#get licked by my gecko boy

[pngblog]

[toxooz]

i'm sure you've described them before but i can't find anything on it so, could you describe the skate squad's powers if they have any?

idk if would say powers moreso just abilities BUT

Ponti with his HUGE ARMS can smash rip tear crunch squish impale ect. his bigass tail can put a hurtin too he can easily hold down a body under there, His ears can hear for miles if he really focuses, and finally his infamous death roll which is basically a gator death roll where they latch onto a limb and twirl tf outta their body

Abios eye has a bunch of phycological powers (oops) and can infiltrate the frontal lobe and get into someones head, see memories (spoiler alerttttttt 👀👀), and can manipulate feelings by controlling the brains chemical production, and probably a lot of other cool brain stuff i gotta get back on my neuroscience im rusty 😔 his eyelashes also emit pheromones that aid in all his succubs stuff but its close range

Ollie n his big brute strength ofc the fact that orcs are naturally super buff n strong but also his demon features where he does the thing similar to Gandalf when he makes the room all dark and terrifying when he's not fuckin around (it was heavily inspired by that) Ollie can make a room go cold and dark from his '''aura'' for lack of better word. His presence gives you the same chills as seeing a ghost and makes you hallucinate ect. That why when he does that ppl typically get too caught up in their body's fight or flight overdrive to be able to think clearly. I'd like to think he gives off Large Animal presence like as if u were in front of a horse or lion and that feeling is amplified when hes indoors lmfao AND he can also 'get in the head' as well like he can say some demonic shit that echoes off of the inside of the skull and can shake the very core of the soul (probably sounds like Sauron in tha head)

Kariiii has her dragon fire that's super hot and glittery so she can be a lil master of illusion if she wants. I'm thinking abt giving her gecko hands n feet so maybe she can climb on walls too if not she can still climb with her wing claws. She can lick her eyeballs and shes also got some fairy pizzaz that kinda works like a special 'aura' as well. She does have a hoarding pink things problem but she makes sure its at least presentable for the most part pfft

Remy oh bOI he doesn't have much goin for him but i think hes kinda got what Ollie's got just to a miniscule extent like he can make the room feel uneasy if he's all sulky and angsty but its only enough to mildly scare or irritate not so much 'strike fear into the hearts of men' cause hes also got that everlasting shadow over the eyes

he can climb like a monkey with his tail ( so can Abby) so ig he's rlly good at parkour

Oscar's got his slime that can be a blessing or a curse when it comes to sticky situations and in the water he's kinda a menace he is SUPER agile and uses his ears for fins when he swims. He's got a 2nd jaw in his mouth for grabbing prey and those teeth carry a nasty bite

Vinny may be soft n fluff but he's also got his lil needle claws and teeth and can be really flexible and agile as well cause son cats WILL fuck u up when theyre angry

[preciadosbass]

2/8/24

woke up at aprox. 8:30 and it took me absolutely ages to get out of bed. i’ve had no need to wake up anywhere near this ‘early’ since school. i eventually got dressed and spent most of the morning being indecisive over which shirt i was going to wear. i ended up wearing my saw [2004] shirt because it’s easy to theme that with my belts and things. my mum let boris lick the lid off a yogurt and it was so cute. i wish i got it on video or something

we left at like 10:10 to go to this reptile based experience place. hopefully i’ll be able to work there part time or something soon but nobody’s sure yet because we might’ve found a college for me to go to. either way, i’d like to do both if i can squeeze it in. we were late but still saw the first animal being shown, it was a tortoise called pancake. they have really unusual names for the animals there.

there’s this guy that works there that’s very similar to me, except he’s an adult. i get really tense around him though because i wish i was him so much. he has all my dream piercings, long hair [but in a masc way], really cool tattoos, he’s really friendly, and he’s cis. i know jealousy is bad but i can’t help it when i can’t like out my life as a guy like i ache to. i wish i could keep my long [ish] hair and look like a dude. anyway, here’s a list of all the animals i saw:

[spellings/names could be wrong as i was going by ear] // greek spurthigh tortoise, bearded dragon [hes called boris like my cat, i see him everytime i go so he’s gotten used to me now, he likes to lay on me], uromastyx, pac man frog, green tree frog, blue toungued skink [i handled one of these like a week ago at another reptile experience thing], leopard gecko, acki monitor, chiliean rose tarantula, mexican red leg tarantula, salmon pink tarantula, bird eating tarantula, mexican blonde tarantula, jumping spiders, ball python, and a milk snake.

i watched the ball python eat a mouse which interesting as i’ve never seen a snake have food before. i thought the whole process [the eating process, not the digestion process] would take longer than it did. after the session ended and everyone else there left i took boris out of his enclosure and let him sit on me for a bit. everytime i see him he seems to be more comfy around me, but to be fair, i don’t think he cares who he’s with. my sister went this time, which was a change, but now she’s got it in her head that she’s getting a bearded dragon. which is definitely not happening.

after leaving we headed to the new cinema that just opened for this racing thing being hosted there. on the way there we saw those people that go around in those huge t rex costume things. continuing on talk about the racing thing, i thought it’d be like, everyone has a console and it’s connected to the screen somehow? but there was this racing chair and a steering wheel thing infront of the screen, and people took turns to speed around the track shown on the screen + computer thing infront of them. i convinced my mum and sister to try it and it was fun/funny regardless of the fact it wasn’t what any of us thought it was.

afterwards we went home and my sister insisted to show me paramore + fall out boy on fortnite [and some other bands i like] and then i went to youth club. i don’t have too much to say about it, honestly. i never do. it was the same as always, i just awkwardly sat there while everyone spoke to eachother. i listened to this history - obsessed girl called christina speak to jester about greek mythology, i didn’t understand a thing, but it was impressive that they both knew as much as they did. they went into the shop next to the club afterwards and i got sweets for my sister.

i stupidly didn’t check the packet until we were on the way back home but she’s allergic to them. so i’ve somehow got to find an excuse to not eat them, even though i want to. one sweet takes up like a quarter of the food i can eat in a day. anyway so yeah, i just sat outside checking the time every once in a while for two and a half hours. just like i said last time i talked about youth club, i wish people talked to me. i once again went in hopes that those two girls were there but they weren’t. i dont know when they attend or what they’re names are so i cant ask jester.

hopefully i’ll have some luck the next time i go, sometimes going makes me feel like i’m just being mocked about not having any friends, like, it really rubs it in my face. carrying on, i got back home and cuddled boris. i went out again at 8 something for my walk. it was already dark by the time i got into my ‘walking clothes’ so we tried walking wherever it’d be lightest. we went back over to that field where you can see london and down to the bottom where you enter another field.

i spoke about this being the longest i’ve ever tracked what i do in the days and about that ‘acquaintance’ i’ve written about previously as they’re starting to purposely stalk all of my accounts more even though i told them i like having space irl and online, and when i make private accounts it’s obvious i want them to be private. they just won’t listen, they found my twitter account where i occasionally vent and they keep on taking the mick out of me. i’m so sick of their shit.

anyway, we walked for 45-50 minutes tonight which isn’t as long as what i’d hoped but to be fair, it was my problem for not getting going sooner than what i did. because boris has been sitting at the kitchen windowsill recently, i knocked on the glass and he looked at me in the most adorable way ever through the window. when i got in inside, as you can expect, i stayed with him + cuddled him as much as i could considering how awkward he’s positioned from the kitchen chairs.

afterwards my parents went upstairs to listen to their radio programme — i watched mcr interviews + clips for an hour and a half, maybe two hours until i came up to my parents to ask the questions about boris. it took ages because my mind kept on going blank and id forget a routined thing i say everynight which was freaking me out. id gotten through all the questions apart from the last two when i realised my sister was awake. ive never asked the questions while my sisters been awake so as stupid as it sounds, this freaked me out more.

i am/was scared that itd mess up everything i’d just said to my parents as it’s a change in the routine so i speedran through the questions again. as we got to the last two questions again my mum started arguing with me and screaming at me. i completely get her frustration, i know i’m really, especially annoying when it comes to my ‘compulsions’ and i know that she was tired, but she kept on screaming directly into my ear even though i was already hyperventilating over boris being not okay despite me telling her my ears hurt. like i was kind of saying, i don’t blame her though.

i wish i could be a better child to them. once i forced myself to end the questions i went downstairs and sat with boris for 30/40 minutes while i ate yogurt. he was purring the whole time, i hope it was the happy type of purr. i went to do my teeth and came back to say goodnight to boris at like 2. i was so exhausted i even forgot parts of my goodnight routine i say to boris which i have never done and never thought i would do.

i know he dosent understand most of what i say [probably] but i told him that it was just because in knackered because that was the case and i don’t want him thinking i care about him/love him less because of my forgetfulness. i don’t know how to explain it, but i didn’t forget it, i just couldn’t remember it. because i knew what i wanted to say but i didn’t know what order to put it in. i said what i thought was closest, fed him and got into bed at 2:50. i then typed out all the different versions of what i think that sentence was supposed to be and i’m pretty sure i’ve worked out what phrases are right/wrong. actually went to sleep at 3:30.

have a good day/night -_<

[voidsdamned]

Wicked Natures - The Ghoul/OC (Female Character) Chapter Eighteen

Summary: Bounty hunters are frequent customers at Mulholland's Saloon, and Rue's taken quite a shine to one gunslinger in particular: a cantankerous, old Ghoul in a tattered duster. Witness her unabashedly lust after him in all his irradiated glory (as we are all currently doing), as well as navigate the precarious relationship she unfortunately has with local law enforcement.

Minors, do not interact.

Content Warnings: blood and violence.

Enjoy <3

Chapter Eighteen: Reckless, Rageful

The yowl-meowing hits Rue’s ears a few miles out of Poppy just as the sun starts sinking, and she smiles like crazy when she looks over her shoulder to see Eggshells padding her way quickly as they can on their big, old paws. The bobcat’s ears are flat and eyes narrowed, but they sure do purr when Rue crouches to give them chin scratches.

“There’s my beautiful baby,” she coos, the hand not petting away going for some gecko jerky. “Ya eaten?”

Even if they have, they chomp up the jerky in heartbeats and have a few licks of water out of her palm to wash it down.

“I’m glad you’re stickin’ with me,” she murmurs, getting some ear scratches in. “Sheriff Shitkicker made things messier than I thought he would, and I need an extra set of ears and eyes. …We probably won’t make it to nightfall without somethin’ goin’ down. We gotta be ready. Well, I know ya stay ready. Ya go after anything that so much as breathes in your direction.”

Maybe she ought to be a bit more like Eggshells, unblinkingly vicious. Ready to pounce. Not holding herself back even an ounce…. It’s a nice thought, going wild after so long of biting her tongue and clenching her fists. Leashing herself so tight.

Eggshells swats at her hand, their polite way of saying, “Quit touchin’ me.” She pulls away, only for the little darling to rub themselves against her skirt.

“Fickle lil’ thing,” she chuckles, standing and dusting her hands off on her skirt. The motions slow and still halfway through, her eyes fixing in the distance.

Two figures march her way, the wide space between making them appear as little more than blobs.

They could be travelers just like her, but Rue wouldn’t bet on it. She bets she had eyes on her the second she stepped out onto the streets of Poppy earlier and they were just waiting for her to march on out of town. Put herself out somewhere open and vulnerable with nowhere to hide. She bets there are more coming, too. She just can’t see them yet.

If they catch her, would they listen when she tells them she’s not missing? She’s out here on her own accord, and she has no intentions of going back? Maybe one or two might, but the rest of them… caps speak louder than she does. More persuasively, too.

Can’t risk it.

“I gotta carry ya,” she tells Eggshells, plucking up the kitty and getting throaty, unhappy growling for it. She clicks her tongue at them, kisses their head, and spins on her heel. “Hush you.”

They don’t hush, but their sounds become chainsaw purring, and they let Rue cradle them as she keeps a brisk pace. She needs more space between her and those blobs that look more and more like people every time Rue glances over her shoulder.

Darkness seeps across the landscape as Rue reaches a patch of the road that winds through rises and falls of rocky hills and buttes, and the cover they afford has her darting off the well-traveled and into riddling crevasses and ridges. Which is immediately not fun and so apparently a terrible idea (even though the idea was high ground and headshots) because of course she picks the narrow, snaky in-between that houses a handful of radscorpions –big boys, too. The kind that could take her head off her shoulders with a snip of their pinchers.

Rue scrambles back, and then up a steep incline, doing her best to keep Eggshells safe and get them to higher ground as click-clacking claws make grabs and tails sting forward.

Eggshells goes apoplectic in her arms, spitting and yowling and thrashing until Rue must let go or risk getting her arms and chest torn to shreds. The reckless, rageful bobcat throws itself at the closest scorpion with no regard, all teeth, spit, and claws as they go for eyes.

Freehanded and not wrestling a wily cat, Rue puts more distance between herself and the big boys and takes hold her rifle. She hastily lines up a shot at the scorpion Eggshells battles valiantly –and violently– and fires. It’s mean, little face spurts weird, greenish juices, and the way it backpeddles sends it crashing into its friends. They all take a tumble down the steep hill, and Rue snatches up an ornery Eggshells that starts back up with their pissy, throat noises.

Rue shushes them and runs, knowing she can’t fight so many radscorpions and that her tails would have heard that shot. Shit, she should really see about finding a suppressor for her rifle. A sharp crack like that can prick at ears for miles. Lead hunters and whoever right to her.

Focus, focus.

Landmarks. She needs landmarks –a way to get back to the road once she’s handled her tails. Her eyes pick along dim ridges and carefully ahead of her, searching for oddly-shaped fauna and formations. A good perch. There’s a cactus that sort of looks like a brahmin. An actual brahmin skeleton amongst a heap of brambles, bones, and scrap…. That’s a fucking deathclaw nest, and Rue is absolutely not coming back this way. Rue doesn’t need to be anywhere near here.

All the weird and twisting ways she goes spits Rue out in a flat expanse of cacti, cracked earth, and ants she brings her boot down on when they try to get at her ankles. Eggshells hops down from her arms and immediately runs off ahead of her to terrorize another ant.

Rue, winded, gives a breathy laugh, “You’re a menace. I love ya,” and picks up her stride again to catch up with them, her eyes on a large, looming shadow in the distance.

It turns out to be a building: a massive, sprawling, crumbly one on the opposite side of an upheaved highway. It sits amongst other structures that are little more than free standing walls or boxes full of sand and the husks of old vehicles. A weathered sign tells her it was once called “----hills Mall.”

Rue’s not sure what a mall is, but it looks like it would have lots of great ambush spots. She needs those, even if a warning of sharp-toothed stick figures is scrawled on the front doors.

Maybe there are cannibals inside she can convince into eating her stalkers?

Quietly, and with Eggshells padding along behind her, Rue enters the mall, fishing the small flashlight she never did give back to Doc Nguyen out of her pocket. She doesn’t need it initially. Moonlight spills in through holes in the ceiling in big, washed-out patches, illuminating benches, garbage cans, scattered tables, and all these storefronts and bars crammed in together. The ground and tabletops are littered with old food containers.

Rue tiptoes through it all, the wide, rounded room she stepped into opening into a long, long hall with hanging signs and glass walls as far as she can see –but that’s not terribly far anymore. It’s black as pitch ten feet ahead of her, inky and not particularly inviting. She clicks the flashlight on, using it to scan the signs and doorways blocked with shutters and gates. Through the glass, she sees mattresses. Appliances. Clothes. Knick-knacks....

"Ooh," slips so quietly out of her mouth when she spies a little cart with rows and rows of glasses upon it. A truly terrible pair snags her attention, red-rimmed and heart-shaped, and Rue can't resist the temptation. In her pocket they go. 

She moves on, deeper into the darkness where her flashlight beam passes over a mannequin in a bolo tie. The light drags down and then snaps back, fixing on the most beautiful pair of boots Rue has ever seen. Even with a thick layer of dust coating them, the dark leather boots in the window are radiant. Perfect with red and pink roses stitched into the sides of them and a set of spurs hanging off the back. Rue could jingle-jangle just like her cowboy….

Fingers dragging down the glass, Rue clicks her tongue at the sudden sharpness in her chest.

She has not allowed herself to do much in the way of thinking about anything outside of survival and her destination. She’s on guard as she trudges through the desert. She’s exhausted when she decides to settle down, falling right asleep. But in this small, fleeting moment, the Ghoul is at the forefront of her brain accompanied by a deep longing. Worse than it’s ever been.

Rue wonders what he’s doing. If he’s okay. If he’s been back by and seen her note. Or maybe he’s seen her poster? Part of her wishes he was along for the ride, and they could pick him out a new pair of boots, too.

With him come thoughts of others: Hal, Mrs. Ira Jean, and Mrs. Rosa. Even Bo and his boys. Bell O’Neil and the Hendersons. They’re all of wonder and worry. Did Deck question everyone she holds near and dear? Did they go into a tizzy when they realized she was missing? Do they hunt for her?

Tiny and barely audible is the voice at the back of her head that whispers she should have told them, warned them, but louder is the voice that affirms her actions. To know would have been to implicate, to tie them to her mess. She’d rather feel guilty about worrying them than the pain and burning of another death on her shoulders.

Rue shakes all the bad thoughts out of her head, shrugs off Baby Destiny, and pushes the case under the gate that didn’t quite close. She follows, wiggling through and cooing very softly to Eggshells until they slink under and in.

The mannequin is taken down, its feet pulled into Rue’s lap so she can twist and jiggle the boots free. When they pop off, she gives a short laugh of victory and hastily pulls them on.

And they fit. That victory laugh turns into a delighted squeal-giggle, and Rue pops to her feet to practice her fancy, twisting footwork, each spin or heel-toe step accompanied by a jingling that makes her warm inside. With more than a bit of pep, she skips around the rest of the store.

So many pretty, dusty things surround her. Blouses, vests, and jeans with shiny stones and fun patterns. Breezy dresses she imagines spinning ‘round and ‘round in. Thick-woven flannels in all the colours. Hats galore in all the styles, some plain and others…. Rue doesn’t know what that orange and black print is around the band of an otherwise dapper cutter-style hat, but it’s not for her. Not for anyone.

Her eyes are pulled away from the atrocity by a display case full of leather goods and jewelry, a few things tickling her fancy. Like the leather over-the-shoulder bag that looks sturdier and a bit roomier than the one she currently carries. She trades it out, packing in all her bits and then a few shiny things that might be worth something to somebody if the gold is real gold. She also snatches up two, silver star pins. One, she pins to the band of her hat, and the other goes into her pocket as she briefly imagines presenting it to the Ghoul and asking him to pretty please match with her.

Then there’s this bone and blue stone bolo tie Eggshells lets her slip onto their fluffy neck after just a bit of coaxing, and don’t they look so handsome in it! Handsome and dignified, and Rue can’t help but giggle again. And she keeps giggling every time she looks down at her pretty kitty to see them padding along so suave in their tie.

Towards the back of the store, she finds a door hanging open, leading into a space of shelves and boxes full of more pretty things. Rue doesn’t let her gaze linger on them. The temptation of a brand-new wardrobe eats at her, but she has nowhere to put it all. No way to carry it…. A cream blouse lying neglected on the floor has roses around the sleeve cuffs. It matches her boots. It matches her boots.

Rue plucks it up and stows it in her guitar case, and then does her damndest to put all the finery out of her head as she slips out another door she finds. She’s on a mission, not a shopping trip. People are literally chasing her, and she was browsing like it’s just a normal visit to Shade and Sundries.

She shakes her head at herself as she steps into a long, dark hallway she traverses slowly with careful sweeps of her flashlight.

It’s easy to get lost. There are more doors, hallways, and signs that read as, “Restrooms,” “Roof Access,” “Manager’s Office,” “Emergency Exit,” and “Security Office.” Rue ends up ducking into the Security Office when a dragging shuffle and crunchy noises come from further down the hall. She waits to see if they come closer or taper out, and they do eventually, the sounds fading off the way she was heading.

Rue’s focus turns to the room she popped into: a musty, dusty space where a skeleton slumps back in the chair set before the wide, metal desk that dominates most of the room. A bullet hole is blasted out the back of the skull, and the .10 mm on the floor close by tells Rue everything she needs to know about what happened.

Her attention shifts to the array of shiny, black glass mounted on the walls and the…  the machine on the desk is called a term-something. She remembers them a little –mostly playing a shoot-y game where she blew up communists. And after staring hard at the term-something for several minutes, she remembers how to turn it on by clicking at a somewhat circle-ish symbol button on the front.

The whole black glass array lights up along with the term-something. Well, most of it does. A few screens stay dead. Others are too dark for her to make out what’s in them. But most show scenes with just enough light for her to make out storefronts and lumpy shadows… oh! She recognizes one of the scenes as the one she stepped into: that wide room with all the tables, counters, and food containers.

And isn’t she a lucky girl to spy two figures creeping in all careful-like with weapons drawn.

Rue relocates the skeleton to the floor, claims its seat, and watches them pick around for ten minutes before noticing a group of three coming in through a collapsed segment of wall that could honestly be anywhere. Ooh, and there come two more into the wide room, but they pick a different way to go from the first group.

“Figure they’ll kill one another so we don’t have to bother?” she asks of Eggshells when the bobcat jumps up on the desk. They don’t do anything but blink slow and sit back on a big button that makes the air crackle and fizz.

“The fu-?”

Rue's voice comes from all around, and her mouth snaps shut. Wide-eyed and wondering, she sits there quietly as the sound of Eggshells’ motor running like crazy rumbles the air. Her eyes tick to the array where her tails have gone stock-still. Very carefully, she scoots the bobcat off the button, and the crackling, fizzy sound goes away.

Investigating the button up close, Rue finds it to be some sort of gadget with a grated look on one end. She presses the button and coos out a curious, “Hellooo?” into the grates, watching from the corner of her eyes as those still figures in the array look all around them in befuddlement.

Rue notices something else. On glass once empty, shadows shift and rise. Stumbling and shuffling and whipping around erratically. It’s hard to make out much about them, but they seem withered and torn and gaunt. One gets close enough Rue can see that it’s missing an arm and most of its face.

Ferals.

She gets the worst –or possibly best– idea.

Rue stands, shuts the office door, kicks a chair in front of it, and whips out Baby Destiny. With a wide smile on her face, she presses down on the button with the heel of her new boot and strums a little ditty she can’t help but sing along to.

“Yippee yay

There’ll be no wedding bells for today

‘Cause I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle

As I go riding merrily along

And they sing, ‘Oh, ain’t you glad you’re single’

And that song ain’t so very far from wrong

Oh, Lillie Belle

Oh, Lillie Belle

Though I may have done some foolin’

This is why I never fail.”

The array flurries with movement and chaos, ferals wrenching themselves about and running wildly to find the source of the noise that seems to come from everywhere all at once. They’re like bloodhounds, tracking down the bounty hunters in moments, and it’s quite the sight to watch some flat-out run while others try to hold their ground, bright pops and distant gunshots adding to the storm. But they can’t do much against a horde of hungry ferals absolutely swarming.

Rue watches the carnage, singing all the while. She doesn’t stop until she hears pounding come from somewhere down the hall, and she moves like a whirlwind, packing Baby Destiny away, snatching up Eggshells, and kicking that chair out of the way –and then immediately having to hoof a feral in its raggedy guts as soon as she slings the door open. It goes stumbling back into three of its friends, and Rue tears off down the hall to where she saw that “Emergency Exit” sign.

Flinging that door open brings on a brand new, terrible, shrill shrieking sound that no doubt alerts everything within a mile radius of the shitshow. Likely drawing them in. Adding to the chaos.

Rue legs it, laughing up a storm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following the road that runs alongside the mall eventually leads Rue back to the one she abandoned. She thinks anyway. The only indication she has that she’s going the right way is a road sign with a spray-painted, “Many Ways,” and an arrow pointing her onward. Or as onward as aching legs, burning lungs, and a desert-dry mouth can take her.

She has to stop. It’s reaching a nonnegotiable point, and the safety she finds is in a thin sliver of a rocky shelf she thoroughly investigates for little nasties before she shrugs off Baby Destiny, slides her into the slot, and then wiggles her way in after. She spreads out flat on the cool stone, belly and cheek to the cragginess of it. She breathes a long sigh, fishes for a canteen, and drains it. She has to, and she meant to conserve her apples, but she polishes them off, too. And then she takes her knife into hand, cuts free pieces of jerky for Eggshells to munch on when they come creeping in, and falls dead asleep.

When she wakes, Eggshells is pressed hard into her side, growling mad and talking about, “The psychotic bitch looked to be goin’ West, so we’re gonna keep goin’ West!” And then the groggy thing realizes that’s not Eggshells talking. There are at least two people passing her by –nope, no. Four. There’s a group of four striding so slowly by mere feet from her. She can see their middles, the golden daylight illuminating how strapped to the gills they are with guns, knives, and leather.

Rue squeezes the knife still in her hand tighter and hopes for dear life they can’t hear Eggshells. She’d shush the kitty, but maybe they hear that. She’s in too compromising of a position to risk it.

“I know that poster said unharmed, but I’m gonna blacken that bitch’s eye,” grumbles a particularly ornery voice. “Trina and Buck didn’t deserve that.”

Another voice makes a fart noise. “I know ya were buddy-buddy with ‘em, but she did us a favour, knockin’ out some of the competition. And I want that full bounty. You’re not gonna fuckin’ touch her. You’re a gentleman, or ya get.”

The grumbly voice grumbles lower, unintelligible.

“We oughta ask for two thousand,” a new, reedy voice chimes in. “Agency said she might be confused or kidnapped. Not fuckin’ batshit, runnin’ ‘round the desert in the night and singin’ Kay Kyser like she’s havin’ the time of her life.”

“That’s who that was?” queries such a soft voice. “I liked it. Her playin’ ain’t bad at all.”

“Shut the fuck up, Barker,” snaps the grumbly voice. “And whoever’s fuckin’ stomach that is, I’m sick of hearin’ it.”

“Huh?”

“Someone’s stomach grumblin’ like they haven’t eaten in decades.” A pause. “Shit, or maybe that’s a cazador?”

Fuck, Eggshells. Rue's arm curls around the kitty, placing her hand over their face in a useless attempt to muffle the growl. They nip at her, that growling becoming a short, pissy yowl.

The group of four had almost left Rue’s field of view, but now they’re paused at the edges of it. Rue tenses. She feels Eggshells tense, too. Ready to snap.

One of the bounty hunters bends at the waist. Rue only gets the briefest look at his face before Eggshells is hiss-spitting and tearing their way into the hunter’s flesh.

And fuck, does he scream, the sound of it alongside Eggshells’ demonic screeching the worst kind of racket. Rue scrambles after, calling out a, "Baby, no!" because what is her pretty kitty going to do against four folks with guns and knives? Maybe get one of them before a hail of bullets leaves her heartbroken. 

The gunshot does come, sharp and cracking and stilling the testy organ in her chest when a different kind of screech issues from Eggshells. Rue slides out of her slot just in time to see blood and fur running away from a shredded-faced man bleeding out on the ground.

Thought ceases. Panic surges, followed by murderous action when her eyes fix on a drawn gun. She pounces, aiming to maim the man who shot her cat. And then she'll let Eggshells eat his remains for dinner if she can find them. She better fucking find them. As she drives her knife down, she raggedly shouts, “Ya better hope they’re fine!”

Sharp, gleaming metal goes through a hand rising in self-defense, drawing shouts of pain and swears tenfold. Rue doesn’t get a chance to jerk it free. She’s jerked herself, arms wrapping around her middle to haul her back as she kicks and curses and ultimately throws her head back as hard as she can, skull connecting with what might be a nose. A satisfying crunch is her reward.

More shouts. The grip around her eases, and Rue slips free of the hold to launch herself at the man she took down, driving her elbow into his solar plexus. Breathless, gurgling, strained sounds wheeze from his throat. A gasping, croaking shout when she rips her blade free from his hand, but then she’s snagged again. The new grip is much stronger, much more mindful of her violent, desperate movements. Her captor squeezes the life out of her, making it hard to breathe. Making her head spin. She takes wild, haphazard knife swings, hitting nothing but air. 

Tighter and tighter the arms squeeze. A soft voice shushing, bidding her to, "Go to sleep, kay?"

"Don't," Rue wheezes, breath finding her barely and body weakening to the point she can't keep a grip on her blade. "I... I don't...wanna...."

Her knife slips from her fingers and Rue into the black creeping at the edges of her vision.

[goosewriting]

yesterday i finally watched the new tmnt movie!! at first i wanted to do a live reaction kinda thing, except that wouldn’t work because i'd have to reblog every entry and hiding every single part under a "read more" would be not only tedious, but i'm not even sure if it's possible lol

so instead have a collection of my thoughts here! (spoiler warning, duh)

first of all: the art style. there’s something strangely nostalgic about it. it feels like that is what my mental storyboards as a kid would have looked like, had i been into animating back then. or at least that would have been close to the style i would have liked to emulate.

the explosions looking like violent scribbles is just so 😩🤌♥ chef's kiss, truly. there's something about the art in general that just moves in such a particular way and holds a certain weight and volume,, it feels like cardboard and clay and crayons and the piles upon piles of coloured pencils i used to have as a kid and how the wooden pencil drawer smelled. i'm such a fan of this style i’M obsessed o(-<

in the intro shots for the turtles, raph licking his sai blades is so extra and i love him for that lmao

for some reason i completely forgot they cast jackie chan as splinter and tbh idk how to feel about it? no hate towards him; i just don't think voice acting is his strong suit

meanwhile i'm looooving mikey's voice. also leo's beacuse, well first of all, i am a leo girlie (gender neutral) through and through so i would have loved all aspects of him no matter what. but his voice actor is gumball's i believe? and that's one of my comfort shows 🥺 i just love him sm

this little donnie is sending me, i- 🤣

superfly's theme reminds me of miguel's for some reason? 😂 and i'm here for it ahahh

the whole watermelon scene lmaoo teeangers being teenagers, finally

aaaand here comes the probably forced romance subplot 😅😅 (more on that later)

the whole fighting scene in the workshop tinted in red? ugh 10/10

ok so, april: i really like how they met. i like her design, her voice and her whole vibe. the whole puking jokes were a little too much for me; personally im not a fan of fart or puke jokes because, well, i’m not a 12yo boy (looking at you seth rogen) but all in all i really liked this rendition of april. it sucks tho that the turtles got a snazzy outfit by the end, both for school and for prom, but april’s clothes always remained the same. would have loved to see what she wore to prom!

the gen z lingo and references: …i mean, i guess it makes sense? i just don’t know how well it will age xD the references to end game and all were fun but, again, will someone in 15 years understand what they meant? will someone in 15 years know what rizz is?

changing the topic, the way eyeballs are rendered??? hello?? they’re so expressive and shiny and i lowkey wanna lick them ok

the chris pine cutout actually made me choke on my food from both surprise and laughter jhdfkjashdf

oookay so. superfly and his gang. first of all when the gecko talked i went like hey is that ant-man? lmao i love all the designs and ice cube as the villain works?? im not mad?? lol now, his plan however... sigh, my guy. killing all humans aside, have you maybe thought that if you turn every single animal and insect into a mutant, the whole ecosystem would all but collapse? there will be no planet left to belittle the humans on (:

"he'll run out of cars eventually" / *looks at parking* / “oh, c’mon!” lmaoo 😂 this joke was excellent

so, back to the forced romance thing. look i get it, they needed a reason to help out april to get the plot going. and if leo said it, then the rest would follow. i get that. but throughout the whole movie, aside from like his brothers elbowing his side knowingly, there’s no more allusion to anything? and then only at the veeeery end, he asks her out and she says yes, so i was like “oh okay so that’s the payoff then. took long enough” but then when they’re dancing she rhetorically asks if they’re just doing this as friends and 😐 maybe this is just my aroace self projecting but,, if you’re gonna use romance/romantic interest as a catalyst (lame tbh), at least be consequent about it?? if you (the writers) didn’t have the intention to explore the relationship, then leave it altogether? again, this is just my aroace opinion,, i can’t relate so i don’t understand. (which i know seems contradictory given my uh, repertoire of fics lmao) personally i would have preferred a different reason for them to helping out april, and having them all just be besties by the end, which they ended up being anyway

so, to sum it all up. it’s a story we’ve seen a hundred times, so there was really nothing new to it. the plot was okay,, the biggest thing that “bothered” me was superfly’s whole extermination thing making no sense, technically. but other than that, my eyes and ears were having an absolute feast. a very enjoyable film all in all. when we got rottmnt, i was like “oh finally an iteration of the teenage mutant ninja turtles where they’re actually teenagers” but scratch that. mutant mayhem is the most teenager one, and i loved them for that. time will tell how the jokes will age but yeah, the way they were depicted was definitely my favourite thing about the film aside from the art style.

have you guys seen it? what are your thoughts? lemme know :D feel free to comment here or send in some asks!

[ribchillz]

i got so embarrassed about saying benny gecko was from fallout 4 i didnt send a followup ask explaining courier 6 can be anyone you want them to be and honestly i prefer to see them as a hulking rotting freak who is only after vengeance also imo its also bc in the story you directly come across him tied up and you get to choose any way to kill him and idk i just think him as a guy who thinks a little too high of himself and talks down to people who needs to be taken down a level or two and made to lick the couriers boots. maybe its mostly because i feel like benny gecko has the same vibe of a guy who needs to get the shit beaten out of him ok bye sorry for not following up for 3 months lol once again this is my opinion lol so i can understand if you dont get the same vibes from him. imo hes an asshole pretty face and i like knocking him down.

it’s all good, man dw. but now that u like explained yourself a bit better, for sure i can see ur perspective, i can see the vision…it’s good, like the first time i looked him up he looked like a prissy fucking white boy but yeah sure i love when you get to torture and kill a man that’s too full of himself everyone likes that!!!!!!!! hacking this guy’s head off…cartel style and what not

[samskaterguy]

In the mean time while I try and make my 2003 Mondo Gecko AU art I might as well give some basics on him!

Quick content warnings! Mentions of eye licking as geckos do that, gang activity/violence, a bit of murder and animal experimentation 

- His gecko species is a gold crested day gecko or a “gold dust day gecko” aka one of these bad boys

- He has fully functioning eyelids but he still has the capability to lick his eyes as most geckos do, the only difference is that he doesn’t NEED to. He does so because he thinks it makes him look cool and “hardcore” but he just ends up hurting his eyes.

- Him and Mikey are besties but that’s just kind of a given, he skateboards, but also roller skates. 

- He’s FTM transgender (he/him pronouns), ask me how that works I have no idea but shhhh it’s fun and this is literally a series about teenage mutant ninja turtles so a trans gecko is not out of the realm of possibility.

- Similarly to IDW Mondo he can camouflage and stick to walls. 

- He has black hair much like his 1987 counterpart.

- His backstory is still being worked out but he has a “Mr. X” in this AU and he..was removed, and then after being moved in with the purple dragons before leaving after he was treated poorly, and on his run and escape is where he meets Mikey for the first time.

- Mr. X is a scientist and (former) gang leader, he was experimenting with human and animal mutation before his goons looked into TCRI and blah blah blah found ooze, took a human DNA sample from himself (or some person from his gang) and infused it with a baby gecko. I think you know the rest.

- Mondo would be raised by Mr. X until the purple dragons came to town and they had a similar deal like with Casey’s father, and, well Mr. X was late on his payment. Mondo was discovered, as a now 14 year old and would spend the next year with the purple dragons being treated horribly. He already knew what he was doing with a gang, but they didn’t take kindly to a skater teenage gecko. He was a best kept secret from Shredder, until maybe news broke? Mondo didn’t like the evil plans? Still deciding on that. 

- Well either way, Mondo is on the run from the purple dragons for days after he escapes, and he finds his way tot he sewers where he meets (and terrifies) an orange clad turtle with a girly scream.

- Mondo hears Mikey’s scream and it’s the funniest thing he’s heard ever in his life, so he breaks down laughing. Mikey chills out after realizing this stranger isn’t any harm to him or at least means no harm. They get to talking until Casey (who Mikey called in a fit of fear and desperation when his brothers wouldn’t help him, it’s April 1st soooo they didn’t trust it) knocks him out with his hockey stick, causing an argument between the two on what to do.

- They just take him back to the lair for Splinter to figure out, maybe Donnie can look at him in the morning? 

That’s all I have for now and, honestly I’m still working on stuff like specifics, how exactly this fits in with the whole Shredder narrative and backstory with Hun and the purple dragons but I’ll get there. I still haven’t made a single piece of art and I need to because I have this idea for “Same As It Never Was” with a future Mondo’s fate and just a bunch of other art with him being a goofy friend to the turtles who helps them out, him hanging out with the family, on missions with them, or just skateboarding around the sewers and it’s not like I’ve said everything yet like I haven’t touched his dynamic with the turtles, Splinter, April and Casey!

Also I’m sorry if this is long or disorganized I was just writing all of my thoughts because I’ve been sitting on them for the better half of a year and I didn’t want to wait on it anymore, also hey it might actually motivate me to make art! Someone else already did so I thought I should finally get on it!

[icannotgetoverbirds]

HOLD UP you never told me YOU had a leopard gecko I want details what’s his NAME do you have a PICTURE did he ever leave one or two crickets and let them sing at night for a solid week just because he didn’t want to eat it for some reason

Maniac my beloved, he's gonna be about four years old in November. I got him from a petsmart for like $20, $25 (I didn't know any better and my parents were the ones who wanted the cheapest option possible so don't @ me and yes I am sorry).

I don't have any pictures anymore - I'd have to get in touch with my mom for that and as much as I love my followers and my babey boy, that is not worth it right now.

I always hand-fed him rather than letting him hunt, which in hindsight might've been a bad idea. It's the laziest safe option - buuuut once I got him on dubia roaches I could put them upside down in a bowl of supplement and let him go to town. No leaving crickets in with the lizard though - that can actually result in injuries because the crickets might nibble on the gecko ):

Maniac, like most leopard geckos, was a very no thoughts head empty little man. Eating, sleeping, defecating, you know, that was pretty much the extent of his thoughts. He liked to tromp around his enclosure every now and then, and sit in that hammock like I told you about.

I'd take him out every so often for a bath (either for enrichment or pooping purposes) and usually held him after every feeding. I think my favorite thing was to take him out in the rain - leopard geckos are desert critters, and I lived in a desert, so I figured he'd enjoy it.

I think he did, honestly, because he'd get cozy in my hand or on my arm and pancake. He'd lick his eyes and close them real slow-like, the way they do it when they're relaxed rather than stressed, you know?

He also had no concept of cliffs, so if you set him on a table, he'd walk straight to (and off) the edge if you didn't stop him. Makes sense for a terrestrial little guy.

I had to give him away (hopefully temporarily) because I couldn't take care of myself, let alone him. Leopard geckos are by no means difficult, but this meat sack has incredibly complex needs and is not on default settings, so I had to make sure he was taken care of regardless.

I know he's in good hands, though. I'm hoping I can track him down once I get stable housing and take him with me. Once I'm taken care of, meeting his needs should be no problem at all!

[jaqiqi-blog]

Part 2 wooo

This is just my scifi dnd aipom pet. Made up a whole species n stuff for them lol

Skorpiskems, are an uncommon alien species that are rather resilient creatures. They have acidic saliva, no eyelids, instead licking their eyes like a gecko to keep moist, and their fur grows green over time. Not just for show though, the green on their fur essentially establishes dominance so skoiroiskems, if they feel threatened by another skoroiskem over dominance, will get into a fight with the other where they rip eachothers fur off of one another. The skoroiskem with the most green on their body at the end of that mess is the more dominant one.

These are exotic animals that shouldn't really be kept as pets. My character just so happened to get one from an illegal animal smuggler that his gang was owed money from. Then bing bang boom, my dude had a lil skoroiskem named Durgy! :)

The first drawings were just essentially to visualize my Boi. I wanted it to be uncanny but still seeable as cute, like with how some people see normal aipom lol. The age of my art is also clearly visible on the old Durgy drawings.

New durgy tho

New Durgy is great, his body is structured better, he feels more 3 dimensional, he even just looks furrier and more approachable. I gave the lil detail of him having more green fur on his body with this drawing since some time did pass in the campaign. Mecha Durgy is a whole other scenario. One of the villains of the campaign bought a "shiny" skoroiskem.

Shinies are skoroiskems that basically never got puberty in a way? Their testosterone is what makes their fur turn from pink as a baby to purple and get the green on the purple so without that, they're stuck pink with no chance of being the alpha while also being essentially the bully victim of the band of skoroiskems its in if it isn't abandoned.

So anyways, villain bought a shiny skoroiskem, stuffed it inside this robot suit, probably butchering the actual body for the suit, and it has machinery that'll just pump it *full* of testosterone, which, if done in like.. a responsible and dosed way, it'd be reasonable and even helpful for the skoroiskem since it can't produce its own, but this essentially just sends it into a powered frenzy of ig alpha mindset lol

There's prob some caffeine and other drugs in that orange mix ngl

But ya, think that's all the aipom drawing I had left!

There's this too ig lol

Aipom in the Iron lung. Made after the 100

[nat-20s]

for @jonmartinweek day 8! (which I definitely realized was happening and for sure did not forget lmao). The prompt was free day/au, so I picked my own theme of “pets”. The last few fics have been pretty loaded, so please enjoy some pure post canon (literal and figurative) fluff

~*~

“I can’t believe I married a dog person.”

They weren’t even supposed to be in the shelter. They had made no plans to visit a shelter. However, as Jon has been learning over the course of the past couple years, a Martin not under duress and given free time outside will inevitably end up trying to befriend any living nonhuman creature in the immediate vicinity.

“I’m not a dog person.”

“The lapful of beagle puppy would indicate otherwise.”

“Just because I appreciate the company of a very good boy, yes you are, doesn’t mean I’m a dog person. Dog person implies I have a preference. I like cats equally as much as I like dogs. Unlike some of us, my heart is open to all manner of furry friends.”

“I don’t...hate dogs.”

“Uh-huh. Is that why you won’t pet Rufio here?”

“He’s nippy, I don’t trust him. And it’s just that dogs are A Lot. I find most of them a bit overwhelming. And needy.”

“Pff, that’s no excuse. You’ve been best friends with overwhelming, and you married needy.”

Martin lets out a distracted giggle as Rufio finally gets in a lick on his face. Okay, maybe it is a pretty adorable sight, but that’s hardly sufficient enough evidence to actually let such an energetic ball of fluff into their home. Still, it’s enough to convince Jon to sit down next to them, and give Rufio a very tentative scritch behind the ears. “I think we both qualify as the needy one in our relationship.”

“Pretty sure that’s called codependency. What would our therapist say?”

“She’d probably say that’s a bit harsh. And that we still need to work on our separation anxiety.”

“Hey, you know what helps with separation anxiety?”

“No.”

“A dog!”

“No!”

They get a dog. Their flat is decently sized and they both have steady incomes and enough free time between them to take proper care of her. They don’t get Rufio, but instead a 7 year old mutt named Daffodil who is, admittedly, the most gentle and sweet creature Jon’s ever met. They also get a cat, a rambunctious 2 year old tabby named Jack (“We can change the name.” “Jon! How dare you! Jack responds to his name, clearly he likes it!”) who had already decided Daffodil was his mom, and they couldn’t possibly bear not adopting them together.

~*~

“You know, we could get a tarantula.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’m serious! They’re not, like, evil in this universe, and some of them have cutest little pink toesie woesies.”

“You’re not serious, you’re being a bastard, and I hate you.”

Martin wraps his arms around Jon’s waist and presses a kiss to the side of his face, which Jon gives a half-hearted swat at, because, again, the man’s being a bastard. Stubbornly ignoring Jon’s pout, Martin presses his cheek to the top of Jon’s head, cheerfully replying, “I’m fine with that, as long as you promise to hate me for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, I certainly can’t make that promise. I won’t even hate you ten seconds from now. I suppose you’ll have to settle for love instead.”

“Hmm. Deal.”

“We’re still not getting a fucking tarantula.”

They do not get a tarantula. Their home remains admirably spider free.

~*~

Martin’s gasp is loud enough to echo, and Jon can feel him begin to vibrate next to him. The excitement is perplexing at first, they’ve been to this bookstore dozens of times, and it’s never elicited this sort of response. Then Jon looks over to the front counter, where a medium-sized cage and a “For adoption” sign have been put on display. With a wild, jubilant glee, Martin asks, “Sonja! Are those baby. Dumbo. Rats?!”

“Sure are! I’ve got a friend who’s a breeder, I take it you’re interested?”

“Yes, absolutely, 100%, we’re getting two immediately.”

“Well…”

Martin snaps his head over to look at Jon with a look of betrayal the likes of which Jon hasn’t seen since the panopticon. “Jonathan, no!”

“Um.”

“You can not tell me you you don’t like rats! Dumbo rats especially!”

“I…”

Ticking off on his fingers, Martin lists, “They’re adorable, they’re smart, they’re cleanly, they’re extremely empathetic, they’re tickilish, which is stupidly cute, they can be trained to use a litter box and do tricks, they’re snuggly and playful and perfect! They’re all the good parts of dogs combined with the best parts of cats in one tiny portable package! Look at their little ears, that are like that because of a slight difference in skull shape that has no negative health effects! Plus, we can set them up in the project room, since Captain Jack isn’t allowed in there anyway. How can you dislike rats?”

“I don’t know! They just sort of..freak me out. Or not all of them, just their feet. I don’t like their little man hands.”

Martin throws his arms in the air, proclaiming, “Their little man hands are one of their best qualities! Look, Jon, are you genuinely afraid of them, or just slightly discomfited?”

“I would say mediumly discomfited. This isn’t like spiders.”

“Cool. ‘Cause in that case, we’re getting the light tan one and the solid white one, their names shall be Peaches and Cream, and you will love them as much as you love our dog and cat children.”

“That’s a rather bold claim.”

“It’s an accurate one. You’ll see.”

Within a week, Jon is transporting Peaches ‘n’ Cream in the pocket of his hoodie, and he can feel Martin’s smug aura from two rooms away. Damn him.

~*~

“Did you know snakes don’t have an amygdala?”

“Okay? You didn’t have to bring me to a reptile store to tell me that.”

“I didn’t bring you to a reptile store to tell you that. I brought you to a reptile store because I want to hold a cornsnake.”

Jon rolls his eyes, but the fondness in his voice somewhat undercuts it. “Of course you do.”

Martin makes a scaly acquaintance in less than two minutes, and as the snake coils around his fingers, he continues, “Anyway, if they don’t have amygladas, do they feel fear in a way similar to us, or is it only a recognition of threats and instinctual response?”

“Martin, my love, I have no idea. Is this going somewhere? It’s fine if not, I’m just checking in.”

“Yes. Because if they don’t feel fear, I’m getting this snake and naming her Georgie.”

That makes Jon let out a sharp bark of laugh, and, for a moment, he’s able to reminisce without any pain. “You know, I think she’d actually love that? She also had a proclivity for all creatures great and small. And a terrible sense of humor.”

“Wow, you really have a type, huh. Also hey! My sense of humor is fantastic! It always makes my husband laugh, and he has very exacting standards.”

“Liar. Your husband finds joy with you at the slightest provocation, no good sense of humor needed.”

“Hmm. He is a bit of a softie, isn’t he? Which is why he’ll let me get this snake.”

“He most certainly will not.”

“But���.look at her….”

“It’s not a matter of how cute she is, dear. It’s a matter of you made us get pet rats less than a month ago, there’s absolutely no way you’re going to be able to feed mice to a snake.”

Martin looks at the cornsnake, looks at Jon, looks back, and his shoulders slump. With a wince, he asks, “Maybe frozen mice won’t be too bad?”

“What if she’s picky?”

“...There are species of snake that only eat bugs.”

“Cornsnakes aren’t one of them.”

Waving over an assistant, Martin puts the cornsnake back with a defeated, “Fine. When you’re right, you’re right.”

Jon doesn’t particularly feel like he’s won an argument. In fact, he’s a bit disappointed himself, he always liked snakes. Big fan of reptiles in general, actually, which is probably what drives him to say, “Lizards don’t usually eat mice.”

That’s how they walk out of the store with three leopard geckos.

~*~

Jon’s helping Martin set up the gecko tank in what can now be affectionately called a zoo when all of the sudden it strikes him. Some of the animals in their home right now have life spans of 10-20 years, and never once had the necessary longevity of care come up as a reason to protest against them. Jon had felt so at ease with the concept of a future that he hadn’t even thought about it, hadn’t been steeling himself for the other shoe to drop. He’s stopped having bated breath every time something good happens, instead taking reassurance in a sense of permanence that he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel again. Martin must hear his breath hitch, because he immediately stops what he’s doing to take Jon’s hand into his own. “Something wrong, love?”

Jon shakes his head. “No, nothing. I suppose I’m realizing that we have time, don’t we?”

Martin must know exactly what he means, the weight behind the words, because he brings Jon’s hand to his lips and says, “Yes. Yes, we really, really do.”

[samiam288]

I am not gonna sugar coat this and keep it real with y’all. I have had to do some crazy things as a foster mom that I honestly never thought in a million years I would experience or go through.

*Taking a teen girl to get a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) exam at the hospital. I held her hand through it all and tried not to cry.

* taking a teen girl to an impatient behavioral health center (twice) and having her stay for at least a week each time.

*getting locked in my own garage because a child was mad at me.

*locking myself in my car to have a private conversation.

*seeing a child learn how to swim for the first time.

*taking a teen on her first date with a boy

* meeting with a police detective with our teen placement at the time.

* rubbing the back of a frightened little girl who just wanted to be with her mom.

*playing Barbie’s with a girl to bond

*watching a biological parent become sober and baptized with his daughter (Beautiful!)

*letting a little girl wear a Cinderella dress with cute little heels all day.

*having a little girl run and hug me, telling me how much she missed me.

*being called mom for the very first time even if it was just for a little while (melted my heart)

*throwing fun birthday parties

*having a placement lick the bloody nose tissue that another peer used

*having objects thrown at me

*thanking God for parental controls on phones

*installing window sensors in our house ( you can probably guess why)

*yelling at our teens boyfriend in front of her work (like the scene from instant family)

*Taking a child to the emergency room because they passed out on the school bus.

*learning more about hearing loss and cochlear implants (the process in which to get cochlear implants)

*taking a placement out to various stores right when they arrive so they have clothes and toiletries

*being told from the teen that they have demonic seizures

*navigating a teen being transgender

*laughing hysterically

*creating new and fun memories with each placement (rafting trips, baking classes, camping trips, theme parks and road trips)

*having a teen want you to adopt them (literal tears)

*saying yes to our placements having snakes and geckos in the house (along with the cockroaches they feed the gecko)

*having a heating lamp for the reptiles burn a whole in the carpet (burnt carpet is legit the worst)

*taking a teen to get a nose piercing

* taking plenty of videos when the teen got her wisdom teeth out (endless entertainment)

* navigating the whole period thing with a teen who just got it right when they came to us

If you have read this far I am impressed. I wrote these down as a reminder for me. In a way it is therapeutic as I remember the really amazing beautiful moments that I would have never experienced if I didn’t say yes to being a foster mom. There have also been crazy moments that I honestly have no idea how I get through. I get through them because God is my foundation. Along with our amazing community and a great counselor.

[thewritingoccurrence]

Beyond Miles

Beyond Miles by Breadby

Beyond mortal rules, I know who I am. 

I am me without doubt,

Unbounded, unhinged.

Humans have an inherent weakness. At times when the mortal coil becomes all too much, they give up.

Miles was tired. His frown disappears, plump lips parting with one another to give way for an exhausted yawn. He sits himself in a lotus pose on the fluffy light blue Frieze rug. It’s nice. The soft and thick carpet prays him naught but to rest. And the boy does.

Growing up, he learned to skew from the norm. Although his parents always taught him to be a good child, follow God, and respect elders. It was weird to him. He wanted something more than what he was taught. He sought comfort outside of the box. He sought comfort and found the universe, sansinukob. Miles attests to the true serenity that sansinukob offers.

He was sitting in the same lotus pose when the dreamy-eyed boy noticed an anito, a shadowy figure with an almost navy blue aura, trying to play with his knuckly fingers. It’s happened other times too. He clearly remembers the soft ghost touch that

comes no-where — he wants to know where. It was inviting. So, he accepted. The hand held Miles’ tightly. A sickeningly sweet gesture that faints when the hand speedily creeps up his arm, tickling him frighteningly as it grazed over his arm hairs. Sending shivers down his spine. He anxiously tapped his foot, shaking his knees. He is trying so hard not to piss in his lotus pose. His arm feels sluggish. It’s so heavy but he can’t feel it. The anito suppressing all his energies, choosing a murderous chokehold. Miles is exhausted. He’s light-headed. It’s probably the incense getting into his lungs, or his body’s response to the strangulation.

Espiritu. The nothingness that is everything starts to creep in. 

He enters no-where.

It’s absent. He realizes there is no heat nor cold.

 It looks like someone placed polygons and shapes all over the universe. Like he’s in a math book that has been painted over with stars and black acrylic.

It gets his head throbbing as he feels his burdens fall off his shoulders. 

He has entered no-where, now he knows where — it’s sansinukob.

Miles is… free; Free and comforted. He feels like a baby being cradled in the warmth of a true loving mother’s arms. At least, that’s what he feels. He tries to move his feet forward, expecting to feel a little funky except he has none in this plane. Every being appears to be a physical representation of their soul, kaluluwa.

It’s my first time here. Miles can definitely hear himself but he doesn’t hear the words leave his spirit body. What is he here for anyway?

He stays confused for quite a while. Who knows how long ‘a while’ here lasts?

Not too long, he hears a squeak from not too far back. His core shivers. It’s an unfamiliar voice. Not unpleasant. Miles moves through what he thinks are stars. The closer he moves toward the voice, the more sluggish he gets until he’s loopy all over again.

See ‘ya back home, pare! The same high-pitched voice says. Miles likes that squeaky not-so-high-pitched voice. Comforting.

He’s still feeling out of it. He looks for the various shapes and neon colors previously introduced to him in the astral.

It felt like he fell off a cliff. And he was still falling. Just to see the ground fast approaching him. Shaken up, he wakes up. This time there aren’t any psychedelics or burning herbs to blame his unstable core.

 Sniff, sniff. So dizzy.

Pangkatawan. Miles rasps, “Is that my lavender incense?” Of course, it is.

Then he feels a dry, scaly — also weirdly smooth, leather skin tap against his arm. Miles, still frazzled from the trip, tries his best to wink open an eye.

Poke! His eyelid is licked by, what he thinks, is a lizard. Miles felt its dry leather skin tickle his honey beige skin. “It’s a gecko,” whispers the boy to himself. “Right?” Doubting his intuition a moment in.

He manages to open his eyes; not too much. He can barely open it fully. Instead, he peeks.

He’s here. In his room. Again. Sadly.

The dimmed lights and lit candles are still here. Although, they don’t help in making everything seem brighter. He comes back to a more lifeless room.

“I’m tired,” No. He’s worn out. His energy is depleted. Sleep has to be the only escape. “Mio.” It slips out of his mouth so smoothly. He’s named his familiar.

The panther gecko lies on Miles’ chest, calming the suddenly unconscious boy.

  Every day is the same. Or it feels like it is. He does anything and somehow it angers his parents. The atmosphere of the ‘home’ is dependent on what they feel. So every day Miles tiptoes to get through.

Today is no different. He wakes up to find out he triggered the bomb some way, his parents.

“You’re not going to be anything with the way you think. You’re still a child, alalahanin mo ‘yan.” Miles’ dad is furious, boiling with anger. His eyes are about to pop out of their sockets. “You’re wrong.” his father continued, “Stop thinking you’re always right.” Even mumbling native cuss words in his native tongue.

Miles opens his mouth, wanting to help his father understand his side. But, god, is it so hard. He shuts up. He bites his lip until it’s dripping bits of crimson red. He has  to. To prevent another wrong from slipping or he’ll get beat.

His throat is dry like a dead plant, unable to produce air to live. His father has established a frustrating rhythm in his heart, beating loud and greedy.

“Go back to your room. Pack your things.” The dad has his eyebrows knit together while his hands point to the front door. “Get out. ‘Wag ka na bumalik, ah. I’m telling you one last time.” says the dad with his jaw clenched and teeth-gritting.

Miles’ mother decides to finally have a say in this. She hastily finds her way to be in between the two boys when their argument has gone too far. “Mahal, that’s enough.” Voice a little breathy. Her candle fingers rubbing the dad’s chest, adding fuel to fire. “Anak,” her gaze fixed on her child’s depressed orbs. Her look was more of a glare. Like she expected this from Miles. Her eyes spoke of the anger that couldn’t be heard from her soft gentle voice. “Go to your room. Think for a while. I’ll talk to you later.”

 He wants to die.

Miles wants to cry. It’s always going to be his fault. At times like these, he wishes things were different. Maybe, his parents could hear him out. It’s frustrating.

A growing child isn’t supposed to carry this much trauma.

 It’s funny. Things are always going to be like this. His parents are going to find a way to blame their problems on him. Nothing will change. Parent-child dynamics are fixed already in this household. He knows he’ll never win, nor will he try. Miles lets out a snicker. He hopes no one heard that. Not over his parents’ obnoxiously loud self-interest and opinions.

“Sorry.” He grits in between the fat of his index finger. Another mistake he’s made is saying that apology in the most apologetic tone. Probably enough to get a few slaps here and there. Punches too perhaps.

He turns around, aggravatingly slow. His feet tiptoe over eggshells on the floor. Knives dig into his back. Heart increasing in weight. Lungs are deflated balloons. The moment he gets to close the door to his room, his legs fail. There are no tears. Too many times has this happened for him to keep crying about it.

But it’s too much, he gives up.

 Head in hands. He sits on the floor with no energy, shoulders slumped, neck drooped down.

“Mio,” He calls his familiar. “I-” Miles offers his hands for the gecko to climb on.

 He sighs as if letting out a deeply kept burden. “I can’t do this anymore.” 

The brown-scaled pet blinks his eyes one at a time.

There was almost a laugh when he said, “Don’t give me that look.” Then Miles shoves himself deeper into the pits of his own depression. “I know what you’re thinking and no, I won’t- you know,” eyes squinting, not wanting to say it. “Attempt to kill myself again, Mio.” says the teen. You could almost hear the disappointment he has in himself. Almost. He covers it with shame.

The gecko clicks in concern. Its tiny mouth opens to release high-pitched croaks, ones that Miles is most familiar with, for the familiar to express care and energy sharing. 

“I’ll just…” Miles stops himself when he feels the panther gecko’s questioning stare. “We’ll just-” he quietly giggles. “We’ll run away, okay?” Mio quirks his head side to side as he watches Miles hurriedly grab his things from all over the room — you know, the essentials.

Biting the knuckle of his index finger, he rushes to find everything he’s packed.

 “Where is it? Where is it?” chants Miles a few times, eyes dimming once he realizes he probably misplaced his runaway bag.

Panicking is an understatement. He’s put all his protective agimat, and anting-antings. Of course, he’s panicking.

“Mio, I’m sorry.” He abruptly stops his pacing. Nothing ever happened with rush. “I guess we’ll have to stay here for a long while.” And just like that, he gives up so easily after just a few minutes of searching. Miles gives up another chance to run away from the abusive household he’s in. He’s given up the right to his own freedom, letting in the insects that settle into the nooks and crannies of the scars he’s accumulated here.

But it’s too much, he gives up. 

The gecko croaks.

He doesn’t hear it. Miles’ shoulders are too tensed up. Head drills down in  anxiety.

Mio croaks, a couple of squeaks to get Miles’ attention.

 The young boy still doesn’t look over to his familiar. Not until he hears subtle clinks and clunks coming from where he thinks is the closet. “Mio?” The lizard comes back and forth from Miles to inside the closet, making sure he’s following. “What’s up?”

Arm deep as he dug into the clutter, they both find in the deep end of Miles’ mess of a closet the runaway bag. It’s a navy blue nylon camping bag. He’s used it a couple times for varsity practice.

He internally shrieks, a little too excited. You can see it in his eyes. The dreamy glow is back. “Mio!” He whisper-screams, only to plant a tender kiss atop the gecko’s head.

Still relishing in happiness, he shivers in fear. Miles doesn’t know what he is to do once he successfully runs away. He’s just 16.

“I’ve never done this before.” He says to himself. “I’m-”

 Knock knock! “Anak?”

When Miles hears his mum’s deafeningly gentle voice, he shoves the nylon camping back back into the closet. Jumping onto his bed a few seconds before his mom turns the doorknob.

“Anak?” She enters the incense-filled room. “Don’t mind your father, ‘nak. He’s just tired.” She pauses, tapping Miles’ shoulder. Not sure if he’s even listening, back turned against her. “You shouldn’t have talked back in the first place. Kasalanan mo din naman. Reflect, ha. ” She taps him again. To no surprise, he’s asleep.

Or at least that’s what Miles wants his mother to believe.

 “Hay,” sighs the mother. “Ipapanalangin na lang kita, ‘nak.” And she does. She prays earnestly a hand on her heart, another on Miles’ back. She prays to her God to change Miles back into the kid they once knew him to be, or whatever bullshit that was.

If Miles actually cared, he’d pitch in on the prayer. Say a few affirmations to help the plea get across. But he doesn’t. All that faith brought to him was pressure. The prayer went in one ear, out the other. Easier said than done.

The air is tighter when she leaves the room. It’s suffocating. “Mio, let’s go.” He can’t breathe. Not here, not anymore.

He gently takes the panther gecko from its restful position on the lamp before Miles takes one last long look at home. At what he called home for the longest time. One last look at familiarity until the queer world takes him in.

 I won’t return. Not now at least.

He’s all set. It’s concerning.

 A sixteen-year-old wanting to run away and having planned everything out is a cry for help. But no one listened. Not the few times he tried to ask.

So now, he sits at the 7/11 nearest the bus stop. Inside, of course. He can’t stand the stench of vehicle gas emissions, rotten fruit, and sour street foods. Even with the auburn gold the sun shines on the city, it doesn’t make it all the more better. Heck, the city looks more unbearable in heat with its bright hues and clogged streets.

He just wants to leave.

 Bingo. “Kalibo, Aklan. Aalis na po sa pagbaba ng araw.” The Philtranco driver says with much heaving in his breath, becoming more obvious with each inhale and exhale.

He boards the bus. “Finally, may aircon ulit.” nudges Miles to his familiar after they settle on a window seat far back. “This is it. We’re actually doing this, pars.” People are looking at him weirdly when he speaks to Mio. Like he cares. All he cares about is that he’s running away. This time halfway successful.

But this is it. He can’t give up. 

He won’t. He’ll just… rest.

  With the things I’ve experienced with the people of this home, I guess I can reach out gratitude to them.

Thank you for the time. You could’ve given me a lot more. I looked for people to depend on. Because you said we were family.

Thank you for the love. I didn’t feel it all too much. Pretty sure it was there. Just not the way I expected it to come to me.

Thank you but that’s all I can give.

Oh, most especially, thank you for your money. Thanks to you, I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.

  Espiritu. Miles is woken up by his fellow passengers, or the lack thereof. The supposedly air-conditioned vehicle feels still, neither is it hot nor is it cold. It’s familiar. The bus feels safe. Unusually, a bus where strangers feel safe to Miles.

“Mio, andito na ba tayo?” The boy’s limbs feel like noodles. He’s trying to get a hold of them. “Uy, Mio!” Miles calls out a little louder.

“Mhm. Here na.” It’s his familiar’s voice but he sees a faint light leave the bus as the voice fades away into the distance.

Strange. Nonetheless, Miles follows the glow. It’s just Mio — right? His gut rubs up the wrong way right when he’s stepped off of the bus. The first thing he notices isn’t the presence of both the sun and the moon, not the aerial and lightweight feeling disappearing and gradually turning into parasitic moths in his stomach.

He clocks in with himself the locale.

 “What am I doing,” his breath hitches at a feeling of nauseating nostalgia, “here?” The innocence the place offers is overridden by the murderous memories it brought to him once. It takes him over. Heart heavier than when he and his parents fight.

He stares at the lone child by the swings. That’s not Mio. Where is my familiar? She’s dressed in a fluffed up broidered rose pink cotton dress, adorned with lace. With each passing second, Miles inches back. Fearful of the child. It can’t be.

Barely above a whisper, “Can you help me po?” The little girl asks. “I don’t know how to go home.” Voice faint, but it’s loud for Miles.

He hears her say it a couple more times until his head starts drilling down.

 Stop talking! is what Miles needs to scream to the chatty child but her mouth isn’t open. He still hears the half hiccups she lets out with the same question she asked earlier, “Can you help me po? Help me get out of here.”

Miles has gone mad.

 He doesn’t know if he’s hyperventilating, he can’t feel the rise and fall of his chest.

 Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. He can’t get himself to calm down without his normal box breathing method.

Inhale. Hold. He holds his breath for a while. “This is okay.” he thinks to himself. Until it’s not. No matter how much he tries, he can’t catch his breath. It’s faster than he can run. It runs towards the swings of the playground, to the well-dressed little girl.

Kalma, Miles.

 This child doesn’t know you. You have no reason to lash out at her. T

his is okay. It’s okay.

“Sorry,” a stutter to the two-syllable sentence. He sits on the wet soil, relishing in petrichor right in front of the girl. “I don’t know how to get you home po.” Either that or Miles can’t find himself to set free the little girl. The tone of his voice is regretful.

Knowing full well that he’s talking to his past self. The him he failed to take care of. With a sad smile, he asks, “How are you?”

Both of them finally meet gazes. Her eyes are young and full of hope. You can see that she wants to see everything good the world can. She looks happy. They glimmer a little bit yellow. They look like they’re pleading though.

Miles, on the other hand, has a blue reflection in his eyes. For all he’s been able to go through, he’s kept it to himself but his eyes clearly tell a different story. You can see the pain, the regret he wishes he didn’t have to feel. His stare gloomy.

“I’m okay!” Her eyes smile instead of her lips. “I’m just waiting for Mama and Papa to come pick me up. Pero it’s been a while na since they said they would come na to sundo me. So, I need help to get home.”

A pang of sorrow suffuses his already broken heart.

 He remembers this exact scene he experienced when he was her. He remembers his dress being stained with mud as he waited for his parents. He sees the exact same stains on the little girl’s dress. He remembers that his parents didn’t come back for him until a few days after. They only got him right after the local police managed to contact them.

Miles remembers. He vividly remembers the way he constantly pestered his parents about wanting to keep playing in the playground even though he was soaked in sweat and dirt; the way his parents shouted at him, “If you want to stay here, you can. Ang kulit mong bata. Basta kami, uuwi na.” And they drove off at sunset. It painted a guilty painting in his young mind.

“They said I can stay here if I wanted to!” The little girl disturbs Miles’ train of thought. “And they said they were tired so they wanted to go home.” Soft-spoken, she continues. “But it’s okay! Mama and papa said they’ll be back.”

A sad smile is seen on Miles’ face. It looks more like a happy frown though. “They…” He hesitates. There’s no need to tell her.

 “Kuya, I’m sleepy. Can you tell Marissa a story, pretty please?”

 He flinches at his own deadname. He started introducing himself as Miles to everyone when Junior High School came along. No one ever called him Marissa after coming out.

However, he is relieved. At the fact that his past self isn’t him, he’s relieved that he can look at who he was from the outside.

“Kuya?” Miles says under his breath with uncertainty. Being addressed as an older brother by his past self is unusually endearing to him. “Of course, kuya can tell you a story.”

“I want to hear your story, kuya.” She steps off from the swings to sit right beside Miles on the sand.

The words hug his soul. Never did he ever think he could be heard. Never did he think such a pure and innocent child, such as Marissa, could lend an ear.

Marissa teases, head tilting side to side out of shyness and sleepiness. “You’re cool kasi.”

And a genuine smile creeps upon his face. “Okay, okay. Kuya will tell you his story.” To him, it’s lovely to speak to her in the third person. It’s like he separates himself

from his miserable life. “When I was a kid, I didn’t like following the rules too much. I think that’s why mama and papa just let me do what I want. Kasi no matter what I did, they can’t control me daw.” He pauses.

 As I grew up, they were always building something in me. I don’t think they raised me. I felt like they trained me. To many people, there’s no difference in that. But to me, there is. There was pretentious love and rewards whenever I achieved something they wanted me to. For the times I accomplished something for my own pleasure, I was called selfish. And that’s what I came to understand myself as, a selfish child. Someone who only cared for their personal interests.

  “You, Marissa. Listen. When you grow up, remember that you are allowed to put yourself first, ah. You don’t really need everyone or anyone’s approval.”

“But kuya,” What’s wrong? “Not anyone’s approval? How about my mama and papa?”

  When I got home from this very playground, I remember crying to my parents- our parents. I told them how sorry I was for not obeying them in the first place. There was always something I had to live up to for me to get the slightest bit of attention from them. I had to prove myself somehow just to feel the slightest bit of love.

That’s pretty fucked up if someone were to ask me. I was, I am worthy of love despite my achievements and what I can do. I only realized this when I started losing myself.

I was about 11 years old when I almost lost myself. I didn’t like how I felt in a girl’s body. I didn’t like how I grew up as Marissa. My thin figure seemed all too fitting for me, I thought.

The constant searching for the approval of people is stupid.

  Miles shakes his head with a sad smile. “Not even them.” He hates to say this but she’ll come to understand when the time comes.

“But they love me a lot. They only know what’s best for me.” Marissa tries to wager but to no avail, Miles doesn’t budge.

  What if she’s right? What if my parents really loved me?

  He’s spacing out, hands shaking from anxiety. “Definitely.”

  The kid’s right. My parents did love me. Everything they did was out of love and discipline. They wanted me to change the  wrong parts of me. They wanted to make sure I became part of friend groups. They only did what was right for me. Right? They did. Most definitely.

 “Sorry. You’re right,” Hiccup. Tears begin to fall from his dreamy eyes as he tells the little girl, “Our parents did love you.” The first word slurred, sounding like he was just pertaining to Marissa — your parents did love you. In that, he knows it wasn’t a Freudian slip. The parents he disowned did love Marissa.

When he was her, when he was a kid, Miles knew how much his parents loved her. That’s what he thought, as Marissa. He’d be happy with his life if he only grew as Marissa. He knew that his parents stopped loving him when he told them he was Miles.

“Kuya, I’m sure naman your parents love you.”

 Whether or not they do, it doesn’t matter. “Thank you, Marissa.” His voice is sincere with gloom. Arms open, asking for an embrace from his past self, the little girl. Enthusiastically, she jumps into Miles’ arms — practically throwing herself into his almost dead body. Marissa, on the other hand, shares her youthful glow and warmth with Miles. And they share an embrace.

He shuts his eyes tighter as each second passes by.

 He tries to give the best hug he can give to his past self, a hold that he knows his younger self deserves, one he wasn’t able to get.

Marissa felt safe, reassured. It’s what Miles felt the first time he visited sansinukob. The arms that the universe stretched out to him was of love and acceptance.

 “Hey, Marissa?” asks the heaving boy. “Kuya has made some decisions that aren’t the best. I want you to know na-” Inhale. “I just hope that you will grow up as a beautiful person, inside and out. Just-” Exhale. “Be yourself. Don’t force yourself to grow up so fast just because the people who should help you grow weren’t there.”

She keeps her eyes peeled, concerned for her kuya but she doesn’t say anything. She just listens to him, nodding slowly.

“I’m sorry I grew up too fast. I was too selfish to you, to us.” The boy hugs the little girl in regret.

Her smile from tender and winsome offers a beautiful memory, something she is not to have soon.

Her smile shifts dramatically like their surroundings.

The playground fades in color. The bright crimson slide, the mustard-colored swings, and kalumpit trees turning gray, going as one with the non-existent wind — gradually vanishing completely from the astral plane.

Miles doesn’t notice it, not even noticing the change of scenery through his peripherals. He’s too focused on Marissa’s lips grinning saddened yet content with everything. However, she’s waiting for something from Miles.

“I’m sorry.”

 “Don’t be, please, kuya.” She pats his hand, reassuring him to free him of any intrusive thoughts.

He’s genuine with how he feels. He’s moved still by his own despondence. “I’m sorry I’m selfish.” says Miles when he remembers the first thing she asked him here. She wanted help and he immediately shut her down. It’s when he realizes that he’s grown attached to his own trauma no matter how much he’s wanted to let go. He hoped to see the same thing happening to Marissa, reassuring him that he didn’t go through the tough times alone, instilling within himself that it was all necessary for growth. “But…” Deep breaths, he reminds himself. “I will help you now.” He grunts out the words as he struggles to stand on his numb yet tingly feet, assisting the little girl to get up by offering his seemingly fit arm.

Her voice chirps, “You’ll help me get home na, kuya?”

 Miles nods, arms opening up again to offer another embrace once he notices the disintegration of the colors and physical elements. At the instant she hugs back the boy, Miles whispers, voice sweet and caring, “I love you, Marissa. You don’t know me but I know you. Even if you’ll never really know who I am, I still love you.” He admits that he loved himself as a child.

As his heart says those words, the playground disappears completely, taking the little girl along, it pushes Miles out.

  Pangkatawan. The air-conditioned bus is driving along the green fields as the morning sun kisses Miles’ loaf cheeks. People on the vehicle are still asleep. Miles appreciates the peace.

However, there’s a queasiness to his head. He is acquainted with this feeling —  a step down from sansinukob, but emptier.

He is well aware of the way he got on the bus; the ‘why’ is still in question though. Miles is now unsure of why he got on this solo road trip. His slender fingers run through his fluffy hair as he tries to think. “Hm, can’t remember why I’m here.” He pays no mind until he realizes all the answers to his questions are missing.

  “I’m Miles,” the boy unusually states a name, almost alien. “Right?”

  Humans have an inherent weakness. It is at times like these when the mortal coil becomes all too much for them to simply give up.

Beyond mortal rules, I know who I am.

I am me without doubt, 

Unbounded, unhinged.

[radiantsunburst]

Touch-Starved & Rough! Todoroki Shouto and Bakugou Katsuki (HCS)

@strangeshoesportsrebel : Request for touchstarved todo and baku and how rough they are when they see someone else flirting/harrassing their s/o thank you angel I’m a thirsty biych

Here it is Sweetie!~ Hope you enjoy it!💕 Warnings: NSFW (Characters are aged up to 18) and Fluff ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TODOROKI SHOUTO

SFW (When he’s touch-starved):

Todoroki grew up in a remote household. Because of his father's pride, he was used as a mere tool in defeating All Might. His Father would physically abuse him, pushing him to use the full extent of his quirk until he couldn't do so no more. He had never felt any affection from his father. The last time he felt affection was from his mother, before the incident that caused his scar happened and before she left them.

He thought that he'll never experience it again which is why he isolated his emotions and feelings, putting up a cold facade to ward people off. 

However, it all changed when he met you.  

Your genuine smile that could put Midoriya's to shame.

Your bubbly personality that rose higher than Uraraka's.

Your enthusiasm and determination to be number one rivaled the Pomeranian Hedgehog's.

Everything about you made him warm.

​In short, YOU SHINE LIKE THE FUCKING SUN. 🌞

When you guys finally got together, he told you about his traumatic childhood and you sympathized. 

​You realized that he was deprived of affection so you made a mental note to shower him day by day, starting with hugs and cheek kisses. 

The first time you did it, H E  W A S  S O  W H I P P E D. 

Icyhot.exe has stopped working. 

The wonderful sensation of being touched made him feel giddy inside. 

He never knew that being touched felt so good, and because of it, he had grown accustomed to your affection that he couldn't go to class or get productive without it. 

​"Love... " 

​"Hmm?" 

​"I need you, I want your affection.." 

​When you pet his head, he softly purrs like a kitten. Making your heart burst at the sight of his adorableness. He takes your hand from his head and nuzzles it on his cheek, giving you a signal that he wants more of it. 

​One time, you were both inside Todoroki's room. You were jotting down notes for Math in his desk while he laid on the bed, completely bored. 

"Love.. " 

​"Yes?" 

​"Come here, I miss you already" 

You didn't budge, you told him that you were busy at the moment. He pouted, feeling left out at how you were focusing on your notes instead of him. 

Desperate to touch you, his patience disappeared. Standing up, and making his way towards you. 

​You gasped when you felt arms wrap around your waist, pulling you away from your work to his chest. You blushed as you felt Todoroki's warm breath on your neck, tickling you. 

“S-Shouto, what are you d-doing?..”

"I'm sorry Love, but you should spend time with me instead of that damn work.. " He mutters before peppering your neck with kisses and nips. Eventually your boyfriend was too hot and cute to be ignored so instead you gave in and cuddled the rest of the day. 

NSFW (How rough he is when someone else flirts with his S/O):

​Todoroki is a calm and collected person, only conveying strong emotions in times of distress. 

He's a soft boi, he doesn't easily get provoked with little things (except his Dad), unless when something bad happens to you. 

You both were on a date at a park. 

​You sat by the bench as Todoroki went to buy ice cream. 

You were minding your own business, admiring your surroundings especially the beautiful sounds made by the birds until a figure sat beside you. 

It was a boy about the same age as you, wearing a loose colorful collared-shirt with a few buttons unbuttoned, showing off his collarbone and upper chest. His hair was gelled upwards, gold chains hung from his neck and hands. He gave you a smoldering look akin to a gecko being fed with a lemon slice. 

"Hey Baby, you look lost. I can be your map to guide you to my heart" The man winks. Fuckboy alert.

​You cringed, feeling disgusted by his advances. 

Moments later, Todoroki comes back with two cups of strawberry ice cream and (f/f) ice cream. 

He sees the man flirting with you, and grew alarmed when he saw the look of discomfort on your face. 

He was about to swat the man off politely but,

When the man touched your wrist, he  s n a p p e d.

​He stomped towards you both, his teeth clenched in both anger and annoyance. Because who does the man think he is?

"What do you think you are doing with my girlfriend?" His tone was firm, his eyes held a dark glare as if it bore into the man’s soul. The man cowered in fear before scurrying off. 

“Did he touch you elsewhere?” You shook your head no. 

​When you guys got home, he immediately captured your lips in a fervent kiss. His hands immediately roaming around your body, caressing every part of it. He wants to erase the man's touch on you, wanting to replace it with his. 

He gets rough when he's jealous. (and secretly kinky too oOf) 

​Your moans filled the room as your back leaned against the wall with your dual-haired boyfriend on his knees. Your right leg was placed over his shoulder giving him full access to your entrance as he lapped over the juices from your dripping sex. He eagerly sucks on the fleshy pearl before plunging three digits within your pussy and started fingering you.

​A coil formed on your stomach, your walls started clenching around his fingers but before you could release, he pulled them out making you whine. 

​"S-Shouto.... P-please.. " 

​"Please what, Love?" He teased, licking his fingers to taste your sweet, succulent juices. 

"Please just fuck me already... " 

And he did, eliciting a broken moan from you as he filled you to the brim. He was so thick that he made you feel so full but of course he let you adjust to his size, he doesn’t want you to get hurt. 

Telling him that he can finally move, he starts moving his hips slowly, gradually increasing his pace. 

​Until he's basically pounding into you, pulling you down by your hips to meet his cock. He nips at your soft skin leaving purple marks to mark his territory. 

"Who do you belong to, Love?" 

"Y-yours Todoroki Shouto! I b-belong to you only!" 

​"Good girl" He smirks before proceeding to fuck you thoroughly. He wants to prove to that man that you belong to him and only him. 

His tip was constantly kissing your womb, making you moan louder, bringing you close to orgasm. 

Once he struck the spot one last time, the knot in your stomach snapped and both of you came harshly. Your back arched as you anchored yourself on him, feeling waves of pleasure flow through your veins. Todoroki threw his head back in bliss, as he emptied himself within you. 

You both panted and breathed in deeply as you let your bodies relax from the exhausting activity.

​You find this new side of him hot and you can't wait to see more of it. 

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

SFW (When he’s touch-starved):

Bakugou Katsuki may be a hot-headed, aggressive, and egoistic boy but underneath that tough shell hides a boy who desires physical affection.

He denies it in public but when in private, once your fingertips lightly touch his arm, he will melt and turn putty in your arms.

Despite his brash personality, all he wanted was someone to hold him close and to shower him with affection.

He has a thing for hugs.

Give him or surprise him with a hug and he’ll explode into a blushing mess.

Also,

He loves it when you cup his cheeks with both of your hands and softly caress it.

You discovered this secret when you were both in the common room watching The Office, the other were in their rooms doing their usual stuff. He looked so cuddly in his oversized bear sweater and white pajamas, his face was concentrated on the show and you had the urge to squish his cheeks.

If the others were in your place, they wouldn’t dare to touch the Hedgehog. They figured that he would kill them.

But you’re the Pomeranian Hedgehog’s girlfriend so you surprised him by raising your right hand and grabbing his left cheek, giving it a soft squeeze.

He accidentally let out a small gasp before pulling his away, he was taken aback by your actions. A blush erupted from his face, his eyes wide.

“O-oi! What the fuck do you think you were doing Dumbass?! Why did you fucking p-pinch my cheek?! Do you want me to blow your brains out huh?!” He stammered.

You gave him an amused smile. He looks so cute when he’s like that.

“Answer me Dumbass!”

“You looked cute in your clothes and you’re even more adorable when you’re flustered like that”

Blasty Boom Boom Boi was speechless.

How dare you say that he’s cute.

 “S-shut up! I am not cute! Stop trying to make me flustered you fucking-“ you cut him off by enveloping him in a hug, he tried to struggle but stopped resisting when you hugged him tighter. He was still giving you insults but they weren’t offensive, just phrases like ‘Idiot’, and ‘Stop hugging me or e-else…’.

Ever since that happened, Bakugou began to crave for your touch. He wants to hold your hand, embrace you in his arms, and kiss you. He wanted nothing more but to feel you by his side. Sure he may sound needy and desperate, however he can’t help but feel this way when it comes to you.

He’s so enthralled by you.

Without your touch, his anger level increases tenfold making him more cranky and aggressive than usual. You're the only person (apart from Kirishima) who keeps him grounded. 

  His pride won't let him admit it but he's grown attached to you (please don't leave the adorable hedgehog alone).

Katsuki woke up from his slumber in your shared bed, only to find out you weren't there. He tried searching for you around the room even running to the bathroom but still couldn’t find you so, he panicked. 

'Shit! What if something happened to you?! What if a villain snuck in and kidnapped you?!What if he's too late-' 

His thoughts were interrupted when a delicious aroma of cinnamon and bacon filled the air. 

He hurried downstairs to find you cooking cinnamon pancakes and bacon in the kitchen, you were wearing a Ground Zero apron that fit snuggly to your figure. 

He sighed in relief before smiling softly. 

He approached behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, leaning his body on you. 

You squealed in surprise, almost letting go of the pan but thankfully you didn't. 

"K-Katsuki!? You surprised m-me! What are you doing out of bed? I was supposed to surprise you with breakfast-in-bed" 

 "I missed you Dumbass.. " He mumbled, loud enough for you to hear, as he placed his chin over your shoulder. A faint blush dusted over your cheeks, taken aback by his choice of words and behavior.  

"Let's go back to bed" 

 "But Katsu, I have to finish cooking our breakfast" 

  "Breakfast can wait. Cause I wanna cuddle you dammit" He says before turning off the stove. You turned to face him, about to retort when he suddenly scooped you in his arms and carried you over his shoulder. He started walking towards your shared bedroom. 

"Katsuki,  what are you-" He cut you off by giving a playful slap to your ass, causing to release a soft whimper. He gave you a smirk. 

You enjoyed your cuddling session with Katsuki throughout the day. 

NSFW (How rough he is when someone flirts with his S/O):  

He may have an explosive personality but he can get territorial over you too. He doesn't like it when another guy flirts or harasses you. Because if he finds out that someone is making you uncomfortable then he won't hesitate to blast them off to the next century. 

This man exudes aggression and protectiveness. 

Someone flirts with you + his protectiveness = wild, exhausting sex 

It was proven when you and the rest of Bakusquad were out to go night clubbing. Mina and Kaminari decided that the gang should have a drink to loosen up a bit. Hero works became quite stressful so they figured they needed something to relieve the stress. 

You wanted to do some finishing touches on your makeup so you excused yourself and went to the bathroom. 

Lightly applying some foundation and lipstick, you placed them back in your small pouch. You walked outside of the restroom and before you could three steps, a hand gripped your wrist and pulled you to the side. 

You figured that it was your boyfriend but when you turned, it was a stranger. He looked far older, his breath reeks of alcohol and he wore a crooked smile. 

"Hi there Babycakes, wanna have some fun?" Ugh pedo.

"Let go of me!" 

 "Aw why not Babycakes? I wouldn't want to waste this opportunity to give a beautiful girl like you a good time. I can't wait to taste your luscious body" He smirks as he tightened his grip on your wrist and tried to pull you towards him. You struggled out of his grip and thought of using your quirk to push him off but someone arrived.  

"Oi old man, release your fucking grip on my girlfriend or else I will blow your insides into bits" You both turned to see Katsuki, his palm opened as he made small explosions. His face held a furious expression, looking like he was gonna go on a rampage.

"K-Katsuki" 

"S-shit, it's Ground Zero!" The man whimpered and ran away out of fear, leaving you and Bakugou alone in the hallway. He clicked his tongue in annoyance before pulling you against his chest. You could feel the growing sexual tension between you and him. 

"That fucking bastard touched what's mine, how about we change that yeah?" 

You gulped, both excited and terrified of what he was about to do. 

Prepare yourselves for some exhausting, rough sex.   

He’s basically a sex god.

Katsuki smirked at the sight before him. In the bed was you, fully nude to showcase your glorious form, your eyes blindfolded, hands tied above your head. Your face was flushed and drool was coming out of your mouth. Whining, you rubbed your thighs together. You were so desperate and needy for a good fuck. You wanted him to touch you, pleasure you, fill you up real good until you're knocked up. 

You gasped when he suddenly flipped you into all fours, your torso falling down on the bed with your ass up in the air. 

  "Look at you, so beautiful... And wet for me" He says, lightly tracing his fingertip over your pink folds. Admiring how your pussy glistened as your juices dripped down your thighs. 

"Please...." 

"Please what, Babygirl?" 

"Please Daddy, just fuck me already-Oh fuck!" He slammed his cock into you and started pounding into you. You mewled in delight as his large cock was stretched you.

He groans as your cunt kept clenching around him, every time he tries to pull out, your walls would grip it tightly as if it wouldn't let him leave. 

"D-Daddy I'm c-close" You breathed out as you could feel yourself get closer to the edge of orgasm. Instead of stopping, Katsuki spread your legs wider and roughly snapped his hips, his tip hitting your cervix. You moaned loudly as he hit the right spot before moving your hip in rhythm with his, urging him to do it again.   

"Yeah that's it Babygirl, you belong to Daddy only... Only I!" He gave a sharp thrust causing you to moan louder than before. 

"Can" Another deep thrust. 

"Fuck you like this!" Another thrust that pierced your womb, causing you to cum violently. Your body shook, drool dripping down your mouth as your eyes rolled back at the euphoric bliss you're feeling. Katsuki hissed as your walls clenched tighter around him, it took him willpower to not cum yet. He waited as you ride down your high.   

Just as you were about to settle down and close your eyes to rest, he flipped you on your back, removed the blindfold from your eyes revealing your eyes clouded with lust. He spread your legs even further and smirked, earning a moan from you as he started moving his hips. 

  "I'm not done with you yet Babygirl, I'm gonna thoroughly fuck you again and again until you'll only remember me and my cock in you" 

Oh boy, a very long night indeed.     

-----

A/n: You guys can request fics,imagines, and headcanons! Feel free to drop it in my inbox. 💕

[gharashambles]

For your ask, 41, 43, 58, 62 :))

I am awake once more and not playing Balder’s Gate! Thank you for being nosy@me, I love it 🌷Get in my bidniss

41: What was the last book you read? YOU FOOL, TO ASK THIS! I read... a lot. So, have a few! Witchhunter full 1-3 Omnibus by Mathias Thullman, Harrow The Ninth from Tamsyn Muir, Legendborn by Tracy Deonn, A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, American Demon by Kim Harrison and Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa. 

On my next to read list is Cemetary Boys by Aiden Thomas, Delivering Evil For Experts by Annette Marie And I’m unsure if I will read Jim Butcher’s newest Dresden Files. Trying to force myself to finish the The Saint omnibus by Dan Abnett bc some dickhead I live with spoiled me that it will break my heart. I’m on pg 791, it’s always on my table, mocking me. Also reread a big chunk of Baptism of Fire again to try to prove Seb wrong but @sebsdoeswords is always right, damn them.

 Also an aside, I read Sucker Punch by Laurell K Hamilton, somebody I’d taken a break from reading and I was shocked, best book she’s put out in a decade at least. Not a single sex scene and the case was really solid. On the LKH Scale of Dear Negative Reader to I’m Angry At My Ex-Husband But I Modeled A Character After Him So Time To Demonize Him I’d give it a solid It’s A Bit Less Rape-y. 

43: Do you have any nicknames? No, pls name me like a stray 

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue? No, I’ll stay envying geckos and wishing I could just creep people out by licking my own eyeballs :/

62: What’s your favourite animal? MANDRILLS 

And honorable mention vampire bats 

and all variations of flying foxes.

[acrobaticcatfeline]

Of Books, Brothers, and Broadway (Creativitwins College AU) Chapter Three!!!

Word Count: 6875

TW: Remus, Janus, cursing, ocean critters, think that’s it

Pairings: dukeceit, logince, I think mentioned moxiety, familial creativitwins, platonic everyone else with everyone else, a nice bit of parental Remus and Thomas.

Notes: It gets gay!!!!! Finally!!!! Also skirts!!!! We learn more about Thomas, who is baby TBH hes just like, Remus good boy and I agree. these two have a very close mentorship, Remus has been there for for several years and Thomas has pretty much adopted him. They have one of my favorite dynamics in this. A lot of angst comes shortly after this so enjoy the soft gays while you can.

Summary: Remus is gay and smitten. Roman is as well. The two battle to woo their brothers best friend and both succeed. Soft boys going on dates and being in love. Remus rants a bit.

By the time that they all finish dinner, Remus is more than a little excited to show Janus his lizard friends. Janus is so nice and cute and he has an interest in reptiles, and the book he wrote for the musical in progress, and god he's in love. Roman gives him permission to run off without him while he and Patton engage in ‘civilized’ conversation. So he shows Janus his room, and heck he's bringing a cute boy into his room god this is filthy, disgusting worse than the worst most cuddly pornos that he's ever sat through, this is intimate and Remus feels like his blood is going to boil. He smiles instead though, because Janus is squealing and bouncing and looking at all the little guys in the tanks and he so desperately looks like he wants to hold one but he bounces in place while sounding like a balloon with a leak.

“You want to hold one?”

“More than anything!”

Remus walks over to the tank and tries to pull out a small gecko, but his only snake slithers out and coils his arm before he could. He laughs at it, petting its little head softly and he's almost knocked unconscious by the pure joy on Janus’ face. His eyes are damn near sparkling, his bouncing has stilled as his jaw dropped.

“This little guy is a Kenyan sand boa, he's actually the only scaly friend I've ever gotten from a rescue, the rest of these guys are just local pals. His name is Amadeus. Wanna hold him?”

“Yessssssss!!!!”

Remus guided Amadeus to slither up Janus’ arm. He ended iup coiling around his neck loosely and Remus could see the effort Janus was exerting to not get too excited. He petted the snake gently, stars in his eyes as the snake seemed to lick him.

“I love him!”

“He seems to like you too”

“I’m sorry I’m being so childish heh, I just, I lose my composure with animals I guess. And theater. I suck at keeping up this uh, facade I guess I can call it”

“Why would you? You're cute like this”

Janus froze and Remus nearly backpedaled on his words before Janus broke out in a huge blush with a matching grin. He swept the bangs that were sticking out from his beanie to the side of his face as he looked back at Remus.

“Do you want to go get coffee at some point? I mean uh, we can, we can talk about the musical some more and uh, maybe I can convince you to strike up a deal of some sort?”

Remus blinked and smiled back at him. He pulled out his phone and looked at something before changing it and handing it over to jay.

“I've got a class tomorrow and then work, and I'm bringing home an octopus so I probably can't do coffee tomorrow, but how does dinner sound?”

Janus took the phone and saw a new contact page pulled up. He smiled as he entered the information and sent a standard text and handed it back.

“That sounds even better! I'm free after 4 tomorrow!”

“How does 7 sound? I'm technically back at 5:30 but I want to be here for a bit in case shit goes sideways with Cephy”

“Sounds like a date! Er, um, a plan! Sounds like... a plan..!”

“God you're gonna have to stop being so adorable before I turn myself in to the police preemptively. Anyways, Roman might be getting annoyed from having you stolen for so long, so hows about we put back Dee and pick up this convo later?”

“Great idea!”

By the time that they leave the room, Patton is ready to leave, and as jay was his ride, he had to leave as well. The four said their goodbyes, and when he thought Roman wasn't looking, Janus mimed a little ‘call me’ motion to Remus and he nearly melted as the two left. Remus flopped onto the couch, and subsequently Roman, when the door closed with a sigh.

“You've already stolen him haven't you?”

“Were going to dinner tomorrow”

“Of course you are. I'm going to have to help you get ready aren't i?”

“Yup. and I'll make dinner on Saturday and Sunday as a thank you”

“And as payment for skimping on your original day”

“Yeah sure”

~

Remus wasn’t panicking, of course not, he was totally chill. It's just that he was bringing home an octopus at the end of his shift and then he was going on a date with a cute boy and he just wasn't used to so much happening in one day. He refocused however. He was wearing his lab coat and was sitting next to the institute's recreation of the coastal ocean with pen and paper in hand. He was recording some behaviors in the dolphin they just got, and its differences in behavior compared to their other inhabitants. It was moving slower, and did not seem to like getting close to the walls. He had many questions as he continued to note its peculiarities. Thomas walked in and squatted next to him with a smile.

“You have your inquisitive look on, whats up kid?”

Remus continued to watch the dolphin intently.

“Why is she so scared of the walls?”

“Oh, she was abused by her human caretakers, she's afraid of us still. She also doesn't like our feeding rods, or when we get in to do maintenance. She's just people shy, which isn't too terrible for her or us for the time being. She hasn't lashed out, and it's only a mild inconvenience during feeding times. The longer she's here with the others, the easier it will be, animals are great at encouraging trust in others, its key for survival. But isn't she just so beautiful?”

“Definitely! Hey, weird question, do you ever get transfers from different parts of the world?”

“Sometimes, not often though, they only transfer out of country or state if its a true emergency for the most part, and we aren't really in the hierarchy for those things”

“Hmm. I really want to see an amazon river dolphin. They're so fricken cool!”

“Well, if that's something you want to see about, and you're serious about it, I have some connections with the dolphin research center as well as Clearwater, and I think they both have some that were serious rescue cases. I might be able to set you up for a summer stint if you want?”

“Oh no, no that's fine I just, it's just one of the things that made me want to pursue marine biology. It was an episode of Go Diego Go if you can believe that. They were just, so magical, and I learned more about the ocean and like, the ocean is filled with magic that we don't even know about, and it's just, I dunno. Its a bucket list thing I guess”

“Fair. mine was jellyfish and sea turtles. Finding Nemo”

Remus chuckled at the image of the doctor as a child getting starry eyed at Finding Nemo. He nodded distantly and Thomas fully sat, giving Remus a nudge on the arm.

“What's eating at you kid? You're acting distant today, is something up?”

Remus finally looks at Dr. Sanders at this, a little shocked and confused. He looks back at the water and curls his legs up close to him and lays his head on them.

“A lot is happening and I’m scared I’m going to mess something up”

“Talk to me Re”

“Well, ok so my brother is real into theater, always has been, and he asked me when we were younger to write a musical with him. And, and it's fun, don't get me wrong, but I hate hate hate showing people my writing. And now I'm showing him it regularly, on top of my writing assignments for my creative writing minor. And like, I don't know how to feel about it. But like, it's not just that. Like, I'm a full time worker here now, not an intern, but I'm not even working full time hours, and I feel like I have to prove to you and everyone else that it was worth it but I don’t have the time to put in more hours and it makes me feel so guilty because you're losing money by upping my pay and I don't know, I feel like I'm not doing enough but I know I can't do any more. And then! I'm getting Cephy and like, I know she's gonna be a lot of work, and I'm so ok with that but I’m worried I’m gonna mess up and hurt her or something! And I've got a date with a cute guy tonight and he's my brother's friend and he's so cute and we mesh so well, but I could ruin it, like I always ruin my relationships, and then what if he holds it against Roman? He’ll hate me forever and I don't know what I would do if I lost my brother too, I drive him crazy but I know he still loves me but it makes me want to die thinking about how conditional it could be, even though he's never shown me that that would ever happen it still eats at me and god I'm a mess. God I talked too much I’m sorry boss, I'll shut up now, you didn't need to hear all of that”

Thomas hides the shock and concern on his face, choosing to nod as he rubs a gentle circle in Remus’ back. The two were very very close, they were basically family at this point, Thomas having chosen to be his mentor the moment he met him. He waits a moment to choose his words before speaking.

“I can't pretend that I totally understand your problems, but I'm aware that that isn't what you're looking for. So lets start with something easy. Cephy will not get hurt with you. There is not a single doubt in my mind that you won't be able to, while you were the only applicant, if we didn't know you were responsible enough to care for her with complete certainty and confidence, we would have sent her home with one of our older scientists. This was a long discussion and I know that you will do exactly what you have to to keep her safe. Two, you were not promoted because we needed you to work more. As I've said since you've started here, your studies come first. You were promoted because you did amazing work with what little you are allowed to do as an intern, and we could see that you would do even better with less restrictions. This was meant to give you the ability to learn more and aid in your work ethic. We don't need you to spread yourself too thin so you can work more, we have enough people for you to only work part time”

Remus nodded, he was trying to believe him, he really was, but his head kept turning them around with what ifs. He stayed silent as Thomas paused again.

“Your writing is personal, creative work always is, it is a bearing of your soul and its reasonable to be hesitant in sharing it. Even more so when it's to an overly creative person. But if I know anything about your brother, it's that he is a kind and uncritical person. You don't seem to have any reason to distrust him with it. I know that sometimes your head makes you nervous and casts doubt over others intentions, but it isn't healthy for you to be unable to trust even someone as close as your brother. And, if you let him know your feelings on it all, I'm sure he would be willing to work on it with you. This ties in with the other bit. If you have no reason to believe that something like a break up would cause your brother to hate you, then it's likely not the case. Trust that he values his relationship with you enough to endure the small likelihood of a break up between you and his friend. His friend is a bit of a wild card to you right now but just, give it a shot. It might go better than you can imagine”

Remus felt like he was about to cry. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes and took deep breaths. He pulled his hands away and looked at Thomas as he leaned slowly into a hug with the older man. Thomas smiled and wrapped his arms around the other and they sat there a moment in silence.

“Thank you Dr. Sanders”

“This is an emotional moment, call me Thomas”

“... thank you Thomas”

Remus had calmed down and felt far better after his conversation with Thomas, he was pretty zen as he drove home with Cephy on his passenger side. He parked outside he and Roman’s house and dialed Roman’s number. Roman picked up on the second ring.

“You back?”

“Yup. can you get the door for me, I don't want to set Ceph down on the ground”

“On it”

Remus got out of his car, opening the passenger door and lifting the rather small tank carefully in his arms. He felt bad for her getting stuck in such a small carrier tank. He got to the door and saw Roman in the doorway. Roman held out his arms.

“I imagine if I hold the tank I won't have to transfer her into the big one? So hand her over.

Remus chuckled and did so. He slid past then, opening the door to his room and lifting the cover on the big tank. He pulled on plastic gloves and did the same to the carrier. He laughed as Cephy’s arms immediately swung over the side of it. Roman nearly screamed and dropped the thing when one of her tentacles stuck onto him. Luckily he just hummed loudly and squeezed his eyes shut. Remus carefully picked Ceph up, placing her oh so delicately on the little rock shelf near the top before he released her and she dove to the depths of it quickly, swimming around happily, likely glad to have room again. Roman rushed to the bathroom, shouting as he went.

“REMUS CAN I DUMP THIS???”

“GO AHEAD! IF SHE NEEDS TO TRANSFER AGAIN I’LL JUST PUT HER IN IT WHEN ITS EMPTY, SHE CAN SURVIVE OUT OF WATER FOR A BIT”

“WHY IS SHE SO FUCKING SLIMY???”

“SHE'S AN OCTOPUS WHAT DID YOU EXPECT???”

Remus pulled off the gloves and tossed them, placing the tank lid on again before going back to the car to get the rest of her supplies. When he finished unloading, Roman was back out of the bathroom with the tank now placed under the other one in the living room. His hair, which was about shoulder length, was tied up in a hair tie, his bangs pinned up and he was wearing a black crop top with golden print of a crown and shorts. He had a makeup bag in one hand and a hair brush in the other. He had the most sinister smirk on his face.

“K, go take a shower and change into shitty clothes so we can try some faces. Go on! Its 5:45 and I need an hour to get you in order”

Remus opened his mouth and shut it, knowing that Roman was right. He sulked to his room, grabbing some pjs and heading to the bathroom.

“Roman I’m going to look like a clown with all this makeup, why are we even doing this?”

“Because you want to look nice, and you'll look better if you do a little bit of makeup to accentuate your features. And also because you suck at shaving so I'm hiding the welts you gave yourself. He won't want to kiss you if you look like you've been eating out a beehive. Now sit still! We still have to choose your outfit and deal with your hair!”

Remus did as told, pouting as he did so. Roman finally, finally put down the makeup brush. He pulled up a mirror and Remus gasped at his reflection. His face looked clear and smooth, and his cheeks had color. But his eyes were stunning. They were black on the lid, but it faded into a sparkly green shade and gosh Remus loved it.

“I’ll put some lipstick on you when you're done changing. Don’t want to accidentally stain anything”

“Ro I love it!!!!”

“Good. ok clothes next. Where are you guys going?”

Remus blinked and felt himself flush and Roman rolled his eyes. He walked into Remus’ closet with a sigh.

“Typical. Ugh, men. Jay likes anything, he's pretty basic on that, I'd say go to olive garden. Mid Range price but nice aesthetic. Plus he eats bread sticks like an actual snake. He’ll love it. Maybe plan your next date a little more though”

Remus nodded, eternally grateful for the suggestion. He followed Roman as he flipped through his clothes. Roman sighed again.

“You're so lucky I saw his outfit and know it isn't too regal, otherwise I would make you push it to later and buy you new clothes. Here, how about this?”

He pulled out his skull shirt, some ripped jeans, his leather jacket, and his fingerless gloves. Remus smiled.

“He's not against punk?”

“Of fucking course not, did you not see his outfit yesterday? He's a baby pastel punk. He thought you looked good yesterday, he’ll think you’re the sexiest mother fucker tonight if I do this right so get changed”

Remus did so, not caring enough to be modest as he changed in front of his brother. They'd seen each other in less, it didn't matter. He grabbed some socks as well for the outfit, pulling them up before tugging on his jeans. He carefully pulled his shirt over his head, keeping it from hitting his face. He was swinging his arms through his jacket when Roman grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the proper part of his room. He sat down and Roman ruffled his hair before grabbing his hairbrush. 

“Ok so we’re making this look decent. Ok so you’ve got the fucking fade done, so how about the nice swoop?”

“I have no idea what language you're speaking”

“Okay it was a rhetorical question anyways. Lemme grab my gel”

Roman poured a decent heap of gel into his hands, rubbing them together before raking them through Remus’ hair. He then took his comb and moved his hair all over to the right. He pulled a few strands free to fall in his face then pulled away and smiled as he wiped the excess gel off with some wipes. He gestured to the mirror next to Remus and once he looked at it, Remus was once again astounded.

“Roman what the fuck kind of sorcery?”

“I'm a theatre major, I dabble in makeup and hair”

“Dabble???”

“Oh honey you should see Patton at work”

“Roman, grab my docs”

“Which ones?”

Remus knew that while a valid question, it was also meant to tease and he narrowed his eyes at him. He pointed at the ones still on his shelf that had skulls. He rarely wore them, and was ecstatic at having the chance to. Roman brought them to him and he slipped them on with practiced ease.

“I think you owe me for this”

“If I give you Logan's number will we be even?”

Roman sputtered and blushed but nodded shyly. Remus grinned. He texted Logan to get his ok, which he got instantly, then sent the number to Roman.

“There you go! Now, I have a date to get to!”

“You have his address?”

“Of course not”

“You fucking spoon. I’ll text it to you”

“At least I’m not gaysexual”

“What the absolute fuck did you just say?”

“Spoonsexual?”

“Leave before I break your fucking neck”

“Fair, have a nice day”

Remus pulled up to Janus’ dorm room expecting many things. None of which he got. Janus was dressed in a black crop top with a turtleneck, a high waisted pastel yellow skirt that reached his mid thighs, and soft yellow thigh high socks. He was wearing bright yellow converse and had a golden flower headband. Remus thinks he might’ve died and gone to heaven. When Janus gets in his car he finally tears his eyes away as he goes to start driving again.

“You look nice Jan”

“As do you”

Remus avoids speaking, hoping that Janus will start talking and getting more anxious as he doesn't. Janus is playing with his skirt wait, his? Is his still a thing?

“Might I ask if you're still using he him pronouns?”

Janus looks up suddenly and smiles as a blush forms on their? Face.

“Oh, yeah, he/him all around, they them is good as well, but yeah”

“Ok cool”

“...I’m sorry I’m being so awkward, I'm a little on edge”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not in the slightest actually. Um, where are we going?”

“My two brain cells fucked off and didn't think of that until about an hour ago, but Roman told me you liked olive garden so we’re going to olive garden”

Janus giggled and god if Remus wasn’t already gay, he wouldve been the ambassador of queerland to hear that again. He smiled and sent him a quick look, feeling his cheeks darken as he saw Janus looking at him.

“That sounds great! So um, how's the musical going?”

“Hm? Oh, it's going well. Uh, sort of. I've gotten a bit stuck on the script, and Roman’s hit a roadblock in the songs. I'm a little uh, let's say bad, at writing things like this. It's uh, it's far more tame than my usual stuff, but Roman isn't one for my more graphic shit, you know how it is. He's all unicorns and rainbows and im blood and porn, so writing something he would like is tricky to say the least. It's far easier to just translate all my night terrors and intrusive thoughts to paper than to actually be creative”

“Well, your night terrors and intrusive thoughts may be you know, normal or whatever to you, but I'm sure your writings about them are just as good! Creativity takes many forms and seeks different inspiration! I would love to see more of your writing, if it's ok with you?”

“Oh, no they're, they're shitty, you don't want to see them. They're about eldritch monsters and serial killers and they're really bad, I don't want to subject you to that”

“Nonsense! Like I said, I'm sure they’re amazing! But if you're uncomfortable showing me, then that's ok too”

Remus shuts up, avoiding the end of this conversation. Except he digs absently in the back seat and pulls out a notebook, handing it to Janus.

“It's filled with them. It's my last notebook, I suggest you just borrow it and not try and read them over dinner. Some of them make me a little sick to read. But uh, yeah. Go ahead”

Janus looks at it, the little doodles that are sprawled over the cover, and then looks at Remus with his eyes filled with stars. And Remus almost crashes, he’ll admit it, but that is a look that no one has ever given him before and he might actually die this time. They're at olive garden though, so he gets out and rushes to the other side to open the door for Janus who giggles again.

“So where'd you come up with the idea for the musical?”

Remus looked up from his food at Janus. Janus had his hands pressed together and he looked insatiable for answers. He smiled, licking his lips before explaining.

“When me and Roman were kids one of our favorite movies was the nutcracker. Around the same time that he said he wanted to write a musical, our uncle took us to the ballet of the Nutcracker live, it was our Christmas present from him. It was, well it was magical. So that was part of it. But like, as a kid I always loved reading. I found that I had loved some characters more than I had loved anyone outside my family. I had crushes throughout my life, but none of them really worked out, so I ran back to stories, it gave me something permanent and I dunno, I had a recurring dream where I would wake up and the hero or villain of my favorite books would be there and would love me. It's uh, it's a bit pathetic now that I say it out loud”

“No! Its, cute”

Janus was leaning on his hand as he stared and listened to Remus, moving to be more attentive in his posture, both arms on the table, with an insistent look on his face at Remus’ last words.

“It's not pathetic to want to be loved! It's hard to feel like you aren’t. I used theater as my escape from my shitty situation, and now I'm in college spending more money than I will ever use on anything else to pursue my escape as my reality. Sometimes it seems silly, but it makes me happy, so it's not useless. I mean, what other group would look at some guy with scars enough to play Deadpool who wears frilly skirts for fun and accept him? Definitely not any group from my home”

Remus frowns a bit.

“Anyone with half a brain”

Janus smiles at him.

Remus was dropping Janus off. He did not want to be dropping him off, he wanted to be taking him home and talking mindlessly for hours about nothing and everything, but Janus had to go, he had a shift in the morning. And Remus did as well, but all he could think of was how wonderful the night had been, and he didn't want it to end. They were standing outside, had been for a while, both of them trying to drag this out. Janus shivered and Remus immediately toar off his jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders. Janus was blushing again.

“You don't have to do that, I'm right outside my door!”

“Yeah, but this way I have an excuse to see you again”

Janus smiled and shuffled slightly. He mumbled something incoherent and Remus’ eyebrow rose.

“What was that?”

“I would really like to kiss you, if that's alright?”

Remus felt his skin burning at the question. He nodded, leaning down to kiss him. It wasn't fireworks. It was a chocolate fountain, soft and sweet and smooth, and they were pulling away and Janus looked completely blissed out. Remus felt the same way as he leaned back against the car again. He smirked and gestured to the dorm.

“You should probably head in, it's getting late”

“Yeah. yeah I should. I don't want to but I should. Um, I'll see you again?”

“That jacket is too expensive to leave with someone I don't plan on seeing again”

Janus smiled and nodded. He finally turned to go inside, and Remus waited until the door shut behind him to get back in his car and drive home. He starts the ignition as his phone rings.

“Roman holy shit Roman I’m in love help”

“Of course you are”

“Roman he wanted to read my stories”

“Well yeah, he's already shown interest in your writing-”

“No but the dark shit Roman, the nightmare fuel the terrors and murderers and the dark gritty shit I never show anyone”

“Yeah, he's really into that kinda thing. He's a fan of that genre”

“But he's, he's so soft!”

“Yeah, you only just got to his second layer of that, he's got a bunch of soft covering up the gritty fucked up interior. His words not mine. He's got some shit buried, Patton knows a bit more than me, but he really tries to keep that hidden. I knew you two would hit it off, you're very similar”

“I want to know it all Ro. I want to know everything about him, I want to know what he's afraid of and what his parents told him before bed and what dreams he has and what makes him tick and god I want to kiss him forever and never stop”

“That is the sappiest thing you've ever said. Want some coffee?”

“It's almost midnight”

“Did I stutter?”

~

Roman was distracted. He was at work, so he really shouldn't be, he didn't really have the time, but he and Logan had been texting since Remus sent him his number, and Roman had caught feelings hard. He was super hot honestly, which was unfair Roman thought, he's half his size he shouldn't be allowed to be so attractive. But they had been sending selfies back and forth, mostly because they were both too occupied with their hands and Roman fucking adored it. There was one of Logan in a tie that was slightly loosened and he was giving the camera some sort of smoulder. Roman had decided after that to explain that he was working and turn off his phone. He went to the back of the shop to grab some replacement baked goods to bring up front and he thanks his years in dance that he didn't fall when he saw Logan at the counter. He was still in his polo and tie, but the tie had been tightened and he looks significantly more innocent than he did in the photo. Roman set down the boxes and moved to greet him.

“Howdy hot stuff, haven't seen you around here, what are you craving?”

Logan smirked back. Suddenly Roman was grateful the shop was in a lull, and he's sure Logan was too as he looked him up and down.

“Well, if we’re honest I'm in the mood for a tall cup of sexy, but it doesn't seem like you're on the menu, so I'll go with a salted caramel mocha. I think its a close second in sweetness”

Roman is completely red, very unprepared for any of what was said. Logan's smirk breaks into a smile and he laughs. And Roman quickly gets to preparing his drink before he combusts. He mutters the price quietly as he makes it.

“Aren't you supposed to have me pay first? Or am I being treated by a knight in shining armor?”

“You're going to give me a heart attack, I hope you know”

“You can't expect to tease me and get away without consequence can you? You'd have to take me to dinner first to get away with that”

“I did not tease you, if anything, you were teasing me, you foul beast!”

“Oh so me sending a picture of me in full clothes is teasing, but you in your gym outfit is just the norm?”

“Of course!”

“Mhmm. keep telling yourself that hot stuff. I suppose if I did the same, you would find no problem then?”

“Wha, you go to the gym?”

“Yes, it is healthy and I attempt to keep a healthy lifestyle. In a word… duh”

Roman felt warm all over again, far more attracted to the idea than he was consciously ok with. The two had been flirting incessantly, and Roman may have teased the poor nerd a bit, but he still didn't deserve this!

“So then if the price of free teasing is dinner, then how about dinner tonight?”

“Hmm, irresponsible to wait until the day of to ask someone to dinner, but I am free tonight, so consider yourself lucky. 7 work?”

“Absolutely. I’ll be waiting for your fine ass at 7”

“Oh dear, how have you ever wooed a woman? How dare you objectify me like I'm a hunk of meat?”

“You're definitely a hunk, that's for sure. A true himbo”

“Falsehood, I have a functioning brain, you are the himbo between the two of us”

Logan grinned at him as he finished paying and took his drink. He waved as he walked away.

“Seeya tonight sweetcheeks!”

Roman didn't know what he signed up for but he was so in.

“Yeah so you don't have to worry about dinner tonight, I've managed to seduce Logan into dinner with me”

“Is that how it happened? Logan told a very different story”

“Ok no, but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!”

“Yeah sure whatever, I guess that means I'm getting the house to myself?”

“Yup! If jay comes over please try to remember our agreement and dont fuck in the common areas?”

“What? One, of course not, I’m not a heathen, and two, we’ve been on one date, I’m a gentleman, no sex until at least the third date!”

“Mhmm. likely story”

“Oh, and one last request, if shit happens with you two, don't tell me anything you wouldn't say in a pg13 movie. If it's worse I don't want to know, I still have to go to class with him on Monday”

“Deal”

“What's cooking good looking?”

Logan was stepping in the car and rolled his eyes at the line.

“No idea, you're the one in charge of food if I can recall”

Roman thinks it's very rude how easily the nerd can manage to take his breath away. He pouts a little.

“Why were you so shy when I first met you, cuz you obviously aren't”

“Nerves. I wasn't expecting to meet someone attractive when dropping off Remus’ belongings and I startle easily”

“Attractive huh?”

“Don't get too excited, if there's nothing else other than good looks I don't imagine this will go anywhere”

“Fair, I could say the same to you”

Logan sent him a sideways glance. He was also ungodly attractive. He was wearing a black v neck shirt, black jeans, and a blazer and Roman didn't think anyone could pull off a nerd look and be hot but counter evidence was sitting in his passenger seat. Roman was wearing white jeans, a simple gryffindor t-shirt, and his letterman jacket from his high school that was a nice red and gold. He also had simple makeup done, as well as his hair being tied back, leaving his bangs to frame his face purposefully. He was really hoping this went somewhere.

“So, where are we going, might I ask?”

“Depends, do you like Japanese cuisine?”

“Yes, I'm a fan of it, why?”

“Well it was between cheesecake factory and Benihana, and we have now decided”

“Benihana? Roman, that's really expensive, we don't have to go there, I know I joked about you buying the ability to tease, but you don't have to pour a fortune into a first date!”

“Nonsense! As you said, I teased you unfairly, consider it an apology and a bribe”

“...I can already tell that you're even more stubborn than your brother”

“We came by it honestly!”

“So you're a theater major right? So you do the big three, acting, singing, and dancing? I imagine you aren't a fan of writing considering Remus is writing for your musical, but do you do any traditional arts?”

Roman was mid bite of sushi when the question came. He set down his chopsticks and grabbed his napkin to cover his mouth as he finished chewing. He finally set it down and smiled.

“I am and I do, but I do enjoy writing, but it's garbage compared to what Remus writes. As much as I'm not a fan of his subject matters, his writing is undeniably amazing. My writing is very ah, fluffy. Not much sustenance. And like, fanfiction, but that isn't like, real writing-”

“Fanfiction is real writing. Every idea is based and influenced by countless things, sometimes without realizing it. Besides, it takes a lot of the most menial and boring part of the storytelling process out. Exposition is just as difficult to write as it is to read, in fanfictions you get to start right where the interesting part starts, no boring history that means nothing to the plot other than for throwaway lines. Sorry for interrupting I just have uh, I have strong opinions on the subject. Continue, please”

Roman might’ve gone red again but he was shocked at Logan's response. It felt… nice to have the validation in the writing he enjoys. He did however, go back to the original question.

“Um, and uh, yeah I do traditional art, I don't really get? Digital art? It's just confusing to me so I just do the bare sketchbook. I think I have some pictures of them on my phone if you'd like to see them?”

“I'm actually quite intrigued. May i?”

Roman grabbed his phone and pulled up his gallery, choosing his art folder and handed Logan the phone. He went back to eating as Logan scrolled through.

“You and Remus have such similar styles in art, I'm surprised. Definitely different tastes in what you draw, but the style itself is almost indistinguishable. Did you learn together?”

“Hmm? I mean, yeah sort of. We both drew a lot when we were little, but other than the little doodles in his musical notebook I haven't seen any of his art in years”

“Hmm. I suppose that makes sense, he's very secretive and protective of his creative works. I wasn’t ever allowed to see his writing until we were paired for a writing project. Creativity is incredibly personal, and while many seek validation and approval, he seems to fit the other type that fears rejection. I can assure you, his art looks a lot like yours but far more ah, violent. And usually a fair amount of tentacles”

Roman smiled softly, he was happy to know that Remus hadn’t stopped drawing. Logan was still swiping through, eating rather absentmindedly. Suddenly Logan sat up and Roman swore that his eyes glittered.

“Is this the Marquis de Carabas???”

Roman looked at the phone and indeed it was an image of his version of the character. He nodded and smiled as Logan smiled back.

“Yeah, I was messing with plague doctor masks, and I had just finished the book. He was always very birdlike to me, so I thought it fit”

“Roman this is incredible! His coat is perfect and, and his hat? Goodness, this is so pretty!!!”

“Meh, it's not my best. I drew Door as well, I think she's a better piece personally”

“I didn't take you as someone who would like Gaiman”

“Remus loves him and he's another talented author. Besides, Terry Pratchet was one of my favorite authors and I fucking love Good Omens. Oh and I grew up on Doctor Who so that also helped”

“You like Doctor Who?”

“Hell yeah! It's probably in my top favorite TV shows I've ever watched”

Roman was walking Logan to his door and they were still chatting when they reached it.

“This was nice Roman. Thanks for taking me out”

“My pleasure. I got to spend a nice night with a radiant man”

He smirked and was ready to watch Logan step inside when Logan grabbed his jacket and yanked him down into a kiss. He stood there with his arms awkwardly floating for a moment before he wrapped them around Logan's waist. It was quick, Logan pulled away.

“I’m sorry, I should have asked first I-”

Roman leaned back in, crashing his lips against Logan’s,and it felt like a forest fire. Logan wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck and smiled into it. It was passionate and wild and warm and Roman felt like every inch of his skin was burning and he never wanted to let go. They did though, and Roman stared a moment at Logan's face, admiring the blush that colored it. He knew he wasn't any better. They stayed there until Logan finally spoke.

“Do you um, do you want to come inside?”

Roman released him, and had to hold back a chuckle at the sad whine that left Logan when he did so. He leaned back in, placing a small kiss on his nose before stepping back.

“Sorry doll, not on the first date. ‘Sides, I have work in the morning. Maybe next time though. Text me”

Logan nodded and watched longingly as Roman got in his car and drove away. He sighed softly before stepping inside of his home, reminding himself to get another date with Roman, and soon.

Roman was about to shout about how his date went when he walked in, but he saw the lights in the house were all off. He walked to the living room and cooed at the scene he was greeted by. Remus was sprawled over the couch, one leg on the floor and one arm over the back of the couch, and Janus laying on top of him, curled up small with his head over Remus’ chest and Remus’ other arm wrapped protectively around him. The two were both passed out and Roman chuckled. He went to his room and came back with a blanket to cover them with before going to his room to sleep as well.

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Thank you for reading I will see you later ladies lords and nonbinary royalty!!!

[bogglebabbles]

Peaches, window sills, rabbits 😊🍓

Thank you so much, Krisha! <3

Peaches- What makes you happiest in the world?

Oh god, what a question. I don’t know! I think animals, probably? Flowers? Nature in general? Crafting? I think just those moments where I feel most connected to the world and to myself.

Window sill- Whats the most beautiful view youve ever seen?

Once upon a time, when I lived back in Newfoundland, I went to this little place that was like an inlet? or something to that effect, I don’t know the word, where we were a little jaunt away from the coast proper but it was still seawater. My family went in the middle of the night, because it was a clear, cool night and the stars were so clear you could very well see by them.

At some point, one of us threw a rock in the water and we saw this shimmer just radiate out in a firework phosphorescence of blue-green. It stunned us for a moment. We threw another in. The same result. It was that luminescent algae? plankton? and we’d never seen a thing like it before. So we spent the night skipping stones, the Milky Way overhead and a light show underneath, and it was one of the most beautiful nights of my life.

Rabbits- Do you have any pets? What pets do you want?

I have many, many pets! Let me construct a list:

Phyllis~ Cat! Monumental foster-fail. Not sure of breed, but she’s a torbie dilute, is very tiny, and does not meow like a normal cat. Fae creature, and soon to be my emotional support beast.

Ledoux~ Cat! Grey tabby boy. Attention-seeking little shit who must jump into the pantry every time it’s opened. Licks plastic packaging at every chance he gets and will attempt escape into the back yard at every juncture.

Garfield~ Cat! Ginger tabby boy and litter-mate to Ledoux. Chatty fellow who shares 99% of his genetic makeup with a bowling ball. He is Large and he will yell when the food bowl is empty.

Lux~ Dog! Bernese Mountain Dog, to be exact. She will growl at you when she wants attention and is very good at conning you out of treats. Currently recovering from surgery to get a tumour removed (very well I might add!). Gorgeous beyond imagining. Designated My Doggy.

Charlie~ Dog! Yellow Lab, and built like a mixture between a freight train and a melting ice cream cake. Has a tiny nubbin tail. Very picky with his food, but will drool (a LOT) for anything you’re eating regardless of whether or not it’s something he hates. Everyone’s dog, gentle giant.

River~ Dog! Mutt. Queen of eyeliner. Jealous-hearted and will growl across the room if one of the other dogs so much as looks at her Kong when she’s enjoying it. Will jump up on you to demand nose-kisses. Basically Mom’s dog. Built like an antelope.

Kaylee~ Dog! Some sort of Rottie mix as far as we can tell (though I suspect some pit bull in her make-up). An absolute and utter menace who will bark just for the sake of it and snipe treats out from under other doggies’ noses. Dad’s dog, very loving, built like a kielbasa.

Dakota~ Dog! Mutt, though I suspect some pit bull in her make-up too. Not technically belonging to the household, but rather to my older brother. Sweetest, gentlest little creature whose fur is soft as velvet and who will climb very slowly but very stubbornly into your lap if given the opportunity.

Thor~ Cockatiel! Old and grouchy, very poorly socialized as a baby. Demands treats but will bite if you put them too close to him. But loves to chat and will sing at 3am for sheer joie de vivre.

Lola~ Dog! Technically not mine anymore as I had to leave her in Georgia with my ex. Sweetest baby who tolerates just about everything, loves everyone, nibbles apples like a hamster, and will roll over for belly rubs if you wiggle your fingers at her from across the room.

As for pets I want, I would love to have a scorpion again, or a hamster, or maybe a gecko of some sort. And of course I’d love a nice little family of chickens at some point!