#ive connected the two dots. i'm connecting them

[hotvintagepoll]

you're right about the holiday but I would extend the no chemistry to Kate Winslet having too much chemistry with Eli Wallach like she really did want to fuck that old man

THAT'S ELI WALLACH??????????

[skimmingmilk]

aughhh sonic going back in time to visit little two yr old tails as been in my brain for what feels like forever! like how many dots does he end up connecting? how does he have the strength to not travel back further and knock the daylights out of tails’s mom? how does he react to the whole kukku invasion and forest fire? so many questions…aaaaa im so excited for this fic i will be in ruins. in ruins, i tell you

also with the whole sonic punching tails’s mom thing: you were talking about tails and his parents, but like sonic interacting (or just seeing) tails’s parents is always something ive thought about. idk, im curious about what your take on that would be, if you have one. (sorry if you’ve already answered something like this ahshhshs)

your boys are just spinning around in my brain constantly. they are living in there completely rent free. i adore them sm, they make me sick. anytime there’s a reference or parallel to something in their past, it hurts. these boys need therapy immediately. maybe even before immediately. your portrayal of them is such a huge inspiration istg

anyway, sorry this is kinda all over the place 😭 i just had a bunch of thoughts and threw them together in the most coherent way i could lol. hope you have a good rest of your night/day! stay safe out there 🩵

So, I was saving this because it really inspired me to write a little something, and it felt fitting because I live for your baby Tails and Sonic art, it's seriously the best boost of serotonin for me xD I'm sorry it took a minute to get to this, and I'll address the second idea you had in another ask (someone else was on the same wavelength as you around this time, and also asked about Sonic and Tails and Tails's parents xD).

But for now, please accept a continuation of the back in time shenanigans <3

Sonic Back In Time Shenanigans WIP #2: Back for the Luggage

Tracking down a second Chaos Emerald so he could skip back in time for an afternoon wasn’t how Sonic saw himself spending the past few days. Though, to be fair, he spent a good chunk of them trying to ignore the very itch encouraging him to give into this particular whim of the week, but impulse control wasn’t Sonic the Hedgehog’s claim to fame. Not by a long shot.

His curiosity had been piqued. New insight into the lore of his little brother’s life before he’d ever crossed his path niggled at his mind no matter how far and fast he ran from the temptation to take a peek. The glimpse he’d got on that rainy night hadn’t been all that reassuring, with Tails so small and sick and the time Sonic got to spend with him in that dusty, stuffy cabin all too brief.

Cocoa Island. He’d looked it up after he and Silver returned to Sonic’s present, their respective futures stabilized for the time being, but he couldn’t find much information on it. If it wasn’t for the fact that Sonic could chart it on a map, it almost seemed like it didn’t even exist.

Historic records mentioned studies of the volcanic activity on the island more than a decade ago. Mines had also been dug out in the cave systems throughout the island long before Sonic had been born, in search of potential esoteric energy sources.

The Chaos Emeralds, no doubt.

But other than that, it seemed the island had never been properly settled. Sonic could’ve flown over in the Tornado for a quick jaunt—running to small islands never boded well for him, they were always tricky to aim for—but he knew it wouldn’t have the answers he was itching to find out.

And sure, the big one was already answered. The sick baby fox he’d had to leave behind in the care of some flickies after that rainy night obviously made a full recovery, or else Tails wouldn’t be alive in Sonic’s present, off on his own adventure. Flying solo. Alone.

But knowing that without actually seeing it, experiencing it for himself, didn’t satisfy Sonic in the slightest. He was all about experiences. And he wanted to experience this mysterious chapter of his best bud’s life, one he never really let himself think all that hard on.

So, that was how Sonic found himself on a nearly deserted island eight years in the past with two Chaos Emeralds in hand. It was warmer than in his present, willing to bet they were somewhere in spring or early summer as opposed to late fall, but the dense cover of pine trees kept the forest floor cool in its shade. Allergies tickled his nose, prompting Sonic to scratch at it as he took in his surroundings. Flickies sang throughout the branches, their chirps a comforting song accompanied by the steady hum of insects hidden in the brush. With his own curious hum, Sonic picked a direction and ran with it—er, walked with it. He took it slow for the moment, trying to find his way back to the cabin from that night. It seemed like his best bet to start his search for Tails.

Until a child’s voice somewhere in the forest caught his ear, both perking up and flicking towards the sound with an instinctive pull as everything else faded into the background. A breath Sonic hadn’t realized he’d been holding lifted from his chest. The child sounded light, healthy. No coughing or crying as far as he could tell. 

Sonic followed the voice to a clearing. Unlike the stormy day he’d first stumbled in on, sunlight flooded the patch of grass between the trees with its warm beams. One fell across a tree stump where a two-tailed fox kit lay sprawled across on his tummy, bright-eyed and bushy tails further confirmation that he’d made a full recovery. Sonic’s shoulders sagged with relief as he observed him from the brush, his own green eyes lighting up as he realized he was playing. Making motor sounds with his mouth, Tails rolled a toy airplane through the long, wild grass. His tongue poked out as he accidentally blew raspberries amidst his very serious airplane noises.

“Pfft—” Sonic’s laugh nearly sputtered out of him, cut off only by the fact that the kid heard him and froze.

Ears swiveled in his direction, but Tails couldn’t see him through the trees from his spot on the stump. The toy airplane fell to the grass with a soft thump as the baby fox squirmed and tried to hoist himself up into a sitting position, his two blue boots dangling just over the edge as his bare hands planted themselves on the wood between them to support himself. One tail flicked up and down with excitement while the other twitched limply against the tree stump, like it didn’t know it could lift itself up like its twin.

“Mom?” he called out, and the hope in his voice ensnared Sonic’s heart in a vice. “Mom!”

“Ah, sorry, little guy. Not mom.” Sonic stepped out from behind the brush with his hands up, a sheepish smile on his face. “Just me. Long time no see.”

His tails immediately wilted as the bright-eyed, eager expression on his face retracted into something shy and pensive. But not scared, Sonic noted. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Remember me? I stayed with you during that rainstorm the other night,” Sonic added, hoping to jog the little guy’s memory, but he didn’t actually know how long it had been since that night. 

He didn’t have Silver’s neat little time travel gizmos. His comm couldn’t pinpoint where he was in time, only in space. Which meant he couldn’t stay long, because if Tails or anyone else tried to ping his location, it’d probably come up blank. 

The Tails sitting in front of him drew his legs up, curling into himself a bit the closer Sonic got. Okay, well maybe he was a little afraid. Sonic stopped short of reaching the tree stump, hoping a reassuring smile would get him the rest of the way.

“My name’s Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. What’s yours?”

Tails stared at him for a moment, until his gaze slowly slid past him to focus on the tree line behind him. Sonic planted his hands on his hips and canted his head back to see if anything was there, but aside from the buzz of insects and rustling of flickies in the leaves, the forest was still. No one else but the two of them smack dab in the middle of it.

“…Mom?” Tails whispered, grabbing onto one of his tails to hold.

Sonic’s smile slowly slid off his muzzle. In all the time he’d known Tails, he’d never once called for his mom. Not a single cry. By the time he came into Tails’s life, whatever innate trust he’d had for this faceless person had completely evaporated. There was only one person Tails had ever called out for, ever cried for, ever searched for when he was lost or scared or lonely.

Sonic swallowed thickly. “I don’t know where your mom is, bud. You waiting for her?” Tails nodded with the most intense certainty, his ears flopping forward and back with the force of it. “Did she… did she say when she’s coming back?” 

This time Tails pursed his mouth as he thought carefully about his answer, his pensive expression the same one he’d still make to this day when he debated how to explain something to him. If he should explain something to him. If he should give his big bro a glimpse into the inner workings of his big brain, or if it’d be easier—safer—to keep it all to himself.

And just where’d he pick up that particular trick?

But this Tails was young enough—hadn’t been hurt enough—to trust someone who looked like a grown-up, so he slowly shook his head in response, wide blue eyes gazing up at him like there’d be some sort of prize if he answered all the questions correctly. 

Sonic’s brow furrowed. “Do you know how long it’s been since you last saw her?”

“Long.” The small, squeaky voice was so matter-of-fact, Sonic nearly fell over with the sheer amount of joy a single syllable filled him with; his little bro’s attitude had been baked into him from the start.

“I’ll bet,” he huffed out a chuckle, choosing to sit cross-legged in the grass so he wasn’t towering over Tails like some kind of threat. “You like planes?” Sonic glanced meaningfully at the toy plane still discarded in the grass.

Tails glanced down at it, the tip of his tail in his mouth as he gently chewed on it. “Mmhm.”

Though Tails had long-outgrown the habit of chewing on his own tails, Sonic would still occasionally catch him nibbling on the ends of pens and pencils when he was deep in thought or starting to get hungry. Or, at least, he used to. Back before Sonic had been captured and Tails had been out on his own for six months…

“I like ‘em, too,” Sonic piped up with a grin. “Probably my favorite way to travel! Second to running, of course.”

Tails blinked at him, head canting to one side. Sonic’s smile grew and he scooched forward a couple inches, steadily closing the gap between them.

“Y’see, running’s sort of my thing. What kinda things do you like to do?”

Tails glanced down at the toy plane again, then up at the sky. He pointed shyly at the white, puffy clouds slowly floating by overhead. Sonic followed his gaze, unable to help the way his smile crooked to one side.

“You like to watch the clouds?” Sonic filled in for him, beaming when Tails nodded. “Me too. You ever look for shapes in ‘em?”

The little guy’s brow furrowed. “Shapes?”

Sonic laughed as the perplexed, and ultimately unconvinced, expression remained fixed on Tails’s face. “C’mere, I’ll show ya!”

Unceremoniously flopping onto his back, face turned towards the sky, Sonic patted the grass beside him. Though they were mostly shielded by the thick cover of trees, a light breeze still wafted down into the clearing and carried the salty scent of the sea with it. The stands of grass tickled Sonic’s side as he laid back and took a deep breath, listening for the familiar patter of eager footsteps following his lead.

Except they didn’t come.

Sonic pushed himself up onto his elbows. Tails was still curled up atop the tree stump, chewing on the tip of his tail as he watched him with worry in his eyes. Worry that had no place being there in a kid so young.

So Sonic cracked another smile. “Don’t worry. The floor’s not lava,” he teased, but it was something the toddler obviously didn’t understand. “It’s safe, bud. I’m not gonna hurt ya. Promise.”

Tails’s gaze darted to the treeline again, searching amongst their thick trunks and low-hanging branches before snapping back to Sonic. “Mm… s’pposed to wait here,” he mumbled, his words sounding a little thick as some of his syllables slurred together in a mouth that was still so small, but ultimately what he’d said was clear enough for Sonic to understand.

His smile slowly faded as he processed the simple explanation; the same feeling rising in the back of his throat as when he sat with a sick Tails in the cabin while the kid asked if he could go home. “Your mom tell ya that?”

Tails nodded. “Wait here. Be good.” His little face scrunched up in a look of pure, earnest determination. “Wait here an’ be good, then mom will come back. She said… she said.”

But she wouldn’t.

No one would.

And maybe Tails already knew that. Even if he didn’t want to believe that someone he loved would leave him, he’d always been a smart kid. Tails’s tiny claws caught in the fur of his tail as he clung tighter to it—like he could physically cling to the hope that his mom would still come back if he did this one thing really well.

If he did his very best.

“Look Sonic, I made this for you!”

“Sonic, I’ve made some adjustments to the Tornado’s aerodynamics, so her base speed has more than doubled! Pretty cool, huh?”

“I made a radar to help us track the Chaos Emeralds faster!”

“I still need to optimize your Extreme Gear’s turning radius and acceleration for your next race. It’s not good enough.”

“The Cyclone still has a ways to go in terms of balancing its different modes of transport. It’s just not good enough at land or air travel yet.”

“I’m wildly inconsistent. I’m just a burden to you. I’m not good enough.”

Not good enough.

Sonic’s fingers dug a little firmer into the soft, damp soil beneath the grass. “Well, I mean, ya gotta get off that stump sometimes. What about when you get hungry? You leave to go get food, dontcha?”

Tails stiffened, fur frizzed up like he’d been caught with his hand in the proverbial mint chocolate chip cookie jar. “Don’t tell,” he pleaded, eyes wide as panicked tears welled up. “I’m sorry—”

“Woah. Hey, hey, hey,” Sonic sat up straighter so he could lift his hands, using them to make a calming gesture as Tails’s little chest started to heave with each little gasp. “Easy there, bud. I’m not gonna tell her.”

“…Not?”

Despite the storm brewing just beneath the surface, faced with further confirmation that Tails had never truly felt safe or wanted, he refused to scare the kid with its intensity. Offering up a kind smile and reassurance, Sonic held up a finger to his mouth. Like they were keeping secrets from some nameless authority figure they’d never shared. 

“I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Tails’s ears perked up and the grip on his tail eased up. “M’kay…”

“M’kay,” Sonic mimicked, smile growing as he watched Tails scrub at his face with the fur of his forearm. “C’mere, kiddo. Watch the clouds with me.”

Tails looked at him for a moment, then scooted closer to the edge of the tree stump. He swung one leg over, then the other, his little boots scraping against the bark as he eased himself down. He was a little off-balance as he toddled over. Both arms splayed out to steady himself as one tail flicked up and the other was dragged behind him, still as limp and awkward as it had been on the stump.

Sonic’s gaze narrowed in on it immediately. “Didja hurt your tail?”

Tails paused and craned his neck back, wobbling a little as he tried to look behind him. “No,” he answered simply.

“Then how come it’s not up like your other one?”

Tails reached behind him and picked up the limp appendage, hugging it to his chest. “Doesn’t do it.”

Sonic’s frown deepened. “Let me see it.”

Tails didn’t even hesitate. He let go of his tail as he waddled right over to him. He turned his back to him, giving him complete access to the part of his body he protected the most. Sonic was the only one he’d learned to trust with them over the years, but he’d had to earn it. 

Sonic gently ran his fingers through the fur, watching his baby brother’s posture for any sign of discomfort. He didn’t flinch, but his good tail started wagging almost immediately, thwacking Sonic in the side of the face. 

“Careful with that,” he chuckled, catching it in a loose hold when it smacked him again. “You could take someone’s eye out with one of these bad boys. Here, hold onto this for me.”

He waited for Tails to grab onto his eager tail, hugging it hard when it wiggled uncontrollably. “S’tryna get away,” he giggled.

“Oh boy, better get a good grip. It’s a slippery one, that tail,” Sonic laughed, using the distraction to his advantage as he palpated along the base of the weaker tail with his fingertips.

There was barely any muscle to it, and the fur was patchy and matted, flattened in a way that his other tail clearly wasn’t, even though his fur overall could’ve used a good brushing. But it wasn’t injured, no welts or bruises or cuts. It was just… weak. Like it was developing slower than its twin. He’d caught a glimpse of it that night where he was sick, but now that he was getting a good look at it, the differences between the two were stark. He couldn’t imagine why; Sonic’s brain literally wouldn’t let him conceive of a situation where this would happen—where Tails wasn’t allowed to use one tail to the same extent as the other.

Whatever had caused this had reversed itself by the time Sonic met Tails, both little propellers of equal strength. At least, he thought they were. To be fair, he’d only been eleven and he hadn’t looked all that closely at them. And Tails barely let him patch him up from where he’d been smacked around by bullies or badniks in those first few weeks.

Idly petting along the length of his tail, Sonic stilled when it spasmed against his palm. Just looking at it, he’d have thought he accidentally pulled on it or snagged his fur, but there was a gentle rumbling sound emanating from Tails’s chest that assured him otherwise. Sonic flicked his gaze up to see Tails watching him, a smile on his face while he purred openly. His tail jerked in his hold again. It was trying to wag.

Sonic’s shoulders sagged, his own smile lopsided as he let his tail slip from his grasp. “All clear. Time to park those two tails of yours right here on the runway.”

Tails squeaked as Sonic nabbed him around the middle, but dissolved into a fit of giggles as he was lifted up and plopped down on the grass next to him. Kicking up one leg over the other, Sonic laid back once again, arms pillowed behind his head as he let out a contented sigh. Beside him, Tails laid back and wiggled a bit to get comfortable, both tails swept to the same side so they wouldn’t get pinched underneath him. He tilted his head up to look at the sky, the same color reflected back in his eyes.

“Shapes?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna look for shapes, little buddy,” Sonic hummed. “Go ahead and tell me what ya find.”

Tails considered the sky for a moment, then pointed at a blob above them. “Oval.”

A sharp laugh burst right out of Sonic. “Sorry, sorry,” he wheezed when Tails pouted at him. “Not those kinda shapes, pal. I’m talking things like flickies or flowers or chili dogs! But good first try. I’m thinking that one looks more like… a whale.”

“Whale?”

“Uh-huh. See the tail?” Sonic removed one hand from behind his head so he could trace the oblong cloud as it faintly curved upwards at the end, making sure Tails’s eyes followed where he pointed. “And there’s its fin. And the wispy bits at the top are like the water shooting out of its spout.”

“Spout,” Tails echoed, blinking up at it like he was trying to solve a puzzle. 

“Yeah, you know. Like when they come up from the water and all that mist sprays from that hole on top of their heads like…” A devious grin spread across Sonic’s face before he looped his arm around Tails and dragged him close enough to blow a raspberry against his cheek with a loud, “pbbbbbbfffft!”

Tails squealed, legs kicking as he squirmed about instinctively, but made no move to pull away entirely. The ticklish sensation buzzed through him like a bunch of tiny butterflies; the feeling silly, unfamiliar, and almost overwhelming all at once. He eventually pawed at Sonic’s muzzle, pushing it away from the fluffy, baby fur of his cheek, but he was smiling and laughing as he looked over at him, eyes shining with delight.

“Was that funny?” Sonic snickered.

“Yeah!” Tails beamed at him, his tails beating an inconsistent rhythm against the grass. “You’re funny.”

“I’m funny?” Sonic feigned offense. “Excuse me, but seems to me like you’re the funny one, wiggling around over here like a cup of sparkle gelatin!”

“No!” Tails squeaked, curling up when Sonic poked him in the tummy. 

“No?” Sonic eased back, reminding himself to reign it in a bit so he could figure out if the “no” was just in play or if he was serious. 

As much as he wanted to give this little guy something to smile and laugh about while he was out here on his own—and it was so easy, it was almost intoxicating when he hadn’t seen his brother’s smile in weeks—he didn’t want to overwhelm the kid. But as he let him go and pulled back, a panicked look flashed in Tails’s eyes. His smile fell and a fear that was too big for a guy so small replaced it as he froze up.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Sonic lowered his voice, but even that didn’t stop the tears from suddenly sprouting in the corners of his eyes. “Was that too much? Sorry, kiddo. Not really used to you like this. I don’t know your limits.”

Tails didn’t answer him, probably because he didn’t know how. He was a baby, after all. Four-year-old Tails had often had trouble expressing how he felt or what he wanted. And heck, even ten-year-old Tails was still facing that particular issue. He couldn’t expect a maybe-two-year-old to know…

Tails’s tiny paw reached for Sonic’s arm, the light touch barely registering as anything other than an itch before his fingers curled into his fur. Sonic stared at his hand for a second, then immediately darted to his face. Tails sniffed, muzzle quivering as he held back his tears.

Always sucking it up. Always putting on a brave face. Always trying to be a big kid, like his big bro.

Even when he was just a baby.

“It’s okay,” Sonic repeated, his arm curling around Tails again. “I’m right here, it’s okay.”

Tails nestled against his side, nuzzling his face against him with a shiver and a barely suppressed whimper. “Mom… dad…”

The storm returned with a white-hot flash of frustration and resentment. Sonic directed his glare at the cloud whale lazily floating past them, since he couldn’t look the people responsible for this in the eyes. Not that he particularly wanted to. If they never crossed paths, his and Tails lives would only continue on for the better. That was one thing he was still certain of. There was nothing in the universe that could convince him otherwise.

Not even the baby who desperately wanted them.

But he didn’t know any better. They were all he knew. 

Releasing a long sigh, Sonic let go of the past and pulled himself back into the present—or, well, two-year-old Tails’s present anyway. He patted Tails’s side, then ruffled his fur a bit when he cuddled closer. His fur tickled as he rubbed his little face against his ribs, so Sonic scooched him up a bit more until his cheek was pillowed against his shoulder.

“Sorry if I scared you, bud,” he hummed, watching as one of Tails’s ears twitched from the lull of his voice. “Didn’t mean to. You’re safe with me, okay? When I’m around, I’m always gonna do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

Tails tipped his head back to watch him, silently absorbing his words, even if he didn’t understand them. But as Sonic looked down at him, he saw his four-year-old brother snuggling up to him in a storm and his six-year-old brother falling asleep on him during a movie and his eight-year-old brother trying to be strong for Sonic as they lost another friend… He could see all of Tails in the way he looked at him, every moment where he let Sonic see a little of that vulnerability he always tried so hard to hide.

He could even see his ten-year-old brother, hundreds of miles away, determined to bury that vulnerable little kid for good, somewhere Sonic would never find him. And that was fine. If that was what Tails wanted, then Sonic wanted that for him. He wanted Tails to feel confident and capable and every bit the hero Sonic saw in him every day.

“And even when I’m not here… when you can’t see me? I’ll still be with you. Wherever you go, whatever you face, you won’t have to do it alone.”

Tails sniffed, then lifted his head to gaze up at him. “Pomise?”

Sonic’s breath hitched, his eyes as wide as saucers as the fox kit who’d only known him for a few minutes at most looked at him with nothing but trust. “Yeah. I promise.” He had to clear his throat, then tugged Tails up to sit on his chest. “You’ve got no idea just how stuck with me you are, keed.”

“No idea,” Tails repeated, shaking his head with the utmost seriousness a two-year-old could express.

Sonic’s laughter traveled through him and right up into Tails, the two of them shaking with it. The feeling of being bounced about coaxed a few giggles out of Tails and he nearly slid off his unsteady perch. But Sonic’s hands supported him, holding tight so he wouldn’t fall.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Sonic choked out as his laughter petered out on a breathless sigh. “Don’t ever forget that, okay?”

“M’kay,” Tails agreed.

“M’kay.” With one hand remaining on Tails’s waist, Sonic lifted the other to poke him on the tip of his nose, grinning at the way he went cross-eyed from following his finger. “I’m gonna follow up on that in eight years, y’know, so better work on committing that to memory, stat.”

“M’kay.”

“I mean it. There’ll be a test and everything.”

“M’kay.”

“You’re so agreeable,” Sonic sighed, closing his eyes as he laid his head back, leaving the comfortable weight of the baby fox on his abdomen. “I don’t think I know what to do with a little bro that actually listens to me.”

He felt Tails squirm a bit, one knee digging into his ribs as he attempted to scoot further up, then a finger lightly tapped Sonic on the tip of his nose. One green eye cracked open, immediately greeted with a pair of pleased blue ones and a wagging fox tail. Despite the fact that it was pinned beneath him, pressed into the grass, Sonic felt his tail give a jerky little wag, too.

“Shapes?” Tails asked.

“You wanna look for more shapes in the clouds?” Sonic waited for Tails’s eager nod before turning him around and laying him back in the grass beside him. “You got it, bud! You need a redemption round, after all. Let’s see what kinda shapes you can find this time.”

Tails hummed, contemplative gaze fixed on the clouds for a good minute before he pointed slightly to his left. “Floor!”

“Floor?” Sonic squinted up at the cloud, making sure he was looking at the right one. “Oh, ‘flower!’ Yeah, that does kinda look like a tulip flower. Good eye, kiddo.”

Tails nodded proudly. “Mmhm. Floor.”

“Flower,” Sonic repeated, and even made the sign for it, touching each side of his nose with his fingertips, like he was smelling a flower.

“Floor-er.”

“Close enough,” he chuckled. “Oh, okay, now that one looks like a crab claw. Like from a crabmeat.” Grinning devilishly, Sonic made a claw-like grabby motion at Tails with his hand while the little guy laughed. “Or, y’know, an actual crab.”

They watched the clouds, picking more shapes out of them until Tails’s stomach started growling. Sonic quickly sped through the forest to gather up whatever kind of fruits or vegetables were available on the island, eventually settling on some peaches, plums, and cherries. He grabbed them from the other side of the island, so as not to take from anywhere Tails was likely to forage on his own. He liked the plums and peaches, the sticky juice staining his muzzle as it dripped from his hands. He kept trying to lick his fingers clean while Sonic wiped the fur around his mouth so it wouldn’t bother him later when it dried. He didn’t care for the cherries as much, but Sonic still left a small stash of them and the leftover peaches at the base of the tree stump.

With a full tummy and sticky paws, Tails let out a big, squeaky yawn before he curled up on top of the tree stump. His tails covered him like a blanket as he settled down for a nap, giving Sonic just the out he needed. He’d been debating how to head back to his present time without sounding any alarms for Tails. He honestly wasn’t sure he’d be able to if the kid just looked at him with those sad eyes, like he was being abandoned all over again.

But if Tails was asleep, then maybe this would all have felt like just a dream. Sonic had just wanted to check on him after leaving him so abruptly that first time, and then he figured it couldn’t hurt to give him one good afternoon. There would be so many days where he’d be on his own after this, so many months before their paths would cross. One afternoon where a stranger showed him kindness and played with him wasn’t going to break the time stream, but even Sonic knew it couldn’t really go further than that.

“I’d break time lines for that kid.” His own words echoed at the back of his mind, the certainty he’d felt at the time faltering when faced with the sleepy face of a baby fox who wasn’t supposed to have met him yet. It wasn’t so simple.

Sonic waited until Tails’s breaths were deep and steady, arms wrapped around the weaker tail while the stronger one blanketed him with its fluff. Smoothing down his bangs with his thumb, Sonic gently stroked the top of his head and scritched behind his ear.

“Love ya, little bro,” he whispered.

Things would be okay, Sonic reminded himself as he backed out of the clearing, picking up the two emeralds that were his ticket back to his time. Because they were okay in the present. Even if Tails wouldn’t be there when he returned, they would still be okay. Eventually. They always came out on top. Sonic still believed that.

If there was anything he still believed in above all else, it was Tails.

So, to be fair, when he left the Poloy Forest that afternoon, it had been with the intention that this wouldn’t happen again.

But then, Sonic the Hedgehog’s impulse control wasn’t his claim to fame, was it?

---

A/N: Anyway, just wanted to say thank you again, 0vergrown, and that I appreciate you so much! I'm so happy you're interested in this little side plot I've got brewing and all the angst potential that it holds <3 I have so many little scenes I want to write for them, you have no idea! Hope this scratches a bit of the itch for more of these boys who need so much therapy. So much...

And thank you everyone else who's also interested in this idea! Much love to all of you!

[m0st-forg3ttable-g1rl]

❝𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐛 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫❞

𝐁𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘'𝐀𝐋𝐋!! 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐮𝟏𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐬𝟑𝐥𝐟 𝐡@rm, 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝟑𝐫𝐝𝟎𝐬𝐞. 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!! 𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 (𝟑+ 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬)

the lamb siblings sat outside their musty trailer, they could smell the weed from the surrounding houses... if you could even call them that. Penny was convinced the two had a constant second hand high from how much their little "safe haven" smoked that shit.

This was their normal ever since they were small, sitting with each other while their parents couldn't care less, penny, being the elder of the two felt the responsibility to protect her brother, Ezra, from the cult they lived in, however he was a clever kid and eventually caught on in his preteen years.

"do you think we'll get out of here, ez?" penny asked gently, looking over at her little brother, dressed in his usual cape, he insisted he looked cool.

"no. no we won't, no one has" Ezra put simply, that was one thing him and penny never saw eye to eye on; sugar coating things. he always said it how he saw it.

"you.. don't think we even have a chance?" her question was met with the boy simply shaking his head.

She sighed deeply, feeling herself starting to tear up, god she hated this place, she hated her parents, more importantly? she hated herself. Times like this she thought back to her countless nights alone in her room, bloody toilet paper, a razor in her hand and her cheeks tear stained as she felt the sting in her thighs. that's how she kept herself grounded; pain. The only thing keeping her alive was her brother, she cannot leave him alone in this hellhole, he's her whole life, he's the only one who loves her.

Her flashback was interrupted as their parents called the pair inside, the two exchanged worried looks before heading into their trailer, this thing didn't even deserve to be called a home. Once inside they we're met with a harsh grab on their wrists and dragged to the kitchen, Penny's worst fear had become reality, and her brother would have to bear witness.

"mind explaining this? hm?" their mother questioned, her glare shifting between the two.

a razor, a bloody fucking razor sat on the counter, penny felt sick, she wanted to run away and die. actually die, no coming back like in movies, no happy ending; she deserved death.

Ezra stared in shock, he'd never seen it before, he was too young to worry about facial hair to shave, he was too afraid to even touch dangerous objects, so he shook his head

"ive never seen that, mom, and- and I doubt penny has! she.. she wouldn't, right penns?" penny remained quiet "penns..? why is it bloody?" he asked again shakily, connecting the dots. Their parents watched emotionless, penny finally spoke up

"how.. did you find that?"

"oh honey, please, we looked through your room once you developed a little limp and found your friend here. Tell your brother what you've been doing, or should i?"

"tell me what? penny why have you been limping? what does,.. that... have to do with it? you said no secrets between us!" her younger brother quickly became defensive, he knew the answer, he knew the answer to it all, he wished he didn't but... He wasn't dumb.

"Ezra, please, I'll explain it later-"

"no! I want- I want to know now! how are you so calm?!" tears began to form in both of the children's eyes.

Ezra was crying over his beloved sister hiding secrets, penny crying because her brother hated her now.

"ever... ever since we were young, I began to cope in this place with... that" she gestured to the object "the pain would distract me, would get my mind off of how doomed we were to die here, I'm not calm, i am beyond scared right now" penny explained, her voice flat, it was scary, she was never like this. this all but scared her brother more, he was the monotone one, it seemed they had switched places.

With that he walked silently to his room, their mother turned to penny, holding the razor out for her to take

"I see you'll be needing this again, now that the only person who would remotely like you is gone, all because you can't handle your emotions..."

penny took the blade, going up to her own room and breaking down as soon as the door was closed.

Her mother was right, about everything, grabbing the stash of first aid in her dresser she hitched up her skirt and began to "cope"... she couldn't even call it that, it wasn't coping, she was dying, she wanted too, now that Ezra was gone what was stopping her? she continued this cycle of thinking, of slashing and hacking at her skin, for what seemed like hours but was only 2 minutes. The girl sat there, staring at the mess she made, her skirt was blood stained, her thigh was sticky and her nostrils were intruded with the smell of sickly sweet metal. she wanted to vomit, she wanted to vomit until she couldn't any longer.

After her self pitying, penny finally stood up, limping to the bathroom in order to clean up, this was her nightly routine it seemed. Wrapping her leg in gauze, she heard a knock on the door;

"Penns...? I know it's you" her heart hurt. She couldn't turn her brother away, she opened the door to let him in.

Ezra nearly screamed at the sight, his sister was blood stained and sickly pale, he sat next to her on the ground, grabbing an alcohol pad to wipe her hands. A small gesture but he needed to be there for her

"I didn't want you to see me like this, I look pathetic" penny laughed, finishing bandaging her leg, letting her brother care for her

"I didn't want to see you like this either, at least I know you're alive" he reassured, throwing the wipes away and just sitting near her. the two sat like this for a while until penny spoke up

"when... I leave, will you be okay-"

"no. no I won't. which is why you can't leave, in any way." he knew what she meant by leaving. he wasn't dumb.

"right but... if I did?"

"I'd go with you, I don't exist without you"

penny just nodded, pushing herself up to exit the bathroom in silence

"I'm okay, ez, I'm going to bed, you should too" he agreed with her, hugging her tight as he headed to his room.

Once she knew he was asleep, she rushed to the kitchen, searching the pill cabinet for Ezra's Ritalin, with shaky hands she poured a handful, pouring a cup of water with her free hand.

She walked up to her room, waiting for the pills to kick in, she laid down in bed, feeling at peace for the first time in her life, she was finally leaving Elysium. her peace didn't last long as her body soon became clammy and her breathing was shallow; it was time, and she was okay despite the panic. her mind was racing; was this the right thing? should she call someone? what would ezra-

Ezra. oh god Ezra.

By the time her brother crossed her mind, she felt herself choking on her own blood, she found it beautiful in a way, ghostly pale in a pool of blood.

After a minute of agony... penny lamb was dead. She reached her goal of leaving Elysium.

Ezra awoke the next morning with a sense of dread, something wasn't right in the house. he rushed down to the kitchen, finding his parents but no sister

"where's penny? she's out by now"

"hell if I know, couldn't care less about that slut" his mother huffed, shooing him away like a horsefly, he simply turned and made his way to pennys room, figuring she must've overslept after the long night she had. It was unusual for her to sleep until 10am but he didn't put it past her, slowly he opened her door in case she was indecident.. she was, but not in the way he suspected.

This time he did scream at the sight of his sister, the only thing remotely recognizable about her was the twin French braids she always had, even they had dried blood in them, everything about his dear sister was bloody. his parents rushed to find their son kneeling in front of their daughters body, hysterically sobbing as they watched in shock

"no... no she couldn't have, she can't be serious, penny lamb, wake up!" their mother pleaded, shaking her slightly, her head simply lolled to the side as her mouth spilled with blood, dripping onto the floor, causing her family to back up.

Ezra stayed in her room for days, even after her body had been removed, the room smelled of her, of her perfume, blood, tears, memories... the room was her, it was all he had of her, he barely ate for weeks, just enough to barely live, just enough so his parents, as shitty as they were, would have one of their kids. He needed to stay alive for her, stay alive so she wouldn't have died in vain.

[bolszaja-miedwedica]

not many know that i used to have a ghost bestie (my classmate from primary school who died) but i think nome know that hes now my boyfriend.

and like, i just a few days ago found out that he used to have a crush on me when we were friends when he was alive.

me, who used to wear sweatpants and hoodies and who used to get bullied by my classmates and who used to get scoldings from teachers for talking in class.

and he was a class clown btw and he was the fuckin popular guy. he was older than us by like three or four years because this used to be the norm in this country yk problematic kids etcetera.

and thr popular girl from my class (thr one who used to bully me horribly [ i later found out that she was jealous of me???] ) was like in love with him and she was trying to flirt with him and he used to get really uncomfortable with her and always tried to reject her nicely.

and like try to get in my shoes. i was in her pack because there were only four girls in my class (counting me too) and she was the "prettiest" one and she was older than us by a year or so and she was a fuckin bitch i swear but at that time i was autistic so i thought she was my friend.

and one time a guy in my class made a post on facebook something like "give me a like and ill tell you how pretty you are out of ten" and i and her both liked the post and he gave us both 5/10 and i was shocked because i expected a two and she was jealous and mocked me for months after this saying stuff like "this motherfucker compared me to her?" especially since he was also a nice looking guy (he used to get so much on my nerves used to bother me a lot and prank me and shit i hated him)

yeah no i think i skipped my original point a bit here but like the thing is she was flirting with him nonstop and he didnt like her at all. but me and him. we were...we werent close at all actually we didnt hangout much but whenever we did we had this exact same humour and we laughed at the same jokes and we always had stuff to talk about. and he actually told me he didnt like her at all when he was still alive

i had no idea why he appeared to me in my dream the day he died

i just dreamt of going to my class and he was there and he stopped me and asked "hey long time no see how are you" and we talked a bit but i had to go to class so i said bye and i just thought wow how cool he recognized me. and i didnt find out he died until two years later. from a friend because i texted her asking why his facebook profile is grey and she told me he committed suicide a few days before his 18th birthday...and i connected the dots and i realized this was the day i dreamed of him.

and i left it at that.

and i only really started to hang out with him again when i became like a full time witch.

the first time i got a dream of him again i visited him on cemetery. i left a lavender plant on his grave and i talked to him using a pendulum. i told him that im a witch, i told him about all that stuff that was happening with me since he died, just everything. and i told him if he wants he can come hangout at my house and so the next time i met him he appeared in my house and i knew it because ive seen a multum of online posts with his name in them. i showed him so many stray kids music videos. it was at the time where i wasnt clairvoyant yet so it was weird kinda but cool.

he started appearing sometimes after i became clairvoyant and we were hanging out more, i visited his grave a lot after every dream of him.

then one time my dream was different. i was at his house and in this dream we were in primary school and we were a couple. and i was meeting his grandparents. i was drinking coffee made by his grandpa and then we were laying in his room on his bed and talking. and when i woke up i was like "well that's a weird dream to have about your bestfriend" and after some time he appeared and confessed that he wants to date me.

which i found unsettling. I'm gonna be completely honest. i was not comfprtable with it at all. i was cautious. its different to spouse gods and different to get into a relationship with a literal dead person that used to have a fiancee before he killed himself. i had so many talks with him

like is it because only i can see you? is it because im your only option? is it because of this? is it because of that? and he answered everything very carefully and i even asked my friend who is also clairvoyant to confirm that it is really him. and well it was him.

Belial loves this guy. and that says a lot because Belial hates everyone. he calls him "your little boyfriend" or "little guy". the guy himself looks just like i remember him. he says hes at least a head taller than me but i see him as my size probably because i only really remember him from primary school.

its been a few years since he died rn.

i recently found out that he used to have a crush on me in primary school. because he liked my humour. i was funny. the class clown liked me because i was funny and i spoke his language. we were both undiagnosed adhd kids just coping home trauma with humour. i think he knew that. i think he could feel the "bond".

i used to feel guilty that i could feel that he really had no friends and that thr others only saw his surface. i used to think like would he still be alive if i possibly just stopped him one time and said "hey btw...if theres like anything that is worrying you, or if you just want to talk, uh, im here". would he laugh at me? would he tell his fake friends and they would spread rumors that im in love with him? would he act like the child that he was? why do i as a grown up woman think that i could react as a grownup when i was a child? i used to think about it a lot.

but you know what he said?

"im happier right now. i wouldn't be happy being still alive. being alive has so much costs. acting proper, money issues, abusive home, fighting with your spouse, so much negativity. I'm not bound by that now. I'm truly happy"

and ive made peace with myself. and he made peace too. and now I'm...his girlfriend.

this is the story of my ghost friend boyfriend

[soviet-siscon]

my older sibling has been dead for over 10 years and it’s only now really hitting me that i’m in love with them. and have been for all my life. i remember confessing to one of my friends in preschool that i had a crush on them, and i later dismissed that as a childish misidentification of my feelings, but ive been connecting a lot of dots, and no, i was right the first time. and it explains absolutely everything.

they were 10 years older than me and i was too young to understand most of what they were going through before they killed themself; i regret so badly that i wasnt properly there for them when they needed somebody most. it hurts so badly, it has never stopped hurting. it’s not fair. they were so upbeat, gentle, passionate, humorous and kind. and petty, and clingy, and competitive, and sensitive, and reactive, and god i just remember everything about them and want to gnaw my own arm off. there was nobody like them on this earth and i think my entire life has just been me aching for them, subconsciously seeking their traits in my romantic connections in others only to be disappointed, desperately trying to be a protector and a savior because i couldnt protect or save the person i truly loved the most when it truly mattered.

i want them so bad but my feelings aren’t even hypothetically actionable anymore, they aren’t even alive. they deserved the world, they deserved to live a long and happy life and i’m happy that they were able to be happy for as long as they were but they deserved more. i wanted to give them more, i still do, so much of what i do is for them even though they’re no longer alive to benefit from it. my feelings for them are so huge and so all-encompassing, even in the people in my life who have impacted me the most don’t even begin to compare to how overwhelming my feelings are for my sibling, it’s like comparing a puddle to the ocean. nobody will ever replace them and i think i’m probably just going to spend the rest of my life alone, hopelessly pining for my sibling who is long dead.

sorry to use your inbox as a confessional. these feelings are so massive and unbearable but i know i’m not allowed to feel this way or talk about it openly, and even if i could i don’t think anyone in my life would understand where i’m coming from. i don’t have an incest “kink”, i’m just a sibcon who wants its dead sibling so much that it hurts, everything else is just an extension of that. maybe you will understand a little bit. i hope you’re looking after yourself as best you can.

First of all I'm really sorry it took so long to answer this one, I wanted to make sure i did it properly and I really hope it didn't worry you that I hadn't responded to it.

I try not to talk about it too much because it's something that's gotten to me my entire life and something I can't even begin to explain to people but I have something in my life that makes be empathise with this incredibly deeply, even if I feel like i can't explain it.

That's an unbelievably hard thing to go through and I'm so sorry. I'm giving you a really really really big hug. Realising that's actually how you feel now sounds like the hardest thing in the world and I'm really so sorry.

I really hope that I can say "I know you know it's not your fault". You said you were too young to know what was going on, and I hate to say that a lot of the time there's very little "being there for them better" that could have helped. I know that's incredibly hard to deal with itself and I know how it feels to wish things were different or that it should have been you or that it's your fault. I really hope you know it's not, but I also know that feeling is more complicated than just genuinely thinking it's your fault.

Thank you for sharing this, as sad as it is. I'm glad you had somewhere to talk about it. I understand that a lot even though our situations are different.

I mean fuck it I can explain it just fine: I probably would have had an older sibling or two but they died before they were born and I've gone through my whole life wishing they were alive. That has haunted me forever and is an incredibly large part of where all my feelings stem from. I might have had an older sister and instead I have this hollow empty ghost inside myself. I want my sister and she basically never existed and I've just been making stuff up to myself to deal with it.

So it's not the same situation and I don't think it compares to losing someone like that. But I'm familiar with grief, especially the kind you can't tell people about. I'm really sorry anon, lots of hugs 🫂🫂🫂🩷🩷🩷🩷

[ch0cocrave]

I just realized how short I am -_- /neg

I mean I've always knew it, my friends won't shut up about it, which gets kinda annoying sometimes :/

But when I walked through the hallway a couple minutes ago, everyone was towering over me and idk I just felt like crap... its something I can't control I know, but i'm just kinda tired of hearing " OMG YOU'RE SO SHORT LMAOOO "

" OH YEAH DID I TELL YOU YOU'RE SHORT?? "

One of my buddies literally wrote in my sketchbook "i'm taller than you" Which I mean that's funny and all, but you're not the short one that has to hear that every school day so idek

I go to this activity thing every Wednesday, and I've made a few friends there including my two besties >:], but one of them told me a couple weeks ago that they thought I was 13, based on my height. -_- LIKE HUH????? WE EVEN WENT CAMPING TOGETHER FOR A WEEK AND YOU DIDN'T CONNECT THE DOTS THAT I'M 15???? HUH?????

And when winter break comes around my friends are all gonna tease me saying that I should go back to work at Santa's workshop cause i'm basically an elf WOW DANG WOULD'VE NEVER GUESSED :D

I mean we were talking about how funny it would be on the day before winter break I dressed up in an elf costume and handed toys out which I guess that's funny but idk

Ive kinda grown to hate myself based on this...

I love my life/nsrs

[shroomerr]

what brushes do you use on procreate ((if you use it)) and how do you get your lines so smooth ?? :0

Im dabbling in digital drawing but it’s still kind of a struggle for me shshs so if you have any tips I’d love to know ‼️‼️ also your art is amazing again 💪😫

Oh my first brush question!!

So I mainly use this brush called the "Funny Haha Brush." It's completely free on gumroad, but you can tip the artist if you'd like!

https://oryozema.gumroad.com/l/YQWUE

It's my go-to brush for both sketching and inking! Inking with it is really fun, and when I sketch with it, I lower the opacity all the way down. I like the sort of "crunchy" look it has and the texture it gives me! Though if you're looking for something cleaner, like a G-Pen, maybe this isn't the one skfdhlj. Try it out and see if you like it though!

Though in terms of getting better line quality, im afraid to say that just comes with practice 😭 im getting flashbacks to when i was younger and i'd ask artists i looked up to how they got so good, and they'd just respond with "practice"... SO IM NOT GONNA DO THAT AND INSTEAD YAP ABOUT IT

So the thing about getting smooth lines is that you have to be confident with your strokes: big, quick and broad lines. For example, chicken scratching is a habit I see a lot of younger artists do (not to say this is something you do! just something I've observed).

This is something you'll just naturally get better with over time as you become more confident with your lines, but a good exercise you can do to see improvements quickly is practicing drawing shapes like ovals, circles, parallel lines in quick succession and as cleanly as you can (and in the case of the parallel lines, making them as parallel to each other as you can). Ex:

What this does is you're essentially developing your motor skills to create cleaner lines, and training your muscle memory. Speed isn't the key here, it's more about precision! But you'll naturally get faster over time. Another good exercise that I also learned is where you create two random dots, and try to make a line connecting the two dots and make it as straight and clean as possible! I like to do "ghost" strokes where I plan how the line's going to move before I commit to paper.

Honestly these are just a couple of the exercises ive learned and picked up on over the years, but even I don't do them myself SJLFHKDJL which something I really slack on. But this is definitely for if you want to see results in your improvement faster!! And also, these are also great for warming up before you start drawing.

I totally get the digital art struggle ;; it was SUCH a learning curve for me, going from predominantly traditional to digital. Honestly, the most important tip I could give you is to just draw and have fun! There was a point where I didn't draw (apart from very small homework doodles) for 3-4 years, and in that time I never tried going out of my comfort zone out of fear that it would bad. And even after I started art school, I still wasn't able to draw at the level I thought I would be at. The gap between my perceived skill vs my ACTUAL skill was so big, I kept getting tripped up and being upset about it. The fear of failure was so strong, that I was more comfortable not trying at all. In fact, it wasn't until July that I started seeing improvements in my art!! Just a couple of months ago, I couldn't draw guys for the life of me, and now all I ever draw is south park boys sfljhjl. I'm still not entirely satisfied with how my art looks, but I'm much comfortable and happy with my art now than I ever have been in the last 7 years (holy shit its been 7 years).

So, TL;DR,

1. Line exercises are your friend!

And 2. Have fun! Find your muse, and just keep drawing that!! Find ways to insert your muse in everything!! DRAW TO YOUR HYPERFIXATION'S CONTENT!!

[minimag1c]

Finally ANOTHER CHAPTER OF YOU REALLY DIDN'T KNOW YIPEEEE

Uhm- anyway-

Be ready I'm gonna post a lot for a week and some of you will know why this for now I will feed you with this

Chapter IV: Connections

A knock on the door.

"Ma'am Jophiel?"

Followed by silence.

Something that was unusual or eerie during this specific period in the holy place.

"Nirvana", one the most prominent and famous studios of Heaven have just finished filming an ad for the new perfume that was currently trending with the holy place and the main actress of it retired herself after a few shots who weren't that successful except the last one.

Say, the main actress wasn't just any averagely known figure they picked up on social medias or a doll face like cherub that anyone would fall in love with but the literal, actual and well known Archangel of beauty, Jophiel. The company was already a cash flowing one and well known for their high expectations and goals so it wasn't that all surprising if one of the virtues was also working on the commercial but the masses didn't actually know that for perfectionists, it was fighting with nail and tooth until their figurative and physical state collapse.

That doesn't mean the Archangel Jophiel was the type to exhaust her celestial bones until her own feathers would feel heavy on her wings' flesh however, there where those moments of surmenage accompanied with a bad timing for a sensory overload, let's just say the walking ticking bomb of emotions nesting on eggshells finally exploded and of course in the middle of another shooting.

And here's another problem: No one knew what to do when the model had her meltdown. Of course they didn't knew that this would happen, when hiring one of the original Morningstar, they didn't excepted that of them would actually react badly and it wasn't even on a failed attempt or whatsoever, it was... Just because of a few bright lights.

But after hindsight, did they actually make it too much? It wasn't everyday someone could witness this and did an archangel even needed to be taken care of? Or could they heal themselves? Or on the contrary, they actually needed to be more pampered and looked on??

Almost everyone in the studio would have be shut down, asking those questions that they never considered before if it wasn't for the exception of an heavenly being with a heart pin in his brown hair and clothed with plain a white short sleeved shirt and black pants holding a clipboard in hand who went to the backstage, specifically in the archangel's room.

Actually, he was just like Jophiel except he was the Archangel of love but employees and workers in Nirvana didn't suspect that a lambda manager's assistant is Chamuel Morningstar or, in some texts and other choices of words, Camael. Plus, his disguise made him pretty much unrecognizable and thus, it wouldn't make sense that people would be able to connect the dots between these two identities unless they have stalked or knew the archangel too well which wasn't that many or anyone at all except his siblings.

Right now, Chamuel has put aside the bumble bee-esque sounds roaming and buzzing in the studios or in other rooms except the backstages as he waited patiently in front of Jophiel's door, crossing his arms while lightly tapping his foot. There could be a chance that she wasn't probably inside but instead trying her best to calm down or plaster a smile solid enough to be believable for a few hours or, if she was lucky enough, the whole day and an afternoon in a nearby bathroom but Chamuel had a sharp hearing and if it was for the slight shuffling of a sheet accompanied by a thud, he would have thought about checking the second option.

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?" He asked again, more concern evident in his words. Jophiel herself already knew that her own sibling was in Nirvana, working undercover but she didn't actually know where they were nor what was their costumes or other appellation of it. Another thing is that she didn't really know who it was hence Chamuel preferred to be formal for now as to not overwhelm her even more. Plus, it was also just in case if one of the staff accidentally stumbled next to him and actually realize that two even more powerful than the average heavenly entity was inadvertently working with them.

Camael wasn't sure what would be their reaction but it was better safe than sorry.

In the end, after waiting for a good few minutes, the archangel felt that it was enough for him to enter inside the room, not before warning the one inside it. Without further ado, he opened the door.

Overall, it was the typical decor of any Hollywood backstage and rooms for any stars and celebrities except it had angelic motifs and touch of different yellow hue, from slightly pastel, even white to straight up bright albeit it was only a small portion. Aside from the vanity, there was a simple lemon flavored couch glued to the wall, a small ball of sheets was sitting on it, occasionally shifting back and forth slightly but stayed still on the soft cushions.

If it wasn't for the short curly hair that faded at the tip, Camael wouldn't have guessed that it was Jophiel, putting aside the room's design.

With the softest smile he could plastered on his face, he cautiously when towards the other archangel as he sat down next to her, barely touching her shoulder as to not frighten her furthermore.

"Hey" he started, being as gentle as possible. "What got you so bummed out?" He asked, no hint of malice in his voice.

It took a moment for Camael to get a reaction from her but slightly, ever so slightly she poked out her heard, her eye who was visible out of the sheet glaring at him. Chamuel smiled furthermore.

"Hale."

Hale was the name that Camael picked up for his camouflage in Nirvana. He liked the name rolling out of his tongue, plus he liked the meaning behind it, healthy and good looking, even though he didn't considered himself as a healer, he considered love as a fuel, something that everyone, platonic or not, could use as a natural medicine, a coping mechanism if used well, a link for strengthening emotional support.

But after all, who was he to tell, being a healer, a pillar of marble was Raphael's purpose and duty.

Which, now that Camael thought about it, he hasn't seen his brother in a while...

But that wasn't the current situation that mattered at hand right now. The mass of wrapped blankets started to wriggle a bit next to the archangel until the woman's head fully emerged from it. Her own eyeshadows stained slightly the corner her eyes while the pigment of her yellow blush started to fade out. Her hair was also a mess but, as the beared of the title "one of the most beautiful archangel", of course her appearance would have been a sweet eyestrain in a gawking way.

For the first few seconds, she hasn't moved nor said a word until a small, barely present, mischievous smirk appeared on her face as she finally spoke, her voice a tad raspy.

"You still kept that weird wonky nickname of yours?"

It tooks Camael a while to process what she actually just said before he widened his eyes and lightly punched her on the side. Albeit there was no harm intended nor actual force in his fist, he pouted slightly, huffing at her snarky remark.

"Hey! You said that it was good when I told you I would use that name!" He slightly scolded her. Jophiel's small smile widened a bit more. "Cammy, you already know that when I said that, it was out of from pure sarcasm."

The concerned one only proceeded to roll his eyes, soon finding himself to laugh at her propos and even more, his own joyfulness contagious as Jophiel soon followed him, albeit with less energy and more with a las feeling lingering.

It didn't tooks that much time, in fact it was only a few minutes after, for the feminine archangel to slump back on her velvet couch, drowning again in her sheets and sour mood.

Chamuel titled his head to the side, his smile slowly faltering before it became a thin line, both eyebrows frowning slightly as he looked at her. However, when he was about to speak up again, trying to come up with another way to confront her state, the archangel of beauty was faster, asking with a still a tad hoarse voice coated words.

"What are you even doing here-?"

"Just wanted to check on you, Joy. Is that a crime?"

The concerned one huffed slightly, even though it seemed more like a sigh of resignation. Camael, nonetheless, didn't backed down as he ever slowly and gently put his hand barely next the sheets that shielded Jophiel from the outside world. The woman was not really the one to be easily open to other people and less when she wasn't having it, emotions and feelings speaking or just meeting others but Chamuel was still persistent. Not stubborn. Persistent was a better word and he was really one, mainly to help other and relatives.

"Jophiel I just want to check on you." He admitted, his eyes showing his empathized bummed out feeling, mirroring with Jophiel. The latter only scoffed lightly, shrugging her shoulders although her gaze still hasn't met the other's.

"It's nothing really. I'm an archangel I can deal with it."

"You know what I mean." He said, rather harsh with knowing it but Jophiel continued, hers still firm on her own conviction but it felt more like she was already getting irritated by Chamuel's continuing presence.

"They were just a few lights. I can handle it but it's just I was more tired than usual today-" Jophiel was about to continue but Chamuel was already getting impatient as well, his own feelings starting to grow tumultuous because of his empath ability increasing.

"Jophiel, don't start pulling out those excuses on me, you already know it won't work." They said, tense. Jophiel glared at him intensely, her lips quivering and, for a moment, Camael really thought that she was going to snap at the other.

But then, instead, she tooks a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying her best to not escalate quickly as she buried herself furthermore in her small makeshift nest, not wanting to add anything else.

Somehow Chamuel felt even worse with that kind of reaction.

An oppressive and awkward silence settled between the two heavenly beings, both of them hesitating if the other would talk or themself. In the end, Chamuel was the one who broke the silence first, sighing heavily before.

"Listen Joy I-... I'm sorry I really didn't wanted to get on your nerves but I just want to help." He said before adding other words, with more pleading coating his words. "Please. Can I at least try to do something? For you?" He insisted slightly, his once persistence fading throughout the time.

Jophiel thought about his question for a short while and was about to answer until he cut her off again, slightly deadpan.

"Except telling me to go away. At least something I can do right now before you throw me out."

"Dammit." She muttered. Chamuel shrugged.

"You heard me."

The silence was still unbearable for the two but this time it was shorter. In the end, Jophiel gave up at trying to be reculant towards him but still, it tooks strength for the archangel to eventually speak up.

"Can I have some water-? Just a small bottle." She asked, her voice barely audible.

Chamuel looked at her, his eyes a bit wide but didn't minded it. Of course, as someone whose powers where just powerful enough, he could snap his fingers and make water appears but he thought to himself that it could be more appreciated if he tries to find one normally since he wanted to walk a bit as well.

"Alright if you say so-"

"But please."

Jophiel's suddenly interrupted them almost made him jump as he looked at her, a bit confused but still, they listened to what was she going to say...

... Even if what she said after somehow made them feel a needle stuck in their heart.

"After that just leave me alone. I really don't want to deal with- I really don't want to deal with anyone right now." She said, now fully hiding her entire physical being inside her sheets.

They knew that she didn't meant any harmful undertone in her sentence but Camael felt a slight weight in his stomach, an unpleasant feeling of uselessness wrenching his guts. Obviously, he felt stupid for feeling like this but it was stronger than him and for a fraction of second, he was about to get really upset.

But then, with hindsight, if it meant helping his sister, than he wouldn't mind.

He shouldn't mind.

"... Of course."

And they left, closing the door without any words.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The archangel of wisdom sat on the floor rummaged through the mountains of papers and scrolls that was in her office alongside with the library, slightly tense and frowning.

The exterminations! How come she have never heard of it? And the fact that the actual head of the seraphim hid that cruel method from the virtues since how many years?? Centuries or eons even???

She was the archangel of wisdom. The archangel of knowledge and closely related to the Heavenly Council, Hell even one of the seven virtue, someone who was supposed to be all knowing and who was able to depict everything and be a powerful being but then if she didn't even knew about these barbaric ways, how can she even still considered herself as enough for this title? And moreso, if Sera hid it away from prying eyes for a long time now, that only emphasize how unworthy the more she thought about-

No. She was worthy of it and that's the reason why she was here, working her ass off, totally not on the verge of a breakdown with a brain as gushy as mud because she have found nothing about the exterminations. Totally not because of that.

A b s o l u t e l y n o t.

... Okay clearly she needed a break.

Uriel grunted, pinching in between her eyes, massaging it slightly, feeling yet another headache incoming as she let go of the papers who were gripped tightly in her hand as she sighed heavily, stress gradually leaving her as she realized how actually exhausted and hungry she was.

"I should probably summon a cereal bar or a bottle of red bull before continuing.." she thought to herself.

However, when she was about to get up to stretch herself, a small black flame suddenly materialized itself in front of her, slightly startling the archangel. Uriel raised an eyebrow before the flame changed its form to a more rectangular one until a dark purple lunch box appeared and almost fell on the floor if it wasn't for the woman who catched it.

At first, she raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking closer at it before she deadpanned, clearly not having it.

Obviously, she knew about the one who gave her this and, normally, she would either laugh a bit or smile at the gesture but the amount of works she had to do today really took a toll on her.

"Azrael, I'm really not in the mood right now." She said out loud. Not that long after, a figure emerged from the ground, wrapped in a black mist until an archangel with long white hair and black wings stepped forward, their arm crossed on their chest, a slight sight of disappointment on their face.

"It is not about your mood or whatsoever, Yuri. You didn't touched food for so long it's now as cold as Antarctica before climate change." Azrael said, raising an eyebrow at Uriel who slightly glared at him, not only because of the nickname but also because she definitely didn't wanted him to come.

"I thought you were the virtue of patience. Why did you even came when I told you I was still working?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Just because I'm that doesn't mean I shouldn't jump on when my siblings doesn't even know how to take care of themselves." He answered, just as nonchalant.

Uriel grumbled under her breath but, nonetheless, couldn't help but bring the lunch box close to her because of the divine smell. Azrael couldn't help but chuckles a bit as he sat next to her, leaning on a pile of old leather books as the other archangel opened the lunch box and widened her eyes, seeing a variety of Korean like dishes. Azrael couldn't help but smile fondly at his sister.

"I've decided to prepare a new one since the last was really not it. Don't worry about the temperature, you can wait a bit because I'm pretty sure it's still hotter than Australia."

"I still don't know why you keep doing Earth and its problems related jokes or metaphors these last few weeks." Uriel said, summoning chopsticks as she took a piece of kimchi. Azrael only hummed.

"When you constantly deal with Death lingering around mainly because of humans' stupidity, might as well use some dark humor to cope. With limits of course." Azrael added the last part as he smiled furthermore when Uriel ate a piece of the meal and hummed in approval, pleased of the savory taste of Azrael's cooking. She shallowed before continuing, her eyes darting away, her tone almost nostalgic.

"Mmh. You reminded me of the time during the ten plagues in Egypt where you accompanied me and kept making jokes all around because of the numerous deaths." Uriel piped in, a small, soft smile on her face yet at the same time restraining herself to not shake her head at the memory.

"Well, technically you were the one who would check if the door have lamb's blood while I shoot the kid." Azrael said almost as a matter of fact, smiling in false innocence.

Uriel almost choked on her meal as she glared at her bother, her joy being ephemeral after that propos. She narrowed her eyes at him before letting out a sigh, rubbing his eyes behind her glasses.

"For Mother's sake Azrael, I said take them, not shoot them!"

"Knowing the context of it, pretty sure these two are the same thing, am I wrong-?"

Now that caught Uriel off.

"Well- uh- i-" The archangel of wisdom was about to pull up another stunt but upon realizing that she let out a huff of resignation.

When the angel of death seemed to observe that his sibling didn't had anything else to say, he couldn't help but laugh at her attempt. Obviously, not out of malice rather a begnine teasing.

"Either way you understood what I was trying to say."

"Yeah. Of course."

And despite it, Uriel didn't fought back the small crack of smile that creeped out up on her face.

Soon, a silence settled between the two. For a the primary few minutes, it was decent until the atmosphere gotten thick, shifting unto something more awkward and unbearable to handle even for the toughest shells.

Unfortunately, Azrael's question only added more unwanted salt to the elephant in the room.

"It has been almost a week since I didn't saw you coming out of the library."

Uriel was playing and poking her remaining teokkbokki, contemplating the metaphorical voie in front while her consciousness tried to process fully what her brother was implying.

For a fraction of second, she felt her own golden blood running out but then she tried to calm herself down, her appearance as neutral as possible to not betray her inner growing turmoil.

"It's because of work. Exterminations have been such a bum in the butt I have extras now." She replied as Azrael made a sniffled up noise of understanding, his expression going on a small degree of sour.

"To be honest, I know you're like those librarians that have so many knowledge but still, I have no ideas how is your job and those exterminations are related."

Oh boy where does Uriel would even starts to answer that.

Because first thing first, not a lot of people weren't aware of that, not even her own siblings but Uriel is actually, indirectly in that case, member of the Heavenly council. There were no veiled explanations, she was the wisdom, the pillar or logics and techniques in some perspectives and, as much as it was overly frustrating how it was bright on the face that Sera was the one behind the exterminations therefore the main culprit, she needed to be neutral first and thus it was a necessity to provide concretes informations and notions about the yearly slaughter alongside with its participants, which are, in that case, exorcists...

... And that led to the second thing which was another whole problem: the case itself was a total mess. It was certain and official from now on that exterminations were illegal and weren't even supposed to work in the first place but that was EXACTLY the issue! How could Uriel even work on a registered crime case when it has no written traces and registered laws concerning it and even less files! And THAT was infuriated Uriel the most because in juridical way of speaking, that meant that exterminations had nothing in it aside the exorcists?? No registered informations or official connotations, it couldn't just be that easy.

And let's not even talk about the exorcists themselves who, most of them, doesn't even have any assurances and official identities in Heaven.

And for informations as well, the victims or the one who were involved in the case are only citizens from Hell and if it was for Heaven's case, it was the one who were put on the trial which wasn't... The best thing.

And the only person the archangel could think of was Emily which was also not... The best thing. And no. She won't elaborate.

Oh and Adam too. He was already a whole problem by himself and now that he died, the problem got worse...

"... There are reasons why it's linked. Trust me." Uriel decided to put simply in the end, not feeling ready to dump all the reasons and whatnot to her sibling as she went back to her files.

The virtue of patience frowned slightly at their sister's response, knowing easily that Uriel actually had the answers, she always had them, but just didn't felt to talk about it.

But nonetheless, he respected Uriel's choices of words, as long as she didn't tried to hide bigger and darker secrets nor crucial informations that risked to be compromise in the current situation, as he sighed slightly in small content before he finally got up, ruffling his wings slightly.

The feminine archangel bit his lips, knowing her brother would leave her be again... But a sudden question that made her froze in mixed emotions was itching her as she decided to impulsively ask it out loud.

"Do you think he received our letters?"

The temperature of the room suddenly dropped as Azrael himself felt a weight dropping all the way down to his throat and stomach, as he only stood, immobile, his back turned to Uriel as his mind tried to process the following words.

After what felt an eternity, frozen in time, he spoke up, his tone almost betraying his doubtfulness.

"He's the king of Hell now, Uriel. Pretty sure he is busy with his duties."

It wasn't the best response to it obviously and Uriel didn't even seemed that convinced with his words as she muttered something under her breath but, knowing it would go if he added anything else, the angel of death let out a quick goodbye as he disappeared in a black mist.

Uriel only hummed, going back into putting her nose in the numerous papers and written laws.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Lucifer didn't knew if he was just woke up from a nap or coming back from the deads.

In either way, he felt as if he got ran by a truck three times before being crushed to death by five elephants. To say the least.

And it's very precise I know.

In either way, to summarize it up, Lucifer really felt like shit almost like the first time he died.

Which was agonizing mind you. Unfortunately for him, it was not a quick painless death but the exact opposite: slow, full of agonies, emotions now blurry and mixed with the blood that kept pouring out of his own body, his heart ripped off his chest and destroyed until it was just pieces and shreds of flesh as he was forced to watch it.

A bit gruesome he had to admit.

And now he felt as if the sensations of his first time were coming back to haunt him. Or probably they just want him to go back through all of this again. Who knows.

Unfortunately for his miserable and pathetic life, Lucifer had already planned activities and his day and therefore, as much as he has gotten familiar with it, he was busy.

Like trying to fucking get up for example.

In the end, after what felt like countless attempts, the king let out a groan of frustration and tiredness, clearly feeling that today will be those days where his body and mind wouldn't cooperate.

"Oh for the love of-"

He rubbed his face with his wobbly hand before lazily snapping his fingers for... Well he didn't knew what was actually the reason on why he should even use his magic.

Well. Might as well just use it for everything.

After he felt somewhat satisfied with his wishes, he finally snapped his fingers before he got engulfed in a red and golden mist as it dissipated after a while, leaving him now in a new pristine usual white and red suit and hat, as he got up and stretch himself, putting on his best shiniest smile as he only readjusted his clothes.

NOW he was ready!

Wait. There was one thing left.

Lucifer frowned when he remembered it as pulled out one his drawer and pulled out a small bottle of medicines, filled with pills whose names were "HaPpY pIlLs"

The devil couldn't help but glare intensely at it but he knew he needed them to at least function like a normal person even if the name was so disgusting.

Reculantly, he poured almost an handful of those medicines in his hand, admiring their horrendous glory before chugging all of them down in one go.

Father above that tasted horrible just like always.

After he felt ready and not forgetting anything, he took another breath before teleporting himself to the hotel, this time taking longer than usual.

But he didn't cared.

"Hello everyon-!!" Lucifer didn't had time to fully finish his dramatic entrance that he felt a bone crushing bear hug encasing him as he lightly choked out.

"Augh-! W-wh-??"

"Fucking thank God dad you're finally here!" Charlie's worried voice rang out as she then gripped her father's shoulders, extreme care and concern written all over her face. "Are you okay?? What happened?? You didn't responded to my texts!"

As the nephilim continued to list all of her unanswered questions, Lucifer couldn't help but slowly frog blinking in incompréhension. Why on earth was she worried about him? Did his not so discreet exit really scared the life out of his daughter?

"C-charlie I'm fine! See? You don't have to worry about me dramatically leaving this morning." He said, chuckling awkwardly, trying to run off the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Unfortunately for the short king, it only got worse when the rest of the hotel's residents looked at each other, all mixed emotions at his propos while even Alastor seemed to frown slightly despite his wide grin.

Lucifer's stomach dropped as he tried to fix whatever he tried to say. "Y-you know when I disappeared like poof! Gone in a smoke h-hehe-"

"Dad?"

"Yescharlie-?"

The hotel's owner looked at her father, mildly concerned and conflicted if she actually should address the elephant in the room. But then, in the end, it was probably for the best.

"Yo- you were gone for 6 months- that sudden disappearance it was months ago-"

At the aveu, Lucifer's face became livid as he almost let go of his apple cane.

Ah. So that's why something fell off when he arrived, a few things a few changed.

Yeah. A few.

"Hahha-! Uh-" the king tried to laugh off but it was obvious he was pushing it before he immediately added, as if his words would compensate his unexplainable absence. "W-well you know Char-! Being the king and all that stuff-!" He made some intelligible noises before he straighten up his back all of the sudden. "Anyway! It's fine like I've said before! Completely okay! So Uh- what was-" he curses himself mentally for being such a fool in front of sinners. "What was the thing that you were trying to say Charlie-?"

At first, the concerned one didn't responded and Lucifer was fearing that she would still insist on his unresponsiveness but then she composed herself (she was way better at it, unlike him) as she also smiled back, except her own as was not as strained as his.

She knew how to keep her blood cold.

Once again. Unlike him.

"Oh well actually I wanted your opinion if you wanted to do a specific trust exercise? For- you know- knowing the rest of our residents-?"

Once more, the suggestion went through the sin's head and it tooks a short moment surprisingly to process it before he grinned at his daughter, pushing his doubts as he tried his best to answer with the happiest tone he could muster.

"Oh of course! Why not Charlie?? After all, I really want to see your friends!" He said enthusiastically much to Charlie's relief as she dragged her father to the rest of the hotel's lobby where fortunately, everyone was just minding their own business, except a certain radio demon who stared at the king with disdain and suspicion.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

They still haven't found Samael yet. How??? He was literally not moving for a long time and when they were about to find him he was just gone!

It wasn't fair!

But oh well. The good news is that they finally knew how to track Samael without getting caught physically and therefore it was just a bonus point for them.

Obviously they won't give up. Absolutely not! Not right when they were so close.

Oh Samael really didn't had to worry. They would catch him soon. After all, it's their little Morningstar! And they would anything for him!

A̴̚͟n̸̬̓y̵̦͆t̷̹͒h̵̬͋i̷̖͊n̴͇͌ḡ̴͇.̵̫̇

----

Archive of our own version

[eclipseberrycake]

HELLO AGAIN.

i come with insanity as an explanation for my absence.

okay so, for context, i write. usually only about ocs in medias i like, but regardless, i write. now. this quickly became a huge fucking problem with dandy's world because.

THERES NO FUCKING LORE.

i dont mean this literally but theres so little to work off of that it drove me to new heights of which to jump off!

so basically, i have a document now. of my own version of dandys world. i have a section for vocabulary, basic world building, background, locations, people, toons,

Everything.

this document is rapidly encroaching 5.7k words and im starting to think that qwel needs to hire me. i can help. Let Me Help. PLEASE IM BEGGINF HOU LET ME HEL

... anyways.

i think im going a little crazy. ive been rambling nonstop and i feel like that one image of the guy in front of the corkboard with two billion pins and another 5 billion lines of red string going "I'VE CONNECTED THE DOTS" for the 12th time in the past hour while my friend (an absolute TROOPER, mind you) sits with me and can only respond with a half-hearted "oh yeah im sure bubs."

theyre my beta reader for everything so i fear this happens with every new interest 😭 if i cant get them into the thing, i have to write out extensive context documents so they can read and understand everything i write later.

this process is usually easier bc, yknow, most games have general LORE. but i digress. im having fun making shit up and my friend sighs every time i show them the updated word count for the lore doc alone. this is not including the several thousands of actual story ive written.

im excited to unleash this upon them. shout out to my uber autism for making this possible.

also i have totally been reading your fics and they are PEAK . your stuff kickstarted some longer rambles in my doc so shoutout to roo for unknowingly assisting in my descent into madness!!

🫧

omg that's literally me I'm making most of it up as I go, but I made the mistake of...not planning it out gnogng so everytime one you is like "Well, what about XYZ?" I'm just "yk what, yeah what about XYZ we should ask the author!" so i totally get that

gvnogg but thank you sm! I'm glad you like them! And I'm glad to assist into any descent into madness >:D

[fuck-customers]

tws for self harm (alluding to it) ///

puts two weeks in at phone job. blocks all managers, leaves all cord (which. why the fuck are we using that. we were just fine using gm but someone just had to tell them about it and they wanted to be """hip""" and """cool""" with the times. hello fellow kids!) gcs, blocks all numbers.

goes into malwart to shop.

"why would you leave without telling us anything?"

i don't know, maybe me literally having thoughts to actually harm myself and play in traffic like fucking frogger were the clue. who knew!

"you could have called out!"

ive been literally trying to call out for three weeks straight with a guilt trip of "your coworker is too pregnant for me to work her anymore" (which. totally isnt my fault btw, she's had 4 months for me + nine for the coworker to hire a second person after she went on maternity. she sat on her ass for that long and then immediately hires someone literally the next day after i put my two weeks in), "i have to go home when its dark!" (its kentucky, sun doesnt set until around 9 pm in the summer and it's not my fault you live in illinois), and "i have fees taken out of my pay when you dont show up" (yet another guilt trip, which its literally less than $20 from what i knew of it), and with that you'd think you'd have a brain to connect the dots on that when your worker starts calling out to dodge shifts. things come up. things out of our control HAPPEN. and you're more worried about sales and making money instead of treating your workers like they're human??

there's also the fact that. she refused to cover shifts. the manager did. for my store specifically. and then she'd show up at 3/4 pm (almost) every day at the end of the week just to hang around and do nothing but be on her computer and micromanage me?? like okay man. ALRIGHT. that and they'd complain i wasn't making sales when it's literally the slowest store IN THE DISTRICT and they all have the audacity to say that it's a busy store?? literally over the four month course of me being there i've sold like 10 phones. TEN. and i get no help when asked despite being a new employee, and then threatened with my hours being taken away because im not making sales.

sufficed to say i'm pissed as hell.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[la-merlaison]

Hey hey hey I'ts me again and I came with another nerdy Louis post!!

Okay guys, the time has finally come! I'm not strong in french at all (for now) but my half french friend kind of is, so I asked them for some help during my research and I hope it turned out okay!!

So, no time to explain, right now we suggest you make yourself a cup of tea and prepare some marzipans (or at least omelettes if u don't have marzipans) because it's going to be a very big and really grandiose post!

Exactly 407 years ago, on sunday, Jan 29th, a huge intrigued crowd gathered in a giant ballroom of the Louvre palace to watch a truly legendary event in the history of France... Still very young King Louis XIII paid extremely close attention to the preparation of the ballet, as his doctor Jean Héroard noted on January 19th: "He rehearses his ballet twice a day."

Why all this mishmash of sentences, you may ask? *ahem* Lemme explain from the very start... (those who already know of all the drama between Louis and his mom, feel free to skip a couple of paragraphs but if you'd still love to dive even deeper into this rabbit hole and connect two dots then let's go!!)

When little dauphin lost his father (Henri IV) at the age of 8, he was still too young to be a king, so for quite a long time his mother Marie de Medici had to take the place of a regent. And it was all cute and stuff, except for the dauphin had already turned 13 for a year and a half (it was considered the age of majority and gaining power over the state at the time) and Mary did not even think of giving up her career, and especially leaving the throne, no matter how pissed off the young king was because of all the ridiculous formality of his "reign".

He was even more disturbed and frankly enraged by the favorite of the Medici - Concino Concini, who had a terrible effect on his mother according to the prince's beliefs (not only his beliefs at all but let's focus on our blorbo's pov). But don't worry! In January Louis along with his friend, with whom he loved to spend time and in general was emotionally very close, conceived how to end this exhaustingly endless regency, which already had a questioning reputation... And I guess it meant, that the time has come for truly dazzling performances in every single way!

Among all the options proposed by Etienne Durand, the court poet of Marie de Medici (he's also responsible for organizing the performance), the king chose a very specific plot which was taken from the old chivalric poem “Jerusalem Delivered” by Torquato Tasso, as if this choice carried a certain kind of symbolism, but what it really meant??

Keep in mind, Louis really chose the following plot himself: "The valiant knight Renaud de Montauban, played by Charles d'Albert (that one close friend and favorite of the king I mentioned before), succumbs to the charms of the sorceress Armide, who takes him into her enchanted gardens and... enchants him (wow who would've thought)! However, his comrades, including Godeffroy de Bouillon (edit. I accidentally thought that Godeffroy and the demon of fire were the same character, but actually they were two different characters both played by Louis XIII oops) came to save Renaud and break Armide's spell."

Finally, on Sunday, January 29th, 1617, the premiere of "The ballet of Renaud's deliverance" eventually happened yayy, but the crowd was so huge that even the king(!) could hardly make his way through such a large audience, the performance even had to be slightly delayed. But it was worth the wait, because in the end everyone were struck by the fiery appearance of an impressive figure in a black mask, covered from top to bottom with flames. It was the king (OUR BLORBO YASS)!! You can see his costume on the first pic below under the number 1 and Charles as Renaud right above him.

It's believed that the ballet about the liberation of Renaud from the spell of the sorceress Armide has a symbolic, even double meaning. Many people recognize Louis himself in Renaud, who seeks to free himself from the oppression of Marie (as if from the spell of Armide). One of the lyricists of "The Deliverance of Renaud", Rene Bordieu, even compared the fiery image of the king with a phoenix, which could hint at the rise from the ashes because it also sounds like an allegory to getting rid off the pressure. Etienne Durand himself also said a lot of different words related to the costume, but there are so many of them that it is better to leave them for another post idk...

Anyways, each of these versions is wonderful in its own way, but the clothes of flame, which Louis demonstrated on himself that day, symbolized not only anger and a burning desire for revenge, but also those were clothes made of the light of justice and the desire for something light and devine like the enameled blades that reflected the light of countless torches and candles in motion, illuminating a hall full of spectators blinded by such a perfomance both literally and figuratively.

Plot twist.... On April 24, 1617, less than three months after the performance of La Délivrance de Renaud, Concino Concini was assassinated by the Baron de Vitry, captain of the royal guard. And about ten days later, Marie de Medici was exiled to Blois =)

Since then, Louis XIII became, in fact, a king but this time with all seriousness!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the post and had a great time with it! Wishing you justice, deliverances, marzipan & omelettes and a guarantee that no one will ever sit for too long on your throne, gotta love anyone who read this 'till the end <3

[nathandrakeisabottom]

hullo! saw you rb'd an ask game so thought i'd send in a question or two to my favorite nate pegger...

✍️ What's your writing process?

📚 Who's your favorite author (or a few of them)?

"To my favorite nate pegger..." :

😳❤️ Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am.... ❤️😳

✍️ What's your writing process?

You tell me!! Bye!!

📚 Who's your favorite author (or a few of them)?

This is so shameful to say, but I really haven't been a regular reader for ages, and when I am, it tends to be mostly plays over novels. The one exception are my lovely friends on the ol' dot org, especially @durrtydawg, @libertatias, @weltraum-vaqueroand, and @not-those-kids.

But as for my favorites of all time, I have to say I love.... uh.... not to out myself, but: Shakespeare, girlie. Tony Kushner (Angels in America) is incredible. Rebecca Stead has all the incredible, sharp brevity that I wish to utilize more in my own writing. She tells stories with the exact number of words they need, no more, no less, and the pacing is phenomenal for it. Pseudonymous Bosch. David Ives. Anton Chekov. My father. Chuck Tingle.

Okay, fuck it, top 2 writers are William Shakespeare and Lemony Snicket.

(Okay, for real, though) ✍️ What's your writing process?

Unfortunately for everyone, I am a moody booby artsy fartsy hippie dippy friend of shaggy, so I'm diagnosed disease of "waa waa I can't write because I'm not 'feeling it'" which means that for maybe four out of 50 fics, it came pouring out effortlessly in a brilliant whirl of inspiration. Maybe even shed a tear or two (in the acting world, that's how you know it's good).

But for all the others, it's honestly a painstaking grind. I don't really enjoy my writing until I'm able to return a week or two later and go "huh, this actually isn't so bad". Then, I forget, and the cycle starts again. Unhelpfully, my brain works in visuals, and a lot of the times it feels hard to capture moments in a way I'm satisfied with when you can't directly, exactly translate film energy into written fiction energy.

Don't burn me at the stake, but I'm also a "I psychologically have to make each sentence perfect before continuing" person and a "mostly writes connective tissue and struggles to let herself write the big, interesting scenes before it's time" girlie, and then I have the GALL to ALSO complain that there's no good word for balls.

But to be honest, a lot of my work comes simply from a longing for a piece of media I can find myself and my wants reflected in. For as far as we've come, there's still so much shit I'm *shocked* isn't normalized or as readily found in fiction. Especially nowadays, when some fucked up sons of bitches brought back??? gender roles??? in 2024???? gen z???? --- it feels like a survival and self-soothing tactic to imagine a world that dreams of dissolving that entirely. I wanna pay for the dates. I wanna buy him flowers. I don't want to be scared to walk down the street. And I want more stories about weird, messed up women getting happy endings.

also sometimes im just fucked up and horny heehee <3

-S 🧡 

[kiwichaeng]

hello!! i hope you’re doing okay, and i hope your busyness isn’t too bad. as always, no pressure to answer this ask, but i am here as the hs tarlos fairy (i think i gave that a catchier name before) about to sprinkle a load of rambling into your inbox.

firstly, we have a single line from november which ive started editing. i’m finding it difficult to get lines that aren’t too spoilery but i mean..

In his defense, he really needed to spend an hour or so, longer, cuddling his boyfriend.

look, tk always needs to cuddle carlos. that’s a fact.

beyond november, i’m about to start writing february and have i raved about it yet because i’m super excited for it!? not to be annoying with these teases, but it’s a big month for parallels (so in term, sappiness). also, i should be posting the next chapter with carlos’ birthday tomorrow, and im excited for you to read that!!

one last thing: i said this before but ive been thinking again about their long-term future and i have a vague idea for the first 6ish months post-high school and UGH i could tell you everything 😭 (/pos). i love acting like these fictional boys exist it’s great.

wow this is super long. thank you for your time, sending you lots of love and positive vibes!! 💫

The notification for this was the first thing I saw when I woke up today and it was a really nice way to wake up! I read over this in the car but now I can actually like answer it lmao. I love the hs tarlos fairy title, it's very fitting 🩷

TK is soo correct! The cuddles are not a want but a NEED! Let this boy cuddle his boyfriend! They both deserve all the cuddles ever 🥺😭! I love them so much???? It's actually crazy how invested I am in this. All the cuddles for those two!!

OH MY GOD PARALLELS??? Listen I am feral for stuff like this! I am absolutely gonna go CRAZY when I read the parallels! (Although if I'm counting correctly then Feb will fall right in the middle of my finals 😞). I love love love stuff like this!!! Maybe I just love connecting random dots and crying over them. Delighted to hear you're thinking about their future! They deserve all the goodness and oh my god they're spending the rest of their life together dhjfhdjdhksjfhf 😭😭. Also gonna be honest I too think about them as real and existing sometimes to get through a day 😔

Since you sent this while I was asleep, I'm guessing the chapter comes out tonight for me which is AMAZING! Cannot wait! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish with everything by midnight so I can settle in and read 🩷. Thank you for this, I loved everything 🩷🩷

[thepowerisyouth]

hello again it is I tobias

i was wondering, what makes you post what you post? i enjoy reading them, but i just want to hear the motivation. I post because i like to code and share my little coding mishaps and funnies with everyone else. Why do you post?

The global political world's changing. Fast. Ive been a quiet participant in capitalism for 6 years since high school now, and learned a lot about things that I dont typically hear enough in leftist discourse, namely, stupid capitalist shit like finance and capitalist versions of economics. Socially Ive always been leftist, but Ive gone to nearly every camp for the economics of running a globe before realizing the answer is simply that money sucks and nobody wants it but rich assholes

I'm unemployed now and havent been in a position of free time for quite a while, so I have plenty of time to cover some groundwork for just writing about things Ive thought about for a while, then I can go back and expand on the little ideas later if I feel like.

You could just say I want to be a part of the good change happening. I'm a good communicator sometimes, which helps me stand out a bit from other boring finance discussions.

I also dont mind harrassing non-leftists, not changing their mind immediately, but being a pest-in-the-mind they hear later when someone else says the same thing as me and they connect two dots

I do write like a psychotic maniac at times. I embrace that, as it helps me keep a flexible mind. I dont believe that any of us exist in the same reality (metaphorically) so I want to be able switch out of mine and roleplay another idea or belief at will. Gotta keep practicing that flexibility or it goes away.

But truly-- I hate finance. I love pretty much everything else so those discussions are more for my own fun. The finance/economics ones are because I'm honestly too good at it 95% of people are way in over their heads at that stuff its not meant to be accessable or easy to learn whats correct

Ive been told to keep a diary of ideas but find this the easiest way to do so for me. So welcome to my diary of thoughts

Did I actually answer anything just now or just ramble? Lol

[leylayilmz]

about.

Full Name: Leyla Eda Yilmaz

Age & Birthday: 35 years old; December 1st, 1989

Zodiac: Sagittarius sun ☀︎ Cancer moon ☾ Libra rising ➶

Occupation: Owner of Everything Goes / ex published author

Preferred Pronouns & Gender: she/her, cis female

Sexuality: Bicurious

Hometown & length of time in Briar Ridge: Born and raised in Briar Ridge, lived in New York from 18-29. Has lived in town consistently for the last 6 years.

Neighborhood: Downtown, in a 3 bedroom apartment with her daughter, Billie and best friend, Valentina.

Positive Personality Traits: resourceful, hardworking, loyal, protective.

Negative Personality Traits: disorganised, critical, cynical, impulsive.

✍︎ Penned by: Tee

☆ dot point bio | connections / pinterest / timeline

tw: death mention, pregnancy, grief.

Town local Leyla Eda Yilmaz has had a love/hate relationship with living in Briar Ridge. She loved growing up the way she did, with her dad and brother and sister. But something about New York called to her; it felt like there was nothing for her in her home town. She initially left town after graduation for Columbia University to chase success and study literature, a determination that saw her become a published writer of a two-book series some years after college. But alas, life, as it does, would get in the way. Her brother’s tragic death caused her to return to the Ridge just a decade ago. After his funeral, she pulled yet another disappearing act, leaving town for good. That is, until she fell pregnant to her then musician boyfriend, coming back home after his refusal to be a part of his daughter’s life. Soon after Billie was born, Leyla began to work at Everything Goes, which was recently left to her by the elderly owner. Nobody can make a pastry like Evelyn Girard, but Leyla’s learnt a thing or two and come pretty close. She’s often seen making coffee, overseeing the baking process and recommending novels to those interested. When people ask why Leyla hasn’t written another novel, she quickly shuts it down by telling them that raising a daughter and running a business has taken up almost all of her time. But really, dabbling with words and emotions and throwing herself into her own writing feels impossible when she knows it brings about the possibility of having to face her grief. And that terrifies the hell out of her. 

headcanons.

Every so often, she closes Everything Goes for a day to teach the kids in town how to bake. And Mari Cabrera!

Always has a book in hand, hanging out her bag, etc.

Is always late everywhere, despite being a hard working citizen.

Wears a necklace with a small October birth stone, representative of her brother and mother's birth stone.

CANNOT live without coffee. If she looks mad, give her coffee immediately. If the coffee machine is broken at the bakery, leave. Just run.

Knows ASL

Inspired by — Lorelai Gilmore, (gilmore girls), Rachel Green (friends), Carrie Bradshaw (sex and the city), Summer Roberts (the oc) & Brooke Davis (one tree hill).

wanted connections.

sister: wanted connection link

baby daddy/ex: wanted connection link

cousins: must be turkish

childhood/high school connections: she grew up in briar ridge.

high school sweetheart: this can go any which way! but i'm guessing they broke up before/after she left for new york after graduation.

new york connections: leyla lived there for over ten years (age 18-29) and went to columbia university

downtown neighbours: she lives in a three bedroom apartment with her daughter and Valentina Flores.

everything goes: coworkers & regular customers, pleaaaase.

parent friends: people who understand parent life lol

coffee addicts: speaks for itself. she respects coffee lovers but just like people who need coffee like an iv drip, hanging out and talking smack/gossiping about the town. i need it!!!!

[sapphire-weapon]

I think one thing that bothers me about this is that, even if Benford scouted Leon back in 1998, how does that make him the same guy as the guy in Leon Epilogue? Nothing says that. And how do we know he even made those terms (i.e. threatening children) himself--that's totally reaching!!! That's also assuming that the writers in re6 even cared about Leon Epilogue and if they even considered it when saying Benford headhunted him!!! Why should we hold Benford accountable for something so damn serious and important to Leon's character when it's just based on a lot of assumptions by fans

Its like that meme "ive connected the two dots" "you didnt connect shit" "ive connected them"

yep -- that's another great point. the airsoft ad pins the blame on Benford because, according to that ad, Benford was the Director of the CIA at the time (he wasn't). so, even under the airsoft ad's stupid fanfiction, there's nothing in there about Benford being the actual person directly interrogating Leon. N O T H I N G.

the only assumption that you could actually make in quasi-good faith, going off of that fanfiction, is that Benford was the one who gave the order to threaten Sherry in order to coerce Leon in the first place -- but not only is that just an assumption, it's a far-reaching one.

because this scene doesn't just exist in the RE3 epilogue. it also takes place on screen and fully voiced in Darkside Chronicles. and the guy interrogating Leon (whose face is never shown and is actually talking to him via intercom) says basically "we have free reign to do whatever we want with you."

so, for all we know, Benford, had he been the one calling the shots (and he wasn't), very possibly never gave a ghoulish fucking order like "kill the girl if he doesn't cooperate" or even "make him think that we'll kill her." he could have just been like, "don't hurt them, but don't let them get away, either." and the jackass on the intercom was just bluffing the whole time -- just, convincingly enough that Leon believed him and never questioned it.

you know, not dissimilarly to how the shitheads down in gitmo treat prisoners. no one gives the order for them to do that shit. they just kind of do it.

but the whole thing is a non-issue anyway, because Benford was never the CIA Director and wasn't involved in any of this shit to begin with.

like. we're not talking about a minor detail, here. this is the single most important, pivotal moment in Leon's entire character arc. this is the exact moment that he stops being who he was and completely changes into someone else. you actually see the exact second that his soul fucking dies in the DSC scene. it's REALLY IMPORTANT to get the facts straight on what, exactly, happened during this event.

Leon loved Adam Benford, and Adam Benford is one of exactly three (3) people in this entire fucking series who genuinely loved him back without debate to be had or caveats needing to be added (the other two are Chris and Sherry, if you're wondering -- and I'm happy to go into why Chris and not anyone else, if anyone's interested). That is canon.

after all this shit, i have half a mind to ship these two out of fuckin spite, bro.