#sonic stole that jacket . if you must know

[briarhearts-art]

swap au character sheets for sonic n shadow are here!! :D (i still have 4 more to do . we don't talk about it) more swap au infodumping down below whee

so, this is a swap au of SA2 - sonic and shadow have effectively switched places, though it's not a complete mirror of canon bc these two would react in VERY different ways. i'm don't wanna spoil too much yet,,, but here are some brief intros about them :3

-

Sonic is the fastest weapon ever made, created for agility and speed. he wasn't a perfect creation however, despite Gerald's efforts, and his engineered body is often prone to decaying if he's not careful. his inhibitor rings limit his power in more ways than one, preventing him from tapping into his full potential

Shadow isn't considered the hero of Mobius; he tries to keep a low profile, but whenever Robotnik cranks up the intensity of his schemes, Shadow's always there to stop him. unlike canon Sonic, he doesn't have any special powers of his own; his speed comes from his enhanced rollerskates, and the red in his quills is absolutely just dye

(Shadow's red eyes are from contact lenses. because they're "cool." Rouge keeps laughing at him for it)

Sonic, similar to canon Shadow, can utilize chaos energy really well! just in very different ways:

he doesn't use chaos control. he's fast enough that he's never felt the need to learn it, though if he needed to, he would

"Chaos Armor;" instead of using chaos spears, Sonic uses chaos energy to enhance the force behind his physical attacks. it manifests with the appearance of armor, hence the name

Shadow, on the other hand, can still use chaos energy! repeated exposure to it over his years of fighting Robotnik (and turning super) has led to a LOT of residual chaos energy lingering in his body:

admittedly it doesn't do much besides helping him heal faster + have a high metabolism lmao, but he can use chaos control without an emerald. it'll just drain him very quickly

can use chaos spears when in proximity of an emerald

mostly though Shadow relies on physical attacks; he wears lots of joint guards along with his skates to guard him from rough landings

OKOK no more yapping that's all for now im normal now (lie)

[plxnet-superior]

Old wounds never heal - 1/2

Anon Ask: “Hi, I am so sorry to hear abt. Ur cat sweetie. If Ur still looking 4 dat prompt U asked abt. last night might I suggest reader is a timelady/timelord who knew the doctor and the master back on Gallifrey. She somehow gets looped into the whole Kasavin mess and there's just ANGST. (You could change this if you want too, I hope you feel better)”

I’m kinda not happy with how I wrote this one, but I hope you enjoy, I have plans for the next one, might take me a while though. Thank you again for the ask!

A shrill ring throughout the Tardis, and everyone but the Doctor jumps.

"What is that?" Yaz, as always, is the first to question from the other side of the console.

"Better question Yaz, who is that?" The time lord stares at the phone on the console in hesitation. "No one's meant to know the number for the tardis." Her companions look between each other, and Ryan shrugs, before one of them decides to pipe up.

"Well pick it up then! Whoever it is, they might need our help. Does say it on the outside of your blue box anyway, Doc." Graham had a good point, but she was still cautious. She hadn't had a true call come through in god knows how long, so of course, the suspicion was natural as she brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" There was a pause, and a thankful sigh on the other end of the line.

"Doctor, hello! Do you know how hard it is to find the number for this thing? Really need to work on that." Whoever you are, you're ranting down the phone about how bad her Tardis design must be to barely have a connection, let alone a working phone number. She doesn't appreciate it, but the ease at which you complain about her blue box feels largely familiar.

"Right, sorry, but who are you?" There was a light hint of offense in her tone, to which you couldn't help but smile. You knew you had the right number at least, no other time lord would get so defensive over you insulting their ship.

"An old friend, and we have a lot to discuss."

-

You'd landed in Australia, and, from the doctors explanations, it had seemed like quite a lot had gone down on your way here. Something about light beings and mi6, which to be fair, made your adventures look like a cozy night in with a cup of tea (which, let's be honest, most of them were).

Her companions were quite a lively bunch, too. Yaz, the plucky young police woman looking for adventure, and something more interesting than a mundane life. Ryan, arguably quieter than the rest, but not unsure of himself, and certainly not stupid. Then Graham, the oldest of the three, grandad to Ryan and the realist of the group, you could tell he wasn't as much one for the danger in this life.

Your introduction was brief, but it didn't take you long to get to know them with how welcoming they all seemed.

"I thought me and the master were the only ones left..." The doctor looked tired, haggard even, a very different face from the last time you'd seen the time lord, before the fall of Gallifrey. You both sat on the porch, away from the others, drinking something that was probably iced tea but definitely didn't taste like it.

"I guess you rubbed off on me too much...I followed your advice, in the end. Stole a tardis and ran off before all hell broke loose. I take it you know what happened after that?" She nodded. Your home planet was gone one moment, back the next, and neither of you knew what to think anymore. "But...doctor, there's something you should know..."

You didn't have the time, ironically, because 'O' had burst out the front door rattling off something about a code, and then the doctor was back in action, giving you a hand up. "We can continue this little chat later, yeah? It'll be nice to work with another time lord again."

"Likewise, Doctor."

-

The energy around the Doctor was not something you were used to anymore. Always on high, this little adventure was definitely something bigger than you'd all imagined.

Especially since she'd made you get all dressed up to infiltrate a party, bit extra in your opinion, but, you assumed, necessary.

'O' was the most interesting of the Doctors friends, that much you had noticed in the brief moments spent getting to know everyone.

"So...you're like her then?"

"Like who?"

"The doctor. You're a time lord aswell?"

"Yeah, basically." You shrugged. "Two hearts, all of my own, and a Tardis to boot... Why?" The mi6 agent seemed to be way more intrigued in your origins than you'd expected, but you guessed that's what came with having such an infatuation with the Doctor. He did own a whole shelf full of information about her, after all.

Although, you'd admit, the attention you'd gained from him wasn't exactly a bad thing.

"Sorry if that offended you...it's just, she said she was the last of her kind." You hadn't meant to come off as defensive with your question, but you did find your gaze drifting back to the other time lord at his words. It's never an easy life running from a past you can't change, even more so when you're by yourself.

"No, you didn't offend me, sorry, not used to people asking questions about me, that's all," you brushed it off calmly before carrying on, "I guess that's what she believed, and to be honest, I almost believed I was the last aswell,"

The agent was very attentive, listening to your every word, and you were really starting to understand the Doctors weird affinity for humans, "spent years trying to find her again, I'd almost given up... Maybe fate just has a funny way of bringing people together when they need them the most."

"Huh. That's a... nice way of looking at it."

-

This was...not what you were expecting. At all. Finding the Doctor was one thing, but finding the Master? Disguised as 'O'? That was...something else entirely, and suddenly, all of his previous questions were beginning to make sense.

"So this is what you do now? After everything!? What the hell happened between you two while I was gone!?" The Doctors got her sonic trained on the bomb, trying to slow it down atleast, and the Master's yelling in the background.

"Now, do you really think I would not make that sonic proof, Doctor!? Come on!"

"We...had a falling out! We can talk about it later, I dont know!" The Doctor's getting more wound up as the countdown doesn't stop. The Master tells you it's 'deadlock sealed, No parachutes on board'. This wasn't the same time lord you knew back on gallifrey at all, no, he was something else entirely, feeding off the chaos, and the wild look in his eyes only served to confirm it.

"Well this looks like quite the falling out to me!!" You argue back, settling once again into your old habit of calling her out after all these years.

Yaz is the only one of the Doctors companions to fire off a question despite the situation. This girl was starting to grow on you with her fiery attitude. Barton's gone, so this is definitely a death trap after all.

"Stick with me, Yaz, cos I control...everything. Even these guys." A snap of his fingers, and a spin. Dramatic, of course. That's his getaway ticket, and your cue to haul the Doctor out of the cockpit by her suit jacket, slamming the door shut behind you. The blast throws you both, and you know you're braced above her, but there's no time for embarrassment. Instead, you're glad to have atleast shielded her from the brunt of it.

However, now the plane's going down, and the Master just has to get the last word in.

"Everything you think you know... is a lie. Got you, finally." There's the split second after that last laugh, he's about to teleport, whisked away by his new 'friends', but you kick up from your position and practically leap over the Doctor to get to him in time.

You're not letting him go. Not now. Not without answers.

Your hand comes down on his arm.

You both faze out.

Checkmate.

[sore-thraot]

I came to San Francisco (I knew nothing). I came to Eureka on a lark, I showered in the YMCA. I walked to Arcata on the side of 101. Someone picked me up. There was like a little creek, or a river. I am 17 years old, I never graduated from high school. "I am 17, I am looking for work. I came here from Arizona, or Maryland." He asked me if I smoked weed. "So which one is it, Arizona, or Maryland?" I blew smoke out of the window. This area of California was so fucking depressing, I don't like the trees. They seem tired. The houses seem tired. "Not too hot on Humboldt?" What's Humboldt? It's like the houses are leaning over. It's like they're dying. And there are so many addicts. And the air is just sort of sad. I guess? I don't know man. I put my hand to air vent. He took a big hit. His eyebrows went up. "Well, you know, there are worse places on earth than Humboldt County." He flipped the tape. He took a cigarette out of the cup holder and lit it. He looked out the window. What's this? He gave me a cigarette. I looked out the window. It's Nirvana. "I'm fucking hungry." We went to McDonald's.

I woke up the next morning in his bed. He gave me a cigarette. I looked out the window. I loved him a little bit. "I'm fucking hungry. What time is it?" There was half a beer on the side table, and I drank it. It likes the houses are leaning over. It's like their dying. We went to a restaurant that was open 24 hours. He said he liked watching me eat. He wanted to fuck again in the parking lot and I told him no. He gave me this look. I said I think I want to leave town. He ruffled my hair. He was old. "Where we going?" Seattle? "How about Portland. I'm off today." He had large pores on his cheeks, and his skin was tough and cold. I didn't like his face. I liked him kinda. He smelled like cigarettes.

"Okay fine." He made me fuck him at a rest stop.

We fucked at a motel in this place called Beaverton and I asked him if I could have some money to go buy cigarettes. I smoked like three cigarettes behind the mini-mart and got on a bus. Is this toward Portland? "Your going the wrong way." I got off the bus and smoked another cigarette, then started walking.

I came to Portland on my way to Seattle. I stole a six-pack from gas station and sat beside a substation. I drank like four beers and fell asleep. I woke up when it was dark and I wanted food but all I had was like cigarettes. Then I remembered I had $18. I bought another pack for $2. I went and bought three Nutty Butty's and a bag of Fritos. I ate one and stared at the moss growing on the sidewalk. She said your breath smells like peanut butter. Okay fine. I woke up and ate the last crushed Nutty Butty that was in my back pocket. She asked if I wanted coffee and I said do you have any Coca-Cola. I drank a beer for breakfast and played with her dog in the backyard.

I smoked a cigarette outside the Fred Mayer. I didn't have a job. I saw some kids hanging with their mom on her lunch break. I saw a man reading a pocket Bible. I saw a dude digging through the dumpster. I saw a line of ants climbing up the side of the curb. I caught a bus across the river. I had like $11. I bought a pack of cigarettes, a Nutty Butty, a root beer, and a Slim Jim. I went into a Toys R' Us and played Sonic at the display. I waited. I snuck into the movie theater and saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. I stole a bottle of whiskey from the WinCo and took swigs in the parking garage. I smoked weed with two high school boys near the highway overpass and ended up sucking both of them off. I woke up in a pile of wet leaves.

I walked to the highway but it started it raining. I smoked a cigarette underneath the canopy at a Hess gass station. The manager guy told me your gonna "burn this whole place down". I didn't remember the name of those two boys. Jamie and Eric? Jamie and Bobby? I told the gas station manager to go fuck himself, it's raining, and walked across the street to buy a 2-liter of Coke from the Safeway. I sat eating french fries in the top floor of a two-storey McDonalds for like five hours. The rain wasn't stopping. I fell asleep for a little and kept waking up. I fell asleep for awhile and the manager woke me up and said I had to leave. I called my sister on the payphone but no one answered. I went back to the entrance ramp.

Probably should have left a message. What the fuck time is it. I put my thumb up for like an hour. I sat down on the guard rail. I tried to light a cigarette but it kept going out. A guy stopped and said he said he'd give me a ride to Vancouver. That's too fucking close. How about I suck your dick and you get me to Seattle. He said get in and then he said if you suck my dick I can get you to Centralia. I said where the hell is Centralia. He said halfway. I said put the air conditioning on and we have a deal. He put out his hand and said I'm Will. I said you really want to shake my hand. I turned on the air conditioning. He took his dick out. I said put your dick away it's not happening till we get there. He said how do I know you're gonna hold up your end of the deal. I lit a cigarette and ignored him. He shook his head and pulled away and then he asked for a cigarette.

We stopped at a gas station and I stole a Steel Reserve. I told him to fucking drive. I asked to him to calm down. My lighter stopped working so I used the one in his car. He asked if he could have some. I said you're driving. When the hell is it gonna stop raining. What kind of trees are these. These are mostly ponderosas. Some of the bigger ones are Douglas-fir. Ponderosa pines. He said you must not be from around here. I said why you getting some ideas? I took off my jacket and laid it on top of me in front of the vents. He said he was a UPS driver. He said this was his day off and that he had worked ten days in a row sometime eleven, twelve hour days. He said the contract said he had to deliver all the packages no matter what. He said the routes the were too long. He asked for another cigarette. His hands were shaking.

I sucked him off and washed his cum out of my mouth with the rest of the Steel Reserve. He was like should I pull over? I said I'm in a bit of rush. I went to Burgerville and spent my last dollar on french fries. I sat there for three hours. When I ran out of french fries I ate ketchup packets. I left and hung out by a small lake. I walked into town and stole a bottle of Smirnoff. I grabbed a cup out of the Burgerville trash and used it to drink vodka. I fell asleep for like an hour. I lit a cigarette and walked back out to the entrance ramp. I didn't like this town.

[singledarkshade]

The Doctor And The Nurse

Summary: On his way to work, Rory Williams meets a strange man on the strangest morning of his life. So far. Author’s Note: I saw this Tumblr Gif set with Rory as the Tenth Doctor's companion and this appeared. All Eleventh Doctor canon is gone, as is River (at the moment). I intend to write more in this as I have quite a few ideas but until then, enjoy.                                ********************************************* “Hi, Rory,” Amy’s grinning face appeared on the screen, “I’m in India, not that you would know since I’m in my gorgeous hotel room,” the camera moved and panned around the room before moving to the window, “I can’t even show you the sights through the window cause I’m over the pool.”

The camera returned to her smiling face, “We’re here for a few more days, maybe a week depending on how things go then we’re heading to Peru. Can you believe it?” She paused and tilted her head, “I miss you and I wish you were here to see all this, but I know you’re too busy keeping everyone healthy.” She blew him a kiss, “I will be home for your birthday so I will see you then. Bye.”

Rory sighed as he watched Amy’s message for about the hundredth time since he’d received it six days ago. She had surprised everyone when she suddenly announced she’d gotten a job working with Clayton Gove, a well-known writer, and his wife, Julia Gove as their new assistant. He was writing a new novel, while his wife was researching a travel book, so it meant going to far-flung and exotic locations for the next year.

But that was Amy, adventurous and capricious, a whirlwind in his life since childhood but his best friend he couldn’t imagine life without.

With a sigh, Rory finished his coffee before getting his things together to go to work.

Looking around his tiny flat, Rory sometime wished he’d stayed in Leadworth but that would have meant still living at home and he had been trying to assert his independence.

The thing was he was supposed to be moving to London with Amy and sharing a flat with her, except she got her fantastic job, so he’d basically fallen on his face.

Realising the time, Rory grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

The TARDIS landed.

Wondering where he’d ended up since he’d used the random setting, the Doctor slid his coat on and opened the door.

“Really?” he asked, looking out the door to see a sunny morning in a park in what he was sure was London, “I thought we’d be somewhere much more fun.”

Musing for a moment, he knew that when the TARDIS stopped somewhere there was usually a reason for it so, closing the door, the Doctor stepped out into the warm morning.

He would admit he was a little bored since Martha had left, and he was on his own which meant he ended up talking to himself far too much these days.

Sticking his hands in his coat pocket he strolled along the path, smiling at people as he passed them. It was a quiet day but there was something…something he couldn’t quite put his finger on but something.

“Sorry,” a young man said when the Doctor bumped into him.

“My fault,” the Doctor told him before heading away.

Continuing he frowned hearing a strange scuttering from nearby. Stopping he strained to hear the noise, getting onto the ground and pressing his ear to the grass.

“Are you hurt young man?” a woman asked from above him.

He grinned up at her, seeing the perfectly set grey hair and pink jogging suit, “Just checking that the worms are able to move around freely.”

She gave him a confused looked before power walking on.

And then all hell broke loose.

  Rory heard screaming and turned to see people running as what looked like bats rose up from a hole in the ground. The man in the long brown coat who had bumped into him was ushering people away as he pointed a strange pen at the sky.

He saw several people stumble, an older woman wearing a pink jogging suit fell to the ground with a cry. Pushing through those running in the opposite direction Rory reached the woman just as the strange man did.

“Here,” Rory said as they both crouched to help her, “Slowly.”

Helping her to a bench, Rory dug into his bag for his first aid kit as the strange man finally cleared the strange creatures.

“You’re prepared,” the strange man said as he sat on the back of the bench with his feet on the seat.

Rory glanced at him as he began to clean the cut on the woman’s arm, “I’m a nurse.”

“Good,” the man said, nodding, “Excellent. That was good luck you being here. But then I suppose this is on your way to work.”

Frowning slightly confused Rory nodded. He checked the wound and started to put some antibiotic cream on it.

“So, you’ve never seen anything odd?” the strange man asked, “No one weird hanging around?”

Rory turned to him, “Other than you?”

“Good point,” he chuckled, before continuing, “I mean it’s strange for the Chrilckingkiki to attack like that.”

Looking at the woman he was helping who shrugged back at him, Rory knew he was going to regret this but asked, “The what?”

“The things that attacked,” he explained, “But they never would come to Earth…”

“Earth?”

“You would expect to see them on Mars,” the man continued not even acknowledging Rory’s question, “Which begs the question, why are they here?”

Finishing bandaging the woman’s arm, Rory looked up at the strange man, “My question is what are you talking about?”

The man laughed, “Never mind. You should get to safety.”

With that said he bounced away leaving Rory and the woman staring after him.

“That was odd,” Rory said.

She nodded, “Yes, it was.”

“Oh,” the man reappeared again making them both jump, “You wouldn’t happen to have any chewing gum?”

Distracted as a policewoman appeared to check on them, Rory nodded, “In my bag.”

“Thank you,” the man said as he ran away again calling back, “Get to safety.”

Rory sighed.

“What’s wrong, dear?” the woman asked as the policewoman started her moving.

“He took my bag,” Rory looked in the direction the strange man had run, he glanced at the policewoman, “Please ensure she’s checked for a concussion.”

With that said he ran after the man who had stolen his bag.

  The Doctor checked the sonic and fixed the frequency, if he could find their nest then he might be able to work out how they got there. He opened the bag to find the chewing gum and frowned that he couldn’t find what he was looking for.

The bag was snatched from his hands making him jump to see the nurse standing there.

“I told you to get to safety,” the Doctor reminded him.

“You stole my bag,” Rory told him.

The Doctor stared at him for a moment before realising, “Aww, sorry. Where’s the chewing gum?”

Rory opened the front pocket and pulled out the packet he had, “Here.”

“Excellent,” the Doctor said before realising he had no idea who he was talking to, “What’s your name?”

“Rory, look I…”

“I’m the Doctor,” he cut the younger man off, shoving a few strips of chewing gum in his mouth, “Chew this.”

Rory looked confused with two strips of gum sitting in his mouth, so the Doctor motioned what he wanted him to do. The bemused expression didn’t move as he began to chew.

Checking the signal on the sonic he began to move again, Rory following on. Reaching a large tree in the centre of a grass circle the Doctor frowned.

“The signal stops here,” he grimaced, shaking the screwdriver, “That’s rubbish. A tree.”

“That’s new,” Rory spoke up from his side.

The Doctor spun, “What?”

“I walk through this park every day,” Rory told him, “I have never seen a tree here before, especially one that looks older than I am.”

“Really?” the Doctor stared at it, “Give me your gum.”

Rory stared at him, “You want my chewed gum?”

“Why do you think I gave you it?” the Doctor rolled his eyes, “Gum, now.”

With a disgusted look, Rory took the gum out his mouth and handed it across. Nodding at the young man, the Doctor rummaged in his pockets and pulled out the atmosphere sensor he had. With the gum and the sonic he altered it so he could check for portals instead.

“What are you doing?” Rory demanded watching intently.

“The Chrilckingkiki aren’t from here,” the Doctor explained as he worked, “So they must have come through my portal. Now, if there is a portal there is someone who has created it and considering there is a tree bang smack in the middle of the park that wasn’t there yesterday then we know that there is someone orchestrating this.”

“So…”

“So, I am going to do a feedback loop and close the portal,” the Doctor told him.

Rory stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging, “Okay.”

With a nod the Doctor activated the scanner, finding the frequency he glanced at Rory who was watching thoughtfully.

A high pitched squeal began to sound from the tree.

“What is that?” Rory demanded.

The Doctor winced and grabbed Rory’s arm, “Run.”

  Rory was a little surprised as the Doctor grabbed his arm and yanked him away from the tree. The Doctor skidded to a stop and snatched Rory’s bag off him again, opening it he dumped the contents onto the grass.

“Hey!!” Rory cried, picking up his stuff from the ground.

“Sorry, Rory,” he said, “I need this, the portal isn’t closing and unless I close it then it will rip a permanent hole between the worlds and…”

“And?” Rory demanded automatically taking the bag when the Doctor handed it to him.

“I need to be able to detonate a large enough explosion and need a way to deliver it without getting either of us killed.”

Staring at the other man, Rory nodded and didn’t resist when the Doctor took the bag back. Using the handle, he began to swing it in a circle around his head before letting it go.

“Allonsy,” the Doctor cried as he released the bag.

It flew through the air in a smooth arc, and Rory gripped the Doctor’s arm as he watched it hit the tree. The explosion threw them both backwards and they slammed into the ground.

  The Doctor sighed in relief that his plan had worked, he knew it had been a long shot but sometimes they worked the best.

Pulling himself to a stand, the Doctor offered Rory his hand to help him off the ground.

“You okay?”

“Ahh, yeah,” Rory sounded winded, looking around. He stared at the empty space where the tree had been, “What happened?”

“We closed the rift and made sure that it can’t open again,” the Doctor smiled, patting Rory on the shoulder, “Well, that’s us fixed everything so you should go and get to work.”

Looking a little shell-shocked, Rory nodded and holding all his things in his arms wandered away. With a smile the Doctor headed back to the TARDIS.

                                 *********************************************

 Rory finished his shift, his supervisor had heard of the chaos in the park so he hadn’t received any reprimands for being late. He’d managed to get it out of his mind while he worked but now, as he wandered home Rory kept thinking about the insane morning.

As he walked along the side of the park, it was still cordoned off after this morning’s insanity so he couldn’t follow his usual route home. Rounding the corner to his street, Rory stalled as the Doctor stood in front of a police box sitting on the street.

“I thought I would check up and see how you were after this morning,” the strange man said, pushing himself off the box.

Rory stared at him for a second before asking, “Who are you?”

“I told you,” he grinned, “I’m the Doctor.”

“I know a lot of Doctors and none of them are like you,” Rory replied.

The Doctor continued to grin, “I like you.”

“Thank you?”

“So,” the Doctor said, “Where are you from? Because you don’t seem at ease here.”

Looking bemused at the questioning Rory took a moment before he shrugged, “I’m from Leadworth.”

“Never heard of it,” the Doctor mused.

“It’s in Gloucester,” Rory replied before shaking his head, “Why am I telling you this?”

The Doctor smiled, “I’m listening?”

Rory stared at him, still bemused.

"So, you've never been anywhere other than here or some tiny village in the middle of nowhere?" the Doctor asked.

Rory shrugged, "Never really had the inclination to travel much."

"Then you've never thought of another sky above your head, or different grass beneath your feet?"

"My friend Amy was always the adventurous one," Rory told him, "She’s currently in India, I think. It might be Peru by now."

The Doctor chuckled, "Since I destroyed your bag, how about I make it up to you by giving you one trip."

"How?"

Pointing to the TARDIS, the Doctor waited for the young man's reply.

"In your wooden box?" Rory asked, the scepticism clear in his voice.

With a grin the Doctor opened the door, "Have a look."

Confused Rory moved closer and stopped as he saw the room through the door, turning he walked around the box, his hand trailing along the outside to ensure there was nothing there to create an illusion.

Returning to the door he stepped inside and looked around.

“Well?” the Doctor said, waiting for the normal response.

Rory turned to him, “After today, this doesn’t surprise me.”

Laughing the Doctor threw his coat over the railing, closing the door before he jogged over to the console.

“I should probably ask,” Rory joined him at the console, “Trip where?”

With a grin the Doctor pulled the lever.

[mickeycookies]

hey hon I really like your karavette work (the other anon is right, that sunset comic always makes my heart flip!!) and I was just wondering if you have some kind of backstory as to how these two babes met and fell for each other etc? basically some lore on their relationship if you can call it that lol. keep up the good work!💕

First, I’d like to start this off by saying: OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Their first meeting had always been dialogue-less in my head and so putting actual words and scenes into something that I always imagined to be wordless and just flashes of what happened, along with other things going on in my life and my inability to write, and my refusal to just give another brief explanation of how it went down because i’ll “draw it one day” all contributed to the 9,000 years it took me to finish this _(:3」∠)_ BUT IT’S HERE AND I DID IT AND I’M SO SO SORRY IT TOOK THIS LONG!

Ivette was created before season 2, so their first meeting is very much based on season 1 Karamatsu’s character and it’s kinda weird to think about now that he’s grown so much in season 2. But, this is the way I’ve always seen it, and I’m too attached to change it ｡(*^▽^*)ゞ Also, big thanks to Dr. @lazura and Professor @lenkachu for looking over this for me! You guys were a big help!

Ivette stared at the map on her phone with a blank face, the little blue dot blinking at her tauntingly.

‘Definitely took the long way … .’ she mentally grumbled to herself, wondering why she would even trust her sense of direction to begin with, ‘How did I even do that?’.

She should’ve just taken a taxi. She always took a taxi. Why didn’t she take a taxi?

Sighing, she powered on. There was no point in trying to reason with her past self’s misguided decision to walk because “it’s not that far!” She’d just have to remind herself next time that everything’s far in heels and that she should never trust herself to find a new spot without help from her friends ever again.

Her eyes tracked the little dot as she walked, examining street numbers and the estimated time it’d take to get there, ‘just past this bridge I’ll make a right and it should be at the next intersection …’ The thought of finally being able to sit down and enjoy some expensive sweets with what little time she most likely had left in her break outweighed everything else, and she was more than happy to be almost done with navigating this unfamiliar part of town.

‘Just a little bit longer!’

Ivette looked up from her phone to see how much further it would be until she hit the main street when something caught her eye.

A skull. On a leather jacket.

She came to a short stop where she stood, phone lowering as she stared at the form of a man down on one knee, bent forward in the bushes. Aside from the leather jacket that had originally grabbed her attention, she could see he also wore a pair of fitted blue jeans and scuffed brown Cuban-heeled boots, and she couldn’t help but be a little surprised at the sight.

A greaser? Here in Japan?

She regarded the jacket for a few seconds more, admiring the cut and the skull applique that was a dead giveaway it was vintage and well-loved.

“Come here, little one … it’s alright.”

Ivette watched quietly as he made beckoning motions into the bush and, ever so slowly, a cat emerged from the leaves, unsure. Her heart gave a little squeeze as the cat approached him slowly, hazel eyes big and curious as it sniffed his hand cautiously, judging whether he could be trusted or not. It stared at him, making a decision, before nuzzling against his hand, eyes closed contently. The man in the leather jacket chuckled, rubbing the cat’s head gently as it leaned into his hand, ears flattening at the touch. From the way he handled it, she was certain he had an affinity for cats, and she couldn’t help but smile at the scene, the sweetness of it all making it impossible not to. Snapping back to reality, she pulled her purse back up her shoulder, eyes shooting back to the phone in her hand. She didn’t have time to stand around and stare! Ivette walked away, stride a little faster as she refocused on her mission.

Quick footsteps sounded behind her and she turned to see a little girl, probably not older than five, running across the bridge towards them.

“Maru-chan!”

The little girl caught sight of the man in the leather jacket, the tabby and white-patched cat in his arms.

“Maru-chan!” the little girl ran towards him, and he turned to look at her, lifting his sunglasses with one hand to rest them on his head, surprised. She came to an abrupt halt before him, a little bag of treats held tightly in her fists, “Maru-chan, I’ve looked everywhere for you!”

The man looked down to the cat in his arms before smiling, brown eyes soft, “It appears you’ve reunited with your mama much sooner than we’d thought, little one.”

Ivette watched his every move intently, stepping a little closer to the two. The girl was alone without a guardian, all the warmth she’d felt previously towards the leather-jacketed stranger turned into cold wariness in a second. He shifted to kneel on his other knee, bringing himself to face the girl properly and lifted the cat away from his chest to look it in the eyes kindly, “How wonderful it must be, to have someone in this world who loves you.”

Ivette’s serious expression faltered a bit, his words stirring something within her. Her hand went to her chest, curling into a loose fist over her heart as she watched him carefully place the cat back into the little girl’s open arms. A small smile returned to her lips unconsciously when the child gave a happy cry, nuzzling into the cat.

Another set of quick footsteps caught her attention, this time faster and heavier, and Ivette caught sight of a woman running towards them. The woman ran past her much like the little girl, and over towards the other two, grabbing the girl by the shoulders.

“Don’t run away from Mom like that again!” She chided her, though her tone was far more distressed than it was angry.

The young girl nodded, cuddling the cat closer to her, “Yes, Mama …”

Ivette let out a relieved breath, the girl’s mother was here now, everything was going to be ok. She’d stood there long enough so she turned to leave.

She hadn’t even taken ten steps past them when she suddenly heard crying.

Looking over her shoulder at the group again, Ivette was surprised to see the little girl crying her heart out, holding her pet closer to her with one arm as the other pointed at the man in the leather jacket accusingly, “He did it! He stole Maru-chan!”

The man in the leather jacket jolted, eyes shooting to the child fast as lightning, “Ehh?!”

The little girl continued to sob, cries just getting louder and louder, and the greaser panicked, not knowing what to do, torn between trying to calm the crying child and defending himself. The mother’s hands clenched into tight fists and Ivette put her phone in her purse, deciding to step in and try to help clear things up.

“I’ve never seen this cat before in my life, Ma’am! I—!”

“He did it! He’s the one!” The little girl sobbed.

“O-OI!” A nervous bead of sweat dripped down his temple, and his eyes widened when he realized his mistake, “W-wait, please! I d-didn’t—!” Ivette was already rushing over but it was too late. The mother punched him, the force creating a sonic boom and sending him skidding across the pavement with a sickening sound. Ivette’s eyes widened in horror at the sight, her jaw falling open in a heavy gasp. She ran over without a second thought.

“Come on, let’s get you two home,” the mother said sweetly, taking her daughter’s free hand in her own and leading her out of the park, the little girl sticking her tongue out at the unconscious man sprawled out on the floor, steam radiating off his skull.

Passersby looked on at the scene in silence before shrugging it off and going about their business, not fazed by the poor man practically embedded into the concrete. Heads did, however, turn when Ivette dropped to her knees beside him, letting her purse fall to the ground next to her. Her hands hesitated, not knowing if it was ok to touch him, “Are you ok? Can you hear me?”

He groaned in response and she let out a sigh of relief. He was still conscious, that was good!

She looked up briefly when she realized that the woman was long gone by now and she cursed herself for not stopping her, “Shit!”  She turned over things to do next in her mind, too panicked to settle on just one thing, ‘Should I report this? It was an assault, of course I should! Do I feel comfortable reporting a mother who was only trying to protect her child? No, no, there were other ways to resolve this, she didn’t need to hurt him! Does he want to report this??’ Ivette looked down at the man when he groaned once more, and she pulled her hair behind her ear nervously, leaning closer, “Is it alright if I help you sit up? Do you want to sit up?”

A slow nod was her answer and carefully she put one hand beneath his shoulder, wondering if she should support his head too, when he began to sit himself up on his own. She helped push him gently the rest of the way until he was able to sit up properly, but she kept her hands where they were, just in case he tipped over.

He rubbed his face slowly, bangs falling over his eyes, “Ah … Yes, t-thank you, my honey …”

Ivette processed his English, taken aback.

The man lifted his head and Ivette flinched, face drawn in shock at his face, caved-in into the shape of a fist perfectly, like a mold had been cast. Her mind went into overdrive as she started panicking again, ‘Oh my god!’ The greaser gave the back of his head a hard pat and his face seemed to pop right back to normal, at least she had thought so until she saw the red, angry swell to his eyes. A thin sliver of his brown irises were visible behind the puffy watering skin, and blood trickled from his nose; his left eye seemingly trembled at her for emphasis and Ivette was unable to stop herself from making another face at the sight.

At the silence, the man shifted nervously in his spot before crossing his legs and leaning forward in a “cool” pose like he wasn’t hurt in the slightest, “Heh … a kind stranger has come to my rescue. ” His voice was timid for the way he tried to present himself, “I am a honest man, I’ll admit this never—" He pitched forward suddenly, hand flying to his mouth as he hacked up blood, red squirting from between his fingers, and Ivette’s face paled, a horrified squeal escaping her.

“Thank you very much!” An elderly ice cream man thanked a couple of high school students, smiling wide as the two walked off enjoying their cold treats. His smile faltered in curiosity when the quick pounding of footsteps reached his ear, like something was rushing towards him and he turned to the noise only for a woman to slam her hands down on his stand with an incredible force, startling him. He stared on in confusion as she panted hard, hair sticking to her forehead from the run before looking up, still struggling to catch her breath, “T-two! No—two mai-No! Ni ice—!” Ivette whined, slamming a hand down on the counter, obviously frazzled and looking a bit crazy, “TWO! I NEED TWO! PLEASE!”

“They feel like they’re starting to melt, is it ok if I look?”

“O-of course! Please, do what you must!”

Ivette leaned a bit closer to him on the bench, peeling one of the softened monaka packages off the man’s left eye as carefully as she could. The swelling had gone down considerably, and she released a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding in relief, shoulders relaxing, “Thank goodness, the swelling’s gone down.” Placing the package on her lap, she examined his eye more closely, “Can you see?”

He squinted his eye, trying to focus in on the woman sitting across from him, but all he could see was colors, all blobbed together, like looking through stained glass.

His lips flattened in a tight line, concentrating, and Ivette leaned in again, raising her hand to his face, “Here, maybe this will help …” She peeled the other monaka back just as carefully as the first, satisfied to see the swelling had gone down for his right eye as well, it squinting upon exposure to the light. The skin around his eyes was still an angry red, and he’d have some nasty bruising tomorrow, but for now she was just glad it looked better.

When he didn’t say anything, looking just as lost as before, she held up two fingers in front of his face, “Can you tell me how many fingers you see?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning in close to her fingers, inspecting them intensely before closing his eyes, humming thoughtfully. She dropped her hand and wondered if the pain was too much to keep his eyes open when he gave a short shaky smirk, stroking his chin, “Trick question, my dear~”

“It … wasn’t,” Ivette bit her lip, thinking about what to do next, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to a hospital? I could—”

“Non, non, non! I couldn’t possibly burden my noble heroine any more than I already have!”

“I’m not—“ Ivette started, shaking her head flustered, “It wouldn’t be a burden at all.” There was only so much she could do for him with a few makeshift ice packs that weren’t going to survive the heat for long. Cleaning the blood off his face and wrapping a few monakas in hand towels wasn’t nearly enough to be called a heroine, or to qualify as decent medical care. “A real doctor could fix you up much better than I can …” she persisted, pulling another hand wipe from her purse when she noticed a dry fleck of blood she’d missed earlier near his mouth, “I’m going to clean the corner of your mouth again, is that ok?”

“Y-yes! It is!” He stiffened, warmth spreading across his face when her hand came to his cheek, gingerly holding him still as she rubbed the spot away with a gentle pressure, like he was something delicate, something cherished. Her hand was soft, and he felt himself flush deeper when he was overcome with the sudden urge to lean into it, quickly squashing the idea before he could consider it further, “Y-you’ve already done so much! It’s more than enough!” The wet sensation near his mouth was lifted away along with her hand and he opened his eyes, vision still cloudy.

Ivette’s brows furrowed as she regarded him with concern, “But you’re still hurt …”

“Heh~” The colors were starting to resemble a shape, the black and white smudge sitting across from him starting to have blurred edges, “I’ve born far worse than this, my dear, I’ll survive~”

Ivette looked at him quizzically, wondering what other scuffles he could have possibly gotten himself into before remembering how he hit the ground, “What about your head? Are you sure it doesn’t hurt?”

The man touched the back of his head gently, trailing his fingertips lightly over the back of his skull before applying more pressure, “It’s still a little tender, but nothing I can’t deal with!”

“Tender?” Ivette wanted to huff in frustration, what was his deal? Why all this talk about going through worse? Dealing with things? Not being a burden? He couldn’t see! Why couldn’t he worry about himself? “Is it alright if I take a look?”

He jumped, taken aback, “Uh, yes! O-of course!” He watched the black and white blur stand and he turned his head, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for movement of any kind. Nobody had ever been this concerned about him before. His hands clenched as he thought about his family, and how quick his brothers were to dismiss him when he needed help, when he was in pain.

“Let me know if it hurts.”

“I will …”

“And also,” Ivette smiled weakly down at him, “Please be honest with me, ok?”

His heart started pounding in his chest and he could only nod, a small smile of his own crossing his face, “I will.” Her fingers gently grazed his hair and when he made no sign of discomfort she continued, slowly applying more pressure. Relaxing, he made sure he paid close attention to the spots she touched, trying to gauge his pain.

He … wasn’t used to this, actually being taken care of like this, and by a complete stranger no less. Memories of his brothers started to return, even though he’d told himself they’d moved past it and he didn’t need to think about it anymore. His own brothers couldn’t even be bothered to rescue him when his life was on the line, tied to a pole in the middle of the ocean or set ablaze in front of their own home. But this stranger … she stopped for him, when everyone else was perfectly fine with walking around him and leaving him there to pick himself up eventually. She helped him up, she offered to take him to a hospital, she ran off to get something cold for his injury, she even came back, that was what surprised him the most. With his luck he was surprised she didn’t just take off and leave him sitting there for hours until the realization that he was ditched set in. She did all that and then stayed with him, cleaning him up and taking care of him. He didn’t even know how long it had been, but he had a feeling it had to have been around an hour or more.

He didn’t know this woman.

But she was kind.

“No blood. Doesn’t seem to be any swelling …” she thought aloud to herself in English, impressed for how hard he hit the ground, “And you’re sure it doesn’t hurt anywhere?”

“Nothing to worry too much about, my dove! As I’ve said, I’ve endured worse!” If he were wearing his sunglasses he would have slid them up the bridge of his nose to hide behind them, feeling uncharacteristically shy. He cringed as he thought back to the incident, “My back took most of the impact, so my head should be more or less fine.”

“Your neck—” Ivette started only for him to interject, his hand going to rub the nape of his neck reassuringly.

“—Is fine! Don’t worry about me, Honey,” He closed his eyes, smirking at no one, “I’m sturdier than I look.”

Ivette frowned, moving to sit next to him again as she reached for the coldest monaka, re-wrapping it in the hand towel. It wasn’t going to last that much longer so might as well get as much use out of it as they could. She held it in her hand for a while as she thought; he didn’t want to go to the hospital and she couldn’t convince him to change his mind. He didn’t seem to have a concussion, but he still couldn’t see.

“I’m going to put this back on your eye, so it might be a little cold.”

“I can take it~”

His hand came up to his face to hold the ice cream package in place himself, calloused fingers lightly brushing her own in the transfer.

‘Maybe I can get him back to his house? Have someone there convince him to go … I’ll have to ask—’ Ivette’s brows furrowed.

His name.

She never asked for it.

“Uh …”

“Hmm?”

He blinked hard with his uncovered right eye, the fuzzy shapes becoming even clearer than before. The silhouette of his rescuer was sharper now.

Ivette pulled her hand back, embarrassed for keeping it on his own for so long, “Your name.”

“Eh?”

“I’m sorry,” She wondered how the thought had never crossed her mind earlier, “I never asked what it was.”

The man stared at her silently before realization dawned on him. He too also wondered how he’d never thought to give it to her, “Ah, my name …” Suddenly everything was too bright. He squinted, allowing his eyes to refocus, “It’s Matsuno Karamatsu.”

How long had he kept this poor woman here? The amberine glow to her eyes could only mean the sun was setting … but then why had it been so bright? It didn’t feel like it had been that long …

Karamatsu blinked hard again, only registering the other monaka being lifted to his face when the stranger began to lean in to him.

Ivette noticed his eye fall on the ice cream, something it hadn’t done the other times, before widening when it met hers. Her request to have him close his eye died on her tongue, her head tilting when his lips parted in surprise.

“Can you see it?” she asked gently, slightly worried about the spooked look on his face.

He didn’t answer. Karamatsu continued to stare, the hand holding the other ice cream pack slowly lowering to his lap as his eyes bore into hers.

It was still noon.

The sky was blue.

The sunset was really …

She sat back in her seat, concern dampening her features. He was frozen. Karamatsu blinked a few more times, his left eye seeming to adjust to the brightness before he shook his head, flustered.

“Y-yes! Yes, I could see it!”

Ivette smiled, relief washing over her, “That’s good!”

He could see again! That was good! But!

Her smile grew weak, “Are you still sure you don’t want to see a doctor?”

A couple walked by, the man sneaking a glance at Ivette before his girlfriend noticed, frowning and tugging on his arm hard, pulling him away faster.

Karamatsu couldn’t tear his gaze away from her eyes, almost entranced by them. His lips curled into a shy smile back, “Yes, I’m sure.”

This was the lovely stranger who had helped him. The kind woman who offered her hand when no one else would.

It didn’t matter what he had to do or how long it would take, he would repay the kindness she had shown him, he swore his life on it.

“Are you really going to be ok?”

Karamatsu flicked his bangs out of his eyes, smirking; the swelling was much better now, the skin around his eyes almost back to normal save for the crimson rings that were beginning to darken with bruises, “Worry not, my dear champion! This broken man is capable of putting the rest of his pieces back together again!”

Ivette’s lips turned up a little awkwardly, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d understood that quite right. She just decided to go with what she thought she’d heard, “I’m no champion.” She tucked some hair behind her ear as she laughed bashfully. “But I’m glad you seem to be a little better now.”

Karamatsu jolted, cheeks warming in a way that went unnoticed by her because of the red rings marring his skin.

Her laugh.

It was cute.

“Thank you.” He said it as sincerely as he possibly could, feeling like he’s never meant anything he’s said more. Even for something as small (she had claimed) as this. He wanted her to know.

Ivette pulled her purse back up her shoulder, waving it off, “There’s no need to thank me for anything, Matsuno-san.” Giving him an apologetic look, she continued, “I wish I could have done more.”

“I-it was enough!” he reassured her, louder than he’d intended to. He wanted her to know how much this meant to him. Needed her to know. Snapping his arms to his sides, he closed his eyes and bowed low, surprising most of the people that walked by, including her. “It was more than enough! Thank you! Thank you for everything!”

People stopped and watched as Ivette stared at him in shock, whispering about the strange scene amongst themselves.

A desperate man thanking a girlfriend-for-hire, perhaps?

Karamatsu was about to lower himself further, when her hands came to his shoulders, stopping him.

“You don’t have to do that!”

Something like this had never happened to her before, and slight social panic quickly overtook her, “Please stand up!”

The gentle push to his shoulders made him open his eyes slowly to the floor before trailing back up to her, confusion settling into his features. She seemed to realize she was still touching him and took her hands back immediately, slightly mortified. This was all just too much for her.

“But—!” Karamatsu started, only to be cut off by her.

“Please stand …” her voice was soft, and Karamatsu found himself drawn to the sunset of her eyes once more, practically begging him to do as she said. Karamatsu wanted to protest, wanting her to see just how serious he was about this, but begrudgingly stood, unable to deny such a heartfelt plea.

The crowd slowly began to disperse, uninterested now that the weirdo in the painful leather jacket wasn’t going to throw himself prostrate before the sexy foreigner anymore.

An awkward silence fell over them as they just stood there, both lost in their own thoughts of what to do next.

“Will you be able to get home safely?” Ivette asked, still hesitant to leave.

Karamatsu looked to her in surprise. Gathering his bearings, he melted right back into his usual cool self, “Your concern for me touches my heart, ma chère, but you needn’t worry for me. Already, I feel even better than I did before and should have no trouble going back the way I came!” Placing his sunglasses over his eyes, he smirked, the cracks running down the center of the lenses not bothering him in the slightest, “My home is also not too far from here so I should be fine.” He added, not as dramatically.

Smiling, Ivette took her phone out of her purse to call a taxi, after this little adventure she was certain she wouldn’t have enough time to attempt walking back to work.

Karamatsu was about to say something else when he noticed the woman’s eyes suddenly widen as she stared at the screen silently, grip tightening around the device in her hand. Her face paled, back straightening and mouth opening and closing repeatedly, like a fish stranded on land.

He unconsciously raised a hand out to her, concerned, “Is something wrong?”

It was 3:30. Her break ended three hours ago.

“I’m sorry I need to go!”

Karamatsu blinked at her, words quickly escaping him as he watched her turn slightly, still talking to him.

“I—” a thought came to her and she bowed courteously, “I’m sorry this is so abrupt, but I have to go back to work—now! Please take care of yourself, Matsuno-san!”

It was like the clock had struck midnight.

“W-wait! Please!” Karamatsu called out to her, reaching for her hand, before stopping himself.

The woman turned back to him, looking ready to break into a sprint at any moment. He was holding her up, he knew this, having the audacity to keep her there longer, but he couldn’t just let her walk out of his life never having her kindness paid back in full.

“Is there any way I can repay you for all you’ve done?” Karamatsu asked.

She was taken aback, raising her hands in front of her, she shook her head, “I’ve already told you, Matsuno-san, there’s no need to!”

“I want to!” He assured her earnestly, “I know you think that this wasn’t much, but it was! And I couldn’t possibly let you go without letting you know how grateful I am!”

Ivette bit the inside of her cheek, not knowing what to do. He didn’t need to repay her anything, but she also didn’t have the time to go back and forth with him about it like before. He didn’t seem to be trying to weasel her into a date with him as her “payment” like other guys, so that was nice. He wasn’t up in her space, he wasn’t keeping her prisoner by the hand, he seemed to want to pay her back simply because he thought it was the right thing to do, even though she thought it wasn’t necessary.

Sighing, she came to the conclusion that just once it would be ok. The burden of “paying her back” would be lifted from his shoulders and he’d never have to worry about it again. She could ask for something small and that’d be the end of it.

“Ok …” she conceded, “Ok.”

Karamatsu beamed, and Ivette gawked at the sight for a moment. It was the happiest she’d seen him so far.

“But not now,” she reminded him, “I need to go back to work, so some other time?”

“Yes, of course!” Karamatsu’s eyes were sparkling, elated.

“Here,” Ivette opened up her contacts list and made a new one, “Why don’t you give me your phone number and—”

“Ah, my phone number …” his hand came up to stroke his chin, expression turning sheepish, “I don’t have a phone.”

Ivette stared at him incredulously. Realizing that she was just wasting time staring at him, she locked her phone, “Not even a home phone?”

“I do but—you see it’s—” He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to explain not wanting her to call only to have one of his brothers answer the phone instead, “complicated.”

Ivette’s lips formed a tight line, knowing she needed to go setting her nerves on edge, “Ok …” She opened her purse, digging around for a pen. She always carried one, where was it? Her eyes settled on her business card holder and she snatched it up, relieved that she hadn’t left it at work.

Karamatsu watched curiously as she walked closer to him, slipping a card from the baby pink holder before placing it back in her bag. With both hands on the card she handed it over to him with a light bow, and Karamatsu jolted, reaching for it and doing the same. This was the most professional interaction he’d had in a long time and Karamatsu grimaced internally, realizing he should feel some sort of embarrassment that it had caught him off guard.

Stepping even closer, she pointed to a number on the card, “This is my cell phone number. I’m usually off work after 7 but you can leave me a message during the day if you’d like.”

He nodded, listening intently as she listed all the other times he could try calling her as briefly as she could.

Taking a step back, she clapped her hands together, “Is there anything else?”

His gaze went from the card in his hands, to her, “No, I believe that’s it. Thank you. Again, for everything.”

The woman smiled, and he smiled shyly back.

“Good!” Glancing at the clock she suddenly noticed on the other side of the walkway, her eyes shot back to him, “I have to go now.” Retrieving her phone once more she pulled up the number for a taxi, starting to turn as she did so. She hit the call button, but looked back to him one last time, “Please, take care of yourself, Matsuno-san.”

Karamatsu wanted to say something back, to tell her to do the same, but she was already gone, phone pressed to her ear as she ran towards the main street. He was amazed at how fast she could run in her heels, worry suddenly taking over with the thought that she could get hurt.

Heads turned as she ran past, and Karamatsu realized he should have walked her to wherever she was being picked up. He made to follow when he saw her come back from around the corner, a taxi pulling up beside her. She hopped in—ever elegant, even in a hurry—and then she was gone.

Karamatsu stared at the spot he’d last seen her, wide-eyed.

Scenes from a fairytale flashed through his mind, the situation feeling all too familiar. He murmured to himself, wide eyes sparkling, “My Cinderella …”

The thought that he’d never gotten her name followed immediately after.

Eyes dropping to the card in his hand, he moved the thumb that was covering it quickly, reading the katakana for her name and sounding it out to himself.

‘Ivette.’

The front door slid open, and Osomatsu looked up from where he was laying on the floor to see who it was.

“I’m home …”

Oh, it was just Karamatsu.

“Yeah, yeah, welcome home!” he called over his shoulder uninterested. When Karamatsu said nothing else and walked heavily to the staircase, that caught his attention. Usually Karamatsu wouldn’t shut up, whether it be try-hard deep nonsense or something about his day and what he’d done, he always had something to say, and this sudden silence freaked Osomatsu out a bit. Pushing himself to sit up, he watched Karamatsu trudge up the stairs looking like a zombie, and was that … something pink in his pocket? Osomatsu was silent as he watched the figure of his younger brother disappear, wondering if something happened. Shrugging it off, he reached for another handful of Ichimatsu’s chips, attention going back to the tv.

Karamatsu always had something to say. If something was wrong he’d tell his nii-chan.

Karamatsu slid the door to their room open, relieved for once to see it was empty. Shuffling in, he slid the door shut behind him and reached into his pocket, pulling out the business card. He stared at it for a few moments before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, thinking.

This was a girl’s phone number.

It was on a business card, but it was still her phone number.

He examined it further, flipping it around to see it was identical on the backside but written in English.

Girls didn’t go through the trouble of making fake business cards, did they?

He shook his head, berating himself. He didn’t have her number to take her on a date, he was just going to pay her back, that was all. Karamatsu reached into his other pocket, almost forgetting about the hand towels he’d shoved in there right before entering the house. Unfolding one of them in his palm, he looked at it. The small white towel had a pink border, a pattern of pastel heart shaped objects from some magical girl anime he wasn’t familiar with decorating it, and he felt himself melt a little at how adorable it was.

He had to find a way to wash them without anyone finding out. He would return them the next time he saw her.

‘The next time …’

Karamatsu looked back to the card, blushing as his eyes traced the characters of her name once more.

He’d have to find a safe place to hide everything; nothing was ever safe amongst these wolves, the fact that everyone knew where each other’s porn stashes were was proof enough of that.

[12thdoctorwhomst]

A Breath of Fresh Air

This is the first fanfic that I’ve ever written and the first one that I’ve had the pleasure of writing with @the-young-doctor-of-gallifrey. It’s our idea of what the 12th Doctor’s regeneration scene should be. This is also my 400 follower milestone, so thank you, friends!

Summary: The 12th Doctor lands in the middle of a forest and is lead by a few familiar faces towards his future…

~2000 words

Rays of angelic light poured through the green canopies of birch trees. The last stars in the sky had just disappeared in the mid-morning sun. The fog that had held hold of the earthy ground had lifted, but dew still laid upon the mosses and leaves. Growing out of a decaying log covered with a carpet of moss, was a rather large mushroom. A flower near the base of a willow had nearly bloomed; its bulb bulging for freedom. A breeze rustled the leaves slightly, then more, and more. The sagging branches of the willow danced about and the bulb struggled to stay on. The faintest noise could be heard, gradually getting louder every second till it filled the forest. As if out of science fiction, a blue object faded into existence beside the willow; a 1960’s era police telephone box. It slowly solidified, the noise ever getting louder till it was whole. Then, with the sound of a bass drum, the noise stopped, the wind calmed, and the forest found it’s peace again.

The doors flung inwards revealing the insides of the time machine. A silver-haired man staggered out, gripping the left side of the TARDIS. The cuffs on his coat were charred and ripped, much like the rest of his clothes. He fell out of the box onto the soft forest floor; the world was spinning. He gasped as the pain struck him again. Every cell in his body was being replaced. He glanced over at the blooming flower and sighed. It would seem that this was going to be even more painful than last time.

A small crunch of leaves nearby startled him. The Doctor darted his eyes around. “Can I suggest going a bit further?” A man stepped out from behind a tree. The Doctor’s vision was blurring more, but he smiled at the figure. The man was short and looked to be in his mid 40’s, with a mop of black hair on his head. He pointed towards the forest clearing up ahead with his recorder and nodded. The Doctor stumbled to his feet and carried on forward.

Another man appeared from behind a bush in a cream coat and Panama hat. The Doctor laughed at the celery stalk on the man’s left lapel. “Sorry! Must dash! Just like you have to too!” He turned and ran off, fading, like a distant memory. The Doctor’s smile diminished from his face as his chest tightened.

The Doctor blinked and another figure appeared next to him, leaning on his shoulder. Question marks were littered all over the man’s sweater and his hat was slightly tilted. “Who’s worried? You are, but know you’re ready.” He grinned at The Doctor and held out his umbrella as if to march to battle. He faded into the mist right when The Doctor felt a small shock in his hand. He flinched and shook his hand in hopes it would feel better.

The Doctor could feel something brewing up within his chest. Regeneration energy puffed out like a cloud of gold dust from his mouth. He watched it swirl around in the morning breeze till it faded. Suddenly, a dark figure in a leather jacket appeared in front of him. “You know what? You need to go. You’re holding up the next one!” The man motioned to move forward and grinned. “This one’s gonna be great. Absolutely fan-” But his voice dissipated before he could finish.

The Doctor moved on, struggling with each step to avoid tripping over tree roots. Looking down at his hand, a faint yellowish glow was emanating from it. It was as if his life force was leaking out of him, weakening him. He fell to his knees again and looked up into the sky. The trees formed a ring around the clearing that The Doctor was in now. Long emerald grass covered the clearing and a few bushes shattered the rim of trees. To his right, a small pond could be seen.

Someone let out a laugh nearby. Looking over, The Doctor saw a younger looking man with a rather large chin. He smiled and The Doctor chuckled to himself. “What a silly bow tie,” he thought. This man was supposed to be his last life, how embarrassing. The man looked down at his wristwatch as if to signal that it was time, time to change and continue living on. He looked up and grinned, looking The Doctor directly into his eyes. “Now let me tell you, this one’s gonna be even more of a whopper!”

Suddenly, all the men The Doctor used to be, appeared before him. “This’ll be brilliant!” “Absolutely fantastic!” “I suppose it’s time.” “Well now? Let’s see it!” His past lives crowded around him, cheering him on. They all formed a circle around the kneeling Doctor and lifted their hands up as if to bless the dying man; their future. It was comforting to The Doctor to know that there was always someone who cared for him.

Suddenly, all of the people The Doctor used to be, vanished, leaving behind a single man. His back was towards The Doctor and he seemed to be in deep thought looking into the grove. “You’ll be just fine. Just fine. Even if you don’t think so.” The man turned to face him and smiled. He wore a tattered brown leather jacket and a fraying scarf. His wrinkled face was just like The Doctor’s and a touch of happiness could be seen in his eyes, although he looked very tired. “Yup, just fine.” The old man turned towards the forest and left, leaving the grass untouched. The Doctor watched till he disappeared into the woods.

The Doctor brought his glowing hands up to his face, which was very hot to touch. Dropping his arms down to his sides from exhaustion, he felt the regeneration energy flowing through his whole body. He took in a deep breath and, with a pain in his voice, declared, “Without hope, without witness, without reward; it’s all I’ve ever lived for…”

With a burst of golden light, energy shot out of The Doctor’s limbs and head. He was regenerating! He could feel his arms and legs getting shorter and his hair was sprouting out. He was going to miss those silver locks. The face he had finally learned to accept was gone now. Then, as quickly as it had started, his renewal was complete. “It’s definitely different this time,” The Doctor thought as the ground grew ever closer.

The Doctor rose up and breathed in some fresh air, smiling. The ground seemed soft and standing seemed to be a breeze now. The sun was beating down, so it had probably been 2 hours since passing out. The clothes were larger than what they use to be, but they were still worn out and tattered. The Doctor jogged over to the nearby pond to use it as a mirror. Hopefully, the damage wasn’t too bad.

The sun shone off the water into The Doctor’s eyes; which was quite blinding. Kneeling at the edge of the pool, The Doctor looked down into the pond and it was clear what the major defect with this new body was. “Blond? Blond hair? But I’ve been blond before! Why can’t I ever be ginger? And you call those eyebrows? They’ll barely last me a conversation on Delphon!”

The Doctor continued inspected the new face in the water, trying to see what was different from last time. “Hold on… something’s off. What do you think it is?” she asked the blue flower beside her. “Right? Something’s definitely different this time. Thanks anyways!” The Doctor patted the flower goodbye and went to find the TARDIS, but where was she? “Excuse me? Can any of you tell me where my TARDIS is?” she asked a patch of rose bushes. “I think I’ve gotten myself lost, I think. How could I even be lost if I can’t remember where I’ve been? Sorry, that’s not a question you need to answer. Anyways, my TARDIS?” The Doctor clasped her hands together in hopes of a positive response. “No, I didn’t think you’d know,” she said slightly disappointed.

The Doctor started looking around the entire place in search of an answer as to why she was there. Perhaps there was a party with lots of people? No, that couldn’t be right. Then why did she think so many people were there before, before… “Ugh! Why am I not remembering! I’m The Doctor. I’m from Gallifrey. I stole a TARDIS and ran away and I always have been. Every now and then I help out wherever I pass through. I wear silly clothes and carry a sonic screwdriver that still doesn’t work on wood, so why can’t I remember what I’m doing here?”

The Doctor then noticed something in the ground, footprints. She looked at her own shoes; which, for some reason were a few sizes too big. Had her shoes gotten bigger on the inside? It wouldn’t be the first time. The Doctor inspected the soles and came to the conclusion that the footprints were her own. “Perhaps if I retrace them I’ll find the TARDIS,” she said as she followed the single pair of tracks.

She walked back into the woods; the ground covered by the shadow of the leaves. How could she not remember this beautiful scenery? “Maybe,” she thought, “I was preoccupied with something important that I hope to remember soon.”

Right as she thought this, the TARDIS came into view. “There you are! I was really worried!” She ran, full sprint at her time machine and gave the biggest hug she could. “Oh! I remember now!” she exclaimed. “I was regenerating! I had forgotten that, but now I remember.” She opened the doors and glanced at the environment she would be leaving behind. Walking in, The Doctor was shocked. It had seemed that the TARDIS had regenerated her console room again!

The most noticeable thing was the spiraling stairway. It twisted upwards around the edges of the room. She spun around to see where it led, but it seemed to rise up forever. The roof was at least 40 meters high. The Doctor let out a small laugh; it was much bigger on the inside now!

Slowly walking over, she placed her hands on the console. The TARDIS was as beautiful as ever. She flicked a small switch and the room lit up. A soft purple light flooded the room and the middle of the console glowed brightly. A hologram appeared underneath the start of the spiral staircase. It was the solar system Gallifrey had belonged to before The Time War. It’s double suns waltz with each other, while planets orbited around them. Words in circular Gallifreyan labeled each celestial body in the hologram. The walls were painted a dark tan colour and became slowly lighter the higher you looked up. The Doctor spun around in awe; she was so beautiful! The doors leading into the rest of the TARDIS seemed to be in the same places as before, but she wondered if they still lead to the same rooms.

The Doctor sat down in a chair and reflected on the events that had happened with her first self. What an adventure that was indeed. It’s quite strange to see who you used to be compared to who you are now.

“Clothes! I need a change of clothes! And ones that fit too.” The Doctor was still in the rather torn and burnt suit that had gotten quite larger.

Once The Doctor had found the wardrobe and changed, she returned to the console room. “What do you think?” she asked. The TARDIS made a gleeful noise of approval. “Well, we have no time to waste. Let’s see… where do you think I should go first?” The Doctor pushed a few buttons and pulled down a lever. The TARDIS started to dematerialize from the woods, making the same noise that was heard when it appeared.

Once the TARDIS had left, the forest was back to it’s same quite, comfortable self. The willow still wept, rays of light still shone through the canopy, and the mushroom still remained a fungi; however, the bulb had bloomed into a beautiful purple allium.

Written by: @the-young-doctor-of-gallifrey and @12thdoctorwhomst

[burndownthehousetonight]

((My RPs with @tinyredartist keep getting out of hand and I love it. I love it so much. So much happens.))

"What, don't you know wedding rings when you see them?"

The digital photo showed two rings. There was that plastic ring Manic always wore that could have easily been purchased out of a quarter machine at a particularly low end toy store. There was also a loose coil of guitar string tied around itself. They most definitely did not look like wedding rings, and Aria was left to wonder what the hell this meant.

Manic was sitting in one of the castle sitting rooms with his Scourge draping his arm around his shoulder. "Scourge told me what you said. If you wanna know, we already got married... kind of."

Castillo laughed. "Was all to piss of Sonic... kinda." He tugged Manic closer, grinning and showing off his sharp teeth. "'N that whole mess told the world we're taken, didn't it?"

Manic stuck out his tongue and jokingly blew a raspberry at him. Given how nonplussed Scourge seemed, this must have been normal flirting for these two. Even if it was just sitting close and teasing one another.

Aria giggled at their teasing, quite happy with the reunion. The last time she had seen them was just after she had been released from the hospital and the green duo had made sure that her apartment was secure. It had been a few months since then.

“You know that sounds exactly like something you would do, Manic. I can’t say I’m surprised.” She smirked, sipping at her drink

Aria's Scourge came into the room with snacks and set them on the coffee table, flopping down next to Aria.

“Too many stairs in this place.” "Well, you're just in time. You wanna tell the story?" Manic said, looking to his Scourge. He just grinned back, prompting Manic to roll his eyes and turn towards Aria and Scourge while reaching for some pretzels. "So when we decided to have our wedding..." Manic started. "We played it up like it was actually a real thing. Like, fancy cards and everything, right? SO." He laughed, interrupting himself. "We go out in this huge alley being some club in my city. We just nail, like, two silk curtains into the wall and call it decorations. We got some old crates for chairs, got the crappiest rings we could find, and hired-" He was laughing at himself again. "We hired a band and told 'em to play the crappiest music they could. Just screw up every note!" Scourge patted Manic's shoulder. "Sonia showed up, saw the decorations, and left immediately." “Pfffft… Your sister must have been so mad… Remind me to keep that in mind if or when I ever get married…” Aria joked, reaching for the popcorn bowl.

Scourge stole the popcorn for himself and Aria whined, reaching for it. He held it out of her reach, much like an older brother would.

“So did you actually get married though? Like, legally?” Scourge asked, keeping Aria away by pushing her face away with his hand. "No, we just gave some guy he knew a priest collar and let him bluff his way through it. It wasn't real, or anything." Manic said with a shrug. "We don't need it to be official, we know we love each other." There was a short pause, as they took in the implication of the moment, leaving them both just a little awkward. "'Sides, not like they'd come a second time. They think it's still real. ...They do, right?" Castillo asked. "Yeeeeeah, Sonic's still a little salty about it." Manic shrugged off the slight awkwardness of the moment. "I mean, he's salty about everything, but you know. And when Sonia got married?" He leaned forward that smarmy, not at all serious face was back. "She went crazy. She had to plan everything herself, down to- she was like a dictator, and I don't want dictator Sonia back." “An angry bride does sound quite terrifying. But if you two ever wanna make it legal, I am legally able to officiate. Just say the word and its done,” the king explained.

Aria had stolen the bowl of popcorn while the boys were talking and had taken refuge on the other side of the couch. “Manic, I don’t mean to be rude, but the only thing saltier than the dead sea is your bitch ass brother.”

Scourge snorted and slapped Aria's knee as a playful scolding. She merely shrugged.

Manic laughed it off. "You don't know the half of it. When I told him we found Scourge-"  He grinned and chomped on some pretzels. "I think I watched his soul die for a few moments. He hates Scourge so much..!"

"Still haven't seen him in person," Scourge added. "Don't think he'd survive the encounter."

"Oh- Shut up!" Manic said, swiveling around. "He's got the whole police force on his side and like half of G.U.N., you know you can't compete with that!"

Scourge just leaned forward, gazing intently into Manic's eyes. "Watch me."

There was a kind of bizarre, creepy romance to their glare. Manic's smile broke that shortly as it distorted into a cheeky grin. "I'd love to," he almost sung back.

“Not to ruin the eye-fucking moment but I volunteer my services to assist in kicking his ass if they are required,” Aria insisted, just a little too giddy at the thought.

Scourge patted her on the head “Easy there. You’ve got your own brother to fight.”

Aria puffed her cheek out in a pout. “But he’s no fun to fight. Fights with him are unpleasant.” The comment made Manic uncomfortable. Sonic was fun to poke fun at. Everyone knew who he was, everyone had their damage, and it was all said without any kind of overly serious mood. Aria's brother was not fun to make fun of. It was a situation Manic didn't understand, Manic wasn't certain he SHOULD have tried to understand, and Manic could tell carried a lot of angst. And after dealing with everything they'd been through together, he didn't want to see that happen again. "He's the lurking asshole, yeah?" Scourge clearly didn't have quite as fine a sense of empathy. Or manners. Or care. "Hell, I love fighting assholes. What, you mess up Sonic, I handle him? Two against two, how's that sound?" “Please. Oh you missed that last time I fought Sonic! That was so satisfying.” Aria started telling the story in vibrant detail to Castillo.

Manic's hesitation to comment was picked up by Scourge, but he said nothing. Merely offered the bowl of pretzels to his friend and gave him a look that said “are you okay?” "Thanks," Manic said as he happily accepted the snacks, quiet enough he wouldn't interrupt the two others. "I'm good, dude, just don't wanna cross any lines." He looked up at Scourge with that scheming face of his. "And I've been thinking about some things lately... A lot of things." The way he said it either meant he had a pleasant surprise or a very, very, quite entirely just the worst, absolutely abhorrent very terrible idea in mind. Castillo was grinning at every word, almost disappointing when she exaggerated how she spoke about tugging at his quills. "Ah, you di'n't tear em outta his head?" There was a dark tinge to his smile as he spoke. "Little snot only caught me some time back cause he was cheap enough to slice of some of my quills... Woulda snipped his off, too. Those things get real painful when they're snapped." But he didn't deliver those lines with any kind of remorse, despite the implications. He didn't seem to realize just how dark the tone got. "Hey, why're we chowing down, anyways? Ain't dinner in an hour, or two, or- I dunno, soonish?" He looked directly at Scourge as he spoke, his tone implying some kind of shared secret between the two. “I would have loved to have made that blue bastard pay, but pulling too hard would have sliced my hands up and I didn’t want to risk it,” Aria admitted, stretching out her hands. Scourge shivered a bit as he listened into the conversation.

“Ummm… See Manic, when you make that face, it makes me nervous. Oh, the snacks were to tide us over. Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half. Plus this one-” he lightly poked Aria on the side, who whined and squeaked,“- gets migraines if she’s too hungry." "Nervous?" Manic said back to him, turning his face to an even hammier level of scheming. "What have I ever done wrong?" Manic and his lover glanced at one another when they got a chance, and shrugged, conceding they'd have to wait. It seemed Castillo had some kind of a second scheme Scourge wasn't privy to. “So much. So very much.” Scourge shook his head. The look between the lovers went unnoticed as scourge tried to steal his popcorn back from Aria. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- In fact, there were many things none of them were privy to. Such as a small meeting that was going to be happening happening a long, long way away from the castle. Or the country, even. Sonic wouldn’t have to worry about standing out here, he wasn’t the villain in this city. No, he’d heard some rumors that the person he was meeting with again was at the very least malicious, but Nicole was judging him without having met him. Besides, he had someone to save.

“And we’re ready?” Sonic asked, tapping his foot impatiently at the thought of warp ring use. He barely even knew this other hedgehog he was planning to commit some kind of crime with. “If this warp ring can be traced back, that’s it. No bueno. I could use superspeed and pick you up, nothing illegal there!”

The hedgehog whom Sonic was paired with made a skeptical noise. “Please. Me using warp rings isn’t anything out of the ordinary. After all, people would have died had I not.”

How cryptic. The other clearly had something cold about him. Calculated. Evidently well educated, he spoke with authority and class that even the king couldn’t match. This was a man who was used to giving orders and having them followed. One might assume he was a dangerous man, who lived in the underbelly of the city. An easy mistake to make. After all, the evils of any city always focus themselves at the places of power and heroism. He unbuttoned his white lab coat and pulled his name tags off of it.

A warp was tossed open and Sonic would have a jacket tossed at him. “Let’s go. Put that on, otherwise there’s no way into the castle for you. Follow my orders and Do. Not. Speak.” He demanded. "Starting when?" Sonic spoke. Sonic was certainly following his orders, putting on the jacket and cautiously following him towards the warp that was created. But he still needed that one level of smarm, that one something to let him know that he wasn't going to be completely controlled. He still had a little autonomy over the situation, even if he was about to step through the warp to a country that clearly wanted him gone, to do something that was clearly going to get both of them in serious trouble if anyone found out. On the other side of the warp was... definitely not a castle. Actually, this seemed like a fairly nondescript part of a city, nowhere near the castle. He gave a look of confusion at him, as if to say, "what now?" “Relax. These rings only go about halfway each. This is a pit stop.”

The ring was closed and then another reopened. This one took them to the castle's front gate. In silence they walked up the hill and Damian knocked on the door.

“Hello- oh. Its you. What do you want?” Rosy asked, hand protectively over her stomach.

“Hello Rosy. Scourge and Aria are expecting me and my friend for dinner to discuss some legal matters. If you don’t mind letting us in?” He spoke pleasantly, but it was clear to Rosy at least that he was a snake. Regardless she had been told that others might be coming so she let them in.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

“When is the band getting here anyways? I wanna know how the wedding went. And to see if Dante wore a suit. Five bucks says he didn’t!” Aria bet, confident. When the large door closed, they could hear it, and Aria was up and out of the room quickly, eager to see her friends.

“What are you doing here!?” The three green beans would hear her scream, clearly enraged. "So when are we telling her this happened six years ago before we even met those guys..." Manic said out of the side of his mouth. "She'll figure it out." Castillo shrugged it off, enjoying their little game. The scream cut off their usual steady stream of sass. "Ah, crap, what's going on?" Manic said, hastily shoving his hands into one of his vest's pockets as he stood up. Castillo more casually watched the door Aria ran through with interest. Manic faced Scourge while he started approaching the door. "Who else was invited, anyways?" “I think she was talking about Dante's sister. She got married the week of you getting your boy back-”

The scream had Scourge grabbing a sword, the closest weapon to the door. “No one that would make her scream like that...”

The boys burst into the hall and Scourge got in between Ari and her brother. “What do you want, Damian? You aren’t wanted here…” The sword was pointed at the older male's throat.

“Hey Castillo… Remember how we were talking about a tag team fight? I think the time has come!” Aria squeaked, claws out as Sonic tossed his jacket aside. Sonic stood his ground, his pose and expression making it clear he was ready to fight at a moment's notice. Yet he clearly didn't have the issues with Aria that Aria had with him. He was facing Castillo head on, who just laughed and cracked his neck. "You're acting like you're worth screwing up." Aria didn't want to fight Damian, so Castillo was more than happy to take her place. Though this guy didn't seem evil in a blunt, no-nonsense kind of way. He more gave off the sinister vibes of Finitevus, calculating and in control, planned through every situation. Scourge didn't bother with the weapon, pushing the sword aside. One on one, man to man. He was surprised Damian even caught his first punch, a cheap shot straight for his nose. "Ain't you fancy," He growled, grabbing his arm and tossing him towards a wall on the far side of the hallway, with Damian landing on his feet and sliding along the tile. Sonic, on the other hand, was forced to fight the person he had no interest in fighting. Why was Manic still with Scourge? Who the hell was this OTHER Scourge? And where had Manic gone, he wasn't the type to disappear when Scourge was in danger! But he didn't have a way to fight Scourge without going through Aria. "Situation's different, buddy," he spoke into some kind of a wrist communicator, "get that enerbeam charged." He didn't grab Aria with the strange electric beam he created, instead using the blue light to throw Scourge's sword impractically far down the hall. "I'm not here to fight you!" He yelled at Aria. Scourge wasn’t beyond fighting with his fists, but seeing as the more reckless pair was already starting something, he managed to get Manic out of there. “Looks like the keepers of the crotch are friends now.” He tried to joke, to lighten the mood.

“Watch the claws, Castillo! They’re super sharp!!” Aria called out, body slamming Sonic into a wall. She pulled hard on his blue quills, cooing. “Awww the little blue baby doesn’t wanna fight, hmm? Well then don’t fight me, it makes this so much easier.”

Two or three sucker punches right to the face, and a whole lot of quill pulling.

Damian’s claws came out, much like Aria's had. Rather than silver, Damian’s claws were pitch back and shiny. He ran at the other, slashing across his chest, just barely missing. "Cheap fucker...!" Castillo screamed, backing away as he studied his surroundings. "Can't even fight without some lazy trick? You scared of a real fight?" Sonic struggled to move against the intense pain, accepting the hits to his face while he reached for his wrist...! Aria was slammed back-first against the wall opposite Sonic, with that same blue light coming off of his wrist. He sat against the wall, struggling to his feet as he held Aria back in the beam. Sonic kept in stasis by pain, Aria by force. For maybe thirty seconds. Sonic tried to move his wrist, but Manic's foot slammed on the screen as he made his entrance from seemingly above. The force was enough to temporarily stop the beam, leaving Aria free to move. He somehow snuck upstairs during the fight, only to jump down from the upper banisters with a letter opener in his hands. He ended up between Castillo and Sonic, slipping the weapon to his lover while he was backing away from his enemy's claws. "Thought you could use this~" Scourge didn't waste a second as he grabbed the makeshift dagger and slashed at Damian's hands, trying his best to sink it through those blades. “Fight smarter, not harder,” the white hedgehog said, trying to run his claws through Manic instead. Then Scourge ran past Damian as fast as he could, clothes lining Damian as hard as he could. The hedgehog got up, wiping blood from his mouth.

Aria got off the floor, attacking Sonic some more, attempting to refrain from killing him. Scourge tackled Sonic, the blue and green hedgehogs sliding across the floor until they hit a wall headfirst.

Sonic was suddenly handcuffed to one of the wrought iron legs of a bench in the hall. Scourge patted his face as a joke.

“Sit boy!” "Hell no, you don't!" Castillo shoved Manic backwards, putting a wall between him and Damian. Castillo didn't even bother with strategy, gripping his knife in both hands and rushing Damian...! Sonic still found it in him to fiddle with his wrist, and in a moment, the fighter was raised in the air by a blue beam of electricity. Not Castillo. Damian. "I wadn't-" Sonic brushed his bloodied nose on his shoulder, trying to get rid of a nasal accent. "I said I was coming to bring him home... Who cares if he hates me, he's my brother." The beam slowly lowered Damian against one of the castle walls, arms and legs restrained. "Cuff him, not me!" Aria limped over to her brother who floated in the air next to her friends. She looked to the pair of lovers, Castillo checking over and eagerly protecting his mate. The sudden crack as Aria's fist colliding with Damian’s skull shocked Scourge a bit. She said something to him, something bitter and rude. Then she spat in his face.

Scourge merely guided her away, having her call Zonic to collect the boys. When he returned he had a few cracks at Damian before cuffing him as well.

“Bastard. I hope Zonic lets you rot in jail.” "I'm fine, dude, seriously." Manic said. He looked over to his brother. Sonic was pretty badly bruised. Actually, seriously messed up, and he was saying something into his wrist communicator, turning off the beam that held him. But he was down and out, and Damian clearly wasn't doing better. He wanted to let him out of his cuffs, and he normally wasn't the type to beat him while he was down... "It'll take him about ten minutes to get here, right?" Manic said, that scheming face back. He wasn't going to get a better chance than this. He was surrounded by friends, Sonic was forced to watch, all that could make this better would be- "UM." The three band members that had just enetered through the front door seemed anywhere from shocked to confused to both shocked and confused as they looked over the mayhem. "Juuuust in time~" Manic sung out, stepping backwards towards the bench where Sonic was cuffed. With that same devilish smirk, he reached into his pocket, and handed his lover...! A sheet of paper? It was a small strip, maybe three inches long? It had a small pattern, with seven gemstones in different cuts, clearly meant to be the big seven chaos emeralds. The strange almost floral flourishes forming a line under the cut gems made it clear that this must have been drawn by Sonia... whatever it was. Castillo looked at him, confused. Almost every one of the seven others looked just as confused at the strange artsy gift. "I know you've always liked tattoos." Manic said. "I thought you'd like to get something a little more permanent than an engagement ring." The band members glanced at each other, stepping over Sonic and Damian to join the main group.

“What is that?” Detour asked, motioning to the paper. “Not to be rude Manic, but I’m confused.”

Aria looked at the detailed artwork, clearly interested in the style. “Did you draw this Manic? Its nice”

Scourge kind of knew where Manic's scheme was going but stayed quiet, unsure. If his guess was wrong it would be awkward.

Even the brothers were intrigued, and confused. Everyone looked to Castillo for a reaction. He seemed quite genuinely shocked at the sudden gift. He wrapped it around his right ring finger, a perfect fit. He seemed to be thinking it over. And he grinned. And laughed. Quite loudly, in fact. "Alright, alright, guess the gig's up!" Castillo walked over to Scourge, who didn't seem half as surprised as anyone else in the room. "We've been thinking about doing a dinner like this so he would pull somethin' off ourselves..." Scourge handed Castillo a ring he'd been given a week prior, when they were planning to invite all these friends over. "Thought you'd just want a normal one with a reeeal big stone." Manic snatched up the ring, looking over the gem with surprise. It was a fairly simple gold band, with a massive red stone cut into a rounded square shape. To most people, maybe it would look like a ruby. Not Manic. "Dude, that can't be- Is that a fancy diamond?!" He held it in the air, checking out the glisten. "This thing's gotta be seven carats, that's a hella rare- how'd you even get NEAR something like this?!" His partner just grinned. Manic already knew the answer. "So what, Ari's been pressuring you, too?" Manic said, walking up to Castillo and letting him wrap his arms around his waist. "You butthead... you're gonna be the most beautiful bride." The two shared their celebratory kiss as the crocodile finally broke his confusion to let out a mood-breaking, "Woo!" Castillo was busy breaking the mood in his own way, peeking and smirking as Sonic's death glare as he kept struggling with his handcuffs. It was clear Sonic wanted to bark and scream at the two. It clicked all at once and everyone let out a cheer. Aria hugged both of the green boys gently, trying not to bleed on them, and the group gathered around the pair, happy for them.

Scourge smiled, happy to have helped their friends make kind of a big step in their lives. He rustled Manic's quills playfully. “You two think alike so much that I didn’t think we would be able to pull this off.”

The brothers on the floor stayed quiet, only because Aria has the foresight to gag them so they couldn't interrupt the conversation. All Sonic could do was writhe and glare at his future brother in law. When they broke their kiss, they could all see Castillo going to say something smarmy to Sonic, and Manic immediately cut him off. "Come on, we've rubbed it in his face for eight years and especially the last thirty seconds, maybe give him a tiny break." Manic cooed at him. He accepted the ruffled quills happily. "Thanks, you guys... And thanks for forcing us into this, Aria." As smarmy as he delivered the line, Manic genuinely meant it all. If everyone in the room hadn't been celebrating yet slightly confused, they would have noticed Sonic slightly pressing a few buttons on his wrist communicator, and showing off the handcuffs to the tiny camera on the blackened screen. "I guess I've gotta one-up you." Manic said, looking back down at the ring. "How'd you find anything that- Anything like this'd be hard to find, how'd you get something that fits?!" Scourge tilted his head up by his chin. "You think I wouldn't get it custom made for you?" A photo of the inside of the lock was all Tails needed. The tiny beam they created was in the loose shape of a bump key. Sonic kept it carefully hidden, waiting for the perfect chance... Though if the Zone cops were coming, he didn't have long. "I mean, I think we should have knocked him out but he can’t afford the loss of brain cells so..” Aria suggested, face starting to bruise and swell from where she had been hit. “Manic I was hoping the eye fucking would stop. But I’ve only made it worse.”

The group groaned at the sap. “Get a room you two!” Detour called out, playfully.

The cops showed up quickly and Zonic ran in, checking the damage on Aria and Castillo. A photographer grabbed shots of all of Aria's bruises and swelling, while Zonic read Damian his rights, arresting him and sending him to the No Zone. Sonic was next. "Hold on." There were people who could have called that out that would have been unnoticed. Maybe it would have been Manic, looking after his brother. Maybe it would have been Damian, screaming from the warp in debate of his arrest. Maybe it would have just been one of the band members wondering what exactly had happened. What they didn't expect was Castillo interrupting Sonic's arrest. "Damian might've jumped us, this kid stopped him." He said sternly to the arresting officers. "He might be a little shit, but he's not going to zone jail. He tried to stop the fighting. Hell, if you wanted to arrest him..." He wrapped his arms around Aria and Manic. "You'd have to arrest both'a the king's friends. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Manic didn't interrupt Scourge's speech, he knew where he was going. Sonic just glared back through his bruised face, confused and worried what it would mean if his little trick succeeded... or if it failed. Aria whimpered and had started applying ice to her swelling face. The pain wasn’t bad, but she did feel achey.

“If we don't arrest him can we at least tell Sonia? He deserves to get in a little bit of trouble at least…" Aria mumbled, nursing her cheek.

Scourge pulled her into a hug, shivering as the cold ice touched his shoulder. "Zonic, can you cuff him properly at least? I don’t think mine will hold.” "We'll tell Sonia, don't worry. She finds out everything always." Manic said, half joking through his fear. This went beyond a casual fight, they'd actually beaten up Sonic. There was an odd glare of odd mixed feelings as him and Castillo stared at each other while Zonic recuffed him, likely to send him off to booking and give him a slap on the wrist. "Besides... That was awesome, Ari!" Manic said, excitedly grabbing her shoulder. "You messed him up without a weapon, you know how hard that is?! Uh, your face isn't too messed up, right." He looked over the strange mesh of a random band, police, the remnants of a series of fights, small bits of blood dotting the room, and subdued yet opulent castle. "I always knew my engagement would be like this." "It hurts a lot.” She whined, feeling her jaw for dislodged teeth. Nothing thankfully, but the bruises were going to be noticeable.

Scourge grabbed a mop and started cleaning up after the cops documented the scene, took DNA samples and left. The band had started to help clean too.

“If this is your engagement, you two are eloping.” Aria ordered. "We've got the 'marrying someone the family hates' bit down- Guys, you don't have to clean!" Manic shouted, almost waving his hands to say he was broadly speaking to everyone else. "Guys, we're here to celebrate, don't go cleaning up the crap! We're used to the crap, this kinda place is perfect!" He shooed the cheetah and crocodile away from their loose litter clean-up. "Mostly perfect," Castillo said, turning around and looking over Aria. "That looks pretty bad. You gonna heal up?" There was a glare between Manic and Scourge, taking in all of the emotions between them. Not so much the engagement, they knew their partner was going to say yes. More the confused emotions between getting show show off their engagement in front of Sonic and Scourge stopping his arrest, but it only hung for a second. "I guess we've got a ton to plan? Let's eat and put it all off!" Manic suggested, trying to shove aside the sudden frenzy of the moment with an emphasis on all the good that had happened. The maids could probably handle this mess. He waved the others, beckoning them to follow to the dining room. Scourge finished cleaning up the larger pieces of debris and then used the broom to usher people into the dining room. "Come on, the food will get cold and the cook will be mad.”

Aria winced as she pulled the ice off of her face. “How bad is the swelling?”

“You’ll definitely have a shiner, that’s for sure,” Detour commented, and Aria whined.

“Oh great, I have a date tomorrow.” She whined more.

“What?! Hey Scourge!-” Detour stopped and looked at Manic's fiancee. “Not you bro, other one…uh…. Hey, King, Manic!”

“Hmm? Yes?” Scourge answered to the nickname, and popped his head into the room

“Aria's got a date tomorrow! Who is it with?”

Cue Aria's embarrassed squeak and Detour getting punched in the arm. "Come on, you can trust us, can't you?" Castillo said, putting on a joking sinister tone. "It's just a name, we might not tell anyone." Aria was the most hesitant to enter the dining room, getting more embarrassed with every passing word. The glares and excited murmurs circled the room like they were getting ready to pounce, not comforting her in the slightest. Especially with that knowing, smug glare Danté kept giving them. The kind of glare mostly saved for either the most self-satisfied gossipers or the most evil plots.

Manic then paraded into the conversation with said evil plot. "I guess, since we're all getting engaged tonight," Manic said, having a terrible idea on the spot and barely letting enough smarm through to let them know he was joking. "I should break the news; She's been planning this for a while, Aria is also getting married." "MANIC! Ow!” Arias yelling had stretched her cheek too much and made it hurt more. She adjusted the ice and slapped his shoulder hard, whimpering and utterly embarrassed.

“Oh lay off her guys. It's her first date, leave her be!” The king scolded, patting Aria on the head. She left the dining room and returned with a bag of ice that had been refilled to the top.

A bell rang and everyone was seated for dinner, including Glare and Rosy. They were served quickly by a few of the maids, the first course being an antipasto.

When Manic wasn’t looking, Aria stuck her tongue out at him like a child would. Manic could only respond with some kind of a sheepish grin. He didn't meant to completely embarrass her. Mostly, yes, but totally was unexpected. He mouthed sorry at her, knowing he'd probably have to let her embarrass him at some point to make up for it. The actual proper meal was more the king's idea than Castillo's, but the effort was there. The original plan was to wait for the final course and pop the question then, but now, they had all the time to enjoy a full meal without having to worry about... worry about what, exactly? The worst Manic might have said would have been, "ask me in three months." They were all but certain Manic was going to say yes, what WERE they getting worried about? That worry clearly wasn't present in Castillo any more, as he happily took some meats and cheese from the antipasto platter and started chowing down. Manic was at his side, silently holding one of Scourge's hands under the table and thinking of things he could say to apologize to Aria. She's probably get over it. Hopefully. Maybe. Perchance. "MmmmMM!" Detour and Drench were most definitely not worried about any kinds of formalities and not only chowed away without proper utensils, but made their opinions of the food very clear. Aria got an extra few things on her plate, Rosy swapping out the things she didn’t want. Pickles and deli meat were swapped for the cheese and melon. The wine was poured and Rosy declined.

Judging by the king's raised brow, this was abnormal behavior, but neither Aria nor Rosy seemed bothered. Well Rosy was bothered by the bruising and swelling to Aria's face, but she confirmed it would go down over night and the bruises would disappear within a week.

The King laughed at Detour and Drench, the males obviously pleased with his choice in food. "Don’t go overboard guys…there’s more.” "Hmmpmhhm?" Drench pronounced through the appetizer, midway through going overboard. The congratulations at the first course would lead into Manic retelling the story of their first 'engagement' to the new audience. He showed off the new ring and that cheap plastic one together - it seemed this one Scourge got was pretty heavily inspired by Manic's current one. Either that, or Scourge just took the prettiest rock he could find and got lucky with how it matched. Probably. No, actually, for once, there was plenty of thought put into Manic's gift. And judging by how he kept glaring at the ring, he was more than happy with the surprise. "...I tried finding that band we got to play as crap as possible, but I think they just disappeared," Manic said as he stitched up some final details. "Literally, I searched the names I got? I found offshore casino scams and obituaries from the 1800s. I've got no idea who they were." "Speaking of casinos..." Castillo seemed finished with the light first plate, and crossed his arms on the table. "So's this person you're dating that casino girl, what's her name? Terra?" Aria noticed the small artistic details and smiled at the couples intertwined hands. They just fit together perfectly. It made her happy, that Manic had found his mate again, and now they were going to get married.

It made her hopeful for her own blooming romance.

The sudden calling out of her girlfriend's name had her blushing hard and looking like she wanted to vanish.

‘Yes…” She mumbled, glaring daggers at Manic and looking down at her plate. "What are you worried about!?" The cheetah next to Aria asked, laughing and giving her two firm slaps on the back. "I'm ALWAYS looking for a date, good for you!" He noticed that Rosy was looking at him just slightly funny. He gave her a sleazy wink. Rosy didn't deign to respond. Detour didn't pretend to be surprised by that. "Okay, we'll drop it," Manic said, still a tiny bit terrified of whatever Aria might have been planning. He'd ask more later, when they weren't at a nice dinner and when she was less likely to kill him to death. "Oh god, I have no idea how the hell we're supposed to do a wedding. I'd just throw some flowers on the floor and get it done, but if we're actually doing these, we've gotta get Sonia to come..." "Dante!" Scourge called across the table. "Your sister got married, yeah? You know anything about putting a wedding together? Any of you know anything about that?" “Maybe if you learned to be gentle with people, you may have a shot,” Aria sassed, rubbing her shoulder.

Glare, who had been quiet most of the dinner, did just as his name suggested, suddenly quite protective of Rosy and wary of Detour. Danté shook his head no.

Rosy and Aria answered Manics question. “We do!”

Rosy smiled softly. “I’ve planned two weddings, mine and Sco-…. Point is, I can do it again with Aria's help, if you want.” "Alright, but we ain't going with any kind of Disney weddings or nothing," Scourge said. "We could go with..." "Hmm..." was Manic's only response. "Eeeeh? We'll figure it out. Right? Right. ...Right?" They quietly agreed to gloss over Rosy's little freudian slip, and worry about that later. That was their whole plan for this wedding, just worrying about it later. The actual wedding wasn't the important part, that was the two being official. While the plates were starting to be cleared from the first course, Manic and Scourge were starting to talk between themselves, though loud enough for people to hear. "So we just need somewhere with an aisle of some kind, and somewhere we can stand when we say our vows..." Manic started, making his scheming face again. "And somewhere with a lot of seats." "You wanna get married at one'v your shows." Scourge finished his thoughts, once again glaring into Manic's eyes. Although at this point, it was mostly to get a response out of Aria. Scourge coughed to get everyone’s attention and got up, glass in hand. “I’d like to make a bit of a toast guys. To Manic and Scourge, a couple of lovebirds who can’t stop eyefucking and making the rest of us single people feel awkward.”

Aria giggled and everyone raised their glasses.

When the topic returned to the wedding, Dante spoke up. “We can always play at your wedding dude. It's not right that you have to work on your wedding day.” "What do you mean, work?" Manic said. "You think I'd get into this if I didn't love performing?" "And whaddya mean, 'can?'" Scourge said, half mocking Manic's delivery. "You say that like we'd hire a different band." Their minds were clearly made up. "In a tux?" Drench added, more than a little confused. "You're gonna be so sweaty after that." Manic just snorted and laughed. "Like hell we're wearing full tuxes. Ain't weddings supposed to be personal? We're gonna have something just as trashy and shiny as us. This ain't gonna be a royal wedding. We ain't wearing veils and corsages and all that crap!"

“For how much you want to put it off and decide later, you seem to have decided a lot,” Aria mentioned off hand as the second course was served.

Scourge went all out for big meals like this. The mushroom ravioli that everyone was given was fantastic, and he smiled at the obvious enjoyment of even the pickiest of eaters. Manic and Castillo were not the pickiest of eaters. They were perfectly content with cold hot pockets or pretty much anything thrown their way. The chance to eat something that was clearly lovingly prepared was more than exciting for the two of them. They might not exactly have had refined palates, but they at least knew that this ravioli was damn good. "Man, when you said these were some of the best dishes your cooks have," Castillo started saying to Scourge, "Still wasn't expecting something like this." "I mean, when's the last time we had good ravioli?" Manic shot back at him. "We tried it twice last month, and all the raviolis kept exploding on us." "I ain't THAT bad at cooking!" "You went to boil water and you started a fire," Manic said through another mouthful of raviolis. “Manic you aren’t one to talk. You cooked food in a paint can for the better part of a few months.” Aria insisted.

“Why would I offer my friends any less than the best? Besides, it excuses me skimping out on the wine.” He drained his glass anyways. Manic certainly didn't seem to mind the skimped wine. Sure, he was drinking between bites, but this homemade ravioli was perfect. Manic would have moved to ask for another serving... but Scourge stopped him from saying anything. "It's a fancy meal," he explained, "there're more courses." "How many more?" Manic asked, genuinely curious. Castillo laughed. "Thought we'd keep it going and build up to the engagement... Five." He finally answered. "Antipasto, first..." "Second" ended up being chicken involtini, served with some kind of red sauce and a small amount of salad. Strangely tasteful, for something Manic was eating, but that didn't mean he wasn't loving it. "I think it was a kind of pre dessert" was a selection of cheeses and fruits. Simple, clean, and again, strangely formal. It seemed the courses were getting more formal as they went, maybe to build up confusion? "And a'course, dessert" finally rolled around, and by the looks of it, the whole italian food theme was suddenly broken. It was a layered cake filled with marzipan layers and a chocolate top, but it clearly wasn't Italian food. "Jubilääääuuums-Biskuittorte," Manic said, knowing no one else knew what that meant, but clearly more than excited by the appearance of one of his favorite desserts. They were all topped with a tiny gold flake and a single raspberry... save for Manic's cake, which was strangely undecorated. "We were gonna put your ring on top and I'd bring it over, but I guess you had to ruin everything~" Castillo said to Manic. Of course, none of this was his own idea. Manic gave Scourge a smug glare. "It's what I'm best at." The table was filled with laughter and life, playful teasing, gentle conversation. Each course was greeted with vigor and each individual ate a good portion. Aria didn’t squirrel her food away.

However she did sit back and look at the whole table. Having vibrant flashbacks to all of her siblings and parents gathered together for a big family meal. She only snapped out of her memories when her Scourge passed down her favorite treat, chocolate fudge. The gratitude was unspoken but clearly there. Of course, there were always things that could help snap someone out of a trance like that, or at least keep them out. And no matter how hard one tried, Drench had the kind of voice no one could ignore. His enthusiastic delivery of some story certainly helped with that, almost forcing Aria to stay somewhat grounded while he was speaking. "...and when they're walking back up the aisle, Dante opens the cage, all the doves come flying out." His style of eating formally came down to smashing the cake and scooping whatever crumbs survived the onslught into his mouth. "He goes to close the cage... and it turns out the dude's aunt HATES birds!" "She was so happy, then we released the birds... it looked like she took a bite out of a lemon," Dante delivered. "She was happy to my sis and her guy and cranky with everyone else." "Hey, you know..." Manic was already scheming off of this. "Sonic's gonna hate this wedding anyways. I know he can't stand hearing me play 'Those Hips are Mine'..." Aria winced at the loud noises, ears pinned back to stifle them. Drench and Dantes story made her laugh.

“Oh, there’s always someone who doesn’t like how the wedding goes. So long as its not the couple it doesn’t matter.” Rosy insisted, smiling up at Glare, who rolled his eyes.

“Scourge almost killed me! That’s far from disliking the color palette!” The Shadow alternate complained, to which Scourge merely shrugged. “You were a punk ass bitch. You still are”

Aria piped up, the first words she had said all night. “Soooo… Am I sensing a plan Manic or are you just gonna put together what comes to mind?” "Of course there's always someone who doesn't like the ceremony." Manic said, almost grimacing at this point. "We're gonna make sure Sonic HATES it." "Don't build the whole thing around it," Scourge said. "Maybe let's not do this outta spite for once, I wanna make the perfect wedding for you~" Manic snorted. "The perfect wedding would be way too expensive, we ain't building the Palace of Versailles. Though we could get a whole bunch of glitz up in there..." Manic just started laughing again. "We'll figure this crap out some other time! And hope we make something that doesn't almost get one of us killed," he joked, hoping a little dark humor could help with the mood after the bizarrely grim statement. “I mean, and I don’t want to intrude… But there is a ballroom in the castle big enough for what you’re describing. We can always invite people to your show and spring the wedding bit on them,” Scourge suggested.

“Yeah, you’d have the ideal crowd, Manic. People who love your music, and then people who care about you as a person. Plus the food here.” Aria continued.

Rosy nodded. “Scourge- well… Both Scourges are right. Your wedding is about you two. No one else. Besides I have an odd feeling we are gonna have to duct tape your brother's mouth shut.” "I like the sound of that," Castillo added. "Trust me, there'll be plenty of surprises, won't there?" Neither him nor Manic needed to get all mischievous for them to know what whatever that implied, it wasn't good. Manic was already finished with his dessert, even after trying to savor every bit of the taste. "Ooooh my god, we're having another dinner here sometime. I don't know when, but sometime." Manic said, more than satisfied and letting it show. "That had to have been baked by like, someone's grandma, right? Or like, five grandmas casting all their cooking magic together? Cause no one else could've done that." "I think Rose's right," Castillo said, "let's plan this for us. So how 'bout we plan this later, on our own, and make sure it's right fer us. Just you 'n me, make sure no one tells you what you want." "I mean, Sonia's gonna try that no matter what we do, might as well." Manic added. "And we let these guys salvage our ideas? Our awful, awful ideas?" Castillo's grin was full of pointed teeth, but still had a seductive charm to it. "Just the worst." “You’re welcome back anytime. There’s always a warm meal and a bed for you guys” The king insisted and finished off his wine. “And no, as far as I am aware there was no magic involved in the creation of tonight's dinner aside from Aria warping around to get ingredients.”

“I’ll make sure Gus knows you like his cooking.” Aria insisted, and was sat down by Drench, Detour and Dante.

“No, you’re gonna sit down and tell us about this girl while the boys plan their weeding. We still only know her name.” The cheetah said, making Aria squeak loudly in embarrassment. The boys didn't drive too far. Actually, they didn't drive away at all. Manic wasn't the only one who lived lounging around in his van, and the backseat gave them plenty of space to lay down and huddle up to each other. Manic's back lay against his Scourge's chest. Manic's hand was extended as both of them gazed over the ring as the night drew on. They did their usual flirting, but most of their time was just fantasizing about their wedding. "...maybe you could call up Fiona? No, that'd be stupid... You don't have to have anyone give you away, you know." Manic pondered. "Of course not." Scourge said, nibbling at Manic's shoulder. "We don't need anyone else there. Just you n' me~" Manic giggled at the nibbling. "I thought we were planning to run off alone after the show?" Manic shot back. "I've gotta show you off to a crowd before we have another adventure." "Didn't you just show me off?" Scourge teased back. Manic just rolled his eyes and grinned. "You know, if they wanna host the wedding at this castle..." Manic was scheming again. "I don't wanna get married in a nice ballroom. There's this whole wing of the castle no one ever goes into, it's gotta be decrepit as shit by now. That'd be perfect for us." Manic sat up, and moved towards the door. "You up for a little adventure?" The van was only driven a short way down the road before parking it hidden behind some trees. They were allowed in this place anyways. Just as long as Scourge didn't know they were still here, they could snoop around wherever they wanted. When they left, they were hugged and playfully punched by various members of the little pseudo family that was present at dinner. It seemed like the first pair to depart signaled the others to leave for the night as well. Aria was staying with Scourge that night while her apartment was being painted.

The back side of the castle looked out onto a beautiful view, as the castle sat atop a hill. Even in its derelict (yet structurally stable) state, it was still clear that the driveway wrapped around the castle. This was supposed to be the front door…

Inside was a grand hall crawling with cobwebs and ivy. Statues and paintings of various ancestors watched over the couple with disdain and dissapointment. The entire place was cold. Far too cold compared to the outside.

The photo hanging on the far wall was old and dusty, yet not nearly was worn as the rest. A royal portrait of a much younger, bluer Scourge and his father. "Woah..." Manic pulled a small flashlight out of his vest. The brushwork on this painting would have been superb if it hadn't ben left to rot, by the looks of it. Twenty more years and the canvas would probably be beyond repair. All the statues in the room were at some level of disrepair, but the solid materials were build to last. Mosses and creeping vines clung to the sides of some decorations in the room, as far as some of the closest statues to the door. Yet Manic was focused on the painting. "Man... if this wasn't Scourge's place, this place'd be a gold mine." The chills didn't bother Manic or Scourge. They were used to crappy conditions. "Why'd he leave a place like this to rot..." Scourge pondered. It seemed too nice, too meaningful to rot away. There were many large doors that opened into a doubtless mix of other decrepit rooms. Manic opted for the most decayed seeming, a door with a large chunk rotted away leaving a large hole to look through. "Come on, let's see what this place has," Manic said, already reaching through the decayed door and unlocking it from the other side. The painting itself was quite unsettling if they looked harder. Scourge's eyes were dull and lifeless, his fathers hand on his shoulder had a white knuckled grip. The face of the old king had been damaged the most, not by weather patterns.

The room they chose to enter was a study of some kind. No books on the empty shelves, discolored carpet where a desk once was. The once beautiful window that would have given the room life was now bust open, from the inside. As if something large had been thrown. The hill sloped gently down from this window, picturesque.

They moved to the next room. A sitting room that was bland, formal, impersonal. The furniture would have been high quality before the abandonment, but now the elegantly carved wooden tables and plush couches were rotting. The fireplace had motion in it, and a squirrel popped out, scampering across to climb out of the window which had cracked and fallen out with age

Odd. Manic would find that there was quite a large wall between the two rooms, and a tower with no entrance. Inspecting the walls themselves would reveal marks in the study older than Manic. They could have easily been made by claws or nails scratching at them.

They suddenly stopped, but then started again briefly. The space between them was wide enough for a person to walk through. "We ain't having any wedding in here," Manic said plainly as he looked through the decayed sitting room. This wasn't destroyed in the interesting way, it was destroyed in the disgusting way. "We should probably go." They stood there for a moment, pondering the large gap between the scratch marks in the floor. "We ain't leaving," Manic said for both of them. "Something happened here. Was there a door here?" Castillo gave two brisk knocks on the stone wall. "Somethin's back there." Four fingers brushed over the cold stone. "You think there's a secret door? Or's it just walled up?" There wasn't anything left that could really be a lever of switch in the rest of the room. If there was a way to open it, it had to be along the wall, or... "Don't know if the upper floors'd be stable," Manic said, entering the decayed sitting room. "But there might be something in the basement." Manic grabbed an old fireplace poker, shaking it to get the cobwebs to flutter off. It was heavy and sharp, a good makeshift weapon in case there was some other beastie lurking in the castle. "You find anything?" Scourge searched the wall, thinking. Logically the doorknob would have had to be close enough for someone standing in front of the door to reach… Wait! There was a string with a clasp on it on the shelf next to them, the string leading into the wall. The clasp would have fit seamlessly around a book.

A tug on the string opened the door to a dry, stale, musty passage way. The air in that room must have been from when it was last closed up.

“Manic! I got it!” He called, shining his flashlight in. No basement, only perfectly preserved stairs leading up.

When Manic returned to the room, Scourge poked his head outside to look at the top of the tower. The windows were bricked up. Whatever was up there hadn’t been touched for years. "Hella." Manic said, though his usual enthusiasm seemed muted. This place must have been bricked up entirely, as there was no sign of any kind of life in here. Almost no decay, either. They'd just opened a time capsule, and those scratches seemed to say that something horrible was being kept preserved inside... No, that was stupid. Manic knew that if this place was so bricked up that moss wasn't even growing, there was no way a hypothetical animal or monster would have been able to live in there. Whatever was kept up there must have been a dark secret... or if they were lucky, maybe something lery pricy. "You hold the light," Scourge said as he handed over the flashlight, "I'll lead the pack." He grabbed the fire poker and casually held it in one hand, cautiously held forward as they ascended the stairs. Up and up and up... Was it three, four stories? Not too high, but the high ceilings of the castle rooms made it that much taller. They came across some kind of a door, old but perfectly sturdy. Manic stood back and shined a light on the door as Scourge gave a few solid kicks near the doorknob, until the door finally gave way and the doorknob broke off. The door limply swung inwards. The room itself was dark. The narrow beam of the flashlight being the only source of light. Any inspection of the windows would show the new brickwork wasn’t that new. In fact the windows were probably closed up for some time. A bed was off to the side of a room, the mattress an ancient relic. A desk off to other side had papers on it, faded.

The room felt like a prison cell. The flashlight shined over all the walls, coming to rest on the ancient brick between the bed and desk, a wide space that was absent of any decoration except for a single hook in the wall, where a pair of shackles hung. They were tiny, and the chain between them was short. No adult would fit into restraints this small. The couple’s movements caused a paper to fall of the desk which Scourge picked up and looked at under the light. What it was supposed to be wasn’t clear, but whoever drew it was obviously a small child.

The light caught a shiny object hanging above the desk. The light was moved to see the shiny object, and Scourge felt just a little bit sick.

A whip. Old and rusted, with blood still caked on it. The shiny bits were burrs, designed to slice up skin. The marks the whip left would leave scarring for sure. Manic was still focused on the small chair and manacles. He heard the sounds of the metal burrs quietly clinking against each other, and didn't want to know what was making that sound. The scuff marks around the chair were clearly made by whoever had tried to escape from- "We didn't see this," Manic said bluntly, turning on his feet and rushing towards the door. He mindlessly dropped the poker right where he was. "This was a terrible idea." "We're full of em." Scourge said, desperate to put some humor into what was clearly a horrible situation. The steep stairs weren't comfortable to walk down, and they felt as though they were going to trip at any moment. But soon enough, they were out the hidden entrance, and with another tug of the string, the door closed up again. "We weren't supposed to see that..." Scourge thought for a moment. He followed the string to where it entered the wall, holding it in place with one hand, and snipped it with his claws. The latch fell behind the shelf as the rest of the string disappeared into the wall, hopefully to stay closed forever. They couldn't have gotten out of their fast enough. Scourge and Manic sat in the front seats of the van, thinking for a moment. Manic had seen Scourge's scars, he'd seen that death grip on his shoulder in the painting. If even a painter of that caliber wasn't able to fake a genuine gaze and a gentle hand... Scourge didn't need to be told to turn on the car and start driving. "There's a whole city here, y'know." Scourge offered. "Ari's probably gonna ask our plans in the morning anyways, wanna check out some wedding stuff or just get wasted? Maybe both?" Manic let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah... yeah, that sounds awesome, mate." It was all he could do to stay calm and take in the information. Back at the castle, Manic and Scourge's little adventure had not gone unnoticed. For you see, the king's bedroom window faced out onto the old wing. And when he returned to his chambers after a long night of partying with their friends, he was greeted with light coming from his old prison. Light pouring out between cracks in old brick. From an area long boarded up and locked away, inaccessible.

The sense of fear was as fast and hard as he’d ever felt it. His memories of the years spent in that room caused him to trip over a chair and curl into a ball, covering his ears like a child. Rocking back and forth. “Its not real its just a dream its not real its not real.”

Aria ran into the room after hearing the thud, and Rosy and Glare were called. Somehow, they were about to calm him down. By the time that they managed to understand what had happened, the boys had left and the tower was dark. Aria stayed the night, sharing Scourge's bed and staying awake to help ground him in case of more flashbacks.

Yet the ghost of his father, vengeful and still very present in the castle, haunted his dreams. He would sit up, dripping in cold sweat, and each time Aria would calm him down and sing him back to sleep. Manic and Scourge were blissfully unaware of at least that aspect of the King's life. Scourge was entirely unaware of how deep the implications went, and was more able to brush it off as a relic from some former ruler, not being entirely inaccurate. Without a personal investment in the moment, he was able to distract Manic for long enough to get downtown. Sure, they joked about going into the bridal shops and jewelry stores, entertaining themselves a bit, but they both knew they were ending up at one place that night - wasted in the back of the van. "Gh-buh..." Scourge mumbled as he woke up. He already had a bottle of water by his side to nurse his hangover, Manic had come prepared. He was sitting laying down on the floor, nuzzled up against Scourge and toying with his phone. "I think you drunk texted Sonia," Manic said, showing off his notifications to Scourge. {"Congratulations, Manic, I'm very proud of you. I understand that Sonic tried to stop the engagement but I'm just happy you're with your lover."} {"Have you decided on the locations? Our mother got married at an old church up north that would be just lovely for you both."} {"I already have some ideas for floral arrangements. Roses and lillies are already traditional symbols of love."} {"But you're going to need something for after a long seperation, as well as a representation of your more rough lifestyles."} {"I got out an old book on the Victorian language of flowers... ..."} Manic kept scrolling down the texts, revealing that she had essentially sent him an entire novelette already. "Heh- Wait, what was that last one?" Amid the sea of texts Sonia had sent him was a text he hadn't even noticed he received. A text from Aria's phone, the female having sent it at 5 am that morning.

{“Hey. Did you see anyone trying to get around the back of the castle when you left last night? Scourge thought he saw someone in the tower ”)

And then another text, just as he finished reading the first.

{“ Please come to the castle, neither of us got any sleep because Scourge kept waking up screaming from nightmares because of the light he saw. I know it makes no sense but trust me if you knew why you wouldn’t blame him”)

Manic and Scourge had a choice. Lie, and maybe ease the king's mind, or tell the truth and risk destroying a friendship. He checked the time. Was he really up at eight in the morning? That wasn't important now. "Grab your jacket, dude, we've gotta come up with something." Manic threw out as he got to the driver's seat. "And by the sounds of it, we've gotta make it good." They were already running through options even before Scourge had sat up. Ways to lie around this, something that would help the king through what was blatantly a ton of trauma. Scourge was starting to piece it together as Manic spoke more, and they eventually came to a conclusion. "It was so dumb," Manic started as they'd rehearsed. Castillo was sitting next to Scourge, letting Manic deliver every line. He was a much better actor than Scourge ever was. "Remember when we were on that balcony thing, and it had that great view? I wanted to see it with him, but we weren't gonna break in, so we just drove around to the other side. You know, see a different awesome view?" Manic let out a convincingly nervous seeming laugh. "So Scourge lit a cigarette when we were out there" - not something he'd normally due, but it would work - "And there was this old dead vine thing climbing all the way up the tower? It lit up in like a second." He looked down and scratched his head. "Ah damn, do you think the room could've caught fire off of that? Crap, that's a new level of messing up, even for us... I'm so sorry, dude." The secret passage was sealed up hopefully for good. Even though the room wasn't burned, Scourge definitely wasn't going to look and find out. Scourge was weak. They got there at eight, Scourge didn't get out of bed until five in the afternoon, still unable to sleep. His face was pale and the bags under his eyes made him look like he’d been punched. If one didn’t know better, they would say that this was another alternate all together.

Their story held. Scourge was too tired to think about the logic, and merely nodded. “Its okay guys, you could have just asked to see a balcony, it's not a problem…” He got up on shaky legs to get himself some more tea. The shirtless king had wrapped his scars again, and judging by the discoloration, he was bleeding through them again. Castillo locked eyes with Manic, wondering if he should ask.

“I feel bad for Aria. She had a nice date planned out and had to cancel so she could sleep. I kept her up all night.”

He hasn’t mentioned anything about the old part of the building at all. Suppressing it.

Manic and Castillo followed the king to get more tea. Manic responded to his partner's glare with a concerned glare, telling him not just that he knew the question, but that Castillo already knew the answer.

"Hey, I don't know what's up with the castle, but if we'd known, we would've told you." Manic said, acted emotions fazing into genuine sympathy. "Ah man... Aria didn't have to do that. She's too nice, you know? Hope she's got another date lined up soon."

Maybe he could get a chuckle out of the worn out king. "Besides... isn't she also getting married?"

But they waited outside of the room while Scourge went for his tea, and Manic got serious yet again. "What do you mean you cut the wire?" He said, barely loud enough for Castillo to hear. "If they get in there and there's a poker in there, they'll know someone went up there."

"So when we breaking in again?" Castillo whispered.

"Immediately. I stick with Scourge. Don't even use a light this time, get in and out immediately." He patted Castillo on the back, signalling him to go. He was already out of sight by the time Scourge came back.

“Yeah, I think the girl wanted to hang out with her anyways but Aria was too embarrassed from all the bruises on her face and just exhausted. Besides, she got super embarrassed at dinner. I think you might wanna lighten up on the teasing. Aria's never been romantically involved before so this is new to her.”

Getting into the room would be difficult, but a lockpick might get the door open….

But this time, even in the daylight, it was like Castillo was being watched by someone. Someone who was always just behind him but nowhere to be seen.

It got even creepier when the passageway was opened and Scourge felt a hand shoving him forward. Still, there was no one there. Scourge shoved the picks back into his pocket, looking behind him. "Fuckin' weird..." he mumbled to himself, starting up the long set of stairs. The barest amount of light capable of creeping through the bricked-up windows and opened door was enough for Scourge's eyes to adjust to the darkness. Step after step, silent step after silent step. The lack of a central column made him a little uneasy, but he kept his hand on the wall to his right to keep him steady. The light from the door grew farther away, remind Scourge of just how high the room was. He didn't waste a second in the torture chamber. Hands shuffled around on the floor, rummaging around to find the poker. Where was it, somewhere around the chair? Yes, the chair. A quick feel around the scuff marks found him the heavy wrought iron tool, and he was ready to go. Scourge bit his hand to stay quiet. What was that?! A sudden sharp pain hit his side, but he felt his chest. Not even a mark. Was he losing it? Scourge tried to jet, but there was another sharp pain. And another. It was like something was attacking him, and through the pain and confusion, Scourge lost his balance and tumbled down the central column, all the way to the ground floor... The poker collided with his body, sending a snap echoing through the stone walls of the castle and delivering an SOS to absolutely no one. Scourge suddenly screamed out. The king dropped his tea and fell onto the shards of glass, writhing in pain. The lights flickered and doors slammed. Laughter rang out, twisted, evil and sick.

“Manic! Go find Castillo!” Scourge called, writhing on the ground in pain. Glare rushed to Scourge's aid. Sending Manic away to find his mate.

Castillo woke up, poker through his shoulder and a splitting headache. Looking up at the stairs, a shadowy figure all the way at the top. The laugh echoed into the tower and the figure shut the top tower door behind him. The bottom one opened, slammed back by a force so strong that it got knocked off its hinges and smashed across the room.

And all was still and quiet, save for Scourge's breath. Scourge had to lay still and take in the terror of the moment. Whoever had just attacked him, they were locked up in the torture chamber now, and Scourge had some measly chance to escape... in spite of everything. His shoulder. His collarbone was sticking out at a disgusting angle. Broken, clearly. Any lower and damage might have been more serious, but this was going to heal most likely. But oh god, the poker was stuck in his shoulder. He knew he had to get up and run, and no matter what. Scourge pulled out the poker and chucked it back towards the fireplace as blood seeped through the wound and down his jacket. His attempts at running came down to a slow walk, but he was forcing himself to move. He couldn't care about the blood or the lying or anything right now. If the room was cold or if it was his own racked mind making it up, he had no idea. One hand held over the wound, pressing down on the spot to keep him from losing too much blood. "Scourge-!" Manic was rushing up to Scourge at this point, immediately running up to help his bleeding partner walk. They'd done this many times before, but it never got easier. "What the hell happened?!" Scourge grunted as Manic more or less carried him back out of the large exit doors, resting him on the grass. "Come on, we've gotta lay you down." "I- Ah! Watch the arms," he grunted. "I know!" Manic patted himself down and started breathing heavily. With a tug, he pulled off Scourge's jacket and tightly tied it around his shoulder as a temporary bandage. "Really, babe, what happened?!" Scourge had to think for a moment. "I've got no idea." Both Scourges ended up in the infirmary, Castillo having his collarbone set and Scourge having glass picked out of wounds on his back, as well as being dosed with a shit ton of drugs to calm his anxiety. He was also restrained for his own good. And as Castillo looked away from the doctor working at his bone, he noticed that Scourge's wrists bore scars as well, probably from the shackles rubbing against him when he was younger.

The king stirred slightly, talking in his induced state. “Mhmmm, Fi it's too early for this, go back to bed…”

Rosy's only response was to give him more drugs and pet his head gently. Humming to keep him calm. Glare merely did as his name suggested, the couple receiving the coldest stare.

He had figured it out. Manic was holding onto Scourge's hand, and didn't even bother looking at Glare. All he seemed to do was judge them. Even if they had fucked up, Manic knew he fucked up. He knew that he would continue reminding himself that he fucked up for weeks and months to come. Castillo was more unconcerned about glaring right back at him. He occasionally grunted or gripped Manic's hand tighter as he felt the doctor holding his collarbone in place, before applying a series of bandages around his shoulder area and under his opposite arm. All they knew between them was they'd somehow fucked up horribly, and would need a lie that could- No. The more Manic thought about the situation, the more he realized that they weren't the only guilty parties. He ran thought everything that had happened one more time, preparing for an argument that likely wouldn't happen. "I'm guessing you're gonna wanna get drunk again after all that garbage?" Manic offered back. Scourge smiled, and the doctor puffed. "No alcohol, he's lost enough blood," she said as she finished applying the bandages. Scourge seemed to brush it off, while Manic took the words more seriously.   “Hey, is Scourge gonna be alright?” Manic asked, peeking over as bits of glass were removed and diverting her worries completely. “He’s sleep deprived. Lost some blood from the scars, some more from the glass. The drugs are for his own good…” Rosy insisted.

Scourge woke up a little more after the doctor finished. “Mmm… Fiona close the blinds” he groaned and Rosy just pet him gently. Covering his eyes form the bright light.

“Scourge honey, it's Rosy. You were dreaming. Go back to sleep.” She cooed, and Scourge just snuggled into a pillow.

Aria rushed in, clearly having just rolled out of bed. The bruising and bags under her eyes made most of her face look purple.

“Rosy, what happened?” She asked, concerned for the injured boys. "Don't ask like I know," Castillo said. The bandages on his shoulder were tight, but thickly packed. What little bleeding there was was covered. "I was trying to leave the castle and I just- Dunno what happened, but someone fucked me up and started laughing. Didn't even stick around, li'l coward..." Manic just sighed. "We heard the laugh, too. Scourge went into shock and... If it's that strong, I think it was some kind of trigger. He fell on some glass, too." Manic shrugged. "You can still move your arm, right?" Castillo winced a bit, but he still seemed to have arm motions under control. "Yeah, no problems here." They didn't address the elephant in the room for a few more moments. "You sure you shouldn't be laying down?" Manic finally asked. "You look pretty tired." “I’m exhausted… And seriously doubting some things I’ve been told.” Aria said, looking out the window onto the old castle. Deep in thought.

“Hmmm… Fiona come back to bed. It's too early. He’ll probably stop kicking if I rub your belly for you.” Scourge groaned some more, clearly assuming Rosy was his Fiona, reliving a memory. She moved away, not wanting to confuse the other any further.

“Poor guy..” Aria sighed, looking over at her Scourge. “He’s so hyped up on meds he thinks he’s 17 again-”

Aria paused and looked at Scourge. “By any chance… Were you pushed down a flight of stairs?” Castillo was more focused on Scourge as he grumbled in his sleep, barely taking in what he was told. Scourges and their Fionas would either have perfect relationships, or... As soon as he processed what he heard, it clicked in his head that this wasn't completely true. "You got the falling part right," Castillo said. "This place ain't safe, there's someone lurking here. Pushed me over... what's the word, a banister? Over one'a those and down a story. Some psycho's creeping around." Manic looked at him as he spoke, looking like he wanted to add something but saying nothing. "Wait, like... they're still in the castle?" Manic looked back at the door people had been coming and going through. "You guys sure we shouldn't be keeping that door locked?" “Don’t worry, we're safe. But I know who's causing this, and so long as we stay in the new wing of the castle we will be fine… It started when our Miles died when Scourge was 17. He was attacked by…”

Aria paused, checking Scourge to make sure he was asleep.

“-by the late king Jules. He threw him out of a window in the old study and he landed on some rocks that he hit his head off of. Scourge was framed and went to jail. While he was there out Fiona was killed as well, along with…”

Aria's pause was a little too long as she tried to find the words to explain. Eventually she did.

“… Along with their son. Scourge never got to see him. When he got out Scourge was angry, rightfully so, and killed his own father by pushing him down a flight of stairs.The fall didn’t kill him, a sword he had been holding stabbed him through the gut. Which is almost what happened to you. And you aren’t the first person to feel like you’ve been pushed. Which staircase was this again?”

While she waited for the answer Aria turned to Rosy and Glare. “Maybe you should go on Maternity leave early. Just to be safe”

No one noticed the quiet sniffles of the king who was very much awake and listening. Neither of them knew quite how to respond. They'd certainly noticed the massive hole in the study window. Scourge certainly noticed the way the poker was flunk point-first towards him. And they'd certainly noticed all the mentions of Fiona, but they weren't expecting so many people to have died. Both of them had to sit and think though just what would be the right response to all this sudden information. "That's real heavy..." Manic understated, not knowing what else he could say. Scourge just seemed to think. "Was the kid's name Faolán?" Castillo asked right out of nowhere. "Yellow 'n red fur, green eyes?" The sudden influx of detail surprised most of them, Manic included, who seemed to be just as confused by the name. They checked over to see if the King was still sleeping. But with his eyes closed and his movements so subtle, they couldn't tell. It was Aria. They could explain themselves to Aria... Right? "Which staircase do you think?" Castillo eventually grumbled. Aria shrugged gently. “I’m not sure. It was before I became friends with Scourge. We met when he started drinking his problems away.”

Rosy shook her head no. “I was the Midwife. His name was Luke and he was blue, almost purple actually, with brown eyes. He was conceived before Scourge turned green… ”

Aria ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t believe you went into the old castle.” "You think we would've gone in there if we knew about all that?" Manic said, more than a little uncomfortable. "We were just told it was abandoned or old, not- well, whatever that was! Haunted, cursed?" Castillo reached over with his right arm and patted Manic on his back. Manic took a breath, and tried to calm down. "We fucked up everything," Castillo said. It was clear there was an apology at the back of his mouth begging to come out, but he was too proud to actually say it. Manic crossed his arms in discomfort. "Why haven't you done anything about... the haunting, I guess?" Manic wasn't too sure what to call it himself. "Like, an exorcism? I think people say ghosts stick around because they want something, but I don't wanna know what he'd want." “No one will go within fifty feet of the old wing. Its too dangerous. He wants revenge. Possibly to kill Scourge, or make him suffer even more. Who knows?”

Aria froze as Scourge rolled over into his side to look at them. She looked down, ashamed.

“Go take Rosy and Glare home.” He ordered.

Aria merely bowed her head, and took the pink and black couple home. Scourge wrapped his wounds and got up.

“So, feel like explaining why you went into the old castle?" "We wouldn't've gone if we knew it was dangerous!" Manic reiterated, desperate to defend himself. "We couldn't see us-" Castillo shared a look with Manic, who slowly calmed down and sat down on the edge of Castillo's bed. "Couldn't see us getting married in a fancy ballroom," Castillo started, "we like abandoned buildings and all that stuff. There's an abandoned castle, we thought it'd be fancy in a fucked up kind of way, so we wanted to check it out." They were still getting a glare. He must have known that fire story was too ridiculous to be true. "Look, it was weird," Manic started. "We check out a room, there's nothing in there. We go in again... and there's suddenly an open door. There was a door at the top, but it was locked. We had a flashlight, that must have been what you saw. We could've sworn we heard someone say 'Scourge,' so we jetted outta there... and then I turn away from him for a second when you're getting tea, and he's gone." Scourge tensed up, hackles raised. It felt like when someone walks over your grave. Or in this case walks into a secret so big that people died to bury it.

“Not a fucking word of what you saw to ANYONE. Am I clear? That room was sealed up ages ago for a very specific reason.” He didn’t know what to be mad at so he settled for protecting his pride.

“Not a word about anything Aria said, either. She should stay out of my business.” The two of them looked at each other, coming to the same basic idea. "Behind... The one in the tower, you mean?" Manic said, having an idea that just might calm Scourge down. "Dude, we bolted when we heard Scourge's name, we didn't even get to go in there. ...Right?" Scourge grunted. "The door was open again, but when I started climbing the stairs- I think the ghost attacked me," he admitted. "Then I fell to the ground, the door burst open and I got stabbed with something long. I didn't see in there, but the door'll burst open. Might still be." Manic thought. "If you don't want people to see whatever's up there, why not destroy the tower? Keeping it's only gonna hurt you." “The old part was the first built. It’s part of the foundation, I can’t just get rid of it. Believe me, I want to. Either way, these conversations don’t leave the group.”

He got up a patted the other Scourge's good shoulder. “Get some rest.” He insisted, and walked out of the room.

Aria returned moments later and looked around for the king. She seemed disappointed when he wasn’t there.

“…. How made at me is he?” "At YOU? You think he's worried about anything you did?" Manic scoffed, putting on a smile for a moment. It faded just as suddenly as it appeared. "He's going through a lot, but he just seemed angry in general."

"He called us a group," Castillo butted in with. "He still thinks'v us as a group. He's annoyed, but you're gonna be alright." He was coming to his own feet, reaching towards the chair where his jacket hand been left. "Damn, blood doesn't come out easy..." "Don't be a diva, we've cleaned worse." Manic seemed to be getting to his feet, but to try and get him to lay down again. "We can deal with shenanigans tomorrow, now get some rest." Castillo puffed and laid back down on the infirmary bed, Manic lounging on the chair he was in earlier. He pulled out his phone. "Sonia's sent me 44 messages already. Think I should block her number for like... five weeks after the wedding?" He wasn't taking his humor as funny, more desperately trying to inject humor into the situation. Using humor in this situation was like using a defibrillator on a rotten corpse. Pointless and messy.

“Just tell her to chill.” Aria insisted “You’ve got plenty of time to get married. Plus you’re going through some things.”

Silence in the room. Arias face had swollen up more and she had found an icepack for it.

“I hope you’re right Scourge. I really hope you’re right.”

Scourge had, against doctors orders, climbed onto the roof to lay down. Admiring the scenery. Thinking. "Scourge said don't tell anyone anything," Castillo would eventually chime in with. "We've all screwed with his trust." So he laid back and stared upwards at nothing. Thinking. At this point, the best Manic could do was avoid an awkward pause. "Beating ourselves up isn't gonna help us," he said as though he didn't know he was going to keep beating himself up over this. "Just keep moving, or whatever." This wasn't about to help any of them, but it at least offered some support. Even if the one guy who needed it most was nowhere to be seen. Manic sent a few texts to Sonia quickly, before turning back towards Aria. "I've still got that make-up in my van," Manic offered, "I can help you cover those up if you want." “Its tough… I didn’t know her, but I feel like I do from how he talks about her. He was really in love with her. This kind of thing, this kind of reminder…. I know what it can do to you…. I just hope he’s okay.”

Aria touched her face gently, the swelling having gone down. “Please? I feel…. Awful. More so than usual and that says something.”

When Manic left, Aria looked up at Scourge. “Did you guys… Did you get to the top of the tower? I can’t remember if I asked…” "He says we don't let anything we know get away from the four'v us." Scourge said, looking out the window so he wouldn't have to face anyone. "Including anything we saw up there." There was nothing more to say on the point. They had an explanation for Scourge's behaviors... as horrible as it was. And now that they had some kind of clear answers for his past, they wished they hadn't pried. Scourge slowly stood up, showing very little concern for the wound in his shoulder. It almost seemed like he couldn't feel it. "I'm not a softie," Castillo said while he walked up to Aria. He put his wounded arm around her side and pulled her close, lowering himself subtlety so Aria's head would rest on his good shoulder. "The worst of it's over. He'll come around. Scourges know Scourges." She barely reached his shoulder when he hugged her. Even with him leaning over. It was a subtle reminder that even if she was the most maternal (and responsible), she was still the baby of the group by a good couple of years. All of the stress on her wasn’t helping as she took on others problems instead of her own. She nuzzled into his shoulder, clearly appreciated the hug.

“If you say so…. Now get back to bed, before Manic gets back. You need to rest your shoulder,” she insisted.

Her phone buzzed and she read the text, blushing a little. “Hey, can I ask you a question on a different topic altogether?”

She bit her lip and looked up at him. “What does being in love feel like?” Scourge did as he was told, laying back as soon as Aria got her message. The situation made the implications clear, but he didn't say anything. "Love or passion?" Scourge asked. "Passion feels warm and rough- You know what passion's like," Scourge scoffed himself off at feeling like he had to explain that. "It's not that kinda passion. It's just wanting to see someone happy. But what it feels like..." He had to think hard to come up with a good answer. "Passionate love's real intense, you can't ignore it. Real love... 'ts like you're always happy to see them, even if you're feeling fucked up and want to die. It's like, hearing some horoscope bullshit and checking what theirs says, wanting to have a family with 'em. They always make you feel good... even if you just got stabbed in the shoulder." Despite the terrible situation, the grim humor and chuckle were genuine. Manic had finally returned, panting from what must have been a horrible rushed run. He immediately sat down on Scourge's bed, motioning for Aria to sit in the chair so he could work on her make up. "It looks like this'll be the worst of it," Manic said honestly as he reached for some foundation. "The swelling should be gone real soon, don't let it get to you." If he was paying attention to his lover, he would have seen Castillo looking at Aria and giving her a knowing, yet somehow comforting smile. As the green hedgehog listed his checklist for falling in love, arias blush only got darker. She glanced down at the phone with a soft smile. “Hey, thanks. That clears up some big questions.”

Aria did as she was told, sitting down for Manic to cover her face. The shade of foundation would have been a bit off normally, but due to the color of the bruising it balanced out.Aria just giggled, both as she watched Scourge's line of sight and as the brush Manic used to apply the foundation tickled her nose. The room fell into silence, save for Aria's quiet purring.

“So guys? Where’s a good place to take someone as an apology for having not cancel a date?” Manic stopped for a moment as he turned towards Castillo, with a slightly grim expression. "Yes, Scourge, where WOULD be a good place for missing a date?" Scourge just kept grinning. "Don't say that like you were ever angry at me~" Manic put down the brush as he thought. Now that he was putting his tools down, it was easy to see that he wasn't doing this the standard way, with lipsticks and eye shadows that shouldn't have been used left open, and the brushes containing small paint brushes and a sponge that definitely wasn't a beauty blender. Whatever he was doing wasn't standard. "Uh, all our dates were just last second 'hey, let's do a thing' kind of dates." Manic mused. "But wasn't this cause you wanted to help Scourge? She'll understand. I mean, if she doesn't, that's on her, right?" He thankfully didn't go for the weird green eye shadow again, instead reaching for some concealer. "Just go up, tell her the situation, and... I dunno, drive around and come up with something last second. You see a restaurant or a movie that looks interesting, just go in last second! It makes it feel like you're discovering something, y'know?" Aria's mental notes now included a list of things to buy Manic for Christmas or his birthday. On that list was proper makeup brushes.

“She’s not! She’s not mad at all! ” Aria defended her beau, blushing hard. “She just planned this really nice date for us…and I feel bad. She’s trying to tell me its fine but I wanna spoil her… I just wanna make her smile you know? She just… She lights up the room.”

She sighed wistfully, so obviously in love that cartoon hearts almost popped out of the air to surround her. She snapped out and it and looked away with her eyes, keeping her face still.

“Besides. I can’t drive.” "Like that's ever stopped us," Manic said casually as he started putting on concealer. He let the point sink in, before going back to his usual devilish smirk. "Okay, no, we're just messing with you! I mean... you could always just warp around, or walk around. But if you wanna spoil her... Hm. Our fancy dates aren't really dates... or fancy... or legal, really." Scourge smiled. "Here's what to do." He said, as though this was the only way to do these things well. "When you're gonna apologize stop at a store or something. Pick up something small. A trinket, or something, say you were shopping, saw it, and thought of her. It's corny, but it works on Manic. Don't go to a movie or a show. If you wanna spoil her, spoil her, go to a fancy dinner and do everything to make her laugh and smile. Let her start anything romantic, you just make sure she's having a good time." Manic was listening intently, thinking about everything Scourge was saying. "Make the evening all about her. 'N when the evening's over... then you try bringing her home~" Aria thought. “That gives me an idea… How does a picnic under the stars sound? I can bring her to the forest, too. Maybe not in the orchard but the other part of the land, where there are no city lights and a view?”

She turned to Manic for an answer, but immediately turned red and squeaked when he suggested bringing her home.

“N-no it's not like that! W-we haven't even kissed yet!” After a pause while manic repositioned her head so he could continue working, she looked away.

“I feel like I’m way behind everyone else.” Manic shot Scourge a glare that said, "I am entirely disappointed and yet absolutely not surprised you said that, and furthermore, was most likely going to say the same thing for the same horrible reasons as you and therefore cannot just. But still. Uncool." "I'd say avoid those posters," Manic added as he put on some finishing touches. "But hell, the views there were gorgeous. You got somewhere that's just a nice view, go ahead! Sounds good to me." Manic was just about done, it seemed, putting down that tiny paintbrush and putting on some setting spray. "Hey, don't worry about not having experience. Honestly, Scourge here was only like, my second or third kiss. It's a dumb things to worry about, anyways. Is you like this girl, you'll be fine being all schmoopy together. If you wanna go in for a first kiss, go for it." Manic handed over a small make-up mirror. He didn't just give her cover-up. It also looked like he put on some mascara and some subtle highlights. "You're already dressed up for it." “Wow…. Teach me your ways, oh master.” Aria joked, bowing to Manic after looking at her reflection. The look shared between the two made her laugh as well.

“Maybe later. I don’t think I’ll leave until Scourge comes back inside…” The events of the day still hung in the air, but the friendly advice kind of helped change the tone.

Eventually the king came back in, the pigeon left on the windowsill to his room to nest. He sat on the infirmary bed and laid down.

“I’m sorry for getting… Out of control.” "I'm sorry for breaking into your past." Manic said, sincerely and somberly. "Ditto." Castillo added. His points weren't delivered as heavily, but the thought was there. Both of them watched the king as he seemed to apologize for what they thought of as a very rightful anger. The silence was back again. It was like each time they attempted to make things lighter, someone else barged in and made things awkward again. "I mean, we've all kind of messed up... Us a lot more than you guys, but still." Manic admitted, knowing this was probably a horrible thing to say. "We'll leave as soon as you want. Are you going to be alright, dude? You kind of fell on broken glass." “You don't have to be sorry. I shouldn't have been so vague…Doctor said I’ll be fine. But the worst of this is over… So, how’s the shoulder?” He asked his younger alternate, turning to face everyone.

Aria was still quiet, convinced he was mad. When Scourge suddenly reached up to ruffle her quills, Aria purred and nuzzled into it.

“And I take it you two haven’t done a shred of planning yet, have you?" "Meh," Castillo responded to the shoulder comment. "It's been worse." "I mean, we have the idea of a wedding." Manic said, this time a little more confident humor would help. "That's a start, right?" "We know one place we ain't holding the wedding." Castillo said, trying to shift his arm onto the bed in a more comfortable position. "That's about it." "Lemme check something... Yeah, looks like Sonia has 62 texts worth of idea for us." Manic said, quickly scrolling through the wall of texts. "I just- Oh jeez, she things we're getting actual wedding music. Like, with flutes and harps and stuff." Manic stopped his scrolling, clearly surprised by something. "Okay, you DIDN'T drunk text Sonia. Uh, it sounds like Sonic got out of booking and told Sonia everything." "Everything?" Castillo responded, still clearly deep in thought. Manic responded to Castillo with a concerned grimace. "Everything." “Oh my… How much trouble are we in?” Aria squealed quietly, nervous.

“And what constitutes everything? ” Scourge asked, looking over at the others. The look manic gave his mate was concerning to the green hedgehog who sat up now.

“… Do I get to fight your brother again?” Aria asked , suddenly eager to get up and go. Tiny hedgie wants to square up.

“No. No you cannot.” Scourge told her, pulling her to sit down "Okay, so." Manic said, quickly cycling through his many texts. "Uh, she knows that Sonic tried to get in here to stop me from staying with Scourge, that he was with someone else and they're in zone jail, that he got arrested, that we're getting married..." He kept scrolling down, reading fact after fact. "Okay, half of this has to be garbage he's made up, but I mean, she knows you beat up Sonic." Manic closed the phone. "I mean, I know she's a snob, but I'd stay away from her for like... ten years. Maybe twenty, if you can? Aim for twenty." Castillo motioned for Manic to hand over his phone, and started leafing through the texts silently. "Sonia's a tough girl," he would say eventually, noticeably stopping on a few texts and taking in the information. "And she always put up... a fight... ..." He tapped the buttonn and handed the phone back to Manic quickly. "'N what's your brother's name again? Dominic?" "It's Damian." Manic replied. "Damian. Good, look, I don't care if he tried to kill me." Scourge said, trying to sit up but being restrained by Manic. "He needs to get outta no-zone jail. Immediately." “It was more a session of mutual abuse but why? What’s going on?” Aria got up, claws out. Her stomach felt funny. Nervous? Why? It's not like her brother ever worries about her.

“You don’t think Sonia will attack him, do you?” Scourge asked, wincing as he got up, against Aria's protests.

“Over my dead body. He may be an abusive and controlling asshole, but he’s got a family that I am not about to ruin.” Aria insisted, scratching a portal open to the no zone.

She paused suddenly and grabbed a damp towel, wiping off the makeup. “Sorry to ruin your masterpiece, Manic, but I want Sonia to see what Sonic did.” Castillo stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "It ain't about Sonia." He zipped up his jacket, covering up the bandages. "But I'll send off some pics if you want." He walked near Aria, taking some pictures of her bruising from different angles. "What are you talking about, dude?" Manic said, just as confused and concerned as Aria. "You wanna show Sonia what happened, that's cool, but she's not at the no-zone. She's- She's a talent coach back home, why would she be there?" "She wouldn't. You think half my guys DIDN'T go to the no-zone?" He said, newly serious. "Sentences are short there 'cause no one would survive more than a few years. It's legal torture. Ain't an exaggeration, they try and traumatize the evil out of you. There are all kinds'v horror stories, and I didn't know he deserved it or not." He walked stright up to the portal, and looked behind him. "No one's worth it. You guys comin' or what?" Aria jumped through first, almost collapsing on the other side. She recovered by the time anyone else jumped through, not letting them see it. They would send her home if they knew how much this drained her.

While the Scourges and Manic waited for Zonic, Aria requested to see her brother. She turned to the group while the guards went to get him into the interrogation room and sighed.

“Scourge, call my sister in law and explain what’s going on,” Aria said, tossing him her phone.

Then the tedious process of getting ready. Aria's tattoo was scanned, then she was patted down, sent through a metal detector, and put in thick restrains so she couldn’t use her claws. The king called up presumable Aria's sister in law halfway casually. Castillo was standing against the wall, waiting slightly impatiently for Zonic to arrive. Manic, on the other hand, seemed entirely stressed, and spoke to his Scourge in a quiet tone. "What're you planning, dude?" "Zonic gets here, we fight law with law." Scourge said simply. Manic was clearly taken back at that reply. "What do you mean, fight law with law? You always have an illegal plan for-" Scourge just looked at Manic. There was a long, angry glare between them as they realized what Scourge was telling Manic. "Those are some really fucked-up charges." "We just need to make them drop 'em." Scourge said simply. "I just hope we ain't late..." "I just hope Aria's okay in there," Manic added, leaning on the wall Castillo was against and tapping his foot incessantly. Aria sat facing her brother. Staring across the table at each other. Disappointment, apathy, indifference, angry, loss, hopelessness. Their gazes said it all.

“You’re off your meds again.” She said in their native tongue, a sweet and melodic sounding language drenched in worry and regret.

“Your swelling has gone down.” He said back, his low, indifferent tone making the words sound rough, cacophonic.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be like this. I’m trying to get you out. You wouldn’t last long with a real sentence.”

“You warped here. You must be tired.”

“Damian what’s wrong with you? These last couple of years your condition has gotten worse! You attacked innocent people! You! The doctor who could be making millions with his skills but instead works for minimal pay! I don’t understand, what happened to you?” She exploded with rage, yelling.

He barely looked like he was listening.

“Damian, I know you don’t like me. I get it. I do. The accident-”

“The massacre.”

“-was my fault. I take responsibility. I can’t blame you for hating me. But what I don’t understand is why you’re policing my behaviors. Who gives a flying fuck who I hang out with? I just don’t understand.”

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

A tiger stepped through the portal, resting a toddler on her hip. Looking around the crowd.

She eventually found Scourge and walked over to the group, looking confused. Odd. She said nothing.

Scourge suddenly moved his hands, slowly making different shapes. Putting effort into his translation. Seems like it was sign language, and that the tiger was deaf.

Zonic entered shortly after with paperwork. Manic couldn't understand a single thing that they were communicating. All he could do was watch the communication as it occurred. It was slow and planned, careful and fluid. The paperwork he was handed by Zonic wasn't any easier for him to understand. "Alright, thanks, dude." Manic said, looking at the papers. They were guided inside to some kind of a lounge, supposed to be for visitors waiting to see relatives. He sat down at some kind of a side table with Castillo as the two poured over the paperwork. Name, date of birth, occupation, phone, alternate phone, work phone... ... ... "So what are we gonna do about him when he's out?" Manic spoke quietly to his Scourge. "Leave him on the side of the highway, or summat?" The king and the tigress were in the middle of a conversation, Scourge probably wouldn't hear them if they were quiet. "Not a bad idea," Scourge shot back. "'ts up to Aria, 'n probably whoever this woman is. I wanna smear him on the wall..." "Me too. The last time someone tried to fuck with Aria's friends and us..." They could both still see some small scars in Zonic's legs from where the shrapnel had hit him two months prior. "Oh, dude, you're walking better, right?" Manic asked a bit louder, only half focused on the mountains of legalese. "I mean, you aren't limping, right? That's good!" “Yeah. Thing is, Aria's brother is a doctor and he healed it right up for me using those weird claws of his. I mean I know he’s an emotionless asshole, but he’s good at his job.”

The paperwork was, as Zonic explained, just dropping the charges that were being pressed. Damian’s son was set on the floor to walk around, his mother keeping a close eye on him as Scourge explained things slowly to her, with the help of another Zone Cop who was much more fluent. The toddler himself made his way over to Manic and Scourge, looking up at the men and snuggling a stuffed animal he had brought along. Raising his arms a little. Someone wanted to be picked up. The paperwork was done faster than either of them had anticipated, leaving them to simply wait for the papers to be handled and listen to some distant yelling in an elegant foreign tongue. Manic was pleasantly surprised to see the kid walking up to him, seemingly unaware of who exactly he was looking at. The little arms reaching up slightly would honestly make Manic's heart melt a bit - he couldn't help it, he loved kids. He glanced up to look at his mother and Zonic, not seeing any strong disapproval. "Alright, up you go, little dude," Manic said, picking him up gently and sitting him on Manic's legs. "Hey there, dude, what's your name?" He didn't respond. Scourge just reached over and lightly ruffled his hair, not quite sure what he was supposed to do. Manic seemed much more comfortable around kids. The waiting room didn't have kids toys, of course, but he spoke gently and excitedly. A few simple kids games, and he seemed to be smiling.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

At some point, Aria and Damian had switched to English, and everyone subconsciously quieted down to listen.

“I’m only do what Mom and Dad would want-” Arias brother started, trying to explain.

“When was the last time you went to see them? Or Tobias? Or anyone? You don’t get to throw Mom and Dad in my face because I know they’re proud of me! As much as you hate my friends-”

The older male scoffed. At least he was showing emotion, Aria figured. “The company you keep is a murderer, a thief and a heroin addict.”

This made Aria mad, and she got up from her chair to plant her hands on the table, meeting her brother's eyes.

“The company I keep is a widower with borderline PTSD, a musician so in love he spent two years of his life searching for his mate and a sober man who got clean and stayed away to protect the person he loved the most, who are all trying their best to bail your ass outta here! And what have you done? Begged to be sent as far as possible when you were fifteen, didn’t come home after the massacre, and LEFT ME TO BURY OUR FAMILY ALONE!! I WAS NINE DAMIAN! NINE! I HAD NO ONE AND YOU JUST KICKED ME AWAY LIKE A PIECE OF TRASH! THE DAY YOU REFUSED TO LET ME STAY WITH YOU AND SENT ME ONTO THE STREET WAS THE DAY YOU LOST ANY RIGHT TO POLICE MY ACTIONS! THE ONLY REASON I STAY IN CONTACT WITH YOU IS TO PROTECT YOUR SON FROM YOU DOING THE SAME THING YOU DID TO ME!”

The older male was stunned into silence, mouth open slightly. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. They could have ignored the yelling somewhat when they didn't understand it, but hearing it in English made them pay attention to every single syllable. As the voices grew louder and louder, the desperate anger in Aria's voice crescendoing more and more... The moment she started screaming was when Manic started losing his relaxed tone He knew THEY could handle themselves, what about this kid? He could worry about the implications, but he didn't know how to actually handle a child! He looked to the mother for advice, but she couldn't hear the yelling, and the king seemed just as invested in the words they were saying. "Uh, don't worry, buddy friend pal, you'll be alright." A nervous waver got through his voice, but he was young enough he couldn't have understood what that meant. Manic nudged his soft toy. "Don't worry, this guy'll keep you safe." The young toddler was easily entertained, laughing at Manic's games and seemingly cheery. He looked over to sniff at Scourge a little bit, clearly interested in the other male who was too busy to notice him.

The yelling caught his attention, but only because he recognized the voices and the language. However all the excitement had made him sleepy. The child snuggled his stuffed toy and curled up against Manic, slowly falling asleep.

His mother looked over and smiled softly. Nodding her thanks at Manic as she returned to the conversation.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Aria flopped down in her chair, resting her face in her arms. She was tired. The portal had drained her. The fight had drained her. She had started crying at some point and that had drained her too.

Her brother was never one to comfort. So when he hesitantly reached out to pet her, her ears flicked down and she braced for a beating. The gentle touch wasn’t trusted at first, but she didn’t turn away either.

“I’ll start taking my meds again tomorrow…”

She looked up, hopeful. It was a start.

Half an hour later he was free and his wife ran into his arms. Aria had scooped up her sleeping nephew from Manic, if only to cuddle him for a moment or two. By the time Aria had arrived, Manic was starting to get seriously worried. The tear stains on her face were subtle, but definitely there. He was actually happy Aria had removed all that makeup, otherwise, her face easily would have been a smeared, runny mess. "This dude's really cute," Manic said as he placed Aria's nephew into her arms. Manic didn't even look at Aria's brother. Castillo certainly did, wanting to make sure he wasn't going to hurt anyone. He thankfully seemed to care about the woman he was with, so they wouldn't have to worry then, at the very least. Castillo walked up to Aria, and started patting her on the back. "You look awful. Tough to warp here?" Manic looked a bit more somber. "Maybe we should sit down for a while? We could hear you were yelling, you've gotta be tired." Another pause, before scratching Aria's nephew behind his ears. "Don't think little bungo here'd mind a nap." Damian and his wife were kissing and he was speaking in hushed tones in another language, lips pressed to her skin. She seemed to understand him.

“He is. He’s definitely a mama's boy.” Aria kissed his ears gently, the baby squealing happily and purring, excited to see his aunt. Scourge got up as well, scratching the baby behind his ears before getting between Aria and Damian. Subtly he was still protecting her.

“Thanks guys, but no. I’m fine… While we’re dealing with family issues, should we go see your sister, Manic?” She didn’t seem all that concerned about them hearing her, probably because she thought she’d been yelling in their native language. The baby received more kisses and hugs. "Dude, seriously, you look wiped out," Manic said, looking to them showing Aria's nephew in affection. "We live two hours away, you shouldn't be warping that far." "Then we don't warp," Scourge said simply. "Dunno if we'll get reception..." It was weak, but that was better than the nothing they expected. Manic's phone kept ringing and ringing, until the screen turned from black to some kind of a video chat. Sonia was dressed professionally, her hair worn back in a much more subtle style than Manic's quills. "Hello? Manic, are you there?" "Hey, yeah, hi, Sonia." Manic said slightly awkwardly. "Uh-" "Did you get my texts?" "Yes, we got your texts." He said, just slightly annoyed. "Look, dude, I'm really happy you're so excited for this, but uh... that girl Sonic talked about? She wanted to talk to you." Manic turned the phone around and pointed it at Aria, Sonia visible confused. Aria froze a bit and hugged her nephew a little tighter. He cooed, reaching for the woman in the screen.

“Oh, uh, hi… Um… I’m Aria… And before you get mad at Castillo or Manic, um… Just take what Sonic said with a pile of salt. He’s not innocent in that fight either. I’ve got the bruises to prove it.” The bruising showed up worse on the screen, but Aria didn’t check that.

“So…what exactly did he tell you?”

Damian came over, and Aria handed her nephew back. He cooed, happily snuggling his father and waving goodbye to his aunt. Aria smiled, wincing a bit from the dull pain of the bruises. Sonia immediately opened her mouth to say something to Aria, but couldn't find the words. The incandescent lighting gave a bad contrast to her skin, making purples look darker and yellows more yellow. She didn't look like she had to be in the hospital, but she clearly needed some kind of attention. "I... assumed as such." Sonia said, brushing her bangs to the side and looking slightly unamused. "I didn't think he'd use that strength on someone who was- He isn't the sort to fight so hard." The words clearly failed her. "Do you have any hospital bills?" "No, dude, we're fine." Manic shot back off camera. "Ari got the worst of it, but she'll be alright. Right?" Sonia took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts and taking in this new information. "Sonic told me he wanted to fight Scourge," Aria started, "And that you fought him out of nowhere. He also said he stopped someone named Damian from making a killing blow?" A deep exhale. "Of course he'd leave out the details, I should have a very long talk with him later. I'm so sorry- Aria, was it?" “Yes , that’s right. I… Apologize for my brother. He was off his medication, but even then he wouldn’t have killed anyone. I’m fine, I just didn’t want you to be angry at Scourge and Manic. This wasn’t their fault.”

She paused and looked up at Sonia. “I don’t mean to pry but… Why is Sonic so… Um… Protective?” Clearly it was not her first choice of words, but the closest she could come to the concept without bring rude. “I mean, Manic and Scourge are happy, right? Isn’t that the important thing?” Sonia sighed. "There are a lot of things going on there," she admitted, "I wouldn't quite know what to begin with. Scourge and Sonic never got along, from the day we met... and they never gave up." Was that embarrassment? As professional and maternal as she acted, she did look genuinely embarrassed about something. "They all have their own stories of what happened between them, and it's not my place to pry. If you much know the short of it... Scourge has committed some violent acts. He may call himself a freedom fighter, but Sonic doesn't like deeply injuring people. I think Sonci is worried he's going to hurt Manic, which..." The embarrassment swelled, and she covered her mouth. "It's a very touchy subject." She said simply. "I'll have another talk with Sonic, but I don't think it will help anything." "Hey, Sonia, Sooonia." Manic said, turning the phone back towards himself. "You're fine, we're used to it. I think Ari just wanted you to know what happened to her, we ain't asking you to fix everything for us. Give him hell for us, alright?" "...Alright." Sonia agreed, hesitantly smirking. "Oh, yes, Aria? Thank you for the call. I don't think Manic would have called me otherwise." “Ah, okay. I’m sorry to pry." Aria seemed a little awkward herself, having asked a seemingly personal question.

The little moment between siblings was touching and Aria giggled. "It's the least I could do, Sonia. These guys are so busy helping us out, I don’t see when they’d find the time to do much other than sleep.”

She tried to subtly clue Sonia into seeing that the boys were tired and wedding talk wasn’t helping. Sonia was not about to let any subtle cues stop her from going into a wedding panic, but maybe one night's pause wouldn't hurt... "Yes, that's perfectly understandable, but when you're planning a wedding, you need to do everything right-" "Okay, we're hanging up now," Manic said, taking the much-less-than-subtle approach. "Seriously, Sonia, let us plan what we want. We'll tell you when we need your help, alright?" Sonia almost looked a little dissapointed. "Alright. You two get some rest, you've been through a lot." "Thanks, MOM." He affected the tone of a tired middle schooler. "Good night, little prince~" Sonia joked back, a line that clearly struck some embarrassing chord for Manic. Castillo just chuckled as Manic abruptly ended the call, and patted him on the shoulder. "Speakin' of work," Castillo said, turning back to Aria. "Manic's got some more makeup stuff to do. Didn't you say you were planning a date?" "Oh, right! I forgot… Maybe we could go for a snack and a nap first?” Aria asked, yawning quietly.

Scourge scooped her up princess style. “Portal us home then munchkin!” He insisted, and Aria lazily did so.

After a quick nap and a chocolate bar, Aria was feeling better. She was sketching out ideas for the date, maybe things to buy for the bat.

“What do you think are some good starting ideas?” She asked Castillo, who was having his bandages changed. "Good ways to start a date..." He said, looking over to Manic for ideas. The two looked back and forth between each other and the floor. "Don't go over the top. I always like drivin' around, but I guess you can't do that..." "Half our dates usually end up at a concert," Manic started. "Maybe you could see if there's a band she likes- Nah, that's us talking. We need something more... ..." Manic was making his scheming face again. "Ari, how long do your sketches usually take you? Cause I dunno if you've done this already, don't worry about the gift. You're gonna MAKE her a gift. Call her over to your place, and tell her to dress up real fancy, right? Work her into one of your painting set-ups. Set it up like you're doing your usual people paintings, but like, with some more romantic lighting. Just get a few bottles of your sugar vodka and whatever she wants, have it all close when you're painting, and just chat. Talk and listen to music and drink the whole time. It'll be real sweet." His next line explained the scheming. "Man, I have so many more ideas for this, but I don't want to make things really sexual." He said, clearly wanting to make things really sexual. ”… That's- actually a great idea!“ She sounded surprised, but pleased. Then the smile got bigger.

"I mean I can’t use my apartment cause it's being painted but the roof can be booked for private parties and I can make us dinner up there cause it's got a tiny kitchenette and string up fairy lights and -”

She squealed happily and hugged the boys, gently as she remembered Scourge’s broken collar bone. “Thank you thank you thank you! I’d better go get everything ready- hey wait. Where did Scourge go?”

She looked around the infirmary, peeking down the hallway. The two were pleasantly surprised by the hug, Scourge more than happy to take some of the credit for Manic's idea. "Ah, come on, we'll help you get set up if you want." Aria's call for Scourge's attention caught their own ears. "Uh... Hm, guess I don't really know." Manic said, not knowing what to say. "He could always just want some time to himself. Or clomping around on the roof again." The two already knew they were going to go snooping around when Aria peeked into the hall. Castillo turned towards Manic again. "You wanted to tell her to do a full body portrait of her and see how much she'd blush, didn't you?" He said just so Manic could hear. Manic sneaked up to peer down the halls too. "I was more thinking a portrait of her in a maid's dress or something," he admitted. "By ‘we’ you mean Manic right? You can’t do much with that arm.” She stepped back inside and they heard footprints on the roof. So that’s where he was.

She made a list of things they would need, like lights and food. “Well I’ve got a list to get… Hmm, she’s a fruit bat, should I add pie to this list?”

Aria blushed gently as she thought about the bat, texting her the smallest amount of info she needed to know. Dress nicely, meet at her house. She sighed happily as the bat responded in the affirmative. "I guess I need to rest a little," Castillo admitted. "I'll be around." Castillo nodded and left them to their date planning as he disappeared down the main stairwell, with Manic creeping Aria off towards a smaller side staircase, leading down to a servant's hallway. It seemed he knew the castle layout pretty well. "Alright, so we need drinks, we can probably get that from that bar in that living room," Manic said, leading Aria towards the castle kitchen. "Pies... I know nothing about pie, but we're making a pie of some kind, I guess. Don't give her anything that's gonna make her feel super bloated or anything, you don't wanna be flirting from outside the bathroom. We've got pie, we've got booze-" "No, we don't got booze." Manic said. "I'll go grab some bottles quickly, you get some kind of cook maid to help you make a pie." And without even asking Aria to agree, he was already off. "Where are we going- what the… How the fuck did you know that there was a staircase…. Never mind.” Aria said, stumbling a bit and hitting her hip against the counter.

As Manic planned furiously, Aria rubbed her side. “Well not like I doubted it in the first place but you and your sister are totally related.”

As he left to get the booze, Aria started mixing up the filling for a fruit pie, and grabbing the ready made pie crust. She also thought to a necklace she had seen at the store, blushing as her mind went to a very Titanic inspired fantasy involving European women and sketching. And in fact, Aria wasn't the only one thinking that fantasy. Manic was reveling in it to as he searched for some kind of drink that could pair well with some kind of fruit pie. Not that he knew what they would be, anyways. The fantasy was very similar, right down to the two people at the center of it and Manic not being a single part of it whatsoever. And since he shared the same genes as his brother and sister, he knew he had to pry his way into things until they went the way he wanted to see them go. Moscato was the best choice he could come to. All he needed was some way to convince Aria to do something bold, but without actually mentioning doing something bold. He hurried back, feeling the gears turn in his head. Manic had managed to run across the castle and back before the berry filling was halfway done. He left Aria's normal drink and his choice for some kind of pairing on the counter near the door, and wandered up to Aria, much more calm than before. "That's should taste good with it, right? It won't taste like death with it, I'm pretty sure." Manic said as Aria folded the ingredients together. "Okay, we've got your drink situation handled, you've got your food situation going, we just need to get your art stuff and get you some space on the roof, right? I can head up and talk to Scourge." "...You know, if you're going all out for this date, you can still try and get her a gift," Manic said, wondering if he could nudge her in the worst possible direction. "You have any idea what she's gonna be wearing? Or like, what'll look good with it?" Aria hummed as she finished the pie and put it in the oven. Looked over at the alcohol. "Yeah that will do fine Manic. Um… Would getting her a necklace be too…. "Draw me like one of your French girls” or am I over thinking this? Because I saw a really nice one at the store the other day and I think she would like it.“

She blushed and sat down, sketching out the roofs layout and starting to plan. Lights hung up all around the main area… A daybed in the center with her easel. Reposition both for creative reference and sneaky kisses. A table for dinner. Maybe she would wear black or red…

Aria sat up suddenly. "SHIT. What am I gonna wear? I don’t have any nice clothes that I don’t use for work!” "You're literally drawing her, it's not like you can get much closer than that." Manic said simply, almost relieved he wasn't going to have to clumsily trundle his way towards straight up asking her to do that. The sudden break in her fantasizing startled Manic. "Clothes, right, clothes exist." He said simply, as though the thought had never occurred to him. "Hmmm. I mean, we could always just go all out on the Titanic-y bits. But somewhere you can get fancy clothes? Uh, I'm not a girl, I don't know where girls buy their clothes." There was a beat as Manic remembered that rush of texts he received, and in a few moments, Sonia had already picked up. "Yeah, Sonia, I need to know where you can buy women's clothes. Like, fancy clothes, I mean." "Oh, are you doing to be wearing a dress? There are-" "This ain't for the wedding, I just really need to know where to buy fancy women's clothes. Completely unrelated." That almost always meant it was completely related, but Sonia didn't say a word, instead just sighing. "Honey Clothing tends to be both cheap and formal, but they specialize in red, so they might clash with your shade of green." "Oh, I'm not wearing it for once, it's for Aria." In a moment, Manic had handed the phone over, and Sonia was listing off brand after brand in that same rapid-fire tone Manic had tried to pretend he wasn't speaking in earlier. "...and the fabric... ...sale on small heels... ...overpriced... ...no designer brands..." "I’m trying to avoid the cheesy Titanic bits. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about me or how the night is gonna end”

When Manic's rapid fire list turned into Sonia on the phone, Aria scrambled to jot things down. Hmm. Honey's line of clothing wouldn’t work for her, the styles hung loose and made her seem smaller than she already was. The other stores Sonia listed also seemed to have a size range issue.

“Sonia all these ideas are wonderful and I'm thankful, but nothing you’ve listed would come in my size. I'm 2'9 and on the chubby side. A-line dresses make me seem wider than I actually am.”

A pause as the hedgehog thought. “Why not try a body-con dress? Its close to the body so you won’t have to worry about any flaring out? I could list some more stores…”

Eventually Aria managed to get a store location close to the castle. She scratched open a portal and asked one of the maids to watch the pie. A dress of that style would have to do, and hopefully wouldn’t be expensive.

“Manic I hate to ask you for this, but could you grab my Scourge and go set up the lights?” "Yooooou got it," Manic said, walking back towards that servant's stairwell as he left his phone with Aria, just in case she had more questions for Sonia. "Let's get this mess going!" He knew the main floors of the castle, but the roof? How was he supposed to get on the roof? Maybe there was some kind of access stairwell on the top floor, or a ladder of some kind along the- No, Scourge waas covered in small wounds, he would probably have had to use a set of stairs of some kind. But where would they be? Likely somewhere near his bedroom. Manic started his walk down the hall... There was that weird door again, across from Scourge's bedroom. Of course, it just made sense, that's why it was so close! ...Or not. It was locked tight. So what the hell WAS inside? Manic pondered for a moment, before deciding to leave those questions for later.He had a date to help set up, and Scourge was the only one who could help him with that. "Yo, Scourge?" He said, finally having found some route onto the top of the castle. "You up here? Aria's bringing her date over, and she wants us to help her set up." Scourge looked over at Manic, getting up slowly. The area had a beautiful view and was on the opposite side of the old wing, so it couldn’t be seen. An ideal date spot. Hell, Manic might want to steal the date location.

"Oh yeah, sure. I figured this would be the first place she brought someone. It's her favorite spot on the castle. I assume the date is at 6 or so? Cause that’s sunset and she adores it.”

Scourge got out the fairy lights and started untangling them. The date wasn't hard to set up, as per Aria's ideas. The couch, the lights, the little table for her drinks and snacks, it was all simple.

Manic had assumed it would have been much harder. Not to move the furniture or anything, but because how how much had happened that day. With the injuries, the visit to the no-zone, Scourge should have had a lot on his mind. Yet here he was, happily complying.

"I'm sorry."

The words came out of nowhere. As uncomfortable as Manic seemed to be, he kept trying to smile through them. "For everything today. I didn't want to ruin everything for you guys, I hoenstly... I don't know how yoiur'e this cam," he said, clearly finding a little humor in that last statement.

"We're gonna head back home tomorrow," Manic said. "We've got a lot to plan... and we've cause enough trouble here, anyways."

"Apology accepted, but unneeded. You two are our friends, Manic. We enjoy your company, even if it means some… action every once in a while. Besides, why wouldn’t I be calm? Everyone is safe. ”

He shrugged, moving the chaise couch and starting to clean up the little kitchenette. “You two haven’t been a bother at all and you’re always welcome back. For now though, I’m going to see if I can find an exorcist whose stupid enough to take on the challenge of getting rid of that fucker in the old wing, and set up the railing on the side stairs a bit better.”

A pause as he looked up at the other. “So have you two decided on anything yet? I mean, other than the music. Or do you not wanna talk about it because your sister is driving you crazy?“ "Thanks, dude." Manic said, completely sincerely. "It means a lot." For just a few moments, all of that normal sarcasm and silliness was gone. It would come back, of course, but for a few moments, Scourge managed to get a simple, sweet smile out of him. "Sonia driving me crazy's just a given," Manic shrugged. "I think I'm just gonna, like, only talk about this with Scourge. You wanna know what her wedding was like?" He stopped organizing the kitchenette a little to look directly at the king. "It was like she though she was a princess. Her dress dragged behind her for like fifteen feet. I'm not joking, my job was literally to walk behind her and carry the train for her. I mean, I want it to be fancy and ridiculous, too. Just like, in a different way." It seemed there was a broom up on the vantage point just for sweeping off leaves, Manic taking that bit of the labor as the king made a few final adjustments. "This is gonna be a really stupid question," Manic started. "Uh... Sonic's gonna have to be invited, right? Like if it's me, and my mom and Sonia are gonna be there?" The smile was noticed and appreciated as Scourge went at the sink with steel wool to clean it.”Don’t worry about it. You two would do the same for us.”

He chuckled. “Is that so? Well I mean, some people treat their wedding day like the most important day of their lives, showing the world how much they love their significant other.  But for others it's a pointless hoopla about nothing. My wedding was in the grand hall of the old wing about half an hour after I proposed. It was just the two of us and the officiator because we were impatient kids with no money at the time.” He paused to laugh at the memory. “Miles didn’t speak to me for three weeks after because he wasn’t invited.”

Scourges fond memories of his best friend and his wife made him seem younger, a lightness in his eyes that was out of place from his normal behavior. it slowly faded as Manic’s brother was brought up. “That’s up for you two to decide. But if you choose to allow him to come, just sit him between Aria and I. We’ll make sure he behaves. Also, Aria has a photographer friend if you want one who takes nice pictures for cheap.�� "Ah, really, that'd be perfect!" Manic said, looking over what was finished thus far. Just about everything they expected to need to finish up. The twinkle lights were hung daintily around the divan, and the sun was still high enough that Aria would get to see the sunset with her date. They had more than enough time to make sure things were going to be perfect for Aria and her date, too. "Really, just like, half an hour? That's some kinda true love right there," Manic said, an elbow nudge almost audible in his voice. "I mean, we do our impulsive crap all the time, but we're only getting one chance to show off at our wedding. We're gonna invite everyone! We're gonna make sure NO ONE forgets what's gonna go down! Whatever we're gonna have go down, I mean. Though I do wanna get Sonia off my back..." Manic smirked as he started leading the way to the stairs back into the castle. "We'll have a location in three days. Just don't tell anyone we're gonna have that actual wedding a week from now, it's gotta be a surprise~" “Good job with this. Now we’d better go find Aria and Scourge and get the details for tonight down.” He messed Manic's quills playfully.

“Well true love, maybe. But I was more worried about what might happen to her. We had just found out she was pregnant so we were excited.”

He laughed at the plan, shaking his head. “You're crazy, but hey, you do you kiddo. Just let me know what day and I’ll be there.” "You got it," Manic said to the playful teasing. That would have been a good time to ask more about Fiona... but no, he'd been through so much already. Manic had ruined everything for everyone twice already since the previous night, he wasn't going to go for a third time. Scourge was easy to find, he always liked wandering back towards the sitting room with the full bar. "Oh yeah, we're having the wedding in like a week," Manic said as they ushered Castillo out of the room. "You have anything else planned?" He asked, not at all concerned by that fact. "Nope~" Aria was a bit more of a tricky find. After all, she had warped away, and their wandering through the halls was longer than they would have liked. And then of course, Manic remembered the pie. The pie! He hadn't even taken the liquor up to the roof balcony! And as they followed Manic through his disturbingly in depth knowledge of the castle layout, they found themselves in a servant's hallway flowing with the warm, sweet scent of the almost finished pastry. “You know what kind of scares me?” Scourge said as the boys followed Manic into the side hall.

“What?” Castillo asked, raising a brow.

“I’ve lived in this castle my whole life and he knows his way around better than I do.”

Aria had returned, and one of the maids was snipping the tags off her new dress with a pair of scissors. It was black, tight fitting but tasteful. Her hair was done up in a bun as she prepped the food and checked the time.

“Alright missy, out. You go with Manic and I’ll cook. I had some of the boys bring your easel and canvases up to the roof.” Scourge gently pushed Aria out of the way. "Oooooh dang, let's get this mess on the road!" Manic said, ushering Aria out of the room, leaving the king to be constructive and contribute to preparing the food and Castillo to sord of lump around the room, not quite sure what to do until he gets handed some kind of cooking implement. Once more, back up that back stairwell that really was supposed to only be used by the castle staff. "Seriously dude, you shouldn't be working so much yourself. I get you want to make this a nice date, but you've already bought a dress and made a pie, we wanna help!" Again, Manic seemed to check a couple doors before finding the right one leading to the roof. "Besides, you've got all your art stuff to work on, relax a bit!" The rooftop balcony was only large enough for a more intimate gathering, but put a good amount of space between the chaise lounge and Aria's art space. Scourge had been very thoughtful in setting everything up. Aria's art tools were all neatly laid out, there were a few foodstuffs in the kitchenette already, and there was a table with only two chairs, pushed a bit to the side so it wouldn't interrupt Aria's view. "You gotta give Scourge credit for most of this," Manic admitted. He peeked at the door, like he was asking some kind of deep secret. "Did you actually get her the titanic necklace?" Aria looked around the top in a little bit of awe. It was so much better than she expected and she felt touched. “Thank you… I can’t believe you guys are doing all of this.”

Her blush darkened and she held a box in her hands, fiddling with the velvet. “Its not the titanic necklace, just something I thought she’d like… and maybe. Um Manic? Don’t I need to cover all of this?” She motioned to her still very bruised face. "CRAP AND FUCK." Manic said quite loudly. "Uuuuh, I'll be back in half a second!" Manic was already down the stairs, screaming the words at Aria from the castle hall. Aria merely laughed as Manic ran off. Fixing things up and checking the necklace again.

Downstairs, Scourge had set the salad spinner on the table in front of his alternate. “Would you mind spinning this?" Castillo pressed the large button on tap. And again. And again. He was quite amused with it, apparently. "So when's Terra getting here?" He said, wondering just how fast he could make the simple device go. "And what're we cooking for 'em?" “Just salad I think. And I'm not sure when shes getting here. Aria will probably warp her in.” Scourge finally calmed down on the spinning, more than finished at this point. "We're throwing something together in a week..." He said, not scared, but still somewhat seriously. "I... don't know anything about weddings. Could never see one, could never have one. I know there's a bride 'n a groom, and cake." The king could almost see Scourge swallowing his pride. "How does a wedding work?" Scourge looked over at the alternate and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I can’t help you either. My wedding was done in the old great hall, half an hour after I proposed, and I was only a kid at the time. But of what I understand of other peoples weddings, you stand facing the person you love, say your vows, get proclaimed man and man and then you kiss. But that’s the official bit. You just need to talk to Manic about this.” Castillo was taken aback for a moment by the short list. He quickly smiled and put the salad spinner down. "'That's it? Though there was more nonsense to it all 'n that. Well, this'll be-" Vows. He'd completely forgotten about vows. He was going to have to somehow sum up his feelings towards Manic and present it. Whoops. "This'll be impossible," he chuckled. “Aw come on now, don’t be like that. Vows are easy. I made mine up on the spot and that made her cry. You’ve just got to speak from the heart… If you want my opinion, maybe bring up how you felt during the two years you were protecting him. You know, the sappy stuff. Ideally I think the point is to show him how much you love him… Rosy and Glare did their vows by whispering to each other and Damian and his wife did their in letter format. Don’t think traditional, cause I know Manic probably isn’t. But take time to agree on format.” In just that short exchange, Manic had managed to run straight across the castle, grabbed his make-up kit, and run all the way back to Aria. He was panting slightly at the exertion of the run, but he was pack to the date spot and sitting across the small table from Aria. "...I already write lyrics, so I ain't too worried about vows or anything," Manic said while working on Aria's base coat. "But we keep talking about me and my relationships. Uh, you've been dating her for like, two months, right? Are things still casual, or they getting a little serious?"

Aria was surprised with Manics speed, sitting down for her friend to cover her bruises. “If you’re sure. I mean you could also do your vows in song format.”

Aria blushed as the conversation turned to her relationship. “Kind of. For the first month I was trying to get hired so we only video chatted and watched movies. Then when I got hired and she finished training me, she quit to go to her other job. We had conflicting schedules. But now we both work similar times so its easier… Our first date was at work, technically. And I was getting over that split lip so no kisses… I’m nervous. She makes me feel all… Butterflies..? I don’t know how to explain.” "So like, tonight's the first night you could go in for a kiss?" Manic said bluntly. "Hey, don't go too far if you ain't comfortable with it, but that's kinda basic." He almost wanted to draw out the application, given how embarrassed she acted when she kept speaking about Terra. "Ooooh boy, the butterflies are the best part. They feel like dying!" He said quite excitedly. "No, but really, that's really good. If you're two months in and your feelings are just growing stronger, that's really good. Take it from some pile of anxiety over here, the more you ignore that nervous crap, the happier you're both gonna be." He was reaching for one of his nonstandard brushes again. "I guess I was more asking cause, you think you're gonna want to bring a date? Or just pretend Scourge is your date and confuse everyone?" “I know… But Manic, she drives me crazy… Her eyes and her smile and her laugh, oh her laugh and her voice and just everything about her…. She’s perfect… I’ve never seen anyone more perfect… I have no idea how to handle my emotions,” she admitted, clearly lovestruck and unable to focus.

She snapped out of it and thought rationally. “Maybe…tell me when the date is and I’ll see if she’s working. Really its up to you. It's your wedding.”

He finished and Aria looked herself over in a mirror. “Perfect. Thank you so much Manic.” She hugged him. "Aw, you're welcome," Manic said, happily accepting the hug. He was happy to have helped her out with the date, especially after everything that had happened since their visit started. Manic just smiled and patted her back, letting her hold out the hug for as long as she wanted. "It's gonna be next Saturday." Manic said simply as she pulled away. "We've got no idea where it's gonna be yet. We've got no idea what any of it's gonna be. We just know there's gonna vaguely be a wedding sometime on that day. Make sure you're coming, it's gonna be awesome! ...Whatever it's gonna be." Manic smirked again as he closed his case of tools. "If you can even talk to her about it between smooches~" And Manic was gone yet again, technically going to make sure the food wasn't on fire, but mostly going so Aria could make any final preparations and blush in private. “Ohhh I can ask, but she works Saturdays and so do I. But I don’t see a problem.” She giggled and blushed a little. The butterflies never quite went away. She checked her phone and smiled. 5 minutes until her date would arrive. She gripped the ring box tighter, nervous.

Everything was done and plated downstairs, Scourge talking to his alternate to ease him down from the wedding jitters, stopping when Manic came downstairs.

“Alright, now to a more pressing question. Are you two gonna leave her alone or are we spying on them?” The king asked, sitting back and crossing his arms. "You ask that like you don't know," Manic said. Castillo just grinned back, knowing full well what was about to happen. It was back to Manic's van for some kind of tools, so they wouldn't have to sit with their ears pressed against the door. Another one of those tiny hidden cameras, put under the small gap of the hinging side of the door, and pointed towards Aria's easel. There wasn't much peripheral vision in the camera, and Manic was curious to see how she drew, anyways. Besides, they could still see the table in the background. "Alright, this is probably completely illegal." Manic said, rubbing his hands mischievously over his laptop. The three were crowded around a coffee table in an upstairs lounge of some kind. Manic could see his Scourge tapping his fingers impatiently in the screen reflection. "What, you nervous?" "What do you think I'm nervous about?" He teased. "Doing something vastly illegal?" "A'course." Castillo punctuated this by ruffling Manic's quills. “Hey it's my house. If I say you can do it, you’re fine.” He leaned on their heads and looked at the screen. No sound unfortunately, but no one could go to fix it because Aria's date was there.

The bat showed up in a suit, which no one expected frankly, and was greeted with a hug by the much smaller hedgie. The wine was poured and the two sat down, starting to eat.

She slid the necklace across the table, Aria clearly blushing. The bat adored the gift and Aria helped her put it on.

“If this goes like that scene in the titanic, we are turning this off," the king ordered. "If this goes like that scene in Titanic, things are going according to plan." Manic added, not helping the situation. "The hell is Titanic?" Castillo added, flagrantly confused. Manic couldn't see the necklace too well at the distance the table sat from the camera, but from what he was seeing, he was impressed. Hopefully, Aria wouldn't be putting herself into serious debt for the sake of this date. Everything seemed to be going well. The meal may have been small and short, but from what they could see, the two were enjoying the view, the conversation... everything. But the muted audio was just making Manic more and more curious. "You two stay here," he said, "I'm gonna listen in at the door." And once more without waiting, Manic was off, silently tip-toeing up the stairs and not wanting to miss a single word. “…Okay well, I know what movie you’re going to be watching next,” the king said, a little surprised. “And I don’t think so. They get to the painting and Aria will freak ou- Manic that’s not a good idea!” he hissed. Aria's hearing was excellent, he would surely get caught!

Aria put on some music, soft romantic tunes as she sat down at her easel and the bat laid on the daybed. Aria started painting, and looked at the bat. “I don’t think I’ve ever painted someone so beautiful… So um… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” The bat nodded and aria continued her question.

“My friends are getting married on Saturday.. Could you…ummm…” Blushy blushy hedgie.

“You want me to be your date? Sure, I can so that.” Manic could almost hear the blushing at this point. Not that he was an outsider, he knew Aria certainly had to be blushing hard at this point. He wore his smirk shamelessly as he peeked through the tiny gap under the door. He could only see the legs of the easel and daybed, as well as Aria's shoes. Things hadn't gone way too far, thankfully for Aria. "That's not a good idea." Manic knew it was a terrible idea, he just wanted a tiny bit more information. And the confirmation they could both show up... it was more than enough for him. He'd risked him being there enough, he just had to get out carefully. A moderate wind made the branches of the courtyard trees clack against one another silently. Manic crept down the stairwells at a snails pace, making sure each step wouldn't be heard. Hopefully, she'd be too distracted to notice. And if she did... maybe he could play it off as some mouse in the castle. Once more, hopefully. The Scourges didn't even hear Manic enter. "Guess who's got a date for the wedding?" He said straight out of nowhere, just to watch Castillo jolt from the surprise. Aria heard Manic's scuffling and rolled her eyes as she hid behind the canvas. Her flirting with the bat continued, but it was tame. The bat grew impatient eventually and soon the hedgie would find her dates lips on her own.

The kiss was sudden, short and sweet. Aria let her eyes flutter closed as she kissed back, paintbrush dropping onto the floor and arms wrapping around the bat's shoulders.

As Castillo fell out of his chair from the shock of his mate's sudden appearance, Scourge laughed. Helping the other back into his seat, he checked the monitor and whistled.

“Someone’s getting smooched guys ~” the king teased, motioning at the monitor they were huddled around which showed the pair kissing. Yes, they were very off-center of the camera and the video quality wasn't too great, but they finally got what they'd all been hoping for - Aria got to kiss someone. "Alriiight, we did it!" Manic said, as though the three of them were involved in getting the two to kiss. "Oh my god, she's so much shorter than Terra- That's cute. That's really cute." Castillo just smiled, and looked up. Manic knew exactly what he was thinking, and leaned over to give Scourge his own quick kiss. As long as everyone was kissing, why not? "You taste like that awful gin," Manic laughed as he pulled away. "And lettuce, for some reason." "You missed the best part," Castillo said as he turned back to the camera. "Could've told us if Aria squeaked when it happened~" “We need to get a sixth wheel,” Scourge joked to himself as the two sets of couples kissed. Happy with the result, he laughed as Aria glared and flipped the bird to the door after Terra and her had parted and the bat turned around.

“Manic, I think you got caught!” Scourge laughed, snorting a little as Aria was clearly displeased.

Satisfied, Aria returned her attention to her date and smiled.

“…. Should I bring them a stool so Terra doesn’t gave to bend down as far?” "WHOOPSIES." Manic said quite simply at getting the bird. "Whoopsie poopsies..." Manic nudges the king playfully when he joked about getting a stool. "Come on, that wouldn't help. She probably needs a ladder." The shapes on the easel were starting to turn into shapes that they could reacognize... and it was fully clothed. "Damnit, I thought she was going to be forced to draw a boober!" "I thought you were gay?" Castillo added, knowing full well he was. "No, I don't want to see the boober personally, I wanted to see how embarrased she'd get at having to draw said hypothetical tiddy mmm bop bop tittays." His fiancé seemed to find some kind of humor to that string of gibberish nonsense words, Manic caving in himself shortly after it was said. They knew the king didn't know what that meant. They knew he wouldn't understand. And that just made the stupid joke even better for them. “….Okay, he hit his head on the way in here.” Scourge said, rolling his eyes.

Aria nodded at the bat and her model got up to watch her paint. Her arms wrapped around the tiny hedgehog from behind and peppered her cheeks with kisses as she finished painting.

“Okay boys, I think that’s enough.” Scourge said once the two had quieted down. The bat was clearly content with the painting, and Aria's face was red as she set down her materials and shyly instigated another kiss. Manic closed the camera, satisfied with all their snooping. The sky through the window was a reddish purple, the sun on the verge of finally disappearing over the horizon. "So what, you think we should run?" Manic said with that goofy grin as he started turning off his laptop. "Aria already knows we were snooping, maybe she won't be too angry if the next time she sees us is at our wedding?" "Plus, we've got a whole wedding to plan." Castillo admitted. "We'll keep you in touch. 'N tell Aria we'll have a table reserved for you three." There was a pause. "Wherever we're getting married." Manic snorted, and punched him playfully on the shoulder. There was something they knew that Scourge clearly didn't - namely, the location they wanted to have their wedding at. "How about you distract Aria if she comes down, make sure she doesn't bite our faces off?" “Nope. You’ll have to deal with her on your own. Hell hath no fury like an angry Aria.” Scourge raised his hands, washing them of the matter.

Scourge paused, then grimaced. “While you two go looking for wedding venues and floral arrangements, Imma go see if I can’t find a dumb enough exorcist to clean out the old wing.”

He walked them to the front door, fingers gripping onto the banister of the staircase. He was clearly not taking any chances. So far, Aria wasn't about to pounce on them and kill them to death. That was a plus. Maybe she was still busy smooching Terra. Either way, they made it to their van more or less intact. "Scourge," Castillo said simply as Manic climbed into the passenger seat. "Thanks. Know who to come to if I get arrested, eh?" He gave him a solid pat on the shoulder, trying his best not to touch any wounds. He shared another look with Manic, who just nodded in response. "Back in our home-city- Our anti-Mobius, there's a club called Clear Neon." He said quietly. "We'll give you the time. And don't get too fancied up~" They could hear two sets of women's heels from somewhere in the castle. On cue, Scourge rushed to the car, and the two were already rocketing away from the castle before Aria could catch sight of them leaving. Things would fall together somehow, even if it would take a lot of detailed work and micromanaging from Sonia. They had ideas, just nothing too coherent yet. Ideas for the outfits, the cake, the decorations, but they knew exactly where they needed to start. Forcing out a registry and shooting it off to as many people as possible. But right after that was their plans to get Scourge his own ring, and they knew just who to hire for the job...

[fairyberries-blog]

Sonic The Hedgehog Pick Up Lines

I want to wear you like a Razer headset Gaming Equipment I’ll slam you against the wall like my controller General Are you a torch? Because you light up my world. Mindcraft Hey baby, you wanna see my hidden blade? Assassin’s Creed Call me Kirby, ’cause I’m talking you to Dreamland. Kirby I’d jump over a thousand barrels to save you. Donkey Kong Hay baby, can my patrol enter your Hidden Vally? Fall Out Nice pants, baby. What’s the drop rate? World of Warcraft I’ve got one heart left and it’s beeping for you. General Baby, I’ve been Z-targeting you all night. Legend of Zelda Wanna see who’s got the longer Dagger of Xian? Tomb Raider I’ll never skip the cutscenes of your conversation General They don’t call me Super for nothing. Super Mario Brothers My Heart is BOP and you just rolled Need World of Warcraft Let’s breed chocobos… the old-fashioned way! Final Fantasy You’re the Princess Peach to my Mario Super Mario Brothers Whoa! Those pants make even yer butt look buff! Tomb Raider There’s a Himalayan idol somewhere in my pants. Tomb Raider Want to touch my Staff of Rampant Growth? World of Warcraft Like Ezio, I’m great from behind and above Assassin’s Creed What do you say I take my flag to your base and score? Halo Are you a Wii? Because I love your joystick Gaming Equipment I’d rather ride you than Yoshi any day. Super Mario Brothers I’d like to fertilize your crops with my bonemeal. Mindcraft I’ll make sure the Road to Dawn is a loud one. Kingdom Hearts Zidane: You wanna see something my tail can do? Final Fantasy Is it true what they say about British duchesses? Tomb Raider Yeah, that’s right… I’m hung like a tauren. World of Warcraft I wanna make you wetter than the Zora Temple. Legend of Zelda Are you a slimeball? Cause you make my piston sticky Mindcraft If I were an NES cartridge would you blow me? Gaming Equipment I’m like an Xbox; I can go 360 all night long Gaming Equipment Are you a Deku Nut? Because you’re stunning me. Legend of Zelda You must be a pressure plate, because you turn me on. Mindcraft Wat out… I just ate a big dot and I’m coming after you. Pac-Man Are you Donkey Kong? Because I want to Super Smash. Donkey Kong Are you Mortal Kombat? Your beauty has finished me Mortal Kombat I’ve got one heart left and its beeping for you. Legend of Zelda Not even the sands of time could pull us apart. Prince of Persia Why don’t you seduce me? My resistance is low. World of Warcraft Your heart is like a dungeon; large and full of treasure General Baby, you look beautiful and pure, just like Aeris. Final Fantasy Wanna take my Swift Pink Hawkstrider for a ride? World of Warcraft Nice guns, but ya really should accept no substitutes. Tomb Raider I took an arrow to the knee! From cupid, after seeing you. General Come on, girl… I have the blessing of protection! World of Warcraft Girl, I’ve got a gold ring with your name on it. Sonic the Hedgehog Want to fuse Kinstones? I’d bet they fit perfectly. Legend of Zelda Call me Lara Croft because I’m about to go Tomb Raiding. Tomb Raider I’m no Kobald, but you can take my candle anytime! World of Warcraft Baby, not even Namine could erase my memories of you. Kingdom Hearts Can I show you how it feels to wear a Deadlock suit? Ratchet & Clank Are we playing Assault? Cause I’m pretty sure you are the bomb. Halo If you were a warp tube, I’d be in you all day. Super Mario Brothers If you were a map pack, I’d download you. First Person Shooting Game Are you Alienware? Because you are out of this world Gaming Equipment You just made me shoot a MOAB in my pants. First Person Shooting Game You must be from nether, because you are out of this world. Mindcraft Are you up for a little tactical insertion? First Person Shooting Game Without you, I feel like I’m in a world that never was. Kingdom Hearts You don’t have to turn on a game to play with me. Super Mario Brothers It’s dangerous to go alone! Here, take this! (Hold their hand) General Looking at you makes me feel like Gordon Freeman…speechless. Half-Life You gave me hardened pro in just 6 seconds. First Person Shooting Game I want to ride you harder than Mario rides Yoshi. Super Mario Brothers I’d better buy a bigger bag, because you are the BOMB! Legend of Zelda You’re not 18 yet? No problem, I know the Song of Time. Legend of Zelda You must be lava, you’re so hot and I can’t help falling in you General Flash Man must be nearby because when I saw you time stopped. Astro Boy I’ve got an idea for a dig I think you’ll be interested in… Tomb Raider Your body is like an open world, I never want to stop exploring General For you I would travel all levels around the world. Super Mario Brothers Your eyes are so blue, they remind me of 24 stam gems. World of Warcraft Are you the patch notes? Because I can’t get enough of you Online Gaming I’ve got a full set of leather equips back at my Mog House Final Fantasy If I were Cloud and you were Tifa, I’d be glad aeris died. Final Fantasy You’re so hot, you warm my cold-blooded heart. First Person Shooting Game Sitcky going out! Sorry, you’re just that hot! First Person Shooting Game Girl, is your name Roxas? Because you’re rocking that ass. Kingdom Hearts Do you have a Diamond Pickaxe? Because I’m as hard as Obsidian. Mindcraft Are you a vendor, because I’d like to browse your goods. World of Warcraft How many COD points does it take to unlock you? First Person Shooting Game I use Full Metal Jacket for deeper penetration. First Person Shooting Game I’m gonna be Bigocto this time, and I’m gonna suck you up. Legend of Zelda Full character customization could never capture your beauty Online Gaming Is that a creeper in your pants or are you just happy to see me? Mindcraft What’s a girl like you doing in a Forest Temple like this? Legend of Zelda Have you ever procced flurry on a Gizmo-tron jackhammer? World of Warcraft Cloud: My hair’s not the only thing that’s pointy right now! Final Fantasy Are you a telo-eksplosija?? Because you’re blowing up my mind Resident Evil Once you go Demacian you never go back, I Garen – tee it. League of Legends Are you sitting on the F5 key? Because that ass is refreshing Online Gaming I’m not possessed by Majora’s Mask, I’m just crazy for you. Legend of Zelda Are you a magic flower? Because you are burning me up. Super Mario Brothers You must be a redstone torch, because you’re extending my piston! Mindcraft I’m like a zombie and you’re like the sun – you light me on fire! Mindcraft Are you my somebody? ‘Cause I’d like to become one with you. Kingdom Hearts You must be made of bonemeal, cause you make me grow 10 feet tall. Mindcraft I better put on my Goron tunic, because you’re too damn hot. Legend of Zelda Do you play World of Warcraft? Because you make me say WoW World of Warcraft Care to come over for my house for a little co-op? First Person Shooting Game Are you related to Glass Joe? Because you’re an easy Knockout! Street Fighter Are you a magic mushroom? Because you are making me grow. Super Mario Brothers I was following the indicator of where to score and it brought me to you. Halo I’d better put on my Goron tunic, because you’re too damn hot. Legend of Zelda Baby, did you just cast thundaga? Because you are electrifying! Kingdom Hearts How ’bout you come back to my place and I show you my Longshot Legend of Zelda My staff can use a little enchant. I have mats and will tip! World of Warcraft Wanna leave this lobby and go into a private match? First Person Shooting Game Baby, did you just cast firaga? Because you set my heart aflame! Kingdom Hearts Do you need a Magnum because I’ve got one right here for you. In my pants. Halo Are you a part of the Triforce? Because you’re my missing Link. Legend of Zelda I think something is wrong with my auto-aim. I can’t take my eyes off you. Halo You’re like a cutscene – beautiful at first but then you never shut up. General I know my way around the cleft of dimension, want me to show you? Final Fantasy I think you might be a heartless because you just stole my heart. Kingdom Hearts If we lived in Minecraft, I’d build you a mansion out of nether quartz Mindcraft Baby, did you just cast aeroga? Because you swept me off my feet. Kingdom Hearts Wait till you see what my combo points can do in the bed room. World of Warcraft Is that a keyblade in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Kingdom Hearts You must be whitemane, because you just made my champion arise! World of Warcraft You must be a Rogue because I was stunned when I first saw you. World of Warcraft Baby, do you need a phoenix down? Because you’re drop dead gorgeous! Final Fantasy Baby, did you just cast graviga? Because you are out of this world! Kingdom Hearts Baby, did you just cast blizzaga? Because time froze when I met you! Kingdom Hearts Is that a Handcannon in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Resident Evil Baby, I’m going to have to summon Shiva, because you’re just too hot! Final Fantasy That’s not an m60 in my pants, I’m just happy to see you. First Person Shooting Game I’m like a plasma grenade. Let me get on you and you are guaranteed to explode. Halo You must be ice, because I’ve been waiting to pick you up for a long time. Mindcraft Are you a vault hunter, because you’ve got a loot chest that I want to open. General I must have defeated a boss, because I just found a heart container. Legend of Zelda I would run around the world for you… without lightweight. First Person Shooting Game So it’s all about survival with you, huh? Wanna help the species survive? Tomb Raider (eyeing the breast plate) I am a master dual wielder. Mind if I give those a go? Halo Man, I feel like Sonic in the water, ’cause you’ve got breathless. Sonic the Hedgehog I think something’s wrong with my auto-aim, because I can’t take my eyes off you. Halo I have never found true love, until you opened the Kingdom to my Heart. Kingdom Hearts Don’t worry babe, I’m a gamer, so you can trust me to be good with my fingers. General Forget that rogue. As a Druid, I’ve got the strength AND the agility. World of Warcraft You should come back to my place. My master sword needs to be polished. Legend of Zelda I usually press “X” to pick up weapons. Does that work for picking YOU up as well? Halo Rose are #FF000; Violet are #0000FF; All my base are belong to you. Super Mario Brothers Warlocks are masters of shadow magic. That means we do it in the dark. World of Warcraft You should audition for the next final fantasy! You’re already one for me. Final Fantasy I would like to gain access to your base. Shall I enter from the front or the rear? Halo I’d catch a grenade for you… it’s ok, I’ve got FlakJacket pro! First Person Shooting Game How ’bout we meet at Underpass and I’ll Tactically insert you. First Person Shooting Game I think something’s wrong with my auto-aim, because I can’t take my eyes off you. General I usually press “X” to pick up weapons. Does that work for picking YOU up as well? General I know how Mario must feel, ’cause I really want to clean your pipes. Super Mario Brothers Get down with me, baby, and I’ll make you have a Limit Break all night long. Final Fantasy Are you a care package? Because you must’ve fallen from heaven. First Person Shooting Game When I came near you, the announcer said “unfreakinbelievable”… I would have to agree. Halo Watch out girl, my predator missile is coming at you from behind! First Person Shooting Game

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Kado 7 (includes notes on Kado 6.5 + Tsukigakirei 6.5) | Boku no Hero Academia 21 | Grimoire of Zero 7 | Royal Tutor 8 | Tsukigakirei 7

Kado 7 (includes notes on Kado 6.5 + Tsukigakirei 6.5)

Some notes on the recap: It’s interesting they styled the title card to be like a silent movie, but the embellishments in the top corners are high-tech. Tsukigakirei’s recap was a slog because it awkwardly cut, but because of all the indications of time and the fact there’s already a narrator, this show fits a recap style much better (but the titlecards and changing of the eyecatch make this ep feel fresh, which is great!). Also, it seems I was wrong about how it had been three days since Kado’s appearance (see ep 5’s commentary), because the counter hits 5 days when the first passengers are released.

Wait…that “brain” was a device???

“Hi Setten”, LOL. Also, I found out “kado” (with this combo of kanji -> 過度) can mean “excess” or “immoderation”, and “setten” means “settings” or “options”...I first remember seeing the word in the Boueibu game, where “setten” of course would refer to things like “volume on/off” and that.

Apparently, the Google CEO’s name is Sundar Pichai…I thought it was Larry Page and Sergey Brin as co-CEOs, but I guess I was wrong…Also notice Ward’s iPad says “ihou sonzai” (anisotropic being).

Oh flap. Adam’s pulling a Great Fitz here…

I’ve seen the “I can’t dry my laundry!” screenshot before, but seeing it in context is funny all over again. In fact, it makes it even funnier.

I was worried about how the show might get a little too philosophical after ep 6’s end, but it’s good to see Hanamori retains his sleeping capabilities. *stifles laughter* They even rendered Hanamori’s bedhead.

“Kado comes here, and instead of running, they find a way to market it.” – It’s an interesting, yet extremely obvious point that we tend to ignore because we’re so used to it. That’s why tourism – even fake tourism - sells. Why do I bring this up? Because I want to, for one, and because I hope to exploit this angle for Half-Paid Heroes. (I wanna know how to make Kado cake, too…)

CR subbers, I thought Gonno’s first name was “Takumi”?...

That’s cute, it’s a helicopter landing spot, complete with “H” marking.

If I didn’t know any better, I might’ve called Shindo zaShunina’s sidekick. (LOL)

This “stacks of books” scene is something like what I imagined when I wrote White Parasite’s La Luna’s hideout in the mountains…that’s one of the reasons I’ve been able to give Kado and zaShunina an unyielding love. Also, I thought the promo 2D Shunina looked creepy, so this 2D shot of Shunina stole my heart!!!

The cube seats remind me of those child corners in libraries and that, where you have mini stools for playing pretend. Oh. Speaking of which, it reminds me of this Rubik’s cube.

Okay. I thought Kado would be a show devoid of such things, but let’s play the game of “What drugs were the producers on today?”

Okkkkkkkkkay. (stifles laughter) Did you realise the Shunina heads made a heart, with the “real” (existing in the normal dimensions) Shunina in the middle? Hahaha…

Wait. That screaming thing in episode…2, I think it was? The bit where Shindo grabs his head in agony?...was Shunina giving him (Shindo) the sense of the anisotropic? Ahhhhhhhhh. That makes sense now!

“They were good humans.” – Just in case you didn’t forget Shunina is an extradimensional bishie being. I guess it’s kind of along the lines of Kai’s (Royal Tutor’s) “You’re all good boys!”, which is true both there and here. In most cases (except maybe Shunina and Ward), the boys of Kado are good boys.

A bookmark. For an avid reader like Shunina (or myself…haha), it’s a perfect gift. Just make sure they’re not so heavy they fall out of books, because then they’re useless.

They put the festival scene in 2D! (It would be a cost cutting measure for sure, but…you know what I said about 2D Shunina previously? Yeah, that.) Also, it just goes to show you even a high concept sci-fi show like this goes for the jugular in depicting fanservice for the “people who like hot guys” and “people who like tsunderes”. However, did Shunina change his own clothes? Did Shindo or someone else get the yukata for him? Does Shunina even have the concept of “changing clothes”???

Fake Nintendo Switch. I’ve also seen this screenshot making the Tumblr rounds before.

LOL, giant turtle. I like turtles.

Haha, negotiating even at a festival. I LOLled too hard at the line, “What is buttered potato?” (but I also like buttered potatoes…I like a lot of things).

“Saraka-san, zaShunina, you, and the turtle will be in group B.” This typo’s the same case as the Gonno one earlier this ep.

“Are there any negative effects?”

How do you lose an anisotropic being at a festival? I actually hope he isn’t being rabidly devoured by a bunch of girls who think he’s hot.

Just seeing the credits reminded me that Shinawa was absent this ep (which was good). Also, has Natsume appeared in every ep’s credits so far? I don’t remember because I normally don’t watch credits.

Boku no Hero Academia 21

“Sparking Killing Boy”, LOL.

The more I watch Mei, the more I feel like I’m watching The Truman Show (where there’s one woman who advertises things near the beginning of the movie).

The belt transformation refers to sentai heroes.

Hmm…I agree with Deku on Aoyama’s strategy, since his laser is best used from afar.

That was an unexpected (for me) win for Tokoyami. I knew his Quirk was good all around, but I thought Yaoyorozu would win for sure. It’s just the difference in confidence, eh?

“…focussing on the shield Yaoyorozu made.”

I kinda get what Uraraka’s saying. After all, she might end up dragging Deku down one day by relying on him too much.

Grimoire of Zero 7

It annoys me how tavern girl looks so similar to Zero.

Why do fantasy travellers (or Brock in Pokémon, for that matter) never have big packs? You’d think they do…

The colour of the night sky in this episode is pretty.

This wolf’s like Sonic (One Punch Man). Such a sore loser.

Hey wait, did Thirteen see her…uh, assets? Did he dress her wounds?! Eep! I do not ship this. *shakes head*

Royal Tutor 8

Ouch, Licht, you got burnt! On the other hand, I agree with Bruno that he should sleep forever, noting past comments I’ve heard him (Licht) say.

Ah, the zoo. What nostalgia that brings. I’ve been to the closest zoo at least twice…thrice…four times…? I don’t remember anymore, but the zoo is always a fun place.

It’s smiling, ReLIFE style!

Braunbar (with umlaut over the second a) is German for…wait for it…brown bear.

Bunnies can bite you when you least expect it. From my experience, they don’t draw blood though. (How do I know this? There’s one outside my window as I speak. He’s probably someone’s stray, although no one’s come for him so my family have had to take care of him.)

Shut up, Licht! That’s not comedy, that’s just killing time!

I still wonder…how does Kai actually wear that jacket? It must be troublesome to put on if he’s always wearing it like that.

Ahhhh! Dangit, Kai’s too good for words. The only thing that can quell my “fan of bishies” heart is fangirl screaming.

Those “tricks” of yours didn’t work, Licht. Get out. Besides, Bruno, I barely remembered that brick joke.

My heart sank a little when I saw they weren’t using the cheesy live-action version of the ED. Still the next episode looks like it will address some plot-critical things, and I’m worried for Kai because he’s the sort who can’t get over his problems easily. (As a sidenote, a similar tabloid article shtick was used in SGRS, so I welcome this plotline.)

Tsukigakirei 7

Vita Sexualis is a Mori Ougai work, so I’m kinda on edge about it…knowing Bungou’s Ougai, that is.

Why does this ep’s title sound like it should be a Boueibu one instead???

These (mostly still) shots of theme parks just make it seem like the staff are scrounging for money.

According to the omake at the end of one ep, you’re meant to ship Roman with the teacher (as ick as that is), so I can understand why Roman’s on his lonesome.

Stop egging her on, Hira! She’ll get nervous! (I say that because I don’t like roller coasters much.)

I feel like the word “viva” is being overdone, attendant person. Google-sensei says the word means “live (verb)”, so it doesn’t make sense at all.

Hira’s freckles really don’t seem to be a mistake. Also my brain can’t make sense of “sorabune” – the word for ship/boat is “fune”, but it doesn’t become “bune” when attached to another word...not that I know of, anyway.

Yamashina? We’ve never been told Roman’s surname before…

Potori Water, LOL. Parody on Pocari Sweat if you didn’t know that.

It’s nice that they didn’t do the full-on “can on face at aumsement park” thing I’ve come to expect from romances, because Detective Conan kinda solidified that as the norm for me.

The Big O in this case isn’t an anime, it’s a Ferris wheel.

Josei Next Door did a CR article where she suggested people needed to talk to each other more, and while it was on The Royal Tutor, sometimes I wish Akane and Kotarou would talk to each other properly too…welp, I spoke too soon (sort of).Why “sort of”? Because Kotarou is speaking to Hira, but he ain’t speaking to Akane.

I feel a twinge of guilt in that I wanted Chinatsu’s and Hira’s dreams to be shattered to make way for the canon couple, and Chinatsu’s tears exacerbate that feeling. I guess this is what it’s like to be a shipper, eh – to ignore the feelings of couples in order to get your own way, knowing your dreams may not even become reality? (But can’t these kids all be happy??? It could easily be a “pair the spares” situation, now that I think of it.)

The takoyaki’s nice, but that background with the screaming girl is creepy…It appears to be a parody on Beavertails, for some odd reason. Why is there a Canadian product being used as product placement in an anime (and why a product I’ve only ever heard of from a Canadian TV show, to boot)???...*record scratch* Okay, I’m weirded out, and I admit defeat. Beavertails exist in Japan.

Couple selfies. That just goes to show how much trends can permeate culture…hey, does that mean people may one day use memes in anime? (Even though anime creates memes?) It’s meme-ception!

It seems live action footage was used for this show, if you look closely, and it’s not just the OP I’m talking about…

Finally, a part of Tsukigakirei I can get behind! These night scenes are so real! If it weren’t for Kotarou and Akane, I’d think these scenes to be photos and not animation at all.

I get this feeling that we’ll end with either their graduation or them as adults, with Kotarou telling their kids “…and this is how I met your mother.” Which would be awkward as all get out, but okay. (I haven’t seen How I Met Your Mother by the way, although it sounds like a scenario that would happen in it…)

Aw, dangit. They got their kiss interrupted. At least it wasn’t by Chinatsu, that would’ve caused more tears on her end.

Mireta (used in “Did you see the fireworks?”) seems to be an odd formation of mieta, but in slang, people break the grammar rules all the time, so I’d suspect people break the spelling rules too.

I was surprised to find out this ep’s ED LINE chat is a wife to a husband. That confirms my How I Met Your Mother thoughts, somewhat. (The husband had overtime and got the wife juice. It seems they were going to an event, because the wife says to check the invitation guest list...and so on, so forth.)

Oh? There are more omakes? I’ll watch ‘em someday when I’m bored…I guess.