#i would just summon him and be buddies with him i rarely ever used him

[savageboar]

tbh i think that. yeah the most challenging pokemon side games that still are hard af as an adult are conquest and ranger. like those games pull no punches.

[ashthewaterghoul]

While Phantom and Copia are indeed the cuddle buddies, nothing can take that away, I feel like other ghouls and ghoulettes also probably have had a hard time dealing and processing with with their Papa no longer being their frontman…or papa in general

Oh absolutely.

Dew, Mountain and Aether especially. They remember what happened to Terzo and they couldn’t help but feel like it was all a trap to get Copia away from his Ghouls for their own nefarious purposes.

To be rather macabre, they were expecting their own deaths. Ifrit and Zephyr died last time, there’s no way they’re surviving again. Dew was also mourning for whichever Ghoul met the same fiery fate as him.

Despite the years following Copia’s ascent, they still have that niggle in the back of their minds.

(Below the cut bc surprise surprise I yapped✌🏻)

Ghoulettes are insanely loyal, and their emotions are 1 or 100 with very little in-between. They’ve only ever known Copia as their leader and they struggled to recognise the authority of the new guy. They kept calling Copia “Papa” which he didn’t mind but the rest of the Clergy did. The four ended up having a lot of detentions because the Clergy thought they needed “correcting” with their behaviour and dedication to Copia.

Small-but-mighty Aurora was in a constant state of anxiety, less used to the Clergy’s bs, and thought she’d be sent back when she adores her family so much. Cirrus and Cumulus got very good at using their air to calm her down from a panic attack, and Sunny’s Fire made her very cosy and relaxing to snuggle with.

There was absolutely some misogyny as well from some. Comments along the lines of “This is why we shouldn’t have summoned the females. They’re too emotional” and shit like that.

Rain was also terrified of the pack being taken out because he had himself convinced that he would be made into a Fire Ghoul just like Dew was. The Clergy don’t like summoning Fire Ghouls but Water Ghouls are easy to summon, eager to get to the 75%-water-covered surface. His element would be easily replaced, as would he.

Swiss had jumped through a summoning portal not meant for him and he certainly faced the wrath of the Clergy after the portal shut behind him (it was Rain’s portal in my hc). The new Water Ghoul was flocked with affection and instantly taken in. Swiss though was isolated from everyone but a few Clergy who were to “teach him some lessons”…

It was Copia who heard him singing to himself in his cell one day, and managed to persuade the Clergy to let him be in the Ghost project. Well, he needs to come from his cell to rehearse and meet everyone doesn’t he? The cells are so far and the den’s so close to the rehearsal space so we should move him right? Without Copia there, now more detached from the Ministry thanks to his new role, he feels like he’s going to be marched back down there any day now.

And we all know how poor Phantom’s taking it… (the ramble is coming soon!!)

For them all, it feels like Copia is gone forever. It doesn’t help that they rarely see him and he’s not allowed to come to the den nor them to his quarters. Swiss, Mountain or Aether sometimes get called on for security when he has business trips, but other than that, it’s only Clergy get-togethers where they can’t shower their Copia in love and affection because they have to keep it professional.

The new guy is… the new guy. He’s not Copia and they all struggled to accept him. Copia was the hand that summoned them (excluding Aether, Dew and Mountain ofc). He had earned their loyalty and respect on Earth. This guy was brand new and they tried their best, but nearly every night for the first few months was spent in a large and teary cuddle pile…

[bluegekk0]

1 does holly remember any of the spells from the pale vessel fight 2 does holly remember godhome and what happened there 3 was godhome like a dream for hornet or the nailmasters? 4 how are the nailmasters and sly doing? 5 how are cornifer and iselda 6 did the knight finish seer's quest

Oh that's a lot of questions, let me think.

1 - They remember some of them, yes. Particularly focusing to heal, this wasn't a thing in the fight but I assume it's something anyone who learns soul magic can do. They can only heal themselves, though, and to a limited degree (like I mentioned in a previous post, they can't grow back the arm or heal any of their disabilities, only surface wounds). The biggest reasons why they don't generally use soul magic in the AU are: 1. they don't really feel the need to, the domestic life doesn't require combat abilities and they rarely have to heal and 2. they don't have a constant source of soul to use, there are some soul totems scattered around Hallownest but they rarely travel outside of Dirtmouth, and the hot springs in the AU are just water that contains minerals which help you relax and focus, they aren't a source of soul. So while they would in theory be able to use some of the spells, they choose not to.

2 and 3 - Godhome in the AU works a bit differently, I decided to interpret it that way to fit my vision for the AU. It's, as the name suggests, the home of the gods, those which do not have physical forms such as The Radiance and other gods that I want to design some day. Another name I tend to use for this place is The Gods' Plane. The hall of gods doesn't exist in the same form it does in the game (I choose to interpret that part as simply just a gameplay thing with no lore implications). Godhome/The Gods' Plane can be accessed with a Dream Nail through the Godseekers, who I imagine have a similar role to the Moth Tribe and thus similar abilities. Through the hall of the gods, you can enter individual realms of the gods (for example, The Radiance's dream realm, as well as the realms of Unn and The White Lady; the nightmare realm was once part of it but was separated following Grimm's banishment).

So none of these characters were actually there in the AU, physically or through dreaming. The way I imagine it, The Radiance was "summoned" to Godhome from her dream realm and challenged by Ghost. The void then followed, seeping through Godseeker's mind into Godhome. Perhaps Holly witnessed the fight in their consciousness, but they weren't part of it - to them it's more like a memory. So they're the only one who remembers what happened, even if the Pure Vessel fight didn't actually happen there. I hope that makes sense.

4 - Sly moved to the City of Tears after the infection ended, in hopes of becoming rich, to put it short. He has his little shop in the city and finds many more customers than he ever did in Dirtmouth. I imagine he and Lemm are direct competitors since they ended up selling very similar items, so there is some beef between them.

The Nailmasters are where you'd expect them to be. Sheo and the Nailsmith are together, and the other two still live in their huts. Though I like to think Mato visits Dirtmouth from time to time, so he's the most involved of the three brothers. Perhaps there's something going on between him and Brumm, wink wink.

5 - They still live in Dirtmouth and run their shop, though Iselda began joining Cornifer on his trips. They are good friends with the Vyrm family, especially Vyrm himself since Iselda played a big part in helping him recover after the Grimmkin incident (she ran after Brumm as he carried bleeding Vyrm home and then helped with treating the wound). Cornifer is also buddies with him, and Hornet often accompanies him during his trips if they overlap with her morning patrols.

6 - They did, yes. They were collecting dream essence anyway and decided to help her. Which means that the Moth Tribe (that is moths associated with The Radiance, I imagine there are still moth-like species out there) is officially extinct in the AU.

[illwilledomen]

If I ever made an SCP themed mod, here’s how I’d do some of my favourites.

Mob one, SCP 1529

It’s mob name (like on spawn eggs and the likes) would be The Mountain King, and it would be a boss. (Or atleast a mini boss)

It would spawn in a new biome variant of frozen peaks which would be classified as its exceptionally highest points. It’s chance of spawning is doubled if it is a thunderstorm/blizzard.

Just like in lore, if you stare at it, it’ll pull an opposite-enderman on you and force you to keep looking. When you first meet eye contact, a pop up will appear similar to an elder guardians mining fatigue jumpscare, but of its goggle visor which would be illuminated with an orange glow.

It will inflict you with Hypothermia (like from powdered snow), Nausea, Slowness and Saturation. The Mountain King will slowly approach you and inflict damage in short intervals, maybe doing something similar to an Iceologer and crushing you with ice? Idk. It wouldn’t kill you too quickly as it is a sadist.

It will be a difficult boss to defeat, due to its paralyzing effects and considerably high health (probably slightly less than the wither, I don’t want it to be too high)

It’s weaknesses are weapons enchanted with flame & fire aspect, or smite, as I imagine it to be classified as an undead mob. It will gain a health boost if it is on powdered snow or blue ice, and will stand back if you hold a flint and steel, giving you some time to prevent it from attacking you again.

As a fun Easter egg, it would give an Iceologer (and vice versa) from any compatible mod which adds one a brief regen effect if two are attacking you at the same time. 2 evil ice buddies!

When killed, the Mountain King will, rather humorously, drop a cup of cocoa, as well as his viser. The viser can be used as a weapon, paralysing enemies when worn. The cocoa will give you the saturation effect for five minutes.

Mob 2, SCP 096.

It’s mob name would be Shy Guy (example: /summon Shy Guy). A retextured Enderman (textured with the shy guy features, obviously) with a few model changes and made slightly shorter.

It’s health would be somewhere around the Wardens, making it an absolute beast of a mob. It would also have extremely strong attacks, most likely able to do a good chunk of damage even if one is in enchanted netherite gear. Like the Warden, due to its strength, your best course of action is to try to avoid it entirely.

Shy will rarely spawn in snowy or frozen peaks and will wander around or sit and weep when not in a rage state. To trigger Shy, a humanoid entity/mob such as a player, villager, illager or witch must look at it in the manner which would trigger an Enderman if a player had. When triggered, Shy will do his usual screaming and moaning thing, and attack it’s targeted entity. If a player, such as yourself, have triggered Shy, you will receive an effect called Haunting Stare. Depending on how long or how many times you’ve looked at it, the effect will increase.

Haunting Stare is basically bad omen: screaming crying naked dude edition - instead of a raid being triggered by entering a village, the effect will trigger an event called a Pursuit, which means if you have swiftly left the area you observed Shy (by elytra, minecart, teleportation or other means), Shy will spawn in roughly a 30 block distance from near where you are, and pursue you.

The only way to end a Pursuit without killing yourself/being killed, or killing Shy (very difficult), is by somehow transporting/summoning either the old man (106) or the mountain king (1529) which, while they will not directly attack Shy (instead staring at him), Shy will cease the Pursuit and attempt to flee from either entities (destroying any blocks obstructing its way, excluding obsidian, netherite or bedrock) as it is incredibly frightened of them.

That Easter egg is based off of the theory that the Shy Guy was created from one of the Mountain King’s victims, and from the SCP 106 and SCP 096 cross testing story, where 106 basically beat the shit out of him in 57 different ways within his pocket dimension.

When you kill the Shy, you will get an item called a lost man’s tear. This can be crafted into a potion of reassurance, which stops you from triggering shy guys or endermen, or you can make a banner pattern called ‘Shriek’ which will cause any humanoid entity looking at the banner to get the Haunting Stare effect - a great way to torment your unsuspecting friends!

Iron golems will be hostile to the Shy regardless of whether it has been enraged by a villager, as well as Ravagers.

Finally, the last SCP humanoid hostile mob is the Old man (SCP 106) or as I like to call him, Grandpappy Larry.

Larry can be found in a new structure called a Dilapidated House. This house will be constructed with a few new block variants, called Corroded Stone, Decayed Wood, Decayed Logs and Corroded Iron blocks, doors and bars, as well as a new block similar in nature to glow lichen and vines, called Mucus. When walking on any of the corroded/decayed blocks, you will be slowed and given weakness. If you walk or brush up against Mucus, you will be given a withering effect for 2 seconds. A good way to stop this is to sneak when walking.

Particularly since if you take damage without sneaking, you may accidentally Larry to spawn, or at least up the chances, since your pain makes him hungry. To properly summon Larry, you will need to craft a Corrosive Knife, with one stick, one bar of iron and one bar of corroded iron (made from 1 iron ingot and a piece of mucus) in a diagonal configuration. You will need to transport a villager - if you bring an adult, it may not work, but if you bring a baby villager, it has a 100% success rate - and hit the poor individual with the corrosive knife.

A portal will open to Larry’s pocket dimension underneath the villager (stand back!), and he’ll come out and drag them down in a unique animation. Larry will re-emerge after he’s taken the villager, and a boss bar will appear. No matter what you do, you can only get Larry down to half health outside his dimension - To finish the fight, you must let him abduct you in the second phase. This happens if he does a special attack called a grab, where he yanks you down into the sludge.

You will be transported to a new dimension called the Labyrinth (it sounds way cooler than just ‘Pocket Dimension’, okay?) which is a giant maze constructed from Corroded iron, corroded stone and decayed wood. You will also receive withering for 5 seconds upon entry (you gotta really gear up for this, that sludge is nasty). Larry will pursue you periodically, and you may encounter a new mob called the Corroded Villager, a variant of a zombie villager. It won’t attack you but rather benefit you as it will distract Larry - with a downside, as approaching it will alert him of your location.

There are multiple loot chests in the labyrinth jn it’s various rooms (which are as diverse as woodland mansion rooms) - your objective is to find an item called a Rusty Compass. This compass will locate the closest opening into the real world, but be careful, because nobody hides from Larry…

Larry has a strength and speed boost in his labyrinth which makes him even more of a threat. You also cannot sleep in his dimension, expect that to go as well as it would in the nether or the end, with the added threat of Larry tracking you down from the carnage.

In its method of exploration, the labyrinth is similar to an ancient city (be stealthy, avoid the sludge, steal stuff). You can also, like with ‘5’ in ancient cities, find a new music disc called 106, which is mostly unintelligible except for the faint tune of ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ and weird sizzling. You can also find high rates of Disc 11 and 13 in loot chests, as well as very rare instances of wither skulls.

An Easter egg is that if a dilapidated house has generated inside a village, and a raid is occurring, Larry will detect any nearby villager that is in panic mode and hunt them. While he attacks Illagers as well, if the raid is won, he has a celebration animation.

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Poseidon

Fishy fishy fishy… I honestly could write 100 more things for Poseidon MC and Levi. I just love the dynamic between an insecure, otaku shut-in and a chill California surfer dead set on becoming his friend.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2, Poseidon 

For anyone unaware, Poseidon is also the god of horses. I know it's a weird combo, but I didn't write the mythos.

Lucifer

…..

They came out of the portal….

On a horse….

They brought the mortal down to the Devildom…

On a goddamn horse….

There's a demigod on a live horse brandishing a weapon and doing laps around the Student Council Room…

Congratulations, he already wants to pull his hair out!!

Honestly, it would have been preferable to pluck them out of the sea. At least then they'd just need a towel! What the hell were they going to do with an entire horse!?

And his nightmare didn't stop there. Poseidon is a notoriously mercurial god, prone to bouts of anger and spitefulness for reasons far less grievous than kidnapping his children… 

Their apology was swift and (seemingly) effective, though the tide waters around the Devildom did rise by several feet for some time…

As for the MC… uh… Well, they're an energetic one to say the least…

Lucifer hasn't met a more active individual since Mammon. They horseback ride, swim, surf, skateboard, and probably do ten other things - the point is, they Hardly. Keep. Still! 

They're also annoyingly easygoing… He can't count the number of times they've told him to, "Just chill out," or, "Hang loose…" What does that even mean??

Between having to order a stable made for their horse and just trying to keep up with them, Lucifer already thinks this mortal has caused him more trouble than they're worth… At least they keep Mammon busy...

Mammon

Upon first meeting them atop their horse, Sunset, his first thought was of course:

"I wonder if I sell that...?"

After that, they nearly fed him to sharks for trying to take their beloved steed on same night. Safe to say, he never touched a hair on its head again…

These two had a rocky start, but their relationship mended fairly quickly. As it turns out, the MC is literally one of those "go with the flow" types. You can say it was water under the bridge soon enough.

Mammon actually thinks the MC is a hell of a lot of fun, even if they're super laid-back. Most of the time, they won’t take his drive for money (or fear of his bills) all that seriously and tell him that he’s worrying too much, but they’ll still lend a hand if its on their way.

He finds their ability to control water pretty cool as well. Levi has it to some extent, but the MC can make a whole-ass whirlpool or use water like a whip! 

He once begged them to call up some rare fish for him to sell, but they got all pseudo-philosophical on him about how “trading life for material wealth” is “not cool, dude...”

He also made the mistake of challenging them to a splash fight only once…. They managed to drench the whole family with a single wave….

The only thing that bothers him is their weird insistence on being Levi's "Best Buddy…" Why would someone like them even bother with a shut in??

Is it the water? … Probably water. Levi, that lucky bastard…

Leviathan 

Thinks they're a big normie, no scratch that, a HUGE normie! The biggest normie he's ever met!! They skateboard and horseback ride for Devil's sake!!

...But they’re also, undoubtedly, the best friend he could've ever asked for.

To be fair to Levi, their friendship was sort of forced upon him. The MC took one look at him, his aquatic-themed room, and his pet goldfish then declared their new friendship status at that moment. 

Unfortunately for him, though, they're energetic, extroverted, and generally have little understanding of personal space… aka, an introvert's worst nightmare…

The next month could accurately be described as the MC doing everything in their power to make their stubborn "senpai" like them.

They would drag him out to the aquarium, beach, or pool; they befriended Henry so he could put in a good word for them; and they'd even bring him little gifts or trinkets they'd find on the ocean floor. Pretty shells and stuff like a cat bringing its master a dead mouse.

After he finally began to accept them as a persistent fixture in his life, he introduced them to gaming and anime and started accepting them little by little...

By the end of their stay, these two were practically inseparable. Not just because they like spending time together, but because they figured out they could have a telepathic link due to Levi being part sea serpent. 

No matter how far they are, they can always have a chat! (That no one else can hear so people think they’re just crazy...)

Satan

Satan honestly isn't the MC's biggest fan, he generally finds them too loud and gregarious for his liking. But their horse…?

He never really thought that he'd be a horse man... Yet it didn’t really take long for Satan to adore Sunset, their beautiful golden-maned mare. Apparently she's not their only horse, but by far their favorite traveling companion.

Sunset is a wonderful horse - brave, strong, and well-trained. It only took a few weeks before he was regularly sneaking out to the stables to brush her fur or feed her apples...

After the MC taught him how to ride, that was it. All other forms of transportation were inferior to him now.

Satan would ride Sunset everywhere and he looked damn good doing it! It takes all that fairytale Prince Charming thing he has going on and puts it through the roof.

It's a good thing too, because when I say everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Lucifer had to put seals on the House doors to keep Satan from riding Sunset through the hallways...

Of course, he’ll always let the MC have Sunset back when they need her!... with a little complaining but nothing terrible.

The MC doesn't mind much because Sunset likes him and they know he takes good care of her, but the rest of the House is slightly unnerved at how quickly he went horse crazy… What if they brought a giant crab instead?? No one wants to deal with crab-Satan...

Asmodeus 

Their body is just scrumptious. Oh, how he could look at their swimsuit-clad figure all day!! 😩

Between the swimming and the fighting, their form is toned to all hell and he can't get enough of it! Yes baby, yes!! Take those clothes off again!!! He'll help~! 😘

When he's not staring at them “totally respectfully,” then he's inviting them out to pool parties or begging them to take him riding...

There are parts of horseback riding he doesn’t like, the smell and the jostling specifically, but there is a kind of… romance to it, no?

He loves having the chance to snuggle up to the MC as they trot around the Devildom! It's so romantic, like they’re his knight in shining armor! (Or his demigod in a damp swimsuit, either works. 😏)

His Devilgram is just full of selfies of him and MC riding on the back of Sunset or sitting by the edge of the pool or them in the middle of a swim meet…

Yeah his Devilgram is now a one part him and one part MC-Appreciation account.

After the pact he'll eventually cool down some and stop staring at them like a sex-object, but even then he'll be at every swim meet. Don't you worry~

Beelzebub 

He actually really likes them! It's great to finally have another athlete in the House. 😊

The MC joined the RAD swim team just as soon the coach was able to convince Diavolo that having the child of a water god wasn't completely cheating... 

Since swim and fangol practice ends at about the same time, they walk home together a lot and complain about... sports things... (Forgive me, I don’t know sports. Uhm... Rival teams? Coaches? That one drill everyone hates? Stuff like that.)

Beel also can surf, skate, and snowboard so the two have a healthy competition going. They're about on equal footing so they tie often (except in surfing but Beel doesn't think that should count cause they’re probably cheating).

The only thing that he has to watch out for is Sunset… As in, he has to watch himself around Sunset because he absolutely could eat her on accident… 

Look, he doesn't want to and he doesn't even like horse meat that much, but even he has to admit there are times he gets hungry enough to consider it…

Of course, he knows that if he ever did Satan would rip him limb from limb then the MC would drown the rest so he really, really tries to control himself… but still… She’s a very healthy horse...

At least he didn’t try to sell her like Mammon. The MC hung him over a shark tank for that stunt… He’d feel bad, but Mammon kind of had it coming.

Belphegor 

The first time they met, the MC smelled like beach water and called him "dude-bro…" He didn't like his prospects.

For a while, he genuinely thought that they had a lump of sand where their brain was. They were just too chill!! Here he was saying that he's being held captive and they were like, "Well that sucks, man… I'll help ya, but I've got practice tomorrow. You can wait, right?"

It's not like he expected them to jump on top of it, but some urgency would have been nice…

When they eventually got around to helping him, he was actually looking forward to choking the life out of them for the extra wait. Unfortunately, they apparently had a horse…

Yeah, Belphie found out just a bit too late that the MC could summon their steed to them whenever they wanted and ended up with Sunset's hooves firmly bucking into his back for his trouble…

What followed was Belphegor running circles around the attic from the weapon-totting MC riding their terrifying murder horse until Lucifer finally intervened....

Thank the gods he wasn’t near any water….

As it would turn out later, as long as he's not being held captive in an attic Belphie kind of vibes with their laid-backness… They say they approach life "one wave at a time" or something.

He could care less about what that actually means, but what it translates to is "Stop stressing out and just keep chill" which he's all about.

Everybody should just chill out!... dude…. Nah, he'll let them stick to the “dude”-thing, it feels weird...

[flightlessangelwings]

Special

Din Djarin x gn!reader (no use of y/n)

Word count: 1.9k

Warnings: non really, fluff, pining, feelings, soft!Din, Gorgu being adorable

Notes: This one is dedicated to one of my best friends: the lovely @ollypopp​, happy early birthday babe!! Thank you to @we-can-be-himbos​ for beta reading for me too! 

~

The hull of the Razor Crest hummed quietly as you sat with Grogu. It was a rare moment of peace and quiet in your crazy life with the little one and the Mandalorian, and you came to treasure these moments whenever they occurred. You had just escaped from another bout with a group of bounty hunters who were after Grogu, and this time you felt lucky to have made it out in one piece. But that was thanks to the Mandalorian, who always looked after you and the child and did anything within his power to keep you both safe.

You gathered together three small plates of food while the little one watched with wide eyes. When you felt his gaze on you, you grinned at him, “I know buddy,” you told him softly as you put the finishing touches on one of the plates, “I’m almost done.” You heard him coo softly as he looked down with a little pout and it almost tore your heart out. The kid knew how to pull at your strings for sure, but you didn’t mind at all.

Then, as you held a piece of fruit, you got an idea. 

“Grogu,” you called his name with a grin and waited for him to look back up at you.

He answered with an inquisitive coo and immensely lit up when he saw that you held out the fruit for him.

“Come on, you can do it,” you encouraged him as you watched his eyes squint in concentration. A few moments of tension went by as Grogu focused his energy into channeling his powers. 

You whispered soft words of encouragement as he worked to summon the piece of fruit in your hand, and when he finally did, you erupted into cheers, “Yes! Good job!” You jumped with joy as Grogu happily nibbled on his prize with a grin of his own on his face, “You snack on that while I bring this up to Din.”

Grogu happily munched without a care in the galaxy as you grabbed one of the trays and went up to the cockpit. You knocked on the door before you let yourself in, a habit you developed without a real reason to. Din never minded when you joined him, and never asked you to knock before you entered. Yet you did anyway, just in case you caught him without his helmet on. That consideration was something Din really appreciated about you, among other things.

“Here, this is for you,” you set the tray down next to where he sat. The two of you stayed in awkward silence for several moments as you fiddled with your fingers.

“Thank you,” he finally broke the silence with a nod, and his breath caught in his throat when your face lit up with a smile. Din loved to see you smile, and he would do anything to see it every day.

You bit your lip and nodded, “I’ll leave you to it then,” you lingered in the doorway for another moment before you finally went back down to join Grogu. Din watched the doorway for a time before he let out a heavy sigh and turned his gaze to the tray you lovingly prepared for him.

Lost in a dreamy haze, you were completely unprepared for the sight that met you when you came back into the hull. Grogu had not only summoned his tray, but yours as well and he sat surrounded by knocked over piles of food. He sat contently as he munched on the various pieces you had set out. He had made a mess, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Grogu…” you chastised him playfully as you rolled your eyes. You couldn’t help but laugh though, and he quickly joined in your laughter.

You grabbed a cloth and wiped up his face and tried to clean up around him. Grogu watched you as he took another bite.

“You’re really special, kid, you know that,” you said with genuine care as you pinched his cheek lightly, “Special just like your dad.”

He cooed at you and tilted his head to the side, which made you feel the need to continue, “You’re both so strong in your own ways, and you both have a will like no other. No wonder you two bonded so well,” you flashed a sad smile, “I don’t know what I’d do without either of you.”

Grogu cooed happily as he reached out for you with a wordless plea to be picked up. With a smile, you complied with his request and cradled the little being in your arms as you went on, “I feel so lucky you chose me,” you said to him in a soft voice as you nuzzled his forehead with your own, “Both of you,” Grogu giggled at the mention of Din, “That Mandalorian has a good heart under all that beskar,” you placed a finger to your lips, “But that’s our little secret. We won’t let anyone know that the big tough Mando is secretly a softie.” That made Grogu chuckle again, and you joined in his laughter.

Unbeknownst to you, Din had come down into the main hull and heard everything you said to the kid. He felt conflicted; he never wanted to eavesdrop on you and break your trust, but every word out of your mouth went right to his heart. He stayed perfectly still and listened in silence as you poured your heart out to the little one, and he could tell that you meant every word you said. The earnesty in your voice made his heart melt under the beskar, and Din wanted nothing more than to reach out to you and hold you close.

When you suddenly turned around, you gasped loudly when you were almost face to face with the Mandalorian. He quickly reached out to you as a reflex to protect both you and the child in your arms, but retreated back into himself just as fast when he realized you were startled with his unexpected presence. 

“Din…” you breathed as you held tight to Grogu, “How… I… We… Ummm…” you stumbled over your words as you tried to formulate a complete thought. He stood silent as you cleared your throat and started again, “How long were you standing there?” you finally asked in a hushed tone.

Clearly you were nervous about how much he had heard, and when he tilted his head down in response, you knew he heard everything you said. Your eyes went wide as you dropped your gaze down to the floor. You tightened your grip on the child as a rush of nerves ran through you.

“Din I…” you took a step back as your voice quivered.

He interrupted you with your name, “Wait,” the sound of his voice stopped you in your tracks and you looked up to meet the gaze of his visor. Both of you fell silent for several moments, and the tension could be felt in the room. “I’m sorry,” he finally said, “I didn't mean to eavesdrop.”

You bit your lip and nodded, “It’s ok,” your voice was barely a whisper but you knew he heard it.

Din took a breath before he added, “You’re special too.”

That made your eyes widen and you felt the way your heart pounded in your chest. If the child felt it, he didn’t show it and he just watched the two of you in silence. Maybe he sensed the emotions from the two of you and decided to stay quiet and let you both work it out on your own.

“I’m glad you’re with us too,” he added as he took a tentative step towards you. He was covered head to toe in beskar armor, and yet Din had never felt more vulnerable or exposed than he did at this very moment. He wasn’t used to dealing with feelings, be it his own or someone else’s, but he felt it too important not to let it go. You were too important to let go. 

No, Din would face this head on like he did everything else in his life.

“You’re stronger than you realize,” he went on as he took another step closer when you didn't back away, “You keep us together,” Din chuckled softly, “And I don’t know what I would do without you,” he echoed your words to Grogu earlier and your breath caught in your throat.

Din carefully reached out to cup your face, gentle in his touch so that you could push him away if you wanted to. When you didn’t, he slowly wrapped an arm around you and rested his arm on your waist. It felt better than he ever could have imagined to hold you close like this, and when you let out a heavy exhale, he knew you felt safe and comfortable in his embrace.

You leaned into his chest and placed your free hand on the beskar plate in front of you. When you finally let your breath go, you felt Din hold you tighter and suddenly everything felt right. With Grogu in your arms and you in Din’s, you felt like the pieces of the puzzle finally came together. The three of you stayed like that for some time, just comfortable with each other.

This time it was you who broke the silence with a soft giggle. When Din questioned you, you peeled yourself off his chest to meet his visor again, “I was right.”

He tilted his head to the side in a wordless question.

“You do have a good heart under this,” you patted his armored chest and your heart skipped a beat when you heard him laugh softly.

“That’s supposed to be your secret,” you heard the grin in his tone and it made you smile even brighter.

Din used the hand that stayed on your face to lean your head forward a bit while he tilted his helmet down to meet your forehead. You let him guide you and you let out a sigh of relief when you felt the coolness of his helmet against your face. Din rubbed his thumb across your face in a comforting manner and you could feel his affection even through the layers he wore. You could have stayed like that forever, but a coo from your arms called your attention.

You glanced down at Grogu to see him rub his eyes and yawn, “I think he wants to go to bed,” you said to Din as you looked back at him. You couldn’t help the yawn that you let out as you suddenly felt tired as well.

“I think we all could use some rest,” Din said as he dropped his hand from your face and held it out for you to take.

It took you a moment to realize what he meant, but you lit up and took his hand when you did. The three of you all got settled in the little bunk and it didn’t take long from there for you all to fall asleep. And it was the most restful, peaceful sleep you all had in a very long time. You all were safe and secure together, just as you should be. And you all had never been happier.

[leahseclipse]

The Reichenbach Fall: Aftermath - Chapter Two: So, What Did We Miss?

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x GN!Reader (With some Fem mentions)

Warnings: S2 FINALE SHERLOCK SPOILERS, Major character death; death topic, mourning, suicide mentions, depression mentions., terrorist attack brief mention (lemme know if I missed stuff.)

Summary: Now that Sherlock is back, explanations are due.

Word Count: 4.6K

A/N: Here's chapter two! As always- if you prefer AO3, click here :)

++

The weather had even gotten better, as if it only rained to have a full dramatic effect, there was only wind, which didn’t seem to announce a storm, for now. The sound of the leaves being crushed by my feet as I walked was to be heard, as no other sounds were around, it was very quiet today.

The silence did feel weird, I never liked it.

Not when it caused me to think of…

“Got time to spare for me?”

...him.

“Sherlock.”

++

“I’m not quite into this, usually- but in movies, the scene usually goes like; they stare, probably cry a bit, and run down in each other’s arms. But...the ‘stare part’ is a bit long, is it normal?” Sherlock asked.

“I would like to remind you that you were dead for two years. Hell, you’re still supposed to be dead, I just talked to a grave for the past hour, doing as if you could hear me from wherever!”

“I don’t think it works like tha- oh, imagination.” Sherlock acknowledged, raising his index. “Forgot, sorry.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing if ‘imagining’ doesn’t exist?”

“Being crazy?” He asked. “Sorry, first thought. Doesn’t mean you...actually are, you’re not crazy. Quite the clever kind actually, a tad smarter than-”

“I didn’t ask to be...praised. We’re kind of in the middle of an argument, and also in a cemetery. Which I realize now, and I doubt the dead people here would like to hear us yelling.”

“Probably.” He agreed, as he frowned.

He’s thinking.

“Can I just ask a small favor? I know that’s quite rare for me to do that, but I’m doing that because it’s you.”

“If that’s asking to keep the secret about you not-being-dead-anymore, I don’t know.”

“This could be this too, but it’s not.” He tilted his head, briefly looking down. “Promise not to kill me in the car? It’s just that, dying in a car, and ‘dying’ again would be quite an unfortunate way to decease, if you…”

“...fine. But I can’t promise I will keep that...promise, once we’re somewhere not outside.”

“That’s...fair, I guess. Thank you for...half respecting-” He stopped in his sentence as I gave him the start of a death stare. “...respecting my favor. Sorry, stutter.”

“That’s better...I guess.” I repeated, hearing a small hum from him as we started to walk out the sinister place.

I didn’t even get myself at this moment. Even though he was there, as I wished, it still hurt. He was here, right in front of me, so wasn’t it fine?

“Why do you have dried blood and bruises on your face though?”

“...John hit me.”

“John did?”

“He...did.”

Well that’s new.

“Guess you said something bad to upset him, I never thought he’d ever punch you, you guys are like kindergarten buddies’.”

Sherlock chuckled. “He had a good reason, though. I faked being dead, let him mourn, miss me. I’m even surprised you haven't done that...yet.” He said, looking at me.

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Right. Got it, no...tempting.” He nodded, turning his head back in front of him.

Sherlock’s lucky I have an ounce of good in me. I would have given him more than a punch considering what he did. If he wasn’t the famous, amazing detective, and my...friend-crush, he’d be dead and put in the grave he was supposed to be in all that time.

Speaking of that, I wonder if they just left it empty, or if someone was actually there all the time. I hope it’s empty, though. It would creep me out to find out I’ve been threatening an innocent person- considering they didn’t put some random criminal in there.

At least, the positive point of all this is that he won’t have to pay for another grave, which is...a good deal, for a guy like him.

I hope he has a good explanation for this, it’d be a shame to bury him again.

++

As I opened the front door of the apartment- Sherlock stepping behind me, I walked towards the blinds, pulling them open to let light in. I turned towards him, looking around the room.

“Yeah, by the way, I cleaned the place.” I pointed out. “Everyday. I know you never wanted anyone to touch it, do anything at all, but I did. I guess that was me hoping you’d come back, and I realize that I...kinda hurt myself by coming back here, hoping you’d be in there, or come through the door any second, but you didn’t, for two years. And even if two years seemed enough to realize that you were really dead- I, and probably others, hoped for a miracle. We didn’t stop at all.”

“I do realize I will never be sorry enough, because no amount of apologies would ever make up for two years, or even a month, or a week.” He listed. “I left you, I acknowledge it. But, even if my next words might anger you more...I did it so you wouldn’t be the ones that’d end up dead. Even if I didn’t die, I did make the person after me believe that, I think. And, don’t hit me for that either- but I’d do it again if a great risk was to put you all in danger. Even you. I know that I haven’t been the nicest, which made you believe you were just a girl working with me, but you’re like everyone I’m always with- a friend, that I also consider family, and you still are, you’ll ever be, if building back our relationship happens to take time.” He admitted.

“I don’t even know what I feel about you...about your death, and you...being here, after a whole lot of time. I mean- we all felt your death deep inside us, it wasn’t just ��wow, we’ve been real sad , but now we can move on and be better, just as no important person if our life didn’t just die!’, you really couldn’t have...let us know without letting anyone know that we knew?”

“You know I would have if I could have!” Sherlock yelled. “I tried to think this through, and this seemed like the only way to solve this without damage. For you guys, mostly.”

“Oh, so, letting John witness his best friend committing suicide, letting him see his body on the bloodied pavement, his head kinda blown out, literally his friend being dead- was ‘without damage’ to you?”

“It seemed like, at the moment.”

“Well guess what, it wasn’t!” I exclaimed loudly.

“Gosh, try to understand, I don’t know, do as if you were a stranger, I don’t know! If a psychopath threatened to kill you, and your friends, or kill your friends to throw the blame on you, what would you do? Because someone would have known if I ever told it. And they would have killed you, all.”

“I could have done it. You know it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was with you, if it had been me.”

“Please don’t say that.” He plastered a saddened look on his face. “You couldn’t have done it instead. No one else could.”

“I could have, if you had let me. You didn’t deserve this.”

“Neither did you.” Sherlock quietly said.

The both of us glanced at the other, not one word coming out of someone’s mouth. Neither of us knew what to do.

He let out a breath, walking to the window, next to me. “...you’re making it feel like you’re not important.”

“That’s because no one is as important as you.”

“That’s not true. You are.”

“You know it wouldn’t have caused this much chaos with me. We needed you more, you weren’t some stupid detective, you were the most qualified, hell, everyone needed you. Lestrade didn’t need us as much as he needed you.”

“He did need you. you know that. You two were qualified enough to function without me. Don’t act as if you’re not smart, please.” He pleaded. “It was mine to deal with, this was between Moriarty...other people...and me, so not even some kind of FBI agent training for 40 years could have done it, or you, or John.” He explained. “I even had to plan how I’d die, how I’d set it up, how I’d hide, not let my presence slip out- I’m not saying you’re imcompetent, but all of this was mine to handle. I wouldn’t have been able to let anyone carry that. And if I had really died, that would have been fine either, because I would have died protecting the ones that mattered.”

“We would have still felt guilty. There’s always heavy consequences in that kind of event. We all searched what went wrong, if we missed anything leading to that, if we let an important detail slip that caused you to do that, or anything else that could have been blamed upon us. We all thought that was our fault.”

“I know. I thought of that. I do regret it, but I had to...jump off that building. If they wouldn’t have seen me die, they would have killed you all. And the same goes for the actual situation now. If they had seen me dead earlier, they would have killed you too.” Sherlock said. “Look, I wish I could have given up being dead and contacted you in some way, but I had to stay hidden until I could come back without risk, without you getting killed.” He specified. “I would have been the one filled with guilt if I risked your lives.”

“You wouldn’t have deserved to die. You still don’t” I quietly said, resting against the wall. “Do you even know how important you are to us? You’re more than a guy we work with.”

“...and I’m grateful for that. But all I’m asking you is to let me explain what happened; see it as a way to show how much you matter to me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Moriarty wanted me to die. He summoned me to the rooftop, and...after I found an ‘arrangement’, he killed himself first, leaving me to be the only choice to save my friends . So, I had to jump as I was being watched, and if I hadn’t jumped, they would have killed Lestrade, John, Mrs.Hudson...and you.” He insisted on the last word, looking at me. “So this was better, what was supposed to happen, and the two years weren’t planned. I came back because there probably was...a literal terrorist attack.”

My eyes widened. “What? Aren’t you supposed to…”

“It’s being handled, forget it. It was probably a false alarm”

“We were on the road, Sherlock.”

“It’s far from here.”

“Why aren’t we there, though?”

“Day-off. I’m technically still dead.”

“Not really if people saw you. Plus, I doubt it’s a false alarm if it’s bad enough for you to come back.”

“Other people are handling it. Look, are you worried about them? I’ll send a text right in front of you.” He took his phone out, typing a few characters before hitting the ‘send’ button. “Just wait.” He looked to his right, as his phone emited a sound. “There…”we’re still alive.”

“Better, yeah.” I nodded. “...two years was really long, though. I started to believe you had really died, so I guess it worked.” I exclaimed with a shaky voice.

“Glad to know my plan turned out to be successful. Thanks for giving your review.”

“Quite rare of you to be polite. I do suppose you say ‘please’, and ‘thanks’, but I think you forget to say them out loud.”

“Sometimes, yeah. But I do think of them.” He confessed.

“Hm. But...what led Moriarty to do all of this? I’m not quite sure I have all the details.”

“Oh, that. It began a while ago, before you fully worked with me. The criminal network he was headed for was vast, he was practically everywhere, like a ‘cancer’, so we came up with a plan. Mycroft had...fed him information about me, and in turn he gave us hints, as to the extent of his web.” He explained. “And as you know, we let him go, so he’d acknowledge having the upper hand, which led him to destroy my reputation. But...I had to let him believe he had ‘won’, so he could reveal himself, in a way.” He informed, as he moved around the room. “Once we were on that roof, there were at least 13 likely scenarios, which were rigorously worked out and given code names. But, even if I said that he destroyed my reputation, it wasn’t what he truly needed. What he needed...was for me to die.”

“And then, what?”

“He...basically told me that whatever I’d do with him, nothing would prevent the assassins he had hired to kill you, unless…”

“You’d die.”

“And complete his story.” He added. “But the thing I wasn’t able to know was how far Moriarty was prepared to go. I guess that was my fault, on this one. Our first meeting at the swimming pool should have been enough.”

“What did he tell you, back then?”

“He told me about his death wish. And, realized it. He killed himself in front of me when we were on the roof as I told you, and I didn’t have long until the assassins would arrive, most likely. I contacted my brother, and the whole scene started. Each person around was part of the plan, even the pedestrians.”

“You hired...pedestrians?”

“I needed the scene to look real.”

“This street is always empty, this couldn’t have worked?”

“Um...not really. This had to look real, plus they kinda contributed.” He detailed. “Oh and if, them getting killed is part of your concerns, they didn’t. The three of you, and me, were the real targets, they would have only killed anyone trying to fail their mission. And also, if that’s also a concern, the whole street was closed off, like a scene from a play. No accidental arrivals.”

“I didn’t even know all of this was staged. Even the paramedics were?”

“Even them. They’re the ones who faked checking on me so John wouldn’t reach me once I hit the ground.”

“How did he not see, though?” I questionned.

“Before I jumped?” He asked, as I nodded. “I made sure he stayed behind the building situated in front of the hospital. That way, he couldn’t see that I hadn’t actually fallen on the ground, but on an airbag. From that moment, the airbag needed to be cleared out of the way as John came, and as he needed to see a body, a fake one was thrown out of the window.”

“And...what refrained him from running to the body?”

“A well-timed cyclist. He ran into him, giving me the time I needed to exchange places with the corpse, and the rest was only ‘makeup’, I couldn’t be white as a sheet, there had to be blood because of how hard I fell. And, before you ask, what refrained him from feeling my pulse once he had reached me was simply a squash ball under the armpit.”

“You made it sound so…”

“Emotionless? Easy? You could say that.”

“I’d say it’s that. But the moment must have been...I don’t know, between you hearing John, and him feeling helpless upon seeing you.” I said. “Be glad I wasn’t there, because you know I wouldn’t have stayed, the plan would have failed because of me.”

“I know you would have listened, anyway. Don’t underestimate yourself, you’re smarter than you think you are, actually.”

“Compared to you, not really close.”

“If Sherlock Holmes himself tells you that you are smart, it’s not a joke, especially if I say it more than once.”

“Promise you’re not lying?”

“Always.” He promised.

“If you’re always going to be this nice, I might even give up on killing you.”

“Oh, please. Killing me. That’s so two years ago.” He stated, looking right at me as a small grin drew across his face.

“Careful, that can always stay an option. I said that I might, not that I will.”

“I’ll sleep with one eye from now on, then.”

“Then be it, I guess.” I defied, letting my eyes fall on the ground after a few seconds. “I missed having you around.” I admitted with a small voice.

“I’m sorry I made you sad, that wasn’t my intention. I swore that it’d never hurt anyone else other than me, and yet- look at us now.”

“We’re kind of broken, isn’t it?”

“You could say that.”

“Do you think we’ll ever fix it?” I asked, with teary eyes.

“Most likely. Even if that takes years.” He walked towards me, taking a breath before fixing his gaze on me. “I hope that’s the case, I don’t want to keep hurting you.” He confessed, gently taking my hand.

“And I hate not having you around.” I responded, getting up from my spot as I enlaced my arms around his waist, holding tight.

“I’ll do my best to not disappear again.” He spoke out, putting one arm across my back, while the other went on the back of my head, slowly, as if he wasn’t totally at ease with it. “This shows how much you count, I’d never do that usually.”

“I appreciate it, but don’t ruin the moment.”

“You’re even taking your behavior from mine, what’s next? My job?”

“Who knows? I’ve been doing a lot these last two years.”

“I’m sure you’re capable of becoming better than me in less time, and before you throw back the compliment, don’t. This is me...trying to be nice.” He explained, lightly tapping my head before we broke off.

“Thank you for...explaining. I’m glad you’re back.”

“Thank you for…not killing me?” He thanked me, slightly unsure.

“You’re welcome, Holmes.”

“Have you been doing well...lately? I figured we haven’t talked much about your feelings.”

“Oh, that.”

I wish he could be more precise, but he doesn't even know of the ‘other’ feelings, which are more of the love kind.

“...I don’t even know if there’s much, to be honest.” I admitted, looking at him. “I mainly wished it could have been me. A world without you seemed impossible, a great loss, almost unfixable. There was no one else like you, and I...even thought about dying, myself. I was in a really bad place. I even started to do as you weren’t dead, I’d go to your apartment and unconsciously wait for you to return, everyday.”

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

“And if you hadn’t come back for another two or three years, I would have believed it, fully- even if a part of me would think it wasn’t possible. Nothing can kill you, you’ve basically survived everything, and I do know you have moments of weakness like everyone, but you’ve always done your best to stay strong, no matter how difficult it was. And me...I’m not like that. I always have a hard time with some cases, and I always stand behind John and you so by the time you look at me, I’m good as new, as if I didn’t start to cry.” I detailed, fidgeting with my hands. “But...when you died, I didn’t cry, I kept all my feelings in a bottle, most of the time. I attempted to keep my head straight, for you, which was after a bit of time. I mostly wish it had been me...instead of you, and I’m aware of what I could have done, to make the pain go away.”

“I really caused a lot of damage, which seems pretty difficult to chug down for now, I lied about a big thing, and I can’t be sorry enough. I know that we can’t make life go back to normal, because nothing will erase this, or make it get forgotten- considered it’s all over the internet now.”

“You’re trending on Twitter?”

“Pretty much...seems like it- the press must have seen me. This will make things quite unpleasant, they’ll probably harass you guys as well, gosh.” He complained, running his hands through his hair.

“What’s ten more journalists? I’m used to it anyway. Besides, we’ve already got a lot of stuff in our hands, and will probably have more. Lestrade is gonna blow your phone again.”

“We do have a lot, including having a talk with him. There’s no way he’s getting away with that, you two are the best I have ever worked with.”

“I was going to say it’s quite rare from you but, I’ll just take the compliment.”

“I mean it, so it’s a good one.” He quietly chuckled. “Is our fight over...or?”

“I’d say so? I mean, there’s gonna be some ‘getting-used-to-you-again’ moments, of course, and some explainings, but I’d say we’re cool, yeah.”

“Then um...is it a good moment to announce that John and Mary are getting engaged? I didn’t want to announce it in the middle of a...death, well- fake death topic.”

“They are? When did they even-”

“Oh, at the visit I paid them. He was most likely about to do it, but then we talked, I said a ‘joke-y’ thing…”

“And he punched you.”

“Right.” He confirmed.

“Let me guess, you don’t have anyone to go to the wedding with?”

“Exactly.”

“And I guess that the person that’d fill the vacant spot to go with you...is me? “

“Correct? I mean, if you’d be okay with it.”

“Well I’ve never been to a wedding so...that’d be a great experience.” I admitted.

“As we say, ‘there’s a first for everything’. Plus, I can call Mary now.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You see, she had to stay with John, to talk him out of killing me, and other stuff that bores me, and she asked me to talk to you, and ask if you wanted to be her wedding attendant...and you said yes.”

“Did you ask me just because Mary asked you to? I feel like there’s another reason for that.”

“Is this really necessary?” He complained.

“I’m asking so...yeah. I guess.” I assumed.

“Fine, I wanted to have you with me. The thought of being with a friend of hers for a whole day annoys me, and I don’t want to have to pretend to have a good time, only to disappoint her at the end of the day.” He sighed. “And yes, I do have a small amount of compassion for people, even if they are all infuriating to the root.”

“Work on it, because people tend to think you’re embarrassed, or have no interest in having a conversation with them.” I advised. “But...I’m glad you thought of me. I’ll be attending this event with you with immeasurable pleasure, Holmes.”

“You just saved the day, I appreciate it. Call me by my name, though. I know you use Holmes as a nickname, but you have the ‘close associate privilege’, use it.”

“Did you just invent this?”

“Probably. Probably not, who knows. Invent your own words, it’s not forbidden by the law, plus who is going to stop us? The queen? Pff, let her try to catch me.”

“Hm, fair enough.” I agreed. “Although, I don’t get why you dislike ‘Holmes’, I’ll attempt to use it less to please you then, Sherlock.”

“It's very kind of you, Detective.”

“Pff, you’re a child.”

“A grown child then, I’d even say I’m superior, whether I’m speaking of now or when I used to be like them.”

“They’re children, chill.”

“That is quite a complicated task to ask, I do not accept being inferior to a toddler.”

“Come on, it’s a child, don’t be so harsh.”

“Quite complicated, once again.”

“Is there anything that’s not complicated? Something?”

“You.”

“What do you mean...by ‘you’?”

“You know it, you’re nice to be with, easy to talk to, understand, I’ve never had issues when it comes to being with you.”

“Woah, that’s...surprising?”

“I do agree that I’m not that open with everyone, you’re simply part of the few people that I can talk more deeply with. The others just get their whole behavior analysed along with harsh critics, you guys are lucky...even if I used to do that when I met you.”

“I still remember it. You don’t take criticism from a renowned detective in a good way, usually.”

“It’s not really to be taken in a mean way, mainly to be honest so I don’t hurt any feelings later on.”

“People actually tend to see it in a mean way.” I confessed.

“Do they?” He questioned.

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t aware of it.”

“And you’re most likely going to erase that from your memory because you don’t like it.”

“Correct, again. I prefer to be honest, always.”

“I know you do. But you weren’t harsh enough to push us away, we’re still supporting you, years after. You’re gonna have to try harder than this.”

“Is this a challenge?”

“If you’d like to see it that way, it can be.” I offered.

“Then I accept it, dear Detective.”

Even if I would like to ask him to call him by my name as I don’t get to do that with ‘Holmes’, I do like when he calls me detective.

It does give me a special feeling, and I miss smiling at that.

“You do know it’s nearly impossible?”

“Oh, please. Did I ever step down because it was ‘impossible’? I’m not anyone.”

“I do know. It’s just that it’s not going to be easy, you tried doing it when we met, and I’m still here.”

“It was just a small joke, this one is more real.”

“Is it? You’ve been failing for years, are you going to make it now?”

“One-hundred percent sure.” He informed me.

“Well then, I wish you good luck on this task, Sherlock.” I wished.

“I appreciate the kind gesture, Detective.”

“So do I.” I answered. “Anyway...what now?”

“We can either go see John again, hoping he won’t punch me- or we can stay here and talk about anything, even come back on my fake death, you can play the role of a journalist- whatever, I guess.” He said, seeming either embarrassed, or out of ideas.

��I say we let him lose his temper, we’ll see tomorrow.”

“I’d hope you’d not choose to see him, thank god. That’s why I like working with you, you always make the right choices.”

“I told you I was special.”

“And years later, you’re still right.” He agreed. “Can you take some water though? I talked a lot, you see.”

“I knew it. It was so weird that you didn’t ask for something for me to do.” I complained, walking to the kitchen.

“Don’t be mad, you have to drink too.”

I quickly came out of the kitchen, letting my bust stick out. “Yeah but who’s getting the glasses? Not you.” I pointed out, getting back inside.

“Strangely I do not have anything to say. You beat me this time.”

“Told you I’m the best!” I yelled, grabbing the glasses as I exited the room. “Man, I get to tell everyone I beat you, isn’t that great?”

“It’s a pretty good thing to brag about. You can be proud.” He offered a smile, settling into a seat. “Come on, we still have a lot to catch up on.” He said, as I set down the glasses on the low table, sitting down. “So, what did I miss?”

I don’t even know if I ever said it today, but; it’s good to have you back home, Sherlock.

++

|Chapter Three|

[amethystroselilith]

Seelies and Treasures

I was inspired by the Seelies in the current event, thus another Chilumi fluff

SUMMARY: An AU where Childe's free-spirited adventurer with a Seelie companion who wanted to find him the greatest treasure.

Can also be read in ao3: here

He watches as his fellow Seelies got adopted, no matter how much he glows in his bottle, he’ll always be overshadowed by the Rosé and Curcuma Seelies. 

Another day has passed as the owner closed her stall, the old owner looking at the leftover Seelie on the shelves, with a sigh.

“Don’t lose hope, little one,” she said as she picked up the bottle, “I’m sure you’ll find a great home soon.” she smiled.

The Seelie had heard that a thousand times and each of those times have only been lead to disappointment.

Curcuma Seelies are always in demand as it brings good fortune, making them the top choice for adventurers who seeks treasures. These golden Seelie are pretty rare to find in stock in stores.

Rosé Seelies are known to bring love to whoever the Seelie had fancied, they are not typically the easiest to keep since the owner would have to prove the Rosé Seelie they’re worthy for their blessings, some of these powder-pink Seelies will even abandon its owner in favour of someone else. However, gaining the Rosé Seelie’s favour will lead them to a life full of warmth and love.

And there’s the Dayflower Seelies, the least popular choice. These sea-blue Seelies aren’t really popular for leading people to a chest full of mora or bringing romance in someone’s life, they are known for just tagging along to keep you company in adventures. 

They used to be popular before, but as time pass, people would prefer Seelies that guarantee to get them what they want as soon as possible. All Seelies are great companion, the Curcuma and Rosé ones just have a little advantage over the Dayflowers.

The old lady placed the Seelie bottle back in its shelf, ready to retire for the night until a voice came.

“Ah, I guess I came to late.” the visitor sighed in disappointed.

The old lady chuckled at the young man, “Unfortunately. The Curcuma and Rosé Seelies are sold out.” 

A blue glow came from the shelves, making it stand out from the darkness.

“Oh, looks like there’s still one!” the man’s face brightened up, causing the glow to grow intense in its own excitement.

“Ah, yes, we still have a Dayflower Seelie left, the last one actually.” the old woman said.

“Can I adopt it?” he asked.

“Oh, but you do know what Dayflower Seelies are, dear?” the old woman asked, though she would like to finally give the lonely Seelie a home, she doesn’t want it to be abandoned when someone learned that they’re not the most efficient treasure finders nor they guaranteed a happy love life.

“I’m fully aware, miss, they sound like the best adventure companions to me!” he grinned, “I don’t need an easy way to get a treasure, sounds like a dull adventure, nor am I really looking for a lover at the moment.” he blushed at the last part.

“My sonny, with that dashing looks, you wouldn’t need a Rosé Seelie to find you love.” the owner chuckled before picking up the bottle, smiling warmly at the glowing Seelie inside, 

“Your time has finally come to shine, little one.” 

After finishing the exchange to become a Seelie owner, the young man made his way, going in a quiet area before releasing the Dayflower Seelie from its bottle.

The happy Seelie excitedly jumped around his new owner, looking at him in different angles, curiously studying him.

“I’m glad to see you’re excited as I am, comrade!” the man chuckled before the Seelie settled in front of him, “I’m Childe.” he smiled.

~~~

“Ahaha! Did you see that Little Comrade?!” Childe excitedly asked the Seelie after the last Ruin Guard fell down, “Whoo, that was a great warm-up.” he sighed happily after having a thrilling battle against 4 Ruin Guards at once, his bow dematerialising to wherever Childe stores it.

Little Comrade did a happy spin before he and his owner walked to the chest.

“Whoa! A Luxurious Chest! Haven’t seen these in a long while! You did amazing Little Comrade!” Childe said excitedly, petting the Seelie before opening the chest and collecting the loot.

It’s 2 years since the Dayflower Seelie had found his home. Childe is the best owner the Seelie could ever ask for. They went to various adventures, slew a lot of enemies, and loot a lot of treasure. The free-spirited adventurer lived for thrilling battles, always aiming to be stronger as their adventure progress, so it’s no problem when the Seelie will sense a treasure locked around challenges. 

Childe gets annoyed with puzzle challenges though, and it usually takes them so long to get the loot, and treasure is still a treasure. Even common chests are still valuable as it gives some mora, artifacts, and some materials to make him stronger. 

“Well, now that I’ve warmed up, let’s get to work on commissions, yeah?” Childe smiled at the Seelie before they used a warped point to teleport to Liyue Harbor.

The ginger-haired man continues talking with the Seelie listens, “Do you ever wonder how these teleport points work, Little Comrade? Cause like…” 

The Seelie never meant to doze out on Childe, and this is one of the times his thankful he can’t talk or else he’ll get easily caught when Childe asks something for his opinion. While Little Comrade would always listen to Childe, something is just bothering him.

Childe is really kind to him, he never shouted at him when he accidentally leads them in circles when the treasure was just a few steps away from them in the start, never got annoyed with him when he only received cabbages from beating up an unusual hilichurl, or when they got surrounded by dozens of treasure hoarders in exploring ruins.

Little Comrade wants to do something in exchange for all those times, the little Seelie had been trying so hard to find Luxurious chests, but unfortunately, he doesn’t attract the same luck as a Curcuma Seelie does. It doesn’t stop him from trying though, he sensed a Luxurious Chest earlier, and just like how he’s been patient in that shop a long time ago, he’s determined to never lose hope.

They have arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild, Katheryn giving Childe a list of commissions before informing him of a letter.

“You know, you’ll get more benefits if you actually joined the guild.” Katheryn of Liyue reminded.

Childe shrugged, “I like adventuring freely, plus Little Comrade is doing great in giving us a comfortable life with what I currently earn from these commissions.” 

Little Comrade nodded, he also knows of Childe’s tendencies to go… a bit overboard in defeating an enemy. It happened one time when a group of treasure hoarders threatened to go after his family. Childe had taken care of the entire group, the Seelie is not sure what happened to them when they left them barely alive, but he knows they’ll never bother them again. 

The whole scene can be traumatic and will cause most to immediately fly away from Childe, but the Dayflower Seelie had pledged loyalty to this man and would accept his flaws as much as the great qualities. 

Katheryn just sighed, “I knew you’ll say that.”

“Then what’s the point of asking?” Childe chuckled.

The woman just shrugged, “Would still be worth it if you actually agree. There’s also a pair of travellers that just arrived in Liyue a few days ago. They’ve also been taking commissions but hasn’t officially joined yet.” 

“New travellers, huh?” Childe hummed, “What are they like?” his curiosity grew, will there be finally worthy opponents in this place?

“Well, they’re great at what they do, that’s for sure. The only people that’s been taking the dangerous ones aside from you.” Katheryn hummed as she checked her logs.

Childe’s eyes widened, “Huh, looks like we have some rivals, Little Comrade.” he smirked at Seelie.

Childe always loves challenges and Little Comrade will make sure his partner will win.

~~~

Childe and Little Comrade were having lunch in a ruin, “Ah, that’s a really good meal, huh, Little Comrade?” Childe stretched before leaning on a large rock, “I guess we can finally read our family’s letter.” he remembered the letter Katheryn passed him before he left.

The sea-blue companion hovered on Childe’s shoulder, he doesn’t really know how to read, he just likes to sit on Childe’s shoulder when he reads.

It was the usual contents, them scolding Childe when he told a story that sounds dangerous, them telling stories from their end, and the usual ending…

“Still waiting for the day you’ll bring the brightest treasure in your life.” Childe ended with confusion.

“We already brought loots from a luxurious chest last time, and it’s still not enough?” Childe sighed before closing the letter.

Little Comrade lowered his ears, disappointment once again in himself for failing his partner.

“Don’t be sad, buddy, even I’m confused with what type of chest is better than luxurious.” Childe cooed as he gathered the Seelie in his hand to pet it.

The Seelie perked up, showing a new determined glow.

Childe chuckled, “That’s the spirit, Little Comrade!”  he said forming a fist with a hand.

Little Comrade bumped it before doing a backflip, the best he can do for their secret fist bump.

“Well, that treasure isn’t going to find itself, so let’s get walking, Little Comrade,” Childe said as he extinguishes the fire he used for cooking.

They were about to walk out of the ruin until a noise was heard, Childe immediately summoned his bow, eyeing his surroundings careful.

A loud noise was heard and the ceiling trembled.

The pair silently followed the noise, Childe climbing up through a gaping hole in the ceiling. Carefully peeking from the wall, his eyes squinted in curiosity. 

There was a blonde girl climbing what seemed to be a geo construct, Childe watched as the girl summoned another geo construct on another pillar, the girl jumped again, gliding to the other rock, unfortunately, her stamina didn’t seem to be enough.

“Ojou-chan, hold still!” Childe had run, Little Comrade following. 

There’s a giant hole on where she’s falling, Childe jumped over it, catching the girl before they rolled around on the floor. 

“Lumine, are you okay?” a new voice arrived.

They turned to the newcomer, whose face burned red in anger, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted.

It was too late for Childe to realise how they look like. The blonde girl was under him looking at him with wide eyes and a red face, her arms trapped under his weight while one of his is on her waist while the other beside her head. In a no context view, he looks like he was about to force himself on her.

“W-Wait-” 

It was too late for Childe to explain as an anemo force threw him on the other side of the room.

~~~

“I’m really sorry for my twin’s action.” the blonde apologised with a bow, a Rosé Seelie beside her doing the same.

“You can’t really blame me for that,” her twin mumbled as he carried Childe’s weight out of the ruin, a Curcuma Seelie hovering beside him watching curiously at the Dayflower Seelie frantically checking on Childe.

“Ah, it’s really fine, ojou-chan. And don’t worry, I would’ve acted the same if I saw my sisters in the same position.” Childe smiled weakly, an arm hugging his torso to ease some pain, “And I’m fine Little Comrade, you can stop fussing now.” he chuckled at the blue Seelie who had been worriedly hovering around its owner ever since he was thrown to the wall.

“So, Lumine and Aether,” he learned their names, “what are you guys doing here? I don’t see a lot of people venturing in these areas.” 

“Commission.” the twins answered in unison.

“We’re supposed to find someone’s belongings here,” Aether explained, “We already have it, but we like to explore the ruins, there’s usually a lot of treasures, I just wish my dear little sister wouldn’t be so careless.” he sighed as he looked at his twin.

Lumine blushed in embarrassment, “It was a time challenge.” she defended avoiding any eye contacts.

“You could’ve waited for me.” Aether rolled his eyes.

Childe watched in amusement as they began to bicker, his eyes staying far too long on Lumine. 

Their eyes met one another, causing them to flinch and look away. 

Lumine’s Rosé Seelie pushing her face to turn to him again.

“Hey!” Lumine’s face burned red as she quickly turned away again, glaring at her Seelie who just twirls around happily.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by Aether who clenched his jaw in annoyance, not wanting to think about it, the male twin looked at the Dayflower Seelie, “A Dayflower, huh? It’s rare to find it with an owner. You saved it?” he asked.

“No, I adopted him about 2 years ago, been the best adventuring buddy, right, Little Comrade?” Childe grinned before initiating a fist bump, to which Little Comrade followed.

“That’s cute.” Lumine smiled.

Usually, Childe just smiles when people are impressed with his Seelie, but somehow the blonde was giving him a weird feeling in his stomach. He chalked it up as some injury from his hit earlier though.

“I just saved mine earlier and we’ve never got this much mora in a single day,” Aether said, smiling at the Curcuma Seelie, who jumped excitedly at the praise.

“Lumi’s was found a few days ago. We finished clearing a hilichurl camp when this one just started following her.” Aether explained.

The Rosé Seelie twirled as if to introduced itself before nuzzling on Lumine’s neck, “She’s been a delight so far,” Lumine giggled and Childe never thought giggles could sound so beautiful.

Aether rolled his eyes, “And we all know what Rosé Seelie means… Whoever bastard dare come close to my sister better have a ton of Curcuma Seelies because there’s no way in hell I’m giving her away that easily.”

Little Comrade who had been observing Childe and Lumine glowed a determine glow.

Challenge Accepted.

~~~

“How are you feeling?” Lumine looked at Childe with worry.

Childe looked like he was really in pain when they arrived in Liyue Harbor, the twins had immediately brought him somewhere to patch him up. Only to discover that something with a bit of cursed energy had stabbed him. Luckily for him, it was only a small sharp rock and it’s not a complicated process extracting the toxins from his body. It took them until night, but Childe is safe.

The bandaged man just smiled from the bed, “Eh, I’ll live, are you worried, ojou-chan?” he teased.

“I just feel bad, it’s my fault in the first place,” she mumbled before awkwardly taking a seat on the sofa placed in the room. 

It’s not like she isn’t comfortable with Childe, it’s just there’s something in him that also makes her feel suddenly self-conscious. She chalked it up as her guilt though.

“You shouldn’t be, but you should be careful when adventuring.” Childe just chuckled before reaching for the food that was set in front of him, an arm was bandaged, making it useless until it was fully healed, so Childe had to use one hand for a while.

Little Comrade perked up, he looked at Childe, Lumine, and the Rosé Seelie, who seemed to have the same thing in mind. 

The Seelie looked at each other for a minute before Little Comrade started taking Childe’s hand, “Hey, hey, calm down, buddy.” he said as his Seelie took over his palm, nuzzling in it needily as if seeking for comfort.

Childe had seen him act like this before, it was once where Childe was gravely in danger from a fight with a Cryo Abyss Mage and a Ruin Hunter during a rainy day. The Seelie was panicking at losing his partner, it refused to leave Childe’s side for a long while after that, even ignoring a few treasures when it sees in a shady area.

“Looks like he was really worried for you.” Lumine observed, “I’m really sorry the trouble, little one.” she sighed until she felt her own Seelie nudging her, “Huh?” she looked at it with confusion.

Using all its might, the Rosé Seelie pushed Lumine off the sofa and near the bed. 

“W-what…?” Lumine watched the Seelie then nudge her hand to a spoon on Childe’s plate.

Childe’s and Lumine’s face burned but for some reason, Lumine had grabbed hold of the spoon and letting the Seelie guide her hand gently to Childe’s mouth.

The Snezhnayan isn’t usually like this, he’s always staying unfazed even when he had walked into two treasure hoarders getting it on in one of the ruins a couple of runs ago. 

But this time feels so different, he’s lost at what he should do, and maybe, just maybe there’s something in him that seemed to love the attention he’s getting from the blonde girl.

Lumine is also not one for being easily flustered, after travelling worlds with her brother for so long, there’s just so little that will leave her speechless, but this is a new thing. She would never admit it to anyone, but Lumine had always been curious what a relationship would be like. She used to be in love with the thought of being in love, but after no luck for so many years, she just gave up and accepted that maybe love was just not something she’s blessed with outside of her familial relationship with her twin.

The twins have learned of the Seelies in Teyvat, so when Rosé Seelie started following her, Lumine can’t help but have those feelings started blossoming in her chest again, she’s used to disappointment though, so she tries to keep the feelings down, convincing herself not to expect anything out of it.

But why can’t she do that right now?

Childe opened his mouth, accepting the food and smiling at Lumine after swallowing, “Thanks, ojou-chan.” 

They don’t know how, but it’s as if the Rosé Seelie had shot them with cupid arrows, making them fall easily comfortable with each other.

They started talking and sharing stories, completely getting lost in getting to know each other.

Childe didn’t notice Little Comrade freeing his hand.

Lumine didn’t notice her Rosé Seelie had stopped guiding her hand.

Both didn’t notice a fuming brother peeking through the door.

~~~

Little Comrade watches as Childe excitedly scribbled words on a paper, it’s almost that time where they will go back to see their family. Childe had been busy buying gifts for his family for the past few days.

“Hey, you.” a pair of arms, gently wrapped themselves around Childe’s neck, “It’s getting late.” she hummed before brushing his hair up with her hand and kissing the side of his forehead.

Childe released a content sighed, leaning back to his lover’s arms, “I’m almost done, though I’ll have to drop this to Katheryn after.” he explained, shuffling a bit to pull Lumine on his lap.

Lumine chuckled making herself comfortable in his arms, before seeing the letter, “What are you writing about?” she teased as she poked Childe’s cheek.

“Hm, just talking about how wonderful my ojou-chan is.” he grinned widely when Lumine blushed.

“Very funny.” Lumine rolled her eyes with a huff.

“No, really, look, we can read it together,” Childe says as he held the paper up for them to read.

Lumine’s heart leapt in joy, she can’t help but bathe in that happy feeling as her lover shares something personal to her. As their relationship progress, Lumine started to feel comfortable with her feelings, letting them blossom without the fear of disappointment as her Ajax continues to prove himself as the best man for Lumine. Well, best man next to her twin, of course. No one will ever replace Aether in her heart.

Aether who had tried so hard to drive Childe away by sabotaging every move he tried on Lumine. She still remembered that night a few months ago where she had been feeding Childe. Aether straight away took her place as his nurse and had tried to choke him with a spoon as if it wasn’t enough that he’s the reason Childe’s there in the first place.

 “...instead of her falling on the ground, she fell for me instead…” Lumine read before giving Childe a look, “Really, Ajax?” 

“Little Comrade agreed it sounded cool.” he defended, “Right, buddy?” 

Little Comrade agreed before nuzzling himself against Lumine’s chest.

“Hey, hey, buddy, that’s my woman.” Childe playfully scolded, poking the Seelie gently.

“To be fair, I wouldn’t be your woman if it weren’t for him and Primrose.” Lumine teased.

She had finally named her Rosé Seelie. She and Childe thought about it together actually. Originally, Lumine wanted to call her “Love” corny, but simple. Childe protested that if Lumine’s going to call someone “Love”, it’ll only be him.

Upon hearing her name, Primrose appeared and sat on Childe’s head, “There you are, little one, are you excited to go to Snezhnaya?” 

Primrose did a happy twirl.

“Well, finish up your letter, yeah? I’m going to call Aether to see if he’s ready for Snezhnaya.” Lumine said before kissing Childe’s lips softly before looking for her phone with Primrose following.

Childe hummed happily before finishing his letter.

After sealing the letter in, he shouted to Lumine he’ll be out.

As he and his Little Comrade walked the quiet streets of Liyue, he turned to the Seelie.

“Thank you for bringing me the brightest treasure I could ever ask for, Little Comrade.” 

[lovelivingmydreams]

Paper Flowers: the final count down

Roman and Virgil have a fight as the end of their character’s time on Vine draws nearer every day.

You are giggling as you finish reading a PrincexNemesis fanfic on AO3.

It was a great story about Nemesis, named Marcus/Marcia in the story, was cursed at a young age to switch gender every time the sun passed the horizon. Leading to the poor kid being Marcia by day, the Prince’s bethroted whom he could not stand, and Marcus by night, the Prince’s sworn enemy who he was madly in love with. It was mainly a very funny story and the author left it very vague which gender Nemesis was born with. All they said was that Nemesis would be stuck with the gender they were when the received their first kiss. Which was given to them as Marcus. The tension came from whether Nemesis would be able to avoid getting stuck as Marcia on the wedding day, as he preferred Marcus.

It was very funny, but also surprisingly deep. Or maybe you are reading too much into it.

Just when you pressed ‘post’ on your comment you get an alert.

It’s vine time!

The video opens up and you see Prince pushing of an enemy and stabbing him.

You can hear a cheer and the camera turns to dad. “That’s my boy!” he cheers.

Prince kisses a maidens hand. Once more a shout is heard and you see dad. “Great job buddy!”

Prince polishes his sword, yet another shout. “Just look at you!” dad squeals from the doorway.

Prince looks up exasperated. “Can you not!?” Dad looks sheepishly and slowly glides out of view.

You wipe away a tear as you let your laughter subside. Everyone who’s been to any game or play ever has seen one of those parents.

You’ve seen people on tumblr who have jumped on this ‘the characters all live in the same kingdom’ concept and ran with it. It was a fun world they’d created. Teacher was the Prince’s tutor. Nemesis had several potential backstories, from the son of a nobleman to an orphan servant in the castle. Prince was, obviously, heir to the throne. And dad was either a nanny to the prince and other children in court, or father to the Prince or the nemesis. It made for some fun imagined shenanigans, that was for sure.

You are curious though, what will come next.

...

“No.”

Roman groaned in annoyance. “Anxiety, I don’t need your cooperation to propose a skit idea to Thomas,” he reminded him. He didn’t, he’d never asked before they became friends. But they’d been doing so well on communicating since. What, one might ask, made Roman dismiss Virgil’s input now?

A couple of bad nights, for starters. The fact that they’d been having this argument in front of Patton and Logan for the past half hour, meaning he had to keep up pretenses. And lastly, Virgil was just being difficult on purpose it seemed.

All Roman wanted was to have a nice final skit between their characters before they moved to youtube. There still would be skits involving either of them, but he liked the thought of wrapping up the nemesis story line before starting the story of the prince of creativity and Anxiety on youtube.

Virgil, however, seemed unwilling to even entertain the idea of another Prince vs Nemesis skit entirely. Let alone one to wrap up the semi storyline they’d made.

“Then go ahead and do it. See if I care!” Virgil growled before storming off.

Roman let out a frustrated sigh and dropped in the couch. “Impossible! That man is simply impossible sometimes!” he complained loudly. He was angry with Virgil right now. He wasn’t even going to try to deny that. Virgil could be infuriating sometimes.

And he was going to complain and pout as long as he liked, thank you very much. He was not the unreasonable one in this scenario.

“Kiddo, Anxiety is just like that. You know that he has a tendency to disagree on principle.”

Roman huffed. He knew better. Virgil was not usually difficult for no reason. He was a safety measure of sorts. He made sure they all thought through every decision. Every action.

Often a little too much, but he meant it well.

It was rare that he gave Roman no room to argue. A straight up ‘no’, even before their alliance, was rare. There were arguments, objections, doubts. But ‘no’ was usually with very good reason.

Roman just could not phantom the reason right now though. Which was why he was so angry.

He had learned to manage patience when he could see the source of Virgil’s concern. But now?

“Actually Patton, usually when Anxiety disagrees with us, he has at least some form of reasoning behind it. Be it of an irrational sort. It is not often that he gives no form of motivation behind his outbursts. This would lead me to believe that he has reasons, he just does not wish to discuss them, or maybe even might not wish to acknowledge them to himself.”

Roman listened to Logan making perfect sense, as he tended to do. But he didn’t feel like really thinking about that. He was still upset with Virgil.

“Or maybe he is just in a rude mood,” Roman objected stubbornly.

Logan took in a deep breath. “As much as I dislike figuratively feeding your ego, Roman, I feel like the positive changes in his behavior over the last year might be largely due to you.”

Oh, now this was something Roman was willing to pause his sulking for.

He shot up and looked at Logan expectantly.

Logan looked like he regretted speaking to begin with. Luckily for Roman, Patton had gotten curious.

“What do you mean?” he asked. Roman thought there was a strange sting to Patton’s voice, but he must’ve been mistaken, surely.

“Roman… You have been different ever since you asked for your memories of interactions with Anxiety… What was it that you found in there?”

Oh, no. Damn him and his promises.

Roman shrugged, feigning losing interest. “He saved Thomas and his friend earlier that day, and he didn’t seem to consider that a big deal. So I got curious and looked back and found that most of what he said, like you mentioned could maybe be read as trying to help somehow.”

Roman prayed Logan wouldn’t ask more. Luckily he didn’t.

“I see. I assume that this new information led to you changing your approach to your communication with Anxiety and this led to him being less tense around you.

He let you convince him to interact with us, he made an effort to explain himself and collaborated more on your projects,” Logan deduced.

“Could it be that to Anxiety, the start of that positive change in his life is connected to the skits between your character and his?” he wondered.

Roman’s eyes widened. “What? So me ending that storyline feels like me rejecting him or something?” he asks a little incredulously.

Logan looked up in surprise. “Well… That is a possibility,” he nodded. Why was he so shocked Roman could figure stuff out on his own. He could be empathetic enough for this. He might be the ego but he was not that self-centered. Bonds with others was high on his priority list too.

“The poor kiddo feels like he’s all alone now,” Patton mused sadly.

Roman got up. He was not ready to feel bad for Virgil. Especially when he was being ridiculous. As if Roman would end their friendship like this. Did he think so little of him?

He stormed off to his room and landed himself on his bed.

He wasn’t in the wrong, it was not his job to apologize. He kept repeating that to himself but occasionally he wondered if Virgil was overthinking right now. Thinking that Roman hated him now…

No. He was not in the wrong, he got to be mad if he wanted to. Virgil got to be mad with him when he got lost in a monologue and got all kinds of ideas stuck in Thomas’ head without consulting anyone making Virgil feel like he had to be the bad guy for scaring Thomas away from the ideas he loved too much to let anyone else convince him to adjust them.

He’d swallowed his pride and apologized to Virgil then.

So he was going to be petty and stubborn for as long as…

There was a knock at his door. Roman shot up and walked over to his front door and opened it. There was no one to be seen. When he looked down though, he saw something that took his breath away.

He picked up the paper purple hyacinth and the accompanying note.

“I know you are mad. Please let me explain before you hate me forever? I’ll be waiting.”

Roman let out a sigh. Purple hyacinths represent sorrow and regret. And it must’ve been such a pain to get the paper to bend to his will like this.

Now Roman had to go and meet Virgil. He put the flower in the vase along with the rest of the assemble bouquet and hurriedly opened the door to the field.

“Virgil?” he called out before he even closed it.

The anxious man was pacing through the field, trampling a path in the ground.

Luckily the field fixed itself every time they left.

Virgil looked up and his shoulders relaxed. Clearly he saw Roman’s swift arrival as a good sign.

His anger already fading, Roman added the hyacinths to the field to show he’d gotten his apology gift and accepted it.

“I thought about what I said… Or didn’t say and… Maybe I was just… I didn’t want us to stop making skits together,” he rambled, playing with his hoodie sleeves and pointedly not looking at Roman.

Roman let out a sigh. Logan had been on the right path then.

“Virgil, you really think that I did not enjoy working on those with you?” he asked.

Virgil shrugged.

“Well I did. Therefore I will call upon your aid any chance I get. I actually expect you to assist me quite often in the creation of the sanders sides series and many other projects. I merely wanted to give the fanders a satisfying ending to the adventures of the prince and his nemesis on vine,” he explained calmly.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah… I’m sorry. Really I am. I was pretty rude to you and you did nothing to deserve it,” he said softly, glancing up at Roman nervously.

“You are forgiven, Grim Creeper,” Roman smiled reassuringly.

Then he got an idea. It would let him vent the last bits of frustration and Virgil could maybe work of some angsty energy as well. “If you really feel like you’ll miss the prince and the nemesis that much though…”

And just like that Roman summoned two swords, tossing one to Virgil who caught it in surprise.

“I shall teach you the art of the blade!” he declared.

Virgil rolled his eyes but smirked. “Let me have it Princey,” he challenged.

...

While the two younger sides sparred in the field, the fatherly side was headed to the stairs leading down in search of an anxious sides room. Hoping he’d be let in now.

“Patton?” Logan called.

Patton flinched at being spotted. Though he wasn’t sure why. Was it so bad that he tried to help Anxiety?

“Hya Logan!” Patton greeted sheepishly. “I was going to make sure Anxiety was okay…”

Logan cocked his head. “Patton, I’m obviously no expert, but if my interpretation of his thought process of today was correct, he feels rather vulnerable right now. While that might mean he’s more open to sharing and closeness, it also means he might be in a state of heightened alertness.

If you attempt to approach him now you could very well make things worse with small mistakes.”

Patton bit his lip. Logan was right. Anxiety was not in a right state of mind. If Patton wanted to him to let him in, then it couldn’t happen when he was feeling hurt and alone. No matter how badly Patton wanted to comfort him. Going in now would be for Patton’s sake. Not Anxiety’s.

“We will make our way back to him Patton. Who knows? Maybe Roman’s youtube project lends us a chance to interact with him more frequently,” Logan offered.

Patton nodded. They’d get there. Sooner or later they’d be a happy family.

He just had to be patient and let Anxiety decide when he felt ready to try again.

Intorducing the sides

@vixdoesbadart @vpow @apinkline2715 @tired-yeetling @firegirl156 @soysaucevictim @1nsomniacwriter @moonlightshow00 @naturallyunstablegamer @alias290 @meowthefluffy @frida0043 @angelic-cali @selenechris @theblackveilinreverse

[hyperfixdccoms]

The Start (1)

The Flame Within The Ice

'You need to always remember that the powers we go to are meant to be hidden away. No one should ever know about them, no matter what. Grimoire, do you hear me?!'

' Grimoire baby, you know why I called you Grimoire? In our family tree, we had witches who worked to gain the powerful book of the summoning spirits called the Grimoire a long time ago. While you are not the book, we have a special connection toward the beyond. We do not practice the craft, but we have been passed down powers from our ancestors. We carry the fire that burns throw our vain and the Ice that helps us calculate every move. We are special. You are special, Grim.'

' Grimoire Im sorry it has to be like this. We, I can't keep on protecting you like this. You will end up dead. I'll leave you here where you are safe with Viena.'

" Grimoire, It's time to get up!" Yelled a prominent voice that sounded like a middle-aged woman. It was relatively early in the morning. The people that were up at this time were ready to leave home, kissing their spouse goodbye and their kids, and good luck at school. Children waking up at this time, getting ready with their book bags, and eating their breakfast remains to catch the bus.

" Dammit, this child. Grimoire Vi llan, Get your damm ass up before I do something. You won't even see it coming." The women shouted again. After a few minutes, a five-foot-six androgynous-looking teen came downstairs. " Grim, you can't keep on doing this. I got work, and I have bills to pay."  The women complain, rushing around the kitchen still not looking at the teen. When she turned around, she noticed the rather ghostly pale-looking skin from the teen.  She sighed, giving Grimoire a sad smile. " I made you your favorite pancake pb&j." She said, trying to get a reaction from the teen.

Not moving from his place, Grimoire chewed on his lips, picking on the skin of his nails. His long wavy hair was hidden under a crochet beanie that he had done in his free time. The average height teen wore a thin black long-sleeved shirt with a soft blue crocheted vest on. His pants were just some regular vintage denim jeans with some classic black Chuck Taylor shoes.

Grimoire shifted from one leg to another with his weight. His bag resting wine red canvas backpack rest on his left shoulder. He felt uncomfortable with the silence. Thankfully, His aunt Viena didn't ask any questions but gave him a comforting hug, but to him, it felt like that night he was tensed. " You look just like your mother and your father. It's almost surreal. They would be so proud to see you grown up like this." Viena was the sister of Grimoire's father. She was always there, and when his parent died from the accident, she took him in with open arms.  

" Morie, I know you don't think you can trust in yourself. But it is not your fault. Thorn and Golgotha Would never fault you for something you can't control yet." Viena said, cupping Grimoire's face. Viena lost in Grimoire's eyes the same eyes as her big brother's icy blue and fiery red eyes.  Viena held herself from shedding a tear. Lucky to hear the alarm of the bus coming soon rang, she cleared her throat and gave her nephew a smile. "I'll pack you your pancake. You should be ready. If you are missing something, go get it." Viena said, going to pack the pancake in a sandwich bag and putting it inside a paper bag. Viena came back to Grimoire, who was standing at the doorsteps. She handed Grimoire his paper bag and said her goodbyes. Viena stood at the doorstep, seeing her brother's baby walking away.

Grimoire took out some gloves his father had given him to help maintain his power from spiking out. Of course, his body emitted different temperatures, and he could easily adjust to any temperature. It was pretty gray outside, even for an early morning. The fallen dead leaf scattered around the neighborhood made it even more unsettling like always. Grimoire turned on his headphones, turning on his walkman playing the first song suggested Sowing Season by Brand New.

The soft guitar filling up his ears and the words filling his mind. His mind being transported to a reality of tranquility and peace. Grimoire closed his eyes, breathing in deep the clean air that cleansed his revolting mind. His right hand resting on his backpack band while his left hand is inside his pants pocket. Mumbling some words from the lyrics, he opened his eyes to see himself getting closer to the school bus stop.

Grimoire's eyes landed on the teenager he sees every day. The girl had pale skin, her hair colors dark purple. She seems to use the same outfit or at least the same shade of clothes every day. Ultimately Grimoire has come to an unspoken agreement with the girl. The two were outcasts, laughed at, and if anybody did something to stop it, they would get hurt.  In conclusion, the two stuck a bit together if they could, like in the school bus sitting together, in class, if they could.

When the bus arrived, it was already packed with other students. Grimoire let the girl in first. He followed right behind, seeing the mess of a bus it was. He took a seat next to the girl keeping his distance yet close enough to not fall out of the uncomfortable love seat. The girl leaned on the window, looking out it was comfortable, nobody talking well except the kids from the back. Every time Grimoire turned to give the girl a side look, he couldn't help but admire her despite the shit she had to take in school. She doesn't flatter behind. She just keeps ongoing. The silence was pleasant until one of the kids teased us got between us from the chair behind.

"Boo!" The boy laughed, leaning close to the girl. "Come on. What are you hiding from?" He asked rather intrusively. He turned to look at Grimoire with a smirk " How about you? Are you some type of cult?" Grimoire could hear his buddies laughing, not really trying to play it off.

"You don't have to be shy with me." The boy said mockingly, leaning toward the girl said. Grimoire chewed on the inside of his cheek. He slowly reached to grab the girl's hand, squeezing it lightly to reassure her that it would be over soon. " I like freaks." He said, leaning closer to the girl. Grimoire could feel the girl squeezing his hand back as she turned her head away from the creep leaning toward her. "No? Well, maybe you would take the offer." The boy said with a sly tone, leaning toward Grimoire, who tilted his head down to avoid looking at the harasser.

Before the boy to lean any closer, a kid from the front with blond hair turned back, and with courage and tiredness, he said, " Leave them alone, Kyle." The attention from the three was brought to the blond boy named Matt. It was rare to see somebody trying to stand up for any of us. Matt was a student and part of the football team. "Don't you have a touchdown or something to throw, Matt?" Kyle said like it was a big insult or something. Matt stood up from his seat, facing toward the three of them. " Just leave them alone, asshole."

Grimoire and the girl looked rather worried that something could break out just because of them.  "Before I make you." The two boys stood front to front from each other. The tiny walkway didn't help create space. Kyle shoved Matt backward " Maybe you should take a seat." Kyle said with a smirk. Of course, Matt wouldn't back down repeating Kyle's shove but with a bit more force. The kids had their eyes on the two boys, who were now throwing punches at each other. Some kids were encouraging the fight. Grimoire let a shaken breath out while the girl looked at the two fightings wanting to do something to help the fight stop. "Sit back down! Both of you! Now!" The bus driver yelled as he drove. The two boys pulled away, panting hard while glaring at each other. The rowdy kids encouraging the fight were disappointed the two had stopped fighting.

When the two broke apart before Kyle sat down, he menacingly leaned toward us. "Sluts" He said, very pronounced. Kyle turned away to sit on his seat. The girl turned to look out to the window while Grimoire sighed, taking his hand away from the girl's hand. His head lowered in humiliation.

Grimoire and the girl got out together when they got to school, walking inside the school building. The two had a locker on the opposite side of the hallways.  Grimoire stuffed his book into his locker, seeing a picture of his parent on the locker's door. He felt a wave of guilt, sadness, and anger. He didn't understand why couldn't he had been born without these powers. Why couldn't he be like his aunt, as his mom? Normal. Grimoire turns to the side as he heads his bus companion speak up, " Uh.Matt.Thanks for..."  The group of boys just bypass her with no second look. The girl turns to look up at Grimoire. He could only offer her a small ghost smile before she turned away.

He sighs, closing his locker. The girl had come to his side of the locker before offering him a small smile. She took Grimoire's hand " Thank you for sticking with me." She said shyly. Grimoire felt his heart race avoiding her face finding his shoes much more interesting. " No problem." He let out in a whisper. "Rachel. My name is Rachel Roth. Im sure you heard it from the teachers, but. I think a bit of a formal introduction is better." The girl now named Rachel introduced herself. Grimoire's eyes slowly scan from bottom to top Rachel, who was holding his mitted hand. " Grimoire. Grimoire Vi llan. Nice to meet you, Rachel Roth."  Grimoire returned the gesture of politeness. His voice, airy yet melodious, reached Rachel's ears, who had a faint blush on growing.

The bell brought them out from the special moment. What they didn't know is that from there, nothing would be the same.

The Fame Within The Ice © 2021 UntamedGrape(Wattpad) Hyperfixdccoms (Tumblr)

[misomilk]

the new game has been giving me so many stony feelings so i just HAD to write something!!!!

The Diary [AO3] Pairing: Steve Rogers x Tony Stark AU: Marvel’s Avengers Word Count: ~2.3k Summary: Steve wonders about Tony reading his diary. He couldn't really have read it...could he?

He didn’t really read his diary...did he?

To the others, it’s been five years, but to Steve it was just a few days ago that he had last written an entry on it. It’s not that he kept a diary to note down all the fluttery feelings he felt for his fellow Avenger. Most entries were akin to those he’d write on mission reports. Things he did well, things he should’ve done better. But few and far between, there would be glimpses of his feelings for Tony.

Steve can still remember what his entry about Tony’s jokes was.

Tony said more than a few jokes during today’s mission. I didn’t get them. Then he drew roses around the page, because Steve knew if he found the courage to speak his feelings, he’d be giving the genius a bouquet a day.

He drew flowers on the same pages he ever mentioned Tony. Blue violets, daisies, pansies. Thank God his drawings of Tony’s portraits were in a separate sketchbook and not in the diary. When the bean bag or mission reports weren’t enough to calm him down at night, it was thinking of Tony and etching his image on paper that helped soothe him through the night.

Then Steve remembered there were a few, more sentimental entries, too.

Like that night they spent together at the tower penthouse, gazing at the sky, watching planes go by, talking about the smallest things. Tony surprisingly didn’t drink a drop of alcohol, but he talked so much. About his life, about his father, about how much he wanted the world to be at peace. Steve wanted to take him in his arms then. Dance with him, maybe, if there was music. Steve wanted to tell him he was his world, but the sun had come up before he had summoned the courage to do so.

He drew tulips on that page.

God. It really was a love diary, wasn’t it? Masked with non-Tony entries, but it really was. And Tony read it? Tony read it? No way… He couldn’t have. What were the chances Tony went through his things, and got the hold of it? Unsure. What were the chances Tony read every single entry upon finding said diary? Highly likely. Tony’s curiosity led him to no bounds.

Did Tony find the diary? Did he read it? If it wasn’t 25 past two in the morning, Steve would strut down to Tony’s room and ask for answers now. But he’ll have to settle for doing that first thing in the morning. Instead, thoughts threatened to haunt Steve throughout the night. But he managed to keep them at bay as he drew Tony’s face on a new sketchbook-- his face when he found him.

The first face he saw since waking up. If Steve closed his eyes, he could still picture it. The worry in Tony’s eyes, mixed with a hint of relief, the way his eyes wouldn’t pull away from him. His arms around him when he caught him--hugged him. It was as if he was still dreaming. Being so close to Tony was the most surreal thing to have happened to him. Even more than finding out he was stuck in space for the past five years or so. Tony Stark had been the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes, and that has been a dream Steve has wished for since he realized his feelings for him.

And then thoughts about the diary filtered into his brain yet again. With a sigh, he set the sketchbook down beside him and got settled into bed, hoping sleep would claim him so morning would come faster.

***

“Looking a little stiff there, you feeling all right?”

Steve swallowed. It’s finally morning and here he’s found himself at Tony’s room, right before breakfast. “Sure. Never better.”

Tony smirks. “Uh-huh.” “I’m fine.” Steve hoped his response was less frigid than it felt.

“That was so convincing.” Tony turned back to what he was working on at the center of his room. It looked like a weapon. “Thanks for putting my mind at ease.”

Was that one of Tony’s jokes just now? Steve sighed, stepping in a little further into the room. It’s messy, but feels homey. A lot like Tony.

“Can I… help you, Cap?”

“Yes, well,” Steve gathered the courage to ask what he wanted. And that’s when he noticed it in the corner, hanging upon one of the closets. Wrinkled and old, but definitely once Steve’s. “Is that my jacket?”

“Uh, well… After you died, I wanted to… honor you.”

Don’t get your hopes up. Steve told himself, but his heart was already fluttering. “I was dead.”

“Hey, let me grieve at my own pace.”

Steve laughed softly, smiling at the jacket. That Tony would keep with him something Steve always used to wear to remember him by making his heart soar. Then he remembered again. The diary. If Tony managed to find this jacket, surely he would’ve found the diary. Ask him. Ask him. “Tony?”

“Yes?”

“Did you really read my diary?”

The screwing on of bolts halted. Steve turned to Tony to see that he’d stopped tinkering with the thing on his desk.

“Tony?”

Silence followed before Tony spoke. “Why do you wanna know?”

Steve lifted an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you answering the question?”

Tony’s eyes darted at Steve’s, then immediately looked away. And if Steve knew better, he’d realize Tony was actually blushing. “Look, Cap, I’m sorry, okay? I know it’s a breach of privacy, or whatever.” Now it was Steve’s turn to blush. He felt the heat down to the crane of his neck. “So you did.”

“I--”

It was rare to see Tony so out of words when he was always ready for the wittiest remark. Steve didn’t know what to make of it. Did Tony despise what he read in it that much? Or did he like it? What did he feel now, knowing Steve had written about him in his diary, and drew flowers around his name?

***

Read it? Tony basked in it. Every single day of his life since the day his world went away, he drowned himself in the world Steve saw through his eyes. And when Tony realized there were entries about him, entries about him with flowers etched along the edges for Christ’s sake, what was he to do? Grieve over the chance he missed, living a life full of love with the man who had his affections, that’s what. Because Steve was gone.

Steve was gone. But he came back, and he found him, and now he’s here. And what did Tony do? Run away with his tail between his legs, that’s what. How was he supposed to approach Steve? Hey, I read your diary. You have feelings for me? I have feelings for you, too. Let’s get together. Not exactly the best way to woo someone. But maybe Tony should’ve taken it, because then he wouldn’t have to be in this awkward conversation right now.

“I know I shouldn’t have read it.” Tony sighed, putting a hand on his head. He could swear it was starting to ache. “But I didn’t know what it was at first. It wasn’t like it had a label on it, you know? Steve’s Diary, do not read.”

“But you read it.” “Yes, Captain Obvious. I’ve only said it like, a million times.” Tony rolled his eyes and looked at Steve then. Steve. Steve was blushing . Even the tips of his ears were red, and he looked so adorable Tony’s reactor could leap out of his chest. “Steve? You okay, buddy?”

“I don’t know what to say, Tony.” Steve walked towards the wall, leaning against it for balance. “You… You know now, don’t you?”

Tony played coy. “Know what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know ,” Steve seemed to speak against his teeth. “What I wrote, how I-- and you--”

A moment of silence seemed to stretch on for eternity before Steve finally said the next word.

“What am I doing? How could I be so stupid?”

Tony blinked, wondering how Steve went from blushing to rushing out his door. “What? Steve? Hey, wait.” He immediately stood up and caught Steve by the arm before he could pass through the door. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t like me.” Steve looked into Tony’s eyes then, standing at the door to his room in his lounge pants and shirt, so much hurt, so much raw pain. It hurt Tony’s heart the same, itching static between his body and reactor. “Not the way I like you.”

Tony couldn’t correct him, even if he wanted to. His actions the past few days spoke louder for him than his true feelings.

“You know what you read in my diary. I like you, Tony. I really do. But you-- You just brush it off like you never read a word of it.” Though a few inches taller than Tony, Steve looked so small and so dejected. Steve shook his head and looked away. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve brought this up. I promise I’ll be professional when I see you at breakfast.”

“No, Steve, wait!” Tony’s hands latched onto Steve’s arms, making him turn towards him again. Tears started to run down Steve’s face, and Tony wished he could tear out his reactor right now so it would mend the pain. “Steve…”

Steve pushed Tony away lightly, rubbing his hands across his eyes. He laughed dryly. “Look at me, a grown man crying over a silly crush.”

“That’s not true, Steve…” Tony held the other’s hands in his then, looking into his eyes. “I-- Honestly, I don’t know what you see in me. I’m an idiot.”

“Do you or don’t you make a point of how smart you are every single day of your life?” Steve smirked, though it quickly disappeared as he sobbed. Tony led Steve away from the door and towards his bed where he let Steve cry out his feelings. Once Steve was a little calmer, Tony stood up and sat on the other’s lap. The other’s eyes quickly widened in surprise, jaw dropping in shock.  “Uhm… Tony?”

Tony tried not to notice the flush of heat rising in his cheeks. “Look, I’m not so good at talking--”

That made Steve huff a laugh. “You? Not good at talking?” “I know, I know. I can barely keep my mouth shut. But I’m not good when it comes to, you know, talking about the real things.”

“Real things...?”

Tony wrapped his arms around Steve’s shoulders then, drinking in the other’s clear blue eyes as he spoke his words slowly, with much certainty. “Like how I feel about you.”

Steve’s jaw dropped again, and Tony swore he could just lean down and kiss him right then and there. “Which is…?”

“I like you, too, Cap.” Tony leaned down to press their foreheads together. All he could see were Steve’s sweet eyes, and his world was a little brighter. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick and that I avoided talking to you about your diary. I just-- I wasn’t ready.”

“Hmm,” Steve mumbled, and Tony could swear he felt that rumble against his throat from how close they were. He felt hands settle themselves on Tony’s hips, and Tony decided then to sit a little higher on the other’s thighs. “And are you? Ready now?”

“Maybe?” Tony’s eyes fluttered, the warmth of Steve’s hands on his hips surreal. He could feel a finger or two slip underneath his shirt and he gave away a soft moan. “If you are?”

“I am.”

Their lips found each other barely a moment later. Steve’s lips were so much softer than Tony could ever imagine. He closed his eyes, mastering the feeling of Steve’s lips against his as they kissed over and over and over. He bit down on Steve’s lower lip, which caused the other to gasp loud. And with the other’s mouth open, he took the chance to slip his tongue into the other’s, kissing him gently, with all the love he felt.

“Tony…” Steve moaned against his lips, and it rang sweetly in his ears.

“Steve…”

“Hey, Tony. Have you seen Cap? Breakfast is r---WHOA MY GOSH!! I’m so sorry!!!” Kamala had come into Tony’s room, causing their kiss to abruptly end as the two stared at the door in horror. Kamala stood there, hands over her eyes. “So all the Stony fanfiction were right after all? That’s so rad!!”

“Weren’t you the one who said something about knocking, hmm?” Tony teased her as he reluctantly stood up from Steve’s lap. “You can open your eyes now, little one.”

“Right! Okay! Sorry!” Kamala had the brightest smile as she put her hands down. She pointed towards the kitchen area of the ship. “Anyways, it’s breakfast time. Come once you’re ready?”

“Will do.”

“Good morning, Cap!!”

“Good morning, Kamala.”

With that she was out of the room. “Hey Nat! You’ll never guess what I saw.”

“Oh, boy.” Tony laughed, seeing Natasha standing right outside his door with a smirk on her face. “I guess the cat’s outta the bag already. And here I was hoping we could keep it under wraps for at least… a few hours?” Tony was surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and lips pressed against his neck. “Ooh… I--I think I really like this development.”

“So do I.” Steve smiled against his neck before pressing one more kiss. “You can’t take back what you said, Tony.”

“No worries. I had no plans to.”

“After breakfast, do you think we could..”

“Yeah?” “Continue from where we left off?”

Tony turned around to see Steve blushing to the tips of his ears yet again. He smiled, and pulled his lover down to kiss him on the lips. “Of course, love. Anything you want.”

[butiaintgonnaloveem]

Presents and Prizes and Sweets and Surprises

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Reader, Jack Kline, Mrs. Butters

Word Count: approx 1600

Warnings: Spoilers for episode “Last Holiday” and language

A/N: This is just my way of venting my frustration with the episode. I was going to do a kind of fix-it fic, but this turned more into a reader insert as concerned spectator kind of thing. No one edited this, so sorry for any errors. This is frustration and crack.

Poking holes, making fun, wishing they were doing better things with the last few episodes - you know, the fangirl business.

“There’s a what living here? And what does it have to do with your underwear?”

Dean rolls his eyes, “A wood nymph. She was folding them for me.”

“Since when do you fold your underwear?”

“Since Mrs. B. started doing it for me,” he shrugs.

Speak of the devil, or nymph - she scurries in from the hall.

Her eyes are wide as she looks you over, a disapproving scowl on her face.

“Dean, we do not bring lady guests into the Men of Letters bunker. Ms. Sands was an exception, but it should not be the rule.”

“Lady guests? I live here,” you glare as you over-enunciate each word.

Clearly caught off-guard, she splutters, unable to reply more than a few cut-off words as she looks helplessly at Dean. “A-a woman? IN the Men of Letters bunker?”

“Times have changed, lady. And I don’t know if you’re aware, but you are also a female.”

“I am a wood nymph,” she says haughtily, “Friend of the goddess Artemis, and not subject to the problems a woman may bring to this bunker.”

You start to move on her, but Dean steps in, gently keeping you back with a hand on your shoulder, “Okay, I think this could be going better. Mrs. B., she does live here. We don’t really subscribe to the whole ‘fairer sex’ thing. I was just getting ready to find you for introductions when you walked in. Now, I think we can all get along, right?”

He looks between you with a shit-eating grin as though he just solved the easiest riddle, even though he didn’t do shit. Mrs. B. stands there wringing her hands and staring at you with trepidation, while you eye her up, looking for any signs of malice.

“I know!” Dean says with all the excitement of a ten year-old, “Mrs. B. how about you bring out some of those butter cookies you whipped up earlier and we kick this off right?”

She turns to fulfill his request just as you answer, “No, thanks. I don’t mind fending for myself. In fact, I prefer it. Dean, can I speak with you? Alone?”

He shakes his head and looks at her apologetically. She just waves him off and leaves.

“What the hell?”

“Yeah!” you throw your hands up, “What the hell?! You need to tell me everything that happened since she showed up.”

Days pass. Once Dean had told you what happened to make Mrs. Doubtfire appear, you went to Sam, hoping for some reason unfortunately, it seemed to be a lost cause. Once she highlighted the monster radar, they were constantly on the run. A quick vampire nest here, a coven there. In between Dean nestled himself in his purple huggy nightgown and drowned himself not in alcohol, but in mashed potatoes and pie. She even had Jack drawn out of his new soul-based depression thanks to her smoothies.

_____

“Won’t you join us, dear?” her sickly sweet voice invites you as the guys line up pumpkins for carving. She wears a forced smile as she clasps her hands in front of her, still uncomfortable with your presence.

“Nope,” you pop with an obnoxious ‘p’ sound, “I’m super right here.” You wave your deli-bought sandwich in the air and look back to your laptop.

“C’mon!” Dean groans. He looks up from the face he’s drawing on the huge, out-of-season monstrosity. “Relax a little, Mrs. B is even gonna roast up some pumpkin seeds - salty and sweet!” He looks at her with an excited and expectant nod.

She looks back like a proud grandmother, “Of course, dear!” As though there were no other option, making your eyes roll into the back of your head.

“Like I said, I’m good. You guys enjoy your...whatever over there.”

They shrug and ignore you, laughing like children and throwing pumpkin goop at each other until she scolds them. Until now, Halloween was despised by Sam, and only an excuse for slutty costumes for Dean. Not that it hadn’t been tried. There were attempts at parties, birthdays, Christmas; Jody invited you all over plenty, especially after the mess with Mary. But no. Suddenly Stepford Granny appears and it’s all hands on deck for celebrations. Something wasn’t right, and for some stupid reason, the guys didn’t notice or care.

_____

Your research on wood nymphs doesn’t offer a whole lot, they are pretty rare. More kindly disposed toward men according to a source, which explains her reaction to you, and summoned to attend the gods on Olympus, which also explains her service kink apparently. Other than that, it was a whole lot of crap.

On occasion you find her in the library, staring wistfully at the photo of the Men of Letters who previously occupied the bunker, but once she notices your presence, she shakes herself from her reverie and starts puttering about, lamenting the state of things around her.

Dean is blissful. Sam had been reluctant, but even he seems to be walking around without his usual dark cloud. You want them to be happy, to have the memories others take for granted, but the way she side-eyes Jack, the way she passive-aggressively speaks about you even when you are in the room, it won’t stop nagging at you.

“What do you miss most about them?” you ask her one day after she sends the boys off with their crustless sandwiches.

“Oh, well, it’s hard to miss them much when they’ve just left,” she laughs, stiff with discomfort.

“Not Sam and Dean, I mean them,” you tip your head in the direction of the photo on the wall.

“Oh.” She takes a half step toward it, but stops. “It’s - they gave me purpose, a home, and a family.”

“What about your real family? The other nymphs?”

She straightens out her stupid, festive apron then, looking at you dead on, “Mr. Sinclair and those gentlemen were no less a real family to me than my natural brethren,” she pauses for a deep breath, then for a moment longer until a tight smile pulls across her lips. “Now, have you eaten? Are you sure I can’t get you...”

“No,” you cut her off for the millionth time she’s asked. 

“Well then, I best get back to work,” she mutters and wanders off.

_____

When you finally get the chance to corner Sam, he’s rushing while getting ready for his date and really only half-listening.

“And I just think that it’s really telling that Cuthbert Sinclair was the one to bring her on, I mean, he wasn’t always on the level with his magic and acquisitions and what the hell are you wearing?”

He turns around, smoothing down the brown sweater vest, “What? Mrs. Butters set it out for me. Said it makes me look dashing.” He smiles and shyly tips his head to the side, the way he does before giving his puppy eyes. All lost on you.

“You look like a sitcom dad. You’re just going out with Eileen, right?”

“Nothing wrong with looking your best.”

“Sure,” you agree with uncertainty, “But Sam, didn’t you look into this?”

“She was right about the first vamp case, she’s powered up the radar, and the bunker is on full blast, what’s wrong with that?”

“Because Sam! Magic also comes with a price, and when has a monster ever really been so thrilled to live in servitude? Or anyone for that matter? You think this is all out of the goodness of her heart?”

He looks at you, confused, “Yes?”

You throw your hands up, just as Sam checks his watch and curses under his breath before hastily leaving the room.

“What the fuck. Fine, you guys don’t care? I don’t care. I am fucking out of here.” No one stops you.

_____

Two days later, you’re called back to the bunker and very apologetic Winchesters, and cake.

“So she was a Nazi murder monster who also liked serving milk and cookies? Cool. Cool, cool. And Jack found this out? Jack?! I mean, no offense buddy, but Sam! You’re the lore genius! You’ve got this place set up with your own fucking Sammy decimal system, and you missed this!”

“I mean, if she was doping up all our food, like she was doing to Jack - “

“And you wondered why I didn’t want to eat her turkish delights! She had you guys running around with sack lunches like fricken four year-olds, all dopey smiles and rice krispy treats. I mean, I can’t believe you even knew how to spell ‘happy birthday’ all on your own and didn’t pull a Hagrid with how high you were flying on her nymph edibles!” You throw your hands up, nearly throwing your slice of birthday cake right off the plate, as Sam laughs.

“And you,” you point to him, “Mjolnir! Where did she pull that from? You weren’t thrown off with that? And don’t think I am letting you live down that sweater vest or birthday tiara. If all it took to make you guys so docile were a few parties and home-cooked meals and giving in to some praise kinks you seem to hae, then someone would have locked you both down already, it’s not like they haven’t tried. I cringed, you guys, cringed. My shoulders are still sore from it.  In fact, I think you guys really owe me for having to put up with watching all that crap go down. For being so right, right from the start.”

They both roll their eyes, Jack for his part just sits and smiles while eating his own birthday cake. Dean flicks his fingers in a ‘bring it on’ motion while pursing his lips in displeasure.

“I want a party. With drinks and store-bought cake with that really good frosting, and a banner that says ‘you were so right and we were so stupid and we’re sorry and we will do better next tim-’”

“Alright, Veruca we get it,” Dean groans.

“Just do better, and don’t forget my golden goose,” you smirk.

[zenithlux]

Tendrils of Regret - Part 5

Read the story on AO3 here!

The next week and a half went by awkwardly. You and Vergil still went on missions together, mostly because Dante was ecstatic that you’d managed it and you really didn’t want to let him down. But you barely talked to each other more than the occasional quip or piece of needed information. Vergil seemed less willing to compete with you, killing everything quickly and leaving the bodies for you to choose between. You barely got to use your powers when he was around, something that even the vine seemed to be upset about. The pinpricks against your heart had gotten worse, and the only way to deal with it so far had been heading back out to the greenhouses. The owners called you a miracle worker, but you made sure they were never around when you worked your magic. 

You’d also slowly removed yourself from the denial phase, and now fully believed that the V you knew was never coming back. It was a tough thing to accept, especially when you continued to dream about him almost every night. But after Lady and Trish finally came clean as to what actually happened around the Qliphoth Tree, you believed them. Vergil was V. A much harsher, less compassionate V. And you had to accept that. 

It didn’t stop the grief though, as much as you thought it might. 

So when you woke up feeling particularly down on a dreary Saturday, you weren’t surprised. 

Early on, you decided just to stay in your room. You figured Vergil wouldn’t care. In fact, you assumed he’d be relieved when you didn’t show up at your usual leaving time and just head out on his own. You did try to do something with your time, whether it be reading or writing or just… anything else. But you kept finding yourself right back in bed, staring either at the ceiling or the back of your eyelids for hours on end. And you supposed it was about time for something like this. You’d been in denial for so long that it was inevitable, really. And now that the nightmares had returned, you wondered if you’d ever get another good night of sleep again. 

At one point, you glanced at the bracelets still adorning your wrists. You hadn’t had the heart to remove them, nor did you know what to do with them. You promised to hold onto them until he returned. Technically, he had. But you had a feeling Vergil wouldn’t want one. He’d never want it. Of that you were certain.

When 2pm hit, you were surprised by another quiet knock at the door. 

You stared at the wilting blue roses in front of you. The rest of the plants were in an equal state of disarray, fueled by your terrible mood. You’d be able to fix them once you felt better, but there was nothing you could do about it now. You had yet to take a shower, nor had you changed out of the pajamas you’d been wearing for the last day and a half. You really didn’t even want to answer the door, but you didn’t think you’d be able to pretend you weren’t there either. The brothers alone could probably sense you, even if Trish wasn’t home. And the only person you’d heard leave this morning was Dante. There was a chance it was Trish or Lady, but you just had a feeling. You’d been around Vergil long enough that you could practically sense him now. You didn’t know if it had something to do with him being your vine’s “master” or not. It really didn’t matter. 

Finally, you sighed and forced yourself up right. You flicked your hand and one of the vines wrapped around the knob and jerked it open. In stepped Vergil, dressed as immaculate as ever. Not a hair was out of place, and you wondered what he’d been doing all morning. Probably reading. You were convinced that was all he ever did when not killing demons or arguing with his brother. “Are you going to lie around all day?” He said. 

You glared at him as you reached for a pillow. “If you have nothing good to say I suggest you leave.” 

You heard him sigh as you rolled away, wrapping yourself up stubbornly in the blankets. “Your plants are dying.” 

You felt like crying, but held it back. “Thanks. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Which means you aren’t feeling well, yes?”

“Why do you care?” You said, refusing to look at him. “I thought you’d be happy without someone to pester you.”

You heard another sigh, followed by the door closing. What was his plan? Drag you out of bed and force you on a mission? Sit in the room until he intimidated you out of bed? What was the point in all of this? You wished he would just leave and so you could wallow the day away and hope you felt better tomorrow. But then, just as the silence was about to get unbearable, you felt something drop on top of the blankets. “Get dressed,” Vergil said. “We leave in 15 minutes.”

You flinched at the command, swallowing in an attempt to ignore it. “I’m not interested, Vergil.”

“I’m not asking.”

“Just go on your own,” You muttered. “You’ve proven time and time again you don’t need my help.”

“There aren’t any tasks today,” he said. 

“I’m not scouting either.”

“Get dressed,” he repeated. 

The vine twisted tighter in your chest, begging you to respond. You stubbornly ignored the pain. Instead, you lurched upright, awkwardly unwrapping yourself from the blankets enough to glare at him. “You don’t get it do you?”

“If I don’t intervene then you will waste the rest of the day away.”

“And maybe that’s what I need to do.” 

“But is it what you want to do?”

“Of course not,” you snap. “But sometimes life doesn’t give you much of a choice.”

“I’m giving you a choice,” He said as calm as ever. 

“Last time I checked,” You said. “You weren’t life.”

“I’m not asking again,” Vergil said, clicking Yamato. “You can either get dressed and come with me or sit there and waste the rest of your day away.” He left before you could respond, quite nearly slamming the door behind him. You glared at it for far too long but groaned when some of your plants bloomed back to life. Of course they would respond to anger. At least you knew you had the energy to fuel them. Maybe you could find the strength to get out of bed today. Or you could just ignore him and go back to sleep. 

But you found yourself… conflicted. Where could Vergil possibly take you that would make your day better that didn’t involve demons? Now you were curious, and you had a feeling he knew it. 

Curse that nosy, infuriating blue-devil. 

Finally, you got yourself out of bed. You were surprised to find that Vergil had tossed you a matching pair of clothes and your favorite jacket. Had he really been paying that much attention to you? Impossible. Even on jobs he rarely looked at you. Maybe he’d just gotten lucky with his choices. Regardless, you begrudgingly put them on, lacking the energy to find anything else, threw your hair up into a messy pony-tail and found one of your perfumes to mask the lack of a shower. At the end of it, you stared at yourself in the mirror, wondering if this was the right decision. You could still feel your bed pulling at you, but you were able to ignore it as you wandered down the stairs where Vergil was waiting. 

“So where are we going?” You said. 

He cut open a portal and stepped aside. “Go.”

You scowled as your feet twitched, aching to follow the command. “You’re terrible at this “avoiding accidental commands” thing today.”

“They’re not accidental,” He said. “Now go.” 

“Asshole,” You muttered as you found yourself unable to ignore his summons any longer. You stepped through the portal as miserable-looking as possible, but your mood perked when you saw where he’d taken you. “An animal shelter?” You said as he stepped out beside you and the portal snapped shut. “What are we doing here?”

“Dante has agreed that the shop could be a bit more lively for days that you might be home alone.” He glanced at you. “Something that isn’t fully dependent on your moods.”

For some reason, you found yourself excited. “We’re getting a pet?”

“You are, yes,” Vergil said. “Morrison has taken care of all the paperwork. You just need to pick the one that suits you.” He crossed his arms. “A quiet one, preferably.”

“Is that a command?”

Vergil sighed. “No. It’s entirely yours to pick and take care of.”

You rolled your eyes. “You got it, dad.”

Vergil scowled, but you just laughed as you made your way across the street. “Are you coming with me?”

Vergil’s eyebrow shot up. “You want me to join you?”

You paused. “It’s probably best that you do, right? Not every animal will feel comfortable around a demon, so we should probably find one that is.”

Slowly, Vergil nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Is that a compliment?”

He huffed as he walked by you, but you were quick to catch up. As the doors opened, dozens of smells almost overwhelmed you. A dozen sunflowers nearby started to grow, but you caught yourself and shrunk them again before anyone noticed. A short brunette grinned at both of you from behind the counter. “Welcome!” She said. “Here for an adoption?”

“Yes,” Vergil said, slipping past you as he reached into his coat and put a stack of papers on the table. 

The woman looked them over quickly and nodded. “Anybody in particular you’re looking for?”

“Cats,” You said. Vergil glanced at you in what might have been surprise, but you were too excited to care. “Something that loves to cuddle and play, but can also spend some time alone while we’re at work.” 

The woman nodded again. “I always love helping couples pick out their first little buddy.”

You blinked. Vergil stiffened beside you. “Oh no, it's not like that.” You said.

The woman chuckled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” She winked as she turned away, leaving you flustered. Vergil just rolled his eyes and followed after the woman. You rushed to catch up to them. “No really, it’s…”

“Stop,” Vergil said. You froze in place, glaring at him. “Not like that.”

“How else is one supposed to stop?”

He sighed in annoyance. “Stop… stopping.”

You let go of a breath as your body released. “Stop doing that.”

“It’s harder than it looks.”

“Clearly,” You walked past him, but your irritation faded the second you stepped into the kitten corral. Various pitches of meows greeted you as numerous kittens moved toward the front of their cages and peered at you. Some ignored you completely. Others were playing with each other. You followed along the sides, peering at as many kittens as you could. “They’re so cute!” You breathed. 

“You’ll probably want an older cat,” The woman said. “You’ll find those over here.” 

On the way, you stopped at a certain cage, your heart swelling the second you saw the black cat inside. It was alone, curled up in a ball and purring as it slept the day away. But all you could see was a smaller Shadow, waiting for you to take him away. “Hey little guy,” You whispered, reaching your fingers through the cage to gently pet its ears. The cat’s eyes opened, but he just eyed you curiously, his tail flicking back and forth. 

“That’s one of our new arrivals,” The woman said. “We’ve been calling him Shadow.”

“Can I hold him?”

“Of course!” She said as she opened the cage. “He’s incredibly calm and quiet. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t been adopted before now.” She gently pulled Shadow from his cage, handing him to you. The cat purred as you held him like a baby, scratching behind his ears.

“Vergil!” You said, turning toward him. You were surprised to find that he was waiting in the doorway, eyes locked on you. After a moment, you moved toward him, holding Shadow out. “What do you think?”

“He’s your pet,” Vergil said. “I don’t…” He trailed off as you shoved the cat into his arms. Vergil’s eyes widened before moving back to the cat himself. The creature sat up in Vergil’s arms, eyes meeting his. You swore you saw Vergil melt just a bit. His shoulders relaxed. His gaze softened. For the briefest of moments, you could imagine V standing there, smiling as he cradled the cat with the same fondness he’d given his familiars. You shook your head, dispelling the image. Vergil wasn’t smiling, but his mouth was surprisingly agape, and you wondered what he was thinking. Did he even remember Shadow? Surely something so important to his human self would have remained in his head. But he hadn’t remembered you, so nobody but Vergil knew how all of that worked. 

But you’d never seen him like this. Relaxed. Slightly surprised. Guard down. He’d always been so uptight around you, especially after the greenhouse incident. But this was more… V like. A man that didn’t care what people thought of him and wasn’t afraid of his own emotions. 

“Vergil?”

He snapped his mouth closed and his muscles returned to their original rigidity. He handed Shadow back before crossing his arms and leaning against the door. “It's your choice,” he said, but you heard a strange sense of longing in his tone. 

You looked down at the cat, only to see it staring back at you. “I think we’ve found our companion,” You said. This time, Vergil didn’t react to your wording. In fact, he almost seemed to relax. 

The woman smiled. “I’ll get the paperwork.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Dante said when he returned home to find you playing with your new cat in the lobby. Vergil was reading on the couch behind you, but you hadn’t missed how his eyes had occasionally drifted to you and Shadow throughout the evening. Of course, he never asked to hold the cat again, and you knew he would never admit to wanting to play with him, but you knew he approved. “And let me guess. His name is Shadow. ”

“The adoption center named him,” You said. 

“But that is his name, yeah?”

You smiled as Shadow curled up into your lap, purring. “Maybe.”

Dante laughed as he plopped down at his desk. “And Vergil approved?”

“It wasn’t my choice,” Vergil said.

You rolled your eyes. “He’s said that a lot today.” You scratched behind Shadow’s ears. “But he didn’t complain when we went shopping for the toys, the food, or the crate. We got Shadow a bed too! So, I’d call that a victory.”

“Verge loves him,” Dante said as he kicked his feet up. “I can tell by the look on his face.” 

Vergil didn’t say anything, but you were more than used to that by now. “Well it’s a good time for us to get to bed,” You said, rising from your seat on the floor with Shadow in hand. The cat meowed as it yawned, approving of your decision. “When are we leaving tomorrow?”

Vergil’s eyes shot up in surprise. “What?”

“Well you have a plan, don’t you?” You said, nuzzling your cat. 

“... I’ll tell you in the morning.”

As you climbed the stairs, you heard Dante laugh. “I knew this was a good idea.”

[trashynyland]

Alright, someone asked about this and I'm here to give.

There's not much to the HermitFamilyAU. I'll try and go in order in a way from oldest to recent characters that have been created so far.

Grian, mute avian hybrid. 23 but acts like an excited 10 year old. He communicates in bird, sign language, writing and charades. Only Mumbo, Iskall and Xisuma can understand Grian's bird talk (he'll chirp, squeak screech and squawk). He's a bundle of joy, really energetic, he loves to cuddle and he's usually always happy. He'll tend to stick by Mumbo's side a lot. He has the habit of sitting on people's shoulders, it helps him with his height dysphoria, makes him feel taller which makes him happy. He loves to build with his legos since he isn't allowed out of the house unless he's with Xisuma. He was abused by his parents who cut out his vocal cords with a knife at age 9. He's lived in the hermit household for 5 years. He has a feather shedding habit which Doc despises (that's what earned Grian the name "Feathers"). Grian and Doc have a love hate relationship but mostly, Grian loves being a little shit to Doc and annoy him. Grian can easily get sent into a panic attack if someone touches his neck without permission. He has trust issues and won't let anyone he doesn't know near him.

Mumbo, human but has the power to generate Redstone dust from his hair (like King Sparklez but he can generate the dust with his hands). He's 24 and a nervous wreck. Mumbo always needs an explanation to things he doesn't understand, if he doesn't get it then he'll try and figure it out himself. He's very shy around others he doesn't know and has a horrible stuttering habit when he has to talk to people he doesn't know. He loves hanging out with Grian (his comfort buddy boyfriend) and loves to help the little avian. His legs got shattered and ripped from a piston malfunction that he was trying to fix, they had to amputate his legs from the knee down. He's got Redstone prosthetics that are powered with Redstone (made by King Diamond). He has no recollection of his past, all he knows was that he showed up on the Redstone King's doorstep at age 7 and was adopted by the king. Mumbo's father is King Redstone (or CaptainSparklez) but Mumbo lives with Xisuma since Mumbo himself isn't found of the Royal lifestyle. But he works for his father and helps around the castle from time to time. Started living with Xisuma at age 19.

Iskall, slime hybrid. He's 27 and a comedian. He acts like a crazy uncle, loves to make inappropriate jokes but also acts like the 2nd father of the house. He loves to jokes around and pull pranks. He's very kind until you hurt his family in any way. Again, acts like the second dad of the house because things can get too crazy sometimes. When he was 16, he was shit in the eye by a blast spell which caused his eye to never grow back. Instead of getting an eye patch or a regular eye prosthetic he asked Mumbo and Doc to make him some kinda cool looking eye instead. He was abandoned by his mother at age 13, was taken in by Xisuma at age 15. He has abandonment issues.

Xisuma, Archangel hybrid (four wings, halo and 6 eyes. 4 of the eyes and the halo only appear when X uses his powers. Two of the wings get hidden beneath the top two wings.). He's over 1000 years old (but 38 in human age). He absolutely loves adopting and it's his horrible bad habit. He's been banned a few times from adoption centers because the guy can't control himself. Because of this, he's been named the "Caretaker" and "Dimensional Adopter". He's a Warrior (meaning he goes out to different dimensions to help out others in corrupted dimensions) but he's also a coder and hacker. He loves his family and would do anything to protect them. He was banished to the world Palace Concy at age 17(human age) and has lived there happily ever since. In his old world, he use to live in the heavens which had thin air. Since the air is much thicker on the ground and too much for him he wears a ventilator to help him breath better. He also can't die, he can respawn which he finds unsettling. When he dies he respawns in his bed. He's a bottom, he's gotta admit that and his husband is Doc (someone he first saved when he became a Warrior). Most of his scars on his body (including his "X" scar on his face) we're given to him by Doc himself on accident. He's a dad of the hermit household.

Doc, creeper human cyborg. He's 40 years old and a cranky guy. He tends to put up a touch guy act but in reality he's just a soft teddy bear. He'll only show his true softness when alone with Xisuma or playing with the kids. He's caring but will act like he doesn't give a shit. Parents call him Soccer Mom because of how prepared he is and how much he helps his kids but also because he tends to pick fights with the entitled parents who thinks their kid(s) are better than everyone, "News flash Christian! They aren't special!". His prosthetic arm, half head and neck, part of his chest and half is heart were all designed by King Diamond and Doctor Joe Atlantic(they also got some help from Prince Stampy). In Doc's old dimension he use to be a creeper that couldn't explode (which hunters found amusing so they'd pick on Doc and give him scars, basically abuse him). One day he fell in love with his world's Cub who later ended up turning him him an and forcing him to become his science experiment. Once he was deemed useless, Cub put him up for auction which Xisuma ended up buying him and taking him home. Doc has major trust issues with everyone and still doesn't trust Xisuma's 3rd new adoption, Cub Issatic who's always on edge and thinks someone is after his blood (character Cub is still a wip so this may change later on). Doc is surprisingly actually a cuddly type of hybrid. He loves to cuddle alone with X when they get the chance. Doc's husband is Xisuma. Doc is the mom of the hermit household.

Tango, very energetic guy, he's a Telikiantors (a mythical creature created by me the artist, there's a post I made about them but to be short, they're forest creatures that are like SirenHeads but don't eat humans unless provoked by them). Tango is a hybrid version of a Teli. He's 6 years old and still waiting for his future surgery to get on his mouth tail so he can start eating from it again (in his old home it was damaged). He loves to pull all sorts of pranks and is the house's little chaotic demon. Even with no arms, he can't be stopped. He use to be owned by an old woodworker who used Tango as his personal slave. Since Tango was young at the time and didn't know any better and was a child he'd always fool around and didn't listen. This angered his old owner who cut off Tango's arms off and cut his tail mouth so he couldn't eat. Xisuma stumbled upon him one night when the Archangel got lost on a hike in the woods. X saved him and adopted him at age 3. Even though Tango went through that torture he's still bubbly and doesn't have much trama. He's more unsure about things and will asked about them.

Impulse, he's a God actually who was the son of a lightning goddess and ocean god. He's currently 5 years old. When he was born his eyes were completely gold and blue but after his mother and father forced him to use his magic he went blind. Since he was only 3 at the time his eyes were still sensitive and not use to powerful magic or anything bright. His mother was frustrated with him that he couldn't summon up lighting or water so she summoned up some lightning and struck it right in front of Impulse which caused him to go blind and his eyes to lighten up a bit. When the parents left to argue after the situation, that's when Xisuma jumped into the dimension to save Impulse and take him away. Originally his eyesight was supposed to be fixed and he was supposed to be sent back to his home world but he refused the care and refused to leave X's side. He's very scared of powers and when people raise their voices. He's shy and fragile and can easily get overwhelmed by things. He has some sensitivity issues, where when he's so overwhelmed by something he can easily fall into a panic attack. Doc, as a Christmas gift, gave him two shovels that have turned into his comfort item. They help conceal his magic so it doesn't get too out of hand when he gets overwhelmed, upset or angry. He usually sticks by his brothers Tango and Zedaph's sides but when he's not with them then he'll be hanging around his dad, mom or one of his siblings while on a child leash (he doesn't mind the leash and actually loves it since it gives him comfort. He's still not use to being blind and all).

Zedaph, he's a witch, that what everyone knows so far. He's 5 years old and has a teddy bear attitude, his personality is very fluffy and caring. He loves the world and the world loves him. In his old dimension, he was a rich witch's slave and was forced to do dirty work. His owner once had enough of him one day when he accidentally dropped her food and his owner blasted his arm off. Because of the traumatic experience, Zed prefers to keep his eyes shut in fear of having to go through something terrible and scary again. His old owner sold him off to Xisuma who took him in and adopted him. Zedaph's powers are unknown because they haven't yet activated. He's been labelled as a witch for now because of the place he came from and his low power levels. His favorite person in the world his his Uncle Stizoom because of his fluffy hair and tail. He loves to curl up in anything soft and fluffy because of how comfortable and safe it makes him feel. It's the reason why he owns a large Wooloo plushy.

Cleo, a very rare zombie eel siren. She's 31 years old and doesn't like speaking. She likes to stay mute unless talking to Xisuma or False. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her old dimension same with her except that she was always bored. Pirates and fishermen always tried to catch her and at first Cleo loved to prank them but as she got more and more bored she started letting them capture her and sell her at black markets, auctions, sold to royals. She always knew how to escape and she found it fun at first but soon grew bored of it all again. It was always the same routine. Xisuma found her while he was wondering her dimension in a black market. He asked her if she wanted to join him but of course she said nothing. Xisuma ended up buying her and bring her home with him. Cleo has never tried to leave or escape since (except to False's bedroom to sleep with her).

Ren, dog hybrid who has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Since he has many different identities all have different personalities (check out his character sheet for more details on all the identities). But mostly Ren is in charge and upfront to control the body, he is the main host after all. Ren is the definition of the one crazy uncle. He's comedic, crazy and loves to put a smile on others faces, he's also very playful. He can get flustered easily if someone dominates him (either in bed or at his own games like flirting). Ren and the body are about 21. In his old world he was abused a lot, mostly chained to a wall in a basement his entire life. He was abused a lot by his owner alpha and many other bad things. It's where a lot of his trama comes from. He one day ended up escaping but fell through a dimensional portal and ended up in Palace Concy. He was found in the woods passed out by Slime n Bone podcast who were taking a vacation with the Woodworks family in the Kosikians Sky (mt. DeathLoxes) mountains. He's was taken to Xisuma after the podcast group couldn't figure out how to help him since Ren wouldn't say anything and just shake in fear in the corner. He was taken in by X which Ren is very greatful for. Ren is scared of everyone since he's an omega and comes from an omegaverse, he thinks an alpha will come and hurt him again. Ren has a huge crush on Iskall and even though he knows the man likes him back he's too scared to ask him out. Ren loves to hang out with Grian, Doc and sometimes Iskall when he isn't blushing nervous. Very cool dude.

Bdubs, human but is immune to explosives but can still get stabbed. He's 19 actually and has a big habit of getting into trouble with Impulse and Tango. He works at an explosives store in town, helps out the construction crews when they need a certain area exploded and loves to volunteer at the firework stands that pop up during July 1st "Redstone Founders Day" (Bdubs favorite holiday). He's enthusiastic and doesn't mind teaching kids about explosives and safety in his spare time. He loves causing trouble when he can but he also loves helping out others with decorating. He's got a side job he's made "Bdubs Interior Design" and usually many people hire him for help. He use to live in a HermitCraft world when he decided to leave one year and stubbled upon an Earth dimension which he was then used as a bomber during the everlasting wars that were going on. He was one day capture and take to Palace Concy by Lunch Army and was then later adopted by X. During his time on the Earth War he gained black smudge on his face that X has found won't come off so it's become part of Bdubs skin basically. Some have called him blackface and think that he's being racist but he's not. He's just got some black smudge on his face that is unremovable. He's bubble and loves to make others smile when having a bad day. He doesn't really have any trama except for being weary of portals. He's got a crush on Keralis but won't admit it.

Keralis, human. He's 18 (looks 16) and a punk. He's mean and bitchy to everyone and doesn't let a single soul through his walls (he doesn't let others see his emotions and what he's really feeling). He love to break the law and pick fights. He works with "Brtakis Construction Company" which causes him to travel from home a lot. He's very strong and can pack a punch. He's a warrior so that's why he's got his own special weapon, he's not allowed on any dimensional missions but he's allowed to kill Alumas (soul takers) when they show up. In his old dimension he was a homeless immigrant who lived on the streets of New York (where he earned his punk attitude). He was saved by Xisuma one night when he was about to get killed by a gang group, almost got shot in the head. X had offered him a home but Keralis denied his offer. It took 5 years of constant saves and denied offers until one year he almost committed suicide he finally opened up to X and accepted his offer with a wailing sob. He still keeps his punk attitude because he grew up with it but also because he finds it cool. He also kept it because of Doc, Keralis wants to be just like the guy. All smug and strong. Doc is the person he looks up to, his idol in a way. His trama? He gets scared and panicked when left alone and he can't go near any big cities that are similar to New York.

Wels, avian hybrid mixed with an angel hybrid. He owns a halo that's cracked and shattered but only appears when he's angry. He's got beautiful golden wings that goes along with his ruby red hair. He's 15 but a secret Drag Queen at night. He loves to entertain people and put on a show, show off what he can do. He loves the stage and to him it's his home and life. (Idk how to explain it but he's just like the YouTube Wels but gay). He owns two Drag Personas, Cherry Rider who's his usual sona he dresses as who can be a wild ride. Cherry is an encouraging fool that will try and help anyone build up their confidence to do anything that their heart desires to do. His other persona is HelsKnight, Hels is a naughty bad fool who, for Wels is his way of getting his anger out in style and in a safe way. He'll preform and have a happy attitude when Cherry but have a dark and naughty~ attitude when being Hels. Because of X's worry, Wels has paired up with Doc on the weekends to do drag but pairs up with Skeppy during the weekdays for drag. Since he's young he still needs parental vision. Not much about his past except for being an orphan all his life and getting bullied at school and at his orphanage for being gay and loving to cross dress. When Xisuma adopted him, Wels hid his love for drag which ended up causing problems because when Cherry Rider first appeared on TV Xisuma fell in love for her and was horrified when he found out the drag person character was his son. After a bit of awkward talking and drag performances from Doc for X, Xisuma got over his silly love crush for Cherry and told Wels that he accepts who he is and will always love him as family. Xisuma told him that it would just be a bit awkward for awhile because X still had to get over the fact that his favorite drag queen he had a crush on was actually his adopted son. Doc helped both X and Wels after the reveal. Wels grew more confident and stopped hiding his drag cross dressing side (while his father Xisuma got over his crush and dropped it entirely but he ended up crushing on Wels' drag performance partner Skeppy). Wels still has a small fear of being himself in front of others but has overcome most of that fear because he knows his family has got his back (especially his over protective Dadsuma who would kill anyone who hurts his family and his Docmom who will murder any parents that talk his son down, "I'm lookin at you Rebecca! Your daughter is a lesbian and will never be straight you blind fu-"). Wels has a small crush on Biffa (an orphan friend of his that lives on the other side of the world (Biffa is still being developed) who Xisuma is thinking about adopting.

Jevin, rare blue slime hybrid. He's 1 year old and there's not much to him. He's a happy a baby who has a weird love obsession life with the Jello food. Iskall loves to take that and tease his baby brother with it (like stabbing his lil brother's jello in front of him and watching him cry about it, Iskall just finds Jevins whole Jello obsession hilarious). Xisuma actually found Jevin in a basket by his tracker right before he was about to work on his farm fields. Jevin will usually be hanging out with Iskall since he's also a slime and the hybrid connection helps them work better with each other. But also since Xisuma and Doc have no idea how to take care of a slime hybrid since they're hard to come by in Concy and there's not many books about them, so the two husbands let nature take it's course with Iskall since it looks like he knows what he's doing.

NPC Grian or Rustie, he's a demon but apparently can change into a robot? He's an interesting type. He's 25 and a cheerful man. He works in architecture, both with planning out the building and how it will look along with the construction. He also works at a bookstore named "BookRook". He's sweet and kind but will snap your neck in you make him angry, a smile with a dark atmosphere like aph Russia. He loves his kids but if he finds Grain making anY MORE ROBOTS THEN HE'S GOING TO-. He love to volunteer for events and he loves his husband Zoom. He was found by Zoom in his old dimension where Rustie was still locked and hibernating in his closet. He would have taken his robot brother with him but Robot Grian was in horrible condition and... dead so there was no use of him. Rustie owns a nice little rustic cabin in the woods beside a like with a great view. He and Zoom built the house and nother are proud of their work and family.

Evil Xisuma or Stizoom(Zoom), a Strider hybrid but fluffier. He's 27 and has a very gentle heart. He loves nature with a passion and Rustie tends to find him curdle up in his flower beds quite often. He likes to bird watch and plant flowers. He's a five star chief for "Blossburgi Restaurant" and a karate teacher for "Hightri's Karate". He hates the cold and loves to cuddle up with Rustie during the cold seasons and Rustie finds it adorable. Luckily, the two own a nearby hot springs so when things get to cold, Zoom will go hang out in the hot springs for awhile. He loves animals, all kinds. In his old dimension he was always forced to be near creatures and he always hated the small to so little space he always got. Xisuma found him and took him in for all awhile until Zoom found and fell in love with Rustie. His husband is Rustie and they both love each other very much. Very cute :3.

HermitPets, they're more used and made for a different AU of mine but in HermitFamily they're more background characters for sorts. Not much.

HermitFamily house, huge house I mean huge. It's a mansion that's up in the Stonety Mts. It sits in a large valley surrounded by mountains. The valley is actually a farm the the hermit house owns. They grow crops and sell it the small nearby town they live by named "Vellenture". Their house, in the back has a large poor (more of a lake and it's for Cleo) but it attaches to a nearby forest. The house itself, on the outside is a creamy white and on the inside, many colors. (I'll have to draw it out for a better explanation but basically the house looks like Grian's mansion but a creamy white and rustic grey.

[i-write-nsfw-sometimes]

ThVi - A Need (nsfw a/b/o)

Virgil is out of heat suppressants and it’s just their luck that Thomas summons them.

Omega!Virgil, Alpha!Thomas, knotting, mating

Virgil had checked everywhere. The drawer, the bathroom, their kitchen, their medicine cabinet... but they couldn't find them anywhere. What, you might ask, is Virgil looking for? Their heat suppressants were gone, vanished, poof. And that meant one thing their heat was on its way... as an effect of the suppressants, it was going to be their worst heat ever... and it was going to happen in about an hour... Virgil could feel their pheromone pills failing as the natural scent of their heat took over. The tug on their clothes startled them, no no no no no! Thomas couldn't be summoning them now! Virgil felt themself appear, collapsing on the stairs

"Virgil?" Virgil looked up making eye-contact with Thomas, a whimper bubbled past their lips. Thomas' scent was sending pleasant tingles up Virgil's neck

"Virge buddy? Are you in heat?" Virgil sighed, trying to catch their breath

"Not yet, it's gonna be a bad one, I'm out of my suppressants." Thomas growled, walking over to Virgil and staring into their eyes

"Virgil, do you not realize how horrible those are for your body? You could hurt yourself!" Virgil whined, baring their neck

"I'm sorry angel, I shouldn't have yelled... Do you want me to help you through your heat?" Thomas kneeled down to eye-level with Virgil, who nodded eagerly

"Yes please, a-and you have my consent to mark me and knot me." Thomas smiled softly

"Go up into my bedroom, use whatever you need to nest, ok? I'll be up in a little bit," Virgil gave a small nod,

"T-Thank you. C-can we not tell the others I'm an omega? They already don't listen to me as is." Thomas smiled, stroking Virgil's cheek

"Of course, feel free to wear my clothes if my scent soothes you, I wouldn't mind seeing you in one of my shirts" Virgil giggled, rushing off to Thomas' room. Virgil grabbed one of Thomas' shirts, pulling off their clothes as they began to sweat, they hissed as they peeled off their pants. Virgil tugged Thomas' shirt on over their head, sniffing the shirt and visibly relaxing at the scent of their alpha... or what would be their alpha. Virgil grabbed the comforter, arranging it around them in a U-shape, not good enough. They threw Thomas' pillows around until they were satisfied, all their nest needed was- oh no. Virgil whimpered, a wave of slick leaking into their panties. Fuck- Virgil sat on their knees, hugging themself and whimpering. Virgil was pulled out of their thoughts by three knocks. The turned to stare at Thomas, they glanced at the cooler he pulled along behind him. Thomas closed the door, locking it behind him, before setting the cooler next to the bed

"Oh angel... my poor little omega. May I come into your nest?" Virgil nodded their slick dripping down their thighs and onto the bed

"I've got you pretty omega, I've got you. Such a good angel, built such a beautiful nest." Virgil whined, going onto their hands and knees, lifting their hips up to show their soaked panties

"Please alpha, need you so bad" Thomas huffed with adoration, running a hand through his hair and he pulled off his clothes. pulling off his boxers to reveal his dick

"Here angel. Let's get you on your back." Thomas lightly turned them over, situating them on their back,

"First I'm gonna spoil you my pretty omega," Virgil nodded, lifting their hips up.

"Please alpha." Thomas smirked, pulling their soaked panties off. Thomas stared at Virgil's soaked privates, their clit was red and swollen... his poor little omega. Thomas leaned down, kissing their hips lightly

"A-Alpha." Virgil whined, their hips shaking as they tried to stay still

"Shh pretty little omega, spread those legs for me, let me take care of you." Virgil nodded, opening their legs. Thomas smirked, leaning forward to lick Virgil's clit, the poor thing arched into his touch, their thighs shook as Thomas licked up and down their sensitive clit. Virgil gasped and moaned, Thomas felt himself harden at the scent of his omega

"A-Alpha a-about to..." Virgil was cut off as they moaned

"Let go omega, tonight you have my permission whenever you wish." Virgil nodded, tensing as they came over Thomas' face. Thomas pulled back, smiling as Virgil twitched. Thomas waited for a bit, rubbing Virgil's hips

"S-Sorry"

"Sorry? For what?" Thomas tilted his head

"I-I came on y-your face...." Thomas chuckled

"Such a cute little omega. Don't worry baby, I liked it... feel free to do it again." Virgil moaned, spreading their legs wider

"Ready for another?" Virgil nodded

"P-Please? I-It really helped...." Thomas nodded

"Of course my little omega." Thomas bent back down, licking their clit, Virgil moaned and gasped. Thomas decided to make this one quick, the two would be at this for a while, he didn't want Virgil getting overwhelmed. Thomas wrapped his lips around their clit and sucked

"Oh Fuck-!" Virgil moaned, wrapping their hands in Thomas' hair, cumming for a second time. Thomas pulled away, a trail of slick dripping down his chin, he wiped his chin, leaning down to peck Virgil's stomach, trailing kisses up their body

"Little omega? You still with me?" Thomas smirked as Virgil blinked slowly, nodding as the words processed.

"Here." Thomas reached into the cooler, pulling out a water bottle

"You want me to eat you out again little omega?"

"P-Please n-no, don't want that... Want you in me alpha!" Thomas chuckles, putting the cap back on the bottle, putting it in the cooler

"Ready?" Virgil paused

"M-My thighs h-hurt, I-I don't know if I'll be able to participate much" Thomas nodded

"What pillow can I move?" Virgil pointed to a pillow, Thomas grabbed it, fixing it under Virgil's hips

"Good?" Virgil nodded

"Please Alpha... waited so long" Thomas hummed, lining up with Virgil's cunt

"Breathe for me my pretty little omega." Thomas pushed in, moaning at the velvet heat around him. Virgil was so tight around him, not to mention they were clenching down so tight

"That what you wanted my little omega?" Virgil twitched around him

"Yes yes yes yes yes! So good! Stretch me so much! My alpha! Need your knot!" Thomas leaned down, kissing Virgil's neck

"Doing so well, so good for your alpha." Virgil spasmed, trying to rock down onto Thomas' dick. Thomas chuckled, holding Virgil's hips down, rubbing their hip-bones with his thumbs

"Hold on there speedy, I don't want to hurt you." Virgil whined, but nodded,

"C-Can I touch you alpha?" Thomas smiled

"Of course angel." Virgil reached up, wrapping their arms around Thomas' neck, staring into Thomas' eyes

"P-Please move, need it so bad alpha." Thomas nodded

"Ok my little omega, hold onto me." Virgil nodded, whining when Thomas began moving. Virgil clenched around Thomas, turning their head to the side

"Please please please please please please-" Virgil rambled, whimpering to hopefully get Thomas' attention

"What is it pretty omega? Want me to mark you? Want me to leave my mark on your pretty little neck? Want me to make you my mate?" Virgil nodded enthusiastically .

"Yes alpha! Please! Will do anything! Want to be yours!" Thomas moaned, leaning down to kiss at Virgil's neck. He sucked on their sweet spot,

"Ready angel?" Virgil nodded, Thomas growled, sinking his teeth into their neck. Virgil saw white, clenching around Thomas so tight that Thomas though he had died and went to heaven, his knot expanded, Virgil came from the overwhelming feeling of euphoria that overtook their senses. Thomas pulled back, licking at Virgil's wound.

"Breathe my omega, did so well. Do you wanna mark me?" Virgil nodded. Alphas who wore a mark were normally rare, not many liked having an omega's mark on their skin. Thomas leaned down, presenting his neck

"Go on, angel." Virgil licked Thomas' neck, biting down softly. Thomas hummed, relishing in the feeling of the sweet little thing taking his knot. Virgil pulled back, licking at Thomas' wound

"My mate, my perfect little angel..." Thomas kissed Virgil, relishing in having his mate so close

"P-Please my mate, need you" Thomas' knot was almost deflated

"How do you want me my mate?" Virgil whined

"Want you hard and fast, p-please alpha?" Thomas nodded

"Ok my little omega, are you ready?" Virgil nodded

"P-Please?" Thomas, pulled out, thrusting back in as soon as he pulled out. Thrusting in deep

"Good?" Virgil whined

"Faster please alpha! Need it harder!" Virgil begged, Thomas sped up, holding Virgil's hips down to thrust deeper into them. Virgil's moans grew as Thomas thrusted harder

"You like that omega? Like your alpha taking you?" Virgil moaned

"Yes! Love my alpha! Love my mate!" Thomas growled, nibbling on Virgil's neck

"Say it again, let everyone in this house know who you belong to."

"I love my alpha! Fucks me so good! Alpha's cock stretches me so nicely!" Virgil bucked into Thomas' thrusts

"That's right my pretty little omega, moan out for me." Thomas bit and sucked at Virgil's neck, leaving hickeys and bite marks all over Virgil's neck and shoulders.

"God... I don't know how I'm gonna contain myself around you my omega, you're so fucking addicting." Thomas growled

"Want me to knot you again angel?" Virgil nodded, tears in their eyes

"Need it" Thomas thrusted, holding off his knot until Virgil squeezed around him, locking the knot in place. Virgil shuddered, cumming on Thomas' knot. Virgil collapsed, panting heavily

"Angel? You still with me?" Virgil nodded

" W-Want more...please" Virgil whimpered

"How do you want it my mate? I'll give you anything you want all you have to do is ask." Virgil moaned

"Want it on my hands and knees, want you on top of me alpha, deep in me... please" Thomas moaned, pulling out his deflated knot, helping Virgil turn over. Virgil moaned as Thomas lined up

"Ready my mate?" Virgil nodded

"P-please" Thomas pushed in, moaning at the new angle. Thomas gabed onto Virgil's hips, thrusting hard and fast into them

"That good sweet omega?" Virgil nodded

"Yes alpha so... so good." Virgil's chest hit the bed, their ass was up in the air as Thomas pounded into them

"God you're so fucking tight, I never want to pull out." Virgil moaned, pushing back into Thomas' thrusts

"You like that idea? Me deep inside you all the time?" Virgil gasped, the room was hot, filled with Virgil's moans and whines

"You want me to fill and knot you pretty omega?" Virgil made a strained noise in the back of their throat, legs shaking as Thomas thrusted harder, their cunt clenching down hard at the words, squeezing around Thomas' cock.

"I think that's a yes," Thomas laughed out, only partially mocking. His thrusts sped up, skin slapping wetly against the other.

Virgil did nothing but whine and moan into Thomas' messy thrusts, his thrust boarding on violent before he comes hard and deep inside of them, his knot catching their rim. Virgil shuddered, cumming around Thomas' knot, collapsing on the bed, Thomas laying atop of them

"I want to pass out for like twenty years." Thomas chuckled at the breathless thing below him

"We are gonna take a bath first, not to mention I need to change the sheets." Virgil whined

"Fine"

"I brought some water and some snacks in the cooler, also an ice pack. After my knot goes down I'll go turn on the water." Virgil smiled

"No promises that I won't fall asleep." Thomas chuckled, kissing their neck

"I'd recommend you drink some water while I'm gone, once you're in the bath I'm gonna change the sheets and then I'll join you." Virgil nodded, feeling Thomas knot deflate

"T-Thank you by the way..." Thomas smiled

"Shush, I kinda was hoping you would be ok with me marking you... even when I thought you were an beta." Virgil chuckled

"What a way for you to find out huh?" Thomas smiled

"Ok I'm gonna pull out, it's gonna be sore so be ready." Virgil nodded, wincing as Thomas pulled out, a thick trail of cum dripping out of them. Thomas turned them over, passing them the bottle of water

"Here, drink some water, I'll go get the bath ready."

After Thomas and Virgil cleaned up and Thomas changed the sheets, the two cuddled in the bed.

"Tomorrow I'll make you some breakfast and some tea, lord knows your throat will need it after you moaned so much." Virgil blushed, cuddling up into one of Thomas' shirts, thank Jesus it was a clean one, and some fresh panties.

"D-Don't remind me... I try to be quiet but I just can't do it." Thomas chuckled

"I like it, it's cute and insanely hot." Virgil nuzzled into Thomas' chest

"Shush, it's sleepytime." Thomas smiled, rubbing Virgil's back

"Goodnight my little mate, I love you." Virgil relaxed at the touch, smiling... Thomas called them his mate... they were mates

"I love you too my mate, night." Virgil sighed, cuddling into Thomas as they drifted off. Thomas kissed their forehead, closing his eyes, ignoring the spike of pure love in his heart for the small thing in his arms... He knew the others would question why Virgil looked like a bear mauled them, but Thomas didn't think it would be a issue, considering he didn't think Virgil would be walking for a couple days anyway.

[haro-whumps]

Box Boy Rescue

(CW: slavery, brainwashing, dehumanization, kidnapping, creepy + intimate whumper, gaslighting)

Tag list: @thatsthewhump @whump-it @ashintheairlikesnow @fairybean101 @finder-of-rings @comfortforthepain @shameless-whumper @that-one-thespian @burtlederp @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @raigash @im-not-rare-im-rarr @spiffythespook @whumps-the-word @frnkieroismydaddy @whumpity--whump--whump @michelleswhumpyreblogs @jo-castle @newandfiguringitout

Masterlist

Soren pressed up against the back wall, legs pulled close to his chest, breath coming out ragged. 

“Please, please give me my collar back, I need it, please, please,” he was begging, an endless, panicked drone. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t stop. There was someone in front of him, a woman, but a different woman from the one who he’d woken up to, urging him to calm down, take deep breaths. But he couldn’t breathe, not without his collar on, he couldn’t breathe. 

The door squeaked open and boomed shut. Soren sobbed loudly, panicked begging only paused for the raw sounds, before it was back to an endless stream of “please give me my collar” over and over again.

“Dude, just calm down, you literally do not need it,” the rude man, the one who’d elbowed him, snapped, and Soren let out a high, warbling keen, turning his head away from the man, fingers raising to his neck again.

“Woah, buddy, still not doing that,” the woman said as she pulled his hands away from his own neck for what felt like the dozenth time. 

“Please!” Soren moaned, bloodied fingers twitching. He didn’t struggle against her hold on his wrists, his training didn’t even let him consider it, but he could beg, and cry, so he did.

“Here,” the driver said, creaking door booming shut behind him as he walked down the concrete steps. “Just let him have it, he’s not going to calm down unless we do.”

“Liam, come on!”

“You come on,” the driver, Liam, shot back, kneeling in front of Soren. Soren hiccupped, turning his head up, praying that this wasn’t some sick trick, that he was actually going to--

Soren sobbed again, this time with relief, and Liam fitted the collar on too loose, so it would move and rub and chafe, but that was okay because at least it was on. Soren’s hands closed around it and he immediately felt so, so much better.

“Maybe we should let Liam handle this.”

“He’s my--”

“Not anymore he isn’t! And Liam’s always been good--”

“--some of us leave? This bunker isn’t exactly large.”

“Quiet down; you’re gonna spook him again!”

The voices clamored over each other, volume rising, and Soren just hiccuped and focused on breathing deep. It was always loud and crowded in the facility, he just thought about breathing, calming down. He was--well, he wasn’t okay, but he could get himself under control.

“Soren?” Liam’s voice cut low and soft through the din, close to Soren, and Soren cracked open his eyes. Liam was broad, with soft fat layered over muscle, like he drove tractors or something (Ren had watched some Hallmark movie about a farm, Liam looked like the love interest). He was attractive, and his voice had a sweet tenor to it. 

“Please let me go home,” Soren begged quietly. Liam, out of all the thieves, seemed the most likely to listen to him. He’d given him back his collar. He was treating him gently (Soren was fragile!).

“Buddy, hey, we are, okay? We’re gonna take you home. But I’d like it if you let me explain some things to you first, please?”

Liam stood up off his haunches and sat on the lower bunk of the bunkbed. He patted the old, dusty blanket, indicating Soren should join him. The rest of the bunker had quieted. Soren, not wanting things to get any worse than they already were, did a quick risk analysis. The bed… only Ren… but if he disobeyed, he might get dragged to where they wanted him, so, he got up, and sat down on the hard, lumpy mattress as far away from the rest of them as he could, his back pressed up against the cold and rough concrete.

“Soren,” Liam started, his voice steady and patient in a way that Soren didn’t entirely trust, but he’d proven to be the most trustworthy out of all of them, so Soren maybe could take a little comfort in his tone, “I know you don’t remember us, or, anything, I guess, but we’re friends of yours. You’re in an underground bunker that belongs to Tyler’s uncle. Your name is Soren Greyson and you were kidnapped and forced into being a pet.”

Soren had been kidnapped, alright, but by these people. He knew, in his core, that no one had forced him to be a pet.

“My name is Liam. We met in middle school, we were close friends, even dated for a while. This is Lydia, we also met her in middle school, along with Tyler,” he gestured at the rude man, “and we were also friends with Ren, then.”

Soren couldn’t help but perk up at Ren’s name, his fingers clenching around the collar.

“In high school, we met Emmet, Ingrid, and Nia,” Liam said, gesturing as he said each name, “Then after we graduated, you met Erica in a hardware store and accidentally fell ass backwards into a relationship. You two were dating until very shortly before you were kidnapped.”

The woman he’d allegedly dated, Erica, was the one who’d been trying to get him to breathe while Liam had gotten his collar for him. She was--pretty, Soren guessed, but not as pretty as Ren, and the sight of her stirred no love in him, no memory.

Liam set his palm down on the blanket between him and Soren, looking at Soren with strange and earnest eyes. “We’re going to keep you safe. We’re going to help you regain your memories, somehow, and we’re gonna get your mom over here just as soon as we can get ahold of her.”

Soren grit his teeth, the threat of pain holding his tongue in check. But, well, if these people were such good friends of his, maybe they wouldn’t risk hurting him. “My memories are gone!” he snapped, knuckles white around his collar, “My Processors electrocuted that part of my brain until there wasn’t anything left! Whoever you think I am, he’s gone! And never coming back! Right now, I’m 930-456, a pet, and private property, and you’re all thieves!”

“Soren!” Lydia gasped, the whole room taken aback by his words.

“I don’t have a mom, anymore, I don’t have middle school friends or high school friends or some dumb hardwarestore romance.” The ever present knowledge he’d had, one of the only things that did survive the facility, came forth. “And I know for a fact that even if I did, none of them are looking for me. You’re lying!”

“Soren--” Liam tried, and Soren lifted his hands to his ears, eyes squinting shut. He didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to hear any of this.

...Didn’t like how he couldn’t help but feel like they weren’t lying.

There was a hand on his knee. More specifically, just above his knee, the bottom end of his thigh, and it was just… sitting there. And it felt. Not wrong. He liked touch, but this was more than that, this was…

Soren opened his eyes and found Lydia sitting beside him, not looking at him (it was a strange relief, but a big one), her hand just on his knee, oddly and strikingly comforting. Like his body knew the gesture even though his brain had forgotten it. He could feel her callouses against his soft skin.

“Do you… play baseball?” Soren asked, quiet and timid, and felt the heavy weight of everyone’s attention focused on him. But he just looked at Lydia, who turned surprised eyes at him. 

“Yes. Yes! Soren, oh my god, yeah,” she said delightedly, her fingers squeezing into his skin, but not in a way that hurt. “See? See, you do remember things! It’s just, buried deep.” She removed her hand, and he found himself missing it, then took his hand between her own. “And we’ll help you, okay, we’ll help you remember.”

“...” Soren was trembling, tears budding up in his eyes again. “I…” He hiccupped, and Liam’s palm came to rest gently on Lydia’s wrist.

“Maybe we should let him rest, a little bit. This has all been… a lot.”

“Okay, but we’re cleaning the cuts,” Erica stated, and the group around her murmured their assent. Except Soren. But he knew it didn’t matter if he agreed or not. She took Liam’s place on the bed, starting with the cuts on Soren’s feet, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in one hand and a rough, scratchy cloth in the other. It grated against Soren’s skin, against the wounds, and he stared at her. 

Had he really been in love with her? It was hard to tell, just based off looks. What about her had made him love her? What about him had made him worth loving, before he’d been trained and fixed and made perfect, perfect for Ren? What would he even have done with her?

He looked across the room, at Liam. He was my first, said some feeling in his gut. First boyfriend, first sexual encounter, first time he felt love, first something, Soren wasn’t sure what, but he knew, with unfounded certainty, that Liam was his first. 

“I’m gonna clean your neck, okay? Could you hold your collar in your hands, please?” Erica asked, and Soren reached up to unfasten his own collar, which went against every ounce of training he’d ever had and every desire in his body, but he clenched it with his hands in his lap and tilted his chin up all the same, ignoring the sting and examining the other people.

Tyler made him nervous, but that could just be the head injury talking.

He stared at each one of the others, trying to summon something, anything, but they were perfect strangers to him. Emmet evoked some sort of admiration in him, but that wasn’t like a memory, really, that was just. Some dumb feeling.

At the end of the day, he knew Lydia played baseball and Liam was his first-something, and the rest of them meant nothing to him. He shifted uncomfortably as Erica continued applying the peroxide, and shifted again shortly after, an old spring digging into his ass. This bed was supremely uncomfortable, nothing like the bed back home, where he should be. 

He let his thoughts wander, as Erica moved to the other side of his neck. He thought of rushing past these strangers, with their words that made him feel uncertain and unsteady, of running away from this place. In his fantasy, a cop car was parked just outside the little wooded area, and Soren could fling himself at the man (in his mind, the cop was a man, built like Liam, but bigger, heartier, more intimidating) and beg. Tell him that he was stolen property, that he’d been taken in the middle of the night and the thieves were right behind him. He’d radio for backup, like in the movies, and then the strangers would rush out only to realize their mistake, and then they’d be surrounded, and taken away to jail, while Soren would be taken to the police department where his barcoded wrist could be scanned. Ren’s information would be pulled up, and someone would call them, and they’d come get him, and they’d hold him, and pet his hair, and croon over how frightening everything had been and how terrible, and then they’d take him home and he’d never, ever leave again.

Another fantasy, a bad fantasy, warred with it. Of Soren staying here, with these strangers, his life told to him in stories. He’d meet… his mom. Maybe, maybe he’d remember her. And he’d always have to wear long sleeves, but maybe he could go out, and relearn his skills. Move someplace far away and be a regular person, with a family, with friends that he got to talk to. Ren was wonderful to him, but when they weren’t around he did get… lonely…

That was bad, that was bad, all of those were bad thoughts, and he was bad for having them. He’d never had them before! He was good, he was good, he was obedient, in body and mind, in action and in thought, he behaved, he was good, why was his brain going all screwy and bad on him now? He couldn’t know these people, not actually!

Right?

But… they’d said they’d known Ren, that Soren’s melancholy-memory of them could be… real. That they’d known each other in middle school, and that was why Ren’s scent made him, from time to time… feel like he knew them before.

“There, all done,” Erica said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Thank you…” Soren said uncertainly, placing his collar back on, tightening it properly, himself. The weight, familiar and comforting, grounded him. It helped keep his mind away from the bad thoughts. He was Ren’s. Nothing else mattered, before was irrelevant. All that mattered was getting home to them. He just had to find the right opportunity.

So he’d play along, until then.

“Can I, rest now?” Soren asked, and Erica smiled sadly at him.

“Yeah, belov--Soren. Yeah, Soren, go to sleep. We’ll be here when you wake up.”

Soren would prefer to wake up in his bed, in his home, to the sound of Ren greeting him, but he didn’t say that. He laid down, still curled tightly in a ball, on the lumpy, musty mattress, and tears stung his eyes again. This was awful. No wonder he’d signed up to be a pet, at least his time at the facility had ended. He couldn’t imagine living like this forever, not after how Ren had treated him.

“I’m gonna head up,” Lydia was saying in hushed tones, “Soren’s mom should be awake now; I want to see if she got my text.”

“I’ll go with,” said one of the other women, and the two ascended the concrete stairs of the bunker. Soren listened to each footstep with three heartbeats in his chest for each. His mom? Coming here? The idea of him having a mom hadn’t impacted him the way the idea of actually seeing her was. He’d meet some woman and she would be his mother. The door, with its creaking metal, unlocked with a shrill screech, and swung open heavily. Soren’s brain immediately switched to wondering how many times he’d have to hear that noise, while he himself remained trapped down here. It made his miserable tears spill over, a soft, muffled sound choked in his throat.

The women shrieked.

Soren curled in on himself as the room exploded into noise, hands over his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut. What new horror was happening now? A monster in the woods? A--

Police man. Grabbing Soren by the wrist and helping him up, bracing his other elbow when he stumbled, starstruck, praying this wasn’t a dream, or if it was, that all of it was. Police were in the bunker, cuffing and dragging out the thieves, and Soren didn’t understand it. He’d hoped--he’d wanted--but he didn’t actually think--how had they found him--so fast???

“S-Sir,” Soren stuttered out, grabbing his sleeve and leaning into him, eyes wide, “Sir, please, I-I’m a pet, please,” Soren lifted his wrist, showing his barcode, “Please, I need to go home, please, please!”

“I know, I know,” the cop said, sounding patiently exasperated. “Come on then, out of the bunker. Your owner’s waiting for you.”

Soren followed eagerly, wishing the cop would move faster, would run, Soren could keep up, he could, he wanted to, anything to get home sooner, to go back to Ren, please, please.

The police cars were flashing bright lights in the fragile light of the dawn, and a news casting van was pulling into the wooded area, too. Soren huddled in close to the man who had a hand on his wrist. He wasn’t like how Soren had fantasized, but that was fine, he was real, and he was going to get Soren home, and he was touching his wrist in a way that was only reassuring, not confusing and maybe-painful like the thieves’. 

Then he saw Ren, glaring like they could murder the strangers, their teeth bared as they stared down the criminals being corralled into the cop cars.

“Ren!” Soren cried, breaking the officer’s surprised grip on his wrist, running to them faster than he knew he could run. Ren’s gaze turned to him, surprised, their hair hanging loosely around their jaw like Soren only rarely saw it, still wearing the sweater they wore to bed.

“Soren!” Ren uncrossed their arms and began walking towards him, only to “oof” quietly when Soren did not slow down, flinging himself into them. “Oh, angel, there now, there, this has been so frightening for you hasn’t it?”

The rude one--Tyler--began struggling harder against the cops forcing him into the car. “Let go of him you fucking freak!” he shouted. “Ren! Ren you hear me!? Fucking don’t touch him you sick bastard!”

Ren tutted, a sound Soren associated with mild disappointment. It was only ever directed at him, and he flinched in their arms. “Pet, did you tell them my name?”

Soren’s head spun a little. “I, I, I was, screaming it, when they, when they kidnapped me, I called for you…”

“Oh,” Ren crooned, their palm caressing his cheek. He leaned into it with a deep ache. “Darling, this has been such a terrifying experience for you. But it’s alright now. You’re back where you belong.”

Soren nodded, turning so he could kiss the heel of their palm. “Exalted?”

“Yes, pet?”

“They, they said… that, they knew me. Before. That they knew you, a-and that’s why they know your name.”

“Is that what they told you?” Ren said derisively, snorting a little. Soren blinked, and then melted. Of course. Of course.

“They were lying,” Soren breathed out, relieved.

“My angel,” Ren murmured, petting at his hair, “Obviously they lied to you. You’re mind is vulnerable, and those nasty thieves took advantage of that the first moment they could.” Ren kissed his forehead, and after Soren pressed his face into their shoulder, blacking out the lights and the dawn and the movement all around him. “They made you confused, told you strange stories while you were disoriented and primed to be taken advantage of. But it’s alright, Soren, I’m here now, I’ll keep your little head on right.” Their fingers carded through his hair, tugging at bloody tangles before the strands slipped through their fingers entirely. “You just listen to me, and no one else. You don’t need to listen to any voice but mine.”

“Thank you, Exalted, thank you,” Soren murmured. And with his face pressed to Ren’s chest, the smell of their sweater in his nose, he felt again that strange melancholy. “E-Exalted?”

“Yes, baby?”

“They, I--a-after they told me, about, um, th-the lies, I got… weird. Um, memories?”

Ren clicked their tongue. “Didn’t those fools at the training facility warn you that you’d get false memories from time to time?”

Oh! “O-oh, yes, they, they did. I, I forgot, s-since, I n-never got them, before.”

Ren chuckled beneath his face, and he looked up at them, then closed his eyes while Ren pet the side of his face, the half that hadn’t been elbowed, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “You’re such a perfect pet, Soren.” The hand on his face suddenly gripped him by the ear, making him flinch and whine. “You didn’t go with them willingly, did you? Even when they lied to you?”

“No!” Soren cried, gripping their sweater desperately, tears stinging his eyes anew. “No Exalted, no, never, never, I never would have run, please, no, never, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t!”

Just as quickly, Ren returned to petting him. “That’s right. You’re my good little Soren, you’d never leave me,” Ren murmured, almost as though to themself.

Soren nodded. “C-can I, ask for reassurance, on, on one more thing, that confuses me?”

“Ask as many questions as you like, angel, I’m right here to tell you everything you need to know,” Ren crooned, placid as still waters.

“I, I get, f-f-fake memories, of, um, you, too. Sometimes, it, it feels like I did know you, b--”

“Excuse me! Excuse me, ma’am!” a newslady called, jogging over to Ren and Soren, microphone in her hand.

“Not a ma’am,” Ren said idly, arms slipping easily around Soren’s back as they turned to face her, pulling him in close to their chest. He pressed up against them, eyeing this new threat.

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