#putting this here for the two other people that still think about them

[sapphossparenoterbook]

ARE YOU TAKING REQUESTS???????

please please please i need agathario fluff

like an alternate universe setting where they have nicholas and have a pretty chill daily life

PLEASEEEE 😭😭😭

Heatstroke

Agatha Harkness x Rio Vidal, background Alice Wu-Gulliver x Jennifer Kale

FLUFF!!!!

~Authors note - I basically wrote it as a Detective AU, but they're still witches and it doesn't revolve around them being detectives at all, it's just a background detail that I added as a minor plot point. Nicky plays soccer :) (As someone from Wales, it has been incredibly painful to call it soccer, but it's set in America so it only makes sense) ~

People always asked them, ‘How do you work together?’ or ‘How do you separate home and work lives if you’re together all the time?’, and the answer, for them, was always simple, but we’ll get to that part later. 

There were quite obvious perks to Agatha and Rio working together, their minds worked in ways that nobody but each other could understand, and if Nicky was in trouble, there was always someone to cover the other’s shift while they helped him out. Even if it was just a scrape on the knee, the two women could always rely on each other to take care of their son while the other worked for the two of them. 

As well as the minor detail that their magic use would help them speed through work, and magic is always stronger when there’s more than one spellcaster.

That’s totally not why they were the best detective duo in the whole of WestView, while still balancing social lives and hobbies without even breaking a sweat. 

Rio, when not on the clock, can be consistently seen in a green sleeveless undershirt, sweat running down her skin and sticking her fringe to her forehead as she pushes a heavy lawnmower around their garden on hot summer days. 

Agatha can be consistently seen sitting on a lawn chair, Nicky on her lap, an ice cold lemonade in one hand, and eyes following the green witches movements around the garden unabashedly. Rio is a green witch, she doesn’t have to do the physical labour… but she likes the way her wife's eyes follow her every movement as she huffs, and pretends not to flex her muscles just slightly so that the set of blue eyes peering over the rim of designer sunglasses traces them with a certain attention to detail Agatha would claim to be stress over heat stroke.

The two of them knew what the look actually was, but to spare Nicky’s innocence for a little while longer, they played along with the heat stroke excuse.  

Over the years, as Nicky got more and more observant of his mothers and their actions, he would often point out when exactly they both had… ‘heatstroke’. Like one morning, when Agatha brushes a dark red at Rio as she whispers something into her ear about the night before. 

“Mama’s got heatstroke! Mama’s got heatstroke!” He says, laughing at Agatha and running into her legs, hugging her at his short stature, “Te veo! Te veo, Mama!” 

Rio laughs hard at the boy who seems dead set on pestering his mother this morning. He had refused to eat his toast, saying he wanted cereal today instead, and now here he is, attempting to tease his mother. 

They both knew the reason why he was being such a pain this morning. He’d seen a lego set in the store that he wanted and Agatha said he’d just have to wait until Christmas to get it, the boy clearly seems to think that if he’d put up enough of a fuss, and then be good afterward, then he’d get the toy early for his “good behaviour”. 

A note to any witches or others that share a similar mindset with Agatha Harkness: Do not teach your child your manipulative ways at a young age. They will learn the skill very quickly, and use it to their advantage much like you have and will again. 

“Nicky…” Rio says to him, looking down at his cute pout on his face, clearly copying his mother’s manipulative tendencies, “Leave your Mama alone for a sec, she can’t take the teasing.” She says in a joking tone, elbowing Agatha when she lets out a quiet noise of protest.

“And besides, we know what this is about, and while your new tricks might work on auntie Alice, it doesn’t work on us. You won’t be getting that toy set until Christmas. And even then, that's only if Santa thinks you’re good!” Rio says then, desperately hoping that the boy doesn’t turn around and tell Alice all about this lego set the next time he sees her. The protection witch has a good heart, being a protection witch does that to you, but she is too soft on Nicky. To be honest, the whole coven is, even Billy babysits for free and whenever Agatha or Rio ask him too, even bringing his boyfriend every now and then. 

Luckily, Rio doesn’t see the telltale signs of the cogs turning as he thinks of a master plan to get the lego set sooner, and Rio lets out a relieved huff. 

“Auntie Jen makes Auntie Alice get heat stroke too!” Nicky suddenly says, breaking his silence and changing the topic, not admitting that he had been trying to manipulate his mothers: Another trait of Agatha’s. 

“Haha! Does she now, Nicky?” Agatha says, recovering from her blush and bringing his attention away from Rio. “Have you told auntie Alice about her heatstroke? She won’t listen to either of your mama’s when we tell her about how obvious it is.”

It’s Agatha’s turn to teasingly elbow Rio, they’d been trying to tell Alice all year that it was painfully obvious that the two witches were slowly but surely falling for eachother. Agatha had started to notice Alice leaving Jen’s house at late hours of the night about a month ago, so at least they’re getting a move on. The only problem is, they genuinely think that nobody has the slightest clue.

Which seriously offends Lilia, considering she is a divination witch that predicted this years ago.

“Will auntie Alice be at my soccer match?” Nicky asks as he pouts up at his two mothers. “Maybe I could tell her then, and then she can ask auntie Jen to make her a potion and fix it?” He says, and while he is picking up his mothers manipulative traits, the two older women can tell he is genuinely innocent in this plan, thinking that Alice needs some help with her ‘heatstroke’. 

“Course she will be, Nicky. Nobody ever misses your soccer matches for anything… except Billy actually. He won’t be there today, he’s got a big exam tomorrow to study for and can’t make it.” Agatha tells him, taking on a softer tone when discussing Billy’s absence, she knows that Nicky adores Billy, and is always upset when he can’t make it to his games or other important events. Billy is one of the only male figures he has in his life, with the coven being a mainly female group, (and mainly gay), he doesn’t really know any other adult male figures aside from teachers and coaches. And even then, he doesn’t know these men well enough for them to be classed as ‘figures’ to him. 

Nicky does look upset for a little bit, but he doesn’t cry. He understands completely that Billy and the others have important things to do. He is the son of two of the best detectives in WestView, after all. While the two have always used their magic to interfere with their schedules when Nicky has an important event like a school play or a soccer game, they have also made sure he understands why they have to do that, and that the other coven members can’t always do the same. 

“That’s okay… Will we see Billy when he finishes his test?” Nicky asks, and runs to grab his soccer boots, and struggles to tie his laces without Rio’s help. 

“Yeah, Nicky, the Kaplan’s invited you to have dinner tomorrow at theirs, remember? And me and Mama are going to stay here so you can sleepover with Billy” Rio says as she slowly ties his shoelaces so that he can watch carefully how she does it, observing each step. It was Agatha and Rio’s anniversary tomorrow, and the Kaplans had volunteered to have Nicky over all night to allow them to have some time alone. They said something about ‘returning the favour’ seeing as the two witches get Billy out of the house all of the time now, for Nicky or just for other coven-related things. 

When they arrived at the soccer field, they were slightly late compared to the other parents. The coven - minus Billy - had saved Agatha and Rio two spaces next to the pitch for them to sit… which is exactly when Agatha remembers that this particular field for the away game doesn’t have bleachers, and they were told to bring their own chairs. 

“Damn it! Rio, I forgot the chairs, I’ll have to rush back to the house so tell me what happens while I’m–” 

She’s silenced by one of Rio’s fingers on her lips. 

“Ah, ah, ah. Leave it to me, my love. I’ll just move the earth around. Just remind me to put it back to normal before we leave, or people might get suspicious of my brilliant garden.” 

“The garden is not brilliant, you destroyed my decking and haven’t–” 

“Sshhhh” Rio coos into her ear, spinning her around and then gently pushing her along to the rest of the group, holding her by the hips from behind. “Shush about the decking… c’mon now, why don’t you tell Alice about her case of heatstroke…?”

“Hmmph, silencing me and my struggles, Rio?” She asks as they get closer to the group, but not quiet in earshot yet.

“Mm, just wait until tomorrow night, when Nicky is at the Kaplan’s… Wouldn’t dream of stifling you and your struggles then, dear…” Rio whispers into Agatha’s ear in a huskier tone than usual, and laughs at the chill that runs down her wife’s spine at the thought. Rio pushes Agatha the whole way to the other coven members on the pitch-side, and conjures up a couch made of dirt and grass for Agatha and her to sit on very comfortably without being squashed into each other, but before Agatha can even get comfortable in her own space, Rio is tugging her in to her side and resting her head on Agatha’s shoulder as they watch their son warm up with the rest of his teammates right before the match. 

Rio, as a woman that has been around since the creation of time to serve her duties as Death, would never want to live any other way. Considering she’s arguably lived every other way. 

Her answer to how she works and lives with Agatha constantly, to her, is incredibly simple: She’d lived a hundred lifetimes without Agatha, and another good chunk chasing after Agatha, so desperately in love. She simply doesn’t want to spend another second without her, knowing that before Agatha, her existence was boring and cold, that she was forced to be a cruel and exacting being, unfeeling and lonesome.

Any other existence than the one she has now, next to Agatha, watching their boy grow, is simply a waste of Death’s eternal time. 

Agatha has given her the one thing that Death cannot give herself, and that is life, in the form of Death’s son. Even his sweet, innocent and mischievous existence is something that philosopher’s throughout time have considered impossible. And so for that, Rio never wants to part from Agatha, from the house their son will grow up in… even if that means she gives her lover special treatment. 

[meazalykov]

wrong number

bayern munich frauen x reader

1/6, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6

"who are you, and why do you have my number?"

you've been preparing for this move for what feels like forever.

the idea of leaving your small hometown in virginia to live in munich is both exciting and terrifying. you’ve spent weeks packing your things, saying goodbyes, and trying to mentally prepare yourself for the massive change that’s about to happen. 

sure, you’ve dreamed about studying abroad for a long time. now that it’s here, the reality of it feels overwhelming.

you’re going to be thousands of miles away from home, from everything you’ve ever known. your family is supportive, and your friends have been hyping you up nonstop. yasmeen, your closest friend, has been particularly great about helping you stay grounded, always there to distract you from the “what ifs” when the anxiety gets a little too intense. 

today is one of those days.

the two of you had planned a mall trip—something normal and fun before the whirlwind of final packing and travel arrangements takes over. well, yasmeen says that you need a new closet for munich and you don’t disagree.

it feels good to be doing something so ordinary, especially when you know that soon enough, everything in your life is about to be not-so-ordinary. 

you’ve been to this mall a hundred times with yasmeen, today feels a little more special though. maybe it’s because you’re hyperaware that you won’t have moments like these once you’re in germany.

will you make friends in germany? what if germany turns out horribly? are the people nice? is there xenophobia you might experience due to yourself being american? these thoughts plagued the back of your mind. 

"you’re gonna miss me so much, you know that, right?" yasmeen teases as the two of you walk through the mall’s food court, eyeing the chick-fil-a counter but opting for chipotle instead.

you roll your eyes playfully, nudging her with your elbow with the arm that's carrying your aritzia bag. 

"i’ll miss your constant harassment, that’s for sure."

"constant harassment? i’m literally the best thing that ever happened to you!"

"okay, sure," you laugh. 

honestly, yasmeen has been a huge part of your life for the past few years. she was the first person you clicked with back in high school, and now it feels weird to think about going through the next few years without her by your side. 

you’re trying not to dwell on it, though. you’ll still have facetime, you tell yourself. 

after grabbing and eating your rice bowls, you both head toward the stores. it’s one of those days where everything feels easy—there’s no pressure to buy anything. you did though obviously.

at one point, yasmeen holds up a bright red kit with a smirk.

"ouu a bayern munich kittt. you should totally buy it, you will fit in with the munich community."

you tilt your head, laughing. 

"what is that? i don’t even watch soccer."

"woah! you better once you hit germany– i heard soccer to them is like how the nfl is to americans."

you shake your head but decide to try it on anyway. yasmeen snaps a photo and tells you that you look like you’re about to cheer for some random german soccer team. 

you don’t think much of it and put the jersey back, moving on to the next store.

as the day goes on, you feel a strange mix of contentment and anticipation. it’s nice being here, with your best friend, doing normal things, but there’s a part of you that’s itching to start this next chapter of your life. 

it’s like you’re stuck in this weird limbo between your old life and the new one that’s waiting for you on the other side of the world.

eventually, after several hours of shopping, you realize your phone had died. you don’t even remember when it happened. 

you’ve been so caught up in the moment with yasmeen that you didn’t notice the battery draining.

"ugh, my phone’s dead," you say, glancing at the blank screen.

yasmeen shrugs. 

"mine’s still good. if anything, i can call you an uber."

"nah, i’m good. i’ll just charge it when i get home."

you both grab shoes at birkenstock before say your goodbyes outside the mall. yasmeen gives you an extra tight hug. 

"don’t get caught up with your european friends and forgetting about me, okay?"

"never," you promise.

when you get home, you immediately plug your phone into the charger and head straight to the shower. 

the hot water feels good against your skin, washing away the stress of the day. you’ve got so much on your mind—packing, travel plans, what your life is going to look like in a few weeks—but right now, standing under the stream of water, you feel calm. 

you let your thoughts drift away and focus on the simple rhythm of the water hitting your shoulders.

when you finally get out of the shower, you feel refreshed, like maybe you can tackle all the things on your to-do list without getting overwhelmed.

when you grab your phone and take it off of your charger, you notice something strange. 

it’s blowing up with notifications. you squint at the screen, trying to make sense of what’s happening. 

there’s a new group chat, and it’s filled with numbers you don’t recognize.

confused, you open the messages. the chat is already deep into a conversation about something, but none of it makes sense to you.

+49 176 1234567: pernille you’re AMAZING wtf was that!!!!????? 

+49 171 7654321: arsenals defense during this match had nothing on you or syd holy shit

your brows furrow. arsenal? match? what are they talking about? you know absolutely nothing about this conversation. 

hell, you’re not even sure what country arsenal plays for. the confusion only grows as you scroll up to see more of the conversation.

you: hi?

almost immediately, your message is met with a flood of responses.

+49 171 7654321: giulia! finally! where have you been?

+49 178 1233567: we’ve been trying to reach all day, i know we had no training but are you okay?

your heart skips a beat. giulia? who the hell is giulia? you’ve definitely never gone by that name.

you: uh, i think you’ve got the wrong number. i’m not giulia.

for a moment, the chat goes silent. you stare at your phone, wondering if you should just leave the group.

before you can, a new message pops up.

+49 176 1234567: wait, what?

+49 171 7654321: did we add the wrong number again?

+49 171 11122222: sydney, you’re an idiot. you added the wrong number!

there’s a pause before a new number is added to the group.

+49 152 3334444: you guys finally added me.

you assume this is the real giulia. still, no one seems to be kicking you out of the chat, and before you know it, the conversation picks up again.

+49 176 1234567: giulia, you missed our whole debate about the arsenal match.

+49 171 7654321: yeah, and we were saying bayern needs to keep it up for juventus.

you stare at your phone, more confused than ever. arsenal, bayern… these are clearly soccer teams, but why are they talking to you? you don’t even watch soccer. eventually, you decide to chime in.

you: um?? i have no idea what any of you are talking about. 

this time, the chat explodes with messages.

+49 171 7654321: what?!

+49 176 1234567: how do you not know bayern munich?

+49 175 7778888: do you watch fusball? 

+49 171 1112222: okay, who are you?

+44 177 9900000: ok guys that makes me feel better about this not being a crazy fan.

+49 170 4479173: i agree with georgia 

you explain your situation—that you’re a 21-year-old college student from virginia, and you somehow got added to this group chat by mistake. 

you tell them about your upcoming move to munich for your study abroad program, hoping to clear up the confusion.

+49 152 3334444: wait… you’re moving to munich? like… munich, germany?

+49 171 7654321: that’s insane omg we all live in munich.

+44 171 9900000: wtffff 

+49 176 1234567: this is such a weird coincidence.

you blink at your screen. this is getting stranger by the second. what are the odds that you’d get added to a random group chat full of people who live in the exact city you’re about to move to?

+49 171 1112222: okay, but how do we know you’re not some creepy dude pretending to be a girl?

+49 172 4567389: LMAO LENA 

+57 170 9193831: wait… 

you roll your eyes at the suspicion but understand why they might be cautious. so, you send them your instagram handle to prove you’re real. 

you: ew, i am not some old dude. @ y/n.l/n is my insta, just me out for yourselves.

after a few minutes, messages start pouring in again.

+49 152 3334444: yep, she’s legit.

+49 176 1234567: okay, cool. she seems sweet.

+49 171 9718193: guys laura would love her photography skills

you: who’s laura

+49 171 9900000: someone from the german national team. she plays in frankfurt

+44 177 9900000: this is so cool idky why.. usually i’d be freaked out

a few new followers pop up on your instagram notifications, and you open the app to check. you almost drop your phone when you see that some of the accounts following you are verified. 

*sydneylohmann is now following you*

and another 

*georgiastanway is now following you* 

*tuvahansen is now following you* 

and more.. 

*leaschuller is now following you* 

*lenaoberdorf is now following you* 

*kathi.ng is now following you* 

*pharder10 is now following you*

*guzman013_ is now following you* 

*sarahzadrazil25 is now following you* 

now it seems like the whole team is catching on.. 

*buehlklara is now following you* 

*magdalenaeriksson26 is now following you* 

*magou_doucoure is now following you* 

*dahmannlinda is now following you* 

it's until you do a quick google search that you realize who they are.

they’re professional soccer players.

you sit there, staring at your phone, completely in shock. you’ve somehow stumbled into a group chat full of actual women’s soccer players. 

trying to play it cool, you decide to treat them like normal people.

after all, you don’t even know anything about soccer, so it’s not like you’re going to fan out over them.

you: so, what are your names? i want to save your numbers because all of the unsaved numbers are overwhelming haha 

they go around introducing themselves, and you quickly type their names into your phone, saving each number under the name they give you.

+49 152 3334444: i’m giulia

+49 171 7654321: sydney

+44 177 9900000: georgia s 

+49 179 7777777: lea 

+57 170 9193831: ana g. there’s two ana’s so i’d add the last name letter to tell the difference 💜

it’s surreal, somehow you find yourself chatting with them like they’re any other group of girls you’d meet in a random group chat. 

they even start to warm up to you after a few days, especially after you tell them more about your move to munich. 

a few of them offer to show you around the city once you get there.

georgia: honestly, munich’s great. you’re going to love it.

sydney: we can help you find all the best spots.

lena: i can definitely ☺️

lea: lena you just moved here from wolfsburg.. 

lena: lea shushhhh 🙄

pernille: ??? 

you smile at your phone, feeling a little less nervous about the move. it’s strange, but you’re actually starting to look forward to meeting these girls in person. 

sure, they’re professional soccer players, but they’re also just… normal people. and they seem to like you.

as the chat continues, you get the sense that they trust you. maybe it’s because of your instagram or the way you’ve been honest with them from the start, but whatever it is, they don’t seem to mind that you accidentally got added to their group. 

in fact, they seem to enjoy having you around.

klara: you seem chill. i know its been a week since you’ve been added but do you promise to keep our secrets safe? 

lena: ^

you: i promise. i like you guys! 

it’s not every day you accidentally make friends with a group of famous athletes, but somehow, that’s exactly what’s happened. 

as strange as it is, you’re kind of excited about it.

part two here

[lovecla]

TEACH ME (HOW TO MAKE HIM COME) | jack hughes.

nsfw, @lovecla’s kinktober collection, chapter five:

<last chapter>

➴ chapter warnings: p in v, unprotected sex (don’t do this kids), semi-public sex (don’t do this either), jealous jack, dirty talk.

➴ word count: 3.7k

��� from me to you: you asked, and you shall receive. thank u so much for all the love you all gave to TM(HTMHC) and i hope this final chapter can make u guys happy. sorry if it sucks, though. hope y’all still like me :,)

𖧷

AS YOU put on Trevor’s jersey, you contemplate tonight's game.

It’s November again; the leaves keep falling from the trees, the wind is still cold and impersonal. You’re still tired from all the studying, constantly reevaluating yourself and staying up until late at night to write papers.

Life is still as simple as it was before everything. Before crushing on Zack, before going back to Newark in Summer, before sleeping with Jack Hughes, although— Is it really?

You and Jack hadn’t done anything in months. After fucking him for the last time, you woke up with a Trevor Zegras holding a Hockey stick and ready to break it in half with the help of Jack’s head, which made you snap at him.

“What is your problem, Trevor?!” You yell, barely awake and already pissed off at your brother’s doing. “Why are you here at seven in the morning, yelling at Jack and— is that a stick?”

Trevor lifts it up proudly, like he’s okay with beating Jack up. “Yeah, it is! And it’s about to see Jack’s pretty face.”

“Well—” Jack tries, but you’re not hearing any of it.

“Stop acting like I’m fifteen or whatever. If I want to have sex with him, then I will.”

“What— oh my God. See, this is why I never wanted you to be friends with her. They always end up falling in love, man,” Trevor shouts at Jack, who’s doing his best to hold in his laughter. It isn’t doing much, though. “Sarah, Jack isn’t the right guy for you! He’s a man whore!”

“Y’know I’m still here righ—”

“I don’t care, Trevor, geez,” you sit down on Jack’s couch, covering your face with your hands before speaking again. “I understand why you’re upset and I appreciate the fact that you’re taking care of me, but I’m an adult. I know how to take care of myself.”

“You’re twenty—”

“Besides,” Jack starts, this time his face is serious and his arms are crossed in front of his chest. “I’m not gonna hurt her, you asshole. Have a little faith in me, no?”

“No?” Trevor scoffs, putting the stick down. “This is ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is you thinking Sarah can’t stand up for herself, or that I will do anything to hurt her, intentionally. Like she’s just another one. Fuck off, Z.”

Trevor wouldn’t stop commenting about the two of you together, even when Jack wasn’t around you. It was tiring to say the least, so you decided to take the matter into your own hands and tell Jack that you were both done.

It was ridiculous, really, since you’ve grown to appreciate Jack’s company, not only as a friend, but as a possible future partner. Getting away from him wasn’t ideal, but if that was you needed to make Trevor shut up, then you’d do it.

Occasionally, you’d text each other, just normal conversations about how you’re doing, and how you’d wish you were together rather than studying for finals.

But today, the Devils were in Anaheim, playing against your brother’s team and you were going to watch them, for the first time ever. Not only you, though. It looks like all of your colleagues and friends are going— you’ve lost count of how many people texted you asking for free tickets.

You were agitated, since everything could go wrong tonight: your brother could go crazy and risk a penalty for punching Jack in the face, you and Jack would see each other after months and Zack was also going to be there.

In your defense, it hadn’t been your idea in the first place. Kiara suggested that you give the extra ticket Trevor gave to you to him, because it’d be a good excuse to talk to him and to leave the whole Jack situation behind.

But the truth is, you’re not really sure if you want to “leave the whole Jack situation behind”. You like him and you know he likes you back. Even though you had the biggest infatuation for Zack, it didn’t hold a candle to what Jack made you feel whenever he was inside you.

But, oh, well.

Now, it’s probably too late to ask Jack to try again. And even if it made you feel a little weird, you knew it was probably best this way.

𖧷

“OH, MAN, I can’t believe we lost.”

Zack’s complaints make you laugh. “I mean, it was kinda obvious. But, yeah, losing 6-2 is really tough.”

“We played well, though,” Kiara adds, trying to sound convincing. You and Zack both funnily stare at each other, choosing not to say anything. “Y’all are just mean. Sarah, it’s your brother’s team!”

“I know, I know,” you snicker. “Sorry. I’ll tell him he played well.”

“You’re seeing him tonight?” Zack asks, his brown eyes expressing curiosity. “Can I come? The Devils are fucking awesome!”

“Yes, we have, like, a little get together party, if you know what I mean,” you shrug, biting your lips. “I mean, you can definitely come if you want.”

Kiara eyes you eagerly as Zack smiles brightly at you, saying “thank you” at least a thousand times and rambling about how excited he was to meet actual NHL players in person.

You didn’t know if it had been a good idea to invite him, but you just felt bad to leave him out of the celebration— or what was supposed to be a celebration before Anaheim lost 6-2— since he was a huge Hockey fan. And even if you’re not all that interested in him anymore, he’s cool to hang out with.

Ever since you came back from Newark you’ve been spending more time with Zack. If anyone asks you anything, you won’t be able to tell them why is that, but you’re not complaining. It’s probably due to fact that you’re not that interested in him anymore, so you don’t have to worry about pleasing him all the time.

Now, you had much more interesting people to please.

You all walk to the dinner hall, where a bunch of players and coaches were talking and dining together, the Devils being loud and proud after a well played game, while most of the Ducks had pouty lips and frowns.

You walked around with Zack and Kiara, and quickly finding your brother, his loud voice outstanding everyone else’s.

“Holy fuck, that’s Jack Hughes.” Zack said, his tone not hiding his surprise and admiration.

You immediately turn your head to the side, confirming that Jack Hughes is, indeed, just a few steps ahead of you, chatting with your brother and a bunch of other players.

“Well, well, well…” Kiara whispers beside you and you discreetly shove her with your elbow, making her shove you back, playfully.

“I mean, we don’t have to talk to them right now, right?” You say, trying to find a way out. “They’re probably sad. I’d be sad if I lost a game.”

“Girl, what are you talking about?” Kiara rolls her eyes, clearly not taking a hint.

“Sarah, you can’t be serious!” Zack laughs, grabbing your hand and pulling you forward. You widen your eyes, staring at his hand covering yours and then looking back at Kiara, who just looks like she’s having the time of her life.

Zack keeps his hand around yours as you approach your brother’s group, Jack’s eyes finding yours immediately before falling to your hands.

“Oh, hey there, ugly duck,” Trevor smiles at you, and you take advantage of the opportunity so you can separate your hand from Zack’s, walking until you’re hugging Trevor tighter than you had ever done before. “What the hell, why are you squeezing me?”

You wanted to punch him. “Oh, I just feel so sorry for you guys!” You try to sound devastated. “Losing is tough.”

“They’re used to it, aren’t you, chickens?” Bratt says, making people around you laugh, as your brother’s frown deepened.

“Fuck you.” Vatrano hisses back, and you let go of Trevor, standing beside him.

Someone calls some of the guys, and you almost yell at them so that they wouldn’t leave, but they do, leaving you alone with Trevor and. Well, Jack.

“I’m a huge fan!” Zack starts, smiling at Jack like he’s God almighty himself.

“Oh, really.” Jack says, and you can tell he’s not even trying to sound nice. You frown.

“Yeah. Ever since you joined the NHL. A long time ago.” Zack probably doesn’t notice Jack’s lack of manners, or if he does, he doesn’t say anything, continuing the conversation eagerly.

“Are you calling me old?” Jack raises his eyebrows, and Zack laughs, clearly oblivious.

Trevor eyes you weirdly, already familiar with Jack’s attitude problem.

“This sassy mean apocalypse needs to stop.” Kiara whispers in your ear and you’re seriously just two steps away from shoving her again.

“I was talking to my girl over there, you guys are fucking awesome and—”

“Your girl?”

You see, usually you’d expect this question to come out of Trevor’s lips, since he’s the most annoying person in the world. But once you saw Jack’s eyes turning a deep, ocean blue shade and his face starting to get red, you realize, with surprise, that Jack was the one who asked that.

You stare at him, but he wouldn’t look at you. He was staring at Zack, with his hands in his pocket.

“Oh, yeah, Sarah.”

A year ago you wouldn’t believe if anyone told you that you would want to kill Zack Brian with your own two hands, but at this moment, it’s all you want to do.

Why the hell is he talking about you like that?

“I didn’t know you were dating, Sarah.”

You gulp, looking up at Jack’s upset face, shaking your head immediately.

“Yeah, little sis, I also didn’t know you were dating.” Trevor said, wanting to sound angry, but you knew him well enough to realize that he was holding back his laughter, just like the little shit he is.

“I’m not— Zack and I aren’t dating.” You stutter, alternately looking at Jack and Trevor.

“Oh. You’re Zack?”

Jack can’t fucking be serious.

Zack is happy and smiling again. “Hell yes I am! Can we, like, take a picture together or something?”

This time, Trevor steps in and coughs, politely interrupting the conversation and finally— finally— doing something about this whole mess. “Sorry, man, can’t do it. We have to head back to the party, otherwise our coaches will kill us.”

You knew it was a lie, Keefe and Cronin didn’t care whether their players took pictures with people or missed parties. As long as they stayed out of trouble and played well, they didn’t really mind their players’ personal lives.

But you wouldn’t say anything, not when you were already in trouble.

“Oh, that’s fine, it’s cool,” Zack shrugs, not hiding his disappointment. You almost pass out when you catch a glimpse of a smile on Jack’s lips. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of other opportunities.”

“Sure, sure,” Trevor smiles, throwing his arms around you once again. “Are you coming?”

“Oh, I—” you look around, biting your lips. “I don’t want to leave Zack alone.”

Even though you did want to leave him alone, you just couldn’t. He had been so excited when you invited him to the game, talking about it for an entire week before tonight.

“He can come too.”

You stare at Jack, not missing the way his lips curled up, and his eyes still looked darker.

“Type shit? You really are the goat, man, fuck yeah!” Zack celebrates and you stare at Kiara, who’s also looking a little bit worried now.

“Great,” you say through your teeth, stepping away from Trevor. “Let’s go, then.”

God, please help me.

𖧷

“SO, FOR how long have you and Sarah been friends?”

You wanted to smash Trevor’s face against a wall and twist his arm until he started crying.

You were sitting at his table, surrounded by other players, Kiara, Zack, Luke and Jack. Fortunately, Kiara had been successful at keeping Jack and Luke bored with her stories about college drama, so Jack wasn’t really focusing on you, or Zack for that matter.

Unlike Trevor, who’s constantly making remarks about your friendship.

“Not long.” You answer, shooting daggers at him with your eyes.

“But you seem really close.” He insists, smiling innocently.

“Sarah’s really cool,” Zack starts, and again you remind yourself that if he had said this not even seven months ago, you’d be smiling and dancing. But now, all you want is to tell him to leave. “We get along really well.”

“She’s a sweetheart, isn’t she? I’m glad to call her my sister.”

“Trevor,” you smile, kicking him under the table. “Stop it.”

“No, no, I like when people compliment you. Makes me proud—”

You get up abruptly, making at least five people look at you, Jack included. Blushing, you smile awkwardly. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Excuse me.”

Walking fast, you make your way to the bathroom, walking down an empty hallway, finding the bathroom quickly. You got in, thanking God that no one was in there.

Jesus. What the hell is going on with both Jack and Trevor?

You understood if Jack was upset with you, because if it was the other way around, you would be just the same, even if you weren’t an actual couple. But Trevor helping the fire grow? He’s just being a child.

“He’s so obvious it’s embarrassing.”

Letting out a yelp, you stare at the man you’ve been thinking of everyday since the Summer, who’s now leaning against the bathroom door and smirking at you.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, crossing your arms in front of you.

“Well, you’re clearly not peeing,” he starts, approaching you slowly. “And I can’t stand that dick face anymore. Does he not know that complimenting you to your brother won’t get him anything?”

“Leave him alone, Jack,” you roll your eyes. “He’s just being nice.”

“He’s into you. You know that, right?”

You scoff, finding it genuinely funny. “Of course he isn’t. We’re just friends. He’s just being nice, I just told you.”

“I thought you were a smart girl.” He wets his lips and not looking at it feels like fighting against ten thousand demons.

“Are you calling me dumb? To my face?” You raise your brow, watching as he frowns.

“I’m just saying that I thought you weren’t so oblivious, baby. When I told you you’re everyone’s type? I meant it.”

“Jack,” you sigh, defeated. “Why are we having this conversation?”

“Because,” he steps closer, looking down at you. “It drives me insane to think that there’s a fuckhead sitting just a few feet away from us that thinks he’s the shit and won’t take your name out of his mouth.”

Your eyes softened, and you smile at him. “You’re jealous.”

“That’s for people who are insecure, baby. And that you already know that I’m not,” he smirks, resting his right hand on your chin, and you can feel his breath hit your face, making you hold back an embarrassing sound. “Do you need me to remind you how good I am?”

Your eyes double in size and you shake your head.

“Are you insane?” You shout-whisper. “You’re supposed to be back in New Jersey in a few hours. This is your team’s celebration dinner, for God’s sake. You’re not even supposed to be here.”

“And yet, here I am.”

He kisses you bruisingly, your teeth touching with the agressive yet extremely sweet action, and you moan inside his mouth, not realising, until now, how much you’ve missed him.

It was wrong but not kissing him felt even more wrong.

He gently pushes you further into the bathroom, locking the door behind him and putting you on the counter, making you hiss with the coldness of the marble against your exposed thighs and throbbing core.

“Jack.”

“Fuck, I missed hearing you say my name. One more time for me, pretty.”

“Jack.”

He kisses you again, and you busy yourself with messing up his hair, still a little bit damp from his previous shower. It smells nice and fresh, just like the rest of his body.

“We need to be quick,” You whisper against his mouth, his eyes staring at you, lust and desire written all over his face. “We’re not even supposed to be here and we don’t have time—”

“Put your hands on that wall over there,” he whispers, signaling to the wall on the other side of the bathroom. “I’m gonna fuck you from behind. Is that okay?”

“As long as you fuck me.” You shrug, getting off the counter and doing as he says.

He laughs. “I’ve created a monster.”

He’s quickly behind you, and you hear the filthy sound of his hands unzipping his fancy pants, as you quickly lift your skirt, putting your panties to the side.

“Spit.” Jack asks— orders—, putting his hand in front of your lips, and you do, the red that painted your cheeks deepening.

He’s inside you not long after that, and you both moan loudly, forgetting for a few seconds that there are at least one hundred people outside. You can feel your walls squeezing his cock as you try to find some kind of support on the wall in front of you.

“Jesus fuck, Sarah, how are you even tighter than last time?”

“Because, ah,” he’s pouding against you, the sound of his crouch slapping against your ass making you feel dirty and so fucking good. “Haven’t been with a-anyone else.”

“No?” You can hear the smirk on his face. “Just your little fingers then?”

You nod with your head, eagerly moving it up and down, moaning loudly and just a few seconds away from ruining your makeup.

“Baby, you need to be quiet,” Jack says, and his hand slowly leaves your waist, making its way to your mouth, caressing your entire body before it covers your lips completely. “I love it when you’re loud but have you forgotten we’re not alone?”

You roll your eyes at him, as he keeps hitting that spot inside you that makes you see the entire galaxy without needing a telescope. His dick is deep inside you, so fucking deep.

“Jack, fu—”

“Sarah?”

You and Jack both freeze as Zack’s voice echoes through the room. He removes his hand from your mouth and rests his forehead against your head.

“Oh my God.” You whisper, ready to remove yourself from Jack’s grip and leave the bathroom.

Jack doesn’t have the same thought as you, though. He removes his length until just the tip is inside you, just to slam his cock inside of you again, reaching deeper than before.

You bite your lips hardly, feeling the taste of coper fill your mouth, the pain of tearing your lips hardly noticeable— your heart was beating so fast inside your chest that it seemed too insignificant to be preoccupied with a little bit of blood.

“Sarah, are you okay?”

“Answer him,” Jack whispers, as he keeps fucking you, this time reaching down and rubbing your swollen clit too. “Sarah. Answer him.”

“I— I—,” stuttering, you try to focus. “Y-yes?”

“Are you okay? You’ve been in there for a while.”

Jack pinches your sensitive nub and you can feel the tears start to form in your eyes.

“Pretty.”

“I’m, f-fine, ah,” you shake your head, putting your hand on top of Jack’s but not making any move to stop him. “Just— headache.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want any help?”

“Fucking asshole,” Jack mumbles, your orgasm building up quickly than ever. “Tell him you’re fine, baby. Come on.”

“I’m fine, ah, thank you.” Biting your own hand, you feel your body shivering underneath Jack’s. “I’ll be b-back in just a second.”

“Alright,” Zack sounds convinced. “I’ll warn your brother.”

Even with your loud breathing you can hear Zack’s steps as he gets further away from the bathroom, and you barely have time to think properly before Jack is slamming his cock hard and fast inside of you again.

“You’re so fucking wet, baby, tell me. Does it turn you on the fact that anyone could catch us at any moment?”

Yes.

“Too bad I don’t share what’s mine.”

“Jack—”

“Fucking asshole wanted to be the one inside you right now,” he snarls. “No one will ever fuck you like I do, baby.”

“Hmh,”

“This pussy here,” he pinches your clit again, twisting it between his fingers making you gasp for air. “Will only get this wet for me.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck���”

“You were made to take my cock, baby. Made to be mine.”

Your makeup was most definitely ruined by now. It didn’t matter. Your mind was too focused on coming to care about anything else.

“Say it, baby, come on.” Jack whispers in your ear, kissing your neck afterwards.

“It’s yours, Jack,” you nod with your head, feeling your orgasm closer than before. “I’m yours, and I missed you so bad and—”

You come on his fingers, your thighs shaking as he continues to poud on you, not caring if you’re sensitive or not. He takes his dick out of your pussy after a few more thrusts, coming all over your cheeks.

Your uncontrolled breathing fills up the entire room, the smell of sex and sweat making you blush. Jack’s forehead is on your shoulder, and you can sense he’s just as tired as you.

“Sarah,” he mumbled, and you sigh, humming. “Be my girlfriend. I don’t care about Zegras, I never did. I’ll let him beat me up everyday if that means you’ll be the one helping me get up at the end of the day.”

You chuckle tiredly. “So romantic, aren’t you, Hughes?”

“I try my best.” He murmurs against your skin.

“I will be your girlfriend. But just know that if you cheat on me, or anything like that, Trevor will fuck you up, and I’ll let him.” You say, laughing quietly.

He moves so he can grab a piece of paper, wetting it and cleaning you, making you shiver with the cold water on your back.

“If my own brothers don’t kill me first.”

“Touche.”



[arcane-vagabond]

Hey, y’all. Not really sure how to start this, but here goes.

I started using Tumblr in the far off year of 2012, when I was 16. I started off in the Hunger Games fandom right as the movies were coming out, and I made so many amazing friends on here. I eventually moved on to different fandoms, namely SuperWhoLock (The combined fandom of Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. If you know, you know). There were ups and downs, but fandom was a community I could rely on. Strangers on the internet were supportive of me, even if we weren't necessarily close, people made an avid effort to interact with each other and have conversations with people on here.

I took a break when I started college, trying to navigate my way through my newly aqcuired adult status, and Tumblr kind of fell by the wayside after a while. But, when I left there was still a thriving community in fandom with people interacting with each other, coming up with theories for things, coming up with theories and headcanons about beloved characters. Comments and reblogs were plentiful, and fanfic, fanart, etc. were a two sided conversation. You didn't even have to write fanfic or make fanart in order to get interactions.

I came back a couple of years ago, logging in here and there to lurk and read fanfic on my old blog. I discovered Top Gun: Maverick and felt compelled to write my very first fanfiction: Don't Hang'em Til Noon. I was so excited to share it because I saw that no one else had done a Wild West!AU, and I was excited to share my work and talk about it and the actual movie with people on here. I did find people who were as excited as I was, and that was great. But then I got one of my first anonymous messages.

"You really need to calm down."

Calm down? Why? I thought the whole point of fandom was that we were all excited about this one thing? I was so confused.

I kept writing, and the hate anons kept coming. I was accused of thinking I'm better than everyone on here (why, I still don't understand), I was accused of thinking I run the fandom (probably because I pointed very obvious things out), and more. I take it on the chin usually, but of course words still hurt. This was not what I remembered fandom being like, and I found that the longer I kept doing this, the more it started to feel like a chore versus something I genuinely enjoyed.

I get hundreds of votes in my polls for what to update or what to do next, but the notes and interactions are not reflecting this. I got more interactions as someone who didn't create fan works twelve years ago than I do as a content creator now. The attitude towards fandom has changed.

It's no longer a community, it's a popularity contest. People put down others to make themselves feel better, which was always a thing, but not it's more prevalent. It's become a numbers game, and it shouldn't be. People say that they're too afraid to comment or put themselves out there to talk to creators, but guess what? It's terrifying to put your work out there to be seen by so many people and to be judged. And it's discouraging to see the amount of people who like but won't leave a comment or reblog. Do you actually like it? How am I supposed to know?

Some of you are so jealous of others, that you've let it consume you. You attack me for my AUs, claiming that they're boring and uninteresting, and yet? There are some of you who've seen how invested some people have become with my stories and have tried to emulate them. You're not venturing into AU because you genuinely want to. You're doing it because you see that there's a market for it. You're the same people who mocked me for doing it in the first place.

There's a whole group on here that are so bitter and insecure about their own abilities, that they feel the need to put others down, and I'm not mad. If anything, I feel genuinely sorry for you.

There have always been problems with fandom, but not like this. I don't know if this is all specific to the TGM fandom, but y'all? I'm exhausted. I'm tired of putting so much of myself out there to only here crickets or demands for more. What happened to actual conversation? Waht happened to interacting for the sake of interacting?

I've made some genuinely amazing friends on here, and I talk to them pretty much every single day. However, I need a break from this website. I need to find my love for writing again, and I won't be able to do it on here while things continue to be the way they are. So, this is my long ass way of announcing that I'm officialy going on hiatus for a little while, at least the month. I will be focusing on writing We Abide as an original story the way it was originally intended to be. I will not be on during this time. I will not continue to pressure myself to update for you all when you give me next to nothing in return. And if this makes me the villain? Then so be it.

For those of you who've been a constant source of comfort, laughter, inspiration, etc.? I love you. From the bottom of my heart, I'm so grateful to all of you, and if at the end of my month away I decide to come back, I hope you'll still be here to read what I give.

Until next time.

-Liz

[scrubbinn]

Mimic HRT: ??? months “Hallow’s eve party”

The streets of Hyper city’s commercial district were quiet. It was just past sundown and all the common folk had huddled up in their homes to protect from the chilling winds that cut through fur and coats alike. Most stores were closing, either the end of the day, or not expected customers. There was one place with lights and sounds abound. A clinic festooned with jack-o-lanterns of different animals, and hanging skeletons that looks just a little too real. Dr. Theodore Hans Erian’s clinic for human removal therapy was still open for anyone looking to party the night away.

“I don’t recall ever approving of this, Ms. Mulberry. In fact, I believe I stated quite clearly I wanted no part in this nor did I want you to invite your friends to turn our lobby into a party room. I made it spacious for potentially large therians! Not a potentially large crowd of therians. I can barely hear myself think with all the noise.”

Mayday sighed. She did that a lot whenever Erian spoke. She’d just recently remembered how to form ears and vocal cords and the first thing she had to do with them was argue with Erian about how important this party would be. It felt nice to be surrounded by others who could relate. She had learned that therian solidarity was one of the strongest things in the world after all.

She readied a comeback, but when she looked up to retort, he was wearing some crazy wig. It took her a while to realize he was in costume. Most of it was just his normal lab equipment. He barely put in any effort besides putting some test tubes in a breast pocket and singing the tips of a bad store bought wig.

“What the heck are you wearing Erian?” Mayday spoke in a raspy tone. One that showed how recently she remembered how to talk.

“If you must know, I’m going to be at two parties tonight. You’ll be joining the THEMS halloween party, won’t you?”

“Who in the right mind invited you to that? Well no, We’re not attending, we got an invitation but we didn’t feel right going.”

“Care to explain?”

“No.”

“Hm, I suppose I don’t have the time to pry further anyways. I have other things I need to take care of either way. Enjoy your party Mayday.”

“we’re raiding your liquor cabinet tonight for anyone who isn’t allergic to it.”

Erian let out a miffed grunt, as he took his time moseying over to the door and haphazardly cutting in between multiple conversations in a still somehow, direct path out of the clinic. One less party killer, off on his way to make a nuisance of himself somewhere else.

Mayday’s attention turned to the other guests here. She did her best to keep the mood up. Plenty of food and drink, candy galore, several pinatas of Erian hung from the ceiling, nearly all smashed to bits. Purple lights and multiple halloween decorations did their absolute best to wall off the feeling of being in an office waiting room. She even hired a witch to summon a dance floor for the night. But all Mayday planned to do was keep people from running into Erian’s office, no matter how fun it would be.

At the party there’s a gloriously long, masculine, naga with a cobra-esque hood in front of one of the many snack tables. Drae must be about 16 feet in length with that tail! Draer’s hood was lined with gemstones that were reflecting the party lights and the naga’s colors were a mottling of greens and blacks. Drae was piling a few blueberry pastries onto draer plate, but was approached from behind by a brown-furred feminine cow wearing a stylized costume of a popular anime pirate. She was about to tap the naga’s left shoulder, but just as she did, a purple furred creature that appeared to be some combination of tiger and cow and dressed as a sort of wrestler, was tapping the naga’s right shoulder! Immediately drae turned around and was met with the site of these two bovines having a stare off, each clearly wanting to ask this naga for draer hand on the dance floor. Before long all three started talking and laughing and soon both of these cows took a hand of the naga, all three making their way to the other dancers, laughing and smiling all the way.

In a quieter part of the room, a white tiger therian, Alexis, is dressed in futuristic grey and black military armor, with a prop pistol at her right side and a glowing orange blade over her left arm, her left hand holding a cane. An insignia reading 'N7' is visible on the top part of her chestplate. She is engaged in conversation with a lamia otherkin, and is asking various questions with a curious, but mildly concerned tone.

"So this is all going okay for you? You're comfortable with the changes, and your memory is filling in okay?" She said, smiling happily, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and she carried a look that could be well described as 'haunted'. It's the face of a woman carrying a heavy mental weight, who is trying desperately to not make her friends worry about her.

The Lamia is scratching the back of her neck, dressed in her black tank top that now has a few ghosts taped to it, plus a witch hat that sits atop her head. Her arms are sporting some purple scales in contrast to her overall otherwise blue and cream color scheme.

"It's uh-… a bit odd… pretty sure I'm actually getting some wings-… at least I hope it's wings and not a third pair of arms!" she chuckled. "As for my memory… it's uh.. getting somewhere. Been told to let it come back slowly and not rush too much… but I'm slowly remembering everyone's names, even started to really feel Aria as my name again!" She smiled at the white tiger therian in front of her, trying to reassure to the best of her ability. "The changes are a bit… hmmm…. after all never thought about going that route… but uh-… it's not unwanted! just unplanned."

The mimic couldn’t help but approach tentatively. She knew these people. At least, she was pretty sure she did. Terrified yet determined to talk to these two. She hadn’t seen them in so long, and now of all places they both show up here. “Alexis? Aria? Is… that you? You look different. I haven’t seen either of you in so long I was getting worried.” Her broken voice cracked and growled out every other word. She’d be embarrassed by it if this wasn’t important. “What happened?”

Aria turns her head and raises an eyebrow. From this angle now the mimic could see an electrical burn scar running along the lamias neck up to her chin. “Oh! Uh-… Oh god you’re… Mary… May…. Mayday! Right! Uhm-… Yeah about that I uh-… think it’s best you ask Alexis…Good to see you though!”

Alexis froze up at being put on the spot, and she seemed to be avoiding looking Mayday in the eyes. Was that fear? No, more like… shame. "Oh, uh… Hey, Mayday. Sorry I haven't been around much. I, uh… I ate something rotten, and it fucked me up for a good long while. I… I'm still kind of recovering, but I can at least keep meals down now. I didn't mean to worry you, I promise. …Are you having a good time?”

“About as good a time as I can working under Erian. There’s only so many biting comments I can stomach, y’know? But in all honesty, the past few months have been quite… revealing? I’ve ended up learning a lot about mimics and myself, more than I wanted to. Oh but more importantly I heard a lot of stuff is happening with the zoo right now. Are you safe Aria? Is everyone else there safe?” Aria reels back a little, as she got quite nervous when that topic got brought up… nervously scratching at the back of her neck.

“Ah-… yeah uhm… sadly i don’t really know what happened to the others… didn’t really have the chance to exchange numbers or anything. I… honestly hope they are doing well… I’m safe for now! Got a place that took me in! Even gave me some work and uh-…. Something doctor Therkin probably would go ballistic about… a secondary hrt to deal with my memory loss.” She then raises an eyebrow. “Wait- you’re working with that Erian guy?”

“They’re doing okay.”, Alexis answered, perhaps a bit distantly. “We, THEMS that is, managed to find next of kin or close friends for a bunch of them, and we’re taking care of all the rest ourselves until we can find a better option. Makes my job real complicated trying to keep track of everything they need, but honestly I’m just happy to be working again.” She seemed remarkably unfazed about Aria’s secondary HRT, or about Mayday working with Erian.

“That’s good to hear THEMS is working on it,” Mayday beamed. “If anyone can do it, I’m sure it’s you Alexis. Glad to hear you’re back too… Does that mean you’ll be coming back to the support group? Not to pressure you or anything, but it would be nice. And yes, Aria, I’m working for Erian right now. It’s been. Interesting. Not as bad as you’d think. There’s only been two breakdowns in this office. Heh heh… That was a joke…”

Alexis smiled again, and this time it seemed more genuine. “Yeah, I’ve actually really missed seeing everyone, and I’m looking forward to just… sitting down in that friendly space again, you know? I’ve… learned a thing or two about living with my animal instincts, too, so hopefully I’m better equipped to help others with that.” She offered a smirk at the joke. “Knowing Theodore, I’d say only two breakdowns is pretty good.”

Aria gives a look towards Alexis when asked when she would return, before looking back to Mayday. “I Uh-… I want to! I just need to… get ready to go back into that building again. Had a less than pleasant interaction with a … skunk…” She then takes a deep breath. “But uhm, glad your work is uh, working out i guess! It’s pretty cool you get to know yourself better.”

Bashful, Mayday looks down. “It’s certainly been a journey of discovery. I know you mentioned you have a lot to say on animal instincts, but I’ve certainly learned a lot too. Maybe a bit too much on how mimics work. I’m happy though, that I can get the chance to tell you all about it. Maybe the next time we’re all together I can tell you what happened. It’s a tad… eldritch though. I know there’s people out there who do poorly with that.”

Alexis lets out a quiet laugh. “Heh, I turned myself into a tiger, moved to an interdimensional nexus point, learned to use real-ass witch magic, and personally know an alien collective I used to think were just video game monsters. At this point I can deal with things getting a little eldritch on me.”

Aria giggled. “You know, I am becoming something of an eldritch being myself~” She then put her finger over her mouth, winking with one of her four eyes. “But psst~ that is a little secret so no mention to that doctor okay?”

“I’m sure Dr. Therkin wouldn’t mind,” Mayday quickly noted. “I’ve only heard nice things about her. But I suppose anyone would be a bit concerned with extraterrestrial stuffs. So like, when you say eldritch, did you also get thrown into the void? Cause I did and it wasn’t fun, I did get to meet myself and I think they still live in my brain now? It’s complicated. What about you guys? Sounds like you’ve had some fun adventures too.” The more Mayday spoke the more her voice started to shift back into how it originally was, less scratchy and more jubilant. Though eventually she realized her oversharing and held back.

“… Uh-… no? The only thing so far is that… I hear them from time to time but… it’s all muffled and hurts my head so they tend to not use the hivemind around me. It’s odd though… as soon as i start remembering things… it also feels like everything is getting blurry… Though uh-… I guess my eldritch experience is kinda different to yours then? Your’s sounds more… like those really big and scary ones…”

“I didn’t know there were others that weren’t the big scary ones.” Mayday looks genuinely perplexed. “Like you mean something eldritch but… more normally existing here?”

“Yeah!” She nods with a smile. “Alexis met them too, they are pretty chill these days but still classify as eldritch i’d say! At least that’s what I heard from Aik… Uh a friend of mine that also goes on the same HRT!”

Alexis nods. “Can confirm, the Black Arms are actually pretty chill. It’s… partly because of them that I’m really getting used to how weird Hyper City can get. And speaking of eldritch stuff, I don’t know if this is, like, common knowledge, but it turns out being a witch means I can… see things differently, sort of like a sixth sense. It still takes a lot of focus, but I can sort of… read auras and intentions, sometimes it’s almost like I know what’s about to happen before it actually does, and I can subconsciously tell when there’s magic around, even if it’s subtle.”

“Ohhh! That sounds cool! Gotta ask you to teach me some of that!” Aria said smiling. “Then i could at least warrant running around with a witch costume around some actual witches-”

Mayday takes a moment to sit down. She can’t help but smile at both of their enthusiasm. Despite everything that must have happened to them, They’re happy. Sure things will probably get bad again in some way down the road. But that’s not what matters. It’s a Halloween party. It’s fun! “You two are so enthusiastic today. It’s infectious, good thing we’re at a clinic.” She can’t help but let out an embarrassing snort, as she laughs at her own joke. “It’s so weird how little I know you, and yet it feels like you both mean the world to me. Stars above, I missed both of you so much.”

Alexis gives a gentle smile and lets out a happy chuff. "It makes sense to me, this is a solid community we've built, with a real sense of loyalty and togetherness about it. You're part of that too, even if you haven’t been with us as long. Besides, I owe you a huge debt for telling me where Aria was." She turns to Aria. "As for teaching you, I think you'd take to it well, honestly... Your mind's already open to the strange and unusual, probably more than most, being an otherkin. Remind me after tonight, I'll introduce you to the witch who's been giving me a few pointers."

Aria tilts her head confused as she looks over to Mayday, then back to Alexis. “She did?… Oh wow, then uh- thanks! I was wondering how you found me! But uh-… how did YOU know, Mayday?” But before waiting for an answer she right away beamed again with excitement as she looked at Alexis again. “Sure will do! Though-… before we start i rather ask my new doc if it’s safe for me to practice magic at the moment… with my head being all messy and all…”

Mayday looked a bit uneasy with Aria’s description of her mental state. “Yeah, you don’t want to mess with magical forces when you’re not mentally healthy. Learned that tidbit from experience. I suppose it was cathartic in a way. Buuuuuut therapy would probably be the healthier choice. Like the therapy I get from bullying Erian all day. You want to see his alcohol collection he keeps in a medical building? I don’t want to drink it, I just want to see what he’d do if we poured it out in the sink.”

Alexis chuckles. “Hey, don’t be too mean to him, the man provides an important service, even if he is kind of a butt. Speaking of alcohol, though, I should probably get going to the THEMS party, I promised I’d be on hand in case anyone gets too rowdy. …Or tries to fight Theodore. I’ll catch up with you two later, okay?”

“Ah uh-….” Aria fiddled with all four of her hands in front of her nervously… “If-… if there is a party at THEMS… and you’re going, i’d like to try to go there too! I was just being a wallflower here anyway-… Maybe you could join us too Mayday?”

“Oh, I’d love to, but, I’m the only employee here tonight, so I have to stay until everyone leaves, and then I have to finish cleaning up my office. There’s still about a full bag of salt left on the floor. But thank you for the offer. I would have loved to join you.” Mayday grabs her arm and grimaces, showing considerable displeasure about having to stick around here. The arm shifts and wriggles to find a form that can be anywhere else. It settles on human.

Aria frowns.. Looking at Mayday with a bit of a sad expression. “Actually… I think I'll stay here for a bit longer. Sorry about that back and forth Alexis~”

Mayday immediately grows scared of the suggestion. “Please don’t stay on my account. You should both get to THEMS. I’m happy you decided to show up to this random party I threw in the first place. You two can take your leave when you want. We can talk another time.”

“I can’t speak for Aria, but… how about this? After the party at THEMS wraps up, I’ll come back here and help you clean up. Many paws make light work, right?” Alexis smirked a little. “And before you ask, no, I really don’t mind. I’ve missed hanging out with you, and it’ll give us a chance to catch up. For now, though…” She double-checked that she had all of her things, and started walking to the front door. “Do you want to come with, Aria? No pressure at all if you’d rather stay here.”

Aria looked between Alexis and Mayday, letting out a few pensive tongue flicks and growls… Her tail tip idly vibrated before she finally burst out “Fiiiiiine! I go to the THEMS party, but you be damn sure i come here to help clean too and catch up! 6 arms are better than two!” She turned to Alexis with a pensive smile. “… Though while at THEMS you gotta stay close okay?…”

Alexis smiled back and placed a paw on Aria’s shoulder reassuringly. “I will, I promise. Just let me know if you start to get uncomfortable and we can find you somewhere quiet to cool down.”

Aria smiled and nodded. “Yeah- ssssure will do!” She then turned to Mayday and waved. “Sssee you later, Mayday!”

Mayday smiles and waves back. “See you later! Oh and happy Halloween!”

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Start - Prev - Next

Hey y'all, Navi here. It has been a bit since we uploaded a new chapter and I want to thank everyone for being patient. Besides just wanting to wait until it was Halloween to post this. October has been incredibly rough for us financially and we're still not out of the woods yet, but hopefully November will go much smoother.

Cameos & Writers

Cool cobra: @thecrystalmountainsystem

Two cool cows: @josphitia

Alexis: @tigergirltail

Aria: @ariathelamia

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Mention list: @a-shramp, @calliecwrites, @be702, @respectfulevil, @hyacinthdoll1315

@aster-is-confused, @bloodandbrandywyne, @glitchgloop, @nyxthewary, @lunadook

[seastarblue]

Full Moon Festival: Part Two

under the cut!

Before he could reply, she dropped down onto a shabby roof, and then descended onto the road in front of it. Felix followed, and as two knights moved forward, the ornate decor of the festival above faded away into the grime and disrepair of the Bay.

———

“So…. Now what?”

The pair had been captured. Apparently, charging headfirst into an experienced criminal’s hideout was a pretty stupid idea.

They were tied up in a dim room, the only light coming from a weak rune fixed to the ceiling. The ropes weren’t too tight, but they still prevented the pair from getting out.

Just as Kaiden was about to reply to her bewildered partner, a loud thump reverberated through the room. In stepped the Butcher: tall, stocky, and covered in gore. She looked them up and down—as best she could, considering the lighting issue—and despite her heartbeat deafening her, she nearly giggled at how the Butcher fit their name so well. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have bought some meat from them and be none the wiser to their killing sprees.

It seemed like Felix had the same thoughts, as he did laugh—with a hint of fear—at the Butcher’s appearance. “Damn—that’s why the Guard gave you that nickname!”

The Butcher was silent.

“Not much of a talker, are we?” The half-fairy asked, leaning back in his chair, seemingly oblivious to the fact his hands were tied. Kaiden wondered why he hadn’t  burned the ropes like the paper ball, but she realized something must have been blocking his magic. 

“Don’t think they are, Fel.” she interjected. Her voice was quiet.

“Well perhaps they’re just shy?”

“Probably. But maybe they’re savoring the moment. You know, before they chop us up and sell our parts on the black market?”

“Oh, no. The black market doesn’t fetch good prices,” the Butcher finally answered. “Luckily, I’ve made the acquaintance of many other buyers who would pay ten times the amount that those fleas do.”

Kaiden was now snickering along with Felix, the soul bind transferring his ease and confidence into her, if only a little bit.

That bit was all she needed to start thinking clearer. She began discreetly loosening the ropes binding her hands; if she could get to her knives…

Felix’s eyes flicked to his right, and lit up when he noticed what she was doing. He then asked—the Butcher—“Really? How much do they pay?”

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information to you.” he replied. “Even if I did, there’s no use. You’ll be dead mere moments after I finish speaking.” The Butcher began moving to the other end of the room, strangely quick and agile for such a large figure. 

A small table hidden in the corner of the room—lined with knives, machetes, and various other devices splattered with blood—was the killer’s destination. They chuckled, low and intimidating, as they picked up a large cleaver. “See, if you two were of sound mind—which I doubt, considering you came here, but that’s another story—you’d see that I’ve freed all these people! They weren’t well off, you know? They wouldn’t contribute anything to society, those worthless little creatures. Now, at least their bodies can be put to use! And oh, what a use it will be…” the Butcher monologued, grinning ear to ear. “I will free you two as well! Consider it a favor, a good deed done to—“

The wild look in their eyes quickly faded as a knife hit the rune above, snuffing its light and covering the room in darkness. They soon realized the chairs in which their prey were tied to were empty. Rage engulfed the Butcher, and they frantically looked around the room for the knights.

Unfortunately for the Azari partners, Felix’s fairy wings always let off a pale glow, and so the Butcher noticed the pale light now exiting the room. They did not falter. Barreling out the door, they bellowed, “GET BACK HERE!”

Obviously, the knights ignored the killer and kept sprinting down the desolate streets of the Bay.

“They’re gaining on us, Kai!”

“I can see that!”

“So what do we do?! What’s our plan?”

“Keep running!”

“You don’t say? Really, I was gonna stop and do a little dance—”

The Butcher cut the half-fairy off as they lunged in his direction, nearly cleaving his head in two. Felix managed to dodge, just in time, and threw the colorful Mots right into the cutthroat’s eyes. They roared in pain, or perhaps fury, as they blindly swung their cleaver around, hoping to hack their victims to bits.

Kaiden, who had slowed down to try and bury her second knife into their chest, hissed as the cleaver skimmed over her leg, gold blood splattering onto the pavement.

“Kai!”

“I’m fine—keep going!”

“I—“

“I said—“ she gritted her teeth and started to sneak behind the Butcher “—keep going!”

“I’m not leaving—“

“I have a plan, just keep them distracted!”

That satiated Felix’s anxiety, and he obliged, hooting and taunting the Butcher while his partner put her plan into practice.

Said plan was simply waiting for the correct moment, and smashing the hilt of her spare knife into the killer’s temple, causing them to crumple in a heap on the pavement.

The knights took a moment to catch their breath, checking to make sure the Butcher was knocked out. 

“Hey, Kai,” Felix said through gasps, “Your leg’s still bleeding.”

“Mhm. It’ll be fine. Call Captain, yeah? Tell her we—“

“On it.” Felix quickly prepared (with the help of the Combustion rune) and released the Search rune, small and dimly glowing red. The crimson light zipped upwards, straight to Azari Tower, where it would reach their Captain and alert them that the killer had been apprehended. 

“I told ‘em that Butcher’s been knocked out for a bit, and that we’re gonna need someone else to take them up to the Tower. I also told them everything was well, and you only sustained a small injury. All good?”

Kaiden smiled. “All good.” A pause, then, “Wait, they’re not going to stay down long, you should—“

“Oh yeah.” Felix bent down, and with a short muttered spell, pushed the Butcher deeper into unconsciousness. “That’ll keep them for… maybe a half hour?”

“That’s plenty of time.”

“You should probably get that patched up before we—“

“Before we get going, yeah. Got any—?”

“Mhm!” He tossed Kaiden a little bundle of bandages.

“…this Oath thing is weird.”

“Agreed, but it’s a little funny, don’t you think?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

Both Felix and Kaiden chuckled. Now that her leg was bandaged, she got up and tried walking. The bandage stayed steady. Good.

“Let’s get going?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

———

And so, the two knights made their way back up to the main festival roads. The Search rune had returned to them with a short congratulatory message and permission to take the rest of the night off, as a reward—much to Felix’s delight. 

Before they started with the festivities, the pair sat down on top of Darla’s little inn, waiting for Kaiden’s leg to heal a bit. It twinged a bit while she climbed, but Kaiden brushed it off. The views were better here, anyways.

“This soup is so gooddddd~” Felix mumbled, mouth full of the thick vegetable soup that the innkeeper had prepared for them.

Kaiden simply nodded, guzzling at her own bowl. “You finished yet?”

“Mhmf—almofst”

“…don’t talk with your mouth open, stupid.”

Felix swallowed the rest of his stew. “I’ll do what I want, thanks.” He gave Kaiden’s almost empty bowl a glance. “You gonna finish that?”

She didn’t answer, deciding to slurp the rest of the soup in one go. She then held the now finished bowl out to Felix.

He took it—with a fair amount of sass, and a muttered “Am I some servant to you?”—then dropped onto Darla’s terrace to give the bowls back and pay.

Felix flitted back to the knight’s resting place, and stayed hovering in place. “You feeling better?” he asked, practically humming with excitement.

Kaiden answered with a nod and a smile. She dropped from the rooftop now, followed by Felix. The pair made their way to the still-crowded street, and donned their masks once more.

“Happy Full Moon, Fel.”

“Happy Full Moon, Kai—GACK!”

Kaiden sprinted off, cackling at the sight of her parter-in-justice’s formerly monochrome outfit being splattered with a motley of color.

“Oh you’re gonna pay for that!” Also howling with laughter, Felix gave chase while simultaneously wiping the Mots off his clothes.

———

the end!

tagging (again): @xenascribbles @notyourlocalworm @thebookishkiwi @bunnymermaidwrites @bardic-tales

[cokoweee]

It’s midnight which means it’s HALLOWEEN!

It's very spooky bc I’m bad at writing

~

Missing people brought with it a certain kind of ache.

 An ache that spreads and lingers. An ache that screams something should be there. An ache that grows when he knows they won’t come back. 

Nothing physical had been taken from him, he knew that. His fingers were missing, sure, but they were easily replaced. He had lost far more important things. Things he would never be able to replace. His body burned as if all his limbs had been ripped from his body. As if his body had taken it upon itself to manifest their absence. 

What a curious and powerful thing love was. The idea that you can love someone so much that their absence takes pieces of you. 

He didn’t like thinking about that too much. Didn’t like mulling over that day to come up with a way he could have prevented this whole mess. The idea that if he had done something differently, he wouldn’t be alone right now. 

And yet, here he was. 

In all honesty, he’d expected screaming, wailing, the gnashing of teeth; the whole bit. He’d expected anything other than this- this nothingness.

The silence of his misery was jarring. 

Nothing but him and his thoughts. 

There was no reason for him to put on a spectacle if there was no one to see it. Nothing but the walls of his empty house and the coding of a mechanical friend. 

Better for those thoughts to rot in his chest than messy the air anyway. 

He set his bō down on the shelf softly. There was no use for it anymore. Why he’d even held onto it for the last few weeks was a mystery to him. 

His eyes burned as blinked away his sleeplessness. 

The music only worked so well.

He ran his fingers over the cool metal. It had been two months. Four weeks since his oldest brother took his final breath, and fifty nine days since he had lost his twin. 

But who was counting?

He inhaled deeply as he turned away from the shelf. His hand wandered to his wrist, he ran his hand over the worn fabric sitting there. Just as quickly as he had placed his hand, he yanked it away. He didn’t need to wear the fabric down anymore. It was the last he had of them. 

The sink was dripping loudly in the bathroom a few feet away. It was a constant rhythmic noise. If he just turned the bolt a smidge it would stop.  

There was no one to be useful for anymore. Anything he did was just a distraction from the issue at hand. Better to just let it stay the way it was. 

His feet stayed planted on the floor. 

Taking a few wobbly steps to the bathroom he closed the door. He needed to be out of the sight of anything his brothers had touched. The masks were the only exception. He couldn’t let the last of his brothers collect dust on the shelf. 

They had each gotten their own bathroom after Shredder. He’d liked it that way a few months ago. 

His head thunked against the wall as he sank to the floor, tile burning ice cold against his skin. It was nice, bringing him a little closer to reality. He was stuck in nothing more than a dim haze. Just enough to take away the sharp edge of reality, but not quite enough to dull his pain. 

He closed his eyes leaning against the wall as he took a deep breath. 

He needed to stop thinking so much. Running circles through his head was doing him no good. Maybe shutting his eyes for a moment would help him get back on track. Then he could work on making sure Shelldon couldn’t leave him too. 

~

He jolted, his eyes snapping open, an odd sound filling his ears.

The sink was still dripping.

Louder this time. 

He didn’t move to fix it, instead pressing himself further against the wall. Sighing, he turned his gaze to the peeling wallpaper in front of him. Tiny flowers were fading from the landscape, their vibrant colors were long gone, age wearing their liveliness away. 

It smelled weird. Like old people and musty books. 

The wallpaper was hideous, and practically falling off the wall. He needed to replace it. It was actually a wonder Leo hadn’t commented on it. How it had even managed to stay up so long was a mystery to him. 

Blinking blearily, he reached out to peel the wall covering. He peeled a strip off the wall, reveling in the sound it made as he tore it away. He reached forward again, only to be interrupted by an agitating, grating voice. 

“Hey!” Leo shouted, his voice echoing against the small bathroom walls. “Drax ‘ll probably throw you off a roof or something if you mess with his stuff.” 

He frowned, his gaze still focused on the wallpaper in front of him. “It’s ugly.” 

Warm hands pulled his arm back as he continued to rip the design from the wall. 

He waved the hands away half heartedly, he didn’t want to deal with his twin right now. All he wanted was to go back to bed. But alas, the wallpaper was a more pressing issue than his sleep schedule at the moment. 

He shuddered as his hand passed through a solid mixture of warm air before returning to normal temperature. Almost like someone had taken a bag of gelatin and formed it into a person. 

There, but not quite. 

The dripping from the sink grew louder as he turned around. 

“Leo?”His voice came out pleading, tone shaking with audible stress. He hated it. Hated sounding pathetic and small. 

Leo stood in front of him, blood pouring from his carapace and pooling against the floor.

 “No. No. No. No.” He waved his hands around, attempting to brush off his brother as he turned his gaze away. “ This isn’t right.” 

Leo gave a smile and waved. His carapace made a grounding noise as he moved, filling the small room with a horrid creaking noise. It almost drowned out the dripping. Almost. Blood dripped faster down his side as he smiled wider, moving to sit on the sink counter. 

Leo opened his mouth to say something. He watched in horror as  blood poured from his mouth and dripped lethargically onto the floor. It was almost rhythmic. Almost in time with his breathing. Leo didn’t get to get a sound out before Don let out a yelp. 

“You’re- this isn’t real.”He backed against the wall, the rough edges of ripped wallpaper rubbing against his bare shell. 

Leo’s voice broke through the insistent dripping as he gave another winning smile. “Uh, pretty sure I’m real.” 

The dripping grew louder and louder, in tandem with his rapid heart beat. He watched the constant drip from his brother coat the floor, echoing along the walls until it was the only thing he could hear.

He turned his face to the wall. “Go away.”

“I’m trying to help.” 

“Go away.” He repeated, a little louder.

The dripping filled his head as he focused on the wallpaper. 

He breathed in and out. 

Maybe if he tapped his markings, they’d stop glowing, just like his nightlight. He patted his arm twice. He groaned as the glow seemed to burn brighter almost immediately. 

He yanked his hand away from his arm and focused on his breathing. Only for it to be  interrupted as something  hit the back of his head.

He ignored it. 

Another shampoo bottle turned projectile hit the back of his head, this time much harder. 

“Stop.” 

“No can do hermano.” He could practically hear the grin on his twin’s face. “Get up. Then maybe I’ll stop.”

“M’ not moving.”

Something clattered behind him as Leo presumably jumped off the counter to look for more things to throw at him. 

“I. Am. Trying. To. Help. You.” Leo said slowly, articulating each word, his voice a little strained. “I mean seriously dude? Four in one body wash?  You clearly need my help.”

“It’s cost effective.” He grumbled. “You're not doing a great job with the whole helping thing. So you can go ahead and go now.” He covered his ears as the dripping burned into his mind.

Leo grabbed his arm again. “Why won’t you let me help?” 

He shoved the arm away, shuddering as his hand touched the semi-solid of his twin. “Because you’re not helping! Have you ever thought about that?”

“Don- I”

“No! I don’t want to hear it. Did you think at all? What’s it like for me to have you here again? But I can’t keep you. You leave. Again and again and again you leave. How am I supposed to get over this if you’re still here but still so far away?” He stopped, tearing more at the wallpaper until the tearing was louder than the dripping. 

Leo was blessedly silent. 

“I love you. Do you know how hard that is? To have to deal with all this- this not you?” He waved his arm wildly, gesturing to the torn wallpaper and dim blue light illuminating the small bathroom. 

“I didn’t think abo-”

“Of course you didn’t! Because this isn’t about you! It’s about me! The one you left behind. I wouldn’t have thought that after killing yourself for me that you’d still be so self centered! And despite it all, you’re acting like nothing happened Leo! Well news flash! Something happened!” He spun around, glaring at the glowing form of his twin. “You died Leo. You left me here.” 

There’s a silence in the room, broken only by the constant drip of the sink. Something in his head is ringing, and it’s growing every second.

“I’m sor-”

“You threw away your life to save mine, but now you aren’t even letting me live it.” He whispered, taking his hands off of his ears to run them over his arms. “Stop trying to play the hero. You failed at that when you died.”

Leo responded, equally quiet. “I can’t leave you like this.” 

“Why?” He rasped “ I’m doing just great.” He waved his hand around the room wildly. “Can’t you see? I’m doing great!” He repeated, laughing as the wall paper peeled away from the drywall. “Just great.”

Leo frowned, blood dripping faster down his face as he watched his twin. The blood trailed down his body and onto the floor, costing the tile in sticky red warmth. It puddled around his body, just like it had when Don had left him alone on the concrete two months ago. 

He laughed harder as the thick blood poured nearer to him. Running to the toilet he jumped to the tub so it couldn’t touch him. 

“How is this helping me?” He screeched. “What do you think this is doing for me?Just leave me alone.”

Leo frowned. “I’m not sorry for loving you.” He stood up slowly. “Why won’t you just love me too?” 

There was a tense moment of silence before he disappeared into the air. Blue sparks stained the air where he had stood moments before. His heart wrenched as the light only made it to his nose. 

He was taller than his twin. 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his shaky body. He’s both too light and too heavy. His soul feels like it’s floating above him, watching his flesh body move while he stays far away. 

He sat in the tub for a moment. A bath would be nice right now. If he wasn’t so tired. He stared into the mirror on the wall, and jumped. Shadows curled around him, wrapping against his arms and snaking along the tub. He froze, sparing a beat to look down, only to see that there was nothing there.

“Just you.” Something whispered from inside the walls, a giggle barely contained in its voice. 

“Just me.” He repeated. 

How cruel that felt right now. 

The shadow form nodded eagerly, slinking its arm around his shoulder. It whispered something in his ear too mumbled to be understood. Just general phonics and a prickle of amusement. 

“I tried everything to keep them with me. I'm only so smart.” He said desperately. “ I’m wondering if I was ever smart to begin with. They’re not here because of my failure.” 

The shadow snickered as he fumbled over his words. 

That’s right.

It's all your fault.

What a monster 

Such a bad brother 

He took a step off the toilet, gasping as his foot was drenched in warmth. How had he forgotten about the blood coating the floor?

Steeling his teeth, he jumped off his perch and landed on the ground. He needed to get out of here. 

His feet flew from beneath him as he slipped in the bloody mess of the floor. 

His hoodie quickly soaked through as he lay stunned for a moment. Scrambling to get up, his hands fumbled against the slick floor. His face splashed in the puddle, his mouth filling with a hot metallic flavor. 

He shoved the blood away from his body, forcing it to the corners of the room. His body shivered in discomfort  as the blood coated him in warmth. 

The masks. 

He ran to the sink, not caring anymore that he was coated in blood. He needed the masks clean. He couldn’t lose those too. 

Water rushed over his hands, but the blood didn’t run clean. It had only been a few minutes. How had they dried already? 

He frantically rubbed them under the stream of water waiting for blue or orange to peek through the mess. 

They never did. 

He sank to the ground, clutching them to his chest as if that would make them whole again. The door opened quietly revealing the old goat. He’d forgotten today was grocery day. 

Draxum stared for a moment before grabbing his arm and hoisting him up. 

“Go put some dry clothes on. I’ll forgive the fact that you’ve managed to flood the bathroom and tore down the wallpaper if you will go to sleep, boy.”

His frenzied eyes searched the room. Why wasn’t Draxum horrified? The bathroom was covered with the remains of his brother. 

“Ah.” Draxum said softly. “Let’s get out of here and get cleaned up and we can talk, yeah?”

He nodded, dazed, and let himself be led from the room.

~

The blood had stained his skin. No amount of scrubbing had faded the red on his hands. It coated everything he touched, leaving prints of memories he could have made with his twin. 

Now all he has is what could have been. 

Draxum was busy in the corner brewing tea. The kettle screamed through the silence. It hurt his ears, but he forced himself to focus on it. Better than listening to the insistent drip of the sink. 

Drax said he’d fixed it. But it was all he heard. Louder even than his own thoughts. 

“Sheldon?” 

A small automatic voice immediately quipped “Yes?”

“Run a perception check. Please.”

There was a quiet hum as Sheldon scanned the room. “Just you and Drax!” He said brightly. 

He hummed softly, nodding against the dining table. “Kay.” 

“Boy there is nothing you could have done to prevent that day from going any differently.”

“But there is!” He groaned. “I’ve run through my head so many times. If I had just moved a little faster, built my shield a little faster Mikey and I could have stayed up there to help. We wouldn’t have needed to open the portal because Leo would have never left.” 

“But the day is done. No use mulling over it now. You can’t change the past. But you can change the present and the future.”

“Don’t go all therapy on me. I could have saved them and I didn’t because I’m not good enough.” 

Draxum hummed thoughtfully. “Greif is the price we pay for love. You feel this way because your heart is full of love. I don’t see an issue with that at all.” He passed a mug of tea to him. “You’re trying to push away your grief because it’s weighing you down. But it’s a way of hanging onto the love you had for them. It’ll never go away. Find a way to make it manageable.”

“I don’t have a way to do that.” He mumbled, stirring the tea with a small spoon. 

“That's why I said find something boy.” He deadpanned. “Grief is love without a place to go. Find something, or someone, to give that love to.” 

He sat silently for a moment. There was no one he had anymore to give any love to. Maybe sometime he’d find someone. But right now?

It was just him. 

“I don’t think I can.” He mumbled quietly.

The old goat let him sit for a moment, probably waiting for him to come to the sudden revelation that he could! He could find a way to move on from this! What a stupid idea.

“When was the last time you went for a swim?” Draxum asked suddenly. 

“It’s been a while…” 

“ When you swim do you hold your breath?” He asked, face carefully blank. 

“I exhale as I swim.” He said slowly.

Draxum raised an eyebrow. “Why.”

“So I don’t suffocate.” He paused.  “Can’t take in more air if your lungs are already full. ”

“Exactly. And how long do you take to breathe?”

“Maybe half a second. Just enough time to get my head up for air and then I’m back under.”

“You are holding your breath And it is suffocating you. You need to find another way to deal with this.”

“I’m doing fine-”

“Let me finish boy. Find a way to exhale. It’s not going to be comfortable, but you can’t go on like this. You need to find a way to place that love somewhere else. Find someone to give you that breath of air, if only for a second.” 

He nodded slowly. He wasn’t going to do it of course, but if he nodded the goat would leave.

“Can I go to bed now?”

Draxum nodded “I’ll take you to your room.” 

~

He groaned and threw a pillow over his head. Rain pounded against the window, but a quiet drip from the kitchen was filling the room. Somehow, it managed to triumph over the storm raging outside.

 It was getting annoying. 

He got out of bed slowly and shuffled to the kitchen, wrench in hand. The kitchen was empty. Just him and the god forsaken sink. He twisted the pipe slightly, just enough to stop the drip of water, and headed to the fridge. 

Kendra had made muffins earlier, pumpkin chocolate chip. She wouldn’t notice if he took one right? 

“Watcha got there?” She said, voice still thick with sleep, annoyment creeping through nonetheless. 

“A smoothie.” He answered immediately.

“Put it back.” She knocked her head against his side. “Why’re you awake?”

He pointed wordlessly to the sink. 

She nodded. “I’m going back to bed. Your muffin is in the cupboard over there.”

He frowned. “Not with the rest?”

“I know you don’t like ‘em cold so I left yours out.”

His face stretched into a grin. 

Something funny bubbled in his chest. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He smiled a little wider. Kendra had done that for him. Without prompting, just her own observation of his habits.

He scooped her up into his arms, giving a tight squeeze. “Thank you.”

“Mhm.” She patted his head absently. “G’night.”

He watched her give a tired smile, a funny feeling in his chest. For years he’d spent each day convincing himself that he was unlovable. That he was a monster incapable of feeling. Because if he couldn’t feel, and he couldn’t love, there was nothing to lose. 

But he had lost himself. Because as it turns out, you can’t push that sort of stuff down. People came into his life, unpredictable and wild. No longer could he push away his feelings, not when they were right in front of him. Tangible and breathing. 

The safety she brought was irreplaceable. The peace in her presence. Her quiet attentiveness. The surrender it brought from him. 

He took a bite of the muffin. There was a sense of awe in the fact that she had seen all of him. The broken fragmented pieces of his soul, his inner cacophony and yet, she was still there.He wanted it all. The pointless bickering, dancing in the rain, the jokes, the fights. He wanted her love. He wanted all of her. 

He’d always heard the idea that love would take his breath away. But that didn’t feel quite right. She didn’t take anything from him. She reminded him how to breathe when he had forgotten how. 

What a curious thing love was. That it could cause him to break off pieces of himself to give to her, and feel shameful that  it wasn’t all of him. 

He took a deep breath, turning the muffin over in his hand as tears pricked in his eyes.

“They can not be that bad.” 

He shook his head. His mouth opened, but no words came out. 

She opened her arms in invitation and he welcomed them gladly. She sat down, forcing him to follow. His head was placed in her lap as she began to braid his hair. 

She didn’t say a word, just a few quiet yawns as she worked. Tears fell faster as she turned on a playlist to battle the silence of the night. She wiped them away without a word, as if it were a normal daily occurrence. 

He wanted to be here. He wanted to live for something other than a heavy obligation to continue his family’s legacy. 

“I don’t wanna leave.” He said, voice a bit raspy.

“M’ not goin anywhere.”

“I know.” 

He smiled.

Loving her felt as natural as breathing.

~

doin a lil jig to distract you from my writing skills 💃

-writing anon

still reeling from the vengeance saga

This is me reading this: CAUSE GODDAMN I LOVE YOUR WORDS U GOOFY LIL PEANUT SMUGGLER

SIGHHHH Looks like I AM gunna keep going with the comic

[wethotcrazy]

SYMPATHY IS A KNIFE (iv)

pairing: Yuki Tsunoda x Fem! Driver! Reader

word count: 1865

part 4 this has some very minor mentions of body image stuff if you dont like it you could just skip over it ://

part i part ii part iii

Yn’s arrival in Monza carried a sense of self that had been slowly rebuilding all season. She moved with renewed confidence through the paddock, her head held high, embodying the fierce passion and easy-going charm that had once captivated fans in her junior days. Here, under the electric atmosphere of Italy’s temple of speed, she felt herself settling in, embracing the spotlight rather than shrinking from it.

Press day buzzed around her, a mix of genuine questions and the probing kind that often skirted on invasive. She answered with a cool, unwavering smile, handling questions about her race performance and strategy with ease. But some journalists were still hung up on the idea of her supposed transformation, finding subtle ways to question her ambition and intensity.

A reporter cut through the murmur with a pointed question: “Yn, some fans feel you’ve changed since moving into Formula 1. They say your intensity now is… well, a bit harsh compared to your easy-going reputation before. What do you think about that?”

Yn took a measured breath, holding the reporter’s gaze. “I think everyone grows and adapts,” she replied, her tone steady. “I’ve had to become tougher—this is Formula 1. You don’t get to this level by staying exactly the same.” She smiled, tilting her head slightly, knowing her response might surprise them. “But I’m still me. Maybe they just don’t know the whole me yet.”

Inside, however, Yn felt the familiar weight of their criticisms. Headlines seemed to dissect her appearance as much as her performance. She’s always known what it felt like to be looked at but not seen, to feel reduced to surface-level perceptions. Later in the garage, she scrolled through social media, seeing how her every move was scrutinized, with articles speculating on her appearance and attitude. A headline caught her eye, dissecting how she looked and speculating on her dedication. It stung, yet Yn brushed it off as best as she could, knowing what mattered most were the hours she put in, the passion and drive that defined her journey.

During a break, she slipped outside for a moment, breathing in the cool air and finding a rare sense of calm. Standing by the paddock entrance, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Yuki, with a comforting grin, extended a cup of coffee toward her.

“All good?” he asked, his eyes bright with the same familiar warmth she’d come to count on.

She chuckled, taking the coffee. “Am I that transparent?”

He shook his head, nudging her gently. “No, you’re strong as hell. Just don’t forget that,” he replied.

Yn smiled down at the coffee, grateful for Yuki’s support. In Monza, she felt a freedom that hadn’t been there for a long time—permission to be herself without apology, knowing she had someone in her corner.

The weekend drew out a renewed side of her, and fans were quick to notice her lighthearted interactions with Yuki. TikTok and Instagram filled with reels and montages of the two sharing inside jokes, quiet encouragements, and lingering glances. Their connection sparked countless posts:

@GridGoddess: If Yn has a #1 fan, it’s Yuki for sure 🥹 #YukiYn

@RaceRomantics: The way they just… get each other? God when will it be my turn?!

@PitStopParadise: Can’t believe people judge her she’s literally my GOAT.

Amid the noise of judgment, Yn also felt a quiet source of strength growing, both from Yuki’s presence and her newfound resilience. She realized that her journey wasn’t for validation from fans or critics, but for herself.

That night, she and Yuki found a quiet corner at a small Monza restaurant, sharing stories over dinner as if it were just them against the world. When a few photos of them laughing surfaced online, fans noticed the quiet bond between them—an understanding that went beyond words. She deserves someone like Yuki, a fan tweeted, someone who’s her equal on and off the track.

With race day approaching, Yn’s focus intensified. Every lap around the circuit, every second shaved off her time, felt like her own triumph, undiluted by headlines or opinions. As she put on her helmet before practice the next day, she caught Yuki’s eye, and he gave her a confident nod.

Race day in Monza held a restless energy in the air, heightened by the sharp roar of engines and the flash of flags. Yn felt a pulse of determination beating through her, gripping the wheel with an intensity she hoped would carry her through the demanding laps ahead. As the lights went out, she carved her way through each corner, holding off fierce competition and securing a spot within the points. By the time she crossed the finish line, she could feel the relief of a race well-executed, even as she knew the spotlight would focus just as much on her demeanor as her results.

She made her way to the pit lane, pulling off her helmet and savoring the sounds of her team’s cheers, the satisfaction of another solid performance in the books. But as she looked around, her eyes fell on Yuki, who had also finished within the points but seemed to be reeling with adrenaline. His helmet was off, and his expression held a smirk of satisfaction that was more defiant than usual. Yn couldn’t help but laugh; she’d heard his radios during the race, the frustration and raw emotion that bled through his exchanges with his engineers. He’d been more aggressive on track than ever, pushing boundaries and holding his ground in a way she admired.

Yn walked over to him, smiling as he caught her eye. “Pushed it a bit today, huh?” she teased, raising an eyebrow.

Yuki shrugged, smirking in return. “Didn’t hear them complaining when it got us into the points,” he replied, unbothered. “Sometimes you have to ignore the noise and go for it.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “Guess so,” she said, both of them knowing how different the reaction would be if she’d been the one shutting down her engineers with the same bite or cutting through the grid with that kind of aggression.

But as they made their way back into the paddock, social media was quick to start dissecting the race. Fans and analysts alike noted the sharpness in Yuki’s demeanor over the radio, his unabashed intensity on the track. Comments trickled in about his fierceness:

@F1Hearted: “Yuki’s intensity out there—exactly what we need. He was just defending his position like a champ.”

@GridGoddess: “Seeing Yuki hold his ground? No one could say he wasn’t going all-in today.”

@RaceForGlory: “Yuki letting out some heat on the radio… we love a driver who knows what he wants.”

But alongside these supportive voices, Yn saw a few familiar phrases creeping into her feed—posts from those who’d noticed the contrast. No one was labeling Yuki’s behavior as “too much” or “emotional.” No one was implying he lacked the control to handle the pressure. The familiar double standard sat in the back of her mind like a shadow, a reminder of how different things could look when she was the one showing that level of intensity.

@F1RaceQueen: “Funny how when Yuki goes full throttle, it’s ‘passion,’ but when Yn does it, they can’t wait to call her ‘too emotional’ or ‘out of control.’”

@EqualSpeed: “Imagine if Yn spoke to her engineers like that? Guarantee they’d be all over it in the media by now.”

@PitStopPrincess: “Yuki’s aggression: ‘Driven.’ Yn’s aggression: ‘Emotional.’ When are we gonna let her race with the same freedom?”

Yn didn’t need these comments to tell her what she already knew. She’d felt the double standard for years—how her every move, every calculated risk, came under scrutiny, analyzed and picked apart with an intensity that often felt like it wasn’t even about her driving at all. Sympathy’s a knife when they only want to use it to cut you down, she thought. Yet somehow, her every success only sharpened the blade.

Later, she found Yuki relaxing in the hospitality tent, still carrying that sense of accomplishment despite the edgy drive. She joined him, pulling out a chair and watching as he glanced over, eyes glinting with amusement.

“So… intense race today?” she asked, unable to hide a grin.

“Had to be,” he replied, shrugging. “They’ll get over it. We’re here to drive, not win any popularity contests, right?”

She smiled, but her gaze softened. “If only it were that easy. Sometimes it feels like we’re driving two different races, you know? You can go out there, push the limits, and they see it for what it is. For me… they don’t just want to watch me drive…”

Yuki’s face fell for a moment, and he gave her a sympathetic nod. “Trust me, I see it too. It’s messed up… the things they say about you, about how you handle yourself.” He sighed, crossing his arms. 

She took a breath, “I’m learning to tune it out. Most of the time, anyway.” She glanced up at him, managing a small smile. “But thanks for seeing it.”

Yn would be lying if she said that she wasn’t even just a little bit jealous of the other drivers on the grid. Sure, they too got their fair share of criticisms, but they were also afforded a lot more freedom than she was. They could push boundaries, show frustration, and even make mistakes without it being dissected into a commentary on their character or capability. They weren’t labeled as “emotional” or “out of control” for a bit of aggression or a curt radio message. Instead, their passion was seen as intensity, their mistakes as just a part of the game.

She knew it was because they were men, that their presence on the grid was never questioned, never viewed as something “out of place.” No one saw their outbursts as a threat or their ambition as too much to handle. They were allowed to be fierce, even volatile, because it was accepted as part of what made them great competitors. Meanwhile, she had to fight not only for her results but for the right to be seen as a competitor at all—without every emotion or misstep being judged under a microscope.

Sometimes she wished she had that same freedom to just drive, to let herself be ruthless without second-guessing every reaction, wondering how it would be spun or if it would become a talking point. She wanted the same unspoken allowance to be aggressive, to be a risk-taker, without it being a commentary on her “femininity” or a challenge to her professionalism. But instead, she had to keep a tight hold on every word, every expression, every surge of frustration, because the world was waiting, eager to box her in or define her by anything other than her skill.

The jealousy wasn’t rooted in resentment toward her fellow drivers but in a longing to be given the same space to race freely, to know that her drive, her ambition, her mistakes, and her success could simply be hers. And as she watched the other drivers on the grid, it became clear: she wanted nothing more than to be seen as one of them, an equal, no qualifiers attached.

[whumpy-wyrms]

The Last Lab Rat #21: Halloween

previous > masterlist > next

content: lab whump, captivity, ghosts, parent and animal death mention, comfort, ghost carewhumpee, winged test subject whumpee, scientist carewhumper

HAPPY (LATE) HALLOWEEN to Dew and Anton (and Max)!! watch them as they celebrate the spookiest holiday as a way to cope with their own horrors that are slowly consuming them (also ignore the fact i’m posting this one day after halloween… every day is halloween if you’re a creature of the night like me for realsies)

— 

For a moment Dew thought that it was all one bad dream, but like everything else that had happened to him, he knew it’d never be that easy. This wasn’t a dream, he wasn’t hallucinating, and this wasn’t another experiment— if so, Anton would have burst into the room giddy with excitement about the idea of ghosts existing a long time ago— so it had to be real; that was the only explanation. Dew could see ghosts. Dew could communicate with the dead.

He supposed it was a good idea to keep this a secret from Anton. From what all of this implied, Anton didn’t deserve to know that Max was still here, lest he torment them further than what he did back when they were his lab rat. They deserved a peaceful afterlife, and Dew would… try as best he could to give them that. He didn’t need Anton ruining yet another person’s life— or lack thereof.

Max seemed happy with that decision as well. Whenever Dew brought Anton up, they shuffled awkwardly and mumbled short and vague responses. It was obvious they preferred not to talk about him. The idea of confronting him after all this time seemed like it filled them with absolute dread. Dew didn’t need to know all the specific details to understand why.

Eventually, the two of them realized they had stayed up all night talking, and Dew had gotten absolutely zero sleep. He was sitting on his bed talking to Max when the lights flicked on, and Anton came strolling through the lab. Dew’s heart jumped in his chest, and he frantically pulled the blankets over them both.

He could see Max. He could talk to a ghost, a ghost! How the hell was he supposed to keep this a secret from Anton? His drowsy head swarmed with adrenaline and worry, he could barely think straight after everything that was going on, it’d surely cause suspicion.

…Shit.

Dew hopped out of bed and picked up the knife off the floor.

“Max,” Dew whispered frantically. “W- what do I do with the knife— where do I put it?—”

“Put it back in your pillow case,” Max said. “Hurry. Anton’s coming.”

Dew stuffed the knife in there and ran to the bathroom, usering Max alone with him. He slammed the door shut and watched Max float seamlessly through the walls and into the bathroom.

“Oh my god… oh my god!” Dew exclaimed, running his hands through his disheveled hair. “Anton’s coming. Anton’s gonna- gonna find out about you and—”

“No, He won’t,” Max reassured him. “He hasn’t seen me for the past five years I’ve been here… no matter how much I’ve tried. He won’t suddenly be able to see me now… It’s okay, I promise.”

“Okay… okay.”

“Please calm down, Dew. You’ll only arouse suspicion…”

“You’re right- you’re right. Oh my god. What do I do? Do I tell Anton I can see you? What if he- what if he messes with my eyes more or kills me again or— or hurts you—”

“You don’t gotta tell him,” Max quickly reassured. “It’s- it’s probably best if you don’t, actually. It’s okay. Please… take a deep breath. Everything’ll be alright.”

“O-okay… I won’t tell him. Oh god. I can see dead people. Are you sure you’re real?”

“I think so.”

“Okay. Okay I should— I need to use the toilet. Do you mind…”

Max quietly nodded and floated out of the room, and Dew was left alone. A few moments later, he heard Anton enter his room from the other side of the door. Silence. He was just… waiting. Like usual. Of course. Everything was normal for him out there. For all the scientist knew, today was just another day.

When Dew was done, he walked back into his room, all three of his eyes moving to see Anton sitting on the side of his bed. They locked eyes. Dew felt like a deer in the headlights.

“Good morning, Dew,” the scientist said. “How’re you feeling?”

“Um,” Dew mumbled, quickly glancing up to the dark corner of the ceiling. Max was staring back, eye wide and still. Dew timidly shifted his gaze back to the scientist. “Good.”

“That’s good.” Anton breathed. He didn’t seem to notice Dew’s glance. He was staring at him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Dew fidgeted with his shirt and tried to ignore the elephant in his room. With everything that happened, he’d almost forgotten about the scientist and his experiments. Being in his presence after last night made him filled with absolute dread. Memories flashed through his mind of being forced into that tank— the darkness, being unable to see, to move, to feel. He had died. Anton had killed him.

He was suddenly hyper aware of everything that was going on, the position he was in, where he was, the fact he didn’t know what was going to happen next. Tears welled up in his eyes far too suddenly, and he hadn’t realized that he’d pressed his back so far against the wall opposite the scientist that his wings were beginning to ache.

“I’m sorry, Dew,” Anton said quickly, breaking the silence and letting out a shaky breath. “About yesterday. I never- I never intended for that experiment to go the way it did. If you don’t mind, I wanna do a couple of tests quickly, just to see how you’re holding up. Then we can eat breakfast out in the kitchen together, okay?”

Dew wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve and sniffled. His head jerked into a nod. “Oh, o-okay.” His tense shoulders started to relax, and he swallowed his nerves and followed Anton out of the door. He hadn’t been told to put his hospital gown on; that was a good thing. It meant no experiments. He closed his eyes as he walked and tried to focus on calming his breathing. Anton wouldn’t hurt him right now. No experiments. Everything would be okay.

As he walked, he realized the presence of the ghost grew farther away. Dew’s eyes flickered to the window and saw Max watching him silently from his room. They were staying put… Maybe that was for the best. It was already hard for Dew to focus with both the ghost and the scientist in the same room as him.

“You’ve been so good, Dew,” Anton said as they walked. Dew turned his head to look up at him. “So good. I don’t say that enough.”

“Oh, th-thanks…”

Now in the lab again, Dew was glad to note that the horrible giant tank and any evidence left from that experiment was gone. The fact that he may never go inside there again provided a small comfort as he hopped up on the metal table. The scientist prepped a small needle, and Dew had done this so much that he knew what to expect by now. He moved his arm from his sleeve and rested his elbow on the table, allowing Anton room to slide the needle in and start drawing blood.

Dew would usually look away, terrified with tears in his eyes as he clenched them shut, but this time he looked down in a morbid curiosity. But he felt nothing as his eyes bored into it, watching his dark red blood be taken from his body and filled in a couple of small vials.

He blinked, and it was over with. Anton wrapped his arm in a bit of cotton gauze and gave him a few light pats to his head. Dew put his arm back in his sleeve and stayed as still as he could as Anton continued to check his vitals. Cold stethoscope to his skin, blood pressure cuff squeezing his arm, bright lights in his eyes. His mind swarmed with so many questions and worries about the day prior that he could barely focus on what the scientist was even doing to him.

After he was done, Anton put a hand on Dew’s shoulder. Dew flinched and looked up at him. “That’s it, I’m done. I’m proud of you. As a reward for your good behavior, you deserve another break for a little while, don’t you think?”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Anton ruffled his hair. “We both do… And I need time to plan for what’s next.”

Dew let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He closed his eyes and slinked off of the table and onto the floor.

Anton lightly scrunched his brows. “You look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“...No. I… I couldn’t sleep,” Dew mumbled. There was no use lying about it. It was obvious.

“Oh.” Anton patted his hair softly. He frowned, looking almost guilty. Dew hugged his knees to his chest. “I’m sorry about that… Good thing we get to rest today. Recover from… what happened.”

“…Anyways, everything’s looking good. You’re all healthy.” He gave Dew a gentle smile. “We have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s good,” Dew mumbled.

“…But Dew,” Anton said, smiling wide. It seemed like his usual, giddy self was already back. That had to be a new record. “There’s another reason we get a break today. Do you know what day it is?”

“No.”

“It’s…” Anton took two pens and drum rolled them on the table. “…Halloween!” He quickly put some giant fake mouse ears on his head. “I would have told you sooner, but uh, I kinda lost track of time. You get it.”

“It’s… Halloween already?” It felt like only yesterday it was his birthday at the beginning of October. It felt like only yesterday he escaped and murdered and got recaptured and gave up. It was only yesterday he died. Time continued to sneak by. It always did, and it always would.

“Awful timing, I know.” Anton scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “But… Let’s try not to let anything else ruin the spooky spirit for us today, alright? It’s a new day, everyone’s okay, let’s just… focus on having fun.”

So it really did seem like Anton wanted to move on from last night completely and sweep all the horrors that Dew faced under the rug. Dew didn’t know if he could just move on from what happened so easily. The void had swallowed him up, it was so dark, so…

“Dew?” Anton asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“S-sorry.” Maybe it was a good thing he had a distraction, actually. He’d focus on the spooky horrors today instead of his own. Surely pushing all his worries to the back of his mind wouldn’t have any repercussions later.

“Like I said, I didn’t really get to plan much for today… time got the best of me. But I have a few fun options.” Anton changed the lighting in the lab to a dim orange hue, really setting the mood for Halloween. Dew didn’t even know Anton could change the colors of the lights in this place.

“If you want, we could decorate or carve some pumpkins for fun.” Anton laughed softly. “I don’t think it’ll surprise you to know we don’t get any trick-or-treaters here. And if we did, well, the more test subjects, the merrier! Haha.”

Dew didn’t laugh.

“But that’s okay. It means we get the candy all to ourselves! Here, you deserve the treat.” Anton handed him an orange jack-o-lantern bucket filled to the brim with candy.

“…Th-thanks.”

“Don’t eat it all at once. Oh! Right, you’re probably hungry. Come on, let's go get some breakfast.” Anton held his hand out towards Dew. He sighed and grabbed it, allowing Anton to pull him to his feet. He followed him to the kitchen. “Hmm, what do you want for breakfast, Dew? I also haven't eaten yet this morning. I just, uh, woke up and came straight here.” Anton looked down at his lime green socks and chuckled lightly. “I didn’t even remember to put my shoes on.”

“Hmm.” Dew didn’t really know. It had been months since someone asked what he wanted for breakfast. “I mean… I really like pancakes. Especially if-if they have chocolate chips in them.”

Anton hummed. “Oh, that sounds good! Yeah, I’ll make ‘em, you just sit tight.” Anton pulled a chair out for Dew and he sat down at the table.

It was so weird seeing the scientist in such a cheery mood after last night, after that experiment went wrong, after he allegedly killed him. Maybe it was just his way of coping, his way of trying to cheer Dew up. He knew how… important he was to the man. But still, if Anton didn’t want him to get hurt, he shouldn’t have fucking experimented on him.

Dew closed his eyes while he waited, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his wings around himself on the chair. He was so exhausted. Eventually, Anton finished baking the pancakes and set a plate down in front of him. There were two medium pancakes and a bigger curved one, arranged in the shape of a smiley face.

They ate their breakfast in silence. Well… at first. “This is so good, Dew!” Anton exclaimed. “Pancakes was a good idea!”

The pancakes themself weren’t… the best, but they were better than nothing. Dew and his friends used to make much better pancakes together back at home. He wondered if they still did that. With the clone.

After they were done eating breakfast, Anton took their plates and set them in the sink. “Well, we’re already in the kitchen, do you wanna carve some pumpkins?” he asked.

“…Sure.”

“Alright.” Anton bent down and hefted two pumpkins up on the table. One was rather small, and the other was a bit bigger. “Choose your pick. I don’t mind.” It was obvious Anton was hoping he’d get to carve the bigger one, so Dew took the small one. “Good choice!”

Anton handed Dew a pencil and some rubber gloves, then he handed him a knife.

…A knife.

Dew stared at it.

Anton only just seemed to notice what he handed him so casually a second ago. “Oh, just be careful with that, Dew.” Anton frowned. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“…I’ll be careful,” Dew said. It was hard to believe Anton was just trusting him with a knife like this, unrestrained, and so close to him too, especially after…

He shook those thoughts away. He was glad he was being trusted with this after everything that had happened. He could use all the trust he could get here, and he wouldn’t break it. …At least, not now.

Oh, right. 

He didn’t know what to do. All these thoughts about trust and he just remembered that he’d been lying to the scientist for weeks about his eyes. He should tell him, he should. He couldn’t break his trust all over again and risk getting hurt. It wasn’t worth it.

After snapping his own gloves on, Anton started digging in. “You can turn your music on too, if you’d like. I don’t listen to music much. but if you like it so much, it might be nice…”

Dew pressed play on his MP3 player that has been sitting in his pocket, letting it play out loud. Whatever Dew decided to do about all the secrets he’d been keeping, it could surely wait a little longer. It was Halloween. He decided to focus on the pumpkin carving and the music playing, letting it drown out his thoughts.

Dew put his gloves on and started carving. It was easy at first, all he had to do was cut the stem out. But… he didn’t exactly know what he wanted to carve. He used to carve pumpkins all the time during spooky season with his friends, but now… he sighed. He didn’t feel like designing something new and intricate. A generic scary jack o'lantern face would have to.

“So, Dew, do you like Halloween?” Anton asked.

“Um… yeah,” Dew mumbled. “Yeah. It’s fun.”

Anton smiled. “What do you like about it?”

Dew shrugged. “I used to go trick-or-treating a lot with my friends. We’d always dress up in costumes. One time Sawyer and I went as two of our favorite video game characters. It was… really fun.” Dew softly stabbed the side of the pumpkin and took his hand away, putting it in his lap and letting the knife sit sticking out of the pumpkin. “I miss it. Obviously.” He wasn’t going to ask if Anton could take him trick-or-treating. It’d be an obvious no. He didn’t want to get his hopes up just to be let down.

“What about you?” Dew asked, looking up. “Do you like Halloween?”

“Oh yeah, I love Halloween.” Anton smiled fondly. “It’s one of the only holidays Pierce let me celebrate. I used to dress up sometimes. I never went, uh, trick-or-treating though.” Anton frowned. “It sounds fun. I wish… I wish I did. Pierce and I never really left the forest much…”

Dew blinked.

“And uh, if I would’ve remembered it was Halloween sooner, I definitely would’ve prepared costumes. But hey, there’s always next year!”

…Yeah. Next year.

And the year after that.

And the years after that.

Hey, maybe by then, Anton would trust Dew enough to take him trick-or-treating again. Then they’d both be happy. Maybe he’d even see his friends walking on the street by them with his clone. He wondered what he’d be dressed up as. He plucked the knife out of the pumpkin and continued carving into it.

Orange, wet, slimy pumpkin guts covered his gloved hands as he gutted his pumpkin. His knife shone bright in the orange light, illuminating the stabs into its face as he carved it out. He felt like he was gonna be sick.

“Hey, Dew?” Anton said out of nowhere. Dew looked up from his pumpkin. “I just wanted to say… I’m… I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured softly. “I love spending time with you.”

Around an hour later, the two of them finished up their pumpkins. Anton put little candles inside and lit them, then dimmed the lights all the way. The two jack o'lanterns lit up, warm orange light filling the darkness. Anton had carved a little… rat? Mouse? Whatever it was, it was kinda cute. Dew just carved a scary face. It’s jagged, zig zag mouth curving up into a smile, contrasting Dew’s obvious tired, sad, and perpetually fearful frown.

Despite that, Anton still seemed proud of him. He put a hand on his shoulder and grinned. “Woah! These look amazing!” Anton said. “Good job, Dew. You did great.”

Dew smiled lightly at the praise. “Th-thanks. Now what?” he asked.

“I’ll clean this mess up and then… we could… watch a movie? We can watch something scary on the big computer monitor screens I have in here, if you want.”

“Okay. I’m gonna go get my sketchbook.”

Dew walked to his room, noticing Max was still floating by the window. He opened the door and walked in, looking out to make sure Anton wasn’t watching him. He seemed busy enough getting rid of the pumpkin guts.

“Hi,” Dew whispered.

“Hey,” Max said. “…What were you two doing over there?”

“What, carving pumpkins? You… you don’t know what that is?”

“Maybe I did, but I don’t remember anymore.”

“Oh… Well, it’s for Halloween. Something you do during Halloween time, you know, because it’s spooky.”

“…Halloween?”

“…Oh boy.”

As Dew talked about Halloween, recognition slowly started to spread across Max’s face. They felt it too. That familiarity. That… intense feeling they couldn’t seem to describe. Like… like when they first heard music from Dew’s machine. Halloween must have been important to them in the past… far into the past. Maybe even before the lab.

“Huh,” Dew said. “Do you know… If there’s any ways to like, jog your memories? Make them come back?”

Max shrugged. “I’m not sure. Sometimes if I focus really hard, I can remember a little. But… before— before here— it’s… nothing. Maybe a small feeling in the back of my mind, but that’s it.”

“…Oh.”

“Don’t feel bad, Dew.” Max assured. “I’m used to it by now. It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t, and Dew knew that. None of this was okay. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Can you come with me? I’m scared to be alone. And I don’t want you to feel left out.”

Max’s eye lit up. “Okay. …Anton still doesn’t know I’m here, right?”

“Right.”

“Okay… good.”

Dew grabbed his sketchbook— and his ghost nightlight, it was in theme after all— and went back into the lab with Max following behind him. Anton had cleaned up the mess and was snacking on some candy when Dew approached him. He stood there silently, not really used to being the one to initiate their interactions. He was so used to being told what to do that he froze up the second Anton let him loose.

“Oh, hey,” the scientist said. “The remains of the insides of the pumpkins have been disposed of. Spooky movie time! I can make some popcorn if you want.”

Dew nodded.

“Alright! Let’s go make popcorn.” Anton started walking towards the exit of the lab, then hesitated. He turned to Dew. “…You can come with, if you want.”

Dew was surprised, but followed him anyway. Anton was taking him upstairs. He hadn’t gone up there since… He shuddered. He couldn’t mess this up. If he even just made the wrong move, or looked too longingly at the windows or something, he could ruin everything again. He gestured for Max to come with him. They’d help stop him from making stupid decisions.

But when he walked out the exit and they floated next to him and raised their hand to touch his, it stopped in mid air. Rigid. Unmoving. They tried moving their body forward, but it was like an invisible force was keeping them in the confines of the lab. Dew could barely process what that meant before Anton called for him.

“Dew? Come on.”

He forced himself to look away from Max and silently began walking up the stairs after Anton. His heart pounded in his chest when he realized what that meant. Max couldn’t leave the lab. He… guessed it made sense. After all, if he were a ghost in this place, the first thing he’d do if he got the chance was to leave and never look back. But that wasn’t an option for Max, was it?

Once they got to the top of the stairs, Anton opened the door and the two of them walked into the cabin. A chill went down Dew’s spine as he caught sight of the windows. Outside Dew saw a flurry of snow falling from the sky. White snowflakes danced in the air of the forest, the trees had lost most of their leaves at this point. It was already almost winter.

Anton glanced at Dew and then out the window. “Oh yeah, it started snowing recently. Come on, let’s pop some popcorn.”

Anton pulled Dew along to the kitchen and began rummaging around in the pantry. Sounds of popcorn popping in the microwave filled his ears, and he could already smell it.

“Okay Dewey,” Anton said, pouring the popcorn in a big bowl and pouring butter over the top. “It’s all done. Let’s go.”

They walked back to the lab and got the movie ready. Anton moved the couch from the kitchen to the middle of the room in front of his giant computer screens, and they sat down, cozied in their warm blankets. The movie Anton chose was Frankenstein.

They stayed silent for most of the movie. Max had come to sit next to Dew to watch it too, but quickly went flying back to hide in his room after it became too distressing for them. Dew was honestly dozing off for some of it, having got little to no sleep last night, but it was still entertaining. Better than being experimented on for real, at least. Anton just seemed happy to be spending time with him. After the movie, they ate lunch.

“What to do…” Anton said, pacing around in circles. “Oh, let’s tell some ghost stories!”

“O-oh, okay—” Dew’s words were cut off when a blanket was thrown in his face and he was pulled by his ankle off of the couch. “Hey!” He yelled, genuinely frightened. He pushed the blanket off of him and shot Anton a look. “What the f—”

“Relax, Dew.” Anton laughed. “I’m just making a blanket fort. We need one if we’re gonna tell spooky stories. This is gonna be fun.”

“Okay, fine.” Dew sighed. Anton started draping the blankets over the couch and connecting them to the chairs and shelves around them. Eventually, there was a small but decently cozy blanket fort that Dew and Anton were huddled under. Dew looked to his right to see Max phasing through the blankets and sitting down next to him.

“You start,” Anton said, smiling eagerly.

“Oh, um…” Dew glanced at Max. He really didn’t have any actual ghost stories to tell, besides the one from last night, but that one was obviously off the table. He didn’t really feel like making up something on the spot either. He sighed. Best to just get this over with. He was so tired.

“Well… me and my friends always liked to play with ouija boards,” Dew said. “We’d go out into the woods at night and sit in the grass with the board in the middle of us. We did it a couple of times and mostly goofed around, but it was kinda scary. And then…” Dew frowned. “Then my parents died, and… and we tried to use the board to talk to them. I dunno if it ever actually worked, or if my friends were just tryna make me feel better…”

Dew looked back up at Anton. “That’s my ghost story.”

Anton blinked. There was an awkward silence before he cleared his throat and chuckled awkwardly. “That wasn’t a very scary story, Dew. …But I’m… sorry for your loss. That must’ve been hard.”

“Yeah,” Dew mumbled. “Your turn.”

“Okay.” Anton grabbed Dew’s ghost light and held it under his chin all spookily. He began telling a cliche— but somewhat scary coming from Anton— ghost story. Being in the dark and hearing a story like that honestly sent chills down Dew’s spine, but he didn’t know if it was because he was scared or if it was the ghost that was sitting next to him. …Besides, he was always scared.

After the story, Dew decided to ask something he’d only really get the chance to ask today. “Hey, so… do you…” Dew glanced at Max again, who was curled up into a ball next to him. “Do you actually believe in ghosts?”

Anton paused for a moment, seemingly thinking deeply about it as if the answer wasn’t glaringly obvious— him being a scientist and all. He spoke slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “Hm. I’m not sure. If they do, that seems like an awfully painful existence to have. I wouldn’t want anyone to exist like that.” Anton cleared his throat. “But scientifically speaking: no, they don’t exist. So there’s no reason to think about them. It’ll just… bring you down. People die, y’know, what happens after is… irrelevant.”

Dew looked to his right again to see that Max was gone. Probably huddled up in his room.

Anton tilted his head, looking at him with a sad expression. “Hey Dew, are you okay? You’ve been on edge all day.”

“Oh, um…” Dew began nervously fidgeting with his Halloween candy. “I’m just- I’m scared of what’s gonna happen next.”

“Next?”

“L-like, the experiments. What are you gonna do to me next?” It was the question that had been ringing in his head all day, and he finally had the courage to ask it.

“Oh.” Anton frowned, suddenly looking much more serious, his expression almost resembling the one of horror from last night. He swallowed, guilt finding its way across his features. “Right. Of course you’d be wondering this. I should have explained more earlier.”

He sighed. “Well, we’re moving on from the eye experiments. That last experiment was a close call— too close for comfort, and we were getting nowhere anyway. I gave you a third eye and that was a success, but the rest… I wasn’t prepared. I went in too strong without thinking. We will come back to this eventually— maybe— probably not. There’s still so much I want to test, but for now we need to move on while I plan better ways— safer ways— to get done what I want.”

Dew wondered what really was it that Anton wanted to achieve. All of his questions led him nowhere, almost as if the scientist didn’t want to admit what he was searching for. But it was obvious in the way Anton was slouched down and wasn’t making the constant eye contact and talking about experiments without that excited glint in his eyes that he saw this as a failure. A failed experiment that gave Dew more powers than he could imagine. If only Anton knew.

Still, Dew was relieved that Anton seemingly wanted to move on from that particular experiment. It failed, and that was that, no second attempts, no re-do’s. Thank goodness for that. That was all Dew really cared about at this point. Surviving.

He didn’t have much to say, and it was obvious the scientist didn’t want to talk about this either, so he said nothing besides nodding in understanding.

Anton clicked his pen repeatedly, obviously wanting to change the subject. “Do you wanna watch another scary movie?”

“Sure.”

“Great.”

The blanket fort was swiftly torn down, the popcorn bucket was refilled and the two of them were once again sitting on the couch watching a spooky movie. Re-animator, this time. Anton seemed enraptured, Dew found it kind of interesting, and Max was nowhere to be seen.

Dew knew it couldn’t have been very late, but he was getting so tired. The complete lack of sleep last night was finally catching up with him, drowning out his thoughts and making him drift slowly into unconsciousness.

As Dew relaxed deeper into the couch, he felt Anton’s hand trail behind him before settling comfortably on his head, softly petting his fluffy hair. Dew melted into it, hugged his blanket closer, and started dozing off to the side.

Anton closed his eyes, clinging to him, petting his hair, cherishing this moment. It was just him and Dew. Safe and sound. He’d never let another bad thing happen to him again.

. . .

“Hey, Dewey?” Anton asked softly, stirring Dew awake.

“Huh?” Dew tiredly lifted his hands up to rub his eyes, all three of them landing on Anton once he came into focus in the dark. He was laying on the couch, head in Anton’s lap, the scientist’s hand softly petting his hair. He must have fallen asleep.

“The movie’s over. Let’s go back to your room.”

“M’kay.”

Dew allowed Anton to carry him to his room as he drifted between consciousnesses. Anton laid him down in bed and turned on his night light. “Goodnight, Dewey. Sleep tight.”

“G’night…” Dew murmured.

Anton lingered in the doorway for a few moments before shutting it and leaving the lab. Dew was comfortable melting into his sheets and drifting off to sweet, peaceful sleep until he heard someone trying to get his attention.

“Hey, Dew,” Max whispered. “Wake up.”

“Hmm?” Dew mumbled, sitting up with hair in his face and looking around the dark room, eyes adjusting just enough to see Max’s silhouette in front of him.

“Basil’s here. They wanted to say hi.”

“Oh,” Dew breathed. His eyes went wide. “Basil.” He’d almost forgotten about Anton’s old pet— the mouse. He never did get a chance to meet them.

“I don’t see them often. They’re not like me, they’re not trapped here. They spend their time in Anton’s room, they don’t like being in the lab, but… they’re my best friend too, and they wanted to meet you.”

Max held their hands open to reveal a small white mouse with dark spots curled up in their palms. Dew rubbed his eyes and smiled. They were so small, so cute, and yet they just looked like a trick of the light.

“Hi!” Basil squeaked.

She floated to Dew’s hands and curled up in a ball. Dew still couldn’t actually feel them, but it was a comforting sight nonetheless. Tears welled up in his eyes and he hugged her close, remembering the events of that day— that horrible day. Anton was the most distraught he’d ever seen him. His best friend had died, and now they were curled up in Dew’s hands, happy and peaceful as can be. Dew could tell this ghost was nothing like Max. This ghost was safe, their afterlife held no suffering, only peace. It seemed like the only reason they decided to stay in this mortal plane was so they could be with Max and Anton… and Dew, now.

He collapsed into his bed and cried, hugging himself tightly. Wet sobs racked his body as he clung to the sheets, grasping out for any comfort from the ghosts. He grieved for both of them. He realized he would have ended up like them if he’d gone through with it. He didn’t wanna think about what Anton would have done. He was so glad to be alive.

“We’re here, it’s okay,” Max whispered. They laid down on his bed next to him, holding Basil close, and started humming his favorite song. Dew wished he could feel their warmth, but the closer they got to him, the colder he felt. He wished he could just give them a hug. He wished someone would just give him a hug.

But as he lay there with both Max and Basil, the two of them trying their best to comfort him in the only ways they could, he held on tighter, and realized that them being together was all that mattered. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with his new friends, glad he wasn’t alone anymore.

— 

i’ve never actually seen frankenstein or reanimator btw but i thought those movies seemed fitting (and i don’t think anton would really be a fan of slasher type horror movies anyways). anyway i hoped yall liked it :3 (i'm honestly not too proud of it but whateverrrr) next chapter is one i’m SUPER DUPER EXCITED ABOUT!!! expect it VERY SOON because i’ve already written most of it!!!! YIPPEE

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[localcanadiancreature62]

What Stan and the twins were doing while Ford was watching Bill raze the world

Heyyyy more of THIS au. This explains what the others were up to as Ford was enjoying his triangle god's specialest little boy treatment. (Y'alls im so ill about this au you don't even KNOW).

What Stan and the twins were doing while Ford was watching Bill raze the world - I just realized that i never fully elaborated what happened to these guys besides the fact that they escaped Gravity Falls with everyone before uh dying in the fiery destruction so lemme fix that. Stan and the twins went back home to Piedmont,California wayyy earlier than they should due to summer ending early with Weirdmaggedon and everything,as Stan ends up having to house four children two teens one insane adult and a childish adult in his car. Dipper agreed to leave Ford and everyone else that didn't agree to come with them,but Mabel was more difficult to convince as she greatly cared about Ford and about Candy and Grenda as well as the other inhabitants of the town as she can't accept that they're going to suffer at the pointy jerk's hands now that the weirdness barrier has collapsed and Bill will spread his apocalypse everywhere.

"So Dipper,have you gotten everything?. Everyone?." Stan asks the boy as he thought about just how insane Ford got to let everything come to this point. "Yup. I got all of our stuff from the debilitated Shack,i rounded up the others to the car after i managed to stop Pacifica and Mcgucket from fighting over who gets the front seat,i think we're all good." "But what about your sister?. Where is she?." Stan questions once more as Dipper looked away nervously. "Uhh. She's still at the Shack. She's sulking over having to leave Great Uncle Ford and her friends." Dipper replied as the con man rubbed the side of his head in slight annoyance over having to convince his more optimistic niece to not stay in the hellhole the town has become. "Ahh,Moses. Whatever. Let's come and get her. I don't want either of you to get caught in that dumb triangle's global apocalypse mess." Stan remarks as the boy nodded as the two walked over to the Shack in order to convince Mabel to come with them. After a few minutes of walking,they finally arrive at the debilitated Shack while coming from the town square. Dipper spots Mabel from the living room as she knelt on the ground while crying as she held onto her picture of Candy and Grenda as well as the "Stan #2" sweater she made for Ford.

Stan stays outside as he ushers the boy to go in,since with him knowing the girl more she would be more likely to listen to him than a grumpy adult. "Hey,Mabel. What are you doing?. We're supposed to be leaving soon. It's not safe here." Dipper asks as he went inside of the living room through a hole in the wall as the girl replied while not turning away from the photo. "I'm not leaving without Grunkle Ford,or Candy and Grenda. Or everyone else in this town. We can't leave everyone here with that dorito jerk. We can't." Mabel says as Dipper puts a hand on her shoulder in order to comfort her,only for her to move his palm away with her free hand. "Come on,Mabel. You can't be like that. Grunkle Ford already-." "Who cares if Grunkle Ford chose to leave us?!. He still doesn't deserve to suffer from Bill's apocalypse!. Candy and Grenda don't either!. U-Use that dumb portal to teleport everyone with us back home. I don't want anyone to suffer. Please." Mabel exclaims as she kept crying,with Dipper not knowing what to do with how stubborn his twin is being. "It doesn't work like that. You know it doesn't. It's either we leave with only a few people and survive,or we stay and we all suffer from Bill's global Weirdmaggedon or whatever." Dipper remarks as Mabel glares at him and refuses to move.

"I don't care. We either leave with Grunkle Ford and my best friends,or i'm not going." Mabel replied as she sniffled. Stan overheard the conversation from outside with how loud Mabel was being as he then entered in order to talk some sense into his niece. He then put a hand on her shoulder as she didn't resist,with her looking at him intently. "Look,Sweetie. Your Grunkle Ford.. He's fully lost his mind at this point. That ego of his is getting to him with him freely handing himself over to the triangle,just to save us instead of letting me erase my mind with the guy inside. He wants to be a Martyr,so we should let him. It's his choice. And your friends?,they'll be fine. Those girls are intense enough to survive in Bill's hel- heckhole. Please come with us. I don't want you to be in Bill's clutches too." Stan explains as Mabel considers his reasoning while tearfully looking at the photo she has of her friends as well as the sweater she had for Ford. She realized that Dipper and Stan really care about her as they tried to make her come with them despite her being selfish,so she decided to agree as she doesn't want to be caught by Bill like her Grunkle Ford.

"Okay. I'll come. But.. Grunkle Ford.." Mabel says as she lets go of her friends and Ford as she put down the sentimental objects she has of them,but she worries for her other Grunkle. "Leave him,Mabel. He chose his fate. It's time for us to choose ours." Stan replied as he held Mabel's hand while the three walked out of the Shack together. The family walks back to the town square as Stan watches the colorful array of people that Dipper has gathered around his car. Mcgucket and Soos can be seen talking about anime together on the hood of the car meanwhile Pacifica and Robbie are fighting over who gets to sit on the trunk. Gideon is complaining to Ghost eyes about having to ride with his archnemesis. "I can't believe this. *sigh*. If i have to let two spoiled children,two teenagers,an insane old coot,and a childish adult into my car just to save everyone from my genius idiot brother's big mess,then so be it." Stan says in exasperation as he accepts his fate regarding having to let a bunch of insane mentally unstable people into his car just to prevent them from having to deal with Ford's mistake.

Dipper Mabel Gideon and Pacifica sandwich themselves between the backseat as Wendy and Robbie agree to sit on the trunk while Mcgucket stands on the car roof,leaving Soos to sit at the passenger seat next to Stan. The ride to Piedmont is noisy and unnerving due to everyone either arguing from all angles or making a ruckus from the backseat but Stan manages to calm everyone down as he swerves onto a tree on purpose in order to startle them,he sighs as he's going to deal with these people until he somehow manages to find a way to defeat Bill which is going to take forever considering the lack of resources they have. Dipper and Mabel's parents are in for a shock as not only their children and Mr. Pines' Uncle arrived at their door,but also a group of random people.

Stan explains that there's a Chernobyl-like event in Gravity Falls which is why he had to bring those guys along as well,figuring that his nephew and niece in law aren't ready to find out about a literal cosmic triangle trying to destroy the world after just discovering that a bunch of people are going to stay at their house for a while because of some radioactive event happening in the place they sent their children to for the summer. Stan also explains that his house isn't safe either,which is why he had to come with too. The others are trying to adjust to living in such a cramped space without their loved ones and belongings as Dipper and Mabel get used to waking up to banjo music or a certain rich girl's shrill screams from seeing a raccoon in her bed (Mcgucket's raccoon wife),meanwhile Stan and Fidds are actively trying to figure out how to defeat Bill with very little resources.

Stan talks with Fidds and soon finds out that he's not just an insane kook anymore,realizing that the southern man is a genius after he explained that he used to work with Ford on the portal before the memory gun caused him to lose his mind. The con man soon finds out that the hillbilly isn't as weird as he thought as his mind is just as brilliant as his brother's despite still having a few screws loose from his old pre memory regaining habits and the occasional paranoid relapses he has from still processing his own memories. Fidds comes up with a plan to cage Bill somewhere regarding using the leftover unicorn hair in his hat that he somehow kept from his days researching anomalies with Ford and also the unicorn hair that Mabel kept for making friendship bracelets,aiming to put the hair in a circle somewhere secluded then lure Bill in with a deal as he pretends to join him for making world destroying machines in exchange for fixing his broken psyche,Stan finds that this is a possible enough idea although they don't have enough unicorn hair to properly imprison Bill without the barrier breaking so he decides to put a pin on that idea until the day they go back to Gravity Falls by themselves to defeat Bill and they instead decide to use the leftover unicorn hair to protect Mr. & Mrs. Pines' house from Bill in the event that Global Weirdmaggedon reaches California via scattering the hair across the building in a circle.

Stan and Fidds bond over having to deal with Ford's bullshit all the time as they slowly become friends and later partners in crime (PLATONIC BUSINESS PARTNERS) as they vow to destroy Bill even if it kills them,as neither of them can stand thinking about Ford suffering because of that bastard (they still care about him,no matter how shitty he was). Dipper and Mabel are NOT aware about their two old men guardian figures actively planning on killing the triangle,as Stan told the hillbilly to not tell them as he knew that they'd want to come along in their eventual suicide mission to destroy Bill and he promised himself that he'd protect these kids until his dying breath and part of protecting them is keeping them in the dark about what he does with the southern nerd. The two came up with a few more ideas on what they could do for defeating Bill in Piedmont such as the prior unicorn hair idea using the memory gun to erase him from Stan's mind or inventing a weapon that can somehow pierce through a being of pure energy but none of them worked nor were completely plausible with their few resources,so they concluded that they had to go to Gravity Falls again to get the ingredients for at least one of those plans in order to destroy the bastard once and for all.

However Bill discovers Fiddleford trying to grab some unicorn hair while one of his clones were watching over the forest,he decides to grab the hillbilly and then take him to be torn limb from limb while Ford watches as revenge for the southern nerd always taking attention away from HIS genius back then. Meanwhile Stan notices that Fidds is missing as he hasn't come back from the forest and he saw no sign of him being at the old debilitated Shack where they planned to meet after getting supplies,he then went literally everywhere to find him until he eventually heard the man's agonized screams from the Fearamid. He uses Mabel's grappling hook to get to the Fearamid as he tries to rescue Fidds. Ford on the other hand is conflicted on whether to let this happen and lose both of his favorite people in favor of continuing with his plan to destroy Bill himself in secret or to help them and destroy Bill along with them as Fidds explained why he was there amidst the screaming. But Ford runs out of time to make his decision as Fidds' arms are ripped clean off by Bill with his bare hands while Stan is rendered unconscious by Bill telekinetically throwing him onto the ground head first after he tried to tackle the triangle while aiming his knuckle dusters at him,Ford is obviously furious about this since the triangle didn't make good with their deal regarding him giving the equation while not hurting Stan.

Before Ford could try to kill him for hurting his brother and his best friend,Bill erased his memory regarding this encounter while teleporting Stan and Fidds back to Piedmont with a snap of his fingers in order to remove the evidence of the event happening. Ford is disoriented after that bout of mind fuckery as Bill prevented the failure of his plan to get the man to rule the universe by his side meanwhile Fidds waits for Stan to wake up in time before the kids notice that they left. The southern man ends up having Dipper build robot arms for him by making him follow blueprints that he prepared whenever he wanted to have fun as a cyborg while also making him promise to not tell Mabel and the others about their encounter with Bill,then Stan wakes up to a newly armed (hah. get it?) Fidds while having a horrible throbbing headache as he realizes that the triangle bastard's throwing attack caused him to receive a concussion. Fidds declares that they should take a break from constantly trying to defeat Bill when doing so damaged them so much already with Stan's head injury and his missing arms plus the various sleepless nights they spent coming up with fruitless plans,Stan reluctantly agrees as he then tries some aspirin in order to make the headache go away.

"What the.. Fiddlesticks,what happened to your arms?. And why is Dipper here?,i thought i told you to not tell the twins about our.. outing." Stan asks as he feels a throbbing pain in his skull,groaning as he clutched his own head. Fidds then sighs as he forcibly lays Stan back down with his new robot hand while Dipper looks at him in disbelief. "Lay back down,will ya?. Ya just got thrown on the ground for Pete's sake. Also,the kid already knows. He was suspicious the moment ah came back without any arms so i had to explain while i had him follow mah instructions on creating new arms for me." Fiddleford replied as he realizes that the man doesn't remember him getting his limbs torn off due to the concussion. "Oh.. That explains why my head feels like it's getting squeezed from the inside." "Bill did a real number on ya with that throw.. We should take a break from this wild goose chase,Stanley. We need it if we're gonna recover from the damage that darn triangle inflicted on us. Plus we've been going at this the moment we arrived in California,we haven't had a full night's sleep in what?. Six months?." Fiddleford remarks as Stan considers his offer,since they really HAVE been on edge after discovering that Bill was basically going to torture everyone with that new Weirdmaggedon Global plan of his.

"Fine. One month or more,no longer than two or three. That's final. I'm not taking anything else,we need to get back and kill that triangle no matter what cost-." Stan says as he gets up but then he feels the southern man's cold metal arm caress his face as he audibly gasped in surprise after seeing his friend touch him so suddenly. "Ah you Pines brothers. Always so stubborn with yer one track minds. Y'all will never quit with yer ambitions until it kills ya,won't you?." Fiddleford remarks as the grifter blushed while reluctantly accepting the fact that he and Ford have one thing in common,is that they'll pursue their goals to the end until there's nothing left of them. "Whatever. Dippy,where do you keep the meds here?. My head is killing me. Where's the aspirin?." Stan says as he gets up and takes Fidds' arm off of his cheek as Dipper guides him to the bathroom (yeahhh Fiddlestan exists in this au now lol. it wasn't supposed to,they were meant to be friends but then that particular scene convinced me otherwise).

Fidds and Stan end up spending their time recovering from the missing limbs and the horrible persistent concussion while Mabel and the other zodiac wheel members get used to living with each other,with the two old men having more time to figure out their views on each other now that they're not frantically trying to kill Bill this time (spoiler,they figure out that they're actually gay for each other). They bounce back from their injuries after three months and end up taking on Bill but more stealthily this time as they use invisibility cloaks to avoid being spotted by the triangle's clones,while also leaving a note to the twins in case they don't come back this time. By the time the second encounter happens,Bill decided to ignore them as this is also the moment the insane isosceles decides to "liberate" Dimension 46'/ after having his fill of the power trip that succeeding with taking Weirdmaggedon global brought as he makes Ford wait in the Nightmare Realm as he watches the whole thing through a crystal ball.

Stan and Fidds die in the fiery blaze of the dimension,while the twins nor the others ever get to see their goodbye note after the flames catch them too. Only Bill got to read it after making the Perfect World for Ford as he hid it in his secret room along with other evidence of the original world.

The letter reads "Dear Dipper and Mabel,we went out to kill Bill once and for all after we have finally (somewhat) recovered from the injuries he inflicted on us. Me and Fiddlesticks wrote this letter for you guys in case we never come back from our suicide mission as we always knew that trying to go after Bill was dangerous and fatal. Dipper,never stop protecting your sister and uncovering things that are too good to be true with your own street smarts/skepticism. Mabel,cherish that bright light of yours and keep looking out for your wimp brother. Your Grunkle Stan loves you very much,and Fiddleford does too. Darn salty water is coming out of my eyes as i write this. But if anything happens to me,keep each other safe,will ya?.",Bill never understood Stan's such great care for those little brats (he did. it reminds him of how his parents used to care before they kept feeding him that 3D blindness juice) so he hid the note in a drawer somewhere as it sickens him to think about how a guy so pathetic and useless could love people that much.

[hope-you-brought-kneepads-bitch]

Agatha all along spoilers

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Okay okay sure

First off! I’ve seen people on Twitter already going mad but I think I need people to understand, this show was never targeted at a specific lesbian ending, yes! Very queer show and of course lots of Agathario but Rio is death, I always thought a kiss of death would happen because otherwise we’re being silly with ourselves it’s not queer baiting and it’s not helpful to be mad because marvel wont want to do things like this again if we start getting angry, the cast and crew were so proud of this and we should be too (we can vent a little and I plan too but I won’t tag actors or creators because I’m not weird)

But! I will say dying for Billy (technically I know she did because of Nicky because Billy got into her mind like a loser and a bitch and she wanted to redeem herself or whatever) is a bit strange I guess I get people saying ‘oh well of course lesbians get screwed over’ but you know for a marvel show to have actual canon lesbians who are kissing, yeah it’s scraping a barrel but if it’s received well I have no doubt they’ll do it again, I mean in the comics agatha gets resurrected and who’s to say that won’t happen? Anyway I’m ranting and yeah a little sad about the ending because it does feel like the killing eve ending but! Let’s get into the two episodes

Alice! My love, my baby I’m so sorry! Rio was right you died doing your job as a protection witch but it still hurts! I hope the afterlife is good to you and treats you well I love you 🥰

Jen! My beloved you did it! You got your powers back, I can’t believe agatha bound her that’s so funny and messed up! God agatha were you that low on cash???

“He’s an abomination” Damn right Rio get him!

Also the change in agatha a little about not wanting to see Rio when she died like yeah it’s a quick change but I think it’s Agatha putting her shields back up, she does want Rio back she definitely does but also it’s like ‘oh actually I’m putting my guard back up because I’m scared and you did something that hurt me’ (she is my scar!)

Rio being pissed off that agatha doesn’t want her and that she loves it when she’s like this unfortunately ladies this foreplay went a little too far and got ruined by a man (fucking typical) them basically flirting through their whole fight was great too

Also going back to episode 1 where Rio said ‘so take my power’ and Agatha replied ‘cute, but you know that would kill me’ BECAUSE SHE HAD TO KISS HER TO TAKE HER POWER! Did I get it right? Pretty sure I did so I declare that in their private moments agatha never kissed Rio but just started at her neck so not to accidentally kill herself during sex (dramatic lesbians)

Also in ep 4 when Agatha tries kissing Rio but then Rio stops her, I have a depressing feeling that Agatha was so upset at being reminded of what happened to her son she was willing to take the kiss of death I guess? Or maybe Rio can control stuff like that and kiss Agatha fine if she holds her power in but thinking she’s death I think it’s the first one

Rio cutting the road and stepping through I’m not gonna lie I was shocked! I gasped guys and I don’t do that often like obviously they knew was fake but I didn’t I love just thinking about Rio stepping in and out of the road but also where is the ‘road’? Is it just Agatha’s house? Have they been walking around in circles this whole time, god the citizens of westview may need to start looking for other places to live

The Salem era! I loved it (I do want more backstory but I think we’ll get some interviews explaining it so that’ll be fun) ‘born from scratch’ beautiful line Rio turning up I was like ‘oh daddy’s here to help with the birth’ then I quickly remembered she’s death and agatha begging not to take him and then I realised daddy isn’t here to stay for good reasons (like most dads)

Little Nicky was adorable! Such a cute kid and helping his mother trick witches? Putting him to work agatha, I like it! Start them early I say

Also they created the balled! So cute and heartbreaking since Agatha had to sing it all the time when killing these witches constantly being reminded of her son

Also her killing everyday then the one night she doesn’t rio takes their son??? God Rio give her a fucking day don’t you have like billions of other souls to take?? Just walk very slowly 🙄

Billy carrying the trauma of killing three (that’s right I count Sharon too!) witches because he created the road makes the ending worth it actually (not by much) because he has to suffer the consequences and deal with ghost agatha, get recked!

Rio and Agatha will definitely reunite (source: Me) Rio says she hates ghosts but only because she’s death and ghosts probably don’t want to move on, be a bit like trying to round up cats. HER AND AGATHA CAN FINALLY WALK TOGETHER FOR ALL ETERNITY

Anyway I have work in an hour and I’ve been up since 4 it’s now 6 and I’ve slept about 3 hours soooo if this is all ramblings I’ll try to add things later but yeah I loved the last two episodes yeah we could’ve gotten a bit more Agathario but I truly think they didn’t anticipate the overwhelming reception for them (Kathryn and Aubrey did though definitely)

I’m up for any discussion too I love talking about this stuff but works been hectic recently hence why I’m watching the episodes before work because after I’m just knackered but I’m off this weekend so I can reply properly to people

[hed-romancer]

how twins are depicted in media

i've noticed that very rarely do fictional twins act like how real life twins do. they usually fall into one of two traps: Gimmick, or Plot Device. so let's run through some examples of poorly written twins!

Gimmick Twins

Gimmick Twins are supporting characters that are functionally one character for most of if not all of their screen time. They go everywhere together and do everything together, with limited exceptions. There might be one episode where they try different things or a few lines about how they don't like being treated as a set, but largely they are treated as set, by themselves, by the people around them, by the narrative. They are often comedic relief and any long term separation between them is seen as sad.

Examples include: Fred and George Weasley, Edric and Emira Blight, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Throston. I'm also putting the twins from the shining in here. why not.

Plot Device Twins

Plot Device Twins can be main characters, supporting characters, or one-off characters that *have to* be twins because the plot requires them to be. Think of any movie with identical twins changing places. They have to be identical twins because if they weren't, the plot couldn't happen at all. a main character's evil twin shows up and takes their place- the only reason this character has a twin is because the plot demands it.

i'm now going to take a moment to discuss one of the examples of Plot Device Twins that irks me the more i think about it. Stanley and Stanford Pines. and i hate to put them in here, because dipper and mabel are perhaps my favorite fictional twins in anything ever (they're there for each other but have differences but don't get treated as a set but are still a duo. they decide to stick together at the end of the show but there's no indication they plan on spending the rest of their lives living in the same place. perfection.) but stan and ford being twins irks me.

so obviously stan and ford had to be twins because they had to have similar names because stan had to take over his brother's identity but the show still wanted the audience to feel like they knew stan, and didn't want to have to change his entire name after not what he seems. thus stan is using a fake name (stanford) but also his real name (he's always gone by stan).

and i get it. it'd be a little strange if after 30 episodes of a show, the real stanford pines showed up and we had to start referring to the guy we thought was stan pines as like. john pines or something. it'd be weird.

also stan and ford are twins bc then they can serve as parallels to dipper and mabel.

i get it. i really do. i just don't like it. i personally think they should've gone balls-to-the-wall, and had stan's real name be something completely different entirely. then the older pineses could've been twins or could've been not twins, and i wouldn't mind either way.

but yeah it's just kinda noticeable to me that a show that has a really good depiction of twins and is created by a twin about his own experiences, still falls into the trap of needing another set of twins because the plot won't work otherwise.

i don't think i'm explaining this right. does this make sense to anyone?

[pseudowho]

I second what the anon was saying about maintaining your anonymity when it comes to your pen name and your novel. People are crazy and the safety for you and your family is paramount.

I, too, would love to know because I’m genuinely curious what your novel is about and I’d love to be able to support you if you were to be published (which, let’s be real is a high probability because I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, your writing is on par with some of the best that I’ve seen).

But I recognize that I’m just a follower among your thousands. I’m grateful for whatever content you provide us on here.

Throwing all my love and support to you/at you from clear across the Atlantic.

(P.S the Nanami white board drawing is still up and hasn’t been erased. I also told them what you originally said and they responded: “I do feel cherished!”)

(P.P.S. Your hand looks heavy… want me to hold it for you?)

It's one of those things isn't it, that the more people who know, the higher the chances of the secret getting out.

That being said, if anyone reads my works avidly and then happens upon this novel (if published), it would be immediately apparent. There are scenes that I've written that I cannot let go, and are lovingly recreated in the book.

It's a modern day fantasy, that's very much all about the plot. There is a woven romance throughout, slow burn and heart wrenching, and there will be eventual smut, but it doesn't rely on smut. The relationship between the two MCs is very much banter-based, but touch-starved, and they will laugh each other into bed.

For the MC's relationship, think The Stacks + Calamus et Gladius (two of my Higuruma works).

Despite your kind words, I'd still be highly surprised if I were published. This is going to be long enough to be a novel and a sequel, or a single 800 page chonkyboi. I have at least three subsequent novels planned in the same universe, if I manage to break into the market.

P.S. good news on the whiteboard Nanami.

P.P.S. I don't wish to flirt, but I parallel and reverse park impeccably on the first time, every time. I'll even put my arm round the back of your seat if you'd like.

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[iaf]

Gay people

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

years later someone buys the plot, turns on the lights and is suddenly worshipped as a sun god by a bunch of puppets falling apart at the seams

pov you break into the spooky abandoned Playfellow Studios building for shits and giggles

[al-luviec]

juvie buddies