#fun fact i am outside touching grass and there are bugs on me and it really fuels the hybrid brainrot

[vern-a]

WOOOOO LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO

Foolish hangs out during bird bath time sometimes. Hes not really bathing just vibing there.

The humans get pulled into nap time/ preening sessions/ bath times all the time. Theyre a little confused and clumsy about them but its good bonding time and theyre having fun.

(A good thought: jaiden taught roier how to preen her wings and when spiderbit got married cellbit was very excited to learn it too they are a family your honour)

The little flutterwings are good for flight practice for when their own wings grow stronger

You know how baby goats love climbing? And when you crouch they will climb on you? So egg coded <3

Forever getting head pats and belly rubs. Thats it thats the tweet.

Everything abour slimes in this post.

(Also thought this was about slimecicle but it wasnt. Anyway slimecicle)

Roier webbing up people who annoy him

Roier webbing up the eggs and hanging them upside down because they find it fun

The birds sleep in beds, usually, but sometimes the nest jitteries happen and they pile random stuff from their house on the floor or couch. Its nest time babey

Also just. Getting sniffed by the hybrids all the time. The hybrids do it for hybrid reasons, and the humans are used to it, but sometimes the hybrids will sniff someone, pull a face and not say anything on purpose, just to fuck with them

Now unleash your wisdom upon me i am completely normal and sane about this :)

I love having non-human headcanons for the qsmp members, especially for silly dumb reasons

I’m just saying, the image I just got of Roier trying to do a courtship dance for Cellbit and Cellbit not knowing wtf he’s doing bc they’re totally different animals is pretty funny

Or, I’ve had this idea for a while now, all the ones with wings gently tapping on the eggs or even each other as a sign of greeting.

Example: Bad goes to see Philza and they stand side by side and lightly touch their wings together, like a handshake almost! This could be done with tails too, that’s be cute,,,

Lmao Foolish’s love language being just straight up biting, Baghera and Quackity going into water yet somehow come out fully dry, AUGH THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEAAAAA

Or all the hybrids going up to people and softly head-butting them for attention, and then the eggs pick up on it and now they’ve started gently bumping into people to get their attention ahhh,,,, this is adorable,,,

[theseathatsparkles]

On Bugs

so for creative writing class we were told to imitate Amy Dillard’s writing style. This is the essay on bugs that I ended up making. Not Bleach, I know, but I thought someone might enjoy it. 

This took so long to write oh my god ;-;

also, I am fully aware that not all insects are bugs, and that spiders aren’t either of the two, but. bug is much more fun to say.

Word count - 1500 on the dot

@despairforme THE BUG ESSAY. IT’S HERE. @onenicebugperday you inspired me to write a four page essay about bugs i hope you’re happy

When I was in third grade, I dropped a dandelion down the back of my classmate’s shirt. She was upset, having thought the rather inconspicuous dandelion was a daddy long-legs spider. She’d screamed, slapped me on the chest in an attempt to escape her arachnid harasser, and had decided to wage war against me for the rest of our time together in school.

I never was afraid of spiders the way she was. Spiders and snakes and all sorts of bugs, so long as I could be assured they weren't poisonous, had always held a special place in my heart - and, more often than not, my hand. Growing up in woody, wet Germany gave me a healthy dosage of ladybugs, crickets, and snails at a young age, and I never looked at a bug with anything other than fascination. 

It’s the middle of winter, now. There aren’t many bugs around. Forty-two little silhouettes in the light above my desk, but none of them move, empty exoskeletons like shells. They’re probably dry, and if I touched one I’m sure it would crumble under my fingers. There seem to be more of them every time I look up; it’s the middle of winter, so the warmth of the indoors must be especially tantalizing. Right now, there isn’t any wind outside, but the world seems to be painted in shades of grey. Even looking outside makes you feel cold, and the drifts of iced-over snow outside of the window just emphasize this.

I have mixed feelings about winter. I love the snow, love having an excuse to stay inside wrapped in blankets on the days I don’t have school. I love that there aren’t mosquitoes to follow me around - I must taste good to them, since they always seem to swarm me. But the lack of the bugs I do like - spiders, caterpillars, grasshoppers, even the jeweled dragonflies that swarm our canoes in summer - makes winter feel especially harsh. 

When I’m feeling more grey than usual, I turn to the internet to soothe me. My computer has a tab open - one nice bug per day. The third picture that appears on image search is a gorgeous skeleton leaf moth, the row under that containing a domino cuckoo bee. I smile, looking at the pictures.  A photo of a hissing cockroach wearing a tiny paper party hat jumps out at me, curled around a leaf. I click on the picture, save it to my gmail by emailing it to myself. I’ll take some time to admire them later.

The bigger the bug the better, of course. Small bugs are hard to track, and the idea of one getting somewhere without me knowing about it gives me chills. That’s probably why I hate ants; they swarm up your legs and into your shoes and socks and it takes far too long to extract them all, and you feel phantom itches on your body for the next day or so. 

The fear of ants is called myrmecophobia, and often goes hand-in-hand with entomophobia - the fear of insects. When I was young - still in Elementary school, at a time before my decision to quit soccer - I’d practice with my mom in the field a bit southeast of the elementary school tucked at the base of the mountain pass. The playground had been north of us. I always wanted to go back to the playground. The whole complex had been a good half hour’s drive from my house, so we didn’t go there often, but it had an excellent jungle gym and some new swings. It got hot easily, out there under the sun; if I didn’t bring water, the ninety-degree weather would feel twenty degrees hotter, the sort of heat that makes you lightheaded and grumpy. 

But my mom had told me to play soccer, and she wasn’t the sort of person who you could say no to easily. I tried, of course, in futile attempts that would end with me in tears and my mom seething, but always ended up on that field, kicking the ball back and forth as my mom chastised me for skipping to the goal. Skipping, apparently, was slower than running.

 I’d hated soccer. 

It was one of those days that solidified my fear of ants. Wyoming doesn’t have fire ants or most other nasty biting bugs, so I was never in real danger, but that didn’t stop the whole experience from being traumatic. My mom, of course, had laughed about it later; it seems to be a habit of adults to take the irrational fears of children lightly. The ants crawling up my leg had probably been just as afraid of me as I was of them, but knowing that didn’t help any. Adults will tell you that the shark that bit off your arm was just as afraid of you as you were of it, but that doesn’t change the fact that your arm’s gone. 

I’d been unlucky enough to step right in an ant nest, the sort that stays hidden by the short grass until something, or someone, disturbs it. It hadn’t looked different from the regular ground from my five feet, but the moment I felt a tickle on my leg, I knew. 

I’d screamed. I think anyone would have screamed when confronted with one of their worst fears, so I never was ashamed of my reaction, even if I’d hated the exasperation and faint amusement on my mom’s face. The ants had come right off, lady fortune smiling on me that day, and I hadn’t found any tiny ant corpses in my shoes when I took them off that afternoon - a rarity; ants always seem to turn up in unexpected places post-encounter. I’d been paranoid, though, and had hopped around on one foot until I was a safe distance from the nest before shoving my hands down my socks to search for any lone ants. There were none.

I refused to resume play until I was positive there were no ants on me, of course. Even when we started the game again I was wary, taking light steps and watching the ground like a hawk for any sign of another insect. It had taken the fun out of the game pretty quickly, and we went home soon after.

The internet goes out for a moment, and the photo of the mantis I’m looking at shifts to a grey screen. I frown, take a second to stand up and stretch. My legs and shoulders are especially sore. By the time I sit down again, my picture has loaded again, and I scroll to the left to see a swallowtail butterfly looking out of the screen at me. They have yellow fur around their eyes and antennae, and look vaguely curious. This picture also goes to my saved folder to look at later, and I keep scrolling.

When I was in second grade, we studied bugs in science class. Not extensively; there’s only so much work you can get done as a scatterbrained second grader, and bugs weren’t on the top of my list of priorities. But we studied them, and after a few weeks our teacher imported seven Madagascar hissing cockroaches to be our class pets.

Nobody in my class was afraid of them; I think we were too young to be afraid of something as hideously cute as those little insects. They remind me of pugs now, disgusting in the sort of way that makes you want to coo over them. We’d kept them in a little glass terrarium in the back of the classroom, and took them out during lunch break and sometimes to sketch them during art. Our teacher had told us how to tell the males and females apart, but the information had gone straight in ear and out the other, like water through a sieve. There are two things I can remember about them now: first, that they would shed their skins sometimes and we’d have to clean out their terrarium; second, that if you poked their heads, they’d hiss.

The second thing was the most important to my little second-grade brain. My classmates and I took great satisfaction in poking the cockroaches and watching them puff up and make little hissing sounds like air coming out of a tire. They’d always make their funny wheezing sound, and we’d sit there for minutes on end - the longest amount of time our young minds could stay on track for - and tap them, giggling uncontrollably as they got progressively more frustrated.

I like bugs. I’m no entomologist, I would never spend my days in the wild watching them through magnifying glasses. But I still like them. Their colors remind me of spring and summer, and I love their size - perfect to pick up and put on a fingertip. They’re much more simple than people, never worried about money or jobs or politics. They have no worries, no fears.

I would love to be a bug.

[gaylotusthatexists]

ten minutes

pairing: intruloceit

summary: Logan’s boyfriends, Janus and Remus, drag him out to a pool. This is not something that Logan wants.

trigger warnings: sympathetic janus and remus, casual discussion of murder (jokingly), please let me know if i need to add anything

word count: 920

a/n: day thirteen!!! today’s prompt was ‘fun in the sun’ and once again i am projecting onto logan haha, i hope y’all enjoy this ^^

ao3

Logan sat at the side of the pool, reading a book as usual. His boyfriends had dragged him out to the local pool, since it was summer and he apparently needed to get out more, get some sun. Logan didn't really understand the appeal of swimming or sitting the sun - all it did was get him wet or sunburnt respectively, neither of which he particularly cared for. But, his boyfriends had both thought this would be good for him, and of course he'd never refuse an offer to hang out with the two of them, even if he wasn't exactly talking to them as they were both in the pool and he was sat safely on the side. In all honestly, Logan was quite happy to be alone with his book - being outside was nice in a way, peaceful almost.

That was, until Janus climbed out the pool and came to sit besides him, his hair stuck to his forehead and skin almost sparking in the sunlight. Logan tried his best to remain calm upon seeing his boyfriend shirtless - it wasn't as if this was the first time he'd seen him shirtless, but he'd never seen him get out of a pool before. Logan shuffled a little away from Janus, further under the shade, and cleared his throat.

"If you touch me whilst you're wet, I will not hesitate to kill you," he said, slowly placing his book down.

Janus smirked. "You don't have the guts to kill me."

"Says who?"

"Logan, you won't even kill a spider."

"Spiders are very valuable to our ecosystem, Janus," Logan argued, "and they don't do anything to harm us. Do you want the house to be filled with flies?"

Janus just continued to smile, fondly. "You should come in the pool," he said, changing the conversation.

Logan grimaced. "No thank you."

"Why not?"

"Firstly, I'm not a massive fan of getting wet," he began. "Secondly, public pools are incredibly unhygienic. Thirdly, I know for a fact that Remus will immediately splash me in the face and I do not care for that at all. Fourthly-"

"Okay, okay." Janus sighed. "Just for fifteen minutes. It seems a waste if you come here and don't even go for a little swim."

"I'm quite happy sat reading in the shade," Logan said. "Honestly, it's worth me coming here just to see you two having fun."

"Yeah, but we want you to have fun as well."

Logan sighed. "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

"Nope."

He stared at Janus for a moment longer, in consideration.

"You can keep your shirt on, if you want," Janus said. "I promise not to splash you. I'm sure Remus can control himself enough for me to explain to him that you don't want to be splashed."

Logan drummed his fingers on his legs. "Alright. I'll give you ten minutes."

"Fifteen?"

"Ten," he reiterated.

"Alright, fine. Ten."

Janus grinned. The two stood up and made their way to the side of the pool, Janus getting straight in but Logan starting by just sitting on the edge, his feet only just in the cold, cold water. He stared down, noticing a few pieces of grass and dead bugs floating around - gross. He also glanced around at the amount of kids swimming around, not exactly the cleanest of people either. But he'd already made his decision, and he didn't want to disappoint either of his boyfriends.

"C'mon, Logan!" Janus called, from a few metres into the pool. "Just jump in!"

Logan groaned. This was not what he'd been wanting to do with his weekend. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly lowered himself into the pool, cringing again at the cold water. He feet touched the ground, the water going up to his waist - Logan was taller than both of his boyfriends, with the water at Janus neck and Remus' armpits, although he imagined both of them were sunk a little further into the water whilst he was stood up straight. He slowly waded his way towards them, arms up in the air and refusing to touch the water. He could do this. Just ten minutes, then he could dry off his legs and get back to reading.

He felt someone collide against him and he stumbled down into the water with a splash, head going underneath the water for a terrifying second. He reemerged from the water, gasping for air, and noticed Remus latched onto his side, a manic grin across his face. "Logan!"

Logan pushed himself away from Remus, trying to recompose himself. The water was now up to his shoulders, as he now crouched rather than stood straight, and his hair was soaking wet. Everything was blurry - he'd left his glasses at the side, and could now barely make out Remus' face just centimetres in front of his. Well, this was just perfect.

"Remus, I'm going to murder you," Logan said, monotonously.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Remus retorted, grinning widely and swimming away.

Logan swam to catch up with him, tackling him into the water as well, a taste of his own medicine. Remus didn't seem angry or annoyed - he was giggling, playing, splashing Logan. And Logan was splashing back. Janus joined the fight, all three soon exploding into a fit of giggles, and eventually hugs and kisses in the water, playing games and racing and perhaps having a little more fun than Logan had expected.

And maybe Logan stayed in a little longer than ten minutes.

[an-absolute-travesty]

Royal Screw-Ups

It’s time, the final chapter is here 

*Sobbing*

I won’t get too sappy on you guys here, since I got pretty sappy at the end of thing on Wattpad

But yeah. Thanks if you’ve been reading this long. I have more plans for this world (i have some plans for a few oneshots) but for this moment, we are closing out this story

If you’re looking for the rest of the story, it can be found on my wattpad @ohwowhatethis, under the tags “kotlc fic” and “keefex” on my blog, or under the cut on my pinned post

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed, just for this story or as a whole): @you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42​ @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e

Chapter 8:

Word count: 3,677

Warnings: swearing, cassi-ass being an ass, destruction, fire, chaos, etc.

Three months of planning later, servants scurried around the property in preparation for the ceremony the next day. A glass dome had been built in the center of the property to house it.

Tam and Linh had arrived soon after they had their first meeting, luckily Tam and Fitz weren’t as lovey-dovey in real life as they were in their letters. However, Marella and Linh very much made up for it. The moment they met the guard and the princess had a connection, the sweet talk was almost too much to bear.  

In fact, all of them had grown quite close over the past months. Who knew low-level treason could bring people together so. 

Of course, not nearly as close as he’d like with a certain person, but closer for sure. Every week they met back up at the library to work out bumps in their plan, clean up the absurd amount of paper Keefe used in drawing out his first plan, or just sit and talk. Today would be their last before the big day. 

Keefe watched over Dex’s shoulder as he made his final tinkers on the device he had been working on.  

“How’s it looking Techmaster?”

“Eh, having more metal makes everything easier but...it’s one use only, so I can’t test it. We just have to hope for the best.”

“Well, I have faith in you. Your genius brain could make anything.”

Dex rolled his eyes. Keefe wanted to subtly touch him to see if his blatant flirting had been noticed, but it felt wrong to. He had been stuck in the dark for the last 3 months. 

Everyone else ran their lines around the room. Everyone besides Sophie who, as typical of her, looked half way sick in the corner. 

Keefe sat down next to her on the floor.

“Alright, what’s up Foster, have you acquired a stomach bug?” 

She giggled. “No...it’s just…” She sighed. “It feels wrong, y’know? I mean...I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You’re really doing the opposite of hurting people though, I mean you’re making them happy.”

“Not happy, hysterical. Yeah it can be happy, but not in the way we’re doing it. Trust me, it’s not fun to watch.”

Keefe thought for a moment.

“Hey...your parents have that griffin, right?”

~*~

The sound of a wedding march echoed through the castle lawn as Sophie was led down the isle by her father. Keefe guessed she looked quite lovely in her dress, Biana, who stood as her maid of honor, was looking at her more like a husband would than him. He stood frozen at the alter, Fitz beside him as his best man and everyone else interspersed within the crowd for optimal dramatic effect. 

Sophie reached him at long last. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t look sickly this time. Her face steeled with determination gave him confidence. 

The guy marrying them together was one of Cassius’ officials. Keefe didn’t bother to remember most names anymore, but this one was a...Moland? Noland? Something like that. 

Everyone winced in unison as the man started talking, Keefe’s ears began to ring a bit at the volume.

“Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of our young Prince Keefe Sencen and the lovely Miss Sophie Foster-Ruewen.”

Keefe only realized he was fidgeting when Fitz subtly reached out and held his hand down from where it had been tapping on his leg.

“We are honored to be joined by so many friends and family. The Goom and Bride are overjoyed you all could be here to participate in this most important occasion.

“There are few greater joys in life than finding someone we truly connect with. Creatives have many names for this, a spark, clicking, but let us say today what it truly is: love.”

Keefe looked out into the crowd, he caught the eye of Dex. The redhead’s brow was crinkled and his cheeks flushed slightly. He pat the pocket of his coat in confirmation. 

“Love is what these two young souls have found in each other. In love, our truest selves are revealed. We open ourselves up and break down our walls. The veil we present to the public is lifted so we can be loved for who we are, not who we pretend to be.”

Keefe struggled to not roll his eyes. He took a final look around the room, each person nodding as he met eyes with them.

“Over these months, our Bride and Groom have developed a strong bond. This bond will only get stronger throughout the course of their marriage. Let us revel in the joy and love displayed in front of us today. May we treasure these memories as Prince Keefe and Miss Sophie get set to begin their new life together.”

Keefe took a deep breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth.

“If anyone has cause to object the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

3, 2, 1…

“I object!” 

0.

Stina first. “This marriage was meant to be mine! She’s just a dirty commoner!”

“How dare you!” Fitz cut in before anyone else could. “I object because I love her! Sophie is meant to be with me. Maruca has admitted her love to Keefe, let her marry him!”

Biana gasped dramatically. “Maruca you snake! You knew I loved him.”

“You only loved his title!” She screamed, standing up to match the rest. “And Fitz, if you’re so concerned with what Stina has to say about Sophie, you should hear what Wylie has to say.”

Fitz walked in Wylie’s direction and he stood. “Why you little-”

Just then, Keefe heard it. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.

BOOM.

An explosion burst a small part of the glass dome’s ceiling. Sophie let out an ear-splitting whistle and the griffin flew straight through the hole as the glass fell. Screams erupted through the room as the animal landed on chairs and destroyed the alter. 

The screams only got louder as the room was lit up as bright as the sun before swiftly being plunged into darkness. Those involved in the plan used the opportunity to gather themselves at the exit. With the exception of Biana and Marella who, if all went as planned, stood prepared by the very flammable reception tables. 

The darkness lifted and people quickly ran out, some of the more stuck up nobles guided by guards. Once everyone was out safely, Keefe watched as a red glow started and grew. Marella wasn’t visible, but anyone paying attention could see the two sets of footprints forming in the grass.

People ran farther from the dome swiftly filling with fire. It spread quickly, but before it could reach the outside, Linh yelled. 

“Everyone back up!”

She pulled water from a nearby pond, making a large wave that, while it put out the fires, crushed the dome in its entirety. 

~*~

Two hours later, the guests sat huddled in the ballroom of the castle, many wrapped in blankets and eating soup the kitchen served to recover from what they had been through. Through the window, Keefe saw the Ruewen parents attempting to calm their griffin after taking a long time to wrangle it. 

They were good at keeping secrets, they brought the animal here in the first place. 

Just as he started crossing the room to go talk to Dex, he felt a heavy hand grip his shoulder.

Cassius looked at him with a glare that could kill ten men. He wordlessly guided Keefe in the direction of his office and the prince obliged. 

When Keefe walked in the door, it was messier than he had ever seen it. Even his father himself was disheveled, his typically slick-backed hair uncharacteristically sloppy and his tunic smudged with soot. He sat down at his desk and heaved a sigh.  

“Do you know why I brought you in here?” 

“Because my wedding was destroyed?”

“Because we are going to plan a new one. I need you to collect everyone who had objections to get this idiotic drama cleared for the records. I’ve sent for Councillor Bronte, he can officiate you. You will have a wedding today, whether you get the ceremony or not.”

“One problem with that, Biana and Marella haven’t been found.”

Technically the truth. They were to hide in the Queen’s Gardens until further notice, but the Guard Force didn’t know that. 

Cassius was silent for a moment, his face hidden in his hands.

Then he started convulsing.

No, not convulsing.

Laughing.

“Of course!” He got up from his chair in one movement. “Of course they haven’t been found! Why am I even surprised anymore.” He threw his hands in the air. “Nothing ever goes right!” He spoke through his teeth as he pushed everything off of his desk.

“MY MARRIAGE” He cleared a bookshelf with one arm, dumping the junk to the ground. 

“MY LEADERSHIP!” He knocked over his chair.

“MY SON!” He grabbed the painting from the wall and threw it down. 

“ALL DISAPPOINTMENTS!” He pushed over his desk, it landed with a loud crash.

“And now this too? Nothing ever goes right! No matter how hard I try! No matter how much work I put in! Everything ends in failure!”

“It’s a good thing this was my wedding and not yours then.”

The door behind them opened without a knock. 

“King Cassius, is this a bad time?” Bronte looked at the office with contempt. 

“No, now works.”

Despite not being formally invited in, Bronte sat down on the overturned desk and pulled out a folder of paperwork. 

“So...we’re trying to do an emergency wedding, yes?”

Cassius nodded.

“And from my understanding, there were 1,2...4 objections that haven’t been cleared?”

Cassius nodded again.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t perform a wedding. Legally or morally considering the fact that fate itself seems against this union. It is traditional, when a wedding goes so badly, to accept that something in the universe is not accepting of the marriage and call it off.”

“I understand, Councillor. However, I am the goddamned king and you will do as I say!

Bronte was unfazed.

“Actually sir, with only a month until the coronation you have resigned some of your duties, as is customary. You don’t have full control over the law at the moment, you signed a contract.”

He pulled said contract out of his pocket, displaying the signature, before putting it back in.

“Prince Keefe and you now have split control, as you had when you had a spouse. You both must agree if you are to override a law.”

Cassius hid his face once again.

“Go. Get out of my sight.”

Keefe turned to leave but his father grabbed him.

“Just Bronte.”

The man shrugged and closed the door behind him.

“Keefe...do you know why I was so eager to get you in as king?”

Keefe said nothing. That was one thing he couldn’t figure out himself. 

“I am a shitty, shitty, king. I was never made to rule. Your mother? Yes. Yes she was. Me? No. Not at all. I thought I could do this job, I thought it would be cushy, I thought I’d have all the power in the kingdom as well as riches upon riches without having to work. I was wrong.

“I wanted to train you to do this better than I ever could. I wanted to make sure you were going to be prepared.”

“No.” Keefe’s eyes started to water in anger. “You wanted to train me up to take your job as soon as possible. You didn’t want the responsibility so you decided to hand it off to your child. It’s just like...it’s just like Mom. You were the judge and the jury but you were too much of a coward to be the executioner or even a mourner. You hand off all your problems for someone else to deal with. You’re a fucking coward and nothing else.”

“I cared Keefe!-”

“NO YOU DIDN’T.” Tears streamed down his face. “You never cared about me, you never cared about Mom, you never cared for anything or anybody but yourself. 

“I don’t love Sophie and I never will, but you tried to make me marry her because you loved the idea of the strong son with a quiet woman. That shows how much you care.”

“It was what I thought was best.”

“WELL YOU WERE WRONG.”

Keefe walked out and slammed the door. 

~*~

Keefe went to his room and sobbed. He rarely indulged himself in crying but today was one of the days he let himself. It was maybe an hour later, when he was out of tears and just laid staring up at his ceiling, that he heard a knock on the door.

When he opened it, no one stood there. Just a small note in scratchy handwriting. 

“Meet us at the library, midnight”

~*~

Keefe carefully sneaked through the castle halls, only the candle he held lit his way. He slowly cracked open the library door.

“SURPRISE!”

Suddenly a whole group of people attacked him in a hug, rainbow lights filled the normally dull room. 

“W-what is all this?”

“It’s a surprise party silly!” For the first time since he’d seen her, Sophie looked truly happy. “We don’t have to get married! And we got out of it without any serious injuries.”

Fitz pulled him over to a table. “C’mon, Bi stole some leftover cake no one ate from the kitchens.”

He looked around for Dex hoping to see his beaming smile and instead saw him sitting solemnly in the corner. He didn’t look Keefe’s way. 

“Hey Fee, are you okay?” Apparently Fitz just now noticed his still puffy face.

“Yeah um...just my dad being a jerk again. Don’t worry about it.”

Fitz shrugged it off, he knew about jerky dads.

Or he used to, anyway. That bastard Alden ran away a long time ago. 

Keefe tried to partake in the festivities but he found it hard. He was going to be king in a month, and hopefully a good one at that. Just about anything was better than Cassius. He should be celebrating right now. But...there was still something bothering him. 

It was approaching the wee hours of the morning as people slowly trickled out. Wylie had long since dropped the rainbow lights. They had been celebrating for hours, Dex was silent nearly the whole time. 

“Alright.” Fitz said through a yawn. “I’m tapping out. Night Fee. Last one standing has to clean everything up.”

Keefe nodded. When he finally left the room and they were all alone, he approached Dex. Still silent in the corner.

“Okay, what’s going on Techmaster? You seem down.”

“No it’s just...it’s hard to explain.”

“Take your time, if you’d like.” Keefe sat down criss cross in front of him.

His lips went pouty in a way that made Keefe realize he was staring at his lips.

“You’ll think I’m weird. And clingy. And jealous. Honestly I shouldn’t even be saying any of this right now but I make bad decisions at 3 A.M. I guess.”

“Hey, you can tell me anything.” Keefe started to reach his hand out to Dex before remembering he shouldn’t read his emotions. Dex grabbed it before he could pull away. A lot of sadness and hurt there. He quickly stopped reading, though their hands stayed locked. 

“It’s just...there’s this person. This guy. And...and I thought maybe he liked me but now I think he has a boyfriend. I’m not sure though.”

Keefe’s heart dropped. “Well...boyfriend status can be changed.”

Dex chuckled. “I don’t know, they have nicknames for each other and everything.”

“Sounds serious.”

“Looks serious.”

It was silent for a moment, then Dex spoke.

“Look...don’t worry about it, alright? It’s really no big deal. I’ll get over it, I guess.”

“Maybe he likes you back.”

“I highly doubt it. I’m...I’m not good enough for him. I’m just a servant. He deserves someone better.”

“Why does being a servant mean you’re bad? I’ve met some nobles that are real assholes. You’re way better than all of those fuckers.”

Dex laughed again, wow Keefe could listen to that forever. 

Dex sighed. “You know what? Screw it.”

He seemed to steel himself before saying his next sentence. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. 

“Are you dating Fitz?”

“What?” Keefe laughed awkwardly. “No, no, no. He’s just a friend.”

“Oh. Then...who were you talking about at the gardens? I- I thought it was Fitz and you guys got together and-”

“No, goodness no. Fitz is great and all but...well he’s just not my type. And he’s been dating Tam for a while now.”

“Oh I uh...I didn’t notice.” Dex’s face flushed furiously. “Who were you talking about then?”

Keefe met his eyes. “Depends, who were you talking about?”

He didn’t answer but his silence spoke more than any words could.

Keefe scooted closer and cupped Dex’s face in his hand. He looked into the boys periwinkle eyes.

“Dex, can I kiss you?”

“Please?”

And they did.

When Keefe heard descriptions of kissing the same gender, they always said that it felt wrong somehow. But this...this only felt right. Like he had been waiting his whole life for the moment when he met the gardener boy’s cracked lips. They weren’t soft, and the kiss was a bit awkward, but it just felt...correct. Keefe chased the kiss slightly when they finally had to pull away. 

A shy smile spread across Dex’s face.

Keefe leaned back in.

~*~

Keefe walked out onto the newly-built stage in front of the castle and looked upon his people. His ceremonial robe was itchy and too large for him.

Cassius was no where to be seen. He had just...run away. The day of the wedding was the day he broke. The kingdom had been sovereignless for the last month, coronations couldn't be rushed. 

Typically the previous king would place the crown upon the head of the new ruler. Because Cassius seemed to run away in the night with nothing more than a clump of riches, Keefe got to choose who would crown him. 

“Friends and subjects of the Kingdom of Eternalia,” Oralie started. “Today, we crown a new ruler. A ruler to put the people first. A ruler who will not sleep until every one of his people is fed. A ruler to unite us.”

Keefe never realized how long winded Oralie was. Looking into the crowd, he spotted Sophie. She wore a sour expression.

Sophie never was a fan of Oralie, she wouldn’t tell him why. 

“Prince Keefe has shown a care for his people deeper than any king before him.”

She could say that again. Keefe found Dex in the crowd, absolutely beaming.

“In the time I have had the honor of teaching him in my lessons, he has shown a willingness to learn. An ability to adapt. And a knowledge of the system as well as its successes and failures deeper than anyone else his age.

And yes, it is truly a shame that a king must be crowned this young, but I have no doubt that in time he will do right by our great kingdom.”

Oralie walked over to him, her pink flowy dress trailing behind her. She picked up the ceremonial crown off the pillow that a servant was holding.

“Prince Keefe of Eternalia, do you promise to uphold the law and do what is right for your people to the best of you abilities?”

“I do.”

“And do you promise to preserve the honor of our nation?”

“I do.”

A loud voice came from the crowd.

“AND DO YOU PROMISE TO NOT LET CASSI-ASS BACK INTO THE THRONE ROOM?” Keefe could tell it was Marella, but no one else had to know that.

He cracked a smile. “I do.”

Oralie chuckled too.

“In that case, Keefe Sencen of Eternalia, with this crown I deem you King of Eternalia. May you have a long and peaceful reign.”

The heavy crown was placed upon his head. The crowd cheered and chanted, his friends yelled the loudest. Keefe saw as Fitz lifted Biana on his shoulders, they all hugged and screamed excitedly. 

Who he noticed most of all was Dex. His bright smile in that moment was worth everything he’d been through. 

Maybe he had found someone he didn’t mind being with.

~*~

Like most days, it was a somewhat quiet day at the castle. 

Keefe looked up from his painting to study the gardens, once called the Queen’s Gardens, but that was ages ago. The wall that once surrounded the beautiful landscape was knocked down a very long time ago. 

Keefe smiled as he spotted Dex tending to some ivy that had grown on one of the ancient statues. Even being a king couldn’t keep his husband from assisting the gardeners. 

Tomorrow, some old friends were visiting. That in itself wasn’t particularly special, as they visited at least twice a year (usually more), but tomorrow was special because it was the anniversary of the Great Wedding Destruction as historians had come to call it. 

How many years had it been? 300? 400? One tends to forget. 

After 50 years or so, they admitted to planning the whole event. By then, Keefe had already convened with the councillors to pass same gender marriage and gotten married to Dex. The law couldn’t exactly do much, it had been a while and no one was injured so any fear of being charged with treason was history.

A few minutes later, Dex trudged into Keefe’s art studio. 

“Hey lovey, do you know where I put the high-power garden clippers?”

“I hope in your lab, but you might want to check the kitchens.”

“Why would they be in the kitchens?”

“Heard some buzzing coming from there and last time I saw the nieces they had frosting all over their faces.”

Chaos ran in the Dizznee family. 

Dex sighed as they heard a loud bang followed by an “Oops.” from downstairs. 

“Gosh if Rex doesn’t pick up his children soon...I won’t do anything but I’ll be sour about it.”

Keefe chuckled. “You might want to go check on them, wouldn’t want them to break your invention. If they haven’t already.”

Dex hummed noncommittally. “Whatcha drawing?”  

“Just a boring landscape...that happens to include a dragon.”

Dex leaned over the easel. “It’s a very pretty boring landscape that happens to include a dragon.”

“Thank you very much, dearest.” Keefe leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Now you may want to actually check on the girls. I don’t think Elwin can heal severed fingers.”

“Yeah, okay.”

As he walked from the room that used to be Cassius’ office he yelled, “Emily! Leah! Please don’t be killing each other-”

Keefe just smiled. He did that a lot nowadays. 

He hoped these days would last forever.

[allfourthefoxes]

Thinking about twitch streamer Aaron and pro exy player Kevin

Aaron has mentioned having a boyfriend but he’s never shown his boyfriend or even ever said his name. It’s always just ‘my boyfriend’ and ‘he’. Aaron never even formally came out so it was a huge shock to everyone when he first mentioned it.

It was a pretty late stream but he wasn’t all that tired. He was taking a break to just talk to the chat when he gets a text. He picks his phone up and smiles softly. The chat keeps asking what he’s smiling at so he tells them.

“My boyfriend is out of town so he just texted me a disgustingly sweet goodnight message.” Aaron says casually.

The chat erupts with questions but he ignores them.

He’s not shy when it comes to mentioning his boyfriend. He just never shows him or says his name.

It’s a late night when Aaron hears a knock on the door to his streaming room. He jumps, not expecting the sound.

“Babe?” Kevin asks softly as he opens the door.

“Hey honey.” Aaron says, smiling softly up at Kevin who’s now approaching the chair.

“How’s your stream going?” Kevin asks, rubbing Aaron’s shoulder.

The chat is freaking out. All they can see is Kevin’s arm but it’s the most they’ve even seen of the elusive boyfriend.

“It’s good. I’m a little tired though. I’ll be done soon. Did you just get in?” Aaron asks.

“Yeah. I got you food.” Kevin says softly as he lifts a bag of takeout from Aaron’s favorite place. “You forget to eat sometimes.”

“Thanks love bug.” Aaron says, graciously accepting the food.

“I’ll let you work now.” Kevin says, bringing his hand up to stroke Aaron’s cheek.

“I’ll be done in like an hour. We can watch a movie?” Aaron suggests.

“I’d love to.” Kevin whispers before leaning down to kiss Aaron quickly.

The stream can now see his head but not his face, his head is tilted away from the camera when he kisses Aaron and his hair comes down in the way.

Kevin stands and waves a hand at the screen before leaving.

The chat is freaking out asking Aaron to bring him back. Aaron just goes on like normal.

It isn’t until the next day that Aaron’s fanbase find out who the mysterious boyfriend is.

While nobody in the stream really noticed or recognized the distinct tattoo on the boyfriend’s cheekbone the exy community could place it immediately.

With Aaron trending on Twitter along with pictures and videos from the screen it doesn’t take long for the exy community to identify Kevin for Aaron’s fanbase.

When Aaron streams the next day his chat is flooded with questions about Kevin

“Okay because all the messages in chat are about my boyfriend I’ll just answer the frequently asked ones right now. After that stop asking. We will say more if we want. We met in collage, we’ve been dating since our junior year of collage, do the math if you wanna know how long that is. I haven’t been intentionally keeping him a secret I just let him lead the way. He wanted to get on screen to kiss me last night so he did. We didn’t have a discussion about it outside of the fact that he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t to. Who asked who our first? My brother. He did it for us because we were quote, taking too long. Who tops and who bottoms? None of your fucking business you aren’t entitled to details of our relationship. Go outside, touch some grass, you’re being fucking weird. My sexuality? None of your business. Kevin has publicly stated his sexuality so if you want to know go find out. This channel isn’t about my boyfriend and me. I talk about him because I love him and he’s important to me but this isn’t a couple channel. He will come in here and sit with me if he wants but I won’t ask him to and you won’t either. Now, let’s play some Minecraft.”

The reaction is mixed. Kevin publicly came out as bi a few months ago so the reaction from his fans wasn’t very drastic. Same goes for Aaron since they’ve known he has a boyfriend for a while.

What bothers him most was the people bothering Kevin and the people sexualizing them or wanting intimate details of their relationship.

But, for all the creepy ‘fans’ there were at least ten defending the couple.

Kevin comes on stream every now and then, mostly just for a few minutes to say hi to Aaron or bring him something.

But one day he spends practically the whole stream with Aaron when he gets back from practice.

“Hey mom chou.” Kevin says sweetly as he enters the room.

“Mein schatz.” Aaron replies. “How was practice?” Aaron asks.

“My legs are killing me.” Kevin groans.

Aaron pulls a chair up next to him for Kevin. Kevin takes a seat and props his feet up in Aaron’s lap.

“Wanna play? I’ll massage your legs.” Aaron asks, passing Kevin the controller.

“I’m not a gamer.” Kevin points out.

“It’s Mario Kart. You’ll survive.” Aaron says dryly.

“Fine. I’ll entertain the masses with how bad I am.” Kevin jokes.

Kevin isn’t horrible but he isn’t all that good. Eventually he decides if he’s gonna be on stream he should be showing everyone his game. So, he pulls up some of his best games to show off to Aaron’s fans (they love it). He explains exy to them and Aaron loves how quickly Kevin gets comfortable on stream.

When they end the stream Aaron just looks at Kevin for a long time.

“What are you looking at.” Kevin asks eventually.

“I love you so much.” Aaron responds softly.

“I love you too.” Kevin whispers back.

Aaron’s fans love them too. It’s not all that often Kevin joins him like that but everyone always has fun when he does. Especially Kevin and Aaron.

[fairymadnessyeah]

Dragons and Oaths

Shigadabi week day 3

AO3 Link

Summary: For Tenko, moving out of the city was just another bad chapter in his sad, miserable life. But all of that changes when he meets Dabi.

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Cute / Mythology / Childhood

Tenko was sleeping when he heard the crash.

At first, he didn't move from where he was, under the covers of his bed. The sound had come from outside. It was dead at night, and after the crash, the only sound was the crickets outside. Tenko had heard the noise, so Oboro must have too. Oboro would take care of it, he was strong, and he always protected Tenko. After five minutes of complete silence, his curiosity won against his fear. He got out of his bed, his bare feet meeting the cold floor of his room and he peeked out his window. In his garden, a few meters away from the limiting woods, was a black and purple serpent-like dragon. The scaled creature was long and big. But it was hurt. He could see patches of dark liquid below it and the slow breathing of the monster.

Without thinking, his feet started moving on their own. He ran to the bathroom, where they keep their first aid kit, and then went out to help the dragon. His feet hit the wood as he runs outside. Before, he was half-believing it was still a dream. However, the moment he steps into the grass, he knows it isn't. There is a power emanating from the creature. It's overwhelming, but it amazes him nonetheless.

Now that he is closer, he can see that some parts of the dragon where the black scales seem to be burned off. Tenko, now with a better understanding of the problem, gets to work. He puts burn cream on the damaged areas and then covers it with a bandage. He concentrates on his task and gets so lost in it that, when he gets to the dragons head, he notices the creature's eye is open and watching him.

It's blue, and he can feel it piercing through his soul. It's cold and warm at the same time, and it almost looks like it's shining. Tenko doesn't know how much time he spent staring back at those blue sapphires. The moment is interrupted by Oboro calling his name from the house.

The dragon quickly looks back before flying back to the wood. Tenko feels the air rush next to him, ruffling his hair. Oboro steps out of the house a few seconds after, looking worried and scrambling to him, asking if he is okay.

After the encounter, he doesn't know what to tell him.

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Moving out of the city wasn't Tenko's choice.

Oboro had thought it would be good for them to get a change of scenery after the shit-storm they survived. Tenko had lost his family in a driving accident, and the man that caused it adopted him. He was a wealthy tycoon and, 'felt so bad about the incident' that he wanted to give Tenko a new home. That was the statement he realised to the press the real reason was that his company was going to release a new product and they couldn't risk the bad publicity. Oboro, or as he first met him, Kurogiri was his assistant and took most of the care for Tenko.

In reality, he was a cop undercover, trying to get enough evidence of Tenko's new adopted parent, illicit activities to put him behind bars. Which, he succeeded eventually. When everything was wrapped up, having grown attached to him, Oboro took him with him instead of letting him go to a foster home. There was a risk of affiliates seeking revenge and trying to achieve it through Oboro and Tenko, so they moved away from the city.

From big building and skyscrapers, now they had clear skies and open fields of their small rural town. Tenko couldn't say he loved it. Bugs were annoying, the Internet was always malfunctioning, and it was so quiet. The city always had a buzz of movement he had become accustomed to, police car sirens, trains, chatter in the street. Now, the most he heard was the wind blowing, rustling grass and leaves, or the hums of insects. Oboro had told him this place was said to be connected with the spirits, but he hadn't believed him.

Until the other night.

Tenko was sure he hadn't dreamt it. If not for the fact that Oboro found him outside one night, but for the half-empty jar of burn cream.

It had been so surreal.

Tenko had saved a real-life dragon. Or at least, he thought he had. After disappearing into the woods, he didn't see or hear it again. Though not for lack of trying. The woods, after his video games, was the only entertaining stuff about the place. It was like living in a fantasy game and him being the main character. He had to be more careful than he was in his games, however. He only had one life, and he couldn't restart it. No matter how much he wanted to.

He didn't know anything about the dragon until two nights later. He had just finished brushing his teeth and gotten ready for bed when a strong gush of wind opened his bedroom window. He went to close it, but when he looked out of it, he saw it again. The black dragon was back. It was posted on top of one of the trees and looking straight at him.

Then, the dragon zoomed towards him. Tenko ducked and closed his eyes as the dragon came inside, through his window. When he opened his eyes, there was no dragon, just a trail of blue flower petals and a boy his age. He had red hair and a black mompe. Shigaraki would have believed a stranger had come into his room if he hadn't crossed eyes with the boy. The piercing blue that locked into his very soul, the same blue the dragon had.

None of them said anything for a while. But then the boy-dragon moved. He kneeled down completely, his forehead touching the wood boards. "I am the eldest Spirit son of the fire dragon of the east, Todoroki Touya, also known as the protector Dabi," the boy said, not looking up. "You helped me in my time of need and saved my life," he raised his head and looked at his face. "I am forever in your debt, and I swear to protect you and be beside you, for now, and ever," he finishes and once again bows his head down.

'WHAT!?'

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Ever since then, the dragon became a constant in his life.

He only appeared at night, or when Tenko was alone. He didn't like people, especially adults. Whenever Oboro was near, or he talked about his teachers, Dabi got tense. He guessed it had something to do with his dad. Since the one time Dabi mentioned him, he snarled and growled.

At first, Tenko tried to get rid of him. He had asked Oboro about having a dog one day, and he said he would think about it. Tenko didn't think a dragon was an improvement from a puppy. So, he would close his windows and run away from the boy whenever he saw him. Trying to somehow, make the dragon understand he didn't want his protection. But, Dabi was relentless. He would sit outside his window and watch from a distance.

One day, after a bad nightmare, Tenko opened the window. They talked for hours until he fell asleep, the dragon holding him, and wiping his tears. Since then, his window was always open at night.

Dabi came from the spirit world. A place out there that he could barely imagine. He knew how to do magic, his area was blue fire spells, and he had three younger siblings. Tenko couldn't get enough of his stories, about him, his family, his home. He was really out of touch with technology, though. He jumped the first time he turned on the computer in his room. So Tenko spent most nights teaching him about video games and computers. Dabi wasn't very good at them, but he appreciated having a gaming partner after so long. However, the best part of the whole ordeal was the flying. Sometimes, when he was done with his homework and had a free afternoon, Tomura would slip into the woods, and the dragon would take him into the sky. The first time he asked, he expect Dabi to refuse and tell him he would never carry him. Instead, the smug bastard grinned and said: "Took you a while to ask,".

Flying was amazing. He loved feeling the wind in his face, the fast beating of his heart, the warmth of Dabi under his hands. There was nothing like it. Seeing the trees and houses look doll-size below them, it made him feel free. Up in the sky with Dabi, he was not afraid anymore, nor tense or anxious. It was as if the world itself disappeared, and only the blue sky was real.

Though while having a dragon protecting you was fun, it brought complications Tenko never expected.

One was the blue petals. Every time Dabi transformed back and forth into his human and dragon form, he left a trail of blue petals. He didn't mind them much, since they were proof to him that Dabi was real, that he didn't conjure him from his imagination. He was, however, tired of having to clean up after him. Every morning, Tenko would have to dump piles and piles of the stuff because of the dragon.

Another thing was Dabi's temper.

Tenko was used to kids making fun of him. He was new, pale and scratched beyond repair. He had learned to ignore bullies and keep to himself. Dabi, though, wasn't so forgiving. The first time he told Dabi about how a kid pushed him, which he got a scratch from, the dragon left that night earlier than usual. Tenko had thought he had said something wrong and made the dragon mad. But the next day, that same kid's family, found all of their harvest had gone bad in one night.

But that was the nicest case. One day, another kid played a prank on him, dropping trash water on top of him and Dabi burned their home. Nobody got hurt, but the kid swore that he saw a beast inside his house watching him as he destroyed the place. After that incident, he had to have a very serious discussion with Dabi about what he could do and not to other people.

As the month passed and the weather grew colder, Dabi became one of the highlights of his days. He looked forward to seeing him every night and fly with him whenever he could. Dabi had become more than just a dragon to him. He was the one who listened to him about the most mundane things. He was the one who brought him warmth in cold nights. He was the one who made him forget about the horrible world he was part of. He was the one who could make him smile with just a thought about him.

...

Too bad it came to an end so quickly.

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"Hey, Tenko! Could you come down for a moment?" Oboro called him from the living room.

Tenko, leaving his homework half done, went down the stair and found that his caretaker wasn't alone. Sitting in the couch, was Aizawa and Yamada with little Shinsou in between them asleep. The two men were Oboro's friend. Tenko only knew that they had gone to High School together and that Aizawa had worked alongside him to put bad guys under arrest. Tenko liked them. They were the closest he ever got to uncles and a cousin, even if Shinsou was too young to do anything fun.

"Hey, little listener!" Yamada greets him. "Why don't you sit down? We got good news!" he tells him, and the kid follows his instructions.

The three men share a look before Oboro starts talking. "We are clear, Ten," he smiles. "We can go back home,"

"B-back home?" he feels as if his world has been shattered into million pieces.

"Yeah!"

"You mean, we have to move? Away from here?"

"Yes, aren't you excited?" Oboro asks and gently caresses his shoulder.

"No!" Tenko snaps, his eyes getting wet. "I don't want to leave!" he screams, waking up Shinsou.

"Tenko, calm down," Aizawa tells him.

"No! You can't take me! I have to stay here!" he knows he is throwing a tantrum, but they don't get it. "We can't leave! We can't!"

"Tenko, nothing will happen to us. The bad people are gone, we can go back home, finally," Oboro keeps talking and tries to get close to him.

"NO!"

In a panic, Tenko snaps and runs. He rushes through the rest of the house and exits through the back door before sprinting to the woods. He can hear Oboro's, Aizawa's and Yamada's worried calls for him. But as he feels the damp grass under his feet, he can't care anymore. They don't understand, he can't leave. Dabi is here, and he can't leave him.

As he goes further into the forest, the voices screaming his name get quieter. He doesn't stop until he gets to a clear patch of the woods, where there are trees, and he can see the blue sky. "Dabi! Dabi!" he calls for the dragon in desperation. Tenko knows he is there when he feels a wind ruffle his hair behind him and he turns around to see Dabi there.

"Tenko? What wrong? Are you-" Dabi asks, worried at seeing the tears in the boy's eyes but gets interrupted as the light-haired one runs into his arms and starts to cry. Dabi, quickly recovering from his surprise, holds the wailing boy as he wraps his arms around him in an embrace.

"We- we are mo- moving a- away from here," he says between sobs. "You'll co- come with, right? You- you promised to stay by- by my side. You can't leave me," he tells the dragon and feels his hold tightening.

"I can't, Tenko," he whispers slowly and sad.

"W- why? Don't you want to be with me?" he asks. It had always been something he avoided talking about with the dragon. The idea that Dabi only stayed by his side because he had to made him feel bitter. Tenko was the happiest with Dabi, the thought of it being a one-sided thing, that Dabi didn't want to be with him, broke his heart.

"There is nothing that I would wish for more," Dabi says, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking straight into his eyes. "But I can't leave. My shrine is here. I can't leave it," he explains, and Tenko can see the honesty and hurt in his eyes.

Tenko starts crying more now. Dabi embraces him and lets him. In the dragon's arms, he feels safe and warm. But the tears won't stop. How could they? It might be the last time he could be here. "No! No! I don't want to lose you!" Tenko keeps wailing and feels gentle hands in his hair.

"You will never lose me, Tenko," Dabi says and starts wiping away his tears. "I will always be with you, as long as you remember me," he places his forehead against him.

For a few moments, the only sounds around them are the wind and Tenko's small hiccups. But that peace is interrupted when they hear Oboro. He is calling his name, worried. Dabi looks at where the sound is coming from and then turns back to him, taking one of his hands in his own. "Please, don't forget me," he pleads as blue flower petals start appearing out of nowhere.

"I won't," Tenko says, and Dabi smiles sadly at him.

In a flash, he feels something soft touch his lips and then a strong gush of wind. Dabi isn't there anymore, but his hand feels heavy. Tenko opens his palm and sees that the dragon left him something. It's as small as his hand and pitch black. A scale. Dabi's scale. He hears his name being called once more. Before going to Oboro, he fills one of his pockets with blue flower petals.

Tenko follows the voice to a path, where a stone shrine with candles and blue flowers is. The moment he sees him, Oboro runs to him and lifts him in his arms. "Don't run off like that again, Tenko, please," he begs. He nods silently as he lets the man hold him to ease his worries.

"Dragon!" Shinsou, who is up on Aizawa's shoulders, suddenly cries, pointing at the sky.

Tenko looks up to see Dabi twirling flying form disappear between the clouds.

[1wngdngl]

Pokemon Shield playthrough

I’ve been playing this game a lot since last night, and I still haven’t gotten on the train yet ;) I like to take games slowly to make sure I notice and experience everything along the way. It looks like the best way to share my game progress is through screenshots, so that’s what I’ll do. Cut for length and spoilers - I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers and leaks for the past couple weeks, so if you want to be able to experience the games fresh yourself, now might be a good time to click away. [This post covers up thru getting the Dynamax band]

I went ahead with the “standard” female character, but you can bet I’ll be customizing her as soon as I can. What’s with that knock-kneed stance, anyway? Pokemon trainers should stand strong and confident!

Chairman Rose greets us. Everyone online was guessing he’ll turn out to be evil or something. He certainly looks suspicious, doesn’t he?

And here comes the first surprise of the LP - a brand-new Pokemon, not even seen in trailers! (except for that fuzzy 1-frame image from a while back.) Its trunk looks kinda like a soup ladle. Maybe it’s a play on a teacup/teapot elephant? I wonder if it evolves...

Here���s Leon fighting an unknown trainer - maybe a Gym leader?

I really like the art style of the map - it’s so whimsical :)

The map also shows current weather for all locations. Look at all the different stuff going on in the Wild Area at the same time! I’ve been to the real England, and I don’t remember it having such extreme weather...

The map also has a few useful features, like displaying your next objective, and showing the facilities in a town (but only once you’ve been there yourself). The towns and such all have really interesting names that emulate that old English sound.

First thing I do when I gain control in a new Pokemon game? Change the battle style to “Set”. It seems more fair, plus it helps make the game just a bit more challenging.

I’m a little sad that the old option to change menu/text box borders seems to be forever abandoned, though... >.>

My house. It’s a pretty decent-sized place. We have a pet Munchlax and a few Budew outside. My character practices her whistling.

My mom. Or “mum” as the game calls her. The dialog is noticeably slanted toward a more British dialect - I wonder how they handled the accent in other languages?

Speaking of my mom, she seems rather big compared to me, doesn’t she? Quite a bit taller. I’m guessing my character is around 12 - when I was that age, I was the same height as my mom and done growing. Maybe they think people won’t believe this character is the mom’s child if she’s too tall?

Also, my dream is to one day have a /dad/ in a Pokemon game. Seriously, why does every other house I visit have a husband and wife, and my character is always stuck being the only child of a single parent? What if in one of these games, my dad was the champion or the evil team leader - how fun would that be?

My bedroom. The pink clock on the wall reminds me of one from a previous Pokemon game - was it ORAS that had those round clocks on the wall that you could set?

My first step on my journey. Looks like my mom spends every minute gardening - I guess the Budew help her?

Ah yes, every Pokemon game needs a “power of science” guy :)

Here’s another surprise - how many Pokemon games give you a fishing rod right at the start?! Usually you have to track down three different fisherman to get the three versions of the fishing rod. I’m also happy to see that Pokeballs have their own pocket again :)

The handy map tells us where to go next, with even a little picture of our destination.

The champion of Galar, of course, has a huge house.

Wow, a Purrloin! I forgot that they stood on two legs. I like its little bed.

Also, Leon’s family decorate their house mainly in trophies.

I guess this is Hop’s room - I like his artwork. I know Leon has a Charizard - does he have these other two Pokemon too, and that’s why Hop has posters of them?

Leon’s room is mostly a shrine to hats.

Speaking of Leon, he really knows how to play to the crowd ;)

So, some people are wondering if /Leon/ will turn out to be evil in the story. I didn’t really get that vibe from him. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but he does seem like he has some worries on his mind, like his cheer is sometimes forced?

Maybe he actually hates the limelight and gets uncomfortable with attention? Maybe he’s secretly terminally ill? Maybe there’s some massive threat about to attack the Galar region? He seems really concerned with making sure that Galar has lots of strong trainers. Maybe he knows something about the legendaries?

Alternately, some people were saying that maybe Leon isn’t actually a great champion, and his fights are rigged in his favor by the chairman. /If/ that were the case, I bet that Leon is actually unhappy with that situation and wants to make the tournament more fair.

Or maybe everything in the game is exactly as it seems ;)

Nothing important here, I just like this screenshot. I wonder if Fletchling are native to Galar too?

My first Pokemon! (in this game, at least...) I picked Sobble because he’s the most endearing.

My first battle! I like how the interface is laid out, and how detailed the background is beyond the fighters - you can even see Leon standing there.

My Pokemon's details. I don’t play competitively so I don’t know if it’s a particular “good” Sobble. It seems like this species is a fast special-attacker, so I’ll have to keep that in mind.

The Slumbering Weald (my spellchecker doesn’t even recognize that word :) ) It’s very spooky and seclusive - and it’s right next to the starter town too! You’d think if it was really that dangerous, people would put up more than a flimsy wooden gate to keep trespassers out...Hop, of course, is an idiot and runs right into it; and I, the spineless protagonist, have no option to say no. >.>

My first wild encounter! This starts the trend I noticed all during the opening hours of this game - most of the wild Pokemon are brand-new, totally-unrevealed species. Like this squirrel thing. (Although some people guessed we would get a new squirrel based on that shirt design). I wonder if it evolves?

This part was actually pretty scary, with the Pokemon (I can’t remember its name...) suddenly appearing out of the fog. The Pokemon acted almost like a hologram in battle though - my attacks couldn’t touch it.

What if the twist is that the legendary wolf Pokemon are just illusions, perhaps even man-made ones created to keep intruders from discovering some secret in the forest?

Anyway, we escape from the situation perfectly fine, because of course we do ;)

I noticed that this particular generation gives you quite of a bit of money at the start, but I guess that’s because you encounter the first boutique so early. There’s a fair number of affordable options too. Some of these Pokemon shirts I wish were /real/ shirts.

My new look :) Mostly I just ditched the dress for jeans. This looks like a comfortable outfit, although that knapsack is a bit unwieldy.

We visit the professor’s lab. She has a lot of books, plants, and a tea set. I wonder if she ever has problems with Polteageist?

The new Pokemon center design. I love that the move deleter/relearner and nickname functions are all in one place - I always hated flying around the map trying to remember where they were.

That Pokemon behind the counter is another totally new one. Could this be a Galarian Audino?

Using mystery gift, I was able to get this “Gigantamax” Meowth. However, due to my rule of only using Gen 8 Pokemon, it’s just gonna chill out in the box >.>

Leon is very generous with Pokeballs. Even the items you find on the ground are generous, often containing 2 or 3 “copies” of an item when you check it out. Is that a new thing for Pokemon?

Here I battle my first trainer that isn’t named Hop. He has that squirrel shirt and is a total pushover.

Just chilling by the professor’s house. It looks like maybe you can only fish in fishing spots (those darker circles on the water), but at least you get your fishing pole right away.

Also, I discovered that while I could not sit on beds or chairs inside, I am able to sit on this bench :)

The way the Pokemon mill about in the tall grass is very interesting. Some will try to avoid you, others like this Yamper will chase after you. It makes the routes feel a lot more populated.

I guess this is Sonia’s room. It’s very pink. I wonder if she even /wants/ to do Pokemon research, or if she’d rather be a fashion designer or something.

The in-game time of day doesn’t seem to match up with the Switch system clock, at least not from what I’ve seen so far. For example, suddenly it is sunset and I catch a falling star. (look how the reflection in the water changes :) )

I haven’t decided yet if I want to buy the Switch online service, but in the meantime I decided to at least pick my profile picture. The icons you can choose from actually reveal quite a lot about the trainer classes and gyms that are in the game. For the first time ever, we have a Dark-type gym! Their logo is a sideways version of Team Yell’s logo - does that mean that Team Yell or Marnie is the Dark gym leader?

I spent a while catching Pokemon around the professor’s house. I can’t tell if I got every possible species without looking online, but I did build up a good roster.

I found it really cool how many new, surprising Pokemon showed up this early in the game. There’s the fox one (which is a Dark type and reminds me of Zoroark), the turtle one (which has got to be a pre-evolution of Dreadnaw, probably the 1st of 3 stages), the bird one (based on the “Rook” in its name and the fact that it learns Dark-type moves early, I’m guessing it’s a pre-evolution of Corviknight), and the bug one (can’t wait to see what its final stage looks like).

I went through the party to find the best Pokemon that fit my self-imposed rules (only new, Gen 8 Pokemon, no overlap of types). I know that this means I won’t be able to use Galarian forms or Gigantamaxes of old Pokemon, but just because I’m not using them in my main playthrough doesn’t mean I can’t catch them :)

Next time: I step onto the train and leave my home behind.

[naturesloopholedarchive-blog]

Send “going somewhere?” for your muse to catch mine in the act of climbing out the window. (If still accepting

Bright blue eyes fly to her father’s face the moment she hears him. She could have used the front door but who just walks out the front door anymore? It is meant to be silent, magic hides the heels clicking against the floor but opening the old ass window makes a sound and she is throwing her leg over the window hanging outside, the skirt just barely something that should be considered legal (she stole it from her mother’s closet) and the crop top that the eighteen-year-old decided to wear out are all things that NO ONE wants the tribrid to be wearing. Reasonably she is grounded for taking her top off at a club and her mother catching her and while she is legally an adult, she acts just like a child half the time so she gets punished like one. She HATES it here in New Orleans and misses her boyfriend and SCHOOL where everyone loves her being that dancer that everyone wants to be is her favorite thing or it was before she brought her father to town and found out he is not exactly who she dreamed of.❝Yeah…I am going out…❞ She is her mother’s daughter meaning even faced with Klaus Mikaelson leaning against the doorframe with arms crossed clearly not pleased with what she was doing, she will still try to make a run for it. She isn’t scared of him, what is he going to do? Kill her? Get in line, she is already dead and she is his kid meaning she is worth something to him alive not dead and father’s don’t kill their children (At least not good father’s). Head tilts to the side as she looks him up and down daring him to try and stop her from going to do as she pleases like another night of partying, drinking until she forgets that she is here in a place with vampires, wolves, and witches that all would love to kill the myth that is the teenage girl that is staying with the Mikaelson family, how they wonder what Klaus is doing with her and half of the speculation makes her want to laugh because none of what they think of the mostly unseen “witch” isn’t true. He isn’t using her for anything including her magic which had been a big fear of hers when she finally sat down and thought about it before calling him by kidnapping her own brother to get Klaus’s attention.A chuckle that isn’t needed and only she would dare laugh at a man that looks so unhappy and could gut her like a fish. ❝So unless you are going to put me in one of those freaky coffins downstairs and throw me into an ocean to stop me…have fun tonight with the angry painting and yelling you do.❞ She wants her boyfriend and friend to live in the city, wants to go to a real school to finish out the time she has of school (which isn’t long), wants her father to be like the man she dreamed about having in her life. The one that paints with her, that tells her stories about his long life, who bends over backward for her and so fair she was still bitter over the fact that he hadn’t been jumping for freaking joy over having a child, over having something that should have NEVER been a thing. A tribrid baby? Not possible so therefore when it becomes a thing her father should be over the moon according to the tribrid that then was throwing her other leg over and allowing herself to fall the few feet down to the ground, heels digging into soft grass as she lands, hand touching the ground to steady herself. Only she would go all the way down and really attempt to leave while her father was watching her. Only she would have the balls to disobey him and her mother while one of them is watching. She is a brat, she knows it too but something about acting out was freeing as she struggles to find the new identity. She was now really a Mikaelson and no longer Hope Marshll…what was Hope Mikaelson? Was she a daredevil? A hard ass? Did she let the world around her crush her like a bug? Hope doesn’t know yet but she wants to find out that as well.

[zebrashavestripes]

Answer all questions for ask game about your cats!!(I'm dying for knowing about ash and Sabby pleeeaase!!😍)

Oh my goodness girl, so many, but okay.

1. Name? Ash and Sabrina2. Fur colour? Ash has grey fur on his back, with white markings on his face and white on his belly. Sabrine is the same, but with black on her back, and a special marking on her face.3. Any family you know (other than you)? They are related by blood as brother and sister, which is cute I think :)4. Age? 21 months old (my babies), which is around 17 in cat years5. Favorite toy? They love playing with cardboard for some reason, it’s super weird. There are cardboard scraps all over my house. And, according to Ash, Sabrina’s tail is his FAVOURITE toy.6. Nicknames? Ash: Ashy, Ashy baby, baby boy, pretty boy, foofy boy, crazy boy. Sabrina: Sabbi, Sabrrrrrrrrrina, Miss, purrty, pretty girl, baby girl, fluffy girl,  Miss desperate and more7. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Ash is both of those and Sabrina is neither. Sabrina is too good for you. How dare you be in her prescence? But also, freaking pat her already, she’s desperate, people!8. Length of fluff? So long, omg. The flooofiest. Ash is the fluffiest, just covered in clouds of fur. Sabrina’s fur is long but a bit sleeker.9. Any funny habits? Does eating things they’re not supposed to count? Or the fact Ash always wants me to walk him to the food and keep him company while he eats. Sabrina’s habit of turning around and forcing your hand into her face is a nice one.10. How old were they when you met? 9 months. BABIES11. What does their food bowl look like? They have a conjoined bowl which is bright green and a water bowl with little fishies on.12. Indoor or outdoor cat? They’re allowed to go outside, but Ash prefers to be indoors where he can move and lounge around without cause, where as Sabrina loves exploring outside, she kept escaping when I first got her, lol13. Recent picture?

Sleepy babies.14. Old picture?

BABIES15. Cuddly? Reasonably so. I’m the only one they really let pick them up, but they don’t mind sitting beside you or on your bed and stuff. I actually think it depends on their mood, or how hot it is on the day.16. Ever changed their name? YES. I kept Ash’s name, he was called that when I got him from the SPCA. But Sabrina’s original name was Scamp which we didn’t like because such a name is not appropriate for royalty.18. Eye color? Yellow/green19. How do they express love for you? Ash follows me around the house, Sabrina walks up to me when she comes in from exploring. Both like to be in my room when I wake up. They’re really nice cats. Also, tolerating me picking me up is definitely a sign of love.20. How do you express love for them? HEAPS of pats, feeding them good food, and by telling them all the time through long blinks and actual words.21. Any theories on what breed? I don’t really care about breeds, honestly. What matters is what kind of personality they have, not their genetics.22. Do they ever wake you up? YES. Recent time Ash woke me up: He was meowing for me to get out of bed so I went and saw he had a mouse. Sadly, I was not surprised by this. Recent time Sabrina woke me up: Came into my room and started ripping up my homework, lol. Silly girl.23. How much do they meow? They aren’t super loud, but Ash will meow when we go to get his food because he’s happy about it and wants to communicate. I always meow back. Sabrina’s meow is more squeaky, lol, and she does it when someone touches her unexpectedly of when she comes inside and sees me, or when she’s been picked up and she doesn’t like it.24. Any hiding spots? Ash likes to lie beneath the table and my chair, etc. Sabrina will hide behind the couch occasionally. They have both hidden beneath stools because the fabric will hang down to cover them, bu their paws and tails peek out so I always know they’re there.25. Do they enjoy guests? Depends. A hoard of screaming children? Hell no. A lot of people in one room? Nope! They’ll be in my room the entire time. One person carefully introducing themselves? Okay, now you’re talking.26. Lofty objects to sit on? The back of the couch. Various window sills.27. Wear a collar?(and describe collar?) Yes! They have matching collars. Ash’s one is blue, Sabrina’s is purple. They both have a magnet on to get through the catflap.28. How much shedding? Inevitable with such long-haired cats. There is so much cat fluff all through the house.29. Do they enjoy brushing? Sabrina LOVES brushing. Will purr the entire time, will make you feel so special. Ash hates it. Will only let me do it, and I still will come back a little scratched and bitten. He’s a vicious boy. I love him.30. Ever drink from the toilet? Lol, yes. They leave paw maks on the bowl. But Sabrina prefers to drink from the sink. She’s more proper that way. Sometimes, they even drink from the bowl.31. How do they get your attention? For Ash, meowing usually does the trick. Sabrina, you can call her sometimes but it’s best just to go up to her.32. Embarrassing thing they’ve done? Ash fell out of a window. His face, omg. He was so ashamed.33. Weirdest thing they try to eat? Ash likes to eat peas. There’s no try about it, he does it. Sabrina likes to try to eat paper and cardboard.34. Are they like your siblings, children, or friends? They’re my children. My babies.35. What time do they eat breakfast? Whenever they want. They self regulate their eating.36. Do you cut their nails? No? Why would I do that? How else will they scratch their foes?37. Do you think they understand you? Yes. Of course.38. Ever make fun of them? Of course. Ash can be so stupid and violent (He’s an Ed Nygma, lol). Sabrina pretends to be all innocent and perfect but she likes to play just as much and is SO desperate for the pats.39. Do you take their picture often? When I feel like it. I like taking pictures of them.40. Ever hiss at you? Not really. Last time I heard Ash hiss, it was because a baby was crawling towards him and Ash felt trapped and didn’t want to hurt the baby, so he was trying to tell it to go away. I don’t think I remember Sabrina hissing.41. Ever try to scratch or bite you? Yes :) Attack babies. Ash has no hesitation, loves clawing and biting. Sabrina Will claw to stay attached to you or to bring your hand closer to her face for PATS.42. If you try to grab their paw, what do they do? If they’re in a good mood, they do nothing. Otherwise, Sabrina will pull away, and Ash will bite you or scratch you or both. 43. Do they ever eat bugs? SO MANY BUGS. They don’t discriminate, if you are bug they are eating you. They bring them in to play with before they have their meal. They’re a bit sadistic, although I’m sure Sabrina would protest me saying that. The favourite is Wetas, which are exclusive to NZ as far as I know.44. Canned or dry food? Dry food. It’s better for their fur.45. Weight? Ash is heavier, around 7kg or so last time I checked. Sabrina was closer to 5kg. But it’s been a really long time since I checked.46. Ever got lost? Nope.47. Do you buy them presents? I am their present. I am a gift.48. Do they respond when you call? When they want to, lol.49. Do they ever see other cats? There are other cats on the street, but they don’t like each other.50. Declawed? NO!!!!!51. Funniest expression? Ash makes a face everytime he thinks I’m about to give him food. Sabrina likes to look around with her eyes barely open, silently judging you for being in her presence (and not patting her).52. Favorite place to be pet? Face. Cheeks, chin, fore head, FACE.53. Worst thing they’ve destroyed? A whole frozen chicken. We don’t talk about it.54. Give them a head kiss. I did. Sabrina made such a cute, squeky meow that I had to pat her afterwards. Ash was like “wtf are you doing?” I think he’s only interested in food atm, lol.55. What time of the year is most exciting for them? Spring. They go outside lots and the grass is super wet and they get leaves and shit stuck in their fur.56. Are they good at hunting real prey? They have killed two birds and one mouse and soooo many insects. Does that count?57. Do they ever attack nothing? Of course. Especially Ash. He stupid.58. What are they doing right now? Sabrina’s on the chair, wondering why I left her after giving her kiss and pats. Ash is licking himself.59. How long have you had them? About a year. My last cat I had 8 years.60. If you could have them stay as a kitten forever, would you? No. What would be the point? Cats are more peaceful than kittens anyway.61. Ever baby-talk to them? Everyday. They are babies.62. Favourite napping position? Ash is a lover of the C position, or loaf position. Sabrina is a big fan of Ball of Fur position.63. Have you ever stepped on their paw? No.64. Ever tripped you on stairs? Yes, lol. That’s what they get for running like that.65. Any ear hair? They gots furry ears, it’s cute.66. Favourite view from a window? They like to watch the birds nest out one of the windows, Ash especially.67. Describe why they are precious. Because they just are so preicous. Sabrina is so tiny and baby but also attac and playful but she deny it. Ash is stupid baby, scaredy cat but he attack and pretend to be brave and I love my brave scaredy-cat baby.68. Fit the cat stereotype? Some of them, yeah.69. Chaotic neutral? Lol, Ash is chaotic Evil, but Sabrina is def chaotic neutral, even though she claims to be lawful good.70. Do they enjoy following/ keeping you company? Yes, I believe they do.71. Are you their favourite human? Definitely.72. Do they like tv? I think so. I’ve caught them both watching my laptop screen over my shoulder.73. Favourite noise to make? They love to purrr and make their lil meows.74. If they were a Neko Atsume cat, what would their momento be? I don’t know what is is, lol

Wow, so many questions. You now know so much about my cats.

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 3]

It’s time for hunting for thieves with Burgh! Long may no one else die in the process!

Team headcount:

Boeing (Latios)

Frogger (Seismitoad)

Ptera (Archeops)

Palm (Shroomish)

I’ll also throw the Miracle Seed on Palm, since I forgot to do that last time.

Hm. This is technically part of the same route Palm came from, but it’s a different area. I think if the randomizer considers it part of a different area, I will too. So if it has something from the outside part, I won’t catch it. If it turns out they both happen to have some things in common, and the first one was one of those, oh well. It was the first one in the area.

Stepping forward to find out if we get a new one or not.

I don’t want it.

This might be a bad idea, but I think I’m going to let Palm just murder it. I do not want an Octillery, and then I’ll still only have one thing from Pinwheel Forest. It might be something I end up regretting, because as of right now, if my team wipes, I have nothing eligible to start over with, but.

Exp gotten, Grape avenged one more time.

So far there is nothing in this forest except for Octillery. What is this hell.

I do not like the Patrat line. I might never like it again. Appropriate that Team Plasma currently seems to do almost nothing else.

Okay, so for future reference, the insides of Pinwheel Forest are counted as a different area by the Randomizer. That future might not be so far off, depending on how this goes. The important thing is that something besides an Octillery can exist in these woods.

I have photo evidence.

Without it, even I wouldn’t believe at this point.

Awesome, recovered the skull. Considering the size, I am not sure how a boy my age manages to do anything with it but not be crushed by it, but thankfully the plot is uninterested in such complications. Skull get.

I have no memory of what that means. I assume it means that if I live long enough, I’m gonna beat you up.

Oh good, we give the skull to Lenora. She’s someone I have faith in to be able to lift it. She is very mighty, and when I don’t think about the consequences of our battle I still am highly appreciative of her.

I basically don’t do anything for the next twenty minutes but run around and let Ptera kill stuff. I am overusing Ptera because Ptera can one-shot everything into oblivion, and that’s a comfort.

But.

There is good news after I remember I have other pokemon.

Boeing

no longer has Psywave.

I’d never really bothered looking up the accuracy, I just was sad when the damn thing never hit. It turns out, in addition to having variable damage, Psywave has 80% accuracy.

I have never hated a move so much.

It’s gone now.

Boeing can murder things.

Together, friend. We will make it to the end of this.

Oh, the bridge! This is the one with the bridge! Bridges, even!

Best part of this generation for sure.

Now we’re in sections I think I remember a little more about. Mostly in relation to how often I ended up lost in this place. It’s not really that difficult, but for many, many years all of the towns and other locations were nice and neat 2D things. You might not know where to go next in some spots, but having trouble figuring out where you were wasn’t really a thing.

Along comes Castelia City, and it’s all “hold my drink,” and I, a mere ten-year-old, trip down back alleys trying to find out what in the heck I’m meant to be doing.

Now I, a mere ten-year-old, will probably do much the same. With an active interest in seeking out any grass.

The real question here is which evolution stone I want. I can’t use Panpour. So I guess... hm. I might as well go with the Fire option? I think I mussed with the evolution settings, so I’m not sure if I need them or not (I shouldn’t need to trade anything to get it to evolve, but past that, it’s one giant shrug). I also don’t have anything in my party that needs a stone yet, and there is no way to guess at what I might find in the future.

What I do know is I have a Grass and a Water pokemon, so let’s just round that out. That’s what the chimp options are there for, after all.

Fire Stone get.

I have zero memory of what’s up with the ship, but boats usually mean trainers to fight. Whatever the case, it is presently plot-locked.

We’re going through the city to try to gather all the Dancer trainers for a squad, which basically means beating up more of the Pan-squad, and a guy in the alley jumps out and gives us Flash.

Pokemon games are the best.

Dance squad assembled. Now that I think about it, I think this might be the version where rotating battles are introduced. I also think that might not be the right name, but the important bit is that three pokemon are participating at once and you can rotate through. I bring this up now because I’m wondering if talking to these guys again will set one off.

...Nope. I do get an Amulet Coin, though. Those are always good to have.

A building full of trainers I didn’t remember! That’s much better than running back to Pinwheel Forest or going ahead for grinding. Too bad this resource doesn’t renew itself.

Oh, nice. The guy to our right gave us Quick Balls and Timer Balls. Those are some of my favorites.

I’m not touching the Gym until everyone’s 30. I already regret that decision, but you know something else I regret? No longer having a Fire type. So yeah, this is the program and we’re sticking to it.

A Hyper Potion and Revive are also in this building. One of those has no use to us, so yay free money. Here’s hoping that we don’t use up the other one right away. I’m already imagining the horror that is the Elite Four.

Also, since I never play these games with the volume on (ancient suspicions about battery life from the era of AAs), can I just say how wonderfully spooky the Scientist theme is?

Heeeeeey. That is a good thing to have.

Time to check if I’m able to go forward, or if my grinding has to be stuck at Pinwheel Forest. As much as I like the bridge, let me tell you my preference.

Forward enough, anyway.

I think there will be some sort of roadblock ahead, but I should be able to come across my next teammate first. And some Fishermen.

Palm enjoyed meeting the Fishermen.

First encounter spotted.

Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever used one of these in a game before. The evolution is never worth bothering with unless you’re shooting for the pokedex entry, and I think by the time you run into its first form, you’ve already got most of your team arranged already.

The real question is if I have something that won’t kill it...

I think Cut might be the answer.

...I am the worst trainer ever, fml.

So. Uh.

The Escavalier is caught.

Apparently it knew something besides Fury Attack and Leer. Funny story, that.

Boeing is dead.

Ahahaha. Wow. I do not want you. You murdered my best friend. You are also now more necessary than you were. So. You need a name.

You’re a dark knight.

First girl on the team is named Batman.

Batman does not kill.

The real challenge of this game is going to be whether or not I can ever have six usable pokemon at a time. Dang. This is much rougher than anticipated. Boeing was one of those beasts I thought would be with me until the very end.

Of course, the same can be said for all that now lie here. I was definitely arrogant enough to assume that I could go through the game with none of you dying.

Serves me right, I suppose.

I really hope I don’t need to teach something else Cut now.

Goodbye, Boeing. We had four levels of being useful together. You taught me to hate Psywave, and your sacrifice brought Batman to the team. In time she will learn to honor that.

Batman is Adamant and loves to eat. That is about the best Nature I could ask for. She isn’t going to be very useful at the moment, but she has the Exp. Share now, so. We’re going to change that.

This run just got much harder. Again.

Apparently Bug is the theme of this desert.

That is one definite disadvantage to starting with a Psychic pokemon. Bug hurts. It doesn’t help that I almost constantly forgot what Boeing’s typing was.

Huh. Geodude also frequent this area.

It’s funny. Out of what’s available, so far I’ve been pretty darn happy with what I’ve ended up with. I mean, I would prefer Batman being a little weaker so I still had Boeing, but Escavalier is not awful. And I’ve never used one before. All praise the randomness.

You know what else is funny?

All the wild Escavalier here need multiple hits even with moves that are effective. All those turns I spent Cutting Batman down to size, allowing room for Boeing’s death, were unnecessary.

Haaaaa. Live and learn.

Unless you’re Boeing.

Frogger’s just going to murder everything in this route while the meager party slowly grows to level 30. Once more I feel my boredom setting in, but at this point I don’t think being less cautious is really a good idea. Getting six pokemon in my party has become something to strive for instead of the expectation.

-checks in an hour later-

Someone save me from this hell.

I think when the time comes, I’m going to take Ptera and Palm back to Pinwheel. The level differences aren’t that great, and ALL the Blaziken kills would probably do them both some good. Ptera can probably take the things in the desert, but his Defense is terrible if something goes wrong (which it easily might) and I’m not so sure about Palm. Either way Palm’s getting the Exp. Share for it, and that’s probably still twenty minutes away, because grinding.

I really wish I hadn’t accidentally killed Timon and Boeing.

You never realize what a useful tool letting pokemon faint is until you can’t. Sigh.

I am going to giggle like a small child every time that question pops up. My only good decisions in this run are their names.

Fun fact: Grinding is boring.

Batman and Frogger are all set, so I did make my way back to Pinwheel Forest in the hopes of helping Palm’s unfortunate Nature out with some better EVs and just generally having him and Ptera fight against things they could kill in one hit.

That’s working out.

This is taking forever.

I refuse to do this for the next gym. Isn’t failure the spice of any challenge?

I don’t even know what the next Gym is... Wait. Is it the electric model one? I think it might be. I remember liking her. I like her pokemon less. Flying electric squirrels are hardish to kill.

Ptera learned Acrobatics. So that’s neat.

Two. More. Levels. Come on. Bring on the massive surge of wild Blaziken.

Have I already pointed out that this is one of the generations where exp is calculated in part by level differential? The more I need the less I get.

At long last. It is done.

In your memory, Timon.

Dude, c’mon. It was going to be touching. I was going to murder all your Bugs and be like, “this is for all the things I accidentally got killed on my way here!” and now you’ve gone and ruined it with your plot interruptions. Sigh.

I’m supposed to go to one of the piers. If I’d been reading the text instead of mashing buttons I probably would know which one, but walking down each option and trying them all in order is fun, right? Right.

It’s always the last one you check.

I remember just enough of the story to say that was one heck of a mistake they done made.

Oh wait, Bianca’s pokemon? Oh. That’s much sadder.

Team Plasma grunt shows up, and it’s time to run after it. After all, I am ten. I am the most reliable aid anyone could ask for in a situation such as this.

I say, brilliant deduction, Burgh!

There is probably art of Burgh and Looker somewhere on the internet. They solve crimes.

Guess who has thirteen levels on Team Plasma like a boss. It is all four of my remaining pokemon. Yay.

They keep bringing up the Seven Sages, and I keep not remembering any of them except for one. My memory was that there was the one guy. And even that guy was pretty blurry. Now there are seven?

I just wanna catch stuff and pick fights hurry up plot.

The plot hears my requests and punishes me with an infodump about pokemon mythology of the region. Why this.

For my current purposes, I don’t care, but I actually like Black and White’s background for Unova. I like stories about heroes and dragons, and having the cover legendaries being relevant in things that aren’t just glamorized sidequests. It’s a fun game.

The monsters are just so much funner.

Let us try this again!

I love all the gyms in this generation.

Our first victim starts with a level 20 Sewaddle and a level 20 Venipede.

Ptera covers his claws in their blood.

...Okay, that one’s a little too dark. The opponents’ monsters aren’t actually dying, just fainting. My guys are the only ones who can die, adding new weight to Batman’s name. She will go into battle for justice, never inflicting lethal damage, yet she might one day fall.

Burgh’s pokemon are probably mid-20s. It’s fair to say I didn’t need to grind as much as I did, and it’s also fair to say I’d do it all over again because the last Gym was traumatic.

I wonder if part of how they decide Gym Leaders is asking them what they’ll do if they get their own building and carte blanche to design it. That should be the new Sorting question: What Type would your Gym be, and what are your thoughts on its interior design?

I think one of them this gen has you being shot through the air with cannons.

We look so serious.

Burgh does not.

First up is a level 21 Whirlipede. I feel fairly confident in saying that Ptera is up to the challenge.

Following that is a level 21 Dwebble. It does not have Sturdy.

Last is a level 23 Leavanny, and if you think these short sentences are a really uninspired way of describing such an epic fight, you’d be right, but they did not have much to work with. Ptera took everything that didn’t have an Ability preventing such acts down in one hit.

His prize.

He has the option of learning DragonBreath, and I normally wouldn’t bother with it, but considering how worried I am about whether or not I’ll manage to have six pokemon in a party at once, AncientPower with its 5 PP taking up a move slot is... maybe not what I want to go with.

On the other hand, Ptera’s a physical attacker and DragonBreath only does 60 with no STAB.

We are abandoning the way of the dragon, Ptera.

That was Boeing’s realm.

Badge get! Now, are we going to be able to leave the Gym without the plot calling?

No. The answer is no.

Look, it’s free exp! I mean one of my best friends!

With that invitation received, our time in Castelia comes to a close. This segment saw our most painful loss yet. Hopefully that has taught me a thing or two about being careful, but those lessons tend to be really temporary with me and video games.

Until next time.

[sarahjane0886]

Fix A Heart 19

Chapter 19 - How I Feel

Confetti fallin' from the sky My hometown on the fourth of July A midnight snow on Christmas Eve Like standin' up for what you believe That's how I feel when I'm with you That's how I feel when I'm with you That's how I feel That's how I feel when I'm with you

"So how are you?" Peta asked Sharna as they watched Shai play in the sprinkler in the backyard. He was chasing the family's new puppy, Balto, giggling and shrieking. It had finally gotten warm enough that they were able to enjoy the outdoors again after all the winter weather.

"Burnt out. I mean I feel better but I just feel drained all the time. And I feel guilty because I feel like it's yanking Val down. I know he'd never admit that to me but these last 4 months, P, they've been rough."

"They have been. But that's understandable. Are you finally at a stopping point with the therapy?" Peta asked. While Sharna had been going through everything, Peta had made sure that she didn't push anything but kept Sharna near. She wanted her to know that she had a support system whenever she wanted or needed. They kept a standing weekly date with just the two of them and then a second one with Shai as well. It was just all part of the normalcy that Sharna needed in her life.

"Yeah, well, we aren't stopping but we've gotten to the point where I have to apply everything so we're going to cut back to every 2 weeks for the next 2 months and then go to once a month. And if something ever happens and I need more time, she's always there."

"That's a good plan. Is that what you're ready for?" Peta asked as she saw Shai coming for them.

"I think so. I feel like she's gotten a lot of me that I didn't even realize was an issue. I mean I knew that I was upset about Rose but all the other deep rooted stuff that was involved, I had no idea but it all makes sense. And I would have never realized it without her. And like my instinct to always let Val fix my panic attacks and everything."

"Well but I think that was normal. Your instinct is going to be to try and fix it so you knew he was a source that would fix it."

"Right but then like Dr. Kate said, I never believed that I could do it myself. I don't think that one was a bad thing but it was just instinct, like you said. Fix it first, deal with it later."

"Incoming." Peta said as she chucked a towel at Sharna just before Shai landed in her lap.

"Ohhhh, I have a wet squirmy bug in my lap." Sharna teased.

"Momma, I hungwee." Shai said as he tucked into Sharna giggling as her hands dried him off.

"Oh yeah, well if you're a bug, I guess you should go find some grass to eat." Peta teased.

"Ewwwww! Nooooo! Can I have grapes and cheese?"

"Oh you are your mother's son. Little cheese monster." Sharna said laughing.

"That's my buby. Yes you can have grapes and cheese, then its nap time okay buddy?" Peta said as she looked at her watch.

"Aunt Sharna will you read to me?" Shai asked. He always got a book before bed and naps.

"I can do that munchkin. Come on." Sharna said standing up. Shai looped his arms around Sharna's neck letting her know that he preferred to stick with her. Balto followed them to the door however he was dripping wet.

"Balto, you gotta dry off outside. Sorry dude." Peta said as the puppy gave her a look of despair before sinking down onto the pavement.

45 minutes later, Shai was out cold with Balto keeping watch beside his bed. Peta and Sharna had cleaned up the yard and now they were relaxing on the couch. Peta had just put on some documentary that she and Sharna were wanting to watch, when Sharna's phone buzzed. On the day that Peta, Sharna, & Shai had their time together, Maks & Val always made sure to leave the girls be. They either went and did stuff together or worked on stuff with the studios, whatever they could come up with. The girls had girl time while the guys had guy time.

'I'm picking you up in an hour, princess. And then I'm stealing you away. Peta already has a bag packed for you.'

'Excuse me?' Sharna texted back perplexed.

'Do you trust me?' He responded almost immediately.

'You know I do.'

"Then I'll see you in an hour. I love you, enjoy time with P.'

"Peta Jane Chmerkovskiy."

"Yessss?" Her best friend looked at her from her spot on the couch.

"Do you have some explaining to do?"

"Nope, I don't. That would be your husband. I'm just an innocent bystander."

"From what I hear, you have the getaway bag."

"I do. But he packed it, he brought it, he did it all. All I know is that he was picking you up at 3:00 and I was keeping the bag. I know nothing."

"Ughhhh. Peta Jane."

"Sorry babe. Relax, you've got a bit yet right? You may actually get Shai wake up cuddles if you're lucky."

"He sleeping less?"

"Yeah, some days. He may stay out longer since we wore him out in the yard but he's usually up in about an hour, hour and a half."

"Gotcha." Sharna said falling silent. Peta could see her wheels turning and knew that she was processing everything.

"He just wants to surprise you babe."

"I know. It still catches me off guard sometimes. One of those things ya know?" Sharna said.

"I know. But just as long as you're good with it."

"I am. Oh I am." Sharna said with a small grin. They returned to watching the movie before they heard a tiny voice yelling from upstairs.

"Mommaaaaa! I up!"

"Go ahead babe, if you want that is." Peta said nodding at her friend. Sharna nodded and hopped off the couch.

"Hey munchkin. Did you have good sleeps?" Sharna said appearing in the room.

"Mmhmm. Aunt Sharna hold Shai?" He said holding his arms up.

"Always baby doll. Come here. Let's go cuddle with momma." Sharna said as she scooped him up off the twin bed and snuggled him into her arms. She gathered his Ellie and blanket and took him back downstairs. After morning wake ups and naptimes were Sharna's favorites with her nephew. He was a snuggler and during those times was content to just cuddle into his requested person. She settled on the couch next to Peta and Shai situated himself against her holding his elephant. She and Peta returned to watching their documentary which was almost over.

"Val should be coming soon babe." Peta said softly when the documentary ended.

"He should. I don't have to do anything do I? Just grab the bag?"

"Yeah, it's all ready. I just....we need too." Peta said motioning towards Shai.

"Right." Sharna nodded.

"Hey buby, do you want to go get a snack?" Peta asked the toddler.

"I stay with Aunt Sharna?" Shai asked as he looked at his mother.

"You can stay with me buddy, but Uncle Val is coming soon to get me. He's going to take me on an adventure." Sharna said hoping that warning the toddler would work to their advantage. It did not as his face crumpled immediately.

"You go ways?" He asked as his lip trembled. Ever since the honeymoon and then with everything else going on, Shai had been extra attached to Sharna. That mixed with the fact that he was not fully awake did not make for a good combination.

"I'll be back, it's just like when I go to mine and Uncle Val's house at the end of the day."

"I go with you?"

"I think Momma would miss you buddy." Sharna said as she rubbed his back.

"I would, and papa, and Balto."

"What if I promise to bring you back a present?" Sharna asked. She had no idea where Val was taking her or what they were doing but either way, she could find something little for Shai. His response was to just bury into her neck as his hand wound in her hair. He twirled her curls as he snuggled up to her.

"He'll be okay. Let's go look for a snack. That may at least help with the distraction." Peta said and the three headed to the kitchen. The snack helped minimally and then Sharna distracted him with asking what he wanted her to bring back. He ended up choosing a train which wasn't a hard thing to find.

"Who's ready for their surprise?" Val said appearing in the kitchen. Shai whined and buried into Sharna making Val look at the two.

"He's not pleased you're taking me away. However I told him we'd bring him back a present specifically a train. Right buddy?" Sharna said as she stood so she could prep to go with her husband. Shai's head nodded against his aunt but didn't make any motions to be more active.

"Alright buby, come with momma so Aunt Sharna and Uncle Val can go." Peta said appearing with Sharna's suitcase.

"Alright munchkin, I love you. I'll see you when I come back okay?"

"Love you." He murmured squeezing her tight before letting Peta take him. Val ruffled his nephew's hair before pressing a kiss to his head as well.

"Have fun you two." Peta said hugging them both.

"Come on princess, adventure time." Val said scooping up her suitcase and reaching for her hand. He led her out of the house and opened her door for her letting her get situated before shutting it for her. He placed the suitcase in the trunk before getting in the driver's seat.

"Do I get to know yet" Sharna said as she watched her husband.

"Nope, what I can tell you is, that it's about a 3 hour drive. I put snacks in the back. We're going to stop on the way for dinner. We'll be there for 4 days. And it's just us."

"Can I guess?"

"Even if you do I won't tell you." He said reaching for her hand and kissing it.

"Vallllllllll."

"Just relax princess. That is the purpose of this. We need us time. Just you and me and nothing else."

"We do, that's for sure. Do I get to control the music?" She said with a grin.

"Sure." He said handing her the cord for their phones. She smiled and put on some old school Backstreet Boys making Val groan in despair. He was not a fan of boy bands. Sharna kicked her shoes off and curled up into the seat as she reclined back a little.

"I love you." She said as she watched him as he focused on the road.

"I love you too princess. You're going to fall asleep on me." Val teased as he saw the look on her face.

"Mmhmm, that just means I'll be able to stay up later with you." She said as her hand crept over to rest on his arm. He grinned, she still slept best with some part of her touching him. He looked over a few minutes later and seen she was out. He chuckled and just kept on driving.

"I smell ocean." Sharna murmured two hours later.

"Good nose, you ready for dinner sleepy girl?"

"Yes please." She said with a grin as her fingers found his as she shook the sleep off.

"Local or chain?"

"Umm, we're by the ocean? Local." She said as she sat back up. Val reached over and used the GPS in the car to find what was near them. They picked a local place called the City Kitchen which overlooked the water. They enjoyed their dinner before they got back on the road. Sharna began a game of twenty questions as she attempted to trick Val into telling her where they were going. He refused to budge however and just let her trying.

"Can you wait for me? I just need to run in and get what we need." Val stated as they pulled up in front of a small home.

"I guess, but this is sketchy mister. You're not like leaving me to be eaten by sharks are you?" Sharna asked with a teasing look.

"Yup, shark bait hoo ha ha." Val said leaning over to kiss her as she laughed. Had someone told her years ago that this man would be her husband and quoting Finding Nemo to her, she'd have told them they done lost their mind? However this was her life.

"Okay, 10 minutes." Val said as he slipped back into the car.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me." She said as she bounced in her seat.

"Patience grasshopper. It's worth it. Well I think it is at least. I hope it is. You may hate it but well no, you won't." Val rambled suddenly nervous about her surprise.

"Babe! Shush, whatever it is, I'll love it." Sharna said laughing.

"I hope." He said shyly. They crossed over a small bridge and were taken to a small home, next to a lighthouse.

"Valentin Chmerkovskiy?" Sharna said as she took in the tiny cottage next to the lighthouse. She then turned and looked at him incredulously.

"This would be our home for the next four days." He said with a grin. Her smile couldn't get much brighter however her eyes immediately filled with tears. He was out of the car and at her side in a second. He opened her door and pulled her into him holding her tightly.

"I'm sorry. Oh my goodness. I'm sorry." She said as she pulled herself together.

"Its okay, it's okay." He said moving back as she tried to stand up.

"I just. We need this. You're right." She said once she was standing. He looped his arms back around her and let her curl into his chest.

"We do. I love you." He said as his lips pressed to her head.

"Are they both ours?" She asked as she watched out to the water.

"Umm, well yes, sort of. There is no one else with us however the lighthouse keeper will come check the lighthouse every evening. He said he comes around 7 and it takes him about a half hour each night."

"I can't believe this is ours. Thank you babe. Thank you." She said as she gripped his body.

"You're welcome princess, you deserve this. Now, we have a few decisions to make but first let's take our stuff in."

"Can we explore?" Sharna asked as she let go of his body and went to help him with bags.

"We can for sure. We have to decide what we want to do for food all week. Since we're basically taking over the cottage, we just provide our own food. Like a beach house. We can either cook or we can go out. There's a handful of local places that were recommended. Since it's a small town most of the places are mom and pop places." Val explained as they headed into the house.

"Ohhhh, can we do both? Val! This place is adorable. I love it!" Sharna said as she walked away from Val moving to look throughout the tiny cottage. There was a small kitchenette with enough space to cook for two as well as a bar to eat at. The living room was small but cozy with a medium sized sofa that looked to be the most comfortable couch ever. There was also a recliner and a coffee table. The room was decorated with a cozy feel incorporating blankets, pillows and warm tones. Off the living room was a screened in porch with a swing and two rockers. Off the porch it led out to the ocean which was basically about 20 feet away. There was a small staircase which led upstairs to a bedroom which house a canopy bed and a balcony looking over into the ocean. The bathroom was the most up to date with a huge rain water shower and a gorgeous tile sink. The rest of house was not as up to date but was gorgeously well kept and had an old ocean charm about the place. The two spent the next hour exploring their home away from home and unpacking.

"Want to go get ice cream?" Val asked knowingly.

"Uh duh!" Sharna said as she was already out the door. Val grabbed the car keys and followed her. They drove to the local ice cream shop and ordered their cones. Sharna picked mint chip while Val got cookies and cream.

"So you said you want to do both, go out and stay in for food?" Val asked her. They had found a park bench to sit on and he had his arm around her shoulders while she leaned against his side.

"Yeah, I actually think we passed a bike rental shop. Do you think we could rent bikes? The drive here wasn't long at all but it's too far to walk for dinners and ice cream like this every night."

"Are you telling me you want ice cream every night?" Val teased as she leaned over and stole a bit of his.

"Well they had too many flavors! Hmm, yours is good."

"I love you silly girl. But yeah, we can definitely look into that. We should probably go to the grocery store tonight before we go back and maybe pick up some essentials at least for breakfast. Then tomorrow we can see about the bike rentals and what we need to do." He suggested.

"Perfect. Love you too." She replied before they both fell into a quiet silence.

Over the next three days, Val and Sharna spent time just doing whatever they wanted. They woke up early and relaxed on the beach. They rented bicycles and went for early morning rides and late night rides. They explored the area, met some of the locals, and tried new foods. They watched the sunrise and the sunset. They simply just relaxed and healed together.

On the last night, Val decided he wanted to implement one last surprise. He had spoken to Harry the owner of the lighthouse and found out that there was a small sitting area on the top level. Harry explained that before his wife had passed, sometimes they would take some blankets and head to the top level and just watch the stars, the water, and enjoy the night. Val decided this was the perfect end to what had been the best dose of medicine for the two of them.

"Hey you, so I want to surprise you tonight but since it's only us here, I need you to be busy." Val said as he found Sharna on the porch reading her book.

"What does that even mean sir?" She said looking at him perplexed.

"It means, I want you to go take a bath, relax, and then put on something comfy. I need to run into town but I'll be back quickly. I even started the bath water for you." He said leaning down to kiss her. He scooped her up making her yelp initially but then giggle at his antics. He carried her into the bedroom and set her on the bed.

"Very caveman like sir...." She said looking at him with a grin.

"Well, I couldn't take the chance of you getting engrossed in your book again princess."

"Understandable. So you're leaving me?" She said looping her arms around his hips and pulling him to her.

"For a very short amount of time and only to surprise you." He said as his hands rested on her shoulders.

"But you could join me in that bath." She said sexily as her hands slipped under his shirt and coasted his back.

"You're killing me girl. I'm going. Go enjoy your bath. I'll see you in a half hour." He said moving her arms and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Fine. I love you." She said letting him leave. She headed into the bath and grinned at the bubbles and candles he had prepped for her. He really was her prince charming. She sunk appreciatively into the hot water as she closed her eyes. She had full intentions of reading while she relaxed. She was currently reading a suspense novel and she was getting to the good parts. However the second she sunk into the water, she knew that she was just going to be relaxing.

"Babe!" Val called as he entered the cottage. He had just put everything into the lighthouse as well as the blankets and pillows. He had gotten them dinner and wine as well as some ice cream that he put in the freezer for later.

"Princess!" He yelled again when she didn't answer. He headed into the bedroom and realized she was still in the bath. He chuckled before heading over to her. He knelt beside the tub and ran his hand down her check.

"Val?" She said with a shiver. Apparently the water had gotten colder with her in there.

"Sleepy?" He teased leaning over and kissing her before moving back to grab her towel. He helped her out and wrapped her up, holding her half asleep body to him for a moment.

"Just relaxed. Wait! You're surprise! I'm sorry!" She said as it registered.

"Whoa, it's okay. It is ready but it's just us. All you need is clothes when you're ready." He teased all too aware of the fact that she was naked underneath.

"You said comfy right? Can I have your sleep shirt?" She said with a wink making him groan. The sex appeal of her in one of his t-shirts was always through the roof. He was never sure why but it was.

"You can, it's on the pillow. I'm going to leave you to get dressed because if I stay, we'll never get anywhere. I'll meet you in the living room princess." He said walking away. She dressed quickly in his shirt and a pair of boy shorts. She grabbed his sweater and then made sure her hair wasn't too crazy before going to find her guy.

"Where are we going? Are we picnic-ing on the beach?" She said as she slipped her arm through his and let him lead her out.

"Close but no." He said as he headed toward the lighthouse.

"Val!" She said as it clicked. He opened the door and let her go ahead of him.

"Harry said that the top is a platform deck where we could relax. He said he used to bring his wife here for dates when they were just starting out and didn't have any money."

"This is absolutely amazing. This view Val." Sharna said as they reached the top. He led her over to where their pillow bed was laid out.

"Our dinner." Val said as she saw the cheeseburgers and homemade chips laid out for them.

"Eep!" She said happily as he helped her sit down and then moved to the other side of her.

"There is also ice cream in our freezer." He said with a laugh as her grin got bigger. They ate dinner as they talked. Once they were finished Val threw everything into a garbage bag he had laid up there. Then he pulled Sharna over to him and pulled her in tight as they watched the sunset.

"Thank you." She murmured into his chest while they laid there.

"Thank you." He said back.

"I didn't do anything mister."

"I didn't either baby. I just love you that's all." He said as his hand ran up and down her back.

"I know but you planned all this. Not just tonight, this whole mini trip. And we needed this, and you've been my rock for so so long. And now with everything with the therapy and just being there for me. I just, I know you don't like it but you need to know how grateful I am for you. For all of it."

"I love you. And I'm grateful for you too baby. And I know you think I'm helping you through all this but at the same time, there's a little bit of selfishness involved. I love you so much that I need to protect you. I need to ensure that your safe and that you feel safe. So all of this, that we've been going through. The therapy, the exercises, the talking, the cuddling, all of it. I need these things just as much as you princess. I may not need them in the way that you need them but I need them too. So while you tell me thank you for letting me be there for you and for doing everything with you."

Sharna didn't have any words after that and just leaned up and kissed him. His grazed hers again and again while the moment went from sweet and sentimental to passionate and needy. They made love slowly and carefully, each savoring the moments with the other. The past few months had been months of turmoil and hard times however through all of it, they had each other. And this, this right now with nothing but the water and sky around them, they showed each other just how grateful and how much they loved each other.

"Val?" Sharna said timidly after they had finished. She was tucked tightly against his body, her head laying on his heart as she could feel the beat under her ear. Their legs tangled as her arm looped over his waist. His arm was holding her to him while his fingers traced lazy circles on her rib cage making her shiver every so often.

"Yes baby?" He said as his lips rested against her head.

"I....." She started but her body shook suddenly and he became worried.

"I'm right here princess." He said as he went to shift so he could see her face but she shook her head. She wanted to stay where she was. She just needed to get her bearings about her before she said this.

"Can we talk about something?" She finally stated.

"Always. Take your time. We aren't going anywhere baby."

"Starting a family." She whispered almost so softly that he nearly missed it. It registered what she said and he could feel his heartbeat speed up almost immediately. He hadn't thought that was what was going to come out.

"You want to talk about us starting a family?"

"Yes."

"Right now?"

"Well maybe not right now. But I've been thinking about it and I, I want that with you. The other day when Shai was snuggled into me before we left, upset that I was leaving. I just thought, I want this. I want to hold our baby and snuggle them. I want to watch our son or daughter want his or her daddy when they are sick or sad or sleepy. I want to teach them things, have them grow into amazing people. I just...I want you to know I want that."

"I want that too more than anything. I don't want to do it til you're ready though."

"I'm not quite sure I'm completely ready to fully try but I'm ready to start talking about it if that's okay with you. Maybe not tonight because well, I'm enjoying this moment with you but slowly."

"That's more than okay baby. We can talk about it and maybe even bring it up next time we're at Dr. Kate's office if you're okay with that."

"I think that's a good idea. It's not something we've covered with her and I just, I don't want us to falter because of it. You know? As scared as I am of trying again and having that all happen again, I want this with you that much as well, so I feel like for us, I want us to move forward with it."

"I love you." He said tipping her chin up so he could look into her eyes. She could see the tears in them and knew that as much as she wanted this, he wanted it as well.

"I love you too. No tears handsome." She said pressing her lips to his.

"Good ones, I promise." He said echoing the words that she usually said to him. She kissed him again before curling back into his chest content to just lay there with him as the watched the sky and the stars shine brightly off the water.

Your lucky coat, the first day of fall When you wake up laughin' just because An old church door that stays wide open A perfect heart that's never been broken That's how I feel when I'm with you That's how I feel when I'm with you That's how I feel That's how I feel when I'm with you  

**That's a wrap. I went for some lightness this week. Hopefully you guys love it. :) And as an FYI the song/title changed for this update at least 10 times, 5 of which being in the last 15 minutes. If you were waiting for my angst and drama, don't worry it's coming. We're finally at the baby talk stages and we know that dredges up a lot of issues for our Miss Sharna. Don't forget to like this up and let me know what you thought! I love you all to pieces. Thank you for being the most amazing readers/friends a girl could ask for!