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cosmicspark24 · 4 months ago

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⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ Pick a card time! ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎

☁︎ Collective energies! ☁︎

Hi everyone! It's taken me a fair bit to get this done for you so any shares, likes and comments are appreciated. While reading I found some collective themes you can skip this bit or come back to it if you like it. Collectively there were lots of themes surrounding; new beginnings, new love (lots of romantic offers/new relationships), embracing creativity, investing in yourself, turning pain into power, going after your dreams, mental prisons due to perspective shift being needed, betrayals & travel. I hope you enjoy, I will be keeping these coming in 2025. Please check out my blog if you have a chance and there will be a Youtube channel coming next year. Love ya,

Thando

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Hello Pile 1:

Please remember that this is a collective reading so only take what feels intuitively to be your message. Thank you.

2025, 1st half:

The main theme of the first half of 2025 for you is new beginnings. What a wonderful start to a new year!! I see a few different themes for the people in this pile. We will begin with this theme of work. I feel that some of you have started new jobs, been promoted or are renewing your approach to work. There is an energy here of carefully balancing all the plates in your life, ensuring that you drop not a single one. I see this being something you achieve with relative easy. This does not mean it requires effort. I see some of you being very concerned with the idea of equal give and take. If the company refuses to pay me more, then I reserve the right to do the bare minimum and never agree to their attempts at giving me overtime - type energy. So if you have been thinking about a financial venture and have been feeling like you are not getting as much back as you are receiving, what can you change to facilitate you taking back your own power? I see especially for any masculines or women in their masculine energy/era that making money or juggling the important practical parts of your life is greatly important. I see you putting everything in your power in driving your new beginnings foreward. In that, I see that you are the wind beneath your wings. I am proud of you pile 1. For any masculines in this pile who have been confused about how to proceed with a relationship, I see you making moves towards that. For some of you this is physical travel to the one you love, for others you are taking a metaphorical journey back to your person. This reading is heavily talking about or directed at masculine energies. For women, I see this as you finally receiving clarity from a SP. This is someone you know to already have an interest but it is possible you were being given mixed messages.

2025, 2nd half:

The main theme of the second half of 2025 has to do with either you or a specific person. The theme is showing affection and attention to the one you like. So just take what applies. I feel that any confusion you may have had about a SP were cleared the moment you made the mental decision to stop hiding your own feelings from yourself. I'm seeing the energy of someone writing a message, pressing send, throwing away the phone and hiding under the covers. Then overthinking...well it's all in your head. Remember who the fuck you are in the second half of the year. Remind yourself that anything meant for you will make its way to you with ease. I see also for anyone not in this headspace, that you are focused on yourself. You are focused on treating yourself to whatever you want. You suddenly feel you haven't been socialising enough, and suddenly you have parties booked a few times a month. For the sexual beings, I see you getting yours in the second half of 2025. I see one-night stands, friends with benefits or anything that you like engaging in sexually being done wantonly. I see this self-focus on filling your own cup with dreams pr creativity bringing you immense peace. For those pursuing a SP, your success with this individual will bring you greater peace. Isn't that delicious?

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Hello Pile 2:

Please remember that this is a collective reading so only take what feels intuitively to be your message. Thank you.

2025, 1st half:

The main theme for the first half of 2025 is going to be money/business success. I feel that some of you have fully come into adulthood. I'm getting the feeling of 'my brain just fully developed'. The energy of this pile is that of someone who balances their maturity with their inner child needs. I see possibly a new job or a new business venture which came up as well for the previous pile. This new start can cause some confusion or introspection depending on the individual. I sense that you are scared of new beginnings or are used to doing things one sort of way but life has ushered you upon a new path. I see that the answers are within you, but you are too frightened to fully stand in your power and go, 'yes, I knew the last job was literally sucking my soul so it's okay that I have to pivot'. The key to happiness and business success for you is through following your passions. I know, how cliche. Yet you never know how a random talent or hyper-fixation can lead to something real and tangible. Pile 2, I see you moving on from previous heartbreak. You are burying and leaving behind painful memories of love and instead replacing it with passion, creativity and who knows...maybe new love.

2025, 2nd half:

The similarities in the actual cards I drew, is almost an exact replica with pile 1 so you may also relate to that pile. The main theme of the second half of your 2025 is all about renewal. Like a butterfly birthed from a cocoon I see you rise with fervour. You are focused and grinding. You are going so hard for yourself and achieving your dreams. You are being daring about things you've always wanted to try. I see you challenging yourself with hobbies, with thrill seeking activities. I see you achieving professional success and being in the spotlight for those achievements. Embrace it, soak it up. It is meant to be, let this be all the validation you need. There is a couple or two individuals who are aware of their spiritual connection to each other in this pile. You may have been on a break, or travelling or apart for some (necessary) reasons. You will get a sign sometime in this part of the year to connect with this person. So one of you will be reaching out via DM or however you both prefer your communications. I see a masculine in this pile in particular being very vocal about insecurities to do with work/business. I feel that this could be a masculine leaning on his mother through this time period. Just do whatever you need to to process your very valid fears then let it go. I recommend a burning ritual if this applies to you. This doesn't have to be a male person but whoever identifies with coming across at this stage of their lives in a masculine way. I see as a result of these conversations, you will make a decision on how to proceed and take appropriate action toward your new beginning.

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Hello Pile 3:

Please remember that this is a collective reading so only take what feels intuitively to be your message. Thank you.

2025, 1st half:

The main theme of the first half of you 2025 surrounds you being unsure how to proceed with a particular situation. I see a masculine energy or that of a person who is charming charismatic and self-assured, being defensive and on guard with their heart after realising that they've the love of their life. We always imagine that getting what we want we will immediately accept and embrace it. Instead Pile 3, you meet someone you like and you immediately acknowledge how unique and how distinct the feeling they give you is but you are so determined to ignore it or tell yourself there is something else at play here. Now that I am starting to interpret, I am seeing now that this lack of certainty from you pile 3 could be coming from how unbelievable it is to you to find someone you so strongly want to attach to and immediately want to drag down the isle, lovingly of course. You feel both lucky and scared that this little bit of luck might run away. For some of you I feel that you were already on a lucky streak and have now hit the motherload. I'll be honest and say though this person is the main focus mentally and emotionally, it will not be long between you realising that they mean that much to you and that your attraction for this SP is different, to you making an honest offer. For those already in union, your story looks a little bit different. For those in union, I am seeing an unmarried couple with the man in the planning phase of engagement. You will know if this is you because the masculine in the couple is strong, sexy and self-assured. He also may have been recently defensive about how much he is working. This is because he knows you want a surprise, he knows what you want in a proposal and he is gonna make it happen. The heavens are literally opening up to help you make this deeper commitment come together. Any couples with a wedding date in this half of the year in Pile 3, I see a great wedding and a true realisation that you have done the right thing by being with this person. Any couples already married, you could simply be deepening the bonds of your love. I see this through some sort of recitation of affections or something ceremonial (whatever that means to you)

2025, 2nd half:

The main theme of the second half of your 2025 is health. You may be having some secrets unearthed from your childhood that opens a can of worms for you to now digest. For some of you, you simple know that you have leaned too long into your naivete and have decided to finally do something to facilitate your growth and maturity. This pile is giving growth. With this new journey to explore the depths of yourself, comes gossip. There comes talks and speculation about how you are making so much money. How are you acquiring so many assets or how are you never seeming to struggle financially? Then the chatter goes into your sex life. There could be rumours you are sleeping around for money or you are being particularly sexually free at this time. This may or may not be an accurate representation of what you are doing, but that matters not. You are not defined by people who are not taking the time to know you but instead, speculating like you are spectator sport. If you are being at all promiscuous then please be aware that this can cause more burden or a different sort of trauma to unpack at a later date. By interacting with so many people, you are opening yourself up to microscopic tears to your psyche that will need to be repaired. I see you receiving messages from a SP. The feminine in question is coming through as a confident, sexy and ambitious woman. The man is coming through as ambitious, powerful and sexy. This is not necessarily gender specific so you could be the woman with the qualities of the man I see in this reading. It's not something to get hung up on. There is a sense that you are both defending what you have to the outside world while also drowning in the passion that you clearly have for each other. You're both drowning, willingly.

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Hello Pile 4:

Please remember that this is a collective reading so only take what feels intuitively to be your message. Thank you.

2025, 1st half:

The main theme for the first half of your 2025 is gossip and or chatter. Yet despite that being the main theme, the clarifying cards also show me a different secondary main theme which is of material comfortability. The reading has more pentacle cards than anything signalling money and resources, tangible or physical. You are coming through Pile 4 as a confident, successful single. If you are not single, you are certainly someone who feels whole and complete within themselves. This is not at the expense of another, but just an expression of the work you have done on yourself up until now. I feel the need to say Pile 4, you should be so proud of yourself for everything that you've achieved. You. Did. That. I see you being generous with you resources, but also vigilant. I see you making your younger self proud by being able to facilitate your desires materially. You have worked your way into a lucrative job or if not, you have lived a lifestyle well beyond your means and gotten comfortable with watching your savings beef up. If you need a massage you just get it, kinda energy. You don't think well, is there enough in my account, because you are either so financially responsible you know the ins and outs of your funds, or you're not pedantic but you allocate enough funds for everything you need. You run like clockwork even if it's something that you didn't always do. You have gotten to a place where you know which buttons to trigger within to achieve anything you need for different aspects of your life. You are coming across as untouchable, Pile 4. Your aura is extremely attractive right now and you could not look more delectable. You may be giving or receiving an offer of affections. This could be platonic or romantic but I feel for more of you it is romantic than platonic. Though you may have to take a second to think about it, you will consider yourself lucky in this opportunity and take it. You and your new love are happy and materially comfortable, together.

2025, 2nd half:

The main theme for the second half of your 2025 is grief/burdens. Some of the people in this pile, I see you travelling to pursue a new beginning. This could be anywhere to a new country/state. For some you are moving your whole life elsewhere while others you simply have not travelled enough and are off to make this dream a reality. There's something public about your trip. You could be documenting it or you may be very vocal about any struggles you may experience along the way. Struggles with money or logistics. Through the hardship though that you may experience along the way, you find yourself. For some you are finding yourself again, deeper aspects of your iceberg beneath the surface. You find your own resilience and you are enchanted by it. You may at times punish yourself or self sabotage. You might spend too much on ubereats instead of saving or using sex as a distraction from your life. So long as you are being mindful and checking yourself when you feel those escapist tendencies coming through, you should be fine. A lot the changes you are going through at this time are fated. I see you going on a long journey of self-discovery, especially surrounding betrayals from others or from yourself. Allow yourself to grieve. Allow yourself to go through this period in a messy way because it's through the chaos that greater clarity will come through. It's through the inner conflict that you find that flickering ember of light.

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Hello Pile 5:

Please remember that this is a collective reading so only take what feels intuitively to be your message. Thank you.

2025, 1st half:

The main theme of your reading for the first half of 2025 is parents/authority figures. I feel that in this pile someone feels that they have been betrayed or duped by a parental or authority figure. Well I am here to tell you that the instant-karma they are about to receive will make you smile a little on the inside. I see you receiving a message likely through messages/online that this individual in question has been punished. Now this could look different for different people but for some of you I sense jail. Others more like a streak of bad luck or losing something important. I see a couple represented as masculine and feminine but these are energies not actual sexes. Both thinking, separately about their shared future. It's like people who are already seeing each other starting to daydream that they can really make it work. Or this could be friends who are starting to fall for each other. Well, aren't you lucky Pile 5 for the one you want not only wants you, but you are ordained to be together. You will receive the true happiness you have longed for. You forge forward you two lovebirds, leave the dust (parent/authority figure) behind as you hold each other shamelessly into the future.

2025, 2nd half:

The main theme for the second half of your 2025 is that of sexual tension/sexual exploration and for some of you just mental self-flagellation. You take whichever sounds like it resonates. Pile 5, you are becoming more and more self actualised as time goes on. In the second half of the year, you are feeling even more so that you are understanding yourself more and therefore better able to reach your highest potential. You know you are a star, you know you are destined for greatness and you know you have the will to achieve it. You have the tenacity, the staying power and the patience. You may receive heartbreaking news of betrayal in the second half of the year. For some of you this is because the person you were with has been unfaithful in some way (could be cheating or lying or anyway which counts within your own value system). For some this news was so obscure because there was some deceptive energy from the source. Once you speak to your partner, you unearth and realise that it's not your partner that is the problem, but elements outside of your relationship that are trying to cause you confusion and evidently a breakup. Whichever group you belong, I see this being something you will conquer and overcome through your self confidence. Sometimes the best way out is through. I see you refocusing on your foals, creativity, sexuality and therefore returning yourself back to a state of true happiness. You realise that as long as you have yourself and your dreams, everything else is inconsequential.

@cosmicspark24

#cosmicspark #tarot #pick a card #pac reading #lenormand #oracle

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jellyskink · 5 months ago

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This is the first bit of non-comic writing I've done for the Domesticated Ford AU! It's short, but I wanted to write a bit of the Forbidden Polycule. Hand of God belongs to @alexthebordercollie !

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Irene hadn’t known the meaning of "off the clock" since med school. Days bled into nights into commitments into personal time into work. Her life was a cavalcade of sisyphean responsibilities. The thing was, most of the time, she didn't mind it. It didn't bring her joy, exactly, but a sort of satisfaction. A whole feeling, frayed at the edges but comfortable. That was, at least, when she wasn't being asked to do something competely ridiculous.

D, a nickname for Irene's local Stanford Pines, had been nervous during his last appointment. That wasn't uncommon for him; the man generally eminated the same energy as a wounded deer with a mild case of mange. He wasn't usually uneasy around HER, however. He was getting ready to leave when he finally worked up the courage to say what was on his mind.

"I-I'd like to make a request," he rasped. He waited for her assent to continue. Oleander bobbed her chin in a slight nod. D beamed at her, apparently overjoyed to be given permission to speak. "Thank you! Thank you. Ah, this doesn't mean you have to ultimately agree, of course, but I appreciate your hearing me out."

D's request involved one of his few friends, H. H was the one who had given D his nickname. Apparently, it stood for "domesticated." Not exactly a charitable title, but D didn't seem to mind it. It certainly cut down on confusion while talking about the two of them. Irene didn't know H very well, but from what she had seen, he was sullen, cold and violent (he was, after all, the Hand of God in his dimension.) For some reason, though, D adored him.

As it turned out, H had been having trouble drawing.

"I think he's depressed," D fretted. "I can't understand why, but he's showing a broad range of symptoms that would be likely to land him a clinical diagnosis." D kneaded his Bill necklace, its hard edges pressing lines into his age-worn skin. "I haven't had much success getting him to pursue creative endeavors myself. He says it's all pointless, and that he'd rather watch me draw. I don't know if that's true." Irene nodded. D could be surprisingly perceptive at times. It was all the more astonishing when contrasted against the remaining 95% of his life, in which he displayed the emotional intelligence of a brick.

That brought Irene to D's request. He wanted the three of them to draw each other. If it felt a bit like a game, he reasoned, H might be more tempted to join. Doubly so if he got something in return. Irene had almost refused outright. She was no artist. D's proposal would only end with her embarrassing herself with her lack of skill. But, well. D would have been crushed if she refused. He so rarely worked up the courage to ask for anything; this must have been truly important to him. And, if he was correct in his supposition, she would be able to make a positive difference in H's mental health with very little effort on her part. So she agreed.

H, Irene was told, had access to a computer. That made things a bit easier; traveling between dimensions could be a pain (she'd learned that through her efforts to reach Calamari's shows.) It was decided that D would draw H, H would draw Irene, and she would draw D. Once they were all done, they would share them with each other.

D, not having access to a computer himself, showed up at the office in person to have Irene scan his drawing. He'd arrived unexpectedly during one of Irene's other appointments (it had been with a Cipher loyalist.) The trip must have exhausted him, as he was still winded by the time she was able to speak with him. He grinned as he handed her his drawing of H. It was... really good. H, rendered in black and white, had the look of a roman statue; severe angles mixed with biological softness, imposing yet tender. He was surrounded by an abstract cloud of yellow; golden triangles dancing in god rays. The whole thing screamed with D's feelings of sincere admiration for the other man.

Irene exchanged D's drawing with her attempt at randering him (she had already scanned it to send to H, as D had wanted everyone to see each other's efforts). It was, frankly, terrible. She'd tried to elevate the piece beyond her comfort area of "stick figure." The result had ended up looking more like pancaked roadkill than a human. Still, D had been ecstatic at the gift.

"It's wonderful!" He beamed. "It is very charming!" Irene had never known him to be so good at lying.

So now there Irene was. Sitting at her laptop, adorned with one of her many sets of cat-themed pajamas. She'd emailed H both her and D's drawings the other day. Apparently he had responded during her drive home.

'Tell D I like his drawing. Yours is shit. You made him look like a potato. Here's yours.'

Embarrassment curdled in Irene's chest as she downloaded the attachment. She KNEW she couldn't draw, and it's not like her ego was riding on a skill she knew she didn't possess, but still. He could have at least had the grace to be polite about her kindergartener-level skills. When she opened H's drawing, it only drove home how vastly different their abilities were. Irene stared at her mirrored image on the screen. Unlike D's picture, it lacked any sort of creative flare. It was an exact replica of the photo of herself she'd sent to him. Well, nearly exact. The longer Irene looked at it, the more it seemed off. She couldn't exactly tell how; it was still very good, and for as little as Irene could critically analyze art, all she could say was that she looked like herself. There was a subtle sense of wrongness, though, like something was skewed.

She told H it was amazing.

#domesticated ford #text #fanfic #dr oleander #hand of god #ford pines #stanford pines #Domesticated Ford's art has continued to improve over the years #he's almost developed a more surreal/stylized look he sometimes uses #his drawings have become a lot more expressive

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nightlyrequiem · 6 months ago

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HI HIHI i hope ur well!!! I would LOVEEE to make a very self indulgent Valeria request, so basically I am an autopsy tech and embalmer/mortician and I think it would be a cool plot like Valeria’s gf works with her and helps her out with all the bodies that she has to deal with basically. Id love for her to have a very feminine personality like a lil bimbo wife that is lowkey covered in blood 90% of the time lmao. And for the plot itself im not very creative ill sorta take anything fluff or smut mostly 😼 but its my birthday in like a week so ill leave it in your hands hehehe

HIIIIIII! I'm doing well, hope you're doing well too!! It's actually kind of funny that you request this because I have a thing in progress where Reader works in a morgue! Such a cool job btw

I enjoyed writing this, I did a little research but there might still be some inaccuracies I hope there aren't too many 🥲

Happy early birthday, too! I hope it's an amazing day <3

Tags/Warnings: WLW, Very Minor Graphic Depiction of a Corpse, Fluff, Suggestive Themes, Smut, Pre-Established Relationship

Embalming and Bows

You hum to yourself as you prepare the cavity embalming fluid. Trocars connecting to a man's hollow organs doing the work to suction out unwanted fluids. A cheery song with questionably sexual lyrics plays quietly while you work. The man on your table hasn't been handled with the usual respect you'd award corpses. You haven't even closed his eyes. He crossed Valeria. Stole drugs, or something. You aren't actually sure. Doesn't really matter. You're embalming him for her so she can display him outside as a warning. Slowing down the decomposition process long enough for the point to get across. You've done this for her a few times. Happy to support your partner's hobbies.

Your pink apron has a few stains. Blood as well as other things. Hands grip your hips, startling you into dropping the scalpel you just picked up.

"You've been down here for hours." Valeria murmurs into your ear. You smile and turn your head to look at her over your shoulder.

"I'm working." You reply. No bite to your voice. Valeria is always welcome to come interrupt you.

"Yeah?" Valeria hums, glancing at the man. "How's that going for you?"

You pull away gently and bend down to pick up your scalpel. Intentionally giving Valeria an eyeful of your panties. A short skirt isn't ideal to work in. But you're not technically on the clock and you felt like dressing cute today. "It's going fine." You reply, looking at the corpse. "I'm almost done. Just need to finish the cavity embalming and then he's good to go."

Valeria nods approvingly. There's a gleam in her eyes as she watches you move around. You're done draining him, so you begin to pump in the embalming fluid.

"Quite the lengthy process, you should walk me through it sometime." Valeria says.

"I'd love to." You grin, eager to share your career with her. "It's a bit of a long process, even more when you're preening them."

Valeria moves closer and presses against you. "Oh yeah?" She hums.

"You're going to get all gross." You warn. Some of those stains aren't stains yet. Valeria lowers her head and presses a small kiss against your throat.

"A little blood never hurt anyone, in fact I like it when you're covered in it." She replies, voice dropping an octave. "Tell me more about the preening, sounds sexy."

"Not at all." You shake your head, slapping her shoulder playfully. "I have to shave off the peach fuzz on their faces, wire their jaws shut, clean them, close their eyes, and sometimes do their hair and makeup."

Valeria peppers your throat in kisses.

"I'm sure the makeup bit is enjoyable for you."

You carefully peel off you gloves and chuck them at the trashcan. Missing terribly. "hm. You should let me do your makeup sometime." You say. Valeria grabs the backs of your thighs and hoists you onto the counter. It's cold under your bare skin. She steps between your thighs and sucks a bruise into the skin of your throat.

"You can do my makeup whatever way you want when I die." She offers. She's making a joke, but you don't find it very funny.

"I don't like to think about you dying." You scold. "Nobody wants to embalm their own girlfriend."

"Have me stuffed then, my other girlfriend is a taxidermist. She'll give you a discount."

You don't find those jokes very funny either. You gently push her away and hop off the counter.

"Not funny. Just for that you're not getting any tonight." You check on the body, making sure everything is going smoothly - that there are no leaks in the tubes. It was a nightmare to clean them the last time there was. The smell lingered for a week.

"I'm kidding Mi pequeña tanatorio." Valeria says. "That skirt looks very good on you." She very tactfully changes the subject. You beam at her from over your shoulder.

"Thank you, I bought it yesterday, along with a bunch of other things." You say. Turning to face her. "I found this new, super cute store full of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen."

"And how much did that cost you?"

You begin to start putting your tools away. "It costed you nine hundred-fifty."

Valeria quirks a brow.

"I don't recall you asking to spend my money." She says. You blink at her innocently.

"Oh, whoops!" You grin. "I guess I'll just have to take back all those low cut, form fitting dresses... shame, they did wonders for my tits." You turn back around, filling up a tub with bleach to clean some of the incision tools.

"You don't need to do all of that, Corazón." Valeria dismisses. "You'll just have to repay me."

"Yeah?" You reply with a sultry tone. "How would you like me to repay you, hm?"

"You'll see soon."

A week passes by. Your efforts have kept the man decently fresh, but nature's will is stronger than any embalming fluid and soon the man begins to rot. You and Valeria pass under the bridge he's hanged from as you walk back to her car. You're fed, full, and content. Valeria treated you to a very nice restaurant for your birthday. Presenting you with gift after gift in a secluded corner. smiling at your girlish gasps. Valeria is of course carrying the bags and boxes they came in. You're limping slightly, your heels having chewed blisters into your heels, but you ignore the pain. Excited by the gifts and dinner, and what's going to be occurring when you get home. Dinner, gifts, and sweet sex to end your night.

Back in the bedroom, you shed your heels and sigh in relief. Freeing your feet from their pretty, arched prisons. You sit back on the bed while Valeria lights a few candles and sets your presents on the floor beside the closet. She approaches you while loosening her tie, it's enough to flood the silk of your panties. She crawls onto the bed toward you.

"Had fun?" She murmurs. Grabbing your thighs and pulling you towards her.

"I did." You reply quietly. Wrapping your arms around her shoulders.

Valeria's lips curl into a small smirk.

"Good. Lay back."

You comply, laying back against the feathery pillows. Heat pools into your lower stomach as Valeria sits up and removes her pants, chucking them off the bed. Her belt clatters against the floor. You watch her reach into the nightstand, grabbing a harness. You snake a hand between your legs to lightly tease yourself. She straps it to her hips and moves over you, reverently running her hands over your arms.

"You're so beautiful." She whispers. Hands gravitating towards your breasts. Valeria gives them a gentle squeeze as she kisses you. One hand slowly moving down between your bodies. She grabs ahold of her silicone cock and aligns it with your entrance. Knowing you're already worked up enough to not need that much preparation. She buries her face into your neck as she slowly pushes in. Sinking herself into your wet heat. Your inner walls work to pull her in deeper, sheathing her to the hilt.

Valeria pumps herself into you. You moan into her ear without shame as the head repeatedly bumps into that one sweet spot inside of you. Your legs lock around her hips and pull her closer. Your own hips canting up for a deeper angle. Valeria fucks you sweetly. taking her time with you. One of her hands has found its way to your clit. Fingers toying with the sensitive bundle of nerves expertly.

"I should fuck you in the morgue someday." She growls.

"That's a weird thing to want." You moan, barely getting the words out. Valeria pulls you up into her lap. Thrusting up into you, she can't feel anything but clearly, it's doing something to her anyway. Her panting breaths puff against your neck, her hands digging into your lower back.

"Why? There's something so erotic about doing you somewhere I shouldn't."

"Like when we-" You cut yourself off with a whine. "When we fucked in that bar bathroom?"

The coil in your lower abdomen grows tighter and tighter. You rut against her, chasing that release, your slick trickling down the shaft.

"Exactly like it." She replies. "Are you close?"

You nod, nosing along her neck. You can feel your mascara running. "Mhm."

"Good, that's good." Valeria coos, her strong arms keeping you close to her. Black hairs tickle your face and you reach up and lightly tug them. "I want you to come for me."

With her permission you thrust your hips down, mind clearing of everything but the big pink strap currently penetrating you. You shut your eyes and let out a guttural groan, creaming around Valeria's cock.

She pumps it into you a few more times before going still. Sweat coating her neck and back. You slump against her and she slowly lays you down. quickly detaching the harness. You relax into the soft blankets of the bed while Valeria shuffles around with her pants. The bed dips as Valeria lays beside you, lovingly touching your jaw.

"Happy birthday." She whispers, kissing your forehead. You mumble back at her. Soaking in that post-sex high. "You still need to repay me for that money you spent, though."

You furrow your brows. "What?" You mutter. Not bothering to open your eyes.

"You can't just spend that much without giving me something in return." She replies, a smile in her voice.

"I embalm people for you." You mumble defensively. "How else am I supposed to repay you?"

When Valeria doesn't reply you open your eyes. Stunned into a momentary silence. She has a small velvety box presented to you. A seven-carat diamond ring glittering in the candlelight. You shoot up, mouth agape.

"You can repay me by agreeing to be mine forever."

Your hands fly to your mouth. "You're proposing?"

Your question wins you a dry look from Valeria. Yes, she's proposing. You had always imagined this moment. You in a carefully put together outfit, perfect hair and makeup, Valeria down on one knee. It's not exactly the same as your fantasies but you're happy, nonetheless.

You smile gleefully and kiss her.

"Yes!" You say excitedly, voice bordering on a squeal. Valeria chuckles and slides the ring onto your finger. Watching you immediately start inspecting it. Turning your hand this way and that to watch the diamond sparkle. "It's gorgeous." You gush.

Valeria pulls you back down beside her. Sighing tiredly as she rests her chin on the top of your head. "I'm glad you like it, happy birthday Corazón, I love you."

#cod mw2 #valeria garza x reader #valeria garza #valeria garza x fem!reader #modern warefare ii

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seelestia · 2 years ago

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If you really want to write something for me (crab 🦀) then how about some Kaveh fluff because he is way to relatable right now, especially in my current situation (doesn’t have to be though, I didn’t expect you to want to write something for me so get a bit creative with it lol) 🦀 🦀 🦀

— 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 & 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲.

SUMMARY. when you offer a friend a suggestion on how to increase his efficiency, you don't expect your intimacy for him would also increase alongside it. (he doesn't expect it too.) (1.5k+ words)

CHARACTERS. kaveh + GN!reader.

GENRE. fluff, angst with comfort, friends to ??? (when ur friend starts looking a lil too good for some reason...).

CW. references to kaveh's backstory, implications of crying and stress (kaveh our beloved <//3), reader wears reading glasses (cool stuff) and rambles abt naps.

THOUGHTS. ik all kaveh simps and kinnies want to give him a hug, so here you go! i cherish him vv much. to 🦀 anon, let's just treat this as like your commissioning me in a way (i hope this ficlet is alright?? i'm rusty hhhhh) ♡

✰ masterlist.

"Ughhhhhh."

So, the rumors amongst the people of the Akademiya are true, after all; that there can never be a silence that lasts too long when a certain man with blond hair is present.

"Gahhhhhh."

For someone who is still at the prime of his life, KAVEH sure looks like he has already aged a hundred years in the span of a single night. But according to the people at the Akademiya, this occurrence is nothing out of the ordinary and as someone who has known him for years, you can absolutely concur with them.

With a hand on his temple and a heavy sigh that weighs a thousand troubles, there is no other way for the blond male to express his frustration besides verbal means — and to that, too, you are a witness sitting across from him on the table.

Guess that's just the price you have to pay for agreeing to help him when he begged you yesterday. According to him, your "job description" is just to stop him from dozing off because a deadline from a client of his is nearing way too quickly for his liking.

Thus, here you are — watching him do his work while you do your own work on a table at his place (or more precisely, his room in Alhaitham's place but you don't want Kaveh to fly into a fit of rage).

"My head hurts," Kaveh groans.

"Because you've stared at that blueprint for hours now," you answer.

"My back hurts too," he complains again.

"Because you haven't changed your position ever since we started sitting," you retort again.

If anyone were to ask for some sort of proof about the frequency of Kaveh's grumbles, the fact that you could respond so naturally and quickly while barely taking your gaze off the documents spread out in front of you, as if you've done this so many times before (which you have), would have sufficed.

"[Y/N]," Kaveh calls your name in a dramatic whine, "You're supposed to sympathize with me...!" But you don't find the need to look up from your paper when you can almost feel the pout forming on his lips already.

It isn't as if you don't want to empathize with him, but that sight of his pout happens to be quite adorable — does it count as being mean if you want him to keep it on for a bit longer? Ha, what a strange feeling.

"Then, why don't you take a nap?" you give him a suggestion as you look up to spare your colleague a glance, "I'll wake you up in about 20 minutes or so."

That look of hesitance on Kaveh's face makes you raise an eyebrow. "Sounds tempting, but are you sure doing that wouldn't waste more time instead of saving it?" the man tilts his head questioningly with a frown as if he is unsure of the right answer himself.

"Idiot," you blurt out.

Thank goodness the circumference of the table isn't wide enough to interrupt your movements as you put down your reading glasses and reach out to pull on Kaveh's cheek gently. He, as the one on the receiving end, doesn't think the gesture is as gentle as it looks though.

"Hey! Ouch, ouch—" Kaveh cries out a little yelp that is a perfect representation of his surprise. "Let me ask you this," you release his cheek from your grasp and he expresses gratitude to the Dendro Archon like never before while you continue, "Why do you think you've been staring at that blueprint without being able to function properly?"

"Uh, umm," he stammers, "...Because I feel tired, maybe?" Again, he sounds unsure of himself but that is most likely because you've shaken off half of his brain cells by pinching his cheek just now. Fortunately, judging by that satisfied expression on your face, he seems to have gotten it right.

"Good," you nod approvingly, "Naps have been proven to provide relaxation, reduce fatigue, and increase alertness. The most optimal time for adults is between 10 to 20 minutes."

Kaveh listens to you intently, but that dumbfounded look he has on almost says otherwise. Noticing this, you decide to feign an aura of seriousness as you add, "I was being generous when I offered to wake you up after 20 minutes, by the way. I could've set it to 10 minutes instead."

"You're ruthless," he gapes.

"So, are you going to take a nap or not?" you stifle a giggle.

"Seems like that's the best option I have right now," your dear friend can only shrug his shoulders defeatedly. In order to prepare for his nap, Kaveh sets aside the blueprint he has previously spent hours working on and neatly folds his arms on top of the table.

"Sleeping on a desk isn't very comfy but it'll do," he heaves out an exhausted sigh. Not even one second into placing his head atop his folded arms, he is already missing the softness of his bed back at home — but he can't really complain, so he closes his eyes in silence despite the slight discomfort.

You observe, picking up the disgruntled noises Kaveh makes as he shifts around to find the right position to lay his head. This quiet moment where your banters with him finally die down is when you can truly see the burdens weighing upon his shoulders and your gaze can't help but soften.

Despite how empathetic he appears or how his dramatic antics always elicit a laugh out of others, you know Kaveh really has been through a lot — and you wonder if you didn't suggest he take a nap, would he have neglected his health to do more in a state of low efficiency? Does he often allow himself some time to rest like this?

"You're really tired, aren't you?" your voice lowers into a soft murmur.

"...Yeah," his answer comes out quieter than your question.

"Deadlines are killing me. I know it's meant to help me be organized and all," you see how he opens his eyes to glance at the blueprint mere inches away from his face, "But right now, it's putting more pressure on me than anything."

Kaveh exhales another drained sigh, "And I still have my debts to worry about too. God, when will this all end..." His voice eventually trails off into an evident crack like he is about to choke, "So many things at once, I feel like it's all crashing on me..."

Your heart clenches. He's about to cry, you note.

"Hey," you speak tenderly. "Don't frown so hard, it'll make your head hurt more," you extend your hand to rub soothingly at the deepening frown on his forehead with your thumb. "Oh, s-sorry," his lips try their best not to tremble when he lets that apology slip, but you're not here to scold him.

"Even if it all comes crashing down on you, you'll be able to push them all off eventually, right? One at a time," you say as you rub a few more circles on his forehead to soothe his headache. You're not certain on how he'd receive your words, so you purse your lips with a tinge of reluctance, "Even now, you're still working on it, aren't you? Don't beat yourself up for not reaching your goal when you're still in the process. That's not fair to yourself."

There is a moment of silence before you hear a series of sniffles. "Curses..." he mumbles with a pathetic chuckle, "Look at me, putting this all on you when I'm supposed to be taking a nap." Just as you're about to shake your head in denial, Kaveh's eyes flicker to meet yours — and you're momentarily stunned by how they look.

Mesmerizing irises in the color of red stare back at you; they're glassy as if a single touch would make them ripple and a dam of tears will burst from it, yet filled with unspoken gratefulness.

"And... thanks for saying that," he smiles, "It's been a while since people actually took my problems seriously, s-so um, shoot—" Darn it, his tongue just has to mess up at the worst timing! Kaveh picks himself back up with a small cough, "Uh, anyway, what I was about to say is that it means a lot to me... So, thank you."

He peers at you worriedly after finishing his words, concerned that you'll laugh at him instead. But rather than a laugh, he is met with the softest smile and Kaveh swears— he swears that his heart has never thumped this hard before. Never ever.

"I'm glad," you say and suddenly, he feels oddly exposed underneath your gaze. He has always been more used to your sterner yet caring side; so, this gentleness of yours is sending inexplicable warmth rushing through his veins.

Oh no.

How is he supposed to sleep now?

Then, comes the sensation of something in his hair and Kaveh winces before registering the fact that it's actually your fingers that are combing through his hair. The shock easily fades into relaxation and he lets out a sigh of contentment, "That feels nice."

"Should I stop?" you ask.

"N-no," his hand grabs onto your wrist almost desperately as if keeping it in place. "Keep going... please," Kaveh utters the last word so meekly you almost mistake it for a whisper.

You smile to yourself.

"Sleep well, Kav."

Perhaps, you uttered those words with more love and newfound affection for him than you realize.

And maybe he, too, realizes the same.

─ ⊹ ⊱ ・・・・・・☆・・・・・・・⊰ ⊹ ─

✰ TAGLIST: @meimeimeirin @hcikazu @tsuk4sa-yug1 @catcze @semi-orangeapple @yuuki4646 @d-a-r-k-s-w-a-n @daisydkj @omgscaramouche @coquettemaiden @lemontum @herdrops @lleoll @xiaosonlybeloved @chiisananingen @irethepotato @ainescribe @blooodyvampy @starlightaura @jihyuniepark @duhsies @maybemiko @lordbugs @sakkaku-squared @lupicalbestwolf — [ bolded names are unable to be tagged because of url changes or visibility settings + register here to be a part of my taglist! ]

#genshin x reader #kaveh x reader #genshin x you #kaveh x you #genshin fluff #kaveh fluff #genshin scenarios #genshin imagines #genshin fanfic #genshin headcanons #seelestial.inks

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yukidragon · 24 days ago

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Okay question for the queen of ideas and the mother of the Snaccpop fandom. I had started making an au for SDJ based off the song Fall little Wendy Bird Fall, by Lydia the bard, and even came up with a backstory similar to the whole song. I had been a little nervous to ask but how would Alice live in this kind of au? Recently Lydia came out with the sequel to the song, Take the shot. So. If you give those songs a listen you can get the gist of my idea. Jo is captain hook, jack is Peter pan/tink!

I'm so honored and overwhelmed by being given such grand titles. You're so sweet!💕

I think mixing these two concepts together is really creative. I just love your design for Jack as a mixture of Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. He looks so menacing yet whimsical, which really matches the world that the songs create.

By the way, here's the links to both of the songs and animatics. I highly recommend giving them a watch if you haven't seen them yet. They're really such bangers with great visuals. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to the first song on repeat, and now I'm doing it again with the second.

youtube

Content Warning: The animatics contain violence against children, murder of a child, toxic relationships, trauma, and emotional manipulation. This post will touch on those themes as well as chronic illness, terminal illness, body horror, childhood abuse, and the Adults Only yandere horror and mature themes present in Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack and Sunshine in Hell.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

It's really interesting how Lydia the Bard takes elements of the original book and the various tales Disney has told about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to make such a compelling world. I just love what was done with the story. It's a huge improvement over the original novel in my humble opinion.

In this world, fairies are born from a baby's first laugh and live only as long as the human that created them continues to believe in fairies. If the belief disappears, they die. You can really understand why Tinkerbell and the fairies have gone to such lengths due to how fragile their existence is.

The most human monsters are the ones with a motivation that you can understand and even sympathize with, even if you don't agree with what they're doing. It's truly horrifying what lengths a person might go if pushed to their breaking point.

Really, I'd argue that these these fairies have quite a few things in common with Jack. He's tied to the the love his sunshine has for him. He also exists hanging from the fragile thread of belief, and that desperate desire to survive has the potential to drive him to do truly terrible things. He's also close to human, but not quite, and he also has supernatural powers that have yet to truly be unleashed.

Assigning the Roles

So you want to know how I would combine Sunshine in Hell with the Tinkerbell Villain Song series into an AU? Hmm... that might be a bit of a challenge, but I'll take a crack at it!

While I really like the idea of Joseph being Captain Hook and Jack being a combination of Peter and Tinkerbell, I'm more inclined to think that MC fits the role of Peter Pan better in a lot of ways when using the songs as a general guide. Just change Tinkerbell's role from a false mother for the children she kidnapped to one of a yandere keeping his lover someplace they will never leave.

This isn't to discourage your take on blending these characters in your story in any way. I think your ideas sound like a lot of fun! Having an MC torn between Peter Pan/Tinkerbell/Jack and Captain Hook/Joseph would be a delightfully spicy love triangle, with plenty of opportunities for complicated emotions and yandere horror from both. I'm really curious to see what you do with the story.

All that's to say that I'm treating mashing these different stories together as a writing prompt and letting the ideas that the resulting collision sparks drag me off in whatever direction it takes me. Where will I go with this post? Nobody knows, not even me, but I hope you enjoy the ride.

Anyway, getting back to my thoughts about blending the stories together and who might best fit which role...

Tinkerbell is bound to Peter Pan and his belief in fairies, and she'll keep him locked up in a fantasy world to forever play pretend in order to survive. Jack is likewise creating a fantasy life for MC, distracting them from the real world to focus only on their love for him. He wants to take care of MC, and Tinkerbell put herself in the role of caregiver for Peter.

Jack and Tinkerbell won't allow anyone to destroy this fragile life they've built or steal away the one person they love and need more than anyone else.

What's also fitting is how torn Peter is about taking out Tinkerbell despite everything she's done. MC doesn't want to let go of Jack either, and the idea of him disappearing is devastating to them.

Then of course there's Alice's feelings on the matter and whether she fits in the role of Peter. Really, her personality is closest to Wendy's.

Then again, Peter Pan's personality is pretty... ehhh, not Jack. Same with Tinkerbell. Or any of the characters really. Jack is pretty one of a kind after all. So let's not worry about personality and just focus on narrative parallels and general vibes for now.

It's also possible to argue that Joseph as Peter Pan and Jack as Tinkerbell is also fitting. Jack is a persona that Joseph created, much like how fairies are created by human babies and forever connected to that child. Jack and Joseph are forever connected whether they like it or not.

Heck, the aspect of fairies being created by a baby's first laugh is fitting with this comparison. Jack is a clown, and clowns are supposed to make people laugh. I can imagine the actors being tied to fairies that look like their clown counterparts from the SunnyTime Crew Show.

Shifting tracks a bit... I'm reminded of a theory I once heard about Captain Hook representing adulthood encroaching on Neverland, which the eternal child Peter Pan would defeat time after time. In this way, his childhood games never end and the world of adulthood won't ever force him to grow up.

Joseph being Captain Hook while Jack is Peter Pan would be fitting with that sort of comparison. These characters would be reflections of each other. Hell, with both of them looking identical, it'd fit in with a theory I heard that Hook used to be a Lost Boy before Peter ever came to Neverland. In that sense, Peter is Hook's replacement.

Of course, this theory doesn't really fit in with the story we see play out in the animatics. Tinkerbell needs Peter to live, not Hook, so he's not replacing anyone. She's trapped a child in an eternal dream of childhood so that he remains innocent, ignorant, and pliable to her will. It's a chilling story of a person kidnapping a child to become the role of his mother and keep him for herself forever.

The themes of childhood and adulthood that are such a big part of the story of Peter Pan would be symbolic rather than literal when mixing it with the story of Sunny Day Jack. The main characters aren't going to be eternal children, but fully grown adults solidly in their mid-twenties. I mean it is an adults only story after all. I'm not letting children anywhere near the hanky panky.

There are heavy themes of nostalgia in Sunny Day Jack. Nostalgia is something we can't help but seek out, and we risk being chained down by it. I can see those themes working well with the themes of childhood innocence in conflict with the harshness of the adult world and how even as adults we can still cling to the comfortable familiarly and simplicity of childhood. MC can't let go of Ian, who they've known since the first grade in the game after all. In many ways, Ian and the relationship they had represents childhood, nostalgia, and simpler times.

Heh, imagine Jack as Tinkerbell, MC as Peter Pan, and Ian as Wendy. Or, really, any of the other love interests. No matter who is Wendy's role better grow some wings real fast...

All these possibilities and thematic similarities might be the crux of why I keep going in circles about the roles in this ramble. Tinkerbell has the yandere vibes that fit Jack, but Peter Pan also fits Jack because he whisks Wendy off to a magical land of adventure. However, in the story of Tinkerbell as the villain, Peter is one of her victims too, just like Wendy.

Hmm... this makes me think about how Nick was attacked by Jack, and how Jack seemed so shaken up by Shaun's appearance. Wendy can be any or all of the love interests. Her role could potentially be divided between the three of them. Hell, Wendy has two brothers, so the three Darling siblings could be good roles for all three love interests.

MC just has to spend time with other people, don't they. They can't just stay in Neverland where it's safe and always happy and be satisfied with only Jack, no, no. This is a world made just for them, so how is it not enough? Everything they ever wanted is here in this magical land of fantasy! Jack was being generous letting them go off and bring in other people to play in their world for a little while, but now MC wants to leave? Forever!?

Jack can't allow that.

So in this case, Wendy would be whatever love interest MC has fallen in love with that isn't Jack. Shaun, Ian, or Nick fit the role.

Pffffffffffff, I just got this hilarious thought of Barry as Captain Hook. I mean, if MC is Peter Pan, then the "daily grind" they have to deal with constantly is battling the pirates. Jack does try to help make their job more fun, which fits Tinkerbell's whole making everything into one big eternal adventure game for Peter to play.

Hmm... yeah, I think I like the vibes of this setup, so let's run with it. Here's the roles as I see them so far:

Tinkerbell: Jack

Peter Pan: MC

Wendy John, and Michael Darling: Shaun, Ian, and Nick.

Captain Hook: Barry

Mr. Smee: Carol

I know I mashed the Darlings together along with the other three love interests, but I figure since Wendy's role would be whichever love interest the MC chooses instead of Jack. In that sense, they're technically interchangeable for these roles until the MC chooses to pick a Wendy.

Though if I was to decide solidly who is who when casting the roles on just vibes alone...

Shaun gets the role of Wendy. He's important to MC and brings them out of the little fantasy world they were in after they slept with Jack. He's someone they care about deeply already and have some skinship going on with hugs and ear scritches. His presence is refreshing in their life. He's the closest person to them right now after the breakup with Ian.

So I suppose then that Ian would be John, as the second Darling child, and the youngest Michael would be Nick, as Nick was the last love interest to be added. Not much in the way of vibes, I know, but we'll just have to take what we can get. As I said before, they could be easily swapped around in these three roles.

Another way to go could be to make all the love interests Lost Boys, with Jack being Peter Pan, and we have MC as Wendy torn between them in typical dating sim style. Though that might be best left for a mashup between SDJ and vanilla Peter Pan. The Villain Tinkerbell story has decidedly changed a number of very important elements after all.

What role might Joseph have then if I was to give him one separate from Jack? Periwinkle, Tinkerbell's twin sister who is thus also tied to Peter Pan. We even get to see a cameo of her in the second song animatic, even if we don't see her wreaking havoc with her sister.

Adding Periwinkle to the mix with Tinkerbell fits thematically with the way Jack has divided his sense of self into Joseph and Sunny Day Jack. Granted, this is more of a division of identity than becoming two entirely separate people, but it fits the vibes.

Jack and Joseph aren't so separate that they're actually two different people altogether. In Sunshine in Hell, Joseph's personality bleeds all throughout Jack. He's wearing the mask of Sunny Day Jack and trying desperately to live the part. He knows all the SunnyTime Crew Show canon and has lost himself to the role, but all actors, consciously or not, weave themselves into the character they play.

Jack is a mixture of Joseph Cullman and Sunny Day Jack, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Soooooo... unless I want to go the route that he divided himself in two to banish Joseph from himself for good or something like that and eventually merges back into one after learning to accept himself... I don't think Joseph should have a separate role from Jack, at least not when we're talking about using Sunshine in Hell's continuity for this crossover AU.

Joseph and Sunny Day Jack are two aspects of Jack, so this poor mixed up man is sticking with one role to play, which is of a yandere fairy desperate to keep his sunshine. Forever.

Huh. A thought just struck me that further cements Jack in the role of Tinkerbell. Remember the post I made about the issues Jack has with death and how the idea of his sunshine growing old and dying will trigger his trauma? I'm sure he'd consider taking a page from this fairy's playbook by whisking MC off to land where they'll never grow old and die.

Well, now that I've settled the broad strokes of who gets what basic role, I think it's time to start narrowing our scope a bit. The characters might be cast in certain roles, but they each have their own distinct personalities that will change how the story unfolds. The choices they make can lead to good things happening, or a Bad End.

We also need to set the stage a bit in order to understand this world a little better.

Creating Neverland

The choices Alice makes aren't going to apply to most MCs. I mean heck, if she has the role of Peter Pan, she's picking her Tinkerbell Jack rather than Wendy. You all know by now that Alice and Jack are my OTP. She's going to choose to stay with him rather than run away with someone else.

This gives me a thought... Okay, now hear me out. What if the connection between fairies and humans is that they are soulmates?

Remember when I talked about how soulmates work in the Omegaverse AU? Soulmates in that universe share their strengths, pain, and pleasure. If one of them dies, the other will as well.

Yes, yes, I know the crux of the conflict in the animatic is that the fairies can die if their human stops believing, but I'm pretty sure that if Peter Pan died, Tinkerbell would too. Likewise I'd argue that Peter isn't going to survive in Neverland without Tinkerbell and her magic. Not to mention we don't know what might happen to a human who still believes in fairies when their fairy is murdered. The magical connection between them is still active at the time after all...

If the magic can create life, then it might be able to take it away just as easily.

Regardless of how it works in the song universe, we're talking about an alternate universe here, one that mashes in a few other stories with their own rules to how things work. Plus whatever vibes I feel the setting. I think we can be pretty free to do whatever we want here. As we should when writing our own stories. ;3

Really, it's interesting to think of how the fairy tied to their human child would technically be a little younger than them. After all, the baby has to be old enough to have their first laugh. Despite this, fairies appear to be created fully grown, which is how Tinkerbell could take the place of Peter Pan's real mother.

I'm not cool with the implications this sort of mother/child dynamic would have on any sort of romance between the pair, even a yandere one, so this is another detail I'm going to tweak. I'm going to say that fairies age at the same rate as the human that they're connected to. Jack and Alice are basically the same age mentally and physically.

The fairies aren't born beside the baby whose laugh brought them into the world. Instead, when a new fairy is born, it's in their homeland of Neverland, specifically Pixie Hollow. The older fairies communally raise the newborn fairy since they can't reproduce on their own and thus there's no direct bond of parent and child. Jack was no different than any other fairy in this regard.

Soulmates don't necessarily involve just two parties. Much like the example of Periwinkle, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan, sometimes there is more than one fairy tied to a single human. The reverse can happen as well, when a fairy isn't created until all the humans they are bound to have their first laugh.

So, yes, polycule soulmates can happen in this universe. They're much more rare than pairs, but they do happen sometimes. While I won't be dividing Jack and Joseph into two people, the option is there for those who want to explore it~

The life of a fairy is often very short and getting shorter with each passing generation. Growing cynicism and lack of belief in all things magic among humans shortens how long a child might believe in in the existence fairies. Living a long life as a fairy is painfully rare in the present day.

Not every human can create a fairy, otherwise there would be hundreds of thousands of fairies born every single day given how many human babies are born daily. A human doesn't have to know of the existence of fairies to create one, as a baby wouldn't know what a fairy is when they laugh for the first time. It's theorized among fairy scholars that by being soulmates with a fairy, the human has a natural subconscious belief in them, as well as their own form of magic that they can't consciously access. The creation of fairies is a mysterious miracle that not even they truly understand even after centuries of research and experimentation.

As you might expect, the fairies have a vested interest in understanding how this magic that keeps them alive works when each generation's lifespan is shorter than the last.

Centuries ago, humans and fairies intermingled across the world. It was only natural, given that they are literal soulmates. Long ago a fairy would seek out their human and they would live together happily. The bond they had was special, sacred, and full of love. They completed each other.

Unfortunately, there was no shortage of those who would covet the magic of fairies for themselves. Humans have always outnumbered the fairies, even when belief in fairies and magic was strong. Though humans didn't have magic, they learned ways they could trap or trick a fairy to exploit them. Worst of all, the humans learned how to use the fairies' own pixie dust against them. The power of pixie dust alone was incentive enough to capture, torture, enslave, and even butcher such magical tiny beings. Every part of a fairy's body had magic to it as well and could be used as a potent ingredient for some brew, medicine, or hex.

This forced fairies to go into hiding, even if it meant leaving their human soulmate behind or never finding them to begin with. Unfortunately, these greedy humans were relentless, constantly hunting the fairies down no matter where they hid. They blackmailed and tortured the fairies' human partners in order to get their fairy soulmates.

Finally, in desperation the fairies banded together in a mssive undertaking, pooling an unimaginable amount of pixie dust and other magics together to create a safe haven far, far across the sea they came to call Neverland. It would be an impossible island to find unless someone knew to follow a specific star, as Neverland exists in a space that isn't really on any maps due to magic.

The fairies didn't go to Neverland alone, as they brought allies they could still trust along with them, which consisted mostly of other magical creatures like mermaids. Some fairies insisted on bringing their human partners as well, though was severe resistance to the idea. Understandably, even though fairies are tied so intimately with humans, most were resentful, wary, and afraid of all humans after all the cruelty they suffered. Even soulmates were seen with suspicion, especially when there were rumors that some soulmates betrayed their fairies.

Despite the pushback, a small number of humans were brought to Neverland, but only those bound to fairies who could be even remotely trusted. The pockets of human settlements in Neverland the present day, including the pirates, are the descendants of those original humans and the rare human a fairy would bring in later on from the outside world.

Fun fact: even in the original novel, people did age in Neverland. Lost Boys grew up and left, and even Tinkerbell had passed away well before the end of the novel. Only Peter Pan seems to be immune to the affects of aging and death.

Of course, the Disney movie/shows and the animatics play with different rules than the novel, but who stays an eternal child still seems to be selective. Either way, I'm changing the rules again since no one is staying a child forever in this AU.

I'm just going to say that because Neverland itself is made from the magic of countless fairies, the land itself will nourish and heal them. A fairy's body is eternally replenished as long as they remain in Neverland. This means that while they grow up at a normal rate, they more or less stop aging when their bodies are at peak health. Old age is more or less just the body slowly breaking down after all. This means that the fairies become immune from the affects of old age while in Neverland.

This applies to their soulmates as well due to them being connected to that same magic.

Of course, just because a human or fairy won't die of old age in Neverland doesn't mean that they can't be killed. They have a much greater resistance against death in Neverland and can take a lot of punishment there, but healing magic doesn't make them invincible. The pirates are a very real and constant threat, as are dangerous creatures like the crocodile.

Neverland was created to be a safe haven, but that doesn't make it a perfect paradise.

Hundreds of years of history pass, and for the majority of the fairies have given up on finding their human soulmates. Only a small percentage fairies in each generation have been brave enough to travel back to the human world even attempt to find them among the ever growing sea of humans.

A strong resentment towards humans among the fairies still lingers to this day, exasperated by the bloodthirsty pirate attacks and their ever dwindling life expectancy as belief in magic slowly dies out in the human world. With so many fairies dying without their human soulmate ever even knowing they even existed, the sentiment that the bond between them as sacred has mostly soured.

Not all fairies feel this way of course. Though an elder fairy is rare, they still exist. Not that you would realize they're a hundred or two years old, as they still appear to be in their prime. Despite the growing cynicism among the fairy population towards humanity as a whole, these unions between a fairy and their human that still hold up strong even to the present day serve to spark dreams and hope of love, completeness, and a long life in young fairies.

Jack was one such young fairy who believed in the love of his soulmate. He was absolutely certain that, whoever they were, they would be everything he could ever ask for and more.

However, there are many fairies that want to detach themselves from humanity entirely. To many, the bond between them and humans are shackles keeping them enslaved to the whims of human children.

Just like the humans experimented with fairy magic long ago, the fairies did their own experiments with pixie dust, humans, and other creatures. Countless medicines and treatments have been tried to varying degrees of success to keep a fairy alive even after the belief in them has died.

The fairies haven't found a magical cure to their plight, as no treatment comes without side-effects. A particular blend of pixie dust, human blood, and other varying ingredients is the most effective medicine they have to date, but prolonged usage after the bond between them and their soulmate is severed has led to crack-like scars that glow from beneath the skin. The treatment is hard on a fairy's body, and it must be taken regularly or they risk their body falling apart. Often the exact proportions of ingredients need to be adjusted in order to properly attune with that particular type of fairy's magic.

Elder fairies who need to use these treatments to stay alive often are extremely envious of the fairies who have their human soulmate with them in Neverland. They're prone to letting their bitterness show when teaching the younger fairies to be distrustful of humans in general. It also wasn't unheard of for a fairy who is only surviving on the medicine to take out their anger on another fairy's soulmate in a misdirected form of revenge for being abandoned by their human.

This leads to different factions among the fairies and arguments spring up among the elder fairies. Those rare few who still have their soulmate humans by their side are especially protective of them, even against other fairies, and are much more prone to going yandere in order to keep them safe.

Now that we have the foundation of the worldbuilding more or less set, let's start fitting our characters into this unique version of Neverland.

Alice in Neverland

As the animatic and the many, many spinoffs Disney produced have shown, there's quite a number of fairies in this world. It makes sense since the human population numbers in the billions. If even 0.0001% of those billions of humans created a fairy when they were a baby, that means there's a fair amount of fairies populating Pixie Hollow. Compared to the human population, the fairies are miniscule in number, but you might not think it if you only ever lived in Neverland.

I got to thinking then about what other characters could be fairies. Tinkerbell didn't act alone in the animatic, and she did want to save all her friends. If Jack is in her shoes, then perhaps he needs some fairy friends of his own.

Naturally, my first thought was the SunnyTime Crew. I mean, SunnyTime Town AU with fairies? Sounds fun to me. However, given that fairies would be very prone to becoming yandere in this sort of universe, I think we can go one step further and add a few more yanderes to the mix.

Bo and Elias are also fairies. Bam! Bet you didn't expect this AU to become a crossover, did you?

Well... if you read the tags you did, I suppose, but shush on that detail. I thought of the crossover only now as I'm writing this, and I'm adding in the tags as I go along.

Okay, yes, Elias isn't really a yandere, even if he has the potential. Not all fairies go yandere after all.

As you might expect, Bo's soulmate is Barbie and Elias' is Coraline. While this might strengthen the idea of Alice being cast in the role of Wendy instead of Peter Pan, since we have three siblings coming to Neverland in the original/Disney stories, but I'm giving the formula and the King family a bit of a twist here here.

Lycoris is a fairy as well, one of the rare few elder fairies living in Neverland with her soulmate Ambrose. They don't have biological children of their own in this AU, but they've become like parents to many generations of fairy children. Their love story has been a source of hope for many young fairies hoping to one day find their soulmate, such as Jack.

The pair are also targets for scorn among the fairies embittered by humans and the bond that is supposed to sustain them. Lycoris and Ambrose no longer live in Pixie Hollow itself, but a little ways outside the village due to various conflicts over the centuries. While Lycoris still visits often to help take care of young fairies (and remind her rivals not to cross her or touch her soulmate), Ambrose rarely stops by Pixie Hollow anymore himself to not stir up old resentments.

Lycoris is respected and admired among the fairies, even if she's still got her fair share of enemies among the other elders. There's been rumors that when a fairy tried to harm Ambrose, she didn't hesitate to kill them and ground their body up into pixie dust. Although Lycoris is a warm and loving motherly matron among the fairies, she won't shy away from a fight when protecting someone she loves.

Jack admired Lycoris and Ambrose's love story since he was very young, as well as the love stories of other fairies and their soulmates. Still, he wasn't blind to the sad reality of their situation. No fairy can be ignorant for long when death can come for them so young without any warning.

Few braved traveling to the human world to find their soulmate while their human still believed in fairies. The need to travel to the human world came ever younger with each generation. Often times that belief would die before they were prepared enough to risk the trip. Expeditions did happen fairly regularly by those brave enough to try, but it's hard to find one human among billions. Sometimes fairies never made it back to Neverland...

The expeditions weren't necessarily a complete success either. Often times the fairies would find their soulmate, but that human wouldn't want to leave their home. Some fairies compromised by regularly visiting them. If nothing else, these visits would remind their human of their existence and ensure that their belief in fairies never dies.

At least... not until the human does. When a human dies while believing in fairies, the results can be especially devastating to the fairy.

Jack couldn't stand waiting, despite the danger and discouragement of older fairies. Even as a young child he realized that the longer he waited until he was "ready" for the journey, the greater the chance that his soulmate would stop believing in him.

The last thing Jack wanted was to be forgotten.

Recklessly, Jack ran away, or rather flew away. He went to the human world ill prepared for what he was to find there. He saw aspects of humanity that made showed him that the cautionary stories he had been told all his life were not just fairy tales. Only when he was left alone to fend for himself in the human world did the danger become real to him.

Despite the dangers of the human world and many harrowing situations he went through, Jack refused to return to Neverland, not until he found his soulmate. He learned how to survive on his own, how to use violence if the need called for it. The human world jaded him, but he never let go of that desperate hope he would find the person who would love him more than anyone else in the world.

Lycoris and Ambrose's love story was a source of inspiration for fairies, and that in and of itself was something other fairies criticized. What they had was so rare that some argued that it gave all fairies, especially the young ones, false hope.

Fairies like Jack running away alone and ill prepared to the human to possibly never return was just one such consequence of that hope.

It wasn't just the humans who were growing more cynical as the years and generations went by.

Jack's tale might have ended as just another tragedy, but fate and his sunshine intervened.

Tracking a soulmate isn't easy in such a massive world where magic is absent. The human world feels dead to young fairies who have only lived in Neverland. Neverland is practically a different world from the one they left centuries ago. Magic is in the land, the water, and the very air they breathe. The human world is barren like a desolate desert or the Antarctic in comparison to their homeland. Over the centuries the human world has become a world wholly inhospitable to magical creatures.

Still, Jack persevered. Reckless and stubborn, he followed that thin thread that connected him to his soulmate. So many times he considered going back. This world was so big and cold. He was lost and overlooked by these countless giants filling it that he constantly had to hide from. He was almost run over or crushed, injured by various alien human-made technologies and got into dangerous battles with wild animals. Fairies had tamed the animals of Neverland for companionship and domestication. Jack was used to even large animals being friendly to fairies, so he was shocked to find that the ones in the human world saw little creatures like him only as a potential meal. Securing food and shelter was a constant worry for the young headstrong fairy, as was the gnawing loneliness.

It was when Jack had hidden in an old wooden box, starving, wounded, cold, and so very alone, that Alice found him.

Alice didn't have the best life in this AU. As you might expect, she didn't have Lycoris and Ambrose aren't her birth parents in this world. Although her name isn't Mary, she was born a Phoenix instead of a King in this world, with neglectful parents who cared far more for their son than their daughter.

It was difficult for Alice to connect with other people. She had a hard time due to being pretty nonverbal as a kid. Sadly, the Phoenix matriarch and patriarch didn't bother with getting her therapy or a puppet like Honey Bunny to help her to find her voice.

The only friend Alice could make was a boy who was just as lonely as she was. Ian didn't mind that Alice had a hard time talking. He was used to being silenced by his mom. They could just smile at each other and quiet play games at recess that didn't require much conversation.

Sadly, playdates after school weren't happening. It was too much trouble for the Phoenix parents to bother with, and Karen wasn't going to help her son get close to any girl. It was her duty to keep her son from being tempted by sin after all.

This left Alice at home when she wasn't at school. The backyard was practically the entirety of her world, and she spent countless afternoons pretending that it was a magical land full of wonderous sights and creatures. She decorated the yard with bundled sticks and painted stones that she arranged into landmarks she named like Unicorn Hills and the Rainbow River.

Her parents didn't care about what their daughter got up to on her own as long as Alice cleaned up her "mess" before bed. She was expected to clean up after herself and finish all her chores every single day without fail, no matter how long it took her. If she had to stay up until midnight, then so be it.

When not in use, Alice kept her treasures in an old wooden box she lovingly decorated with crayon and paint, tucked safely away in some overgrown rose bushes. It was the only place where Ezekiel wouldn't dig around in to mess with her things due to all the thorns and flowers. The thought that messing with girly things like flowers was the worst thing in the world to a boy like him who was repulsed by pink and cooties.

It was when Alice went to retrieve her box of treasures for an afternoon of fantasy that she discovered something beyond her wildest dreams.

The sight of a real, living fairy curled up with her things shocked and delighted Alice... until she noticed the poor thing was shaking and her baby blanket that he huddled in desperately for warmth was stained in red.

Alice gently scooped Jack up with the blanket and brought him into the house. Fortunately for her, her parents had taken Ezekiel out to a game, or maybe dinner or to hang out with his friends? They didn't really bother to specify anymore, just that they'd be gone and she was on her own for dinner. For once, she was grateful for their absence, as she was worried what they might do or say about the fairy. What if they forced her to abandon the poor thing like they did with that stray cat that she snuck in to get out of the rain?

Jack woke up to the sting of peroxide on his wound and, understandably, he was alarmed by the unknown human looming before him. He bolted away and got in a defensive stance while Alice backed up and raised her hands with open palms splayed as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

When their eyes met, there was a spark there, something powerful and important. Jack knew, he just knew that this human child before him was his soulmate. Alice didn't identify the feeling as anything more than further excitement and concern for the little fairy, but the moment still struck her as important.

Jack was so relieved. After everything he had gone through, he finally succeeded. He finally found his soulmate... his sunshine. She was just as bright and beautiful and kind as he always knew that she would be.

Alice still struggled to speak beyond giving her name, but Jack had no problem filling the silences. He introduced herself and told her all about Neverland and all the adventures he went through just to find her. She hung on every word, only interrupting him to finish treating his injuries and get him the first real meal that wasn't scrounged scraps since he left Pixie Hollow.

Although only a little recovered from his ordeal, Jack didn't want to waste anymore time. He did his best to convince Alice to come back with him to Neverland. It was so much better than this awful, dangerous place, full of fun things to do and see.

Oh sure Neverland had its dangers too, but Jack knew better than to mention that just yet.

Alice was hesitant, since she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Her parents would scold her, punish her.

Alice squirmed in place, her eyes nervously darting in the direction of the front door. "Mum and Da... they'll be mad."

Jack smiled, brimming with confidence. "Well, then we better leave before they get back."

Despite the difficulty Alice had conveying her worries to Jack, he didn't get frustrated with her fragmented sentences and incomplete thoughts. He learned all about how reluctant humans are to leave their home and family behind, and he was prepared. He had spent many hours planning just what to say to convince his sunshine to come with him.

After everything Jack went through to get this far, a little white lie was nothing.

"Don't worry, we'll be back before they know you were even gone."

Needless to say, they never came back to that house.

It wasn't all that hard for Jack to convince Alice to leave, all things considered. Her parents and brother left her alone all the time, so why shouldn't she do the same? She couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a real adventure with magic and fairies.

When Jack told Alice that with his help she would be able to fly, there was no keeping her there, no matter what punishment she might face later.

The thrill of flight was better than anything Alice experienced before. It gave her a sense of freedom that her life lacked until that point. She couldn't help but laugh and even crowed in delight as she and Jack dipped, dived, and danced together across the night sky.

Neverland was everything Jack promised and more. The other fairies were not just shocked that he came back alive after so long, but that he brought his soulmate with him. Though many fairies were wary of her presence, there were plenty who welcomed her arrival.

Alice was the first human brought to Neverland in several years. Her presence reignited the hope among the fairies, which only grew stronger the longer she chose to stay.

Although Alice did occasionally miss her family and felt the sting of guilt from leaving them behind, these negative feelings nothing compared to the wonder and joy she found in Neverland. A magical land where she could play all day with fairy friends who understood her was like a dream she didn't want to wake up from.

Besides, Jack did a good job of distracting her from any sad thoughts. Whenever he noticed Alice starting to get moody or lost in her thoughts, he always managed to find something to catch her interest or soothe her worries.

Alice learned to open up more during her time in Neverland. She blossomed like a flower that finally had been given sunlight for the first time. She became more outgoing, energetic, and bold. She was adventurous and even a bit wild, learning to unapologetically express herself and enjoy what made her happy.

Jack helped her bloom, unlike her parents.

Lycoris took it upon herself to mother Alice, and Ambrose became like a father to her, helping her get used to being a human among fairies. In time, they became her parents by bond rather than blood. They were far better parents to her than Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix ever were.

Yes, in a way she was reborn from being a Phoenix like Mary was to find a loving new family.

Much like in the canon universe, Alice was only the start of this family. After Jack's success, other young fairies were galvanized to find their soulmates. Bo was especially incensed. He and Jack were good friends, and he was pissed when Jack ran away without a word to anyone, especially him. Jealousy was added on top of this after learning that his friend went on a grand adventure and brought back his soulmate. The very nerve! Jack should have brought Bo along to find his soulmate too!

Bo wanted to run off and do the same as Jack, but the older fairies weren't going to let the young ones rush recklessly off into danger if they could help it. Jack might have been successful in his mission, but he had more than one close call.

Still, not the harrowing tales of what his friend went through were enough to deter Bo from trying. Knowing what Jack had to face wasn't about to hold him back from demanding that help him to make up for leaving him behind before.

After Alice got settled in Neverland, she learned a bit about the bond fairies had with their human. Knowing that she and Jack had this special bond in turn made her feel special. She didn't fully understand everything due to her young age, especially since she wasn't told everything about the fairies' dire situation, but she understood that he would be her best friend forever.

Alice also understood that the other fairies needed their partners too, and she wanted to help.

Jack didn't intend to bring Alice along when he and Bo planned to sneak away from Neverland. He only let her know that he was leaving so that she wouldn't worry about him while he was gone. Plus a shameless part of him kind of wanted to hear her tell him that she wanted him to say or that she'd miss him. He didn't really want to be parted from her, but he wanted to help Bo.

Jack might have found his sunshine, but that didn't rid him of his fear of losing his friends. The threat of death still loomed over every fairy who still didn't find their soulmate and bring them safely to Neverland.

Alice surprised Jack when she insisted on coming with him. He was reluctant at first, of course, afraid that she might decide to go back home even though she was so happy in Neverland.

It was when Alice expressed that she didn't want Jack to get hurt again and that she didn't want to be separated from him that his resolve melted.

The three children came up with a clever plan to sneak off on their own, but they didn't expect Lycoris to see through it. Fortunately, rather than snitching on them and ruining everything when she caught them, instead she insisted that she was coming along to help keep them safe.

Although Bo was determined and had help on his quest, the fairies were out of their depth when it came to the ways of the human world. Fortunately between Lycoris' wisdom, Jack's prior experiences, and Alice's knowledge of how human society worked, they were able to make the journey unscathed.

Eventually, with Bo leading the way, they came across a feisty little girl.

Barbie was someone deemed as a problem child, with guardians who were an even bigger problem than she was. The less said about her home life the better. She was only too happy to leave her broken home behind with a group of fairies and a strange but kind girl.

This was the start of something big for Neverland. It was also the start of a group known as the Lost Kids. It was a name Alice came up with for herself and the other human children. Her logic was that they were always meant to be in Neverland, since they are the most important people in the world to their fairies. They were just "lost" in the human world until they could be found and brought home to Neverland.

As you might be guessing, the rest of the Lost Kids include all of the children who would be Alice's siblings in the regular canon. Coraline was found next, then Jem, and so on.

Like Peter Pan and Tinkerbell going on trips to the human world parodically and bring back more Lost Boys, Alice and Jack would go to help bring back the Lost Kids. She enthusiastically embraced this quest to help find every fairy's human partner and acted both like an older sibling and leader to the other children. She played a big part in convincing the children to leave their homes for a land of magic and adventure.

When the Lost Kids grow up, they gain a different name, one a bit more unsettling to her in retrospect - the Lost Ones.

The success of more lost children coming and happily staying in Neverland galvanized the fairies like never before. Jack especially felt good. He was a hero. So many of the fairies looked up to him, and admiration for him only grew as he and Alice brought back more soulmates to Neverland.

It was addicting to be so loved and needed by so many people. It was also a heavy burden to bear.

As Jack grew, he had a better sense of the weight of his responsibilities. Though he tried his best to lead as many expeditions as possible with the help of his sunshine, it never felt like enough. There were too many fairies who needed his help. Too many of his friends suffered and died before their soulmate could be found.

Living With Death

Although Coraline was the third Lost Kid found and brought to Neverland, she almost never made it. Her health was fragile, and a near death almost ended not only her life Elias' as well.

When a fairy dies because of the death of their soulmate or from lack of belief, they break down, crumbling away to pixie dust.

Before Coraline was found, her heart had stopped beating due to cardiac arrest. Although doctors managed to restart her heart and revive her, for a full minute she was by all accounts dead.

That minute couldn't have happened at a worse moment for Elias.

Another fairy by the name of Violet had gotten into a fight with Elias. She and her brother Gerald attacked him to steal some treasures he possessed. With a single knife and a terrible moment of opportunity and chance, she sliced off Elias' head when his body started to break down from Coraline's brief interlude with death.

Fairies have been fighting with death for centuries. They've worked hard to come up with a way to sustain themselves even without the belief of their human soulmate. When a fairy is born now, they are given regular treatment all throughout their life with certain magics and medicines. This is with the hope to keep them alive just a little longer should they suddenly find themselves alone when their human stops believing in them. It buys them time to be found so that they can treated and hopefully survive the loss.

It was thanks to these medicines, Coraline's revival, and the healing properties of being in Neverland that Elias didn't die even when his head was separated from his body. Jack was the one who found him in time, and the ghastly moment forever scarred him. The fairies scrambled to save Elias' life and through a miracle of magic they somehow managed it.

Sadly they never could properly reattach Elias' head. It's a downright miracle that he's still alive even though it's now floating a little above his neck at all times, with pixie dust always leaking out from the edges. It's fortunate that fairies don't quite have the same biology as humans and are made more of magic than flesh.

Elias requires regular infusions of magic and medical treatment, but at least he's still alive.

Naturally Violet and Gerald, were punished for their savage attack on Elias. After they failed to deny their involvement, they claimed they hadn't intended to kill him, but that didn't save them from punishment.

Jack personally saw to it that they would never hurt anyone like that ever again. The scene sometimes still appears in his nightmares, as do other deaths and near deaths he had the misfortune to witness.

The close call with Elias drove Jack to find his soulmate next like they did for him and Bo. Jack hadn't really planned to keep going back to the human world after helping Bo. He didn't originally have a grand plan to save all the fairies.

But too many fairies he knew had fallen... and seeing the gruesome way Elias nearly died, his life hanging by the fragile thread of some child's belief, made more apparent by this wound that will never truly heal...

It changed something in Jack. Each hardship, each close call, and the success and love and found... the admiration he gained from the other fairies for what he accomplished...

Jack knew something had to change. They couldn't just hide away. Their attempts to separate themselves from their humans was no way to live. He knew full well the happiness he felt with Alice by his side. He couldn't imagine a life without her now.

So many fairies were living a hollow life. They were alone. Even if they hid away in Pixie Hollow surrounded by other fairies, that didn't take away the emptiness they all must have felt.

Jack didn't realize he had this emptiness until Alice filled it. Being with her completed him in a way no one else could. He would do anything to stay with her, to forever bask in her gentle warmth.

Now that Jack knew how empty he used to be, he couldn't imagine going back to it. Worse, he couldn't imagine that connection severed completely. Even when they were apart, a distant part of him was still tied to Alice, still felt the barest hint of her warmth.

There were fairies that still struggled to live even after they lost even that whisper of warmth. There were even those who stubbornly continued to keep going even as it damaged and degraded their bodies. They had been hollowed out to live an empty life of pain and misery.

Now Jack fully understood the bitterness those fairies held. He could never wish that fate on anyone, let alone his friends.

Jack couldn't imagine living in a world without his sunshine.

Seeing a friend of his come so close to death in such a gruesome way changed everything for Jack.

Despite such a traumatic incident, Elias tried his best to stay optimistic. He was still kind to others despite what he had gone through. Even if his body had been changed, he learned to adapt and accept that change.

Jack didn't want to see his friends be forced to accept a pain that would never truly go away. He wanted to change things for all of them so that no one would have to suffer anymore.

The only problem was how.

It was an issue the fairies had struggled with for centuries with no real solution. The best thing Jack could do for his friends was to keep taking trips to the human world, keep finding more soulmates, more Lost Kids, and bring them to Neverland.

There were other fairies who could help Jack come up with ideas. Even if many of the few elder fairies were so bitter, they had much wisdom to share.

They also had many dangerous seeds to plant and take root in fertile young minds.

Some children needed more convincing than others, despite the magic and wonder of Neverland. Not every child was willing to abandon their home and family for some faraway land. As Jack grew older, he got better at communicating with children and figuring out what they needed the most. He found a friendly smile and some careful but encouraging words could do wonders to befriend them.

Alice was an immense help in his quest. With all her experience guiding the other children, her kind and empathetic nature, and her infectious energy, she served as a shining example of how life in Neverland could bring someone endless days filled with joy and fun.

By the time Alice was an adult, she no longer thought about her biological family at all. She didn't think about whether or not they or her brother might miss her. She long assumed that they forgot about her, so she soon forgot about them.

But not every family was like the one she left behind. Not every family was abusive like the one Barbie had been in. Coraline didn't have such a terrible living situation, but still she didn't hesitate to leave her life and her loved ones behind behind.

Coraline knew that she was dying. Doctors had told her so, and she could feel death creeping up on her. Her body was slowing down and she spent more and more time in hospitals listening to the sound of her parents crying. She knew she was going to leave her parents behind and make them sad no matter what she chose. So what was the difference between dying and leaving for Neverland?

At least Coraline could have one last adventure outside of the sterile hospital room walls.

It was fortunate that the fairies and their magic were better equipped to keep Coraline alive than human medicine. When in Neverland, she started to recover, much to her shock. It was a bittersweet revelation when she learned that Neverland could help her stay alive... but only if she stayed in this place that always radiated magic.

Coraline wanted to live. She was happy with Elias, the Lost Kids, and everyone else she befriended in Neverland. She chose to stay. She never even considered leaving the one place where she might live.

Even still... sometimes Coraline couldn't help but stare longingly up at the stars, missing all the people she loved that she had to leave behind.

Even with that lingering longing from Coraline, there was no question that bringing her to Neverland was the right thing to do. She and Elias were alive and they were together.

Bo and Barbie were together. They often teased each other and could play rough, but they were happy. Barbie never wanted to see the human world again.

Whenever Alice started to wonder if what they were doing was right, Jack would be right there to soothe her fears.

They were doing the right thing. Jack knew that this was the right thing, and every day that passed and every child they brought back proved it to him all the more. All they had to do was be happy together and help others find their happiness too.

The only aspect of her former life that Alice looked back on with any lingering regret was the lonely little boy that she left behind.

Rot at the Roots

Although the focus of their expeditions to the human world was on bringing back soulmates to Neverland, there came a day that Alice wanted to deviate from that mission at least once.

Ian had no ties to fairies. If he ever believed in them, his belief in anything magical was stomped out long ago by his mother. When his only friend disappeared, he was left more lonely and isolated than ever.

You can only imagine his surprise when his lost friend came knocking on his bedroom window one night, especially since his bedroom is on the second floor.

Ian could hardly recognize Alice when she first visited him. At this point it had been a few years since she disappeared. Unlike the shy, quiet girl he once knew, she was more outspoken and energetic. She excitedly told him all about her her adventures in Neverland and that she wanted to bring him along to live there too.

Jack was... reluctant, to put it mildly. He didn't like this plan, though he couldn't come up with a good argument to dissuade Alice when she had her heart set on this.

Ian wasn't bound to a fairy. He had the potential to be a threat like the pirates. They were humans unbound to fairies, as greedy and cruel as all the old stories.

More than that, Jack couldn't shake this unease he felt that Ian was someone important enough that Alice would go out of her way to bring him to live with them.

Still... Jack couldn't deny his sunshine something that she truly wanted. Alice wanted to see her friend and to make him happy like she had the other Lost Kids. Even if Ian didn't have a fairy, it would be okay, since she knew already that Ian was a good person. Alice trusted Ian.

Somehow knowing that Alice trusted Ian didn't reassure Jack as much as he knew that it should.

Although Ian missed Alice and was dazzled by the idea of adventure in a magical world, he felt like he couldn't leave his mother. For as cruel as Karen could be, he felt like he owed it to his mother to be there for her and do as she said like a good, obedient son.

Still, Ian couldn't pass the chance up. He did go to Neverland, but for a short trip. Much like Wendy in the novel, he had frequent trips to Neverland over the years as he grew up.

As you might expect, Karen went ballistic the first time Ian disappeared. It was a while before he could summon the courage to do it again, even though he missed the adventure and thrills he found in Neverland upon coming home. It was a place out of a wonderous, if sometimes scary, dream.

Ian also couldn't forget about Alice. She had changed so much since he last saw her, but in the most enchanting of ways. She was confident and bubbly, still so kind and so courageous. She laughed in the face of danger and even faced off against pirates without fear. She had a light in her that shined like no one else he had ever met.

Ian couldn't help but fall in love with Alice.

I guess despite what I said earlier, Ian falls into Wendy's role here... but then again not quite. He has some similarities in the way he's dazzled by Alice like Wendy was captivated by Peter, but Ian and Wendy have vastly different personalities and vibes. While Wendy knew how to lead and guide others as a mother figure, Ian only ever learned to follow others' lead, and he struggled with knowing how to nurture others.

Unlike Wendy in the movie or animatic, Ian isn't going to be convincing the Lost Kids to leave Neverland. He doesn't have the courage to stay, so how could he dare ask any of them to leave such a magical place behind? How could he convince them beyond this feeling that Neverland was too good to be true and that they couldn't stay in a childish world of fantasy and adventure forever.

As the years went by and Ian distanced himself from his mother, he made more trips to Neverland. When he was living on his own, he could spend a bit longer there without anyone realizing where he had gone. He never wanted to stay in Neverland forever, but he kept going there to spend time with Alice.

For as amazing as Neverland is, Ian prefers the more relative calm of the human world. Pirates and dangerous magical creatures might sound like fun set pieces for an adventure, but they are harrowing to face in reality. He also has dreams he wants to achieve one day, and those dreams don't involve Neverland.

There's only one part about Neverland that Ian wants to keep dreaming about. He can't help but dream of one day convincing Alice to stay with him forever. They could even get married! She'd be such a beautiful bride... Maybe if he became someone rich and famous, someone even more amazing than a world full of fairies and magic, then maybe she'd choose him instead of Neverland.

Alice only ever saw Ian as her childhood friend. Though she was sad that he didn't want to live in Neverland, she was happy when he could spend time there to have fun with her and the Lost Kids.

Even after Alice grew up, her feelings for Ian didn't change. Much to his dismay, it was clear to him that she still saw him as that child that she befriended in the first grade. As much as he hated it, he also couldn't help but see that Jack was the person she loved the most.

Ian did try to become friends with Jack. He even envied Jack... but they never quite got along.

Jack tried not to hate Ian, but it was difficult a lot of the time. Alice was his soulmate, not Ian's, and yet Ian dared to lust after her anyway. Jack could see the way Ian looked at her, especially after they hit puberty.

It was only natural. Alice had grown into a beautiful woman, a free spirit who shone as bright as the sun. Her curvy body practically demanded Jack to constantly drink her in. He couldn't get enough of her softness, her warmth.

Jack desired Alice beyond words, and he hated that he saw something similar to what he felt in Ian's eyes.

The audacity. How dare Ian. Jack was being so generous to share his pixie dust to allow Ian to fly and spend time with his sunshine. Too generous.

Jack knew all about the fairy tales of human greed and what it had cost his people.

Alice had to divide her time with so many people. Jack was so content and happy with her. He trusted her. He trusted that she would never, ever leave him. She wanted to be with him. She promised never to forget him or stop believing in fairies. She wanted to spend forever with him. Yet time with her never seemed to be enough. So many people demanded her time and his.

There was so much to do, so many people to help, so many responsibilities.

So many fairies were still dying. Bringing more Lost Kids to Neverland helped, but it was never enough.

Even with his sunshine by his side, even with all the love Alice showed to Jack, he couldn't quite shake his insecurities or jealousy. The fairies weren't safe. Sure he saved his friends and was trying to save more, but it wasn't enough.

Humans were still greedy. They were content to discard and forget them unless they got more and more. By the time Jack was grown, he learned all too well that kind humans like Alice and the Lost Ones were the minority. They were the exception that proved the rule.

Jack was giving more and more of his time and sharing his sunshine far more than he ever wanted. He was already giving so much, and this brat Ian dared to want more?

It was petty of him, maybe even cruel. Jack couldn't help but play little tricks on Ian. Nothing too bad of course! Alice would be sad if Ian died, and the last thing Jack wanted was for Ian to take up even more space in her heart.

Plus, Jack didn't want to cross that line. Not yet. Not if he could help it. Killing someone was something he could never take back. He had tried so hard not to cross that line with anyone after being scarred by so much death all of his life...

Jack didn't want to be someone who killed people. He had so many who looked up to him, and he liked the person they saw in him. Even if his responsibilities were heavy, it all made him feel like he had a sense of worth.

Jack had become important, and important people can never be forgotten.

It got worse when Shaun entered the picture. Alice became friends with him right away. Whether Shaun has a fairy or two or not, it's left up in the air for now. I'm a bit iffy on how or when he and Alice meet. Maybe it was when he was a child or when they were both grown.

Hmm... I say that, but now I think of that image of kid Shaun in the Childhood Friends AU, and I can't help but snatch that cute little boy up. Little Shaun saw Alice flying through the sky and just had to make friends with her. He even got permission to go to Neverland from his parents.

I mean, really, how could Antwon and Leticia not give Shaun permission to go on a magical adventure of a lifetime. Hell, they'd want to come along, and it'd certainly be one way to convince Shaun to go to Neverland if he has a fairy soulmate.

Even if Shaun has a fairy bound to him, a part of Jack can't help but feel a bit jealous. Alice bonded with Shaun far too quickly and she got comfortable enough for hugs so fast.

Still, if Shaun has a fairy, he's not actually a threat. He has a soulmate, and that's not Alice. Maybe he and Jack could become friends in this universe too.

Of course, just because Shaun has a fairy doesn't mean he can't wind up with a crush on Alice. Feelings can be complicated that way. Of course his fairy would certainly not be happy with that crush unless they were interested in open relationships.

I mean, all a human really has to do is keep believing in their fairy. If they're both interested in an open relationship rather than monogamy, then why shouldn't they enjoy it?

After all, the human settlements and pirates living in Neverland had to come from somewhere after all. Humans and fairies might not be able to breed, but humans with other humans have mastered that ability.

Ian has some similar feelings of jealousy towards Shaun when they finally meet. It pushes him to strive even harder to achieve his dreams to become a man that Alice would want to be with before her heart is stolen away forever.

Hell, if anything, Ian is more jealous of Shaun than he is of Jack, shockingly enough.

Oh, sure Ian knew that Alice loved Jack more than him, but Jack was just a fairy. It was hard for him not to see the fairies as child-like due to their size and fantastical nature. It could never work out between them, surely.

If Ian just tried harder, if he just proved that he was a better choice than Jack, Shaun or anyone else, then maybe one day he could convince Alice to come home with him. Maybe one day she would understand that she needed to be among her own kind.

Like the fairies that resented humans, Ian too believed that humans didn't belong in Neverland.

Ian didn't know anything about soulmates. He didn't know how fairy society worked or how delicate their existence was. He didn't know the importance of human belief. It wasn't information meant for outsiders. Without a fairy partner, he would always be seen as an outsider.

To Ian, Jack was more of an annoyance and an obstacle. He resented the pranks the fairy pulled on him all the time. He could never prove it was Jack, but he just knew. The looks Jack gave him sometimes and those all too knowing remarks that never quite crossed the line into overt cruelty reminded him of so many bullies he dealt with all his life.

Jack never allowed Ian the chance to spend time alone with Alice for long, especially after they were grown. He also rubbed his closeness with Alice in Ian's face, often resting on her body or snuggling into her cleavage right in front of Ian.

It was innocent when they were still children. As adults, it was anything but. Still, Jack never did anything overtly sexual to Alice in public. He just made his suggestions of their relationship increasingly clear to Ian, even if Ian refused to believe it.

Jack didn't hold himself back because he didn't want to do naughty, naughty things to Alice while others were watching. Oh heavens no. Jack would make love to Alice in front of an entire audience if she wanted.

No, Alice preferred to keep their more intimate moments private, and Jack respected his sunshine's comfort.

Yeah, I know, the inciting incident of the animatic is Peter falling in love with Wendy, but you know me by now. Alice will always choose Jack, just like Jack will always choose Alice. She's not going to fall for Ian, Shaun, or Nick when she has Jack.

Alice fell in love with Jack long ago. Although he fell in love with her the day they met, her feelings grew slowly over time. Love snuck up on her on quiet cat paws until one day the realization pounced on her like a leopard, and she finally understood just how deep her feelings truly were for him.

Alice loves Jack. He's her partner, and she trusts him completely with her heart. Because of their size and species different, someone might be able to mistake their relationship as platonic. Love is clearly there, but someone like Ian can convince themselves that surely it their relationship is nothing more than friends or as found family.

Well, if you're not into extreme size kink, of course. Plenty of artwork online suggests how that sort of size difference might work for sexy times. We all know how creative Jack can be, especially when it comes to taking care of his sunshine and showing her just how much he loves her~

Fortunately, this is an issue that's long since been addressed by fairy kind. There's a commonly known spell that allows them to grow in size for a limited period of time, or to shrink someone else down to their size.

I mean, humans and fairies being soulmates and lovers is something that's existed since as long as fairies have. It'd be silly to assume that they haven't come up with at least a few workarounds for the size difference by now.

While Alice hasn't mentioned to her friends that she regularly is shrunk down to Jack's size for cuddle time, Jack has occasionally shown off his larger transformation for some human-sized surprise cuddles.

Seeing the tiny fairy suddenly turn into a 6'6" giant can intimidate anyone. Ian was shocked when Jack suddenly blew up to such massive proportions before spooning a giggling and blushing Alice from behind.

Those muscles of his suddenly don't look quite so tiny unthreatening anymore.

It's when Jack actually becomes full size in front of Ian that Ian finally is forced to see Jack as a real threat.

Not that Ian ever really had a chance of convincing Alice to leave Jack for him. This just forces him to start to see the truth.

Really, I'd argue that the inadequacy Ian would feel when comparing himself to Jack at giant size might hurt him worse than any prank Jack has ever pulled on him.

While Ian isn't really a threat, Jack can't totally shake away his feelings of insecurity. The introduction of Shaun and then Nick will only give Jack more reasons to feel uneasy. While I don't have solid ideas how and when Nick comes into the picture, and Shaun's place in the timeline isn't quite solid yet, it feels fitting that the presence of the other love interests unintentionally provoke Jack's yandere instincts.

These potential love interests feel like a threat to Jack. The pirates are a threat, even for as ridiculous as Captain Barry Hook can be sometimes. All the dangers that exist in this cold, cruel world can be a potential threat just waiting to steal his sunshine away from him forever.

The worst threat of all is the fragility of the fairy race. It's not just the lives that are lost, it's the fear. They constantly live in fear of losing their lives or the lives of their friends at any time.

It seems so easy for humans to just... stop believing. It's so cruel, so unfair.

Why did fairies have to live such a fragile existence.

While Jack has Alice to give him a solid sense of security, not even she can keep him safe from all of these fears. Seeing what happened to Elias up close, as well as other incidents, burned the seriousness into his brain like a hot iron.

So, much like the second animatic, a more permanent solution seems to be necessary.

The problem is the humans' lack of faith in fairies. The fairies were made to be loved. They were born when humans find joy in their lives for the first time. They are their human's joy and vice-versa.

They were not meant to be forgotten or exploited for selfish greed.

The humans needed to remember that fairies exist. They must be loved, adored, worshipped.

If humanity won't care about fairies, then they will feel the same fear the fairies have had to live with for centuries.

Jack doesn't talk about these secret plans that he and other fairies start plotting in the shadows. He doesn't want to worry Alice. Her heart is already heavy enough with the burden of convincing kids to leave their families for a better life in Neverland. She's so kind and loving. What they have in mind...

Well, it's just better that Alice and the other Lost Ones are kept unaware. All they have to do is be happy and to make their partners happy. The fairies that have their soulmates are the happiest fairies in the world. Nothing good can come of weighing their hearts down with this terrible guilt and shame for what must be done.

Jack and his conspirators will ensure that all of the fairies can be just as happy. They'll take the weight of this burden.

All the fairies look to Jack as an example. He's their beacon of hope. He can't let them down... even if it means doing things he knows are wrong, so very, very wrong.

If the world understood the bond between fairies and their soulmates... if humans were made aware of the importance of fairies and their belief, even if because they feared what might happen otherwise... then no one would be foolish enough to even try to take away a fairy's soulmate.

It might be difficult, it might be harsh, it might even be cruel... but it's for the best. Everyone, both fairies and humans, will be far, far happier in the end.

It's for the best. Jack has to convince himself of that, just like many of his co-conspirators. The more jaded and bitter among them have no doubts, and they're looking to him to be strong. He can't let his resolve weaken when everyone needs him.

Of course, Alice won't be happy when she learns what Jack intends to do or how far he intends to go. She loves him so deeply and is willing to sacrifice so much for him, but this is wrong. This is going way too far.

Forcing humans to believe in fairies through fear and blind worship won't save anyone.

Alice might not be in love with someone else, thus pushing Jack to murder them, but that doesn't mean she can't find herself in opposition to him. She doesn't need the motivation of revenge to motivate her to stop her lover from conquering the world with a terrible display of magic and power.

Jack and Tinkerbell are two very people, so even if they have similar motivations, they won't necessarily make the same choices. Same for Alice and Peter Pan, or any of the other characters in familiar roles. There can be similar broad strokes, but things change in the fine details, and the story can go in unique directions.

While a lot of elements of the animatics apply in this AU, events aren't going to go the same way.

Jack won't treat Alice like a child and mock her, taunting her to kill him. He knows her better than that. He knows that her heart is his, just like his is hers. He knows that she would never want to hurt him. He doesn't want to hurt her either. That's why he'll talk her out of opposing him, stop her from getting hurt trying to resist plans if he has to.

Likewise, Alice doesn't want Jack to hurt. She knows him. She wants fairies and humans to live together happily in peace like they were meant to. She knows that's what he truly wants too, not this insanity! Conquering the humans might force them to believe in fairies and prevent them from being a threat against fairies ever again, but no one will be happy this way!

Jack might have convinced himself that it won't bother him, but Alice knows him better than that. She knows just how deeply it would damage his already scarred heart.

There has to be a better way. Alice might not know what that way is yet, but she knows what it's like to be contained and controlled. She knows what it's like to be forced to love people who don't actually love her in return. Forcing humanity like this won't result in real love, but submission. Even the soulmates yet to be found will learn to fear their fairies instead of love them. She can't let Jack and the rest of the fairies go down this evil path.

Jack adores Alice and her kind heart, but it's hard not to see her perspective as being naïve. He learned so much of humanity's cruelty and greed. She and the Lost Ones... they're the exception, not the rule... and even they can be tempted to forget the person who truly completes them.

How many fairies have died because their soulmate stopped believing in them?

Jack doesn't want to be cruel, but that's what this delicate existence fairies have to live in is. The world is so cold and cruel. Threats will always come for them unless they fight to eliminate them completely.

Love is beautiful and wonderful and warm. Love is the reason for living... but love alone won't keep them safe. Sometimes a firmer hand is necessary.

Even if that means forcing humans to live with a fear comparable to the one that the fairies have lived with for generations.

The conflict between them is Alice trying to talk Jack and the other fairies down. She has to stop him, even if it means opposing him.

But Alice won't take the shot. She won't even consider shooting Jack or attacking him with her knife. She might've fought pirates on a regular basis, gotten into sword fights so many times, but this is Jack.

Instead, Alice would just be trying to restrain him. She would pin him down with tears in her eyes and beg him to stop. I'd argue seeing that his sunshine in tears and hurting so much because of his actions might do more damage to Jack than an arrow through the heart.

Overall, I can see fairy Jack going down a similar villainous path as Tinkerbell did in the animatic, even if Alice were to choose him rather than any other love interest. He might be safe and loved, but that doesn't stop his heart from being wounded and scarred from all of the death and fear he and his kind have had to live with.

Of course, with my preference for happy endings with my OTP, I don't see this AU having a Bad End. Sure there will be conflict, drama, and plenty of tears, but there's so much love too.

Jack and Alice are soulmates after all. They can't live without each other, nor do they want to.

Somehow, Alice will get through to Jack. Even if it seems impossible, they'll somehow find a better way so that no one has to suffer anymore. Love is stronger than fear.

I think I'll wrap things up on that optimistic note. I'm kind of surprised that this post got as long as it did, but that's what happens when you do a lot of worldbuilding. There's just so many parts of the world and its characters to touch on. For as long as I've gone on, I've still barely scratched the surface!

Please let me know if you would like me to revisit this AU in the future. I hope you enjoyed my attempt at combining Sunny Day Jack, these animatics, and the world of Peter Pan and Neverland in general into one big cohesive story. Thank you for reading!

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lady--vixen · 24 days ago

Text

youtube

HI REN

Hi there Ren, it's been a little while, did you miss me? You thought you'd buried me, didn't you? Risky 'Cause I always come back, deep down, you know that Deep down, you know I'm always in the periphery

Ren, aren't you pleased to see me? It's been weeks since we spoke bro, I know you need me You're the sheep, I'm the shepherd, not your place to lead me Not your place to be biting off the hand that feeds me

Hi Ren, I've been taking some time to be distant I've been taking some time to be still I've been taking some time to be by myself Since my therapist told me I'm ill

And I've been making some progress lately And I've learnt some new coping skills So I haven't really needed you much, man I think we need to just step back and chill

Ren, you sound more insane than I do You think that those doctors are really there to guide you? You've been through this a million times Your civilian mind is so perfect at always being lied to

Okay, take another pill boy Drown yourself in the sound of white noise Follow this ten-step program, rejoice All your problems will be gone! Fuckin' dumb boy

Nah, mate, this time it's different, man, trust me I feel like things might be falling in place And my music's been kinda doing bits too Like I actually might do something great

And when I'm gone, maybe I'll be remembered For doing something special with myself That's why I don't think that we should talk, man 'Cause when you're with me, it never seems to help

You think that you can amputate me? I am you, you are me, you are I, I am we We are one, split in two that makes one, so you see You got to kill you if you wanna kill me

I'm not left over dinner, I'm not scraps on the side Oh, your music is thriving? Delusional guy Where's your top ten hit? Where's your interview with Oprah? Where are your Grammies, Ren? Nowhere!

Yeah, but, my music's not commercial like that I never chased numbers, statistics or stats I never write hooks for the radio, they never even play me So why would I concern myself with that? But my music is really connecting And the people who find it, respect it And for me, that's enough 'cause this life's been tough So it gives me a purpose I can rest in

Man, you sound so pretentious Ren, your music is so self-centred No one wants to hear another song about How much you hate yourself, trust me You should be so lucky, having me inside you to guide you Remind you to manage expectations Provide you perspective, that thing you neglected, I get it You wanna be a big deal, next Jimi Hendrix? Forget it

Man, it's not like that Man it's just like that, I'm inside you, you twat No, it's not man, you're wrong, when I write, I belong Let me break the fourth wall by acknowledging this song

Ren sits down, has a stroke of genius He wants to write a song that was not done previous A battle with his subconscious, Eminem did it Played on guitar, Plan B did it

Man, you're not original, you criminal, rip-off artist The pinnacle of your success is stealing other people's material Ren, mate, we've heard it all before Uh, "she sells seashells on the sea shore"

Fuck you, I don't need you, I don't need to hear this 'Cause I'm fine by myself, I'ma genius And I will be great, and I will make waves And I'll shake up the whole world beneath us

That's right, speak your truth, your fuckin' God complex leaks out of you It's refreshing to actually hear you say it instead of downplay it "Ugh, music Is all about the creative process and if people can find Something to relate to within that, then that's just a bonus"

Fuck you, I'ma fuckin' kill you, Ren Well fuckin' kill me then, let's fuckin' have you Ren I'm a do it, watch me prove it, who are you to doubt my music? 'Cause I call the shots. I choose if you die Yeah, I call the shots, and so I who choose who survives I'll tie you up in knots when I'll lock you inside

News flash I was created at the dawn of creation I am temptation, I am the snake in Eden I am the reason for treason, beheading all Kings I am sin with no rhyme or reason Sun of the morning, Lucifer, antichrist Father of lies, Mestophilies Truth in a blender, deceitful pretender The banished avenger, the righteous surrender

When standing in-front of my solar eclipse My name it is stitched to your lips, so, you see I won't bow to the will of a mortal, feeble and normal You wanna kill me? I'm enteral, immortal I live in every decision that catalysed chaos That causes division I live inside death, the beginning of ends I am you, you are me, I am you, Ren

Hi Ren, I've been taking some time to be distant I've been taking some time to be still I've been taking some time to be by myself And I've spent half my life ill

But just as sure as the tide starts turning Just as sure as the night has dawn Just as sure as rainfall soon runs dry When you stand in an eye of the storm

I was made to be tested and twisted I was made to be broken and beat I was made by His hand, it's all part of His plan That I stand on my own two feet And you know me, my will is eternal And you know me, you've met me before Face-to-face with a beast, I will rise from the east And I'll settle on the ocean floor

And I go by many names also Some people know me as "hope" Some people know me as the voice that you hear When you loosen the noose on the rope And you know how I know that I'll prosper? 'Cause I stand here beside you today I have stood in the flames that cremated my brain And I didn't once flinch or shake

So cower at the man I've become, when I sing from the top of my lungs That I won't retire, I'll stand in your fire, inspire the weak to be strong And when I am gone, I will rise in the music that I left behind Ferocious, persistent, immortal like you, we're a coin with two different sides

When I was 17 years old, I shouted out into an empty room Into a blank canvas, that I would defeat the forces of evil And for the next ten years of my life, I suffered the consequences With autoimmunity, illness, and psychosis

As I got older, I realised that there were no real winners And there were no real losers in physiological warfare But there were victims and there were students It wasn't David versus Goliath, it was a pendulum Eternally swayin' from the dark to the light And the more intensely that the light shone, the darker the shadow it cast

It was never really a battle for me to win, it was an eternal dance And like a dance, the more rigid I became, the harder it got The more I cursed my clumsy footsteps, the more I struggled So I got older and I learned to relax And I learned to soften and that dance got easierIt is this eternal dance that separates human beings From angels, from demons, from gods And I must not forget, we must not forget That we are human beings

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

Questo a dimostrare che quando qualcuno ha davvero qualcosa da dire, ti colpisce in faccia pure se appartiene a un mondo che non è il tuo e magari nemmeno capisci. L'arte è quelle cosa che arriva improvvisa come un calcio nel culo pure se non sai darle un nome. Provate a sentire.

#ren #hi ren #Youtube

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obae-me · 10 months ago

Note

Don’t mind me it’s really late at night and I’m in a bit of a yearning mood… This ended up being more angsty then I intended that’s my bad-

Do you think Lucifer dreams of loving MC? That nearly every night he dreams of holding them in his arms to unwind after a harsh day of work, of soft kisses by candlelight, of inviting them to the music room so they can listen to one of his beloved records and dance together, of sharing hushed moments of a type of vulnerability he can’t remember the last time he felt?

Do you think he wakes up from his dreams too soon to a cold half empty bed and remembers that he’s here all on his own with the human he loves far away and blissfully unaware of his predicament? He gets a harsh reality check when he remembers that despite all his dreams and fantasies he’s still alone simply because he’s too scared to say his true feelings? How ironic, the embodiment of confidence and pride, scared to talk about insignificant emotions. Are they even insignificant though? They certainly don’t feel like it to Lucifer, how trivial…

I want my men YEARNING and CONFLICTED-

(Sorry I answered this late, life has been super hectic and I've been taking a social media break but I'm semi back now! We're battling that burnout!) I LOVE yearning! SO MUCH! Especially when it involves Lucifer because it feels so much more complex and impactful (but I'm probably just biased). So, I hope you don't mind me using this ask as an excuse to do a writing warmup since I haven't done anything creative for a while.

Warning for angst and some hurt/no comfort (I'm sorry!)

A tiny seed, thriving and new, ready to be cultivated. Its creation a mystery. Filled with life, hope, and the promise of a forbidden fruit. And what did he do? Crushed it. Destroyed it as soon as the hint of it reared its ugly head.

At first, he wasn't quite sure what it was. So, foolishly, he allowed it to stay, to plant itself in the recesses of his chest where it could rest safe for a while. Just until he figured out what this anomaly meant. Where did it come from? Why? What was it that kept him up at night and stole his focus from his work?

It wasn't till he and the human had found themselves in a quiet moment alone. All he had done was head to their room to inform them of... He can't even remember the details. Can't even recall if there had been an original purpose in the first place. Lucifer had caught them getting ready for the night, sitting in their bed with a pillow held against their chest as they slouched forward, scrolling through their D.D.D.. Immediately, he found himself giving them a mini-lecture on how being glued to a device right before bed would keep them from sleeping properly. It was their duty to-- the usual gist. In the midst of the lecture, his words caught in his own throat as he noticed them hugging the pillow sleepily- albeit a little annoyed with him- staring at his face with their head tilted off to the side.

The seedling was beginning to sprout.

All the pieces clicked into place, a deafening rattle in his head. The lecture ended unfinished, the details he had wished to share with them ignored. He simply bid them a good night before leaving their room. When he returned to his own space, he examined the sprout that had grown. Gentle, just a weak little thing. Plucked. Ripped from the roots, he pressed the heel of his boot against it and wasn't satisfied till it turned to dust.

Feelings? Affection? And for a human? Unacceptable. It had been a mistake to keep it so close to his heart when he had been unaware of its origins.

And he went about his days like normal, feeling colder than he had in weeks.

It was a sigh of relief really. Keeping a plant like that around would only serve him trouble. It required care and attention he did not have the time to give. It was best for everyone involved to nip it in the bud before it had the chance to bloom. After a few days of settling back into normalcy, he found the courage to approach the human again without the pesky irrationalities attached.

A pain. Stabbing. A random tug in his chest and a grip on his throat. The very sight of them now caused him this new affliction. The plant had propagated, wormed an offshoot in the shadows of his marrow and spread throughout his body like a vile invasive weed. It was choking him. It felt like it was killing him.

He tore. He razed. He dug at it with his very fingertips as the thorns his scorn and bitterness had cultured shredded the skin of his hands.

It would not go away so easily.

Madness began to plague his mind. The more he desperately tried to free himself, the deeper the thing embedded. He couldn't stand at the human's side without imagining the warmth of their hand against his. Couldn't walk past the kitchen without checking if they were in their bedroom. Couldn't listen to his favorite records without imagining slowly rocking back and forth with them, their heads resting against each other. Several nights now, he'd awoken from a dream about them. Typically starting out as nightmares, either swamped with work, inprisioned in isolation, or burnt by betrayal. But before his mind could spiral into darkness in those drowsy tragedies, they would come. Lucifer would always hold them in their arms, his face buried in their hair or their clothes, kissing their cheeks, their hands, their shoulders. It was peace. Bliss.

Until he would wake up.

The loneliness was more torturous than he ever imagined it would be. If this was love, he didn't want it. But he did. Sins alive, he did. He wanted to scream till his lungs burst. He wanted the demon in him to run rampant and rebuild everything in his own perfect image. He begged this plant to sprout the poisoned apple so he could bring it to his lips and drown in its tempting flavor.

And the thought of that terrified him.

But what was he to do? Tell them? No...surely not. He'd already seen some of the ways they looked at him. This plant was already vindictive, tangling around his raw vulnerabilities. If he were to be rejected...he doubted it would die. More than likely, it would fester, ruining him completely.

Lucifer, Pride, the Morningstar, see what he'd been reduced to now. Fearful over telling a human his own thoughts. Losing control over something as simple as a basic juvenile feeling.

Ignoring it was hurting him. Feeding it was anguishing him. No matter what he did, it all resulted in the same endless suffering.

And every day he would wake up, nod curtly towards them at breakfast, and go through the same personal hell all over again.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #obey me lucifer #obey me lucifer x mc #angst #hurt/no comfort

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i-am-beckyu · 4 months ago

Text

Patience is a Virtue and Trust is Earned

A continuation of my Christmas fic One Small Gift

AYOOOOO! 3RD YEAR IN A ROW I'VE WRITTEN A CHRISTMAS FIC! LETS GO! I've been writing this fic on and off for almost a year ever since posting the first fic and got a few people wanting a sequel so congratulations!! You got your wish!!!

I recommend reading the first fic if you haven't already as this fic references plot that may not make sense without context so please consider reading it first before reading on. I'm gonna ramble on at the end of this fic but without further ado, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ENJOY!!!

cw: fear, lying, panic and anxiety, hidden identity, magic and a TONNE of fluff and whimsey!

word count: 9180

Disclaimer! This story is based on the characters of the Dream SMP and not the real life content creators. Anything that occurs in this story is purely fiction and should be treated as such. Thank you.

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Borrowers.

Tiny scavengers that take human things for survival.

Well, that’s what all the articles say.

Wilbur leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head. His back popped from the unhealthy way he’d been hunched over his computer for the last few hours, but he hardly noticed as he scrolled the internet.

“Yet another useless article that tells me nothing about how to actually coax one out.” He sighed dejectedly.

Now you are absolutely right, he should be studying right now while at University and not googling Borrowers again for the millionth time, but it’s not like he wanted to risk doing it at home. No way was he going to jeopardise having Tommy leave.

It had been a few weeks since Wilbur had met the young boy that fateful Christmas Eve and he was positive they hadn’t left. Not when he was now able to recognise the tell tale signs of a scavenger living in his walls. But the man was getting a tad testy about not being able to speak to them in person.

Over and over Wilbur had to tell himself that Tommy trusted Santa Claus, not him. If they ever got a tiny hint that he knew of their existence, then that would be it and the boy would be gone. If a Borrower was seen, the rule they set for themselves was they had to leave no matter the circumstances. Staying after being seen was an absolute no no and never worth the risk. The articles had been very extensive on that point.

His other option to try and unknowingly lure the boy out wasn’t going very well either. Every idea seemed either too obvious, or too dangerous to attempt. (No he definitely did not consider using a mouse trap…)

Tommy was smart enough to avoid those anyway.

But he couldn’t ignore the growing urge to speak to them despite how foolish it would be to do so. It’s not like he could just walk straight up to Tommy’s wall and be like: “Hi I’m Wilbur but you already know that and I know you’re living in my walls. Sorry for ruining your house and kidnapping you haha.”

…

Yeah that would definitely send Tommy packing.

So like anyone does when they’ve run out of ideas, Wilbur rushed to the internet and started doing his research.

Borrowers- who are they, and how to befriend one.

Surprisingly, it seemed there were definitely people who knew about them. The few articles proof enough; but no one seemed to know anything further or wanted to speak up about how they knew what they did. The few authors or bloggers he’d emailed ended up ghosting him when asked to elaborate or rudely shut him down (looking at you PandasCanPVP) and though it did make sense they didn’t answer his questions; protect the borrowers and their code etc, it was still damn frustrating that no one was open to helping him.

He’d at least done a few things to aid Tommy a bit more. He left more food out for longer than required and on the lower shelves so the blonde didn’t have to go to such lengths for a meal, and he’d creatively turned an unused draw into a junk draw and filled it with a bunch of mismatched items with multiples of each so that Tommy didn’t have to worry about him getting suspicious. (He definitely did not smile when he counted 6 paper clips instead of 7)

But there wasn’t really anything more he could do in terms of coaxing Tommy out. Wilbur just had to hope that either his message as Santa got through to him, or that he’d catch sight of Tommy one day and have an opportunity to acknowledge his existence. He hoped for the first of the two, but he’d take either to just make progress with the boy at all.

At least he had peace of mind they were doing better now then they had been before Christmas Eve. Niki was an absolute legend for helping him make all those tiny gifts. So yes he owed Nicki a massive favour when he absolutely bamboozled her for showing up outside her front door in the middle of the night and begged her for help to make tiny clothes for Tommy without explaining what for and why he needed them done that night. And yes he’d had to suck it up Christmas Day when he was tired as hell from working through the night to do it, but not for a second did Wilbur regret it when he knew how happy those gifts would have made the Borrower child.

It took everything in him not to tell his family about the encounter too, not wanting to risk the blonde hearing him, but it was for the best. One day it was going to pay off and then he could properly apologise for what he had done and get Tommy home.

Even if it meant he’d never really get to know the little guy, he would do it!

And that was a promise.

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This Wilbur guy was weird.

Did he have any reasons to back that statement up?

NOPE!

Wilbur was just decidedly a wrong-un and that was a good enough reason for him to accept.

Tommy had been finding his time in Wilbur’s walls a lot more pleasant now that he had some proper supplies. Santa really did spoil him rotten with all the extra gifts and was making getting by so much more achievable than what he had been previously. Even before his kidnapping, living in the forest certainly did not come with quite the same number of luxuries that living in a Human Beans house did.

For one: Constant food source.

Wilbur was one sloppy guy.

Bean did not seem very keen on putting things away properly before he left the house for hours at a time for this ‘You-knee-verse-it-tea’ thingy he went to for school. Anyone normal would probably think he was a slob, but for Tommy it was the golden ticket to trying foods he’d never even dreamed of! Did you know bread could actually taste good when it wasn’t mouldy?

Wilbur’s house was just a treasure trove of things to borrow from and Tommy had pretty much anything and everything he could ever want here. He still had plans to get back to his nook home, but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to stay for awhile longer while he figured out where home actually was.

There wasn’t really a rush to leave with all the snow still about anyways. He couldn’t be the bestest Borrower ever if he was frozen solid before he got home, but he couldn’t help but think about what Santa had said.

‘He’s not as scary as you think’

After the whole meeting with the REAL Santa, Tommy hadn’t felt the same. After being so used to the isolation of the forest, physically talking to someone that wasn’t an animal or a tree had left the Borrower a tad empty. He’d spoken to someone, and they had spoken and listened back. The candy cane card sat in front of his bed and every day Tommy would wake up and reread the message and reminisce about that fateful night.

It seemed bonkers to the boy, the idea of actually speaking to another Human Bean, but Santa’s kindness and words seemed to ring loud in his head. He’d been longing to talk to someone again for so long, and after observing Wilbur all this time; the Bean hadn’t done anything to suggest that they were a bad person. Believing that Santa was telling the truth wasn’t hard, but the thought of willingly revealing himself? Well it was easier said than done.

Because what if Santa was wrong?

What if Wilbur was kind to other Beans but looked at him and decided he was more of a ‘Tommy shaped pet’ instead of an actual person? Just what would he do when he held all power over him? He would be powerless to stop them and could quite easily end off worse than where he started.

Tommy tried to shake the thoughts away before he thought too hard about it.

Wilbur would never catch him.

That wasn’t going to happen if he could help it.

Speak of the devil and they shall appear, as the sound of faint keys being slid into a lock as it clicked, signalled the return of said Bean. The man gently opened and shut the door as they sighed before walking into the kitchen, as Tommy listened intently to their routine.

Put their bag down on the table. Open and close the fridge Shuffle through the cupboards for something to eat. Take out a box of half eaten crackers. Eat one and toss the rest on the bench for later.

Move into the bedroom to relax and close the door with a soft-

‘Click’

Tommy grinned mischievously to himself.

Now was his time to shine.

It might be foolish to any other Borrower to take food while a Bean was actively awake and home, but Tommy had seen Wilbur do this enough times to know now that that man was not going anywhere for at least another 20 to 40 minutes while they de-stressed their day away watching Tikky Toks on their phone, and there was no way he was wasting the opportunity to get food while it was easy access on the bench right now.

Silently, Tommy grabbed his hook and borrowing bag as he made his way through the maze of walls to the kitchen outlet. Just a quick trip and Dinner would be acquired.

Easy.

With little effort, Tommy slipped the electrical cover off the outlet to the kitchen, double checking the coast was clear before making a move straight for the crackers.

“Ugh, Seaweed again?” Tommy scrunched his nose up at the obnoxious packaging.

He really shouldn’t be complaining about the easy borrow, but the blonde knew there were BBQ flavoured ones up on the high shelf he couldn’t reach. Stupid Wilbur gatekeeping his favourite snacks. Okay, unknowingly sure, but come on; Seaweed? The same stuff fish eat? Yuck.

Secretly the boy actually didn’t mind them too much but it does get a bit much eating the same thing 5 nights in a row. Better plan a supply trip to the high shelves next time Wilbur’s out to get stocked up with a bit more variety Tommy decided, as he opened his bag and stored a broken up cracker.

As he gathered up his borrowings, the unusual pangs of an instrument in pain sounded down the hall. Tommy gasped as he sped up his movements before grabbing his hook and hastily making his way down to the ground. Another few pangs of an off note sounded through the walls as Wilbur messed with his guitar strings.

Looked like it was dinner and a show tonight!

Lady Life’s music of the Forest was good and all, but Tommy never knew music like Wilbur’s even existed till he got to experience it one night. It was just like tonight, Wilbur in the other room with Tommy borrowing before the man started doing what was called ‘tuning the guitar’ to get the instrument in the right key.

Tommy thought he’d been destroying the poor instrument until they started playing a song he didn’t know. The brunette had talent and listening to them play felt like a private concert just for him. It wasn’t long before Tommy had crossed the kitchen and was back in the walls to Wilbur’s bedroom, nestled atop the Bean’s shelf out of sight in a discarded Beanie.

The soft strum of the guitar filled the room and Tommy found himself relaxing to the constant rhythm. It was easy to just let himself drift and sway with the melody. The way it put him at ease was almost hypnotic, but the boy found he didn’t care if it meant he could indulge in it forever.

Wilbur had been working on this song for awhile and it had quickly become one of his favourites. There were many times he had wanted nothing more than to cheer and clap whenever the Human Bean had finished playing, but the lingering fear of being caught was ever present in the boy's mind. This however didn’t seem to defer his ever growing loneliness.

‘Would it be so bad if he were to talk to Wilbur?’

‘What if he was one of the so-called good Beans?’

‘What if he had a chance to make a friend?’

Tommy peaked over the edge of the shelf down to where Wilbur was busy absorbed in his playing. How would he even approach them? It’s not like he could just walk out into the open and be like: ‘Hi I’m Tommy and I’ve been living in your walls ever since you kidnapped me and using all your stuff. Want to be friends?’

…

Yeah that’s definitely going to result in him winding up in a jar or something.

If only Santa Claus was still here. It was his suggestion to befriend them in the first place so he’d probably know exactly what to say and do.

Wait, THAT WAS IT!!!

Why didn’t he think of this sooner? Why not just ask Santa what to do! It made perfect sense! He’s a Bean and talks to them all the time so obviously he would know exactly how he could approach them!

Tommy crept back into the walls and quickly ran off in the direction of the house's study.

He had a letter to write.

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“Okay, Dear Santa…” Tommy said out loud as he began to write in his best handwriting.

As soon as he’d found an unused marker in the study, Tommy had been quick to fashion it into one his size from the red tip. His hands had been stained red, but red was the poggest colour ever so he didn’t mind. He had gone to start writing a letter with some borrowed paper back in his home that night, but quickly realised Santa probably wouldn’t be able to read his letter if the letter was written in his regular handwriting- AKA too small to read with Santa’s bad eyesight from being old. This would require a bigger piece of paper and writing with his Big Man writing skills!

That also meant needing a bigger piece of paper and room to write it which meant waiting for Wilbur to leave and that took far too long with it being a Sunday. Tommy had had to wait HOURS for Wilbur to leave to do the grocery shopping, but at least it meant he’d be out for awhile and the Bean had left the kitchen window open, so it was a good day to enjoy some fresh air, albeit if it was a bit cold still and windy.

So with his new marker in hand and a few sheets of Wilbur's scrap pieces of paper from the Kitchen, Tommy now had everything he could possibly need to write his letter.

“Dear Santa.”

…

“---Dear Santa?”

… … …

“Dear Santaaaaaaaa UGHHH WHY IS THIS SO HARD!?”

Well, everything but the right words…

“It shouldn’t be this difficult!” The boy complained, as he crossed out another attempt at writing.

“Dear Santa, so you know how you said to talk to Wilbitch? How exactly do I do that?”

Tommy groaned as he furiously scribbled over the dear santa line before flopping himself on top of the stack of papers. He had been trying to write this letter for 15 minutes and he was getting frustrated. He just didn’t know how to start the letter.

Get straight to the point or ease into?

Is there even a way to write a letter correctly?

6 year old Beans do this for goodness sake!

He just wanted to ask for the best way to approach Wilbur without the worst occurring. He knew the Beans schedule so he could probably work out a good time to talk to them based on their mood but he also still had to get over the idea of willingly exposing himself and that he definitely needed Santa’s help with. Not to forget to mention he still had to thank Santa for all his gifts too! He honestly couldn’t thank him enough for what he had done and the Borrower wanted the old man to know that.

Perhaps just being honest would be the best way to write this? Get it all down in one go and out in the open so he and Santa were completely on the same page. It was at least worth a shot. Wilbur would be back soon and he needed to get something written before that. With a little more internal deliberation, Tommy took a deep breath, and began to write.

Line after line the Borrower wrote his letter- as well as stopping to rest his aching hand as the letter grew longer letting the words flow as best he could. It wasn’t perfect, but then again he added pictures and doodles to make it better so he’s pretty sure that evens it out.

The last thing he needed to do was address the letter to Santa and get it to the letterbox. With his best precision skills, Tommy folded the letter in half and wrote on the front in his best writing.

TO: SANTA

NORTH POLE

Once he was done, Tommy stepped back to admire his handy work.

It was a bit wonky and anything but fancy, but for the first letter he’s ever written, it wasn’t too bad for a giant letter written by a Borrower.

Now all that was left was to deliver it. The boy quickly put his marker away into his borrowing bag and cleaned up the stack of papers back into a neat pile like how he found it, discarding any of his first bad attempts in the bottom of the bin where Wilbur wouldn’t find it, before moving to the window with the letter in tow.

Now the best way to get the letter to Santa would be to post it and Tommy had seen some Human Beans put letters in their letter box before on the big black box, and then they were taken to be delivered like magic, so that made the most logical sense to him. He’d have to go outside to send it, but if he went now and waited till the sun went down, he would be able to scale the letterbox under the cover of darkness and do it with less risk.

Tommy set the letter down beside him as he prepared to descend from the window sill to the outside world. The wind had picked up a little bit, but the Borrower was confident in his abilities to scale down the wall without any issues. Just like climbing up and down the trees back in the forest. Hook in, and descend down. Piece of cake.

Once he was sure his hook was secure, Tommy gathered up the letter in one arm before raising his other to shield his eyes from the setting sun, basking in the serenity of the afternoon as a chilly breeze blew through his golden curls.

Tommy exhaled a content sigh. He missed watching the sunset through the trees of the forest, the soft music of trees swaying and birds chirping as they did their birdie things. Hopefully he’d be reunited with his old nook and could enjoy them like he once did again soon. His letter was sure to fix everything.

Santa would fix everything.

Tommy gently closed his eyes to savour the feeling one last time, but the boy lingered for just a moment too long as a strong gust of wind was all it took to throw the Borrower off balance and snatch his letter from his grasp, sending it flying off with the wind.

“NO!” The blonde shouted, watching as his letter drifted left and right off into the distance.

It was almost magical in a sense, as he watched how it danced through the air and Tommy had to wonder, what if that was intentional. Santa had managed to do things he didn’t think possible with his magic, so perhaps he knew when letters were addressed to him and sent a magic wind to collect it for him?

Yeah that made sense! Good old Santa Claus looking out for his favourite Borrower! Prime he should have thanked Santa more in his letter.

Satisfied with coming to this conclusion, Tommy packed up his gear before heading back to the walls for a well deserved rest; blissfully unaware of the true whereabouts of his letter as it drifted through the wind over buildings and roads, before finally flying straight into a certain brunettes face on his way back from the shops.

“What on Earth?!” Wilbur grabbed at the piece of paper from his face prepared to throw it away before abruptly coming to a stop to read the bright, red scrawl across the front.

“Okay, interesting spelling.” Wilbur examined the poorly addressed letter.

It was obviously a lost Christmas letter written on what looked like sheet music from some kid judging by the spelling and array of doodles. Little faces in the O’s to make it look like Santa, but obnoxiously written in capital letters to make it stand out. It made him think of Tommy and how he went into all the finer details of his life that he couldn’t help but opt to read the childish letter and pique his growing curiosity.

Dear Santa

Hi, it's Tommy! TommyInnit the Borrower you spoke to on Christinimass Eve. I’m sure I don’t need to explain which Tommy to you being the most amazing Tommy to exist ever but anyways I’m writing this letter to ask for your help.

Firstly, thank you for all the pogger gifts. They’re all so AWESOME so thank you! (Like seriously, you are the Greatest Man alive- After me of course >:3 )

Anyways, the reason I sent you this letter. You know Wilbitch Wilbur? The Human Bean that kidnapped me? Well I’ve decided to be the bigger man and befriend him despite him kidnapping me and destroying my home (You know it’s still in his living room slowly dying? Weirdo).

Thing is, I don’t really know how to do that. I know you said I can trust him, but I’m still scared of what he might do to me if he finds out I’ve been using and taking his stuff. I know his schedule by heart at this point and wait till he leaves to get anything done outside the walls, but ever since talking to you I’ve felt so lonely. I loved talking to you but I know I can’t do that with you all the time so I’m willing to give the Bean a chance.

Do you have any ideas for how I can talk to him?

Thank you for your help and if you do this I won’t even ask for a Christmas present this year!!! Seriously I won’t!!! I would just like a friend.

From the coolest Borrower ever,

-Tommy

P.S. You’re the best.

Wilbur couldn’t believe his eyes.

It- It was a letter to Santa, from Tommy.

His Tommy.

This was it! This was his in, his chance!!!

Wilbur carefully folded the letter back in half and slipped it into his trench coat pocket before hurrying home, formulating a plan of action the whole way. Finally he had a shot to befriend Tommy and there was no way he was going to waste it.

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Waiting.

Waiting..

More waiting…

Great. Just great.

Wilbur couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to the clock on the class room wall. His leg bounced in anticipation as the minutes ticked by to the end of the day. He should really be listening to his lecturer, but it was almost impossible to do so when all the uni student could think of was getting home as quickly as possible.

The only way to catch Tommy would be by surprise, and to do that would be to break his schedule.

Wilbur couldn’t lie and say he didn’t love a well structured schedule. It was the only way he found he really ever got anything done and if sticking to his timed out plan was the way to do that, then so be it. Sometimes that meant postponing other things like hangouts and was a pain, but right now it was his ticket to meeting one Borrower.

His Plan- Get home an hour earlier than normal by skipping study and hope to catch Tommy in the open.

Okay, so yes the whole plan was just one big gamble. It’s not like he got home at exactly the same time every day so he doubted Tommy was going to be out borrowing still even if he was home early, but it’s the best idea he’s got. The letter said Tommy knew his schedule so being early was rarity for him. It’s not going to hurt to give it a try.

He’ll either see Tommy, or he won’t.

Wilbur idly traced the words of Tommy's letter as he sat and waited for his lecturer to signal the end of class. So much energy and bright smiles were hidden beneath the red writing and he wanted to know it all.

After what felt like an eternity, his lecture finally ended and the brunette wasted no time in gathering up his things and racing out the door. He didn’t really need to sprint home, especially given that the roads were still a bit icy, but there was no time to waste.

It only took a matter of minutes for him to reach the end of his street, huffing and panting. He took his time walking down to his house allowing himself to catch his breath and recompose himself for the task at hand.

This was a stealth operation. No loud noises allowed.

Wilbur treaded lightly up to his front door, taking out his keys holding the key chains tight to prevent any jingling sounds before slipping the key in the lock. He turned the key as slowly as he dared, opening the door in a similar manner, before poking his head inside the door frame, eyes immediately looking to spots he thought the small borrower child might be hiding.

No signs of Tommy.

Wilbur crept into the hallway, closing the door behind him with a loud click. “Shoot.” he muttered before slapping a hand over his mouth sharply, before realising his mistake as he cringed at the slight stinging pain now blooming across his jaw.

‘Don’t talk, you idiot!’ Wilbur internally chastised himself.

Ignoring his first blunder, Wilbur quietly shuffled across the carpet to peek into the living room. Nothing appeared out of place, and Tommy’s spot on the book shelf remained as empty as ever.

‘Not here,’ Wilbur thought as he turned and tiptoed across the hallway. ‘Try the kitchen. Just slow and steady, keep quiet, move slow and steady and- ‘CREAKKKKKKK’ An old floorboard groaned loudly as it took the man’s weight.

‘So much for stealth.’

Holding onto a sliver of hope he hadn’t messed up, Wilbur peered into the kitchen. Just like the living room, everything remained untouched and just the same as ever. Wilbur sighed heavily, dropping his bag loudly in defeat. If Tommy had been here, there was no way he hadn’t heard that floorboard move.

Resigning himself to his failed efforts, Wilbur didn’t bother to stay quiet as he trudged into the kitchen defeated. He flung the kitchen cupboard open, grabbing the BBQ crackers from the top shelf cracking the package open. He then grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and his bag from the floor before moving off to his room.

So his one and only plan didn’t work, now what was he going to do? Guess he’d have to try and think of another time to break his schedule that wouldn’t compromise his study life a different way.

The brunette sighed as he grabbed his phone, chucking on one of his favourite playlists and booting up his Bluetooth speaker. Might as well do some study since he skipped his study block back at the campus. It was as he sat down his stomach suddenly grumbled.

Oh, right- the crackers.

Wilbur rose from his chair and moved through the halls before abruptly coming to a stop and hiding behind the kitchen door. There was movement from the BBQ Crackers packet. The man’s breath got stuck in his throat as he watched a tiny blonde boy emerge from the packaging with a cracker looking extremely pleased with themself, as they set it down next to a little blue bag.

Tommy.

Wilbur couldn’t help but stare as he watched the boy work. He should have known that Tommy would come out for food. It never occurred to him that he would try and get the discarded crackers when they were left out on the bench. It was dangerous for the Borrower considering he was home and could be seen, but it was easy access for the boy so of course the risk would be worth it.

With careful precision to avoid the creaky floorboards, Wilbur crept forward. Said blonde had crawled back into the Crackers packet and was distracted. He didn’t want to scare Tommy away, but the boy was far too close to the electrical socket and he’d determined it was a wall entry/exit a while ago. The last thing he wanted was for Tommy to bolt.

It wasn’t till he was about a step or two away that the Borrower popped back out of the bag with another cracker in tow.

It was now or never.

“Ahem,” Wilbur cleared his throat and tried not to feel guilty, as he watched the Borrower on the bench flinch, stumbling back in surprise. “Hi there.”

Wilbur remained completely still as he watched in anticipation for what the blonde would do next. Tommy’s face seemed to morph 100 different ways all at once before stopping at terrified as they processed the situation. The pure terror on the Borrowers face showed he knew there was no escaping this, as their eyes darted around trying to formulate the next best course of action despite their seemingly ‘dire’ situation, but Wilbur continued to remain calm.

He needed Tommy to understand he wasn’t in danger.

The silence stretched on for a few more moments, only broken by the sound of the cracker Tommy had been clutching to his chest, snapping into several pieces. The borrower was so frightened for being caught, he’d subconsciously been clutching the cracker tighter and tighter till it snapped.

“Can I help with that?” Wilbur asked, pointing to the broken cracker in the boy's lap as he stepped closer.

Tommy was fast to react. The blonde sprung to his feet, cracker and equipment forgotten as they bolted for the electrical socket.

“No wait, STOP!” Wilbur cried as lunged forward to stop the boy. Before he even realised what he’d done, he’d swept the Borrower up in his hand, the boy now kicking and screaming in his grasp.

“LET ME GO!!!” he shrieked as they dug and scratched their nails into Wilbur's skin.

Tommy felt the way the hand flexed as he did so, but his attempts weren’t enough to get the man to budge. This was only the second time he’d ever been picked up by a human, and it was nothing like the way Santa had treated him. It felt far too tight and confining and Tommy wanted nothing more than to be free of it. Tommy always knew that Human Beans could be fast, but he never realised just how fast they actually might be.

His futile attempt to make it back to the walls had been wishful thinking at best. Now the very real threat of his head being popped off for being caught stealing the Bean's food had his heart hammering out of his chest. He was going to continue his plans of bloody murder, but as his stomach lurched and he was lifted up and away from the counter, all attempts died off as he was brought closer to his impending doom's face. He couldn’t suppress the small whimper that slipped as his body shook as the Bean seemingly studied every inch of him, before their eyebrows furrowed.

“Hey, hey it’s alright.” Wilbur reassured. “I’m not going to hurt you Tommy.”

Tommy’s blood ran cold.

How did he know his name?

No, no he couldn’t have. He’d been careful. Never seen, not once. There was no way Wilbur could have known he was here let alone his name right? Right???

“How the heck do you know my name?” he spat.

Did this mean they knew he was here? Had the Bean been trying to lure him out this entire time just so they could trap him and punish him for taking their stuff?

“Ahhh so about that..” Wilbur began before quickly adjusting his grip and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, thin piece of paper with red scribbled all over it. “I got your letter. It didn’t quite make it to the North Pole I’m afraid.”

Tommy couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was his letter to Santa.

All his worst fears were confirmed in the Beans grasp. If Wilbur had his letter then that meant he DEFINITELY had read it and would know everything!! As if magic wind was a real thing! Prime, why did he think writing to Santa when it was no longer Christmas would be a good idea?

“Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you Tommy, I just want to talk honestly.” Wilbur tried to reassure as he placed the letter down. The boy only shook his head in response, trembling as they squeezed their eyes shut expecting the worst.

“Okay, I know you’re scared Tommy, but I’ve read your letter, and I just want to help you. You can trust me I-”

“WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU?!” The boy shrieked. “YOU SNATCHED ME OFF THE TABLE AND ARE HOLDING ME AGAINST MY WILL!”

“Well yes I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you, I just didn’t want you to run away!”

“If you’re really sorry then you’ll let me go!” Tommy pleaded, tears starting to well up in his eyes. “Please just let me go.”

Wilbur sighed, realising his terrific plan to speak to Tommy wouldn’t get very far with their current circumstances. If the roles were reversed, he’d be rightly terrified out of his mind too. You’d think after all his research on Borrowers, this is something he’d be aware of. Looking around the kitchen, he knew he couldn’t just put them down on the bench and risk the boy making another run for it, and instead turned and headed for the dining room table, despite the boy's sniffling cries.

“Tommy, I’m going to put you down now.” Wilbur explained, trying to be gentle as he sat down on one of the wooden chairs. “I promise I won’t hurt you and you can leave straight after, I just want to talk.”

The boy didn’t speak as he brought his hands down to the wooden surface and slowly released his grip. The blonde immediately wriggled out from his fingers and dropped to the table with a slight thud, but was just as quickly scooting away from his hands now he was free. Wilbur brought his hands away and slipped them under the table into his lap to be less intimidating, but could see Tommy was still highly on edge as they tried to gain distance. He was breathing heavily, eyes fixated on him with a terrified expression, seemingly knowing that he had no hope of getting away in the Beans presence.

He felt bad for putting them in such a vulnerable position, but if he wanted any hope to get him home, then they needed to talk properly- face to face.

“There,” Wilbur said, retracting his hands placatingly. “See, you’re fine.”

Tommy didn’t look particularly convinced, his eyes red from crying and snot running down his nose. Like seriously, who did this guy think he was? After the way he just behaved, why should he trust him?

“Define fine.” The boy snapped hugging himself as he turned away so he didn’t have to face the brunette's constant staring.

Wilbur sighed. Why did he have to be so stubborn? He’s the one that wanted to make friends in the first place.

Wilbur glanced at the letter he’d placed on the edge of the table. Tommy was the one that wanted to talk to him but was just unsure of how to approach him. But instead here he’d come waltzing in and frantically grabbed him without any consideration for how this would make him look. The boy believed Santa when he told him he was a good guy, but any truth in that was gone and rightfully so. In Tommy’s eyes, Wilbur didn’t deserve to be trusted.

How could you trust someone that held your life in their hands?

Wilbur sighed as he knew how to fix this, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, but if he wanted Tommy to trust him then his actions had to match his words.

“Okay so I know I didn’t make the best first impression so how about we start over?” Wilbur tried even slinking down to be a bit lower so he wasn’t looming over him so much. “My names Wilbur and if you need anything you can just ask okay?”

Tommy didn’t reply, even going as far to give him the finger which had the man having to suppress a laugh despite it being fair. He waited for the blonde to speak up a little longer but it didn’t seem the Borrower would be talking any time soon.

Sighing realising this wasn’t going to work, Wilbur stood from the table and walked back to the kitchen. Tommy remained still only glancing a little bit to the side when he heard crackling of plastic, before the heavy foot falls of Wilbur's return signaled he was back before something was put down behind him, and a chair was dragged out and around from the table facing backwards.

“So I don’t blame you for not trusting me. I should have realised how my actions would have affected you so I won’t keep you any longer.” Wilbur stepped back from the table and around to the other side where Tommy could see him and towards the hallway back to his room.

“I’ve uh- left the chair next to the table so you can get down with your hook and things, and I promise I won’t go looking for you, but if you ever need anything- please don’t hesitate to ask.” Wilbur took a deep breath and exhaled as he rubbed the back of his head. “I hope in time, maybe we could be friends.”

After waiting for a reply and receiving none, Wilbur turned and walked into his room, closing the door with a soft click before walking over and flopping onto his bed. He couldn’t force Tommy to trust him. He just had to hope giving them space might change the kids' mind.

The second the Bean was gone, Tommy didn’t hesitate to grab his things and descend down the chair with his hook. He then booked it for the nearest wall entrance he could find and didn’t stop running until he was back in his little room in the walls.

His heart pounded realising how close that had all been and now there was no time to waste.

Hastily he began to load his clothes into his bag and supplies for the journey he had ahead. He couldn’t stay now Wilbur actively knew of his existence. He’d been at the complete mercy of the Bean and that was never going to happen ever again. He kept doing this until he had completely stuffed his pack. As he prepared to leave he made his way to the door and had one final look around at his home for anything he missed.

He couldn't pick up on anything specific, not until his eyes landed on the card from Santa. All those happy days he had gotten from just waking up to a pretty card. His encounter with Santa the best day of his life and the reason he was so comfortable here now at all. The memory felt bitter sweet now though, as he trudged over to the card, picking it up harshly flipping it over for one last read.

Dear Tommy,

It was lovely meeting you and getting

to know your story. I figured you might

like some extra gifts as well to help you

be more comfortable in Wilbur’s walls.

I think you should try talking to him.

You might be surprised.

Sincerely,

Santa Claus

P.S- He’s not as scary as you think.

“Not as scary as you think my ass.” Tommy spat bitterly as he set it back in place.

So what if he’d apologised a bunch of times? That didn’t change the fact he almost hadn’t been freed at all. Sure he’d escaped now, but Wilbur might have just made it look like he was free to go as an act to trick him into feeling guilty enough to stay to catch him later.

But then again, he did apologise a lot and gave him a quick way back down the table. If he really thought about it, he hadn’t looked like he was going to hurt him or anything, just guilty he’d grabbed him in the first place. In fact he hadn’t really done anything besides scare the living daylights out of him by snatching him up.

It was perfectly logical for him to be scared of being grabbed, but apart from that, had the Bean actually done anything wrong? He was just reacting to the situation, and if he had read his letter, then maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

But no that can’t be right? He can’t seriously be considering Wilbur not a threat after all that?

“Ughhhh my head hurts!” He groaned frustratedly before dropping his pack to the floor and flopping head first into his bed. Why do Human Beans never make sense? Tommy curled himself into the fabric squeezing the sock blanket tightly in his grasp. This was all far too much for him to think about right now.

The events of the day finally seemed to catch up to him as he laid there, adrenaline wearing off, replaced with a heavy fatigue. Perhaps sleeping would be better than trying to leave right this second? Who knew when he’d have another chance once he started the move.

Rather than fight it, Tommy soon fell asleep, snuggled in his bed, his thoughts dreaming of what ifs and Wilbur.

༘⋆ ❅ ･:*:｡ ❆ ₊˚ ｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊ ⋆ ⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

The next day, Tommy had yet to leave.

He’d spent most of the morning mulling over his options and what the best course of action was and was having a hard time making up his mind.

On the one hand, leaving meant he was 100% safe from Wilbur and whatever his plans might be, whether they be good intentions or not. But on the other hand, that meant giving up the space he’d spent so long getting right and traversing the winter terrain without a guarantee of finding a place that was safe to stay in. While the Bean knew of his presence, at least he had a warm bed and didn’t have to worry about frostbite. But of course that still left one problem:

Wilbur.

The more he replayed yesterday's events over in his mind the more he wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe Wilbur was one of the good Beans. It’s not like he’d ever met or interacted with one before he came here. Everything he knew of them came from stories and warnings from his parents about Borrowers getting trapped in Jars and what not, but there was always some truth in stories one way or another.

Still though, he had one thing going for him that no other Bean did. Santa trusted him. And while Tommy may not trust him, (not completely anyways) perhaps there was a way he could test them.

Tommy had his borrowing bag strapped to his back and his hook and rope at his side as he sat perched atop the bookshelf in the living room, watching and waiting for Wilbur to enter. He’d test the Bean. See if he stayed true to his word and be in plain sight of the man and see if he was worthy of his presence. If he tried to catch him or hurt him in any way, all he had to do was get back through the crack in the wall and grab the rest of his things and book it out of there.

The blonde's knee bounced in anticipation. It was one thing trying not to be seen by a being 100x your size, but another to willingly just be waiting in the open for your maybe/maybe not demise to show up. Strange how the last time he stood out here, he did so waiting for Santa happily, but now it felt like he half wanted to throw up as he waited for the brunette to show.

His thoughts must have summoned him, because entered an exhausted Wilbur with a cup of coffee in hand before they plonked themself down on the couch. He took a long sip and sighed before putting the cup down and threw their head back against the couch.

He looked sad. Big dark bags under his eyes and he was frowning as he stared up at the ceiling. Tommy couldn’t help but think that was probably his fault. Seems yesterday's events had affected Wilbur just as much as it had him and he did feel a bit guilty for that. Did he really care that much he’d lose sleep over him?

Only one way to find out.

“Ahem.” Tommy cleared his throat and the Bean jolted up almost immediately, head looking around wildly for the source.

“Hey, up here big man.” The boy called with a wave to down below and clenched his hook tightly with the other hand as the brunette's sweeping gaze snapped up onto him. “Sorry if I- uh startled you.”

“No, no it’s fine, I just- I thought you left.” Wilbur said as he turned himself to be better facing the Borrower without leaving the couch.

“Why would I do that?” Tommy asked even though he knew the answer.

“Well, I don’t know I just thought- I’d scared you away.” Wilbur looked away, staring at his coffee as if it was far more interesting than the boy on his shelf. “I figured you’d have left because of how I- how I um..”

“Grabbed me?” Tommy asked, raising a brow as he did so.

“Yeah… I truly am sorry about that. I never should have reacted like that. I don’t know what I was thinking. I promise I never planned to do anything to you when I did, I just- my hand moved without thinking and yeah. I’m sorry Tommy.”

“It wasn’t particularly nice of you.” Tommy tried to ignore the tingly sensation of phantom hands wrapping around him as he stood up. “I just felt so helpless when you did.”

Wilbur nodded sadly in agreement. “Yeah I can’t imagine what it must feel like for you. Based on what I read in your letter, it must be really hard living at your size when everything is so big.”

“Well I was born this way. I learned to live cautiously to protect myself. You Beans are just too busy thinking of yourselves than about who else might be living out of sight.” Tommy glanced down to Wilbur and noticed how the Bean twiddled their thumbs in their lap, gaze now resting on the table and a familiar piece of paper. His Letter.

“Hey I’ve got to ask,” Tommy started as Wilbur brought his head back up to the shelf. “How did you get your hands on my letter? Last I saw it, it was flying out in the wind randomly to who knows where.”

Wilbur chuckled as he leaned over and picked up the letter carefully to admire the craftsmanship of it once more. “Well, I was walking home from grocery shopping the other day and it kind of just flew into my face. It was by chance that I decided to open it and read it that I noticed the paper was one of my discarded music sheets I use for scrap paper. Kind of connected the dots from there since it was my work and here we are.”

Tommy nodded as he listened. He supposed that made more sense than magic wind, even if the chances of it flying into Wilbur's face were bizarrely low.

“Still a shame it didn’t make it to Santa. I wanted to thank him properly for what he did for me.”

“You could always write him another letter if you want.” Wilbur suggested. “I don’t mind helping you if you like.”

Tommy nodded considering the idea before speaking up. “I think you might have to write to Santa for yourself though. You’ll probably be on his naughty list for a while when I tell him about everything that’s happened.”

Wilbur smiled as he nodded in agreement. “Yeah I deserve that. I’ll have to really work hard to get back on the nice list then won’t I?”

“You sure will. Gonna take a lot to get back in his good books though.”

Wilbur smiled as he set the letter back down and leaned back into the couch. “Do you have any ideas on how I could do that?”

Tommy scratched his head for a moment in thought.

“Well for starters you’d have to be extra nice and always use proper manners like asking before you do something.”

Wilbur nodded as the boy continued. “And you’d have to always announce your presence coming in and out of rooms cause if you don’t that’s just rude.”

Wilbur couldn’t help but chuckle as Tommy kept listing nice specific things off. “Anything else?”

“Annnnd always leave extra food out on the counters- specifically the BBQ crackers and chocolate because that’s how you show you're being extra nice.”

“Right, well it sounds like I’ve got my work cut out for me then.” Wilbur replied as he looked back up to where Tommy stood upon the shelf. The boy seemed rather pleased with himself before he realised he was in sight and timidly stepped back from view.

“I’ve got to ask though, why are you still here? I assumed the last place you’d want to be is anywhere near me and well, yeah.” It was a question that was starting to eat at him as why the Borrower would go against the code and all the other things he had read about not making sense.

“Well initially, I was going to leave straight away, yes. But with all the snow on the ground and not knowing the area, it made the decision of leaving more complicated so I’m giving talking one last shot and then deciding.”

Wilbur smiled as he felt warm that the blonde was at least giving him a chance, even if they had their hesitations. He didn’t blame Tommy for being wary after everything that had transpired but maybe there was still hope to salvage things.

“Hey Tommy, do you think maybe we could start over?” the brunette asked. “I think we got off on the wrong foot and I’d really like to show I mean you know harm.”

Tommy stood back from the shelf edge where he couldn’t see the Bean. This was exactly what he wanted. A chance for the Bean to prove himself and he hadn’t even had to ask.

Wilbur watched the bookshelf nervously waiting for a response. What if he’d over stepped? He didn’t have to wait long for an answer as the blonde came back into view with his arms behind his back, before breaking into a smile.

“Yeah, that would be nice. But don’t even think about putting me in a jar cause I know Santa and Santa will absolutely beat your ass if you do.”

“And why would he do that?” Wilbur smirked teasingly.

“Because,” Tommy stated. “I’m his favourite.”

Wilbur’s heart melted as the boy blew a raspberry at him before pulling a bunch of different faces. In a way, he guessed it was true.

Tommy was his favourite.

And he wasn’t going to mess this opportunity up a second time.

༘⋆ ❅ ･:*:｡ ❆ ₊˚ ｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊ ⋆ ⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

In the days to come, Wilbur and Tommy began to slowly get to know each other.

Albeit at a distance with Tommy still hiding on shelves and behind items that he was sort of a discombobulated voice, but it was a start and made the Borrower feel safer.

Wilbur didn’t mind in the slightest as they were actually talking and making progress! If Wilbur thought Tommy had talked a lot on their Santa encounter, well the kid had certainly been holding back as they chatted away about anything and everything they could speak on.

In fact, soon the two were bantering back and forth like they’d been life long friends and it didn’t take long for Tommy to start showing himself on the shelves.

Wilbur was always super cautious around the boy and made sure to give him space, and even gave him extra warning about what he was doing to ease the boy more around his presence. While Tommy initially had his reservations, he was quickly beginning to see what Santa had meant in his card.

Wilbur truly was doing everything he possibly could to show he wanted to help him and be friends and that gave Tommy the confidence to take the next step and actually be in close proximity with the man rather than the safety of shelves.

Eventually, Tommy would tell Wilbur of how he came to be in his apartment and Wilbur would offer to take Tommy back to his home. It didn’t take long for the boy to realise how close he’d actually grown to the Bean and when the time came to actually go, the Borrower would decide that maybe the Forest wasn’t necessarily his home any more.

From there, the two continued to grow closer and eventually table talks turned to movie nights on the couch, to hand cuddles on chilly days. And whenever things got too much, Wilbur gave Tommy the space he needed and one day Tommy realised that Santa was right.

Wilbur wasn’t as scary as he once believed.

In fact, he finally had a friend he could depend on.

Just like he had always wanted.

༘⋆ ❅ ･:*:｡ ❆ ₊˚ ｡⋆❆⋆｡˚₊ ⋆ ⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

Epilogue

Annnnnnnnnnnnd that's a wrap!!!

Thank you so much if you read the whole thing through. It was a lot of fun to write as it's not the kind of topic I see written about very often and especially not in a gt sense so I loved exploring what Santa is to a Borrower that lived outside most of their life never knowing about these things.

HUGE Thank you to @quotemenevervore for beta reading and helping me get unstuck to write the ending!!! Always very thankful for your input and so glad I got this done before Christmas like I planned <3

Thanks again to everyone who's stuck around and continues to enjoy my writing despite all the circumstances of previous creators constantly changing. As times gone on, while I still really enjoy writing these characters, new ideas to use them in the future have certainly been becoming less, so I still fully intend to finish JORNOS but after that's done, I have one more chapter fic I want to post and then I think I might explore some new characters. Dunno yet tbh. Work is being a pain and will probably continue to delay new stuff, but I'm certainly not done yet :3

Anyways that's my last fic for this year so Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I'll see you all on the next fic <3

tag list: @local-squishmallow @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @munchkin1156 @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm @eiscreme135 @orchid-harmony @the-tiny-lurker @colossal-red @nobodywritingao3 @nata2343 @bad-author777 @box-beanz @gracideaviolet @a-xyz-s

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bitbybitwrites · 4 months ago

Text

I was tagged by : @porcelainmortal, @alasse9 @forabeatofadrum

Thanks for thinking of me! . . I should really do this before 2024 is up, right? 😂

BTW its still Dec 31 here where I am, so I'll say it counts.

I've done a lot more than I expected this year, as I look back. And I'm kind of proud of myself.

I started writing for another fandom - RWRB. Its been fun adding these characters to the mix.

I managed finishing 1 multi-chapter fic and a 11 shorter fics.

I'm still plugging away on 3 longer multi-chapter WIP, adding and posting chapters as I go.

I have compiled an additional WIP list of (*stops to count*) 16 other fics that are not posted yet, but are in various stages of readiness. I flitter around adding bits to each when inpiration hits.

I think that's about it for me for 2024 - still writing, slow and steady. 😊

I'm always so happy to see any of kudos and comments if you have left any . . . and I'm still really apologetic that I haven't gotten to responding to many. There's only so much time in the day. I will try to get to them!

WRITING GOALS FOR 2025: Basically write more, and write as often as I can. There are so many of my WIP I want to get into and finish . . hopefully some of you will find them interesting to read!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a productive and creative 2025! I look forward to seeing/reading all you create!

See links and descriptions to everything under the cut!

1.) COMPLETED FICS

April 2024

Falling For You (Klaine fic) - 26,089 words

Summary:

Kurt Hummel thought by donating his services as a florist to Memorial Sloan Kettering, that he would simply be giving back to the medical community. A good deed for the month of December. Little did he know that a few chance run-ins with an adorable doctor and a sweet little girl in the hospital lobby would change all that. Written for the Klaine Secret Santa 2023 Gift Exchange.

May 2024

Pretty Shiny things (Klaine fic) - 1,943 words

Summary:

The clangs and shrieks of the alarm system at Christie's Auction House filled the corridors, echoing through the mostly empty building. They were just as loud as the beating of Kurt and Blaine's hearts as they raced down corridor after corridor while they attempted to escape. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kurt growled through his teeth as he ran, slipping slightly on the polished marble floor as he turned another corner. “I leave you alone for five minutes . . . FIVE MINUTES, Blaine. What on earth did you do?” **** Discovered a fun new thing on Tumblr called Ficlet Friday. This ficlet was inspired by a dialogue prompt by annepi: Prompt: Klaine - “I leave you alone for five minutes...”

June 2024

hold me close (FirstPrince fic) - 836 words

Summary:

Alex has had a rough day. It's a good thing that Henry's home to take care of him. For a Ficlet Friday prompt : "Tell me anything. Everything.”

blythe spirit (FirstPrince fic) - 1,756 words

Summary:

“I . . . I don't know why you're even interested." “Baby, I love you. I'm interested in everything about you." Alex gave Henry a very pointed and heated look that definitely hit the mark. The flush on Henry’s face now deepened. He worried his bottom lip between his teeth for a few moments as he considered his options. “Come on,” Alex softly cajoled. “You can’t just say things like: ‘I played Elvira in a school production of Blythe Spirit’ and not expect me to ask for pictures . . or at least the lowdown on it all.” Alex pouted again to prove his point. “I’m a weak man, H. These are the types of things I need to know more about.” ***** From a Friday Ficlet prompt: "Tell Me anything. Everything."

nightfall (Klaine fic) - 219 words

Summary:

Blaine sighed as he collapsed onto the sand. With his chin upon his knees and arms wrapped around his legs, Blaine gazed out toward the ocean, deciding that the purple-ish pink sky that stretched out before him was absolutely breathtaking. If only he had his camera with him. It would be a perfect addition to his next gallery exhibit. ***** Based off a Tumblr Prompt/Ask Game - "Create a microstory from the prompt selected" Thanks to Falles for giving me: "49 - nightfall"

i'll always come back to you (FirstPrince fic) - 504 words

Summary:

Alex will always come back to Henry . . .always Based on a microstory prompt: #32 - dust motes

July 2024

fire island follies (Klaine fic) - 3,027 words

Summary:

Blaine Anderson is off to a weekend on Fire Island - well, his good friend Santana is draggng him on one. He's not so sure it's the best thing to do - but a run-in with a beautiful performer from the Fire Island Follies quickly changes his mind. ****** From a Tumblr Friday Ficlet prompt from bowtiesandboatshoes : "We're going to Fire Island. It's like gay Disney World." Title is from an actual burlesque/cabaret show: The Fire Island Follies

i hate waiting (FirstPrince fic) - 555 Words

Summary:

Alex needs to keep his daughter from being bored. inspired by this adorable picture on Tumblr by wordsofhoneydew

study date (Klaine fic) - 945 words

Summary:

"Get your hands off me!" The sound of a scuffle had Kurt look up from his reading. To be honest, Divination was such a bore of a class. It's not like he needed to learn anything new about it. Kurt had all of his mother's crystals, divination tools, and journals tucked away in her old trunk up in the attic of their home. He could read tea leaves and scry with the best of them. He had long ago lost focus on the chapter Professor Holiday had assigned them for the evening, so at this point, any other distraction would be welcome. Even if it was prefect duties.

Originally this was a bit of a false start for my fic, Advanced Potions

The original prompt was "hogwarts!au + 4. meet messy + 6. "what is that?"

August 2024

what can compare with your beautiful sound (Klaine fic) - 1,183 words

Summary:

Kurt’s brow furrowed as he concentrated on the task at hand. He had to get it just right. His hand hovered just a few inches higher, and with a deft flick of his wrist, a drop of wax fell from the lit candle in his hand to his canvas below. The canvas moaned in ecstasy. “Now, darling, we don’t want to shift, now do we?" Kurt softly murmured as he leaned in close. "You've been such a good boy for me so far." ***** Based off of a microstory prompt from Tumblr : "candles"

November 2024

smutsgiving/wanksgiving 2024: rwrb/firstprince - 662 words

Summary:

Prince Henry has been given a new gift for his bedchamber. Entry for Smutsgiving/Wanksgiving 2024.

smutsgiving/wanksgiving 2024: klaine - 580 Words

Summary:

Dinner was lovely, but Blaine is really ready to go home. Entry for Smutsgiving/Wanksgiving 2024.

2.) PARTIALLY PUBLISHED WIP:

(Klaine) If I Can Make Your Heart My Home - (Klaine Reverse Bang 2023) Life in New York City and working in the restaurant industry wasn’t exactly what Kurt Hummel had expected it would be. He’s lonely, stressed out and miserable. He’s almost ready to throw in the towel and return home to Ohio when a chance meeting with a musician in Central Park changes everything. (Warning: an angsty rollercoaster of a ride. Soooo many cameos from Glee characters! 😉)

(RWRB) Puppy Love - (RWRB NYE gift exchange 2023) The cold snowy day that Henry Fox discovers an abandoned beagle puppy in an alley brings handsome, flirty veterinarian, Alex Claremont-Diaz into his life. Alex is a single dad, recently moved to NY with his young son who Henry hasn't met yet - or so Alex thought. (Fluffy kid!fic)

(Klaine) Sanctuary - (Klaine Word Scramble 2023) Crown Prince Blaine has stumbled into a secluded glade, trying to escape the horrors of the bloody war his father had brought upon their kingdom. Mourning his beloved older brother and faced with the burden of taking his place in the kingdom, Blaine yearns for a place to hid from the world to deal with the issues weighing on his heavy heart. He encounters a mysterious elf, the guardian of the magical spring that Blaine has mistakenly defiled, whose growing connection to his life the young prince can't ignore. (Inspired by an idea/ artwork by @datshitrandom and @justgleekout)

3.) WIP FICS TO FINISH AND POST

My WIP list can be found here! I keep it updated. Feel free to ask me about any of them if you're curious . . 🥰. Hoping to finish some of these in the coming year.

******

OK so ( as usual) I'm late to post - so if anyone hasn't done this yet and wants to - take my big open tag for it and maybe some of these folks might want to do one of these wrap ups as well?

Tagging ( participate only if you want to): @wowbright, @gleefulpoppet, @daisyishedwig, @spaceorphan18 @special-bc-ur-part-of-it

@myheartalivewrites, @14carrotghoul, @thighzp @tailsbeth-writes @onthewaytosomewhere

@sophie1973 @getmehighonmagic @tinyarmedtrex @henrysfox @blueeyedgrlwrites

@kirakiwiwrites @madas-ahatters-world @sarkyblueeyes @heartsmadeofbooks @iboatedhere

@little-escapist @littlemisskittentoes @kurtsascot @hkvoyage @lilinas

Psst. . . and if any fanartists see this and want to share what they've drawn this year, tag me! I'd love to see your work if I've missed some!

#bitbybitwrites #klaine fanfic #klaine fanfiction #klaine fic #klaine #kurt hummel #blaine anderson #rwrb fanfiction #rwrb fanfic #rwrb fic #rwrb #red white and royal blue #firstprince #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #fanfiction

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inkblot22 · 1 year ago

Note

(PS I don’t actually know the source material for idia I just stumbled upon one of your fics while looking at FFXIV Yandere fics so sorry if this sounds OOC)

I’m not super creative but what do you think might actually be Idia’ routine with his darling? Does he fall into any routine, does it change a lot?

Have a wonderful day (and happy late bunny day!) 🫶

I actually am of the opinion that this is a very creative thought! You should give yourself more credit. I like to idealize the day to day life, but it never occurred to me that writing it down might be a good idea. On that sentiment, I think maybe Vil or even Leona would have a better day to day routine. Dividers by @/cafekitsune

Also, wow, what a pipeline, FFXIV to twst?? You've got good taste lmao welcome to my blog.

I'll put this under the cut, and I'm also not promising that this will be very good. I use the 24 hour clock. I am constantly getting told irl that American people don't do that, but I'm evil, so I'm putting the times in 24 hour clock format.

TW for mentions of noncon, coercion, captivity, someone keeping someone else awake, a hint of Idia being an asshole

+ Idia doesn't really seem like he has much of a set schedule, but Ortho absolutely does and Ortho is lowkey kind of bossy, so...

+ Yeah uh, Idia's partner is absolutely out of luck. Idia likes night gaming a lot, and he gets loud, so good luck sleeping. Idia himself goes to bed late and wakes up whenever the heck he wakes up. He could go to bed at 0300 in the morning and wake up again at 0700.

+ As his kept partner, the schedule is a little more normal, like I said. Ortho doesn't really need to sleep from what I understand, (I haven't read all of book 6, no spoilers or else I WILL temporarily block you) but it's silly to imagine that he doesn't wake up or attempt to wake up everyone else around him as early as 0600.

+ After waking up, Idia will eat breakfast. I think it'd be delivered usually since Idia and his partner are basement dwellers, one by nature and the other by force. After breakfast begins work...

+ Or procrastination. Idia flip flops between extreme focus on what he should be doing and what he should not be doing. He manages to get his schoolwork done, but more often than not, he's asking his partner to cuddle up and watch a movie, drama, or his fingers flying across the keyboard. Idia will not ask them to cuddle if he is doing schoolwork or virtually attending classes.

+ I like to think that he smells smoky, on account of the flaming hair, and he runs hot, so prepare to SWEAT. In the case his partner doesn't really want to hang out with him, he will usually sulk and only occasionally get upset to the point of doing something about it.

+ I don't think he showers every day. I think he's an every other day type of showerer, based solely on him not being particularly active. This means that his partner doesn't have to run on his showering schedule and gets extra hot water on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

+ By the way, in the case that Idia's darling ever gets peckish, Idia has a snack stash that he proudly pulled out and showed them as soon as they were allowed to wander a bit. I figure they get hungry some time around 1400, especially if Idia is also eating at that time.

+ I think his metabolism is fast, but also a bit odd. He is a young person, and therefore he strikes me as the type to get randomly hungry. If asked very nicely (and with the promise of physical affection in some form) he'd be incredibly willing to make his partner something to munch on when he makes his own.

+ Despite Idia's partner being literally held captive in his room, with all his suspicious items and, worst of all, himself, Idia is about as respectful as a kidnapper can be about demanding sex. He doesn't like to be physically forceful about it, and he often will just jerk off in the bathroom.

+ The reason for this is very simple: If Ortho ever saw Idia having sex with ANYONE, Idia would spontaneously combust. Well, obviously he doesn't know that for certain, but it's a theory that he is not willing to test. He won't even talk about his preferences around his little brother.

+ As far as I'm aware, most people in captive situations do not tend to ask their kidnapper to fuck them unless they're being threatened in some way, but Idia's partner isn't typically being threatened (ignore the shock collar,) so they never ask Idia to have sex.

+ This does not stop Idia from being a whiny bitch about not having sex enough as soon as Ortho is gone for a few hours. The close quarters and sudden advent of a human being who he doesn't mind touching him is a big thing for Idia.

+ Ortho goes on "walks" in a sort of unusual schedule. That is to say that he doesn't have a schedule. If something needs to be picked up, he's tired of Idia not listening to him, he has his own stuff to do, or he just feels like it, Ortho will go out, sharing his location with Idia. From there, Idia will typically calculate how long it'd take Ortho to get back paired with whatever Ortho said he was going to do before he left, and see if he can squeeze in some coerced touching.

+ So. Good luck, Idia's partner. Idia will make a big stink until he gets bored or his partner gives in. His partner usually gives in, based on fear of what he might do alone.

+ Bedtime is somewhat randomized. If Ortho was out, when he comes back and it's any time after 2000, he will very subtly try to get Idia and his partner to start winding down. If both or one ignores him, he'll start getting upset.

+ Like I said, Ortho is kinda bossy. He will nag someone, and the worst part is that he's usually got their best interest in mind.

+On the off chance that Idia decides to go to bed at a decent time, he curls up behind his partner. He runs hot and smells smoky, and at some times it's not the worst thing. Some times.

+ By the way, a lot of this flies out the window in the event that Idia decides to attend classes in person. This is rare, so don't expect it to happen often, but it's not as good as it could be. Ortho goes with him and he locks up any way to reach the outside world, so all his partner has to entertain themselves is his manga collection, or the fun pastime of destruction of property. (This is a very bad idea, and I can expand on punishments later.)

+ In Idia's partner's case, every day is much of the same but just a little different, which makes it hard to keep track of time. The fact that Idia prefers low lighting and no natural light doesn't help this whatsoever.

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 months ago

Text

Colorless, Cold

*materializes into existence* Heyo, haven't been here in a while :3 Hope you're doing well! Glad to see you around, Asbod. I do have an idea to share: something happens that doesn't affect the Sides much, except it affects Remus A LOT. Not for the better. There are changes in his behavior, the way he speaks, how often he actually hangs out with anyone (even Roman & Janus). Roman is very worried. The Others are starting to get concerned. They're confused about what could've affected Remus so much. Roman finds out why and what happened first, because of course he does, and realizes how badly Remus has been hurting (and trying to hide it). Possible comfort ending with cleared up confusion and massive reassurance for Remus? Cuddle pile, maybe. Wow, that got long, whoops! Sorry that. No pressure to write this, ofc (/gen)! Just wanted to share. Do what you will with this. Take care :D – oatmealdaydreams

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none

Pairings: gen

Word Count: 3177

One of the harsh realities of doing creative work is that you will face comment, critique, criticism. Remus suffers in the aftermath of something that wasn't supposed to be his to hold.

The shores of the Imagination vary wildly depending on what coast meets the edge of the Great Sea. Some are rocky, sheer cliff sides that drop off into staggering depths the moment the icy cold waters crash against the black stone. Others are tranquil beaches, azure waves washing gently over sand full of little critters, seashells, and buffed glass. Others still turn into the mouths of rivers cutting across the vast continent, grass blowing in the sea breeze as the fish teem just around the bend.

Roman settles himself in one such place, a small basket next to him as he reaches into the crystal clear water. Several stones line the riverbed here, perfect for building little castles and decorating the caves of the tassel-flies further up into the forest. He's just begun to reach into the next dip when there's a sudden school of fish darting by. He jerks his hand out, frowning, looking out to see a massive shadow approaching the shore. He stands and dusts off his pants.

"Ollie?"

The Kraken's head raises up out of the water, slick pouring off the sides of his arms as he burbles. Roman's eyes widen. The Kraken's skin is nearly black, far from the healthy grayish green it's supposed to be, cracked and pained as it slumps in the shallows. He abandons the basket and dashes over, falling to his knees.

"Oh, god—oh, Ollie, what happened to you? How long ago did this start?"

The Kraken burbles again. Roman carefully reaches out, setting his hand on a nearby arm. He nearly yanks his hand back at the sheer heat pouring off the heaving skin, the poor thing nearly whimpering as the cold water laps at his arms. Roman muffles a curse, reaching into his pocket for the emergency salve.

"I don't know how much this will do," he says as he smears it over a rag and starts trying to clean the wounds, "but I hope it helps a little bit."

Oliver settles a little under Roman's careful attention, the blackness slowly receding from the worst of the wounds. As he works, small chirps and whistles draw his attention.

"You said it started about a month ago? Okay, did it come on all at once, or…?" The Kraken's arm twitches. "No? Okay. How soon did it get like this?"

One of the arms closest to him flops up and down.

"Yesterday? Oh, you poor thing…okay, it's gonna be okay, I'm right here, I'm gonna help. You just try—try and stay calm for me, okay? It's gonna be harder if you're moving around a lot. I know it hurts, I'm sorry."

Oliver does his best, but there's only so much Roman can do as a tiny human next to a terribly injured Kraken. He manages to get as much of the above-water wounds as he can, murmuring reassurances as he goes, but it's not nearly as much as he'd like to just help Ollie stop hurting. But Ollie seems to appreciate it all the same, carefully nudging Roman with a less-injured arm when he's done.

"Oh, it's okay, buddy, I'm happy to help." He puts the now nearly-empty tin in his pocket and sits on the grass. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Oliver lowers himself into the water, burbling lowly. Small bubbles show up around the outer edges of his arms as they move back and forth in the water. Roman listens, a small frown forming on his face as Oliver describes the weird grayness that spread slowly through the water and burned when he tried to swim through it. It explains why he's all the way over on Roman's side; if he was forced out of the waters he frequents…wait.

Wait.

"Ollie, why didn't you try going to Remus?"

At the mention of his brother, the Kraken lets out a truly mournful howl. Roman's chest grows icy cold. He stands up slowly.

"Ollie, what's happened to Remus?"

***

Remus curls up into a ball. The pain won't stop. His hands shake even pinned between his knees and his chest, sobs choked out through partially crushed lungs. He squeezes his eyes shut and shoves his head under his pillow.

It's been getting worse. He knew it was going to be this bad and yet he did it anyway. Why? Because he's a damn masochist, apparently, and a glutton for punishment to boot. A whimper squeezes its way into the small space just in front of his lips and he pinches them shut, shoving his face deeper into the mattress.

It's not supposed to be scary, he chants over and over, it's not supposed to be scary, it's not supposed to be scary.

He bets anyone—any one of the Sides that if they had their core selves ripped out through their throats and stomped on by someone wearing boots covered in nails not to be afraid. He dares them. He dares them.

Roman was the only one who could understand, Roman was always the only one who understood how fucking terrifying it was to have someone look at something you made when you know they aren't going to look at it properly. When it's just going to turn into numbers in their eyes or something they smile pithily at before changing the topic to something they think is actually worthwhile. But to have someone actually take the time to try and condescend why they don't think it's important?

It takes a certain type of person to be so cruel.

Remus should know. He's the cruel one of the Sides, at least he's supposed to be. And as such, wouldn't you think he'd know when things go too far? When there are things said and done that even he would balk at? Just because he has a reputation for ruining things doesn't mean that he likes to be torn to shreds for a laughing audience!

And he doesn't ruin things on purpose! That's not what he does! He just—he just pushes them a little further to see what they could become. That's what Creativity does, it pushes the boundaries of something that is safe, is known, just to the edge of disturbing because that's what you do. Things you make are not meant to just sit there, nor are they supposed to be empty. He isn't supposed to be empty, lifeless, hurting for something to come from nothing when all they want is for him to be—to be—

He lets out another whimper. The pain rockets through his chest again, leaving him panting and shaking underneath his cocoon of blankets. There's a pit in his stomach that won't go away and if he had any strength at all, anything he could do but lie here like the pathetic mess he's become, he'd be running straight to the Imagination and—and—and just making something. Art didn't have to be good, it didn't have to be perfect, it just had to be and that was all that matters, if you got something out of making it, and he does, he does get something out of making his things, he does, he wants—he wants—

A low howl rings in the back of his ears.

He reaches out to take hold of the bedspread and suddenly he's falling through clouds.

Panic quickly turns to terror as he pinwheels through the sky, aching limbs stripped by air whistling past his ears. A choked scream bubbles up in his throat and he's turning, turning, turning, frantically trying to get his screaming hands to make something, anything—

Another piercing cry rings out and he turns just in time to see the blur of red approaching from the clouds. He opens his mouth to scream anew when he catches sight of the golden scales. Roman's dragon catches him in her claw, wrapping talons the size of his leg around his torso and swiftly banking toward the coastline. The rush of the scenery twists and turns his stomach and he closes his eyes again, trying not to sob.

"Remus! Remus!"

Is that…Roman? The air suddenly warms, no longer pressing against his chest like it's trying to break his ribs. He opens his eyes as the dragon turns, wings flapping as she comes in for a landing on a small grassy bank where Roman is already sprinting towards him away from—

Ollie.

Oh, his poor baby…he's all black and bleeding and he wants to scream again.

***

Roman's heart leaps into his chest as he sees his dragon set Remus down. He's already rushing over and skidding on his knees to wrap his brother up in his arms, pulling his half-beaten torso into his lap and cupping his cold, cold face in his hands.

"Hey, hey, Re, it's me, it's Roman, I've got you now, it's gonna be okay, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"

"R-Ro?"

"Yeah, Re, it's me. I'm right here. I'm gonna take care of you, okay? I've got you." He leans down and pressing a shaky kiss to a sweat-covered forehead. "Oh, god, Re, I'm sorry, I didn't know—I would've come right to you, I promise—"

"I know." Remus coughs wetly. "I didn't—I didn't know it was gonna be this bad either."

"Is it all of your realm? Ollie said the water—the water was going grey, that he couldn't swim through it—"

Remus's expression twists, pained again, and Roman's heart sinks.

"Oh, god, you haven't been able to…to Create at all?"

Remus shakes his head and Roman breathes out a curse, tugging his brother up and into a proper embrace. He reaches out blindly and hears the slosh of the water as one of the Kraken's arms lifts up too, slowly extending towards him. His dragon rumbles, prowling closer to help nudge the Kraken's arm into position on the grass so it can wrap around the two brothers. He takes one of Remus's hands and presses it to a less tender patch on Ollie's arm.

"Ollie's right here, okay? It's gonna be okay, Ollie's safe, he's so smart, he came right to me, I swear everyone else is gonna be taken care of too, we're gonna fix this, it's gonna be okay, I swear."

Not for the first time, Roman curses the fact that he let the others talk Thomas into getting that weird peer review thing done. It wasn't like in a class or a workshop where everyone is acting in good faith, and it wasn't even good feedback. He's been arguing with Logan for a long time over the fact that any unwanted advice is just criticism, and any sort of feedback offered without knowledge of what they were trying to do wasn't going to be valuable. God, part of him wants to get Logan right now and shove him in front of Remus, see his brother in pain and screaming for help while his Kraken suffered, but he knows he can't do that. One, he'd never forgive himself for letting someone else see Remus this vulnerable, and he knows Remus would never let him hurt one of the others like that.

See, he wants to scream at that awful, awful person, there's more to him than just darkness and cruelty. Just because something is dark doesn't make it irredeemable, not that you should ever have the power to redeem anybody.

Some people shouldn't be trusted with that sort of authority.

"I've got you, Re," he whispers, rocking his brother back and forth, "I've got you. We're gonna get through this, you and me. I swear it."

***

"Has anyone seen Remus?"

Janus looks up from his book as Virgil pulls out an earbud. Patton pokes his head out from the kitchen. "No, I haven't, not recently."

"I'm getting worried," Logan mutters as he comes the rest of the way down the stairs, fiddling with his tie, "I haven't seen him either, not since our last movie night three weeks ago."

"Wait, that's the last time you've seen him?"

"Yes. I was going to ask him to brainstorm with me today because—"

"Because you missed him," Janus fills in helpfully, smiling at Logan's glare.

"Perhaps, but—"

"You can admit it, L, it's just us."

"I admit nothing!" Logan ignores their snickers, turning to Patton instead. "The point is that I knocked on his door and he didn't answer, and his side of the Imagination door has been cold, like it hasn't been used at all."

Janus pinches off the rest of his sarcasm, sitting up and putting his book down. "It's been cold? Completely?"

"Yes! Like he's not even been in there."

"And there's no chance he's been using the one he has in his room?"

"That would require him being in his room and he's never there when I knock! Or at least he never answers."

"And how many times a day are you checking!"

"J, not now," Virgil mutters as Logan turns pink, "we need to focus on finding Remus."

"Let's go ask Roman," Patton says, quickly wiping his hands on a towel and hurrying out of the kitchen. "Maybe he knows what's going on."

They rush back up the stairs, intent on turning down the right hall to go get Roman, when Patton abruptly stops short. Virgil nearly runs into him and Janus proceeds to fully run into Virgil.

"Ow!"

"Hey, don't stop out of nowhere if you don't want me to run into you!"

"Guys," Patton says, voice suddenly soft and scared, "guys, look at the Imagination door."

They look. The door isn't glowing. A gray smoke almost covers one side, the other only gleaming faintly. Patton chokes on a whimper as Virgil muffles a curse, stepping forward to carefully touch one side. He yanks his hand back as it hisses.

"Well, that's not good—oh, it's opening now. Oh, this is gonna go super well."

The door swings open to reveal a dark forest. Trees frown over the entrance, a cold fog spilling into the hallway. But there's no luster to it, not the way the Imagination has always had. Instead, the bark almost appears to fray and disappear at the edges, as though it's caught in a printer jam with someone trying to yank out the pages. Virgil swallows and steps forward, ignoring the cautioned whispers, moving through the door and into the Imagination. Under his feet, the grass rustles and a cold breeze whips by.

"Come on. I think they're both in here."

"Oh, I love this idea," Janus mutters, clinging to Logan's arm as they step through. On his other side, Patton grabs on to the edge of his cape. "Alright, where too?"

"Uh…"

They're about to just pick a direction and walk when there's the low thud of approaching footsteps. They turn, Virgil automatically throwing his arms out to protect the others, as a huge wolf looms in front of them.

"Oh," Logan mumbles, "hello. Are—are you here to take us to them?"

"You know this guy?"

"The Wolf is one of the creatures of the Imagination not created by either Roman or Remus. He is…unto himself." Logan nods and the wolf huffs a breath. "I think he…I think he wants us to follow him."

"…we've done weirder things than follow a giant wolf through the forest, sure."

And so they do. They walk through the forest toward a massive clearing, the sky overhead growing grayer and grayer as they go. Soon they're all holding hands, trying not to trip into patches of pure gray as the wolf leads them down a rocky cliff towards the shore. In the distance, the sky fades into a brilliant blue, the grass turning green, and on one solitary hill lies a brilliant red dragon.

"Is that—is that Roman?"

The wolf huffs and inclines his head. His gait lengthens and they have to run to keep up. The dragon lifts her head and growls, and then they see them.

"Remus!"

Logan breaks out in front, skidding to a stop beside the shaking Side as Roman mumbles something into his ear. He reaches out with shaking hands, trying to figure out where to touch him that won't hurt. The others quickly join them, falling to their knees as Remus gasps and twitches in Roman's arms.

"He's hurt," Roman nearly sobs, "he got hurt when the critique was happening and now he feels like he can't Create. It's so bad, he's—he's so hurt."

"What do we do? How do we help?"

"We just have to be here. It's not—it's not something we can fix. We just have to be here for him, him, not whatever we want him to be, just—just him."

Logan's mouth hardens and he scoots closer, wrapping his arms around a shaking Remus. "We can do that."

***

Remus wakes up warm.

He turns his head and bumps his nose into Roman's chest. He looks up to see Roman smiling down at him, a hand brushing sweaty hair back from his forehead. He opens his mouth to ask what's going on when the rest of the sound filters in and he realizes he's surrounded by sleeping Sides.

"They wanted to help," Roman whispers, still brushing his fingers across his face so lightly it almost sends him right back to sleep, "they're here to help."

"H-help?"

"Cat pile," Roman teases, gently pulling Remus a little closer only for Logan to snuffle in his sleep and hold on tighter, "see? They gotcha."

Remus's chest feels tight. They came. They wanted to help.

"Ollie's better now, see?" Roman points at the Kraken who cheerfully waves a few arms. "He's been getting better as you've been sleeping. I think it's working."

"You guys…you guys stayed to help me?"

"Of course we did, Re, you're—you're Remus. You're my brother, pain in the ass that you are—" he chuckles when Remus scowls up at him— "don't look at me like that. You wanna go back to sleep? You still a little sore?"

"A little."

"That's okay." Roman pats his chest. "We'll be right here when you wake up."

As Remus drifts off to sleep, the pain slowly leaving his body, color begins to bleed back into the Imagination once more.

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#dragonbabbles #fic #sanders sides #roman sanders #remus sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus

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