#if you can call this quick doodle art heh

[megamagimugi]

The Cruel Fate of the Left-Behind Toad

M&L: Brothership spoilers below!

I need to talk about something that happened to me during my first playthrough of the game, because it still haunts me to this day. And I don't think it's a very common experience among the players. This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me.

You know the sidequest called "The Left-Behind Toad"? You fish and find a note in a bottle that goes like this:

"How long's it been since I was sent flying to this island? It's a small island, that's for sure. There's almost nothing on it. Just pipes. That's it. Pipes. I'm bored! Nothing to eat but grass. Only clouds for companions! Now my cap is drying out. I have little hope that I'll be rescued. But maybe throwing this message out to the sea will do something. Whoever you are, if you're reading these words, PLEASE HELP."

There's also a crumpled page saying:

"Oh, Mario and Luigi, I hope you're both doing well. Please, Princess Peach, forgive me. I won't be returning for a while."

Of course, with a message like this and the very name of the sidequest, I felt bad for that poor soul and naturally wanted to help him as soon as I could. I imagine it must be the same for most people. So I did what the game suggested and immediately went to see those adventuring brothers from Allsand. They showed me the islet in question on the ocean map. The only problem? After that interaction, I lost the way. I don't know how. I just couldn't find that darn Inphant Islet. When I tried again on my replay after beating the game, it was so easy, it was RIGHT THERE and I have no idea why I couldn't find it on the map the first time. Guess I must have gotten distracted by other sidequests and the main story soon after. I never completely forgot, though.

After an embarrassingly long time, I finally discovered that stupid islet. But it was too late and the sidequest had expired. I launched Mario and Luigi to Inphant anyway. What I found shocked me. The poor Toad had been glohmed! I still wanted to do what I could, and found my way to him through the maze of warp pipes. Sure, the fact that there was also treasure to find gave me extra motivation, but I really still wanted to help that Toad. But as one might expect, when I tried talking to him he responded in the same way all glohmed characters did. He wanted to be left alone, and there was nothing we could do. It was honestly quite heartbreaking. I didn't want to leave him there. I wanted to bring him back to Shipshape, cure him and then bring him home to the Mushroom Kingdom. But the game didn't give me any way to do that from that point onwards.

Honestly, I wish they had let us carry Toad like an object even against his will and force him to come with us. Heck, it could have even been quite a funny little scene as Toad would try to resist and protest all the time as we carry him through the pipes and then to the cannon. But alas, no such luck. The game let us know we failed and we were forced to come back with nothing except for the treasure.

Too bad I didn't take any pictures or videos of that moment. I suppose I was simply too shocked. I just couldn't believe there was nothing I could do. If the same thing happened to anyone else who does have some footage/screenshots, I'd appreciate it if you shared them in a reblog!

Think about the implications of this failure, guys. That Toad was already in a bad physical and mental state when he was writing the letter. How much time did he spend on that little island before I found him all glohmed? And then once I was forced to leave him there, the game never gave me another opportunity to rescue him. Sure, once we beat Reclusa and saved Concordia, the Glohm was gone, but then what? The islets were never part of the main land of Concordia. He was still left all alone on Inphant. Really, I'd say that his best chance of survival were those two Allsand brothers who might discover him there - but will they make it in time before he dies there?

And as I found out today when I was playing some of Brothership again using my old save files, it gets even WORSE. I swear the little dude can't catch a break.

I used a save file from the time when Reclusa has already been reborn and trapped a lot of people in those strange VR headset flowers. I deciced to visit that Toad since, even though I've already rescued him on my second try during my replay of that part, sometimes I still think about this particular timeline. And guess what! Of course that poor Toad who had already spent who knows how much time all alone on that islet was caught too! Guess the game really wanted to let me know I had royally scewed up.

This time, I have footage, so you can see for yourself what happened. Watch with the sound on and until the end.

The noise he makes at the end after I'm done talking to him? He mutters to himself like this all the time when we're on this islet, even farther away from him. His distorted voice sounds scary, too. And look at what he's saying, what he's dreaming about. I think all of this means the poor fellow lost his mind, stranded among nothing but pipes that kept confusing him. His biggest dream at this point is simply finding his way through them with ease. So, not only is he most likely going to die here, he couldn't even keep his sanity. This Toad did NOT deserve this fate. I'm so sorry for failing you, little guy :(

For me, it was hands down THE darkest part of this entire game. Even though technically it shouldn't have happened. It's definitely very dark for a Mario game. What's more, Mariowiki says:

Clearly, this is not the case. The Toad is present alright, at least in body... Or at least he was during my playthrough, heh (if nobody says it happened to them too I'm totally starting an "every copy of Brothership is personalized" rumor xD).

Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you. I needed to share this with the world and would love to hear your thoughts. Here's a little rough doodle I drew before writing this post.

...Yeah. I'm sorry, little buddy. At least there's a timeline where I did save you <3

[nightwolfomega]

Painting Fox

 Part 1

   Ten months have passed that Cora was to travel and help with a company that commissioned her to paint and design a mansion on a far off island that was recently bought by a band. There were so many rooms to unleash her creativity onto the walls. Despite the fun she had she couldn’t wait to come home to her artistic friend Aki, She couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around him and nuzzle her face onto his chest. “I can’t wait to see you Aki.” smiling to herself as she looks out the window at the view of the landing area for the airport. 

When they first met they became business partners mixing their media together to create outstanding art as time progressed they moved into a place together becoming more like close roommates, of course another benefit of that was Aki being a kitsune. Using his nine tails as brushes. Any project that would take months would be in a matter of days. Cora wished Aki could have gone with her but he was already swamped with commissioned paintings, so they thought it would be a new experience for them to try and work apart.

They tried keeping in touch as much as they could but the connection was terrible, only making a couple days out of the months when it would finally work properly they could talk. But now they’ll get to talk about all the things that happened while they were apart, with her plane landing she follows safety protocol of exiting the plane. Cora’s heart filled with anticipation to see her best artistic friend Aki.

Aki stood with the crowd that was waiting for someone holding up signs with the name on it. He however made his sign with a little pizzazz, Painting her name in silver and gold acrylic pen making the background her favorite colors sky blue and lavender into the form of a late sunset. 

He couldn’t wait to see her again. It felt so terribly lonely when Cora wasn’t there, only getting the limited calls of her sweet delicate voice. He used his magic to keep his tails hidden since there were nine and they were big but if they were out now they would be wagging quickly. 

There was another thing however that Aki didn't mention to Cora in their calls together, He had been doing workouts. When he would take a break or finish a painting there would be so much time he would just be doing things such as push ups and weights absentmindedly. 

It was always good to try and keep a healthy lifestyle but sometimes he would do workouts for too long sometimes. Before he realized it his clothes were starting to feel short and tighter, objects needed for a painting or sculpture became easier to lift and carry.  

He had to get a whole new wardrobe to fit his new form and adjust how he would enter doorways since his shoulders and arms would sometimes get stuck due to their size. Even his voice sounded a little deeper that it even made Cora think during the calls he had a sore throat.

Adjusting his glasses with the twitch of his ears he was starting to get a little worried, why isn’t she here yet? Was he too early or late, did something happen to her? it was starting to give him anxiety. The panic instantly disappeared when his eyes caught onto an all too familiar face happily walking with her suitcases and bags.

Cora’s eyes caught onto him and chuckles, wait why was she chuckling isn’t she excited to see him too?, Cora walks up to him with a grin “Cora! I missed you so much!” Aki spoke out about to wrap his large arms around her, but his ears picked up “Did he put you up to this?” she spoke arching a brow with a smirk “That’s some pretty good make up design, I didn’t know Aki was into that also.”

Aki blinks at her with an ear folded confused until he finally realizes, lifting his glasses up and rubbing his eyes “Ah, I get it.” looking down at her “Cora, it’s me. Aki.” he spoke holding the sign he made for her. Cora crossed her arms “Really? No offense but I kinda doubt that.” 

Aki tilts his head “Do I need to have my tails out and prove it to you I am Aki?” placing his hands on his hips holding the sign between two fingers, Cora thinks about it and nods “Yes please.” in a polite tone still thinking this is some silly prank. 

“Alright then.” he sighs and summons all nine of his tails each tip of his tails in the form of a different brush tip, he apologizes to the people close to him for the tails accidentally pushing up onto them. “There see? I’m still the paint loving kitsune you know.” chuckling looking down at her. 

Cora’s eyes were wide as her jaw dropped “A-Aki?” she spoke out baffled, The large kitsune nods “Yeah.” grinning with his black lip piercing on his lower lip. She stood there staring at him, something was off at that moment “Cora?” he asked a little worriedly “You okay?” he asked, placing his large hand onto her shoulder carefully. In a matter of seconds she almost collapses to the floor “Cora!” he shouts in a panic grabbing her quickly to lift her up.

He saw how shocked and dizzy she looked “I’ll carry you and the bags to the car.” he spoke softly lifting her in his arms. Cora blushed wildly and quickly covers her face with her hands, as soon as he got her in the front seat and her bags in the trunk he drove them home, Cora didn’t say a word the whole drive it was very likely she was still trying to process what just happened, Aki stayed silent also despite the need of wanting to ask her so many questions he thought it would be good she got some quiet time during the drive home. 

Driving up to what looked like a warehouse, it was actually their home and studio, large enough to make and hold gigantic paintings people would commission them for and also store their own works of art. Cora manages to exit the car without any trouble, Aki gets out quickly to get the suitcases and briskly walks over to her “Here take my arm.” offering his bulky arm for Cora to hold, she hesitates a moment then slowly wraps her arms around his and walks with Aki to the door.

When they finally walk inside their large home/studio She turns looking up at him speechless “Are you seriously still shocked that I look like this now?” he chuckles. His tails placed the bags down. 

Cora shakes her head “I am so sorry Aki!” she finally speaks out with her hands on her head “I thought it was some kind of prank you were trying to pull on me. Cause - I mean look at you!” gesturing her hands to him “You’re freaking huge now!” 

A crooked smile forms on his face “In a good way I hope.” putting half his hands in his pockets, She shoots a glare at him “Of course in a good way you big fur ball!” lightly patting at his arm to not hurt him but get her point across.

Aki laughs “Okay okay I get it.” lazily raising his hands up to defend himself, Cora huffs with a smirk “Lets get some take out and enjoy ourselves tonight. I think we both earned it, more so for you obviously.” she spoke, pulling out her cell phone and dialing the Jade Dragon chinese restaurant. 

“Yes please! I would love some General Tso’s right now.” swaying his tails playfully, trying to keep himself from drooling. He only had quick little meals during the months he was working on either art or himself so getting something like that made him feel giddy. 

When their food finally came the human and large kitsune sat together on the couch with their dinners, “Oh man it’s been so long since I had pork lo mein.” Cora taking a bite from her chopsticks. Aki chortles eating his chicken and rice separately, he was always picky about that. 

“It’s so nice to finally be back home and enjoy delectable noodles with a friend.” resting her back to the soft cushions of the couch. His ears perk giving her the side eye “Yeah, I missed doing this with you.” he replies softly taking a bite. 

There was more he wanted to add in that sentence, such as how much he really missed her and wanted to be by her side. To gaze upon her divine beauty and marvel Cora, his tails and body shivered at the thought of it.

“Hmm? mh mkay?” Cora muffled out munching on some lo mein. Aki clears his throat “Totally, had a chill that’s all.” he spoke out placing his left overs onto the coffee table where some art magazines stacked neatly onto with some rough doodles on discarded papers. “I’ll get you a blanket.” putting her food onto the table also and grabbing the soft quilt that was folded neatly beside the couch. 

“You don’t have to do that Cora-” Aki mumbled until Cora cut him off “Hush, I’m gonna wrap you up in a blanket of awesomeness.” draping the blanket over him and tucks in a few spots. “There we go all bundled up.” she spoke sitting back down on the couch with him. 

As Cora was about to grab her noodles and continue eating she noticed his fine point tail curling up around her, “I missed you so much Cora,” Aki spoke out pulling her a little closer to him with his tail. “You can lean on me if you want, I don’t mind.” he adds. “Are you sure? I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.” she replies, rubbing the back of her head. 

“If anything I insist…” Aki thought in his mind. “Yeah don’t worry.” what he actually spoke, moving his arm out from the blanket, carefully wrapping his arm around her and pulling Cora close as she pressed on his large and firm body.

Looking up at Aki she grins “I missed you too, always had you on my mind when I was doing work at the mansion.” slowly starting to relax as her head pressed against his chest. “Really?” the tips of his tails making a little wag. 

Cora nods “Yeah, I missed seeing you looking forward to starting a project and making sure everything was perfect to a T to get started.” lifting her arm lazily around his torso “How you’d put so much love and care into each stroke of paint onto the wall or canvas, bringing that surreal magic to life. It’s just so special to me.” 

Aki’s heart was beating faster now, he always knew she liked his work but didn’t realize she liked it that much. “Heh shucks Cora you’re just saying that cause you haven’t been looking much at others artworks.” he spoke, stroking his thumb onto her arm. Deep down however he wanted that to be true, it wanted it to be true so bad his heart was about to burst.

He could feel Cora move, it was more of a climb up since he was so large. She looks at him face to face smiling warmly “Aki you’re my favorite artist, you always will be.” she spoke sweetly to him. 

Aki stared at her as tears stung his eyes, “Cora…” in a fit of excitement he wraps his arms around Cora hugging her firmly to his body as he shivered.

 Feeling his heartbeat with hers, she was surprised that he reacted that way but smiles warmly wrapping her arms around his thick neck. “Do you really mean that Cora?” he asks in a whimper. Tears now trickling down the facial markings he has, Cora scoffs and pulls back a little and strokes the tears from his cheeks with her thumb “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.” Pressing her forehead to his. 

A little yawn escapes from her lips “I think it’s time to hit the bed Aki.” rustling his hair and ears “I’ll put our food away for tomorrow to have.” Aki slowly nods but his hold on her remains “Uh, Aki could you.” softly trying to slip out of his. He still held her as if he was too afraid to let go. 

“Aki.” she spoke a bit louder for him to hear. “Hmm, Oh sorry.” he chuckles embarrassed letting her go. “You coming to bed?” she asks, picking up their half eaten dinners. He nods “Yes, just give me a minute I gotta do something in the studio real quick.” standing up from the couch. 

“Okay, goodnight Aki.” she pauses a moment then puts the food down and hugs him close “I ‘missed you so much.” she spoke happily nuzzling her face onto his chest.

Aki’s arms shakeily raise up and hug her back “We’ll have some fun together and make all kinds of wonderful art tomorrow.” he spoke slowly stroking her back in a hug. “That would be fantastic.” now pulling away she grabs their dinners to put them away and head for bed.

When Cora walks off Aki makes his way to the studio, it was the largest room they had but within the room was a secret room he found while she was away. It was behind the shelf of large buckets of paint they had stored, moving the large shelf to make enough space for him to open the door and get through. 

Once he enters and closes the door behind him he flicks on the switch and light illuminates the room. Showing paintings and sculptures of Cora, he stood in the middle of all his work. 

Aki shivers as he starts to laugh softly then escalates to a loud maniacal laughter as he hugs himself “Cora, my muse, my inspiration!” he cries out with a wide grin. Tears trickling down his cheeks as his heart beats strongly in his chest “You have broken me in the best way possible my beloved!” he shouts. Continuing his laughter feeling the wild joy of his sweet Cora saying he was her favorite artist. 

He loved her, Aki always loved her. The moment when they first met he knew they would be together forever now he was going to make sure he would show all his adoring love for her. Now all he had to do was have her love him back and he will do everything in his power to make it happen.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 8

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 6,473

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

It was dawning on me that I hadn’t fully thought this through.

This whole “having friends” thing.

There were so many factors I hadn’t even considered. Like, once you’ve made a new friend…

...what the frick are you supposed to do with them?

One would think I’d have this figured out by now. After all, I was friends with Rayne, wasn’t I? But Rayne was different. There hadn’t really been much to think about there, we’d just sorta clicked. Besides, we’d met when we were children - a time when the hot topics to talk about had been our favorite toys to play with or which of the boys had cooties or our latest masterpieces made during Arts and Crafts time involving gluing popsicle sticks and sequins to pine cones. You know, kid stuff.

But now I was an adult. An adult who had just made new adult friends who probably expected adult conversations.

And unfortunately I just didn’t think cooties and sequins were going to cut it anymore.

Which is why I could now be found on this fine Friday afternoon shift at the Ice Palace having borrowed Kristoff’s phone, making use of the current lull in customer traffic to carry out some important research. And how, one might wonder, was this important research being gathered?

By googling the phrase “how to friendship.”

Genius, I know.

Thousands of articles and tutorials had come back in the search results, not all of them useful, but I’d landed on a couple that could maybe help a little bit. I gnawed on my lower lip as my eyes quickly scanned over the words. Then with a nod, I used a pen to transcribe the cliff notes version over to my palm, adding on to the ever growing list of useful tidbits that could now be found there.

Call it my Chit-Chat Cheat Sheet. That’s right, folks, you’re witnessing a crucial life hack in the making. This handy-dandy little list was going to be my one-stop shop to social butterfly success. Look out, new pals of mine, you were about to be friended so hard. I was going to friend your butts off! This was-

“Hey, I also like to doodle on my hand whenever I’m bored outta m-”

With a half gasp, half yelp, I jolted up straight, wide eyes discovering Lea now standing on the other side of the counter from me. He brought up his hands, “Woah now, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you.”

My own hand flew up to cover my pounding heart as I breathed out and shook my head. “No. No, it’s fine, I should’ve been paying more-” My fingers flexed, closing around empty air. My brow furrowed. “Wait…” Where did my-? Did I drop it? “...I had a pen.”

It suddenly blurred down from up above to crash land into the countertop, making us both flinch and jerk back slightly.

Oh. Heh. There it was.

“Sorry about that,” I gave a weak laugh, retrieving the writing implement and giving it a little waggle as I held it up. “I… guess I still got a few kinks to work out before I can successfully launch the first unmanned pencraft into orbit.”

...wow, did that stupid joke really just come out of me?

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Wince.

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Might I suggest waiting for a day when the weather forecast reports zero chance of ceiling?” he pointed up.

I nodded, “Good note. Excellent observation. Prime example of one of my kinks.” I blanched, then hastily stammered, “I mean the… one of the kinks that, uh, needs to be, er… worked... out.”

Ugh, what’s wrong with me? Why am I like this?

This is why I needed the list.

...crud! The list! My eyes darted to my palm where it was scrawled in plain view for all the world to bear witness. Then my gaze flicked to Lea, looking at me with an eyebrow cocked and one side of his lips turned up. Then I balled my fist and jammed it behind my back.

Had he seen?

He mustn’t know about my secret hacks!

That’s when I spotted it. Kristoff’s phone. Still on the counter between us. Still open to the WikiHow I’d been taking notes from. My other hand shot out and swatted the device away, sending it slamming into the wall on my right before clattering to the ground.

Oopsie. Sorry Kristoff!

Luckily he was currently out and about taking his ten. He’d never have to know. This could just be our little secret between the phone and me.

“Shit, what’d that poor thing ever do to you?”

...rather, between the phone, me, and Lea.

What had it done to me, he asks? It’d tried to rat me out, that’s what!

My eyes darted to one side. “...let’s just say the crime fits the punishment.”

Snitches get stitches.

He glanced to where the abused phone still lay abandoned on the tiled floor, then snorted and crossed his arms with a shake of his head, “If you say so.”

Alright, so this exchange so far? Could be going better. Not exactly textbook. Lot of room for improvement. But that was okay because (ba-dum ba-dum!) Chit-Chat Cheat Sheet to the rescue! It could salvage any social catastrophe! Let’s just watch it work its magic, shall we?

I shifted to bring my hand out in front of me once more, casually resting my palm face down against the countertop. Then I lifted it just barely enough to furtively peek at the first couple lines I’d written there.

Start with a warm, friendly greeting. Examples include…

I locked eyes with him. “Whassup.”

He blinked. “Um… hi?”

Nailed it.

Alright, now that a proper line of communication had officially been established in the most cordial manner, on to the next step: small talk. After sneaking another quick look at my notes, I pressed my hand back down again and recited the words I’d just glanced at, “So nice weather we’re having, huh? At least it’s not raining like last week.”

This list was a god send. Pure gold.

He squinted upward, scratching the back of his head. “Hasn’t it been sunny for months now?”

...fudge.

Abort, captain, abort! The first one was a dud! Quickly, lock and load the second one and fire!

I anxiously checked my palm again and latched onto the next line, reading out, “That’s an awesome shirt you’re wearing!”

He frowned down at it, eyebrows knitting together. “You mean my work polo? Not… really, but okay.”

Aaaaaaaand another swing and a miss!

Oh wise and powerful Chit-Chat Cheatsheet, why hast thou forsaken me here, now, in my greatest hour of need? Me, your most devout and faithful of followers? Me, who loved and worshipped you so?

Feeling my panic spiking, I looked to my hand again to find one more line I had yet to try. One final chance for salvation. This was it. My ace in the hole. List, don’t fail me now!

Desperate, I didn’t even register the words as my eyes snatched them from my palm, handed them off to my brain that then shoved them down the pipeline to my mouth which proceeded to blurt out verbatim, “So what do you do in your flamingo?”

...the list had failed me.

“I’m sorry, what does who do in the what and where now?”

And we’re talking like… epic failure.

I was just now realizing this was the one I’d been in the middle of jotting down when Lea had startled me. So chances were good that that sloppy mess of a scribble at the end of the sentence? Wasn’t actually the word flamingo.

At least, I hoped it wasn’t.

Whatever. I give up.

Puffing out a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose, I muttered, “You know what, forget it. I’m just… having a bit of a malfunction. One of those days, I guess.”

“Oh,” he chuckled, “no worries! Those come up all the time working customer service, so I totally get it.”

This guy was too nice. Here I was, spouting off nonsense like a gibbering baboon and he was just brushing it off like it was no big deal. Like it was an everyday occurrence for a person to ask him if he did lord only knows what to a neon pink bird. I should get on with assisting him with whatever he’d come over here for. It was the least I could do in exchange for him putting up with the trainwreck that was me. Taking a deep breath and putting on a smile, I asked, “So what can I help you with today?”

He returned the smile, “Take a wild guess.”

I glanced around my work space. “Ice cream?”

“Got it in one,” his thumb went up. “I’m a total addict by the way, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

“I’m sure your dentist says the same thing,” I deadpanned, pressing my finger to a button on the cash register. “Sea Salt, right?”

“You’re on a roll today!”

My grin twitched wider. He was so much better at this small talk thing than me. “How would you like it?”

“I like my ice cream like I like my women: swirly and in a waffle cone,” he winked, tossing out some finger guns.

...I take that back, this dork was just as clueless as I was. Had to be if he thought that was funny.

I merely arched an eyebrow at him as the silence stretched. Then he pouted, “Aw c’mon, kid, these are the jokes! Don’t leave me hanging here.”

I snorted, tapping a couple more keys on the register. “Sorry. It’s just that after the other day, I would have thought your answer would’ve been more along the lines of ‘frozen solid and on a stick.’”

“Oo, dirty,” he chirped, his eyebrows bouncing.

Welp. That’d teach me for trying to play along.

“But no,” he waved off, “that was more out of necessity. Only the ice cream bars can survive the long trip up the clocktower without melting first. Otherwise, give me creamy, fluffy, and with a twist any day!”

“Duly noted. Just a sec.” I turned, plucking one of the cones off the top of the stack as I walked past, approaching the soft serve/milkshake machine.

Ah, my old nemesis. We meet again. One could almost hear the Old West face-off tune whistling in the background. But thankfully, there would be no drawing of pistols this day. 

I liked to think there was a grudging, mutual respect between us now.

Being super mindful of the Anger Button, I switched it to the appropriate flavor and pulled down on the lever. As I moved the cone in small circles while it slowly filled with blue, sugary goop, I heard Lea ask, “Snow Bear?”

I looked back at him, a crease forming between my eyebrows as I tipped my head to one side.

...what’d he just call me?

He was hunched forward now, elbow on the countertop and chin propped in hand, fingers drumming against his cheek as he squinted at me with a frown. Then shook his head, “Nah, too healthy, even for a goody-goody like you. Tofu has no business being anywhere near ice cream.”

Then it clicked. Snow Bear was one of the flavors we offered.

“Big Bad Pete?” he pursed his lips to one side, then crinkled his nose. “Nope. Too nutty. Thinking you like a crunch, just not that kind.”

I returned my attention to the machine, making sure the cone wasn’t too top heavy. “Are you… trying to guess the type of ice cream I like?”

“Yup! Since Sea Salt clearly wasn’t your thing.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that.” I released the lever, completing the stacking spiral with a nice little curl at the top and turning to face him once more. “But it is… shall we say, an acquired taste?”

Lea smirked and scoffed, “Blasphemy! Don’t worry though, I won’t judge you too harshly for your dirty, heathen tastes.”

“You’re too kind,” I rolled my eyes as I handed him his purchase.

Taking it in one hand, he used the other to give me the munny due. “Consider it my one good deed for the century. It’s a doozy though. I’m expecting my sainthood any day now.”  He then lapped off a big blue chunk as he eyed me thoughtfully. “Donald Fizz maybe?” Then he pulled a face with another shake of his head, “Nu uh, too close to Sea Salt.”

“If you really want to know that badly, it’s-”

“Buh buh buh,” he pressed a finger to my lips, cutting me off. “Yeesh, don’t spoil my fun like that, let me guess! This is like my mutant power, I can always tell a person’s fave ice cream.” He narrowed his eyes on me as he took another bite, licking some of it off from the corner of his mouth. “You’re a tough read though. Gonna need more time, gather more intel.” A grin broke out again, “But I do oh so love a challenge.” Then he snapped his fingers, “What about-”

“Elsa?!” 

My blood ran cold at the voice that cried out from across the food court.

A very, very familiar voice.

One I had not expected to hear again for a while yet and certainly not here, at the Dusk Town Center mall, at my sanctuary of all places.

Lea glanced over his shoulder, looking for who’d interrupted him before yelping and leaping out of the way so as not to become roadkill to an auburn and blue blur zooming straight for me. It crashed up against the other side of the counter, lashed its limbs out over the top and seized me in its vice-like grip, yanking me forward into a bone-crushing embrace and squeezing the absolute life out of me as it once more shouted, “Elsa! I found you! At last, I found you!”

Or rather… not it, but her.

Anna Fryse.

My sister.

...who, as I was just now discovering, might also be part boa constrictor. Good lord, this girl did not know her own strength!

“Anna,” I wheezed, feebly patting at her elbow. An extraordinary feat, given that her bear hug was practically super gluing my arms to my sides. “Can’t. Breathe.”

“You’re okay! I was so worried! I thought you might be hurt or trapped or drugged or kidnapped or amnesiad or dead or, or, or- but you’re not! You’re really, really not! You’re alive!” 

“Won’t be for much longer if you don’t let go,” I croaked out, starting to see spots. Finally she released me and I gasped for breath. Ah, oxygen. Beautiful, life giving oxygen. I coughed, “Did you seriously just use ‘amnesia’ as a verb?”

Completely ignoring my question, her hands still grasped tightly at my shoulders as sharp, blue eyes set in a freckled face looked me over. Her red hair was done in pigtail braids and she was in a dark cobalt sundress with a black bodice.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Woah, Elsa! You look different! It’s a good different! I love everything about it!” She grabbed me by the cheeks, “Your face, the outfit, that hat - oh gosh, that hat! I never thought I’d see you in a friggin’ baseball cap! It’s too friggin’ cute! And a ponytail! How many times have I said you’d look totes adorbs in a ponytail, and you know what? Told you so! And- oh. My. Gawd!” She bellyflopped onto the countertop, pointing down, “I just saw the mini skirt! Friggin’ you! In a friggin’ mini skirt! Damn girl, you hawt!” She fell back onto her feet once more, looking up at our sign, “And this place! What is this place? This place is amazing! Do you work here? Please, please, please tell me you work here! Oh my gawd, you do! You have a friggin’ job! What do you do? How much do you make? Do you pay taxes? Do you pay rent? Do you have a 401k? What is a 401k?” She pointed at an ice cream spade, “What’s this thingie do?” Next at the soft serve/milkshake machine, “How does that work?” Up at a dangling Sven plushie. “What’s up with all the friggin’ deers?” Then at Lea standing off to one side, slowly eating his ice cream and watching on with one curious eyebrow quirked. “Who’s the hottie with a body?” She started to wave, calling out, “Hello, Mr Hottie-With-A-Bo-”

“Anna!” I hissed, cheeks roasting as I snatched her hand back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Lea returning her wave with a tiny one of his own, to which I shot him a dull stare. He just grinned and shrugged. Shaking my head, I asked him, “Could you, uh… would you mind giving us a minute alone? Please?”

“Sure, no problem. I should be getting back to work anyhow. Laters, El!”

...El? Who’s El?

“Nice meeting ya, El’s friend!” he gave a two finger salute to Anna with a wink before sauntering off.

Huh. Guess that’d make me El. I’d earned a nickname. Had our friendship leveled up? Wow, I was so good at this friends thing! Without even understanding it, I had somehow already mastered it.

Bravo, me!

Anna watched him go, then turned back to me with a low whistle. “Okay, seriously, who was the sexpot and please, for the love that is all that is good and foxy, tell me you are tapping that.”

“Oh my god, Anna!” I facepalmed. I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. “What are you even doing here?”

“I told you already, I was worried!”

My forehead wrinkled. “But you knew I wasn’t abducted or anything, you were the one who helped me run away. Besides, didn’t you receive my text telling you I was okay?”

“Yes, weeks after you disappeared!” She smacked me in the arm with a glare. “You could have contacted me sooner, brat! And what the frick was up with your stupid text?!”

“Stupid...? What was wrong with it?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry, don’t come looking for me,” she flatly recited the words from my message before looking away with a huff. “Please, have you never seen any kidnap movie in the history of like friggin’ ever? That’s like classic code for ‘help me, help me, I’ve been taken hostage and am being forced to tell you these things under duress.’”

“Ugh, the way your mind works,” I grumbled, massaging one temple. “How did you even find me anyway?”

Anna snorted. “What, you think just cuz you blocked my number that I wouldn’t be able to track you down? Sis, please, we live in the golden age of technology. Trust me, I have my ways. There’s a lot a girl can do with just a phone number and this little thing called the internet.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but then froze with a gasp as another thought struck me and nearly stopped my heart. My eyes darted about, searching the food court while I fidgeted with my fingers. “Wait… oh god, does… do Mother and Father… do they know? Are they also here? Did you tell-”

She gently shushed me, reaching over the countertop to rub my arm. “Sis, Sis, it’s okay, they’re not here, don’t stress! I did tell them I got the text from you so they’d know you’re okay, but I didn’t tell them I’d figured out where you were. They don’t know that I came here looking for you. You don’t have to talk to them until you’re ready.”

“Oh thank god,” I sighed, slumping against the counter. That… was a talk I was in no way prepared for. Not just yet. I gnawed on my lower lip for a second, glancing back up at Anna. “What about-”

“He’s fine too,” she said softly.

I frowned. “...really?”

Her face pinched into a tiny grimace. “I mean, he’s not great. He got dumped at the altar, what do you think? But he’s a big boy, he’ll survive.”

Well that was a load off my mind.

Not. 

“Ugh, I feel terrible,” I buried my face in my hands. Then I peeked out between my fingers at her. “Could you… I don’t know… maybe do damage control with him for me or something?”

“Was already on it,” she beamed with a thumbs up. “But enough about all that, gah, so friggin’ depressing! I wanna hear more about you and your new life and this whole job thing and that redheaded Hunky McHunkface and all that’s happened to you since you flew the coop! Tell me everything!”

A tiny smile crept up onto my lips. I knew I’d been missing my little sister, but it was only in that moment... seeing her here in front of me, hearing her voice again... that I was realizing just how much. “I’d actually really like that. But uh…” I looked past her, noticing more shoppers wondering about amongst those tables out there now than there had been just moments ago, with even more trickling in by the second. “Looks like we’re about to get our afternoon rush, so it’s not really the best time.”

Anna tapped her chin with a low hum before her face lit back up. “Are you free tonight?”

My head tilted to the left. “I’m working closing, but I should be out of here by nine I think.”

“Perfect! Let’s do dinner! Then we can properly celebrate your new found freedom as you tell me all about it! Whaddya say? Pleeeeease?” Puppy dog eyes initiated.

I laughed and nodded. “Yeah, okay. That sounds nice.”

“Yay!” she bounced on her heels, rapidly clapping her hands together with a tiny squeal. “Ahhhh! Can’t wait! Okay, you said nine, right? Right! I’ll be waiting in my car right outside those doors over there, got it? Good! I’ll leave you to it then!” Then she was snatching me into another hug over the countertop and planting a kiss on my cheek with a loud mwah! “Love ya, Sis! See you then!”

And just like that, Typhoon Anna whooshed off once again, disappearing into the ever growing crowd.

Not a second later, I heard the door open behind me. “Hey, I’m back, sorry it ran a little long, I- hey, why’s my phone on the floor?”

I winced.

Heh… woops.

One tiny detail may have slipped my mind in all the mayhem that had been the last ten minutes.

I turned to see Kristoff stooping down to pick it up before he graced me with a scowl.  I chuckled sheepishly, “So… funny story…”

I got the feeling Kristoff hadn’t found my story all that amusing.

Don’t think he’d found it particularly believable either.

Not sure why. I mean, wasn’t it totally plausible that a strong gust of wind had blasted through the entire mall, causing one of the bigger reindeer dolls to fly off its hook and rocket straight into my hands, knocking his phone free from my grasp and sending it slamming into a wall where I had then left it for fear that moving it could cause more damage and trauma to the poor little device that had already been through so much?

No? Not plausible? Not even remotely or in the slightest?

Drat.

I'd never really been good at the whole lying thing.

But it'd been the best I could come up with on the spot. I mean, I wasn’t about to tell him the truth about how I was a total, pathetic dunce when it came to making friends which in turn caused me to do idiotic things like fling other’s people’s fragile property at hard surfaces.

In any case, Kristoff and I were currently not on speaking terms.

At least, I’m pretty sure we weren’t. That was my best guess anyway, given he hadn’t spoken two words to me since I’d spun my little tale.

Eh, he’d get over it.

A couple hours of the silent treatment later and he’d clocked out without so much as a goodbye. Then a few more hours brought me to the here and now of closing time. I was almost done wrapping everything up, just needed to finish wiping down all the surfaces. Having already ensured the inside of the little shop was pristine, I’d stepped out to be on the food court side of the counter, using a cloth to remove any fingerprints and other smudges that’d been left by customers on the display glass.

As I finished cleaning the last of it, I exhaled heavily and straightened up, planting my hands on my hips as I inspected my work. Nodding in approval at a job well done, I then looked to the clock on the wall to see that it was a quarter to nine. Perfect. Plenty of time to grab my things and lock up before heading out to meet Anna. Stretching my back to loosen some of the stiffness that had settled in there, I then took a quick glance over my shoulder.

It really should come as a shock to no one at this point that Lea could once again be spotted across the way from me. I was beginning to think the people in charge of scheduling our shifts met up for weekly tea and crumpets or something while they made sure the hours the two of us worked almost always lined up exactly. What nefarious scheme was being cooked up by the upper management of our two separate companies? What could they possibly hope to gain by it? Only time would tell.

In any case, he too looked to be almost done with all of his closing tasks. He was currently out in the food court area as well, using a broom to sweep up the area in front of Pizza Planet. Or so I’m sure the intent had been.

Except... he wasn’t really so much in front of the pizzeria as he was on top of one of the tables.

And it wasn’t so much a broom as it was an impromptu mic.

And he wasn’t so much sweeping as he was in his own little world, enthusiastically lip-syncing and dancing away to the song blasting out of his phone in the back pocket of his pants. I Believe In A Thing Called Love by the Darkness, if the wild electric guitar, high falsetto vocals, and cheesy lyrics were anything to go off of.

Wow, he really was a complete dork.

A splutter of a laugh burst out of me before I was able to clamp both my hands over my mouth in a vain effort to stop it.

I’m not sure how he heard me over all that explosive glam rock, but it seemed he did somehow for his head suddenly jerked in my direction. Then he beamed and started hopping across all the tabletops towards me. That couldn’t be sanitary. His feet at last touched ground in front of the Ice Palace as he crouched low before springing back up into a half-turn, landing himself in a seat atop the counter right between the ice cream display case and a cash register.

Still directing that ear-to-ear smile my way, he pulled his phone out long enough to hit pause on his music. “So whadja think? Do I put on one hell of a show or what?” 

Oh dear. Not only a dork but no shame to boot. A deadly combo, that.

I snorted, eyes on the glass once more as I went back to scrubbing it for the now nonexistent spots. “For sure. You should hurry up and get on becoming a bigtime rock star already.”

Broom balanced on the floor between his knees, he folded his hands over the handle point and rested his chin on his knuckles. “Nah, all that fame and fortune I’m guaranteed to get cuz I’m so loveable, awesome, amazing and cool would go straight to my head.”

I bit back a grin. “Because you’re so modest now.”

“Oh yeah, I’m humble as fuck!” he declared brightly. Then he shrugged and sighed, “Guess I’m just kinda perfection that way.”

My eyelids drooped. “...clearly.”

“So,” he lifted his head off its perch, freeing up one hand to scratch behind his ear, “everything okay? Between you and your sister, I mean.”

I looked at him, blinking a couple times. “How’d you know she‘s my sister?”

“You two got the same nose,” he smirked, tapping a finger to the side of his. “But seriously, you all good? She seemed pretty frantic.”

“Oh, that’s just Anna for you. The Looney Toons Tasmanian Devil personified. Pretty sure she doesn’t even know the meaning of the word ‘calm.’ But no, she’s fine. We’re good.”

“Glad to hear it!” A pause. “So…” he said again, this time stretching the word out as he bounced the broom handle back and forth between his palms now. “...you eat, right?”

Hand still absently running the cloth along the glass, I raised an eyebrow at him. What kind of question was that? “...I have been known to on occasion, yes.”

“Good. Any dinner plans tonight?”

I froze, eyes round.

Oh.

...was he asking what I think he was asking? I think he was asking what I think he was asking. Why would he ask that?! Wait... oh no… did he think that I was thinking that he should ask what I think he was asking? Because if that’s what he thought I was thinking, I most certainly was not thinking that!  Not even close! Unless… did this here right now count as me thinking that?

...hold up, now I’m confused... what was I thinking again?

Oh that’s right.

I was thinking about him.

Asking.

Me.

Out.

Which I was so not ready for! I mean come on, I had just gotten out of a long term relationship! What was that rule? The one about how long after a breakup before you should start dating again? Something about waiting at least thirty minutes before getting back in the - 

Wait no, that had to do with eating and pools…

Whatever, gah! However much time it’s supposed to be, pretty sure it’s more than just a few weeks if you’d not only been together for years, but also frigging engaged to your ex! 

Current relationship status aside, let’s just be real here... I’m not sure if this was something I would ever be ready for. Hello, Mayor of Hermit Island here! They throw hermit parades in my honor. Those parades have zero spectators and consist of one (1) person marching, that person being me, all alone, by myself, because it’s Hermit Island and kind of the whole point! It was sort of a miracle I’d ever started dating in the first place, much less wound up with a fiancé of all things! When you think about it, and I mean really think about it… how the frick had that even happened?! I’d been there, heck, I’d lived it and even I was still scratching my head over that one. I mean, how had I ever-

“Hey now, what’s with the-?” Lea’s words broke me out of the word jumble that was my brain and my eyes darted over to him. His furrowed brow suddenly went slack and he blinked, heading rocking back. “Hold on, you don’t think that I- That I’m asking you out on a- No! God no! No, no, no, that’s not what this is!” 

Oh thank goodness!

Wait… how did he know that’s what I’d been thinking?

...could it be the fact that all the color had drained from my face and I had stopped breathing?

Speaking of which, I should really start that back up again.

Okay, all together now, one, two, three annnnnd sharp, deep inhale.

Whew, much better! Man, oxygen and I were having a real on-again, off-again relationship today.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with y- I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to- that is, uh… aw, crap,” he groaned, bonking his head against the top of the broom handle. “Forget it. Look, what I was trying to say was we - that is, the kiddos and I and a buncha other people who work at other stores 'round the mall, all of us get together every Friday night for food and drinks at the 7th Heaven. It’s this nice little pub not too far from here and I dunno if booze is your thing or what, but the grub’s pretty good there too, way better than your average bar food and so I was just wondering if you’d like to, I dunno… come join us and just hang out for a bit, have some fun. Interested?”

Ooooooooooh, got it! Well that was a relief!

...wait, was it?

Oh dear, just the thought of me having to interact with that many people all at the same time was enough to make my soul leave my body. Because once again, I have to play the President of Hermit Island card here. That’s right, I’d promoted myself from mayor to president within the last five minutes. I like to think I’d earned it after all my years of exemplary hermit service.

The point was, this little get-together sounded precisely like the kind of situation that I wanted to be on the polar opposite end of the planet from. Seriously, the Devil himself could not have designed a more fitting hell for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was sweet that Lea had thought to include me and I’m sure all the other people going would be nice and everything, but... I just couldn’t. I couldn’t do it. Not with the cold, stabbing pangs of anxiety already coursing throughout my chest at even the mere mention of going to such a thing.

Luckily, I didn’t have to. I had an out. A beautiful, glorious escape route courtesy of the one, the only, my savior (queue angelic choir singing)... Anna.

Clearing my throat, I managed a small smile. “Thank you, I appreciate the invite, I really do and I’m so sorry but I’ve already made plans with my sister. Speaking of,” I glanced at the clock again before hurrying past him and back into the Ice Palace to drop off the cleaning rag, “I really should be going now, she’s probably already waiting for me.”

He slid off the countertop, spinning around to face me with a frown. “Aw, ya sure? Why don’t you just bring her along too? We won’t mind, the more the merrier!”

Still with the smile, now accompanied by a slight scrunching of my nose, I shook my head. “Mm, no, I don’t think that’ll work. But maybe next time, okay?” Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I stepped out from behind the counter once more and stretched up on my tippy-toes, reaching for the pull-down gate. Crud, why was I always so stupidly short?

“Let me.” Him being the absolute Ent that he was, Lea had no trouble whatsoever reaching it and yanking it down for me.

“Thanks,” I murmured before locking it up for the night, then turning and making my way towards the double doors leading outside.

“Hang on, I’ll walk you out,” he said, bringing me up short.

Turning my head back towards him, I held up a hand, “Oh no, that’s fine, you don’t have to!”

“I’m heading that way anyway.” He started walking away backwards, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the Pizza Planet, “Just let me close up shop real quick.”

“Really, it’s not necessary. I’m just going to-”

“Be back in a sec!” he spun one-eighty, jogging off.

“...go,” I finished weakly.

Well now what? I guess maybe I should wait? My eyes shifted to the doors longingly.

...well, I did tell him he didn’t need to walk me. Not my fault he couldn’t hear me over the sound of his own chivalry.

Screw it. I’m leaving.

With a small grimace and one last peek back to where Lea had just disappeared, I turned away, squared my shoulders and strode off.

Pushing through the exit doors and out into the night air, I spotted Anna parked at the curb right in front of me in her bright red Porsche convertible, its top already folded back. She honked at me, calling, “Hey, hot stuff! Looking for a good time?”

I merely grinned and shook my head at her as I approached the vehicle. However, just as I was reaching for the car door, a voice called out behind me, “Wait up!”

I winced, screwing my eyes shut.

Fudge.

Lea came to a stop next to me, panting and hunching forward, planting his hands on his knees. He must have been running the whole way to make sure he caught me before I could esc- erm, I mean, before I left. He lifted his head, blasting us with the full force of those dimples of his as his gaze flicked back and forth between me and Anna. “You sure you ladies can’t join us tonight?”

“Thanks, but-”

“Join you for what?” Anna cut me off, scooting closer by shifting from the driver's seat to the passenger, arms folding across the top of the door.

This. Right here. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted him to walk me out.

“Nothing big,” Lea straightened up, placing a hand on the car door as well and leaning against it. “Just drinks and food with some friends from work. If you can’t change your plans though, that’s totally cool, I just wanted to-”

Because once Anna found out...

“What are you talking about?!” she laughed. “Of course we can change our plans! That sounds so fun, count us in!”

…there was no way I was getting out of it. Ugh.

“Wha- really?” No doubt about it. He was quite pleasantly surprised. “Great! The place we’re meeting at is called 7th Heaven. Short drive from here.” He waved to another car parked a few spaces further down the curb, which responded by flashing its blinkers, “That’s Xion. She drew the short straw for designated driver tonight. Just follow her car and she’ll lead you right to it!”

“Sounds good! See you there!” she waggled her fingers at Lea as he dashed off to get into the other car. Then she scooched back over behind the wheel, making room for me. Face pinching just a smidge, I sighed and got in, slamming the door shut behind me. Bouncing in her seat as she started the engine, she chirped, “Wow, we lucked out! This is gonna be a blast! You excited?”

“...thrilled,” I said dryly, buckling myself in.

Welp. Let’s get this over with.

Personal hell, here I come.

Author’s note: Ahhhh, there she is! Elsa’s feisty-pants lil sister makes her debut! Also, notice how much Anna says friggin’? Now those sound more fitting coming out of her, but Elsa grew up hearing those friggin’s (and fricks) coming out of her sis for years now, so it may have rubbed off on her a lil. Also the last name Fryse? Norwegian for ‘freeze’... yeah, I got a lil punny in coming up with Elsa’s family name, ignore me and my silly lil pleasures xD And more BBS ice creams sneak into this chapter - and I was mindful of their in-game descriptions too, so yes, it is in fact canon in the video game that the Snow Bear flavor has *shudders* tofu in it. TOFU. In ICE CREAM. Thanks, but no thanks!

Anyway, moving on! Now Anna drags our dear antisocial hermit off on an unwanted adventure! What’s next for our intrepid heroine? Will she survive this dreaded night of socializing? Just who exactly will be at Friday night drinks anyway? And with the sheer volume of ice cream Lea probably consumes daily, just HOW massive must his dentist bill be at this point, I mean really?? We may never know the answer to that last question, but as for the rest, stay tuned to find out next chapter!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to any new followers out there (hello! :D) and to those of you who hit that like button last chapter, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu Fanfiction: Dating... With Children - Chapter Two

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot:  Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn't have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that...

((Chapter two, ya’ll! Thank you to everyone for their support on this story so far, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! ^v^))

“...What’ve you got there, baby?”

Mikey smiled, and held the drawing - consisting of crayon, marker AND a bit of paint - up for his father to see. “Lots of drawings!” he replied, “Didn't wanna choose one, so I made ‘em all! Like this guy here is a super cool dragon, an’ here's his friend who’s a turtle that can skateboard, and this is a bee that's always makin’ up words and making people spell them!”

“Heh, I'm sure I know what that's inspired from,” Lou chuckled, remembering how Raph shared that his class was having a spelling bee a couple weeks ago. He sat and listened to his youngest explain each doodle, nodding and making quick comments of his own as he did so.

“And that's all I really have so far,” Mikey finished, setting the paper down, “but I think I wanna try to add a few more drawings. Maybe some stickers too, THEN it'll be perfect!”

“Alright,” Lou nodded, “But when you're finished, would you please clean off the table? Remember, we have company coming over tonight.”

“Oh yeah! Don't worry, Papa, I will!”

“Good,” Lou smiled, ruffling his curly hair and making the boy giggle, “Thank you.”

“I'm glad Dr. Draxum is coming over,” Donnie spoke up from the beanbag, looking up from his textbook, “I wanna talk to him more about science stuff. And look!” He held up his book - ‘The Building-Blocks of Life’. “I'm reading up on genetics too! And I'm pretty sure I’ll be about as smart as him on it by the time I'm finished.”

Amused, Lou raised an eyebrow. “I didn't realize they were teaching genetics in the first grade.”

“They aren't. I finished my work early and got to go to the library again.” “Ah.” Lou made another mental tally in his head. The school hadn't said anything yet, but if this kept up, he'd have to go there himself and look into possibly moving Donatello up to Raph’s grade. “Can you believe that some kids aren't even interested in looking at the big kid section of books? Or at the non-fiction section? Those are the best sections!”

“Heh, no, I can't. But then it's a good thing that you can appreciate them.” He began to stand up, but stopped when his ears picked up on something. Some quiet whispers, a couple soft footsteps… The martial artist smirked, and prepared himself.

After a couple seconds, he felt something heavy run into him, slamming him to the carpeted floor. He let out an “OOF!”, unable to help himself, while giggles filled his ears. “I got you, Pop!” Raph grinned, “You're pinned!”

“Oh, are you sure?” Lou asked, “because I think-” He twisted his body quickly, knocking a surprised Raphael off before scooping him up into his arms, making the boy squeal. “That I have YOU!” Raph squirmed in his father’s grip while Lou gave him a couple quick noogies before kissing him on the top of his head.

“Daaaad!” Raph groaned, sticking his tongue out. Lou just laughed, letting the boy go.

“Told ya you couldn't beat him, Raphie,” Leo said, grinning at the whole scene as he sat on the arm of his pop’s chair, growing legs swinging, “He's like, the best fighter in the whole world!”

“Yeah well, I still pinned you for a second, right Pop?”

“Mm-hm,” Lou nodded, “Though next time, make sure to actually pin them once you have them on the floor. Don't just sit on them, but try putting your hands and weight on their shoulders. Makes it harder for them to move, slows them down some.” After a moment, he added “But, maybe don't try to tackle our guest tonight, hm?”

“Heh, I won't.” “Good. Now why don't you and your brother wash up?” Raph and Leo both glanced down at their grass and dirt covered limbs, grimaced at them and dashed out of the room.

Still chuckling a bit to himself, Lou picked himself off the floor and headed back into the kitchen. He had already started prepping a couple dishes, but he still had plenty left to do for their meal. His smile softened a bit as he thought about their guest…

It had taken five days for Draxum to call him. In that time, Lou had tried looking him up online. Draxum’s social media was pretty standard, nothing offensive or red-flag raising but nothing too interesting either. The only other piece of the man online was a brief biography on his lab’s research site along with a photo - where he had a very serious and professional expression on his face. A far cry from the fairly casual man he had met at the art gallery.

When he did finally call, it had been late at night, just after he'd put the boys to bed and right before heading to bed himself. Lou had wondered if perhaps this was planned, as a sort of “welp, I tried calling but there was no answer, oh well” type of thing. But Lou had answered, and much to his (and certainly to Draxum’s) surprise, they had ended up talking for a couple hours.

The conversation had started out pretty slow and standard. Lou asked how his day at work was, and Draxum asked how he and the boys were doing. After a while though, things became a little more natural, and their conversation almost became more of a banter. They’d go back and forth, discussing their favorite forms of entertainment, hobbies they enjoyed, and even sharing a couple personal anecdotes. And after all that, there was no way Lou wasn't going to end the call by inviting him over.

Draxum told him he'd have to check his schedule. It only took until the next morning for Draxum to text, letting him know that he would be free the following weekend. Again, Lou couldn't help but wonder if Draxum actually had to check his schedule or if he just didn't want to appear to eager, but said nothing. Instead, he simply gave him a date, time and his home address, and let him know that he was looking forward to it.

Lou had to admit, Draxum wasn't usually his type, but he was still unique enough to catch the ex-movie star’s interest. After all, how many buff science-type bookworms did one meet in their life? Draxum was certainly intelligent, and had a bit of a dry wit but never seemed like a snob. He was a bit stiff but not boring, spoke his mind and, if Lou was really being honest, was so hot. (Again, buff bookworms. Who knew?) Plus, his kids really seemed to like him too. In Lou’s opinion, that last bit was the most important one of all. So, with all that in mind, Lou just figured: “Eh, why not?”

It was funny how often that phrase came up during the big decisions in his life - like when he had decided that he wanted to try being a father when almost everything else in his life seemed hollow, and ended up adopting four kids instead of just one.

---------

Draxum looked at his watch. 5:17. A bit early but, wasn't that better than being late? Really, it was a good sign he was there at all, given that he was still a bit surprised at himself for even accepting the invite. ...Not that spending more time with Lou was necessarily a bad idea...

He then glanced up at the house he was now in front of. Having never actually been invited to a celebrity’s home before, he hadn't quite been sure what to expect. But a medium sized, cozy looking and slightly run-down home in Brooklyn certainly was a bit of a surprise. Maybe making action movies didn't pay as well as Draxum thought.

Still, he kept these comments to himself as he went up the walkway that was littered with chalk drawings and up to the door, knocking twice. It took a couple moments for someone - one of the boys, the one with light patches of skin around his eyes who was wearing a blue tee - to open the door. “You know the password?” He asked.

Draxum’s expression twisted slightly in annoyance, but he kept his cool. “Open says me?” He guessed.

“Mm nnnnope, sorry.” With that, the door was slammed in his face. From the other side, he could hear more young voices, scolding and lightly arguing with each other. The door opened again, and one boy had become four. “I was just joking!” Leo insisted while Donnie continued to glare.

“Hi, Dr. Draxum!” Mikey greeted with a wave.

“Sorry about my dumb brother-” “Hey!” “You can come on in,” Raph added.

Draxum nodded. “Thank you,” he said, moving his arm a bit so he could reveal more of the small box he had been carrying. “If you hadn't let me in when you did, this probably would have melted.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Wait, you brought cake?! Well you should’a said so!”

With a ghost of a smile on his face, Draxum walked inside. The living room to the Jitsu home was inviting and very much in-use, but not the cluttered and messy space that Draxum had been worried it might have been. There was a reclining chair, a love seat, two kid-sized beanbags, a coffee table with several colorful marks now permanently on it, and a flat screen tv that was playing some cartoon. There were a couple toys on the floor, though not enough that Draxum had to worry about tripping over anything, as well as a few framed pictures on the wall. One of Lou at what looked like some award ceremony, one of him with a Chinese woman (ex wife, perhaps?) and of course, one of him with his children that looked like it was taken just a couple years ago.

“Hey, Doc!” a voice called from the kitchen, bringing Draxum out of his thoughts, “How’s it going? You find the place alright?”

“Yes, there's this wonderful thing called a gps that really helps,” Draxum dryly replied.

Lou chuckled, smiling at him over his shoulder, and blinking when he saw the ice cream cake in the taller man’s hands. From the look of the packaging, he could guess that it came from a pretty high end bakery. “Oh, you didn't have to bring anything.”

“Well, you said you were making supper, I figured the least I could do was bring dessert,” Draxum told him, “Should I just put this in the fridge, then?”

“Yeah, go right ahead.” Draxum did, and then sat down at the table. He noticed that Lou was just in a loose fitting, pale yellow tee and some jeans. Immediately, he felt overdressed, even if he himself was just in a button-up long sleeve shirt and some dark khakis. Still, Draxum tried to look as ‘casual’ as possible, but clearly it wasn't working by the way Lou kept glancing back at him from the kitchen counter

“I'm glad you could make it, by the way,” Lou spoke up, trying to break the ice a little, “I'm sure you get pretty busy, being a scientist and all.”

“Actually, unless I hit a big breakthrough or doing work on a time sensitive project, it's pretty much a nine-to-five job most of the time,” Draxum replied, “The work stays steady, at least.” Lou nodded, and went back to his cooking. Not wanting to risk falling into uncomfortable silence once again, Draxum decided to ask something that had been on his mind since they first met. “And what do you do for a living these days, given that your last film was in, what, the early 2000s?”

Rather than being offended or caught off guard, Lou just smirked. “...You sure you're not a fan of my films?”

“Definitely not,” Draxum retorted so quickly that it made Lou laugh

“If you say so! Anyway, yeah, that was about the time I moved from LA to here. I was smart about my last few paychecks, so I pretty much live off my savings.

Draxum blinked. “...Seriously?”

“Seriously. Though, I know I can't use ALL of it - I know at least one of my kids is going to be going to college - so I do odd jobs when I need to. Make appearances at conventions, do a quick commercial or two sometimes- heh, last year I was even paid to play on a gameshow. A stagehand kept an eye on the boys as they watched me play from the audience, I won some money for a charity, and then the next day I took them to Disneyland. Used most of that paycheck to do it, too. So, I guess you could call me a bit of a sellout.” Though judging by his tone, Lou didn't seem bothered by this at all.

“I don't think anyone could really blame you for taking less time consuming work,” Draxum offered, “Still, do you ever miss making movies, as cheesy as they are?” Or rather, were.

Lou thought for a moment as he tossed the last few ingredients into the frying pan. “...Yeah,” he admitted, “I do. Though, there are plenty of things about the industry that I definitely don't miss, and besides…” His smile softened a bit. “I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time.”

Suddenly, there was a shout. Turning in surprise, Draxum looked through the doorway and watched as Donnie tackled a laughing Leon to the floor. “...Speaking of which, do you know that your kids are tackling each other?”

“Oh yeah, they do that sometimes,” Lou nodded, not even moving from the counter, “Boys will be boys and all that. They're going to roughhouse no matter what I say, and as long as they follow the rules, I usually don't need to step in.”

“Rules?”

Setting down his stirring spoon, Lou counted them off his fingers. “No holding anyone down for more than a couple seconds, no using force to get someone to play what you want to play, if someone says they don't want to wrestle then just leave them be, and no making anyone cry. They're good boys, so that last one is usually punishment enough when they accidentally break it.”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. Well, that was one way to teach kids how to control their strength and think about their actions. Still, he wondered how Lou would go about things once his sons got a little older and possibly became interested in following in their father’s martial arts footsteps.

It didn't take much longer for their supper to be finished. The kids came to the table without even needing to be called, smelling the food and eager to eat as well as being excited to talk with their guest again. While Raph and Leo told Lou all about the latest exciting climax in their cartoon, Mikey shared one of his drawings with Draxum, who could only stare at it.

“It's, uh…” He tilted his head a bit, staring at the mess of bright colors and scribbles. What on earth was it supposed to be? A natural disaster mixed with a rainbow? “...Very nice, yes.

Mikey beamed. “Really?! Which one is your favorite?”

Shoot, there was more than one drawing there? Well, that at least explained why everything was so cluttered. “Er, well…” He focused a little more on the drawing, and try to find anything that resembled something other than a blob or a tumbleweed to him. “I like this… Cat. Yes, this cat over in the corner, with the… Ice cream on it?”

Mikey looked back at the paper. “That's not a cat.” “Oh, sor-” “But that's a good idea!” The boy gave Draxum another bright smile. “I’ll draw you a kitty with ice cream later, kay?”

“Heh, very well,” Draxum nodded, relieved that he didn't offend the young artist.

“-And then, they used the magic sword, and blasted the bad guys right into the sky!” “Yeah, and the main hero guy said the BEST thing afterwards! He's soooo cool!”

“Well of course, he IS the main hero, after all” Lou chuckled, setting the last of the dishes down at the table, “Donnie, please put your book away now.”

Donnie frowned, reluctantly closing his half-finished textbook. “Fine…” As he placed it back into his ever-present backpack, Draxum managed to catch the book’s title.

“Genetics, hm?” He asked, smiling a bit. Perhaps the boy had been inspired. “Enjoying it so far?” Donnie nodded, keeping his eyes on the silverware in front of him.

The meal was fairly simple. A baked fish as the main course, with fried rice and an easy-to-make salad as the sides. Still, what it lacked in uniqueness, it more than made up for in good flavor. “I'm usually not much of a fish eater, but this is quite good,” Draxum commented, after only a couple bites.

“Mm-hm,” Lou smirked, “I'm not just a handsome actor-martial artist, after all. I know how to cook.” Draxum just rolled his eyes, mildly amused at his date’s cockiness.

“You should try eatin’ the fish and the rice at the same time,” Raph advised, “They go really good together!”

Draxum was the type to keep his food, as well as the tastes and textures, separate while he ate, but he did try the combination once just to appease the eldest Jitsu child. As he continued to eat, Draxum kept glancing over at Donatello out of the corner of his eye. The boy in purple nibbled and picked at his food, fidgeting a bit and staying silent. Certainly different from the eager and inquisitive boy Donnie had introduced himself as, so what had brought on this sudden shyness?

Was it something Draxum had said? He couldn't think of anything that could've been taken as discouragement or dismissal. So, maybe Donnie just didn't care for his field of science but didn't want to offend Draxum by saying so? No, that didn't seem right either. So then, what-?

He noticed Leo leaning over, whispering to Donnie for a moment before being nudged away. Rather than being annoyed, Leo just looked a bit concerned while his twin just looked… Embarrassed? An epiphany went off in Draxum’s mind. So THAT was why Donnie wasn't talking to him.

“Donnie,” he began, getting the boy’s attention, “I was wondering if you had any thoughts on your research so far?”

Donnie continued to squirm, squeezing his fists in his lap. “I-I mean, I'm still reading through the book so, so I'm not really an expert on it yet.” Truth be told, while he liked all sciences, he had really taken a shine to robotics and technology the most. “But talking to you ‘bout it before gave me a good head start, and I know the basics of it already and, um…”

“Yes…?”

“A-And, I…” Donnie scowled before suddenly shouting, “I have a scientific theory! A-About genetics, I mean.”

Draxum nodded, keeping composed (because, wow, even he could admit this was kind of adorable). “May I hear about it?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice neutral to avoid sounding patronizing, knowing that a child as smart as Donnie would definitely notice.

“Well… O-Our genes are inherited from our birth parents, right? So we only have a possibility of getting what they, or the rest of their people in their family, had. But, maybe there could be a way to, um, switch out genes somehow? Maybe with gene samples from other people, or with genes made by scientists, and then those new cells could develop and make whatever kind of person with whatever features they wanted.” Donnie winced a bit once he was finished, and waited for Draxum’s reaction.

The scientist hummed. “Well, that is a sound theory. Perhaps a bit difficult to test at the moment, but I can understand the basis of it, as well as see how it could be possible one day.” Donnie’s eyes widened. He stared back at Draxum, and began to grin widely, as if he had just received the best compliment ever. Draxum held back a chuckle. “Would you like to discuss this theory further?” “Yeah!”

Unsurprisingly, once Draxum began sharing the concept of gene mutation, the conversation devolved into a mix of scientific theorizing with some sci-if-esque levels of speculation (Donnie) and a debate over which animal features and mutations would be best to mix with people (the rest of the boys). Still, the discussion was no less enjoyable, to the kids or to Draxum.

And as for Lou, he just watched and listened, a warm smile on his face. This may have been their first shared meal together, but Draxum already felt like a seat at the table that had always somehow been there

----------

“...I think I just made it impossible for your kids to go to sleep tonight.”

“Eh, they've had worse sugar rushes. Trust me, this is nothing. Besides, they'll burn it all up soon enough.”

The remaining slices of the ice cream cake had already been placed back into the fridge, and because it was still somewhat light out, the boys had been allowed to go play outside for a while. So, they raced out the door, leaving their father and his date to watch by the window while they started playing what Draxum could only describe as a mixed up version of soccer and cricket.

He wasn't even sure if they were keeping score. All he could tell was that the game involved running all around the small yard, using foam swords and hockey sticks to hit a ball as well as kicking it with their feet. Either way, they all seemed to enjoy it, with Raph happily teaming up with Mikey and offering him a piggyback ride whenever his youngest brother struggled to keep up.

Draxum hummed, taking a small sip from the tea Lou had made for him before setting the cup back down. “Your kids are definitely unique.”

“Heh, they sure are,” Lou agreed, “They really are good boys… And they really like you, you know.”

Draxum nodded. It was still sort of hard to believe himself, given how he often thought of children as nothing more than tiny annoyances. Yes, Lou’s kids were loud, and strange, and still a tiny bit annoying. But they were also clever and endearing, and even a little cute. So, he had no real problems with them liking him, or with liking them in return.

“...And,” Lou began, taking a step closer, suddenly making Draxum very aware of his presence, “I really like you too.”

“I-...” That was all Draxum could get out as he turned from the window, looking Lou directly in the eyes now. The handsome (‘ugh, why did he have to be so handsome,’ Draxum thought to himself, knowing this would all be so much easier if he wasn't) man stared back at him, lips curled into an honest smile. No cockiness or playing up his ego, Lou simply wanted him to know how he felt.

“And I mean it too. And uh, heh, no pressure or anything but… I hope the feeling’s mutual.” Draxum didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. Lou took another slow step forward. Close enough together to do so now, Draxum dared himself to take his hands.

“I think… That's a possibility,” Draxum told him quietly, finally finding the words to reply.

Lou smiled, letting out a soft chuckle that made Draxum’s heart leap a bit. “Good to know…” They were closer now, enough for Draxum to see himself in Lou’s glasses. He told himself that he wasn't the kind of man to kiss on the first date, but Lou was making it SO tempting!

Their faces were getting closer, with Draxum’s own feeling much too warm. He placed his hands on the shorter man’s chest… And gently pushed him away.

The ex-action star blinked, the intimate mood gone in an instant, suddenly leaving him feeling cold. Still, despite his disappointment, Lou backed away.

“...It’s getting late,” Draxum stated, “I should probably get going.” He didn't waste time moving past Lou, now standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Lou nodded. “Right, of course. Well, thanks again for coming over. I had a nice-”

“I’m-” Draxum suddenly began to say, still refusing to look back at him, “I’m… Available next weekend, as well. So, perhaps you could come over to my place and we could have dinner there.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Just the two of us. It, it's the least I could do, cooking for you in return.”

“...” Lou’s grin returned. So there WAS going to be a next time! “Yeah, that sounds great! Just text me a time and your address and I’ll be there!”

Draxum nodded. “I will.”

“Heh, I’ll be looking forward to our next appointment, Dr. Draxum.”

Even with the light blush still in his cheeks, Draxum turned back around halfway, scoffing at him. “You don't have to keep calling me that. I have a first name, I won't be offended if you use it.”

Despite his internet search on the man, Lou continued to be coy. “You never told me it, Dr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.”

His date rolled his eyes, sighing slightly. He was tall, definitely, but he wasn't anywhere near dark. His skin just barely had a tan! “It's Benjamin. Benjamin Draxum.”

“Ah. Well, Ben, I’ll see you next week.” Draxum nodded, hesitating for only a moment before moving once more. Lou followed him to the front door, and they each gave a quick good night before Draxum left.

“Heh, a second date,” Lou told himself, still grinning about it, “How about that?” With his steps light and earlier disappointment being unable to touch his now sky-high mood, Lou went into his backyard and began trying to wrangle up his kids and get them back inside for pajamas and teeth brushing.

[samurai-bravo-prompts]

Jack, a 'Her' Samurai Bravo Fic Part 5

“Sword fighting?” Johnny asked, lounging on his couch one Sunday.

“Yes. I greatly enjoy watching the fluidity and physical discipline it requires. If I had a body, that is what I would most like to do. Is that odd?”

“What? No! It's actually super cool. Totally fits with your character.”

“Would you-,” Jack hesitates.

“Would I what?”

“Would you perhaps like me to teach you some martial arts I’ve been studying?”

Johnny sat up so quick he actually got a bit dizzy. “Um, yeah! Is that even a question!?”

Jack laughed, Johnny’s favorite sound.

“Then you should head to the park. There's much more room.”

“Alright!”

-

Johnny and Jack chatted as Johnny walked leisurely around the city. He’d been especially receptive of Jack’s karate teaching and was eager to learn other things Jack could show him.

“Can you still see everything okay?”

“Yes, the lens is clear. There’s a dojo just up the way from here. I believe the sensei has a similar teaching method to mine. You should try to join one day.”

“Aw, but I like when you teach me.”

Chuckles.

“And I enjoy teaching you, but eventually you will require physical guidance that I cannot provide.”

“Yeah, I guess. Hey! You show’d me that weird monument, how bout I show you the old skate park!”

“Oh, is that where you used to make your art?”

Johnny kicked a pebble off the path.

“Heh, yeah. Gosh, that was so long ago.”

“Are you, perhaps, feeling old, Johnny?” Jack ribbed.

Johnny guffawed, loud and sudden.

“You take that back before I start shaking this phone!”

Jack was beside himself with laughter and so was Johnny.

“Never!” he cried.

-

Johnny’s life had become so much better since meeting Jack. He ate better, slept sounder, got more exercise while seeing new places and had a good job. Johnny was sure to thank his Mama many times over for the suggestion and even introduced them to each other.

Johnny had even picked up drawing again, spending days off learning about new styles, shading and buying new colors. Jack even tried his hand at art, sketching small doodles on Johnny’s phone for him to appraise. They usually weren’t very good and Jack knew it but Johnny was always encouraging and telling him ways to improve.

It was the most fun Johnny could remember having.

One night, while walking home from the ice cream parlor, Johnny paused.

“What is it, Johnny?” Jack asked, concerned and instantly alert.

“I thought I heard something. Eh, maybe it was just a racoon or someth-”

Just then, about three men came into view up ahead.

“Oh, it was just them.”

“Johnny, walk the other way.”

“What, why?”

The men came closer and Johnny saw, too late, why Jack had warned him. They each pulled out a section of pipe and looked ready to use it.

“Nice night,” one called out.

Johnny could feel his legs going weak.

“Y-yeah. It is. Bye,” he turned, trying to power walk away but there was a fourth person that Johnny hadn't seen before, blocking his way.

“O-oh, Mama,” he stuttered out in fear.

“Do not panic, Johnny,” Jack said, reminding Johnny that he wasn’t truly alone. “I have called the police. Now all you have to do is keep them at bay.”

“That's a nice smartphone you got there,” the same guy as before spoke. “Mind if we see it?”

“How the heck am I s’posed to do that?” Johnny whispered.

“Who ya talkin’ to, blondie?”

“Your training, Johnny. Use it.”

“But...I-”

“You can do this, Johnny. I’ll prompt you. Get into position.”

Johnny took a steadying breath and spread his legs a bit wider for balance.

The next few minutes were a blur, his arms and legs moving however Jack told him. There was pain and screams, his own and his attackers, until the police arrived.

They only caught two of them but they asked Johnny if he could come in to make a statement. He agreed but it was mostly Jack coaching him through it.

At about midnight, Johnny finally stumbled into his apartment, sore all over. But he especially hurt at his left shoulder and right eye, where the pipes and punches connected hardest.

“Where’s my rum,” he murmured, dragging his feet to the kitchen.

“Second cabinet on the bottom. But, remember you have work in the-”

“I know, Jack.”

He remained quiet as Johnny found the bottle, taking swig after swig and falling with a groan onto the couch.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked.

Gulp.

“Thanks to you. Glad my hands are okay.”

“Wouldn't want to deprive the world of your artistic talents.”

“Heh. I meant for work but that's nice of you to say.”

Glug.

Johnny set the rum on his coffee table, turning over.

It was quiet for a while and Jack thought that Johnny may have slipped off to sleep. But after a bit…

“I love you,” Johnny spoke, almost too quiet to hear.

Almost.

[palteringcecutiency]

==> Psii: Worry.

palteringcecutiency ...how is he doing? Do you know?

caepaecaesurae .. Nadaya? > Time to Squirm A Lot, due to the dualscar talk you've been doing with him . . .

palteringcecutiency Of course not. I was thinking of that other troll we both speak to that is suddenly a wiggler. Yes Cronus. Nadaya.

caepaecaesurae WVell pardon me for not being psychic.  I don't knowv, though he sounds like he's settling some.  WVe're still establishing a rapport, I'll be asking howv he is once he's not flailing at the wvorld.

palteringcecutiency Lord Cronus catch up with the rest of us. Mindreading makes everything so much easier. ...alright. That's better than I had feared thank you.

caepaecaesurae I'll keep you as updated as I can.

palteringcecutiency It's appreciated a great deal.

caepaecaesurae A psionic wvas stern to him, and he is ""fine"".  ...I'vwe offered my protection and assistance, but I think that's the best I can do right nowv.

palteringcecutiency Yes I saw the sternness and it is taking every ounce of my willpower to not rip into them for it. Do you know if he is alone? I am not volunteering myself obviously but someone to hide behind may help.

caepaecaesurae I sympathise entirely. I'm...trying to find that out, as gently as I can. He at least has his cats.

palteringcecutiency Cats are quite helpful little things. Especially in cases like these.

caepaecaesurae He has a moirail present apparently.

palteringcecutiency A relief.

> A great deal of time passes, enough for Cae’s queue to post and for him to say he’s logging off.

palteringcecutiency If I was in the mood to fight I would've gone after my alternate. In case this affects anything.

caepaecaesurae > Time to quietly squirm and debate whether you want to admit you were running or not..

palteringcecutiency > It's not as if you weren't familiar with his running, having called him out on it so many times. And you did word that statement in a way that didn't imply he was running either...

caepaecaesurae It doesn't particularly.  I could stay if desired, but a tumblr glitch annoyed me a bit.  Enough to take a break.

palteringcecutiency Quite understandable this hell site seems full of them. And I have nothing worth dragging you back onto it for I just thought I would remind.

caepaecaesurae > ...Was he trying not to scare you, trying to cajole and provoke you back into a trap, or speaking idly without ulterior motive. Pardon the narrowv miss.

palteringcecutiency > The first, but would he even believe you if he found out? It hardly makes sense, except that you're rather acutely aware of being frightening, and not in a good way. It is fine. Some things are hard to spot especially while distracted.

caepaecaesurae Hard to spot?

palteringcecutiency The connection between the two. Unless you were speaking of something else?

caepaecaesurae There's no connection betwveen you showving up and me stepping awvay

palteringcecutiency No I did not think there was. But between your queue's post and my being around... I thought perhaps.

caepaecaesurae > And time for more squirming. I probably should havwe savwed that in my drafts wvhen I found it. Rather than bothering wvith a queue.

palteringcecutiency Even knowing it has done nothing?

caepaecaesurae > Pinned fins. ... I wvouldn't wvant Sal to think I wvas aiming it at him.

palteringcecutiency ...mm. Understandable. > Not that you believe that's the reason for a second, but. Not much you can do when you're trying not to frighten him. Awkwardly.

caepaecaesurae Anywvay you don't need me cluttering the dashboard.

palteringcecutiency I would disagree that's what you've done but I can hardly keep you where you do not want to be.

caepaecaesurae > Captor moodswings were baffling and impenetrable and you didn't understand.  For a moment you seriously considered attempting to chart them against moon phases, before deciding it would be a hassle to learn about the local moon. I'm sure I could clutter it.

palteringcecutiency I have no doubt you could if you put your pan to it. I was speaking of what has already happened.

caepaecaesurae heh.. I hadn't been

palteringcecutiency Hadn't you? My apologies.

caepaecaesurae Drawv anything interesting lately?

palteringcecutiency > Damn it. The blatant topic change wasn't much better than him bolting, but at least it's something. Hhhh. A few things. Memories of Alternia and Beforus mostly places I remember people whose faces I recall. I've no idea if I have gotten them right but it hardly matters at this point.

caepaecaesurae Blind, tonight? You mentioned commas in passing, once.

palteringcecutiency Well remembered. c: But that is not the hindering factor. I can tell where my pencil marks just fine. I was speaking of the accuracy of my memories and being unsure of details after so long.

caepaecaesurae More than fair. I'vwe been trying to make things from thin air, lately.  Embellished evweryday items. Putting memories to page is.. difficult.

palteringcecutiency Like gilding mundane objects? I could see that being rather amusing. It can be. I was better at it on Beforus than Alternia as bizarre as that is.

caepaecaesurae I create the items, though I suppose I might be able to edit them if I try... ... I think Beforus had more artistic inclination in general. And fostered it better.

palteringcecutiency Ah. I suppose that makes more sense but I cannot shake the image of you adding gold and jewels to everything you own as you get displeased with its boring nature. ...I cannot argue with that however. It did if only for giving me ready access to paper and proper writing implements.

caepaecaesurae I savwe many of the gold and jewvels for Treasure.  Not quite all, but most. You should havwe had that on Alternia as wvell.  .. I imagine apologies get tiring to hear, after a wvhile.

palteringcecutiency A good use for them. c: ...only when I am not in the mood to hear them. I was mostly speaking of after I'd escaped. Paper was not high on the priority list a luxury I did not obtain often. And when I did I mostly drew with ashed sticks from the fire. Far easier to obtain than pencils and the like. I made it work of course but finding my sylladex full of sketchbooks was a bit startling.

caepaecaesurae One of the fewv consolation prizes perhaps.

palteringcecutiency Yes. And beyond that the ability to acquire colors to add.

caepaecaesurae A marvwel.

palteringcecutiency This place has its moments even I will admit.

caepaecaesurae Is there much difference betwveen papers and the computer wvays?

palteringcecutiency There is quite a bit. Pencil and paper interact with each other differently. There's bumps and edges to catch on the pencil wears in different ways all sorts of variables to wrangle. The connection between tablet and computer is far more limited they do not directly interact in the way pencils and paper do but there are a great many techniques and tools open to play with and get used to each having a different purpose.

caepaecaesurae It makes paper and pencil sound like a hassle.

palteringcecutiency Any art at all is a hassle a struggle between artist and the medium until the artist learns how to talk to their medium and to listen to it in return.

caepaecaesurae Tricking the tools into wvorking wvith you

palteringcecutiency Or finding a way get what you want out of what they can do. Either or depending on the materials involved.

caepaecaesurae Fair enough I wvas nevwer a grand hand at sketching.  I knewv just enough to mark my impressions of things in my journals if I felt like it. Seldom more than basic maps and loose impressions of horn shapes and symbols

palteringcecutiency I am quite unsure how I learned per say aside from idle doodling that grew into something more. It just... makes sense. You've got your claws into music though. I am unsurprised sketchwork is a mystery as I find creating music to be the same.

caepaecaesurae I suppose it depends entirely wvhat one practices. I think it's easiest to begin music from vwoice wvork or drums.  One must knowv the fundamentals, but there's little wvorrying about keys and chords and theory.  Fewv tools invwolvwed, either.

palteringcecutiency There's some logic to that assuming of course that the student was not impatient for bigger things.

caepaecaesurae ... True. VWocal wvork suits the impatient wvell, though. Glamorous enough wvhen done wvell, quick to do wvell if you put enough effort into it, and painfully bad wvhen rushed, in a wvay more obvwious to the audience than the singer.

palteringcecutiency A compelling argument I must say. Though I've not really considered dabbling in the musical before.

caepaecaesurae It's an art that burns time, rather than materials.

palteringcecutiency Heh. That would've been a far smarter art to practice while on Alternia then. Hindsight and all that.

caepaecaesurae ... It's hard not to imagine the engineer reports.

palteringcecutiency The haunting voice of the Angel.

caepaecaesurae "...been singing about howv I dropped my pen for SIX WVEEKS STRAIGHT NOWV--" Perhaps.  WVhen you wveren't using it for mockery.

palteringcecutiency I am going to mourn this lost opportunity until my final days. Imagine Her face trying to deal with it. Narrating Her night to night tasks with song. It would be more than worth it.

caepaecaesurae ♪ Form 887 can be found in the ♪re♪fer♪ence♪ desk ♪ ♪ That soup looks like ga-a-a-A-a-ar-bage ♪ ♪ Yes it makes you look  ♪♪fat♪♪

palteringcecutiency Lord I am going to bust something laughing at this. You realize the text is being read off in monotone right?

caepaecaesurae I hope the tasteful punctuation is helping.

palteringcecutiency MUSIC NOTE THAT SOUP LOOKS LIKE GA A A A A AR BAGE MUSIC NOTE

caepaecaesurae ♪ Performance nominal ♪ I ah.  I think the monotone adds a lot.

palteringcecutiency It most certainly does. It's two hundred times better.

caepaecaesurae > You wish you had more to say, but you're just delighted at the relatively clear air.  ..You keep looking back at Psii's last message every once in a while, debating what a proper reply would be. ... I wvonder howv hard it wvould be to autotune text to speech. > Perfect.

palteringcecutiency > Send file: yourewelcome.mp3 > It took you an embarrassing amount of time to wrangled this, considering how well you know this system that you built yourself, huff, but you manage. Your text to speech voice is not as monotone as it could be but it's remarkably bland sounding, hitching once in a while in an awkward tone-deaf fashion, and it is reading out a shoddily written half-poem song littered with musical notes. You remain a terrible wordsmith but you gave it your best shot, giving him a bored robot reading about the thrill of Her choosing what jewelry to wear some evening past and your opinion on such a thing. Oh goodness I'd definitely like to find out.

caepaecaesurae I'm backing this up to my fake computer as soon as I get the chance...

palteringcecutiency c:

caepaecaesurae There's no reason robots can't be singsong

palteringcecutiency There isn't and lord I beg you to remind me what a terrible idea it would be to modify this program. I would never be able to say anything I'd be too busy being unable to breathe.

caepaecaesurae I'm sure it could be strategic about wvhich messages to relay.. Artistically

palteringcecutiency That would certainly be less hazardous but what would even be the cut off? Music notes seem reasonable but they hardly come up and if it never gets used what is the point?

caepaecaesurae Unecessary capitalization wvould be a delightful one Or random chance Keywvords

palteringcecutiency Oo yes definitely the capitalization. Random chance would be delightful for boring nights where I'm just lurking. Keywords would be fun depending on the words chosen which would take careful thought. ...perhaps depending on who is speaking would be interesting. Or a toggle to make boring conversations more exciting.

caepaecaesurae I'm sure you wvould use this capacity responsibly, and I look forwvard to if you evwer get caught listening to it.

palteringcecutiency Oh yes certainly. I wouldn't dare think of using it inappropriately and as often as I can get away with it.

caepaecaesurae Surely Imagine if it only sang messages wvorth a certian number of scrabble points So the long ones, and the ones wvith odd wvords in them ...

palteringcecutiency Words with a certain number of syllables or more especially if it's more than enough to go up and down the scale.

caepaecaesurae ... Most trolltags wvould end up sung.

palteringcecutiency They would which would make telling posts apart easier. This one is written by Cronus~ and this one is your descendant~~~~ Goodness Nadaya's posting~~ Perhaps muffled explosions would be better for his.

caepaecaesurae Staccato -- clashing pitches NAdaYA is POSTing High, lowv, high, lowv Or just 10% louder than anyone else.

palteringcecutiency Why not both?

caepaecaesurae Your poor ears

palteringcecutiency Perhaps. But it would be worth it to try once at least.

[bumskulls]

Snowman

A Very Shippy Christmas — Day Nine

Doodle Flare blinked as a snowflake hit her lashes. The Pegasi has gone all out on the snowfall for Canterlot this year.

“Heads up!” Doodle dove for the ground as her only warning barely made it to her in time. As she planted herself face first into the pile of snow, a wild frisbee wizzed past her. That could have hurt.

“Rainbow Dash, watch what you’re doing! I’m trying to get these ice sculptures finished!” Doodle snapped, brushing snow off of her coat.

Rainbow landed sheepishly next to Doodle. “Heh, sorry about that, Doodle Flare.” She gazed at the sculptures and whistled. Above her towered six replicas of the founders of Equestria, in high detail. It appeared that Doodle was finishing the ridiculous hat of Chancellor Puddinghead. “These look awesome, Doodle!” Rainbow trotted to her frisbee and tossed it back over towards where she and Spike had been playing. “I’ll make sure the weather team doesn’t let too much sun get on these.”

Rainbow caught a figure out of the corner of her eye. “Oh? Looks like someone has company.” She nudged Doodle’s shoulder. In the tree line, hesitating, was Tempest Shadow. “I’ll uh, leave you two alone.” Rainbow snarked.

“Ugh, it’s not like that, Rainbow.” Doodle huffed.

Rainbow simply shrugged before taking to the sky and leaving Doodle to work.

Tempest approached, more timidly than her usual demeanor. “Good morning, Ms. Flare.” She said. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything...”

Doodle gave her a warm smile. “Not at all Tempest! And please, call me Doodle. No need to be so formal with me.”

Tempest returned the smile. “Alright then... Doodle.”

Doodles cheeks filled with color at the sound of her name coming out of Tempest’s mouth. Her voice was so smooth and rich. It gave her goosebumps. She cleared her throat. “Anything I can help you with, Tempest?” Evidently clearing her throat did nothing as her voice still cracked.

Tempest averted her gaze. “Actually... I was hoping to bluid snowponies with everypony else. But I could use some help...” Doodle caught the quick glance Tempest sent upward. Her horn.

Doodle put a hoof on Tempest’s shoulder. “Who needs magic when you can do it the Earth Pony way?” Doodle started delicately forming a snowball with her hooves. Once it was large enough to hold a bit of shape, she nudged it along with her head.

“Tah-dah!” She said with a grin. “I think we’ll only need a bit of magic to stack them up, don’t you think?”

Tempest smiled back. “I think you’re right. You go find some facial features, and I’ll make the other snow balls?”

“Sounds perfect!” Doodle skipped off looking for some coal.

Tempest found herself staring after the smaller Unicorn. There was just something about her that made Tempest feel warm inside. She glanced up at the icy marvel Doodle had made. She wondered if there were other art forms Doodle could teach her.