up to dry the tears rolling down his cheeks, which made more tears come. He’d never been one to really hide how he was truly feeling, at least not in front of me, but he didn’t really show any negative emotions that often, either, unless he was past the breaking point.

“What if she already knew how you felt?” I asked in an attempt to calm him down. “Or maybe she didn’t know exactly, but she had a good feeling about it because maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way about you despite having only known you for such a short period of time.”

His tears ceased for a few minutes as he thought about this. The idea that I felt the same way about him was surprisingly shocking to him for some reason. I mean, what with our constant flirting, even if we kept it subtle and professional when the children or other family members were around, should have given him some clue as to how I felt about him before actually confessing how I felt not long after he came home from the hospital.

“And speaking of which,” I handed over the tiny box, which I felt self-conscious about because everyone else’s boxes and bags were a lot bigger and probably contained something more fancy, and shrugged modestly, “It’s not much, but—”

“Nonsense,” he said, “I’m sure that whatever’s in this box is perfect, like you.”

My cheeks turned a little pink and I didn’t bother trying to hide it as he opened the box and saw the gold band I’d bought him. To say the least, it was probably the last thing he expected.

“My, my, are you planning on proposing to me?” he asked teasingly.

“What if I am?” I asked in an equally teasing tone and then looked down at my hands. “Although, I wasn’t technically planning on doing so, not yet anyway, and I know you don’t wear a lot of jewellery, but I saw it in the shop the other day and thought it would look nice on you.”

“One way to find out then, eh?” he asked. He was about to slip the band onto his finger, but then something caught his eye. He held the ring up to the light and turned it over in his hands, his eyes widening. “There’s something written on it.”

“A special touch,” I replied. “I took it somewhere and asked for our initials to be engraved on it. They have necklaces where you can have birthstones put in and I would have gotten one with ours, Charlie’s and Ruby’s birthstones, but I thought a ring with our initials would be more practical, but if you want, you can put it on a chain.”

He slipped the ring onto his finger and then took my hand in his, kissing it tenderly while gazing into my eyes and then placing our hands over his chest, right where his heart was. “It’s a perfect fit.”

“Does this mean you’re going to be married now?” asked Charlie.

“Not yet, but a proposal can’t be far behind.”

Uncle Albert eased himself into one of the armchairs with a deep, hearty chuckle and then looked our way with his pipe in hand.

Aunt Eliza gave him a disapproving look, but she knew that it wasn’t worth causing a stir and besides, it wasn’t lit and there wasn’t anything inside it, so she let the matter pass.

“After all, all she ever talks about is you. In her letters, she kept going on about how handsome you were and how many times you’d made her smile or laugh that day.”

“She said you were handsome a thousand times,” said Alice.

“A thousand!?” Thomas exclaimed, putting as much dramatic emphasis into his words and facial expression as he possibly could if only to amuse the kids.

In most cases, being put on the spot like this made me feel a tad ill at ease, but when they did it, it didn’t feel so bad. After all, being part of a big family, you have to expect a bit of teasing from the other members, so long as it’s lighthearted and doesn’t involve saying anything particularly hurtful, and besides, I didn’t mind seeing the kids get all giggly and making faces my way.

Alice nodded.

“Oh, Tommy was the same way,” said Polly. “At first I warned him about getting too close to Jessie, what with all that he’s been through in the past several years, and reminded him that his relationship with her was to remain strictly professional.”

“Obviously that’s not the case here,” Aberama put in. He paused to think for a moment, “but she’s a good one and he’s very lucky to have met her when she did.”

“I am,” he said, all of his attention centring on me, looking a little less likely to break into a million pieces and his eyes less glassy and weepy. “I couldn’t have asked for a better governess for my children or a better friend than this one right here.”

“Please don’t start kissing and stuff,” Karl groaned. “Or else you’ll have a baby.”

“A baby?” Alice said. “I thought one needed to be married to be with child.”

“Apparently, it’s not even a requirement,” he said.

“Karl, that’s enough,” said Ada, but his mind was already racing and when the mind races, the words come out before you can even think about stopping them.

“Well, it’s true,” he said. “When you and Dad first met, every time the two of you were together, you’d get all giddy and stuff, calling each other things like ‘sweetheart’ and ‘love’ and ‘honey.’”

“That’s a bad thing?” Mercedes asked, confused. “Our mum calls us those things all the time. Right, Mum?”

“That’s right, love,” said Esme, picking him up and settling him down on her lap, brushing a hand through his thick brown hair, “but that’s because when people love each other, they call each other nice things.”

“Our mum does, too,” said William.

“I don’t see why it’s a bad thing for mums to call us that,” said Charlie, glancing at Lizzie, who Ruby immediately went to go and sit with.

Karl shook his head. “But that’s not the gross part.”

“Karl,” Ada said again, but again, he kept going.

“One time, when I was going down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, I heard a sound that sounded like this —”

He made a really loud and dramatic groaning sound and while most of the adults found this amusing, including myself, though I was more surprised than anything else, Ada and Ben, understandably, did not.

“I was worried that they were hurt, and so I stormed in, ready to punch whoever was hurting my mum and dad, and then I saw them both kissing and then the next day at school, one of the boys said that that’s how a baby —”

Ben swooped in before he could reveal any more of their intimate dialogue.

“Karl!” he exclaimed, “That’s the end of the … Wait, what did you say?”

“Oh, I called you my dad,” he said. Ben nodded. “You may not be my real dad, and I may not have liked you at first, only because my mum had been hurt so many times and I didn’t want to see her sad again, but you’ve always been there for the two of us, or technically three of us, and you never say ‘no’ when I ask you if we can do things together, so yeah, you’re like my dad, but if it bothers you, I can—”

Ben and Ada’s expressions changed completely, they went from feeling completely embarrassed to the point where it looked like they wished to sink into the sofa or fall through the floor to another world, to feeling overwhelmingly happy.

They both knelt down next to him, with Ada still holding Little Lizzie in her arms, and both hugged him tightly.

“No,” said Ben in a choked up voice, “it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Ada started kissing both his cheeks repeatedly while weeping a little and while he let out a tiny grunt in protest, I saw his smile growing as they eventually all separated and went back to their seats.

“Right then,” I said, “What do you say we open some more gifts?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” said Thomas, smiling.

To be continued!

Taglist: @zablife @cillmequick @sherbitdibdab @runnning-outof-time @thesoldiersminute

[rinaqz]

Understanding

🐇•dark/triggering themes

🦢•fluff/wholesome content

um. this is written from the POV of my oc Shamia (here). I wanted to explore her dynamic with her Aunt so. Yeah. Hehehe.

content warning: death, murder, blood, rotting flesh, choking, nightmares, a lot of self-doubt on Shamia’s end, mention of slight self-sabotage at the end, mention of feeling buzzed/drunk (she isn't actually buzzed).

1.4k words.

Blood-stained hands pulled at me from all directions. Whispers of my name clashed with the numbing pain in my chest, and the ringing in my ears seemed to get louder and louder with each stumble forward. The smell of rotting flesh made me gag.

The room was dark, pitch black almost. The only thing providing any kind of light was an open door far away from where I stood. The ghastly amount of space between us made me realize my hopes of getting out of here were very slim, second to none. And with the malformed hands trying to yank me further back into this hell I’ve managed to make for myself, I began to doubt if running was even worth it. Could I even run from this?

A shriek left my already sore throat when I felt one of the hands pull harshly at my braided hair, inadvertently causing me to lose my footing and fall onto my back with a loud thump. I tried to pull myself to my feet, but more hands began to pull me down. Their grotesque appearance was nothing compared to how incapable I felt once I realized I had really done myself in this time.

I tried to speak, to say something, but nothing came out except for a low, gurgling sound as I choked on my unspoken words. The taste of iron filled my throat, and droplets of crimson began trickling down my chin.

My head began to spin. Was it even possible to die twice? Was any of this shit.. real? I questioned if it was, though it definitely felt real. Extremely fucking real. The whispers around me felt like they were brushing right against my skin. How could something this vile exist?

How could I even exist?

Shit, I mused to myself bitterly, That’s a question that’ll never get answered.

All around me, hands kept dragging me further into the surrounding darkness, and all I could do was give up. Maybe this was meant to happen to someone as disgusting as me. Maybe this was how it was supposed to end, something so incredibly warped even I couldn’t process it.

It doesn’t matter. My curtains were bound to close soon in any case.

=====

“-..mia.. Shamia!”

I jolted awake with a start, immediately being met with my aunt’s distraught face. My hand found its way to my chest, clutching at my non-existent heart with an iron-fist. My eyes darted around. The familiar sight of the slightly dated floral wallpaper and the wooden vanity on the other side of the room put me at ease. A bad dream. That’s all it had been.

“Oh! Thank God, you’re awake!.. Are you feeling alright, darling?”

Marianne sounded more worried than she should’ve been. I never understood why she spent so much time fretting over me instead of worrying about more important things. But, I guess I shouldn’t be ungrateful.

“Yeah, yeah.. I’m fine.” I mumbled, taking the small glass of tea she ushered into my hands. The heat from it was oddly comforting.

“Thanks, Mari..”

I gulped down the tea, the familiar sweetness of it trickling down my throat. A sense of calmness washed over me. I leaned back against the headboard, noticing my aunt’s smile out of the corner of my eye. She was so sweet to me, even knowing.. what I was.

“Don’t mention it, honey.” She hummed. I felt the bed dip down a little. She must’ve sat down. “You had another nightmare, didn’t you? ..Before you try denying it, I heard you screaming while I was bringing your tea up.”

I huffed, sinking down into the mattress a bit. She had this uncanny way of seeing right through me even when I tried to put up a front. I didn’t like how vulnerable it made me feel, but at the same time it was.. nice to know someone cared. Even if a little overwhelming.

“I really don’t want to talk about it, Mari.” I placed my empty glass on the nightstand, my hands feeling shakier than normal. I brought them up to play with a few strands of my hair, a habit I had as a kid. My eyes fell to the quilt laying over my legs. I stared at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world, the different patterns becoming my main focus.

I could feel the concern radiating off of Marianne in droves. She spent so much time codling me it made me wonder if she did anything else.

“But it could help.” She urged gently. She was obviously trying not to be forceful. “It’s never good to keep things bottled up. Eventually the bottle will get too full and spill over.”

Her and her metaphors.. This wasn’t a fourth grade classroom, I didn’t need to be spoken to like it was. I knew she was only trying to help, though, so I relented. A sigh left my throat.

“You know I’m terrible at these things. I don’t even know where to start.”

“And that’s okay. I’ve got all afternoon. I’m here for you, Shamia. I hope you know that.”

A lump formed inside my throat. Such kindness and understanding.. Was I even allowed to be given those things anymore? Did I deserve it? I didn’t think so, but she clearly did. Maybe I should give myself some grace. She already knew everything anyway, it wasn’t like I could keep anything secret from her for long. It was as if I was see-through.

A heavy breath escaped me I didn’t even realize I was holding. My shoulders slumped. I pulled at the hair tie around my wrist, letting the softness of it hit my skin whenever I let go.

“I’m not okay, Mari. I’m seriously fucked up, and yet you still give me your undivided attention like it’s nothing.” I made myself look up to meet her gaze. It made me feel sick how one person could have so much love inside them. Even for someone like me. “I’ve killed people, I’ve had the blood of dozens on my hands and my clothes. How can you stand to even look at me?”

Marianne leaned over and gently placed a warm hand against my arm.

“Because, I know why you do it.” She said quietly. “You don’t want anyone else to suffer the way Ocean did. And even though your methods are.. unconventional.. You do what you do for a good reason. Not because you enjoy it, but because you feel like you have no other choice.”

I was silent. She was right, in a way. I didn’t enjoy what I did. In fact, I loathed it more than anything, even if those people deserved what they got. It wasn’t like I didn’t warn them. I made it known what would happen if they chose not to listen. They’re the ones who couldn’t put aside their greed for anything else. Idiots.

“I guess..” I leaned back against the pillows. I felt numb inside. Like I was buzzed without actually drinking anything to make me that way. “It still doesn’t change the fact I’m an unstable fluke.”

I heard Marianne sigh. I felt guilty, but only for a brief moment as the bed shifted, becoming lighter. I watched her pick up my empty glass from the nightstand and look at me with sad eyes. I wish she wouldn’t look at me like that.. It only made me feel worse.

“I know I can’t change how you feel about yourself. You’re stubborn, which is.. both good and.. not so good. I just..wish you could show yourself some mercy for once. You’re not as horrible as you think you are, darling.”

Her footsteps sounded across the carpet, the light from the hallway slightly blocked by her silhouette. She gave me a small smile, making me feel sick.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

She left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I found myself staring up at the ceiling. My eyes burned a bit. I was so ungrateful. She was only trying to make me feel better, and here I was, taking it for granted. My already sullen mood was becoming worse at the notion.

“God, I’m such a fucking moron..” I whispered to myself, pulling at my hair until it began to sting. I felt hollow inside my chest.

Maybe I really didn’t deserve her understanding.

[jkknight98]

What are the circumstances where sbi would nom Tommy in friends in the walls? Is it something Tommy just finds comforting or do they Wilbur just see him smol sometimes and just grab and nom = ')

give us nomf scenarios pls I beg

Ok, I'm always happy to please, I'll do a very wholesome scenario first. It's going to be completely unedited so if you see any mistakes, no you didn't~

The first time Tommy got nommed properly was by Phil of all people ( he had been licked by both Wilbur and Techno by this point in time, but never fully swallowed until this point). This is not long after the boy had been adopted (possibly a year and a half or so) into the family and they have grown used to his size-changing antics.

Tommy yelped loudly as a rumble of thunder shook the whole house, his body forcefully shrinking as a way to hide away from the horrible noise, but it only made the sounds louder. He could only whine quietly to himself as he huddle in the giant yellow sweater Wilbur had left behind... Why did he and Techno go out tonight of all nights. He let out another loud scream as the next crash of thunder made the entire house grow dark, only being lit up by another flash of lightning.

He Couldn't help but curl tighter into the soft fabric, breathing in the comforting scent as he tried to calm his racing heart, but his head shot up as the door to his room opened and soft candlelight lit up the face of his adoptive father," Tommy mate, are you alright? This weather has been pretty rough." The avian giant look around the room in confusion as he tried to find the normally tall teenager, but as the eyes landed on the crumbled sweater, they quickly softened as the man let out a gentle croon as he leaned forward," it's alright mate, I'm here."

When the giant hand was laid before him, it took no time at all for Tommy to launch himself into its comforting warmth, especially when another boom shook the house. " It's too loud Phil, I miss Will and Techno." If the latter were here, the piglin hybrid could make a low rumbling noise that would block out the sound, and Wilbur would let him into his mouth as he hummed out different songs.....Birds didn't do either of those.

Phil hummed softly as he held the boy close to his chest, gently curling the fingers over him to shield him away from the sounds, but it didn't help as the small boy flinched again. It's not like he could just shove him in a pocket to muffle the sounds of the storm, he might suffocate or get crushed if Phil got distracted. A low rumble echoed from his core as he gave a light curse, he was just about to start dinner for him and his youngest before the power was knocked out, he could work on some snacks for the two of them.. wait... he could solve two stones with this.

Tommy was a bit frightened when Phil first proposed the question to him, sure he had been held in both of his brother's mouths before, Wilbur was especially fond of doing it. But after accepting that his father wouldn't hurt him and that both of their biologies would keep him safe, he couldn't help but be in wonder. The swallowing part may have been uncomfortable but being inside was a whole new experience. It was less wet than the mouth was but way warmer as the walls gently pressed into him with every breath that Phil took, and tighter when the man pressed in to check on him. The best thing was how nothing could get him here without going through layers of overly protective birdman, the storm raging outside was an afterthought as all he could hear was Phil's heart and lungs. The loud pounding led his own heart to follow in rhythm and he felt himself grow slightly to better be in contact with the walls ( much to Phil's surprise and soft teasing) and let himself drift off into a well-deserved nap after a stressful night.

It's safe to say that when both brothers returned home sopping wet from the rain, they were both concerned for their brother and extremely jealous of their father.