#milo squawks

[as-tro-nauts]

<3 freaky spider guy <3

Milo Mortar belongs to @escargoingtohell :D

[hamlets-ak]

seaside sanctuary ༊*·˚

synopsis: during your vocation on a greek island, you and timothée spend some time on a secluded beach

The magic of Milos had settled over you gently and clingingly with its volcanic rock formations and golden shores. Not even two weeks had passed since the day you and Timothée arrived on the island, and you had already become one with the locals; traveling in all its cryptic passages and discovering the heart of the town.

You had found happiness in simple and frugal things like walking along pebbled pathways and marble streets with your boyfriend’s palm inside yours, fingers conjoined and tangled, quick pecks on the cheek and forehead, small glances and furtive smiles, soft laughs, warm or cold hugs, his head balancing tiredly on your shoulder and yours burying on his chest listening to his steady heartbeat.

It was Timothée’s idea to invite your families since you had only a month at your disposal before returning back to work and it was an opportunity to spend some time with them. Besides, it was such a beautiful trip, you had to share this unrepeatable experience. 

Altogether you traveled with your sailboat around the island and stayed on secluded beaches, accessible only by the sea. Hours and hours had been spent under the sun; swimming, snorkeling, laying on the deck, enjoying the sunset at anchor. 

Blazing afternoon sunrays penetrated your skin and blinded your vision, as the briny breeze fanned your face, pulling back strands of salty hair, tangling them with the blowing fair wind. 

The Aegen was opening around you; a sapphire-colored sea that touched the line of the sky, extending to a wild yet quiet horizon. It was summer and the world was in a splendor. 

Your arms were leaning on the silver railings of the boat and your gaze was up in the bright blue veil, watching the seagulls fly high and dive at the water, then rising up again, squawking loudly to each other. 

A burst of familiar boisterous laughter led your eyes to the back at the cockpit. You couldn’t help but smile before even allowing your stare to pierce that dirty glass, only at the sound of his voice. Your head slowly fell to the side and stayed balanced on top of your shoulder. 

Timothée’s radiant smile made you unconsciously laugh a little. And he must've noticed because even through the thick glass and the heavy blanket of water and salt covering it, he stared back at you with an electrifying glint and grinned widely as he bent down to knock at the glass a few times and then waved at you. 

« Let’s go! », he told you. 

You pushed yourself off the railings. Hushed murmurs accompanied by melodious giggles forced you to change your gaze from scenic islets and coves to a small group of people. Barefoot and sun-dazed, their hearts still left in the old pirates’ hideout, Kleftiko, your parents and Pauline, were laying relaxed on the boat. Their swimsuits were on, bodies still wet from their previous dive, drying under shining sunrays. Green beer bottles with the word ‘Mythos’ written on their lebels were reflecting golden beams of light, as cigarettes burnt in the air alongside sprinkles of brine and rust.

« Pauline? », you called her name. She sat better at her elbows and raised her eyes that were covered with black shades. « You’re coming? »

« Nah, » she replied throwing her head back. « I’m tired. I’ll just stay here and take a nap. Have fun though. » You nodded at her words and moved slowly and steadily to the back, hands holding tightly the ropes of the boat.

« Hey, » Timothée grinned at you. 

« Hi, » you greeted him and the Captain. « Where are we right now? »

« We are at Sykia, » Timothée replied. He wrapped his arm around you, letting it fall loose on your shoulder as he held you.

« Yeah that’s right, » the Captain spoke with his heavy Greek voice that held a melodious tone only people from Cyclades had. « Once you pass that tunnel, you’ll end up in the cave, » he pointed in the direction you were already looking at. Timothée nodded in understandment, arms snaking in your lower spine, bringing you closer to his body. « And when you get inside, you'll notice that a part of the roof of the cave is missing. It was submerged years ago and now there is a kind of natural skylight. »

« Oh that’s cool, » you said turning to the scenery while Timothée’s nose was mindlessly circling your cheek and temple, tracing soft lines over your brow. Sun kissed your faces and drifted at the space between, giving away a sheen. 

« It is cool, » the Captain continued. « I mean, what are you even doing in Milos if you haven’t visited Sykia? » You both lightly laughed at his words as you took Timothée’s hand in yours and pressed a pair of soft lips on top of it before he lightly patted your cheek with his hand making you grin, melting at his warm touch, and hug him tight. 

You had anchored close to the cave, less than half of a nautical mile. Waves were luring the boat along with them giving it a soft waft. 

Timothée waited for you to approach the edge of the boat before jumping off the stern into a calm steady sea with a thunderous splash that sprinkled you from head to toe, and then paddled the water. Quickly he emerged, throwing his head back and pulling pieces of hair that were stuck on his forehead, out of his face. With cold water stinging your skin, you lightly stepped back gasping.

« Come in! », Timothée laughed and motioned his head to you.

« It’s cold! », you slouched your shoulders, arms wrapped around your stomach. You glanced back regretting your decision of not staying with Pauline to take a nap as well.

« Come in! », he said in a more demanding tone. You bit your lips and shook your head. « I’m going to splash you. »

“No, you wouldn’t.”

« You sure about that? », he asked tossing a small wave of water in your direction. 

« Timothée, it’s cold! »

« I’ll splash you. » You looked at him for a few seconds. « I’ll do it. »

« Fine, » you groaned making him smile, and without much thought jumped into the sea. 

A freezing feeling struck then gradually consumed your body. Nothing but the sea was surrounding you and you kicked your feet through bitter water, gasping for air. You fought for a moment breathlessly to come to the surface and then looked at Timothée who was already a bit ahead of you.

« Wait, wait, wait! », you shouted at him. He stopped and turned around to look at you, as you paddled along the blue to be closer to him. Timothée couldn’t help but laugh, watching you all puffed, your legs weightless kicking an uncharted abyss below. 

Together you glided the blue, reaching the tunnel Captain told you about. Your head moved up too distracted from watching the brown-greenish rocks above your head. Tim pulled your hand and pressed a wet kiss on your cheek.

« Let’s go, » he said, his voice echoing loud all around as if coming from speakers.

The cave had no roof just like the Captain described it. Sun rays were lighting the inside of the cave, creating amazing colorations that enchanted you. It was a unique miracle every visitor should see. 

On the inside was a small pebbled beach, with rocks and crystal clear waters. There was no one there. Just the two of you.

Like true children of the sun, you swam in the idyllic calm and then ran to the pebbled shore, free, repeating the gestures of athletes of Delos.

« Aren’t you afraid it’s going to fall and crush us down? », you told him as your hands cupped in the air the part of the cave that was still up. Your bodies were close to each other, so close you could hear the smile forming on his lips.

« It’s been like that for so many years, why does it have to fall now that we are here? », he asked. You rolled your eyes and chuckled. 

« I’m just saying, » you mumbled. He breathed out heavily which made you turn in question. « What? », you looked at him.

« Oh, nothing, » he laughed a little, pulling back his wet hair. You kept staring at him for a few seconds watching droplets watering the rocks below you. 

« I’ve never been happier. » He wore a dreamful smile. « And I wish every day could be like that. »

« Like what? », his eyebrow slightly raised. Your mouth curled up thinking of your response as your gaze turned back to the crystal pure tapestry of the sky.

« Waking up together… making love… having breakfast… going for a walk… swimming… making love again and then having a bath together. » Your words caused a boyish grin to appear on his face and you imitated his expression. « Eating together, listening to music, watching the sunset… you laughing and me laughing because you are laughing… telling you how much I love you… »

« Sounds good to me, » he said and leaned to kiss your shoulder. You pouted your lips and looked down. Timothée frowned and then turned to the side, balancing on his one elbow, to take a better look at you.

« You won’t tell me how much you love me back? », you bit your lips trying not to smile. His face flushed at your mincing manner and how you pronounced the world ‘love’. He looked away.

« Oh, of course, I’ll tell you, » he bent lower his head and you tented your neck to catch his lips, your hand holding back his hair as he moved on top of you, dripping water running on your body. He breathed out hot air on your face making your head fall back trying to get some oxygen inside before returning to him, your heads touching and lips almost stitched together. 

« Y/N, » he said voice deep echoing inside you. « I really need you to know this. »

« You don’t have to say anything. »

« No, I have to, » Tim gulped. « You walked by chance into my very messy life and from day to day, I started to breathe better. Before you, without you, I loved nothing. With you, I have accepted more things. I have learned to live. That's probably why I’ve always mixed my love for you with so much gratitude. » Your mouth slightly opened and eyes glanced away. « I mean every word. »

Without warning you kissed him on the lips. He let out a muffled sound from the force with which your mouth touched his. 

« I wouldn’t have loved you any less, if you didn’t say anything, » you told him. Your stare was fixed on his plum reddish lips that tasted like salt and apricots and cherries. « But now that you did, all I can do is love you more. »

He smiled. His forehead brushed against yours as he let you lick away his grin and kiss him. First slow, sweet, soft; then harder, fiery, urgent, like a poem of Odysseas Elytis.

It was a true sisyphean work watching the way the lurking glint of your eyes and your wolfish grin dig up his most shameful secrets, without ripping the animal from within and burying himself in your streams of love and delicate words.

The waft’s stroke maneuvered between you, warm like a teenage memory, spreading sprinkles of salt and rust to the air. Bodies entangled in summer thunders, as the gentle splash of water on your toes offered a kind of peace, privacy, and safety that you had both missed. 

You flapped and then stayed there in comfortable silence. But as you watched the horizon slowly bleed from the crevice of the tunnel, Timothée couldn't think of the swollen sun, honeycombs, and wasted old summers.

The only thing he had in mind was how much he loved you, how much you loved him - because he knew that - and how much he couldn't wait any longer for you to live together forever.

You laid together, eyes gazing at the moon and the starlit sky, bodies hugging one another.

[romirola]

Aggro, Bob, and Cheese at the Vet

When @claracatlady shared the brilliant headcanon that William Solaire owns a pampered, spoiled ragdoll cat named Bob, I was inspired to imagine how Bob and Aggro would get along, resulting in this post, and then this post, and then even a few fics that feature cameo appearances by Bob. (This fic is complete, while this one is currently ongoing. Recently, though, @slushiepizza shared that they headcanon Guy and Honey adopted a cat named Cheese. Obviously, this development led me to wonder how this kitty trio might cross paths...

Despite their many differences in lifestyle, fur type, and preferred petting, Aggro and Bob are best friends. It's no surprise that during a playdate, Milo gives William the name and contact information of Aggro's feline-exclusive vet when William decides that he won't subject Bob to a waiting room full of barking dogs, squawking birds, and even the occasional ferret scurrying about the floor. By pure happenstance, Aggro ends up getting stung by a bee the same day as Bob has his first annual check-up.

The diagnoses? Aggro is going to be just fine, though he needs to stay the night due to the heavy bout of antibiotics he's on to prevent his eye from developing an infection. Bob is in tip-top shape, but due to the vet wanting to be thorough and get a baseline of Bob's health, he will have to stay the night to complete some bloodwork and wait for the results.

William and Milo are so sad to leave their sons at the vet, but their health comes first. So, after many goodbye kisses and pets, they leave with empty carriers, counting down the hours until they can pick up their cats again. They are supposed to return to pick them up around 4PM the following day.

Meanwhile, Bob and Aggro are settled into the back room. The staff takes very good care of all boarding patients, including a spacious cage, providing soft towels, a clean litter box, and nutritious food based on the cat's health.

But, still. It's the vet. And Aggro and Bob hate the vet. They hate being in this strange place, with strange people, who all smell and sound strange. It's awful, and neither cat has any problem making that displeasure known. They hiss and growl, swat and bite. If given the chance, they'll even make a break for it and try to escape into the examination rooms. When any staff member tries to do anything to Aggro or Bob, they have to wear big, thick gloves and sometimes, even try to get a mask over their eyes to "relax" them.

Neither Bob nor Aggro finds that mask relaxing. And, yes, they take it off.

Bob and Aggro happen to be placed in adjacent cages, facing a cage that is occupied by none other than Cheese, who is waiting patiently and quietly for her humans to come get her. She is a good girl. Guy and Honey always tell her so. She does not bite or claw, because that would be rude. The staff all speak nicely and softly to her, even if they are jamming some syringe full of icky-tasting liquid down her throat. When Cheese arrived at the vet, her paw really, really hurt when she walked on it. Now, her paw still hurt a little bit, but it was much better, so these different humans must have been doing something good.

Aggro, ever one to establish himself as alpha-cat no matter what kind of medication he was taking, yowls at this newcomer. He puffs himself up so that his gray fur stands on end, claws extended, as he side-hops around the edge of the cage. Bob is unamused, licking at the paw the vet tech had the gall to shave to draw blood from him.

Cheese stares at Aggro with odd fascination. She's not used to aggression in the slightest. "Me-rrow?" She pushes a ball towards Aggro, through the bars of his cage. Maybe if this gray cat batted around a ball, he'd feel better? Batting around a ball always made Cheese feel happy, especially when Guy chased it around with her

Aggro continues his tirade. Bob, however, suddenly grows attentive when he saw the ball hop out of Cheese's cage and onto the hard floor. Bob loves chasing balls around William's mansion. And suddenly, the fact that he was cooped up in a cage is quite an inconvenience. Ever one to handle inconveniences, Bob begins to scream his displeasure, begging for someone to procure that ball from him.

Cheese pulls her ears back at Bob's desperate cries. She flattens herself against the floor, long fur splaying out from her belly. All she had wanted to do was share her ball, and now these other cats were all upset.

Alarmed at his friends sudden change in demeanor, Aggro joins the calls, adding his own voice. The chorus of cries rang out loudly, echoing throughout the room and beyond.

Soon enough, Cheese, too, feels compelled to join in with the meowing. It looks fun, and she always wants to help. She let her own voice squeaky voice add a particularly desperate, pitiful tone to the song.

It doesn't take long for a human to come bursting into the room. "Oh my gosh, what is it?" they ask worriedly. "What's wrong? What?" They spot the ball on the floor. They quickly retrieve that ball and two others, giving one to each cat, before rushing off to an examine room. "Bye now! Be good!" they trill.

Silence falls over the room as Aggro, Bob, and Cheese enjoy the spoils of their vocal hunt...

...until the cats collectively realize the power that their voices held when together. Alone? They were powerless. But together?

They had this vet clinic at their beck and meow.

It's a long, long day for the staff. At 8:01AM, Milo, William, and Guy all receive the following phone call:

"Hi, yes, your cat is all set and ready to come home. Could you come pick up your cat early? As early as you can get here, preferably. Aggro/Bob/Cheese just really wants to come home. Please? Please come get your cat?"

Aggro, Bob, and Cheese hate the vet, but they are quite pleased to have made a new friend.

[cottonthumb]

Picks Milo up bridal style.

❦ Milo doesn't yelp so much as he squawks in alarm. Suddenly he's clinging to Raihan for dear life and looking stiff as a board. "RAI! Put me down, I'm not a trophy!"

[slaughterlauter]

[ video id - richie is alive, slightly worse for wear but doing okay. he's sitting on the ground, phone propped up against something as he plays with his cat. he waves to the camera, looking like he's about to say something before the cat escapes his grasp and bolts at the camera, knocking it over. richie squawks and the video ends. ]

[ it's accompanied with a text that says ; "milo cracked my phone screen😔 ]

@notshitlips

[stephs eyes widen as she sees the video and the message and she sits up from where she was lying in bed. she texts him as fast as her fingers could move.]

RICHIE

omg

ARE YUO OK??????

*you

cute cat

BUT PLS ARE YOU OK

[itslookingback]

bc valentines is coming up, shout out to the aros that are still grieving their identity. every valentine's decoration can seem like a punch to the gut when you've realised that you can't love in the way society wants you to, and you might even try to squeeze yourself back into the box that you know doesn't fit. finding out you're aro can be pretty isolating with romantic love literally everywhere, just so you know, i love you, you've got this<3

[hott-brownn-sugarr]

Bro Asher def dropped and broke his fucking tailbone in front of everyone at graduation because Milo bet him something fucking stupid like a fruit snack or a literal penny

When David walked the stage they all started squawking in key omg and Gabe def got some of the parents to wear those corny ass shirts with his face on it BAHAHAHAAH

I bet Darlin was standing in the corner recording the whole thing and then Milo was trying his best not to beg them for the video

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

I really liked reading your fics of Lotor watching movies! Do you think Lotor would like watching Atlantis or lilo and stitch? And who would he watch them with? (Hopefully either Allura or Pidge)

Movie Time with TSL Lotor – Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

It was a cold and rainy morning on the planet of Olkarion, with an emaciated Galran prince swaddled in blankets on the floor of the paladin’s lounge room. Lotor still wore his night robe and Earth-fashion pajamas, his white hair disheveled from sleep. He yawned. His face pulled tight with his harvesting scars, and his long fangs gleamed in the lamplight. He tiredly scratched at his cheek. “Why did you wake me so early, little one?”

Across the room, a pajama-clad Pidge sat cross-legged, plugging in a few cables. “Because. It’s Saturday.”

The bleary-eyed man blinked. “I know not what a Saturday is.”

She looked up, readjusting her glasses. “It’s the day where people get up to eat cereal and binge-watch cartoons. Like a tradition. My brother and I used to do this all the time. And sometimes my dad too, but he slept in a lot.” Her face twisted in a pout. “And everyone here sleeps in for, like, ever.”

“Even the princess?”

“Even the princess.”

Lotor’s gaze slid to the container of milk, courtesy of Kaltenecker, and then to the sacred box of—he narrowed his gaze curiously—frosted cheerios. Pidge had procured two bowls and two little spoons. He raised his nose and sniffed delicately. The box smelled of sweetness and grains, and saliva swarmed through his mouth in anticipation of food. Beneath the blankets, he scratched at his stomach. Wakefulness began to seep through him at the thought of eating and watching more animated drawings from Earth. “You wish to share in this…tradition with me, then?”

“You were sleeping out here on the couch,” Pidge deadpanned, giving him a look, “so you were gonna share in it no matter what.” A small emotion came over her. She glanced down, returning to connecting the cables. “And my brother’s still off-planet, so you’ll have to do.”

He huffed in amusement. “I am a companion of convenience, then. A replacement brother.”

“Yeah, something like that.” She began to scoot away from the cables, grabbing for her cereal bowl.

Lotor quirked a brow. His blanket shifted around him as he picked up the remaining bowl, mimicking her actions. “What is the topic of today’s entertainment adventure?” He watched curiously as she dumped cereal into her bowl and filled it with milk. And then he followed in kind, hesitantly dipping his spoon into the concoction and biting down.

His slit pupils dilated at the sweet taste.

His fangs crunched down loudly.

Pidge munched more quietly, but her lips stretched as she moved to turn on the movie. “It’s called Atlantis: The Lost Empire.”

Lotor’s elfin ears flicked in interest. “Lost empire?” he repeated curiously, voice muffled by cereal.

As the movie began to play, Pidge’s face brightened. “The whole movie involves an old human legend, about this advanced civilization that sunk under the sea in a sudden cataclysm.”

“Fascinating.” His explorer’s heart lifted in excitement, the sleeping disappearing fully from his eyes. In that moment, it did not matter to him that he was 10,000 years old or watching something that was most assuredly meant for children and families. “Does the legend have any form of validity?”

“Well, being mentioned by Plato, who was a real philosopher—” she pointed to the screen to the opening quote—“has made people search all over for it. But so far, nothing’s proven because there’s a lot of sunken cities on Earth.” She paused. “The movie definitely takes some creative license with ancient human tech, too. Like, ancient humans did not fly in fish ships.”

“I see.” Lotor crunched down happily on the cereal, eyes wide. The screen brightened with the cartoon colors of human animation. Strange, fish-like planes streaked through a blue sky in a panic. Lotor instinctively leaned along with the framing of the movie, as if he were on the ships as well. “Calamity is rather fun to indulge in when it’s not real.”

“I know, right?” Pidge grabbed onto her blanket, wrapping it around her.

And the two remained sitting on the floor of the great lounge, increasingly lost in the tale of Atlantis.

***

It was at some point after Milo Thatch’s introduction that Lotor hesitantly spoke up, his voice catching oddly. “This animation.” He tried again. “I thought you said once that humans were unaware of the planet Altea.”

Pidge pushed up her glasses, still cradling her cereal bowl in her lap. “Yep. Didn’t know about it at all.”

Lotor puzzled at the screen. He hummed, setting his cereal bowl down on his lap. “This Atlantis bears significant similarities to Altean technology and to its people, down to being significantly advanced even ten-thousand years ago.”

The human girl blinked. And then her face twisted in a mischief. “Oh, yeah. It might have more similarities than you think.” She began to waggle her bows. “Including to a certain Altean princess.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“Also, you kinda remind me of Milo,” she declared. “Just saying.”

His eyes slit further in consternation, for at that moment, the somewhat bumbling but intelligent character of Milo Thatch was sitting in a water puddle after his museum colleagues rejected his proposal. For good measure, Lotor crunched down on another bite of cereal. “I may enjoy ancient history,” he declared, voice muffled, “but I am not as scrawny as he.”

Pidge poked him hard in his ribs, which still jutted out beneath his sleeping robe. “You’re right. You’re scrawnier.”

Lotor flinched away, shooting her a playfully dark glare. “A temporary consequence of being harvested by the witch. I will reclaim my health, and then you will regret making fun of me so.”

Her face split in a wicked smile. “Nah. You’re definitely Milo. Muscle can’t hide that you’re a nerd.”

He sputtered, waving his cereal spoon. “And what of you? With your books and codes. And cat memes.”

“Oh, I’m a nerd,” she declared. “I just own it proudly.”

The fallen prince ate of his cereal in a light disgruntlement. He watched Milo as the character awkwardly stumbled through meeting a busty blond human woman and then a spastic old man in a bathrobe—his objective always set on discovering the secrets of Atlantis and its sources of power.

Milo Thatch owned a cat too.

Lotor’s face began to heat in realization that he did have a lot in common with this strange human man.

***

By the time the character Milo Thatch met the Princess Kida of Atlantis, a real princess had sleepily trailed into the movie room. Allura’s long, pink robes slipped against the tiles of the halls, her curls a tumble down her shoulders. She yawned and proceeded to stumble her way over to Lotor and Pidge.

With little preamble, she flopped over them.

Pidge barely managed to raise her bowl of frosted cheerios in time, squawking. Lotor froze entirely as Allura’s white curls spilled across his lap—her warm cheek leaning against his leg.

“It’s too early for movies,” the princess whined lightly. She snuggled against him and wiggled a bit to get comfortable, laying across two bodies. “I could hear the sound all the way from my room.” Lotor’s attention split from the animated Princess Kida to the living, breathing princess in his lap. His elfin ears flicked back, and his sharp cheeks heated.

Pidge grumped and tried to shove her off.

The princess did not budge, save for a grump right back.

Lotor had long finished off his bowl of frosted cheerios—leaving not even a drop of milk in his wake. But he carefully pushed the bowl further away, in fear that her hair would end up in it. “We are watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” he murmured to her, voice straining. “Would you not like to watch it with us?”

Allura made a noncommittal noise, appearing to fall back asleep, the lines in her shoulders relaxing as she exhaled deeply. The action suggested she had grown to trust him a great deal, for the back of her neck lay bare where her hair had parted.

Lotor swallowed hard.

He turned to look at Pidge, who had sighed and given up trying to push Allura off—instead, she’d moved to accept Allura’s robe as something of a blanket and had rested her arms over the back of the princess’s legs.

Lotor hesitated, knowing that the paladins often piled upon each other as a means of displaying familial affection.

As Milo Thatch moved to swim alongside Princess Kida in search of the Heart of Atlantis, Lotor moved to brush his fingers against the waves of Allura’s curls.

It was a soft, hesitant action—testing the waters of her trust. She made a soft noise in response, her lips sleepily stretching. Her elfin ear flicked lightly as the calloused pads of his fingers ran over it. The action itself meant things to Alteans and Galrans, for only family and lovers touched one’s ears.

The princess nuzzled against him.

His heart skipped. Careful of his claws, he continued to toy with her hair as he turned his attention back to the movie, in which Milo’s very interest in Atlantis had now endangered the Royal Atlantean family.

Lotor bit his lip, feeling a great protectiveness for Allura wash over him.

***

The movie indicated that Atlanteans received their power from a great, sentient crystal—the animation of which was not unlike pure quintessence.

“Do you think,” Lotor asked quietly to Pidge, “that it is possible your Atlantis was real, and that some piece of a quintessence-rich substance—a comet, perhaps—landed upon your Earth?”

Pidge looked over at him, readjusting her glasses in interest. “I suppose it would be possible, but you’re suggesting then that Atlantis is real. And that the power in this movie is real.”

“How do you know it isn’t?”

“What would you do with it?” she challenged right back, raising a brow. “You got plans for that power or something?”

The fallen prince made a face. He was still absentmindedly running his claws through Princess Allura’s hair. “No. I simply fear that concentrated sources of quintessence may have this effect in our world—that it bonds to a host and…overtakes them, somehow.” His white brows knitted together. “As it did my own mother, who has been lost to quintessence, and a demon has taken her place.”

Pidge’s gaze fell to Lotor’s hand, which ran along the tip of Princess Allura’s ear. The princess herself was fully asleep against him, her mouth open with a trail of drool slipping against Lotor’s pajama-clad leg.

The girl’s face curled with a sneaky smile. “You’re worried about Allura? Afraid you’re gonna lose her over something, because you loveher?”

Lotor’s eyes snapped to Pidge, his face heating. “I know she has successfully navigated Oriande, but…” He fell silent with emotion for a time before he could add, “My mother came across something of great power, and it changed her.”

The strain in his voice made Pidge’s mischievous smile falter. She hesitated.

The movie played between them as the animated humans fought to steal Kida, who was bonded to the crystal.

Pidge eventually said, voice softer, “Allura’s really powerful. We’re not gonna lose her over anything.”

Lotor’s throat tightened. He continued to stroke Allura’s hair as she slept against him. “You do not know what I have seen quintessence do to people. Even now, if certain groups knew what all Princess Allura could do, they would seek to control her, just as the evil humans in this cartoon wish to do with the crystal-bonded Kida.”

An emotion came over Pidge. “Well—I mean, we wouldn’t let that happen.”

Within the movie, Milo Thatch had accrued a small band willing to risk their lives to retrieve the princess.

Lotor watched, his heart rising in a pound. “Do tell me that they save her,” he demanded. “I will not watch the rest of this if the Princess Kida dies.”

The human girl gave him a look. “It’s a children’s cartoon. They’re not gonna kill off the princess.”

His breath caught oddly, as if he suddenly realized what he was doing. He pulled his hand away from Allura’s hair. “Right, yes. Of course, they wouldn’t.” He breathed out slowly. “That is well.”

“You take these shows too seriously,” Pidge warned. “Half the fun is knowing that it turns out okay, but not knowing how. You just gotta watch.”

“And Princess Kida?” Lotor demanded. “She is not permanently bonded to the crystal by the end, is she?”

Pidge groaned. “Oh my god. Just watch the movie.”

The princess suddenly whined at the loss of Lotor’s touch, her blue eyes cracking open. “No,” she pleaded blearily. She disjointedly reached up, searching for Lotor’s hand. “Keep petting me; it was quite nice.”

He looked down at her, face tightening in a mix of amusement and protectiveness. “Apologies, princess,” he said, moving to run the back of his knuckles against her warm temple. “I will do as you wish.”

She made a happy noise, settling back into sleep.

***

Lotor did not relax until after Milo Thatch had released Princess Kida from her prison, and until after Princess Kida had saved Atlantis and reappeared from out of the crystal’s aura—to land in Milo’s arms.

“You see?” Pidge called, waving her hand at the screen. “What did I tell you?”

Lotor swallowed down emotion. His fingers stilled against Allura’s stiff curls and the warm of her cheek. Despite the fact that he knew the story to be a children’s fairy tale, an odd burn appeared in his eyes. He exhaled shakily. “You were right,” he relented. “The princess lived.”

“Exactly,” Pidge said. For all her youth, she narrowed her eyes with a critical level of awareness. “They saved the princess. Because she had people to fight for her too.”

He raised his vulnerable eyes to her.

An unspoken truth wavered between them—which was that he and the paladins would fight to protect Princess Allura in much the same way, if it ever came to it.

Then, Pidge broke the mood, her expression shifting with a demonic mischief. She waggled her brows. “You love Princess Allura.” She began to shove at Allura’s legs. “Wake up. Lotor wants to declare his undying love for you and tell you that he’ll save you from crystals and evil people and—”

“—Stop it,” he hissed, his cheeks heating. He grabbed for one of the extra pillows that hung off the edge of the couch—and he flung it directly at Pidge. “You gremlin.”

It struck her soundly, but it did not hide her cackle, nor did it stop Princess Allura waking up from all the unsettled movement and raised voices. Her eyes opened a slit. She made a noise of confusion. “What is—going…on?”

She sleepily raised up from Lotor’s lap, her white curls tumbling down her shoulders.

Pidge opened her mouth to respond with a tease, but Lotor smoothly cut in. “Pidge was just putting in another movie,” he said, voice straining. “Weren’t you, Pidge?”

Allura turned to him, still rapidly blinking her eyes. In that moment, she appeared so entirely vulnerable that Lotor struggled against an instinct to gather her into his arms. “Oh, another one?” She yawned. “But I think—I missed all of this one.”

The human girl crawled away, reaching for her watch with her movie collection on it. “Don’t worry,” she called merrily. “I’m sure Lotor wouldn’t mind reenacting it with you one day.”

“I should hope not,” he retorted, his lavender cheeks still in a flame of emotion. “I’d prefer the princess not be in danger at all. And I am not a Milo Thatch.”

“You are definitely a Milo Thatch,” Pidge deadpanned. “Allura, tell him he’s a Milo Thatch. You know he is.”

The sleepy princess only half-understand the plea. She rubbed at her eyes before leaning back against Lotor, resting her heavy cheek against his shoulder, curling up against him. “He’s—my Milo,” she murmured groggily. “Thatch.”

Lotor pressed his lips together, and he damned the skip of his heart.

Allura’s Milo.

He managed a glare at Pidge, but it lacked fire.

The human girl simply smiled back with that demonic mischief before turning away to look for another movie.

[cottonthumb]

@hoennhibana shows their strength:

💪(BOOM)

❦ Kabu knew Milo well. Heavens, he knew him VERY well after their years of working together, be it as gym leaders or close friends awa from the pitch.

So Kabu knew exactly what he was doing when he came around to Milo's side that evening, shortly after they'd finished warming up. The farmer, gulible like no other, merely blinked curiously at Kabu's approach, all the while dabbing sweat from off his cheek. "Hm? Something the matter Kabu? Are you feeling under the weather?" Milo's concerns were promptly cut off when the fire master all but scooped his smaller companion off the ground, earning a loud squawk of alarm before Milo promptly held onto his shoulders for dear life.

"Kabu, no!" Milo protested, his voice much higher pitched than he'd have wished. He remained firmly koala'd onto his dear - if devilish - friend. "Put me down, Kabu, this isn't fair-"

[itslookingback]

fave mechs tweets

[ask-the-star-hashira]

*The Hashira grins and nods back to Milo before a squawk alerted her. She looks up with a more serious expression, seeing her kasugai crow circling above her. "Kokumi Watanabe is needed at…" It had informed her of a demon that was terrorizing a village in the west and that she was leave as soon as possible. And as soon as possible meant now.

Kokumi couldn't help but feel irritated with how inconvenient the timing of this mission was, but she knew how important missions were. She nods to the crow as it lands on the hilt of her sword and turns her attention back to Milo.*

"Well, it seems I'm needed." *She puts out a kind smile.* "I hope we're able to talk again soon Milo!" *Kokumi's crow flies west with her following it close behind…

After three months the two Hashira managed to cross paths at the house of the wisteria family crest. Both had been sent by their crows. Upon seeing Milo, Kokumi greeted the girl with a smile.*

"Ah, Milo! Long time, no see!"

(using hashira au milo for this)

The newest hashira, the starlight hashira: Milo Suzuki, made you curious. She never talked to anyone accept for Muichiro. Her sapphire eyes are as empty as empty can get. She always has eye bags due to lack of enough sleep and always training. She never smiles either. Considering she and Muichiro are both 12 years old and hashiras, it makes sense that they are so close. You find a chance to talk to Milo when she and Muichiro say goodbye to one another. Do you take the chance?

She sure does!

*Kokumi takes her chance to speak with the newest Hashira. From what she had heard from Tengen, the girl was only twelve, yet managed to climb the ranks rather quickly. From what she had observed with her own eyes, the girl and Muichiro were close. She figured it made sense considering the two became Hashira relatively close to the same time aswell as being the same age.

Kokumi walks up to Milo with the same smile she'd show anyone else.* "Hey, Milo, is it?" *She questions, tilting her head a little to the left* "Congrats on becoming a Hashira!"

*The woman holds her right hand out to Milo with her other on her hip. As Kokumi observes Milo's uniform she notices her haori and remembers what else Tengen had said.*

—————

"You know that new Hashira, right? Well, apparently her breathing style is pretty similar to yours!" *He had said and added something about the girl out-shining Kokumi to which she had rolled her eyes and chuckled.*

—————

[number-one-micoverse-fan]

Day 6. Hypothermia

Otherwise known as “Cold 3.0″! This was mostly Em’s idea!

Nothing really in the way of warnings this time, mostly just really kids being cold.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Uh, guys? We’re…not supposed to go in there…” Cody said meekly, hunching into his coat and biting his lip.

Milo and Tegan, who had been in the act of scaling the fence, paused to stare at him.

“And that’s stopped uuuuussss…when?” Milo asked, breath misting in the cool evening air, “Come on, Cody! We’re just gonna take a little look around and then get outta here.”

“It’ll be fiiiiinneee,” Tegan said dismissively, hauling herself the rest of the way up the fence and dropping over onto the other side in a puff of snow. She brushed off the front of her coat with a wide smile, “This place has been empty for literal years and I used to sneak in here all the time! Come on, don’t be such a spoil sport!”

Milo snorted and climbed over the fence too, not landing quite as gracefully as Tegan and sitting down hard in the snow. He leapt up again with a squawk, shaking the snow out of his coat while Tegan laughed at him. Cody sighed, a long stream of mist fading into sky, and trudged over to climb the fence as well.

“Let’s just be fast, please. It’s already past four, it’s gonna be dark soon…”

It was cold in the old quarry, but as they trekked down the ramp into the pit proper it brought them out of the worst of the wind. It looked like an alien planet, great mounds of dirt draped in snowy blankets, fissures in the earth and shallow pits left by hungry machines. Plant life had started to force its way through the rocky ground, stubborn weeds and thick grasses clustering in shriveled sentries around the massive pit. The snow was deep in the pit, deeper than expected. It went almost to their knees in some areas, heavy and wet and difficult to wade through or fluffy powder that billowed into the air when they disturbed it, obscuring their vision

Milo had dropped back to walk with Cody as the shadows began to get longer and deeper. Tegan was ahead of them and slightly to the right, pausing every so often to kick aside the snow and look at the ground underneath. Milo looked up at the edge of the quarry pit far overhead, wandering away, and Cody trailed distractedly after him, looking around at the odd shapes left behind. There was scaffolding, rusted and rotted, half collapsed against an outcrop of stone, its surface shiny with ice. It looked eerie in the half-light.

Cody was moving closer to the broken structure when the ground suddenly dropped out from under him. He barely had time to make a sound before the air was crushed out of his lungs by the icy cold that enveloped him. It shocked him so badly that it took a minute for him to realize what had happened, to understand why the world had suddenly gone cold and dark and airless.

He’d fallen into water.

Panic seized him and he kicked and flailed, pawing at the water around him, trying to find the surface. He didn’t know which way was up or down and he desperately hoped he was going the right way. His chest ached for air and his heavy winter coat dragged him down. Cody broke the surface with a choked gasp, coughing and spitting and flailing. His cheeks and eyes stung in the cold, a bone deep ache settling into him in seconds. The metal of his glasses burned where they touched his face and he wanted to cry.

“This way!” Tegan was on her knees in the snow, holding out her gloved hands, and Cody floundered towards her. He grasped at her hand, his numb fingers clumsy and stiff, but she held tightly to his coat sleeve and hauled him onto stable ground. As Cody lay sprawled in the snow, gasping and shivering, he saw her turn back and pull Milo out as well.

“We gotta get you two out of the cold right now.” Tegan said seriously, “Come on! Get up! You gotta move! Move, move, move!”

“B-b-bossy…” Milo stuttered, hugging himself. His hair was plastered to his head in clumps that were already started to stiffen with frost. The freckles on his face stood out starkly against pale skin, his coat dripping, his fingertips red.

Tegan didn’t bother with an argument. She pulled Cody to his feet and caught him when he stumbled on numb legs. She pulled both of them close to her body heat and frowned, looking around the darkening quarry. After a second of the two of them shivering beside her, she dragged them away from the edge of the water and back towards the ramp that would lead them out. Cody kept tripping over his feet, uncoordinated and dizzy. His eyelashes stuck together when he blinked and it was getting harder and harder to focus. Milo was no better, his head drooping and his breath wheezing in his throat.

And it was so, so cold.

Tegan pulled them to a stop beside a massive boulder, the ground around one side of it relatively free of snow. She pointed aggressively to the spot, “Clear as much snow from here as you can. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Uuuhhhggg do we h-h-h-have tooooo…” Milo whined, slouched over and shaking hard, his hands tucked under his crossed arms.

“Now.” Tegan said in a voice that left no room for argument, glaring at Milo was a serious ferocity neither of them had ever seen from her before.

While they did their best to kick and scrape the snow away as well as they could, Tegan hurried off in the quickening darkness. They could hear he making a lot of noise, banging and crashing and things breaking. Then she was back with an armful of old wooden planks, her cheeks flushed red with exertion.

“It’s not much but it’ll have to work…” She said more to herself than the other two. She shooed them out of the way and laid the boards out over the exposed ground, “Sit.” She commanded the other two and, once they had, “Stay there real quick, lean against each other, and don’t fall asleep!” And she ran off into the dark again.

Cody and Milo glanced at each other but shuffled closer together, shoulder pressed against one another, shivering in the cold. The freezing ache felt like it had seized Cody’s lungs, making every breath an ache that stabbed into the back of his throat. Beside him, Milo was sniffling, tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, shaking so hard Cody could hear his teeth rattling.

“W-w-why were y-y-you in the w-water?” Cody asked, voice stuttering as his body was wracked with shivers.

Milo glanced at him, “I h-heard a splash and w-wh-when I turned a-around you w-w-were g-gone. S-s-so I ran over to t-try to look for y-you a-a-and f-fell in. Ih-it was kh-kinda shallow s-so I didn’t s-s-sink b-but it was s-s-s-so c-cold…”

“M-musta been a h-hole that got dh-dug out and gh-ground water f-f-filled it or s-s-somethin’…” Cody muttered. Words were difficult, his mouth was numb and his lips felt chapped and swollen, his tongue thick and clumsy. Exhaustion was starting to weigh heavy on him and it was hard to keep his eyes open.

The sound of footsteps and Tegan suddenly appeared from the dark, almost stumbling right into them. She was murmuring under her breath, brow furrowed, as she skittered around them. Cody watched her work, if only to keep himself occupied, but Milo had his face in his knees, eyes heavy and lidded.

Tegan worked quickly, using a combination of things she salvaged from around the quarry and the heavy snow around them to build a haphazard shelter. She packed the snow around them, reinforced it with broken or rotting boards, and then packed in more snow. Then she laid more boards over top of them to create a crude roof, draped a tarp that was mostly holes over it, and packed more snow on top of the tarp to keep it in place. Once she was satisfied by that, she cleared more snow from in front of their makeshift shelter, building it up into a sort of wall, reinforced again with more boards and planks. Then she took the remaining boards and a bunch of the dried and dead plant life and carefully constructed it into a small pile. When she dug a pocket knife from somewhere in her bundle of clothes, Cody let out a soft noise of surprise.

“What?” Tegan only spared him a glance before she started striking the back of her knife against a rock, creating sparks, “It’s a basic survival tool! You mean you don’t carry one of these puppies around with you?” She sounded like she was trying to keep her usual good humor as she nursed the sputtering fire into a more steady blaze. The warmth from it was like a balm to the aching cold that was eating away at Cody’s bones.

Tegan crawled into the tiny shelter and nudged and pushed Cody and Milo apart until she could sit between them, her arms around both of them. She peeled off her heavy winter coat and draped it over all three of them as best she could. Her warmth, combined with the warmth of the fire, helped ease Cody’s shivering, at least a little bit. Milo kept blinking rapidly, his head drooping and then jerking awake again as he tried to stay conscious.

“I called for help,” Tegan said, unusually soft. She leaned forward and tossed some more grasses and slivers of wood on the fire, “They should find us pretty quick. We need to get you guys warmed up ASAP.”

Milo mumbled something that sounded vaguely like “dad’s gonna kill me” and Tegan let out a humorless chuckle. She cupped her gloved hand around the side of his head and gently pushed him so he was leaning against her shoulder. His frozen hair must have been fiercely cold against her cheek but she said nothing in protest.

True to her word, there was soon the sound of distant sirens and flashing lights, then the sweeping beams of flashlights, figures moving in the dark, and shouting. The fire was a beacon and the rescue team found them quickly. They moved with the same practiced efficiency that Tegan had, bundling all three of them in thick, warm blankets and carrying them out of the quarry to waiting ambulances. Tegan was talking rapidly, filling the team in on who they were and what had happened, telling them to call Milo and Cody’s dads.

Cody tried to see where she and Milo were taken but he was so cold and everything hurt and the blanket’s warmth was seeping into his aching body. He let the exhaustion take him and closed his eyes before they’d even made it into the back of an ambulance.

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

Their parents were less than pleased, to say the least.

Dom braved the hospital to see his son and then promptly cried on Cody for a good ten minutes. Then he tried to berate him for such reckless behavior.

Miranda ended up giving Cody a very stern but concerned lecture while Dom cried all over again. Then he was grounded for a month.

Apparently there had been a lot of almost yelling in Milo’s room. Jake had wanted to ground Milo for a whole year. Dan managed to talk him down to two months. Milo had sulked about it until Dan had given him such a distraught look that Milo had simply reached out for hugs from both of them.

Tegan was only grounded for a week.

But all three of them agreed that going into the old quarry in the middle of winter was one of their stupidest ideas ever.

[rexs-writing]

blurb from my novel: a vampire wife and her ghost husband

Martha’s brown eyes went wide as she looked over the almost glowing face of Milo. He didn’t look like he did when she last saw him. Instead of wrinkled, with thinning grey hair, and dull eyes. He looked the way he did when they met. His hair thick and light brown, freckles over his face, skin tanned, and eyes clear and hazel. Martha gasped as she watched him reach out to touch her, she tensed. And then relaxed as he brushed her dark hair from her face and rubbed a thumb over her cheek. Somehow, his hand still felt warm against her fair skin.

Martha realized how dumb she must have looked, just gawking at the ghost of her husband. Quickly she cleared her throat and adjusted her round glasses. Trying to think of something intelligent to say. But instead all that she managed to squawk out was “Milo! Wh-What are you- H-How did you? What?” she asked, shaking her head and closing her eyes.

Milo chuckled and turned her head by her chin to get her to look at him “Don’t you remember?” he asked, tilting his head, “Death cannot stop true love, only delay it for a little while.” he replied.

[rayfollowsfromhere]

Crossing the River (KotM #1)

I have been working on a story line for my Kingdom of the Mountain characters, attempting to weave a plot against their wishes (or so it often feels). At the very least, it'll let me introduce the characters and play with them a bit. Never a bad use of time in my opinion. They're coming out a bit like interconnected scenes or drabbles. Here's the first installment.

It is also available on my patreon, where the second installment just went live for patrons.

-.-.-

His breath echoed through the trees, as loud as his steps on the ground as he ran. There was blood in his mouth. His vision was blurry.

They just had to make it past the river.

Chana was heavy on his back. Her dead weight slipping to one side or another every time he stepped wrong. He'd tied her hands together with a ribbon to loop them over his neck. The bruise on his neck would be well worth it if Kano could keep her safe.

"Almost there," he swallowed down his next breath as the sound of rushing water met his ears.

A thunk sounded and out of the corner of his eye Kano saw the arrow embed itself in the tree to his right. He held tighter to Chana, pushing himself to run faster. His lungs ached. The air felt like fire licking at his insides.

Another arrow sliced through the air beside his head. Kano felt the blood on his cheek as he twisted to the side, feet tangling together before he caught himself on a tree. He took cover behind it as a barrage of arrows crashed into the ground.

The dense foliage was no longer troubling their aim. Soon the arrows would be replaced by swords. Or worse.

They weren't going to make it to the river.

"Come out thief!" the captain of the band of soldiers called out as they approached.

Kano pursed his lips and then shifted around to lean Chana back against a tree trunk. Her soul hadn't returned yet. He pulled on the ribbon and the knot holding her hands came free.

She couldn't protect herself, not like that. Kano gulped. He wasn't exactly protection. But... he could be distracting.

Reaching a hand towards his neck, Kano grabbed hold of the charm hanging there. His mother's sigil, cast in iron the night he was born. Eyes squeezed shut, he whispered a prayer to the mountain.

Don't let this come to bloodshed.

He stepped out from behind the tree, snaking his way through the forest till he stood before the captain. The man's chin rose high and his eyes fluttered as Kano appeared before him.

"Hiding in the trees? I thought you were braver than that, coward."

Looking pointedly at the man's shield, the king's name pressed into the metal pinned to his chest, "Hiding behind the law, I thought you were better than that, captain."

Captain Milo was no stranger to Kano. He'd been the one to recruit Kano to the king's legion as a healer. He was no stranger to Kano's village either.

"I won't let you take the witch beyond the river," Milo raised his sword. The blade was aimed at Kano's heart. "Hand her over and I'll let you cross."

Kano chuckled. His face was bloodied and bruised. One eye swollen nearly shut. His hair was a tangled mess of black strands matted with blood.

"You're in no position to negotiate, Kano," Milo stepped forward with a snarl. His blade moved to rest against his chest.

"Then why are you negotiating at all?" Kano ignored the sword, focused his shaking gaze on Milo.

They both knew Kano was no match for him, even on his best day, which this certainly wasn't. Milo pursed his lips, eyes narrowing, "Don’t throw your life away for her, she isn't worth it."

"I'm not," Kano stood firm, "But she is."

A bird squawked above them. Milo looked up. His head hit the ground.

Kano stumbled back as a man rushed forward. A blur of black hair and brown clothes. The short blades in his hand sliced through the air as he danced around the remaining members of Milo's party.

They fell, one by one, with their weapons half-drawn. The smell of burning flesh rose in the air. Not a single drop of blood dripped from their bodies.

"You know..." the man sighed, tossing his hair back as he approached Kano with a smile, "...when your mom said you don't fight, I didn't think she meant to the death."

"Uncle Taerus," Kano breathed out as he looked up at the man. He was clad in leather armor. His blades weren't in his hands, but they were red from the heat of his palms all the same.

Taerus had palms as black and burnt as wood in a fire. He smelled faintly of ash. Kano had never seen him when he wasn't smiling.

"Let's get you home, eh, Kano?" Taerus quirked his head towards the river. His blades snapping back into their holsters with a click as Taerus dropped his arms to his side. Kano nodded and scrambled to his feet.

Chana was groggy, head lulling to the side, but she could stand on her own two feet. Kano helped her across the river, the hem of her dress catching in the water. She sighed as the current slid around her feet.

A sizzle rose up as Taerus crossed. He hummed, unbothered by the steam rising around him.

"Last time I saw you two..." Taerus snorted, shaking his head, "...actually, I can't even remembered when I last saw you."

"The spring festival," Chana croaked, tongue swiping over her cracking lips.

Kano nodded, one arm wrapped around Chana's waist as she leaned heavily on him for support. He looked up at Taerus as he walked backwards in front of them, "We were twelve. You bought us ale."

"Oh yeah." Taerus cringed, brow furrowing, "You think your mother will remember that?"

"Yes." Kano and Chana answered in tandem. Taerus pouted, spinning on his heels to walk forward. The gate to the village was rising on the horizon and there was a figure waiting just beyond.

Taeshi was not someone anyone kept waiting. Not if they knew what was good for them anyway.

[itslookingback]

same! when i was catching up with tma, i was crocheting lots of granny squares constantly for 5 days with headphones on. it looked like i was just listening to some music, the radio or an audiobook or something, but if you looked closer you could see me crying because of episode 159 of the magnus archives

Kniting while listening to horror or true crime podcasts is extremely funny.

I'll be doing a basic garter stitch for a nice scarf on a bench and everyone thinks I'm probably some nice grandma-friend. Meanwhile, I'm listening to how someone got dismembered or a statement on being trapped in a coffin.

The duality of humans is something.

[daemour]

This is part 1 because that’s how i dodge my deadlines

Title: Puppy Love (im a sucker for puns leave me alone lol)

Pairing: Mark x GOT7

Word count: around 8k???

Genre: Fluff, almost no angst but just a little

Summary: Mark signed up for a puppy play date group since Milo is a bit lonely. Every time he goes, though, there's someone new who catches his eye. Plus, each of their puppies are cute. And Milo seems to like them too.

Warning(s): Stealing because puppies like shiny things apparently, Cursing

Prompt: (1) Moving to a new place is hard. To help you find friends, you decide to join a local puppy playdate group online.

(2) Person A is walking their dog with only socks and no shoes. Person B is mildly confused.

(3) "I found this crying child by themselves in the park, will you help me find their parents?"

(4) Person A's stuff keeps going missing. Person B's pet is the thief.

(5) Person A and Person B bump into each other and accidentally switch bags. They use what's in the bag to try and find the other person to switch back.

When Mark signed up for a five-week-long weekly puppy playdate group for Milo, he did not sign up to meeting a random assortment of people with whom he'd fall in love.

.--. ..- .--. .--. -.-- .-.. --- ...- .

The first one was Jaebeom. All Mark was doing was minding his own business and walking with Milo. The group he was with that week was fun but a little too chatty after the initial introductions. Mark ended up in the back, just spending time with Milo and making sure the puppy didn't eat anything weird. Then he saw Jaebeom. Walking a dog. With no shoes on. What.

Mark, understandably confused, goes quietly up to the causation of his confusion. "Where are your shoes?" He taps the man on his shoulder while asking the question, hoping for an answer.

Jaebeom startles, staring at Mark for a long second before he starts laughing. "Oh. This little brat chewed them all up." He gestures to the dog. "I'm walking him for my friend, as I mentioned during the introductions." Mark remembers and hums in acknowledgment.

"Yeah, this cutie puppy isn't yours then." Jaebeom nods.

"I prefer cats." Noticing Mark's face, Jaebeom backtracks. "Not that I hate dogs, of course. I just love cats more. I have five of them. Nora, Odd, Kunta, Cake, and Bereu."

Mark laughs at the look on Jaebeom's face. "I can tell you really love them." Jaebeom nods animatedly and launches into a whole TED talk about his five cats. Mark half-listens, genuinely interested, but the other half is him trying to stop Milo from eating someone's shoes.

At the end of the playdate, Jaebeom and Mark exchange numbers and agree to meet up at a café in two days. Mark, when he gets home and lets Milo off his leash, immediately flops down on the couch and stares at Jaebeom's contact for a good minute before calling his best friend, Jackson. "Guess what, Gaga!"

"Eh? What? Did you win the lottery?" Jackson sounds tired, and Mark feels a pinch of guilt for waking his med student friend up, as Jackson rarely gets a wink of sleep. However, his unbridled joy is too contagious.

"No, but I did meet someone cute at this puppy playdate group I'm in!" Mark laughs excitedly into the phone. "We're meeting up for coffee on Wednesday."

"That's awesome, Marks. What's his name?" Jackson sounds considerably more awake. "How cute is he on a scale of one to ten?"

"His name's Im Jaebeom, and he's a few months younger than me. He's a full ten. Jacks, he's so pretty." Mark can't contain his excitement, and his best friend laughs giddily.

"Mark, I'm happy for you, Gege. Go knock him off his socks. Out of his socks? Is that a phrase?"

"Knock him off his feet, or knock off his socks, Jacks." Jackson just laughs again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going back to sleep though so good luck! Call me after your date!" Jackson hangs up, and Mark, while still feeling guilty, just laughs again. He's too eager for his date, and Milo knows, jumping up to lick his owner's face.

Mark stays excited until the day of the date. Or, to be more precise, the twenty minutes before the date. He is currently panicking inside his wardrobe while Jackson laughs at his misery. "Stop worrying, Gege. Whatever you wear, Jaebeom will love."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't?" Mark himself doesn't know why he's so worried. He's never cared about clothes before. One eventful Halloween, he just wore a paper bag. (Jackson was still unhappy about that.)

"Then I'll beat him up for you," Jackson offers in a monotone voice. Mark huffs at his best friend's uninterest but just throws on an oversized sweater and a pair of jeans and calls it a day. It's not like his date with Jaebeom will be fruitful, right? He's just being careful.

"Right. Well, I'm heading out now. Eat whatever. Take care of Milo." Jackson nods, now watching a video on his phone, and Mark rolls his eyes fondly before sliding his sneakers on and heading out the door.

The walk to the café isn't a long one, but Mark doesn't want to be late. Apparently, Jaebeom had the same idea, as he is waiting at the entrance to the café. He catches sight of Mark and waves, and Mark smiles at him, hurrying up his pace a little. "Hey."

"Hi."

A moment of silence. Then Jaebeom breaks out into the brightest smile Mark has ever seen, and Mark falls once more. "I like your sweater," Jaebeom offers a compliment, and Mark chuckles, looking down to see which sweater he had picked haphazardly out of his closet. It appears to be the usual tourist-y "I Heart NY" sweater. How ironic, considering Mark is from California.

"Thanks. Shall we head in now?" Jaebeom nods, another smile breaking out on his face. The two of them head in, heading towards the counter to place their order.

"Hi, what can I get you two?" The server smiles, and Mark looks at the menu briefly before ordering an iced tea to play it save. Jaebeom got a lime soda, and Mark took a mental note of that. Once they receive their drinks, they find a booth near the window and sit to chat.

"So, what do you do for work?" Mark asks after a moment of silence.

"I'm a photographer, but I also dabble in music on the side." Mark's interest is peaked.

"That's so cool! Can I see some of your stuff?" Jaebeom flushes, and his eyes crinkle.

"Yeah." The rest of the date is spent with Mark coo-ing over the pictures Jaebeom takes (80% of which are his cats). Before saying their goodbyes, Jaebeom leans over and gives Mark a quick hug, and Mark's heart and face blooms with both affection and a blush.

Later on, in the evening, Mark and Jackson are having dinner when Mark's phone chimes. It's a text from Jaebeom, a link to his Soundcloud, Definite. Jackson and Mark spend the rest of dinner listening to the songs and dancing along.

.--. ..- .--. .--. -.-- .-.. --- ...- .

The next time Mark went on a puppy playdate, he saw someone towering over everyone else, including himself. Now, Mark wasn't short, by any means. This person was just really tall. But with tallness, he also came with a baby-face, and Mark was ready to squish his cheeks. The puppy he came along with was cute as well. A little black Pomeranian, who was a little smaller than Milo, was yapping at the other puppies who even dared to enter its personal space.

When Milo started to sniff curiously closer to the Pomeranian, the tall owner quickly scooped his dog up. "No, Kyummie," he coos, petting the over-eager puppy, "We don't bite other dogs."

Mark laughs. "How old is your puppy?" The man shrugs.

"I don't know exactly, but Dalkyum's a little less than a year. You?"

"Milo is almost two years old now," Mark smiles fondly at his puppy. "He still likes to chew on all my pillows, though. What's your name?"

"Puppies will be puppies, no matter how destructive they are. I'm Yugyeom." Yugyeom laughs, high pitched and adorable. He offers his hand, and Mark shakes it.

"I'm Mark."

"It's nice to meet you, Mark, Milo," Yugyeom squats down to pet Milo, and Dalkyum wriggles, trying to get out of Yugyeom's arms to greet the new dog. "Kyum, no!"

The puppy is too excited and manages to wrench its way out of Yugyeom's arms. Milo barks, but Dalkyum barks right back, and they end up play-wrestling. Mark watches in amusement, and Yugyeom squawks. "Don't worry, it's just play-fighting," Mark assures Yugyeom. "If they really were fighting, the other dogs would be bothered as well, and we can break them up."

Yugyeom looks unsure but doesn't budge. When the group starts walking, though, Yugyeom scoops up Dalkyum to try to calm him down lest he goes play with the other dogs. Milo calms down more quickly, used to walking with Mark quietly, and Mark urged him forward. There are five minutes of calm before Mark feels a tug on his jacket. He turns around, and Yugyeom is standing there with Dalkyum and a random kid.

"Mark, I found this crying child by themselves in the park, will you help me find their parents?" Mark blanches, then takes a good look at the child. He looks young, maybe around four, with a blotchy face and red eyes.

"All right. What's your name, kid?"

"Dohyun." Mark squats down, Milo jumping into his lap and trying to lick his face.

"Milo no-" As Mark tries to wrangle the puppy, Dohyun cracks a smile alongside Yugyeom. After the oldest finally gets his dog under control, he finally asks a question. "So, where did you see your parents last?"

"I don't know, mister. They were walking for fun, and I stayed to play. But it's been a long time." Dohyun's face crumples up again, and Milo, sensing tears, quickly tries to soothe him by jumping up on the boy's thighs. He giggles wetly, petting the dog.

"Well, Dohyun, we're walking around the park as well. Do you want to join us and look for your parents?" Yugyeom is the one to suggest the idea, and Mark gives him a little smile. Yugyeom quickly looks away, tips of his ears slightly red. Dohyun just nods, and the two set out.

After a while of walking, Dohyun suddenly tugs on Mark's jacket. "My parents," he explains while pointing out two adults walking in the opposite direction. "Mom!"

The two adults turn around, catch sight of their child, and then raise their eyebrows at the two men with him. The mom picks up Dohyun warily. "Hello, kiddo. Weren't you supposed to wait for us?" Dohyun shook his head.

"It's been so long, Mom. I thought you got lost. Mister Mark and Yugyeom helped me." Dohyun points out the two standing behind him, and Yugyeom offers a wide smile. The dad steps forward, holding a hand out.

"Thanks, you two, for watching our child. Turns out, he just lost track of how long he had been in one spot and thought we were gone for hours. Sorry for taking up your time." Mark shakes his hand, laughing.

"It's all good. I'm glad Dohyun found you guys at least. Have a nice day." The family starts walking in the opposite direction, and once far enough, Mark and Yugyeom can hear the tail end of the mother scolding Dohyun.

"The kid was cute, I'm glad we met him." Yugyeom speaks up, and Mark hums. The two just finish their walk, until Mark makes a last-minute decision right as Yugyeom is going to walk in a different direction to go home.

"Yugyeom," the taller turns around, smiling expectantly, and Mark feels warmth in his chest as he continues, "what's your number?"

.--. ..- .--. .--. -.-- .-.. --- ...- .

The third time, Mark went on a walk, it was peaceful. Up until he realized his bracelet was missing. He figured it just fell off, since the clasp was a little faulty, so he backtracked to try and find it. And find it he did, in the hands of some stranger with a sunny, but confused, smile. "Excuse me," Mark gets his attention, "that's my bracelet."

"Oh! I'm sorry, you must have been wondering where it went! That would be the work of my daughter, she really likes shiny stuff." The stranger gestures to a puppy with a cute bob-like haircut. "I'm really sorry." Mark offers a smile, taking the bracelet.

"It's all good. Thanks for returning it. What's your name?"

"Youngjae, and yours?" Youngjae has such pretty eyes.

"Mark. I'm Mark." Youngjae offers a nod, and the two go their separate ways. Youngjae doesn't seem part of the puppy brigade as Mark likes to call it, and Mark is slightly disappointed.

And if he returns the next four days hoping to find Youngjae again, Mark definitely doesn't tell Jackson about it because he just knows he will get teased.

Thankfully, his hopes were not crushed the fourth day, considering he found his bracelet yet again in Youngjae's hands as Youngjae offers it up with an awkward smile. "You know, you should get the clasp fixed," Youngjae jokes, and Mark grins.

"I would, but it seems to always find its way to you, so I don't mind." Youngjae blushes and guffaws.

"You could just ask me for my number. I'm sure that would be just as effective." 

"It sure would." Mark takes his bracelet back and hands Youngjae his phone. "Just input your number." Youngjae agrees, and opens the contacts when-

"How do you know Jaebeom?" Mark looks over and sees the grinning face of Jaebeom in the contacts. He forgot the younger had stolen his phone to take dumb photos.

"Oh, I met him during this puppy playdate thing I'm signed up for. How do you know him?" Youngjae laughs again. Mark could listen to his laugh every day.

"He tutors me in piano every Thursday," Youngjae explains. "I didn't know he liked dogs."

"I mean, he has five cats, so he probably doesn't like them that much, but he was doing it for a friend or something." Mark chuckles. "Maybe us three should get together and have coffee or something."

Youngjae agrees strongly, and immediately takes out his phone to make a group chat. He titles it 'puppycat,' and Mark finds it absolutely adorable. (Jaebeom does too, but he's not telling.) The three of them plan to meet tomorrow, and Mark is very excited, immediately texting Jackson about it.

Mark will deal with all the teasings and kissing emojis from Jackson talking about soulmates because he honestly wouldn't mind Youngjae and Jaebeom as soulmates.

.--. ..- .--. .--. -.-- .-.. --- ...- .

The fourth time, Mark bumped into a random stranger. This was annoying because Mark had just moved to a new apartment and all his stuff was in a duffle bag. And when he got home, he realized he got the wrong duffle bag. Someone named...Park Jinyoung...took his bag. Mark ignores the thought that this dude shares a name with his boss, and tries to look a bit more to find out where this dude lives.

After a few minutes (read: twenty minutes) of searching, all Mark can find out is that this Jinyoung guy lives on the rich side of town and has really nice suits. Mark sure hopes the other dude isn't a total dick and will actually try to return the briefcase.