#sp's natural hair drabbles

[mshomestyle]

Yay!! This request can definitely be asked then. Sad and odd btw. What if when Oboro died he had a very young daughter that nobody really knew about, and Aizawa got custody of her because he's her Godfather. And years down the road she gets saved by Kurogiri. Idk how that happens, but she recognizes him. Not as her father right away, but he feels familiar. Then she finds out that's her dad and now she's trying to being him back because she just wants her dad again. I hope this isn't a sucky ask.

So, this will probably read a bit rushed, the reason being that currently, I do not write one-shots only drabbles for this blog. Getting this idea into a drabble was a bit challenging. >.< It is a great idea, though, and would be a really good story!

Also, though I primarily write reader-inserts and probably could have just assumed that the main character would be as such, I wasn’t exactly sure, so I did sort of a mix!

Spoilers! Spoilers! MHA Spoilers and Vigilantes Spoilers!

She had been so young when it happened, barely remembering a thing. She knew him, though, or rather a small part of her still seemed to remember. Not many people knew that she existed. Just Aizawa, Yamada, and Kayama, the three that had been the closest to Shirakumo, Oboro, her father. Her mother had wanted nothing to do with her, and her grandparents could only do so much. So, once he became an adult, Aizawa stepped in. He was, after all, her Godfather.

It wasn’t too hard of an adjustment as she was still quite young when Aizawa became an adult. He raised her up as best as he could, knowing exactly what Oboro would have wanted for his daughter. Though, even with a guardian like Aizawa, the young girl still grew up to be like her father. She was charismatic, cheerful, and an incredibly selfless person. Looking at her, could sometimes be like looking at Oboro, himself. It was something that was bittersweet.

[Name] hoped to become a hero one day. She knew that her father died trying to save others, and she wanted his dream to live on in her. Not only that, but being who she was, she knew that she couldn’t just sit still while others were in danger and she had the opportunity to do something. She had gotten her father’s quirk after all, which she was demonstrating now as she was currently comfortable sitting on a low-flying cloud. “What did I tell you about doing that in the house?” Aizawa asked, running a hand through his long black hair.

“It’s comfortable, though,” [Name] pouted trying hard to give a little kitten look-Kitten not puppy, because of Aizawa’s love for them.

“Cute, but not going to work,” Aizawa crossed his arms. With a mock sad sigh, [Name] descended, dusting herself off as she now stood on the floor. “I have a meeting to go to, so I trust you’ll behave.”

“Of course, Uncle Shouta!” [Name] smiled, “But only if you leave me money for take-out.” She batted her eyelashes at him. Aizawa let out a sigh, before pulling out his wallet and giving the now excited teen some money.

“Don’t stuff yourself,” he told her as he headed to the door, “And behave.”

“Will do!” Once Aizawa closed the door, [Name] went to find something interesting to do. It was still early afternoon and the meetings at U.A. could often last until evening, so she had the rest of the day to herself. After some thought, she decided to go for a walk.

It was a nice day out and there weren’t too many people walking around. [Name] did think about using her quirk, but she also knew that she could get in trouble for it. Not wanting to possibly cause a problem for Aizawa, she decided against it. “I might as well get dinner while I’m out,” she thought aloud. There were many restaurants and shopping centers that she knew of, and after much thought she decided to go with ramen.

The walk to her favorite hole-in-the-wall ramen place proved itself to be a far one, but being as it was one of those ‘best kept secret’ sort of places, it was worth it. Since this place wasn’t in what some might call ‘the nice part of town’, many people did indeed overlook it. The food there was amazing, and even as [Name] finally made it, noting the line of people, she knew that it would be worth it.

Tapping her foot lightly, [Name] played on her phone as she waited for her turn. ‘Shouldn’t take too long,’ she thought to herself. ‘And soon I’ll be at home relaxing again an-‘ A loud ‘boom!’ was heard and [Name] quickly turned to look towards where she heard the sound coming from only to see half of the restaurant on fire. She knew that she had to act quickly! She had to save as many people as she possibly could-No, she needed to save everyone!

[Name] looked for the nearest opening to outside, and the second she noticed a window she took a chair and smashed through it. People were screaming and running around, and [Name] worked quickly to make clouds to transport the customers from inside of the building to outside. She knew that she didn’t have a hero license, yet, so she could get into trouble. She just didn’t care at the moment.

As she worked quickly to save everyone, [Name] almost completely forgot about herself, so before she knew it, she began to cough, the smoke starting to get to her. “Almost there, almo-“ Another explosion was all [Name] heard before she saw black.

The sun was setting when [Name] woke up. Quickly, she shot up, hearing sirens in the distance. When she looked around, however, [Name] noticed that she was in what appeared to be an alleyway. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” The young teen shot up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and looked all over until she saw its source. Now, [Name] usually didn’t notice people with mutation quirks in her day to day life since it was like regular people to her, however, this man…He was just a big cloud of black mist with glowing eyes.

[Name] didn’t feel afraid, though, because for some reason he felt almost familiar. “I will take my leave then,” he curtly spoke.

“W-Wait!” [Name] found that word coming out of her mouth before she could really register it. The mist man slowly looked at her. “What’s….Who are you?” He just stared at her, eyes giving away no emotion, and because of that [Name] was starting to regret asking her question. With a shake of his head, the man turned and left.

“Kurogiri…,” Was all he said.

Months had passed since that incident and on the day that [Name] received her hero provisional license, she could not help but to recall it. That man ‘Kurogiri’ had been found out to be a key member of the League of Villains. Why had he saved her, though? Those thoughts only appeared briefly, however, as she went back to celebrating with her friends. More time had passed, and the more it did, the more [Name] found herself becoming a better hero. She wanted to be able to save anyone and everyone, and she would continue to work towards that goal.

Luckily for her, she had herself a golden ticket to private training lessons with Aizawa-Or rather she would bat her eyelashes and give him kitten looks in order for him to give her some extra training. So, heading into the teachers’ dorm after being extended an invitation inside by Cementoss, [Name] went to seek her guardian.

“Well, what did you expect?” she could hear Present Mic’s voice.

“Not that. Not that at all after we were called in.” And there was her uncle Shouta. He sounded as if he was in a weary mood, which made [Name] pout. She hated to think that he had overworked himself.

“So, are you going to tell her? I mean, Oboro was her father, after all, and she knows about him.” ‘Oboro…’ That name. It caused [Name] to stop right in her tracks.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” Aizawa scolded Mic, “The last thing [Name] needs to hear is that her father was turned into…well that.” [Name] could feel her heart starting to beat faster.

“Okay, but what if we can get Oboro out of Kurogiri? Then what?” ‘Oboro….Kirigiri….Oboro….Kurogiri….Oboro…Kurogi-‘ It was way too much for [Name] to handle and without a second thought, she dashed out of the teachers’ dorm, nearly running into All Might, who was on his way in.

“Young [Name]?” All Might questioned, though was ignored. [Name] just couldn’t believe that! It couldn’t have been true! There was just no way, no way that her father was-Her mind quickly went to that incident in which she had been saved by him. She had wondered before why a villain would choose to save her. She even debated telling Aizawa about it or not, but eventually decided that perhaps she was saved before Kurogiri became a villain or something of that nature, just anything really to justify it. Now, however, hearing what was said, it only made sense.

Stopping in her tracks at the realization, [Name] thought long and hard about everything that had happened. Everything from what she knew of her father to the incident in which Kurogiri saved her, and now to this. Was he still her father under there? Did he remember her? Did he even know her? [Name] shook her head. There was so much that she needed to know. So much that she needed to find out. Most importantly, she needed to save him from the life of being a villain. [Name] had no idea about the whole situation with him, but she decided that day to get her father back.

[imalwaysaslutfordrag]

#66 and, because i need to force my love for her onto everyone, either vanessa x monique or monet x monique pls 👀💖

VANIQUE???!!!!???!?!? (sp?) Okay, I’m in love with them and your mind, wow, what a great ship. TBH this lowkey really spiraled out of control and this drabble is actually 1.5k words so I’m sorry about that, but also I couldn’t stop myself so like... there’s that.

“Go big or go home.”

Vanessa arrived exactly twenty minutes before she was scheduled to clock in. 

She threw her purse into the row of lockers and headed for the back of the small employee lounge. She passed the clock-in computer, the whiteboard on the wall, the flyers for various shows around town, and walked all the way to the last dressing room, after noticing the other two were already occupied. Vanessa smiled instinctively at the sound of Violet’s voice raised above the sound of someone else playing music. She was yelling to whoever was in the adjacent dressing room, recounting a story of the night’s events.

Vanessa got dressed quickly, slipping out of her plain black jean and sweater combination and into her sparkly silver dress that caught and reflected beams of light in a way that she had been told was mesmerizing. Vanessa never really noticed before she started working here, the dress most likely having been picked off a sales rack back home. It didn’t matter where it came from now. 

What mattered now was that Vanessa's hair was a mess.

Aquaria told her so and tried to sound exasperated when she did. It only ended up coming out fond. Vanessa gave her a winning smile and batted her lashes too for good measure before the younger girl rolled her eyes and motioned to the chair beside her. Aquaria went to town on curling the particularly unruly strands, but there wasn’t time for much else, as they both knew another round of patrons was due to hit any minute now.

Everyone that worked in Vegas knew the waves.

11pm was the moms and the bachelorette parties.

11:30 is older couples and divorcees. 

12am brought the guys with girlfriends.

12:30am brought the guys without girlfriends.

1am was the wealthy singles, and the wealthy not so singles.

1:30 brought in the hammered people.

2am was what girls like Vanessa liked to call ‘closing time.’ Seal the deal or your ass is out on the curb for the night.

Luckily, Vanessa had an apartment, unlike some of the other casino girls. And the 300 square feet could be roomy - if she closed her eyes. 

Vanessa made do.

Aquaria shooed her away from the chair at around 12:55, giving Vanessa ample time to squeeze every last detail from Violet, who was more than happy to recount yet another story about a creepy man trying to get her to join his brothel. 

Offers like that were strangely common in this line of work. Well, maybe they weren’t so strange. 

Most people thought they were sex workers anyway. Prostitutes or strippers, whores hired to seduce the male patrons and run them dry. Some of the other girls saw it that way. As far as Vanessa was concerned, she was a glorified waitress. Her job was to facilitate the purchase of alcohol. The more people drank, the prettier she looked, the more they bet, the more they lost or won, the more money the casinos made. 

In a lot of ways, it was a dream job. Vanessa got paid to look pretty and talk. Two things she was naturally gifted at. 

Out on the main floor of the casino, Vanessa began her usual route around the floor. She spent a good few minutes just drawing eyes, pulling focus from the card games and slot machines, and general greed. She walked slowly, careful to tilt her head down, flutter her eyelashes when patrons were close enough to see the pretty eye makeup she had hurriedly done on the bus. 

Vanessa was good at her job. She found a mark within five minutes. 

Older guy. Late fifties. Nicely dressed. Seemingly ordinary. But what Vanessa instantly noticed was his watch. Rolex, one of the older ones. That’s ultimately how Vanessa picked all her marks. Her daddy used to say ‘what a man wears on his wrist he wears with pride.’ There was something more about shoes and hiding, but Vanessa never remembered that part. 

She was fine with the Rolex, but she had really been hoping to find a Patek tonight. 

Rolex’s only started at $5,000 but Vanessa made do. 

She waltzed over to the roulette wheel, making sure to smile warmly at the employee behind the table. She gracefully rested her hands on the edge of the table as the casino employee gave a nearly imperceptible nod toward Mr. Rolex. Vanessa winked at him in thanks.

“You know I always go for 32,” Vanessa said to the group of men who had just started to take notice of her presence. She honed her sights on Mr. Rolex to see his reaction. 

He practically preened under the attention. Vanessa rolled her eyes internally.

This was getting too easy.

Mr. Rolex eventually pulled up another seat and sent Vanessa to the bar three times before turning to ask her name.

If she were anywhere else, doing any other job, Vanessa might have been offended.

She only batted her eyes and giggled animatedly. “Vanjie,” She lied.

Mr. Rolex took that as his cue to lean in closer and press a whiskery kiss to Vanessa’s neck. She did her best not to freeze up under the attention and to just go with it.

It was then, while pretending she was anywhere else, that Vanessa noticed a woman at the opposite end of the casino. She was sitting alone in one of the plush chairs that made up the lounge. It was noticeable because she was alone and fucking gorgeous. Long flowing dark hair and the tightest red dress Vanessa had ever seen that fell off her curves like water. 

Vanessa was intrigued instantly. No woman that looked like that was alone in Vegas for no reason.

She convinced Mr. Rolex and his new buddies that they needed more gin and made her way quickly over to the bar, allowing herself the immense pleasure of ogling the strange woman from afar.

For all her smooth grace and easy confidence, Vanessa was rendered nearly incoherent when it came to women. Men were easy. You leaned over the table and their monkey brains took over. Women on the other hand... women were a different species.

Vanessa tried to squeeze information from the bartender. He knew nothing, only that she ordered a martini and had been sitting alone all night.

Vanessa couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to her. So she did something stupid. Something stupid and silly and she would beat herself up about it later, but she ordered the mystery woman a martini. Vanessa went back over to Mr. Rolex and his friends, placed the drinks in front of them, and then made up an excuse about ‘being right back’ and having to ‘take care of something.’

Mr. Rolex and his friends were too engrossed in their game to care and Vanessa slipped away without any fuss.

As she headed back over to the bar, Vanessa noticed the woman was gone from her spot in the lounge. Vanessa’s heart sank in her chest and she was tempted to throw the whole night out as a waste when she noticed the woman perched at the bar looking directly at her. 

“So you’re the cute thing that ordered me a drink,” The woman said by way of a greeting. “This one,” she nodded her head at the bartender, “was tellin me you don’t do that for many people. Should I be honored?”

“You tell me,” Vanessa shot back, surprising even herself with her quick wit.

The woman chuckled in response, throwing her head back and causing a commotion with her joy. Something inside Vanessa ached to be that free. 

The woman motioned to the barstool next to her and Vanessa took it without another thought.

“You play much?” Vanessa asked, motioning to the various gambling methods. 

“Betting?” The woman asked. “Not usually. I get sucked in, and you know what they say.”

“Hmm?”

“Greed is a sin.”

Vanessa laughed. “Oh baby, you in the city of sin.”

“Monique,” The woman corrected.

“What?”

“Not baby, Monique.”

Vanessa smiled, and the woman, Monique, smiled back. 

She raised up her hand to take a sip of her drink and Vanessa nearly choked at the sight of a Mille RM 51-02 draped elegantly over Monique’s wrist. 

She had never seen a Mille in person before, having only ever heard stories of the watches that started at $30,000 dollars and could go up to 2 million. 

The vortex of gold and silver embedded in the watch face drew Vanessa’s eyes and she couldn’t help the smile overtaking her face. “Well, you know what they say, Monique?” 

The corner of Monique’s mouth quirked up and she shook her head no. 

Vanessa smirked. “Go big or go home.”

[emma-ofnormandy]

Fireworks (SP x Reader)

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Reader

A/N: A little drabble I worked up while Im supposed to be getting ready to head out to a 4th of July celebration. 

______________________________

From your spot on the couch you watched through the living room window as rain fell in a steady stream and filled all the pot holes and low spots of Sunnyside. It was one of those soaker rains, the ones that once settled in, weren’t going anywhere for a while; a rain that most people prayed for this time of year to get a reprieve from the horrendous heat and give them a reason to stray from the busy summer schedule for a day, but it wasn’t supposed to show up today. Of all summer days, not today.

“It’s raining.” You could hear the pout in your own voice. Betty and Jughead were hosting the cookout this year and texts had started flying first thing this morning with a contingency plan. Last you checked the thing was still on, but your phone had buzzed a half a dozen times since then and it all could have changed again.

Slouched against the arm of the couch and just happy to have a day off, Sweet Pea eyed you over the top of the magazine he’d been perusing, not really knowing what you were expecting him to do about it. “Yep.”

“It’s supposed to be sunny and warm on the 4th of July,” instead of a pout, it was a wine.

Sweet Pea eyed the sale catalog page of American Iron as you continued to bitch about the weather, doing his best to tune out your rantings about what the weather was supposed to do to make today perfect. He was no meteorologist, but Sweet Pea was pretty sure that weather patterns did as they pleased, no matter what important cook out was on the agenda. “Mother Nature must have missed that memo.”

“We’re going to have to move the party inside.” Growing more irritated by the minute from watching out the window, you slumped down beside your boyfriend and turned your frustration onto the weather report that you’d had playing on the TV since your first cup of coffee.

“Probably,” his boredom with this topic was easily detectable. Sweet Pea wasn’t all that upset that the weather had turned out to be crap; in his mind it gave you both the perfect reason to stay home and spend time together instead of having to share your attentions with a bunch of people you saw at least twice a week at the Wyrm anyways.  

Scrolling through the round of missed messages on your phone, you glanced at Sweet Pea out of the corner of your eye. “You don’t care, do you.”

“Not particularly.” Tossing the magazine onto the coffee table, Sweet Pea stretched against the arm of the couch, his fingers reaching out to toy with a strand of your hair.

He enjoyed a good celebration just as much as the next person, and the Fourth always offered extra fun in the form of explosives, but with the weather as wet and miserable as it was, a year at home sounded like a damn good plan to him.

“The fireworks will be canceled.” The pouty tone was back again. Besides the ridiculous amount of food and alcohol one was allowed to consume on the Fourth, the explosive light display at the end of the night was always the highlight and this year you would be going without.

A look of disappointment flickered across Sweet Pea’s face before realization cleared it, a sly grin quickly working its way across his lips as his hand shifted from your hair to your waist. Fingers slipping into your belt loops, Sweet Pea tugged and you lurched in his direction, your body landing gracelessly against his chest.

Dark eyes dancing with amusement, Sweet Pea locked his arm around your waist and held you firm when you tried to right yourself, his nose nuzzling against the column of your neck and lips moving against the shell of your ear in a way that sent a chill down your back. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“What fireworks have you seen that you can light in the rain.” A teasing giggle bubbled up as you relaxed in his embrace, your fingers working their way through his hair in a manner that earned a groan from the man below you.

“Well let me just show you…” His voice was husky and the words barely audible over the echo of your beating heart, but his eyes told you whatever his words didn’t.

Sweet Pea captured your lips in his, teeth nipping at your bottom lip as his hands snaked beneath your shirt. You met his advances eagerly, fingers working feverishly at the buttons of his flannel shirt, your palm cool against his exposed chest and you started to wonder why you were all upset about the rain in the first place.

[pastel-cryptids]

For the sp wlw prompts, maybe some China/Tanith? I feel like they’re such an underrated ship idea - maybe an au when Tanith is still being forced to be China’s bodyguard ?

Oh, you genius!!!!

(Ao3 link here)

   “You’re joking, right?” 

   Tanith sat beside Valkyrie, slowly sinking into her couch. Valkyrie stared at the woman drowning in her couch and shrugged. “Nope, not at all. China said you owed her and this is the only way to appease her.”

   Tanith groaned and sank deeper into the couch. “It was an accident!” she cried. “It was only one vase!” 

   Valkyrie, Tanith, and Skulduggery were visiting China’s new collection of magical ancient tomes and objects. The woman had dedicated an entire section of the new Sanctuary just for her new collection. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were visiting to question China and give her information on a new case. Tanith joined along because she was bored. China quickly dismissed anything the duo said to her and dragged them through the Sanctuary. She opened a large door that revealed an already large collection of tomes and objects. The woman proudly walked them through each hallway. Tanith had zoned out the entire time. She had little care for historical objects. She’d lived through a lot of it already, what was the point of relearning it? Tanith strayed from the group and stared at a shelf filled with vases and other pottery. They all looked the same. She was saved from her boredom when Valkyrie called her name. Tanith turned quickly and her scabbard slammed into a vase.�� It felt as though the moment was in slow motion. Valkyrie ran to try to catch the vase. Tanith grabbed her scabbard tightly. China yelped and stared with wide, horrified eyes. Skulduggery stood there. As the vase shattered on the ground, China screamed. The woman’s piercing blue eyes stared into Tanith’s soul.

   “What did you do!?” The woman screamed.

   Valkyrie began to apologize profusely. China ignored Valkyrie and pushed past her. “That was a five-thousand-year-old vase. Do you know how long it took me to acquire this?”

   The only reason why Tanith survived that encounter was due to Skulduggery diffusing the situation. He shoved some cash at China and dragged Tanith out of the room. Valkyrie was still apologizing as she walked out of the room. Tanith was scolded the entire ride home. It was not fun.

   Valkyrie sighed. “Yeah, sure. But there was also the time where you sneezed some of her faerie dust away or the time you somehow set an entire shelf of her’s on fire. Oh, and the time you threw a genuine crystal staff out of the window. And the time -”

   Tanith waved her arms. “I get it, I get it. I’ve ruined a lot of China’s stuff. She kind of deserves it though…”

   Valkyrie shook her head. “I won’t argue about that.” She grabbed Tanith’s shoulders and pulled the woman up from the couch. She turned Tanith and looked into her eyes.

   “It’s only for three weeks, Tanith. After that, you will never have to interact with her again. Probably.”

   Tanith rested her head on her hand. “You really want me to do this, huh?”

   Valkyrie nodded. Tanith smiled and ruffled Valkyrie’s hair. “You’re lucky I like you, Val.”

   Tanith’s Prometheus level of punishment was being China’s bodyguard for three weeks. China wanted Tanith to do something else, probably something worse, but Valkyrie refused anything other than some form of a simple job. So, there Tanith was, being led by the Sanctuary’s billionth administrator. She was given a black uniform that she was forced to wear. It wasn’t leather, but it was comfortable enough. 

   China sat on her throne with her legs crossed. She towered over Tanith and the administrator like a giant. She stood from her throne and gave a cold, unfeeling smile. “You’ve arrived,”

   Tanith’s hands were behind her back, fiddling with the fabric of her uniform. “Yep,” She said, popping her p.

   The Supreme Mage walked down the steps of her throne. She stepped in front of Tanith. Despite being shorter than Tanith, China still had an aura of power. The woman cocked her head. “You should thank Valkyrie for your fair punishment.”

   “Oh, don’t worry, I did.” Tanith cleared her throat and looked up at the ceiling. Staring at China’s face for too long was a horrible idea. She flipped her hair and tried to act casual. “So, am I supposed to be doing anything important right now?”

   A smile grew across China’s face. “Oh, nothing serious right now. I’m about to access the Whispering, so you just need to stand here.” She gestured to the space beside her throne. China then grabbed Tanith’s scabbard. Tanith tried to protest, but China placed a finger over her lips. “The last time you had this tool of death on you, you destroyed one of my most important artifacts. I refuse to let you have this until I can trust you with it.”

   Tanith groaned in annoyance but allowed China to have it. She would prefer to survive at least one week with China.

   Standing still was pure torture for Tanith. China was currently using the Whispering during a meeting. Her eyes were closed and her body was terrifyingly still. Tanith thought that if a small draft blew into the room, the woman would blow away. It was both a hilarious thought and an odd one.

   It wasn’t a single minute when Tanith gave up on standing still and began to wander. The throne room wasn’t very interesting, so Tanith decided to mess with China’s throne. She climbed up the stairs and studied the intricate design of the throne. The marble was cold against her fingers. Her hand suddenly brushed against China’s and her breath hitched. The woman’s hand barely flinched at her touch. Tanith leaned in and studied the sigils on her hands. 

   Each one was carefully carved to perfection. Tanith’s eyes wandered to her arms. The designs were asymmetrical, yet perfect. Her hand reached out and traced the swirls that ran up China’s arm. Her fingers traced up to China’s chin where the sigils suddenly stopped. Tanith pulled her hand away from China’s lips.

   Tanith began to study China’s face. There was no doubt that China was one of the most beautiful women on Earth. Her bronze skin shown like gold against the sun. The sigils under her eyes complemented her face perfectly. Tanith gently traced her fingernail across the sigils. Bright blue eyes met Tanith’s green and brown eyes. Tanith’s face turned red and she pulled her hand away.

   “What are you doing?” The woman asked.

   Tanith held onto her wrist tightly. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “You were very still and I… was worried.”

   China arched her eyebrow and stood. “Right, well, know that whenever I am accessing the Whispering, I won’t be aware of anything around me. No need to stand in my face.” She walked past Tanith and began to walk down the stairs. She turned and looked at Tanith. “Aren’t you coming?”

   Tanith frowned. “I didn’t know I was supposed to follow you.”

   China burst out laughing and clapped her hands. Her laugh was like a siren’s melody. Tanith liked it. The woman’s wide smile turned small. “You’re my bodyguard, are you not? You’re supposed to follow me.”

   Tanith’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Of course,”

   China turned around again and continued to walk down the stairs. “Come along now, it’s lunch and I prefer not to be late.”

   The two walked through the halls of the Sanctuary. Tanith hadn’t been able to experience its full splendor. She stared in awe as they passed through each hall. Every few minutes, China would turn her head and chuckle at Tanith’s face. After traversing several flights of stairs, they reach a plain door. China taps a sigil on the wall and a soft click is heard. She opens the door and reveals a gorgeous greenhouse. Unlike China’s throne room, the sunlight in the greenhouse felt natural. The simple windows warmed her flesh and was calming. There were no mirrors reflecting the rays of sun into Tanith’s eyes.

   China sat at a black metal table, two plates of food rested on it. A bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries sat in the middle. China grabbed a fork and took a bite of the food on her plate. She swallowed her food and looked at Tanith. “Go on, eat. I didn’t order a second plate for no reason.”

   “You want me to eat with you?”

   “Do you want to starve?” China asked.

   “Well, no. I just thought I would have to eat somewhere else.”

   China smiled and shook her head. “No, most Sanctuary agents eat in their office. Since you don’t have one, I allow you to eat with me. For now, at least.”

   Tanith bit her lip to fight a silly smile. She sat at the chair across from China. They ate in silence. Tanith stared out of the greenhouse window and watched the birds fly by. It was pure luck that it happened to be sunny that day. She was getting tired of all of the rain and clouds.

   “May I admit something to you?”

   Tanith turned to China, who was holding a strawberry with her fingertips. Tanith nodded.

   “It was my idea for you to be my bodyguard. Silly, I know.”

   Tanith frowned. “Really?” Out of all of the things she expected of China, she did not expect the woman to give such a merciful punishment.

   “I was truly angry at you for destroying that vase. But I was more angry at myself for yelling at you. Out of all of the time we’ve spent together this century, we’ve just been bickering. Yes, we have fought together, but other than that? Nothing.”

   “Oh…”

   “What happened to us? We used to be so close.”

   Tanith’s mind wandered to the past. China’s hands running through her wild, coily hair. Lips mingling and eyelashes fluttering. Tanith grabbed a strawberry and bit into it. Despite the sweet taste, she was not distracted.

   “I’m being silly talking about all of this. You probably don’t want to talk about this nonsense, anyway.” China bit into her strawberry.

   “No, no! It’s fine.”

   China gave a sad smile and nodded. She stood and pushed her chair in. “Well, we better get back to work, yes? No need to spend our entire day talking about young love.”

   Tanith smiled and stood beside China. The woman glanced at Tanith. “You can have your sword back soon, by the way. I just need to do something with it first.”

   Tanith was slightly nervous about whatever China was going to do to her sword, but she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. China tapped a sigil in the room and walked out of the door. She gave one last smile to Tanith before returning to her calm yet serious state. Tanith walked confidently. Maybe this bodyguard job wasn’t as awful as she thought it was going to be.

[writehardwhumpharder]

Carson Drabble - since it's not whumpy enough I've decided to give Carson CRippLing ViSioNs

Carson walked into the bookshop ten minutes late, a little out of breath. He weaved through the shelves, passing a few customers on his way toward the back office. Muffled voices drifted out through the closed door, they sounded... tense. When he opened the door they were gathered around the old oak table.

"This is a police matter." Riley snapped, sounding as if she had said it several times already, leaning over the table toward Daniel.

"And this is my bookstore." Danny said with that casual stubbornness that drove people crazy. He had his arms crossed and feet propped up on the table as a display of how little he cared about their "procedure".

"Finally. It was getting awkward." Riley breathed as she looked up at him, dropping whatever arguement they'd just been having.

"No kidding." Daniel muttered.

Carson took a seat between them and reached for the stack of books Danny had set aside. They were researching what looked like ritual remains at a crime scene. Candles, blood, trace metals, the whole shabang. He hadn't done much ritual magic himself but he at least knew how it worked and what to look for. He looked up to see Danny staring at him.

"What was it this time?" He asked.

"Nothing, just didn't sleep well." Carson deflected.

Daniel just barely caught himself before he said that he knows what it sounds like when he "doesn't sleep well" and nothing happened last night. Which brings them to this morning. "Come on, I want to know, what was it? Stop me when I'm close, cat, bird, squirrel, raccoon-"

Carson groaned in frustration. "It was a baby possum okay? Ugh you suck, Danny." He said with an anger in his voice that wasn't quite genuine. His friend smiled smugly.

Riley had taken it upon herself to start skimming through one of the books in the pile. She noticed that Carson did look especially tired when he came in. Small beads of sweat formed on his brow which, unless he ran all the way to the bookstore, didn't make much sense in the growing cold outside. She figured it was best not to join in on Daniel's teasing and got straight to work.

Within seconds of opening the old leather-bound book, Carson got completely immersed in the text. It wasn't exactly an exciting read but he flipped through the pages quickly, only pausing to study certain diagrams. Riley noticed his lips moved slightly as he read over important parts. He probably didn't even realize he had the habit of mouthing the words as he read. It was kinda cute. But to be fair, his rapid page flipping and note taking was impressively methodical. She looked across the table to see that Daniel had been staring at Carson at the same time she was. They made awkward eye contact before returning to their research. Along with the books Daniel had a black notebook filled with handwritten notes that more or less matched the style of the old books they were looking at.

"Wow are those all your notes, Danny?" She asked, eyeing the notebook that was bulging with loose papers and crudely drawn symbols.

"Yeah, I write down everything that might be useful when I get new books in about magic. Some of it is just lore, but every once in a while I find a book that's actually legit. Oh, and it's Daniel." He said, despite the fact that Carson had called him Danny less than two minutes ago.

"So where are the books that you know are real?" She asked.

"Besides these? I imagine they're all on Carson's bookshelf at home."

"I already looked through those." Carson added, apparently more in tune with their conversation than they thought.

Daniel flipped through his notes until he came across a set of loose papers that looked related to the crime scene photo Riley provided. He grabbed the small stack and slid it over to Carson.

"I think I found something." Daniel said with a hopeful smile. Carson looked down at it and frowned.

"Um, Danny, this is your character description for Dungeons and Dragons." Carson said.

"Oops. Under that." He said. Maybe it was just Riley's imagination but it looked like Daniel blushed a little. As if it wasn't already obvious that he and Carson where total nerds. Not in a bad way but they did spend an awful lot of time holed up in this bookstore reading fantastic novels for "scientific purposes". Carson's eyes widened and his lips started doing that thing again like he was deep in concentration.

"Yeah, yeah this makes sense." Carson said after a moment. "Powering a circle is easy. It's directing the spell that's the hard part. So you found the body by the river, but the spell was set up in her apartment? They must have needed something there to make it work."

"Yeah." So far she had only shown him the photos from the apartment. The photos of the body were a lot more gruesome. "There's... more you need to know." She added.

Carson looked up, his brows furrowed. "I can't help if you're holding out on me. What else is there?"

Riley grimaced as she pulled another folder from her bag. "The photo of the girl in the center of the circle, see how her eyes are crossed out? And the dagger is standing straight up from the floorboards?"

"Yeah... you said she was dead. Obviously they meant to kill her using that knife." Carson said, a little confused. It seemed simple. They did the ritual, made a connection between the circle and the girl, and it's all stabby stabby from there.

Riley took out another set of crime scene photos from her folder and Carson immediately realized why she'd been hesitant to show it to them. His stomach flipped at the sight and he felt himself pale slightly. He's not squeamish but there is something distinctly wrong about seeing a person's face when they're missing their eyes. Without them it's just empty sockets. Empty...

When he looked at the photo his gaze naturally settled on the most gruesome part of it, the eyes. There was nothing there but he felt like she was... looking at him. A shiver went up his spine. He couldn't look away, not even to blink. Carson was dimly aware of someone saying his name but it was like the world narrowed until it was just him and the dead girl. It felt eerily like she was looking straight into his mind, or maybe he was looking into hers. It made his skin crawl. Suddenly the picture vanished and the room faded away.

He blinked and suddenly he was somewhere else. A walking path by the river. It was well lit but he couldn't imagine a young woman wanting to walk on it alone late at night. He felt troubled, no, she felt troubled. She looked over her shoulder every few seconds, clutching a small green purse to her chest as she walked briskly. Things started to blur and tilt as the connection got cloudier. He could feel his consciousness desperately trying to return to his body, but something kept him there. At the last second she turned, startled by something. But there was nothing there. She started running in a panic, stumbling off the path and onto the rocks, not because she was afraid, but because she couldn't see where she was going, he realized. She couldn't see because her eyes were being burned out of her head. A warmth grew from the center of her face, it burned right behind her eyes like a headache at first, the pain becoming more unbearable with each passing second. When the knife slid into her stomach it was almost merciful. She died before she could realize what was happening to her.

It happened fast. One second Carson was staring hard at the photo, perhaps looking for some small detail in it. The next his eyes were rolling back in his head. Eyelids fluttering shut as his body pitched forward. His head made contact with the table before he slid sideways out of his chair, knocking it over in the process. It all happened before Riley or Daniel could react. Luckily it was a gentle slide and he didn't hit his head too hard but now he was on the floor and--

"What the fuck?" Daniel blurted, abandoning his own chair to kneel next to Carson.

"Has he ever done anything like this before?" Riley asked with the dim hope that maybe this was some sort of totally normal magic thing she didn't know about. It wasn't

"No, never." Daniel's voice was grim. Panic welled up inside him but he fought it back down. He wouldn't be any use to Carson like that. "Hey Carson, can you hear me?" He asked pointlessly.

It was obvious his mind was somewhere else entirely as his body began to twitch. Random muscles flexing and unflexing. He started making small moaning noises that didn't sound like he was in pain but broke Daniel's heart a little to hear anyway. Without thinking he folded his sweatshirt and slid it under his head, moving to sit behind him so he could run his fingers through Carson's hair gently as his legs kicked and his hands moved spastically. Daniel and Riley had both gone silent so the only noise in the room was Carson's shuffling and ragged breathing. A small trickle of blood dripped from his nose and suddenly it was over. Carson's body relaxed into the floor and his breathing settled until it looked like he was just peacefully asleep.

Riley sat by his feet in complete shock, holding her hands up to her face, covering her mouth. Meanwhile Daniel started to try to wake him up gently. The whole thing couldn't have lasted longer than a minute but for Daniel it felt like forever.

"What just happened?" She whispered.

Daniel let one hand continue sifting through his hair and used the other to pat at his face which was pale and clammy under his hand. "Come on Carson, wake up. Open your eyes." He said.

Carson didn't immediately respond but he did make some feeble attempt to roll over onto his side. Daniel helped position him. The blood continued streaming from his nose until it threatened to stain the floor and Carson's shirt. There weren't any tissues around so he wiped Carson's face with his own sleeve. They took it as a good sign when he groaned and swatted the hand away weakly.

"Can you here me, Carson? It's Danny, I'm right here." He spoke softly, expecting Carson to be more than a little confused as he came to. When he finally cracked his eyes open the first thing he saw was books, then more books, and some shelves filled with books. It didn't take him long to figure out where he was.

Once Carson was awake Daniel stopped touching him and gave him some space, only helping when he wanted to sit up. Carson's head throbbed with the motion and he touched two fingers to his nose, frowning when they came away bloody.

"I'll go find some water." Riley said, trying to make herself useful. Carson caught her sleeve as she moved to stand.

"Wait... I... saw something." He said. "It doesn't tell us much more than we already know but, I did see that she died on the rocks, someone didn't move her there. And the spell was powerful I felt-" he stopped and shook his head as he remembered the pain and fear she felt. He raked his hands over his face and shuddered, as if checking that his own eyes were still there. He didn't dare look at the photos again to check, but one detail did stand out to him.

"What was in her purse?" He asked. The woman had been holding onto it pretty tight, maybe just out of fear, or maybe there was something important in there.

"We didn't find a purse with her body." Riley frowned, wondering why she hadn't thought of it before. Of course the young woman would have had some kind of bag with her. It wasn't much but it was something to look into.

"It was green." Carson muttered, staring off into what looked to be the Historical Asian literature section.

"Thanks Carson. I'll look into it. Let me know if you guys find anything out but there's no rush." She stood up and found that glass of water she was looking for then gathered her things and left Carson in Daniel's care.

Leaning against one of the tables legs, Carson signed, trying to make sense of what the hell was going on. He hoped this was a one time thing. A minor fluke on the universe's part. Magic was like that sometimes. But he couldn't help but feel obligated to solve this case now. He was already too involved to back out and even though Riley said there wasn't a rush, he knew that wasn't true. Two people already died in strange circumstances and if no other actually qualified magic users would step up to help, it was up to him.

"You okay?" Danny asked. Carson nodded slightly, careful not to aggravate his budding headache. "Let's get your face cleaned up then."

His nose had stopped bleeding but his face was still a mess of a combination of fresh, dried, and smeared blood. Carson didn't feel much like standing up but he took a few sips of water then braced a hand against the floor to push himself onto his knees. The floor wobbled under his feet but Danny was already helping him the rest of the way up.

He staggered to the staff bathroom at the back of the store and took a good look at himself. There were new dark circles under his eyes. He didn't know whether it was from using his healing skills that morning or the uh.. the other thing. The word "attack" came to mind, since that's exactly what it felt like.

"You should go home and rest." His friend said from the doorway. "I can leave the store for a bit and walk you home." He offered.

"No," Carson said, "we'll stay until we figure this out. Grab the books, we're taking this party to the couch." He said with newfound determination. The book store had a reading nook with a giant second hand couch, some beanbags, pillows, and a few decorative soft lit lamps. If he was going to lay down, which he definitely was, he might as well stay productive. Carson settled down in the corner, laying sideways to take up two out of the three cushions. Daniel returned with the large stack of books and set them down with a thud before settling into the other end of the couch. The spent the afternoon reading and taking notes in comfortable silence. Daniel didn't wake him up when Carson inevitably fell asleep with not one, but several books in his lap.

[blesspastacraig]

Sixteen (SP Drabble Bomb Day 1 - Decade)

Here’s my offering for the @spdrabblebomb prompt decade!

Predominantly Craig focused but there’s some light Creek.

Just a story about Craig and all his Stripes throughout the years.

On ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14765684/chapters/34146584

Drabble Track - Sixteen - Lucy Camp

I Don't Wanna Be Sixteen Again I’m Just Nostalgic

Craig has been a keen owner of Guinea pigs since age eight. He used to hang around the pet store while his mother ran errands a couple of stores down. He’d place his chubby little hands on the glass and peer in at them as they waddled around the cage going about their day. He wanted one more than he wanted the new season of Red Racer on DVD or maybe, even more than he wanted a telescope, to look up at the stars.

But his Parents said no, both to the Guinea pig and the telescope. They said that he was too young to be responsible for either of them. That didn’t stop him from asking, though. He begged almost every day for a year, and on his eighth birthday, his tired parents finally gave in.

He woke up to find a small cage in the middle of their living room with a tiny, squeaking fluffball inside. An all-black baby with only a singular white stripe across its nose. Craig was almost too scared to pick the baby up: what if he broke it? He remembered the instructions from one of the books on Guinea pig care he read religiously, in an effort to try and convince his parents that he was responsible enough to take care of one. He gently picked up the baby, making sure all four legs and its bottom were supported before he nestled it to his chest.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” He asked.

It is, in fact, a girl. Craig and his family find that out for sure when Craig peers into her cage one day to see Stripe (Craig wasn’t very creative with names), and two smaller Stripes wheeking up at him for breakfast.

Craig has to cover his mouth to stop himself from shrieking with excitement. (Loud noises scare Guinea pigs, one of the many things he recently learnt about them.)

He goes bounding down the stairs from his bedroom into the kitchen to where his mother’s packing their school lunches for the day.

“Stripe had babies, Mom!” It’s the most animated Craig’s sounded in a good while. Well, probably since he got Stripe, at the very least.

“She what?”

“She had two babies! Look!” Craig excitedly grabs her hand with his own little one and tugs. Laura Tucker obliges, bewildered that her son’s Guinea pig has somehow managed to multiply.

(When they call the pet shop they got Stripe from, they get a bored teenager who tells them that it’s hard to tell when a Guinea pig is pregnant. Thomas and Laura know there’s no way they can take Stripe back for a refund now. Craig is attached.)

That afternoon, Craig borrows a book about caring for Guinea Pig babies at the library. He decides to name the babies “Stripe #2” and “Stripe #3”, and his parents give up on any idea of giving them away.

All three (all girls, by some kind of freak of nature) die suddenly and together not long after Craig has turned ten. Craig strongly suspects foul play, but he can’t prove it. His parents blame it on the temperature, but Craig doesn’t buy it.

All he can do is try not to cry about it in front of his friends, lest they label him a crybaby like Clyde. According to all the books he immersed himself in after becoming a Guinea pig owner, two years isn’t a particularly long life for a Guinea pig, and that makes him very sad. For all he could see, they were just happy, furry goofballs who had never done anything wrong in their short lives.

Why did his pets have to die? Why couldn’t it have been someone else’s, someone who didn’t care as much? Or why couldn’t they at least have been older? It doesn’t feel right or fair.

Despite the fact that Craig called him a crybaby countless times, Clyde still comes over and helps him make drawings to mark their graves. Clyde later takes those drawings and gets them laminated for Craig, so they’ll still be there after the rain.

Craig doesn’t call Clyde a crybaby again after that.

Craig starts dating Tweek before deciding to get a new Guinea pig. He hadn’t meant to; they’re only ten and have no idea what they’re doing, but it seems to make everyone around them happy. Tweek’s not so bad himself, not really, it’s nice to be spending so much time with someone he genuinely likes and doesn’t feel like he needs to impress all the time. Craig discovers that’s one upside to dating Tweek instead of girls. Girls seem to have these expectations of him that he could never hope to meet. He’s supposed to not play in the dirt? No way! At least Tweek is there, playing in the muck with him, which is much more fun in his opinion.

Tweek knows Craig is sad about Stripe and her babies. So sad that he hasn’t even thrown away their cage or any of their toys. Craig is pretty sure that his parents aren’t going to let him have another one anyway. Tweek is nice to him about it, though. He takes Craig to the movies, and offers him his leftover fries when they go to McDonalds afterwards. He holds his hand a lot, which is more helpful than Craig expected.

When they head past the pet store, Tweek stops, and they both end up hovering out front for a few crucial seconds. “Can we look?” Tweek asks, and Craig shrugs.

Tweek wants to look at Guinea pigs. Craig tries not to fall in love with a particular tricolour—one with a white stripe across their nose.

“Do you like that one?” Tweek asks him. “I want to get you -nnn- one you like.”

“You want to get me what?” Craig frowns. There’s no way his Mom will just let him bring home another Guinea pig.

“I’ve been saving up… you seemed so -ah- sad. Your Mom and Dad said I could. As long as I got a boy.”

“Oh,” Craig says, dumbly. “I like that one, yeah.”

He doesn’t say thank you in words—but in the way he holds Tweek’s hand the whole way home.

Craig comes home with his first boy Guinea pig in a cardboard box. There won’t be any surprise babies this time, but Craig is sure both he and Tweek can be enough to entertain Stripe #4.

Stripe #4 passes when Craig and Tweek are teenagers. Just on the cusp of making their relationship more real, more genuine. Not just two little kids play-dating because that’s what they saw their parents do. At least Craig has had the label ‘gay’ slapped on him since he was ten, so he doesn’t feel so weird about wanting to kiss Tweek for real.

Craig has braces, and Tweek is a little chubby around the middle, but Craig figures at least they can go through their awkward stage together.

The vet suspects cancer, which is very common in rodents, and Craig is inclined to agree. Tweek promises over and over that it was nothing Craig did and that even the best care can’t prevent something like cancer. Craig still feels guilty anyway. Tweek bought Stripe #4 for him, and Craig hasn’t kept him alive very long at all. Five years is a good run, but this Stripe had only gotten to have four.

Craig makes Stripe #4 a marker for his grave in woodwork, and Tweek lovingly bedazzles it. They add it to the Guinea pig cemetery in Laura’s flower beds and sit in silence as a tribute. Craig rests his head on Tweek’s shoulder, and Tweek holds him close so that any nosy neighbors won’t see him cry.

When they decide to get Stripe #5 (there’s no discussion on what he will be named), they go together. They also pay together, half and half - it feels weirdly adult. Craig feels like it’s a commitment even if they’re only fifteen and clueless. Their only condition is that they have to get a boy again: Craig’s parents are still scarred from the surprise baby debacle and will not chance a girl ever again.

“That one looks like he has hat hair!” Tweek exclaims, pointing to a small boy with black and white fur, a white stripe along his nose, and an impressive-looking crest. Craig doesn’t correct him regarding the crest, and instead laughs along with him.

“He looks small,” Craig says. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“I think he’ll be just fine if someone who really -hnn- cares takes him home with them,” Tweek replies, knowingly. After nearly five years together, Tweek can read him like a damn book, and Craig has a love-hate relationship with that fact.

“Okay then,” Craig says. “I want him then, if you do?”

Tweek does, although he argues on the way home that they should have named him Pepe Le Pew.

At eighteen, ten years after he set his eyes on Stripe #1 in all her glory, Craig and Tweek have a huge decision to make. Sure, applying for colleges and choosing your future is super hard, but for Craig the most agonising part is deciding what to do with Stripe #5. He’s three years old, and as far as Craig can tell, he’s perfectly healthy and thriving. He’s doubled in size since they first brought him home as a tiny runt who could fit nicely in Craig’s palm. They could take him along, but that would mean they’d have to find a pet-friendly apartment. Living on campus would also be completely ruled out. It narrows their accommodation options by a lot.

Craig thinks maybe it might be better if they leave him behind. Craig and Tweek could always come back to visit him during their holidays - Craig’s bedroom in South Park is all he really knows, and Craig isn’t sure that it would be kind to move him somewhere else potentially hours away.

When Tricia offers to take him, Craig breathes a secret sigh of relief.

He feels, in an odd way, he’s passing the baton to her. Maybe she’ll become as avid a Guinea pig lover as him. Maybe in the future, Craig and Tweek will get another Guinea pig once they’ve finished college and have a place all their own.

That doesn’t mean Craig still doesn’t shed a tear as he and Tweek bundle their things into Tweek’s hand-me-down car. Tweek holds his hand over the console as they drive away, without their beloved Stripe #5.

[arthurtristankingsmen]

((oh boy i love suffering )) RIP -- they're not sure what's killing him but it's not taking its time about it :(

Send “RIP” and I’ll write a drabble of my Muse dying (source)

They couldn’t find the source.

It wasn’t that they didn’t try. Mystery, Vivi and Lewis scoured through all the books they had and then some. Every library was struck, every bookstore, every Magick Shoppe and Curio Corner. Every supernatural entity they’d ever had the pleasure (or displeasure, in some cases) of meeting was called upon, and still the answer remained out of reach.

Arthur was suffering, and they didn’t know why. He was sick, maybe worse, and there was nothing they could find.

“A-at least it’s n-not a slow process.” Arthur chuckled. He was lying in bed, sweating through his skin and shivering until his teeth rattled. The air around him was a sauna; Lewis’s attempt at warming him that proved ineffectual. “It’s b-barely been three days. I dunno if I could’ve taken much more of this.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Vivi hissed, from across the room, hidden behind stacks they had yet to sort through. Medical books were splayed open around her, both magical and natural, and she flipped through them with desperate fingers, not looking up towards him. She looked angry, and something dripped off her nose.

He wriggled a little, his legs and waist not complying with the rest of him. “Come on, Vi…. I can’t walk. Whatever did this is just….I don’t know. Shutting off signals. Electric ones. We can’t stop it. Not in time.”

“I will find a way!” She snapped, looking towards him. Mystery pinned his ears back beside her, cringing. Vivi’s glasses weren’t the only thing rimmed with red. “I won’t stop until-”

“Vivi.”

She would have continued; she wanted to. But since this whole ordeal had started, Lewis lost his voice, became uncharacteristically quiet. He sat at Arthur’s side, like a statuette guardian, wordless and unresponsive, only filling requests in his stoic silence when Arthur made them. Vivi had reamed him out for giving up, and Lewis had taken it without an excuse.

If he was speaking up now, it was important.

Lewis’s chest rose and fell. He’d stopped ‘living’, or at least the act of pretending he was. Something about it left her subdued.

“Please. Come here.” There was no room for argument, his voice hollow and lifeless as he was. “Mystery. You too.”

The pair looked to each other. Arthur had made it clear they were supposed to stay away. Arthur was effectively quarantined to one side of the room. In case the living could suffer the same ailment, whatever it was.

They stood and stumbled in their rush to Arthur’s bedside.

“You can feel it too, huh…?” Arthur looked up at Lewis, smile crooked in the way that squeezed all their hearts in a vice since they’d known him.

Lewis said nothing. His face twisted, contorting in pain before it was gone again. He sat on the bed, and pulled Arthur up, to sit in his lap. Arthur groaned with the move.

One of his hands squeezed Arthur’s, who returned it with a soft sniff. His other kept Arthur steady, looped like a seat belt over his waist.

“Vivi…” He spoke again, patting the mattress until Mystery and Vivi joined him, forming a triangle with crossed knees. “Mystery. You can’t keep looking. You have to stop now.”

“Like hell-”

Mystery whined, and she cut off. “Lewis…don’t tell me. You can…”

Lewis’s hand left Arthur’s, brushing fingers through his thick, blond hair. Vivi claimed the hand instead. “I can.”

“Can what?”

Mystery whimpered, pressing his nose into one of Arthur’s pallid cheeks. A clammy hand raised to stroke through his fur and he blinked hard and fast. “Ghosts….they can tell. When someone will soon join their ranks.”

The world felt out from under her. “You mean…?”

Arthur’s lopsided smile withered. He looked frail, bone-thin against Lewis’s broad chest with ashen skin pulled taut over knobby joints. “I-it’s getting h-hard to breathe, V-Vi…” Arthur answered. He looked up so the watery film on his eyes would dry. “I-I didn’t want you t-to- to keep looking. Not when…w-when we needed to be s-sure to say goodbye this time.”

Lewis held him tighter and curled forward. Mystery enlarged slowly, to his full self. As Vivi crawled forward on shaking hands and knees, the world blurry as her glasses fell off and still so from tears spilling out, Mystery curled around the three of them, a warm, furred shield from the outside world.

“Don’t go. Don’t leave me. I can do this just let me I can’t lose you too Arthur please-” The words slipped out of her mouth as easily as the tears did from her eyes.

Arthur pressed a finger to her lips. “There’s nothing we can do. It wasn’t in our power to stop. Look at me. I’m more a skeleton than Lewis.” He smiled; no one else did.

“Whatever this is…” He cut off for a moment to wheeze. “….wh-whatever it is…we never were prepared…not for something like this.”

“I should’ve-! I should’ve known something like this could happen! I should’ve been able to find a way to keep you alive I should’ve bought more books I should’ve been prepared!���

Arthur shook his head, reaching for one of the many tails aside them, and pulling it into his lap. He brushed it with his real hand, and a mournful rumble escaped Mystery, who’s head appeared to lie against a thigh. Arthur released his tail in favor of an ear, breath uneven and raspy. “W-we don’t even know what caused it. You can’t p-prepare for....for the unknown.” 

He crooked a finger for her to come closer, drawing her to his side when she complied. “I-it was out of our control. I-it’s no one’s f-fault. Not yours, not Mystery’s, n-not Lewis’s…I don’t w-want you blaming yourself. D-do that and I’ll come b-back to haunt your ass.”

Neither Vivi nor Lewis nor Mystery had the energy to muster even a half smile, despite Arthur’s effort to draw it out. Vivi breathed deep, unsteady breaths and closed her eyes, mouth a wavering line. 

She needed more time. She needed more books. She needed the right ones, she needed the right people to tell her what happened. She needed something to make her feel less powerless.

But most of all, she needed Arthur.

But he needed her now. He didn’t look like he had long, wheezing and frail. Lewis looked barely together, heat billowing off like steam from a boiling pot. His face twisted from expressionless to pain, to barely-contained rage.

Another deep breath, and her shoulders dropped. “…….Then, if I can’t- can’t save you-.” The words were acidic, caustic poison in her mouth she struggled to force out. “Wh-what do you want me to do? Us?”

Arthur seemed to droop as much as she had. He took her hand once more and squeezed it. “S-say goodbye. Tell me h-how much you l-love me. Then….lay down with me. Let me sp-spend one more night, drifting off b-between you, in y-your arms.” 

He blinked like a shutter lens. “Th-then…in the morning. Tell m-my uncle. Make sure he and Galaham are o-okay. That they’re...they’re t-taken care of. There’s a few letters- I wrote them yesterday when I….when I realized. I want to be cremated. In case my body is-is contagious. T-then spread the d-dust. G-give one to him after the service. There’s one for each of you three too. O-open them after he gets his.” 

Arthur’s voice barely stayed constant, shaking too much as the tears he’d fought escaped. Vivi could barely see him through her own, and wisps of purple plopped onto Arthur’s hair from Lewis’s face in a stream, before floating upwards toward the ceiling. 

“I-f-f-f that’s what you want.” Vivi choked out, and Lewis nodded with an echoing noise. 

When they received Arthur’s nod, the three of them maneuvered. Arthur was laid on the bed on his side, with a pained whimper that quickly died. Vivi crawled into his arms, wrapping her own around him tightly. Lewis curled up behind Arthur, outstretched arms curling around both him and Vivi. She could feel how bad he was shaking as he held them both. Mystery moved close to the headboard, moving for them to use his side like a pillow, and curling his tails over them like a blanket. As they finished situating, Arthur let out a raspy sigh of relief. 

“….Goodbye Arthur….” Mystery murmured. He grabbed a pillow with his mouth, chewing hard and looking at the wall with a crinkled brow and a soft whine vibrating in his throat. 

Lewis squeezed the other two tight to his chest. “G-goodbye, Art.” His voice was strained, echoing with too many emotions to pin down. Tears still dripped onto Arthur’s hair as his face twisted again and stayed like that this time. “I l-love you. S-so much. It won’t be the same. Nothing will.” His exuded heat jumped in temperature and he buried his face in Arthur’s hair with a rattling, sigh, a choked and smothered wail, if only to keep this farewell peaceful. He kissed the top of Arthur’s hair and kept doing so, eyes squeezed shut, tears still breaking free.

Vivi couldn’t look at his eyes as Arthur watched her. It had to be a nightmare she’d wake up from. The last three days had to be. 

A hand cupped her chin, and made her look up. “I love you.” Arthur said, “I love you, Vivi. And I love you, Lewis. And you, Mystery. I love you all. Thanks. For making my life not suck. Thanks for being the friends I always needed. Thanks for being my family. Thanks for loving me. Thanks for…everything. I’d run out of time before I got to it all.”

Vivi sobbed and sniffed and tried to breath. “It isn’t fair that I have to lose you. I love you. You’re half of my whole world-” She wiped at her face before replacing her hand. “I’m not saying goodbye. I’m saying goodnight. Because I don’t know how to deal with anything without you. You better come back so I don’t have to, or I swear on my life, Arthur Kingsmen, that I will hunt you down in the afterlife for leaving me before I was ready.”

He laughed, once, weak and more a wheeze, chest stuttering. “I love you too, Vivi. I’ll see what I can do. I promise.” She nodded at least, mute and nuzzling into his chest. A hand carded into her hair and brushed through it before stilling there.

Arthur smiled, and closed his eyes one last time.

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

And this one definitely gives me EZ Reyes vibes:

Person B does a spa day for person A

Drabble Masterlist

Effort

Contains:Fluff

424 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

EZ spends the day making sure you know how much he loves you.

You awoke to a note on your bedside table, "come and find me." EZ's handwriting made you smile, a little heart at the end of the words. You got up, threw on a dressing gown, and made your way through the house, meeting EZ in the kitchen, "what have you got planned today?"

He smiled, "well Mi corazón, you've been working so hard I figure you deserve a treat so I've planned you a spa day."

He took your hand and led you into the bathroom, "strip."

You giggled, "oh, is it that kind of treat?"

He shook his head, "no, I made a body mask for you, you don't need to lose the panties if you don't want."

You smiled, "what a gentleman." He helped you take off your night clothes before rubbing the mask over your skin, "it tingles?"

He nodded, "mint oil, it's a theme today."

"Oh really, you've been doing some research?"

He nodded with a smile, "mint oil is good for both hair growth and skin health, there's also fancy castor oil in the hair mask I made."

You smiled, "Jamaican black castor oil?"

He huffed, "that's it, the lady at the store said it was the best money can buy."

You pressed a kiss to his cheek, trying to avoid smearing anything on him, "you're very sweet EZ." Once that had sat for twenty minutes, he helped you wash it off, then filled the tub and directed you to rest your head over the edge.

"Tell me if I tug on anything yeah?"

You nodded as he wet your hair and combed it out, "of course." He took his time, making sure to stop and rub your scalp and neck as he went, when your hair was brushed out, he got a handful of the homemade mask and spread it through the strands, "mmmm, that feels nice."

He smiled, "does it? I made sure to only buy the best."

You giggled, "gee wiz EZ, what else do you have in store for me today."

"After this, I'm going to wash this out, then shampoo and conditioner your hair then fix your curls so they're perfect. Then I'm going to do your nail and after that, we're going to spend the rest of the day cuddling on the couch watching your favourite movies."

You smiled so big your face hurt, "what did I do to deserve all of this?"

He pressed a kiss to your cheek, "you didn't do anything other than be mine and that's good enough for me."

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Ok so I have a super sucky exam tomorrow, it's content heavy & I do not feel prepared, BUT I thought I'd request a drabble to have something to look forward to; you know remind me that the world spins madly on & I will once again be able to read something other than textbooks while I sit here cramming facts into my overloaded brain.

So please take pity on my self inflicted woes & could I request a smutty Opie unpinning/taking down his partners hair?

Thank you thank you thank you 😊

Good luck with your exam!

Drabble Masterlist

Charming Heat

Contains:Fluff, smut.

341 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

Opie helps you in the heat.

The Charming heat made the updo necessary, between the raging from the Sons of Anarchy decoration in the compound and the burning sun, you could barely hold yourself up. Even in a sundress, you were burning up, turning to Opie with a soft smile, you placed a warm hand on his bare shoulders, Opie having stripped down to a single hours ago, "yes honey?"

You sighed, "I'm heading inside, I'm going to lay down in the dorms, it's too hot for me out here."

Opie nodded, "of course, you look like you're about to drop dead."

You laid down on the bed with you body spread out, hoping to cool down, it took ten minutes for Opie to follow you, him coming in the door with a glass of ice water and a smile, "you want me to take down your hair?"

You nodded, "please, it's so fucking hot and I can't move." Opie laughed as you sat up, sitting behind you and taking down your hair while you sipped on the ice water, "feeling better?"

You shook your head, "no." He smiled and picked an ice cube out of the cup.

He waved it in front of your face and you nodded, Opie running the ice cube down your back. You moaned and Opie chuckled, "you want more?"

You were ripping off your dress before he could say more, laying out on the bed, "get to it Winston." He smiled and ran the cube down your chest, raising his eyes as his fingers brushed your bra, "please."

The bra was off in a flash, then Opie was running the ice cube around your nipple, "oh, that's nice."

Opie chuckled, "mmmm, I can tell." He smiled down at you and started to graze the cube over your stomach, then he paused, "are you cool enough now?"

Your eyes moved to his crotch at the tone in his voice, you knew that tone. Your suspicion was proven when you saw he was as hard as a rock, "yeah I am."

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

I saw the new character list and almost fainted. I might write one myself!!! Can we do Manny with... Person B always brings back a hair accessory (you tell me which one) for person A when they go away?

Hair acc- vintage hair pins

Drabble Masterlist

Flowers and Birds

Contains: Fluff

368 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

You're convinced Manny wanted you to have a hair pin for every day of the year.

Manny had been away for a week, off bonding with Santo Padre on his first run since he transferred to the town, you had been spending most of your time keeping yourself busy but it was late at night and you were left with nothing but your thoughts. The noise of his bike pulled you away from your longing, Manny was home.

You pulled open the door just as he approached it, his warm smile covered his face as he opened his arms, "it's good to be back Mi Tesoro."

He sniffed your hair and squeezed you tighter, "I missed you."

He chuckled, "I can tell. I brought you something." He entered your shared home a took a small package out of the kutte, "well, open it." You sat at the table and gently tore open the tissue paper.

"These are really pretty, what decade?"

He smiled, "the lady at the desk said the sixties, I saw them in the window and couldn't say no."

He took them from your hand and walked behind you, taking a section of hair from the front and pulling it towards the back of your head and pinning it up before fixing the strands so they lay perfectly, "I like them."

You heard his phone camera snap then he was showing the screen to you, "wow, they do look good. I should let you buy all my stuff."

Manny leaned over your shoulder and kissed you, "I'm good with that."

You kissed him again, "are the sunflowers and birds from the twenties still your favourite?"

He thought for a moment before nodding, "yeah Querida, I don't think I'll ever be able to beat those."

The hairpins in question were the first ones he ever bought you after your old favourite had broken before your second date. You did your best to act like nothing was wrong when he showed up at your door but he knew right away and his soft tone and gentle smile had you spilling your guts, the next day he showed up at your door unsure and nervous before handing you the hairpins with a smile.

"I don't like seeing you sad Querida."

And the rest was history.

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

I'm pre longing & pre dying.🥴 May I request Angel-Fluff with Person B washes person A's hair.

Drabble Masterlist

Over the Tub

Contains:Fluff

325 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

Angel washes your hair.

You got comfortable, readjusting the bath pillow around your neck as Angel rolled up his red flannel past elbows so he could get down to business, "why don't you just lose the shirt dearest?"

He chuckled, "because we know where that leads and I've got shit to do that doesn't involve making you scream my name for the rest of the night."

You moaned as his fingers found your scalp, "yeah, you're right, this is nice though."

He shifted and then he was running a softly scented sudsy shampoo through your hair, making sure to avoid your end as he rinsed it out. "You good?"

You nodded, "mmhhh."

He squeezed your shoulder, "no falling asleep on me now."

You blinked your eyes, "it's not my fault it feels so good, you're just being a killjoy."

He huffed, "I just want you to be awake to enjoy then next part."

You shook your head as he warmed the conditioner between his hands before sliding then in your hair, making sure each strand was coated before moving back to your scalp to massage the nursing product in, "you're right, this is the best part." He shook his head as he moved yours, the washing turning into a neck rub as he let the conditioner sit.

You pushed your head into his hand with another moan, "I should let you do this every time, screw only doing it on the weekends."

His fingers made their way back to your scalp, "you enjoying yourself Mi reina?"

You raised your eyebrows as his fingers hit just the right spot, had your eyes not been closed, he would have seen them roll back into your head, "oh yes, I definitely am."

He washed the conditioner out of your hair and tapped your shoulder, "all done, we've still got some time if you're still up for your earlier offer."

You smiled, "sure but you've still got to finish my hair first."

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

AND THIS

Person B unpins/takes down person A's hair do after a night out.

Gives me some strong girlfriend vibes <3 Lyla Winston please!

Drabble Masterlist

The Gala

Contains:Fluff

243 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

Lyla helps you after a long night.

You got in the door and almost collapsed on the floor, "my feet are killing me."

Lyla giggled and flopped down next to you, "you and me both."

Your green dress was heavier than it looked and your face was hurting from your hairdo, "next time, can we just stay home?"

She nodded, "yeah, that felt like a waste of time, why did we go anyway?"

You shrugged, "because Luanne asked us to."

The Gala was to raise money for a women's shelter with CaraCara fronting a large portion of the donation, "you want me to take your hair down?"

You nodded, "please, it's really starting to bother me." She held out her hand and you took it as she walked you to the bathroom.

"Tell me if I hurt you?" You nodded and she went to work, starting slowly, making sure to unpin every strand. It took a while but she managed to get the intricate bun undone, "you feeling better?"

You nodded, "much, thank you. Do you want me to do yours?"

"Yes please." You swapped places and took down her hair, stopping to kiss the back of her neck along the way.

"You wanna get take out?"

She nodded, "yep, the finger food wasn't exactly filling."

You sighed, "pizza, Chinese or something else a little fancier?"

She thought for a moment, "pizza, with extra cheese please."

You finished her hair and stood up, "pizza with extra cheese it is then."

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Well you're definately going to live to regret having encouraged my drabble requests, sorry not sorry.

BUT since you did it's only fitting that I send another today 😊 can I get Lyla Winston planning a spa day. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

You request for Lyla!?!?! You request WLW!?!?! Love for you, love for you one million years.

Drabble Masterlist

Pampered

Contains: Fluff

303 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed

Lyla spends the day making your feel loved.

"Good morning my love, is there any reason you didn't wake me up? It's almost ten."

Lyla smiled, "because you've been working so hard and I think you deserve some time off. Now, come with me and let me look after you."

She helped you out of bed, kissing your face on the way up, "wow sweetie, this is a good morning."

She giggled, "it's going to get even better."

****

It started with homemade pancakes and your favourite smoothie, and then it was to the backyard for some quiet time in the sun. After you had some time to relax, she brought you inside and ran the bath, adding oils, flower petals and orange slices then she was taking down your hair and instructed you to get it wet while she headed to the kitchen.

When she returned, she had a bowl in her hand and a smile on her face, "I made your favourite one, avocados, honey, Jamaican Black castor oil and yogurt." She sat behind you and took her time massaging the mask into your scalp before finger combing it through every strand.

"This is so nice, I love you so much."

She pressed a kiss to your shoulder, "I love you too y/n. Now let me help you wash that out, I want to move on to the next thing."

The next thing was her helping you fix your hair for the day. She dried it with the fancy towel with care and affection then moved on to adding the products while making sure each strand was taken perfect care of. By the time she was done, it looked like you had just been to the salon on fifth that specialised in natural hair care, "how can I ever thank you for this?"

She smiled, "let me do it again?"

Fin

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Hi 😁😁 wondering if I can do "Say that again to my face." For Manny?

Drabble Masterlist

High Maintenance

Contains: Fluff

404 words

Comment if you want to be tagged/removed or follow #sp's natural hair drabbles

Manny didn't like hearing people insult you.

The Club party had just started, Manny was still in the corner of the Clubhouse with EZ and Angel, drinking a beer and huffing on a joint. He wasn't planning on staying very long, just long enough to make an appearance and do his duty. Another Mayan coming over broke the conversation.

"Hey man, you going on the run tomorrow?"

Manny shook his head, "Nah, it's not mandatory, and I'd rather be at home with my girl."

The man huffed, "I thought the Club came first, we could use you."

Manny swallowed his words, "that's not what Bish said, if I don't need to go I'm not going. I know you don't have someone waiting for you with the porch light on but I do."

He turned back to EZ and Angel, who were unimpressed at the current conversation, "don't listen to him man, he's just jealous."

The other man still sat down, seemly focused on ruining the night. They all did their best to dismiss him but he butted in every chance he got and Manny was sick of it, "I got to go, it's getting late and I want to get home."

The man huffed, "it's only seven."

Manny sighed, "as I said before, I got someone at home with the light on and I don't want to leave her waiting."

EZ smiled, remembering something, "wash day?"

Manny nodded, "yeah, it's wash day."

He said his goodbyes and went to walk outside, overhearing that man's comment to Angel, whose face became angry, "gee that woman is high maintenance, he's got to get home to wash her hair, who does she think she is?"

EZ horrified look qued the man into turning around and he saw Manny storming towards him, "say that again to my face."

The man stood up, "your bitch is high maintenance, what man leaves his friends to wash his girl's….." The punch knocked him on his back.

"Shut your fucking mouth before I shut it for you." Manny walked off with another word going home to you in hopes that your company would salvage the night.

When he got inside, you took in the broken skin over his knuckles, "let me clean you up my dear."

He smiled, "you're not going to ask me how it happened?"

You shook your head and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "EZ texted me and told me what went down, thank you."

FIn