#if you liked the first one but wanted more goop more gunk more slime and most of all. more ooze then this absolutely delivers

[wakesirens]

was alien romulus a retread of the first movie except with more explicit pregnancy/body horror yes. did it absolutely rip grossnasty style. yes

[enderwoah]

free trial / 30 days smp headcanons because i love them:

crimeduo OP:

wil and tommy are gods/celestials from the 100p series,,,,and you know how theyre total assholes in those??

yeah so their higherups basically gave them a job that if they fucked up theyd be stripped of any and all powers because they're both AWFUL

which is why wil and tommy have op but you know not flying around and everything.

the job is keeping these six or seven or so cursed people in this enclosed space so they can live and the higherups can determine whether they can go to the not bad place or hell

since they all did shit that got them cursed but seemed to be improving.

they aren't as powerful as they were as full gods or whatever but they still have lingering powers (hence the spruce trapdoors)

beeduo curses:

tubbo got cursed to physically not be able to be awake for more than three hours

originally, it was going to be all day, but ranboo defended him and said he'd take part of the curse for himself

so now ranboo is cursed so that all of his emotions are connected with tubbo's!

all of them.

all feelings of happiness, sadness, inept terror -- it's why he freaks out so much whenever tubbo gets in danger,,,it's because tubbo is freaking out too.

ranboo knows for a fact that wilbur and specifically tommy can take away tubbo's curse but just don't, which is why he has so much animostiy specifically towards them whenever the subject comes up

benchtrio + wilbur's relationship:

tommy actually really likes tubbo and ranboo but tries not to talk to them too much because if he does he'll get attached and probably end up taking away their curses because he has the biggest fucking heart

but then he'll get in trouble!

so he keeps his distance and sends wilbur to check up on the beeduo, because he knows wilbur won't bend to them

wilbur is a lot better at being sympathetic but also not twisting to their wants.

he'll say it sucks that tubbo can't participate for more than three hours and then hear about building a MOB FARM in LIMBO and go "well yeah you fuckin glutton thats why you're cursed"

"it isn't even just gluttony what was the case report again?"

"gluttony? wrath? greed? i think those were the main ones"

wilbur teases tubbo about it and immediately ranboo goes defensive as hell and wilbur just cackles at him

"fucking pride or whatever that's why you share a curse"

jack "karl marx" manifold and sneeg "jeff bezos" snag:

jack manifold got sent there for being a dirty fucking commie

sneegsnag got sent there for being a corrupt capitalist

both of them are very confused as to what the hell god wants from them

thye both think each others' economic systems are evil viruses of satan though and theyve decided that whichever of them dies first has the inferior system

jack manifold is cursed with being unable to control his anger! and when it gets bad he starts to act...a lot less human

(see: the demon voice he had when he killed charlie)

his rage can overtake him to the point where when he calms down he feels as if it was someone else...

he didn't mean to kill charlie. it wasn't his fault.

it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for his stupid fucking curse.

charlie goop sludge sop gunk slime slimecicle:

he's just a slimy boy :)

he was cursed so that anything he touches turns soft and slimy if he touches it for too long

his hair is completely slime

and if he stands in one place for too long he'll start sinking into the soft ground

so he wears these really thick galoshes lol

he knows very well what he did to get here :)

and he knows that if he does nothing at all, the gods will be confused as to where to put him

so perhaps, if he does nothing but wait for that timer to tick down to zero

he can finally have peace in a limbo for no one else but him

and maybe other people should be able to have some peace too! everyone should just wait for the timer.

everyone should just wait for the timer.

the husbands:

ranboo took this curse upon himself and doesn't regret it in the slightest

and will never regret it

even though tubbo is...definitely an oddball when it comes to emotions

he's far better at controlling them because they're his emotions, but ranboo isn't used to the pure anger the boy has stewing inside of him

so while tubbo might look slightly miffed, if not perfectly fine

ranboo could be seething with pure, unfettered rage and probably lunge at someone

(that's probably why "wrath" was on tubbo's case report)

hence why tubbo seems to not really care about his curse

but he does. he's pissed about it. and ranboo doesn't know how to hide that.

and ranboo threatens to murder tommy whenever the subject comes up

that's only for three hours a day, though!

the rest of the time is hell because he'll go through mood swings due to watever tubbo's dreaming about

but ranboo doesn't regret it

of course not

because if he did, then what kind of person would he be?

definitely not the stand-up guy he says he is and everyone sees him as (when he's not being influenced)!

so no, he doesn't regret it. and even if he did, he'd die (again) with that secret.

(which is why pride was on his case report.)

bird:

phil was originally an angel but fell

tommy and wilbur definitely know why

nobody else does and phil isn't going to tell them

tommy and wilbur...i wouldnt say look down on phil

but they look down on phil

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

look man, even if he hadn't fallen, they're still above him

anyways, phil mostly keeps to himself so he can last for the full thirty days

because he's lived for a long time

and he knows that these kids aren't going to last

it wouldn't be his first time outliving everyone in his surroundings

...but this time, he'll be sure not to be the one whittling them down.

[borkthemork]

think you can do a drabble based around maddie and marcy? maybe set after season 3 with the two just bonding over sorcery in peace afterall that tragedy. i mainly just wanna see more of the former in fanfiction 'cause she's way too interesting a character not ti have a ton of wriitng based around her.

"We need a cup of grounded Baphomet root."

"You got it!"

"And don't forget to grind it very well," Maddie instructed, tapping her chin as she looked through the book’s contents. “If we don’t do this correctly then we’ll bewitch the entire forest and I really don't want to be grounded for the rest of my life."

Taking the mortar and pestle Marcy smiled, letting out a light scoff. "I think we'll be fine. We've been doing this for months, and you're talking to a guaranteed perfectionist over here.”

That was true, but Maddie still ogled the ingredients in front of her. Everything looked in place. There was a distiller, jars of various contents they scrounged up from the forest, and the whiff of sulfur from the newly-churned pot reassured Maddie enough that yes, they should be on the right track.

The only worry came to exact measurements, or that aforementioned bewitching if they messed up. With the amount of potions and hexes she made during the Battle of Newtopia, Maddie could say that she leveled up enough to handle this rank of magic, but best to be prepared regardless.

Especially now that Marcy was back in one piece...and it would be awful if she had to endure another stressful situation just from a simple mistake in the calculations.

“Hey, Teach.” Marcy walked toward her. Looking down, Maddie was pleased to see that the roots had been grounded to a fine powder. A fine powder full of death and bad choices. “If we grind all of this together, do you think we have enough time for a potion? I was thinking...something spicy.”

“Spicy?” Maddie arched an eyebrow. “If you’re talking about fire potions, we don’t got any ingredients to—”

“No, no. Not like that.”

Okay, so no fire potions. But Marcy wasn’t making any sense at the moment, or at least giving Maddie a straight answer. “Then what are you implying? We’ve done protective seals, bond material, and cursed nutritional dirt. Potions take longer.” Not to mention that they spent an entire day with dark magic. They were practically going to be out past her curfew, which was a massive no in her book. “So what’s the rush?”

“Weelll,” Marcy pursed her lips. She was skipping around the subject again, but before Maddie could say anything else, Marcy grabbed the book and started flipping through. “I took a gander at your book a few hours ago, and I recalled seeing this chapter that talked about advanced healing.”

“Uhuh.”

“And I wanted to see if there’s a way to heal deep scarring, 'cause trying to get treatment back home isn’t uhh—” Marcy rubbed the back of her neck. “—working so good.”

Oh.

Maddie fumbled with her hands for a moment. “Right, Earth doesn’t have magic.”

“We know how to remove scars, but yeah can’t do much with big pharma these days. Well, I can go to Finland, but that’s long-term planning.” Marcy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter anyway. Since I’m here I wanted to research the idea. Doesn’t hurt to try.”

With that, Marcy turned the book. The page she was on displayed numerous pictures and lists about growth and skin development, and sounded like something that could transition Maddie to a Level Four Witch if she and Marcy had the time to fulfill it.

“Okay, I can definitely work with this,” Maddie mumbled. “I’ve never healed scarring before, so I wouldn’t mind practicing if you’re up for that.”

“Totally!” Marcy tapped a finger at her shirt’s center. “Test away. After all, it’s the only way to check out a hypothesis.”

Maddie understood that well, but that wasn’t what she was worried about.

Few nights would pass as the two started their newest project. Advanced healing needed a lot of ethereal products; thankfully, Joe Sparrow and a few messages to-and-from Newtopia had allowed them to gather the materials from the farthest corners of the continent.

Some pinches of obsidian rock salt. Jugs of spider milk. A cache of ticks, axolotl slime, and a whole load of bio-luminescent mushrooms. Everything they gathered were at their purest form, but what surprised the two most of all was that when the book ‘needed ethereal products’ they didn’t expect it to take practically a full month to cover their bases.

Or that Marcy would grow more and more tense with the oncoming passing of days.

Marcy had been chipper about the whole concept — enthusiastic too because who wouldn’t want to be enthusiastic about cheating the natural cycle of body decay? But still, actually hearing mention of what happened months prior was still awkward to partake in.

Maddie wasn’t dense. Observation was a key skill for a witch to have. If one didn’t watch simmered milk then that milk would eventually froth and explode. If one didn’t check the accuracy in volume then consider yourself cursed for all eternity. Observing ingredients was akin to observing people, of how their facial expressions twitched and stretched even when it was hard to see inside their thick skulls.

For Marcy, they were friends. It wasn’t that hard to know when she had something on her mind. Being the enthusiastic assistant she was, any stress that piled on to the work led to the typical signs: Marcy’s voice would get strained in higher pitch, less focused with the work at hand, and trying to get a forward answer from her became straight-up impossible.

So on a day like this, where the blood moon peeked through the canopies and bathed them in light, Maddie had to ask the question:

“Are you alright?”

Marcy glanced at her. Her arms were occupied, stripping the last of the conifer leaves into the bowl below her. “I’m good. Pretty fine if I do say so myself.”

“I think you’re lying.”

Her assistant widened her eyes, but when Maddie stared more Marcy didn’t seem to be that surprised. She just laughed. “Aw c’mon, Maddie. Give me a good reason as to why I’d be lying right now.”

“Well, you’re an inch away from putting the conifers into the Bunsen burner.”

“Wait, I am?”

“And now they’re on fire.” For the fifth time.

Marcy shoved the tinder into the water pot beside her, mumbling a string of ‘Ow’s under her breath. When the smoke fizzled out, Marcy’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, you've got a point. I am pretty out of it today.”

“You want to talk about it?”

"Well," Marcy set her instruments down, and bore wearily at the table's surface. "I just really want this to work. Back on Earth there's a potential guarantee that the scar will heal, but there's still that pesky margin of error, regardless. And even if I get the treatment I need, it'll never remove it.”

"In Amphibia, I've witnessed the miracle of revival and resuscitation,” she continued, starting to gesticulate. “These are things unexplainable to my world's current rules, anything’s possible. So...I just want to make sure this potion doesn’t fail.”

Maddie furrowed her eyebrows. "Why though?"

"Huh?"

"I get it. You want to heal your scar, but what's so bad about having one?" Maddie asked. "It shows you survived, and surviving isn't a bad thing."

Marcy's expression grew illegible.

Maddie stopped. "If it's really personal, I'll just get back to making the—"

"No, no, it's okay." Marcy's lips twitched. She looked exhausted now, and Maddie wondered if she crossed some line in their friendship that should never be crossed. But before she could say anything, Marcy continued. "I'm gonna be honest for a second. Is it okay to spill something dark? Are you okay with that?"

"We're all about dark things here."

Marcy giggled. She stared more into the pot, brewing the concoction to a creamy mush. They both remained like that for a while, until the mush coagulated into clots.

"I don't want to see the mistakes I made."

Maddie glanced at her. The jade pot glow held the outline of her face, accentuating the curve of her brow, the grimace on her lips.

“I don’t want to think it’s selfish, but I have to look at that scar in the mirror everyday,” she said. “It drives me nuts sometimes, can you believe it?” She chuckled. “I wake up everyday and think ‘wow, I cannot believe this happened, and that I trusted a jerk like him’.”

Marcy sprinkled something into the gunk.

“And sometimes, even when I’m trying to be mindful of my causes, then the scar’s association switches from guilt of betraying everyone I love to the guilt of being duped so easily. I can’t win. Pretty dang weird.”

For a moment, Maddie remained silent, not knowing what to say. She had never seen Marcy so downtrodden before. During the Battle of Newtopia, she had only seen a few glimpses of her face during the rescue, and when they returned to Wartwood, any appearance of Marcy grew lesser so due to the stress of oncoming war.

But now, Marcy was showing vulnerability, and it was the first time Maddie grew stunned to no response.

Before Maddie could say anything else, Marcy laughed. She lifted her spoon from the pot contents, and showed off the goop melded to its surface, shiny in the eery light. “Look at that! You know we’re almost finished when it smells like rotten oatmeal! We just need to let it ferment for a while and then the potion should be ready.”

“Hey, Marcy.”

Her assistant paused, a quizzical look on her feature. “Yeah?”

“You know I respect you.” Maddie held her scrutiny. “And the fact you’re very much into dark stuff as much as me.”

“Of course, who doesn’t love eldritch concepts?”

“A lot of people,” Maddie said. The words were stuck in her throat. After all, what was the correct way to say condolences? Either way, she went for it. Marcy needed the support. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that if this potion is really important to you, I’m going to make sure it works. No mess-ups. No unneeded side-effects. As long as it makes daily life easier for you, then I’ll take the chances. And even if it doesn’t work, perhaps there’s another way. Whatever happens, my book’s always open.”

Maddie recognized the beaming expression on Marcy’s face. It practically lit the entire forest. “Hey, has anyone told you that you’re the best teacher an assistant can ever have?”

Nope. But it was great to be told the first time.

[starscheme]

Only You

Chapter Four: Let Me In

 It didn’t take long for Steven to fall asleep; after all, he had been so worried about Spinel that he barely slept. When he opened his eyes, he knew he was no longer in his bedroom, but he wasn’t sure where he ended up. The last time he connected with Spinel’s Gem, he was placed back in the Garden that she shared with his Mother. There was nothing here and it felt as if he was sinking slowly into the black mass he was standing on.

“Spinel?” Steven called out into the black void. When there was no answer, he forced himself to trudge through the thick, black slime. Was this sludge the stuff that was taking over Spinel’s Gem, or was he in the wrong place? Steven wandered around for a while calling out for Spinel, but without a reply, he had no idea what to do. “Come on, Spinel,” he whispered under his breath. “Give me a little help here.”

“Steven?!” Spinel gasped in surprise, kneeling on all fours, the black goo gripping like a strange web at her arms and legs, trying to pull her down. “What are you doing here?! You have to get out!”

“Spinel!” Steven exclaimed happily, moving as fast as he could to get to her.

“Stay back! It might take you t---!!” Spinel’s warning was cut off when the webbing forced her down into the slime.

“Wait—NO!” He cried out, barely reaching where she struggled before she was pulled down. He kneeled down and dug his arms into the muddy substance, hoping to somehow pull her back out. Frantically, his hands searched blindly through the muck.  He was on his hands and knees, reaching down until the slime was up to his shoulders. Just as he was about dive in completely to find her, he felt something solid. Holding tight Steven pulled as hard as he could, thankfully, forcing Spinel to surface.  “Thank the stars,” Steven gasped, quickly pulling her into an embrace to keep her from sinking once again. “Come on, we’re getting out of here.”

Spinel coughed up a bit of the Black gunk as Steven held her close. “St-Steven…I…when I get pulled down, I keep hearing a voice…”

“Whatever this is, we just need you to wake up. We can sort it out after that.” Insisted Steven as he looked around, trying to figure out how they could escape. When he connected with a Gem, the only way to leave was to solve the issue plaguing them, but he didn’t know what this was.

Back in Steven’s room, Connie was anxiously looking after Steven and Spinel, watching both of their Gems to see if there was any change. Luckily, Steven’s Gem hadn’t changed at all and it looked like Spinel’s Gem was shifting back to its pink color slowly.

“Connie? I didn’t know you were here,” greeted Pearl as she entered Steven’s room.

With a flinch, Connie quickly stood in front of her sleeping friend and smiled. “OH! Y-yeah, I wanted to check and Spinel and see how Steven was doing. While we were visiting, he uh…fell asleep.”

“I see…” Pearl replied as she walked up to the end of the bed, staring down at Spinel with a melancholy sigh. “…well thank you for coming. I’m sure they both appreciated it. You don’t have to stay while they’re sleeping; you should go home and get some rest yourself.”

Connie stiffened a bit. She couldn’t leave and let them find out what Steven did. “Uuuuh….I think I’d like to stay just a little longer if you don’t mind. I actually brought one of Spinel’s favorite books. I was hoping if I read it aloud, she might be able to hear me.” It wasn’t a lie. She had actually brought the book with her and had planned to read it aloud as she said, but that was before they thought of connecting with her.

“That sounds lovely, I’m sure that she would enjoy that. You know…I was the one who had to teach Spinel to read and write in human. Rose was the one that brought in a bunch of books she had gotten from a human that was traveling around. Spinel saw that book and was determined to read it on her own…”

Connie smiled, “So, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was the first book she ever read?”

Pearl nodded, “yes, she liked that it didn’t make any sense. For months, she was reciting the poems and singing them in a weird way. Rose really got a kick out of it. When Steven was little…she’d recite the poems for him too. That book never made any sense to me, but neither did Spinel.”

Connie pulled two books from her bag and sat herself beside Steven, This way, she could keep an eye on his Gem from the corner of her eye. “Well, if you’d like to hear the story again, you’re welcome to stay.”

“Oh…no, I’ve had enough of that story to last a few more thousand years. Well, I suppose if you’re looking after them, I will go and look over the class schedules. We’ve been so worried about Spinel that we’ve been falling behind on our work.”

Connie waved cheerfully at Pearl as she left the room, quickly looking back at Steven and Spinel once she was gone. She was relieved to see there had been no changes and that Pearl didn’t suspect anything. She didn’t want to be caught in a lie by her teacher. Connie wasn’t sure either of them could hear her right now, but she reached over, placing one hand on Steven’s shoulder and the other over Spinel’s hand. “…please hurry you two…”

As Connie began to read from her book, Steven and Spinel were still trying to think of a way out. Though Steven was not happy about trudging through the black slime, he was just glad Spinel was with him.

“What are we looking for?” asked Spinel, noting how tightly Steven was holding her hand as they waded along.

“Anything,” replied Steven. “You said you heard a voice. Maybe there is something else in here.”

“It didn’t sound friendly…” she informed him quietly. “…I think it was angry at me…”

“We just have to find it and talk with it. I’m sure whatever it is, we can help it and or convince it to help us.”

Spinel sighed, “I’m telling you, it doesn’t sound like anything good. …I…really don’t think we should try and talk with it. I think it—AGH!”

Before Spinel could finish, Spinel was suddenly dropped down into the black goop once again, forcing Steven to his knees since their hands were linked. However, he could no longer feel her hand once it was beneath the liquid. Immediately panicking, Steven didn’t hesitate this time to dive under and go after her. He couldn’t see anything when he dove in, but after a moment, a small glint of pink light began flickering in the dark. As it was all he could see, Steven swam for it at once, hoping it was Spinel trying to tell him where she was. Still, it seemed like no matter how fast he swam, he wasn’t getting any closer. Was it moving away? Whatever this was, it seemed insistent on dragging Spinel down. Why was it only taking her? The deeper he went, the more he could hear. Spinel was right; there was a voice down here. At first it sounded like whispers, but it got louder as he went on.  

“Let me in. Let me in. Let me in! LET ME IN!”

The voice sounded female and just as Spinel said, it seemed angry and desperate. Something about it gave Steven the chills, but it didn’t slow him down. “I-I don’t know what you want,” he called out, “but please, just give her back! I can help you, but give her back!”

“Help me? Help me. Let me in. Let me in. Give her back.”

Did this thing even understand what he was saying? It just seemed to be repeating his words. “Yes! I’ll help you! I promise! Just—just bring her back to me, please!” He tried again, pleading with the voice as he continued for what he hoped to be Spinel’s light.

“Back,” repeated the voice, “back. Get back. GO BACK!” As the voice went on, the light was getting closer. Was it listening to him and allowing him to reach Spinel? With the voice still repeating in the background, he was nearly there. However, the light only got brighter and blinded him, forcing Steven to shield his eyes. “Help me go back,” the voice screeched through the bright light as everything went dark for Steven once again.

With a panicked gasp, both Steven and Spinel shot up from their sleep, forcing an alarmed squeak from Connie as she nearly dropped the book in her hands. The young girl quickly collected herself, “You’re both awake,” she exclaimed happily.

Spinel sat up in Steven’s bed, quiet and confused. “Spinel!! You’re back!” Steven said cheerfully as he got to his feet and leaned over the bed to pull Spinel into an embrace.

Connie smiled meekly, “I kinda feel like I’m interrupting…” she joked.

Steven laughed and extended an arm as an invitation for Connie to join. She giggled and wrapped her arms around the two of them, Spinel stuck in the middle, still confused. Not that she didn’t appreciate a group hug when one was offered.

“What’s going on?” asked Spinel finally.

Steven and Connie glanced at one another before pulling back, both kneeling on the bed now. “You…don’t remember anything that happened?” Steven asked, looking at her Gem to make sure the color hadn’t changed. It appeared to be back to normal. “Not even that voice you heard?”

“Voice?” Spinel repeated, clearly unsure what he was talking about.

Now that Steven thought about it, that voice never really said what it wanted and they never found out what it was or why it was inside Spinel. They just came back out of nowhere. Was it gone now? He couldn’t see any trace of black color on Spinel’s Gem, but it was strange to think the mysterious being would just leave. It sounded like it wanted something and it didn’t sound happy at all. He had wanted to help it if he could. Still, at least Spinel was okay now. Even if she didn’t remember what happened, it didn’t matter as long as everything was back to normal.

A/N: Okay, I hope everyone is enjoying this so far, but as I said before this Fanfic is going to be far Darker than my last one. So...from here on out, I hope no one gets mad at me cause it's going to be rather graphic with Sex and Violence. Not Gore though. No worries. However, in between, cute things will also happen. Just...don't hate me.

Just a Warning for you all. If you want to stop reading, now is your chance before you read something you can't UNREAD.

[shannie-writes]

In Good Hands (Seth/MC)

Long time no fic!

I wrote a Halloween-themed fic for the season. I hope you all enjoy!

59. “Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?”

------

“Seth,” you called out as you burst through the front door, doing your best to balance a large pumpkin and a few shopping bags in one arm. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back, sweetie,” Seth responded, his voice floating over from the bedroom. “Did you bring dinner?”

“Yeah,” you grunted as you heaved the pumpkin onto the counter, releasing a long sigh as you rolled your shoulders to work out the strain. You set the bags down and pulled out the supplies you had purchased for food as well as a small pumpkin carving kit. “I bought a surprise, too.”

You couldn’t resist a smile as you heard Seth’s immediate response from the other room, a sudden shuffling and a seemingly painful bump, followed by a short curse as he nearly jumped out of the bedroom to see what it was. When he saw the pumpkin, his expression went as bright as the sun, a blinding, child-like smile overtaking his face.

“A pumpkin?”

“Yeah, I thought it would be fun for us to make one together. We didn’t have a chance to decorate last year. Also it was super cheap.”

“Let’s do it!” he sang. “I am ready to carve this beast into the most beautiful pumpkin anybody has ever seen!”

You giggled and held out a hand, bringing Seth closer when he took it, giving him a light kiss. “How about you lay out the newspaper and think about the design? I’ll work on getting food going while you’re at it.”

Seth brought his other hand around to the small of your back, moving closer and slowly sliding his fingers up your spine. His eyes were hooded and his smile was barely there, teasing. His tongue lightly licked along his lower lip, as though tasting where you had kissed him. “Have I ever told you that you’re perfect?”

“All the time,” you murmured, falling prey to the look in his eyes, giving him another kiss, this one slightly longer than the last. “And if you tell me again, we’re never going to get dinner going.”

He tutted, expression playful again as he nuzzled his nose with yours, breaking away from your embrace. “If you insist.”

With a smile on your face, you began to work at the stove, browning hamburger as Seth shook out large sheets of newspaper, covering the entirety of the counter. You sang along with him as he pulled out his phone and began to play seasonal music, laughing when he did a fairly impressive version to a popular dance in the middle of the kitchen, his movements fluid but his expression exaggeratingly goofy.

Draining the oil from the cooked hamburger into a disposable cup, you poured in a large container of tomato juice, sprinkling a box of macaroni noodles in the pot as well before covering it all with a lid. “While this cooks, let’s carve off the top and get it cleaned out.”

“Sounds like a wonderful plan,” Seth said, peeling the cardboard backing from the carving kit.

You stepped next to him at the counter, pulling one of the small serrated knives out of the package before Seth could get to one first. You got to your tiptoes and grabbed the dried stem of the pumpkin, eyeing it before slowly pushing the knife through the stiff orange skin. You struggled at first, but as you began to saw through of the pumpkin, you gained traction and were able to speed up.

“Don’t you want me to help you with that?” Seth asked, giving you a pout that you ignored. “I’m a strong guy.”

“No, I’ve got this part. If you want to hold the pumpkin in place, that would be very helpful.”

“Anything for you, sweetie.”

You disguised a relieved sigh as a moment of catching your breath, pausing in your efforts before going again, creating the star edges around the top of the pumpkin. You knew how clumsy Seth seemed to be in the kitchen. You loved him, but didn’t trust him with the small knife.

Finished, you yanked on the stem until the makeshift lid came off with a ripping sound, the innards clinging to the bottom. You adjusted your grip and used the knife to slice them off from the underside of the lid, setting aside the cleaned top and the knife. “Alright, let’s gut this sucker.”

Seth instantly had his arm inside the pumpkin, pulling out seeds and slimy lining with gusto. With a somewhat sickening slap against the newspaper, he dropped his handful and went in for another. Bracing yourself, you reached in after he pulled his arm out, the two of you taking turns to get it emptied as quickly as possible. When the last of the insides were pulled and scraped out and spread across the newspaper, you tried slipping off the extra goop from your skin, making a face when it stuck.

“Hey, sweetie, look here,” Seth said, and you turned your head, only to have Seth wipe his fingers across your cheek.

“Oh, gross!”

The slime was already starting to dry on your face and you reached out to try to get him back, but he darted away, running and shutting the door to the bathroom before you could get him. You ran after him and were debating on how to open the door with your messy hands when you heard the lock click and you shook your head with a laugh.

“I’ll get you later for that!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

He began to hum, the sound drowning out under the splashing of the sink running.

You wiped your cheek on the shoulder of your sleeve, making a poor attempt to get the gunk off your face. With a sigh and a grin, you went back to the kitchen, cleaning your own hands and face in the sink there. Checking on the goulash in the pot, you stirred the macaroni, eyeing them to see if they were done.

There was another click as Seth left the bathroom and you turned to see him approach the pumpkin, a serious look on his face as he began to spin it around, debating which side to carve into it.

“What face are you thinking of doing?” you asked.

“I was thinking of doing a chameleon. We have that candle that changes colors we could put inside.”

“Oh,” you said, setting the lid back on the pot and placing the ladle on a small saucer. “That would be really fun!”

Finally deciding on a side, Seth blocked your view, standing between you and the pumpkin. “No looking.”

“Seth,” you sighed. “Please don’t carve the pumpkin by yourself.”

“I won’t,” he grumbled. He pulled out the small drawing tool from the kit, scraping at the skin of the pumpkin.

You appeased his request, keeping your eyes on the food until it was ready, allowing him the time he needed. Once it was finished, you turned off the stovetop, shuffling around the kitchen to get bowls and forks, Seth shifting his back so your sight was blocked the entire time.

You were about to tell him that the food was ready when you heard him hiss, seeing him jump in your peripheral. You jolted as well, hurrying the few steps over to see that he had been doing exactly what you had asked him not to.

“Did you seriously injure yourself carving a pumpkin?” It wasn’t really a question. Your words were filled with disappointment and the look that Seth gave you as he sucked on his finger was apologetic. You sighed and went over to the stove, this time to pull an overly stocked first aid kit from the cupboards above it. “I told you not to.”

“I was just excited and you were working on dinner,” Seth said, muffled around his finger.

You set the kit down by the sink, reaching over to tug at Seth’s sleeve until he stepped closer. You pulled his hand down to the sink, starting the water to clean it out. It was barely more than a papercut, not even bleeding anymore, but you still dutifully dried it off and bandaged it. Bringing his finger up to your lips, you met his gaze, giving the bandage a soft kiss. His eyes lowered to your lips before coming back up, a hint of a smile touching his lips.

“It feels better already.”

“Mmm, I’m glad,” you said, releasing his hand and putting the first aid kit away. Turning back with a bowl in hand, you held it out to him. “It’s time for dinner. Let’s eat and I’ll help you carve the pumpkin when we’re done.”

He took his bowl and leaned over, brushing a kiss to your cheek. “Thank you for taking care of me, my love.”

You smiled, picking up your own bowl. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

“So long as I have you,” Seth said. “I know I’ll be in good hands.”