#shhhh its still 28 this counts

[layraket]

Happy pride everyone! ignore that this is a little late oops

did @breannasfluff DTIYS cuz i cant not draw the three besties ever, this was really fun to make!

Flags:

Legend: Demisexual, nonbinary

Wild: Genderfluid, pansexual

Hyrule: Aroace, transmasc

[shreddedparchment]

Pseudo Princess Pt.28

A Dangerous Homecoming

04/08/2020

Pairing: King!Steve x Reader          Word Count: 5,529

Warnings: wounds, blood, language, fluff

A/N: We are in the home stretch my loves. The end is in sight. Hopefully I can speed up my momentum. I have the chapters outlined out but always seem to slow down when I’m near the end. I’ve done it with lots of my stories. And I am SORRY. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work! xoxo

Consciousness isn’t something that Steve is often at odds with.

From that fateful day when his mother gave in to her most rabid of fears and made her deal with the Sun Witch. With Doctor Erskine’s enthusiastic encouragement and his own experimental flare, Steve’s fate was changed.

He was altered, irrevocably so. The man he might have grown up to be—or rather, the man he would have died as—had disappeared and in his place a new one was formed. One of drive but not ambition. One with the will to do good and now with the strength to do so.

Steve had been blessed with the body to fight, but now he understands that he was also cursed to drag everyone he loves into the darkness opposite his light.

He gasps, sweating into his expensive and ridiculously extravagant tunic. The dark blue, etched in delicate silver and blacks is nearly soaked through.

His dark gray undershirt clings to his wounded and bruised form.

His lungs struggle for breath as his fear mounts, choking him as silver steel eyes grow dark, black, and dangerous. A curtain of deep chestnut hair flutters around a pale but cold bitten face. There’s a gleam to this man’s left and a fist curls with a keening cry as metal bends.

Steve’s hands twitch. His lips part, dried blood crackling around the edges of his lips.

His fever rages, burning hotter than he’s ever burnt before. The wound in his side stings. The pain is consistent until suddenly it stops.

As the dark eyes charge forward, his weapon hand raised to strike, a soft dampness coaxes Steve away from the image. He gasps, death poised to strike only inches away, when a soft whisper pulls him out.

“Shhhh.” The whisper says and Steve lashes out.

His eyes open wide, his hand closed tight around muscle and bone.

“Ow.” You whisper, pained but also controlled.

Steve’s eyes search and find you to his left, right hand angled painfully away from his face with a damp piece of cloth in its grasp.

“You’re safe.” You tell him gently, trying to convince him. “You’re alright.”

The panic in his chest dissipates. His heart begins to slow. There’s a searing burn on his left side and he looks down to see his shirt and tunic pulled up to expose a long wound now stitched together and freshly cleaned.

“Steve…” You plead. “My hand.”

His panic returns and he drops your wrist. “Did I hurt you?”

He pushes himself up but stops as you place a restraining hand on his chest.

“Don’t get up.” You order.

And it is and order. No doubt about it.

Though Steve knows that you take your role as Queen of Broklin very seriously, he has never heard you use that very authority on him and it strokes it heartstrings like a harp.

He sits back, resting against what feels like sacks of grain. It isn’t exactly soft but it’s better than the ground. Beneath his is warm mattress, hay by the feel of it. Grass too probably.

With his senses returning, he takes a quick look around where you’ve brought him.

“Where are we?”

“My home.” You tell him, resuming the cleaning of his face. “Or it used to be.”

You gently massage away the grime from his skin. The blood caked on his scratches and cuts require a bit more pressure but you’re as gentle as can be.

While you work, he takes it in. Your once home.

It’s small. Only one room, slightly smaller than his study back in Broklin.

The floor is made of aged wood that creaks as you shift on your knees to reach the far side of his neck.

There are small holes and cracks, moldy spots of green in one corner. In another a vibrant yellow weed pokes through from the ground below.

The wattle walls have been painted to attempt a brighter interior. The paint is scarce. He can see how you tried your best to make this little room a home.

The windows, all without panes of glass and only shutters to keep out the cold in winter, have begun to crumble and splinter. A vine has begun to take over, weaving it’s way in and up into the leaky thatched roof.

“Sorry about the water. It started raining while I was in the village.” You explain and his eyes hone in on you.

“You went out alone?” He demands, fear beginning to grab hold.

“Just for a little bit.” You stop your cleaning, meeting his fretful gaze with what he knows now is a stubborn will to be independent. “I needed to get some food and clean scraps for your wounds.”

Steve frowns, hating that you'd gone anywhere without him.

He reaches up to place his hand along your left cheek, caressing your skin until his finger finds a small three inch pucker across your cheek bone.

“You’re hurt.” He hates it. He hates it so much his stomach begins to bubble with bile.

“It’s just a scratch, Steve.” You shake your head, then lean towards him again to resume your cleaning. “Luckily my old sewing box was still in the cupboard. I tended your wound as best I could but we should get it looked at properly.

“I don’t want you getting an infection.” You sigh.

Steve’s turns towards the cupboard beside the small table by the fire you’ve got going. There’s an old rusty pot resting just beyond, handle broken.

All of your furniture, including this bed that he’s laying on is of the poorest quality. With you gone and without your care, even though it’s been under a year, it has fallen into disrepair.

“I won’t.” Steve assures you, looking at the sewing box by your legs, resting on the tattered skirts if your once fine dress.

“That won’t work on me, Steve. You’re seeing a doctor as soon as we’re with father.” You frown.

“No.” He shakes his head, looking at your stubborn pout.

He could kiss you. He loves the way you are bot afraid to challenge him or show you care. You love him so openly. With no fear.

He’s never known this kind of love. Freely given with no thought of restraint.

“I mean, I can’t catch an infection.” Steve explains. “I’m already healing. Even my fever is already gone.”

You almost dive towards his cheeks, hand thrown out to feel his temperature. You press your little—well, little to him—palm against his forehead and wait.

Steve can’t help but love you in every moment that you are by his side.

Especially now as you teeter over him, face screwed up with concerned concentration. You’re a mess. Like him.

Skin broken in small places from rocks and the falls you took. Hair completely disheveled. Your crown, the smaller one he’d had made for your outdoor events, is gone. Lost somewhere in the crowd and amongst the fight.

He doesn’t dare bring it to your attention.

His eyes naturally follow the curve of your throat down to your chest, and then finally your stomach.

His calm glee at your fussing quickly fades as the small swell of your stomach—more noticeable to him day after day—grabs hold of his attention completely.

With two hands he cups the bump, wondering if he might somehow know how the little prince is in your belly. His son.

“How are you feeling?” He checks, meeting your gaze which calms as you sit back onto your ankles and place your hands over his.

“He’s alright.” You stroke his fingers, a gesture of comfort. “I was a little worried while we were walking. After the carriage flipped over, I didn’t feel him for a while, but he did wiggle a bit as we walked here.”

Steve feels a rush of relief, grateful to you for always being your shared son’s protector. He knows how much you love him already.

“That’s not what I asked.” Steve clarifies, eyebrows raised high as he waits.

“I’m fine, Steve. A little tired. Achy but that’s to be expected after today. And very worried.” You sigh, shoulders rising high and dropping low as you slouch with the weight of your grief.

Steve knows what you’re thinking about, because he’s been thinking about it too.

He thought about how far he needed to get you away from the city. And Bucky. He thought about his son and his health. And Bucky. He worried about his friends. And Bucky. He wished he could do more for the innocents he’d left behind. And Bucky.

“They’ll have subdued him by now.” Steve promises.

“How do you know? He was so…so lethal, Steve. I’ve never seen him like that. How is it even possible?”

Steve takes a slow breath, knowing that it’s time for this story. He would have preferred for Bucky to tell you himself, but this time…he’ll have to make an exception.

“There’s something you should know about Bucky.” He begins, but you nod.

“This has to do with him being taken a few years ago?” You offer, entirely more knowledgeable than he’d expected you to be. You never cease to amaze him. He shouldn’t be surprised.

You’re smart as a whip. Perhaps not by a Lady’s standards, but you know more than anyone knows. You’re observant and your common sense and instinct is unparalleled.

If you weren’t so important to him, so precious; if you weren’t his only love and the mother of his child, he would recruit you onto the team and find a way to make you impervious to harm.

Maybe find a witch to bewitch you the way they’d done him or even Peter.

“How do you-?”

“The other day when Nat and I spent some time together alone, she alluded to a story. She didn’t tell me, but she said she would. Later.” You explain and Steve can see the resignation of your all too special patience.

“I suppose it’s later.” Steve nods. “A few years ago, Bucky, Nat, Clint, and I were on a quest to find one of the secret Hydra camps in the Southern forests. The deep south. In the elder wood.”

He watches as you bring out your feet from under you and settle on the floor. He hates it, you on the hard surface while he’s on the soft bed…but if he asks you to sit with him, you’ll argue.

“He was gone for weeks. Nat was inconsolable. Clint did what he could but eventually they had to move on. They had things to attend to. Responsibilities. Thor had to go back to Asgard, Tony had to help Pepper run his own Kingdom, and although I—I should have gone back to ruling Broklin, but I couldn’t give up.

“Nat and I kept searching. How could we stop looking? Bucky is…he was my only remaining family. And for Nat…well, it would be like when I lost you. Knowing you’re out there with no way of knowing whether you’re safe, only we knew that Bucky wasn’t.”

“This was after Margaret’s death?” You probe carefully, fearful it seems in upsetting him.

He’s driven that fear into you and it upsets him that you feel you can’t be open with him about Margaret. It’s his own fault.

Steve nods. “Only just. It was so fresh. Her death…and I was grateful for the distraction; however painful it was. The thought of losing Bucky too after everything with Maggie…I couldn’t stand it. I was determined in finding him. As was Nat.”

Steve can almost sense his own desperation again. It was just as bad as when you were missing. He ignores the ache in his chest at both memories and instead presses on, pushing those bad times out of his mind.

You’re here, attentive and precious in front of him. He won’t waste another moment on the thought of you anywhere but at his side.

“When we finally found him, he’d been strapped to a wooden bed with no mattress in the lowest level of a ruined castle. It was damp but hot, as we were farther South than I’d ever been. Although Natasha knew the territory well and we were able to search it with ease thanks to her expertise.

“For the most part, Bucky seemed fine. He was a little tired when we pulled him out of that wretched cell, but he was happy to be with Natasha again.

“His arm…it was gone. Replaced by the one he has now. When we asked him what had happened to it, he said that he didn’t remember and that it did hurt, but not as much as he might have thought it would to lose an arm.”

“Weren’t any of you worried about what they’d done to him?” You ask in shock, voice tight and whispered. Steve can only guess at what has you so spooked but he’s certain it’s the loss of Bucky’s arm. Here was no grand tale of him losing it in battle.

One day it was there, the next it was gone.

“Yes. Of course. Nat and I more than the others because we couldn’t understand why they would take him only to do that to his arm. So, we kept a very close eye on him. We secluded him to one room in the castle with guards at his door day and night.

“Tony was also very suspicious. Only Tony…Tony wanted to do more than just keep an eye on him.” Steve says, voice dropping low and his eyes going dark at the memory of Tony’s panic, the fear in his eyes as he looked at Bucky laying unconscious as he recovered.

A perceived threat. But to Steve, it was Bucky. His friend and brother. Like hell he was going to let anyone hurt him any more than he’d already been injured.

As Steve can’t fight his anger, with his brow furrowed, you seem to realize suddenly that this must have been what drove your Father and Steve apart. This was what had needed your marriage to bridge the divide in their relationship.

“He wanted to lock him up permanently.” You say, not surprised one bit, but a little disappointed? “Or worse…”

As Steve’s gaze meets yours, you read his eyes like no one else in his life can and realize that Tony had actually tried to do something about it, not simply wanted to.

“What did he do?” You barely manage to say.

“It doesn’t matter. The point is, I fought for Bucky. Nat did too. We were split, though Thor and Bruce weren’t there for the fallout, everyone else was.

“Peter was the only one who managed to balance both sides even though he initially fought with Tony. He realized what this would mean and helped mediate a stop to our quarrel. At least for a while.

“Tony and I didn’t speak again until we arranged a marriage between Morgana and myself with the full intention of having it end before we could ever truly consummate the marriage. That’s where you came in.” Steve sighs, feeling a surge of gratitude for you.

He doesn’t even plan for it to happen, but his voice becomes softer as he reaches out to stroke the curve of your chin. Caressing you whenever he has the chance. How long will you allow him to show you his affections?

He cannot be touching you always, despite his desire to do so. He must maintain some form of decorum in front of his friends and subjects.

However, here in the dimly lit home of your past, he can be as free with his love as he pleases.

You catch his hand and release a held breath, looking appeased and happy to feel the heat of his skin, just as he relishes in yours.

“So, Bucky never showed any signs of mental manipulation until today?” You wonder.

“No. Nothing until today. When nothing happened, we assumed he was fine.” Steve sighs heavily, the weight of his fight with Bucky weighing heavy on his shoulders. Had he missed some sort of clue? Had there been an indicator of what was to come? Had he been blind because of how close he was with Bucky. “It’s been more than two years…”

As if that might ease his strife. It doesn’t. It only makes him worry that maybe there is more to come. What if it isn’t over? What if they’ve turned his friend into someone dangerous permanently?

Steve pulls you a little closer and you shift for him, moving where he wants you. He wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you even closer. He isn’t satisfied until you’re right against his side, your hands pressed against his chest where your fingers take to restlessly twitching against the loose threads of his shirt.

He watches you, so grateful that you’re safe. You’re as lost in thought as he is. Reliving the terrible day just as he is, no doubt.

Steve’s arm tightens again, and you look up to meet his eyes. Your own worry seems to dissipate as you see the stress in his.

As much as he loves Bucky. He can’t help but think how close he came to taking you from him today. How easily his life might have changed again. For the worse.

With a small quiet sigh, you reach up towards his cheek and begin to wipe at the smudged dirt there but stop after two swipes, eyes going wide as you stare into Steve’s storm blues.

“What?” Steve asks, seeing the shift in your expression. “What’s the matter?”

“I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t think it was important.” You begin, and Steve can hardly breathe.

“Didn’t tell me what, flower?” He coaxes, adjusting on the bed to sit up a little straighter.

“I…I think I know what happened. What set Bucky off today.” Steve begins to speak but you’re quick to shake your head to silence him and he obeys you, shushing if that is what you wish. “I didn’t think it was real. I was just waking up in the carriage when I saw it. I was drifting in and out, but I found it odd and even asked father about it.”

Steve’s impatience begins to prod at him, but he bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself quiet for you.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t see him any other time except for that moment.” You shake your head, shutting your eyes as you struggle to pull the image together in your mind it looks like, so Steve reaches up to cup your cheek.

“Tell me.” He pleads gently, forced but willing.

When you meet his eyes again, he can see the terror there but also the absolute certainty.

“I saw Lord Pierce across the square, getting out of a carriage. Bucky was there with him. Looking upset, I think. Then Lord Pierce leaned in and whispered something into Bucky’s ear.

“He went a little stiff, his face went blank, but then I must have gone under for a moment and when I opened my eyes, Bucky was gone. Lord Pierce was gone too.

“Even then, my heart was racing. I knew that what I saw wasn’t good, but I could have been dreaming it. And when I asked father if Lord Pierce was in attendance at the procession, he said that he wasn’t. That he’d made sure to exclude him purposely. So, I put it out of my mind.”

Steve’s hands are claws against your back, the rage within him is nearly choking. He wants to scream. To destroy. If he weren’t injured, he might have even torn your house apart with his bare hands.

“I’m sorry.” You whisper, he assumes because you can feel his upset.

“No.” He manages to say, voice deep and quaking with his anger. “No, Y/N. You did right to tell me now. I don’t blame you.”

“But I should have said something.” You fret.

Steve looks down at your belly, the agony of almost having lost both of you today eats at him and helps calm him. It levels him out and he breathes in slowly, then releases the breath but pulls you to him in a soft embrace.

“You’re safe.” He shuts his eyes, really letting himself feel you there in his arms. He trails one hand down to rest on your stomach, tracing the shape of the small curve. “You both are. That’s all that matters.”

“What does this mean for the kingdom? For Lord Pierce? For Bucky?” You ask him, looking to him for a response to this new crisis.

Steve doesn’t often feel as if he is a king with people who depend on him.

Though he knows that he does indeed have a responsibility to his people, he doesn’t often feel as if he’s looked on for leadership. Those moments when someone is truly waiting for him to make a decision.

In your eyes he sees devotion and respect. He sees a genuine intention to follow. And yet he knows that even with this willingness, you would easily disagree with him if you felt it were important.

Everyday you are proving to him that you are not only the woman he loves, but the Queen he has needed at his side.

With you beside him, he truly feels as though he could rule his Kingdom with confidence, with grace, and with a will to do better. For you. For his son. And for all of the people who depend on him.

“I will issue a warrant for his arrest.” Steve declares, confident in his decision. “I will state his crimes clearly so that everyone may see what a snake he is. It will ruin his name and he will have no choice but to either turn himself in for trial or run.”

“What if he runs?”

“Then we will follow.” He nods. “He’ll pay for what he did to Bucky. He’ll pay for what he’s done to you.”

You lift your chin, filled with what he hopes is belief that he can do it. That he can bring Pierce to his knees.

“No one hurts my family and gets away with it.” Steve declares. “No one.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“What are you doing?!” Natasha shouts, shoving herself between Tony and Bucky, fully intent on punching if the need should arise.

The beautiful pale stones of Tony’s castle are a stark contrast to the horrors on the bed behind her.

Natasha glances back at Bucky, wary of the amount of blood he’s losing from the countless wounds to his torso.

What tortures her further is the knowledge that she was the one that put three of those stabs into his side.

She’d been careful to avoid his most sensitive spots, but after he’d woken up on the way home, he’d tried to fight his way out.

It took a hard hit from Tony to the back of the head to knock him out completely and he hasn’t woken up since.

“I need to remove the metal of his arm.” Tony replies exasperated with Natasha’s meddling.

“I needs to wait.” She says.

“It can’t. Bruce said I need to remove it immediately. He’ll have to treat that wound too to prevent infection.

Natasha licks her lips, her green eyes blazing with fear.

“Nat…Let me fix him.” Tony pleads.

“I don’t trust you.” Nat replies, brow crinkling with distrust.

“I know.” And Tony can’t blame her. He’d made a bad impression the first time Bucky had shown up altered. Now here is the results of what he’d always feared but he knows better now about what he’s willing to lose by taking certain precautions.

Bucky is irreplaceable to Natasha and Steve. He must respect that if he’s going to keep not only you but the team in his life.

“But you have to.” Tony argues, holding his hands out for her, his tools held tight as he waits for her to move.

Natasha turns around to look at Bucky once more, her face contorted with indecision and grief and reluctantly moves aside.

Tony lunges for Bucky and works quickly on his arm while Natasha cuts away Bucky’s clothing to tend to his other various wounds.

~~~~~~~~~~

“He’s stable for now.” Bruce declares, wrapping up Bucky’s arm recess where before there’d been shredded metal.

“Will he wake?” Tony asks, trying to keep his voice down for Natasha’s sake.

She’s only just fallen asleep, sitting in a large cushioned chair with a high back. Her hand firmly wrapped around Bucky’s scuffed up right hand.

“What did you give her?” Bruce asks, ignoring Tony’s question for a moment as he also looks to Nat to see her sleeping so peacefully.

“Just one of Agatha’s herbs. She’s a witch with herbs.”

“Or just a witch.” Bruce says quietly, fixing Tony with a wary look.

“I’ve been thinking so too. But she’s devoted to keeping Y/N safe so she’s a good one, as far as I’m concerned.” Tony moves to the wall to pull the call. Somewhere in the castle, he’s sure a bell rings.

“She’s going to be upset when she wakes.” Bruce points out.

“She needs the rest. Thor, Clint, and Peter are out searching. Sam has gone back to Broklin in case they head that way.” Tony assures his friend. “We’ll find them.”

“Y/N is going to be upset that you’ve got Sharon helping Samuel.” Bruce teases, a small awkward smile playing on his lips.

“She’ll deal with it. Finding them is most important right now. Not jealousy.” Tony argues.

Bruce huffs a small laugh, turning to seal Bucky’s bandage before checking on the wounds that Nat had tended to just to be sure they were sealed well.

“You are aware that Sharon snuck into Steve’s room to try and seduce him, and your daughter caught them in bed together, right?” Bruce asks, turning a knowing look to his friend.

Tony blinks, hands clasped at his front before he begins to fix his shirt.

“I am now.” Tony admits. “I’m sure she didn’t let them get away with it. And they seem fine now.”

Mind racing with what might have happened after finding Steve and Sharon like that, he resolves to give Steve a scolding when he sees him.

When. He will find you both if it’s the last thing he does.

“Where are you going?” Steve asks, voice groggy from sleep.

You’re uncurling from his side, moving to his removed tunic to rifle along the front at his expensive baubles and medals.

“To get us some food and something less conspicuous to wear. We don’t know if we’re being pursued. We must lay low.”

“And going into the village to buy things isn’t the opposite of laying low?” Steve asks.

You shake your head. “I’ll only be half an hour and I know the people here. They won’t hurt me.”

Most of them…

“Let me go.” Steve begins to get up, but you frown when he groans.

“No.” You insist, moving to him with a handful of jewels and silver.

You push him back down onto the bed and fix the ratty blanket you’d used to use over him.

“Stop arguing with me.” You chastise him. “I’ll be faster. You’re still wounded.”

“I don’t like you going out there alone.” Steve argues.

“Steven, please. Don’t fight me on this. I will be as quick as I possibly can. I’ll be as invisible as I was before I left. You’ll see. No one will pay me any mind. I was an insignificant orphan. No one will care that I’m here.” You assure him.

“You’re Queen of Broklin.” Steve argues. “And you look like her now, whatever you may think. You don’t look like the girl that came to my castle nearly a year ago.”

“What do I look like then?” You wonder, stripping off your dress before pulling on an old ratty set that you’d had here in the house from before.

It’s thin and meant for summer. Does little to shield the cold but it’s better than your regal, however torn up it might be, gown.

“Even in that you look like an angel.” Steve says.

You can’t help it. You laugh.

“Don’t you think you’re a little biased?” You ask him.

He frowns at you.

“Steve, I’ll be fine.” You move back to him and he welcomes you despite the terrible clothes you’re wearing.

He pulls you in suddenly, no warning as he kisses you hard.

You gasp, hands tense on his shoulders as his lips crush yours painfully.

When he pulls away, he does so slowly, his kiss shifting into tenderness.

“What-?”

“Please be cautious. Don’t talk to anyone that you don’t have to. Turn my cloak inside out and take it. I will not have you and our child freezing.” He worries.

“Why weren’t you this annoying when we first got married?” You tease him and he shuts his eyes, head falling forward to rest against your chest.

You chuckle and stroke his dirty hair, smoothing it out despite the blood and grime still caked into it.

“Please be safe.” He begs, looking up at you again. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, Y/N.”

“You’d go on. Because you’re strong. And you have a whole Kingdom that depends on you.”

Steve sighs. “I don’t want to be rational. I’d gladly follow you into the end.”

“Then I guess I’d better not meet my end.” You decide.

Getting up, you move to his cloak and turn it inside out as he wished. It’s plain gray on the underside. Still a fine fabric but less ostentatious in its stitching. It makes it much warmer in this clothing and it smells like Steve still.

“Stay quiet.” You tell him, then pick up his shield and put it beside him. “I’ll be right back.”

You slip out into the early morning freeze. The wheat fields are barren and give you no cover as you trek across the cold semi-frozen mud. It sticks to your shoes, much too nice for the plain peasant dress you’re wearing but with the cloak they’re somewhat hidden.

You’re tired by the time you reach the edge of the village and take shelter in the smithy’s doorway. He’s already open, an older man who had tried his best to ignore your hunger plight often. Many of the wealthier villagers had made the very conscious decision to pretend you didn’t exist.

You can’t blame them. You were a child in need of care and many of them, though richer than you, still struggled to make ends meet. They had no way of caring for a whole other mouth to feed.

He’s working inside, too busy making his living to care that you’re resting on his doorstep.

It takes you fifteen minutes to walk across the village make your purchase with only a somewhat lingering look from the tailor who must be the only one to notice your absence in the village as you’d always been a bit of a pain to.

You had offered to mend clothing at a cheaper cost and so stole most of her mending business.

“Haven’t seen you around here.” She states, wrapping up your new dress and the clothing and shoes you’ve purchased for Steve.

“I’ve been travelling.” You say quickly. Offering no further explanation.

“You look different.” She says, pushing the parcel over the counter towards you.

Fucking Steve.

“Do I?” You take the package and throw a silver pin on the counter worth six times as much as she’s charging you for the clothes.

Her eyes go wide at the sight, but you don’t wait for her to say anything and instead leave as quickly as you entered.

You buy some food from the bake, just something to tide you both over until you can go hunt something up and pay with a small ruby.

You’re gone before he can respond to the payment.

With both errands out of the way, you make your way back towards your cottage, eager to be back by Steve’s side.

Your trek is quick across the barren fields, pace increasing the closer you get.

It’s just beyond this slope, beyond the windmill.

As you curve around it, smile stretching your lips, you gasp as a large stocky man blocks your way.

Your free hand drops to your stomach protectively as your eyes take in the only threat to you in this village.

“Well, hello, hello, hello. If it ain’t tha little mouse.” He says.

As you take in his pale skin, a messy array of vibrant red curls on his head, your mind provides you with several excruciating memories of his large beefy body pinning you against the tavern wall. His hands tearing away at your clothing. Ripping your skin as angry tears stained your cheeks.

Both times you’d been able to fight him off. You’d been lucky.

As he devours you with his eyes, you can see the wheels in his mind turning.

“You’ve been gone a long time, little mouse.” He grins. “I’ve missed you.”

[existentialvoidofexistence]

50 questions tag

Tagged by @inevitable-anna

1) what colour is your hairbrush? I have a black comb that i use sometimes, but I rarely brush my hair unless I’m washing it bc it goes frizzy and I’m very lucky to never get knots

2) name a food you never eat. Anything with soy sauce

3) are you usually too hot or too cold? Both, sometimes at the same time

4) what were you doing 45 minutes ago? Sleeping I think

5) what’s your favourite candy bar? Cadburies fruit & nut

6) have you ever been to a professional sports game? Yeah it sucked i hate football, but the local basketball team is pretty cool

7) what’s the last thing you said out loud? Yelling “love you too” down the stairs to my dad as I got ready for bed I think

8) what’s your favourite ice cream? Not a big fan of ice cream but either a 99 or ben & jerries phish food

9) what was the last thing you had to drink? Excluding water bc that’s boring it would have been slightly flat irn bru

10) do you like your wallet? Idk I don’t particularly have strong feelings about my wallet it’s okay I guess

11) what was the last thing you ate? Pizza I think

12) did you buy any new clothes this weekend? No but I bought this case.

13) what’s the last sporting event you watched? Bold of you to assume I would willingly watch sports

14) what’s your favourite flavour of popcorn? Salt is the only acceptable flavour

15) who was the last person you texted? I’m assuming sc messages count so the gc with my sister and my ex-gf-turned-best-friend

16) ever been camping? Many times I love it

17) do you take vitamins? Not particularly i do occasionally though

18) do you go to church every Sunday? Im not Christian so no

19) do you have a tan? Only on my arms

20) do you prefer chinese or pizza? Pizza, but like proper homemade/restaurant pizza not shitty takeaway pizza. If ur getting a takeaway get curry or fish and chips they’re the best.

21) do you drink pop with a straw? If they give me a straw yeah but i wont go out of my way to get one

22) what colour socks do you usually wear? i only replaced my school socks last week so probably still white

23) do you drive over the speed limit? I don’t have a full license yet so I don’t drive

24) what terrifies you? Dead bugs and also Adolphus Huxley’s A Brave New World. And lowkey moomins.

25) look to the left what do you see? Cheese

~~~ several weeks later ~~

26) what chore do you hate the most? So long as my brother also has to do chores I’m not fussed

27) what do you think when you hear an Australian accent? Ongoing genocide and systematic oppression of the indigenous peoples

28) what’s your favourite kind of pop? Irn bru

29) fast food or drive in? Neither i can make much better food myself thanks

30) what’s your favourite number? 11

31) who’s the last person you talked to? My mum

32) favourite cut of beef? Mince but u gotta season it with nutmeg and stock and either worcestershire sause or paprika and cumin and be at least 50% carrot or ur doing it wrong

33) last song you listened to? What If Tomorrow Comes (I finally watched Black Friday with my sister)

34) last book you read? The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker (shhhh i loved it as a kid)

35) Can you say the alphabet backwards? lol nah

36) favourite day of the week? Thursday bc it’s D&D day

37) how do you like your coffee? In tiramisu

38) favourite pair of shoes? My comfy red boots, my black low-heeled combat boots, or my nice tan sandals, depending on my outfit and the occasion

39) what time do you usually wake up? 9:30-10:30

40) sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

41) how many blankets are on your bed? One and a duvet but its too hot for either rn

42) describe your kitchen plates. Old and white

43) describe your kitchen at the moment. Smells nice

44) do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? Probably some kind of cocktail but I haven’t been to a restaurant or pub since turning 18 bc lockdown so my opinions are currently limited to “beer and wine/champagne/prosecco suck” and “vodka and cider are ok I guess”

45) do you play cards? You’re not really on holiday unless you play cards at least every other day

46) what colour is your car? Don’t have one but the family one’s grey

47) can you change a tyre? I’ve never even seen anyone change a tyre

48) favourite state/country/provence? Almería! We used to go to a lil town called Huercál and it was great. Especially the restaurant/bar thing just out of town, it was run by a guy called Eneth and there was a big-ass open fire at the end of the room where he cooked everything, and also a bunch of dogs and birds - if ur in the area go see if it’s still there for me 💚

49) favourite job you’ve ever had? The week i spent working at the children’s trust charity in the accounting department (it was work experience dw im not useless enough to get fired after a week)

50) how did you get your biggest scar? idk which is biggest probably the one from where i whacked my head on the shutter of an ice cream stall and had to get it glued back together

~~~

Tagging @femmebos @mexicanfairy @clockwork--frog @aveasorae @lilolilyr @showstoppingnumbrr @just-a-side-kick @a-little-slice-of-fandom @sunflowermycelium @mischief-pixie @jane-seemore @lucyisanerd @spiiderbiites @youvebeengnomed @peanutworm @cliyoh @sunrise-designer @isappho @woulddieforkhoward @the10amongstthese3s @bi-owen-harper @writingvenusian @the-quiver-of-aros @dontforgetpluto

(Obviously theres no obligation to fo it its rlly long but like... I love y’all and im interested)

[hgfstreamchats]

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year and Home on the Range

thenightetc 09:24 PM Hello!

highglossfinish 09:24 PM Hello there!

thenightetc 09:27 PM Oh boy!  Fire!

highglossfinish 09:28 PM This should prove educational!

thenightetc 09:28 PM Cardboard!  That's the least flammable material!

thenightetc 09:29 PM Whoops!

thenightetc 09:30 PM :thinking: I think that happens because he forced a bunch of oxygen down onto it

highglossfinish 09:30 PM That'll do it.

thenightetc 09:30 PM I know with pan fires, you're supposed to slide the lid on from the side, instead of from above

thenightetc 09:32 PM well!

highglossfinish 09:35 PM We've all been there.

thenightetc 09:37 PM Uh oh!

highglossfinish 09:38 PM Onto the miserable movie that should never have existed!

thenightetc 09:39 PM Oh, boy!

thenightetc 09:39 PM "haha, he sends this letter every year"

highglossfinish 09:39 PM Maybe it's for the best that this ended up delayed, the backdrop of violent insurrection makes somehow improves the experience.

thenightetc 09:40 PM It really does.

thenightetc 09:40 PM I'm sorry, but that's a wussy snowstorm.

thenightetc 09:40 PM Hardly any snow.

thenightetc 09:42 PM ...On foot.

highglossfinish 09:42 PM On foot.

thenightetc 09:43 PM That mouth is disturbing.

highglossfinish 09:43 PM It really is.

highglossfinish 09:45 PM "No."

thenightetc 09:46 PM Notice that the desert has no blizzard at all, and the blizzard was the whole reason for sending Rudolph

highglossfinish 09:47 PM He's not useful anymore, back to mistreating him.

thenightetc 09:47 PM Could this whole thing have been some kind of scam to get him out of the way?  

thenightetc 09:48 PM .....

highglossfinish 09:50 PM "Happy New Year, everything dies."

thenightetc 09:50 PM Pfff.

thenightetc 09:50 PM Magic diamond.

thenightetc 09:51 PM Uhhhhh...

highglossfinish 09:52 PM "No one meant to be cruel when we laughed at him and tied his hand to the stove."

highglossfinish 09:52 PM You just said he dies.

thenightetc 09:52 PM "Retires"

highglossfinish 09:53 PM Father Time takes 'em out back and puts 'em down.

thenightetc 09:53 PM So it's like a graveyard!

highglossfinish 09:53 PM Fun!

thenightetc 09:56 PM Is this vore

highglossfinish 09:57 PM Yes.

highglossfinish 09:57 PM Splash splash.

highglossfinish 09:58 PM Isn't time of the essence or something?

thenightetc 09:59 PM No, no, I'm sure they have time for a musical number about how you can ignore your troubles

highglossfinish 09:59 PM While the filthy cave human squats.

thenightetc 10:00 PM I hate "O M"

highglossfinish 10:00 PM Oh, you'll come to hate him even more.

thenightetc 10:01 PM oh, come on!!!

thenightetc 10:01 PM why invite him along

highglossfinish 10:01 PM 1492 was too engrossed in genocide.

thenightetc 10:01 PM uh... "discovering"????

thenightetc 10:02 PM Shut the fuck up.

highglossfinish 10:02 PM If only.

thenightetc 10:03 PM "Fairy tales WERE real, and they all happened in this specific year" certainly is a take

highglossfinish 10:03 PM "Still lots of plague rats, though."

thenightetc 10:04 PM ......

Starscreamillar joined the party.

highglossfinish 10:04 PM Starscream! Just in time!

Starscreamillar 10:05 PM It would have been a shame to miss out on the nightmares.

thenightetc 10:05 PM Well, I guess we're about to see the new year get eaten by bears!  Better luck next time

highglossfinish 10:05 PM Or the most annoying part of all of this, which this is.

Starscreamillar 10:05 PM Is he to be eaten by bears?

thenightetc 10:05 PM Sorry, is he heavier than a bear??

highglossfinish 10:06 PM I despise the baby bear.

highglossfinish 10:06 PM He's ven worse than """O M."""

highglossfinish 10:06 PM *even

thenightetc 10:06 PM Tell me he doesn't get invited along, too.

thenightetc 10:06 PM Lie if you must

highglossfinish 10:06 PM He doesn't get invited along.

highglossfinish 10:06 PM But he is unspeakably cruel to the baby.

thenightetc 10:06 PM Good.

thenightetc 10:08 PM Uh oh.

thenightetc 10:08 PM ......

Starscreamillar 10:08 PM Yes, laugh. Shame that infant.

highglossfinish 10:08 PM That's it. That's the special.

thenightetc 10:08 PM That is... uncomfortable.

highglossfinish 10:08 PM Everyone being annoying and cruel.

thenightetc 10:09 PM "when you play a game, you have to follow the rules!  even ones you didn't know about or agree to!"

thenightetc 10:09 PM "Now take off your clothes"

highglossfinish 10:09 PM "That are arbitrarily made up by someone else on the spot to suit them and only them."

highglossfinish 10:09 PM I sputtered on my cube.

thenightetc 10:10 PM Uhhhh

Starscreamillar 10:10 PM Can't that deer fly?

thenightetc 10:10 PM Shhhh, only when it wouldn't be inconvenient to the plot.

Starscreamillar 10:11 PM It's America island. How awful.

thenightetc 10:12 PM So does... each country get its own new year?

thenightetc 10:12 PM Oh, god.

highglossfinish 10:13 PM Don't be silly, everyone knows there's only one country that matters. Source: Said one country.

thenightetc 10:13 PM Also, if it's his island, doesn't that mean he was a year?

thenightetc 10:13 PM Shouldn't he know the deal with new years?

highglossfinish 10:14 PM Prove him wrong. Prove him wrong even once.

Starscreamillar 10:15 PM What happens if the vulture takes the infant home?

thenightetc 10:15 PM The old year doesn't end.

highglossfinish 10:15 PM Linear time stops and the infant is actually cared for by someone.

Starscreamillar 10:15 PM How terrible for everyone who isn't the tormented baby.

thenightetc 10:15 PM Eon wants this because HIS stretch of time is about to end.

thenightetc 10:16 PM Not a reprise!!!

Starscreamillar 10:16 PM Oh, oh no.

thenightetc 10:17 PM Helping hand.

thenightetc 10:17 PM Figuratively?

thenightetc 10:18 PM Oh, his cLock.

highglossfinish 10:18 PM You. Can. *Fly.*

thenightetc 10:18 PM Let him fall.

thenightetc 10:18 PM Maybe he can only fly on christmas?

highglossfinish 10:18 PM He flew towards the start of this mess.

Starscreamillar 10:18 PM And then they died.

thenightetc 10:18 PM Maybe he is very stupid and forgot he can fly?

thenightetc 10:19 PM Slave?  Doing what, exactly

highglossfinish 10:19 PM ....

thenightetc 10:19 PM That was more of a jump, though, right?

thenightetc 10:19 PM Off a ramp.

Starscreamillar 10:19 PM He only has to spend half an hour more awake the ensure his plan works out. And yet.

thenightetc 10:20 PM Look, he's an old man, he finds it difficult to stay awake too late

thenightetc 10:20 PM rudolph you know EXACTLY why

thenightetc 10:21 PM ....................

Starscreamillar 10:21 PM Why are there trees on the iceberg island? Where there is never sun?

highglossfinish 10:22 PM Because this quote unquote special hates you.

thenightetc 10:22 PM All you need is for someone in authority to say you're useful!

thenightetc 10:22 PM Then you won't be bullied anymore.

Starscreamillar 10:23 PM He just has to use his ears for something useful to the establishment.

thenightetc 10:23 PM Stop pressuring him!

highglossfinish 10:23 PM "Your physical deformity is hilarious!"

Starscreamillar 10:24 PM . . .

thenightetc 10:24 PM So he's, uh, never seen big ears before, in a thousand years

highglossfinish 10:25 PM He has, but they didn't belong to a tortured, emotionally abused infant.

thenightetc 10:25 PM You have about six seconds.

Starscreamillar 10:25 PM And he could fly, the whole time.

thenightetc 10:26 PM Maybe it's the sleigh that's magic.

thenightetc 10:26 PM Maybe he can't fly without it?

Thebes joined the party.

highglossfinish 10:26 PM Just in time for everyone to laugh at the baby and pelt him with trash.

Starscreamillar 10:26 PM Nineteen -wonderful-???

Thebes 10:26 PM hello

thenightetc 10:26 PM Thebes!  You missed seeing an infant get bullied repeatedly!

Thebes 10:27 PM OH I REMEMBER THIS

Thebes 10:27 PM the Rudolph franchise: condoning frequent bullying

highglossfinish 10:28 PM It's been tear gassy, does that count as shiny?

thenightetc 10:28 PM And Rudolph doesn't fly even when it would be helpful, because... :SHRUG:

highglossfinish 10:29 PM There's a shameful lack of movies about oxen.

highglossfinish 10:30 PM Last year we streamed Ratatoing and that certainly didn't usher in anything terrible.

Starscreamillar 10:30 PM Is it truly a shame?

Starscreamillar 10:30 PM Oh yes, nothing terrible at all.

thenightetc 10:31 PM *suspicious*

Thebes 10:32 PM so, did anyone here know there's apparently a ratatouille musical.

highglossfinish 10:32 PM Is it any good?

Starscreamillar 10:32 PM Because the world needed singing rats.

Thebes 10:33 PM I have no ideaa, I only heard about itt todday, and it was crowdsourced. not the funding, the whole musical. through Tiktok

thenightetc 10:33 PM ...Huh.

Starscreamillar 10:34 PM That does not bode well.

highglossfinish 10:34 PM Oh dear.

highglossfinish 10:35 PM Alright, expanding out from oxen specifically, are there any watchable movies about cattle?

thenightetc 10:35 PM Not working?

Starscreamillar 10:35 PM Watchable may be a stretch... There is that 'home on the range' movie...

Thebes 10:36 PM I can't guarantee anything as watchable, but. technically.

Thebes 10:36 PM Home on tthe Range

highglossfinish 10:36 PM Ooh, that one *is* terrible.

Thebes 10:36 PM I still hum tthe weird, weird villain song

thenightetc 10:36 PM Uh... hmm.  hmmmmmmmm.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cow_Who_Wanted_to_Be_a_Hamburger

thenightetc 10:38 PM Oof, video quality's going all wonky

thenightetc 10:38 PM I mean, it was before the video started, as well

thenightetc 10:39 PM The stream of you doing things in your browser was low-res--okay, that's better

highglossfinish 10:39 PM I despise kast.

Starscreamillar 10:39 PM It hates you too.

Thebes 10:39 PM it's the worst. expect for everything else.

thenightetc 10:39 PM Hmmm

thenightetc 10:40 PM Maybe it's not better

Thebes 10:40 PM *except

thenightetc 10:40 PM Framerate AND resolution.  Good job, Kast

Starscreamillar 10:40 PM It is the whole stream that is lagging, not the video itself.

thenightetc 10:40 PM Right

highglossfinish 10:41 PM Let me reload the stream.

thenightetc 10:41 PM Well, if nothing changes onscreen for a bit the resolution improves, so all we have to do is watch it one frame a t a time

Thebes 10:41 PM we'd here until the actual lunar new year

Thebes 10:41 PM *be here

thenightetc 10:42 PM Much better!

thenightetc 10:42 PM Sound's off, thoug--there it is!

Thebes 10:42 PM agreed!

highglossfinish 10:42 PM Fingers crossed it stays this way!

thenightetc 10:42 PM Nice scenery

highglossfinish 10:43 PM As we proceed, just remember that this movie was almost about a calf fighting literal ghost riders in the sky.

Starscreamillar 10:43 PM Why was it not about that?

Thebes 10:44 PM because Disney never looked at a good idea they didn't wantt tto focus test

thenightetc 10:44 PM She wants to get milked.

highglossfinish 10:44 PM A dairy farm with two cows and no bull.

thenightetc 10:44 PM That would bruise the apples. :(

Thebes 10:44 PM I mean. I'm currently LIVING on a farm with thatt setup.

highglossfinish 10:45 PM I would think that qualified as a farm, just not a dairy farm.

Thebes 10:45 PM oh, absolutely

Starscreamillar 10:45 PM Won't most of those animals be eaten eventually? They should not be so thrilled.

Thebes 10:47 PM also who has just one dude goat

thenightetc 10:47 PM Okay, I can't keep quiet about this any longer.

thenightetc 10:47 PM Are those NIPPLES on the chicken??

highglossfinish 10:47 PM Someone whose farm is flirting with bankruptcy.

Starscreamillar 10:47 PM I think they are meant to be speckles.

thenightetc 10:48 PM Frozen food.

Starscreamillar 10:48 PM She knows what becomes of livestock.

thenightetc 10:49 PM Is this going to be just.  An hour of her taunting the others about them getting eaten

highglossfinish 10:50 PM I hope so.

thenightetc 10:50 PM Just trample all over the crops.

thenightetc 10:50 PM It's fine.

Starscreamillar 10:51 PM Good thing she bought that expensive cow.

thenightetc 10:51 PM Did they buy it?  I didn't notice any money changing hands

thenightetc 10:51 PM *buy her

thenightetc 10:52 PM "Even this one I just bought earlier today"

highglossfinish 10:52 PM "That eats too much and brings in no money because I don't own a bull."

thenightetc 10:52 PM They still look like nipples.

Starscreamillar 10:52 PM Sell none of them, and lose everything, or sell a few and keep the land for the rest.

highglossfinish 10:53 PM Sell the expensive cow you just bought and have no attachment to.

thenightetc 10:54 PM They could uh tell her the plan?

Starscreamillar 10:55 PM Could they?

thenightetc 10:56 PM I guess that's the question

thenightetc 10:56 PM lol what's with these guys

thenightetc 10:57 PM He would be dead after that

highglossfinish 10:57 PM This sure is how horses work.

Starscreamillar 10:58 PM There was no gate on their fence. That's how they escaped.

highglossfinish 11:00 PM Who needs a plot when you can just stuff your movie with noise and chaos?

thenightetc 11:01 PM Who indeed.

thenightetc 11:01 PM I'm getting this feeling like this "Rico" guy isn't a good guy.

Starscreamillar 11:02 PM He is the best bounty hunter because he owns the criminals.

thenightetc 11:02 PM Wouldn't be at all surprised.

thenightetc 11:03 PM "he's kind of an idiot though"

thenightetc 11:04 PM Ugh.

highglossfinish 11:07 PM Almost came close to an emotion there, let's see how we can trample it.

Starscreamillar 11:07 PM Oh no.

thenightetc 11:07 PM Uh.

thenightetc 11:07 PM I don't like where this is going.

highglossfinish 11:08 PM Ugh.

thenightetc 11:09 PM What's weird to me is that they think the sherif would give them the bounty if they did bring him in

Starscreamillar 11:09 PM .... What is happening here?

thenightetc 11:09 PM ...wut

Thebes 11:10 PM weaponized villain song

highglossfinish 11:10 PM And recycled animation.

thenightetc 11:10 PM I'm kinkshaming this.

Starscreamillar 11:11 PM I will admit, that was an unexpected twist.

Thebes 11:11 PM I don't know if he could FEEL shame

thenightetc 11:12 PM So she's tone-deaf and that's why it didn't work on her.

thenightetc 11:12 PM Hahhaha

thenightetc 11:13 PM omg

Starscreamillar 11:13 PM He deserved that.

thenightetc 11:13 PM He did.

highglossfinish 11:13 PM He really did.

thenightetc 11:15 PM How convenient that there's a ramp to the top!

Starscreamillar 11:16 PM Where does he think he is going to unload all these marked cattle?

thenightetc 11:16 PM So we DID see him at that auction.

Starscreamillar 11:16 PM Yes, please make it more abundantly clear for the stupid viewers.

highglossfinish 11:17 PM Because "make lots of money" wasn't a compelling enough motivation for what he's doing.

thenightetc 11:18 PM ...

thenightetc 11:19 PM I do kind of want to know who's buying thousands of clearly stolen cattle.

highglossfinish 11:19 PM I want a movie about them.

Thebes 11:19 PM people who're willing to ignore 'stolen' for 'good deal'

thenightetc 11:20 PM Just seems a little hard to hide, at that volume

Starscreamillar 11:20 PM No one in this movie seems particularly bright.

highglossfinish 11:20 PM "Maybe I should have invested in a door for the fence."

thenightetc 11:21 PM ...But horses have different hoofprints than cows

thenightetc 11:21 PM And there were a LOT more cows.

Starscreamillar 11:22 PM That... is not how that works.

highglossfinish 11:22 PM That's not how anything works.

thenightetc 11:23 PM And they obviously weren't going to collect a reward.

thenightetc 11:23 PM I mean, the sheriff had no problem putting ropes around their necks and tying them to some guy's wagon.

highglossfinish 11:24 PM Apparently they're the same age?

thenightetc 11:27 PM .......

thenightetc 11:27 PM uh

thenightetc 11:27 PM uh your leg

highglossfinish 11:27 PM I hate this character already.

Starscreamillar 11:30 PM ... He is still doing this.

Starscreamillar 11:30 PM Well, that answers that.

Thebes 11:31 PM A wild Steve Buscemi appears

thenightetc 11:31 PM Huh.

thenightetc 11:32 PM So... how exactly... how did... I mean...

thenightetc 11:33 PM Can the animals communicate with humans or not!

thenightetc 11:33 PM Is this an arrangement, or is the... bison? just playing bouncer for kicks

highglossfinish 11:34 PM They can communicate when the writers find it quote unquote funny.

Thebes 11:34 PM might be both

thenightetc 11:34 PM ....Hey was that Brock's voice

thenightetc 11:35 PM With the grey horse

highglossfinish 11:36 PM Patrick Warburton, apparently.

Starscreamillar 11:36 PM Are they just teasing him?

thenightetc 11:36 PM Baiting?

highglossfinish 11:36 PM And wasting time.

thenightetc 11:36 PM Yep, same VA, then!  Huh

thenightetc 11:37 PM Oh so that bundle of cash will be exactly $750, coincidentally

Starscreamillar 11:37 PM Almost certainly.

thenightetc 11:38 PM Does he realize the horse has a crush on him--

Starscreamillar 11:38 PM No one realizes anything here.

highglossfinish 11:39 PM Because that's how trains work.

Starscreamillar 11:40 PM Ha!

thenightetc 11:40 PM Yup.

thenightetc 11:41 PM "oh no, THIS wasn't my fetish!"

highglossfinish 11:41 PM "This wasn't my fetish at all!"

thenightetc 11:42 PM That guy would absolutely be dead

Starscreamillar 11:43 PM They were hit by a train. They should all be dead.

highglossfinish 11:43 PM They should all be dead. Every last character in this should be dead.

thenightetc 11:44 PM Wait, are they leaving behind slim & etc?

Starscreamillar 11:44 PM Left behind to die.

Starscreamillar 11:44 PM Trapped in a train car.

thenightetc 11:44 PM So much for the bounty!

thenightetc 11:46 PM That's not how tracks work!

Starscreamillar 11:46 PM Kill them all in a fiery wreck.

highglossfinish 11:46 PM Roll credits!

thenightetc 11:46 PM Oof, so much for that field

highglossfinish 11:46 PM Rolled over the crops, ensuring she'll go bankrupt again before the year ends.

highglossfinish 11:48 PM What did he expect that would do?

thenightetc 11:48 PM Is he saying he wants to milk them

Starscreamillar 11:48 PM Look, she got a gate.

highglossfinish 11:49 PM Instead of saving her farm.

thenightetc 11:49 PM ...

highglossfinish 11:50 PM Oh look, the sheriff who did nothing to help her in her hour of need.

highglossfinish 11:50 PM UGH.

thenightetc 11:50 PM .........

highglossfinish 11:50 PM *UGH.*

Starscreamillar 11:50 PM I don't like that.

thenightetc 11:51 PM The straights are at it again.

Starscreamillar 11:51 PM Just awful.

highglossfinish 11:51 PM Every last moment of it.

thenightetc 11:52 PM You know, I have something ELSE terrible.

thenightetc 11:52 PM If you want to see it.

Starscreamillar 11:52 PM Was there an awful sequel with terrible beefalo children running around?

thenightetc 11:52 PM Not cow-related, however.

highglossfinish 11:53 PM Not to the best of my knowledge, but it killed traditional animation for Disney, so in a way, that's its sequel.

thenightetc 11:53 PM Oof.

highglossfinish 11:54 PM That's all I've got, unless someone has a note to end on.

thenightetc 11:54 PM How about!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nO--ZXkPiQ

thenightetc 11:55 PM (Not the terrible thing.  I'm saving that for when you're least expecting it.  Also it's a bit long.)

highglossfinish 11:55 PM Excellent!

thenightetc 11:56 PM f!

thenightetc 11:57 PM I'm sure they're fine.

highglossfinish 11:57 PM It's probably fine.

Starscreamillar 11:58 PM See, it's fine.

highglossfinish 11:58 PM Head trauma for all.

thenightetc 11:58 PM Into the cravasse!

thenightetc 11:59 PM Built it too high and angered god.

highglossfinish 12:04 AM I want to know what Let's Game it Out would do with this.

Starscreamillar 12:04 AM Surely some form of war crime.

thenightetc 12:04 AM Oh, I'm sure.

thenightetc 12:05 AM Knocked the top of his head off, but he landed it!

highglossfinish 12:05 AM He can walk it off.

thenightetc 12:06 AM Ski it off.

highglossfinish 12:06 AM If you can't hear them screaming, it's not illegal.

highglossfinish 12:08 AM *There's* our note to end on.

thenightetc 12:08 AM :)

Starscreamillar 12:08 AM The perfect tone for this new year.

thenightetc 12:08 AM You know, it probably is.

highglossfinish 12:09 AM A perfect prelude to whatever charming surprises await us.

Thebes 12:09 AM what a way to ring itt in

Starscreamillar 12:09 AM My money is on fire.

highglossfinish 12:09 AM That will happen.

thenightetc 12:09 AM Apparently Australia is already having some.

Starscreamillar 12:09 AM That si why it is the safe bet.

Starscreamillar 12:09 AM *is

highglossfinish 12:10 AM Thank you all for coming!

thenightetc 12:10 AM Well!  Thank you for hosting!

Starscreamillar 12:10 AM Thank you for the horrible media as always.

highglossfinish 12:10 AM Always a pleasure!

highglossfinish 12:10 AM Good night!

thenightetc 12:10 AM A pleasure as always, even if there was too much about cattle's sex lives.

thenightetc 12:10 AM Goodnight!

Thebes 12:10 AM good night!

highglossfinish 12:11 AM Entirely too much.

[fluffybunnybadass]

8, 10, 15 (unspecified due to question), 5, 14, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29 for Melody Anson, 11, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 for QB

8. Which of your OCs sleeps the most? The least?

QB sleeps the least because of her species, whereas I think Minerva and Chaos might not sleep at all due to their species, and therefore they are outliers and sould notbe counted.

For the most. Uh. Probably Sarai? Or Leaf. Sarai has those depression naps whereas Leaf just. Goes goes and goes until she suddenly is out of energy, haha.

10. Which of your OCs has all the sass? Who has all the class?

*KRACKS KNUCKLES* ALL OF THEM jk not really. QB is definitely high on that Sass list, along with I think Sakamoto, Minerva, and Chaos? I’m forgetting some but those are def high sassers. THAT SAID, Minerva is very classy about her sass, Sakamoto less so than her mom, and I just forgot who was entirely class fml.

15. Which of your OCs has the most patience? The least? How would they react to someone cutting in front of them in line?Minerva has the highest of patience. The least would be Leaf, in a different sense than Minerva. Minerva would either let the person stay in line, or kindly inform them that the back of the line is that way, would they so kindly enter from there instead of in front of her?

leaf would tap on their shoulder and through some Ums and Uhs she’d be like, “Uh, um. Sorry, excuse me, but I think you just cut in front of me! Can you please not do that? It’s not very nice. :(”

Melody Anson

5. Does your OC have a role model or someone they idolize? How would they react to meeting them?I’m not sure tbh, given how wide the Pokeverse is. I don’t think there’s anyone that’s Out of Reach sort of role model, like a pop figure or whatever, but I guess she looks up to her dad a bit. 

14. When your OC doesn’t understand something, do they ask for help right away or do they flounder about trying to figure it out on their own?She tries to work it out on her own if it’s got instructions or it’s something that she isn’t completely lost at. If she’s completely lost though, she’ll ask for help. She prefers to problem solve on her own, though, and is generally pretty good given enough time, but she also knows when it’s worth spending the five minutes to ask someone for help than the hours of work spent alone. (EX: learning a language, she might prefer working on her own, but if it’s a completely new/dead/not in use language to her, she will ask for help defining/translating/learning how to understand/remember a word/phrase/etc.)

18. Are there any issues that your OC sees as pretentious or not worth arguing over? Or are they the one getting in heated debates over trivial things?Uh... I’m not entirely sure how to interpret this question as. She isn’t the type to get into debates over trivial things; if she does seem to be obsessed over something trivial, there’s a good chance she’s really just arguing/upset over something else.

19. Your OC’s favorite ongoing book series/show/etc. just got canceled! How do they react?She’d be upset/aggravated if there seemed to be no reason for it getting cut!! She’d probably write a letter asking them to kindly put it back on the air and depending on how much she loved it, may or may not take part in Show Revival trends on social media.

 20. Your OC overhears someone talking smack about one of their friends. Do they come to their defense or get involved in any way?Do Not. They will intercept and defend and you will regret it. lol. Even if you are correct in your assessment of their flaws, do NOT insult her friends around her.

23.Would your OC ever misuse a swivel chair or a chair with wheels?do you mean spin around in a swivel chair because you can bet your butt she would for the longest time. And occasionally still. also i misinterpreted the latter part as a “wheel chair” so I just now got the idea of a wheelie office chair and yes she sometimes still does have enough of a child in her heart to do chair races. [maybe with or against her husband shhhh]

24. Has your OC ever tried to do something with good intentions but it all went awry?UHHHH YES. Moreover in multiverse than Pokeverse [I don’t have too many plots done in a Pokeverse-centered than in a crossover/multiverse]

25. Has your OC ever ignored a problem hoping that it would go away on its own? If so, what was it & did it work?Probably; can’t think of it right now [I mean this is a decade-plus old character]. She probably did this more when she was younger (like 16) but now she’s just like. Yeah okay I’ll face this shit head on I just don’t have the time/energy to spend ignoring and dreading it. And will advise people to do the same when they’re trying to avoid a problem [moreso if they’re young/teenagers]

28. Even if your OC doesn’t play video games, what do you think their favorite game/series would be?She does play videya gaems!!! or used to, I can’t imagine she has much time now as a mom and as a part-time child instructor/daycare worker. Nowadays anything simple in controls and plot (like Mario or Donkey Kong games) and puzzle/mobile games are more her comfort, but she would be more of an JRPGer growing up. 

29. If your OC was going to be in an animated movie or show, who would you want to be their voice actor?I have no clue man. I think there’s someone in FE Heroes who has a voice that I like that might be a good fit for Mel, but I can’t recall for the life of me who it was and I’m too damn lazy to look.

QB

11, Is your OC a sore loser or a graceful one? When they do win, do they gloat or are they humble about it?ohohohohoho she is a sore loser and a sore winner. she will RUB IT IN YOUR FACE if she wins and make you feel like shit for ever dare trying to challenge her (though if you’re more like a pawn to her, she won’t recognize a win against you or make only a passing comment, BUT THAT ALONE WILL BE ENOUGH TO SHATTER YOUR CONFIDENCE, SHOULD YOU LIVE TO HEAR IT)

For losing, she will vow to destroy everything you love should you spare her life. Do not spare her life I swear to you. She is used to a kill or be killed life/mentality. And this frustration is doubly so if it’s someone she actually has a “positive’ relationship with and they win against her. [most likely, a huge “FUCK YOU” is directed in your direction should she lose against you in a battle.]

anything not war/battle/fight related, it depends on how much she prides herself on having skill for the challenge. The less invested she is, the less she cares if she wins or loses.

16, How does your OC feel about their mortality? If they’re immortal, do they see this as a curse or a blessing? She is very much aware of her mortality, but she views immortality to be a curse. This may or may not be a cultural thing from her homeworld, or maybe a cultural divide even, but for her, personally, she would find it boring if she could come out of any scrape, no matter how painful, with a life yet to still live. It would be incredibly dull for her, because what’s the point in winning if you will live to see everything won at some point?

26 Your OC comes across an abstract painting! Do they try to decipher a deeper meaning from it or do they just see some blobs and lines?She probably just sees blobs and lines lol. Art like that is very rare in appreciation from her Society/world.

27. If your OC was a Pokemon trainer, what pokemon would they have in their party? Would they prefer battling or contests?She would be a mercenary for the various organizations, she would fucking have spider and dark-type pokemon, anything seemingly vicious and intimidating, and definitely prefer battling. She’d be that sort of cut-throat trainer that works Pokemon too hard.

28. Even if your OC doesn’t play video games, what do you think their favorite game/series would be?She doesn’t play them except when Kid Purge makes her Player 2, but she’d probably be into Puzzle games for passing the time. Tetris and Portal, anything problem-solving. [Tetris would be about the only matching puzzle game she’d be relatively interested in].

29. If your OC was going to be in an animated movie or show, who would you want to be their voice actor?I NEVER KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION but i swear i heard the perfect voice actress for her once before and I forgot who. I think maybe Yoshiko/Yohane’s JP actress could get her right? [then again it’s been awhile since I’ve heard Yohane’s voice.]

30. Your OC spends an hour looking for something only to realize it was in their hand the entire time. What’s their response?

She is very pissed and blames magic anons or some other mischievous magic for making her absentminded enough for that to be a thing.