#i was so worried i wouldn't get this done in time
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
"We're busy down here right now," Sabine said, "but you know the way. Don't worry, she's not contagious."
Luka nodded and headed past the bakery to go up the stairs. He would've gone to see Marinette even if she had been contagious, but it helped that he wouldn't have to get into a debate with anyone over how close he should or shouldn't be to her.
The house, for the most part, seemed as it always did, though he caught the scent of soup in the kitchen. There was a pot sitting in the sink, further confirming the idea, and he checked the fridge to see if there were any leftovers. He needed to know and memorize the contents while he was there, not knowing when Marinette had last eaten or if he'd have to make a trip to get something for her.
When he was satisfied, he closed the fridge and ascended the stairs, knocking on the trap door of sorts leading to her room so she'd know he was there.
"Marinette," he called, "Can I come in?"
There was some mumbling on the other side, but he understood it well enough to know it was the affirmative kind. He let himself in, spotting Marinette laying on the chaise lounge and covered by the blanket from her bed. It might've been better for her to be lying on the bed itself, but when he glanced at the hard stairs, hard floor, and factored that in with how out of it she must be, he understood.
Marinette blinked at him, squinting like he wasn't quite clear in her vision, then snuggled against the chaise lounge and let out a droning, "Heeeeey, Luka~"
"Hey." He smiled. She needed sleep, looked as sick as she sounded over the phone, but was just as beautiful to him as always. He crossed the room to sit on the floor near her, leaning against her sickbed and reaching out to stroke her forehead. "Are your eyes bothering you?"
"Mm-mm." She shook her head, then let out a tiny cough. "Was hard to see past the sparkles."
"The sparkles?" he echoed, concerned. "You're seeing stars?"
"No," she groaned, offended somehow. "You're always sparkly to me."
He shut his eyes, having just been punched in the stomach by pure affection. No matter how close he and Marinette were, he was occasionally caught off-guard when she'd say something so heartfelt.
"The feeling's mutual," he said when he found his voice again, idly brushing aside strands of her bangs that he'd worried might bother her. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
Her voice dragged as she thought about it. "Nnnot really? Ate a bit ago and had a drink."
"When was a bit ago?" he asked, suspicious.
Her lips pressed together, not answering. Scrutinizing her expression, he only let the subject go when he determined that it was because she genuinely didn't know the time rather than trying to "not burden him." They were still working on that in their relationship and he'd been guilty of it himself at times, so he was lenient with her.
Pushing himself up just enough to lean over her, he pressed a kiss to her temple. She let out a tiny, pleased squeak at it that he swiftly committed to memory; he'd happily push aside a few of the more unimportant things that he'd remembered from inside her fridge to make room for that cute noise.
"Are you tired?" he wondered, figuring that was the other important thing to check. "I won't go anywhere if you want to sleep."
"Nu-uh." She paused. "Not nu-uh to you staying here. I'm not tired, just dying."
He snorted at the extra rasp she'd intentionally put into her voice at that last word, then moved to sit on the chaise lounge itself rather than the floor. "You're strong. You'll beat this easily."
She looked at him with narrowed eyes, letting out a long, tiny hum. "And you're going to stay right there?"
He didn't know what the emphasis was for, but nodded. "Yeah."
"Mm." To his surprise, she pouted and turned away, effectively keeping her back to him.
Had he done something wrong? "Marinette?"
"It's okay." She coughed, not sounding okay." I'm sick, so I'm probably pretty gross right now. Of course you wouldn't."
Luka racked his brain, trying to understand what she meant, and then he remembered: ever since they'd started dating, he would always offer her cuddles whenever she was in a bad mood, when he felt she needed it, or simply when he wanted to.
He eyed the thick blanket, uncertain, imagining their combined body heat trapped under it. "Wouldn't it be too warm with me and the blanket?"
Not missing a beat, she replied in a mumble, "I'd get rid of the blanket before you."
Her parents almost definitely wouldn't approve of a teenage boy sleeping next to their sick teenage daughter, but that wasn't going to stop him. He took off his shoes before standing up and lifting a corner of the blanket to get inside. Slipping himself underneath, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, relishing in the shuddering exhale that followed.
"Feeling better?" he asked with a knowing smile.
"Much~" She giggled, turning herself just enough to try and nuzzle him. "I was thinking it'd be the perfect practice."
"Practice?" He couldn't help his curiosity. "Practice for what?"
"Spooning!" It was the loudest she'd been since he got there. "We've never spooned before. It'll be important if we ever share a bed to practice."
He had no response to that, though the room suddenly felt warmer. He didn't get how one could practice spooning - weren't they simply doing it right then? - but he acknowledged to himself that it could've been Marinette being a little dazed from being sick.
What he couldn't get past, however, was that apparently she'd thought about it enough that she saw it as important, and even imagined that they might share a bed someday. Did that imply that they'd be living together, or that they'd at least be so close to doing so that they constantly visited each other and slept over?
He sighed affectionately, burying his face into Marinette's hair. They were equals in that neither of them had prior dating experience before each other, but it was moments like these that reminded him of how not used to it he was. He'd given plenty of hugs and cheek kisses to his little sister to show that he cared, but this was so much more than a step up from that.
Even worse was when, a few minutes into the "spooning practice," Marinette started to shift in his arms and call out, "Luka? Turn around."
Despite not knowing what she was up to, he let her go, rolling over in the extremely limited space of the chaise lounge to face the other way. Her arms came around him and squeezed him tight, her breath hot against the back of his neck.
"It's my turn," she said, as if that was an excuse. "How is it?"
Too much. "It's great."
"Great!" She giggled practically right next to his ear, which was a second blow to his heart.
He took a wary glance at the way back into the kitchen, listening closely for any sign that someone might be coming up. After confirming it was safe, he tried to look at her over his shoulder. "But..."
"'But?" she asked curiously.
He twisted around to turn towards her again, despite her whines of protests that it was still her turn. Rather than having her be the little spoon though, he embraced her as she was and pulled her in so their chests were pressing together. The blanket was starting to fall off due to all of the movement, so he took one hand off of her to fix it.
"I missed seeing your face," he admitted, combing through her hair with his freed hand; it was rare that he got to see her with her hair down and intended to take full advantage of the opportunity.
"Wha—ah—buh—?" she stammered, but nothing coherent came out and she opted to hide herself against him. He heard her mumble something that he was sure was "I'd miss yours too," but he smiled and let her think he hadn't heard it.
They couldn't grow up fast enough.
43 notes
·
View notes
Text
Off Schedule
[CCCC FIC] Contains: Platonic Soul, Heart and Mind, Pet regression, [~4,000 words]
Stressed petre!Mind + Caregivers Soul & Heart! From the request "s.so. so puppy mind after a stressful day with heart and soul as caregivers,," Mind can't complete its normal nightly schedule, and gets super stressed because of that... Luckily, Soul and later Heart help him relax :]
Fic under cut! or on AO3
It was hard to understate how much of Mind's, and really all three of their, mental state was linked to their physicality. Sometimes, this worked in his favor. Indeed, today was one of those days, at least, he'd thought it was.
If it tried to ignore all the strife and focus entirely on getting things done, it could set aside... most of the annoyances. His body was more machine than flesh at this point, and any phantom pains could easily be ignored for the Whole. He didn't want to disappoint his Soul [or his Heart], after all.
It wasn't thinking today was a good day now, curled up in bed, an hour before it'd regularly turn in for the night. He had started lagging earlier in the day, but had decided against slowing down his usual schedule; if he was feeling bad, that just meant the whole was having more intensive thoughts and needed him more than ever. Rest was not an option.
This had gotten him only though most of his routine, but, annoyingly, he couldn't get done with his last step. Every night, he'd read for about an hour before bed. This usually helped him wind-down and get relaxed and into the proper headspace, but his head was too scattered. That really was the last nail in the coffin.
He could stand an increased workload, the impending dread that something was Wrong, but his schedule... God, he didn't even know why he was so stressed out. He'd finished everything actually important, had finished everything that would actually help the three of them. The only thing he couldn't get to was some frivolous wind-down time, truly pathetic that that was what had done him in.
To add to this horrible mess, he couldn't even get to sleep. There was a buzzing under his skin, a restlessness he couldn't shake. He wanted to move. He also very much Didn't want to move.
A knock at his door startled him out of his curled up ball on his bed. He grunted an acknowledgement, hoping they wouldn't come in. He was... not presentable. He knew he'd probably be mean and unsociable, and that would just get so tiresome when it made the other, whoever it was on the other side of the door, inevitably got annoyed with him.
Apparently that wasn't enough for them, [figures, he was never enough.] because the door creaked open. It was Soul.
"Mind...?"
He turned away with a growl, hoping Soul would get the message. It was not in the mood.
"You okay man?"
Clearly, it didn't. Figures, Soul could never mind his own business.
"Yes. I'm... Fine." The words were slow and stilted, like it was pulling teeth.
Even without looking, he could tell his host was narrowing its eyes at him. The bed dipped with extra weight; Soul had sat down at the bed's foot. He was just getting ready to tell him to fuck off when he felt a hand reach over and settle on his forehead. Oh. Soul was in a touchy mood today. [Those were always nice days.] Maybe it could... wait a little bit, before kicking him out. Just a few moments, of course.
"Not too warm or hot... I guess, if you're sure you're fine, I could leave." Soul had become a bit of a worrywart in concord, caught up in attempting to make sure everything was running smoothly. Still, it backed off if one of them started getting snappy. a good call, because usually, Mind found the mother-henning kind of annoying [it was, after all, the one supposed to be keeping things in order. Any more than the base worry started feeling suffocating.]
Today, however... the idea didn't seem too bad. It was selfish to consider, because it knew it was liable to lash out like this. That wouldn't be a good ending for any of them, for Mind to snap at Soul only trying to help. Still, the temptation.
"No."
"You want me to leave?"
"No." It growled, frustrated with its inability to talk clear and the fact Soul misunderstood. God this was already getting it angry; this was definitely a bad idea.
It rolled over until it was back to facing Soul, squinting a bit at how light it was; his dear host had left the door open, and the hallway light was on. Annoying. Worth it though, because he could push against Soul's side, making it very clear he didn't want him to leave.
"Okay, okay, I get the message." Soul giggled. His hand gently carded through Mind's hair, "Think you could tell me what's wrong? Sick, tired, stressed-"
Mind nodded at the last one, careful not to dislodge Soul's hand, before contemplating for a second and holding up two fingers for the second option: he was also pretty tired. Soul's eyes softened a bit at that, drooping in the corners [reminding it of the portraits of Him Soul hadn't covered up].
"Want some help relaxing?" the words were a tad hesitant, and they were paired with gentle hands sliding behind his ears [something it leaned into easily. Again, touchy days were Always the best.] It didn't sound like it knew if it should be offering and it took Mind a moment to realize, exactly, what it was suggesting; usually he was the one asking, albeit awkwardly, if Soul could look after him while regressed. Even then, Mind hadn't really done it much...
It nodded, after a few silent moments weighing the pros and cons. It didn't have to talk, or make any decisions, or do any work, and it could just have Soul dote over it... it figured it had done enough productive work to earn itself some pampering. Probably. Maybe. Anyway, Soul was offering; to not take the opportunity would be... illogical.
Seeming satisfied with the confirmation, Soul pulled away. Before Mind could get snippy and whiney about it, he quickly explained himself, "just getting your stuff... unless you want to do it without it?"
That was logical enough, still a bummer though. It just huffed, "Fine."
His host rolled its eyes at him, but made quick work of sorting through Mind's drawers and pulling out its collar, along with its dog themed socks and gloves. He made a quick detour to the door to close it as well. [Much to Mind's gratitude. The room was now lit by a slightly dimmed light: pleasant.]
Mind didn't really have much he did with regression, so new to it; Soul easily kept track of everything it did, usually the one with him during. He was back in moments. Still, the sun took each item from its host to put on itself; it had already submitted itself to enough vulnerability, it could put on its own socks.
Now finally ready, and already feeling the tiniest bit better, it felt all the antsy-ness and over-energy come back with force. The buzzing underneath its skin was getting hard to ignore. He hoped Soul would be fine with a more playful session than usual.
"Now who's my good puppy?" Soul cooed hands reaching out to cup its face, like, well, one would do with a puppy. It wasn't really a puppy just yet, but the sweet words usually let it fall into it more easily. While definitely a tad embarrassed, it relaxed almost instantly into him. It knew it would feel great once the first little bump was gotten over. Just needed to let go a little [a Lot].
"Good boy!"
It shifted a little further into him, letting itself fall almost into his lap, nodding. Talking always got a bit hard like this, and it was already having a difficult time beforehand. That was fine though, his Soul was definitely expecting it.
"Want to play, or nap, Apollo?"
Oh the nickname was definitely the last straw; he was wholly in puppy-space now. It wanted to play, and it let him know with a playful yip and pushing its full weight into him; wrestling was always its favorite.
Not expecting the switch to such loud enthusiasm, Soul staggered a bit and nearly fell over when Mind bowled into him. He chuckled a little, hands gently pushing at its shoulders to get it off of him.
"Sorry puppy, I'm not the most into contact sports," he summonsed a chew-toy, characterized like all his summoned objects by a solid red color, "Wanna tug-a-war instead?"
Well, it wanted to wrestle, but... whatever; tug-a-war could probably be just as fun. Grabbing onto the toy, it gave a harsh tug.
With that, the game was on; Soul made sure not to pull too hard, not wanting to hurt Mind's jaw or teeth, but Mind had no such reservations. It growled around the toy, teeth sinking in further than it probably should let them. It could let out way more of that nervous energy it had had throughout the day like that though.
Soul didn't seem that happy with its disregard for propper safety, "Hey! Drop it boy, drop it."
Normally it would heed the call, it always adored the way Soul would coo soft praises when it did as he asked, but today it needed to get out these feelings. Shaking his head like a dog, it gave another sharp jerk at the toy. Its teeth hurt for a moment, probably why Soul let go.
Later it would recognize letting go as not an unsound decision, [Mind's jaw Had hurt for just a moment before Soul released the pressure, and it definitely would have hurt more if Soul Hadn't let go.] but in the moment it just went flying backwards and off the bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump and whine. The fall was onto carpet, and didn't even hurt that much, but the betrayal certainly did.
He heard a muffled "shit" overhead, but that was quickly ignored in favor of whining as loudly and pathetically as possible. This sucked, its back Kind of hurt, and Soul had just been incredibly horribly mean to it. That was such a mean way to win tug-a-war, cruel and unusual! Everyone in a fifty-foot radius Needed to know that. Immediately.
Soul was on the floor with him in an instant, cooing soft words and shushing gently, like that would earn him forgiveness for what he'd done. [It Did forgave him, but Soul didn't need to know that!] Its tantrum was definitely stressing Soul out more than the fall hurt it, but that serves him right! Being mean to a puppy is crime punished ten-fold.
It seems it’s wailing had gained it more than just Soul’s frantic attention; loud footsteps echoed from the hallway. Heart, probably, but in the minuscule off chance it wasn’t, it shoved itself right into Soul’s unprepared lap. He could make up for being so mean to it by protecting it from any monsters that may or may not exist. [That was definitely why he went into its lap, and not because Soul was very comfortable.]
The door creaked open yet again, and Heart peaked in. “Everything okay in here? I heard a thud and ah, a lot of noise.”
Soul was quick to answer, “ah, yes. Everything is fine. Mind just took a bit of a tumble.”
As if to accentuate this Mind let out a little whimper, needing Heart to know he was having the worst time in the world [or well- it was actually having a rather nice time, but it was ignoring that]. The moon would have sympathy, wouldn't he?
Heart seemed to need a second to realize what that sound was, and when he did he let out a little giggle. “Do we have a puppy in here?”
They didn’t wait for Soul’s “yeah” before going on, closing the door behind them. With a few directions from their host, he settled down on the floor beside the two of them. “Mind if I join you two?” The question seemed mostly in jest, Heart had already sat down next to the two of them, but there was an underlining genuinity.
Mind heard none of this, and was warring between two decisions: one, stay in Soul’s lap [rather awkward, because it hadn’t been prepared for him to just crawl on,] or jump at Heart and see if he wanted to play wrestle. Soul was very warm, and past a bit of squiring, pretty comfortable, and had even started giving it pets, but Heart would probably take him up on the offer of wrestling…
The two had moved on in conversation while it considered its options. Soul was answering a question it didn’t catch: “I really don’t know why he’s being so loud… the fall was pretty short. Do you think it might have landed wrong?”
Heart was making considering noises, but Mind was fuming. The two having conversation overhead didn’t bother it at all [it rather liked that they didn’t expect or need it to contribute] but Soul didn’t even know why it was mad at him?
That was definitely the last straw, and it wriggled out of Soul’s gentle hold to run into Heart. He didn't bowl them over, but that was only because Heart was a brick wall compared to Mind. There was a giggle, and large arms wrapped around it in a hug. It squirmed for a moment in the hold before leaning up to lick a stripe over Heart's cheek.
This very heartfelt show of affection earned him nothing but a few snickers and getting pushed back a little. Nobody here appreciated him as much as they should. Still, he stopped whining; Heart wasn't the one who let it fall off the bed, after all.
"I think Mind was just mad at you..." Heart said, shoulders shaking with silent laughter now that they'd figured Mind wasn't actually in any pain. "Was Soul being mean to you, puppy?"
"uhuh!" Mind agreed, easily. He wouldn't really say Soul was being Mean, per se. but he wanted to be mean back anyway. It usually didn't like talking like this, but it was going to make a small exception, just for this."B-bad at... playing."
It shoved its face right into Heart's chest now that it had spoken its piece, that was enough of that for now! His Heart didn't immediately react besides shift Mind into his lap more comfortably, face tucked into his neck. After a moment of adjustment, he was immediately on Mind's side; the way everyone Should be.
"Soul did you really fuck up playing so bad you made him mad at you? When he's like this?"
"Don't swear in front of it!" Soul, sidestepping the question, interjected.
There was a moment of silence, with the exception of the rhythmic thump of Mind's tail, before Heart burst out laughing. "You, my Soul-" He couldn't finish, giggling and wheezing way too hard. He tried again, "You censor yourself in front of Mind?"
[Mind knew Soul Tried, he was just very very bad at it. If he had any of the want to count he's sure its pretty high in the double digits, and they've only started doing this for a couple weeks at this point.]
"Yes! I do!"
"He's- He's still Mind. I don't think censoring swears will get it more into character either..." They considered it for a moment, like a thought had just occurred to them, "Unless you censor yourself in front of pets normally...?"
More silence, followed by breathless giggles. The sound made Mind want to laugh too, contagious. Soul didn't answer, turning away with a huff.
"Mind's not some delicate little thing like this, Soul." Heart said, turning his attention back to Mind. "isn't that right buddy? You're a big dog aren't you?"
Mind nodded against Heart's chest, giddy at the praise. It liked where this was going, quite a lot.
"Wanna show him how to really play?" His Heart gently shoved him off their lap and grinned down at it, sharp teeth on display. "Know you like wrestling, Apollo."
It lets out a happy yip, wasting no time in engaging in the fun. The two are grappling around the floor in moments, Soul's surprised yelp background noise.
Heart was always fun, never missing the opportunity to stress out Soul or let Mind have some more rough playtime. Not to say they were it’s favorite… just that, sometimes, maybe Mind preferred their treatment to Soul’s.
Like now! Tumbling about the carpet hit the exact itch Soul couldn’t. There was action, loud and aggressive, and it could really get its adrenaline pumping. Best yet, Mind could just let itself sink into it all without having to worry about things going south. The others would never hurt I a puppy, after all.
The thought brought on another wave of giddiness, and it threw its weight at Heart with rendered vigor, finally pinning him to the ground. Victory was his, at last!
Heart didn’t struggle much, a bit out of breath and mostly happy Mind seemed satisfied. At least, that's what it thought. “Ahh how terrible, to be bested by this awful beast…”
[Mind preened at that, for it Was an awe inspiring creature.]
His Hearts mouth turned into a sly little smile, before he was curling up with a lunge and grabbing Mind in a hug, warm and constricting, but not too tight. He laughed, big and loud and exaggeratedly evil, “or so you thought!”
It squeaked and squirmed and made a big show of Not wanting to be caught, but didn’t actually struggle too badly. Playtime had tired it out a little, and it was definitely not at 100% beforehand. Not a good mix for a puppy… Plus how awfully nice it was to be in Heart's arms? He didn't stand a chance.
Yawning, it let it’s chin hook over Heart’s shoulder, attempts to escape his arms short lived and abandoned. The moon was very very warm, one of the many things that made him such an appealing caretaker. How could it not adore someone so warm and snuggly.
There was a concerned noise behind it, and it could feel it’s ears perking up, trying to figure who it was. Soul, [obviously [there were only the three of them here, after all] but it liked having to puzzle it out. Smooth and angelic, with a hint of static, of course that was his Soul.] tinged with only a hint of worry, “was he too rough?” It asked him, before quickly changing gears to address Heart, “It looks tired.”
“It looked like it had too much energy when I got here, just tired it out enough for bed.” Heart’s easy response, self-assured. His grip tightened around Mind and he shifted it a little, like a man presenting a fish they’d caught, “worked like a charm!”
Mind only struggled a little bit at the handling, but rather liked it. There was just something so pleasant about being… a prize. Observed and adored and pampered like a treasure, but any contributions it offered were incidental to it, the machinations of another. Mind could just doze off in Heart’s arms and the soft cooing just came rolling in! It was living the dream.
Soul made a considering sound but didn’t fight him further. It tapped Mind’s shoulder to gain his attention. It to glanced back, eyes already half-lidded and tired from the adrenaline rush of its game ending so quickly.
“Mind…? Want to go to bed a puppy?” His hand was already hooked under its collar, ready to take it off. Usually the sessions weren’t so close to the time it turned in for the night [Mind liked having its before-sleep reading time], and it usually liked to get out of puppy-space an hour or two before bed. Soul probably assumed it wanted out before getting to sleep.
Mind growled, the sound at odds with its earlier good mood. What would have been a squeaky puppy growl on anyone else came out deep and crackling from the sun.
Soul pulled his hand back, palms free, “easy puppy! Was just a suggestion.” Heart was laughing at him.
Satisfied its point came across, it nodded. Going to bed actually did sound pretty nice right now…
Heart seemed to sense its thoughts, because he lifted it off the ground as he stood, gently setting it back on its bed. Like an evil creature that fed off of only suffering, however, he did Not crawl in bed with it.
Letting out a loud whine, it stared between Soul and Heart with a wide eye, glassy with what would be tears if it had any. It earned him a startled sound from Soul, “I thought you were enjoying cuddling with Heart…?” And Heart’s feigned resignation, “well… I guess I have too,”
It turned away from Heart with an annoyed huff. He should’ve been grateful and humble! Not resigned; Mind was a wonderful puppy, to cuddle with him was a gift, or a burden. Eyes drifting right over him to look at Soul instead, it gave a few paws at the air, tying to get him closer without Actually getting out of bed. He let out a laugh, a little indulgent, crawling in bed with it. "Fine, but only if you take off that collar. We don't want it poking you in your sleep, right?"
It huffed, annoyed at the fact Soul was right. Getting pricked in the neck by it's spiky, crown-shaped tag seemed like a recipe for discomfort though, so it presented its neck. Soul made quick work of removing the collar and it wasted no time in tucking itself into his side when he was done. Soul was still moving around a bit, putting the collar on the bedside table and getting comfortable in Mind's bed, but it was still nice.
"Am I still expected to join in?" Heart asked from behind, though he didn't sound too dejected anymore. "Or have I been rejected from the cuddle pile."
Mind considered shooing him away, but ultimately the idea of cuddling both its Heart and Soul sounded too nice. [And maybe.. it didn't like the idea of excluding its Heart from all the fun.] It made sure not to wriggle out of Soul's arms but it did wave him over with its free arm.
His Heart let out an amused sound, "Am I not even worth turning around for?" but crawled in bed beside it anyway, squishing it between themself and Soul. It arched its back a bit, so it could press against both its thirds, earning another amused noise and arms wrapping around it.
Its host didn't really cuddle back, but he did let it snuggle up against his side. His Heart, seeming to have discarded all his feigned reluctance, holding it close to his chest in a firm hug.
All in all, it was perfect. It almost forgot about what had stressed it out, tomorrow would probably be similarly difficult...It tucked itself closer, face shoved into the cook of Soul's neck.
This earned him a concerned coo from its host, "What's wrong buddy?"
Even after all that, it still wasn't in the mood for talking. It just shook its head, wanting to ignore the problem and focus on cuddling. Soul's hand lifted to its hair, lightly scratching its scalp. From behind, Heart cooed little comforts into its ear. The two working in tandem to distract it from its worry.
Soul could never leave well enough alone though, and asked anyway. "Was it what got you so stressed in the first place...?"
It nodded, hesitant. Soul probably wouldn't be dropping this unless it admitted that much, at least. His visible eye softened at that, "Don't worry about that. We can help you out with whatever it is tomorrow, okay?"
That actually sounded pretty nice... It didn't know how much help the two could actually be in the things it normally did, but even the knowledge that they would try was... appealing. Comforting. The thought of tomorrow didn't seem so stress inducing with the two of them around it.
It could feel itself relaxing back into their embrace, the stress lining its figure draining. Its eyes drooped further, the lack of worry and warm bodies around it making it difficult to stay awake. It tried to keep its eyes open though, it wanted to enjoy this. It wasn't common for the three of them to get together like this, warm and safe and without any argument.
One of them, and at this point it couldn't tell who, gently shushed it, "Go to sleep buddy, we'll be here tomorrow."
That was the last thing it heard before the world went dark, the need to rest winning out. Maybe... this wouldn't be the last time they did this.
#cccc#cj#chonny jash#chonnys charming chaos compendium#cj mind#cccc mind#cj heart#cccc heart#cj soul#cccc soul#petre#sfw petre#pet regression#sfw pet regression#jbird's art#jbird's fiction
38 notes
·
View notes
Text
I like to think that the way Jinx reacts to seeing Vi in the enforcer uniform is less about what happened to their parents and more about how her Vi never would have done that and realising the Vi she understood and who was familiar and safe and recognisable to her is gone for good. Because obviously no one in the Undercity likes enforcers or their topside oppressors, but Jinx is never once shown with the same vehement hatred of enforcers that young Vi had.
I think this is just about Vi. It's about Jinx's disappointment towards the big sister she spent her life looking up to, and her shock that Vi's life experiences were that bad that they've led her to lose any character and principles she used to have.
I really don't think Jinx ever cared as much about gaining freedom for Zaun and revenge on Piltover as young-Vi and Silco did. Jinx' world was always quite insular. She focused on her special interest and developing her talent, making bombs and weapons, to enable her survival, improve her self-esteem and to try to help the ones she loves. Everything she did was about proving she could survive after coming from nothing and being the kicked puppy, and to prove herself to the ones she admires.
The whole point of the teaparty scene was about deciding who to trust and who to choose and if it had happened differently she would have gone off with Vi and done what it took to make Vi keep loving her and if that meant not using the bomb she wouldn't have done it.
She isn't exactly driven by revenge like pre-teaparty Vi and post-Cassandra Cait, or by wanting dignity and wider respect like Silco and young-Vi. She's driven by loyalty and her desire to be valued and seen by those she loves, and she has no one left to be loyal to, Silco is dead and her Vi isn't there anymore, so she's dead inside.
Having her own daughter to care for (and probably losing her) is what will make her want to become a symbol and put the fire in her to truly want revenge for the first time.
But that moment in the smog seeing Vi in uniform below her is the moment the teaparty and watching Jinx use the bomb on the council building was for Vi. It's Jinx' first moment realising Vi isn't safe for her anymore and has become a total stranger. That's when she's confronted by understanding that she'll never get her Vi back again and she doesn't have the history or connection to this new woman anymore to be able to understand her. It's the first time realising the memory of the Vi she has loved and hated and held on to all this time has been extinguished by this imposter.
And she naturally has a total panic attack at the loss.
It gives you more understanding of Vi's internal feelings about Jinx. Vi doesn't show her reactions in the same big way Jinx does. She had to be Powder's parental figure as a kid and she desired to follow in Vander's footsteps and become a leader one day, so she had to constantly maintain a positive and strong front and suppress anything else. She always made sure whenever Powder looked up at her to project, 'Everything is going to be fine, because I will make it so, don't worry :)' because she was a great big sister.
And then she was locked in prison for 7+ years where she couldn't afford to show weakness or have obvious breakdowns. Also I like how her coping mechanism is shown by her general attitude to be optimism, and even in somewhere as desolate as Stillwater it's easy to imagine her against all odds fighting to maintain a can-do attitude and having a mantra of 'It will be fine and I'll get out of this one day because I have to', and that mindset takes a lot of suppressing too.
So she implodes rather than explodes in a way that's difficult for an observer to notice or understand. Which is why her S2 actions so far look so wack to most people.
The moment in the smog and the panic attack after is the first time Jinx is having the same big realisation Vi had to her during Season 1, realising that is not her safety or the big sister she can look up to anymore. It's losing a part of herself that Jinx admits at the end of S1 has kept her alive all these years.
42 notes
·
View notes
Text
I think some people are behind the times, and don't realize how far we've come. And/or some people don't realize that their experiences aren't universal.
I am one of 4 children, two of us are women*, and two are men. We were raised in one of the more sexist, Christian households I've come across.
My partner and I decided to not have children, for a host of reasons, and took permeant steps to make sure we wouldn't accidentally end up with biological children.
This lady called my partner sexist because they didn't know how to change a diaper and had never done so. She claimed that this meant that they believed that women should do all the childcare, and that if my partner should ever need to learn, they'd turn first to a woman to teach them.
Which to me, is already bonkers, because I've never changed a diaper and frankly I'm a little worried I'd mess it up, too. The poo, the crevices. (Look, I know that's probably irrational, but that's where my mind goes.) That lady didn't think I was sexist. Just my partner, who she assumed was a man. Even though she knew we had mutually decided not to reproduce.
But then I look at my siblings, who are all much more mainstream/center kinda people, and it's even more evident that she needs to get with the times:
My eldest brother did all of the diaper changes for his daughter and son when they were little. He also helped with feedings as much as possible.
My sister's husband did all of the diaper changes and all the feedings for the first months of their child's life when he had parental leave, and he takes over diapering and feeding when he gets home from work now.
My younger brother has two kids, and he splits the feeding and diapering with his wife, and is fully competent to take care of his children on his own.
I kinda think that if you think men shirk childcare as a rule, you need to hang out with better men. Or if you're attached to one that you like, and want to reproduce with them, communicate and create a better situation. If you don't trust them to change after you've expressed and explained your need, then you should not reproduce with them. Heavens.
*or at least perceived to be such
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Happy Out of Touch Thursday!
#les mis#les miserables#out of touch thursday#barricade day#my fanvid#enjolras#grantaire#jean valjean#javert#marius#cosette fauchelevent#eponine thenardiar#my posts#video#i was so worried i wouldn't get this done in time#but with June 6th being a Thursday... I had to make it happen#even if it isn't my best work#has this been done yet? Probably.
112 notes
·
View notes
Text
The joke most likely wouldn't have cheered Rook up much. Digging through the junk lying around in the pocket was the least she could do and she worried overdoing this would only make it more awkward.
"I can conjure as many crystals as I want on the go. I would have stopped him, if he tried anything." Rook reassured, "I don't want to see more friends get hurt. And whoever hurt Lucien better know a good surgeon because they won't be able to tell which is the front and the back side when I'll be done with them."
Human or not, she would make them regret everything. To hell with the rules.
"Don't worry, Willow will visit soon enough. She likes to show up at the most interesting times, especially if you can take a peek in people's minds now. I wont say a thing to Bill though, don't worry about that."
And she would most likely get back at her for stealing from her snacks stash. Rook's expression shifted to a frown once again as she stuffed her hands in her pockets.
"...I guess I should go now. I'll keep the crystal in my pocket so I can let you out as soon as this mess is sorted." She sighed, "You might hear some bits here and there."
"Hey, even dads are good for something sometimes."
And it just didn't seem right to take the whole box. A bookshelf rose from the ground at a flick of Rook's hand and some extra pillows dropped on the couch when she glanced back to it. It was easy to see how good of a grasp she had on that strange place despite her sour mood and the stress she was under.
"Then maybe freezing his ass outside for a few more minutes will chill his spirits." Rook replied, staring off in the white void, "This is bad enough without us jumping at each other. I bet the one who's actually behind all this is laughing his ass off right now."
But she couldn't really stay mad at Bill either. She knew what it felt like to be controlled and used against those she cared about all too well. It was just annoying to be forced in the middle.
"Well, if he cares to share with the class, I'll be happy to let him vent about it. But I can't do more than that."
Rook was about to summon something else, before she lowered her hand. "…Coffee. Uh, sure, that can be done. Hold on a sec—" She snapped her fingers and disappeared, returning after a couple of minutes with a cup of coffee in her hand, "You know, I use this place to get around sometimes. Here's an authentic Carthage coffee, special blend. Willow sends her regards."
41 notes
·
View notes
Text
it's still NMJ's birthday in my timezone, so have some happy Nie Bros !
#nie mingjue#nie huaisang#and maybe someone else too...#mdzs fanart#cql fanart#nmj's official unofficial birthday#i've been busy preparing for an exam so i could barely think about his birthday for the longest time#and i decided to just have the two of them hanging out; drinking; eating some snacks#and i used concept art of the unclean realm as reference#then i spent a lot of time worrying about whether the table was actually like meant for tea and if it was bad that they were on the floor#i almost made them play weiqi but their faces were already done and they wouldn't be all smiley while playing#anyway it's done#i hope my inaccuracies can be interpreted as the boys being alone and carefree#and maybe nmj likes plum blossoms more than chrysanthemus because i couldn't get them right XD
167 notes
·
View notes
Text
WARREN BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#my art#WOO!#was worried i wouldn't get a drawing done in time but i DID#this is the third year in a row i've drawn him on his birthday#gotta keep up the tradition#love this guy#both guys!#ehem#red valley#red valley fanart#red valley podcast#red valley pod#warren godby#warren godby fanart#gordon porlock#gordon porlock fanart#you all should listen to red valley it's so so good it's my favourite podcast it's so awesome guys seriously it's the best podcast made eve
32 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fellow Devil's Minioners
I have solved the mystery of Rolin and Assad's answers (aside from absolute nonsense trolling, that is) and made them make sense.
To wit:
Armand turned him out of spite?
Make's perfect sense. It was to spite Parkinson's for thinking it was going to be what killed Daniel. If anyone is killing Daniel, it's Armand and it's in a sexy-vampire-marrying way. He called dibs a long time ago.
A pure rage kill?
But of course. Who would not feel pure rage at Parkinson's for daring to try to take his beloved from him? What is a mediocre star to a 514 year-old vampire? What is a human disease? Does Parkinson's truly believe itself to be a match for The Vampire Armand, an immortal who walks in the sun? HA! His blood will obliterate its existence!
See? Now it makes perfect sense. Parkinson's disease said 'I'll be killing the love of your life slowly while you sit there and watch. What are you gonna do about?
Parkinson's disease fucked around and found out.
I made it make sense.
#devil's minion#and worry not friends#the chase happened with baby daniel#and now old maniel remembers this#he is not amused to find out armand played around in his head even more than he realized#the chase is currently on in the present day#old maniel is not amused about this either#fucking immortal idiot is still the biggest dumbest scaredest baby daniel has ever met#canNOT believe he has to run this asshole down now after all of THAT#first he wouldn't vampire marry daniel#now he's finally vampire married daniel of his own free will and he's got cold feet?#little late for that pal#the deed is done the marriage is VERY consumated#armand's not getting a vampire annulment#and daniel has been through two divorces as a human#he will certainly not be going through one as a vampire for fuck's sake#so now he's gotta hunt his creepy fuck husband down#drag him back home and fuck him 'til he cries (sooooo much easier than daniel thought) and then reassure him that daniel's not leaving him#armand is stuck with him now#FOREVER#love story of all time#iwtv#i think this has become a devil's minion shitposting blog#this is not how i foresaw this going when i made it#alas i got into a show designed to make its own fans crazy#and so it has
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
its important to go see a low stakes concert sometimes
#as in seeing someone in concert youre not an absolute nutbag about (as i have done this year and last year)#but last night me n my dad went and saw renaissance on their farewell tour#running on like 4 hours of sleep and seething to be at work right now#or rather i would be seething if i weren't so tired#new anger management hack: just get less sleep so your senses are dulled! anyway#funniest part of the night was the multiples times when my dad who is old was like 'everyone here is so old :/'#he was literally like 'if i ever get like these people just shoot me' LMAO#the concert was good i wouldn't call it like great or fantastic but such is the beauty of a low stakes concert#youre not living and dying on every song youre not singing along to everything youre just. enjoyin the show normally which is crazy#again as someone who has seen two bands (both bands two separate times and is seeing one of those bands a THIRD TIME soon) im crazy over#that experience is fun its bonkers and you definitely gotta do it for the bands youre crazy over. you gotta#but it was nice to just. have a regular time at a show#as far as the show itself there were a few little moments where things didnt go as smooth but that may have been bc it was the first show#and save for a few moments in some songs annie haslam knocked it out of the park she can still sing as insanely good as she used to#again some parts of songs were in a lower key? but most seemed to be the same and she was still hitting those bonkers high notes#so good for her. the band was pretty good but i felt they really only like all worked together well on a few songs#if that makes sense. but overall pretty good#and my anxieties about getting there and back were unfounded bc somehow it all worked. yay#our car service trip home was in a tesla i felt like i was gonna die the entire ride home lol#i am NEVER getting in one of those stupid cars again. big ass ipad as your dashboard this is insane???? im so scared???#anywho. old musicians are forever as ive been saying lately. and they really are#oh also we were at the town hall which is a nice small theater i was worried abt bein too far away but it's laid out really well#in that you're sure to get a pretty good view of the stage#it seems like half the size roughly of the beacon for whatever thats worth#OH i did see one dude somewhere in the audience with a sparks shirt so. hashtag represent#yet another concert report. yayyyyy#(im so tired)
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
small update
ok so um I got my number theory paper today, and the TA had cut marks for me because i left the answer at 66^2 and not 4356 (fermat's little theorem) 😔 I even wrote the full proof
my friend told me I should mail the TA about this, I got 14/20 and should be getting 17or18/20 😔
scores aside, number theory is so much fun, so much fun. the only good thing here is that I know the concepts well, and I fully knew the paper (still fucked it up, because I'm so frickin slow while writing and time). and it hurts worse because there's not enough proof that validates my knowledge. which in turn makes me question if i actually do have any.
I am, in general, a person who does well in concepts but screws up the exams (70% of the time) and I'm trying, I'm trying to get myself out of this "exam paniK" that I often spiral into, just minutes before the exam. I hope I change and grow; I hope, I hope.
#im so sorry for this meltdown once again#so sorry#and for the paper - many people got 20#it was actually a very easy paper and yes 20 was doable#even i could've gotten a 20 had i not screwed up the way i did#and i feel so bad to even say “had i not screwed up...” the excuse sounds horrible to my ears#well what is done is done#i can only try better next time#this course might just end up being the easiest to get an A#let's hope that I don't fuck up this one too#after seeing my paper i just returned it and came back#and my friend was like “ok. why did u not ask them why you've lost so much when the concepts are all right there on your paper?”#and i was like “um so should i ask them?” she went “YES.”#but by the time i went back to the hall the TAs had left so i have to mail mine now#and im very worried that she wouldn't change the current grading#last time i missed an A in math by 1/2 marks and i don't want the same thing to happen this time 😔😔#oh god ONE good thing can help me right now please#ru's trying#JUST 1 good thing#just give me ONE#i was so out of sorts today i slept for ~5 hours during the day and missed my calc class#i deliberately missed it though bc i wasn't feeling up to mark#i regret not going but my brain simply said no we're not there atm so maybe it was for the better#once again im so so SO sorry for the meltdowns lately#it's been bad rains and cloudy days in my head for a while now#i hope for the sun soon
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
friends and fiends if this truly spells the Over for the qsmp i may let the brainworms that have been festering in me for MONTHS--A YEAR, EVEN--win.
i may summarize the goddamn fucking lore.
#i CANNOT make an 8 hour summary i CAN'T i SHOULD NOT that is SO MUCH CONTENT#and i still only speak like 2/4 qsmp languages MAYBE 2.5/4 if we're REALLY stretching it#but GODDAMNIT I'M DOING SOME CURSORY RESEARCH ANYWAY BC I WANNA WRITE THAT FUCKING TIME LOOP#qsmp#maybe just the fed lore. haha. eye twitches. maybe just the iverall server lore. maybe i'll even bother caring about the qsmp livestreams.#haha. eye twitch. fucking. eye twitch.#solo lore is B E Y O N D me but MAYBE shit that affected Most or All lore i could do#like code lore and shit. obv it knots in with other lore but FUCK IT WHATEVER#AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i'm not even gonna worry about it#yknow what. not even gonna worry about it. i gotta do the research first 🤪 whatever bro#if the research gets done i'll think about alllllllllllll the rest of this but this is a YEAR OF CONTENT#mother FUCKER dude it's not possible there's no way#this is a year with like 80 hours of streams per DAYYY at peak who could do this#who could. no wonder no one could keep up. no wonder i had to LIVE in the tag to keep up#good lord GOD i shouldn't do this. i'm not committing. god i want to though. god i shouldn't.#shut up vic#block game brainrot#HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA#WHATEVER HAHAHAHA WHATEVER AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA#i will beat this storyline into SUBMISSION i will beat it to DEATH i will FORCE IT TO MAKE SENSE#I WILL PRUNE IT LIKE THE WORLDS WORST BONSAI I SWEAR TO GOD#i'm unhinged i can't i have so wanted to do this but i swore to myself i wouldn't#bc i know i'll go insane and i know it will take FUCKING YEARS and there is no fucking way i'll see it to the end#but goddddddddddddddd i want to i SO FUCKING WANT TO#listen. if there's no more lore. i may summarize the fucking lore. someone will beat me to it 100% bc i take fucking a million years#but people are suckers for long video essays and summaries IT'S ME I'M PEOPLE#anyway if you got this far and have the screenshot of mariana messaging slime to tell him their daughter is dead please send it#i can't find it via google and i don't have twitter and i know it was posted there at some point :(#i want it :( i want to throw it back in slime's face in the time loop because repetition is fun and heartbreaking >:D
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
from chocolate chip cookie to kinder bueno
#morna#i still need more bleach to achieve the colour i'm aiming for#i am aware of my dead eye in the right image but whatever lmao#also the shine on my lip is vaseline btw#this scottish lady who was getting her own hair done was also getting really invested in what it was going to look like today#when she first looked the brown was all in clips on top of my head so she only noticed the bleached bit (which was very white at the time)#then when my hairdresser took the clips out she looked again and went WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT HAIR#IT WAS WHITE JUST NOW#i was like it's magic!!!!#she started to get really worried that she wouldn't get to see the end result bc her hair took a lot less time than mine 😂#she got sick of sitting around when her hairdresser left her colour to cook so she would come over and check on it every now and then#i loved that she got so into it#i didn't intend to become the entertainment for the day but i fucking loved it#tags#okay to reblog#personal
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
my bro gave me his old drawing stylus after he heard i lost mine i gotta start animating again i have no more excuses!!
#i just feel so intimidated#like there's all this science to it and a Right Way to do it#but when i realy think about all that stuff i realize it Isn't all that scary but i still#cant helkp but feel inadequate Or like i won't even be able to do it Like i'm actually honest to god incapable#but i know i could learn#ive done it before .. stuff i thought i wouldn't be able to do isn't so scary once i actually start it and give myself a chance to enjoy it#rather than blaze through scared and get disappointed that the stuff i did in 10 minutes isn't that good#anything worth doing is hard to do At first#and takes time and practice#i just need to stop being so scared!#and stop rushing#art isn't something you Get over with i need to stop that#i enjoy the process when i allow myself too. when im not worrying about all the ways i could be doing it better#my rambles
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
Z THE CONCEPT OF YOU REBOOTING VALIANT KNIGHT LITERALLY HAS ME FROTHING AT THE MOUTH. it literally never left my head i am always thinking about it at least a little bit. literally recently i came up with a concept for how some of my original characters for my spinoff would fit into valiant knight fnsnskdj and so i technically have like a rewrite/sequel concept that includes zenry and jasper/[redacted] fnsmdnkxnsn which included me rereading the chapters i beta'd for you to remember some details and i was like UGH THIS WAS SO GOOD I MISS IT
LASKDJOSKJVMODKMVLDSKJFSOKJFSLDKFJ HELLO?????????? ARE YOU AWARE THAT I'D LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU???? CAUSE I SERIOUSLY WOULD LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU!!!!! BUT AHHHHHHHHHHH
SERIOUSLY THOUGH, THIS IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENTS I'VE EVER RECEIVED, I'M LEGIT GONNA CRY (affectionate), I'VE BEEN STARING AT THIS ASK FOR LIKE SIX HOURS, LIKE THERE AREN'T ENOUGH WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO ARTICULATE HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME
but seriously, like I'm not trying to rag on my writing or anything, but I also know like. I'm not writing anything that's gonna be winning awards anytime soon or anything ground-breaking or anything, but that's never been my goal; and I just say all of that to say that the fact that you're still thinking about something of mine years later and it stuck with you so much that you want to put your own characters into it??????? That's literally so wild to me in the best way, I can't get over it. I'm so serious when I say again that this legit one of the best compliments I've ever received. (Also, if you're willing, I'd very much like to hear about this rewrite/sequel of sorts)
You have me legit thinking about it now. Like I told Pearl in the replies, I feel like my writing is leagues better (i reread stuff from that time period and just cringe now; but to be fair to my past self, she was a novice who was coming back to writing after a 10+ year break so it stands to reason) so I feel like I could do a lot more with it. There's soooo much of that world I want to flesh out that I wasn't skilled enough to do when I first started it. lsakdjf idk man, I might actually do it
#asks#casey tag#i've been wanting to write something fantasy related for SO LONG. I tried to do it with zenry but I could never work it out :/#honestly if you wanna find a way to collab on it I'm 10000% down with that (no pressure ofc)#but I legit feel like the VK is just as much yours as it is mine#like I know I've told you before but you seriously spoiled me when it comes to beta readers#you provided me with such valuable notes and insight that the VK wouldn't have been even *half* of what it is without you#if I do decide to reboot it though. l I decided a long time ago that I'm not posting anymore fics until I have the majority of them done#hence why there hasn't been anything new from me in four years alskdjf#but I just don't want to run into the same problem I did originally with the VK#and now with DoD#where I start it. get stuck or don't have the drive to finish it. and then it gets abandoned#so at least we won't have to worry about me posting 3 chapters and then either not finishing it or going 'fuck it I'm starting over' aslkdj#sorry if this is messy it's late and my brain is fried
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
so sick and twisted that i spent so much time looking after other people that asking for help is now an unforgivable sin to me. like no i wont make anyone else Help me bc all i am is someone to Help others so i shouldn't need help or do anything to make anyone else feel like that and whats worse is like 5 years ago my friend predicted this shit like I've been feeling guilty about getting basic help for over 5 years and it just gets worse
#best thing I've ever done was stop doing counselling as a degree bc if i continued id have slowly killed myself#to me if im upset its manipulation. bc ppl are nice and will want to make sure im okay but if they didnt know i was upset they wouldn't#feel like that so i shouldn't let them know I'm upset to make sure they feel okay bc if they're worrying abt me they're worrying#and other ppl worrying is worse than me worrying and then I'm in my room alone crying for no reason and i can't ask for help#god i just sobbed for a good 15 mins#idk this is just another vent post in a sea of vent posts im just anither guy going thru shit#but ive been going thru the same shit for 7 years now & i don't think im getting over it any time soon#i feel bad bc i want someone to care#i really want someone to care and people will but if i tell them they'll worry and i can't make people worry
2 notes
·
View notes