#it’s not only annoying and tiring and probably makes me look cracked out also

[charles-snippy]

Took my meds for the first time in a minute and some of my simpsons got worse😔 cannot stop twitchingand scrunching my facial muscles it’s like a weird mesh of stimming and rituals??? Like my jaw is sore asf and my face feels weird and kinda stretched out but I can’t stop doing it😭😭😭 like is it a thing for some forms of stimming to annoy tf out of you instead of being like. A release of energy

[misspygmypie]

Saturday Morning Dilemma - LN4

Pairing: Lando Norris x Piastri!reader Warning: None, just fluff! Probably trash writing lol also English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes! Summary: Lando asks you out but can you squeeze in a date during busy race weekend? Note: First time writing for F1 and I haven't written anything in literal years but I was bored at work and had this idea in mind :)

Please do not repost, thank you, and leave some feedback :)

“Will you go out with me?... On a date” Lando breathed out, his nerves tingling with anticipation. 

You looked absolutely stunning today even though you were “only” wearing a McLaren hoodie. To Lando, you weren’t just another face around the circuit, you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He couldn’t resist asking you out, especially after all the time you had spent together around the paddock.

As Oscar’s little sister you were a familiar presence, always there to support your brother. And over time you and Lando had established quite a friendship as well, becoming closer and closer the more time passed and he had fallen in love with you somewhere between annoying your brother by listening to loud music and giggling at a joke he cracked.

Now here you were standing in front of him on this early Saturday morning, you were clearly still a bit sleepy but excited nonetheless for the race weekend ahead and your slightly tired expression made you that much more endearing to Lando.

“Lando” your eyes widened, your heartbeat quickening, “yes, I would absolutely love to go on a date with you.”

A huge smile lit up both your faces but yours quickly faded as reality set in.

“What is it?” Lando asked, sensing your hesitation.

“I’m not sure when we would have time to go on a date,” you sighed regretfully, “I have to fly back home tomorrow right after the race. I have to be back at work on Monday, I’m sorry.”

He could see the sincerity in your eyes. You meant it and that just fueled his determination to find a solution for your little problem.

Lando took a deep breath. He fumbled trying to get his phone out of his pocket and you watched him tap around the screen for a moment before he looked back up at you with a hopeful expression.

“Are you free in like… an hour and a half?” he inquired, and even if you wanted to there was no way you would say no.

You nodded, unable to suppress a smile, the one he cherished so much and he grinned widely in return.

“Awesome,” he beamed, his excitement palpable, “meet me in my driver’s room!”

You didn’t even have a chance to agree before Lando dashed off, quickly swerving through the countless people crowding the area.

—-------

“Osc, you need to help me!”

Lando burst out, out of breath a bit as he came to a stop in front of his team mate interrupting his  discussion with one of the engineers but Lando’s problem was bigger than whatever this was about.

Without waiting for Oscar’s response Lando pulled him aside, dragging him to the corner of the room, with the Aussie offering an apologetic wave to his engineer as he was whisked away.

“What’s up? Are you ok?” Oscar asked, concern creasing his brow.

“I asked y/n on a date” the Brit admitted, his voice a mix of excitement and nervousness.

“Oh my god, finally” Oscar exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, “I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. You two have been making heart eyes at each other for months!”

Lando couldn’t help but feel relieved; he had been so worried about how Oscar - and admittedly one of his closest friends - would react to him pursuing and being interested in his baby sister. The fact that Oscar seemed to be so supportive calmed him down quite a bit, however, only momentarily as the predicament he was currently in still loomed over him.

“So, what do you need?” the Australian inquired, his tone expectant as he looked at his team mate with a mix of curiosity and readiness for whatever help his friend needed.

—-------

An hour and a half later you gently knocked on Lando’s driver’s room door, just as you two had agreed upon. You had spent the last hour just wandering around the circuit, a bundle of nerves and being excited at the same time about whatever Lando was planning. You had harbored a crush on the British racer for quite some time but doubted yourself. You didn’t think you were pretty enough to get his attention or even special enough - you were just average. An average girl with an ordinary job, mediocre looks and admittedly mundane hobbies.

Little did you realize that these qualities were exactly what made you so intriguing to Lando. He had met quite a few models and influencers, but their interactions were always shallow with beauty overshadowing their personalities. These girls were fixated on his fame and fortune. You, however, were different. A genuine soul amid a sea of fame-seeking twenty-somethings. You were simply you and he loved that about you. Your love for reading on gloomy days, your camera-shy demeanor, your pretty face and perfect body even though you weren’t as tall as supermodels.

“Hi” Lando beamed at you with his captivating, big smile and gesturing for you to enter. As he closed the door behind you your gaze fell on the small desk in his room and you couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“What is this?” You giggled, turning to Lando who now stood next to you; so close in fact, that your heart skipped a beat.

A second chair was pulled up to his desk, the space clearly not meant for two. On top was a small plastic cup with flowers and bits of greenery poking out. Next to it, his phone was propped up, showing a random Youtube loop of a burning candle.

“Oh, yes,” he exclaimed, quickly grabbing the solo cup and handing it to you with a smile, “these are for you.”

You chuckled again, inspecting your makeshift bouquet. “Did you randomly pick them around the paddock?” 

“I might have borrowed them from different motorhomes,” Lando confessed with a wink, “but don’t tell anyone. Come sit!”

"And what's with the phone?"

"Well, we can't have real candles," he explained, "I don't want to be the reason the fire department has to be called again..."

"That makes sense, " you nodded while taking a seat.

You had barely settled in when you heard a knock on the door. Your heart sank. You knew it was someone from his team trying to get him to prepare himself for the upcoming race or grab him to do an interview. All you wanted was to spend time with Lando, especially since you knew you couldn’t go on your date and it broke your heart. This was possibly your only chance before you had to go back home and while you were there Lando probably got interested in some other - way better looking - girl that he didn’t have to wait for. You mentally prepared yourself to smile at (and secretly absolutely hating!) whoever came in and took the boy away from you. How wrong you were!

In came Oscar, skillfully balancing two plastic plates in his hand, a cheap dish towel draped over and dangling from his arm. 

“Rigatoni Canzoneri for the lady” he announced with a grin, placing the dish in front of you before turning to Lando. “And here is your order of chicken pasta and steamed vegetables. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Lando shook his head appreciatively. “That would be all for now, thanks Osc.”

A soft giggle escaped your lips as you watched your brother bow slightly and shuffle out of the room giving you a small thumbs up and a little wink Lando didn’t see.

“What’s all this about?” you turned your attention back to the boy next to you, curiosity dancing in your eyes.

“Well,” he smirked ever so slightly, a hint of mischief in his expression, “since we don’t have time for a proper date this will have to do. I’m sorry if this is kinda lame” you saw his insecurity taking over, “I know it’s not much, with the plastic plates and food from catering and fake candle light and no real bouquet and maybe I should have waited for a better moment to ask you out…”

“Lando stop,” you interrupted him gently, placing a reassuring hand on his arm.

He looked at you and all you saw in his eyes was evidence of insecurity even though he tried to hide it. You saw the shy boy from Bristol, not the renowned Formula 1 driver. The curly-haired young man who often doubted himself despite his successes.

“This is absolutely perfect,” you assured him and you sensed his tension ease as he exhaled softly and quietly.

Nodding gratefully Lando relaxed and soon the two of you found yourselves engrossed in conversation, much like you always were, while enjoying the food and cans of soda he pulled from a small mini fridge. Your warm smile and the affection shining in your eyes were telling him what he needed to hear and see - that your feelings for him matched his own for you.

[azullumi]

drunk habits — various characters ☆彡

summary — him and his small drunk habits.

characters — kaveh, venti, tighnari, cyno, wanderer, alhaitham, ayato, kazuha, diluc (w/ gender-neutral reader)

tags — kind of fluff, a little bit of crack also, drunk drunk drunk, not proof-read; headcanons

words — 1289

note — was supposed to publish this yesterday but got busy so it's just now, i'll be working on the requests later!

KAVEH — He reminds you of those people who'll randomly say how your life will turn to doom as you walk down the streets before then disappearing from your sight. He spills unbelievable secrets and shocking gossip, one that you don't even know exists and feels like it's exaggerated, to you when he gets drunk after some glasses of strong alcohol. He'll give out so much juicy details and tea that will keep you on edge on your seat and asking for more but once you throw him a question, he doesn't respond and you'll only be greeted with silence—it is when you'll realize that he has fallen asleep. If he's not asleep, either in some random place or just on his chair, you'll find him creating architectural designs that he wouldn't remember the next morning he'll wake up.

VENTI — Years or maybe millennia of being used to the taste of alcohol in his tongue and the burning feeling of the liquid on his throat had made his tolerance of it grow and become stronger. However, it doesn't mean that he doesn't get drunk in his every drinking session in the tavern or anywhere. He makes it a goal to reach that level of intoxicatedness every time, those moments and ways of him dancing around as he sings a gleeful and joyful song with you, spinning you around and swaying your body to the rhythm along with his. It's either that or he's making stupid pickup lines to you: "Are you a fart? Because you just blew me away," or "Are you not tired? Because you've been running around my mind all day," which will make you sigh as you urge him to shut up but he continues.

TIGHNARI — You’re at a party, hell yeah, but you’re inside the bathroom stalls, vomiting while your hair is being held back by a certain man who goes by the name Tighnari who also happens to be your boyfriend. He's the type of person to only drink a few glass and would prefer looking after everyone, especially you, so he doesn't drink much. However, when things go south and everything turns away from the path it was supposed to go down to, when he gets drunk, let's just say that he has a lot to stay and becomes a little bit grumpy—asking to be doted on and showered with affection by you. While his personality still remains, some bits of him just turns into a 360 like how he blabbers and talks about a certain topic he seems to be obsessed with.

CYNO — He would deny a few offers to drink a glass but then would give in just so to stop the pestering. He doesn't like to drink nor even attend such parties that mainly revolve around alcohol because getting drunk would put him in a vulnerable state but what's wrong with trying it once in a while? You could hardly tell if he is drunk at first but once you recognize the light and warm shade on his cheeks, the realization will strike you like lightning. He tries to act sober, walking in a straight line and not slurring out his words but he fails, maybe not miserably but he fails because he stumbles on his pacing and says words that make his sentences confusing and hard to understand. Speak about the events on the next day, however, and he will shoot you a glare.

WANDERER — A few glasses and maybe more and you find him much grumpier than ever—he's annoyed with all of the noises, sounds, and probably also lights happening all around him, demanding his attention and overwhelming him so he steps out of the place to get some fresh air. However, he's still irritable and would be more demanding to you, specifically your attention. Let's just say that this man when drunk will become the neediest person on earth ever. Putting him in bed, tucking him to sleep, becomes an easier task for you though not until he's grabbing on to your hand so tightly even as he slowly drifts to unconsciousness which leads to you staying by his side until his grip loosens up—it will only happen after an hour or so—and you can finally leave or perhaps, you could sleep beside him if you won't be able to shake off his grasp.

ALHAITHAM — He could handle his alcohol really well, in fact, if you'll challenge him to a drinking session to see who's the first to get drunk, he'll win no matter what—even if his head is already spinning and he's seeing two or three of the same thing at once. He becomes a rambling and chatty person, however, and often mixes words from another language to the conversation which creates confusion. When you'll ask him what the word means, he'll respond in another language which causes you to just give up and pretend that you understand what he is saying. If you were to compare him to his sober self to his drunk one, you could say that they are essentially the same but also fundamentally different as he still retains majority of his personality and adding only a little bit to it.

AYATO — Just like the people who prefer looking after everyone else and watching out for them so that they don't end up doing anything dangerous. He's extremely aware of what is happening to him and his surroundings, being on guard and attentive as always. He still pretty much maintains the responsible demeanor of him, drinking only in moderation, however, things can happen and it will be late until he realizes he's drunk and the alcohol is getting to his head already. That is when he gets—how do you say this?—a little bit reckless and careless, he takes off his clothing one by one and reasons that he's getting hot and he doesn't want to feel sweaty. He becomes flirty or maybe he's just forgetful because he confesses his love for you out of nowhere and asks you to be his.

KAZUHA — An idiotic fool who is stupidly affectionate when he gets drunk. He's not a lightweight nor a heavyweight but in every drinking occasion, he is always drunk. There is literally little to nothing changes in his behavior, he's still the same composed and sweet man that you know, just a little bit outgoing and friendly to everyone. In addition, he also becomes extra nice and a little bit energetic, becoming cheerful and everything but he will eventually become quiet and silent and soon you'll find him asleep on the chair he is sitting right after, this happens as soon as his energy is depleted. The next morning when he wakes up, he'll be greeted by the bright afternoon sun shining on his face and a major headache as he suffers from a hangover and he'll say to himself not to drink again.

DILUC — He doesn't admit it nor does he deny that he is drunk. When his drink has taken over his rationality, he becomes—admittedly— adorable and the clingier side of him comes out as he tries to be close to you as much as possible, not wanting you to leave his side even if you're just going to get some water for him so that he could sober up for a bit. He'll have you sitting on his lap or beside him as he wraps his arms around your figure, his head resting against your shoulders as he breathes in your scent. If you stand up and walk around, he'll follow you, his height and body towering over you as he stays so close to your back and if you'll ask him what he is doing, he would only respond with nothing.

© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.

[chlorinecake]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 Restless Nights w Enhypen ! ⩇⩇:⩇⩇

༯ pairing: bf!enha x snoring s/o ☁️

༯ warnings: cavity inducing fluff, language, a lil crack

༯ wc: less than 200 words for each member

니키 | Niki - Once you and Niki started sleeping in the same bed together, it was game over for you about three nights in when he ~discovered~ your snoring habit. The menace in him couldn’t help but record your noisy fits, just in case he ever ran out of things to tease you for 🤭 He even nicknamed you “piglet” the next day 😭 You’d feel a lil insecure about it (at first) until asking him what he meant by it, and he’d simply show you the video, holding back his laugh… He’d use his height advantage against you as you desperately tried reaching for his phone to delete the video 🤧🤧 “NIKI IF YOU DON’T DELETE THAT SHIT, I’M NEVER SLEEPING WITH YOU AGAIN!!” He’d drop his arm immediately, handing you the phone. “I’m sorry,” he’d whisper, pulling you in for a hug.

정원 | Jungwon - Usually, Jungwon is a VERY LATE sleeper, so there are nights when he doesn’t mind your snoring as much. However, if he’s really tired and in need of some quality rest 😪, your snoring can be somewhat of a hinderance to him. So, he researched methods that might aid your noisy habit. Meditating or simply listening to calming music with you before bed soon developed into more than just an anti-snore scheme, but a part of your nightly routines 🥰🥰

“I’m so tired, Wonie, can we please just go to bed?”

“Right after we meditate first.”

“But why,” you pouted.

“It’ll help you sleep better, ____. Just give me 10 minutes, and afterwards, we can cuddle.” After that offer, you’d happily oblige, and sometimes, end up meditating in each others presence for even longer than planned.

선우 | Sunoo - Some nights, Sunoo finds your snoring cute, while other nights he finds it ANNOYING AS HELL 😩, so it really depends on his mood. One night, he was so fed up with it that he plugged your nose while you were sleeping, just to laugh his ass off when you wake up wheezing 💀 until you look at him like “😤” and he makes up every excuse 🪦

“Go back to sleep, honey, you probably just had a bad dream.”

“Sunoo.”

“Fine, the truth is, your snoring was annoying the hell out of me, so I tried to cheer myself up by letting the intrusive thoughts win. My apologies.”

“Sunoo.”

“Look, I promise I’ll never do it again, baby 🥺.”

“SUNOO!”

“What?” Those were his final words before you’d initiate a revenge tickle fight, tiring him out before you both fell back to sleep, snoring together this time 😴

성훈 | Sunghoon - Honestly, Sunghoon isn’t bothered by your snoring habit at all. He GETS his beauty sleep 💅✨💋, regardless of the earthquake occurring on your side of the bed 🥴 The only time he’ll tease you about it is if you snore ~excessively~ right after intimacy 🙈 He’d wake up the next morning and trace lazy shapes on the small of your back, admiring your EVERYTHING in the moment of silence before saying some cheeky shit like:

“Was it that good, baby?”

You’d wake up at the sound of his voice, groggy and confused.

“What’re you talking about, Sunghoon?”

“Last night, silly. You were snoring like a beast, so it must’ve been fabulous.” You could feel heat rush to your face, both out of embarrassment and affection ☺️☺️

제이크 | Jake - As you came to learn while dating him, Jake is a softie at heart 🥹🫀🍬 He finds your snoring habit SOOO endearing. Sometimes, he likes to think of the different animals your snores remind him of 😑, but his all time favorite snores are the kitten purrs you make while nuzzled against his chest, making his heart thud like a whole ass drum!!! He can’t wait to update you the next morning, telling you how cute you sounded/looked in your sleep 😌 He also DEFINITELY took a picture or two 👀

“Baby, guess what! It’s really important,” he’d say in his adorable Aussie accent, shaking you from your slumber…. at 5am 🫠

“Yeah, what is it Jakey?”

“You looked really pretty while you slept, and your snores sounded saur freaking cute, and I love you, and I also can’t wait to sleep next to you again TONIGHT, and-”

“HOW IS THAT IMPORTANT, JAKE?”

제이 | Jay - Jay absolutely can’t STAND your snoring! He’s pretty big on physical touch in a relationship, viewing cuddle sessions as a form of ~life support~ in most cases. Though, he simply has a very low tolerance for the noise you make, especially when he’s tired 🥱 The poor guy ends up sleeping on the couch during most of your snoring fits so he doesn’t wake up cranky or disturb you with his tossing and turning 😭😭 It’s honestly for the best 💝

“Jayyyy,” you call from your shared bedroom.

By now, he knew exactly what you wanted whenever you called his name like that.

He picked up his pillow and blanket from the couch, meeting you on the mattress.

“Cuddles?” You’d ask, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

“Always 😏”

희승 | Heeseung - Knowing Heeseung, he’d probably be snoring right on with ya. He’s a ~vocal~ man in his waking life and it’s not very different when he’s asleep either. His snores aren’t as loud as yours, but he sleeps like a baby through your noise anyways 😌 Heeseung believes snoring is an indicator that one is catching up on some well-needed and deserved rest, so he’ll likely NEVER complain about it 🫶🤗

Hugging you from behind, he’d pull you closer the second you tried to escape his hold.

“Heeseung, I need to pee,” you’d whine, squirming in his arms.

“What if I miss you while you’re gone?” He’d ask you, pouting.

“I’ll come back as soon as I finish, okay?”

“Ugh, okay,” he’d answer, only for you to come back two minutes later and find him smiling into your pillow, drifting back to sleep.

  zᶻ

૮˶- ﻌ -˶ა⌒) thanks for stopping by! make sure to check out my bookshelf for more fun reads! 🎂

[sethsclearwater]

Heyyy, can you possibly do a Paul or embry imagine for when y/n gets jelly about the attention they’re giving to someone else.

"and you know how he gets, he's always trying to figure out some stupid new patrol schedule," emily grumbled as she took a sip from the drink she had just grabbed, stretching her legs out across the beach blanket the two of you were currently sat on next to the bonfire.

you and embry had just arrived at one of the pack's near weekly beach bonfires and you were quick to go sit down with emily while jared dragged embry off to go meet some new person he had invited to the bonfire.

you hummed and nodded, "that new patrol stuff is really starting to get out of control," you added with a sigh, "they all look so tired all the time," you said softly, looking over at emily to see her also letting out a heavy sigh as she nodded.

before you could add anything else, you heard an unfamiliar girl's giggles and turned only to see embry and a girl who you'd seen once or twice across town. she was giggling and resting her hand on his chest, clearly oblivious to the fact that he had a girlfriend that happened to be you - sitting about 10 feet away from them.

embry didn't seem to be catching onto how touchy she was getting with him and just smiled at her. you wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, knowing she probably had no clue you and embry were dating but you couldn't help the jealousy that immediately crept through your veins.

emily's soft laughter brought you out of your own world and you looked back over to her only to see her smiling at you, "you gotta go get your man," she teased as she got up to go grab sam and you rolled your eyes, cracking a smile as you realized just how ridiculous the whole situation was.

as you looked back over at embry, you saw him quickly coming over to you, apparently having finally picked up on the fact that he was in a situation he definitely shouldn't have been in.

"'m sorry-" he started before you could even get a word out, coming to sit down next to you and take your free hand into his.

you couldn't help the smile that immediately crossed your face, quickly revealing that you weren't nearly as annoyed with him as he initially thought you'd be, "you're really slow sometimes, you know that?" you asked teasingly, sitting up so you could get into his lap and straddle him while you talked to him.

you knew it was a bit much but you really wanted to make sure everyone at that stupid bonfire knew he was yours.

"i know," he mumbled sheepishly, eliciting a series of giggles from you as you rolled your eyes and slid your hands up his chest, gently cupping his face in your hands.

you smiled at him one more time before you leaned down to press your lips to his and embry quickly wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you closer to him as you made sure all of la push was going to know that man wasn't available to anyone but you.

embry didn't seem to mind, gently tugging your lower lip between his teeth in what you believed to be a teasing matter that had you huffing against his lips, rolling your hips down against his.

embry let out a low groan against your lips, quickly parting his lips from yours when he realized he was most definitely going to end up cumming in his pants if he didn't slow down with you.

"don't do that again," you murmured as he rested his forehead against yours, both of you working to catch your breath. embry nodded, untangling his hands from behind you so he could rest them on your hips and gently squeeze them.

"promise i'll try not to be so oblivious," he whispered back, both of you letting out breathy laughs at his response.

you rolled your eyes, moving to get off his lap but embry held you in place and you shot him a confused look, "give me a minute," he mumbled sheepishly and you let out a rather loud laugh when you felt what he was talking about as an all too familiar bulge pressed up against your core.

"you really need to get it together call," you teased and he laughed softly, sliding his hands up your sides to pull you into his chest for a tight hug as he worked on getting his hormones back under control.

[yurunivo]

Sypnosis: accompanying your boyfriend to the gym!

TW:fluff, crack(?), not proofread, suggestive, no use of y/n, OOC, modern au, english is not my first language

Characters: Childe x Fem!reader

Ed sheeran

(NAME)

ANSWER PLS

IM CUMMING TO YOUR HOUSE

haha get it

ANYWAY BE READY 😈

delivered 10 mins ago

You were sprawled out in bed, your limbs practically dislocated from your body because of how spread out they were. You heard the notification from your phone, however you were too tired to answer it. Besides, your alarm didn't ring so you had the great idea of spending the day in bed all day. So, you did the thing any normal person would do, falling asleep again. It was just going to be a small nap anyway.

Meanwhile, a very familiar Ed Sheeran wannabe was at your door. He fumbled with the extra keys for your apartment that you gave him (which he totally didn't beg for). He finally opened the door, walking into the house. He immediately ran to the bedroom to see you, only to see you sound asleep. Feeling slightly bad, he slowly closed the door to your bedroom and went to your kitchen. As the good boyfriend he is, he decides to make breakfast for you! How sweet! (You would've slapped him hard if you woke up now).

He looked through your cabinets, mumbling to himself as there was nothing that was healthy, but worked with what he had anyway.

After finishing making breakfast, he wiped a non existent sweat off his brow, grinning to himself. He put all the food in a tray and began walking to your room. Placing the tray on your bedside table, he thought of a way to wake you up. He didn't feel like using that many methods, until thinking of a devious idea. He would probably come out looking like purple guy from fnaf from the amount of bruises he'll get from you, but it was the quickest way he could think of on the top of his head.

Searching the Samsung homecoming alarm sound on YouTube, he blasted it on full volume as he watched you wake up with a cold sweat, your eyes filling with dread.

"What the actual fu- CHILDE?!" You yelled, instinctively kicking him in the arm. He held onto it in pain, wincing at the amount of force you put in to kick him.

"For someone who doesn't like to work out, your hits hurt like hell," he sweat dropped, looking at you in some kind of awe, yet also in fear.

"You scared me!" "I did not!" "Yes you did!" You both accused each other.

"I sent you a message like twenty minutes ago that I was gonna come, didn't you see it?!" He argued back as you took your phone and frantically went through your messages as your mouth formed an 'o'.

"Well, I was sleeping!" You retorted back.

"WHO THE ACTUAL FUCK SLEEPS TILL 10 AM?!"

"I DO DUMBASS!" You held onto your throat as you started coughing from yelling too loud. You cut the conversation short and went to the bathroom, coughing your life out on the sink. Once it downed down, you brushed your teeth and went back into your bedroom, your voice too hoarse to continue arguing, luckily he understood.

You found the tray of breakfast that he made for you and placed it on your lap, slightly grateful for his actions. You held your spoon and ate agonizingly slowly just to annoy him, but he took your spoon away, and started feeding you himself. You couldn't really bring yourself to argue so you just accepted the not asked for princess treatment.

"So," you said while eating, "why did you come all the way here?"

"Can't a boyfriend visit his wonderful girlfriend without any reason?" He exaggerated. You didn't look amused in the slightest. He cleared his throat as he prepared to say his words.

"Wanna go to the gy-" "No." You finished his sentence.

"Why not??"

"Because I don't want to," you replied back.

He thought for a moment as an imaginary light bulb lit up in his head.

"I'll buy you (favorite food) today!"

As much as you don't want to go to the gym, you couldn't really turn down the offer, so you nodded. His face lit up to a smile as you got up from your bed and looked for an outfit to change in. He went out of the room to let you change, even if he has seen you naked many times before. He picked up his duffel bag that he left by the front door and walked to your bedroom door and placed it there. He waited for a few minutes before you walked out of your room. You placed a few things of yours in his bag like extra clothes, deodorant, a yoga mat and a towel.

You went passed him and got to fill your water bottle with ice and water before putting it in your bag. Taking your phone, you were ready to go.

Finally reaching your destination, you both walked out of the parking area and into the gymnasium. You went to your won separate activities as he did and laid out your yoga mat. You got on Pinterest and went to your boards to look at the few stretches and exercises you saved. You put on your headphones and go on your Spotify playlist.

It was a weird playlist, essentially since it was a shared one. On one hand, you have Childe's, which were just phonk songs, some that you knew and others that you never heard of. While on the other hand, was (favorite musice genre), which was yours. You could choose another playlist, but you didn't want to go through the extra hassle.

You started to do your stretches, paying attention to every step of everything. Luckily, most of them were simple enough for you to finish. Childe's phonk songs kind of ruined the vibe, but your songs made up for it. Most of the exercises were small, so you could finish your whole board in around an hour and thirty minutes. You took a glance at Childe, only to deadpan as you saw that he completed majority of the machines. You figured that you could do some light running on the treadmill and weight lifting, since you were done with the exercises from Pinterest.

As you went on the treadmill, you heard Childe whistle from behind you.

"Nice ass darling," he said light heartedly. You couldn't really help but laugh a little before saying thanks.

You continued working out, only lifting a few small weights. Drinking a bit of water, you decided that you were done for the day. You looked at Childe to see him doing some stretches and walked up to him.

"What are you doing?" You asked. You thought he was done with everything.

"After workout exercises," he said with a stupid grin on his face. You wanted him to wipe it right off his stupid face, but you suppose you could wait until you were both in bed.

He got off from doing sit ups and got in a position to do push ups as he smiled at you, obviously going to ask for a favour. You rolled your eyes at how obvious he was, but gave in anyway.

"What do you need help with?" You asked, taking your phone in hand.

"Count my push ups for me, pretty please darling?"

You hummed. Taking your phone and water bottle in hand, you went over to his back and sat on it. You slightly grinded on his muscular back, giggling to yourself as he looked at you.

You suddenly got an idea in mind. You went to your camera app and started to record.

"Can I ask a favour?" You looked at him as he nodded, counting the pushups in your head for now.

"Can you say my name between every pushup you do? I want to make a video." He raised his eyebrow at your words but still did it for you. You counted the push ups still, smirking to yourself as you created the perfect video for yourself.

After you counted till fifty, he stopped doing his pushups. He took the towel that you gave him and wiped the sweat off of his body.

"What was the video for princess?" He asked as you looked at him like you were waiting for him to.

"Free whimpering audio," you said simply. His eyes slightly widened at how blunt you were, but he quickly returned to his original self.

"You could've just asked darling! We can make one in-" you cut him off by putting your water bottle in his mouth. He drank a little from it before taking it away from his mouth and bringing you in for a hug. He kissed your cheek but you swatted him away because he was sweaty (even though you were too). Some people cringed in disgust at the two of you while others cooed at your 'young love'.

Idk how to do dialogue

[garmanarnarr]

Rickorty Week Day 4: Mythological Creatures

vampire morty | 2k words | Rated M for blood drinking and sexual content

@rickortyweek

Morty’s getting pretty good at asking for it. 

“H-hey, Rick?” 

Rick doesn’t look over from the TV, which is currently playing a rerun of a JoJo Siwa political documentary in a universe where she’s the president of the United States. It’s a miniseries, a retrospective, and they’ve been powering through episodes all night. Everyone went to bed long ago; Mom, Dad, and Summer had started to give Morty a wide berth after ten PM. But he doesn’t mind not sleeping, now, because Rick doesn’t sleep either. Only in fits and starts. Sometimes over his work bench, face mashed into mechanical junk, or passed out on the couch. He snores, but only when he’s really drunk– not that Morty’s watching. 

“Um,” Morty says, picking at a thread on the couch cushion. 

“What?” Rick sounds too distant to be annoyed, just flat and tired.

“M’ getting kinda, you know.” 

“What?”

“Hungry?” Morty’s voice cracks on the last part. 

Jojo screams something excitedly on the TV, pointing at a diplomat from another country and waving. Her facial rhinestones match her power suit. 

Rick’s still watching, glazed eyes flashing in the TV’s glow. “Her foreign policy sucked,” he mutters.

“I’m hungry, Rick.” 

“Want me to order some fucking sugar chicken, then?” Rick asks, finally swiveling to actually look at Morty. “Huh, Morty? Want some Panda Express?”

Morty’s throat feels so dry it crackles. He thinks of the pool of sunlight that’ll be creeping towards them through the glass patio doors when the sun rises in a few hours, ready to burn him. His vision blurs a little and he gives a painful swallow. 

“Y-y-you know what I mean, Rick,” he whispers. It isn’t fair that Rick always plays him like this when he’s fucked Morty up in the first place. Experiment gone sour, vampirism— Morty had to pick that term up– spreading too aggressively to be cut out, too deeply to pull the plug and hop to a clone. He rests his hand on the couch next to Rick’s leg. Not touching it, but just, you know, next to it. He can feel the heat of Rick’s body beside his own like he’s sitting near a radiator. Throbbing is such a weird word, but that’s the only way to describe it. Rick is throbbing with heat. Morty runs his tongue over the stubs of his teeth. 

“You know, my blood is probably some of the nastiest shit you could put inside you,” Rick’s saying. “Got yeeears of k-lax and alcohol abuse in here. And some other stuff. I think one of Unity’s non-humanoid bodies might have had–”  

“I don’t care. E-everything else tastes like ass and I don’t want to drink it.” Morty makes a face, saying that out loud, but it’s true. The bags of O-positive Rick had pulled out of his lab freezer after he’d just turned Morty had tasted like the equivalent of soggy pizza cardboard. Real pizza– all normal food– also tastes terrible. Animal blood has a funky, earthy smell and a worse flavor, when he’d tried it. And he isn’t about to make anyone else let him drink their blood.

Rick made his own bed. He can lie in it. 

Rick watches his face for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he sighs, and rolls up his sleeve. 

“Not on the couch, you little moron. Or, you wanna g-get b-blood everywhere?” 

“I won’t get it everywhere,” Morty whines. He did the first time, when they fed in the garage, but he’s neater about it, now. He’d been so new, then, and dying for it, ready to rip Rick’s veins right open, ready to swim inside him to make the pain of his thirst go away. Now, after two weeks of feedings, he doesn’t waste a drop. 

Rick tries to stand, but Morty catches his wrist. He’s taken aback at his own strength; that’s still a surprising perk. He keeps accidentally breaking doorknobs off of classrooms in school. Denting his locker door when he closes it with a slam so loud it echoes through the hallways. Shattering glasses. Jerking his own dick too hard and too fast by accident. 

Rick pauses, looking down at him. He seems like he’s weighing making his grandson let go with words or by force. But Morty doesn’t let go. He can feel the throbbing of Rick’s blood now, pulse pressed against the circle of his fingers. His stomach twists with a tortured sounding gurgle. 

“Please,” he says. 

“Alright. Jesus,” Rick says, sitting back down with a roll of his eyes, yanking his wrist out Morty’s grasp quickly enough to break his hold. “Just a second, A-A-Augustus Gloop.”

He reaches into the breast pocket of his lab coat and pulls out a little packet, which he rips open with his teeth. Morty’s chest thuds because it looked kind of like a condom. He probably shouldn’t have thought that. Rick unfolds the moist towelette inside and uses it to briskly swab the inner part of his forearm. The pale stretch of it gleams up under the light of the ad that’s playing on TV, riddled with blue and green veins, skin going translucent with age. Morty’s mouth waters. 

“You– you just carry a swab with you?” he asks, licking back drool. It’s a genuine question. Did Rick want to– was he just waiting around for Morty to—

“More for my benefit than yours. Human mouths are one of the diEUUGHrtiest parts of our bodies, Morty.” 

“That doesn’t seem true, but okay,” Morty says. 

“I’m not fucking with you. Humans are filthy.” 

Rick throws the used wipe over the back of the couch, then pats the space beside him, like they’re going to cozy up and watch more TV together, easy as anything. Morty crawls over.  

Rick offering his skinny-ass forearm to him like this in the middle of the house is insane. They usually feed in the garage, sitting clinically in separate foldable chairs, lights flipped on. It’s dark in the living room, and it should be hard to see—should leave Morty fumbling and awkward, unable to function—but it doesn’t. Morty’s different, now. Darkness is easy. This close, he can sense all the sweet spots where the most blood flows in Rick’s body and where to land the best bite; he would have liked it a lot better if Rick let him feed at his neck, or at the top of his thighs, or even near his armpits, he thinks, but he’ll take what Rick will give him. 

“Don’t– don’t rip my fuckin’ arm off here, Morty, I need it.” They’re so close together that Rick’s voice is quieter than normal. Maybe he’s a little scared. Morty likes that; the idea of being able to scare Rick, a bit, for once. 

“I won’t,” Morty says with a lisp. His pointy canine teeth are getting longer in his mouth and making it hard to talk. Carefully, he takes Rick’s offered arm into his hands. His left one, the one with less cybernetic shit in it, flesh and blood around a hollow titanium bone that sheathes a grappling device. He smells kind of bad but also kind of good, like he always does, like alcohol sweats and a familiar old man powderiness. Morty darts his tongue across his lower lip. Rick’s chest is rising and falling gently, calmly, as he waits for Morty to start. 

“M’ just– don’t mind me, Morty, just watching TV, here. Just gonna finish this show, or whatever.” 

Rick claims he’s a god-robot-monster all the time— won’t shut up about it. But it turns out he’s still human, Morty thinks, a little vindictively, as he bites down. At least, still human enough to feed him.  

As he adjusts his bite to get the blood flowing, pressing against the smooth, hairless slip of Rick’s forearm with his tongue, he wonders if this was why people like wine. He’d always hated it, and spat out the mouthful of Mom’s that he’d snuck when he was ten and she was on the phone, because it was nasty, but maybe there’s something more appealing to it than he thought. An age and bitterness, in a good way, the kind that gives it a lot of different and interesting flavors at once. That’s what Rick’s blood tastes like. It tastes really fucking good. 

The TV’s making more sounds, but Morty can’t hear them anymore. He’s way too busy gulping Rick’s blood. Distantly, as if it were happening to someone else, he realizes he’s getting hard. Vaguely, he tries to direct his thoughts towards Jessica, but it’s tricky, considering he’s touching Rick and smelling Rick and drinking from Rick’s body. That Rick’s delicious blood is filling his mouth and sliding down his throat with every swallow. 

The flow stutters, so he pressed up all along his grandpa’s side to get a better angle. For a second, his dick brushes against Rick’s leg, hot and obvious. He tenses. Rick doesn’t say anything, though, just keeps sitting there quietly, so he relaxes again. Whatever, if Rick doesn’t care, he doesn’t care, and everything feels good. This is so fucking good. It feels right. He keeps feeding, actively sucking, now, because the flow is starting to taper off, blood only coming in hot spurts when he coaxes it out. He rocks his hips, a little, getting some friction on his dick, because he’s  so warm and full, and that feels good, too—

“—orty. Morty, that’s enough. Stop.”

Morty doesn’t stop. He swirles his tongue needily around the bite marks, pleasure unfurling up from his stomach and over his whole body, from his scalp to the bottom of his feet. Feeding from his grandpa like this is euphoric. 

“M-Morty, stop.” 

A hand pushes him back, roughly. It could be anyone’s hand. Morty is longer tethered to earth, fully. Suddenly, Morty’s laying on the floor by the coffee table, panting, ass sore from falling on it. His chin’s covered in own spit. His cheeks are flushed. There’s a definite tent pitched in his jeans, and everything is cold with the lack of a body to be pressed up against. When he looks up, Rick seems pale, even by his own standards, and his hair’s wilder, too. He’s blinking kind of a lot, staring down at Morty with fury on his face despite his heavy eyelids. He looks like he’s having trouble staying awake. 

“You– you don’t know how lucky you are that my cybernetic enhancements will start injecting substitute into my bloodstream if I lose more than a quart of blood, Morty,” he says in a low, deadly voice. Morty hears the edge of a wheeze in it. “A quaAAAUGhrt. Do you know how much that is? You fucking, you fucking numbskull braindead idiot?”

“No?”

“That’s what I— that’s what I thought,” Rick says, getting unsteadily to his feet with the help of the couch arm. “I’ll be in the garage. Don’t follow me.” 

Morty watches as his grandpa woozily makes his way out of the living room. He’s actually a little worried Rick’s going to pass out, or crash into something, but he doesn’t. He’s gone. Morty rubs the back of his hand across his mouth, and when he looks at it in the TV’s half-light, it’s smeared dark with Rick’s blood.

“S-sorry,” he says, late. 

–

Morty climbs upstairs to his room even though it’s more like roleplaying someone that needs to sleep than an actual need. He lays down on top of his covers next to his closet that’s now full of hats and sunglasses and UV-protective long sleeve shirts, above a kitchen filled with food he can’t eat, and a hallway mirror he can no longer see his own reflection in. 

He lays there quietly and waits, full-stomached, giving Rick a little privacy. Some time to cool off. If Rick noticed Morty’s hardon, he didn’t comment on it. 

But Morty had seen where Rick’s blood went, while he was feeding. 

He could sense it, the thick coursing of it, even in the dark.

[fandomwritingbit]

Hi there cutiepie

Thought I'd jump in to request

I was thinking like Michael Afton X reader after a fighr reader sleeps on the couch (sfw)

Ofcourse if your comfy writing that!! I did read rules so I'm hoping for it to be okay. (Also reader can be either female or gender neutral I don't mind either so I'd leave it up to you to decide with what you prefer writing)

Anyways darling have a nice day and don't forget to eat (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Ee this request is cute as hell. No one's ever called me cutiepie before, got me blushing over here 😘 Thank you so much for such a lovely ask.

I hope this is alright, I can never judge if this kind of thing is actually decent lol.

Anywhooo, michael x gn reader - Sleeping on the sofa (sfw angst with fluff)

"What do you mean 'no'- it's your turn!" your boyfriend interrogated, he looked more than annoyed, mocking how you spoke the word no.

You snigger as reflex, a little taken aback at how angry he was already, you'd only just walked in the door. You let your shoulder bag slide off and on to the floor, shruging sarcastically, "Mike I called you and said I was going to be late - I've had Hell on at work - you really haven't made plans for dinner?!"

"It's your turn." He reiterates, taking his eyes off you as he realised that he probably was in the wrong, but stubbornness making him double down.

"You could have ordered something- you really expect me to cook right now?!" As you spoke, you approach your boyfriend irritated, holding your watch up for him to see, "It's half ten, Mike. Half fucking ten."

He scoffed, "So what am I-"

Keep reading

"Find something, Mike. I swear to God." you hiss. You have to walk away from him to stop this from escalating because if he keeps talking to you so entitled you're going to snap. Well, snap more than you just did.

Storming upstairs, you go in a shower which does nothing to calm you down. In fact it does the opposite, making you more heated, replaying the look of 'hard-done-by' on Michael's face. By the time you're done and hop out, you decide you can't even look at him, grabbing your pillows and a blanket off the bed.

He appears whilst you’re mid action, opening his mouth to say something but it dies in his throat when you throw him the dirtiest look he's ever seen. "Fine." he mutters, walking straight past you into the bathroom.

You make yourself a nest on the sofa downstairs, hoping Mike knows to keep away right now, and eventually fall asleep with some tv show blaring in the background.

~

Laid in your usually shared bed upstairs, Michael tosses and turns. He felt guilty. Which he supposed was just, really. You had a long day and he didn’t even ask you how it was, just went off on you, took his stress out on you. And now the hunger-fueled anger had subsided, he was sober to that and the guilt wouldn’t let him drift off. 

So he got up, didn’t bother putting a shirt on and went downstairs as quietly as he could, trying not to disturb your sleeping form snuggled on the sofa. But seeing you there, you looked so sweet, your brows not furrowed like they had been earlier, your mouth not pressed into that tired hard line, he smiled a little just at the view before going into the kitchen and getting a glass of water. 

You woke up to the tap running in the adjacent room, the sound obnoxiously loud in the quiet of the house, you peer over your blanket waiting for him to walk back in, “Really? I was-” you start, but he puts his hands up in surrender, one holding the glass. 

“Look I’m sorry... About waking you up but also… earlier, I don’t know why I-” 

 You cut him off, sitting up to talk properly.“You were being a prick, Mike.” It was hard to keep your tone as mean as you wanted it at seeing the sheepish look on his face. 

“I know, sorry.” 

You crack, his apologetic voice working. And so, you scooch back on the cushions, making some room for him and lifting up the blanket for him to get in. Instead he scoops you and all your belongings off the piece of furniture, somehow making it look easy, and bundles you in his arms. 

You giggle, his arms tickling you. Though to be honest you’re glad to not be arguing anymore, even more glad to be able to sleep in your own bed.

[sketching-pasketti]

Oh hey look it's the longest fucking post I'll ever make

Proxy Headcannons

——————————————————————————

General Headcannons:

All of them hate Slender but literally can't do anything about it cause he controls them

Everyone hates Tim but love Brian

Toby is a gremlin

Individual Headcannons (Masky/Tim):

"Oh I'm a whore for red velvet cake" "Yeah, Tim you say that everytime we go get cake"

Smells like cologne and cigarettes

Tired 24/7

Probably hates Slender the most out of all of them

Loves Five Guys a lot for some reason

"Uh, half of y'all have criminal records and the other half are supernatural creatures, no shit Slender won't let y'all work"

Says "y'all" a lot even though he's not southern (me too tho)

Cannot stand county music

A metalhead

Coffee addict

Calls people nicknames sometimes (example: Kate;Katie, Lulu;Lu, Lazari:Lazii, Kate:Katester)

"Ow? My ass?? What the hell, Katie????"

Speaks 4 languages

Can't stand Jeff

"You smell like cigarettes and it's really repulsive" "Okay?? You smell like weed, shut up"

Kicks ass at Mario Kart Wii

Also kicks ass at Wii Sports

Individual Headcannons (Hoodie/Brian):

"I pay for all of you guys' food so I don't think you get to say anything"

Is always either in his room or out at the store

Disappears for literally months and then comes back like nothing happened

Low-key has a (b)romance with Tim

Babysits Sally

A swiftie

Really likes Hits Different

Assigns people random emojis to their names

Examples are Tim(🚬), Toby(👹), Kate(🥺), Jeff(🔪)

Plays visual novels in secret

Not really though, cause Slender knows

Really good friends with Jane and her wife

Doesn't like how itchy his mask is

Wants to run Offender over with a car

Individual Headcannons (Toby):

Screams Taylor Swift lyrics at people who piss him off (*cough cough* Tim *cough cough* ex; "LET'S FAST FORWARD TO 300 TAKEOUT COFFEES LATER" "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU RODGERS??")

Also blasts music at ungodly hours

Heavily annoyed that Tim is the only one that Slender trusts to help with his tic attacks

Heard Jeff snort crack once and now that noise is a tic of his

Names his hatchets

"oh no"s randomly

Threw an egg at Slender once

Screams the lyrics to the songs he listens to

Has a collection of shiny things he's stolen from his victims

Honks (goose or car, you decide)

5'8"

Ate glue on multiple occasions

Didn't even notice it was glue actually until Brian told him

Tastes Jane's candles (she gets very upset at this)

Bites people

Forgets he chewed the side of his mouth off and gets shocked when he looks in the mirror

Rare whisper boy

His grandparents taught him German and now he has an accent and everything

Drew on all of his Converse

Perches on the stair railing

Sleeps in the starfish position

Individual Headcannons (Kate):

Also draws on her Converse

Draws everyone and everything

Painted most of the pictures Slender has in his office

Helps Toby collect shiny things

Hunches over like the hunchback of Notre Dame whenever she's doing something

Her back hurts constantly

Mapped the house so she wouldn't get lost

Whisper girl

Pierced her nose by herself (and made a huge fucking mess)

Let's Sally do her makeup

Slaps Tim's ass everytime he walks past her

Eats crayons on purpose

Vomits each time though

Has a large vinyl collection

And a Funko pop collection

Uses "🥺" unironically

Can ice skate

[starry-pierrot]

Sleeping Critters

So I'm not the biggest fan of Poppy...at least until CH3 had come out. Don't get me wrong I still dislike the creators and I'll never pay for the game but the smiling critters and Dogday got me. So have this super indulgent fic! Also this is canon divergent so not 100% accurate to the lore!

Warnings: Mention of cannibalism, death. Kissy Missy is dead (Hoping she's alive in CH4)

Characters: Dogday, Reader, Poppy, Smiling Critters

After defeating the prototype you, Dogday and Poppy try to rebuild what you can of PlaytimeCo to offer whoever is left a safer home.

===================

You were tired. 

Very tired. 

About a month ago you had finally defeated the prototype, freeing whatever toys that were left in PlaytimeCo from its claws. But that also left you with a lot more work to do. You could have just left it all behind and maybe taken Poppy and Dogday with you but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of them. 

Not to mention you did not have the space to house a partially giant dog. 

And he had wanted to stay to watch over the rest of the smiling critters…wherever they are.. Now that Catnap was out of the way they might see some reason. Which is why you were so tired. After everything had been dealt with you agreed to help Poppy and Dogday find the others, to build a new home in PlayTime Co, even if it was temporary. 

Who knew when whoever owned the damn buildings would come and legally claim them someday. Sure it’s already been years but you wouldn’t be surprised if the titles were transferred to someone else after so long. But until then rebuilding would at least make everyone more comfortable. 

The problem was that…you three had hardly found anyone just yet. Poppy knew there probably wasn’t much of the toys left but still she encouraged you to check every nook and cranny you could. So far you’ve only found a few Mini Huggy’s, a Cat-bee and a Candy cat. It’s not much but it's cute to see them all snuggled on some of the beds in the orphanage. 

 “Angel, are you sure? I can go by myself.” Dogday asked as he looked at you, the two of you were standing at the entrance to Playhouse. “You haven’t been sleeping much lately.” 

“No, I can do it. Besides I’d rather not leave you to potentially cannibalistic little fur balls if I can help it.” You manage to hold back a yawn before reaching for the door. “I’ve handled them before, I got the flares.” 

Meanwhile Dogday only had his hands and a pipe you had torn off from the wall when it was loose, you’d be more worried if you hadn’t closed his lower half with a sewing kit. And now he seems to get around alright on that little bright yellow gym scooter. But still you worry he might get overwhelmed. 

“If you say so. Just please don’t go too far from me.” Dogday urges as you open the door and slip inside. Much like the last time you visited the place was a mess, meaning those wheels on Dogday’s scooter aren’t going to be much help. 

“Seems the dog is gonna have to do a trick to get around.” You tease as you step over some toys that were left on the ground.” 

“Har har, Angel.” There was no malice in the fake laugh, planting his hands on the ground he hauled himself up into a handstand he began to follow behind you as you searched. If it was one thing that was annoying it was all the crawling you had to do, your knees weren't meant for all this crawling!

“Hey Little critters! We have food back in the orphanaaaggee!” You try to draw them out but so far the two of you haven’t seen any of them. You don’t remember seeing many on the prototype, it couldn’t have killed all of them could it? No, there were far too many. 

“Catnap is gone, you don’t have to listen to him anymore!” Dogday called out as he crawled around on his belly, “Come on you little fellas!” 

Where the heck could they be hiding? This play house wasn’t that big! Maybe if-

CRACK!

“ANGEL!” 

Suddenly the floor snapped under you, you would think you would have remembered to check that considering what happened the last time. But suddenly you were tumbling down and down..and down-what did you find a secret deep tunnel or something?!

“Ooof!” Hitting the ground hard you could help but gasp as the wind was knocked out of you, your already tired body screaming in pain from the impact. 

“Angel!?” You could barely hear him calling from the top of the hole, “ Angel are you okay?? Say something!” 

It took you a moment but eventually you turned over, “Yeah…y-yeah I’m alive.” With a groan you sat up noticing that you seem to have fallen into a hidey hole. It looked like it had been dug out, there was another hole further up but there was no way you could reach it. 

“Stay there I’ll…I’ll come find you!” Dogday said, “That or I’ll find some rope.” 

“Nowhere I can go!” You call up and after a few more moments of talking Dogday was off to find something to pull you up with. Which just left you here…alone…in a dark and quiet spot. Oh this was going to be terrible. You didn’t even have your phone or heck even a book on you. 

Sure you were fine when you were moving around but now that you had to sit here and wait in an admittedly comfortable little spot…your eyes were drooping after the first ten minutes. You knew you should have listened to Poppy when she told you to get more rest. Jerking your head up you shook yourself trying to wake yourself up a little more. But that didn’t seem like it was working much. 

“Dogday?” you tried calling up hoping that he was still nearby but with no response you had no choice but to sit and stay. “Well shit..” Your eyes grew heavier and soon against your will your eyes closed as your head dipped into the crook of your shoulder. 

Only for you to jerk awake once more which quickly turned into a little spat with your body as you tried to stay awake. Too bad your body had won out eventually. 

You had fallen asleep.  --

“Angel!” 

“Angel!!” 

You cracked your eyes open to the darkness, feeling awfully comfortable in the little hole you had fallen in. Was it always this warm down here? 

“Angel!” Dogday yelled whispered at you, frantically trying to get your attention. Looking up you could see him erratically moving a hand only to stop once he’s realized you were awake. “Oh thank god! Don’t move! I’ll l-lower the rope down!” 

He must've found some rope. Good thing because your legs were starting to cramp from the curled position you were in, “How long was-” 

“SHHHH!” He quickly hushed you. “I said don’t move! Be quiet!” 

What? “Wh-why?” 

“Sh! Sh! Just-quiet! And..don’t look down.”

 Well now you had to look down. And when you did you had to force every bit of nerve in your body to stay still, a squeak just barely escaping your lips. Even stuck in the dark you could make out a Catnap Smiling Critter sitting right on your chest, sleeping. Little growling snores filled the space and when you looked around you could see at least one of every single smiling critter either sleeping next to you or outright on top of you. 

Something touched your head and looking up revealed the rope Dogday had lowered down to you. Craftycorn had taken your right arm hostage but luckily the left one was free. 

“Just hang on…gonna t-tug you up alright?” It wasn’t much of a game plan but the idea of being tugged out only to have to run was better than staying down here in a potential feeding hole. Lifting your free arm up you almost grip the rope when you feel movement. 

Looking back down your eyes stare into the little Catnap’s eyes alight with their white pupils. The two of you stared at one another for a moment. It wasn’t attacking. But if you broke the spell that seemingly had overtaken the two of you…would it? You did come here after all to try and get them to go back with you, to save them. 

Best case scenario Dogday pops your shoulder out of your socket while pulling you up to get you away from the man eating plushies so the both of you can run. 

Worst case you become a meal. 

Taking a breath you lick your dry lips “T-the prototype is dead....we can feed you. At the orphanage.” You whispered, “I can fix you up.”  You knew the Critters were experiments made from children but did they even know that anymore? Dogday had made it sound like they still could understand what was going on like most normal children but would the years of being down here change their view point to follow the strongest out of the pack? 

Still the little creature stared at you for a long while before it bumped its head against your cheek making a little sound. 

You felt your heart beat hard in your chest as you stayed still, soon it became apparent that the little critter wasn’t going to hurt you. Lowering your arm down you carefully petted between it's ears, “Um…ya know what just let them nap for a moment.” You say while looking up at a panicked and still nervous Dogday.  --

It took almost an hour before the other Smiling critters in the hole woke up and much like the Catnap one they all just stared at you. It was a little unnerving in the dark but once Dogday pulled you up and the little critters climbed up behind you, you couldn’t help but coo a little bit at them surrounding your feet. 

“Ohh who’s an adorable little monster?” You smile as you pick up a Hoppy Hopscotch and scratch right under it's chin. Catnap had climbed up onto your shoulder and a Dogday one had been attached at your ankle. 

“Angel…please don’t tease them like that.” Dogday’s voice was flat, clearly unamused at you acting like they were adorable little creatures and not the monstrous flesh eating plushies they were. 

“But look at them!” Holding out Hoppy you pouted at the dog, “They’re harmless!...at least now they’re harmless!” 

Dogday’s eye twitched at that, “I question how much self preservation you have. Lets just get them back to the orphanage. I’m sure Poppy will be happy we found more toys.” Seems the dog still had some nerves about the critters, but it was only right considering what had happened down here.

"Okay okay, I'm coming!" Pulling Hoppy back you began walking behind the dog and the smiling critters followed closely behind. 

“I’m cooking all of you some beef.” 

--- Please like and reblog if you like!

[yellowlikelemons]

The clock on your dashboard reads 02:58. Shit, I've been out for that long?

"English? Sorry, I don't speak..." Staring back at you trough the crack in the window, I'm silent for a moment, registering what you'd just said. "Oh!" I light up a little. You'd looked tired as soon as I opened my mouth, so I'd assumed you simply weren't in the mood to deal with a stranger. No - you just hadn't understood what I'd said.

"Tourist?" Comes reflexibly, but I figure you probably don't want to sit around and be interviewed. Why would anyone tourist here anyway? "I, uh, I missed the bus in from town, next one's not until tomorrow. Would you maybe help drive me home?" The headlights hit a crooked sign barely visible beyond the bend. "I live right down that dirt road. It parts further... south, and you turn left at this big grey building, old factory." My ego takes a hit at how much I stumble over the words. I'd rehearsed what I wanted to say in case I could wave down a car, but here I'd had to quickly shove it trough the mental translation filter. You don't seem to care, however, and nod torwards the back seat. "Sure. Get in."

Gravel crunches as we turn off the asphalt and drive in between pines. We're slow. It's not populated enough to warrant streetlights, and the first thing I do once I'm seated is warn you about wildife on the dirt road. "We almost hit an elk here once, those are terrifying up close. You american? Heard they're not as common there. Unless you're like, way up north?"

We catch eyes in the mirror. I expect everyone I meet out here to be at least in their fifties, and you're much younger, probably around my age. If it wasn't clear you weren't local I would've asked for your number, then planned to come by with cake as thanks. I'm starved for interaction with non-retirees, but I'd be lying if I denied that you're also just kind of my type. I feel shallow for thinking that right away. Then guilty. You're not very talkative, and you're doing me a kindness, the least I can do is be quiet and refrain from mentally commenting about your looks. You remain silent. Insecurity washes over and I pop my beanie off, suddenly hyperaware of what an annoying clicking the badge along the hem makes.

I've taken to looking out the window when you finally speak up. The trees outside rise in jagged black walls on either side of the car, so there's not much to see. "...Why were you out on the highway so late?" You've angled the mirror away. "Oh, uh," There's crinkling and rattling from where I start digging around in my hoodie. As if you didn't have your eyes on the road, I pull out a tiny cardboard box and a few plastic packets. Sweets. "Now, it was, it was kinda stupid, got just like a strong sugar craving. Needed the grocery store. I missed the last bus at midnight - usually I have someone to drive me, but he's not home right now," It bothers me that I feel the need to explain myself to you. I've turned up the same "everything-is-fine-i-am-so-responsible-really" cadence I use when I speak to real adults, and can't quite tell why. Usually I'd be much more at ease with someone my age.

"So I ate at this local pub for an hour, and then just kinda started walking back, a-" I think you're about to comment, but the car replies first with a defeated buzz. The rumbling of the road stops. We're still. Shit.

My hands go back down into my pockets, trying to remember where I put my phone. "Hey, we-should I call somewhere? It's close enough to my house to walk there if we need to." I'm only watching you from behind, but see you shake your head. "Not needed. Stay." The doors unlock with a click, and you pull on your handle. "Do you need help?" I ask, reaching for mine. "Holding the light or something?" I don't know shit about cars. "No. Stay," you insist, more forcefully this time. I briefly hear crickets outside as you open the door, then am left in silence again as it shuts.

-

-

He doesn't wake back up when the car starts. Not strange. That sugar craving had to come from somewhere, and you're pretty sure you saw him put something out against his boot as you first pulled up. A few minutes into your abscense there'd been screenglow from the backseat, by ten it'd dissapered. You reach down and pick the phone up from where it's slid off his lap. Something's still playing behind the case, so you check the notifications before sliding it into your pocket. Nothing important, hours old texts in his language. Seems lighthearted in tone from the pictures attached.

The boy in the back doesn't stir while you glide further between the pines. You push the mirror into place to check every now and again. There are headphones wedged in his hair now, they're still faintly playing that video. His clothes pool around him, and that beanie's about to slide off his lap just like the phone did. What was it he said about somebody not being home?

The trees give way. A long, grey, industrial building sits in what's essentially a large clearing. You stop. The car huffs, and instantly you have to check so the boy wasn't shook awake. No. No worries. The road forks, and further to the left there are lights on somewhere in a window. He forgot them on before he left home. Cute. If somebody was inside, and you're pretty sure they're not, they would've turned them off by now. That means you've got at least until dawn, probably longer, until he's missed. You start sliding up the road. Now you've got his address, at least - should you decide to return him sometime.

[celestialulu]

Tell me your nalu headcanons or I WILL start biting <3

*cracks knuckles* this is going to be a LONG post

(And most of these are self indulgent but I tried to keep them as in-character as much as it can be)

(A lot of these are also really random)

here we go:

-Lucy writes ambiguous love poems to vent about her feelings for Natsu (not a story or anything too obvious because she knows Natsu will go though and read her stuff)

-one time she accidentally left one of her poems at the guild and it spread around and Natsu kept bothering her about it and she was mildly annoyed at first but then she sorta hit her limit and stormed off home for the rest of the day

-Natsu realised it was probably a sensitive topic but he just really wanted to know who she was writing some ambiguous sappy love poem for (not that he knew that much about what it implied because he isn’t that smart enough to decode the fancy words)

-He sheepishly apologised the next day and Lucy told him not to worry and she just said she’s not ready for anyone to pry about any sort of feelings towards anyone and they carried on as usual (Natsu still felt really bad after though)

-everyone in the guild knew who the poems were about BUT Natsu of course because obviously he’s quite oblivious (both of them are)

-Lucy reads a lot of romances novels (not to anyones surprise) and usually makes people jump because she’ll squeal and get up to start walking around to contain herself when the smallest interactions in the book happen

-and usually Natsu is the one who gets surprised the most often because they hang out the most he thinks somethings happened when she does this and at first he thought something had happened but then he got used to it and now he knows it’s a normal thing she does

-Sometimes she imagines her and Natsu as the main character and love interests in romance novels and gets flustered imagining certain scenarios happening with her and Natsu that happen in the book

-Natsu and Lucy have a lot of inside jokes

-Once a bunch of people in the guild played mafia and when they were both mafia they got caught out because Lucy couldn’t hold back her laughter when it was silent during the nighttime portion of the game and her and Natsu were just looking at each other in silence

-Also during a different mafia game they were so convinced that the other was a mafia member and kept bickering but turns out neither of them were mafia

-Natsu LOVES getting praised by Lucy but even for the smallest things like,, he didn’t totally cause mass destruction on a job and Lucy praises him for it he gets soooo happy

-Lucy is a good singer but HATES to sing in front of people and she usually only sings on her own but due to the habit of Natsu breaking in he’s the only one who’s really heard her sing

-He thinks she’s a good singer but says she’s tone deaf to mess with her

-They do not sleep normally when in the same bed no normal spooning or cuddling up against each other they SPRAWL across each other and Natsu especially sprawls out across Lucy but if Lucy’s especially tired from the day she’ll be the more clingy one.

-Lucy used to be a terrible cook when she first joined because obviously she had all of her meals cooked for her but now she’s pretty decent and cooking and cooks for Natsu and Happy quite a lot

-Natsu bought Lucy a set of earring for her birthday and she wears them constantly and when Natsu noticed he couldn’t stop smiling and Lucy asked what was wrong with him and he just shrugged her off but he was secretly so giddy about it.

-They have a lot of matching outfits and accessories because they actually shop together a lot because Natsu and Happy tag along with Lucy to most places

-She insists on buying Natsu and Happy stuff and Natsu tries to convince her not to but she usually ends up doing it anyway

-Natsu doesnt really compliment Lucy on her looks a lot because he thinks that it’s obvious that she’s pretty

-Natsus favourite thing about Lucy is a lot of things but he especially loves that Lucy is probably the kindest person he knows and the most loving person he knows

[vicsy]

hello my love 🤍🤍🤍🤍 for the 150 prompts, i’m going to give you three, so you can choose whichever it is that inspires you the most.

16 / 51 / 121

I LOVE YOUUUU 🥰

HELLO SOL MY DEAR

you were probably looking for something more... sweet or happy but I am an evil lil mouse so. It's not what you expected, I think, but I still hope it's good!

Prompt 121. My friends get annoyed by how much I talk about you sometimes. Piarles, 959 words.

tw for themes of grief and loss, character death BUT NOT REALLY (you know how I am) + slight supernatural elements. again, it's me.

“My friends get annoyed by how much I talk about you sometimes,” Charles laughs breathily, lit up by the setting sun. 

He is telling the truth. It's hard not to want to be friends with Charles, thus he has many. Charisma, natural charm, you name it; everyone falls for him. It's inadvertent, like Titanic meeting its fate with the iceberg. And it's safe, the warm flock of people Charles calls friends, surrounding him with love and understanding, exhibiting just a dose of healthy jealousy whenever they catch him gushing about Pierre too much. They tease him, it's normal; it's what friends do.

They also ask a lot of questions. 

“You know,” Charles carries on, smiling, splaying his palm over the grass beneath him. It's soft and a bit damp; last night it poured like hell. “They always say, 'Pierre this, Pierre that, when will we get to meet your wonderful boyfriend, Charles?' Maybe they think I just like to keep you a secret from them. That I don't like to share.”

Charles' friends, great as they are, would never survive the PDA. Pierre's hand around his waist, staking his claim; sitting too close and seeking constant proximity no matter the crowd; tugging Charles for an innocent kiss that would turn into anything but. He sought it out as much as Pierre did. Seemed like they breathed in unison, so attuned to each other. Out on the streets or under the covers; Charles felt like the world was filled with magic, real and tangible, and he could taste it in every kiss.

His smile dims. 

Pierre was his; he was Pierre's. Hand in lovable hand, as if someone wrote it into the threads of the universe and tied two ends together, so they'd meet halfway. Fall in love, whatever that was. 

A tragedy, that's what it was.

“I wish they knew you,” he whispers, not in anger. He'd let it go like a sky lantern, up to the sky Charles doesn't lift his eyes to no more. “Most of them would've loved you. Though, I think, you'd tire them too quickly by taking photos of literally everything. And with your jokes. But this would be their problem, honestly.”

Jokes. Charles isn't good at them. His attempt at one falls through the cracks in his soul, ones he can't mend. Tears start to fill the empty spaces  instead, overflowing. Charles can't quite wash the salt from his hands anymore.

Time was never enough. They were never enough. He has it all in vivid details, stashed into the abandoned corners of his mind where it's only Pierre Pierre Pierre; all that's left of him secured as long as Charles draws breath. Each of them hurts, lacerates him from the insides, makes him choke on the memories alone, questioning if it's still worth it. 

To find the answers from an endless void of the universe was futile. Even Charles' stubbornness couldn't bend the laws the life abides to.

All the magic gone, all the color, all the laughter; and Pierre's touch remains like a phantom pain, an ache that's ever-present. Not a year gone by, but for Charles it's an eternity of walking several planes of hell. What took Pierre, he doesn't know; why, he doesn't know. He'd screamed enough but no one answered until silence sank its teeth into him, subduing, all fight seeping away from him like sand in the hourglass.

His grief, Charles wouldn't share, keeping it his prized possession. To the outside world, Pierre still subsists. He is out there, he is, and sometimes Charles can feel him, feel his presence just out of reach, out of the corner of his eye. And he talks about Pierre, keeps him alive with what little flame is valiantly smoldering inside. Fools himself with practiced ease, coming up with reasons to why Pierre isn't home yet, why he hasn't gone to sleep next to Charles yet; why he's missing such an important day. 

“Happy Birthday, Calamar,” he wipes his tears, mustering a wobbly smile. Fishes Pierre's beloved cross from underneath his t-shirt and places a kiss on its glimmering shape, then spares another to his fingertips, pressing them to the headstone; into the name etched there forevermore. His lips still taste like the memory of it. “I miss you every day in my heart.”

Charles doesn't see, when he peels himself from the ground, unsteady and off-kilter, like the first time every single time; he doesn't see, as he walks on a narrow cobbled path, counting his steps, knowing exactly how many it takes to get back to the parking lot. A shadow cowering among the trees, slinking behind an angel statue cut from glorious, black marble. Charles never lets himself turn and look back, afraid to unravel at the thought of leaving Pierre again and again where he's tied to a place, the soil as his home.

But if Charles would find it in himself to throw a careless glance, grief-laden and hollowed, he'd spot that shadow dead on, lurking and waiting, a flash of blue tracking Charles' movements; he'd have trouble recognizing him but there would be no doubt. And if he would divert his course back to where one half of his heart is buried, looking into the distorted figure of a shadow, black like a starless sky, staring back at him, an abyss calling out his name.

Then, Charles would feel the goosebumps strewn across his skin, a shiver lingering in his bones.

Then, he would hear a whisper carried by the wind, a rumble of a voice; a knock on his door from the beyond. 

Soon.

Then, a scratch of claws against cold stone; nothing yet set in it. 

Soon I'll crawl back into your arms, cheri.

[mammonprotectionsquad]

Lemme just yeet this little self-indulgent comfort piece I wrote last night, before I disappear back into the void again xD

Breaking point

Vanderwood x Reader

"You're such a sunshine!"

"You always help others and barely ever seem to be in a bad mood. How do you do that?"

Yes, how did you do it? You were a positive person who liked to help others, no question. But you also had a hard time saying no and the mere thought of potentially leaving someone haning, or worse, disappoint them made you nauseous and anxious. So even on days where you were struggling, you put on this mask of "everything is fine" as to not be a bother for the people around you.

To say it was draining was an understatement. And especially recently you started to feel more and more like you were only a shell of yourself anymore. Your body heavy and even the things you usually enjoyed felt like too much of a chore.

Dragging yourself into your home, you simply dropped your bag next to the door, kicking off your shoes without really caring if they'd end up in the way or not.

"I'm home...", you announced, followed by a heavy, stuttering sigh.

It didn't take long until your boyfriend popped his head into the hallway, eyes narrowing when he took you in. Shoulders slumped, still standing in front of the door looking nearly like a kicked puppy.

Suddenly strong arms wrapped around you and it was enough to make the cracked walls you've kept up all day begin to crumble all at once. Causing tears to stream down your face as you buried it on Vanderwood's chest.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

You simply shook your head and he didn't push it. If there was one person who understood that it wasn't always easy, or helpful, to immediately talk about things, it was him. And you have probably never been more grateful for it than in that moment.

For a while, you didn't know just how long, you two simply remained standing there. You clinging to his shirt, while he rubbed soothing circles into your back, occasionally dropping kisses to the top of your head. Once the stream of tears began to stop, turning more into quiet sniffles, the brunette picked you up like it was nothing. Only setting you down once you had reached the couch, where you promptly got turned into a blanket burrito.

It never ceased to amaze and amuse you how he turned into a mother hen as soon as you were feeling bad in any kind of way. Making sure you'd stay hydrated, grabbing your favorite snacks, just like turning on your comfort movie, before he joined you on the couch. Vanderwood also always let it up to you to decide on whether you wanted to keep some distance or not, never just assuming. And while there were days where you didn't feel like getting touched, it wasn't one of those. So you wiggled close enough to rest your head on his lap and with the way he continously ran his hands through your hair, you slowly but surely felt your body relax. The weight of the past weeks melting away in the comfortable silence shared between you that only got filled by the movie playing on TV. This was probably exactly what you needed; an evening of doing nothing but relaxing with the love of your life. And the fact that you knew he only dropped his tough act around you? It made your heart flutter every time the thought crossed your mind.

At some point you turned around to be able to look up at him, a somewhat sleepy smile on your lips.

"Vandy? Thank you..."

"You feeling a bit better now?"

"Mhm~"

"Then let's get you to bed. You look tired."

Even though you sat up, instead of trying to get out of your blanket cocoon you wrapped your arms around his neck, lips pressed to his cheek.

"Carry me? Please?"

Vanderwood let out a sigh, though at the same time he still picked you up. He tried to pretend as if he was annoyed, but you could see the way the corners of his lips quirked up.

"Don't think this will become a regular thing. It's an exception today."

"Mhm. You also said that the last time. And the time before that, and before that, and-"

He effectively cut you off with a kiss, though you still ended up giggling into it.

Masterlist 1 2

If you'd like to get added to the taglist let me know

@just-a-key @amborii @cass-who @otomaticallyobsessed @mixed-bag-of-tricks @brighteststar707 @currentlyprocrastinating

[quinloki]

Sunny Daze

A SFW gift to the lovely @rosiinantes

OC x Rosinante - Set in the earlier pre-confession days.

Summary: Rosi and Sunny have a good bit in common, unfortunately one of those things is that they're both impressive klutzes. Which is probably why they might have been better off not teaming up against Doll and Bellemere for some volleyball.

I couldn't decide between a story and an art, so I did both \o/

Rosi crashes into the soft sand with enough force that he wonders idly just how soft it really is. The stinging force of the ball against his hand was a small blessing as he scrambles to his feet. He can hear them shouting and the soft whump! of the ball as they send it back into the air. There’s no more volley left in their options, however, he’s going to have to get it over the net.

Sunny had sent the ball soaring up into the air, by luck or intent it was hard to say, neither of them were particularly proficient at sports, but they did work well together.

Using his height to their advantage he leaps up and smacks the ball solidly, sending it careening down, barely making it over the net. Bellamere dives, a wave of sand kicking up from the impact as she sends it almost straight up.

Doll darts in, leaping and spiking the ball ruthlessly. Rosi’s eyes go wide a split second before the ball collides with his nose, bouncing off into a wild direction as he falls flat onto his back. His only consolation has he reels back is the fact that he didn’t hear - or feel - a crunch.

“Rosi!” Sunny yells, a gasp in their voice.

“Oops.” Doll scratches the back of her head, looking more annoyed than concerned.

Bell laughs even as Sunny frets. “He’s fine, Sunny Bunny,” she teases. “It’ll take a lot more than a ball to the face to hurt Rosi.”

“M’okay,” Rosi insists, patting his nose with his hand a few times before smiling at Sunny. “Like she says, I’m tougher than that.”

“Of course you’re tougher than that,” Sunny pouts, grabbing Rosi’s face in their hands and turning his face this way and that. “But it’s my job to be sure.”

Rosi’s face dusts pink as the blood rushes to it. “I-I’m fine, I promise!” He stammers, Bell nearly cackling from the other side of the net. “Let’s get back to the match.”

With the ball back in play, so too was the merciless joy of the fates who watched over Rosi and Sunny.

Diving for another attempted save, Rosi wasn’t lucky enough to get the ball at a good angle a second time and instead, bounced it off Sunny’s back. For every point they managed to score against Bell and Doll they seemed equally skilled at scoring a point against themselves.

An unfortunate double whammy, since the other team wasn’t just good at the sport, but also far less accident prone than they were. By the end of it, both Rosi and Sunny were sore, a bit bruised, sand burned in a few places, and more than a little tired.

Sitting in the soft sand Sunny breathes in deep, letting out an exasperated sigh before breaking into a smile.

“We didn’t win,” they admit cheerfully, their bright expression turned toward Rosi. “But I had a lot of fun!��

Rosi feels every muscle in his body flinch, and hopes that no one else can see it as much as he can feel it, before giving Sunny a smile in return. “Yeah, me too!” 

Bellemere crouches down in front of the two of them and cocks a brow. “You two sure it’s not because of the synchronized crash you had? All that height difference and you still managed to crack your eggs into one another.” She reaches out and brushes Sunny’s hair aside, looking at the red spot by their hair line.

“S’not too bad.” She mutters before sweeping Rosi’s long bangs aside. “I think your thick hair cushioned the blow for both of you.” Bell declares with a wide grin before she stops. Tilting her head a little she reaches out with her other hand and sweeps back the rest of Rosi’s bangs.

“Oh wow, lookit you. That mug’s pretty handsome when you aren’t hiding it behind your hair.” Bell laughs and Rosi waves her hands away, pink creeping up into his cheeks.

“Don’t tease him like that Bell, he’s plenty handsome just the way he is.” Sunny scolds.

“I didn’t think you’d confess like that.” Doll says flatly, exhaling smoke into the air lazily. “That’s way more bold than I expected.”

“Con-CONFESS?!” Sunny nearly squeaks the word, face already hurtling toward an impressive shade of crimson. “It’s not a - I wasn’t - that - he’s my friend, and I’m just being object- er- I mean, I’m -.”

“Just statin’ the facts?” Bellemere prompts, finally having pity on her friend.

“Yes! Thank you. S-see, Buh-Bell understands!” Sunny declares, pouting at Doll.

Bell’s gaze shifts from Sunny to Rosi, her expression pointed and almost commanding as she holds his attention for a moment.. “Yeah, I understand.” After a second she smiles, watching Rosi become more and more flustered. “And I’m not the only one, but mercy, mercy on my poor friends.”

Bellemere stands up and stretches, a bright smile on her face again. “We shouldn’t tease you too much, you two are going to be footing the bill for lunch today, so let’s go eat!”

[midnightcreator12]

And We'll Keep Marching On Chapter 20 - Distorted Memories

AO3

(Im sorry its late but it's over 10k words which is a lot for my fics and I hope y'all enjoy!)(Also, big thank you to @tired-o-fighter for helping me with this one!)

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

Casey would never admit it. Not ever, not one word would ever be released into the wind, not even whispered to Raph or anyone.

But having Scrap made the trip so much easier.

The snow was a lot heavier at night and the lack of light made all the trees look the same and completely hid all the landmarks Casey had been using.

But Scrap had a headlamp, a really bright one, that clearly showed Casey the path. And along with that was his holographic map that had a helpful arrow indicator to help Casey know which way he was facing.

But he would never tell a soul how much the little bucket of bolts helped. Nope, not one person.

Even with the help, however, it still took him longer than he’d like to get to the little dirt road. He made up a little time on the packed dirt, pelting up it as his own breath puffed out of his mouth in massive clouds, but it still felt like far too long.

Scrap beeped quietly when the shack came into view, feet tapping on Casey’s shoulder as he let out a warble.

“All the fancy bells and whistles and you can’t speak English?” Casey panted as he crouched at the tree line. “Shut that off before he sees it.”

Scrap made an annoyed beep but his headlamp went dark, leaving only the dim moonlight for Casey to see by.

Through the cracks in the plywood windows, Casey could see the lights were on inside the cabin. He hissed at that, because if the old dude was up and about it was going to make it harder to get in and out unnoticed.

Scrap jumped down, for once not making a sound as he hunkered down in the snow and crept closer. Casey followed after him, mentally cursing his mostly black clothing, it worked great in the city year-round but out here? He probably stood out like…like a kid dressed in all black on white snow.

Scrap got to the house first, pausing under a window before slowly making his way towards the door. Casey made a sound, gesturing wildly at the bot to not try just barging in the front door. And, somehow, when he turned Casey got the feeling he was getting an ‘then what are we gonna do?’ look.

And…Casey honestly wasn’t sure. Normally he’d opt for a window but they were all boarded up and he didn’t see if there was a back door earlier.

But they were on a time crunch. He didn’t know what was going on with the guys but he doubted it was anything good. So he gestured for Scrap to wait and carefully slid his way around the shack.

He smirked when his hunt yielded a back door with a very old and rusted lock. Even if he hadn’t bothered to fully kit up for this, there were a few tools he always had on hand, especially after a few weeks of hanging out with the guys.

And, though he would never tell the guy, Donnie had taught him the value of always having a screwdriver on hand.

The lock was definitely broken by the time Casey was done with it but that was a secondary concern. It wasn’t like he was planning to come back anytime soon. He was gonna dig around in the freaky room he’d found before, hopefully get ahold of something to help the guys, and get out.

He carefully pushed the door open, thankful that it didn’t squeak on its hinges, and slipped inside.

The cabin didn’t look much better inside than it did on the outside. It was like when they’d first arrived at the farmhouse weeks ago, falling apart and abandoned-looking. The wallpaper was peeling, the wood floors were rough and splintering, dust stuck to the sparse amount of furniture like a coat of paint. And papers. Dozens of crumpled up papers and notebooks scattered over the entire floor.

Casey hadn’t paid them any mind before, assuming it was trash. Now, he curiously picked up a page and un-crinkled it. Dozens of numbers and letters greeted him, scribbled on top of each other, around complex-looking equations in messy scrawl, along with the words ‘stay awake’ written over and over in the margins.

Creepy.

Casey dropped the page again and continued towards the room he’d found before.

It was the cleanest place on the ground floor, in the fact that the papers in there were tacked to the walls rather than scattered on the floor and it was free of dust and cobwebs. Large desks were shoved against the two side walls, holding a host of gadgets, tools and gizmos that would look right at home in a mad scientist's lab. At the far wall was something large and bulky hidden under a cloth tarp, only a shiny steel base peeking out from the bottom and a podium next to it.

The book on the podium was what had caught Casey’s attention before. It was encased in glass and it looked really old, the spine creased and the cover worn and ‘Obturaclum Somniorum’ written on two stripes of painter's tape stuck to the top.

But what really made Casey run back here was the image on the cover, a triangle inside a circle, except the circle itself was made up of a bunch of simplified illustrations of animals. Most prominently, beavers.

Casey remembered thinking that was weird, of all the animals to put on a creepy old book, why beavers?

The question still poked at the back of his mind as he opened the glass case up and pulled the book out. He frowned at the weight in his hands, he’d thought a book as thick as this one would be heavier.

His hand reached for the leather tie keeping the cover shut.

He was interrupted by something banging loudly in the hallway behind him.

Casey spun around, letting out a choked sound when he saw the old man silhouetted in the doorway.

“You!” the guy squealed out, shuffling closer. 

Casey stepped back, eyes flicking around, trying to figure out the best path to freedom.

The old man ambled closer, still pointing, yellowing teeth almost bared in a snarl, “You….you ain’t asleep…why ain’t you asleep? They must’ve seen ya, or, or felt ya! ….unless…unless…”

“Oh, hey, lookit the time!” Casey carefully started moving to the side, pressing against one of the desks. “Hey man, really sorry about the intrusion. Just needed to get outta the snow for a sec, you know how it is!”

“You’re working with them, ain’t you?”

Casey, stupidly, paused mid-step, “Eh?”

The guy's eyes moved to look behind Casey…where there was a very open glass case on a very obvious podium. The guy's jaw clicked, eyes narrowing as his head snapped back towards Casey, “You are working with the Dream Beavers! Give that back!”

“Nope!” Casey jumped, barely dodging when the old guy charged at him “Geez, how are you so quick?”

“Give it!” The man demanded again, trying to grab at Casey.

He skirted around the attempts to snatch the book. Even if this guy was quicker than Casey expected, he had nothing on all the mutants and ninjas in New York.

Casey twisted away from a dive, planting one foot on the edge of a desk and using it to launch himself towards the door. He rolled his landing, keeping his momentum so he was running the moment his feet were on the floor again.

He heard the man screech behind him, the sound piercing and…almost desperate?

…well, Casey was too. He could bring back the book later.

All the crap littered around made it tricky to mad dash for his exit, but Casey managed to make it back outside with minimal stumbling. Cold air bit at his face and hands and more snow had fallen into thick drifts.

Casey focused on just circling back to the front of the house and in the direction of the O’Neil property. Scrap definitely heard the commotion so he would probably run towards Casey before he hit the tree line.

Well, he hoped so anyway.

Really, really hoped the little bot caught up before he got himself lost in the woods.

Casey waded through the ankle-deep snow, keeping a hand on the shack temporarily, just until he was back by the front door-

Except when he rounded the last corner and started to move away, the shack’s front door burst open with a loud motorized whirr.

Casey’s eyes went wide when he saw the old man stomp outside, hefting an active chainsaw as he turned on Casey, “You’ll never take me alive, ya hear!?”

“What the hell is- yeow!” Casey jumped back to avoid the spinning blade swinging at his head. “Dude! What is wrong with you?!”

“What?” the guy shouted, still swinging the chain saw….very, very clumsily. “I can’t hear ya over the saw!”

Casey frowned as he rolled under another attack. The only thing this guy had going for him was the fact he had the chainsaw, but he was kind of just wildly waving it around, his entire body veering with the machine on each swing.

It left the guy very open for a few seconds after each attack.

Casey moved back, planting his feet and gritting his teeth, watching as the guy wound up for another attack, ready to pounce when he had an opening-

The chainsaw suddenly cut off.

Because the old man had dropped it.

Along with himself.

And when he hit the snow, limbs twitching erratically, Scrap stood proudly on the guy's back, shock prong out and crackling.

Casey blinked, “....thanks.”

Scrap beeped, hopping off of the guy and tapping a foot to his head, making him groan. Casey picked himself up, dusting snow off himself as he made his way over. He kicked the chainsaw aside before using his foot to roll the guy over onto his back, “Okay, you’re gonna tell me all you know about these dream beaver things….without attacking me this time.”

The old man groaned, blinking hard as he stared up at Casey, “Hoooow’d you do that?”

Scrap beeped and Casey felt his weight crawl up his back and settle on his shoulder before a spotlight flicked on in the old man’s face.

He squawked, stiffly rolling away and getting himself to his knees.

Casey’s jaw ticked and he waved the book in the air, “Dude, my friends are in trouble! If you know somethin’, you better start talking before I sick the murder bot on you!”

Scrap beeped, low and threatening.

The guy squinted at Scrap for a few moments, then slowly turned to Casey, “Your…friends?”

“Yes!” Casey waved the book around. “My friends! They’re all asleep and we can’t wake ‘em up and the only thing that’s off is the crazy dude in the woods yellin’ about demons and not going to sleep!”

“I’m not crazy, I’m Bernie!” The man nodded…longer than was socially comfortable. “And your friends are doomed. Best stay awake so you don’t end up like them!”

Scrap beeped harshly.

Casey didn’t have a clue what he said but the sentiment of ‘what the fuck’ was universal.

And he very much agreed as he moved to crouch in front of Bernie and jabbed his chest with the book, “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

Bernie swayed, like he was nodding off, then sat up again very suddenly, “So, see now, I was experimenting. I’m a physicist! And I was experimenting to prove the human brain goes…somewhere else when we sleep!”

Casey stared. There was no way this guy was for real…no, Casey couldn’t think that because he’d seen and heard weirder.

And this was his only lead so he let Bernie keep rambling.

“I got close too! All I needed…needed proof! But something went wrong…yes, very wrong. I accidentally opened some kinda hole and those dream beavers…they almost got through to our world! I had to stop them, keep everyone safe or they’d eat them! So I’ve been guarding the Obturaclum Somniorum for the last forty years! As long as it’s operational, they can’t break into our world!”

“The obtur-” Casey looked at the object in his hand. “The fuckin’ book!?”

Scrap head swiveled, blue scanner tracking over the book.

Bernie, finally managing to stand again, shakily pointed to the blue scanning light, “Hey, that won’t compromise my work, will it? They don’t regulate those robotic kids toys ya know. Lot of ‘em spontaneously combust!”

If Scrap was offended by the ‘toy’ comment, he didn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he projected a transparent version of the book, one that showed a collection of circuits around a flat object hidden inside the cover.

No wonder the thing felt so light!

Casey turned back to Bernie, grabbing the guy by the shirt front, “You are gonna help me wake up my friends!”

“Ah, no, no, sorry,” Bernie shrugged. “Tried that before! It’s why I moved out here, the beavers will invade the dreams of anyone who gets close to me and eat their nightmares until their hearts give out! It’s why I haven’t slept in forty years!”

Casey growled, grip tightening as he started to forcibly drag Bernie with him, “Well you better think of a way to wake ‘em up than. Because if they die? Bunch of beavers are gonna be the least of your worries.”

Scrap gave a threatening beep of agreement.

—-------------------------------------

Mikey kept himself firmly between Leo and the beavers, watching as all four leered at Raven.

Well, three of them leered. Dave grinned and happily slapped his tail against the ground.

“Finally some good food!” Orange beaver crowed, charging right towards old lady Raven.

Mikey watched, horrified, as she did not move out of the way, “Ray! Look o-!”

His warning turned out to be unneeded. Because when Orange got close he jumped, claws extended and ready to cleave into Raven.

Only for his entire body to accordion to a stop when he hit a blue field that surrounded Raven. Raven bared her teeth at him, rifle raising and sending the beaver rolling back again with a blast of red light.

“Still locking us out I see,” the red beaver mused, stalking over his fallen companion to circle around Raven’s force field. “I’m a bit hurt! We are just simple guardians of dreams-”

Raven leveled the rifle again, “Don’t try that kriffing story with me.”

“Ahhh, you’re not as dumb as you look!” The beaver reared up, slamming its paws against the force field. “But it doesn’t matter, I’m Dark Beaver, I always get what I want.”

“And how’re you planning to do that?” Purple beaver growled. “She’s still got that stupid shield, even in the shared dream space!”

“Why, it’s simple Dire.” Dark grinned, claws drumming on Raven’s shield. “We just have a little power snack to help us break it down.”

Four pairs of eyes snapped to the turtles, sparking hungrily.

Dire looked down at Orange, kicking his side, “Up and at ‘em Dread! Turtle soup is on the menu tonight!”

“Yes!” Dave bounded across the distance, barreling down on the cluster of the turtles.

Mikey bared his teeth, conjuring up his nunchucks again and dashing to meet the beaver halfway. He brought his chucks down on his head with a loud “Booyakasha!”

Dave groaned, stars dancing around his head.

“Great going Dave,” Dread muttered, standing up on his hind legs. “Maybe let the capable dreams maker do the work? Like always.”

Mikey edged back, spinning his chucks. He felt a presence move to stand next to him. Kinda short, had to be Raph.

His suspicion was confirmed when Raph’s voice muttered, “How the hell do you have your weapons?”

“It’s a dream dude, there are no rules!”

“Indeed,” Dread agreed with a smirk.

The manhole cover beside him rattled, drawing Mikey and Raph's attention. Mikey glanced over his shoulder for a moment, seeing Raph had his beak scrunched up and clenching his hands, probably trying to summon his sais.

Mikey opened his mouth to offer help when the steel cover exploded upwards, sailing away and unleashing a swarm of gangly, red-skinned, beady-eyed mutants.

“Squirrelanoids!” Mieky shrieked, scrabbling to shove Raph out of the way.

The squirrel mutants scattered about, some going after Mikey and Raph, a few splitting off to clash and bash at Raven’s shield, a couple dashing towards where Donnie and Leo were.

Raph shoved Mikey off so he had room to slug a Squirrlanoid in the jaw, “It’s just a dream! These things ain’t real!”

“But they’re still freaky!” Mikey argued, even as he joined Raph in attacking the dream constructs.

Blaster shots rang out, dissipating the Squirrelanoids as the shots landed. Mikey glanced over, grinning when he saw Raven’s mental shield was still standing strong as she laid down cover fire for them. 

She noticed him looking and barked out sharply, “Mikey, remember the stuff I’ve been teaching you!”

“Oh, right!” Mikey used the Squirrlanoid closest to him as a springboard, flipping up and landing on a fire escape. “Okay, focus, safe space, think of somewhere safe with walls-”

A Squirrlanoid hissed, taking a running jump towards Mikey. Only to be stopped short by an invisible wall.

“Booya! Nailed it!” Mikey cheered.

Hot air puffed right behind him and Mikey turned to find himself face-to-face with Dire Beaver.

Mikey squeaked, trying to move back, but Dire was quicker. A heavy tail smack shattered the meager shield Mikey had made and sent him flying back to the ground.

Well, technically, sent him flying into Donnie.

Donnie yelped as both of them were sent tumbling in a tangled pile of turtle limbs, “Mikey!”

“He snuck up on me!” Mikey defended as he tried to wiggle out from under Donnie. “I was focusing!”

“Clearly not well enou- ayyy!”

Donnie’s weight suddenly disappeared and Mikey looked up to see another dream projection had joined the fray. An oversized version of a mouser, one made from darker material and pointer teeth that had clamped down on Donnie’s shoulder strap.

An enraged shout made the robot turn, just in time for Leo to crash into the thing's head. Leo slammed his fist into the single glowing eye, breaking the glass and making the light inside go dark. The Mouser stumbled, dropping Donnie before toppling over and vanishing.

“Leo!” Raph’s voice barked from a bit away. “Get outta here!”

“Where, exactly, do you want me to go?!” Leo shouted back as he dragged Donnie and Mikey to their feet.

And didn’t that distract Mikey for a moment? Seeing Leo’s mouth move and proper words spill out, even if Leo’s voice was kinda squeaky for some reason.

Was that part of his nightmare? Him getting his voice back but it being wrong?

He didn’t get to dwell on that thought much longer, because there was a roar from an alleyway and a massive form came lumbering out. Mikey choked when he recognized the blue scales, spikey shell and black mask of Slash. Fear crept up his shell as the echo of pain zipped through him, the feeling of being totally safe with Raph to being slammed into the rooftop.

Leo planted himself between Slash and his brothers, hands clenching like he was holding something.

Mikey swallowed hard, starting to spin his chucks again as Slash approached, features becoming more and more frightening the closer he got.

Leo muttered something under his breath and his hands tightened. And, between one blink and the next, his hands went from empty to holding his twin katanas. The blades sang as Leo sliced through the air to meet the massive fist that came barreling at him.

The fear that tried clogged Mikey’s mind suddenly cleared, leaving him feeling invigorated as he cheered. He zipped around Leo, moving behind Slash and extending the chain and blade on his chucks, throwing it into an arc that cleaved down and dissipated the dream Slash.

“Impressive,” Dark rumbled from where he was still circling Raven’s protected bubble. “But it won’t help you much.”

Raven’s head snapped around from where she was shooting Squirralnoids, eyes furious as she snatched a pistol from her hip and sent a flurry of shots at Dark.

His form wavered like smoke but he didn’t seem phased by the attack. He merely snorted and his eyes started to glow.

Mikey spun, looking around for whatever was going to come at them next. Leo moved so they were shell to shell, one blade turning so Mikey could see it out of the corner of his eye.

And he really wished he hadn’t when the words ‘LAME-O-NARDO’ scrawled across the unblemished steel in bold, black block letters. Words he’d help mark Leo’s most prized possession with.

He heard a strangled sound from Donnie and a sharp inhale from Raph, and knew both of them had seen it too.

But they didn’t have time to dwell. Especially when a long, lithe form slithered from the rooftops, white scales gleaming and form growing larger and larger the closer to the ground she got.

Karai’s snake form loomed over them, maw opening wide to show rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. One of the smaller snake heads on her arms shot forward, forcing the turtles to scatter to avoid being snapped up.

Mikey screamed as more squirrelanoids tried to grab him, claws scraping along his shell. The air above him shifted and Mikey dived just in time to avoid the giant mutant wasp that tried to stab at him. 

He looked around wildly, seeing more old enemies slinking and charging out of the alleys around them, forcing them all further and further apart.

Raph’s eyes went wide as a mutated Spy-Roach changed at him, saw whirring out of one arm and swinging to try to slice Raphs neck. Donnie was backing away from a monstrous version of Metalhead with pink eyes, clenching his hands like Leo had done to manifest his katanas. Leo was facing off with the giant Karai snake, keeping himself on the defensive but doing so meant she was free to push him around with her attacks.

Karai’s tail swiped out, slamming hard into Leo and sending him flying into a wall. The brink crumbled and Leo cried out in pain, making all the brothers turn with a unanimous shout of, “Leo!”

Mikey started to panic again, breath coming in quick pants as he tried to fight his way through the throngs of mutants, trying to get to Leo before Karai, before something worse snuck up on him-!

But there were too many, clawing and punching and kicking him further from his brothers. Mikey started to hyperventilate, panic overtaking him and making his chest hurt as he desperately tried to gain any footing-

Something shifted. The air itself seemed to stutter, then lightened.

And with the shift, everything froze except the turtles and the beavers.

And Raven.

She was glaring up at Dark, shoulders back and feet evenly planted. Dark was grinning, almost salivating as he loomed over her, “Well?”

“Agree to my terms,” Raven snapped back. “You stay out of their heads, I let you into mine.”

“What?” Mikey scrabbled up, trying to shove the frozen dream mutants out of the way. “No, Raven, don’t!”

“We have a deal!” Dark crowed, rearing up on his hind legs.

Mikey tried to wiggle his way between two squirrelanoids.

And then the ground gave away.

Mikey screeched as he tumbled down in an uncontrolled spin, desperately trying to correct himself.

He didn’t manage it, because his face planted solidly into a white metallic floor. And based on the thumps around him, the others hadn’t corrected either.

They all groaned but instinct forced them up, they were still in danger and could not afford to be caught laying down on the job! 

Mikey looked around and inhaled sharply as he took in the new space. White walls enclosed them on all sides, the only break being windows almost too far up the walls to see properly. Mikey could just make out eyes behind the glass. Big, solid black eyes that stared unblinking down at them.

Donnie let out a soft gasp, “What the-”

Mikey let his gaze move down again, looking around and finding….people. A lot of people. Their faces were blurred but the other details were almost exactly the same. Dark skin, short black hair, the same red clothing and black boots. Hundreds, in every direction Mikey could see, milling around in endless lines.

All but one, standing a bit away from the turtles.

Raven still looked as she had before, taller. older, wearing her white and muted purple armor. Her back was to the turtles and her gaze seemed to be fixated on something at the far end of the room.

But Mikey didn’t really care what it could be. He just acted, zipping forward and grabbing Raven’s arm, “Dude!”

Raven spun, eyes going wide when they landed on Mikey, “Wh-”

“Why’d you do that?” Mikey cried as he dragged Raven back towards his brothers. “They couldn’t get at you!”

Raven’s expression…broke. That was really the only way Mikey could describe it. Her mouth dropped open and anguish washed over her face, “No, they-” and then the expression shifted into one of rage.

Raven spun, shouting up at the windows of the room, “Hey! We had a deal! Why are they still here?”

Darks laugh echoed around the room, “I just said I’d stay out of their nightmares. You didn’t say I could throw them into yours.”

“You kriffing lying-”

Another voice echoed into the room, sharp and direct, “CT-five-eight-three-one, please report to the medbay for reconditioning.”

The mass of people around them shifted, splitting apart until there was a clear path to a large doorway. A…something stood there. It was tall, most of the height coming from its long neck, wearing a loose-fitting dress of some kind. And it had huge, black, dead eyes that seemed to stare into Mikey’s soul.

The alien's mouth moved, the words echoing from every direction, “CT-five-eight-three-one, we’ve found you defective, please report to the medbay for reconditioning.”

“What’s-”

Raph didn’t get to finish his question. Because Raven spun and bodily shoved all four of them into the mass of humans.

Mikey’s breath stuttered. Sure, he’d love to be around this many people day to day, but fifteen years of ingrained habits to avoid huge crowds weren’t easy to shake. But he could feel Raven’s hand on his shell, pressing him forward, guiding them all through the mess.

“Oooh, this’ll be fun!” Dire cackled.

The ground tilted, sending the group sliding back into the nothing space of freefalling for a few moments.

Dust clogged Mikey’s sinuses when he landed this time, making him want to cough but Raven was hoisting him up, dragging his brothers along and shouting for them to keep moving.

Shouting, because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to hear her over the screams of blasters and ship engines, of mental squealing as it was torn apart and of men crying out in pain.

Mikey looked around at…at the war zone they’d landed in. Dust clouded most of it but he could still see flashes. See more humans dressed in armor like Ravens, firing blasters at robots. There were different kinds of robots, most were thin and fragile-looking things that buckled under just about any attack. But there were also huge silvery robots, uncaringly stomping their way through the carnage around them and holding one arm up to fire angry red lasers at the humans. There were even bigger ones that rolled across their path before unfurling into terrifying-looking contraptions that mowed down anyone who got too close.

An explosion rocked the ground, a massive charge fired from a tank of some form, hovering its way towards a line one large machines that slowly walked on six legs.

Mikey stumbled, all the noise and smells and sights overwhelming him.

Raven’s hand shot out and dragged him along as she kept shouting, “Don’t look just keep moving! Move, move, move!”

Another giggle echoed around them, making Mikey shudder as Daves's high voice pitched in, “Oh, oh, I got one!”

The scene shifted, between one blink and the next they went from an active warzone to a low-lit room.

Raven skidded to a stop, looking around and Mikey did the same.

The room wasn’t that big…or at least, he didn’t think it was. It was hard to gauge how big the space actually was because of the box-filled shelves all around them. That was all there was here, aside from a lone person who stood before Raven. 

They were huge! Towering over all of them, their shoulders taking up most of the space between the shelves. They wore black armor with golden stripes, but the stripes kept shifting, the color and shape subtlety changing every time Mikey looked at it. Their face was mostly concealed, the only distant features being a smiling mouth with pointed teeth and huge, bright green eyes.

Raven’s choked sound was drowned out by Dark yelling, “What the hell is this?”

“Well, um, I-” Dave spluttered from… wherever the beavers were watching. “It felt like a terrifying one-”

Three groans drowned out Dave’s stutters and Dread's voice piped up, “That isn’t a nightmare you idiot! This-”

The entire room spun, sending the turtles and Raven flying apart.

Mikey, finally, managed to stick his landing and could instantly take in the new space. It looked like an interior. A really old one. He wasn’t sure what the walls around them were made of but it looked like it was falling apart. The floor under him was cracked and crumbling, and there was something large and glowing coming from the center of the room.

Raven was standing in the way, so Mikey couldn’t make out what was glowing but it looked like it was connected to some giant pillar and there were smaller ones that surrounded it-

Raven made a choking sound and was suddenly lifted off the floor and slammed into one of the smaller pillars.

Mikey felt his chest seize, he heard his brothers gasp, as some… nightmarish version of the Shredder stepped out from behind the central pillar.

He was taller than the Shredder they knew. And darker. Most of his form was shadowed, detail fuzzy or not there at all, the spikes along his shoulders shifting and morphing constantly. 

But some things were clear. The gleam of dark metal, vents on the faceplate that made it look like a skull motif, a subtle clanking sound with every step he took-

And his eyes. Bright, burning and red. Like someone had taken two flames and shoved them into the helm.

And with this…nightmare Shredder’s appearance, a dark feeling entered the air. Heavy and choking, like the shadows around them had started to physically press in and squeeze the air from their lungs.

Mikey spun when he heard a thump behind him, “Leo!”

Leo was on the ground, eyes wide and panicked and fixed on the Shredder, breath heaving in and out of his lungs in wheezy pants and his entire body shaking.

Raph was at his side in an instant, grabbing Leo and pulling him close, tucking his head into his shoulder. Raph’s fist clenched and suddenly his sai appeared, ready to attack anyone who got too close.

Donnie moved to plant himself firmly between Leo and the Shredder, eyes going white and finally managing to conjure his naginata.

Mikey looked back towards the center room, sucking in a panicked breath when he saw Raven kicking wildly, pinned by some invisible force and unable to free herself. He managed to make himself move, despite the feeling of death trying to weigh him down.

He let out a feral growl, throat too choked to manage his normal battle cries, and charged. The chain of his chucks rattled as he made a beeline for the Shredder, eyes flicking to the tubes plugged into his chest plate and helmet.

Maybe, if he could-

Something grabbed him. Something he couldn’t see or grab or hit but he could feel something akin to a massive hand slam shut around his middle. He cried out, kicking and trying to shove the crushing feeling away as he was lifted off the ground.

“Mikey!” Raph and Donnie cried in unison as Mikey was lifted up and slammed back into the ground.

He knew this was a dream. He could tell from the start that everything flying around them was always just a dream.

But the hits still hurt, still felt real enough. The impact made old injuries on his shell twing and he panted through the burst of pain.

The invisible hand lifted him again and Mikey looked up. His entire body felt like ice as Shredder twisted his hand. Mikey floated close, eyes getting wider and wider as Shredder’s fist closed.

There was a whoosh of energy as three blazing prongs unsheathed from Shredder’s gauntlet, tinting his dark shifting form a bloody red-

“Enough!” Raven roared.

Raven, and another, much louder roar.

The figure from before, the one clad in gold-striped armor, came charging out of nowhere. Literally. One moment it was just Shredder and the next a massive beast of a person was slamming into him and sending him flying.

Mikey dropped to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, breathing heavily as the feeling of terror and impending doom started to dissipate.

“Mikey!”

He looked up at the call, saw Raven standing, her rifle back in her hands and pointed towards the fight. She shouted again over the roaring, “Mikey, go help your brothers shield. You have to make a mental shield!”

Mikey picked himself up, watching in silent awe as Raven turned and started firing. Each laser hit true, forcing the Shredder back even more. Fog rolled in from seemingly nowhere, right next to Raven. There was a hum from it and blue light dissipated the fog, showing another tall figure.

This one was leaner than the first. Most of them were obscured by Raven’s body being in the way but Mikey could make out billowing robes, pointed, cat-like ears, a sword made of light-

Hands hooked around him and yanked. Mikey chirped in surprise, looking up to see Donnie had grabbed him and was dragging him to where Raph was pushing Leo further from the fight.

“We’re in way over our heads!” Raph snapped. “We gotta get out of here.”

“How?!” Donnie’s voice cracked as he panted out his reply. “If we could…wake up we would’ve….would have by now!”

“Dude,” Mikey hissed, reaching up to press his palm to Donnie’s racing heart. “Dude, you gotta calm down!”

“I- I ahhh,” Donnie heaved, like he genuinely couldn’t breath

“Shit, shit, Donnie,” Raph grabbed his brother, pulling him close. “Donnie, this isn’t real, remember? We’re just dreaming!”

“It feels real!” Donnie's voice cracked horribly at the end, making him crumple to the floor in a coughing fit.

Mikey stood, frozen again, not knowing what to do.

He looked to Leo, because Leo was the plans guy, Leo always had a plan ready to get them out of any situation.

Except Leo’s eyes were fixed on the fight going on behind Mikey, fixed on the huge, imposing Shredder that had somehow managed to make the air feel toxic and had somehow thrown Mikey around without even touching him.

Mikey spun back around, watching as Raven and the two unknown people kept pushing the Shredder back, away from where the turtles were huddled.

And then he remembered, remembered a quiet afternoon in the woods where he’d asked Raven how she shielded her mind.

“It helps to give things a form,” she’d explained. “Like, picture actual walls around your mind. Picture somewhere safe where no one can get you, and picture the people you know would never let anyone hurt you.”

That must be what she was doing now, calling mental versions of the people she was close to so they could protect her.

Mikey moved back to crouch next to Raph, “We gotta focus on Master Splinter!”

“What?!” Raph was starting to panic too, Mikey could hear it in his voice.

He pressed his hand hard into Raph’s shell and repeated, “We gotta, like, meditate but focus on bringing sensei here!”

“What the hell are you talking-”

“Just trust me!” Mikey shut his eyes so he could focus. “Just…think about Master Splinter! Imagine he’s here protecting us!”

Raph made a choked sound in his throat.

Mikey elected to not reply to it, choosing instead to focus inward. He focused on home, the warmth they managed to make in the middle of the dank New York sewers. He focused on the dojo, on the massive tree that sat as a centerpiece to it, of sunlight filtering down through the leaves.

Something thudded to the ground close by. Donnie gasped and Mikey felt him pressing in closer.

He focused on Master Splinter. On his warm eyes and gentle smile, the softness of his robes and fur, the feeling of safety whenever he was close by. Dark thoughts flickered at the edge of the vision but Mikey forced them away. He just focused on happy times, from before…before…

A roar shook the chamber, close enough that Mikey’s eyes snapped open.

Dire stood only a few feet away, reared up on his hind legs, face twisted into a murderous expression.

A wavering projection of Master Splinter stood between the beaver and the turtles, details missing, the edges foggy, but solid enough to send the monster back with a swipe of his cane.

Mikey grinned, a mischievous, almost feral thing as he muttered, “Yeah, take that you jerk.”

Behind Dire, the other beavers had shown up at some point. They were circling around Raven, trying to directly attack her. But the two figures met their blows, moving faster than physically possible to intercept each attack and knock the beavers back.

“No fair!” Dave cried out as he was forced back by the glowing sword. “You said we could come in!”

“Never said I wouldn’t fight back.” Raven snarled as she fired her rifle towards Dread.

Dark was slinking around, keeping low, letting the bigger person push him around the battlefield.

Mikey’s focus wavered a bit as he watched him, not liking how the ‘leader’ of the group didn’t seem to be contributing.

The larger figure spun a staff that crackled with electricity at the ends. They swung it more like a club than a staff, with massive and powerful arcs that left scorch marks in their wake. The person was still smiling, eyes sparking as they drove Dark further and furth back.

The person opened their mouth and a voice echoed in the chamber, “Ha! This is too easy! I won’t even charge you for this one!”

Except…the voice was…off.

It sounded garbled, like there was an undertone of static to it, distorting what the speaker truly sounded like. And Dark was at an angle that Mikey could see a huge grin forming on his face.

Dark scurried away from the dream person, climbing up a pillar before turning his head around and shouting, “Say, who’s that big ol’ fellow with the shock prod? Can’t quite seem to make out their face!”

Raven fumbled with her rifle before pointing it at Dark, “Shut your damn mouth!”

“Come ooon, we already have a name!” Dark vanished in a puff of smoke before reappearing on another pillar. “Chula Verd. Very exotic. But we can’t quiiiite see her face! Which is weird because she’s very clearly important to you!”

Dark vanished again before a laser bolt shattered the pillar.

Raven was shaking, breathing hard as she spun. The other beavers had started to circle again, watching the scene unfold with hungry eyes. All but Dire, who was still trying to get around the Splinter construction.

Dark stalked forward, moving to the taller figure, who had stopped moving at some point. She was still smiling, her eyes still shone brightly in the dark chamber. But her features were still shadowed, her armor shade still shifted like…like the exact color was unknown.

Dark stood on his hind legs, casting a massive shadow over Raven and her two guardians, partially purring as he said, “Can’t you remember her face?”

Raven was shaking harder, backing away as tears gathered in her eyes.

Mikey started to stand, ready to go help her. But Raph had a death grip on his belt. And when he looked, he saw Raph’s gaze was fixed on the projection of Splinter, eyes glassy and trembling almost as hard as Leo and Donnie.

Damnit, Mikey couldn’t help hold the Splinter protection and help Raven! None of his brothers were in any shape to fight back and he was pretty sure Raph hanging onto everyone was the only thing keeping him grounded.

Mikey looked back to Raven…but his eye caught something else.

He could see the second person more clearly now. What he’d thought were ears were actually flat horns that looked a lot like cat ears. They were blue, a darker shade down their scalp and lighter around their face. Their eyes were black, only a ring of amber irises breaking the darkness up.

But that wasn’t what caught Mikey’s attention.

See, stuff that was part of the dreams? Stuff he and his brother and the beavers and Raven manifested into the world? They had a certain look. Like something about them was shifted a little too much to one side or the colors were not quite as vibrant.

He’d known when his real brothers had appeared that they were real, not more memories pulled out of his mind by Dave. He’d known Raven was real, even if she looked so much older.

And the blue person in the brown robes, who had been fuzzy and desaturated and a little too far to the left…wasn’t anymore.

Their eyes were sharp now, focused, centered on Raven’s back. Their hand reached out, solid and real and in almost the same way the dream Shredder had reached before the invisible hands pinned Mikey down-

Dire roared and reared up, slamming both front paws down onto the projection of Splinter. The image shattered, dissipating into a deep maroon mist. Raph cried out, clutching them all closer as the tears finally spilled over.

Mikey could hear both Donnie and Leo breathing too fast and heavy, could feel Raph right behind them, could see Raven starting to waver, the barrel of her rifle dropping.

The bigger woman, Chula Verd, dissipated.

The person in the robes did not.

And Mikey wasn’t sure why but he looked at the projection that wasn’t a projection anymore and mentally begged. ‘Please, help us.’

Bright, amber eyes looked right at him, seeming to bore into his soul-

And then something shattered.

Huge white cracks distorted and shook the room. Mikey watched in equal parts horror and fascination as the world literally broke apart around them. He would have kept watching if Raph's arm didn’t hook more firmly around him and dragged his beak down into Raph’s shoulder.

“What’s happening?” Dread shouted over the sounds of shattering and cracking.

“No, no!” Dark screamed. “What has that idiot done!?”

“Wha- where- Hey!” Dave spluttered and stumbled over his words Which one of you is doing this?!”

“None of us are, idiot!” Dire howled over the noise. “The seal must’ve broken!”

“Of course it broke! This wouldn’t be happening if it was intact!” Dark’s voice cracked from how loud he was shouting. “Finish them off, now! Before-!”

There was a pop.

And then everything went black.

And the next thing Mikey knew, he was blinking drowsily, laying on his shell, staring up at an old, peeling, water-stained roof.

One that was definitely real.

Mikey sat bolt upright and regretted it in an instant when his entire body twinged. Like he was sore from training but he knew he hadn’t done any in a while.

Or had he?

“Casey!”

April’s panicked voice made Mikey look up. His eye went wide when he saw Casey in the doorway to the room and a massive white crack. Fog was leaking out of it, soft technicolor floating down to the floor before dissipating.

Mikey rolled, trying to get to his feet but his muscles ached and his chest felt like it was on fire. So he could do little else but get to his knees and watch as the crack started to glow, brighter and brighter-

And then it was gone, leaving behind an open book and four, multi-colored beavers.

Who were much, much smaller than they had been in the dream world.

All present company blinked down at the four normal-sized beavers now sitting in the house. Hell, now that Mikey was looking, he was pretty sure they were smaller than normal beavers.

Dark’s tail slapped the ground angrily as he snatched up the book, metal pieces fell out when he did and that just seemed to make him angrier, “What idiot went and destroyed the seal?! Now we're stuck here with no power!”

“What?!” Mikey jumped at the unfamiliar voice and yelped when an old man shoved Casey out of the doorway and stared down at the knot of beavers. “You’re telling me I’ve been protecting the world from plush toys?!”

“Because you’ve been starving us you fool!” Dark chucked the book at the man, but it only bounced harmlessly off his shoes. “These idiots were our first meal in years!”

Mikey blinked as Dark kept stomping around and yelling. It was…kinda weird, going from being terrified of the guy to watching him throw a tantrum.

Dread rolled his eyes and ambled over to the book, “Well let's just go back to the dream world and start over.”

“We can’t you idiot!” Dark’s tail smack Dread in the side. “That seal was the only thing maintaining the connection between our world and this one! And this idiot broke it!”

“So he can fix it!” Dave stood on his hind legs and pointed a claw at the old man. “Hey, you, do what you did before when you opened the gateway between our worlds!”

“Shut up Dave!” The other three shouted in unison.

Old guy was not listening to them in the slightest, he was staring at the book and muttering under his breath.

There was a low, long beep at Mikey’s side and, when he looked down, he saw Scrap stalking his way towards the beavers. The sound got their attention, four pairs of beady eyes whipping around as the long beep started to get louder.

Scrap's ears wiggled moments before he charged, leaping on top of Dread and jamming his shock prod into the beaver's back.

Dread squawked in pain and rolled, managing to get Scrap off his back, “What the hell is that?!”

Scrap let out a series of beeps that sounded like an evil laugh, picking himself up and crouching to pounce again.

“Every beaver for themselves!” Dire howled as he scampered out the door. Dave and Dread were right behind him, leaving only Dark to face off with Scrap. He looked at the bot, at the people surrounding him, at Casey when he pushed his way back into the doorway with a baseball bat at the ready.

He growled, tail giving one last angry slap before he scampered after the others.

There was quiet for a few moments.

Then Scrap bewooped and sprang over to Mikey, scanner glowing and ready.

“Oh my god,” April breathed from where she was sitting, a dazed and confused Donnie partially in her lap. “Oh my god, you’re all okay!”

Donnie groaned, curling onto his side and holding his chest, “Don’t feel like it.”

“Oh, yeah, the beavers cause their victims to have heart attacks!” the old man piped in, far too cheerily. “Good thing you’re a hallucination!”

Casey gave the man a very, very unimpressed look, “Right…well, you can go now.”

“You’re right!” the man nodded and walked out of view, voice loud enough that Mikey could still hear him. “The beavers are defeated! I can finally return to my real work! And this time I’ll be-”

He cut off suddenly with a loud thump.

Casey groaned, “He passed out.”

“Who?” Raph's voice croaked out.

Casey waved a hand, “Don’t worry about it. Hey, Red, help me get him in the van!”

“Now?” April hissed, gesturing to the room at large.

“They’ll be fine for a few minutes. Plus, do you wanna put up with this wack job any longer?”

April made an aggravated sound in her throat, looking down at Donnie. He nodded slowly, gingerly pushing himself into a sitting position, “W-we’ll be fine. I…I don’t think any of us….actually had a heart attack.”

“You sure?” Mikey couldn’t help but ask.

Leo made a raspy chirp of agreement.

“Scrap…can do scans,” Donnie limply gestured towards the door. “Just…get him outta here…before he…wakes up.”

April still looked hesitant but she nodded and got to her feet. Casey grinned, shooting a finger gun towards Donnie, “Ay, glad you didn’t get eaten by beavers dude!”

Donnie groaned, moving so he could lean on the bed, “Thanks.”

Mikey let his attention wander now, taking in his brothers and their surroundings. They were all in Leo’s room and the first rays of dawn were peaking their way in through the blinds.

Leo was curled up on the bed, lightly trembling and hugging his chest but his eyes were open and alert, flicking between Mikey and Donnie. He let out a questioning chirp and Raph dragged himself out of his nest to slowly crawl onto the bed with an answering churr of comfort.

The sounds soothed Mikey’s racing heart a bit. Scrap finished up his scan and moved on to Donnie, beeping as he started it up again. Donnie nodded, a bit numbly but he managed to focus on the little bot and ask, “Show me….when you’re done?”

Scrap beeped a ‘yes’.

Mikey frowned, twisting to look around the room. If Scrap was here then Raven couldn’t be much further. And she had been in the combined dream too so she had to be-

He spotted her in the furthest corner of the room, back in the teen form that Mikey was familiar with, curled up in a tight ball, using her arms to hide her face and shivering.

Mikey felt his chest twing, torn once again between his friend and his brothers. He looked back towards the bed, where Scrap had clambered up and started scanning Leo. Raph had managed to drag himself next to Leo and Mikey was pretty sure the only reason he hadn’t snatched Leo up in a hug was because Scrap was working.

He looked at Donnie, hoping for some kind of solution. But Donnie was still wheezy, leaning on the side of the bed with his eyes closed and a hand pressed to his chest.

Mikey debated in his head. He had questions for Raven, like, was she okay, was her chest on fire too, what was up with all those freaky dreams!

Not to mention the…other thing…

Mikey looked back at Raven and swallowed, “Ray-Ray?”

Her arm shifted, just enough for one wide eye to peek out, red and watery and tear tracks running down her face.

Mikey swallowed, trying to figure out what to say.

Raph beat him to the punch, twisting around so he could stare at her, “How the hell do you know the Shredder?”

Raven blinked, then slowly lifted her head from her arms. Her voice was thick with emotion and smothered cries when she asked, “Who?”

“That guy in the last…the last guy,” Raph huffed out.

“Yeah,” Donnie turned, draping his upper body over the bed so he could look at Raven too. “How…how do you know….about him? ….and why does…he look like…that in your head?”

“He doesn’t go by ‘Shredder’,” Raven rubbed her face in a vain attempt to push her tears away. “He’s just Oroku. He’d pop up in our designated sector a lot and we’d have to deal with him.”

“That…that doesn’t make sense,” Raph grumbled. “Shredder doesn’t look like…that! And you said you’ve never heard of Earth.”

Raven shrugged, “Pretty sure he’s not from Earth.”

Raph started to throw his hands in the air.

Then aborted the motion halfway there, curling his arms back around himself with a soft, “Ow.”

Mikey frowned, brow furrowing as he tried to puzzle this out. Because that had clearly been the Shredder, even if the details were fuzzy and he was cast mostly in shadow…

A thought occurred to him.

One he quickly voiced to the rest of the room, “What if she’s from another dimension?”

All eyes turned to Mikey, each varying versions of confusion.

Mikey cleared his throat awkwardly, “Like…you remember when we went into that Kraang hallway of portals? We saw a bunch of places and one of them was other versions of us.”

“What’re you….gettin’ at?” Donnie asked.

“Just..I dunno. There were other versions of us so…why not another version of Shredder?”

Raph groaned and buried his head in his hands, “Great, dimension-hopping beavers, Kraang and now super soldiers.”

“It…would explain a few things,” Donnie mused quietly. “But…we don’t really….have a way to….to test.”

“The hell are you all talking about?” Raven’s voice was pitched higher than normal.

“Alternate realities,” Donnie explained. “It’s…not something …I know a lot about but…the Kraang do so…maybe the ship has something?”

“That freaky Shredder didn’t come here with you, right?” Raph snapped. “One is more than enough.”

Leo, still lying prone but following the conversation with his eyes, curled up more when Raph mentioned the Shredder, tucking his head down between his shoulders as much as the bandages would allow.

Raven shook her head and sniffed, “No, he would’ve shown up by now. And then there was…that…portal-” she hiccuped and more tears spilled over. “Gods, kriff, shab, olsik….stop it, shit, damnit-”

Mikey frowned deeper, pulling himself fully to his feet and slowly moving toward Raven. He sunk to the floor next to her, leaning into her side. Scrap moved as if to follow, pausing on the edge of the bed and shifting uncertainly, likely trying to decide between presenting his scans to Donnie or comforting Raven.

Mikey held up his hand in a ‘wait’ gesture before turning to Raven. He tilted his head so it rested on her shoulder and, in his most solemn of tones, said, “You shouldn’t swear. There are children present.”

The room went quiet.

…then Raven giggled, a wet, choked giggle but a genuine giggle. She rubbed at her eyes, shaking her head, “Mag would kriffing adore you.”

“I’m irresistible,” Mikey agreed.

He smirked when the reply elicited groans from his brothers. Scrap gave a cheery beep before turning and projecting his scan to Donnie.

The quiet returned for a bit, but it was thankfully lighter now.

After Donnie examined the scans he spoke, “Okay…looks like we didn’t actually have heart attacks…I think….but we should still take things easy for a bit.”

“Yeah,” Raph agreed. “....anyone wanna watch Mikey’s dumb show?”

“Excuse you,” Mikey huffed. “Crognard is an awesome show and you know it.”

Leo let out a breathy little laugh.

—------------------------------------------------------

By the time Casey and April came back, they’d all moved to the living room. Mikey and Raven had placed themselves in charge of snacks and Raven put Scrap on ‘make sure these three stay still’ duty. 

Crognard had ended a while ago, but this particular channel aired a lot of old shows and Mikey was secretly hoping an episode of Space Heros would come on and chase away the wary look that Leo couldn’t quite seem to get rid of.

Casey and April showered before joining them and Mikey felt a small thrill that April was finally not hiding from them. She’d been acting weird ever since the Mom-Thing incident…which was fair but, come on, she knew they weren’t gonna judge her!

Scrap had gone into rest mode at some point, curled up in Raven’s lap like a little metal cat. Mikey absently wondered if he should go grab Ick before remembering it was still morning and she liked to nap during morning.

Leo was tucked up in the armchair, Raph sitting on the floor next to it, while April, Donnie and Raven held spots on the couch. Casey had settled in the rocker, which left Mikey sitting on the floor, next to Raven’s leg.

They’d gone quiet, just relaxing and enjoying the shows.

There was a marathon of shorts playing now, of a big ugly bird trying to trap a puppy so he could eat it, but the pup was far too quick and kept messing up the bird’s traps.

The fifth time the ugly bird tumbled down a ravine, a thought occurred to Mikey.

He leaned back so that he could rest his head on the couch and look up at Raven, “Hey?”

Raven glanced down, raising an eyebrow with a quiet, “Hmm?”

“The person in the dream Dave made?”

Raven’s face pinched for a moment, “....what about her?”

“You conjured her to protect you,” Mieky said slowly. “Buuut you felt scared in that memory?”

Raven shrugged, “I mean, that was when I told her I was a woman. It was pretty terrifying.”

Mikey blinked, “...why would that be scary?”

“Seriously?” Casey’s voice made Mikey lift his head again. “Come on dude, doesn’t matter how nice the people around you are. Coming out is scary as hell.”

Mikey blinked again.

Raph sat up from where he was slumped against the armchair, “The heck are you talking about? Coming out of where? A storage room?”

“More like a closet,” Casey snickered.  Than stopped short when he noticed no one else was laughing, “Wait, you’re serious?”

April frowned, slowly turning to Raven, “You’re…gay?”

“Uh,” Now Raven looked confused. “Like, happy?”

“Oh my god, she trans!” Casey groaned. “How did none of you figure that out? She makes, like, zero effort to skim around that! Donnie, aren’t you the smart one?”

“Trans…trans what?” Donnie asked. “What is she crossing?”

“Oh my god!” Casey repeated. “Seriously? Did all of you grow up under a rock?”

Several pairs of eyes gave Casey a flat look.

Then April’s widened in realization, “Oh! You’re…oh….oh?”

“Excuse me?” Raph growled. “Does someone want to please explain what you’re all talking about?”

Casey stared at the turtles, “You know, transgender? LGBTQIA?”

“Oh, is that’s what it’s called here?” Raven asked. “Yeah, that’s a good name.”

“What do you call it?” Casey said.

“Well….a lot of worlds have different names and…some don’t translate well. Commander Verd and I used the term gender transcendence.”

“Yeesh,” Casey hissed. “That’s a mouthful.”

“Yeah, transgender is much better.”

“Hello!” Raph barked out. “Can someone please explain already?”

Leo nodded in agreement with a quiet, “Hai, hrrrmm….hai?”

Casey rolled his eyes, “It’s not that complicated. Raven was cloned after a dude but she’s not a dude. Right?”

Raven shrugged, “Pretty much.”

“You can just…do that?” Donnie asked. “Pick if you want to be a boy or a girl?”

“It’s…not exactly a choice,” Raven started slowly. “I mean, in Tipoca City, all we knew was what the Kaminoans taught us and self-expression of our identities wasn’t something they encouraged. But when I was deployed, I experienced a lot of things very quickly, saw a lot of things too. I always felt…not wrong or incomplete just…not fully myself I guess? It’s hard to explain but I eventually figured it out. Commander Verd and General Astra helped me as much as they could, no one was sure how the command for the GAR or the long necks would react so we decided to not risk the surgery and hormone treatments at the time. But when we were stranded, Crow offered the corrective procedure so I thought, why not?”

“Fyi?” Casey piped up. “Us Earthlings call it ‘gender affirming surgery’.”

“How do you know all this?” April asked. “We’re the same age and I don’t know all that.”

“Well, firstly, I’m Bi,” Casey stated. “Second, why don’t you know this? It’s twenty-thirteen, there’s loads of info on the internet!”

“I…um,” April flushed.

Donnie got to his feet, moving out of the room and muttering, “Where’s my laptop?”

“Let me know if you want help filtering Don!” Casey hollered after him.

Mikey looked between Casey and Raven before settling on Casey, “What’s Bi?”

“Means I’ll date boys and girls,” Casey explained. “Figured it out when I was, oh, thirteen? But seriously, how do none of you know about LGBT-plus?”

“Dude, we never left the sewer until a year ago!” Raph threw his hands up in exasperation. “Gha, why are humans so…so complicated!”

Casey cackled, “Get used to it Raphie! Because when Don gets back I am educating all of you!”

“Casey…educating,” April shook her head. “That’s a first.”

“I’m full of surprises Red, should give me a chance more often.”

April just rolled her eyes and settled back into the couch.

Mikey tipped his head back to look at Raven again, “But she was nice, right? When you told your commander?”

Raven smiled, soft and sad in equal parts, “Yeah…yeah, she supported me from day one.”

“Cool,” Mikey turned so he could fold his arms on the couch cushions. “I hope she shows up soon, I wanna meet her.”

He expected Raven to reply, say that Commander Verd would like him too, or talk about her more.

But Raven remained quiet, hand petting absently over Scrap as her eyes stayed fixed on the TV.

Mikey frowned but decided to not dwell. Instead, he tucked his shell into the nook made between Rave’s leg and the couch and waited for Donnie to come back so they could get educated about LGBT…LG…LQI…

He was gonna have to get Casey to write it down somewhere. That was a lot of letters to remember.

He glanced around one more time, gauging reactions. Raph still looked huffy, but Mikey was pretty sure it was because it took so long for Casey and Raven to explain. April had moved on, absently watching the TV like she had before.

Leo…looked pensive, eyes fixed on Raven.

Mikey decided to shrug it off. Leo always did like to mull over new information, especially new information about humans. This was definitely no different and he’d move on once Donnie came back with his laptop.