#he's getting up to shenanigans let him be

[anonymous-existences]

Chapter 3: New Faces, New Job, New Everything.

Continuation to the Prolouge, Chapter 1 and 2.

Danny stares at Dante in absolute shock, Red Hood? RED HOOD?? OF ALL PEOPLE. Dante had to meet the rumored and probably the most violent of the Vigilantes. And Red Hood being a literal Crime Lord makes this worse.

"He had a fat ass to be hone-" Dante Blurted with a smirk but Danny cuts him off, "No, No. Shut up. I don't wanna hear your- or my- wait no. YOU'RE gay shenanigans." Danny pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to process the whole story.

"Let me get this.. straight-... You ... Ugh.... Ancients save me. YOU. MET. RED HOOD. AFTER. Beating up... Someone in his HAUNT?? And what do you mean he's a revenant? I thought frostbite said those were the "rare cases" of semi-halfas" Danny tries to clear up all the information in his head through just yelling it out.

"Yep." Dante popping the "P" and does not elaborate on anything else but a simple 'yep'.

"Kill me fully- wait... No. Jazz wouldn't want that." Danny reminded himself and took a deep breathe.

"I am so telling Clockwork." Danny spoke out.

"Oh come on! I'm in physical probation! I defended someone from getting bad things happen to them—" Danny cut him off.

"You can say "Fucked up shit" you know stop physically censoring yourself." Danny just stared at Dante with a judgemental face. Dante gasped dramatically like he's offended by that statement.

"OH WOW. It's not like I'm trying to 'Censor' myself because you're a traumatized 13 year old kid and I'm an adult given the responsibility of YOU cuz I love you like my brother." Dante states emphasizing every word.

"You sound like a drag queen." Danny blurts out

"I look better in pink anyways." Dante smirked smugly and Danny just frowned and sighed as Dante Ruffled his hair Mischievously.

"Don't you have a job interview today?" Danny grabbed his hand and gently places it away from his poor hair.

"I already got hired. They said I fit the job." Dante sounded very proud of himself before Danny blurts out "I think they hired you on the spot because you're Eye Candy."

Dante was stunned and thought about it for a moment.

Hmm.

"Yeah I suppose but that doesn't matter now, I have a normal job and people doesn't seem to be bothered by me at all so it's very good." Danny imagined that if Dante had a tail he'd be wagging it and Danny didn't like that mental image of a fucking CATBOY DAN- "UUUUUGHH! I hate that." He drags his palm on his face dramatically.

"And you Danny. Is coming with me to work. I am not leaving you in the apartment because. I will list it.

1. Someone might break in and you're not safe.

2. You might kill that someone either through ghost or through your tendencies to grab that goddamn creep stick and hit without hesitation.

3. I am not letting you play DOOMED for 7 hours straight, But I will let you play Minecraft.

4. You or well, We. Tend to roam away from home when we are bored, in this case you do. And ding ding ding we're in Gotham.

5. If you ever got into any danger. I would not worry if you're okay. I would worry if you killed someone first.

That's your list."

Dante started Loud and Clear.

"Fine but I get to bring both my phone and headphones with my switch." Danny Complied with a deal making Dante smile triumphantly, "Fine with me Twerp, and you better behave at the cafe." He chuckles and Pats Danny's Head Gently but still mischievously.

Danny also giggled, Danny's chest felt warm. And his core buzzed in familiar happiness as Dante and Danny Pressed their foreheads into each other before Dante pats Danny's shoulder and stands back up with a groan.

"Let's go kid, get ready now." Dante stretched his body and cracks some of his "old bones" as Danny heads to his bedroom and takes his sling bag and puts his 'neccesities' inside with a smile.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Tim heard about a new Cafe opening nearby Gotham U, although at first he was suspicious of how so many people are already visiting it and even the lines reach outside. He soon found out why. One of their workers was rumored to be apparently "eye candy" or whatever they called people who are very attractive.

This worker was the main Barista and he apparently makes the drinks Infront of the people and he was good at it.

That got Tim even more curious, How attractive does someone have to be that people of all genders are lining up on a new store as if a celebrity is inside. And so he decided to wait in line like any other student as to not direct any attention to himself because that would be utterly humiliating for him.

He waited.....

And waited....

And kept Waiting and Waiting....

Until finally, what felt like an eternity he finally got to order His Coffee.

It seems the rumors are true, the bartender is indeed attractive. Tim got even more curious about how the big man seemed to have canine sharp teeth, oddly pale complexion that almost looks... Purple? And Lazarus Green Water with Red Rims.

"An Americano with two shots please.." He states to the Cashier, "And name please?" The Cashier asks again.

"Timothy." He calmly tells her as she writes it down to a receipt and hands it to the orders That the "Eye Candy" Man and Another Worker was Making.

Tim sat on a nearby table. It was the only table that happened to be empty. Except a 13 years old kid just sitting there playing... Minecraft? Okay-.

The kid stared at Tim, Tim stares back. 'He looks like adoption Bait.' Tim thinks to himself then suddenly he slowly feels weird, as if he's being judged intensely, Unfortunately and possibly even worse than how Damian judges him.

"You look like an overworked 9-5 office worker that has no paid vacations or time off for a student." the kid suddenly speaks out and it felt as though Tim had just been shot with a non-existent arrow of truth.

"Wha-" Tim tries to ask but the kid interrupts him before he could even start, "you should really get some sleep and maybe lessen your intake of Coffee... Ah right. Name's Danny by the way. Sorry. You just started staring at me so I couldn't help but state my opinion." The kid, or well... Danny said as he went back to playing Minecraft on his switch.

"I- it's... It's fine. I know I need sleep... All college students do- it's normal." Timothy just sighs and nods subtly, knowing full well this random kid is right.

Goddamit, the kid acts like Damian a bit too- and he has the typical black hair blue eyes appearance, possibly an orphan attitude. Tim continues to have a subtle Life Crisis in his head.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

'Such a weird person.' Danny thought to himself and chuckled softly.

He continues to play Minecraft with Tucker and Sam to Pass his time and so he doesn't go all deppreso mid-daylight. The amount of people entering the cafe was still... Concerning at the very least, now that the customers have heard Dante's voice... They started to call him the "Everything in one Package." Which was way worse than "Eye Candy" to be honest.

'Vlad would be confused and shocked.... I wonder how Ellie is doing.. hopefully not too bad....' Danny hums to himself as he made a gravesite ingame for Jazz to remember her by.

It has become tradition for these teens to make jazz a gravesite whenever they start a new world and they always made sure it's beautiful and colorful in a way Jazz would have liked it.

Danny smiled as he finished up the ingame Gravesite.

Although it hurts to see and do this every time, he still loves it because then he has something to remind him of her existence.

Her precious Existence as he likes to call it.

"I miss her so much..." He mutters to himself.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

"I'm so... Tired." Dante was plopped onto the couch lazily.

"I am scared to be an adult like you..." Danny just stared at Dante as he Begrudgingly sat back up from the couch to stretch his body and head to the kitchen to cook.

"I met a random older student today, we kinda talked. He called me adoption bait which was funny because technically I am considering V l a d." Danny laughed.

"Adoption Bait my ass, who would want to adopt a little messy homeless looking goblin." Dante just chuckled smugly and Danny Pouts. " I am not a homeless looking kid" he tries to defend himself "that's the thing you're most concerned about in my sentence?" Dante tucked his hair back into a tight Ponytail and let's it flow naturally like fire.

"I know I'm a goblin, it's just how I am." Danny proudly says and pats his chest and puffs it out with pride.

"Ofcourse you do... Ah right. Kiddo I have a surprise for you tomorrow. So make sure to get enough sleep today alright?" Dante kneels down to Danny's Height to speak to him properly.

Danny thinks for a second, "Sure! I like surprises!" Danny giggled nodded profusely in excitement.

"Good." Dante smiled softly, he loves it when Danny is happy. His core loves when Danny is also happy. A happy Danny is a happy Dante.

He wishes this could go on forever. Just Danny smiling and not screaming for his life in his nightmares.

My Arm is cold from writing this <33

Enjoy though.

[wings-of-ink]

i looked at your ask guidelines and figured i’d ask for the 3 ro we have so far (oswin,zahn,and duri), but how would they act if in a group setting, mc was asked who their favorite is, and mc said their name?? (love your writing to the moon and back 💖💖💖)

Awe, thank you Anon! I'm so glad you enjoy it! This is a very cute question, and I feel like shenanigans could break out...

Let's set the scene for this too. Say, the gang is on their travels and sitting around the fire at night. They're eating and chatting and the mood is good - things are going well. Pretty sure ??? has been observing everyone's interactions, and he's the one that asks the million dollar question - let the (cute) chaos begin....

Oswin:

Oswin immediately chokes on his drink - the water invades his lungs and he coughs hard. He's spilled it as well, soaking his tunic from the neck down. The others stare and Duri is snickering uncontrollably.

"Me!?" Oswin yelps in between hacking coughs. He looks to the others. For what, he does not know.

MC smiles and nods. "Well, yeah - you. If I had to pick one of you as my favorite, it's you. Always."

Oswin knows his ears are going red - he can feel the heat already. He can hardly fathom why he'd be the favorite. He's been so...

"Grumpy," MC says.

"Huh?"

"I said, you're my favorite even when you're grumpy." They smile at him.

Oswin smiles back, and he thinks he feels the prick of tears at the corner of his eyes - no doubt from choking earlier... "Well, you're my favorite too..." he says quietly.

??? snorts, breaking the tender moment as Rune shoots him a glare. "Well, duh - as if you haven't made it obvious."

Oswin grips the hilt of his sword.

Zahn:

A zing of energy immediately races through Zahn as they hop up from their seat. "Me!?"

MC laughs. "Yeah - you."

Zahn doesn't remember ever being a favorite before. What does that mean now? Are they best friends? ...Are they more now? Could they be? They have so many questions and so many thoughts. "So what now?" Zahn asks.

MC shrugs. "What do you mean?"

"If I'm your favorite, do I get a prize or anything? Oh! Should we have a ceremony - a feast or something - to celebrate."

Oswin scoffs. "Hey now, you're not uniting in marriage, and this isn't a competition anyway."

??? snickers. "Says the guy that lost."

Oswin glowers.

Everyone can practically hear Rune roll their eyes. "Can you two just let them be and enjoy their moment? I'll separate you again if I have to."

Zahn ignores the others and plops next to MC, pushing Duri out of the way after a brief struggle. They smile big at MC, their heart racing in wonder and gratitude. They wonder if MC would allow a little peck on their cheek...

Duri:

Duri snorts ungracefully and begins to cackle.

Rune raises a hand and lightly slaps Duri's upper arm. "Duri'naan," they say in a harsh whisper.

MC looks around at the others wondering what was so funny.

Duri looks up and sees everyone looking at them with equal parts curiosity and pity. "What?"

"Why did you laugh?" MC asks, looking a bit hurt.

Eyes shifting around from MC to ??? and back to MC, Duri fidgets. "That...was a joke right? You're pulling my leg..."

They shake their head. "No, genuinely - if I had to choose - it's you."

Duri looks back at ??? who wears a sly smile. "Is this...are you messing with me right now? Both of you? I guess I win and I should whisk you away or something then?" Duri laughs again, the sound is strained.

??? lays back on his perch. "No little wolf - no one is tricking you - not this time."

Duri meets MC's eyes as they begin to nervously pick at their fingernails. "Um...thank you. Sorry I laughed..."

MC approaches Duri with a soft smile, gently grabbing their hands to stop them from hurting their fingers. "It's okay."

[fujii-draws]

‘And Never Let Go’

Summary: In which Dusknoir senses a seasonal shift and change in himself towards his youngest comrades. Having no clue how to deal with these newfound, Gripper instincts.

Or

Old, emotionally repressed ghost conceals his feelings of fatherly instinct from his kids until it blows up in his face.

[Word count: 5130]

————————

Dusknoir didn’t know what was wrong.

He couldn’t put a finger on it— but these past few days, the phantom felt a… change. In himself. Or rather, how he acted—

“Ribbons..! C’mon you’re going to make us waste precious daylight…!”

“I’m coming Aimilios! Jeez..!”

—Around them.

The large wraith watched as the fairy and fighting-type ran up to the crossing near the entrance of Wigglytuff’s guild. The other two had invited Dusknoir over to do some job requests. Not that they needed the help— rather, to spend time with the large ghost-type. Something the revenant had always secretly appreciated.

…He didn’t know what it was… but anytime he’d been around the Lucario and Sylveon…

“Alright..! Now that Ribbons is finally here, we can— W-Woah..!—“

“AH—!!” Ribbons and Aimilios yelped startledly as a pair of large hands scooped them from off the ground so suddenly. “At least give us a w-warning—!“ Aimilios yipped, surprised.

“A-ah.. My apologies…” He gently sets Aimilios back down on solid ground. Ribbons opts to climb onto his shoulder ruff. They both momentarily give the Gripper Pokémon puzzling looks— ones of which the wraith narrowly evades.

——

He felt… an urgency. To protect the two, to shield them from any harm. Which— was a regular occurrence thanks to the heaps of shenanigans and life-or-death situations the two always seemed to get wrapped in. But… it was… different. It wasn’t only when they’d get themselves injured anymore— rather—

Dusknoir found himself becoming overprotective over the two over the mildest of things. From a Pokémon looking at them the wrong way, to a minor cut or bruise.

Anything seemed to set the wraith off completely. And that’s without mentioning the numerous times he’s picked and floated them around to areas the two could’ve easily gone to themselves. Or how he’d been constantly hovering around them like a Corviknight— glaring at the Pokémon they’d been conversing with.

That wasn’t the only odd thing the cloaked specter had noticed. Sometimes… it felt as if he’d been in a sort of… trance. Dusknoir’s yellow markings, bell, and eye would glow faintly. Staring at the two small Pokémon for extended periods of time.

And when the two had been away for just a couple of hours— The same yellow glow would return, only much harsher. Giving the ghost a migraine that would force Dusknoir to clutch his head. Wondering where his little ones had been. If they were safe.

His stomach maw slightly unhinged during these breakdowns… something Dusknoir assumed he had complete control over. But what terrified the ghost most… was when his stomach jaw would open around Ribbons and Aimilios.

He was able to shut it relatively fast. Enough so that the two had no idea what had been going on… but Dusknoir found it harder and harder to keep hidden by the day. At one point, reaching his hands out towards the Lucario.

——

“Hm..? Oh! Dusknoir!” Aimilios beamed. “Did you need something?”

“N-no… no need… no need.” He cups the Lucario’s face. Eye lidding as his maw slowly opened.

“Oh! Well… o-okay..!” The aura pup confusedly looked towards Dusknoir’s hands… too focused on him to see his stomach mouth unhinging. Holding the ghost’s grippers with his own, blue-black paws. “…I’m always here if you need anything!” He softly assured the large specter.

Dusknoir snaps out of the trance, detaching his hands from the Lucario. “Right…”

——

This behavior… it was slowly becoming a danger. Dusknoir had no idea what he’d been doing during these moments, thanks to the fog in his mind. But Ribbons and Aimilios would remind him of his strange behavior… something he thought he could keep unawares and hidden from the two.

These last couple of days had been the worst for the ghost’s instincts. Doing everything he’d done beforehand— except ten times more intensely.

He’d pick up the two and hold them, presumably for hours. Chase and hunt down Outlaw Pokémon that’d give them so much as a scratch. Maiming them before returning to tend to the injured Sylveon and Lucario. Whom of which looked up at him in horror and fear as they watched the blood of whatever poor outlaw dripped from his knuckles…

…Dusknoir decided that enough is enough.

———

He quietly asked the two to speak with him in private in the Sharpedo Bluff, where he finally clues them in on some of the details of his… trances. Shedding light on why he’s been acting the way he had. The Sylveon and Lucario sit and kneel accordly as they listen to Dusknoir intently… and worriedly.

“S-so that’s why..?” Aimilios stuttered, bewildered by the information. “You’ve been…?—“

“Yes.” Dusknoir looks towards the ground, unable to maintain eye contact with the Lucario. “That is correct.”

“That would explain… a lot of things actually.” Ribbons piped up, rubbing a feeler under her chin quizzically. She looks back up at Dusknoir, tilting her head and offering a soft smile after seeing his tensed expression. “Thanks for being honest with us. We appreciate it.” She beams, complimenting Dusknoir on how far he’s come since his deceitful days.

“Of course, but— that isn’t all I came here to tell you.” Dusknoir squeezes his eye shut.

Aimilios scoots closer to Dusknoir, putting a tiny paw on his large hand. “So… then..?”

Dusknoir clenches his fists tighter at the Lucario’s touch, guilt swallowing the ghost-type as he braced himself to say his next words. “I need you two to stay as far away from me as possible.”

“WHAT?!”

Ribbons and Aimilios shout in unison. The sylveon gets closer to the ghost-type as Aimilios had— wrapping a feeler around his other clenched fist.

“What’s with the outburst…?” Dusknoir quizzically raised his hands in shock— “It will only be temporary. I’ll return once I’ve found some way to remedy this.”

There was surely a book on ghostly instinct the wraith could skim through. It was only to ensure their safeties— why couldn’t they see that? Why were they so upset?

…Ah. Perhaps he should’ve worded his earlier plans of departure better. Sableye never truly questioned or worried about wherever he went during his escapades in the future. It’d take from a single hour to days until he returned… He really had to get used to this world and it’s ‘communication.’

“Who knows how long that will take—!” Ribbons shouts. “You might’ve gotten weirder these past few weeks, but you haven’t done anything to hurt us, dummy!”

“R-Ribbons is right..!” Aimilios concurred, his voice quivering. “W-we know you wouldn’t hurt us..! You promised!”

Dusknoir’s eye shoots wide open— staring at the two small Pokémon holding onto each of his fists.

He slowly unravels them back into hands… before cupping the side of each of Ribbons and Aimilios’s faces.

“…Truly?” His yellow markings begin glowing.

“Dusknoir…!” Aimilios laughs “Haven’t we told you this already…?”

“About a million times.” Dusknoir tilts his head, smiling back towards the aura pup.

“Yeah!” Ribbons puffed out her cheeks. “You’re not just gonna spend that many years gaining our trust back, only to go Arcues-knows off later!” She puts her paw on the hand holding her face. “You’re stuck with us, whether you like it or not!”

“At least…” She slightly leans into his hand, ears drooping slightly. “I hope you are…”

“…It was only going to be a temporary retreat…” Dusknoir felt himself becoming overwhelmed by the Lucario and Sylveon’s words and their protests towards his departure. He stares at the intertwining and aura Pokemon fondly, wondering how he managed to get such wonderful Pokémon to call his little ones. Even after all his faults.

Even after what he’d done.

“…You still wouldn’t mind being around me…?” The large ghost-type growled gently, the lights on his markings glowing furthermore as his eye lidded.

“Even when I’m like this…?”

The two shake their heads in unison, both of their eyes glistening with firm determination as Aimilios smiled up towards the ghost… while Ribbon’s frowned— hating to see the specter self-deprecate and beat himself up so often…

“We’re not going anywhere.” Aimilios closed his eyes. “W-we can even help you scour books in the library!” The Lucario added, with the Sylveon nodding rapidly at her partner’s words.

“We’re family now— and we’re not leaving you!”Ribbons gleefully added. “Or letting you leave! You’re stuck with us for all eternity, remembeeer?”

Hmph… of course she’d be the one to remember that promise he made to them. To be their sworn protector after weeks of haunting and harming them.

“Alright.” Dusknoir fought the urge to suppress his own emotions, which threatened to blur his vision of the Lucario and Sylveon. He still needed to do this. To take every precaution necessary.

But… not without a heartfelt, temporary goodbye.

…He goes to close the gap between the two. Planning to pull them into an embrace— one Ribbons and Aimilios had been anticipating. Dusknoir’s eye lidded with a red glow, his maw opening once more, dragging the two closer as they closed their eyes— trusting the ghost-type. Who’d hummed softly towards his children.

…Children…? Th-that was certainly a new thought…

…Dusknoir slowly regains control as his eye widens back to normal—

Before seeing what he’d almost done.

Dusknoir’s cyclopean eye shrunk in horror— detaching far away from the Sylveon and Lucario immediately. Grabbing his wrist as he stared at his hand. Was he…?

Oh.

Oh gods—

It was worse than he feared. So much worse.

“D-dusknoir..?!” Ribbon’s whimpered out worriedly—

“Stay BACK!” The Gripper Pokémon roars out, lashing towards the sylveon.

He was a danger to them. He had to protect them.

“…This is for your own good.” Dusknoir brokenly uttered. Before Shadow Sneaking into the ground.

“Please. Forgive me.”

“DUSKNOIR—!” Aimilios ran towards the ghost-type, trying to hug him before he disappeared… but it’d been far too late. The Lucario only managing to grab hold of the black smoke the wraith disappeared into… before fully slipping into the cracks of the Sharpedo bluff’s floor. Aimilios and Ribbons can only stare at the ground the ghost-type escaped from.

“H-he’s gone…” Aimilios dejectedly spoke.

_______

…

A full month had passed since they'd seen the cloaked phantom. Ribbons and Aimilios scoured aimlessly towards areas they knew Dusknoir commonly went to. But every single time, they came up short. The only thing they’d been able to consistently find being disappointment.

“Wh-where is he…” the Lucario fretted endlessly. Ribbon’s sat on Aimilios’s shoulder as she peered at the map in the Aura Pokémon’s quivering hands.

“I don’t know…” the Sylveon responded, “But we’ll keep trying…” a cat-like yawn escapes her. “Preferably tomorrow.”

The troubled specter avoided those two like the plague. It seemed that everybody in Treasure town had seen the ghost-type at one point or another. It frustrated Ribbons in particular. But she’d been upset aswell… probably as much as Aimilios— who blamed himself for the whole ordeal.

…Which was probably why her initial answer hurt the Lucario, who purposely ignored his fairy-type partner's somewhat uncaring comment. She sighs wearily, leaning in to repeat herself in a more respectful way. One that didn’t upset her Aura Pokémon partner.

“That marks off Kecleon’s shop…” Ribbons yawned once more. “Aimilios… We should call it a night.”

“B-but..!” Aimilios cried out. “We’re so close..!”

“Sweetie… I know you want to find him…” Ribbon’s cups his face with her feelers. “But you’ll only destroy yourself in the process if you keep taking these all-nighters..”

“Don’t you care..?!” Aimilios shouts, his emotions getting the better of him.

Ribbons only kisses the top of his head, recognizing this and taking the role of the voice of reason between the two. “Of course I do... But now we need to rest.”

“So… then…” Aimilios looks around. “Where do we sleep for the night…?”

“Hm. Good point.” She looks at the map, pointing to it with one of her feelers. “Grovyle and Celebi’s house is just up ahead..! I don't think they’d mind us crashing for the night!”

“A-Alright.” Aimilios rolled up the map, neatly tucking it away into his treasure bag as the two made their way to the grass-type’s shared home… unaware that the Gripper Pokémon they’ve been trying to find had already been there… waiting for them.

—————

It was relatively easy to move their way around the Future trio’s home despite night falling. Moonlight did well to offer illumination for the Lucario and Sylveon. Aimilios sighs forlorningly— still upset with not continuing his search for the ghost-type. He just wishes that Dusknoir would come back to them already…

“He’s fine.” The fairy-type spoke out of nowhere— almost reading her partner’s mind. “He’s stronger than all four of us, he’s safe.”

“How do you know that?”

Ribbons smiles, “I just do.”

…Aimilios couldn’t help but smile at himself despite not wanting to. Gah… Ribbons always did have a way of cheering him up.

Carefully, the two continue their way through the abandoned-like home. The only sounds that can be heard being their own footsteps and breaths. Which were visible thanks to the frigid air surrounding the Future trio’s abode.

“Spooky, huh?” The Lucario jested nervously, but unnaturally hearing no instant, witty retort back from his partner. Only silence.

Aimilios turned towards the intertwining Pokémon, giving her a smile of reassurance now that she was the one to begin stressing. Which seemingly did the trick— receiving a small smile back—

*CLATTER*

The two Pokémon’s attention is promptly stolen by the sound of a pot hitting the floor. A bone rush and Moonblast are already equipped once the aura Pokémon senses the complicated emotions emanating from this Pokémon. With Ribbons following suit, trusting her partner’s judgment.

Aimilios took the lead as he and Ribbons slowly made their way to the kitchen. Bone and Orb attacks still at hand as a precautionary measure.

They’re met with a large, black silhouette. With…

Glowing… yellow rings…

The two proceeded closer, light filling both their eyes as they smiled in unison. Upon getting closer— they hear him. Calling out their names. Almost painfully.

“DUSKNOIR..!”

The two small Pokémon wasted no time unequipping their Bone Rush and Moonblast respectively. Instead— Rushing over immediately to the familiar ghost-type.

“Ribbons? Aimilios…?” The wraith’s entire body straightened as he heard the two familiar voices. Turning around to face the young fairy and fighting types.

He caught them in his arms. Purring thunderously as he held the two close. Sharing a hug with them for minutes as they stayed in comfortable silence, before Dusknoir promptly broke it— speaking for the first time since they last saw the seven foot phantom. “Oh… you two…”

“…” The sylveon perked up from her initial face-nuzzling. Staring at Dusknoir. Was his voice… ever that deep? Taking a closer look now as the wraith held them— she gazed at him. Beginning to notice his more monstrous-like form.

“Dusknoir…” Ribbons began cautiously. “What happened? Is everything okay…?”

Dusknoir’s half-lidded eye landed on her, tilting his head uncannily.

“Does it matter?”

Wrong answer. Ribbons instantly began to squirm out of Dusknoir’s hold— squeezing herself out as she wrapped an immediate feeler onto Aimilios’s arm. Discreetly begging him to do the same. Something was wrong— very, very wrong with the elder ghost.

…

“…”

Ribbons felt something wrong with the way the gargantuan wraith was clutching his head on the kitchen counter table. Groaning out in agonizing growls and pained hisses. Not only that— but growling possessively. Causing the sylveon to second-guess herself. Shirking away as Aimilios stayed close.

“A-Aimilios—!“ the fairy-type whisper-shouted.

The way the ghost’s expression shifted into manic ecstasy is what really made Ribbons begin to back up a little. Her quiet yet desperate whispers towards the Lucario growing louder and louder.

“…Ribbons..?” Dusknoir bellowed— his voice being a few octaves lower than his regular voice. His pupil shrinking as one of his little one’s strayed further away from him. “Where are you going—?“

“D-Dusknoir..! Ohh..!” The aura pup wasted no time hugging the large specter. Whom of which— scooped up the Lucario in a tight bear hug. Almost too tight.

Aimilios didn’t understand why the Sylveon wasn’t as ecstatic as he was anymore. Or why she was cowering with her ears pinned. Too focused on reuniting with the Gripper to see what she was seeing.

Dusknoir, thankfully, broke out of his worsening trance as the Sylveon separated from him. Focusing on just Aimilios.

“We’ve been looking for you all over..! Where were you?!” Aimilios pouted, still clearly upset from the Irish-like goodbye the ghost gave them.

“Forgive me… I never wished to make you so unhappy…” His arms snake around the small aura Pokemon more, growling protectively.

“…”

“Come now….” Dusknoir’s embrace tightens. “Don’t be upset with me…” The giant specter coaxed.

Aimilios huffed out after a few seconds past— unable to hold onto his anger towards the ghost. “Alright…” the Aura Pokémon softly responded, hiding his face in the crook of Dusknoir’s ruffs.

“Thank you…” The wraith’s ginormous hands grab hold of the Lucario’s tiny waist; picking up Aimilios and craning his head thoughtfully left and right. Almost as if he were… inspecting the pup?

“A-ah… Dusknoir?” Right… Dusknoir was still in one of his… ‘trances.’ Now Aimilios understood why Ribbons was being so wary. The Aura Pokémon should’ve been as well… but he missed the ghost too much to care about logic. Logic that was telling him to run right now.

Perhaps that’s why when the wraith unhinged his large maw— the Lucario froze. Completely.

“D-dusknoir…?” Aimilios looked at the wraith worriedly, he turns his head back at Ribbons—

All he sees is her backing away— the white pupils in her cyan eyes dilating, slitting like a cat.

Ha…haha…! The Lucario nervously laughed in the back of his mind. He thought he was already past this..! He- h-he shouldn’t be having a freeze response…! Not with Dusknoir— not anymore…! So why… w-why was he so…?

Aimilios stared into the abyss that was the ghost-type’s innards. Purple flesh churned softly as a large, purple tongue unraveled onto the ground— beckoning the aura pup inside.

He… he wasn’t going to do what Aimilios thinks he’s… no. No.

Dusknoir wouldn’t.

…the Lucario’s eyes slowly meet the large specters.

“…”

Oh.

Dusknoir’s glowing, blood red eye only trained on the small Pokémon’s body.

Oh.

Aimilios’s ruby pupils shrink.

He’s serious.

“D-dusknoir..! W-WAIT—!”

“AIMILIOS—!”

The Lucario’s eyes shut as the wraith connected his head with the small pup’s. Purring softly.

“You were always much more prone to fear, weren't you?” Dusknoir detaches his temple from the Aura Pokémon— before gently pulling him towards the confines of his belly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll guide you every step of the way.” Dusknoir bellowed out— unable to hear the Lucario’s frightened cries.

The aura pup’s body squished into the surface of the revenant’s pliant body. Aimilios couldn’t even cry for help—a small, terrified whine only escapes him as he eased further into the depths of the Gripper Pokémon’s stomach. Tucking the small fighting-type away.

———

“There we are…” the gargantuan wraith purred—

Aimilios was the first one he placed inside. Thankfully— he didn’t put up much of a fight against the large revenant. Which pleased Dusknoir. He was always a good pup. One he was proud to call his own. “Be not afraid…” the ghost rumbled out gently hunched over, placing protective hands over his stomach. Almost cradling his larger belly… and the small Pokémon within... “Rest now. I have you.”

“Dusknoir please—!” Purple flesh only surrounded the Lucario— who squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

“Shh…” Dusknoir‘s glowing eye illuminated further, hushing the Lucario. “You need not worry about losing me anymore.” Dusknoir smiled. “…Not while I have you.”

“…” Aimilios curled up into himself— unable to speak without feeling the lump in his throat threatening him to start silently whimpering. He feels the imprint of a large hand pressing on him. Making the Lucario huddle even more as the large ghost doted over him.

…

His glowing eye trained on the Sylveon, who was only still there because of the paralysis she felt from watching her partner be devoured. Right before her very eyes.He gently floats over to the whimpering fairy-type— kneeling in front of her.

Ribbons immediately begins hissing, backing away from the terrifying ghost-type. This— t-this wasn’t their dad. Dusknoir wouldn’t— he’d never—

“Stay AWAY!” The irate eeveelution hissed— feeling her fight-response take over her as Aimilios did his freeze. Re-readying the Moonblast in her mouth. Dusknoir only seemed to look at her. Somewhat disappointed. He floats closer— testing the Sylveon’s resolve. His eye still lidded.

“I’M WARNING YOU…! I’LL DO IT—!”

Another advance towards her. Completely disregarding her threats.

Ribbons closed her eyes as the pink orb of energy blasted towards Dusknoir way.

…

Only for a large hand to catch it. Gently dissolving it as he crushed it in the palm of his hand.

He called her bluff.

He didn’t even flinch.

Dusknoir’s rings glowed brighter as he sighed, smiling down at the intertwining Pokémon. “Oh, Ribbons.” Of course she wouldn’t harm him. Aimilios barely tried to escape, so why would she?

Ribbons backed further and further away from the wraith— until backing herself into a wall. A dead end. Her cyan, beady eye’s looked up at the gargantuan ghost in what would be fear. Fear she hadn’t felt in years. She closes her eyes shut, expecting the worst—

Only for large, firm hands to cup her body.

“Ribbons, dear. Your partner is safe…” Large hands reach the petrified Sylveon, scooping her up. He gently placed her against his stomach— making her listen to the Aura Pokémon inside. “See..?”

Ribbons could barely squeak out of her raspy throat. Feeling Aimilios from within the barrier that was the ghost’s girth.

“Just let me take care of you…both of you.” Dusknoir bellowed, parting his teeth once more. The Sylveon and Lucario share a look of fear—before the gargantuan revenant squished the two inside his belly. Closing his yellow jaws slowly as whatever moonlight hit the inside of his stomach was snuffed. Swallowing both Pokémon into darkness.

Ribbons squeezed her eyes shut as he delicately placed her inside—sealing her away with the Lucario.

Without any time to shout— the Aura and Intertwining Pokémon had been pulled into the dark abyss that was the Gripper Pokémon’s belly. Dusknoir ignored their quiet, frightened mewls. For him to stop— drowning them out with his loud, rumbling purrs instead. Completely driven by the instinctual haze taking over his rational mind.

Being away from them for so long… it only made his instincts flare. Day by day. He clutched his stomach tighter. His yellow outlines grew brighter. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. But he didn’t care anymore. They were here now.

And they were all he needed.

“Oh… you two must be so exhausted…” Dusknoir growled in penitence. Still feeling guilt upon leaving the two small Pokémon on such short notice… they spent all that time just trying to track him. What sweet, caring children they were…

“Let me handle the rest.” Dusknoir cooed. Purring trilled growls as he examined his slightly larger belly— pressing large fingertips on the soft roof of his belly. Earning him startled whimpers from the inside.

———

“Shhh…. Shhhhhhh….”

“A-Aimilios…” The sylveon whined out, hugging her partner in fear.

“I-I know Ribbons… I know.” The Lucario had squeezed his eyes shut, alongside his smaller, fairy-type partner.

They’d been trapped inside the large ghost-type’s belly. He’d devoured them without a second thought— the last thing that could be seen was his glazed, half-lidded expression. As if he’d been running on auto-pilot. Mind controlled.

Dusknoir had floated onto the ground after finally securing the two in his stomach, an overwhelming sense of paternal instinct coursing through him. He’d hunched over, curling both of his arms around his stomach as he breathed heavily. It’d been a dark night, so that also might’ve been why he looked more terrifying to the two small Pokémon inside. The only features that could be visible were his yellow outlines… and glowing, crimson eye.

“I have you…” He growled protectively. Hugging his stomach as his possessive, ghost-side took over. Never having a reason to act on said instincts, until they arrived into his life. Until he was free serving an undead Time god.

The two Pokémon inside had been constricted further into each other as a result from the outside bear hug. Whimpering out in unison. The dark, closed space barely had enough room for the Lucario alone. So when Dusknoir had devoured the fighting-type alongside his equally helpless partner— frightened noises escaped both of their mouths.

“It’s g-going to be okay…! He… he probably had a reason…” Aimilios whispered.

“A reason for what— eating us ALIVE?!” Ribbons rebutted. Whispering back angrily in tears. “Aimilios if we don’t find a way out, he’ll..!”

…The Sylveon hesitated to finish her sentence out of fear and denial. They… really were done for if Dusknoir had chosen to do away with them right then and there… Their explorer badges had clattered to the ground when he shoved them inside his maw. So calling Grovyle or Celebi for help was already hopeless. Everyone else in the township had already fallen dead asleep, their cries for help going unheard by any ears… and the large ghost-type keeping them.

“H-he’ll…” The fairy-type buried her face into her partner’s chest. Gods— why was he doing this…?! He wouldn’t make some elaborate plan to regain their trust to harm them years down the line. Not again— Not when there were other, more opportune moments when they were alone. Still unevolved.

So why.

Why were they still so scared?

…

…The fear of being hunted in the future by him. It never truly left them, did it? Ribbons looks up at her partner. One look into his equally fearful, ruby eyes told her everything she needed to know.

“……” the Lucario couldn't formulate a response fast enough to ease Ribbon’s worries. Only holding her.

…The dumbest, most naive part of both of them still trusted Dusknoir. Trusted the Gripper Pokémon enough to let him devour them. Not fighting back in the slightest, even when they had every reason to. Even when he reminded them many a time to put him in the ground if they ever felt unsafe around him.

“H-he wouldn’t… He promised us..! The Lucario hugged her tightly. “He… he wouldn’t do that to us again…”

Aimilios was confident in that, and he knew Ribbon’s was too despite her fears. He wouldn’t have spent all this time trying to regain their trust… only to hurt them all over again.

There had to be a reason…

——

…

The Lucario and Sylveon had been at Duskull bank, putting in their extra earnings so as to not lose anything. But for some reason, the tiny ghost seemed… apprehensive. Constantly looking at the large Dusknoir accompanying the two. Once he’d been distracted talking to another treasure town citizen— he whispered something to the two Pokémon.

“H-hey..” Duskull began. “I should probably give you two a heads up…”

“A…heads up?” The Lucario tilted his head in confusion. “About what exactly..?”

“…Him.” He gestures to Dusknoir. “You kids may not know this but… it’s around this time of year ghost type’s tend to get… protective over their family… especially children.

That certainly got a reaction from the two. The Lucario becoming flustered at the thought of Dusknoir seeing them as his own… Ribbons went silent herself. Not even smiling anymore as an equally flushed expression was present on the fairy-type’s face.

But… It also made sense. The past few days Dusknoir had been acting…strange. He’d been extra protective of the Lucario and Sylveon. He’d growl and glare at Pokémon that dared to look at them wrong. Not to mention the constant hovering and picking them up. His eye glowed during these moments aswell…and it only seemed to become more frequent.

“S-so where are you going with th-this exactly?” The Lucario stuttered, trying to move on from that piece of information.

“It’s just, dusknoir’s’ have a way with ‘protecting’ their kids… it’s—“

Just at that moment, the large ghost-type had returned. Staring at Duskull.

“Forgive me for asking Duskull, but we’re quite ready to leave now.” Dusknoir smiled. Although he seemed to be glaring daggers at the much smaller pre-evolution. He didn’t seem to hear the initial conversation, thankfully.

“R-Right…” The much smaller ghost-type shirks away in fear, not finishing his sentence.

Dusknoir picks up the two, floating them to their next destination as they were left to wonder what exactly the ghost-banker was about to tell them…?

_____

“…O-oh my gods…” The Lucario put a paw on his mouth in disbelief.

“Wh-what??” Ribbons whisper-shouted. “What is it..?!”

“H-He’s protecting us….” Aimilios spoke, his eyes widening as his mind returned to the present.

“W-what…?” The sylveon looked up at her partner’s ruby eyes. “From what?!”

“Remember what Duskull said?”

“Yes? But what does this have to do with-“

“No, Ribbons. Think harder.”

And she does, closing her eyes to correctly recall the conversation that took place that day.

“He said that dusknoirs’ as a species had a way of protecting their…k-kids.” She hesitates near the end, still flustered by that fact.

“R-right…” The equally embarrassed Lucario responded. Briefly breaking eye contact with the sylveon.

“So h-he’s doing all of this…?” Ribbons looked up at the roof of the ghost’s stomach. Purple flesh churned from above, as well as below as it closed in further around the two small Pokémon.

“Because he thinks we’re his..?”

She feels herself getting a little choked up near the end. Not realizing just how much Dusknoir had truly loved the two up until this very moment.

“Mhm…” the misty-eyed Lucario replied, hugging Ribbons even tighter. “H-he does…”

The revelation was staggering… This once, world renowned ghost-type. Famous in nearly all of the Grass-continents, the ‘Great Dusknoir’ himself…

…Saw them as his little ones. The same unknown, naive kids that once approached him that fateful day. He’d been treating them as if they were his very own children.

It nearly made the Lucario and Sylveon cry.

…

They listened to Dusknoir’s movements as he floated down onto a hay bed. He looked down at his slightly larger belly lovingly. Knowing the two had been safe and secure. Low, satisfied growls erupt from within the ghost’s echo chamber. Rubbing his stomach soothingly for the two little ones residing inside it.

“Rest now, my children…” Dusknoir bellowed out in a protective rumble.

His half lidded eyes slowly close as he lays on his side. Preparing the other two for bed… he purrs as to lull the two into a slumber. Knowing that they’ll soon follow his example.

____

“So we’re not getting out until morning, are we?” Ribbons jokes, although a hint of a choked sob had been present in her voice.

“Mhm… for now, let’s get some sleep…”

“Okay…” Ribbon’s sighs, smiling softly at her partner. “Goodnight…”

“Goodnight…” He kisses the top of his partner’s head. Before both of them look at the roof of the ghost-type’s stomach… the same one that had claimed them as his own… Tears prick the corner of the two’s eyes. Knowing now how Dusknoir truly felt towards them. Hearing him call them his ‘children’…

They close their damped eyes, making mental notes in their heads to hug Dusknoir once he’d let them free.

[smolandweirdwriter]

The bad kids are all best friends, but some of them don't have many canonical scenes together, and I think Adaine and Gorgug are the least seen with each other among the rare duos. But those two are pretty emotionally smart, so I think they'd realize that and decided to hang out

Got any ideas about shenanigans they might perform together?

adaine canonically loves gorgug's parents for their kindness to everyone, which especially shines through in how much they care for their son. throughout her freshman year, adaine would most often crash at gorgug's place. it was marginally closer to get to, and safer, at least compared to strongtower. the little folk are peaceful.

the first time Adaine was at Gorgug's house with all the others, Wilma and Digby noticed how formal, and then perplexed, and then saddened she was in the span of meeting them. when they overheard her say things like "wow your parents are so sweet!" and "I love your parents!" they weren't just proud or happy. at least, not only that. soon after they were a little concerned, especially with how eager she seemed about it. as though they were unconventional in their kindness. they asked gorgug about it afterwards, and he frowned a little. "I dunno," he said finally. "I think elf parents are kinda... mean to their kids? Like it's a cultural thing or something?"

Well, that definitely didn't sit well with Wilma and Digby. And it definitely didn't sit well with Gorgug, now that he realized it. He asked Adaine about it the next day, and she admitted it with a mixture of loathing and sharp self-awareness. She didn't cry, but she didn't exactly brush the issue off either. Gorgug didn't know what to do, he'd never had a friend, let alone one with abusive parents. He'd always thought his anger was a bad thing, but now it consumed him with unbridled outrage. He wanted to storm into the Abernant house and rip it apart with his bare hands. He wanted to take his friend behind him and keep her safe. He wanted to hug her so she was there with him and not alone and cold and scared and mad. She didn't need to be mad. She didn't deserve it.

But Gorgug knew he couldn't do any of that. So instead, he offered what he knew he could: "If you ever need some place to stay, you know where I live."

Adaine smiled. "Thanks, Gorgug. But I'll be alright."

A few days later, the bad kids had been out late on their quest to find out more about what would later be known as the Kalvaxus Caper. actually, they weren't even "out late". it was about 6pm, but school had let out around 3, so their parents were nonetheless reasonably worried about where the hell their children were.

as everyone was peeling off to head home, only adaine and gorgug were left. gorgug noticed adaine just standing there, not going home yet. "hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"My parents are gonna kill me. I'm so late. The bus won't take me home now, it'll take forever to walk, we're halfway across town, I'll miss curfew because I was out adventuring --" she said "adventuring" like it was something to be mocked, something foolish that only a child would partake in "--I'm going to be grounded forever... I can't go home, Gorgug, I can't."

Gorgug cocked his head. Two choices, then. Take her home. Or... Take her home.

"You wanna, uh, stay over at my place?"

So Adaine followed Gorgug home. The Thistlesprings had cooked a thick, stewy soup with chunks of meat and vegetables that smelled amazing. They saw Adaine come in and quickly fixed her up a bowl alongside Gorgug's. Wilma and Digby ask her all sorts of questions -- What sort of magic does she do? Are her family wizards too? Where do they work? When do they leave home? How susceptible are they to gnomish-made ballista being fired right at them? What does she like to eat? She looks like she doesn't eat enough, she should come over more and they'll make her nice, home-cooked meals. hey, she used to go to Hudol, what was it like? What's Aguefort been like for her, is she liking it? how about the classmates, anyone nice outside her party? anyone very nice? has she had "the talk" yet--

at that point, gorgug's face goes bright red and he tugs adaine away before they can pull out The Binder. adaine giggles as she's led into gorgug's room. he offers her a pair of his pajamas, which are far too big on her, but she likes that. it's kind of like being wrapped up in gorgug's hugs--enveloped completely. she has to roll the sleeves all the way up so she can even get her fingers out, and the pants still trail on the ground a little.

they spend the rest of the night talking and chatting sprawled across gorgug's bed.

situations like this become far more common throughout freshman year. the thistlesprings want to adopt her, but she's not even technically a Solecian citizen, and it would make the whole "diplomatic immunity" thing so messy. she goes home on the weekends, because she has no choice, and when her parents get force her to stay home because "we're your family and we never see you. i swear, you're so ungrateful sometimes, adaine. what, is it so awful to have dinner with us?"

on her own, adaine begins learning orcish and gnomish so she and gorgug can talk, and so she can better thank and communicate with the thistlesprings. she teaches gorgug some elvish too, and they begin communicating by blending the three languages together in a way that makes no sense to anyone other than themselves.

for his part, it's gorgug who helps adaine become more physically strong, because he's worried about how angry his friend gets, and how that anger sometimes spirals into panic, or vice versa, so he teaches her how to throw a punch, how to block a hit, how to fight with a sword. he is never prouder than the moment he sees adaine's fist collide with her sister's face at ostentatia's party.

for her part, adaine and gorgug do homework together often when she's there, and it's by watching her do magic that gorgug becomes so enraptured by it. he's constantly asking her how spells work, how she knows what level she's casting them at, how she remembers them all. adaine attempts to explain it, and she does so by comparing it to his parents' tinkering. she's just putting pieces together and binding them--her "pieces" are less tangible, but they're still a part of the greater universe around them. gorgug really wants to learn wizardry, but he's not too fond of the abstract. he likes adaine's explanation, though. he begins thinking about tinkering. he begins thinking about machines and the tangible and the world and breaking things and putting them together and making something new. he thinks about family.

fig is an excellent lyricist, but she's not a very skilled composer. gorgug, meanwhile, it fantastic at putting lyrics to music. he loves it. he has just the right ear for it, for knowing where something needs a little aid, where he can boost something so it reaches its full potential. he's also a great backup vocalist. but he's sorta afraid to mention any of this to fig, because she invited him to be in her band, and she was so nice about helping him, and he doesn't wanna overstep. when shes over at his house one day, adaine sees a piece he's composed lying on the desk. she doesn't read it, to respect his privacy, but she notes that it's clearly composition, and asks about it. gorgug awkwardly admits that he's been working on something to go with a piece fig wrote, because, and not to imply he doesn't think fig's great, he loves fig so so so much and he's so grateful to be in her band, but, well, she composed about half the instrumental bits but they're just a little wonky and so he dabbled a little bit in pairing the lyrics with music, but please don't tell fig, adaine, it's not like I've done any better than she has or could.

adaine blinks. "you're awfully anxious, aren't you?" she smiles, sits down on the bed next to him, and says, "Gorgug, if you don't try, you're never going to know if it's any good at all."

so he shows his composition to fig. who immediately tackles him into a hug and screams "THIS IS PERFECT!"

Gorgug blushes and says, "Adaine helped me with it."

Fig recruits Adaine to help them write and compose. Adaine declines. "But if you ever need a tech person once you start really performing," Adaine says, "I'd love to do stage effects for you."

Actually, Adaine, as it turns out, does rather like helping Gorgug compose music. This stems from the fact that she grew up listening to exclusively pretentious high elven music, which she does rather like, but she also becomes pretty fond of heavy metal the likes of which gorgug blasts. she has a playlist called "studying evocation magic" that one would expect to be full of classical music. it's entirely head-slammer metal and rock that gorgug helped her compile.

Adaine goes to Gorgug a lot when she can't figure out spells. She gets lost in the little intricacies and complications of things, and he's very good at looking at the thing as a whole and seeing what's missing. he sees it very technically, which she finds relieving. so much of magic is abstract, but with gorgug everything is right with you, a physical thing.

when adaine kills her dad, gorgug isn't so sure she's okay. everyone else is cheering and hugging her, but gorgug has spent the most time around adaine's violence. her fear. he knows theres something deeper here. so when he gets a chance, he pulls her aside and asks how she's doing. adaine crumples into his side, sobbing, gripping his sweatshirt because it's soft and smells like grass and the woods and something else too, like going home after a long day, like people who want you to have clean clothes because they care about you and not your appearance. "Why did I have to kill him?" she asks, and he knows what she's really saying. Why did killing him have to be the only option?

"I don't know," he whispers. "Is it better that he's dead?"

Adaine swallows. Chokes on a lump of tears. Says: "I hope so."

gorgug and adaine who understand each other. gorgug and adaine who have sleepovers and climb the thistlespring tree and learn together. gorgug and adaine who have a secret language. gorgug and adaine who, of all the bad kids, know the least about their respective sexualities come junior year. riz and fig have been learning about aromaticism/asexuality and pansexuality since sophomore year, and kristen has been out since freshman year, and fabian has gotten over aelwyn and has confessed that he might have had the most massive crush on riz, and is still not over him, but that he really really doesn't want that to get in the way of their friendship, and that he supports riz's sexuality whole-heartedly, and he's realizing how lame his desperation for girls who treat people like shit is because he's realized he doesn't need to feel special just because someone who likes no one likes him, and he's falling for mazey, and that's okay.

but adaine and gorgug?

zelda breaks up with gorgug the summer of their junior year. and honestly? gorgug tells adaine in the workshop of the thistlespring tree late at night as they work together on the solar lasso. i sort of always saw it coming.

there is a dull hum of arcane electricity around them. save that, all is silent. silent, when adaine thinks about how people should care and don't and fall apart and break and how you can want to love someone and still run away. she does not understand it.

did you love her? she whispers, not looking over at him as her fingers turn a a piece of scrap metal over and over, not working on anything, not trying to fix anything. just hoping. just wishing. just wanting to know what love is.

i think i liked that she liked me, gorgug said. and i think i liked being around her. and i liked the... he glances over, blushing. Sorry. Riz is not vocal about his asexuality, and most of the time he is quietly uncaring when they talk about sex. it doesn't bother him to hear about--it's a part of life. still, gorgug tries to keep the others from talking about it around him. adaine, gorgug does not know if she's ace or not, and doesn't care if she is or isn't, but she gets uncomfortable, even a little disgusted, around talks of such things, so he tries to keep them to a minimum for her, too.

but this night, adaine shakes her head, her glasses glinting in the darkness. it's okay. you liked her. you liked sex. but did... what did... she clenches the scrap of metal in her fist, frustrated at her inability to form the proper words. the metal bends and crumples in her palm, and she blinks, unfurling her fingers to see broken shards of metal in her hand. she is still not used to her own strength. she has still not realized she's not really the girl she was years ago. but she is learning who she is, and maybe that's okay too. what was it like? liking someone that way? wanting someone... that way?

it was nice, gorgug says back. it was really nice. he shakes his head. but i think it was more than just... physical. i think she fell in love with me because i was nice to her. and she... sometimes she acted like that niceness was something i only did for her. and if i cared about other people, it was like i didn't care about zelda enough? or something? and i didn't really like that. and she didn't really like that i... that we...

that you were something other than zelda donovan's boyfriend? adaine offers.

he nods. yeah. a pause. i really liked her, though.

adaine taps his hand with hers. a question. he slips his fingers into hers. an answer. she squeezes. he squeezes back. I'm sorry.

gorgug comes out to adaine first of all their friends. he's bi, he tells her. adaine, not sure what to say, goes: "Congratulations". They both laugh. she still doesn't know what she is. she's still not sure she wants a label. he tells her that's okay. she asks if he came out because he has a crush on someone in his fancy new artificer class. gorgug blushes and shoves her playfully. (when he kisses unit later that year, adaine is unsurprised. he seems like gorgug's type.)

when oisin's ruse is revealed much later that year, adaine is not sad. she isn't hurt. she's violently, horrifically angry. so is gorgug.

they are on a boat. they might die. Oisin's voice rings out, Oisin's call. Adaine's face blanches, and Gorgug understands that whatever he messaged her, it means someone is about to die. and it won't be adaine.

it will be a white dragon, to his axe. it will be another, hit by the boat. it will be oisin, it will be oisin, it will be oisin. it will be oisin, for his friend who did not know what love felt like. it will be oisin, for his friend who did not know if she wanted to kiss someone. it will be oisin, for his friend who is easy to love. it will be oisin who dies, and he will enjoy it. and rage is not bad, because rage protected adaine, who should not have needed to protect herself.

and after everything has calmed down, they will eat ants on a log in his bedroom and write music and practice magic and spar and laugh.

oh, also: adaine and gorgug both get overstimulated easily, and gorgug always has a plethora of headphones and fidgets, and adaine goes to him for them constantly. they also both conducted an experiment together once where they attempted to communicate with people inside her jacket. it didn't go super well, but it was certainly fun!

and of course, adaine/ayda/gorgug friendship is a top-tier one. fig's magic is innate, but the trio's magic comes from studying and observing, and they all like to talk about it. sometimes they gossip. sometimes it's about fig. it's never mean--actually, usually it's just about how much they like fig. but they all get together pretty often to just jam out some spell stuff together.

[song-star-rini]

now playing… アイドル! (Idol)

genre: idol shenanigan / slight crack? (ft other characters!)

ad libs: RP blog au! (if you come from my rin blog you probably would get the context better)

notes: made this for fun for my frequents on the rin itoshi blog @underlash-owl ---mentions of a lot of people who come to the blog often ^^

if i missed anyone pls don’t get offended!! also i tried to get everyone’s pronouns and internet names + also i tried my best

🌠 : @reapkusho @kuro-min @wabatle @rinitoshiplzdateme @rinitoshisgirl ☆

@tigreblvnc @starfire7 @ssstar @soleilonthesun @galaxynajma ☆

@someprettyname @bachi-the-bee ☆

(for any descriptions i used the picrews :3 lmk if i got anything wrong!)

group name : idolists

finally more of the ppl tagged get some screen time... (emi, sol, shine, miki, michelle)

part 1 / 2 / 3 (again sorry for the long ass wait, this is where some more ppl get introed, PERFORMANCE NOT YET)

sol fans herself with the sae fan she bought at the front, she fought tooth and nail in that HELL of a line to get her hands on the merchandise, some recognized her as the famous reporter, others just saw her as another competitor for sae merch.

but to be honest about her "boss" (he barely interferes) letting her go around taking a day off for this, he knew that sol was too much of a soccer character to be able to deny her the opportunity to study and publish something such an event.

so here she is, sitting in the second years, so close! she can feel the tension in the room, constant whispers of expectation ticked her ears, stirring her gut in excitement.

next to her, another member of the prestigious GF FC, Miki herself! her composure was not NEARLY as composed as sol's... and the reasons explain why.

the mod, the manager, the whole pr team.. which was one whole person, rini, had personally sent the invitation right to her door step! she dialed up some of the fc members and here she is!

and under the news that rini had personally arranged the event for rin to be the center, she was going to implode.

here she was, holding some rin-nuis tightly in her fingers, she was ecstatic! and t introduce another gf fc member, michelle!

the cutie was grinning so hard, when she heard of her friend getting an invite, she literally fell off her chair, especially at the mention of the isagi yoichi being part of the group performing tonight.

having matching profile pictures on some platforms, miki KNEW she had to be here!

just a row ahead, the first row, the most pricy row, sat a girl with long hair, moon buns sat on her head cutely as she grins, a quaint yet mischievous grin, in her hands is a rolled up article by... sol.

shine was her name, and boy did she live up to it, her name was certainly repeated a few times within the japanese soccer community, seeming to be a catalyst for anything and everything about rin itoshi.

back to the article she was holding, it was a certain article, with a certain male named itoshi.

before anything, shine really does like rin, but its hard to miss any and all opportunities to render him speechless, online or not, she sometimes showed up on variety shows, interviews to assist sol.

"shine..?" sol perched in her seat, oh, they were right in front and behind of each other. shine hid her surprise and turned around coolly and smiled, "small world, huh?'

sol grinned and the two exchanged pleasantries while the other two gf fc members just blew up mentally when they saw the rin itoshi fanservice article, they stopped selling copies after the first three hours?!??!

speaking of which, shine held up her other hand, which was another article, this time it wasn't that much better.. it was the "rinsagi kiss" article, another one that stopped being sold after barely a day.

being in the article herself, miki jumped into the conversation, michelle was just glaring at her phone, looking over at rin's manager's socials, glaring at the time of which the event would start, constantly darting between that time and the current one at the top of her screen.

"come on...!" she whined..

najma plopped down in her assigned seat in the third row, next to reap!

reap was... well she DECKED in the rin itoshi merch while Najma just bought the light sticks, reap

mod had also sent the invite to them two for this event, but emi had the luxury entered through the back door because of rini's request, she and emi entered through the back door to get the boys locked IN.

emi was off to the side, rini ha secretly placed them in a seat where she'd be able to see reo the best. but shhhh...

reap checked her phone to look at the same damn picture, a picture that rini had personally sent of rin to her, a picture of rin in a cosplay costume with rini themself standing next to him posing, the atmosphere was... unserious.

"putting the peak in sneak peek" was the caption, it was so dumb, and reap was more than 90% sure that rin was not going to pull up on stage in such a... outfit.

reap plays around their phones a bit more, everyone was in their own world, blabbering and obsessing about their favorites.

then the lights dimmed.

and soon everyone,no matter who their favorites were, they all joined in the same cheer, screaming and chanting declarations of egos and love, eager, fucking feral to see the boys behind the curtain,.

everyone in the room could feel their heart beat in their ears, everyone on their feet now, waving their arms, looking like starved animals.

the curtains rises with the tension, and it reveals...

the nothing.

the stage was empty, the crowd is confused, were they just scammed? by the official production team? no way! this just didn't make sense!

the crowd retracted their confused statements with more screaming, louder than ever and before anyone of them could take a step back-

「 walk the line. 」

「 i hate that line. 」

and the crowd goes wild, the music starts, the opening lines flip open the book, and from the bottom, one by one, the boys quickly line up to the stage, the crowd gets louder and louder as one boy pops up after the other.

「 気づいたんだ 」

「共に走った」

「 I'll pass the mic. 」

tbc.

[ladder-ghost]

I made him more monstrous 🧍‍♂️

Size comparison to his twin sister in this form lmao

Lore dump✨ lowkey making this whole bit his actual canon cuz I can😤

In short, Connor is a changeling trope

Initially there was a human twin to Cara (sick/dying), who got swapped with Connor through a dealing between their mother and the fae near their home. Of course there’s general disdain for fae, in a know don’t speak on them type way. The twins dad is pretty iffy towards Connor because of this. He doesn’t really consider him as one of them but Connor is a mommas boy and she stay defending him so not much dad can do bout him now.

He grows up in his human form, mostly for convenience, but the relationship with his parents strains over time with his father’s growing hostility toward him and his mom kinda just, not doing anything about it. Like she’d just tell him let him yap but like, that doesn’t fix the fact that you’re unwanted in your home. Silver lining is he’s close with his sisters. But they do NOT know he’s a fae. Mom makes sure he thinks oh, it’s for the best, you know how people are, it might be uncomfy to have to keep up his form all the time but it’s better than causing a fuss. Plus it makes him fear that they’ll stop loving him and follow after their dad if they did find out, considering they’re both very much idolized by the dad.

Turning point comes where big fight happens, bro gets outed, wants to leave because at a point there’s only so much u can take and also the fear of oh shit, Cara and khipz know now. Mom tries to beg him to stay and sort it out, he refuses, she gives him the documents to the farm their grandpa left in pelican town. I’d like to imagine the grandpa has a good relationship with the fae, hence why they were willing to make a pretty non hostile deal with the mother, especially since pelican town itself is pretty rooted in magic with the Junimos and like, the wizards whole bit. So Connor probably would feel pretty comfortable moving to his old land, no animosity with grandpa he was chill.

He continues pretending to be human after moving to the farm, partly out of habit, partly out of fear of the locals reactions considering his hometowns attitude towards fae. Game plot yada yada

In terms of the gaulin myth, he’d be uncannily good at farming and fishing, especially fishing. Because haha, water bird good at fishing.

Relationship wise I choose to believe he’d grow close with Willy as like, the father he wished he got. I also like the idea of Willy and their grandpa having been pretty good friends when he ran the farm, so he probably vaguely knows about the fae shenanigans, and seeing the openness to it encourages Connor to be up front about himself for the first time really.

By nature of being at the beach often for fishing or to hang around Willy and work on the boat, babe falls head over heels for Elliott because frfr who wouldn’t🔥🔥. But in a horribly slow burn way where he wants more than the friendship they make but like, avoidance because that lingering fear of a negative reaction to being inhuman.

His sisters come to visit like, the summer in year 2 after he moves to the farm, they fix their business, and decide to stick around, so they get some cabins built to stay long term.

Willy encouraging him plus reconciling with his sisters gives him the balls to not have to hide so much, and he finally decides to reveal his full gaulin creature™️ form to Elliott. Very cute very slay, they make their relationship official not too long after

At some point he’d like, trickle reveal to everyone else. I’d like to think this big monster form is his fully fae appearance, but the last one I posted that’s like midway between this and human is what he defaults to more interchangeably with fully human, for convenience with infrastructure because big boy. I imagine he’d enjoy fishing like this though. ✨enrichment✨

[maddiethedogstories]

Squeezing Tears from a Stone

He was her rock. He was her husband, her best friend, her closest confidant, and her one true love. He gave all of himself to her, their family, and his community.

He never talked about what he did at work; he couldn't. But, she knew it took a toll on him. He dealt with people at their darkest points and helped people work through their hardest emotions. He kept calm and collected as the rest of the world raged around him. And throughout it all, wore a mask, letting the world think it never affected him.

She knew different. She saw the toll it took on him, the emotions hiding behind the well-developed callous hiding the scars. He'd come home, and she recognized the sadness hiding behind the warm smiles that he couldn't or wouldn't, let himself feel.

So, despite being her rock, she knew, occasionally, she needed to help him. She needed to force the emotional release he couldn't bring about himself. She needed to be there to care for him, just like he was there to care for so many other people.

She sat on the couch in his favorite yellow sundress as he walked through the door. He was wearing the white button down and black slacks as he walked in, the normal accoutrements of his work.

He smiled as he looked at her a glint of love temporarily overshadowing the sadness lurking in his eyes.

"Why hello their beautiful! What's the special occasion?" He asked grinning.

That grin sent a shiver of lust through her body that nearly convinced her to change her plans. However, the memory of the pain in her eyes reminded her to stay the course.

She stood, walked up to him with as much confidence as possible, and placed one finger on his lips.

"Shhhh. No more talking from you," she said softly, "Now, strip."

Excited, clearly not aware of what was coming, he quickly ripped off his shirt, pants, and underwear, forgetting, as he always did, his socks. She smiled, not mentioning what he'd overlooked as he stood naked in front of her, looking at her like a golden retriever about to get a treat.

After a quick up and down and a mid of satisfaction, she turned her back and beckoned for him to follow her to the couch. He followed eagerly, ready for whatever naughty shenanigans he had cooked up in his head.

She sat back down on the couch, her back straight, and her knees bent and a hard right angle. She patted her lap.

"Lay here," she commanded.

He moved to lay on the couch, before she stopped him.

"No, not on the couch, lap on my lap, that cute little tushy in the air. Now!"

Confused, but, his cock revealing his excitement like a dog's tail, he quickly did as ordered, laying face down across her lap, ass on the air, waiting for whatever was to come next. Once satisfied, she laid a hand on his backside began her lecture.

"Baby, you've been pretending to be a big boy a lot lately, I've seen it," she began.

He turned and looked back at her concerned, before she continued.

"And, Mommy knows pretending to be a big boy can be hard for such a sensitive little guy like you. So many big emotions boiling up all the time that you just have to keep pushing down."

His look became more contemplative, slowly realizing what was happening. But he remained silent, not speaking, just as he was told to do.

"Baby, it's not healthy for little boys to keep all of those emotions inside of you, tearing you up, destroying that kind and gentle little soul of yours! You have to cry, let it all out, let yourself just feel," she continued, suddenly see that sadness she hated working it's way back to the surface on his face.

"But…" He tried to speak, concern intermingling with the hidden sorrow in his eyes. She cut him off immediately.

"Shush! I told you, this isn't your time to speak, baby. My Little Love, Mommy knows when you pretend to be big, you have a hard time showing your emotions, really letting yourself feel those emotions. Mommy is going to help."

He looked back at her, now more confused, with clearly a thousand unspoken words dancing on his closed lips. But, obediently, he remained silent.

"It's okay, Little One. I just need you to know, before this begins, this isn't a punishment. This isn't a sex thing. This is Mommy helping you feel and accept everything that is floating around inside of you."

"Mommy is going to spank you," she continued, matter of fact my, "I am going to spank you until you are crying, until you are sobbing, until you are letting yourself feel every bad feeling and dark thought you've been hiding from for the last few months. And once, and only once, you are doing that, will I stop. Then you are going to sit her on this couch with me, letting me hold you, until those tears end completely, however long that takes."

She smiled as his look softened, tears of feeling truly loved and understood, starting to well in his eyes. She rubbed his exposed bum lightly as she spoke her last words.

"Baby, I need you to know, however hard it gets, however down you feel, how ever stone faced you have to be to the real world, you can always be vulnerable and cry with me."

With that, she raised her arm and began giving him the most brutal spanking of his life.

Twenty minutes later, he laid naked (except for those silly socks) on the couch, head on her lap, softly crying as she ran her fingers softly through his hair. His ass cheeks were bright red with the signs of the paddling he had been given that had been hard enough to open the stuck lid to the jar that held his strong emotions.

In this moment, in her lap, her finger massaging his scalp, he felt sad, he felt vulnerable, and he felt small. But, at the same time, he never felt more loved and seen.

"Thank you," he mumbled out lightly between sobs, "for everything. I love you."

She beant down and kissed his head.

"I love you, too. Now hush, just lay there and let Mommy help take all of those tears away."

[tokillamockingbird427]

what if not only is Logan mute but nearly every other thing he does is almost silent

Opening a fizzy soda bottle? Carefully lets the air out pffsssss open and gentle unscrewing of bottle cap

Answering a phone call? As if magically the phone is on silent and it just vibrates in his hand

Opening a bag of chips? Very quiet crinkles nobody else even knows he's eating

Supervising Kick? Suddenly Kick shuts up

Elias swears up and down that even as a child Logan walked silently... crawled silently too.

Last line is so real. The Ghosts start to pair them up more often once they realize Logan's effect... only to regret it when they realize how much LOUDER Hesh seems to get without him. They'd rather tolerate Kicks shenanigans than Hesh exploding every time someone blinks at him and he gets excited.

[dannystheone]

more lee deadpool!!!!! i love how u write him and wolverine sm<3

aww thank you so much! It took me a second to think about what I wanted to write lol but here it is!

this is just a little somethin somethin nothing special lel

and sorry this took so long to come out I haven't been feeling motivated to write and I've been taking dress to impress on roblox very seriously LMAO

WARNINGS: SPOILERS FROM THE MOVIE/ Cursing, shenanigans, fourth wall breaks, nastiness, mentions of alcohol, mentions of BDSM

MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE!!

A Who Dun' It Mystery! (Lee Deadpool/Ler Wolverine)

Logan wakes up to find all his beer gone from the refrigerator without knowing who took it! Can Logan withstand all of Wade's antics to get a straight answer?

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

"RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

Birds flew out of their nesting places and whole houses shook on their foundations from the roar uttered on this peaceful morning. Squirrels, bugs, birds, pretty much the whole cast of Bambi ran for the hills to escape the terrifying beast.

Aside from one simple sleeping man and his adorable companion. That simple sleeping man was none other than Wade Wilson, otherwise known as the Merc with the Mouth, Marvel Jesus, People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2010- although in my opinion he was snubbed for 2008- and his adorable companion was Dogpool, of course.

Now, sleeping soundly, dreaming of Vanessa, Thor, and a certain web-slinger- Deadpool snored contently while the angry footsteps of the terrifying creature stalked to his bedroom. The angry creature better watch where he steps because Wade turned his room into a snow globe last night! And no, not the kind from the gift shop, although I'm sure if you ask politely, the gift shop worker would be more than happy to help you make this kind of snowglobe with a crisp 20 dollar bill-

The door was thrown open with a slam; the terrifying creature was revealed to be The Wolverine! Now is this story the one where the boy gets the monster at the end? Maybe an intermission of some kind-

"Shut the fuck up." Logan stalked toward Wade on his bed, careful not to step in a certain spot of something on the ground, and grabbed the papers Wade was reading aloud. Logan flipped the papers around to see the cover page, 'A Who 'Dun It Mystery!' Written by dannystheone''. Logan growled and threw the papers to the side of the room. Wade put his hands up innocently and looked at Logan.

"Someone's delightful this morning. Did you finally catch the bad kitty you chase in your dreams boy, huh? Or did you find my stash of catnip? Do you have more dog energy or cat energy? Let's ask the audience." Wade turned towards the camera, but Logan grabbed Wade's jaw and forced him to look him in the eye.

"Who the fuck, in this godforsaken household, drank the last of my beer?" Logan asked with a deathly calm. Wade lifted an eyebrow at the suggestive hold Logan had him in and spoke with his cheeks squished in his grip.

"If I answer the question, that'll take up one of your three wishes granted by the great and powerful Genie-Pool! And no, we're not using Robin Williams's rights for this one, but we can use Disney's. Would you like to use the wish to answer that question? Remember, one of my rules is I can't make anyone fall in love with you, even me, pretty boy~" Deadpool blew him a smooch as Wolverine snarled and pointed a finger in his face.

"A real. Fucking. Answer. You fucking moron. Who the hell drank my shit? Or I'll get the answer out of you." Logan threatened. Wade giggled like a girl, fanning his cheeks at the suggestive implications. Well, what Wade interpreted as suggestive anyway.

"Oh, you naughty little honey badger! Now I'm starting to think of what you'll do if I don't tell you~ Do we have a Tek Knight-type setup somewhere in the house? I should really invest in something like that-" Wolverine's temper got the better of him as he unsheathed his claws and thrust them forward. Deadpool jumped as he sacrificed a unicorn plushy to take the brunt of Wolverine's claws. The unicorn's fluff puffed out everywhere as Logan's claws stabbed the plushy.

"Nah ah ah! No claws in the house mister! We can't make all the furniture in the house red to cover up the bloodstains that come from claw-related incidents- although that would certainly be on brand. Could you imagine a couch designed by the guys who made the Deadpool X-Box controller? I might need to patent this million-dollar idea." Wolverine stared at him incredulously as he sheathed his claws. Deadpool looked to the broken unicorn plushy with a sigh and tossed it to the side.

"Jesus Christ, you're a yammering idiot. Your ADHD has ADHD, for God's sake. Will ya just tell me who drank my fucking beer already? I'll only hurt them a little bit..." Wolverine was clearly exasperated, but Deadpool had energy for days when it came to messing with his Wolvie-bear.

"Mmmm, I dunnooo... what do I get if I help you? A gratuitous turn-down service, perhaps? Almost as gratuitous as that lovely callback~ I hope you all at home reading this enjoyed that-" Deadpool said lovingly.

"Alright, that's it," Logan said aloud. Wade was cut off as Logan threw his legs over Wade and straddled him damn near on his ribcage with his arms pinned to his sides, effectively trapping him.

"Woah woah woah big boy! Establish the safe word first before you engage! We went through the BDSM guidelines together! You disregarding everything the BDSM subreddit taught us makes you no better than P-Diddy!" Deadpool looks to the camera. "Too soon, you think? I think it's in good taste."

Wolverine rolled his eyes as he begrudgingly started wriggling his fingers in Deadpool's ribs. Deadpool was currently wearing a white t-shirt with cartoon cats all over it and classic white boxers with red hearts all over them. His usual attire that gave him a little protection from Wolvie's tickle attacks was at the dry cleaners after the last job he had.

Logan realized very early in his 'relationship' with Wade that sometimes Wade needed to be tickled to be cooperative. He had no idea why, he had never met someone like Wade before so he assumed the weirdness and the absurdity of it came with the territory.

Additionally, with the no blood rule in the house and an elderly woman as their other roommate, this was the closest thing to 'violence' that Wolverine could use to take his aggression out on Deadpool. Wolverine had to admit, it felt good sometimes to take it all out on him like this. Logan's fingers scribbled and scratched in Wade's ribs, Wade immediately breaking out into peals of laughter.

"L-Lohohogahahan!! Wahahait wahahait wait!" Deadpool was caught by surprise, and thank GOD he was wearing his mask because he was blushing redder than the material his mask was made of. It always caught Deadpool by surprise when Wolverine randomly tickled him like this, only because it was so out of left field for his character. Almost as if this isn't a regular thing that would occur in the MCU and only occurs in the minds of degenerates on the internet.

"I WIHIHISH thahat wehehere the cahahase!! If ihihihit wehehere, I wohohouldn't behehe gehehetting tihihihickled rihihight nohohow!!" Deadpool yelled at no one in particular. Wolverine sneered as his fingers dotted Deadpool's ribs with an accuracy only experience could give. He wasn't feeling playful this time around, he just wanted an answer to where his beer had gone and he feared this was the only way he could get it.

"You wouldn't be getting ti-... be getting this treatment if you would just tell me who drank my damn beer. You always make it hard on yourself." Logan sighed and continued to tickle the merc. Deadpool swished from side to side on his bed as well as he could with a whole hunk of Hugh Jackman and adamantium skeleton on him.

"Awhahahaha!~ Yohohou stihihihill cahahan't sahahay thehe wohohord?! Yohohou're sohohoho cuhuhuhute!~" Wade teased, causing Logan to bristle and dig his fingers in further as retaliation. Even when Wade was in the throes of being tickled, he still managed to fluster his Ler. It was a superpower at that point.

"I got a different word I can say. Who the hell drank my goddamn beer?" Wolverine snarled, Deadpool still twitching and shuffling from side to side as the tickles came from either side of him.

"Nohohohot a wohohord! Thahahat's ahaha sehehentence! Haharvard DOESN'T wahahant yohohour lohohocation!" Deadpool laughed more genuinely now from his own joke than the tickles he was receiving. Logan growled from not having his question answered again and forced his fingers into the small spaces of Wade's armpits and vibrated his fingers into them. Wade shrieked and started belly laughing now.

"How about you tell me the location of my beer, huh? Think you can do that, Bub? Did Al drink it? Did you? Answer me!" Wolverine shouted over Deadpool's loud laughing. Deadpool tried squeezing the spaces that held Wolverine's fingers, but it just made the fingers tighter and closer to the skin, so either way it sucked.

"I dohohon't drihihink beheheer! I ohohonly drihihink thehehe fihihinest Aviahation Gihin!-" Wolverine's hands were lifted from Deadpool as Deadpool turned to the camera with a bottle of Aviation Gin appearing in his hands. -"Which you can now purchase from any local liquor store near you, including the Limited Deadpool Edition. Thank you for choosing Aviation Gin. Sincerely, Ryan Reynolds." Wade put the bottle back from its mysterious spot where it was before and assumed the exact same position he was in before with Wolverine's hands back in his armpit spaces.

"Then who the hell drank it? This can aaaall be over as soon as you tell me who did it!" Wolverine asked again. You would think he was beginning to lose his patience, but Logan was actually calming down from his previous place of anger now that he had an outlet to take it out. Wade was the unfortunate (or fortunate, whatever floats your boat) recipient of that, however.

"I cahahahan't! I wahahahas swohohorn tohoho sehehecrecy! I swehehehear!!" Deadpool sounded genuine this time, but Wolverine wasn't having it. Logan took it a step further and took his fingers to slide them up Wade's signature mask and started fluffing his fingers over his neck and the bottoms of his ears. He knew this was a secret spot that wasn't touched very often and found it by mistake, so it should be doubly effective here.

"Yeah? Well, I've done plenty of interrogating in my day, breaking down my victims and having them submit. S'aaall a matter of time now..." Logan attempted to sound intimidating but to Wade, this was just silly.

"PFFT! Hahahahaha! Ohohokahahay, whahahatever yohohou sahahay, Fihifty Shahades Of Grehey! Ohoho I'll suhuhubmihit ahahalright! Ihihif thahahat's whahahat yohohou wahahant!~" Deadpool couldn't help but laugh at his own hilarity, which just pissed Wolverine off.

Logan took his fingers from Wade's neck and took them down to his collarbones, to which Wade exploded. Wade was weird in the sense that his ticklish spots were never consistent. One spot would barely get him to laugh in one tickle session, and the next session that same spot would break him. Only ever adding to just how bizarre he was.

"You'll submit it you don't want to die first. Looks like you already got one foot in the grave from how hard you're laughing. Who swore you to secrecy huh?" Logan started gently pinching Wade's collarbones, which drove Wade up the wall. His legs started kicking and his head started whipping back and forth (with Willow Smith just out of frame).

"NOHOHO nohoho no! Okahahay okahahay stahahahap!! Ihihihit wahahas DohohohogPool! Wehehe rahahahan ohohohout of wahahater sohohoho I gahahahave hihihihihim the beheheheer!!" Deadpool spilled his secret, causing Wolverine to stop.

"You did what? You gave my beer to the sock puppet?" Wolverine got off of Deadpool, standing up and off to the side to let the merc breathe. Wade held a hand up to his chest while he caught his breath and turned to Logan.

"FIRST OF ALL- the gorgeous munchkin's name is DogPool, or- alternatively, the Messiah, if you'd like."

"Never calling him that-" Logan interjected.

"-Second of all, I only did it to be the best caregiver I could possibly be, without going to the store or getting any sort of grocery delivery service. Have you seen what a DoorDasher will do to your food if you don't tip? It's enough to make a 4-Channer fall to his knees, and that's saying something." Deadpool hauled himself up into a sitting position at the edge of his bed while Wolverine stood with his hands on his hips.

"You're ridiculous, you know that? Why couldn't you give it water from out of the tap?" Wolverine asked, sounding genuine. Deadpool gave him an incredulous look even through the mask.

"What kind of Fantasy/Disney/Fairytale-Land do you live in where we're rich enough to have drinkable tap water or rich enough to own a Brita? You think any of the money from the movie actually made it into our pockets? Ryan, Hugh, and Shawn pooled all the money the movie made together to fundraise Ryan to get back on his feet after the absolute disaster that was 'IF'. Regular tap water isn't good enough for my ray of sunshine, so I chose the next best option." Deadpool picked up DogPool sleeping right next to his bed and offered him to Wolverine to hold.

"Don't you want the best for the little chicken noodle?" Deadpool asked sweetly. Wolverine quirked an eyebrow at the dog with the tongue sticking out of his mouth. Dammit, it was so ugly and pathetic looking it was somewhat... cute. He didn't know how the dog managed to do it, but whatever his tactics were, they were working. Wolverine rolled his eyes and gave the dog's head a pat. Deadpool squealed at the display.

"Yaaay! My kitty and my puppy making up. Oh, we're all happy, aren't we? And yes Wolvie, your next six-pack is on me when I do eventually go to the store. Those 1000 bottles of baby oil aren't going to buy themselves. Two jokes in one fic folks. How we feeling about that? Go ahead and tell Danny in the comments or reblogs below." Deadpool said, putting DogPool back on his oversized bed.

"You're going to the store immediately if you know what's good for you." Wolverine threatened. Deadpool stood up from his bed and looked at Wolverine sympathetically.

"Oh, honey bear... when have I ever known what's good for me?" Deadpool asked in a loving tone.

Wolverine answered with a deadpan expression and merely unsheathed his claws quickly with a loud SNIKT.

Jumping with a loud yelp, Deadpool hurriedly ran out of his bedroom, hopping over the puddle of mysterious liquid on the floor before leaving the house for the grocery store.

[singsofecho]

You, slightly inebriated, wandered away from the hunting party fire, and you're fairly certain those unnatural eyes in that pretty face don't belong to anyone you know.

[iamnmbr3]

So you know the scene at the end of The Taming of The Shrew where they have that stupid competition to see whose wife is most obedient? Can you imagine if other Shakespeare characters were there?

Ophelia: You called, My Lord?

Hamlet: No I didn’t. Why are you here when nobody likes you? Go away!

Petruchio: Even I think that’s mean.

Romeo: Go find Juliet and ask her if she would come here and tell her she has the most beautiful eyes, that make the very sun seem dull, and the loveliest hair and a face that puts to shame Aphrodite herself...oh and bring her this sonnet I wrote her...and actually I’ll go find her myself for I can’t bear to be apart from her another moment!

Petruchio: …

Petruchio: … Yeah he’s not coming back. Next!

Coriolanus: Go find my wife and ask her to come here and also ask her if she's seen Aufidius. Actually, have you seen Aufidius...or heard any news of him?

Servant: No I haven't… Is there a name or a description I could use to find your wife?

Coriolanus: Hold on. I know this one.

Petruchio: Wow... We’ll come back to you. Next!

Orlando: I refuse to participate in this farce. It’s demeaning to women.

“Ganymede”: Nonsense! Any real man (which I totally am) wants women to obey him without question!

Orlando: That’s wrong! That’s not being a “real man”; that’s just being a bully. I would never treat Rosalind that way and I hope no one else would either!

“Ganymede”: … You pass the test.

Orlando: What?

"Ganymede": What?

Benedick: HEY BEATRICE!

Beatrice from 3 rooms away: WHAT?

Benedick: CAN YOU COME HERE A SECOND?

Beatrice: WHY?

Benedick: SOME MAN HERE WANTS TO SEE IF YOU’RE OBEDIENT.

Beatrice: WHY ARE YOU PERPETUATING THE OBJECTIFICATION OF WOMEN INSTEAD OF PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE?

Benedick: YOU MEAN YOU DON’T WANT TO COME HERE AND SHOW OFF YOUR OBEDIENCE? I AM SHOCKED AND HEARTBROKEN!

Beatrice: HA. HA. SO HILARIOUS.

Beatrice: … HE STILL DOESN’T SOUND VERY PUNCHED IN THE FACE. I SUGGEST YOU FIX THAT UNLESS YOU WANT TO SLEEP ON THE COUCH FOREVER!

Benedick: ON IT!

Benedick *rolling up his sleeves*: Isn’t she great?

[phantom-0-writer]

*standing menacingly at the door* i made u something

anyways lol. i had a lot of school work and was really busy freaking out and stress studying for a singular test that was 4 questions and would be over in like an hour and then i proceeded to cry about it in my car for various reasons.

but yk what that means!

time for our irregular and unscheduled update of

Gotham Academy's Mentorship Program

this episode featuring a fan favorite: Duke Thomas (aka The Signal - but thats kind of irrelevant for this)

you were supposed to read that like it was from a '90s sitcom and the off screen crowd cheers rly loudly.

some house keeping updates: this scene happens in the beginning of the school year (going by the american system should be september) danny meets damian (and upsurges tim on the same day) around midterm which is around october and then the stuff with jason and damian's drawing happens around december. i kinda accidentally burned the irl timeline for anything dc first scene so now im just gonna do whatever i want.

anyways with out further ado:

table of contents

scene 04: after school activities for normal kids

Duke stood around the corner of the classroom awkwardly, wondering if he had made the right call. Sure the bats and the birds had a plethora of hands on deck any time, but most of them specialized as night time heros. Not to say that they were incompetent or anything, they were some of the most skilled and innovative people Duke had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Sure if anything happened, they could handle it, at least until Duke could slip away and show up as the Signal- Alfred and Bruce had assured him so much. But Duke couldn’t slip the guilt of busying away more of his time to after school activities when he could be patrolling or studying instead, 

But Duke had wanted to do something outside of those things, which was specifically why he had made the difficult decision to join a few clubs and after school activities. He could use a break from being surrounded by people who worked the vigilante life-style just to remember how to be a normal civilian. Let himself take a break from constantly be consumed by one case or another, one disaster or another, not being able to do enough no matter how much he tried or how much time he spent patrolling. 

Duke needed to feel grounded, like his feet were on the ground and he could press the brakes and smell the fragrance of life. Even if the fragrance was a forgotten pile of dog s-

“Alright,” The instructor for their culinary club started with a weird German accent that sounded really fake. “I am Herman. You can call me Chef or Chef Herman or just Chef. I will not bore you all with the boring introductions, and let's head right into the cooking, yes. On this paper here I made the partners for all of you to cook with for the rest of the year. If you have problem with it then quit.” 

This Herman guy seemed like quite the character, and was definitely not helping any of Duke’s previous anxieties. Many of Duke’s clubmates seem to think so too, sending their friends various looks. But no one spoke out, and instead shuffled to the front to look at the singular sheet of paper that would assign them their partners. Duke finally made it to the front and saw that he was paired with a Daniel Fenton at Station 7. 

Crossing his fingers that Daniel had at least only a half-rotten personality, Duke made his way over to station 7. The station was already prepped with an assortment of ingredients and cooking equipment. Duke had already set his stuff down claiming the seat closer to the exit (in case) when a lanky kid comes over, “Uh, your Duke Thomas?” He asks hesitantly looking back at the front counter the partner assignment sheet was. 

It took Duke an awkward second longer to realize that this kid was probably his partner. “Oh yeah I am.” He laughed apologetically, “You must be Daniel.” 

“Danny’s fine.” The boy smiled, absentmindedly brushing his messy black hair out of his face, his glacier blue looking at the equipment. Duke couldn’t help but feel like there was something off about Danny. Not in Gotham’s usual psycho-maniac-out-to-terrorizer-the-city-and-kill-innocent-people kind of off, more in a he’s not in sync with the rest of the world off. While Chef Herman explained the general structure of various types of kitchen and kitchen hierarchy that Duke was already familiar with, Duke tried to get a read on him. 

Weird did not mean threat, after all many of the Justice League- heck even the local Wayne/Batclan were pretty weird- and they (usually) didn’t mean any harm. It wouldn’t be fair of Duke to jump the horse like that. 

Deciding he should try to be friendly with him, Duke leaned over, “Is it just me or is Chef Herman’s accent totally fake?” he whispered. 

“Oh, Ancients,” Anciets? “I thought I was just going insane.” Danny sighed in relief with a small chuckle. There was a moment of silence between the two of them where no one said anything for longer than socially acceptable and Duke debated using his powers to see if he could find a clue or something. That seemed kinda invasive, though. 

When the Chef had started instructions on making today's recipe, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Danny helped Duke measure out the ingredients. “So,” Danny tried again, “What are you in for?” 

“What am I…” Duke repeated confused, 

Danny chuckled awkwardly, “Like why you joined the club.” 

Duke seriously needed to get his head in the present; this was getting embarrassing. “Oh.” He nodded in understanding, “I’ve always liked cooking,” Duke shrugged, “When I was little my parents and I would always cook together, and it was always one of my favorite things to do. And I’ve kinda always liked it, but I fell off of it for a while with school and stuff,” emphasis on the stuff “I thought joining a club could help me get back into it and get away from… everything.” That was a little more candid than Duke had planned on being with someone he had met quite literally a few minutes ago, but it felt good to have that out of his chest. The pleasant memories of his parents swimming in his mind. Mixing the dry ingredients, “Sorry that was kind of a lot.” Duke laughed genuinely this time. 

“Dude, no it’s actually so cool that you like to cook.” Danny said admiration was easy on his face, and Duke couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. 

“What about you, then?” 

“Ugh,” He groaned jokingly, “You can’t seriously be asking for my lame ass reason after you pulled out the flashbacks.” Danny whined, letting the oven preheat like Chef told them to. 

“C’mon, it’s only fair.” Duke played along, already ahead of the other groups. 

Danny sighed, “Promise you won’t laugh.” 

“Okay, it can’t be that bad.” Duke could already feel the smile cracking on his face. 

“It is.” Danny drawlled, “So I live in the dorms right, and I got to pull some strings and room with one of my friends from back home this year. And well, let’s just say my family has a bit of a reputation for causing problems, and the kitchen definitely wasn’t an exception. One time my dad tried to make some soup for my mom because she got sick.” Duke nodded approvingly, that was a sweet gesture, “It was all fun and games until the bomb squad had to show up and long story short we had to move.” 

“You’re joking.” Duke gaped at the bizarre story, but at Danny’s solemn expression, Duke couldn’t help but be appalled, “A bomb squad over soup.”

“My parents were never really heavy on lab safety,” Danny added, as if that explained everything, “But I burn one pot of water and maybe make a few extra-crispy eggs, and suddenly its all ‘Danny you’re not allowed in the kitchen unless you start taking actual classes’ and ‘Danny that's a biohazard’.” 

“You burned a pot of water.” Duke echoed, Danny nodded innocently, “Water doesn’t burn.”

“Well, maybe you’re just not trying hard enough.” Danny sneered, trying to crack an egg on the corner of the bowl only for all the shell to fall in the bowl and the yolk on the counter. 

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s true.” Duke said, taking the bowl from him and expertly cracking an egg single handedly. Danny looked on in awe. “You said you live in the dorms?” Duke asked easily. 

“Oh yeah, all of the non-local scholarship kids have to.” 

Before Duke could respond, a girl from the station in front of them whips her head around, “You said you’re here on a scholarship?” She asked almost oppressively. 

Danny just as taken aback as Duke felt, “Uh, yeah.” 

“Me, too. Have you heard anything about the Mentorship Program here? Apparently we all have to join.” The girl’s partner was looking between Duke and Danny confused, but returned to their cooking uninterested. 

“Oh, yeah. They make us all join.” Danny nodded. 

“I heard from some of the older kids, that no one actually gets picked for that. It’s just like a weird formality thing.” The girl spoke animatedly, “What department are you in?” 

“Applied physics and engineering design.” The oven beeps that it was ready but no one moved. 

The girl seemed to deflate that answer, “Oh, I’m doing culinary science.” And with that solid conclusionary statement, she turned around and got back to her work station. 

Danny blinked, processing what just happened and slowly turning to look at Duke for proof that just happened. But the second the both of them met each other’s eyes, they burst into a fit of silent laughter. 

Bent vunuralably over the table, trying to catch their breath, they were accosted by Chef Hermon. “The two of you are having a comedy club, not a cooking club.” Chef crossed his arms at the edge of the table. Duke was pretty sure he was trying to sold them, but the fake accent was making it hard to tell. 

Danny cleared his throat and striated up, “Sorry, Sir.” He apologized quickly. 

“Chef.” Hermon peered at them, his hat looking comically large and lopsided on his head now that Duke was getting a closer look. 

“Sorry, Chef.” Duke amended, trying to keep his cool. 

“Yes, finish cooking your cookies.” He nodded satisfied, leaving their station. 

“Okay so,” Duke tried to recount what the last thing they did was, but one look at Danny trying desperately to hold in his laugh had ruined all of Duke’s efforts as well. Barely managing to get their cookies in the oven, over Chef’s fake german accent and floppy oversized chef’s hat. 

“So scholarship for applied physics and engineering design, huh.” Duke recounted from earlier, impressed. 

“Yeah…” Danny trailed off embarrassed, “It sounds kinda snotty.” 

“Dude. That’s literally one of the hardest departments to get into, and the scholarship is no sneeze either. There’s no doubt you worked your butt off to get that.” Duke assured Danny as they sat in their stools waiting for the cookies to finish. 

“Thanks,” Danny smiled sheepishly. They sat in a much more comfortable silence now before Danny spoke again, “What grade are you in by the way?” 

“I’m in 10th. General studies for now, but I was thinking of doing medicine. You?” 

“I could totally see you as a hot-shot doctor.” Danny nodded approvingly, “11th. Technically, I’m your upperclassman then.” 

“Technically?” Duke asked.

“I mean, how old are you?” 

“15.” Duke supplied confused. 

“Me too. I skipped a grade in elementary school, so we’re actually the same age.” Danny explained, sheepishly. 

“Dude, you're actually way smart.” Duke gaped in awe. 

“Hey medicine isn’t a day walk either.” Danny nudged his arm playfully, “I’m glad the mentorship thing is just for show, though. Now that we’re upperclassmen, y’know. I would not want my hands full with some random rich kid.” 

Duke laughed, “Yeah, that definitely sounds like a lot of work.” 

Easily unfolding the conversation into various topics and interests Duke found that he didn’t mind that the cookies were burnt. Or that Danny was definitely weird. But in a good way. Duke was glad they met and would get to hang out and cook with their weird not-German Chef every week. And if Danny and Duke exchanged numbers and planned to hangout outside of club activities, then well who was going to stop them.

[ratatatastic]

the things ekky has done or said that i cant stop thinking about. the 4 minute cut.

[undermine-the-instinct]

Imagine being Guzi's mom when you and your husband are taken by Qi Rong's lackeys, and when you're finally reunited with your baby boy your husband is acting...odd. And he continues to act odd. First off, you're surprised he even still has Guzi, much less has been taking care of him. Sorta. You thought he would've abandoned him ages ago. More so surprised that he's dragging the both of you along, instead of disapearing for days or weeks on end as he does.

His gambling buddies have been replaced with all manner of ghouls and the like, and you fear that finally, finally, he's done the one thing you fear most and sold you two to pay his debts. But it never happens. Yeah he still gripes and bitches the same but atleast he flings words instead of plates. He still hogs all the blankets and most of the food but atleast you and Guzi get a share now.

He still cusses the same and he's a little more...theatrical, about how no one appreciates him and how even the Gods and the Calamaties will one day lick his boots (HUA CHENGZHU??? The Lord of Ghost city and Calamity Supreme??? And who the hell is this Dog fucker Xie Lian guy?? Someone he lost a bet to or something??).

And like...so what that he now deals with ghosts and ghouls?? And that he can suddenly create green flames and the weird spells and stuff...? You know he's always been...odd , thats why you fell for him in the first place! And there seems to be no trouble! Look, he's even somewhat, kinda interacting with his son now instead of ignoring or yelling at you both like he used to----Yeah no he's munching on a human arm WHAT THE FUCKKK

[edenfire]

🌸💘"were you expecting prince charming?~"💘🌸

what if akira is hit with a status effect that turns him into a mouse, and the only way to change back is a kiss from a prince?👀💘💞🌸

I doodled the sketch for this a few years ago, and I'm super happy that I was finally able to color it🥰💗

[chase-ing-shadows]

AU where Atreus gets stuck as a bear and him and Sindri have to go on a brother bear style adventure to make him human again.

also open to the idea that this happens after Ragnarok and this is the story of how Atreus and Sindri reconnect