#maybe birds in the trees? idk I'll think of something at some point

[thethingything]

ended up working on it for a bit and mostly did some more lighting and shading stuff again

I'm trying to make the sunlight on the left side feel brighter and more like actual sunlight than just warm-tinted diffuse light. admittedly I don't think it looks like there's a huge difference between the before and after images here

[cjlouwho]

i know you didn't ask for prompts but if you get a chance could you write something where tommy is in trouble (maybe during the bees chaos) and kinda has to rescue himself? like his helicopter crashes or something idk! sorry if this is a bother!

well this became a whole thing, so thanks for that! Also, you can send prompts anytime. I can't promise when I'll get to them, but I always try.

ao3 link

He was used to waking up to the sound of birds. He had a tree right by his window and, while none of them ever made a nest, there were plenty of birds that liked to stop by for a visit.

He'd worried about it when Evan first started staying over. Some people hated the sound of the chirps first thing in the morning, often starting before the sun was up.

But the first time Tommy woke up with Evan in his house, expecting him to be beside him in bed, he was surprised to find him squatted down and staring out the window.

“Morning.” Tommy's voice was husky of the morning. He blinked a few times to adjust to the sunlight shining in from the open window.

Evan turned to him with a smile. “You have blue birds. I think I saw a cardinal too, earlier. It was quick though. A finch got a worm in the dirt by the roots.” He looked back, nearly pressing his forehead to the glass, “This is so cool.”

Tommy was pretty sure he felt his heart swell twice it's size that day. He's also pretty sure that was the moment he fell in love. He didn't say it then, waited a couple more months for that. They'd only really been going out for a few weeks at that point, but he still felt it.

And it was a damn good feeling.

Everyday with Evan was a good feeling. He loved going out with him, or staying home. Loved to hear him go on rants about whatever research he'd been doing lately. He loved coming home to Evan cooking in his kitchen, or napping on his couch. He loved the texts they'd send each other during shifts. Tommy would often get ragged on about how often his phone would ding. “Are y'all sexting again?” his co-worker would ask with a snort. Tommy never told them that, most of the time, Evan was actually sending him the most G-rated photos of all time, and it was absolutely adorable. Like the one where he was holding a baby duck that they'd saved. Or the one where he was frying pork chops and had to take a selfie with them because they turned out so good. Or the one where Christopher dropped by the station for a visit and Evan snapped a picture with him while Chris was mid eye-roll. Those were his favorites.

He loved the phone calls with Evan too. It didn't matter if they'd been with each other all night, and left for work at the same time, and would be seeing one another right after their shift was over. When it was a quiet day at work, they were always reaching into their pockets to call one another. Sometimes at the same time.

Tommy loved the parts of Evan that Evan didn't love about himself. He loved that Evan was clingy, love that he talked a lot, loved that when he got something on his mind he had to do it and it had to be done right.

Tommy loved how aggressively he loved his family and friends.

He loved the grumpy side of Evan, and loved that Evan seemed to love Tommy's grumpy side too.

He also loved the look on Evan's face when he was about to come. Loved how their bodies fit together so perfectly, like they were made for each other.

Loved how easily he blushed. Loved falling asleep next to him, their bodies tangled together in one way or another. He loved waking up beside Evan. Getting to see his hair all tousled and the little drips of drool that would escape down the side of his mouth.

“That's a lot of things to love about a person,” Evan whispered into the darkness of the room. “Although I will forever deny the fact that I drool, thank you very much.”

Which, maybe the room wasn't actually dark, because Tommy still had his eyes closed.

He scrunched his face up, confused. “Was I talking out loud?” he asked.

“Mhm.” He could feel Evan's breath on his face. “Do you really love all that about me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you should open your eyes.”

That was an odd request. It all felt odd, actually. Because when he and Evan woke up together, Evan always had a hand on him somewhere. His chest, his arm, his back, running up and down his side. Somewhere. But this time Tommy felt nothing.

Well, not nothing, exactly. He felt damp, actually. He felt damp and sticky and hot. Hotter than usual, but cold at the same time?

“What?” He mumbled out, confused.

“I said you should open your eyes.”

“Wh- Why?”

“Tommy!” Evan's voice was louder now, like he had a megaphone to Tommy's ear. “Open your eyes!”

Tommy's head jerked up in surprise, wincing from the sound. “Mmm,” he groaned. His body hurt all over. He didn't remember feeling sick before he went to bed.

But the more he thought about it, he didn't really remember going to bed.

He blinked his eyes open slowly. They felt so dry and scratchy, almost like they had sand in them. When they finally focused he expected to see his clock to his left, the time shining back at him. Expected to have Evan beside him, or cooking some elaborate breakfast in the kitchen.

Expected to see sunlight shining from between his curtains.

Instead all he saw was rocks, mud, and leaves.

Did they go camping? He definitely didn't remember that. And why the hell wouldn't they at least have a tent?

“Ev- Evan?” God, talking hurt. Felt like his throat was on fire.

He was lying on his stomach, but there was no pillow under his head. There was something there though. Something shielding his head from the mud and rocks and twigs below it.

He reached up with the hand closest to his head, the one that didn't feel like it had its own pulse, and felt his head.

A helmet.

That's when it came rushing back to him.

Emergency.

All hands on deck.

Transport aircraft to nearby facility.

Bees?

Bees.

He'd been flying a helicopter to a nearby rendezvous point. Every fire department in the district would be there.

All to fight the bees.

Sounded downright insane to him at the time. I mean, they were bees. Weren't we supposed to be saving those?

It wasn't until his bird made direct contact with the swarm that he realized the severity of the problem.

Tommy carefully unbuckled his helmet, letting it drop off his head.

He tried to focus on all the things that hurt, although it probably would have been easier to take count of the places on his body that didn't hurt.

There was a cold, sticky substance on the back of his neck. Blood, he was sure. His right arm had to be broken. He couldn't seem to move it, but the thump thump thump feeling that came from it was impossible not to notice.

His back was jammed, but nothing felt broken there. He could wiggle his toes a little, but his left ankle was definitely sprained.

Something... something was poking his side.

It was hard to get in a good breath, hard to keep his eyes open, but he forced himself to roll over so he could check his side.

“God!” He exclaimed through panted breaths as he turned, eyes squeezed shut against the pain. He looked down at his side to see a branch, about as round as a nickel, maybe five or six inches long, sticking out. “Damn it,” he gasped out. His good hand shakily reached out to touch around the wound, where blood was seeping out in a slow but steady stream.

He didn't try to pull it out. He knew better than that. He had no idea how deep the branch was pierced inside him, and no clue what it might have punctured.

All he knew was that it hurt like hell.

And the whole situation was almost too much for his brain to take.

He had so many questions.

Most importantly, where the hell was the helicopter?

He must've fallen out of it before it crashed to the ground, wherever it crashed.

His energy was draining quickly. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and wait for sleep to take over. Wait for rescue, whenever it may come.

So, he let his eyes close. Let the pain begin to wash away. Let himself float until-

“I said open your damn eyes, Tommy!”

There was Evan's voice again, shouting at him so loudly.

Tommy's eyes jerked back open and the pain returned full force.

He couldn't stay here.

Couldn't let those damn, stupid ass bees win.

Couldn't imagine the embarrassment of people asking, “What happened? How'd he die?” and someone having to explain that it was bees! Sure, he survived war, but it was the bees that got him.

Hell no.

Plus, dying in general might not have meant much a few months ago.

But it meant a lot now.

Because now he had a boyfriend with abandonment issues, and he needed to get back to him.

So he pushed himself up to his knees, let a groan escape between his gritted teeth, and stood on his feet.

If he let out a yell or two, who needed to know?

And maybe this would be the point in therapy where his therapist would tell him you're worth surviving because you're a human being who deserves to live, not just because you're with someone. But screw that, because if Evan was the only thing that made him get out of this with his life, than that would have to be enough.

He was dizzy, it hurt to put pressure on his leg, there was more blood on his clothes than he cared to see, and he was pretty sure he'd also lost some hearing in his right ear.

He pressed his hand against the wound on his side the best he could without disturbing the branch. A whine escaped him and tears welled in his eyes. He'd been hurt before, been in pain before, but never like this. This was another level.

“Move,” he told himself, voice barely above a whisper. “Just move.”

So that's what he did. He began to walk, or limp, through the trees of wherever the hell he was in the hopes he was going in the right direction.

His body was cold, shivering even as sweat dripped down his face.

His teeth chattered and it felt like his insides were vibrating.

At one point he practically fell against a tree, barely kept upright by his legs that were getting weaker by the second.

He took a minute to breathe, nearly closed his eyes. But Evan's voice stopped him again.

So, he walked. He walked and he walked and then... and then he could smell something.

Not just something.

Fire.

And the world around him was fuzzier.

But it wasn't his eyes playing tricks. It was smoke.

The helicopter.

It had to be.

He picked up the pace. They might not have been able to find him, but maybe they had found-

“He's not here, Buckley.” God, Tommy hated that voice. “We'll put out a search for him but it's unlikely he survived this. Gotta face the facts, we lose people sometimes.”

“Whoa!” Another voice cut in. Sounded like Chimney. He liked that voice. “He's not worth it, Buck. We'll keep looking, okay? We'll keep looking.”

A few more steps and he could see them. Blurry, but there. He cleared his throat. “Look f- for who?”

At least thirty heads whipped in his direction.

“Oh my God, Tommy!” Now, that was a voice he loved.

He was surrounded in seconds, but Evan was first one there. The one to bring a hand to his back and cradle him as his body gave out. He was the one to help him to the ground while Chimney and Hen worked on his body, shouting things back and forth at one another.

A part of him wanted to close his eyes then, let them do their thing, but he didn't. He kept them open, and right on Evan, because that's what he'd want him to do.

*****

When Tommy woke up hours, or maybe days, later, it was in a hospital room. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd fallen asleep, or passed out, but it was clear that surgery had happened at some point. He'd blame the anesthesia, not all the trauma, for his loss of time.

Evan was in a chair beside him, holding onto his good hand, head resting by Tommy's thigh on the bed. Even in his sleep, he must've noticed something change with Tommy because he popped up quickly.

“Tommy,” he breathed out, and it looked like a year's worth of anxiety released in that breath. “H- Hi.”

Tommy managed a smile. “Hi.” His throat felt like sandpaper.

“Let me get you some ice.”

Tommy nearly pouted at the loss of Evan's touch, but he was back by Tommy's side in an instant, slipping a couple of ice chips into his mouth.

And oh my God did that ever feel good.

Evan's hand returned to Tommy's, and all felt right in the world again. He'd hear what all happened to him later. Didn't seem to care right now. He was alive, and he was with Evan, and he needed to tell him some things before he forgot them.

“You saved my life.”

Evan's eyebrows furrowed. “No, that was all you. We wouldn't have found you if you didn't find us first.”

Tommy pursed his lips together, shaking his head. “No,” he replied simply. “You.”

Evan smiled, held onto his hand a little tighter. Tommy knew what Evan was thinking. You're high as a kite right now and don't really know what you're talking about.

But that was the thing. His voice might be a little gravely, and his speech a bit slower than normal, but he never felt more clear-headed.

He needed Evan to know.

“Have I ever told you all the reasons I love you?”

Evan tilted his head, his smile growing even more. “No, I- I... I don't think you have.” There was that blush Tommy loved so much.

He took a deep breath. “Number one...”

[pnfc]

here is some unresolved(?) perryshmirtz whumpfic(?), rated T. i call it “doofenshmirtz talks on the phone a lot”. idk if i’ll put it on ao3, it depends on if i continue.

disclaimer: in this fic the owca agents are brain-modded, for purposes of juiciness. typically i prefer that pnf is just a goofy cartoon world with smart animals.

EDIT: i'll leave this post up but i finished this, on ao3 here

---

“It’s actually a net good for society if you climb the trees, Perry the Platypus,” Heinz is telling Perry as they stroll the orchard path. He’s sagging a little under the weight of a basket they’ve mostly filled.

“See I know there’s that rule, ‘no climbing’. But that’s for the 8 year olds who fall and crack their heads open -- the emotionally unbalanced teens out to break an arm. Not for you, Perry the Platypus. Treehopping is a cakewalk for you. You’re like a ninja up there.”

Perry flips his wool scarf and surveys the lowhanging branches, pointedly ignoring Heinz. He vaults up to snag a Golden Delicious, dunks it square into the basket from over his shoulder, not looking. Heinz whistles, even as the impact buckles his knees. “That’s what I mean.”

He catches up to Perry -- “What about the apples at the top of the trees, Perry the Platypus, do you think of them? Nobody can pick them, so they rot on the tree or rot on the ground. No one comes to an orchard to pick apples off the ground.”

Perry signs: Two-year olds.

“Besides them,” Heinz insists. “That’s like a third of all the apples just going to waste, so nobody can enjoy them.”

Birds and bugs, signs Perry. Can enjoy them.

Heinz ponders this. “Maybe. But I can tell you they’d enjoy my fresh-baked strudel a lot more.”

Perry makes a “yeah, yeah” wave to brush off Heinz’s winning point. Heinz can see the smile curving up his bill from behind, as he walks ahead. “Hold up, Perry the Platypus,” he says. “I think we have enough.”

Heinz sets the basket down, intensely grateful to rest his arms, and Perry skips back over to survey their haul. An even mix of Jonathan, Smeralda, and Goldens. “The best for baking out of the October set, in my experience,” Heinz explains to Perry. “These Goldens look a little young, but I think they’ll cook up okay. Could also use them for a syrup, I’ve been meaning to try that.”

The walk back to the exit is when it hits.

Perry reaches out a paw and pushes it against Heinz’s leg, tentative. Then he wrenches the fabric into both fists, hard, and chirps, frantic. This makes Heinz stop.

“Perry the Platypus? What’s up?”

It’s like a hypnic jerk, the sensation -- a dizziness cresting over him like an ocean wave, a loudening roar of foam. Perry looks up at Heinz, finds his blue-ringed eyes wide with alarm, like his own. And he holds Heinz’s leg like it’s the last stable thing, as the wave swallows him up in a gulp, then silence.

Perry thinks I’m having a stroke, before he can’t think it.

“...Perry? You okay?” Heinz has dropped the basket and is crouching down to Perry’s level. “What’s wrong, did I forget something? We have enough apples,” he says, knowing that’s not the problem. “If you want more, you’re carrying and paying.”

Perry’s still linking his gaze with Heinz’s, clutching his knee like he needs it for balance. He chitters out an anxious exhalation. Heinz taps him on the bill. “Hey. You gonna clue me in here?”

Perry shakes off the touch and backs away from Heinz, pinwheeling his arms and toppling onto the ground. The scarf gets trapped under his forepaw, pulls taut around his neck -- then he’s racing forward in a panic, growling at a high pitch, through the red leaf litter, scarf trailing after and under him.

“Perry!” Heinz exclaims, craning around to follow Perry’s tracks -- he bumbles into the basket, shooting apples out like poolballs. “Settle down -- tell me what’s wrong, okay? You’re scaring me.” He pushes himself up. “And that’s not how you treat that scarf. That’s Merino, Perry, it took me weeks to knit. You’re grinding dirt into it.”

Perry halts, at the tail of Heinz’s upbraiding, and looks at him with saucer eyes. Heinz approaches him slowly, like he’s an animal he might startle away. But Perry doesn’t run, when Heinz leans over him -- actually seems to settle, as Heinz clasps his hands around his shoulders.

“Perry the Platypus.” His brown eyes blink. “What is going on with you?”

Heinz picks him up. “You’re going to have to say something,” he says. “Or I’m going to assume this is an emergency. Are your arms malfunctioning? One blink yes, two blinks no.”

This gets no blinks.

Heinz drops Perry into the basket and runs out to the parking lot -- dropping a 20 on the checkout stall as he does, to cover the apples still in the bottom of the basket. They need to get home.

The OWCA watch beeps while Heinz is driving, Perry basket-bound in the passenger seat. Perry jolts and lifts his paw, looks at the glowing screen -- in the side of his vision Heinz sees Perry press his beak into the watchface. “God, not now, Francis...” he mutters.

Heinz parks right next to the elevators in the apartment garage. His phone buzzes right as he shuts the car door. “Perry the Platypus, we’re going upstairs, okay?” he says. “You want to stay in the basket?”

Perry’s just staring into him as he’s addressed, no reaction to the question. So Heinz exhales and walks to the elevator, basket steady in his arm, and checks his phone. It’s from Carl: Dr. D, this is urgent: is Perry okay?

He freezes in the elevator lobby, and dials.

“Carl, are you there?”

“Yes, Doofenshmirtz, hi. Listen, I need to --”

“Do you KNOW about this? What’s going on with him?”

“I -- oh dear,” says Carl, sounding sad. “I guess it worked. How is he? Can you describe his behavior?”

Heinz balks at that, staring at his phone -- Carl just confessed to screwing Perry up somehow and now he’s asking after him like a caring orderly, shameless.

“Are you kidding me? His behavior? He’s not himself, Carl,” Heinz shoots back. The metallic echo of the boxy room amplifies his voice, so he tries not to yell too loud -- Perry is out of the basket on the floor of the room, staring nervously up at him from a few paces away. “He doesn’t seem to get what I’m saying, he had a major panic attack out of the blue -- and he won’t talk to me. Like, no signs, no nods. He’s walking on all fours, Carl. What did you do?!”

“It wasn’t me,” Carl squeaks defensively. “I mean -- it’s this audit, Heinz, the agent program investigation. They didn’t even notify us they were sending people over today. It’s FBI people, they” -- his voice tightens to a whisper -- “they busted into every office, they found some of our server rooms and -- look, I can’t get into this right now, but I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Just ... just keep Perry safe, take him home. And for the love of god don’t let him escape.”

Carl hangs up in a hurry, before Heinz can yell a reply. He scowls at the red call-end sign.

“What the hell is wrong with that kid,” Heinz asks the room. “Maybe Francis knows. I have to give him a call. I hate when it comes to that, Perry the Platypus.”

Perry is doubling back to the apple basket, slinking close to the floor with visible nerves. He clambers back inside. Heinz pushes the elevator button.

Upstairs, Heinz drops the basket on the kitchen island and budges Perry’s hat aside to place a hand on his head. “First things first, Perry the Platypus. We’re going to give you a checkup. Okay?”

Perry still doesn’t react, but Heinz will keep treating this like a two-way conversation. It’s an old habit that he hasn’t slipped into in a long time. He didn’t miss it.

Heinz leads him to the bathroom -- Perry mostly sticks by his feet, but stops in place once or twice, swiveling his gaze around the spacious penthouse canopy, either like it’s new to him, or like he’s remembering it. He snaps back whenever Heinz calls his name -- there’s that, at least. It’s not much, but it’s something.

Phineas’s housewarming gift, one of them, had been a platypus first-aid kit. He’d presented it to Heinz back when Perry had just told his family about them and Heinz was hosting a “win Perry the Platypus’s family over” lunch (unofficial title that Perry had deleted off the invitation cards). Heinz had read a kind of parental judgment into the gift choice, at the time, like the kid wasn’t trusting him to take adequate care of Perry on his own, without being handheld. Maybe Heinz’s reading was unfair -- he has a chip on his shoulder, when it comes to mom behavior.

He unsnaps it. The case is overstuffed -- it pops open with decollapsing trays of portable disinfectant and numbing wipes, surgical sewing kits, cut-closing gel and fur-safe teal bandages to cover it in all sizes, claw trimmers and medicated toothpastes and endoscopes. An impressive degree of overkill -- he really likes that kid, past misgivings aside.

“I’m just checking a few basic things,” Heinz tells Perry as he rummages through and pulls out a stethoscope. “Fever, stress, blood oxygen. You never know what can affect the brain -- a lot of things, really. Including Carl. Well we already know it’s Carl,” he grumbles. Perry’s irises contract at the flashlight shine, and he blinks and squirms in Heinz’s hold. “I’ll just have to squeeze him for answers later. Knowing the brain geniuses at OWCA they activated some stolen villain tech without back-engineering it first -- a mind-control beam, some harebrained monotreme-dumbdowninizer. Are they still using my memory eraser?” He huffs -- pulse and blood pressure readings are normal. “Why’d I ever make that thing. I can never recall.

“Everything looks fine so far, Perry the Platypus. That’s... that’s good,” he says, not feeling it. Perry is poking his bill inquisitively into the trays of the first-aid kit. Heinz will need to break out the MRInator. Been a while, so he’ll need to tune it first, which could take hours. Better get started on it right away. He needs to be working right now, because if he stops he thinks he will gelatinize into a ball of terror. That wouldn’t help Perry.

He’s 15 minutes into his work, checking that the gradient coils are aligned, when the phone rings. His screwdriver hits the ground as he lunges for it, ready to yell the full story out of Carl. But it’s Peter calling. He stares at the profile photo, which is many years out of date.

“...Hello? Peter the Panda, since when do you call? What’s up?”

“Hi, hi -- Doofenshmirtz?” comes a voice on the other line. It’s pitchy, so he has trouble placing it at first.

“Mystery? Is that you?”

This is weird. Heinz never talks to this guy. He isn’t even up on whether Professor Mystery’s still practicing evil -- just gets the impression from Peter that they’re doing alright together, whenever the two of them cross paths.

“I’m calling because something’s wrong with Peter,” he says, a quaver in his voice that Heinz can hear he is trying to suppress. “And I wanted to ask if you know anything. Did you do something to him, Doofenshmirtz? Or, if you didn’t. Can... can you come over here? Can you help me talk to him? I thought maybe he’d respond if he saw a familiar face, or maybe you’d have one of your... weird machines that could help him.”

“Verdammt noch mal,” Heinz hisses through the hand raking down his face. “That agency. It’s all of them?”

“...What?”

“It’s OWCA, Mystery, they did something to all of the agents. Apparently, if it hit Peter. Perry’s the same way.”

“...Oh,” responds Mystery. He sounds lost. “So can you come up here? I’ll -- I’ll cover your tickets. Both of them.”

Like he’d fly there commercial. “Mystery, I’m getting details out of the OWCA guys right now. I need more information before I can make any plans. Sorry.”

And Mystery couldn’t pay him enough to take Perry out of the city right now. Perry’s been hopping between the sofa and the carpet, then walking over to Heinz and bumping into his side as he works, before cycling back to the sofa, a knot of agitation. Right now he’s digging his forepaws into a couch cushion, like he’s trying to find something that isn’t there.

On the end of the line Mystery sniffles -- oh, no. “What happened to him, Doofenshmirtz?” he says, voice cracking. “My parents were trying to figure it out, they were asking me how old he is -- but it was so sudden, like something hit all at once. My dad asked if I let him go near any black holes recently.”

“Did you?” Heinz asks, genuine. Mystery got up to some hardcore science in the old days.

There’s an ursine growl on the other end, angrier than Peter sounds. “No. That’s their baggage. But I was worried,” Mystery says, “about the age thing. Because. Well.”

Heinz knows Peter’s well into his 20s, by now.

“There’s only so many more years, for him,” Mystery says, faltering. “And so -- what if this is -- if this is how he is now,” he wavers, “then that means I didn’t even... have the time, have the time I thought.”

This precedes a total breakdown of his speech into wracking sobs, that don’t transmit prettily over the phone audio. Heinz pulls the phone away from his ear, frowning at it with no little sympathy. Mystery’s age, like so much about him, has never been clear to Heinz -- but he can tell the guy’s young, comparatively. Whatever their relationship passes for there’s a strained mentorship quality to it -- Mystery has turned to Heinz for answers, in the past, and has repaid him with petulant resentment every time. It’s very bratty. Like when Vanessa would ask him for help with science projects. Heinz can’t resist another opportunity to help each time he’s asked, even knowing the outcome.

But consoling this man wasn’t on Heinz’s docket for today. “Mystery,” he says, “You’ll get that time. You cannot have so little faith in Peter the Panda, so soon after something happens to him. You’re a scientist -- you’re a master of mystery. Give it a few days, before you have a breakdown, alright? That’s what Peter would want.”

Heinz thought that was pretty good, but Mystery just cries harder on the line. He feels shaken -- he doesn’t want to be hearing this right now. That’s selfish, he knows -- but Mystery has family. Mystery can handle himself, and he can handle Peter. Heinz cares deeply for Peter’s wellbeing, still, but part of caring has meant learning to trust his choice of partner, just like Peter trusts his.

“Look, Mystery, I have to go,” he says -- he looks up, and doesn’t see Perry. Suddenly he meant what he said, with an urgency. “Get your parents to help, and tell them all morbid speculation is banned. Give them a furbrush, tell them go to town on him. They’ll love it, he’ll love it. Bye.”

He snaps off the call and rushes through the house, looking for Perry. The kitchen, the balcony ledge, the pool. This place is too big, when he doesn’t want it to be.

He finds a puddle in the bathroom. Perry knew enough to go in there, apparently, but not how to use the toilet.

Perry is back in the sitting room hiding under the glass coffee table, tail curled under like he’s ashamed. “Oh, Perry the Platypus,” Heinz sighs, kneeling at the table and reaching under to stroke Perry’s head. “What are we going to do with you.”

Mr. Fluffypants’ old litterbox is in the storage room that used to belong to Norm. He sets it up next to the toilet. Their bathroom has ample room. He exits, knowing he has to keep the inertia rolling, has to work, can’t process that he just set out a litterbox for Perry. How is he supposed to process that.

Right across from the door, in the hallway, there’s an elongated picture frame with photos from a family beach trip, when Heinz had more color in his hair. The left side highlights Vanessa, who’d brought along a friend -- she’s laughing in some of them, more unrestrained happiness than she showed in her gradeschool years. There’s the massive sandcastle they’d constructed, Norm using his vacant head to scoop, Vanessa lifting Perry up to decorate the upper echelons with fine detail, the two of them focused on this process for a long time while they’d chatted. And then photos of Perry, the surf breaking over his feet as he poses with a notch-tailed surfboard, cool confidence in the line of his smile. Heinz loves that picture: he looks so handsome, his white beach shirt open and playing in the wind.

He finds himself staring at it. This was Perry an hour ago.

He calls out: “Do you know Vanessa, Perry the Platypus? Va-ne-ssa?”

No response, obviously -- Heinz is convinced he could jostle some kind of reaction out of Perry if Vanessa stopped by in person, like Mystery had been aiming at with him. But he has no intention of letting her see him in this state. Perry would hate that.

Heinz collapses into his folded arms on the kitchen island, amid the newly-purchased bags of flour and sugar, for the apple pie they will not be making tonight. He doesn’t want to eat.

But Perry should, he realizes after a minute, lifting his head. Perry seems less agitated now, has been wandering the floor. Right now he’s peering out at the balcony sky, seated. Heinz walks over to him. “You’re not going to try and run off of that, right?” Perry looks up. “Carl made it sound like you were gonna bolt if I so much as left a door open.” But Perry’s been keeping near to him, following him from room to room. The real Perry isn’t this clingy. “I don’t trust you to operate a parachute right now, Perry the Platypus. And don’t let me see you going in the jetpack closet.”

More empty eye contact. “Let’s get you dinner.”

It’s reheated lasagna they’d made a few nights ago, beef and zucchini. Heinz stares hopefully at Perry as he eats it off the plate, thinking the taste might stir a memory. He noses the fork off the table, jumps a little at its clatter, then starts nibbling bites off the edge of the lasagna block. Heinz is over there cutting it up with a butter knife when Carl’s return call finally buzzes in his pocket -- he puts it on the tabletop set to speaker mode. “Carl. I hope you’re ready to talk.”

“Yes Doofenshmirtz, hi,” returns the tinny nasal voice. “I had to get home -- Monogram’s getting grilled over there, and he wouldn’t stop yelling back at them, at the FBI agents, who were jumping at the bit to arrest him. I managed to broker a peace,” Carl ends, proudly.

“That’s fantastic, Carl,” says Heinz. “How about explaining what you did to Perry the Platypus’s brain? It hit Peter too, by the way, I know this is a bigger problem than you want me to think.”

“I don’t want you to think anything!” says Carl. “This wasn’t my choice, Heinz, or Monogram’s for that matter. They turned off the agent control switch. I kept telling them they didn’t need to do that, they should just leave the agents alone -- it’s more safe that way, honestly, we didn’t even know what would happen if they used it. But they just said if it’s part of the animal program, it needs to go.”

Heinz’s stomach sinks lower than he thought it could. “Agent control switch? You’re controlling them?”

“No!” says Carl. “It’s not a -- clear term. Nobody’s controlling the animals, Heinz. It’s like a remote control hub, with a binary state, on and off. They shut it off.’

“So that’s good,” Heinz falters, trying not to let the ominous weight of whatever this implies overwhelm his thought. “You can just switch it back on. It sounds like you can literally fix this with a button press, Carl, so do it.”

“Well, yes and no,” Carl dithers. “They shut it off. Then they confiscated all our equipment. They said ‘classified’, when I asked where it was going. so my guess is it’ll end up in some storage basement or the FBI dumpster, based on how badly they mishandled it. They split open the casing just getting it out of the room, it was hard to watch.”

That sounds about right for OWCA, 70s-era supercomputers filling up rooms they were never intended to leave. “So the switch controls something in Perry’s head?” Heinz asks, steadily. He’s thinking of the giant magnet he was about to put Perry inside. “Like a metal chip?”

“It’s a bioelectric material, I’m pretty sure,” Carl says. “Part of what makes it so hard to access, once it’s inside. The investigators were going to make us lobotomize all the agents, if I hadn’t told them about the switch, it was the only choice. They’re serious about stamping out this program, Heinz, like they’re trying to erase it from the public consciousness. Because if people see a dog in a hat they’ll mob up and burn the government down, apparently.”

Heinz feels on board with that plan at the moment. “Carl. Professor Mystery’s having a breakdown, I had to talk him off the cliff this afternoon. Neither of us knew about this. You didn’t tell any of us,” the heat is rising in his voice, “that Peter and Perry had something in them that you controlled, that this could happen at any minute. Did they know about this?”

Carl is quiet a second. “... I’m not sure,” he says. “I thought Perry knew. It’s not a major secret, it’s just what we do, to promising recruits. It’s had a less pronounced effect in the newer ones, since we stopped putting them in babies. But Perry’s always had it. That’s why he’s so intelligent. But he might not have known about the control switch -- it’s really a relic, we haven’t run power through it in decades, since we’ve had no reason to deactivate the agents.”

Perry’s nosing around the table, his lasagna half-eaten -- he makes a small noise of complaint. “Oh -- I didn’t give you water,” Heinz realizes. A cup seems too optimistic, so he fills up a bowl.

“Is that Perry?” asks Carl from the phone speaker -- Heinz rolls his eyes. “How is he? I’m really sorry, by the way, Heinz -- there’s a lot on our plates over here, I’m just trying to keep us afloat and Monogram on a leash. You know I care about him, too.”

“Then fix him,” says Heinz. Carl goes quiet, while Perry drinks from his bowl.

“...We’ll figure it out. Good night, Doofenshmirtz.”

Heinz looks out at the silent space of his apartment -- the living room lamp is taking on the brunt of lighting it, now the early autumn dark has fallen. With the phonecall battles over and done for the night, it seems quieter than usual.

This space is normally filled by just him and Perry, now that Norm and Vanessa are out on their own. Perry doesn’t talk, and employs his platypus noises judiciously, only making sound when he really wants Heinz’s attention, or is in a temper. But his presence fills the space, in a way that’s hard to explain, easy to feel.

Normal nights, Heinz gabs his way into the late hours with Perry as his receptive listener, and responder, accompanying Heinz on their end-of-day tidying chores, toweling dishes off for him to stack on high shelves, shooting him dry looks and signing quick sentences that make Heinz scoff. Perry believes Heinz is worth listening to, which makes Heinz want to keep chatting with him, more and more, a self-feeding loop that would overload the casual conversational partner. But Perry is no casual.

Normal afternoons, they work on parallel projects to the sound of old radio serials, to audiobooks of bestselling mystery novels, to the Landmarks in Evil podcast. Perry will grab Heinz’s attention to sign some withering remark on the spotlighted villain of the week, and Heinz will snort into his construction tools. Perry’s presence grants him undesired OWCA updates around the house, that they both groan at simultaneously. Perry grants him gift-laden drop-ins from Ferb and Phineas -- literal balcony visits, often, since those kids and their friends fly around the city in more novel contraptions than Perry once did. Perry gives him looks that say everything.

Now, Perry has hopped off the kitchen chair and is padding around Heinz into the living room space. He turns to look at Heinz, like he keeps on doing, but his face expresses only a primal distress. He chirps a high, querulous note, cry-like, foreign on Perry’s tongue. Heinz could step on Perry’s tail ten times -- he has -- and not hear a noise that heartrending.

“I know, Perry the Platypus.” Such a thing you say to pets. But he shares Perry’s sentiment.

A flash of guilt twinges his stomach, and he pulls out his phone to text Peter’s number: Got the intel - I’m fixing it. Take care of Peter the Panda tonight.

A quick reply: I AM. Heinz’s lip quirks.

Heinz raps on the shell of the MRInator -- its completion feels less urgent, now that he has a better concept of the problem. He’ll finish it after a night of sleep, so he doesn’t risk frying Perry’s neurons. He doesn’t want to sleep, knows it won’t be easy, with this mountainous weight hanging over him. But dire times call for proper rest, he’s learned to accept, after 50-some odd years. He downs a plastic cup of Nyquil.

“I’ll have to fix you tomorrow, Perry the Platypus,” he tells him. “Or else I’ll start owing everyone an explanation. Really don’t wanna give the ‘Carl Scrambled Perry’s Brain’ apology tour to your family. I don’t think they’d talk to me again, even though everything is Carl’s fault. As established by the name of the tour.”

Perry wails again, a haunting trill sent into the darkness of the penthouse.

“But don’t worry,” Heinz adds, hurrying over to Perry -- he bends to pet his head. “I will fix this for you. And for Peter the Panda too, and all the other agents. I promise.

Perry whines again, more quietly, in Heinz’s hold, looking up at him with sad brown eyes. Heinz rubs his old hands through the fur of his head -- Perry looks so different right now, hunched in a dog’s sitting posture. Whatever they did to him, whatever pathways are now shut off in his mind, must have enabled or encouraged more human postures, better standing balance -- who knows.

Heinz isn’t sure what to make of Perry now, this animal shell of him. He wonders if Perry feels the same about him -- what is he to Perry now? His partner, his mere protector? Is he less than he used to be?

Heinz takes his left paw, gently, lifting it in his hand. He thumbs the metal ring on his finger.

“For the MRI tomorrow,” he tells Perry. “In case I forget.” He removes it.

Perry pads after Heinz as he gets a glass of water from the sink, as he walks to the bedroom. He feels odd dressing down to his boxers, in front of him now. Perry doesn’t pay him any mind, though -- as soon as he walks in he jumps his way up to the bedspread, scrabbling at the blankets on the edge to barely avoid falling.

“Not letting you in any apple trees,” Heinz muses emptily.

He slumps back into the pillows, feeling the doxylamine fog roll in. “But I’ll need you back soon,” he says, “so we can do the Haunted Haymaze with the kids.”

Perry trods up to him on the blanket. He makes a quiet noise -- not scared or confused, but a regular krrr, like he used to make. A gentle declaration of presence, a little care-package growl. Heinz lifts his arm, and Perry crawls under it, pushing his head into his neck. This movement isn’t forgotten, to him.

Heinz hugs his other arm around Perry’s body, and he falls asleep.

---

[ashestoshadows]

The silent threat that lurks amongst you...

(Human, yandere, male) Zoroark x Reader

Idk why I wrote this at, like, 3AM but I want to try and write more violent yandere stuff. And here's my first attempt: with a male and very aggressive Zoroark. And yes this is in someway headcanons (and a small story if you will- i'll maybe expand further with this)

The reader was given no gender here so you can project your own here; I also made the yandere here basically mute as I just thought it worked better that way so you just imagine what he's likely thinking as he never makes a peep really. besides laughing.

(Trigger warnings? Stalking, violence, reveling in someones pain/sadistic-ish)

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

Zoroark's are famous for their strong unity when in packs

Even as humans, Pokehumans, their unity is just as strong as their normal counterparts

You must of have done something to garner one to notice, let alone pay any mind to you, as they usually don’t care as long as you stay far enough away and don’t hurt any of their kits

Most Zoroark's are male but there is the offset it’s a female, males are much more territorial and protective of their packs

While the females just stay in their den, and protect their young, even risking their lives for them

Females sometimes also hunt for abandoned Zorua's to adopt for themselves and make sure they survive until they're ready to leave and hunt for themselves

But nonetheless with the side notes on them and their habits-

A male hybrid walked out from the cloak of darkness and peeked behind a tree. He noticed you walking by, you appeared to be alone… Quite foolish considering many strong creatures roamed these paths and lands.

He let out a giggle, but he continued to watch. Slowly trailing behind you and taking great entertainment at watching your naivety. Taking the form of a small creature such as Greedent so you wouldn’t pay his presence any mind, or care, as he came into your eyesight.

 Your eyes locked with the small squirrel who ran up to you and handed you a small flower. It was small and the smell was airy and sweet, as you smelled it "Thank you little guy" you smiled at the squirrel before it dashed off… although a bit too quickly for what you're used to.

You continued walking down the path as you continued humming, birds fluttering about continuing their own days like usual and same for you as well.

Weeks passed since then and they slowly began testing their luck. Just quickly passing by.

But regardless, Zoroark's can be very aggressive and this one saw you as his property.

He eventually showed himself, long red hair pulled back into a long loose ponytail accompanied  by a green jewel separating the two parts. Small parts sticking out all over the place.

You instantly tensed up and let out a gasp as you continued backing up until you were stuck; back to a tree as he kept walking closer and closer until his face was basically inches from yours

He said nothing as his green eyes pierced into yours with obvious ill-intentions of some kind. You yelped at feeling one of his clawed hands grasping at your cheek, holding your face to look at him.

Your breathe quickened as he suddenly did something, your eyes shut as you awaited the inevitable. You were at his mercy. But he… licked your face? And as quick as he appeared he was gone.

You shivered feeling his saliva on your cheek starting to dry up as you got up. Quickly picked up your bag which you dropped before you took off running like an athlete

 "What… the fuck??"

This wasn't your last encounter, don’t get your hopes up.

That moment looped in your head for days as you racked it for any reason for why as you bumped into someone… you were lost now as you didn't recognise where you were.

"Excuse me, sir?" you spoke your voice snapping the male out of his thoughts as he looked at you, his head cocked to the side as in listening

"Where am I? How do I get back on the path?" he pointed to the right of him as he began walking, you quickly followed behind him very thankful you bumped into to someone here.

You were forced to trek though these woods as your village was here in the middle of the woods and you had no Pokemon to help you with transportation or protection. So you were likely going to meet said creature you met before again.

You hoped not though as he scared you, you had no real knowledge on Pokemon, nonetheless whatever creature he was. You stopped abruptly as you realised you were back on the path, and you sighed looking around to find the stranger to say thank you to but found nada.

"THANK YOU!" you yelled hoping he heard as you continued, a small giggle could be heard as you yelped in surprise dreading who you thought it was

 You felt something brush past your back as you looked behind you to see nothing, you suddenly felt a heavy and looming presence behind you. You felt yourself get dragged off the path and being pressed against a tree, your arms held up above your head as you looked at the person who was doing this.

You were greeted with two feral green eyes which you recognized, he held your arms up above your head with one hand as he used the other cup your face, admiring you.

He looked terrifying as the light swallowed all around him making his eyes look like they were glowing. A subtle growl began to be heard as you felt a hand being pressed on your chest as you gasped, now thrashing about not wanting this to be happening. Not to you, and definitely not here.

A sinister smile grew on the Pokehumans face, sharp canine teeth exposing themselves as he reveled in seeing you scared, terrified. You have never felt this much fear in your life and you honestly wished you had a Pokemon to help you here.

You felt claws dig into your cheek as you felt them almost pinch your skin, threatening to cause a bleeding wound, but it seemed he was… holding back?

He didn't move, just watched you as you watched him, petrified of whatever he was planning on doing to you "P-please… Hurry up and just kill me!" you basically screamed as the male frowned, very confused as to what you were getting at. His hand that was grasping your face now went down and rested at your waist roughly as his other held your hands together now not letting you move them.

It appeared this one was either mute or was a man of very little words, you couldn't control yourself as you let a scream rip through your chest and out of your throat. A strong surge of strength surged through as you ripped your arms and hands free as you ran. Not caring about whatever you left behind before you left.

 Your hope was quick lived as you were shoved down, you face smothered in dirt as you moaned. You felt the air being pushed out of your lungs from the impact as the male flipped you back over, your eyes locked with his as his free hand traced your body with  his claw as if memorizing it all in his head and you watched tears welding in your eyes as you just wanted to go home.

A dominating looked burned brightly in his eyes as he then violently seared your arms as you screamed- You felt blood reaching outside of your body, touching air as you felt his claws ripped through your skin.

You were testing his patience. You're his property. Get it through your head. And then maybe he'll let you live and you'll make a good mate for him.

[shadowworks]

What’s Said Is Said

Pairing: Fae!Hawks X F!Reader

Warnings: Dub-con themes, light bondage, oral, virgin reader(‘ye ‘ol times idk man) Fae’s being dicks

Word Count: 5.7k

Credit; Thank you lovely wife for creating this beautiful banner! You’re always the sweetest, I swear, @pleasantanathema

A/N: This piece is part of the, Pleasant & Strider Present: The Smut Pile Fantasy AU Collab! Like before, this is written in third person but is still a reader x Hawks fic. Maybe one day I'll write in second person. Today is not that day.

Hope you Enjoy~ 

***

Everyone in town heard the warning of the Dark Forest. Never wander beyond the treeline or else you’ll be snatched by the fae. And while this did scare the children from their southern borders, there were those in adulthood who took the fable with a grain of salt. The leaves and branches shroud the forest floor in this never ending night, and the winds blew through the trees like a soft, ominous whisper calling out, “this way” —But it did not mean there were faeries.

Still, the young traveler moved forward.

She wandered slowly—carefully through the wood with her lantern raised high. She wasn’t certain how long she’d been looking for her cat. As noticeable as her black cat was in a town bathed in sunlight, it was quite the opposite under the thick cover of leaves. But she would not abandon her friend who dulled the dreadful nights, who turned her wet frown into a soft laugh. No, she’d find him, and they’d leave the forest together.

She called out again searching through the wild brush. She looked for motion across the grass--the snap of a twig, a shadow across her light. But still, there was nothing. 

 In fact, it was silent. She slowed her steps to a stop, turning her head to the side. Her brows crinkled together. The wind that shook the branches, that rippled her dress had ceased, and in the moment- so had the sounds of the forest. She held her breath, jerking toward the other side as she felt a figure standing in the shadows. But she exhaled her breath. There was nothing.

When the silence remained like a fog among the ominous trees, she eventually lowered her lantern. There was great reluctance, but she could not hold still like the animals. She had a selfish thought of wanting to turn back around and hurry home...Instead she tread lightly on her worn shoes, pressing forward against the web of mossy stones

If something was out there...She’d do well to avoid it.  

The young traveler’s steps did not make it far, however, as she stopped dead in her tracks.

A muffling noise seemed to be coming from all around, but then the wind brushed at her dress. And on the winds, there was a whisper. She whipped around to the noise on reflex, clutching her lantern toward her chest. The voice was calling out from afar. She understood little wisps of words as it grew louder, and it gradually pushed forward. Until-

“My, what a pretty thing you are,” it whispered against the shell of her ear. 

She stifled a cry. Her eyes darted back but found no one was there. Her hand clamped over her ear she could have sworn she felt a hot breath against her ear. She was sure of it.

She knew she had to flee. Her head reasoned to look harder and then get out.  She began picking up pace and walking backwards, yet another jolt of panic  ran through her. The forest floor was layered in dips and curves of overgrown roots and her foot had caught against one. Her arm swung out, and the lantern slipped from her fingers. 

When it smashed into shards a few feet away, another breeze swept along. It was only made strong enough to snuff out the flame, which licked the oil among the broken glass. Then it was gone.

 Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out and caught her mid-air. The grip was firm and held her weight with more than enough ease to pull her in. The maiden looked on.

There holding her hand was a radiant young man. A smirk pulled at his mouth crookedly, and the gold in his eyes was strikingly crisp and gleamed in the darkness. She noticed his pupils were slit as they looked like her lost friend’s. His hair was pushed back, and she found the shape of his face was more handsome than anyone she’d seen in town—even his pointed ears were charming 

“Well well, look what I found.” He said, breaking the silence. His hold on hers softened but he did not let go. “What are you doing out this far in the woods, little dove? Been some time since a human’s come this way.” 

She did not respond at first, did not move her stare from his brilliant looks. For a moment, she could not remember what she was meant to be doing.

This struck a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Oh, what’s that look for? You still with me?” He teased. He reached for her cheek with his other hand and leaned forward to inspect her features for any sign of liveliness. “I was hoping you hadn’t lost your head—Little do-o-o-o-ove?” 

His sing-songy voice brought a spark of recognition back into her gaze, and a heavy blush bloomed over the bridge of her nose. This wasn’t like her, she’d never done such a thing before.

“Ah, there she is!” He said in praise, swiping his thumb across her cheekbone. She was certain he could feel the heat. “Heh, careful now. I wouldn’t lose myself out here if I were you.”

“I’m so sorry,” she managed just before shaking her head in shame. “I don’t know what came over me.” 

 “Oh, but I do.” He returned matter-of-factly. “You’re not the first to fall for this devilishly charming fae you see before you.”

Fae. Human. He tossed the words around so casually one would think he spoke sincerely. She stared for a moment with a tilt of her head.

“And by fae you mean...?” 

“What, you don’t know?”

She paused. 

As if on cue, her curious eyes fell behind his rather handsome and princely black tunic, finding an incredible display attached to his back. And oh, did they show what he was. They took the shape of black feathered wings but they certainly weren’t. Those glossy wings were transparent like a dragonfly, and in the veins of each side they glimmered a bloody red. The lines fanned out in perfect detail, each one resembling a feather of a bird.

“You’re…! You really exist,” She gaped, shifting her wide eyes back to his gold ones.

The faerie smiled back, knowing full well where her gaze had fallen. It was almost as though he’d seen this before, actually. There was something a little too cocky behind that pretty mouth, and  she wasn’t liking his satisfied smile very much.

The faerie then stepped back in proper form, and she watched him dip low in an elegant bow, bringing her knuckles to his lips. She tried not to think of the second rise of heat on her nose.

“They call me Hawks, my dear.” The fae greeted officially, but the maiden did not like his response.

“They being whom?”

Hawks glanced up. “Pardon?” 

“They being whom?” 

“You must have guessed there's more than just me.”

“I have.” 

“Then why do you ask?” Hawks wondered, his eyebrow quirked. 

“Well...if the rumors of you existing are true, then it’s right to assume all the others are true, right? Are “they” the good kind that leave lilies in your hair, or are “they” the kind that steal your left shoe?”

Or were they kind that snatched infants from their cribs, or lost travelers in the night? But she dared not ask that part. 

They stared at one another, though Hawks stared in a way that sized her up. The impish gleam in his golden eyes was snuffed, and the curve of his smile faded. It was as though she’d said something wrong—yet it was hard to tell.

She opened her mouth to explain but that’s when the wind gently pushed at her hair.

“Pretty thing, pretty thing.”

Her hand tensed under his leather fingers, fixing a frightened look toward the returning whispers. This time though, she was not the only one who heard this. Hawks straightened his winged back, and turned to the direction of the voice.

“Well shit. Looks like these bastards caught your scent.” Hawks said with an ungracious tone. “Leave it to the Unseelie to spoil everything…” 

She stared at the back of Hawks’ head incredulously. Did she hear him correctly? They could smell her? The Unseelie were the malevolent fae she’d heard about before.They were the Goblins who stole human faces; the Pale Men who ate children and left nothing but their shoes. And now, they were the fae who call to you with an echo on the wind.

“Not again.” She muttered, a distressed anger snapped inside. 

 Hawks looked back alarmed, having felt the loss of warmth in his hand. Lifting his chin, he watched as her beautifully framed figure stalked off, moving deeper into the tree’s shadows.

“Hold on, wait!” Hawks called out, extending an outstretched hand. The maiden was heading towards dangerous grounds, ones which were outside his claimed boundaries and near the Unseelie even Hawks found to be tasteless. 

“No, no, no, no!” She repeated as she hurried away on shaking legs, “I’ve dealt with enough faeries on this adventure, thank you! I came here for my cat, not to mingle with smelling fae.”

“Your cat?” Hawks asked. 

“Yes, my cat!” She said, turning herself to face him. “He slipped out earlier and made a run for it out here!” 

Her eyes were able to study his sharply dressed figure in black, all of him lit by a red glow coming from the veins inside his wings. For a moment, she thought how out of place his attire was in the Dark Forest. 

“Is that right?” He mused, letting those gold eyes fall to the ground. They were pinned on something, but she couldn’t see from her spot. “And just out of curiosity; how do you plan to find him in the dark?”

His boot kicked at a remnant of the lantern, she heard the glass crunch under his foot. When Hawks lifted his gaze, his expression was unreadable.

 “Look, we don’t have too much time.The Unseelie won’t harm your pet, but a human like you? I can assure you, they won’t keep you a pretty corpse if they snatch you up.“ 

His black and red wings began to flutter to a rapid speed until they were an illuminating blurr. They lifted him from the ground effortlessly, and he flew through the dark with a graceful air around him.

“If you come with me and wait for the Unseelie to pass, we’ll look for your cat then, alright?” Hawks landed softly before her, offering a stretched arm and open palm for her to take. 

She hesitated, looking him over for any sign that read foul play. He was one of the fae after all, and his kind gesture was given so suddenly. “You’ll look for him, with me? I...Why-why would you want to help me?” 

Hawks liked holding her hand. He didn’t wait for her reach and grasped hers, hanging at her side.The soothing leather rubbed against her skin as he laced their fingers. His gaze was fixed on the curves of their hold, the flash of her wrist. A smile softened his face. 

“Well, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want you all to myself in the big bad woods,” Hawks confessed before flicking his catlike eyes up. “Hey. It’ll be alright, dove. Let’s find you someplace, safe.”  

***

Hawks eventually dropped the back of her knees, while settling her back down on the ground. He’s the first to move, and he walked with purpose towards a particular tree.

She however, was occupied with the fog that rolled in this part of the forest. It was colder here, the trees were larger—and she’s unsure how to explain, but the blackened bark on these trees was more ominous than the ones she’d passed on her own.

“Hawks,” she tentatively called, crossing her arms over her chest, “Where is this place?”

 Hawks kept facing the tree. He was intently regarding the natural grooves of the bark, cupping his chin in thought. 

“My neck of the woods! Thought it’d be safer to mask your scent with mine.” He mused. There was another pause before he saw it, and the tips of his fingers pushed on the bark pattern to his right—the wood cracked.

Hawks turned towards the maiden. He noticed her expression slowly shine as the door opened, leading to a spiral staircase inside. He beckoned her forward with a reach toward her figure.  She didn’t hesitate to walk forward and take his hand. 

It took a moment to reach the top of the staircase, but beyond those steps was a hollowed out room. Rich leaves with layered vines melded atop the ceiling, and a few human items were placed around. Among them included a velvet armchair in the corner, with thick blankets neatly folded on the cushion. 

Hawks gestured toward the chair, dropping the maiden’s hand. He then tipped his head back as he waved an arm above.

The canopy that made up the ceiling had started trembling, the vines falling loose and gradually stopping. Then they blinked, like they had eyes of their own. And each one ignited with a dim lit glow like a firefly across the evening sky, giving the room a soft warmth it hadn’t before.  

“That’s beautiful.”

Hawks dropped his head in surprise. She had stopped moving halfway across the room, with attentive eyes on him. He could see a sheen of wonder on her lovely features, a trace of a smile on her lips. Hawks smiled back.

Good, she was winding down. 

“You should see the vines further in! Now, those would really take your breath away.” 

“You own more than this place?”

“My neck of the woods, remember?” 

Hawks took to playing with his leather gloves, pulling on the fingers to slip off, “So this cat of yours must be quite something. I’ll admit, I’m not all interested in human pets, but I find it curious you’d risk being kidnapped for one.”

The small glow from the vines had revealed a patchy, web of plants around the chair, violet lilies had bloomed every which way. A few more even sprung up from the cushion as she lifted the blankets. 

Maybe sitting on the floor would be preferable...

“He was my father’s cat,” she said. She moved to set the blankets down, but Hawks had come beside her, graciously collecting them from her arms. He turned, aiming to put them on the wooden desk—(which was clearly made by human hands.) “He’s the last member of my family, and honestly, that’s more than enough for a reason. ‘Least for me, anyway.”

“So you’re alone?” 

She paused. She did not expect such a blunt response, nor did she expect Hawks glancing over his shoulder, curious, would leave her throat tightening. 

She quickly turned, pretending to find the black dahlia's on the wall more fascinating, “Yes. It’s been that way since last autumn. My mother died when I was a kid, and my father was killed in a hunting accident. Now, it’s just me.” 

“Just you, huh? No males waiting in the wings to ask for your hand in...whatever?” Hawks made it sound like it was absurd. Maybe it was. 

She huffed a laugh, smiling at a dahlia, “I don’t think so.”

She was of lowly status with a deceased father who never offered an engagement. He hadn’t flaunted her youth and beauty at social gatherings, or in other towns for that matter. There simply wasn’t time for those affairs when hard labor was required to keep from starving.

“Just when I thought I couldn’t be more fortunate.” 

Hawks’ hands slipped around her hips and firmly turned her. She wasn’t used to being touched, not like this. Her skin prickled under his bare fingers, and a familiar heat burned the curves of her cheeks. They were face to face, and a breath closer. 

“Did you know I almost let you slip by? It’s not uncommon for humans to venture this far in. Figured you’d turn back around once you couldn’t find who you were calling for, but of course, heh, you fell.” At those words, his thumb began stroking small circles against her hip. Each stroke across the bone jolted down her body, “But when I caught you, I saw it. Saw how scared you were. And I knew...you didn’t want to be alone.” 

“Well, yes. I wish I was never alone,” she confessed softly. She slowly began pressing against his hand, just a little, “but that’s something everyone wishes for, isn’t it?” 

Hawks smiled at her. Though it did not crinkle the corner of his sharp eyes. “Suppose you’re not wrong there. So why not have someone change that? Why not fill the void? Isn’t that something you’d want?”

With light pressure Hawks steered her backwards, easing her against the stretch of vines across the wall. He didn’t break his stare. 

But she could only stare back for so long, dropping her gaze under the intensity in his golden eyes. Delicately, she managed a small voice and replied, “I don’t know.”

Hawks didn’t like this answer. He grasped under her jaw, firmly lifting those timid eyes back to his slightly lidded ones. 

“Oh, no, no, I think you do,” Hawks countered. His voice was hushed, a husky and darkened tone,“You’re a maiden. Back home, you’re not allowed to want for things, right? Just sit there and look pretty, keep your mouth shut. Oh but, little dove, here? All you have to do...is give in. Fill that loneliness with your desires.”

She fell still, slowly exhaling through her parted mouth as he tilted his jaw, lingering near her lips. She breathed in his deep herbal scent, and a feeling gathered in her which blurred her thoughts with a subtle ache.

Hawks waited for her motionless to pass, as though he knew what she didn’t. He relished in her flushed features, and he smiled satisfied when her eyes fluttered shut. She leaned forward, and Hawks claimed her lips. 

There she goes.

 He kissed her in a way that slipped his tongue past her lips, exploring her warmth and digging his fingers in her jawline, controlling. She was forced to stay still, breathing in when he’d part, only to be crushed into his lips once more. 

Her head was spinning, so she didn’t notice a pair of thick coils slowly creeping down the wall and slinking around her wrists. Not until a tightening on her skin, and a sudden wrench on her arms, had ripped her from Hawks’ mouth. The lively vines from above yanked her forward, and Hawks stepped back. 

While she tried digging her heels in the moss to stop their pulling, the vines only wrenched her wrists back harder. She stumbled into the center of the room. Then they braided into one, hoisting her arms up together, her feet partly touching the ground. 

“Hawks!” She called, tugging back on the vines, “What is this? Why are you—“

“—Like I said before, we need to mask your scent,” Hawks said as he strolled nonchalantly from the wall. He brushed his hand across her waist and circled round to stand behind, “And there’s really only one way for my scent to stay on you.” 

She tried glancing around, but she couldn’t crane her neck that far, not where she could see him properly. Hawks paused for a moment, and seemingly was fiddling with something near his wings. He was quiet, which only made her tense. She listened for some indication of what he was doing, waiting for him to say something. 

Finally, a loud tear of fabric filled the room. Her dress loosened at the shoulders, and cool air brushed her mid-back. Her mouth gaped in a muted gasp. She could only listen as the tear ripped again, and again, with more skin exposed downward.

“You—You can’t expect me to walk out there without a dress!” She countered shakily. She tried biting back the shame bubbling in her throat. 

“Oh, certainly not. What kind of fae do you take me for?” He asked, still tearing up her long sleeves. She looked back again, this time she had noticed a red object in his curled grip, gleaming and fairly plush.

A feather?

“I’ll have you wear something better than these rags.” 

It took little time before pieces of cloth littered the floor, allowing her simple dress to fall in a puddle around her feet, at last. But Hawks wasn’t done. He knelt softly in the navy fabric, lifting her ankles one after the other, sliding off her worn shoes. They gave a light thunk when he tossed them near the armchair. 

Amidst his working hands, the maiden struggled with her feelings. A part of her wanted the crawling binds to let her go, have her drop so she may cover her breasts. She also wanted to kick Hawks for shredding her damn dress into nothing. Better clothes or not, the dress was still hers. But ultimately what curbed her resistance towards Hawks was the guilty pang she felt for doubting him. He was there to protect her; to keep the Unseelie from finding her. And in part, it helped that his light touch pricked at her lower muscles. It kept her wishing for that feeling on the skin again...If only it weren’t so embarrassing. 

“Are you scared?” Hawks asked.

The vines must have turned her at one point, for Hawks was kneeling in front of her and peering up with a gentle hand on her outer thigh. The hand with the blood coloured feather uncurled, and the very feather slipped through his fingers like it was alive. It soared up and behind him to blend against his black wings. Then suddenly, it was just another vein.

“I uhm…” She tried managing a calmer tone, but it remained shaken, “I don’t know what to...”

“I know, dove. Trust me, I know,” he soothed, running a hand up and down her thigh in assurance, “Won’t alway be like that, though, not after we’ve done this a few times.”

There wasn’t much time to fixate on what he meant, as two fingers hooked under her last garment and pulled it down her leg to the floor.

Now there was nothing in his way.

Hawks leaned in to press his lips along her inner thigh, trailing up slowly, gently. As he neared the curve of her sex, he hiked the back of her thigh on his shoulder, then her other one followed. Those sneaky binds were clever, really. They always knew when to hoist her higher, and they comfortably propped her in this new position. 

“Hawks, hold on, hold on,” she pleaded. It was moving too fast—the sudden shift from the ground left her startled. 

Hawks didn’t listen.

His predatory eyes flicked up to find hers watching, her beautiful eyes wide as a doe’s. This made him smirk, though in a way she hadn’t seen before, “Maidens always scream, but I wonder what you’ll say?”

With those words, Hawks tongue delved between her sensitive slit—and she tossed her head back. She was breathing in sharply. Her hips impulsively stuttered toward his mouth as his tongue stroked long and deep along her sensitive spot, but it didn’t compare to when he intentionally flicked against a bundle of nerves.

Oh my god. Oh fu —She tensed, her back arching into the touch. It was a hot pleasure that wildly pulsed inside her, something intense she never felt ‘till then. She had roamed a hand between her legs before in her quiet home, always alone, always rushed. This? This paled, it had never been this much.

Hawks was clearly in tune to her body's spasms. She writhed against his open mouth, while he was pressing and swirling his tongue on the bundle in concentration, his hands slinked up to hold her hips closer. He was set on one thing, his pace was building faster to it. And oh, it rewarded him so handsomely—a rush of excitement struck down to his groin from the sound. Her cries, her moans, her unwinding pitched voice; she was becoming his with every breath. 

“Haw-Haw-aks,” it kept breaking from her lips with harsh gasps; her head hung back towards the canopy with glossy eyes. Oh god, she wanted to thread her fingers in his gold locks and press him further in her sex—Yes, fuck, right there, his mouth feels so good. Her shame be damned, all she wanted was for him to keep going. 

An unseen smile curled slightly on Hawks’ lips. 

“That’s it, little dove,” he coaxed softly between laps, “Just let my name slip out...just like that.”

He returned to latch on her clit. He sucked in hard with a wet noise, and a loud sob wrenched from her lungs. There was so much vigor, he didn’t cease, her winding pleasure rose higher, tenser, with her shaky thighs clamping tight on each side of his head. 

“ Ha-Hawks, keep going, oh, keep going, fuck, keep—“ The spasms ripped through her with another sob breaking from her mouth. Her muscle walls clenched violently. She fell into a sense of ecstasy and her orgasm released. 

Bleeding hell...She could not believe how wonderful she felt. She was so light in the head.

Hawks lapped along her folds as she rode out the last wave of her climax. He took certain care to run his mouth over her slit, which seeped with glistened come. As he finished, he wiped the corner of his mouth with his knuckle.

“Well, what’s this? Where did my shy maiden go?” He teased, looking up toward her with a playful grin, “You were making the sweetest sounds up there.”

She made an expression which had Hawks chuckling. She really was a pretty girl, with such pretty timid eyes. 

Hawks eased her legs off his shoulders, setting her down so she could step on the wood. It was a little hard though, as her tiptoes wobbled about until the vines dropped her lower. After, Hawks pushed up to stand. He pressed his body against hers and he sealed her lips with his. It was short, but she noted her own taste on his tongue before he parted. 

“You did good, dove. Heh, ready for me now? It’s my turn.” 

He then turned her. It wasn’t surprising Hawks was leading her along with little chance to respond, already brushing his lips across her neck. A hand cupped her breast and began squeezing, while his thumb rolled her nipple with tact, “Don’t worry, I’ll make this feel good...So damn good.”

He might even break her.

“But doesn’t this hurt?” She asked breathlessly. She felt naive, but that’s what the married women in town said. There was pain, and it ended with blood.

Hawk gave a reply she did not expect. His mouth which trailed gently down the curve of her neck, sucked hard into her smooth skin. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine, and her lips opened.

“You feel that? It hurt a little, didn’t it?” He whispered against her ear, “Can’t promise it won't hurt, but I can at least promise my cock will leave you twitching. You’ll be moaning, and when you come again, it’ll be when I’m deep inside you.”

She felt something thick rub between her legs, just then. The hand that toyed with her breast started roaming downward to pull back her hips. His other hand had been working on his belt prior, taking himself in hand with mild strokes. 

The lazy work on himself was fine. This wasn’t about him, well—for now, at least. He’d focus on his needs once the intended plan was carried out. But until then, keeping her aroused was Hawks’ priority. 

“Just relax...tilt your hips a little more,” he instructed, all while slicking the head of his cock like he’d done for his length. Once ready, he began lining himself toward her entrance, “Yes, that’s right, little dove. Precisely like that.”

She braced her arms against the vines with fingers curled in a tight grip, all while trying to relax her body like Hawks had said. But it was difficult to persist as Hawks advanced, and he slid his swollen cock inside her. A gasp slipped from her lips, her spine curved. He was thick. And as if he were forging through, she felt him strike his hips in shallow thrusts through her wet entrance, sink deeper in her stretching, and pulsing walls. 

It hurt, but a familiar ache spread. 

“You’ll enjoy it more if you relax.” Hawks' voice rasped thickly. He placed a hand on her lower back, gently rubbing at her spine. His length was still buried, feeling her clench--Ah, fuck. She was damn tight. He wanted to plunge forward, pound her with no mercy. It even took a good deal of restraint to hold still. “Don’t be afraid, I got you...Just let go.”

She can only nod in reply. It was going to be alright; she had to remember that. She exhaled a deep breath and tentatively eased under Hawks palm, eyes fluttering shut. She was ready, and his hands firmly settled on her sides. He then leaned back just so he could thrust forward, setting the pace with long, deep pumps.

She ached. Every thrust left her sore, but the ache was subtly there, building with Hawks momentum. The snap of his hips threw her body back and forth, shaking to his rhythm, his heavy pants in her ear. A shudder rushed down her spine, hearing his lust so crisply behind. Her lips parted to breathe, and her moans spilled out. 

“Hnng—Yesss, let me hear you. Fuck, you take my cock so deep,” he growled lowly.

Hawks thrusts were sounding wet as his pounding in her skin quickened unsteadily. He’d admit, this was reckless for a virgin maiden, but he wouldn’t hadn’t planned on stopping now for her sake. Hawks was chasing his own orgasm, and as he mentioned before; this was his turn. 

In that moment, she was thankful her arms were strung up, for it was her only support against his unyielding smacks inside her. But the rhythm changed, as Hawks jerked her hips back into an arched angle. Another cry spilled from her lungs. 

Christ, why did it feel so fucking good?! When Hawks snapped hard, his length struck an intense patch in her inner walls, and a beautifully sweet mixture of pain and pleasure shook in her core. 

Hawks felt her violent twitch, which only excited the fae. 

“You like that, sweet dove? It feels like you fucking do! Let me hear you scream!”

She did in fact, cry out. 

All her senses fell to the pleasure, the euphoria, the sweet pain of each thrash. And he pounds—and he pounds, and he pounds. Until she felt something warm flood her insides, and another writhing, hot pleasure ignited her nerves in a violent crash. 

Then there was only the sound of their heavy breaths. He stayed sheathed inside, all while blood had bloomed across the maiden’s thighs.

***

Just before the evening turned to dusk, Hawks had awoken from the makeshift bed he assembled from the folded blankets. At first, he only buried his cheek into the maiden’s loose hair, and drew his arms tightly around her bareback, just so she fit snug against his own bare chest. She was warm, so soft in his arms as she slept soundly.

Then came a gentle breeze that wisped at his forehead, brushing at his thick pieces of hair. 

Swirling on those winds echoed a voice.

“Little dove.”

This only warranted a deep growl, though Hawks hadn’t made an effort to move from his maiden’s warmth.

“Cut that shit out, I haven’t told her yet,” he mumbled with an edge in his tone. He refused to crack open his eyes, and craving sleep more than anything he dismissed the voice abruptly. 

The room fell silent.

It obeyed him, not the other way around.

“What’s said is said,” —Hawks adjusted his body, gently rubbing his face on her head, “You wish to never be alone, well, wish granted. You’re mine now little dove...Mine, forever.”

There’s no reply from his maiden, whose gentle breathing was doing a lovely job of lulling Hawks deeper into the pull of sleep. She wouldn’t like it, oh he knew she wouldn’t. But she’d learn to. And she’d learn her efforts of finding her missing cat were all in vain. After all, the cat never made it far into the forest. He scared off that pathetic thing, but he watched the maiden wander. 

What’s said is said, and there’s nothing she could do to change it. 

***

@pleasantanathema @present-mel @enjifuckersupreme @redflannel

[discotthelion]

🎵 Hazbin Hotel and Playlists🎶

Due to my summer classes starting on Monday, I thought it could be fun to create a playlist for some of the most popular ships in the fandom. Perhaps most of you know these songs or think they don't fit, or even believe this is a bit goofy, but it's all for fun at the end of the day and more for leisure. Again, these ships are what I believe are the most common (for the main cast anyway), and if you don't see yours here, sorry! However, I would love you to add it to the list. This is somewhat long (and I can't include all the characters, not by a long shot, sadly, so there will also be no crossover with Helluva Boss)...be prepared.

This took fucking forever.

Alastor:

Being my fav character, it's unsurprising I'll start with the Strawberry Pimp. This radio host is probably the most shipped character in the fandom regardless of him being canonically asexually and (depending on who you ask) aromantic. I mean, he is even being paired with himself at this point. Unfortunately for fans (but not Alastor himself), I feel he will happily sink most of these ships in the future. But, hey, we can still have fun for now!

Alastor/Husk: "How High The Moon" by Ella Fitzgerald Or "You're Nothing Without Me" from City of Angels

Alastor/Angel Dust: "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" covered by Ella Fitzgerald Or "Geraldines Routine" by Tape Five Or "Maybe this Time" from Cabaret

Alastor/Vox: "Losing My Mind" from Follies Or "From the Gallows" by IDK How But They Found Me Or "With One Look" from Sunset Boulevard

Alastor/Charlie: "Bad Boy Good Man" by Tape Five Or "The Scorpion and the Frog/Trust Me" from The Devil's Carnival Or "Hey, Little Song Bird" from Hades Town Or "The Music Box" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Alastor/Vaggie: "Minnie The Moocher" by Cab Calloway Or "The Way You Look Tonight" from Swing Time

Alastor/Lucifer: "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" from Anything Goes

Alastor/ Sir Pentious: "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar

Alastor/Mimzy: "Anything you can do" from Annie Get Your Gun Or "Take back Your Mink" from Guys and Dolls

Alastor/Rosie: "Jolly Holiday" from Marry Poppins Or "A Little Priest" from Sweeny Todd Or "Right Hand Man" from Something Rotten

General Songs: "Party Like its 1929" by Tape Five Or "The Hi De Ho Man (That's Me)" by Cab Calloway, Or "Overture/All that Jazz" from Chicago Or "I Can't Be Bothered Now" from Crazy For You Or "Be A Clown" from Pirate Or "Make 'Em Laugh" from Singin' In The Rain

Angel Dust:

I adore Angel, which is rather funny since, in real life, I am a prude. Regardless of gender (or lack of it), any overly licentious character bores me intensely and sometimes can become annoying. Nonetheless, Angel is charming, especially if you watch streams with his voice actor.

Unlike Alastor, we know for CERTAIN, Angel has a very vigorous sex life and will eventually get a boyfriend (the consensus being Husk). He also gets shipped with a lot of characters. However, in my perspective, for his persona, it makes sense.

Angel/Husk: "Suddenly Seymore" from Little Shop of Horrors Or "If I loved you" from Carousel Or "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" From Damm Yankees Or "Heaven Help My Heart" from Chess

Angel/Sir Pentious: "Monkey Tree" by Mother Mother Or "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj Or "S&M" by Rhianna Or "I Wanna Be Your Slave" by Måneskin

Angel/Valentino: "I Say No" from Heathers Or "Could I Leave You" from Follies Or "Break Free" by Queen

Angel/Vox: "Domestic Bliss" by Glass Animals Or "The Rich Man's Frug" from Sweet Charity Or "Judas" by Lady Gaga Or "Primadonna" by Marina and The Diamonds

Angel/ Baxter: "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show Or "Hermit the Frog" by Marianna and The Diamonds Or "Love Potion Number 9" by The Searchers

Angel/Cherri Bomb: "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha Or "We Are Golden" by Mika

Angel/Charlie: "Bubblegum Bitch" by Marina and The Diamonds Or "The Seraph" from 35MM Or "Hotel Californa" by The Eagles

Angel/Vaggie: "I won't say I'm in Love" from Hercules Or "All Men are Pigs" by Studio Killers Or "Lolipop" by Mika

General Songs: "Bring on the Men" from Jekyll & Hyde Or "Rose Tint My World/Wild and Untamed Thing" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Or "Grace Kelly" by Mika Or "Sugar Daddy" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch Or "Un-Reborn Again" by Queens Of The Stone Age Or "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity

Husk:

I enjoy Husk; he's dry and defiantly not for everyone, kind of like a martini. Moreover, that cat possesses eyebrows bigger than Kim K's ass, so brownie points. From what I gathered, he's an old insecure Russian/Las Vegas-born alcoholic who enjoys performing magic shows and can speak multiple languages. Additionally, he cheats when playing at the table and is surprisingly good with kids.

Husk doesn't have as many ships as Angel or Alastor, so the lists start getting sparse from here on out.

Husk/Charlie: "Let Me Be Your Wings" from Thumbelina Or "Daddy Issues" by The Neighbourhood Or "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver Or "Oh, Ms.Believer" By Twenty One Pilots

Husk/Niffty: "Real Boy" by Lola Blanc Or "Wooden Heart" from G.I Blues Or "Be my Yoko Ono" by The Bare Naked Ladies

Husk/Crymini: "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga (covered by Halestorm) Or "Goin' Down" by The Pretty Reckless Or "Lolita" by Lana Del Ray

General Songs: "Send in the Clowns" covered by Judy Collins, Or "American Pie" by Don McLean Or "Poker Face” by Lady Gaga Or "Reaper Man" by Mother Mother Or "Being Alive" from Company

Charlie/Vaggie:

I don't think anyone can talk about Charlie without Vaggie. The pilot wouldn't exist if it weren't for Charlie's dream and Vaggie's enthusiastic support, the two almost resembling a Don Quixote and Dulcinea dynamic (or Jack Skellington and Sally-Esque relationship). The princess of Hell and her very mad (but very cute) moth begin the pilot as girlfriends and are a power couple if there ever was one. I am definitely excited for the show to further explore their individual arcs. I'm not going to lie, more so Vaggie.

These two hardly get shipped with anyone but each other (excluding the Charlie/Alastor shippers). Moreover, some have been detailed above. So, the list is a bit smaller than Husk's (sorry).

Charlie/Vaggie: "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie Or "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera Or "We're Simply Meant to Be..." from The Nightmare Before Christmas Or "Almost like Being in Love" from Brigadoon

Charlie/Vox: "The Ladies' Choice" from Hairspray Or "Unworthy of your love" from Assassins Or "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra Or "Born to Hand Jive" from Grease

Vaggie/Cherri Bomb: "Love In The Middle Of A Firefight" by Dillon Francis Or "When We're High" by LP

General Songs (Charlie): "To Dream the Impossible dream" from Man of La Mancha Or "I Have Confidence" from The Sound of Music Or "My Grand Plan" from The Lighting Thief Or "Don't Rain On My Parade" from Funny Girl Or "Back to Before" from Ragtime Or "Spread A Little Sunshine" from Pippin

General Songs (Vaggie): "Class Fight" by Melanie Martinez Or "All Good Girls Go to Hell" by Billie Eilish, Or "Motorcycle Emptiness" by Manic Street Preachers Or "Exquisite Corpse" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch Or "Hit Me Like a Man" from The Pretty Reckless Or "The Starry Night" from Starry

Niffty:

I am 90% sure Niffty is a Yandere or was in an Inez Serrano from No Exit type situation (but a straight version). She is an insanely cute and creepy character. I don't have as much to say here other than I love her implied sadistic nature and can't wait to learn more about her relationship with the characters.

Niffty/Baxter: "By the Sea" from Sweeny Todd Or "Gingerbread Man" by Melaine Martinez Or "Obsessed With You" by The Orion Experience Or "Don't You" by Darren Criss

Niffty/Sir Pentious: "The Trolly Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis Or "Sweet but Psycho" by Ava Max Or "The Garden" by July Talk

Niffty/Mimzy: "A Women's Touch" from Calamity Jane Or "Jenny (I wanna Ruin our Friendship)" by Studio Killers Or "Heather" by Conan Gray

General Songs: "Screw Loose" from Cry-Baby Or "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls, Or "The Horror of our Love" by Ludo Or "People Watching" by Conan Gray

Sir Pentious:

Everyone loves Sir Pentious and wishes to be shot by his ray gun. That's a fact. Undebatable. Again, somewhat similarly to Angel, Viv has hinted at a future love interest. Kind of. We know that the snake has the hots for someone (I personally think it's his hat/Sarcasm). Funny enough, Sir P's top ships (outside of Cherri) are actually characters that haven't appeared yet. Unlike Husk and Veggie, he has quite a few ships. It must be his impeccable style.

Sir PentiouS/Molly: "Rock Candy Baby" by Montrose Or "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel Or "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top

Sir Pentious/Arackniss: "Black Widow" by Iggy Azalea & Rita Ora Or "Lost on You" by LP

Sir Pentious/Baxter: "Radioactive" by Mariana and the Diamonds Or "Black Magic" by Little Mix

Sir Pentious/Cherri Bomb: "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways Or "Wild Wild Life" by The Talking Heads Or "Breakin'a Sweat" by Skrillex & The Doors

Sir Pentious/Lilith: "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry Or "New Perspective" by P!ATD Or "Killer Queen" by Queen Or "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne

General Songs: "When Your Evil" by Voltaire Or "I'm Going Slightly Mad" by Queen Or "100 Eyes" by Beats Antique Or "The Evil Has Landed" by Queens Of The Stone Age

That's all I can think of for now, but I hope I added to your music collection at the very least!! Again if you want to add or change anything, that would be awesome. Also, let me know your favourite Ships💕

[mrs-tsunderemeitantei]

DISCLAIMER: HUGE, LONG RANT AHEAD!

ALSO SPOILERS IN CASE YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE MANGA OR WITH ZERO THE ENFORCER!

Soo in case you missed it, Gosho released the SDB Justice Plus some time last month:

The biggest shocker was the answer to Question number 4, shown below:

Basically this translates to:

Q4: On the Mystery Train, he (Amuro) said to Miyano Shiho that “My comrades who are tracking us have made arrangements in order to retrieve you”, but were those comrades from PSB? If that’s the case, I’m curious about how he planned to deceive Vermouth...!

A: Those were comrades from the Black Organization, so there was no need to deceive them.

Ummmm...what??

Idk about y'all but when I read this, I was livid. It didn’t make any sense to me. And quite frankly, I didn't want it to. Maybe because I am one of those (very rare) people who thought Rei and Shiho could eventually end up together (Don't laugh, it would have made sense, and I'll write about that in a separate post).

Anywho, safe to say Gosho's latest confession left me in absolute confusion. Like why? Just why? Then I realised I'm more butt-hurt about this because I was fixated on a certain idea of Rei's character and chose to ignore his other sides, as if they didn't exist. It didn't help that his past is so freaking depressing which got me sympathizing with his character and led me to either ignore or make excuses for any red flags.

But now that I think about it, it sadly makes sense. It also explains why he didn't show any sadness or regret when he saw Shiho supposedly ‘die’ in the luggage cart in the Bell Tree Train Arc.

Now to let me wrap my head around this, I needed to breakdown his three "faces":

1. Amuro Tooru is a cheerful, friendly, generous, carefree, outgoing man.

2. Furuya Rei is a serious, law-abiding, calculating, patriotic police officer who is willing to die for Japan's security.

3. And Bourbon is a devious, manipulative, cunning, deadly agent.

Yet, ever since we found out he was in fact an NPA agent, we (or at least I), seem to have forgotten about those dark sides he possesses. Also with Zero's tea time showing us a softer side of his character it was easy to get caught up in "he's 100% one of the god guys" when in fact, he's a complex, grey character. 

He has shown on multiple occasions, just how far he is willing to go, to achieve whatever goal he’s set his mind on. Let's not forget how in Zero the Enforcer, he completely flipped the switch. (I know this isn't Canon but...) The man went as far as to create a suspect and jail the innocent Mori Kogoro so he can legally investigate the case and emotionally manipulate Conan into unkowningly help with the investigation.

Also, in the Detective Nocturne’s case he deliberately didn’t tell Ran as soon as he noticed Conan might have been kidnapped by the criminal because he hadn’t finished investigating the apartment.

And in the Scarlet Arc, he was willing to harm Jodie's teacher friend, so he can lure out the FBI and advance his investigation on Akai’s death. Let’s not forget once he figured out the truth, he was willing to expose Akai’s fake death (which I get it he's out for revenge), but by doing so, he would have also gotten Kir killed (even though I'm pretty sure he knew at that point, she was in fact a NOC).

As we can see, be it Bourbon, Furuya Rei or  Amuro Toru, he will stop at nothing to reach his goals, even if it means throwing innocent people under the bus. So, now when Gosho says his "partners" were in fact BO members and not the PSB, I'm no longer surprised.

I mean, why wouldn’t he sell Shiho back to the organisation? Because he knew she was Sensei’s daughter, and that should have meant something to him? Alright, let’s talk about that.

Did he love Shiho’s mum? Yes, he did, there’s no doubt about that (one of the reasons he joined the joined the police in the first place was to find her, so you can't convince me otherwise).

But what if he loved Japan even more? (It's not canon, but he did say in Zero the Enforcer that the safety of this country matters most to him, even if it means he’d end up paying with his own life).

So, I'm going to take a wild guess as to how he could have felt when he found out the woman he loved as his own mother, willingly joined the deadly organisation that threatened the safety of his country. Based on his memories, he remembered her encouraging her husband to join the Carasuma group.

So, if through his investigations, he was able to realise she is the same woman from his childhood, I’m pretty sure he would have been very disappointed.  I’m not sure the extent of his knowledge about the drug, but if he also found out their research created the poisonous APTX-4869, I reckon it would be more reason for him to be upset.

Now let's talk about Haibara/Shiho. To any outsider who's unaware of the truth of her past, she is a woman born into the organisation, then was groomed and taught from a young age by the syndicate and promoted to take on their research. A research that produced a poisonous drug, just like her parents did. Also, she only ran away after the organisation killed her sister. Before that, she was a high-ranking member. With all these facts, why would he think of her as anything but a criminal just like the rest of the BO members? It’d be rather foolish for him to not hand her back to the organisation just because she is the daughter of the woman he once thought so highly of. If anything, he’d be killing two birds with one stone, by executing a criminal, while also gaining higher standing in the organisation.

As fans of Haibara, we are rightfully upset by his intentions of returning her to the organisation because we know her truth. He doesn't. It wasn't until we learnt more about her painful past and kind and caring nature that we grew to love her. We know she never wanted to create a poisonous drug. That she already hated the organisation for using the drug as a poison. That she had to develop the drug to protect Akemi’s life.

There is no way Rei would have known about any of the bullying she or her family faced from the BO. By nature, Shiho is very secretive and reserved and very little of her personality or history would have been known by any of the BO members (except maybe Gin). Therefore, apart from the files the BO would have kept on Shiho and her role in the organisation, that’s all Rei had to learn about her. So, I can’t really blame him for choosing to hand her back to the organisation.

Some people who are still in denial, argue that if he planned to kill Shiho, why was he willing to kill whom he thought was Vermouth instead of handing her over?

Shouldn’t that prove he was going to take Shiho to safety to the PSB, not the BO? Before Gosho's statement, I would have agreed but now...sigh. Now, I get why he did that. If Shiho were to die BEFORE she was returned to the organisation, he wouldn’t have gained the trust he was seeking. If she were to die AFTER he delivered her, I highly doubt it would have mattered to him. Although I'm still hoping he maybe he had a plan of not leaving her in the organisation's clutches after "handing her back" and he never truly intended on getting her killed. But since Gosho also said there was no need to deceive Vermouth, I highly doubt it. (Heart breaking).

After such an explanation, does everything make more sense now? Maybe. Am I ok with it? Hell no! I’m quite angry and annoyed that this is how things turned out to be, but it is what it is. We have to accept that Rei is not a good character, and he's not a bad character. He's a grey character and when you think of it that way, it's easier to understand his behaviour. Not that I agree with it. After Gosho's statement, I think pretty sure Rei is in dire need of some character development. He could stand to learn a thing or two from Conan who manages to reach his goals while preserving as many lives as possible (Akai's fake death being the burst example while managing to drive Kir back to the BO).

For now, I’m looking forward to the developments that will entail. I’m curious to see how Rei and Haibara will react once they eventually meet each other. It'll be interesting to see what will go through his mind once he figures out her true identity. One thing I'm sure of is once they're introduced to each other, emotions will be running high and things will get intense. Which honestly, I can't wait for and I'm counting down the days till I get a proper Amuro/Haibara interaction.

[kuronanox]

Captains harem ft. Julius

(Your name) didn't know why but today all the captains and Julius were asking for attention, it creeped her out because she was nothing special. It was as if they were all fighting for her.

Nozel invited her out for tea.

Fuegoleon offered to take her to a nice hot springs

Kaiser didn't he have a wife???¿¿¿

Rill told her "draw me like one of your French girls."

Jack was just a psycho but wanted to cook with her.

Charlotte suggested taking a girls trip to shop.

William wanted to watch the little birds and nature and even offered to show his giant tree.

Yami straight up just asked her to date him.

Dorothy wanted to take a long nap.

Julius followed her around like a little stalker he is for his own amusement

Mereoleona also threaten to beat some sense in her head if she didn't want to drink with the royal.

"Why are they all so pushy today? I've rejected all of them can't they take the hint? I mean.... I'm sure they don't like me!" (Your Name) tells Marx as they sat in his office.

"Oh thanks captains for not doing any work today, unbelievable. But you are a pretty lady. I can't see why not?" Marx tells her while separating some papers.

"Yami asked me to date him but I'm sure Charlotte is in love with him so no thanks." (Your Name) states leaving the office bored out of her mind. "Maybe picking one of their offers wouldn't be to bad."

Strolling down the hall she comes across Julius. "Yo!" She calls out running towards him. "(Your Name)!" He cheers!

"Come to the captains meetings today! We have lots to discuss!" Julius tells her with sparkles in his eyes. "Ugh are you sure?"

"Yes of course! Other members will also be there!"

"Okay! I'll see you later then!" She smiles as Julius pats her head and watches her leave.

Going back to her room she laid in bed thinking about all the invites she got today.

"Hmm Nozel and Tea? That doesn't sound bad but boring, I'm not even a royal. I'm sure he invited me out to talk some smack.

Fuegoleon and hot springs?! I get to see his abs and hair wet. Count me in!

Kaiser just no.

Rill is cute but I can't draw maybe he can draw me instead?

Jack.... what would we cook? Sweet offer though I would actually like to.

Charlotte is so pretty, I would look like the maid if I went out shopping with her.

William is a little simp, maybe I could use that? Seems tempting.

Yami, no? Charlotte would kill me.

Dorothy would not wake up if we took a nap together.

Julius?¿ would he be considered my Sugar daddy? AHH!

Drinking with Mereoleona seems fun! Drinks on her though, I don't got that salary."

After thinking about everything she walked into the Captains meeting and took a seat next to Asta, Noelle, Leopold and Yuno. "Why are we here?" She asks them.

"Maybe we are moving up in ranks!" Asta yells excited to see all his hard work pay off.

(Your Name) looks up to see Nozel looking dead straight into her eyes. "Noelle, has your brother always had a staring problem?"

Noelle blushes and flips her hair. "Nii Sama would never do something like that!"

"I guess so, dude has been looking at me for the past 5 minutes." (Your Name) states looking away to catch Jack licking his lips.

"O.o" she reacts and looks away awkwardly.

"Why is all the Captains trying to get your attention?" Yuno asks her as she sighs and laughs holding her head from getting a headache. "I'm not sure, Maybe it's a game they're playing because I'm just the joke!"

William kindly bids her a hello and takes a seat.

"Yer got an answer?" Yami asks now as she looks up to him and back at Charlotte.

"Uhh, no. I mean yes?? NO! My answer is no!" (Your Name) says while looking back and forth. Charlotte was highkey listening to their conversation.

"So you don't wanna date me?" Yami speaks up as all the captains perk up.

"Nonsense, (Your Name) has class and a acquired taste of course she didn't say yes!" Fuegoleon shouts standing on his two feet.

"I don't see her saying yes to you either." Nozel butts in as Yami just deadpan behind them.

"No need to fight! We all know I'm the perfect match for (Your Name)!" Rill exclaims throwing his body to her and embracing it.

"You wish kid!" Jack laughs next to Yami as they argued on who could win her over after.

Charlotte was a mess as she contemplated what to say because Yami liked a girl. "Y-y-yami a-actually li-likes so-som-some one!" She screams fainting.

Mereoleona busts the door open and folds her arms. "Oo I heard my little brother and I are competing to get (Your Name)!"

"Mereoleona, I won't loose to you. I'm the gentleman that will sweep her off the ground." Fuegoloen defends as they shared the same hot passion. "Woah woah woah, older sister and Aniue likes you! I have to tell parents they are fighting over a girl!" Leopold laughs on the floor because his older siblings were acting ridiculous.

Nozel scoffs and removes Rill off (Your Name). "(Your Name) is now my girlfriend." He tells them all as Yami and Jack laugh.

"Nice try bug braid."

"What did you say?!" Nozel furries as William gently slips past them and grabs her hand. "(Your Name) you seem flustered, I can let you escape this mess?" He offered with a mysterious smile under his mask.

"No no William, I see everything." Julius cuts in as he entered through the door.

"I guess Dorothy is out of question, she's been asleep." (Your Name) thinks just staring at all of them argue.

"Am I even pretty?" She asks Asta as he seem overwhelmed with everyone yelling for her attention. "I didn't know you were this popular! SO COOL TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!"

"Bakasta!" Noelle says hitting the little boy. "WHAT DID I DO?!"

(Your Name) was getting a headache from everyone screaming and yelling she jumped onto the table. "HEY! I'M NOT GOING TO GO OUT WITH ANY OF YALL! I GOT A BOYFRIEND!"

"Bo-bo-boyfriend?" Julius says pouting as the other captains settled down.

"What fool do I have to beat?" Nozel cuts in as Fuegoleon cuts in. "What must I do to change your mind."

"What a simp." Leopold whispers, looking at his older brother.

"And who may this nice gentleman be?" William asks clearly intrigued to take the spot away from the man.

(Your Name) looked around the room to think, she didn't have a boyfriend, but she just yelled that to get them to shut up.

Jack was out with his blade and Yami already had his sword ready for action. "Bro."

Getting fluster she stuttered a bit till Marx walked into the room, uneducated about what was happening.

"MARX! He's my boyfriend!"

"HIM?"

"MUSHROOM HEAD?"

"MARX THE ONE WITH NO CHILL!"

"How could you Marx?" Julius says in betrayal.

(Your Name) gives him a stare that made him understand to play along. "Oh! Yeah! I'm her boyfriend!"

"I'll kill you." Yami half jokes as the other captains grumble in disappointment.

"Well let me know when you wanna switch genders." Mereoleona says with a grin before heading out.

"One way or another a royal will get their way." Nozel says.

"I agree, I'll be the man to have you." Fuegoleon added taking Leopold with him.

"Ahh my tree house is always open to you." William invites her with a sly smile.

"Kitchen is open too, I'll cook." Jack says leaving as Yami shakes his head. "Let me know when your mind is changed brat."

"I'll still be checking up on you!" Rill cheers with a big smile.

Charlotte and Dorothy were passed out so no last words came from them.

"Marx, we got lots to discuss." Julius says before taking his leave.

"So the point of this meeting was for?" Yuno says clearly amazed to see how immature the Captains were acting. "Exactly." Noelle agrees taking Asta back to the base. "REMEMBER TO TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!" He yells before out of site.

(Your Name) breathes a sign of relief. "Thanks Marx!"

"Jeez, now they are out for my throat!" He yells not amused he came to the rescue.

"Sorry!" She says sticking her tongue out and running out.

"Where are you going?!"

"To mess with them some more!" She jokes as Marx just signs.

(Author notes: I personally like Fuegoleon the most! :D, this was fun to write! But lowkey idk wtf I just wrote, Not edit yet!)

[queenie435]

Saturday,

I woke up early and without a word to the vampire I left the house. I was heading to a close friends home of mine. He invited me to stay for the rest of the weekend after hearing about my difficult evening the previous night.

Something heavy on my shoulders it seened, I reluctantly made the hour drive. More than anything I wanted to be a hermit that day. Lay around and wallow in my self pity. Allow some rebuttal maybe. If anything though, I've learned to keep moving on those days. Fight back..

Within a half hour on the road I was already feeling somewhat better. Energy returning where I thought was none.

We planned for a hike that afternoon and I dropped my son off at Grandpas before we started.

The woods as always were beautiful. Suprisingly warm. Sunshine swept through the ravines. Looking up, smiling as it Twinkled through the tree branches at us. Signs of spring were popping up all around us as we pushed into the forest.

I love nature. I pray each time I go that she still loves me.

In certain spots we'd sit quietly for long periods of time. I loved it that my friend refrained from asking me anything more than if I was thirsty from time to time.

We just walked, walked about for most of the afternoon.

Along the way He showed me a couple new crystals he had recently picked up. One stuck out to me. It was a beautiful piece, A crystal quartz tower. Almost flawless but a few small clouds in the center.

I held onto it for most of the hike.

As we grounded, Gaia revealed some extra gifts to us that afternoon. Some Dryad saddles, ramps and fiddle heads that paired nicely with our grilled chicken that evening for dinner.

His wife went to bed early and we quietly talked in his sun room/fireplace room for a long while. One white candle dimly lit the room between us.

As we talked, I couldnt help but notice the return of that heavy unsettling feeling. To the pit of my chest. Uneasy, unsettled, energy stuck. Then flash memories of the verbal argument the night before with my girlfriend would sneak up like a cold knife in the side. I'd wince at the pain.

I was so sharp and hurtful with my tongue. We've been together for years. I've never spoken that way ti her.

Dissapointed in myself for losing my control. The control I kept so well, so fortified I thought for years now. A strength I took pride in. To prideful in my strengths I thought... Always a harsh lesson.

As the pressure built, I lost track of my friends conversation. He tends to enjoy himself talking anyways.

I needed to take a trip inside to investigate what it was that was crushing me so harshly. Grinding away at one side of my skull slowly it felt. Depositing negative thoughts and feelings. Sapping my energy.

As I attempted to feel for what it was, take time to let it kill me if it needed to. I naturally reached into my pocket for a crystal to hold. To help me work.

My left hand felt around, I was happy for that moment to remember the quartz tower my friend let me hold for the hike.

Now, as I raised it to the candle light. Tower pointing up, I let the candle light dance to me through the flat sides. I found a side that gave me goosebumps

as I gazed. A bliss washed over me almost instantly.

Through the clarity of the quartz, slowly appearing, etheric golden wheels like cogs started forming inside. Like if you were opening up and peering into the innards of the swiss watchmakers finest watch. I was amazed! My mind was clear again! So clear, so blissful.

Surprised, I broke my concentration. Put the crystal back into my lap and slowly the bliss faded. My friend still talking quietly to himself stopped mid-sentence.

He asked me "Wtf was that?? I asked him to explain, what??.

I knew He felt the bliss too. But wanted to hear him say it.

He said he's never felt so good.

I asked him to watch quietly.

I repeated the crystal gaze.

The golden gears started to appear again.

Bliss washed over us both. This time, I sat for over an hour transfixed on the beauty revealing itself to me through the crystal. The crystaline shield around us now slowly increasing in size. My friend, I didn't realize at first, but He started channeling to me with his eyes closed. Telling me the size and design of the shield from a birds eye view. The architecture was crystalline mixed with Roman/Greek esque pillars. I saw it inside the crystal, he saw it around us. Beautiful he kept saying, try to push it larger.

After some time passed, my energy increasing with the strength of the shield. He told me that there were shadow entities trying to peer in from just beyond the shield. Slender men he described them. Tall, they'd stretch taller and taller to peer in. He knew they couldn't get in, nor see us clearly. They would slink down and are circling us he would say amused.

I broke concentration to take a peak out into the backyard. A tall shadow went zipping across the back deck, very quickly, went about 50 ft and dissapears through the back wall of the garage. Things inside the garage actuallycrashed loud enough to wake his two dogs. They ran growling at the garage door. Barked a few times. then rushed in to see check on us, Hair on their backs raised high.

He looked to me with eyes of amazement.

I went back into shield gaze.

Best to not think too much I've learned.

I must have held the shield up for another two hours, effortlessly really. My pleasure. My friend and I enjoyed the bliss. The clear mind, the NOW. I love it so, and get tastes of it not nearly enough. I Long for it as I get dragged back down. Sometimes pondering on if I made mistakes. If I'd ever get there again.

In it, I know diffrent. Someday I'll be fully 5d. We all will.

I had to use the restroom, so told friend I was breaking concentration.

As I spoke, I moved from my statue state.

3 aura green fairies flew off my head. Like little tiny butterflies dissapearing off into the room.

Purple, gold, pink pixel dust trailed behind them. I asked him if he saw, he slowly nodded and eyes wide told me at that moment I had huge whisps of green aura flowing under each eye. Like wings on my cheek bones. Said I was a wizard! Lol, I laughed. I wish it to be true someday I thought.

My friend wanted to go have a smoke in the garage.

I thought it not the wisest plan, But, I try to remind myself I'm not dead yet for some damn reason!

As we were getting up, and don't ask me why, but I pointed the tip of the crystal tower at the candle flame. The candle flame, It was incased in glass.

We both watched in amazment as the flame seemed to be getting sliced by some sort of energy flowing like a laser beam through the crystal point.

It was turning the flame red and then blue and even green! Very pronounced slicing through the candle flame. Making the candle flicker hard! Almost extinguished the flame at times. Amazing! Boggled our minds!

We forgot about everything else, heading out to smoke, we laughed while trying with the English words that seem to ever fail me, as to what we just saw.

Naturally it's gotten easier to press into our ever expanding box of beliefs. But somedays.. Wow!

Making it now into the garage, my friend points to a dark corner.

He says "it's there."

I look and sure enough the shadows, they are moving, dripping black darkness.

Poor attempt at hiding I thought.

It's no fear or lose big in these games I remind myself. So I bow my head briefly to it. My friend says hello to it. And we smoke.

It was sitting there, so I lit a Nag champa incense that was half burned.

I clutched a black tourmaline in my pocket.

The cigarette seemed to be taking to long. I felt the urge to get back to the comfort of the candle room.

I walked back towards the door to inside, then thought it bad form to leave my friend mid smoke. As I turned back around.

My friend seemed dazed. I asked him calmly to follow me inside. Though, by the look in his eyes, I knew He wasn't the friend I walked out here with.

I asked him again calmly, "lets head inside Dan, feel the safety of the crystals again."

"It's cozy in there, no?"

He's staring off now, then he says in a weird voice.

"Hold on, I'm just getting acquainted with this body. It feels realllly niccce. *laughs creepily*

but not really creepy, he felt gentle to me. He seemed sincere. Idk how to explain it. He looked like he was trying to figure out how to operate the body for the first time. He was impressed with it. He wanted to stay in the garage.

So I toyed with him on the light switch. Little bursts of light and periods of darkness while telling him to follow my voice to safety. He was laughing enjoying the light show. He listened to me finally. He Put the incense out and followed me back to the fireplace room. I had him sit close to me. I pulled back out the tower and went back into the shield gaze. It's notable that The shield went up so powerfully this time I could actually see it clear as day. Refracting the candle light . prism the light into colors. Immediately I was relieved, and he snapped out of it.

I didn't tell him what happened in the garage.

I held the shield until mornings light. When the beautiful sunshine came at last it felt like I could rest..

I've kept a close eye on my friend. He seems fine. He said he's felt the best since our interesting night.

Interesting night indeed.