#the food is too dang good >> may he rest in pieces ���

[pixlokita]

Painful wing fanart incoming but you already knew about it and colored it so like -w- hiding it for the gore and blood tho >>

I feel like it was less gory in black and white but honestly 👀✨ aight don’t mind me I’m going to the tag now

BEHOLD!!! AN ART TRADE!!! @pixlokita it is time!

Caution, do not click read more if you do not intend to read. This is 12,192 words. And no, I'm not kidding. This is so much longer than most of the stuff I write. That being said, enjoy!!!

Evan said Michael was sick, which worried Jeremy. Being sick should not mean Michael would try so hard to avoid Jeremy, especially since he knew it would make Jeremy worry about him more.

But the main part Jeremy was worried about was the way Evan’s new wings kept fluffing up. Was Michael mad at him?

Don’t worry about it, Jeremy, he told himself. If Michael’s mad, he’ll tell you eventually.

It just stung. Evan and Gregory were wandering around the house, trying to see if their wings would allow them to do various things. Evan’s were too small to do much, and Gregory still hadn’t gotten used to them yet, but at least they had something to do while Mr. Emily tried to figure out what could possibly cause this.

“Ugh!” Gregory exclaimed, plopping down on the sofa next to Jeremy. He took the soda from Jeremy’s hand and took a giant sip. “These things suck.���

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, unsuccessfully trying to retrieve his Coke.

“I mean,” Gregory scowled, taking another sip, “that wings are stupid. They don’t even bend the way I want them to.”

“Well…” Jeremy said thoughtfully. “They are just extra limbs, right? With bones and joints and stuff?”

“I guess so.” Gregory finally gave Jeremy his soda back. “But they don’t move how I want-“

“You couldn’t do much when you were a baby right? Learning to crawl?” Jeremy chugged the rest of his Coke before putting the empty can down. “It’s an accomplishment when babies get their heads off the floor on their own, you know. And rolling and stuff.”

“Oh.” Gregory clearly hadn’t thought about it that way. “But Evan’s got excellent control already.”

“He’s had them longer.” Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe he’s just a quick learner. Or maybe, there’s less wing to work with. Could be a bunch of things.”

“But…” Gregory sighed. He inched closer to Jeremy on the couch, his wings refusing to bend in a natural way.

Jeremy awkwardly looped a comforting arm around Gregory. “You’ll get there eventually.”

“They just hurt. All the time.”

“I can’t help with that,” Jeremy chuckled.

“Sure you can! Mike did this thing once, where he…” Gregory chewed his lip. “Well, I’m not exactly sure what he did.”

“You want me to pet you?” Jeremy said in disbelief. “Nuh uh. Go ask Evan. That’s not… No.”

“Why’d you make it weird?” Gregory shook his head. “It was like…”

“Like a shoulder massage,” Evan interjected helpfully. His wings flexed, expanding fully as he explained. They barely went past his shoulders, but the point got across.

Jeremy admired the confidence with which he showed them. He’d personally be too worried about people calling him a freak. Which, thinking about it, was not likely to happen in this house. Everyone was too nice here.

“Mikey went like this,” Evan said, pulling Jeremy’s arm back to get to Gregory’s wings.

Gently, Evan messaged the inner edge of Gregory’s wings, right where they extended from his back. Gregory’s wings convulsed, the claw on one nearly hitting Jeremy in the face. “I think they get itchy,” Evan mused. “We might have to just do this more often.”

“No kidding,” Gregory said with a sigh, his eyes closing and his shoulders relaxing. “But Mike’s still better at it.”

“Wonder where he got his practice,” Jeremy replied. He didn’t mean to sound bitter, but it still came across that way.

Evan winched, but he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he kept focused on his task. Gregory sighed absently. “Wings are a lot of work.”

“Seems that way,” Jeremy replied.

Gregory folded and unfolded his hands while Evan worked. “I just…”

Jeremy spared him a glance as he went to get another can of Coke. “Something on your mind?”

“His girlfriend,” Evan said absently.

“Cassie’s not my girlfriend!” Gregory said, straightening. His wings fluffed up as he said it.

“Oh.” Jeremy had no idea what to make of that. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know!” Gregory replied. He ran a hand through his hair to try to make it lay flat. “She was at Evan’s party, and she looked really bad. I think Mike took care of it, but he didn’t really say anything about it afterwards.”

“She’s probably at the hospital, Gregory,” Evan replied, trying to be soothing. “We can visit her once we figure out what to do about this first.”

“Stupid wings,” Gregory grumbled. “Making everything harder.”

Jeremy didn’t know how to reply to that. He cracked the can open and took a sip. “Have you asked Mike?”

“He’s sick,” Evan answered for Gregory. His wings fluffed up again.

“Maybe we should check on him then. He’s been resting all week right?” Jeremy asked, trying to be casual about it. Evan had been very guarded about his older brother this whole time.

Jeremy came over every day, and every day, Evan said the same thing. “Mike’s sick. He can’t see anyone right now.”

It had been happening since the day Gregory’s wings had burst through his skin. Jeremy was more than a little concerned. Sure, he hadn’t reacted well to the wings at first, but none of them had. He’d been more supportive when Evan’s had burst through later that same day.

But Michael’s expression became very guarded for the rest of the day, and the next day, he was “sick” and couldn’t see Jeremy. And Evan was very good at shooing Jeremy away when he tried too hard to see him.

“Shouldn’t he eat something?” Jeremy asked.

Evan frowned. “Mikey told me that there’s not much he can stomach right now.”

“Crackers always work,” Jeremy mumbled to himself. Shaking his head, he tried again. “What about water? Maybe he’ll start feeling better with some fluids.”

“I… guess…” Evan seemed less sure. Conflicted, he looked at Gregory and then glanced at the closed door to his cousin’s room.

“I can get it. You keep helping Gregory,” Jeremy said quickly. He didn’t want Evan to change his mind.

Evan relented, nodding slightly. “Okay. Make sure to get him a big glass. And don’t be loud. And-“

“I know how it works when someone’s sick, thank you.” Jeremy set his Coke down and rushed back to the kitchen to grab a glass.

Evan had not been exaggerating. When Jeremy crept into the room with the glass of water, Michael was curled into a tight ball on the bed.

“Mike?” Jeremy whispered into the quiet room.

Michael groaned in response. He rolled over to face Jeremy, exposing the hair plastered to his face with sweat.

“I um.” Jeremy swallowed. He felt a little foolish now. Michael was just literally sick. He wasn’t mad at Jeremy or anything like that. “I brought you some water.”

Michael opened his eyes, feebly reaching for the glass.

“Are you strong enough to hold it on your own?” Jeremy asked.

Michael had to consider that for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“Here-“ Jeremy sat next to Michael on the bed, helping pull him into an upright position so he could drink the water.

Michael leaned heavily against Jeremy, eagerly drinking the water. Jeremy had to brace himself against the wall to support the extra weight. Then abruptly, Michael pulled away.

“J… Jeremy,” Michael whispered weakly. He gripped at Jeremy’s jacket, burying his face in Jeremy’s shirt. “I…”

“It’s okay, Mike-“

Michael seized in Jeremy’s arms, sobbing heavily. His hold got tighter and tighter as his body shuddered with pain. Jeremy tried to set the glass on the bedside table, but he barely had it on the edge and water soaked into the carpet as he pulled Michael the rest of the way into his lap. “I got you,” Jeremy said into Michael’s hair.

“It hurts,” Michael cried, still shaking.

“You’ll get through this,” Jeremy mumbled.

A tearing noise broke through the sound of Michael’s sobs, even as they intensified. “JEREMY!!!” Michael wailed.

“I have you, Mike. It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

Dimly, Jeremy registered the large wings erupting from Michael’s back. Oh. Oh. This was happening now. Bloody feathers spread out, wrapping around Jeremy to return his comforting gesture.

Gradually, Michael’s crying ceased, and Jeremy was left holding an exhausted teenager with bloody wings. “I am sorry,” Michael whispered, pulling his hands back, the wings retracting slightly. “I did not mean to, uh…”

“It’s okay, Michael.” Jeremy tried to smile at him. He was determined not to squirm in discomfort from all the blood currently soaking into his jacket.

“I… should go shower,” Michael said awkwardly.

“Yeah…” Jeremy wriggled uncomfortably in his jacket.

“Sorry,” Michael said. “I can wash that if you want.”

“It’s not the biggest deal,” Jeremy said.

“It is if you go home wearing a jacket covered in blood,” Michael replied. “It’s only fair that I clean it, since that’s my blood.”

That wasn’t how Jeremy saw it, but he figured he wasn’t getting out of this. “Okay.”

Michael shifted carefully, putting his feet on the carpet. Almost instantly after taking his weight off the bed, he completely lost his balance. His wings flew out, trying to redistribute the weight, but Jeremy didn’t realize that as he caught Michael by the waist. Both of them tumbled off the bed, Jeremy hitting the carpet with a soft ‘oomph.’

“I am sorry. This was not my intent,” Michael said from above Jeremy.

“They take some getting used to, huh?” Jeremy replied, trying to ignore the heat rising to his face.

It hadn’t been much on the bed with Michael clinging to him like a lifeline. But on the floor with Michael on top of him, pinning him to the ground, Jeremy was suddenly aware of how close Michael was to him.

Michael smiled ruefully. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk on my own right now. I don’t know how I’m going to wash all this blood off by myself.”

“Maybe your uncle could help?”

“He’s probably back at the library again,” Michael mused as he crawled off Jeremy.

Evan wouldn’t be able to handle it, Jeremy knew that much. And he couldn’t ask for Gregory’s help without alerting Evan to the amount of blood that coated them both.

“Do you want me to help?” Jeremy asked, feeling the heat more intensely in his face. Please say no. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it.

“Really?” Michael chewed his lip, considering it. “I would not want to be a bother… But if you are offering…”

Jeremy’s heart quickened at the prospect. “R-right.”

“Help me up?” Michael asked.

Jeremy pulled Michael to his feet, unprepared for the wings to wrap around him again. “Um.”

“Sorry. I don’t have much control over them yet,” Michael replied sheepishly.

“Do they want me to carry you?” Jeremy gauged the idea of carrying Michael to the bathroom. It wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever come up with.

“It’d probably be less awkward than walking there like this,” Michael agreed.

“So I’m just going to…” Jeremy twisted around in the space the wings allowed him. Michael hissed out a pained breath, but soon he was behind Jeremy. “How well can you jump?”

Pretty well, apparently. Jeremy barely needed to adjust for the weight of Michael on his own back, hands linked beneath Michael’s knees. “Okay. Let’s get you taken care of.”

“I am not a child, Jer,” Michael said wearily. Still, he pressed the side of his face into Jeremy’s hair. “I am sorry to be such a burden.”

“You’re not a burden, Mike. You’re my friend. I’m absolutely willing to help you out when you’re in need.”

“Mmmmm,” Michael sounded almost mournful. But he didn’t argue.

“Okay,” Jeremy said. “So, I’m thinking they might need a decent soaking, right? Birds like to be fully submerged when they clean their wings right?”

Michael blinked at him from where he sat on the toilet lid. “What are you even saying?”

“The blood.”

“It is not dried yet. Not completely anyway.”

“So what? You were planning to just wing this whole thing, weren’t you?” Jeremy shrugged off his jacket.

Michael snorted. “I was planning to shower, Jeremy. But I guess I was planning to wing it, considering how I have wings now.” His wings stretched as he spoke, emphasizing his point. “I just don’t have the strength to stand there long enough to wash them off.”

“I-“ Jeremy sputtered. Clearing his throat, he tried to skip over the accidental pun he’d made. “Just going to let the water do the work?”

“That’s the goal.” Michael frowned. “There’s just a few problems.”

“Such as?”

“My shirt isn’t going to come off the same way it went on this morning.”

“Are you particularly attached to that shirt?” Jeremy asked.

“Not really. Could try to just-“ Michael pulled at the collar of his shirt.

“I’ll go grab a pair of scissors,” Jeremy said as Michael pulled experimentally at his shirt again.

He had to be careful walking by the couch, noticing Evan curled up for a nap. Gregory was nowhere in sight.

Returning with the scissors, Jeremy nearly dropped them upon seeing Michael. “What happened? I was gone for two minutes!”

Michael’s shirt was hanging off his body in shreds. When Jeremy looked closer, he could see sharp claws on Michael’s hands. “I…” Michael shrugged sheepishly. “I thought I could tear the fabric and take it off myself.”

Jeremy’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t let himself laugh. “Okay. I don’t think you did a very good job of it though.”

“It seems as though I failed…”

“Here, let me just…” Jeremy carefully reached around Michael’s head, one knee resting between his legs. It felt strange to be cutting through Michael’s shirt, but as the fabric gave way, Michael seemed to relax a little more.

Jeremy recalled Gregory and Evan both sitting on the couch as Michael measured the shape they needed cut from their shirts for the wings. Perhaps Michael needed a few of those done as well. Something to keep in mind for later.

“Hey, why is there blood all over-“ Gregory’s eyes widened as he peered into the bathroom.

Michael straightened quickly. Jeremy pulled back, hiding the scissors. “Hello.” Michael waved awkwardly, his wings stiff and very clearly exposed.

“You… you have them too?” Gregory’s voice seemed so small.

“Yes, it appears as though we will match.”

Gregory swallowed harshly. “I can help. I know how to get blood stains out of fabric.”

“I would really appreciate it. Thank you, Superstar.” Michael beamed at Gregory, who flushed a deep red.

“It’s no big deal…”

“Not to you,” Jeremy said softly. “But it helps more than you realize. Thank you.”

Gregory opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He scratched his neck as his wings fluffed up, finally saying, “I’ll be quick. It probably won’t be good if Evan finds out.”

“It would be best if he did not know how messy the process is,” Michael agreed.

Gregory nodded, smoothing his hair down before hurrying out of the room.

Michael wadded the scraps of his shirt into a ball and tossed it to the floor. “Now that that’s sorted…”

Jeremy determinedly kept his eyes from wandering as he helped Michael stand. His friend leaned heavily against him for support as he attempted to undo his pants.

Jeremy belatedly realized that the only way this whole thing would work was if the shower ran over both of them. I’m going to be drenched, he thought sorrowfully as Michael muttered to himself in frustration.

“You could probably just sit while I wash the blood off,” Jeremy said when Michael finally stood there in his boxers. “Since it would be less exhausting for you.”

Michael blinked. “I suppose you are correct. I should have thought this through more.”

“It’s no big deal, man. You’re probably dealing with blood loss or whatever.”

“Still…”

“Hey, it’s fine. You spend all this time taking care of everybody. Maybe it’s time someone took care of you, right?”

Michael chewed his lip. “I suppose.”

“Okay. We’ll get you cleaned up in no time, Mike.” Jeremy said, smiling supportively. Michael tentatively smiled back.

As it turned out, it was a lot harder to clean up Michael than Jeremy initially thought. He kept twitching away, hissing out noises of pain at Jeremy’s touch.

Michael clenched his fists in his lap. “Okay. Clearly this is not the proper solution.”

“I can’t do this when it’s clearly hurting you, Mike. I just…” Jeremy leaned forward to rest his head against the back of Michael’s.

“This is nothing. I have endured much worse before.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

“Jeremy.” Michael said calmly, wringing water out of the washcloth. “I am sure it has become clear to you that things are not how they should be. The wings are only one part of it.”

“Yeah? What I’m hearing is that your father is abusive.” Jeremy wearily took the washcloth back, dabbing it gently against the space between Michael’s wings. At least like that it didn’t seem to hurt him.

“Well, not in the way you would think. Actually, I was thinking more of the comparison between growing limbs and losing organs. I think losing organs is still a more painful experience than this.”

“So you want me to just ignore your pain?” Jeremy asked, trying to decipher Michael’s meaning.

“I am saying I can handle it. I can be a man about this.”

No one is doubting that, Jeremy thought grimly to himself. “Maybe I can’t.” He tentatively rubbed at a clump of blood in the inner edge of Michael’s wing.

Immediately, it swung at him, throwing him against the sink. Pain flared throughout Jeremy’s entire body as he hit the floor. Faintly he registered that his face was bleeding.

“Jeremy?” Michael asked, twisting around. “Are you alright?”

“Nnnnngh,” Jeremy groaned. “I don’t think I broke anything.”

“I am so sorry. It appears that the wings are more sensitive than I thought.”

“No kidding.” Jeremy pressed his fingers to his cheek. He was lucky. The clawed joint of Michael’s wing had hit him just below the eye. Any higher, and he might’ve lost it completely. “Now what?”

“I suppose I should just sit under the water and hope for the best.”

“I think Gregory and Evan mentioned messages working out the soreness. Maybe I could at the very least-“

“I think we should avoid that for now,” Michael replied, his voice sounding stiff. “You have already been hurt once today.”

“Michael.” Jeremy tried to make his voice sound stern. “I knew the risks when I offered to help. So let me help.”

“Fine. Just do not do anything that will put you in danger again.”

“Don’t lie about how much it hurts next time,” Jeremy shot back. “Still gotta get all that blood out of your wings, you know.”

Michael clenched his jaw, but he only stared down into his hands. He couldn’t face Jeremy with the nasty cut on his face any longer.

Jeremy was lighter after that. He knew that even pressing a little too hard would make the wings spaz, and over the course of the next few hours, he succeeded with minimal interruptions.

Gregory popped in near the end to check on the progress. “Henry’s back. Do you want me to tell him about this?” He gestured at the entirety of the bathroom.

“I believe he should be informed. Please ensure that my brother does not come to investigate before we are done here.”

“And maybe grab him a dry set of clothes while you’re at it,” Jeremy said. As an afterthought, he looked at himself. “Maybe grab me something too, if you would.”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How much does it hurt?”

“I suspect that I should be in more pain than I am,” Michael said, considering the question. “But Jeremy has done an excellent job of making sure the process is less than agonizing.”

“Uh, okay?” Gregory shot Jeremy a look.

“I can’t hardly touch him without the wings reacting,” Jeremy explained. “Nearly lost an eye the first time I did that.”

“So it’s bad.”

“It’s bad,” Jeremy agreed.

Gregory shot Michael a look loaded with concern, but he gave Jeremy a thumbs up. “I’ll ask Henry if he can get you guys some dry clothes. Maybe I’ll just imply that something else is going on in here if Evan asks.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that made Jeremy’s face burn.

“Gregory-“

But Gregory had already ducked out of the room, laughing quietly to himself. Jeremy sighed, preparing himself for the inevitable glares he’d get from Evan.

Michael sighed softly once Jeremy finally went to smooth out the wings. “That feels really nice.”

“Glad to hear it,” Jeremy said softly. “I think we got all the blood out.”

“Is it time to turn the water off then?” Michael asked, his eyes closing.

“I’d say so.” Thank goodness, Jeremy thought as he turned the dials back and pressed the tab down. “Now you need to dry off a bit.”

“Mmmmm….” Michael hummed to himself as Jeremy stepped into the tub with a towel and started rubbing Michael’s head with it.

Michael’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled at Jeremy. “You really do like taking care of me, don’t you?”

Jeremy huffed out a sigh. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, would I?”

“I thought you just stuck around to steal our Coca Cola.”

“That too. But I do enjoy your company, Mike.”

The smile broke into a full grin as Michael tugged the towel out of Jeremy’s hands. “That is wonderful news, Jeremy.”

Did he really not know? Jeremy wondered.

Before he had a chance to answer, Henry peered into the bathroom, assessing the pool of water on the floor. He raised a tired eyebrow as he observed the two boys in the bathtub. “I wasn’t inclined to believe Gregory before, but seeing it for myself…”

Jeremy’s face ignited with heat. “I was just helping clean blood from his wings. Nothing else happened, I swear.”

“I was referring to the fact that Michael grew wings. What did you think I meant?” Henry’s eyebrows scrunched, and Michael gave Jeremy a funny look.

“I thought Gregory might’ve said something else,” Jeremy replied, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

“Are you alright, Jeremy? You look a bit feverish…” A frown tugged at the corner of Michael’s mouth.

“I’m going to go grab some more towels. And you two will be wanting a dry set of clothes, won’t you?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy nodded quickly.

Henry hummed at them before walking back out of the room.

“I am grateful for both you and Gregory,” Michael said, using the towel to dry the rest of his body. He slowly rose to his feet, finally able to stand on his own.

Jeremy determinedly did not stare. Instead, he wrung water from his hair.

“I would offer you the towel, but I believe it is too wet to be any real help. Seeing as your clothes are also drenched, the best course of action is to wait for Henry to return.”

Jeremy smiled weakly. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Michael stepped out of the tub, hanging the towel back on the rack after he went. Jeremy could admit that the wings looked pretty good on Mike. He’d been weary of it when he’d first seen the wings on Gregory, and he knew that Gregory was defensive about it now. But maybe seeing him help Michael would help.

“Do you need a bandage for your face?” Michael asked, making eye contact with Jeremy through the mirror above the sink.

“Oh, I uh.” Jeremy blinked at him. “It doesn’t… It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Michael’s mouth twitched. “I understand that me being like this must be unpleasant for you, but that does not mean you do not need assistance with that cut.”

Being like this? Was Michael phrasing things like that on purpose? Was he talking about the fact that he was in his boxers or the fact that he had wings? Jeremy crossed his arms before remembering that his shirt was soaked. He uncrossed them and simply said, “There is no problem. I just don’t need a Band-Aid.”

Michael walked back over, and Jeremy tried to take a step back before remembering he was standing in a bathtub. Trapped, Jeremy stood stiffly as Michael ran a thumb over his scratch. Don’t flinch, he told himself, but it still stung. The cut was pretty deep.

“You likely do need a bandage, despite your claim otherwise,” Michael replied. “I can help, if you need assistance.”

Michael gently wiped blood from Jeremy’s face and went in search of medical supplies. It stung when he cleaned the wound, but Jeremy found himself too fascinated by Michael’s cautious care to really notice. The tiniest furrow in Michael’s eyebrows appeared when he put the bandage on Jeremy’s face, and his hands lingered on Jeremy’s jaw for just a moment too long.

He almost seemed sad when he stepped back from Jeremy. “All better. See?” Michael smiled so quickly Jeremy wondered if he’d imagined the pain in Michael’s eyes.

“Y… yeah. Um. Thanks.” Jeremy touched the bandage, surprised by how big it was. “I didn’t realize the scratch was that big.”

“I still feel terrible for doing that to you. Is there any way I can make it up to you?” Michael asked.

Unable to come up with anything to say other than a request for Michael to kiss him, Jeremy shook his head and turned his attention to Michael’s wings. “Do they still hurt?”

“Not as much as they did,” Michael flexed them experimentally. Jeremy smiled faintly, recalling that Gregory was having immense difficulty controlling his own wings. Perhaps the size made it easier.

Michael made a face. “It appears that moving them still hurts, however.”

“Evan mentioned something about messaging the muscles earlier. He was doing it for Gregory.”

Michael brightened. “I suppose I shall have to ask for Evan’s help with that endeavor then. Thank you for the reminder.”

I could do it for you, Jeremy thought desperately. He didn’t want to just have to leave after everything. This was the most time he’d spent with Michael before, and the guy was just so chill about everything. But being in the same space as him, watching him interact with his brother and Gregory made him want to stay so much longer. Michael Afton was the most compassionate person Jeremy had ever met, and he wanted to be able to help the man who tried so hard to help everyone else.

It didn’t help that Jeremy was also hopelessly in love with him.

As Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, Henry returned with the changes of clothes. Michael turned his attention away from Jeremy to thank Henry and apologize for the water all over the floor, and Jeremy was left to awkwardly collect the pile of bloody clothes on the floor to offer them to Henry.

Henry stared at the rags for a moment, his face paling significantly. “These were Michael’s clothes?”

“Yes.” Michael was separating the clothes to split between himself and Jeremy, and he was hardly focused on Henry. “I could not find a way to safely remove my shirt without causing more pain, so Jeremy helped me cut it off. I am afraid blood does not come out of denim very easily, so my jeans are also a lost cause.”

Brightening, Michael put a bundle of clothing into Jeremy’s arms. “You can change in Charlie’s old room.”

“Why can’t you both change in here?” Henry asked, sounding confused.

Pressure built in Jeremy’s throat as he tried to answer that question. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of himself. Not by any measure at all. He just knew it was dangerous, what he was. People didn’t exactly approve of people like him, after all. Especially not here.

Michael gave Henry a scathing look as tears built up behind Jeremy’s eyes. “Maybe we don’t want to change in the same room.”

Henry blinked in surprise, but he glanced between the two boys for a moment before making his exit. Michael patted Jeremy’s shoulder. “I can go to Charlie’s room instead, if you would prefer to change in here.”

Jeremy still couldn’t speak, so he just nodded. The gentle way Michael nodded back at him filled his body with a strange warmth. A few moments later, Michael was gone, and Jeremy could finally change out of the sopping wet layers he’d been in this whole time.

Half-way through changing, Jeremy noticed that most of the clothes were baggy and easy to layer over each other. There were almost too many options. A jolt ran through him when he considered that Michael had sorted through the clothes. Either Michael was very particular, or he knew.

Hurriedly, Jeremy finished changing and practically ran to the bedroom where Michael said he’d be changing. He basically flung the door open to a startled Mike, who had jeans on but no shirt. “Is something wrong?” Michael asked.

His wings and hair fluffed up, like he’d been expecting a threat, but his expression was one of concern. Jeremy knew he was shaking, knew he wouldn’t be able to speak for a moment, but he stood there and just stared. Why did Michael have to be adorable in everything he did? The way his mouth curled into a frown made half of his mouth seem to vanish, like he was biting on it constantly distracted Jeremy from what he wanted to say.

He let his eyes wander over Michael’s bare torso as he tried to find the words to speak. The worst of his secrets was surely out already, and if Michael figured out his feelings, it would be less painful than him knowing the other secret.

Fascination over the jagged scar across Michael’s chest sprouted in his heart. Jeremy had seen it before, of course. He’d seen it in the bathroom, but he’d been trying not to stare before.

“Jeremy?” Michael looked worried now. “Are you alright?”

Maybe Michael didn’t know. Maybe he just hadn’t grabbed a shirt at all, since they had to be cut specifically for the wings anyway. Jeremy was probably just overreacting. And even if he wasn’t, it seemed that Michael wasn’t going to bring it up. “Uhmm. I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Michael relaxed. “I’m quite alright, Jeremy. I’m not as weak as I was before. The shower certainly helped.”

“You’re um. You’re very fluffy right now.”

“Am I?” Michael ran a hand through his hair, feeling where it stuck up all over the place. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly. “Thanks for talking to Henry back there.”

“It was nothing.” Michael blinked at him, wings twitching. “Gregory did a good job cleaning up.” He gestured at the carpet and the bed.

The bed was made very neatly, corners tucked so much better than Jeremy could do on a good day. There were only faint hints that someone had been bleeding there, and they were only visible because Jeremy was looking for them. “Yeah. He certainly did.”

A fond smile crossed Michael’s face at that. “He’s so sweet.”

Jeremy didn’t really believe that, but he nodded anyway. He didn’t want Michael to stop smiling for anything. It was so much better than his frown in every possible way.

“We should… I um. I think we should probably head back to the living room,” Jeremy said awkwardly.

“Right, yes. I suppose it is almost time for you to head home too.” Michael blinked, like he was shaking himself out of a daydream. “Or maybe you could stay for supper?”

Jeremy smiled. “I would love that.”

Evan was awestruck when he saw his brother’s wings. “They’re so big!”

“Soft too,” Jeremy said, trying to encourage Evan’s excitement.

Gregory made a noise in the back of his throat before saying, “You would know, wouldn’t you?”

Jeremy stared at him, mouth opening and closing without words coming out.

“No softer than yours, I’m sure,” Michael said, trying to keep the peace. There wasn’t even a hint of a blush on his face at Gregory’s words. Were the jokes just going over his head? Maybe Jeremy was reading too much into it.

Shaking his head, Jeremy plopped down on the couch beside Gregory. “What happened to your face?” Gregory asked quietly.

“I wasn’t careful enough,” Jeremy answered, glancing at the two brothers as they talked about Michael’s new wings. “And Mike’s wings pack quite the punch.”

“Oh.” Gregory’s eyes widened with understanding. “That could’ve been bad.”

“You’re telling me, kid.” Jeremy shook his head, taking a sip from his can of Coke. “What were you and Evan up to today?”

“Videogames mostly,” Gregory replied. “Although everything here is so old.”

“Old?” Jeremy wrinkled his nose. “Nah, my parents are worse. You’re probably just picky. A bunch of this stuff is newer than anything my family could afford.”

“Your motorcycle is cool though.”

Jeremy smiled. “It is pretty cool.”

“Can you take me on it sometime?”

The smile faltered slightly. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“C’mon, please? All the stuff here is pretty boring, and I know Evan tries to be fun, but you can only play the same game for so long before it’s lame. And I don’t want to have to tell him it’s lame. It’s awful when he cries.”

Jeremy didn’t know what to make of that. “Maybe we could play a board game or something.”

“I wanna go on your bike sometime.” Gregory stuck out his chin stubbornly. “Or I’m going to tell Mike you have the biggest crush on him and-“

“Okay, okay! I get it. But you’ll have to wear a helmet,” Jeremy said, looking away and tugging at his shirt. “And long pants. Just in case.”

“Okay, Dad.” Gregory rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re the one who said it’s awful when Evan cries,” Jeremy shot back. “And I’ve already seen how Mike cries, and I don’t want to see that again. No thanks.”

Gregory flinched at that. “I…”

“Not to frighten you, but it can be dangerous.” Jeremy sighed. “There’s only so much you can be safe. Not to quote my mom, but ‘I’d rather you be late than dead.’ It’s just that kind of thing.”

Seeing Gregory’s expression, he softened. “I’m a firm believer in the fact that both of us are going to get lectured by Michael when he finds out. So, when he tries, we’re going to tell him that I already told you all the risks and you still wanted to do it. Unless I’ve changed your mind.”

“No, haven’t changed my mind.” Gregory scooted closer to Jeremy. “I bet I’d survive a crash better than you.”

“No way,” Jeremy laughed. “With the way you’re built? No offense, but you’d be a splatter on the cement.”

“Rude.” Gregory scoffed. Not subtly at all, he tried to steal Jeremy’s Coke from his hand.

Amused, Jeremy let him. Gregory immediately started downing what was left in the can. At that moment, Michael glanced over and gasped. “Gregory! Is that Coke? Are you encouraging this, Jeremy?”

“He took the can out of my hand. I didn’t do anything,” Jeremy smiled cheekily. “Not my fault he’s so fast.”

“Mmmmm,” Gregory squinted skeptically at the can. “This is Coke?”

“Yeah?” Jeremy looked confused. “Why? Does it taste weird to you or something?”

“It’s better than I remember.”

Michael sighed, removing the can from Gregory’s hands. “That is because Coca-Cola has different flavoring in it than you remember.”

“Are you talking about the whole cocaine in Coke thing? Because I thought that was a myth.”

Michael shot Jeremy an exasperated look. “That is not what I am talking about. Anyway, Gregory does not need caffeine in his system at this time of day. He won’t get any sleep at this rate.”

“Whoops?” Jeremy held his hands up in surrender. “Look I-“

“It does not matter.” Michael shot Gregory a meaningful look. “So long as he doesn’t keep Evan up with his extra energy, it should be fine.”

Evan peered at them all from behind the sofa. “How did he even take it from you? I thought you kept a tight grip on those at all times.”

“Caught me by surprise?” Jeremy shifted his weight as Michael gave him a skeptical look. “He’s faster than he looks, I swear.”

Evan snorted, climbing over the back of the sofa, much to Michael’s despair as he said, “Well, that gives him a one-up in physical games I guess.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I totally crush at Fazblock!” Gregory crossed his arms. “I had more blocks than you did.”

“Gregory, you’re supposed to get rid of the blocks, not keep them on the screen.” Evan shook his head despairingly. “I would’ve explained the rules if you’d asked-“

“It was different than what I’m used to, okay?” Gregory rolled his eyes. “I could totally beat you at Fazzy Kart.”

“I don’t even know what that is,” Evan replied. “I still think you made it up.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too!”

“Okay, that is enough.” Michael shook his head, smiling faintly. “Gregory did not make it up. Fazzy Kart just has not come out yet.” He ruffled Evan’s hair before walking away with the empty Coke can. “And I have something for you two to do when I get back!”

“A task?” Gregory asked.

“A task.” Evan snorted. “Ah yes, my brother typically assigns me tasks. No, Gregory. He’s sending us to do chores or something. Usually he’s more mean about it though.”

“No one understands my jokes.” Gregory’s wing twitched irritably.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jeremy replied. “He still laughed, even if he didn’t get it. Be nonsensical! Nobody cares as long as you’re funny.”

“That’s a terrible line of logic. I refuse to believe that people willingly follow your example,” Michael said, returning with a sheet of paper. “Evan, Gregory, I am trusting you two to find everything on this list and bring it back here.”

“We don’t have money,” Gregory said, but he still took the list from Michael’s hands. “And aren’t we supposed to stay inside until we figure out what to do about our wings? And wait, is it safe to-“

“You worry too much, Gregory. We can just ask Uncle Henry for help.” Evan peered at the grocery list. “What are you making, Mikey? This looks like spaghetti sauce, but you don’t use half this stuff normally.”

“Wait and see,” Michael said cryptically. His own wings twitched as he spoke, even seeming a tiny bit ruffled.

“With the overabundance of clothes Henry seems to have, maybe he has jackets you can just throw on over the wings or something,” Jeremy said, slowly rising from the couch as Gregory and Evan stood to examine the list closer.

“We can handle this,” Evan said with full confidence. “And we’ll try to be fast so you can get started sooner.”

“Thank you, Evan.” There was a deeper tone of relief in Michael’s voice at that. “My heroes.”

Jeremy smiled wearily at them all. “I should probably get going.” It felt like intruding to stay this long. Sure, they all tried to include him, but Michael probably had other things he planned to do while Evan and Gregory were gone. Perhaps he needed to talk to his uncle more or something. Regardless, Jeremy had overstayed his welcome.

“I thought you said you could stay for supper.” Michael sounded wounded. “Are you feeling alright? Do you need to lie down?”

He pressed his hand against Jeremy’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“I’m fine, Michael. I just don’t want to overstay my welcome, you know?” Jeremy ducked away from Michael’s hand and kept his gaze on the carpet. “Especially if you’re all going to be busy.”

“I won’t be busy until they get back,” Michael replied as Gregory tugged on Evan’s shirt to lead him away. “And even then, I won’t be too busy to talk. You can sit with me in the kitchen while I cook.”

“Yeah but…” Jeremy hesitated, combing a hand through his hair. “Look, I just don’t want to be in the way.”

“You won’t be,” Michael insisted. He sat down on the sofa where Gregory had been sitting before. Patting the cushion next to him, he waited for Jeremy to sit back down.

When Jeremy sat down, Michael gestured for him to scoot closer. “What are you doing?” Jeremy asked nervously.

“Your hair is a mess,” Michael replied. “I’m going to fix it for you.”

“What do you mean?” Jeremy frowned, patting his hair self-consciously.

“It’s all tangled. That’s going to be a nightmare to brush out tomorrow if you don’t take care of it tonight.”

“Oh.” Jeremy looked away. “It shouldn’t be your responsibility-“

“My wings shouldn’t have been yours,” Michael countered. “Let me do a nice thing for you. Please.”

“I helped with your wings because I wanted to spend time with you. Not because it was a burden, Mike.”

“This isn’t a burden to me either. Let me help. Maybe I want to spend more time with you too.”

Jeremy didn’t have a counter to that, so he reluctantly sighed. “Just… be gentle on it, okay?”

“Of course.” He blinked, seemingly surprised that Jeremy gave in so easily. “I do need to go grab a brush and a comb.”

“Naturally.” Jeremy shifted uncomfortably on the sofa as Michael got up.

What was he even supposed to say to Michael? He hadn’t expected to get this far, and now faced with the opportunity to have a casual conversation with him, Jeremy panicked.

When Michael got back, the hair brush he carried had long strands of dark brown hair in it, and both the brush and the comb were shining with water. “I hope you don’t mind,” Michael said awkwardly. “But I know that hair gets really, really tangled, so I just wanted to make sure I could get the tangles out without hurting you.”

Oh. That was… surprisingly considerate. “And the water is supposed to fix tangles?”

“Better than a dry brush.”

Jeremy just stared. The most he’d been able to do with his hair was to throw it into the world’s worst ponytail when he needed it out of his face. All this talk of the more effective way to brush through his hair without making it hurt stirred something in his chest. There was nothing Michael would do that could possibly hurt more than the way he was currently doing his hair.

Michael sat back down and got to work. It was strange. Jeremy hadn’t had anyone brush his hair in a long time. His mother had been too busy with work to even notice that he needed help with his hair. Or anything really.

“You have really thick hair,” Michael mused softly.

“Yeah. Makes it a real pain sometimes,” Jeremy replied.

Michael was so gentle with it, apologizing softly when the brush scraped his ear or a snag was too rough. Eventually, though, he set the brush aside and started dividing his hair.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you with your hair,” Michael replied as he started braiding it. “I assume you don’t have a hair brush for yourself, or maybe you just don’t have much time to do your hair every day. But at the very least, braiding it back at night prevents most tangles from getting worse.”

“How do you know so much about this stuff, dude?” Jeremy wondered. “Like, you know more about this than I do.”

“I…” Michael hesitated. “Evan’s not my only sibling. I had a sister. Elizabeth. Her hair was more of a nightmare than this.”

“Oh.” Jeremy fidgeted. He didn’t know what to do with that information.

“And, there!” Michael twisted a ponytail into the end of Jeremy’s hair. “Less problems for later, see?”

“Yeah.” Jeremy touched a hand to the braid, smiling softly. “Thanks, man.”

“It’s nothing.”

“But I say it is something. Come here, Mike.”

Michael’s wings fluffed up ever so slightly, but he did as Jeremy asked, unprepared for the tackle-hug Jeremy gave him. He gasped in alarm as they ended up on the floor, but when he looked up at Jeremy, it was with what Jeremy could only describe as adoration. Then he was suddenly pressed completely up against Michael as his wings wrapped around them both.

Of course, that was also the moment Evan and Gregory came back from their shopping trip with the supplies Michael had asked for. Letting Jeremy up, Michael immediately accepted the groceries from Evan and went straight to the kitchen. Gregory and Evan were left staring at Jeremy, who was sitting with a ridiculous grin on his face.

“Might need some help preparing this!” Michael called.

Before any of them could move toward the door, however, Henry walked by to go help Michael. Which left Jeremy to get teased by the two younger boys.

“What was that about?” Evan asked, picking a long blue feather out of Jeremy’s hair.

“What were you doing on the floor?” Gregory asked.

“Mike did my hair,” Jeremy replied, gesturing at the hairbrush that now had long strands of gold intertwined with the brown.

Evan looked thoughtful as he fiddled with the feather. “I didn’t know Mikey knew how to do hair.”

“Didn’t you tell me you had a sister?” Gregory asked, picking a smaller, brown feather from Jeremy’s shirt. “He could’ve done her hair once or twice.”

“Maybe…” Evan didn’t sound very sure. “Mikey wasn’t… I don’t know. Maybe he did. I never knew, though.”

“He did mention it when I asked…” Jeremy said, suddenly embarrassed to know more than Evan.

Evan fiddled with the feather more. “He seems to like you a lot.”

“Mike?” Jeremy asked, even more embarrassed now.

“Yeah. He smiles when he talks to you.”

“Except that one day,” Gregory interrupted. “He came inside and cried.”

“That was something else, I think,” Evan responded. “I think the Nightmares finally got to him.”

“So I take it Mike doesn’t usually talk about his issues then?”

“Not usually.” Evan squirmed, his wings puffing up. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah sure,” Jeremy shook his head and finally got off the floor. “Do you want to try playing Kings in the Corner again?”

“Ugh, that’s so boring,” Gregory replied, but Evan was already rushing off to get the cards.

“I need a second. I’ll be right back,” Jeremy said, slipping into the kitchen to grab another can of Coke.

Michael glanced over from where he was cutting an onion and just sighed. “Jeremy-“

“I know, I know. It’s bad for me or whatever. But I need it, okay?” Jeremy took a long swig from the can. “Better than some habits.”

“Still…”

“It’s fine dude. Cut your onion or whatever.”

Henry said something that Jeremy didn’t catch as he rushed back to the living room. “Okay, are we ready to start?”

“This game is stupid,” Gregory grumbled. He was holding his seven cards, and Evan had already laid out the board.

“I dealt, so Gregory goes first,” Evan replied, ignoring Gregory’s comment.

“Lucky,” Jeremy said, eyeing the board.

“I don’t even know how to play,” Gregory complained. “This game is for old people.”

“I guess we’re old then.” Jeremy’s eyes twinkled. “You have to play a card from your hand onto one of those four cards.” He pointed at the two of diamonds, the king of spades, the four of diamonds, and the seven of diamonds respectively. “You want it to be a lower rank, or less points than the card on the stack. And it’s gotta be the opposite color.”

“Oh.” Gregory stared at his hand for a moment.

“You gotta tell him about the kings, Jeremy.” Evan shook his head. “If there’s a king, you can move it into the spaces between the four other cards, and put a new foundation card down.”

“Huh.” Gregory frowned. “This is too confusing.”

“It really isn’t,” Jeremy laughed, taking another sip from his Coke. “If you really want, you can add your cards back to the foundation pile and watch me and Evan play a game.”

“I’m just going to do that.” Gregory stuck his cards back in the bigger stack.

“Suits don’t matter,” Evan said helpfully. “Only color does.”

Jeremy set off to move the king, and the game begun. Evan went out on his first turn.

“Okay, that was a bad example,” Evan said with a grin.

“You didn’t shuffle very well,” Jeremy said accusingly.  “That was- arghhh. We’re playing another game so Gregory can actually see how the game works.”

“Are we doing points?” Evan said innocently.

“We will once Gregory joins in,” Jeremy replied, collecting the cards from the board. “These are warm-up rounds.”

“Riiiiight,” Gregory replied with an amused snort. “You just got destroyed.”

“Thank you for the obvious and accurate commentary, Gregory.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.

When he flipped the four cards over, three of them were kings. Jeremy let out an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing and Evan grinned at the board. Just like that, he was down to one card. Jeremy scowled at his own cards as it became his turn.

“All four kings on the board in the first turn,” he grumbled.

“Now who’s bad at shuffling?” Evan replied, watching Jeremy’s hand drop to three cards.

“Oh, shut up.”

Evan snickered as it became his turn. “I almost wonder if you were trying to let me win.” He took the ace of diamonds and placed it on the two of clubs that Jeremy had missed during his turn. “Do you have the hang of it yet, Gregory? We may need a third player or this are going to be some very quick games.”

“Ha ha.” Jeremy said as Evan gathered up the cards again. “I’m just used to people who aren’t paying attention nearly as much as you do.”

“I’m just playing the game,” Evan said with a cheeky grin. “You had a six of spades in your hand? You could’ve played that on the seven-“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Jeremy sighed, exaggerating his grief as he drank from his can. “You have eyes like a hawk.”

Evan just hummed at that, his eyes twinkling as he shuffled the cards again. “What do you say, Gregory? Want to try and give it another shot?”

“Sure. Can’t be any worse than Jeremy, right?”

“Alright, I get it.” Jeremy shook his head. “I guess this game isn’t as awful as you want to claim it is, huh?”

“We’ll see.”

Evan pulled out a baggy filled with little red chips and shook it for a moment. “I didn’t have a chance to grab paper, so we can just play with chips, right?”

“Let’s give Gregory one trial run first,” Jeremy said as Gregory stared blankly at the chip bag. “Let him get a feel for the game.”

Gregory’s first round went okay. He managed to play half his cards in the first go, but he failed to notice that he could’ve moved the king to the corner right away, and Jeremy took advantage of that. Humming to himself, Jeremy quickly went through his turn and waited for Evan.

“That is absurd,” Gregory said, watching Evan put down cards and move piles around rapidly. “There’s no way you’re not cheating.”

“It’s all natural, Gregory,” Evan said cheerfully. “You’re just mad because I’m better at games than you are.”

“Grrrrrr….” Gregory scowled as Evan tapped his own card against the table. He put down his one card and waited for Jeremy to go.

Adding another person really did slow down the game a lot, Jeremy thought to himself. This was the first round someone had actually had to draw a card. Evan hummed, but he also needed to draw a card. Unlike Jeremy, however, Evan couldn’t play his. Finally, the game was even again.

Gregory scowled at his cards. “What do I do if I can’t play?”

“Draw,” Jeremy said. “We’ve both done it.”

Grumbling, Gregory drew a card. He brightened as he realized he could play it, and then it was Jeremy’s turn. Jeremy sighed in relief as he was able to play a card on Gregory’s queen, and then move a ten on top of that. Moment of truth, he thought to himself as Evan studied his hand. Michael’s brother shook his head and drew another card. And promptly played it.

Gregory and Jeremy both groaned at that. “See, but now things get interesting,” Evan said cheerfully. “We’ve all been drawing cards and actually have to pay attention to the board.”

“Don’t you always have to pay attention to the board?” Gregory asked as he drew another card. “Ugh.”

“Depends on how close,” Jeremy said smugly, laying down his one card. “I win this round.”

Evan sighed wearily, but he said nothing as Jeremy collected the cards to shove them at Gregory. “Your turn to shuffle.”

Gregory pushed the cards back at Jeremy. “I don’t know how.”

“I guess I can do it for you. But you’re still dealing, alright? Seven cards to each of us.”

Gregory nodded as Jeremy shuffled, and Evan quickly explained how chips worked. Everyone put one chip in at the beginning. Then, when you drew a card, you’d put another chip in. Each card at the end of the game still in your hand was another chip, except for kings. Kings were ten chips.

They all put one chip in the middle as Gregory passed out cards.

“Ready for your first real round, Gregory?” Jeremy asked, looking over his cards.

Gregory huffed, but he nodded anyway. “This is still dumb.”

“What if we made it a bit more fun?” Evan asked. “I’ll put in this feather.” He held up the blue feather he’d picked out of Jeremy’s hair.

“We’re playing for feathers?” Gregory asked. “But we both have feathers.”

“Not just any feathers. Michael’s feathers. I know him better than you do, trust me. He wouldn’t just give those away.”

Gregory considered it for a moment as Jeremy bit his lip. It seemed plenty easy to get feathers in his opinion. Michael shed two of them while Jeremy hugged him before. “Deal. I’ll put in this one.”

Gregory set the brown feather on top of the three chips. Evan did the same with the blue feather. Both of them glanced at Jeremy expectantly.

“I don’t have any. You both took those from me in the first place.” Jeremy rolled his eyes. The feathers were cool, though.

He kind of wished he had some of his own, maybe to braid through his hair or something. But that required winning this game. And since Evan was really good at Kings in the Corner, and also used all the chips in the box, it was really unlikely that he’d win them at the end.

“How about…” Jeremy put twenty more chips in the pot. “I know it doesn’t balance out at all, but you two seem to really want those feathers.”

Evan grinned, and so, the game began.

Gregory surprised them all by nearly going out in his first turn, but Evan still won the first game. They played in relative silence, too busy concentrating to hold a proper conversation. Evan crushed them in the first few rounds, but Gregory eventually got a win when Evan had 6 cards in his hand, resulting in a somewhat decent counter-balance.

It did nothing for Jeremy though. He looked nervously at his dwindling pile of chips every time the game ended and knew it was very unlikely that he’d win. It wasn’t impossible, sure, but it was incredibly unlikely.

“This is eight, Gregory,” Evan said absently, after Jeremy had already played his first turn. “We can play it, but you should pay better attention.”

Jeremy bit his lip at that. He was losing really bad. He really needed a win, and he needed one where the other two were struggling. Accidentally starting a round on eight cards was not a great way to start that.

“How did you even notice that?” Gregory asked.

“Eight feels thicker than seven.”

“How much do you play cards? Jeez,” Jeremy asked as it became Gregory’s turn.

“Enough,” Evan said with an amused smile. “I usually play alone.”

“This doesn’t feel like a game you can play alone,” Gregory muttered.

“You can. It’s just not as fun. But I don’t play this,” Evan said as Jeremy had to draw yet again. “I play Solitare.”

“Right, silly me.” Gregory shook his head. “Dude, how are you losing the game you suggested?”

“It takes a lot of luck, Gregory.” Jeremy sighed, having emptied his can of Coke long ago. “I’ve already accepted my fate. Now it’s just a matter of wondering who wins overall.”

They all fell quiet again as they settled back into their concentration. A few tense rounds went by as they all drew cards. When Evan finally played a card, Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d last another round.

Or… maybe not. It was a close thing, that balance between drawing and playing. “Are we going to go through the whole deck?” Gregory eventually wondered.

“Maybe,” Jeremy replied wearily.

The pot was massive at this point. Evan’s brow was continuously furrowed, and even his wings were stiff with concentration. There’s no strategy that trumps the good cards being at the bottom of the deck, Jeremy thought to himself with grim amusement.

“Ha!” Gregory shouted his delight as he finally laid his last card.

Jeremy sighed sorrowfully as he glanced at his four chips. He would only have two left for another game after this. If only it had been Jeremy who’d drawn the card to end the game.

“I don’t even remember who shuffled that one,” Jeremy said as Gregory gathered the pot.

“It was Gregory. He started us with eight cards,” Evan replied. “You shuffle next.”

“I’m not going to make it through this game,” Jeremy muttered.

“Then we’ll just play it out, and you can be done after,” Evan shrugged. “Who knows, maybe you’ll win?”

“For every draw you have that you can’t play, I’ll put in a chip,” Gregory offered as Jeremy put his last chip in the pot. “It’ll keep things fair.”

“I’m sure,” Jeremy muttered.

“Awww, you are a grumpy old man. Evan look! He’s so grumpy.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

Evan put his last card down, and Jeremy shook his head. “I’m out. Good luck, Gregory.”

He wondered what Michael and Henry were up to in the kitchen. It had been two hours of this, after all. Surely preparing a meal wouldn’t take that long, especially since Evan implied Michael was making spaghetti.

“Okay, I gotta know. What spaghetti takes three hours to make?” Jeremy said, sitting down at the kitchen table with Henry.

“It’s not the spaghetti that takes so long,” Michael replied from the stove. “It’s the sauce.”

“But why?”

“The flavor has to soak in from the leaves.” Michael shrugged, moving to sit down with them. “What were you playing in there?”

“Cards.” Jeremy shrugged. “Gregory said it was for old people.”

“Then he must have never played cards before,” Henry commented.

“Maybe it’s his age,” Michael suggested.

“Nah. Your brother got really into it. He’s been beating both of us.”

“THAT’S SO STUPID!!!” Gregory shouted from the other room.

Evan laughed and said something in response, as they all glanced toward the hallway.

“No way,” Gregory said, his voice still projecting from the other room. “That’s so stupid!”

“I think the sauce is about done,” Michael said, rising from his seat again. “I should probably begin on the actual spaghetti.”

“I appreciate you deciding to cook for us, Michael,” Henry said. “And not that I’m complaining about your food, but this seems more complicated than some of the other stuff you’ve made.”

Michael just blinked at him, filling a pot with water. “It’s just spaghetti.”

Gregory and Evan walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “It smells great in here,” Evan said.

Michael glanced at his brother and at Gregory for a moment. “Who won?”

“Evan,” Gregory grumbled crossing his arms. “But he cheats.”

“I do not! Withholding cards on my turn is within the rules of the game. Just because it means you have to draw more doesn’t mean it’s cheating!” Evan argued.

“He’s right, Gregory. If he’s withholding cards, it’s still a risk to him since you can easily draw a card at any moment and win the game yourself. There’s a reason it’s ten chips if you’re holding a king at the end of the game.”

“Hmph,” Gregory scowled.

“Jeremy, do you need a new bandage for your face?” Henry asked as Gregory and Evan glared at each other from across the table.

“What? Oh, I’m sure it’s fine.” Jeremy hadn’t realized that the edge of his bandage was peeling off.

“We’ll get that taken care of later,” Henry said. “Were you planning on staying over tonight?”

“I…” Jeremy glanced around the room. “I don’t know.”

“If you decide to stay, let me know so I can tell your parents,” Henry replied, seemingly satisfied. “And would you like another can of Coca-Cola?”

“Yes please.”

“Don’t encourage his addiction, Henry.” Michael crossed his arms as he leaned against the counter.

Jeremy responded by sticking his tongue out at Michael. Michael shook his head and rolled his eyes, but Jeremy saw a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Can I have one too?” Gregory asked.

“Absolutely not,” Michael replied. His wings twitched slightly. “You’re done with caffeine for the rest of the night. If you’re this loud after half a can, I shudder to think of what would happen if you got a full can of Coke.”

“You’re not my mom,” Gregory grumbled.

Jeremy’s mouth twitched. “He tries to act like it though, doesn’t he?”

Michael made an indignant noise as Gregory burst out laughing. Evan giggled too, adding, “Mama bird Mike.”

All three of them broke into bad laughing fits at that one. Henry and Michael just exchanged an exasperated look as Michael stirred the spaghetti. “I can act like it if you really want me to,” Michael eventually said. “But I don’t think you’d like the response, seeing as you two are baby birds in this analogy.”

“What do you mean?” Gregory asked, bewildered.

“I think what he’s getting at,” Jeremy said, amusement glinting in his eye, “is that mother birds regurgitate food into their chicks mouths.”

“Ewwwww,” Gregory gagged.

Evan snorted. “Mikey wouldn’t do that.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Michael raised an eyebrow. “I’ve certainly done worse.”

Evan froze at that. He seemed to be considering Michael’s point. “He totally would…” Evan sounded horrified.

“And with that terrible mental image, it seems that the spaghetti is done!” Henry said, putting a can of Coke in front of Jeremy before going to fetch everyone plates.

“I just need to strain the noodles, and we’re all set,” Michael said. “Could you grab the strainer please?”

Henry nodded and retrieved the strainer. Evan hummed to himself as he fiddled with the two feathers he’d won in the card game. Gregory said nothing, but Jeremy could tell it he was still bitter from his loss. Surely Michael wouldn’t be unwilling to give up feathers if they asked, Jeremy thought to himself. Maybe he’d be uncomfortable with the idea, but if Gregory said how much he really wanted them, Jeremy was sure Michael would give in eventually.

“It’s going to be hot.” Michael warned, carrying the pot of spaghetti to the table.

Henry quickly placed a potholder beneath it, and Michael went back to retrieve the sauce for the spaghetti. “Do you want to get cups out, Evan?”

Evan nodded and got up from his spot. “Gregory, you can get the plates.”

The whole group cycled around the kitchen like a little family, and Jeremy felt a little self-conscious about his place in everything, so he went and grabbed forks for everyone. It was the least he could do.

Michael dished out the food, putting just enough sauce on their spaghetti that they could avoid it if they wanted to. All of them were a little skeptical of the meal, but they all trusted that Michael knew what he was doing. Gregory and Evan both seemed startled by the taste, but Henry simply raised an eyebrow as he took a bite. Michael didn’t seem particularly concerned about their reaction, though.

He was too busy observing Jeremy when he tried it.

It was… spicier than he expected. Jeremy glanced at Michael, suddenly suspicious of him. Michael blinked at him, casually taking a bite of his own spaghetti. Jeremy glanced at him again before moving his plate to the saucepan full of spaghetti sauce and adding more to his plate.

Michael’s slow smile made Jeremy feel even more confident about his decision. Somehow, Michael had figured him out yet again, almost without effort. Jeremy stuck another forkful in his mouth and smiled back at him.

“Gregory, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick,” Evan said.

“It’f, fine.” Gregory swallowed hard.

“Careful you don’t choke,” Henry said warningly.

Gregory set his fork down quietly, his eyes watering. He coughed a little bit, causing Michael to turn to him with concern. “Gregory? Are you alright?”

Gregory fanned himself, and Jeremy immediately figured out what was going on. “Too spicy for you? You barely had any!” He shook his head and poured Gregory a glass of milk. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

Gregory eagerly took the glass, draining it in less than a minute. “Mmmmm.”

The rest of the meal went in relative silence, with Evan and Henry occasionally teasing Gregory for eating too fast and being unable to handle spicy food. Michael seemed oblivious to the main conversation, smiling softly to himself.

Jeremy knew he was staring, but he figured it wouldn’t be the biggest deal. Plenty of people stared at their friends, right? At the way they twisted spaghetti noodles onto their forks and brought their forks to their mouths. At the way their eyes glowed with joy at making something new successfully.

Michael caught his eye, and the smile widened. Jeremy felt himself smiling back easily. He’d already finished his food, and Evan and Gregory had finished half the spaghetti by themselves. There wouldn’t be many leftovers anyway.

Henry was the first to move from the table. He collected plates from everyone to take to the sink. When Michael moved to help, Henry waved him off, insisting that since Michael made the meal, he shouldn’t have to clean it up, with a meaningful look toward Evan and Gregory. He stopped Jeremy when he tried to get up too, insisting that guests shouldn’t need to help.

“But I thought we were guests,” Gregory grumbled when Evan tapped his arm to help him get up.

“Jeremy, that bandage really does need to be changed before you go,” Henry said quietly, gathering the leftovers into different containers.

“I can help him with it,” Michael said.

“Michael, you’ve done enough today. Especially with how you were feeling this morning-“

“I can help,” Michael interjected stubbornly.

Jeremy raised a confused eyebrow at the way Michael’s wings and hair ruffled.

“You need rest,” Henry said in a tone that brokered no argument.

Still, Michael persisted, the feathers now completely refusing to lay flat. Jeremy wondered how this could possibly be something he’d need to be so defensive about. “Hey, maybe Henry’s right. You have done a lot today.”

Michael scowled at that, and he grabbed Jeremy’s arm and practically dragged him out of his chair.

“What- Hey!” Jeremy stumbled into Micheal, expecting him to apologize or something.

“There’s the old Mike,” Evan mumbled quietly.

Michael’s face was right in front of Jeremy’s as he spoke. “I know my limits.”

“Do you?” Gregory challenged. He didn’t seem frightened in the slightest, which was very different from the atmosphere surrounding Michael at that moment. “To me it seems like you keep going until you drop. Maybe you should just get rid of that chip on your shoulder and let someone else handle it for once!”

“Like you did?” Michael snapped, and at that, Gregory actually flinched. “Sometimes, you can’t trust that help will come, Gregory. You should know that better than anyone.”

Gregory’s grip on the plate in his hands tightened. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have a family who took care of me like you do! So just suck it up.” Jeremy heard tears behind those words, and Evan mumbled something gently to him and tried to get him to turn his back on Michael.

That seemed to break something in Michael’s resilience. His wings twitched, and he let go of Jeremy’s shirt. “Right. Sorry.” He sounded just as torn as Gregory. “I…”

Jeremy figured nothing would be helped by Michael sticking around in the kitchen, so he tentatively put a hand to Michael’s shoulder. “Hey, you can help with my bandage. Maybe just tell me how to put it on so I do it right tomorrow morning, yeah?”

“So you aren’t staying then?” Henry asked, looking worriedly between the four boys.

Michael’s ashen expression was not particularly reassuring. “No, I mean. If it’s okay for me to stay, I plan to. I just… Maybe it should be my responsibility to fix that?” Jeremy gestured at the scratch on his face. “Seems like all I’m doing here is making more messes anyway. Might as well try to clean one up myself, right?”

Henry frowned but he said nothing.

Jeremy leaned close to Michael’s ear. “Come on then.”

“I didn’t mean to… I hurt his feelings,” Michael mumbled as he mechanically peeled the rest of the bandage away from Jeremy’s face to wipe at the scratch with a wet cloth.

“Energy was running high. Maybe you are a bit more overwhelmed then you thought? Frayed nerves break way for anger sometimes. Or so I’ve heard.”

“I still shouldn’t have done that.” Michael couldn’t even look Jeremy in the eye. He was too distraught.

“Why did you get so defensive, if you don’t mind me asking? And I’m not just talking about Gregory. You were adamant about helping me with my bandage.”

“I just…” Michael hesitated. “I haven’t had a chance to see you in days, and I wanted to get every moment I could?”

“An afternoon together wasn’t enough?” Jeremy teased, even though he knew exactly how Michael was feeling. “Look, that’s okay, Mike. But you gotta take care of yourself too.”

“Yeah, but-“

“What do you want? I know you think you have to help everybody all the time, but you’ve gotta have desires too, right?”

“Maybe I don’t deserve to have my desires realized,” Michael replied. He still wasn’t looking at Jeremy. “Maybe I’m just a rotten person who doesn’t deserve joy or anything that doesn’t directly benefit anybody else.”

“Michael Afton.” Jeremy said, trying to sound stern. “You are a human being just like everyone else. We all make mistakes. And you sound like you’re trying to atone for yours. I don’t know about you, but someone who tries to learn from their mistakes sounds like someone who deserves to have what they want every now and again.”

Michael completely froze at that. When he met Jeremy’s eyes, he looked utterly shattered. “I…” He swallowed. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“That’s okay, Mike. No one is asking you to do everything-“

“No, you don’t understand.” His voice was hardly a whisper. “I’ve… That scolding… You’ve said that to me before.”

“I have?”

Michael nodded mutely. “It was right before…” His wings stretched their full length as Michael squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t.”

“What can’t you do, Michael?” Jeremy asked softly.

A pained noise rumbled in Michael’s throat, and he dropped the cloth, yanking Jeremy forward by his shirt. Their mouths crashed together, and all Jeremy could think was finally. His own hands went behind Michael’s shoulders, and he gently guided the wings back into a folded position before stroking them gently.

He didn’t want to stop kissing Michael. It was freeing and exhilarating at the same time. Michael tasted like bubble gum and smelled like clean laundry. He was the weirdest man Jeremy had ever met, but maybe that was what made him so alluring. Or maybe it was something else. Something about all this just seemed so… right.

When Michael broke away, Jeremy tried to follow. Michael looked at him fondly and laughed. “I thought you said I needed to take care of myself.”

“I can’t be that addicting,” Jeremy said impulsively.

Michael snorted. “I need air, Jeremy. We were both going to pass out if we kept that up.”

“Can we do it again?” Jeremy didn’t care about air. He just wanted to be close to Michael, wanted to make him smile, wanted to make him laugh.

Michael laughed again, a brilliant sound, before Jeremy pressed their lips back together. It was completely perfect.

[supernaturallyobsessedchic]

Anything for My Girl

[gif credit to @dang-misha​]

Warnings: Vomiting, Dean being a hopeless romantic, fluff

Word Count: 961

Pairings: Dean x Reader

Square: Morning After ( @supernatural-jackles​ Tell me A Story Bingo)

Bingo Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Mobile Masterlist

~

“Dean, how much did you let her drink?” Sam asked.

“She didn’t even drink that much,”

“Then explain why she can’t even stay up right without nearly falling over?”

She stood up right for five seconds before her head acted like it was heavy. She began bending forward headfirst. Dean caught her by her shoulder before she continued down.

“I may have bought her drinks that were 100 proof.”

Sam then looked shocked. “How is she alive?”

“Girls stubborn.”

“Whatever, you’re taking care of her.” Sam says, walking off to his room. “Night jerk.”

“Night Bitch.”

“Bean that’s not nice!” she shouted, slurring her words.

“I know, I’m sorry Y/N, let’s get you to bed.”

“But I’m not tired.”

“Sure you are.” he guides her to his room.

He grabs his oversized shirt, and sweats. He undresses her for bed.

“Excuse me, buy me dinner first.” she slurs.

He chuckles. “Just putting some pajamas on you so you can sleep comfortably.”

“Why are you good to me?”

“I like taking care of the girl I love.”

“I love you too Dean.” her head finding his shoulder. She leaned against his shoulder, loving this attention.

He got her dressed in no time, with little effort. She eventually fell asleep against him. He helps her into his bed, getting her comfortable. He holds her close to his chest.

 The next morning he felt the other side of the bed cold. She was up, and has been up for a while now. The sound of vomiting coming from the bathroom reminded him of last night.

He got up out of bed, heading into the bathroom. Seeing her head in the toilet bowl, also resting on her head on her arms on the toilet seat. She let out a sickly groan.

“How are you feeling, besides puking up everything from last night?”

Putting a comforting hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles between her shoulder blades.

“I’m never drinking again.” she groaned.

“I’m not against that, I don’t like it when you're sick.”

“You took me out in the first place.”

“True. But you were smashed. I’m never letting you drink that much.”

“Well then, I’m glad we’re on the same page.” She groans, before a wave of nausea rushes through her, causing her to puke again.

Dean, cringes, and winces at his girl throwing up. He continued trying to comfort her the best he could.

“I bet you don’t remember a thing about last night, huh?” He says softly.

“Did we say we love each other, or did I dream that?”

He answered her question by placing a loving kiss on her forehead.

“I’d give you an even better answer if you didn’t have vomit breath.”

She chuckles.

“Love you too, Dean.”

 Hours pass, her puking sessions have passed but now it’s time for the migraines.

She sat at the table in the kitchen, Dean cooking something for her.

“Dean, please be gentle for my sensitive stomach.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect cure for any hangover.”

She mentally groaned. Scared of what he’s cooking up. Whatever it is, it doesn’t smell appetizing at the moment.

Dean sat down a plate full of greasy bacon, and some plates with toast with jelly and peanut butter.

“Eat what you can.” He encouraged.

She picked up a piece of bacon, the grease not appealing to her, her face scrunches up feeling sick again. She picks up some dry toast, not putting jelly or peanut butter on them, she eats it straight up dry.

“First hangover huh?” Dean asked, mouth full of bacon.

She nods as she nibbles on the toast.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make a run to the store and get you some Gatorade, and other food that might be lighter on your stomach.”

“Thanks Dean, and maybe something for this killer headache.” She says, messaging her temples as she eats.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pick something up for that as well.” He says with a sweet smile. Getting up, he walks over to her side, placing a loving kiss atop her temple.

“Anything for my girl.” He says.

“Aw, Dean, you’re sweet.”

“Don’t tell Sam that, now, I’ll be right back, okay. Don’t die on me.”

“I’m not that sick dude, I just feel lousy and I want to feel better.”

“I know. Alright, be right back sweetheart.”

Dean heads out of the kitchen, keys in hand, he heads straight to the garage and turns on his car nearly speeding his way out of the bunker.

 She sat in her room, listening to quiet music on her computer. Her room not quiet dark but not quiet lit up. A bottle of Gatorade on her nightstand.

Dean popped his head in seeing her laying on her side, sleeping soundly, looking peacefully. A soft smile spread across his lips as he stood by her door, keeping an eye on her as she slept.

“I can feel you staring.” She says softly.

“You just look so beautiful.”

“Really? Even if I’ve been a puking sickly mess all day?”

“Yep, even if you’ve been a puking sickly mess all day.” He chuckles.

“Can I get some cuddles?” she asks with a sweet and sleepy smile.

“Anything for my girl.”

She giggles at his statement.

She felt the bed dip behind her, and she felt his warmth slowly engulf her. His strong arms wrapping around her middle.

Nothing sexual about this cuddle, Dean wasn’t handsy, or asking for anything else. He was just holding her close to him protectively.

He felt her relax in his hold, snuggling into him more. He placed another loving kiss, craning his lips to touch her cheek. His lips only meeting at her jawline.

She let out a soft hum, melting even more in his arms.

~

a/n: was that fluffy or what? Did you enjoy? Let me know? Feedback is always appreciated! :3

Dean Girls:

@pandazombie69​, @luci-in-trenchcoats​, @supernatural-jackles​, @becs-bunker​, @jayankles​, @jeaniespiehs20​, @winchesters-favorite-girl​, @mlovesstories​, @flamencodiva​, @megzdoodle​, @akshi8278​, @lyarr24​, @anotherspnfanfic​

~

Copying and reposting someone else’s content is plagiarism and illegal. This work is property of supernaturallyobsessedchic. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. An electronic reference link to the original posted work may be provided for purposes of promotion or assistance of publication by the readers discretion, if proper credits are given to the author in the re-post. 4/5/2021

[outivv]

KSDJKSVB- okay so,,,The Boys are out eating with their crush after a hard commission, and they're eating their respective meals. Then she offers them a bite of her meal and extends her fork/spoon towards them. But when they lean in to take a bite, she just kisses them out of nowhere, then just goes back to eating, and leaves them a blushing mess. Also, don't stress over stupid ship wars, it's really pointless, so don't let it get you down! And lemme hug you, you adorable child, accept my love.

Synopsis: tall boys have dinner with y/n after they get back from a commission and y/n kisses them out if nowhere.

Warnings: none

Game/ fandom: genshin impact

Pronouns for reader: I tried to make it clear that y/n goes by she/her in this one (cause I’m assuming that’s what you wanted based off of your request?) but I typically don’t mention pronouns.

Characters: zhongli, childe, kaeya, Diluc, and dainsleif (tall boys gang)

A/n: hello again! Thank you for requesting! I know not to worry about shipping wars, and I’m pretty neutral on them myself, but it’s still nice to have that reminder not to worry too much about them :). And I’ll only except that hug if I get to give you a virtual one back >:). Lol I hope you enjoy, and have a beautiful day, and take care if yourself! Drink some water and eat something if you haven’t yet! ❤️

Zhongli:

I think the moment zhongli knew you were back from your commission he’d invite you to one of (if not the) most fanciest place in liyue. To congratulate you on your safe return.

He’d want to hear everything about your adventure, and he’d listen intently the whole time. Zhongli may like hearing the sound of his own voice at times, but he’s truly a great listener deep down.

When your food comes you offer him a bite, to which he happily agrees. Though when you swiftly move your chopsticks out of the way and kiss him he’s taken aback. Happy. But surprised.

He never thought you’d be so bold. He’d just stare at you in awe with his mouth slightly agape. When you look at the flushed god in front of you, you merely chuckle and talk about how you bravely fought abyss mages of all kinds.

‘How can she just ignore that?’ He’ll think over and over again until he forgets about the food informs of him. He’ll be in shock for the rest of the night, though on the outside he’ll keep his composure and continue as if nothing happened just like you are. He feels like talking about it any make you feel uncomfortable and he doesn’t want to push you :(. Please bring it up sometime throughout the night or else he’ll be kinda disappointed.

Childe:

“Comrade! Welcome back, I heard that you fought well on your mission! You’ll join me for a victory dinner right?” Childe will say running after you in the hallways of the fatui headquarters. (Yes y/n is a fatui agent. No I don’t take criticism.) who are you to deny the harbinger of his request?

You walk into a very, very, very nice restaurant in snezhnaya. ‘Dang harbinger paychecks don’t disappoint.’ You think as childe acts like this restaurant is nothing.

Childe will ask you many many questions about what happened, listening very intently, and even responding a few times to show you just how engaged he was in the conversation.

When your food arrives it looks amazing, sure it’s just normal snezhnaya cuisine, but this is on another level. Childe asks for a bite of your food to which you agree, though you got a sudden idea.

You offer your fork towards the redhead but move it away at the last second, and leaned in to kiss him.

Needless to say all he says shaking his head is, “well... wasn’t expecting that.” His face turns a bright shade of red all the way up to his ears as he try’s to stuff his face full of food so he won’t have to respond to any questions you may have about his current flustered state.

It takes a lot to get the infamous childe, to be flustered and actively trying not to speak, so honestly kudos to you.

Kaeya:

“Ah welcome back honorary knight, good to see you’ve returned in one piece.” Kaeya will say greeting you at the gates of mondstadt. “Why don’t I treat you for being so responsible hm?”

He’ll bring you to good hunter for a meal, and catching you up on everything that’s happened in mondstadt.

When your food comes he’ll teasingly ask for a bite of your food, so when you agree to give him some he’s kinda surprised. I mean he’s not going to say no... but still it’s kinda a shock that you said yes.

He’ll lean in to take a bite but once again moving your fork away last second kissing him, he’s surprised at first but leans into the kiss, and cupping your cheek in his hand.

Once you finally break away you’re the one that’s breathless. Kaeya is flustered, yes, but still had to make you breathless at least once. If you got to surprise him he has to surprise you at least once.

Diluc:

“Ah I see you’re back, how about a drink? On the house.” Diluc will say when you walk into angels share. He heard you went on an important mission to some ruins in stormbearers point.

As he makes you a drink he’ll talk about how he could’ve helped you out if you needed it. Though you simply say that he had his own work to do and that you did just fine without him.

When he’s done making your drink you offer him a sip, while he’s tasted his own creations before, he didn’t think it could hurt to try it now. He leans in to try some when you move it out of the way and kiss him.

His face trunks to one of shock and he tries to cover his face with his hand to hide his embarrassment. He truly didn’t think you’d do that, not that he’s upset, but a weird side of him wishes he would’ve made the first move.

When you start talking about your commission like nothing happened he’ll just look at you with a look that says “really? Are you kidding me-“ because he wanted to say something about it but now it seems taht he’s lost his chance.

Dainsleif:

He wanted desperately to go on your mission with you but you told him that he couldn’t and to stay in mondstadt waiting for him. He oddly likes staring in once place for a while, so he didn’t complain... much.

“Welcome back traveler. I can make you some of your favorite food to celebrate your return if you’d like?” He’d ask once you walk into your home which he’s been staying in while you were gone. Food made by Dainsleif?! How were you going to refuse!

You’ll talk about your mission as he makes the food, and he’ll talk about some of his own adventures from all over teyvat.

I don’t think that Dainsleif eats too much, he’s just typically not hungry, and when he is it’s typically just for something small like a sandwich, so he takes up on the opportunity to try some of his own cooking.

Guiding the fork to his mouth you lean in quickly to kiss him. Shocked he doesn’t pull away, and when you pull away he stares at you in Shock, cheeks becoming dusted pink from his embarrassment.

He tries to muster up enough courage to say something, but when you go back to taking about your mission he quickly shuts up. He’ll make sure to talk about it later though, he’s big one to ignore something like that.

[weloveabigblackcar]

I’d just like to introduce you to these random characters my siblings and I made up on a long car ride. Last year they had to go through the atrocity of being quarantined with the rest of us.

Without further ado... meet these absolute weirdos.

Quarantine from Adam’s Point of View

March 14, 2020-Day 1

So, the whole world is under quarantine right now because some geniuses decided that eating bats would be a good idea. Yeah, that wasn’t the smartest way to go guys. We have a pandemic now… Thanks…

Anyway, I have decided to document the IQ of me, James, and Garth as it slowly decreases. Not that we had a lot to begin with, but having us all cooped up for a long time in one place is bound to go pear-shaped at some point.

We didn’t really do anything today other than process the fact that we’re going to have to stay in one place for who knows how long instead of driving around the country. But I’m sure things will get more interesting as time goes on.

March 18, 2020-Day 5

Today, we braved the outdoors and went to the store to stock up. It was like the entire population was at the store, it was awful. We ended up buying lots of things we needed, and a lot more that we didn’t need. Today has been a lesson to never bring Garth shopping. We lost her a total of six times, and when we did have her with us, she kept pulling puppy eyes whenever she wanted something even though she’s 17. There’s got to be something about her being an alien that makes it so you can’t resist it. Dang it Garth.

March 27, 2020-Day 14

James keeps asking if deer can get the virus because he’s been worrying about his family. In case you were wondering, no, James is not a nature freak, yes, I said his family are deer (kind of), and yes, James is a deer... on occasion. It’s kinda weird, but so are Garth and I. I mean, she’s an alien and I’m English so there really isn’t that much of a difference.

Also today, I read an entire 900-page book. It was really nice until I realized I hadn’t been interrupted yet. So I went on an adventure to go find the children, aka James and Garth, and found them playing Monopoly. Neither of them knows how to play Monopoly, and they lost the rules, so they resorted to using the money to gamble for pop tarts. I don’t think they know how to gamble either because usually, you’re gambling for the money, not the other way around. But thank you, James, for gambling away all of my pop tarts. I can never forgive you.

April 7, 2020-Day 25

So we’re trying to make our own food today because we ran out of Eggo waffles. It’s been interesting so far. Garth pulled out all the Kool-Aid from her stash that we bought like two weeks ago that she said she’d use, but hasn’t. So now we’re making Kool-Aid pickles, and we haven’t even had breakfast yet.

Upon realizing we couldn’t eat the pickles yet, we decided to see how many different foods we could make with Kool-Aid. We made some cookies and popsicles, but then, after accepting the fact that none of us can really effectively make food, resorted to adding to our mess of flour on the ceiling and eggs on the walls by making finger paint (out of Kool-Aid) and painting the counters. We made a huge mess, obviously, and spent the remaining hours of the day cleaning and realizing that we actually don’t have anything better to do with our lives.

April 15, 2020-Day 33

Today James learned that Garth doesn’t know how to use a toaster. We had no idea she didn’t know how to use it, and I guess we just assumed she did because she looks human enough, but she’s not… They had a conversation from across the house that went along the lines of this:

James- “Garth?!”

Garth- “What?”

James- “The toaster’s on fire!”

Garth- “What?!”

James- “The. Toaster. Is. On. Fire!”

Garth- “Well yeah, I heard you.”

James- “Garth..?”

Garth- “...Yes?”

James- “Uh… How many pieces of bread did you put in the toaster?”

Garth- “Three…? I think.”

James- “Garth, you can’t put three pieces of bread in the toaster!”

Garth- “Why not?”

James- “Maybe because it’s only made for one piece of bread? Maybe because if you put in more than one it catches on fire?”

Garth- “Well, that’s dumb. What if I want three pieces of toast?”

James- “Buy yourself a bigger toaster Garth, buy yourself a bigger toaster. Or cook them one at a time, but you should just buy a bigger toaster so I don’t have to cook my toasts individually.”

And then James walked away leaving the toaster on fire. It was kind of entertaining. Who am I kidding, it was the most entertaining thing that’s happened all week even though the house almost burnt down and I had to clean it up. If I’m being honest though, I’m glad that I was the one cleaning it up because after last time... I’m the only one I trust with a fire extinguisher.

April 29, 2020-Day 47

I can now say that I have mastered the art of knitting, and I am not too proud of it. I’ve made sweaters, socks, and hats for the three of us because knitting takes up a lot of time, and I have run out of other, even slightly productive things to do. I also made little caps to stick on the ends of James’s antlers just because I can. Garth thinks they’re absolutely hilarious. She also thinks the fact that I taught myself how to knit from YouTube is hilarious too. She’s just jealous that I can do something she can’t.

May 4, 2020-Day 52

Today, my friends, is Star Wars day. We merged today and tomorrow so that we could eat tacos in our ship. It’s taco day tomorrow, also known as Cinco De Mayo, if you didn’t figure it out already and yeah… we built a ship. It’s in the living room, correction, it is the living room now, and it probably won’t leave for the rest of quarantine. We made it out of a bunch of cardboard and it took all of yesterday to put together, but it was totally worth it. We put the tv in there and a bunch of pillows and blankets. There’s also a table and a bunch of junk food. Not like we have anything else at this point. Well, we have the pickles… but no one is brave enough to try them yet. The ship fort is pretty cozy though. Garth said that she wants to live in it until this thing is over and I honestly won’t be surprised if she does.

May..? 2020?? Day… I’ve Lost Count

We haven’t been outside in the past two weeks and we’ve been living off of the Kool-Aid pickles that we made a while ago and Garth’s hoard of Pop-Tarts that are technically mine. I don’t know what day it is anymore, I’ve stopped keeping track because there really isn’t any point in doing so. I don’t even know if it’s May anymore. It might be June or maybe it’s September, who knows. It might even be 2021 I don’t know.

Garth now resides on the ceiling of our spaceship in a blanket cocoon and hasn’t come out since the week of Cinco De Mayo. She only lets me and James in sometimes for movie nights and if she needs food. I think she’s trying to hide the fact that she hasn’t slept in a month (which honestly doesn’t surprise me) and has binge-watched all of Doctor Who and is now starting on Supernatural. Aside from Garth, James and I have kept ourselves somewhat entertained. We learned how to play the spoons last week and it turns out that in you do it by ‘Garth’s’ spaceship, the creature will emerge and socialize for a few minutes. We’ve also learned how to do a bunch of random things like saying hello in 48 different languages, how to properly tie a tie (even though we’ll probably never exercise that skill again), how to cut an onion without crying, and how to escape being mummied with duct tape… that one took a while and a lot of tape.

I think it’s official that we’ve gone completely stir crazy and even when we get out of this, we’ll probably still be mentally impaired from this experience. I won’t be able to write anymore because I’ve run out of space and James needs as much attention as a newborn so farewell until… another time.

[simons-calling-the-127-squad]

Missing Piece - Hendery

Credit to the original owners of the images.

GN Film Studies Major Reader X Film Studies Major/YouTuber Hendery

Half of a jewelry piece at birth

Warnings: cursing

Y/D/N = your dog's name

"We've literally been studying for ten minutes", you deadpanned.

"And?" He questioned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You haven't even studied anything yet. You've just played with the cat."

"I need food to think. And I'll pay for us both."

"Deal", you said. Pushing the book to the side of the bed. Hendery did a little dance as you moved to put your shoes and jacket on. You couldn't help but laugh at him and walked towards him.

"Let's go!" He said as he pulled you out of the door and locked his dorm door. His arm went over your shoulder as you walked, it was a normal thing for him to do with all of his friends.

"So have started writing your script yet?" You asked, assuming that he hadn't even come close to starting.

"Contrary to popular belief, yes", he answered, a bit of pride could be heard in his voice.

"What's it about?"

"It's a comedy about three friends who don't wanna find their soulmates."

"Sounds interesting. Anything else?"

"Nah, just the basics for the characters. What about you?"

"Two friends who somehow don't notice they're mates."

"That sounds ridiculous. How can they not notice the matching jewelry?"

"Some people are blind to little details!"

"Hmm sure", he said, obviously not convinced. The two of you let the silence take over as you walked to the pizza place of Hendery's choice. Upon arrival, he opened the door for you and waved to the workers as the two of you sat down.

"So this is the place you talk about all of the time?" You asked, slipping the jacket off of your shoulders and onto the seat next to you.

He began to rapidly nod and talk about how amazing the entire menu was.

"Hey Hendery, I was wondering when you'd be in this week", a male said as he walked over to the two of you.

"Blame them," he pointed to you. "They keep making me study when I could be eating."

"You're the one who asked me to help you study!"

"I didn't think you would be so strict with me!"

The waiter laughed at the banter between the two of you and said, "I can't believe it's taken you so long to bring your soulmate here." The two of you instantly paused and looked at him. Confusion written on your faces. The waiter looked just as confused when he saw your reactions.

"Wait did you guys not know? How did you guys not see the matching rings?" Your eyes moved to Hendery's hand where a ring that was quite similar to your own sat. His was a sun, yours a moon, but the two were obviously a pair.

"How did we not notice?" You asked, mainly to yourself.

"That explains why everyone always thought we were dating…" Hendery mumbled, causing the waiter to die of laughter.

"This is comedy gold", he mumbled as he walked towards the kitchen to give the two of you time to talk together.

"Dang it. This means you're right."

"That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"That and this is an interesting first date."

"Nothing else? Like being surprised that we're mates?"

"No, in all honesty, it makes a lot of sense. We get along quite well and I've always thought you were cute."

"Okay well if we're just spilling everything, I always used to get disappointed when I would look at you and think of how you weren't my soulmate."

"Well good thing I am then. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of…"

"Well, I have something on mind. Can I kiss you?"

"Yeah…"

"Fantastic", he said and moved to sit next to you to be closer. One hand moved to your face and the other to your neck as he leaned in. You could feel his lips pull into a smile as they landed on yours. Soon after he pulled away, allowing you to see his smile.

"I'm so freaking glad you're my soulmate", he told you before leaning back in.

---

It was Monday, at 5 pm. You and Hendery had just arrived at class and sat down next to your friends, telling them the news. They each turned to each other and started laughing.

"You guys knew didn't you?" You asked.

"Yeah. We had a bet going to see how long it would take you guys to figure it out", Ten told you as he held his hand out to Y/B/F who rolled their eyes but put a twenty-dollar bill in his hand.

"We're the epitome of stupidity", You said as you looked back at Hendery, who nodded in agreement. The rest of you continued to talk while you waited for class to begin, which mainly revolved around the stupidity of you and your mate.

---

"Hey babe, can you come in here?" Hendery called for you. You already knew why it was to introduce your relationship to his subscribers. You walked into his room and sat down next to him on his bed as Hendery told the viewers you were joining the video today. You had been in numerous videos of Hendery's, to the point where the fans were disappointed when you weren't there.

"So yet again we have Y/N joining today. You guys know them and love them. So as you guys can tell by the title, we have another hilarious story for you. Y/N you wanna start?" He asked as he looked over at you.

"Sure. So Hendery's dumbass asked me to help him study. 10 minutes into it, he wants pizza. So of course Hendery said the most magical words ever, 'I'll pay'. So obviously I join him for pizza, and what happens when we get there?" You asked, allowing Hendery to take over.

"So we sit down, and a few minutes later the waiter comes over and we're talking cause I'm a regular there and I know all of the workers pretty well. The waiter says 'glad to finally meet your soulmate'. And we both just stared at him. Thinking 'what the hell is this dude talking about?'. So he points out our rings and was like 'You guys didn't know?'. And that's how we realized, we're soulmates."

"Yeah, we felt and still feel stupid as hell."

"And the funniest part is, our friends knew. In fact, they had a bet going to see how long it would take us to figure out", Hendery laughed.

"Ten won the bet", you informed the camera.

"Yeah, the bastard got twenty bucks out of it. But you know I got the best prize, I get Y/N as my soulmate sooo…" You could feel the heat rushing to your cheeks and immediately covered them. Hendery attempted to pull them away and once he did he pressed a kiss to each of them.

"I love you", he whispered to you.

"I love you too", you whispered back.

---

"So guys can you guess what today is?" Hendery asked the camera. "If you can't, don't worry, I'll tell you. It's mine and Y/N's anniversary. We have been dating for five years now, we've known each other for, like seven years now. So I've decided it's time I finally propose", He said pulling a box out of his jacket pocket and holding it up to the camera as he opened it. "I'm hoping this goes smoothly and that they are really to take this step with me. So I'm not gonna show you guys the actual proposal, but I am gonna show you their reaction afterward. So I'll be back soon. Well for you guys it'll be soon", he paused the camera and slipped the box back in his pocket before moving into the living room. He was waiting for you to get back from the studio to start making dinner for the two of you. His plans were interrupted by the dog pawing at his leg. He could help but to smile and bend down and scratch his ears, causing the dog's tail to wag aggressively.

"You better not mess this up tonight", he told the dog. Y/D/N just continued to wag his tail before laying down at his feet, only to jump up the moment you open the door.

"Hey Y/D/N", you said as you moved to ruffle his fur. "Hey babe", you greeted Hendery, giving him a kiss before sitting down next to him.

"So I was thinking pizza for dinner", he told you. You nodded in response, it had become a tradition to have pizza on your anniversary.

"As expected."

"And you love it", he told you as he went to the kitchen to start dinner. As the timer was getting close to the end Hendery whistled for Y/D/N.

"Good boy", he told him, kneeling in front of him and reaching into his pocket. He pulled the box out and tied it to the collar. "Now stay in here buddy", he ordered, and thankfully he listened. Just as Hendery stood up, the timer went off. He pulled it out and cut it before putting it on the plates and going back to the living room where you waited.

"It looks great!" You exclaimed. Kissing his cheek before taking your plate. It didn't take long for the two of you to finish and Hendery decided it was time to ask.

"Hey Y/D/N, come here boy", he called out to the dog, who instantly responded. "Hey take a look at what's on his collar", he told you. Your eyes moved from the tv to Y/D/N and they widened. You could hear Hendery chuckle as motioned for you to take the box. You did, your eyes widened even more at the ring itself. It was exactly what you wished for, you looked at Hendery who had already moved to the ground.

"We definitely had an interesting start, how many people can say they didn't even realize their soulmate was right beside them for two years. While it may not have been the smartest thing we've ever done, I'm kinda glad in a way that we didn't know. It made us have a friendship beforehand, and we knew our attraction was genuine, it's not just that we're soulmates. And these years together have been so amazing, and I wanna spend the rest of them together. Will you, Y/N, marry me?"

"Yes!" You whispered as the tears flooded your eyes. He helped you put the ring on and to wipe the tears away.

"Would it be okay to get the camera he asked?" You nodded and he pressed a kiss to your lips before running into the bedroom and grabbing it. He recorded the ring and the two of you talking for a few minutes before shutting it off. This was definitely gonna be one of your favorite videos.

-🃏

[avalata]

@rexerrat said: 002 014 028 046 063 077 085 094 095

meme || accepting

Under-cut for length

002. Do they do anything to celebrate their birthday?

I'm not even sure he remembers his birthday, given he's spent centuries in isolation in a cave. If he felt a special occasion needed celebrating, he'd celebrate it by taking a long, relaxing walk. There's not much to do in the Vale after all, and he'll probably take this habit into Isola, too.

014. Detail one secret shame your character feels.

While he's very accepting of the circumstances and tries not to hold onto what happened, the fall of the Chantry is something he finds deeply shameful. He may have lead only a small band of paladins, and he knows this. But to see the main centre of Auri-El's worship for the snow elves fall to ruins, and to not have been able to save anyone there, sometimes he finds himself asking if he really could have done something different.

028. What makes them laugh out loud?

It honestly takes a lot to get him to laugh genuinely and heartedly. While he'll chuckle often, laugh in light, smaller tones, getting him to laugh out loud takes a whole lot of camaraderie and a dash of fun mischief; that is, if anyone can get him to indulge in a bit of mischief.

046. How do they handle getting sick?

He's brilliant at looking after himself, but a terrible patient. His need for independence means he'll take excellent care of himself when he knows he's sick, but will refuse any help if given to him, unless he believes it's the more sensible approach to have a skilled medic handle it. That being said, his ability to make a rational call like that when sick isn't... that good.

063. How well does your character handle difficult people?

He's decently okay at grinning and baring it. He's handled some really greedy people in the past, treasure hunters determined to snatch Auri-El's bow for themselves. Every time, he patiently goes through the motions, and leaves them to their own fates. He takes solace in knowing that people like that are rarely blessed by Auri-El; karma gets them eventually, or he likes to think that anyway.

077. How often do they cry? Over what?

Not very often, but not because of holding emotions back or anything. His usual approach to sadness is to immediately pray until he feels calmed and soothed. There are moments, though, where he does cry, and it's usually quiet weeping in private where his emotions can't be a burden on anyone else. 

The last time he cried was after the death of his brother. Waving goodbye to the dragonborn and Serena, the last being to stand in the chantry, the loneliness really settled in then.

085. Describe your character in three words.

Diligent, kind, lonely.

094. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to know.

How to fight viciously. Elves are usually seen as graceful warriors and whatnot. Snow elves? Not so much. His unused combat voice lines are pretty blood-thirsty (especially when spoken), and the story of the snow prince shows just how vicious snow elves are in combat.

He knows a bit about dwarven technology. Only a bit. He could probably figure out the very basics of tonal magic if given the pieces, but likely wouldn't want to because of the whole betrayal business. Tech is something that just makes him a wee bit uncomfortable.

I can't really think of a third one, as the rest of his knowledge and skillset are fairly obvious on the surface (those being mostly survival skills and his scholarly knowledge as a chantry knight).

095. Name three things most would not expect your character to be able to do.

Play lute! And recite poetry. He's not like a master at these things, far from it, but he enjoys them as little hobbies, and the music he plays and poems he recites are still pleasant to listen to. 

Likewise, he's also pretty good at needlepoint. Being in isolation for so long, he's adapted to being incredibly independent, and sewing his equipment was just part of that. Over time, he began embroidering designs to pass time. 

For a similar reason, he's pretty damn good at cooking. While food types seem to be limited in the Vale, he probably got good at experimenting with what he had. Given the freedom of more ingredients, he'll cook any meal really dang well!

[lonelydragonflower]

Confession (Risotto x Reader)

Warning: Fluff stuff

College AU

---

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Trish whined as she kept nudging you. Sighing at your little sisters' antics, turning off the hot water that ran from the sink as you finish rinsing the dishes.

"I don't know, Trish. Don't you have a test to study for?" You smiled. Crossing her arms over her chest and replied, "already did." Dang.

"Okay. How about a proposal? You finish cleaning the house and feed Ilya. When you are done, I'll walk you to the party-"

"Frat party," she cut me off.

"yes, the frat party," I laughed a bit. "Deal?" Holding out my hand, Trish hesitantly took it. Shaking it.

Drying my wet hands, I then plopped myself onto the couch. Running my hands through my (H/L) pink hair. Trish and I shared out fathers hair, same color. Our mother had passed away some time ago, he only met us two weeks ago! Ilya jumped onto my stomach...it was just us; Ilya, Trish and I, living in this big and lonely house. Ilya purred and leaned into my touch. Scratching underneath his chin, 'what a cute kitty!' Giggling as I toyed with him. Some time had passed and Trish called him over. The Ragdoll Cat obeyed, happy to be feed, jumped off the couch and walked into the kitchen. Trish had finished.

Getting up, I got ready; putting on a hoodie, fixing my hair and getting my boots on. I waited for Trish by the door, since we both went to the same college - we always walked to campus together.

It was a ten-minute walk, each and every day. Trish came down and the two of us left. It was a nice stroll, a cool breeze blew across my face. Trish seemed so happy, that energy radiated from her. Once we got there, I bade her goodbye, watched her go into the fraternity house.

With that, I left. Walking back home, I stopped by a convenience store. Browsing the aisles, basket in hand, I brought several items including; some stir-fry meat, some bagged rice, bagged vegetables, cheese, and a pineapple. By now, it was very late. On the way home, you got various texts from Trish, most of them were photos of her and her friends, all which you had met before. A grin on your face, you were happy that she was having fun. Opening the door to your home, you were greeted by Ilya.

"Well, hello to you too." You laughed. Setting everything on the kitchen counter, you felt a presence in the dark. reaching into the inside of your left boot, pulling out a knife. hearing the footsteps get closer to the kitchen, you hid before swiping the knife toward the intruder.

"Is that how you greet your own father, (Y/N)?" A hard grip on the blade and a familiar voice. With a gasp, you pulled the knife away. the figure stepped out of the shadow and stood in front of you. Your father, Diavolo, and close behind him, Doppio, your uncle.

Slipping the blade back into your tall boot, you place some distance between your father and his underling. With a glare, "What do you want? How did you get in here?" You seethed.

"Can't I see my own daughters? Speaking of which, where is Trish?" Your father asked.

"Out." Your reply was flat and bland. You took a small glance at his face, he was irked by your remark. He huffed before making his way to your couch. Doppio looked at you then at Diavolo then back at you before you waved at him.

"Hey, Doppio." Said male waved back at you, "hey, (Y/N)." He just stood there before his brother called him over. "Dippio, may you bring me something to drink?" Said underling flinched and shuffled toward the kitchen. Stopping him before could go any further, "don't go in there." you stomped over to your pink-haired father, yanking him out of the couch and out your house. Signaling for Dippio to do the same, quickly marching to the fridge and taking out a juice box. From the kitchen to the living room to the front door.

"Here's your drink!" You spat, furiously throwing it at him. "Don't ever come to my house demanding anything! If you ever want to, learn how to be a father first!" Slamming the door shut and panting heavily, Ilya came out of hiding and rubbed himself against your legs.

"Sorry 'bout all that kitty." Picking up the Ragdoll cat and laying down on the piece of furniture, with Ilya on your stomach. It was late, once you had gotten comfortable, you realized that you had forgotten the food. Getting up to do so, when that was done, it was back to the couch with your feline friend. Instantly, you fell asleep alongside Ilya.

You woke up to the sound of a loud knock, a knock coming from the front door, Ilya still fast asleep. Looking at the clock on the wall; almost two in the morning. Moving the cat aside, you got up to open the door. Looking through the peephole, staring at a familiar face behind the door.

Upon opening the door, it was more than just a familiar face, it was familiar faces. One of them stumbled in, you caught them, their head resting on your chest.

"Hey (Y/N), I've missed these watermelons of yours." sending a glare, "I've missed you too, Formaggio. Now, hands off!" you pushed him off and onto the couch, welcoming the others in.

"Thank you for letting us in (Y/N). Also, sorry for bothering you at this hour." One spoke up; a deep, gruff voice made you blush.

"Its no worry or bother, Risotto. I'm happy to help my dear friends. Even if they show up drunk and grope me the second they walk in." you smiled. Everyone had settled in, some even retired for the evening including; Pecsi, Iluso, Gelato, and Sorbert.

--- "Let me guess, a frat party? Or a drink off?" You inquired. Risotto sighed, Formaggio answered, "a frat party, we saw your little sister. She's not as pretty as you thought."

That's when you decided to check your phone, having four text notifications from Trish and one from Bruno.

Trish❤️️: (Y/N), I'm stayin' @ Bruno's Trish❤️️: Everyone says Hi Trish❤️️: (Y/N) R U up? Trish❤️️: Bruno said to call him

Going to the conversation with Bruno, you opened it.

Bruno: (Y/N), call me

Huffing, you tapped the little phone icon and called said male. Addressing the others in the room, "there is a pineapple in the kitchen. Slice it up and eat it." Hearing the phone ring, Bruno quickly answered.

"(Y/N)?" his soft voice rang into your ear.

"Hey Bruno, thanks for having Trish for the evening." You chuckled, feeling someone's arms around your waist.

"It's no problem, I would let you talk to her but she's asleep. Want me to drop her off in the morning?" you let ou a small yelp when you were pulled back. Falling into Formaggio's lap. Bruno heard and asked if you were alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You can bring Trish by 8:00 tomorrow morning, sounds good?"

"It's perfect. It's late, I'll leave you, so you can rest. Goodnight, (Y/N)."

"Goodnight Bruno." You hung up and tried to squirm out of your friends hold.

"Forma! Let me go!" You whisper-shouted, you fell to the floor with him, he whined, "(N/N), cuddle with me. I love you. Please!" Nuzzling his face into your neck. The smell of alcohol and pineapple emitted from him. Suddenly, the two of you were pulled apart by none other than your crush, Risotto. He gave his friend a death glare before pushing him onto the couch and you into his arms.

"Risotto, give me my (N/N). I want her, I need her." Formaggio whined. Risotto helped the drunk male up off the ground. Setting the tipsy male on the couch, he took a hold of Ilya. The two of them had a love-hate relationship but as long as he wasn't all over you, you didn't care.

"Thanks Riso, I owe ya." You pipped. The moment got awkward; Risotto was still holding onto you and you, blushing...hard. Hearing snickering from the kitchen, directly from Ghiaccio and Melone, Prosciutto drunkingly scolded the two as they burst into laughter.

Pulling away from your crush, hiding sheepishly behind your (h/l) hair. Looking at the time, it was late 1:42. Late, dark and brightly lit by the inside light; that's how it was outside. Formaggio had fallen asleep hugging Ilya.

"It's very late. We all need to sleep. Prosciutto, can you guide these two to their rooms? You can take the west attic room. Riso, follow me, the room you used to sleep in is now Trishs'." Before leaving, Prosciutto hugged you, " I appreciate the hospitality, (Y/N). I'll help prepare breakfast in the morning." He gave you a kiss on the cheek, you returned it. The blonde helped the other two drunks to their rooms.

"C'mon now." You took Risotto's rough hands and led him upstairs. The blush on your face increased. Getting to the top of the stairs, he stopped you.

"(Y/N), we need to talk."

"About what?" Curiously asking the gray-hair man. Instead of answering, he pulled you into your bedroom. Closing the door and locking it.

"I know he was here..." his sentence trailed off. His words made a lump form in your throat. Trying to play dumb with him wouldn't work, it was Risotto after all. Staying silent; he was getting irked.

"Say somethi-" you cut him off.

"What do you want me to say? How much I despise him, how he thinks he can just waltz into my life after the death of my mother. No! Trish and I were and are fine without him! All I want-" you began to sob. Hiding your face behind the curtain of your hair. Concealing your teary face from your crush/best friend.

"If he wants to be apart of my life, I wish he was more understanding. I was fine living without him, without knowing he was my father but now, I wish it would all go away." Resting against his chest; you wanted him to hold you, which he did.

"I hate him but I want to love him, he's my dad." You finished, standing there in the arms of the one person you loved.

"That's what I loved about you, (Y/N). You are passionate about many things, your heart is made of gold." Looking up into his black scleras’ and red irises, you saw a strong emotion behind them, one you couldn't figure out. He picked you up, much like a princess, sitting down with you in his lap.

"Come what may, I'll always be here for you.: He cuddled you. Face in the crook of his neck, stay close to him. He kissed your temple, running his rough fingers through your hair. Eye lids getting heavy, you fell asleep in his arms.

"Sleep well, mi amore." The last thing I head before closing my eyes. The night soon became day. Stirring awake, opening your heavy eyes, cuddling into Risotto...wait...cuddling into Risotto?! You tried to pull away but a strong force wouldn't let you.

"Don't go. Let's stay like this for a while." The male below you grumbled. His silver locks conformed into a mop of cute bed-head. Groaning, "the other's they'll need medicine and care from their hangovers. Ris-" he cut you off, "No! Right now you are mine, you can help them later." Upon hearing "you are mine", your cheeks heated up. He realized and his face heated up, bright pink. Instead of saying something, he pulled you down for a sweet and hard kiss on the lips.

Pulling away, both of you florid faced, you spoke up. "What is all of this?"

With a smile, he answered, "think of it as a confession." Resting together, nice and quiet until.

"(Y/N)!? Where the hell are you? Why is there a half naked man in your house!?" A loud voice broke the moment between you and Risotto. Loud thumping noises could be heard, getting closer and closer and closer until...BAM!

The door was knocked down, entering a troubled Formaggio and an angry father named Diavolo. Your best friend, in his boxers, hid under the covers with you and Risotto. Letting out a shriek, you clung to your boyfriend. He held you tightly and close. That's when your father noticed.

"Since when is her your boyfriend? Get away from my daughter!" Diavolo screamed as Doppio fawned over the two of you; congratulating the both of you.

"Yeah (N/N)! Since when are you Risotto's girl?" Picking you up, Risotto left with you in his arms. Ignoring your father and Formaggio's questions, kissing you hard in front of your father and your best friend, "since now, deal with it." Leaving the two dumbfounded and completely shocked, while Doppio cheered.

--- Word Count: 2193

[packsbeforesnacks]

I’m Not As Think As You Drunk I Am || Noah & Winn

TIMING: Sunday, May 3rd, 2020, After Midnight LOCATION: Bottomless Booty & Noah’s Townhouse PARTIES: @noah-kalani & @packsbeforesnacks SUMMARY: Two bros, chillin’ in a king bed. (Because of Winn’s dick, see?) WARNINGS: Nudity and tomfoolery.

“It’s just,” Winn started, slurring his words very definitely slightly (he hoped), “I feel for the kids, y’know? They tried so, so, so hard and to get beaten in the last game in overtime? It’s just… unfair.” He’d long since stopped eatin’ the seafood spread out in front of him and Noah. The younger man sat across from him, picking off some truly delicious shrimp. Bottomless Booty was a little kitschy, but Winn kinda liked it. Not a spot he would’ve chosen for a date (not… that this was a date), but the food was very good. And the booze was doin’ the job. “But shit, buddy, I feel like I’m suckin’ up all the air in the room. This is supposed to be about you!” He held up his mixed drink to Noah. (They’d toasted already, but… why not.)

Taking a swig of his third (no fourth?) beer, Noah sat back in his booth, studying all of the slightly sad, and slightly drunk Winn in front of him. He wasn’t quite sure how this celebration “date” had devolved into this. Okay actually, no, that was a lie. He knew exactly how they had gotten there, with three margaritas and fifty dollars worth of crab and shrimp, but honestly? He didn’t really mind it. It had been a long time since Noah had let loose and gotten drunk with a friend. “I know the feeling and it definitely sucks buddy. But at the end of the day a game is a game. Someone has to win and someone has to lose,” he replied with a small shake of his head. “Well, you are paying for this lot.” He motioned to the carnage in front of them, “So, the least I can do is listen to your troubles.” He winked at the other dude, before picking up a stray piece of shrimp and swallowing whole.

Winn felt himself flush at the wink, still holding up his glass to Noah. Stop that, Winner. “Well,” he mumbled, suddenly self-conscious. “Thank you, Noah.” He smiled, soft and loose. “So, don’t think I’ve ever asked ya, but… Why be a vet? I mean,” he dropped his voice low, “you’re, like, part dog, so I get it, but…” He winked back, partly in belated response to Noah’s wink and partly because he was funny, dang it. Winn lowered his glass, finally. It, unfortunately (?), did things to Winn to see Noah take down that shrimp whole, but he pushed it down. What was with him and men and food? Best not to examine it. “Fuck, am I glad we Ubered, bro, I’d be a smear on the highway if I tried to drive now. Not that…” He paused, considering Noah. “I mean, I’m not drunk. Not. Definitely not.”

If this was a normal day, Noah would have noticed the way Winn suddenly flushed red at his wink. But alas it was not a normal day, and flirty Noah was already too drunk to listen to the voice in his head telling him he was steering this ship into uncharted waters. “No problem bro,” Noah replied before picking up his beer and raising it yet again to the other’s very drunk toast, clinking his glass against the others, fingertips accidentally making contact with Winn’s. Oops. Placing his glass down before him, lest he injure everyone around him, Noah figured shoving more food into his mouth would be the next best course of action. “My dad was a vet actually,” he started around a chew, before remembering his manners. “So, I always grew up with animals, even before becoming,” he leaned in, “part dog.” Grinning from ear to ear, he straightened, fingers searching for a napkin as Winn confessed to ‘not being drunk’ “Yeah, and if you’re stone cold sober, then I’m Queen Elizabeth,” he joked, tossing the used napkin playfully at the other man.

Winn, damn him, had a half-thought to hold Noah’s hand as their fingers brushed. Just a little hand-holding between bros. But he restrained himself. Barely. (His hand did, shamefully, chase Noah’s glass. But that was totally fine. Totally.) “Ah,” Winn said, intelligently. “Makes sense to go into the family business.” He had just enough memory, just enough tact, to know not to pursue Noah’s family any farther, at this point. Not while they were drunk. (Not that he was drunk.) “What’s your favorite aminal?” Wait, aminal? “Animal,” he corrected, sheepishly. Noah’s napkin hit Winn’s chest, bouncing down into his lap. Lap. Shit, he had to piss. How had he not noticed? He should bring that up soon. He started to scoot out of the booth, before realizing he’d asked a question of his friend. “Piss?” he said helpfully, listening attentively to Noah.

“It’s cliche I know, but my favorite animal has always been a wolf.” Noah grinned, ignoring Winn’s slight stutter of his words. “Oh Me? No.” Noah shook his head assuming that’s what Winn meant when he mentioned piss. “But I can get the check while you’re doing it?” he asked, trying to be helpful, because, yeah, neither of them probably needed to stay and sink further into a drunken stupor, especially as Winn kinda paused at the end of the booth eyes slightly glazed. Oh boy. Winn was really really drunk wasn’t he? “Come here, big boy,” Noah said motioning for the other man to stand up and come closer to him, plan already in motion. See, Noah was gonna be a responsible drunk. He was gonna get everything paid, and both of them in an Uber, and everything was gonna be a-okay. But first. Money. “Need wallet to pay so we can go,” he grunted, reaching for the obvious bulge in Winn’s ass pocket before realizing. This was Winn. He was grabbing Winn’s ass. A man he had not established these “bro I touch your ass because you touch mine all the time” protocols with. Shit. Noah. What the actual fuck.

Wallet? What was… where was his wallet? Noah had mentioned something about the check. Right. They definitely had to pay. And Winn had to piss. Hmm. Winn stood at Noah’s call, almost trancelike, and walked towards Noah. He tilted his head a bit at “big boy,” even as drunk as he wasn’t, Winn scoffed a little bit. It wasn’t, like… Noah wasn’t small. He could take Winn. Had. Jacked up on Full Moon juice and bein’ pissed that Winn had given him the ol’ sniff. Which, if Winn wasn’t careful, was definitely going to happen again. He knew he wasn’t steady, and as Noah groped at his ass, Winn felt himself sling forward a little into Noah’s personal space. Did he always have to smell good? Fucking hell. But… Why was Noah grabbing his ass? It felt nice, but, like… Noah was, like, strai— Wallet. That wasn’t where his wallet was. That was his phone. Winn grunted low and close to Noah’s ear, and mumbled, “Front.” Thinking that maybe Noah wouldn’t catch the drift, Winn took his hand and placed it on the front of his pants, where his wallet bulged out… He hoped? He really, really hoped. His head leaned into Noah’s shoulder for a moment, as he snickered. He was a mess. They were a mess. This was a good night.

And now it was Noah’s turn to blush, the events unfolding before him like some sort of weird, sexy horror movie. Okay, well, maybe not a horror movie, per se. But it was definitely not Noah’s usual light-hearted, comedic, “Oh, I'm definitely not touching my super hot wolf friend’s dick right now, and having a panic attack because maybe I kinda like it?” genre, that was for sure. Moving his hand from Winn’s crotch, Noah grabbed the wallet, easing it gently out of the other man’s pocket and ignoring the weight on his shoulder. Because, yeah, leave it to drunk as a skunk Winn to make him have a bisexual crisis in the middle of a pirate-themed restaurant and then have the nerve to lean in for CUDDLES. Who did this motherfucker think he was? “Okay, go piss now,” Noah said gruffly, turning the other man around as fast as he could before they scared all the children. “I can handle this,” he said, waving the wallet in Winn’s direction. Hopefully, the other man was just sober enough to do that on his own, because Noah definitely needed a few seconds.

The bathroom, when Winn eventually found it, was somehow also pirate-themed. He was pretty sure he saw a “wipe your booty” sign, which, were he way more sober than he was right now, would be… mildly funny. Since he was drunk, it was hilarious. But. No laughing. Pissing. Right. When he wandered out of the bathroom a couple’a minutes later, Winn noticed Noah sitting at the booth, right where Winn had left him. Man, he had a pretty friend, huh? He should definitely tell him that. Definitely. He slid into the booth next to Noah, pushing the other man into the dividing wall between the booths and the tables in the main area. “Hey,” Winn said, dopey smile on his face, head leaned into Noah’s shoulder. They were super close. Winn loved bein’ close with his bros. Felt good, man. “You’re super hot, bro. You know that? Suuuuuper,” he dropped his voice low, feelin’ like maybe Noah could use some teasin’. Winn hadn’t teased him at all today! “Hot,” he finished, yawning. Noah’s shoulder was super comfy. He could get used to this… Then, because, well, in for a penny, in for a pound, he added, “Baby…” His voice was low, sleepy, a little mumbly. “I’d kiss you so nice.” And then, well. Then, Winn was asleep.

Once the hormones of the moment dissipated and Noah Kalani was able to get a breath of fresh air, he put the rest of his “I am a drunk yet responsible adult” plan into action, starting with motioning the waiter over for the check, and ending with ordering an Uber for the both of them. When Winn beelined for him, Noah should have known what was going to happen next, the older man sliding in and leaning on his shoulder. It had been a long time since anyone had been this, well, physical? No wait, that wasn't the right word. Cuddly? Caring? Gentle? Supportive? to him in a long time, and it was safe to say it was, well, kinda nice. Especially coming from someone who he knew actually meant every word. Even the ones that sent a full body flush down his spine. “Winn?” Noah asked, trying not to blanch too hard, thoughts still spinning of Winn and Kissing, and of Winn wanting to Kiss him. And… how would it even be to kiss a man? But the answer he was looking for never came, because of course Winn Woods would choose now to pass the fuck out. Goddamnit. Shaking all of the thoughts out of his head (because one crisis at a time, Kalani) Noah elbowed the other into submission, somehow getting them out of the restaurant and into their awaiting Uber.

Winn may have been drunk (and, alright, yes, he could admit, now, that he was drunk), but he was still a pretty light sleeper. Noah’s body pressed up against his, trying to guide them out of the restaurant, jostled him enough that he woke up and, bare minimum, held himself up as Noah guided him. He’d have to thank the man later. Had he mentioned kissing? Winn hoped he hadn’t said that aloud; he just wanted to mess with Noah, not freak the other guy out. The world went woozy again, as Noah put him into the Uber and, safety be damned, Winn refused to put on a seatbelt. Not when there was a Noah. He was a wolf, he’d be fiiiiine. The Uber was surprisingly roomy, enough for Winn to slink down in his seat, to tip over to the side, and to have his head land in Noah’s lap. Oops. “I’m sorry,” he said to… Noah? The driver? It was unclear. “We tip well. Five stars. Just lemme nap, pleeease.” Okay, so. To the driver, then. Here, in the darkness of the car, in the quiet, Winn felt… safe. Lo— Ha, no. He reached his hand back, under (?) his body, to grab at one of Noah’s (extremely nice) hands, guiding it to his hair. “It’s still your lap, buddy, just…” He laughed at the joke he was about to make. “Pretend I’m a dog. Pet me, Kalani.” He winked. His eyes were definitely closed, but, like, it was an emotional wink. Noah would feel it. Before passing out again, Winn felt a gentle, tentative hand in his hair. Oh.

While wrestling a whole almost 200 pounds of Winn into the car was relatively easy in the grand scheme of things, getting a seatbelt on him proved even more difficult. “Winn. Stop moving,” Noah said through gritted teeth, before simply giving up and letting the other just fall into his lap. And any other time he’d have just bro-elbowed him back into place, but for now the younger boy let it slide, too tired to care. His drunk mind focused on getting them both home safely. And preferably with the least amount of moving. But of course Winn had other ideas, grabbing Noah’s hand and spouting useless babble Noah’s drunk ears barely registered. “Your buddy okay back there?” the Uber driver asked tentatively, as if only to gauge the possibility of cleanup—or worse, shenanigans—the thought of which made Noah look down at Winn and roll his eyes. Leave it to Winn to make everything awkward again, and then stick him with the cleanup duty. But, for some odd reason, looking down at the man in his lap, he couldn't find it in his heart to be mad at the big lug. In fact, he felt oddly protective, the wolf in him comforted by the fact Winn was close and warm and nice. Was this what it was like? Having a pack? Noah didn’t know, but what he did know is that the brute in his lap wanted to be petted, and he guessed he would oblige. “He’s fine… He’s just drunk,” Noah responded quietly, brushing a stray piece of hair out of Winn’s eyes. Because yeah. Winn was just drunk. Noah was just drunk. None of this meant anything because they were both just drunk.

To Winn’s credit, he was a calm and quiet lapdog. He drifted in and out of sleep, only occasionally shifting his head to nudge deeper into the warmth that was Noah, feeling just… nice. Was he snoring, just a little, or was that a drunken thought? Noah’s hand, petting Winn just as the older man had asked-begged, soothed him, the wolf enjoying it as much as (if not more than) his human self did. The car eventually stopped outside of Noah’s house and the door cracked open, letting the cool spring air in and rustling Winn fully awake. He was… slightly more sober? Decently-slightly. He could make it to a door without any help, definitely. Instead, what Winn said as he half-rolled out of the car was, “Help me?”, stretching his arms and legs out and into Noah’s waiting grip, half-falling on the man. “I could go home, I’m fine,” he said, leaning against the younger man for support. “But I don’t want to...” Wait, had he said that aloud? Eh, fuck it. It was true. “Thankyouuu!” he called back into the car as Noah shut the door.

Feeling the car come to a stop, Noah jerked out of his drunken stupor, fingers intertwined in Winn’s hair, hazy eyes looking out for his aunt’s townhouse. Okay yeah, they were here, cool. Now to get both of them out of the car. Untangling himself from the other man, Noah reached over and pushed Winn’s door open for him, a grin erupting on his face as Winn practically fell out of it on his own accord. Yup, that about summed the night up. Exiting the car himself, Noah walked around to heed Winn’s pleas, pulling the dude upright again almost effortlessly. Winn was lucky he chose to get drunk with a dude who could haul him over his head and benchpress him. “I will not let your drunken ass go home by yourself, maaaate,” he grunted out as he hauled Winn up the steps to his front door, hand digging in his pockets for his keys. “Bros need tuh look out for bros,”he said, if only to fill the silence as he fumbled with the lock. Damn depth perception. Finally, the door swung open, revealing, by the hall light on, one of his large ass water bottles left on the entryway table with a note that said: “Drink me, bitch.” Aunt Leah, man, the Real MVP.  Taking a large swig himself, Noah carefully held out the bottle for Winn, chuckling as he grasped at it like he’d never had water in his entire life. “Thirsty, huh?” Noah snorted before he hauled them further into the house. Usually, he’d dump his friends on the couch, brownie points accomplished, but today? Nah, today he headed up the stairs. Winn had had a weekend it seemed; he deserved a bed.

The next thing Winn remembered was water being tipped into his mouth. He grasped at it, nearly (but not!) dropping it, suddenly aware of how thirsty he was. One chug, and it was gone. “More,” he gasped out, before realizing that was maybe not a good idea. “Wait, no. Not more. Yes more, but not more in me, more near me.” Winn had never been inside Noah’s house — well, not more than the entryway, guiding Noah’s snoring body to a couch, but he knew he was being led up stairs. He wasn’t as sleepy, which was… good, probably. And he felt, like, a little guilty, which meant that he was definitely sobering up. Wolf problems. “Sorry,” he mumbled, but then, louder: “Sorry, really. I’m… sorry.” Oh fuck, was he getting emotional? “This was supposed to be about you, babe, I mean. Buddy. I mean. Fuck.” They landed at the top of the stairs, and Winn suddenly felt a strong urge to hug the other man. So, he did. “Wanna hang with you sober, get to know you, I really… like you, Noah,” he said, smiling against Noah’s neck. “But we gotta stop meetin’ like this.” He let go of Noah for a second, looking into the other man’s eyes. The moonlight cut through a nearby window, and Winn re-realized, for what had to be the millionth time tonight, how beautiful the other man was. Winn leaned in, he could just… No. He chickened out, not willing to take the rejection, not willing to make Noah hate him, no matter how much he wanted to. Instead, he planted a kiss to Noah’s cheek, hugging him again, tightly. “Thank you,” he said, quietly. What for, he wasn’t sure.

Standing at the top of the stairs Noah just looked over at Winn, drunken mind not really comprehending what was going on right now. Winn was sorry? Why was he sorry? “Why are you sorry?” Noah voiced aloud as Winn started hugging him. And then he said the sentence that Noah was most familiar with, something that he had been told by countless women… and now one really drunk bro. I really like you. Oh. OH. Winn liked him. Oh my god. Winn liked him. That's why he was sorry, because he liked him. “Wait, what?” Noah breathed out, slightly confused. Why would Winn of all people like him? I mean, don't get him wrong, Noah knew he had a lot to offer (he was smoking hot and had his life relatively together), but at the same time… his brain trailed off looking at the man in front of him. This was Winn Woods, okay? Like, all hard edges and smooth talking. He was one of the boys, Noah’s boys, and while Noah had no problem with Winn being gay… Man, was he too drunk for this. But then Winn was kissing him, or rather Winn was kissing his cheek, and Noah's brain actually short-circuited right then and there, the feeling of stubble on his face for the first time almost too much. “Winn.” Noah placed a hand on the other’s chest gently before realizing how Winn might take that. A clear stop. A hard no. Rejection. Noah had been on the receiving end of this hand enough times to know what it could be construed as. “Wait, no. This is. I’m not pushing away. Just. I need to…” He trailed off, not really knowing how to vocalize what he needed in the moment, but hoping Winn would understand.

On the plus side, Winn figured Noah didn’t hate him. And, wasn’t… rejectin’ him? What was there to really reject, though? Winn was physically affectionate, he’d kissed bros on the cheek before! And Noah was straight, so, like, he didn’t think Noah would reciprocate the, like, lust for Noah that Winn had. He knew what this was, and he was alright with it! But sometimes, your bro just looks… extremely good. And you kiss him on the cheek, and it’s a pleasant tingle in your lips because your bro’s skin is, like, so warm. Ugh. He was too drunk for this. And not drunk enough. He barely processed what Noah was saying, figuring that he needed no more cheek kisses. Awright. Winn could do that! Easily. He followed Noah to the other man’s room, taking a token stop in the restroom (good, he’d probably need that before dawn!), and sat at the edge of the other man’s bed. Was there a tension in the air? Naw, Winn was probably imaginin’ it. “Sooooo,” he drawled. His voice was still slurring, a bit, but he figured he sounded… better? “Couch? Floor? I can do either, just need, I’unno a blanket or somethin’. Pillow, we’re… not animals.” He winked at the other man, unsure if Noah could even see it in the dim light coming in through the window. “Or, hey!” Winn said, an amazing idea coming to his head. “This bed’s big enough for the two of us. We can, like, squeeze together, it’ll be dope. I’m super warm, bud, I’m a great bed-buddy.” He smiled. Amazing idea. Yes. Winn patted the spot on the bed next to him, rolling over and making room for Noah and pulling off his shirt. (Didn’t want to get too warm.)

Watching Winn back away without a care in the world, Noah breathed a small sigh of relief. He could live another day without having to do some major introspection on his own life and why he kinda wasn’t like all the way put off by Winn’s kiss. Excellent. Leading the other down the hall, Noah pointed to the door on the right of his own and motioned that that was the bathroom, lest Winn need it or anything before opening the door to his own room. He was lucky he chose to clean up his space before going out on his date, (no, wait, that was not a DATE) bed nicely made and no dirty clothes in sight. Placing the small ratted wolf stuffed animal that sat in the middle of the bed on his desk for safekeeping, Noah just rolled his eyes at the other. He was going to let Winn take the bed anyway, but he guessed he could also be in it too. Hopefully… maybe… “Fine. We can share the bed, it is a king-size after all.” He shrugged, trying not to make too much of everything lest he have another heart attack. Cuz you know they were just two bros, sharing a bed after a cheek kiss. Five feet apart cuz they weren’t gay. Or at least Noah wasn’t. Gay, that is. Turning around, Noah pushed it all out of his mind, preferring to think of Winn as one of his footballer friends as he went to rummage around for sleep clothes. Yes, Marco and everyone had slept in his bed before. In a very non-gay way. So, why did this feel any different? “Also, here.” Noah threw a pair of basketball shorts at Winn before stripping out of his jeans and into his own pair. “These will be better than those.” He motioned as he turned around just in time to watch Winn pull off his shirt in a way that should not have made Noah raise an eyebrow but also. Damn Winn. Like, Noah was a jock, and he’d been around plenty of muscled men, but still just. Damn. And also were those… nipple piercings?

Winn ran a sleepy hand down his chest, scratching at the light dusting of hair on his stomach, as he watched Noah strip out of his jeans. Damn. Bro had legs… and, well. Winn wasn’t going to be a creep, ‘course not, but that was a nice ass. Noah was starin’ at his chest and, like, Winn was a good-looking guy, but why would a straight dude be givin’ him the once-over? He ran his hand back up his chest, realizing as he glanced a hand across his piercings. “Oh, right. You didn’t know about the bars! Forgot you were the only one not on campus that day.” He flicked one of them, ‘cause why not, and winked. Winn caught some basketball shorts to the face for his ogling. Was he supposed to… change into them? Awright, sure. Jeans weren’t comfy, ‘specially not when cuddlin’. Winn stood from where he’d rolled on Noah’s bed, and shucked his jeans. Winn had forgotten something important, something he failed to realize as he walked around the bed. “Oh, bro,” he said, stark-ass naked, to Noah, trying to get the other man’s attention. He looked distracted. Weird. “D’you have, like, mouthwash? Or, uh, an extra toothbrush? Booze breath plus dog breath plus mornin’ breath would be… bad, for our friendship.” He laughed, and glanced down, immediately realizing that the emperor had, uh, no clothes. “Shoot.” Winn quickly jumped back onto the bed, grabbing the basketball shorts he’d forgotten, slipping them on, and, well, giving Noah an eyeful, most likely. “Oops,” he mumbled. “It’s, like… bro. Wolves, you know? We get real… comfortable with nudity, and, like, I don’t like wearin’ underwear all the time, ‘specially with jeans, and, um…” Winn knew he was blushing and brought a sheepish hand up to his hair, running it through. “Well,” he started, laughing, “you already, uh, felt it, right? Seein’ it must not be… worse? I am… going to go look for some mouthwash and take a leak and, uh, like, whichever side of the bed you want. BRB.” Well. Embarrassment sure was one way to sober up.

“Why? Did you put out a PSA that you were getting them pierced or something?” Noah replied, rolling his eyes as Winn fondled his nipples in his general direction, the sudden amazement now lost on him after that. Noah picked up his shucked off jeans and t-shirt, folding them neatly and placing them on his desk chair, not paying much attention to Winn. “Yeah, I’ve got mouthwash in the bathroom, and if you want a toothbrush just let me…” He trailed off, eyes finally catching hold of the real elephant in the room. Because surprise, there was now a dick. Winn’s dick, to be exact. Literally, Noah turned around for two seconds and all of a sudden he was transported into Magic Mike. Except with way more tangible DICK. And it wasn’t that he had never seen dick before, oh no no no. He’d seen plenty of dick before. Nice dicks, too. But there was something about Winn's dick that just. Noah could feel his full body flush crimson against his will. Goddamn. He was too drunk for this. But as soon as the dick was there, it was gone, Winn realizing what a predicament he must be putting Noah in and grabbing the shorts (but not before giving Noah a moonful). Hoping that that was the last of it (because, really, how much worse could it get past accidentally seeing your new friend’s unsolicited dick), Noah flopped face first onto the bed, mind just done for the day. “I'm not uncomfortable with nudity,” he groaned out into his pillow, begging Winn for the love of God to stop talking before he made it even weirder. “I just need you to take it all of this down a notch, pal.” Lifting his head slightly, Noah hoped Winn heard his plea before he scampered into the bathroom.

Winn was, just barely, sober enough now to feel, like, a little bit bad. This, probably, wasn’t as bad as the sniffin’ incident, but… well, it wasn’t great. At least, this time, Winn was drunk. He knew he was a lot when drunk, and Noah hadn’t ever had to deal with that before. So. No more drunk Winn for Noah, not for a while. Winn had to prove that he could be, like, a good friend and a fun person to hang around that could literally keep his dick in his pants. He’d just forgotten. Really! (God, he hoped Noah believed him.) Winn swished the mouthwash around, spit, and thought about his life and his choices. Noah hadn’t kicked him out of bed, yet, so… That was a win. Cuddlin’ was still on. This night was still good, he still felt good, but it was a pleasant buzz, not an all-consuming torrent of booze and emotion. He was the epitome of control. Noah had left the light on for him, but was snugly in the bed, toned back to Winn. Winn wouldn’t have taken Noah for a little spoon, most straight guys were weird about that, but Winn was happy for the contact. He turned the light off, toeing off his socks (and, really, how had they stayed on?) and flinging them in the direction of his shirt and jeans. Winn slid into bed and under Noah’s sheets and wrapped an arm around the younger man’s torso, breathing soft onto the skin on Noah’s neck. “Hey,” he whispered, not knowing whether or not Noah had passed out already (he hadn’t reacted when Winn had come back). “Just wanted to say that I had a good time tonight. Thanks for takin’ care of me, and lettin’ me stay over. I appreciate it.” He pulled the other man closer, settling in for the long haul. He yawned. “Good night, bro. See you in the mornin’.” The last thing Winn remembered was the warmth of Noah’s body next to him, the other man’s presence easing both Winn and the wolf into a peaceful and, for once, uninterrupted sleep.

Using the five seconds he had in his bed alone, Noah rolled over slightly, eyes finding the wall. It was safe to say this night was not exactly the one he had planned, you know with the whole surprise kiss, and then the surprise dick. But honestly, as far as drunken nights went this one was really not that bad. Because yeah, what’s a dick among friends. Yeah. Friends. Frowning slightly at that word (for reasons only his subconscious knew), Noah sighed, snuggling his way into the sheets. His tired body was already starting to drift off against his will, but not before he registered Winn sliding in. And normally, Noah would have gently elbowed the other man to his own side, setting clear boundaries. But man. He’d already seen the guy’s dick, and ass. And he was just. He was so touch-starved at the moment that he couldn’t help but melt into the arm around his waist, part of him grateful that he had a bro like Winn to hold him. Even if just for a little bit. “It’s all no problem,” Noah mumbled out, rubbing his cheek against his pillow slightly as he settled. “Night Winn.” And with that, Noah drifted off into his own unconscious, sweet, sweet sleep finally calling his name.

[ineedahiddencorner]

6.23.20

One thing that I was just reminded of in a dream:

Part of the reason why I don't feel completely myself, no matter how well I fix my algorithm?

No real dancing.

I've been swing dancing since I was 13. I don't know the official date of my swingiversary (unlike some folk) because I was dragged along. My sister's then-boyfriend's sister was a regular there and had gotten my sister involved. My sister had been trying to get me to come for weeks. In theory, I was down - she'd taught me the East Coast basic and two turns years before, but only the lead's footwork. (This was very quickly discovered at a volleyball teammate's swing birthday party, where the instructor asked for volunteers for a demonstration. I was so excited, and then did so terribly because I kept trying to start on my left foot.. it was a learning experience.)

I distinctly remember the day she got me to come. She was in the downstairs bathroom, door closed, and I was chatting with her from just outside. I don't remember any of our previous conversation, but just the following:

"Hey [my name]"

'Yeah?"

"Guess what day it is"

[I knew it was Thursday. There was a moment of silence.]

I can't remember the exact words of my reaction, but I'm certain I started fumbling around trying to make excuses for my completely open evening. Sequins just kept firmly saying, "Nope. It's Thursday, you're coming to [Lindy]."

Little did I know..

.. Just how TERRIBLY I'd do my first night!

Of course I jumped into the beginner Lindy lesson. This was when they still taught an actual lindy basic in that time, plus one move.

I don't remember the lesson or most of the evening. I only remember my first actual dance on the floor - the first one they played after lesson - where a kind gentleman asked me to dance and I could not get through a count of 8 without stopping. I may have once or twice in the whole song. We just stuck with lindy, no East Coast.. It did not go the greatest.

Part of it might be terrible memory (as previously found out this last week), but I don't remember being upset.

As mentioned, I don't know how the rest of the evening went, but evidently I kept going.

I don't have too many early memories - mostly things like wearing the red dress that was really a Latin dress but was the only dance-y dress I owned. Then wearing a different dress that I was.. hmm.. not old enough to fill, and one embarrassing dance related. With the addition of dresses came the one night that taught me to wear dance shorts. (I'm certain nothing actually happened, but that concern when you normally wear baggy shirts and jean shorts, and you feel the skirt lifting higher than you'd like? It changes you.)

My first most common outfit (though I can't remember how soon this was after I started) was my red latin dress, a red flower clip in the back, and my slightly-too-big red flats. (A.k.a. the ones I wore EVERYWHERE through ninth and tenth grade.)

Eventually [Haute] gave me my black and white, polka-dot diner dress. I still have that one, and wear it on occasion, but it's just getting old. (It started my Heart of Haute collection though, which was all I would wear for years.)

But that second common outfit was that diner dress, the red flower, and red flats.. clearly there was some easing that needed to happen. Somewhere around there I must've gotten into a single red lip color I had - but I only applied on the main lip area, no edges and most definitely no shape. Ah. Oh very grateful we've come a long way on that end.

I would stand immediately left of the door, cause that's where our friend and Sequins would stand. That stuck even when Sequins stopped coming. (I don't remember why.. but our friend and her friend kept coming for a bit and then stopped too.)

I remember learning the subtle art of asking for/declining a dance even before partners asked - I thought it was the coolest, subtlest thing. I remember watching follows do swivels and admiring them. If I wasn't dancing, I was standing with my arms behind my back, leaning against the wood of that door-left area.

I learned to love dance so much.. in tenth grade my teacher (and mom of my dear friend Caesar - one should also note the class consisted of Rose, Caesar, and I) told us about a dream she had about me getting all the boys from dance. I was mortified, everyone laughed, and it's been a tease since.

Oddly enough, somewhere in there I had the first gentleman ask me out. We were great dance friends! Tried to get a dance with him each time - we got along so well. At one point he asked if I had a boyfriend. I laughingly replied some variation of no. He asked if he'd have a shot. I kindly (and genuinely!) explained that I was 14, but sincerely appreciated it and if I'd been older, absolutely! (I never got his age but knew he was older than me.) He was embarrassed, and I don't really remember seeing him much after.. I understand the embarrassment but still miss him. Alas.

(And there-related, I'm either impressed with him or myself - either he had a very kind eye or I looked relatively together at the time, cause let me just tell you, compared to today's get ups? Oh honey. Oh I was so not properly dressed. Pretty sure this was still when I'd slick my hair back into a tight ponytail.. oof nope not my best look.

That said, we all start somewhere, but dang..)

I definitely had regular partners through that time, though they've changed drastically! It wouldn't be for a couple years that I'd meet Kaiju, Respect-women-juice, and Steals - my longest running, in-and-out-of-dance friends! Let alone more recent friendships..

Oof the early days. Parents dropping me off and picking me up. Then me driving myself but having to be home by 11 for the first year of my license. The different parking lots - North, South, and finally the underground (and my SPOT. I miss my spot. And B. I hope she's doing okay.)

I miss Lindy so much. I relatively regularly attended from that point on. It was a key part of my week for almost half of my life. It's definitely shaped so many parts of my life - respect, communication, kindness, joy, confidence, self-respect.. and much more I know. Heck, even gender roles - I remember getting so excited about leading and talking to a non-dance person as I got better. They were confused as to why being ambidancetrous was a goal and thought it was odd for people to be swapping around the 'fundamental dynamic' of a guy leading and girl following. Meanwhile I was so excited about leading I forgot that was even a view.

(My feelings were captured in the in image below:)

I miss dance. I miss the feeling of a good swingout. Of hitting the break perfectly. Of a favorite song coming on and despeRATELY NEEDING TO FIND THAT PERSON. I miss seeing other dancers in public and getting all excited. I miss trying a dance with a stranger and having it go REALLY FREAKING WELL. I miss finding story songs with Sandman and playing all sorts of characters. I miss laughing when messing up. I miss messing up but playing it off. I miss playing off an entire song cause neither of us are feeling it so we both just act ridiculous. I miss switch dances. I miss getting more confident in my lead. I miss dancing outside Lindy and Peanut-Butter & Dance. I miss hugging my friends. And getting good dips. And everyone's "dance outfits." I miss the Sisters' elaborate themes. The regular FEAST of snacks. I miss Heroes sneaking me in. I miss helping afterwards and catching up with everyone. I miss the peppermints at Lindy and having to move my "spot" for my stuff when the corner would get crowded. I miss the friends I'd make in the ladies lounge. I miss dance shoes. And space. And Camp Hollywood.. frick I miss Camp Hollywood. Days of dancing. The whole mindset being different. (And I was even going to bring ACTUAL food this year! (Not that protein bars and bananas aren't great, but.. variety)

I miss the music. The go to songs. I miss the smells of each of my favorite dance places. I miss feeling like I'm "coming home" every time.. And even if I have very low energy, still having a lovely night talking away to someone.

Especially Lindy. It did feel like home. I knew so many folks there. It was a wonderful home outside school, outside Old Street/New Street. It was my own space where I'd created myself. (Not in a facade way - quite the opposite. Where I'd built myself and my adult identity up from the roots.) It was my space. Not in an owning way, but in an independence way. Before I attended professional mixers and conferences, before I started at Engineering School, before I'd really had full on interviews - I was already my own person, forged by way of jazz music and incredible dancers.

That last part of the sentence is still off. Mostly cause it reduces dance to two things. But eh.

Of course as an adult there's so much more to learn about dance. Now is the perfect time to catch up on my swing history. It's changed over the years and I want to know that change. It's meant more than just light-hearted movements, and I want to catch up.

It's not stagnant. There's much more to know.

I've ignored dance due to "new physics" and therefore subconsciously not letting myself connect with that part of me. But there are other pieces I can learn without actually dancing.

Now is the perfect time for that.

[triple-a-enderdragon]

How many times can you say the clock is ticking? Because now it’s

TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

First | Previous | Next

Biffa was living. The rush of battle was one he'd missed, even if he had felt it not that long ago. It was too long, in his opinion. He never thought it was fair that Python and especially Iskall got to face world hoppers. But at the same time, he trusted False's judgment enough to follow her direction. The thrill of the fights she did leave to him were well worth it.

In his anticipation for the next skirmish, he almost missed False's signal, pointing him to where their target was.

Landing in the torch-lit clearing, Biffa took in two things: Grian was alive, if a bit worse for wear; and his assailant had their back exposed. Swiftly crossing the clearing, he laid into the intruder, leaving a deep rent in their back. Biffa was a bit surprised they didn't drop, and followed through with a vicious blow to the head. That did the trick.

"Grian." False had also crossed the clearing to check on the builder. "Are you badly hurt?"

"Nothing that's too serious. I'd managed to avoid most of it," Grian said, checking himself over. Sure enough, he had a cut on his left arm and a nasty bruise developing on one cheek.

False gingerly brushed the bruise. "You took a head blow," she said. "A visit to Joe, if he's still awake, would be a good idea. When you're done with that, Impulse wants you to go to Tango's base."

"Tango's base? Did he say why?"

"He did not. I'm sure you'll find out when you get there."

Biffa interrupted them. "It's gotten dark. Mobs will start spawning, and I don't want to be here when they do."

False looked at him, amused. "You had no problem fighting just now."

"Yes, against a limited foe." Biffa looked her in the eye. "I remember the dangers of a hardcore world, mobs being the biggest one." He knew she did too. She nodded and wordlessly took to the skies, leaving Grian and Biffa to follow.

~~~

"Well, I would advise you from doing anything too ridiculous, but I've heard what you have to do tomorrow. Ridiculous definitely, even a bit cliché." Joe looked at Grian, then at Cub. "Then again, we can't have Concorp at half capacity, can we? Besides, I do want to see this for myself, seems delightfully absurd."

Grian looked a little confused, though it may have been the head injury. "What about Xisuma?"

Joe raised one eyebrow. Confused enough to say X's name more-or-less right. "Right! Can't forget about him. Anyway, I'm sure you're needed elsewhere to restore balance to the scales," he said as he herded Grian out of the Ministry. "Thanks for stopping by, Grian. It can get lonely with only the undead and the actual dead as company."

"Is Cleo the only one visiting? Shouldn't you get out more?"

"I understand your concern, but— while I'm no Scar— I'm no stranger to death. I'd rather stay in relative safety until I can risk being surprised by a creeper again."

Watching Grian go, Joe's thoughts wandered to a certain person intimately linked to death. He would have to see if Cleo was interested in watching what would unfold. And, Joe admitted, he would be too scared to do so alone.

~~~

There was only so much of the Nether that Python was willing to take at one time, and he felt he was getting mighty close to that limit. He'd already spent quite a bit of time gathering quartz for his ambitious builds in Tower Bay over the last few months.

Gathering quartz turned out to be the distraction he and Iskall set out for themselves. Keeping a watch on the temperature, they were able to ignore the frustration and unease with their situation. A careful trip to the gold farm kept their gear and tools in top shape. Food was not yet a concern, water was managed through the careful melting of ice.

The pigmen turned out to be less of a threat than the two thought; the hostiles still swarmed on sight, but always seemed to get distracted long enough for Iskall and Python to make a hasty escape.

So they mined quartz. Hours passed, with rests intermittent, before they found another problem.

Iskall was in front of the array of double chests, laden with quartz, trying to find space for the latest haul. He wasn't finding any. Rubbing his left eye, he walked to his ender chest and started looking for some wood. Which he didn't find. He looked at Python, also rummaging around his ender chest. "Python?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"You have any wood, by chance? I'm all out, and I need some for more chests."

Python's rummaging increased, shulker boxes opening and closing, before he said, "No, sorry man. I'm out as well."

"Dang it! I guess I'll be carrying around a bunch of quartz."

"You don't have any empty shulker boxes, or any empty spaces, at least?"

Iskall scanned his ender chest again. "Well, there's a bit of space, but still not enough. Ah, that's fine, at least I have some inventory space now," he said as he put the now full shulker box into his ender chest.

"If you're up for it, we should take one last trip to the gold farm," Python said. "Some of my gear's running low."

Iskall, feeling a headache coming on, said the wrong thing. "Yeah, I'm up for it."

~~~

Tango spent almost an hour, pacing his base, listening for the rockets that would signal Grian's approach. Since he and Impulse learned where the winged man was, they were on edge; even more than they already were. It wasn't until Grian landed in front of him with nary a whisper, startling him to the high heavens, that Tango remembered.

"Grian! You can't do that to me, man! Give a hoot or something, you about gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry about that; I forget how silently I fly now," Grian said sheepishly.

"It certainly woke me up." Tango was about to brief Grian, but he saw the colorful bruise Grian was sporting. "Oh, ow. That looks like it hurts. Didn't get out of the skirmish unscathed, huh?"

Grian poked at the bruise, wincing. "No, but frankly, I'm lucky it's not worse. By the way, what are we doing? It has something to do with the Nether, I hope?"

At this, Tango was all business. "Yes. The thing we need is at X's base, coincidentally. Stress and TFC are already there."

"What's going to happen?"

"Honestly? I have no idea. I'm just going with the flow here, man." Tango was very unsure of himself, but continued, "When it gets down to it, I'll know."

As they look to the skies, Grian looked unconvinced.

~~~

If anyone was near the stock exchange, they would have heard shouting. A lot of it. As it happened, "anyone" turned out to be Mumbo, heading to the shopping district for some last-minute supplies.

He stuck his head into the station and, in between the bursts of surprisingly expletive-free fury, said, "Doc? You ok in here?"

A pause, a concerning crash, and Doc huffed his way into view. "Everything's fine."

Mumbo didn't take his hint and came closer, hopping the turnstile easily. "It doesn't sound like it. Besides, I asked if you were ok, and you didn't answer."

If looks could kill, the redstone contraption in the corner would have exploded. Mumbo briefly wondered if, with a few tweaks, Doc's eye could produce that effect. Or something similar. But it didn't, and the redstone build stayed in one piece. Doc sighed and walked over to an overturned shulker box spilling comparators, droppers, and other redstone bits and bobs over the floor.

As he shoved all the items back in the shulker box, he said, "Something is going on. Something's happening to me." He pointed at the build in the corner. "You know what that's supposed to be?"

Mumbo walked over to it and inspected the innards of it. Not even half a minute had passed before he answered, "I would think it would produce a sort of vending machine effect. Is that what you were going for?"

"Yes! It's supposed to dispense one stack of ender pearls or cookies when a diamond is deposited, but something is always wrong. Either the wrong item is dispensed, the wrong amount is, nothing happens; I know what's wrong each time. I fix it each time. But something else always pops up!" After a pause, Doc said, "I don't know what to do, and I'm at my wit's end here."

Now that Mumbo knew what Doc was trying to achieve, it took him all of a minute to find and fix the problem. He went back in front and said, "Try it now."

Doc put a diamond in the input chest and pressed the ender pearl button. He then stared at Mumbo in resignation as sixteen ender pearls hit him in the chest one by one.

"I guess it works now."

Doc kept staring at him. "What was it?"

"The timing of one repeater was off, giving only a partial stack," Mumbo answered, a bit concerned.

Doc placed a hand on the vending machine, lights flickering on his cybernetics. "I don't understand. Every time I fixed the timings..."

"Well, it's all working now. Really neat design, by the way."

"Heh. Thanks. Are you going to the event happening soon?"

"Yeah," Mumbo said, "I have to really see this stuff to believe it; this whole Elemental thing. I would say it's exciting, but..." He stopped. "Anyway, are you going?"

"No. I've got a bad feeling about it. Besides, I have," Doc looked down the tunnel, "other things to do."

"Well, good luck with those. Hopefully, they're not as stubborn as the vending machine," Mumbo said as he prepared to leave. "I'll see you around, mate."

As he left, he saw a curious scene: Doc, standing in the middle of the rail line, didn't seem to hear him. Staring down the tunnel, he was muttering and scratching his right arm. Mumbo didn't know what to make of it, and so took his leave.

Shopping driven from his mind, he had somewhere to be.

"Something's happening to me."

~~~

Getting to the gold farm was never as bad as getting back from it. Every hermit had forgotten to reequip their elytra at least once, some more than others.

Knowing this, Iskall and Python took extra care to double and triple check, to cross-verify, that both had their elytra equipt.

However, every time Iskall went to descend, something stopped him. He couldn't really explain it, like some internal force keeping him rooted to one spot. And the fear. There was nothing to be afraid of, he knew. He could hear the distant sound of Python, next to him, trying to get his attention. But it wasn't as loud as the voice.

Do not jump.

Iskall never saw the ghast.

~~~

Impulse was waiting; if you could call it that. Grian and Tango had arrived about an hour ago, and the latter said he needed to wait for the sun's zenith before he could continue. Impulse had asked what the zenith had to do with anything, Tango couldn't answer him. Said it was a 'gut feeling'. And since Impulse couldn't speed up the sun, he waited.

Various hermits had filtered in over the past hour. Zedaph was there, giving much-needed moral support to Impulse and Tango. False and Wels were ready to jump into X's Nether portal as soon as they were able. Mumbo had given Impulse a thumbs up when he arrived, too anxious to speak.

A few hermits weren't there. Joe, Cleo, and Scar were at the Ministry watching over Cub. Biffa, Jevin, Doc, and Ren all said they weren't coming, and Impulse didn't blame them. If he didn't have to be here, he most likely wouldn't be here.

Impulse heard movement; Tango was showing the other three 'avatars' to their corresponding spots around the altar. Stress to the North, Grian to the East, TFC to the West, and Tango himself to the South. They were interrupted by a buzz from their comms–

iskall85 fell from a high place

–and the world exploded into brilliant diamond blue light.

[atopearth]

Ayakashi: Romance Reborn Part 1 - Book I (Dawn Chapter)

The introduction of each of the guys are pretty nice, you can kinda gauge what personalities they have from their voiced one liners hahaha. I love Yakumo’s looks! Although he seems kinda strangely obsessed with the heroine lol. I think I have a soft spot for Tatsuomi the most though, he just seems so gentle and considerate~🥰 Kuya seems pretty cute too! Kinda cool that he’s an author. I think it was really nice how Toichiro described the heroine’s father’s job (selling antiques); bringing artifacts and people together does sound like a very nice and heartwarming thing. All these items are rich in history whether it be the materials, previous ownership etc, and I think it’s wonderful to see these things continue to be used through the ages. Must be saddening for the heroine to see her Dad possessed by spirits enough to strangle her, especially since they seem close enough to promise to always have dinner together, luckily Tama saved her. Lmao at her not believing his “human” form that he is her cat lol. Hmmm, so Wraiths (evil spirits) possess humans because they lack physical forms, why do they wreak havoc though? Just their type of thing to do? Lol. Hmm and only onmyoji diviners or ayakashi can deal with Wraiths. I think it’s really cool how the heroine proactively decided for herself that she needed to be the one to save her father even though Koga and Toichiro were dealing with it. Everything is happening really fast for her, but it’s nice to see that she’s focused on saving her father and she’ll do whatever she can for that.

Dang, Nachi (Tama) was saved by the original onmyoji that used this kagura bell (that awakened the heroine’s latent spiritual powers) 1000 years ago, and he promised to protect the next diviner who wields it, so I guess he’ll be like her bodyguard now haha. Personally, I quite like Koga and his chill personality, rolling dice to decide whether he would listen to her and help her out was cute. On the other hand, Toichiro seems a bit more..like a businessman I guess, he does things depending on whether he thinks it’s worth it? Anyway, seeing from the prologue, the premise is pretty simple and cliche, but the guys seem pretty nice, so hopefully this will be good!🤭

Book I - Bonds (Dawn Chapter) Kinda scary to think that the heroine could get tossed into jail (or even killed!) for being an onmyoji, since the government is getting more into western science and wants to fully kick out this supernatural stuff that they think is unnecessary, especially when only those with spiritual powers can see Wraiths, so really, I guess it’s not really crazy to do from their perspective. It couldn’t be helped that the heroine had to reveal herself to Kyonosuke (guy in the Onikiri forces from the military), the heroine can’t let a poor innocent possessed person die in front of her when she has the powers to relieve him from the Wraith. But it’s still kinda saddening to think about Kyonosuke’s words though, that if they didn’t kill the possessed guy, then they would die, I wonder how many people have died because no onmyoji was there to save them… Pretty slack of them to force the heroine to help them banish Wraiths by keeping her father captive so she’ll do their bidding, I know they’re desperate, but the way they’re doing things is just so ughhh. Lol Kyonosuke! Not really an “offer” if the heroine barely has any choice on this situation!

I love the story of the amulet. I love how after her father knew how lonely the heroine got when she was young, he promised and made sure that no matter how busy he got, he’d have dinner every night with her. It’s a simple thing, but really important to stay connected considering how her mother had passed away and he has to work for them to live. That’s the most important thing though, being honest with your kid and doing your best to at least spend a little bit of time with them everyday even if it’s only a bit. Hmmm I wonder why Aoi can see Wraiths. Lmao at how prickly he is loll, but at least he kinda tried to thank her for saving his sketchbook. Akiyasu seems like a shy and nice onmyoji haha. I find it rather cute how Koga seems to help everyone in town solve their problems in a very charismatic way? He kinda has that “whatever happens happens” attitude, and yet he kinda bestows wisdom on the people whatever the outcome becomes to their problems, he’s pretty cool. It’s saddening the heroine doesn’t get to see her father, but I guess letters are better than nothing (assuming they actually give it). Ginnojo is a bookseller? So cutee when their hands touched and he blushed and froze up loll. Okay, omg, everyone is so cute in their own way, it was so adorable of Akiyasu to ask the heroine to come back to hang with him every now and then since he doesn’t have many friends, especially ones that are onmyoji. Lmao at Akiyasu getting out of his comfort zone and starting to babble on about facts on purification (the only way to defeat Wraiths since what the heroine learnt in the beginning only temporarily banishes them). Hmmm and in order to perform purifications, she needs to make contracts with five ayakashi and have a sacred weapon~ or not! The Kagura Bell wand she possesses has already made the contracts, so she just needs to find those ayakashi!

Gotta love Kuya’s priorities for ice cream, he stopped a thief just to get compensation for his dropped ice cream, although he got too lazy to chase after him haha. Mmm so the heroine is the reincarnation of the onmyoji who had this bell 1000 years ago, oh and the contracted ayakashi guys are reincarnations too! It’s kinda crazy that Yura has these past memories of 1000 years ago though, and dang he and Gaku are so cute~ Nice to see everyone so readily agreeing to help the heroine out to cleanse the Wraiths, but dang, Yura and Gaku are going to be living with her! Ooooh, they’re tsukumo-gami, so Yura is a dragon flute and Gaku is a hand drum! They’re items that have lived long enough to acquire an ayakashi soul, crazyyy. It’s quite cute with how fond of sweets Yura is haha, and oooh I was wondering what a milk hall is! Lmao at Kuya saying it serves milk, it apparently serves more westernised food and drinks, so it’s great for light snacks~ Ohh wow! Kuro is part of a circus group! That was unexpected. Ooh so, Ginnojo is so blue because he’s a Mizuchi Dragon which resembles water serpents? Gyaaa, Oji is an ayakashi with 100 eyes?? That sounds so scary… Hmmm Aoi is a Satori seer, so he has the power to read hearts and minds…interesting. And now the heroine has gathered up her party! And they’re all just having a picnic lmao, but it’s nice to see them all gathered up so fast and willingly helping her lol.

It actually sounds kind of saddening that Yura is cursed to only be able to play the song of death with his Dragon flute…but it’s sweet how much Gaku tries to look out for him. I wonder why Ginnojo tasks himself to get rid of these criminals in the town, did he used to do stuff like that? I really liked how the heroine approached them all. It was obvious that the purification was going to be a failure and the guys and her wouldn’t be united since they barely know each other, but it’s nice to see her acknowledge that and want to improve their relationship and be the comrades in arms that Ginnojo treats them as. Even if they may not be familiar with each other, they can just get to know each other better now and not rely on their past relationships that they don’t remember, and I agree with the heroine, the best way to do that is through food! It’s nice to see Oji and Aoi’s bonds are pretty deep, Aoi would risk his life to protect these flowers Oji really cherishes, whereas Oji expresses that these flowers can’t compare to how much he needs Aoi. I guess Aoi is really grateful to Oji for saving his life when he was on the verge of death, and even providing him a place here in the shop. Btw Aoi is so cute, I love how he tries so hard to hide his true feelings with his snarky words, but his blushing betrays him hahaha. Their previous appearances are so pretty!! I love them!

Akiyasu is really cool. He’s a soldier during the day because he hopes to repeal the laws on onmyoji, he thinks that they are necessary and for the best of the capital. So as he tries to do that in the daylight, he continues his onmyoji duties at night, he really doesn’t rest does he lol, but I guess he’s got his hands full with so much to fight for haha. I guess Kuya got his emblem back because he gained respect towards the heroine? Dangg he looks so different from back then though hahaha. I’m pretty glad that the heroine got to say her piece to Koga though, it’s nice that he’s so protective and caring all the time, but if they’re going to work together to defeat Wraiths, he’s got to learn to rely on her (at least sometimes lol!). Koga’s past self looks nearly exactly the same hahaha! Dang, older Yura looks hot! It’s nice to see them all united together to be able to defeat the Raiju, the CG is so pretty😄 I guess I’m surprised but also not really surprised that Akiyasu was the one wreaking havoc in the capital by putting hexes, spreading evil energy and Wraiths, to get revenge on this country that eliminated the Onmyo bureau and murdered his father for being an onmyoji. It’s saddening, but also understandable, especially when these people killed so many onmyoji (probably), and now they’re trying to rely on and force onmyoji to do their bidding again, how shameful could they get? But the true victims are the people who live in the capital, so yeah, that’s sad. Legit can’t believe Book I ended with Akiyasu hexing and possibly killing the heroine’s father?? That’s so terrible!

Overall, I quite like this game. It’s pretty simple, the story is straightforward, but still nice and it kinda makes you curious about what will happen because I feel like Book I is the true prologue hahaha. Although, I do admit that I don’t feel enough for the characters or the story yet to really say anything about who I like the most etc, I feel like it’s pretty slow and is taking its time with everything, so I think I’ll check out Book II and hope that I’ll have a better opinion on this hahaha. Otherwise, leveling up my ranks to get keys to read the story can be pretty tedious though. I only started reading the story after getting to rank 116 lolll. Hopefully I have enough keys… It’s still less tedious than Mr Love though loll.

[the-gedonelune-times]

Proof Of Innocence Ch. 1

Hello, hello! It’s been a little while since the last time I’ve uploaded any new content. But today I’m bringing you a two-part story featuring my Night Class OC: Persephone! I’ve been really excited to get back into writing with my OC’s, especially her because I feel like I haven’t been giving her as much attention as I’d like to.

Anyways, enough with that rambling. Ahem. Anyways, another little update is that I have been working a little bit on the requests and while I know that it’s been a while since the requests were sent in my ask box, I want to once again say that they will be done. I have no intention of not doing the stories requested of me. 

Anyways! I hope you guys enjoy!

“Alright, mind telling me why the hell you called me into your office this time?”

I took a seat on the sofa and kicked my feet up on the coffee table, which only drew a glare in my direction.

“Hey, this is a serious matter.”

“Alright, alright. So what’s the issue?”

“I was told to bring this up to you, but it looks like there was a theft report.”

“Okay, and how is this important? I mean, people in Night Class lose things all the time. I don’t see why I’m being brought here for such nonsense and quite frankly I think this is a waste of my time.”

I was about to get up when Hiro stopped me.

“You’ll want to hear the rest of this, believe me.”

I clicked my tongue and sank back down onto the sofa.

“Fine, go off I guess.”

“The problem with all this is because something was stolen from a Ministry member while they were visiting the headmaster to discuss some stuff or whatever. Tsk and some Day Class student said it was a Night Class student that did it.”

“Wait...you’re not seriously thinking it was me, are you?!” 

I bolted upright from the sofa, shouting out a bit louder than I had wanted.

“Yeesh, calm down Persephone.”

“How am I supposed to be calm? I mean, why are you even telling me all this?”

“Because the people that accused a Night Class student, are specifically accusing Viggo and we know how close you two are.”

“W...What? Are you serious? Viggo might pull pranks and get into fights sometimes, but he wouldn’t do something like this. I mean, you’re not buying this crap, right?”

I looked at Zeus and then Hiro and Lucious. They said nothing and couldn’t even make direct eye contact with me.

“I...can't believe this. You all seriously think he did it.”

“Think about it, I mean that guy literally got sent to the Ministry’s juvenile institute before in the past.”

“But I know he--”

“Just because he’s your friend doesn’t mean he’s not probably hiding something from you.”

I felt my hands ball up into a fist out of anger. “Oh yeah?! Well, I've spent enough time to know he wouldn’t do something as petty as steal from someone! So until you come up with some hardcore evidence, then I don’t even want to hear about another word about this. You guys are on your own!”

I turned my back on them and left the office, not even stopping when I heard Zeus and the others call out to me, asking me to come back. I just had to get as far away from there and as soon as possible. I contemplated on stopping by and paying Viggo a visit, but after what just happened, I decided to go back to my dorm room and calm myself down.

Hours passed by and it was already well into morning and yet I still couldn’t see my self sleeping any time soon. I just couldn’t shake the words out of my mind. Zeus was so eager to jump at the conclusion of Viggo actually being the culprit. I had assumed that was because of the bad blood between those two, but Hiro and Lucious never even said anything to stop him. I….I knew he wasn’t the one behind this theft, I just knew it. But how was I going to prove to the others that Viggo was innocent?

“Prove to them that Viggo is innocent….That’s it!” I sat upright with a smile on my face. “I’ll start my own investigation into the case and prove that Viggo is innocent.”

With a triumphant grin, I laid back down on my bed, finally able to ease into a well-deserved slumber before taking action against the accusations of Viggo. 

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

Night had fallen once more and it was time for classes. I was filled with determination as I stepped through the hallways of the Night Class. I had passed by Zeus on my way to my first class, but neither of us said a single word to each other, nor did we make direct eye contact. It was for the best, I didn’t want to hold a conversation with him just yet.

I continued the day just like I normally would and when it was time for a break, I took the time to slip away from the Night Class and head over to the detention chambers. Viggo was on the bed in the far left corner in the shadows. I could see that his back was turned though, or it was until I gave a good bang on the metal bars, ultimately ending with me getting an earful of swearing from Viggo.

“Rise and shine.” I smirked.

“Was that really necessary?” Viggo groggily made his way over to where I was standing and placed his hands on the bars. “Hey, did you bring any food or water? I haven’t really received much of anything.”

“As per usual, I already have it covered.” 

I reached over into my satchel that was attached to my side, pulling out a bottle of water and a variety of different snacks in a small bag.

“Hopefully this will be enough to hold you until they bring you your food for the day.”

I handed the stuff to him through the bars and watched as he began to scarf down the water like a ravenous beast.

“We’ll see. Thanks by the way.”

“No problem.”

“So what’s up with the visit today?”

“What do you mean? I usually come and visit you here.”

“Yeah, but usually not this early. Are classes even done for the night? Because it sure doesn’t feel like it has.”

“No. They haven’t. But enough with this. The real question that should be asked right now, is what happened that landed you here in the detention chamber this time?”

Viggo sighed and leaned up against the wall.

“I may have gotten into a bit of a scuffle while in pursuit of someone shady.”

“What? Who?”

“Zeus, that damn airhead thinks he ca--”

“No, I mean. What do you mean by ‘shady person’?”

“Oh, yeah. Some guy that I’ve never seen before was acting really strange. Pacing back and forth and shuffling about with his hands, I mean the dude clearly looked like he was planning something, or had already done something and didn’t know what to do next.”

“Did he look like he was part of the Night Class?”

“Yeah...I guess? To be honest, he didn’t even look like he went to this school. Never had a cloak on or anything.”

“I see. Alright, then what did he looked like?”

“Tall, black hair, kind of pale skin? Wait, why are you asking me all these questions for?”

“No reason, just curiosity I suppose.”

“You know what they say don’t you?”

“Hm?”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

A smirk rose to my face. “Lucky for me that I’ll still have 8 more lives.”

“You’re a smartass.” Viggo laughed.

“Heh…” I took a step back from the bars and sighed. “Shame that I have to head back up there with the others.”

“Why is that a shame? I mean, they’re not Day Class.”

“True, but they’re not all as entertaining as you.”

“Oh how sweet, your words have touched my heart.”

I let out a fake gasp and placed a hand to my mouth. “You have one of those?”

“Get out of here.” Viggo smiled.

I laughed before taking another step back and then spinning on my heel to head out of the detention chambers. The trip had proven useful considering the small but important pieces of information that I had received. Yes, it wasn’t a lot to go off by, but I knew it was going to help. Now, where should I begin searching….

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

I began to ponder all the spots around and in the Night Class, when suddenly I bumped into someone.

“Hey, watch where you’re going.”

“You’re the one who wasn’t paying attention.”

That voice….

“Hiro?” I looked at him with a hint of curiosity. What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you by the detention chamber.”

“What I do, should be of no one’s concern.”

“It is when there’s an urgent situation.”

“Urgent situation?” I scoffed. “What, did someone else lose something.”

“Worse. The Ministry has sent out Klaus and a few other agents to come and investigate.”

“Seriously? What in the world was it that got stolen anyway?”

“We don’t know much, but we do know is that it was an object that was going to be used to help keep the peace between Gedonelune and Graceus. I’m sure you’ve heard of the recent diplomatic issues going on.”

“Well….yeah, but….”

“Well, then you can imagine how serious of a case this is.”

I fell silent, unable to think of what to say next. 

“Listen, all I’m saying is that if you wish to pay a visit to Viggo, then you’re going to have to be alert at all times. If they don’t find the culprit soon, then you know what will happen to Viggo.”

“I know… hey….wait.”

“Yeah?”

“You mentioned about finding the culprit, I thought you all were blaming Viggo.”

“That was all Zeus. If Lucious or I would have stepped in, then King Kook would have gone on a rampage and I wasn’t ready to deal with a headache that early in the night.”

I suddenly began to feel rather guilty for getting so upset with the three of them, even with Zeus, I mean, he was just like that. I looked over and wanted to apologize but was cut off from doing so when Hiro began speaking.

“I should get going and I’d advise that you leave too before King Kook finds out about this.”

“You’re not going to tell him?”

“No.”

“Heh...you’re pretty dang cool Hiro.”

”Yeah...yeah… just get going already.” 

I left the scene as quickly as I could, but around that time, I noticed something, or rather someone, out of the corner of my eye. I wasn’t able to get a look at who they were, on account of them moving about so quickly. All I could take note of was the flowy, jacket that they wore, it vaguely resembled a school uniform cloak. The odd thing about this person was that they were running about on the roof of the school, trying to blend with the darkness of night. They seemed to be heading somewhere in a hurry too, but where exactly? Suddenly,it dawned on me…

Viggo’s words back at the detention chambers began to ring in my ears, he too saw a mysterious figure and the more I looked at the figure, the more similarities I noticed between them and the figure Viggo had previously mentioned. Could this be the shady person that Viggo saw earlier? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me should that be the case. Perhaps I should follow them? I was about to, but then I realized that if I did that right now and skipped class, then that would draw some suspicion towards me, something that I really didn’t need at the moment. 

As hard as it was, I headed to my next class instead of pursuing a possible suspect, but that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t keep note of the figure for the next time I see them. Next time….I would track them down and ask them a few questions, until then, I’d just have to wait.

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

A few days had passed by since then and things had calmed down for the most part. The Ministry was still silently doing their investigation and there hadn’t been any other info regarding the case, or at least according to Zeus and the other Night Class prefects. The only thing that had been bugging the absolute crap out of me was the fact that I had yet to catch another glimpse of the mysterious figure from a few days ago. Each night I had kept a keen eye on my surroundings, only for nothing out of the ordinary to happen. It was to the point where I began to wonder if maybe I’d never get another chance to see the guy.

But that changed when I was on my way back to the dorms. Classes had ended for the day and the sun would be rising in mere minutes and it was around that time when I noticed that same mysterious figure, except this time, he wasn’t on the rooftops, he was just ahead of me and traveling in the same direction as the Night Class dorms.

It looked like he hadn’t detected my presence yet, or maybe he had and was refusing to acknowledge yet, well, whatever the case, I decided to duck down and hide in the nearby shadows, inching closer every time he moved ahead. I continued this for what seemed like forever, I mean by this point, the sun was already up and the light was starting to hurt my eyes so much that I was getting a pretty bad headache. I was at a disadvantage and I knew this, so I stepped out from my hiding place, ready to confront the figure ahead of me.

“My my, is stalking some kind of pastime for you freaks?”

“Is being a smartass, yours?”

I watched as a smirk rose to his lips. “How admirable. I haven’t had someone actually talk back to me in a long time. Most would have fled by now.”

“How about we save some time here by having you explain why you’re running around the Academy, looking like some kind of shady illegal magic tools dealer.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“How come?”

“If I do, then it’ll ruin all the fun that’s to come.”

“What the hell are you blabbering about?”

“Simply put, you’ll be hearing and seeing me a bit more in the future. But I advise that you quit trying to be a hero and save your guilty friend from his fate. Or you’ll end up the same way.”

“Alright, that’s it, I’m going to kick your a-- ah!”

A blindingly bright light caused me to stagger back and hold at my head while tightly closing my eyes. The pain was unbearable for a few moments before dying down to the point where I was able to open my eyes again. When I did, I noticed that the figure was gone.

“Dammit!” 

I balled my hands into a fist and slammed it against the nearest object that I could find. I had gotten a few steps closer to solving the case, or so I thought. But now I felt like I was even farther from it now than when I first started my own investigation. I had to go see Zeus and ask him about the guy I saw, at the very least, he might know something about it. He was one of my few options that I had left. 

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

“Zeus! Open up the damn door!”

I kept banging on the door a few more times before enough was enough. I ended up kicking the door open, only to find that his office was completely empty. 

“Seriously?”

“Huh, Persephone?”

I turned around to see who called out my name, finding Fandamilla standing there behind me.

“Oh, Fandamilla.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for Zeus and the others, have you seen them?”

“Yeah, they left a little while ago. I guess they were called for an important mission by the Headmaster.”

“Do you know when they’ll be back?”

“Not for a day or maybe two, why?”

“Of all the times…. Look, can I ask a favor from you?”

“Oh, sure, what is it?”

“When they get back, can you let them know that I’ve been looking for them?”

“O-Okay! Wait, but why can’t you do it yourself?”

“I...have some important matters of my own that I need to take care of.”

“I see. Alright, I’ll give them the message.”

“You’re a lifesaver!”

I called out to Fandamilla before speeding away, there were a few things that I needed to get done with. In other words, I needed to do a little research. Something had caught my eye the day I saw that man up close, it was a certain crest in the shape of a small pin that was on his jacket. I never got a good look, but I had a vague image in my mind, if I could just find something to piece it together with.

Lucky for me, no one was in the library at the time I entered, which was good because I needed all the peace and quiet that I could get if I was going to figure this out. I must have grabbed at least a dozen books and after hours of researching, none of them offered any help whatsoever. I groaned as I sat the latest book down on the messy stack beside me. This kind of process would continue for the next day and a half until….

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

I had just made it back for another round of studying when I was suddenly stopped by a red-haired man clad in a Ministry uniform for Elite Knights. Next to him stood a golden-haired and sharp violet-eyed man who also wore a Ministry uniform. They blocked my way, refusing to let me into the library.

“You’re Persephone right?”

“Yes? What’s it to you?”

“Well, Miss Onyx, I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us.”

“What?” “Please don’t make this harder for us. Turn around and place your hands behind your back immediately.”

“No way! What have I ack!”

My hands were forcibly taken by a Ministry guard, and placed behind my back where a pair of handcuffs were placed tightly on my wrists. 

“Miss Onyx, you’ll be getting sent to the detention chamber where you will remain for questioning.”

“Hang on just a second, why are you doing this!? Can you at least give me an answer?”

“We have knowledge that you were an accomplice in the recent theft case.”

“What the hell are you talking about! I never stole anything!”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Guards, take her away.”

“No, stop! I never did anything wrong!”

I cried out, desperately trying to remove myself from their grasp, only to fail. I was escorted away to the chambers. It wasn’t my first time being in here, but when the door was closed on me, I truly felt like a criminal. I was being accused of helping out with a crime I didn’t commit. The worse part was, it was a theft case regarding the Ministry, I knew the severity of this and for the first time in years, I truly felt fearful…..

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Shattered, 7

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editors Drucilla and BlueShifted!

C'mon, guys you didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?

Includes a loving shout-out to one of my favorite Disney flicks. Also, I'll admit this story is getting harder for me to write because it's so dang depressing. I gotta make the next one a thousand percent funnier to make up for it.

Summary: On the night of her first party, Minnie uncovers the reasons behind the celebration, but an unwelcome guest will make for a horrifying reunion.

With the party now known all across the kingdom, Minnie was whisked away to Daisy's castle for “final preparations”. She was given a warm bath, which was so heavenly Minnie nearly fell asleep in the water, then brushed and dressed with the finest of care at Daisy's fingertips. At all times Minnie kept an eye on the rose and satchel she had with her, making sure they never left her sight. Ratface stayed outside, walking along the windows and making sure no tricks or traps were lying in wait for them.

Minnie remained quiet, allowing Daisy to do the majority of the talking up until they were nearly finished and the party was about to begin. The girls were in Daisy's gigantic bedroom, which was nearly the size of Minnie's house, and Daisy was carefully tying up the last details on Minnie's outfit. The red dress they'd chosen, after a long time deliberating, was nothing short of gorgeous. The puffy sleeves and frills at her feet made Minnie feel like another person entirely. She wondered what Mickey would think of it.

Daisy was brushing Minnie's hair again, making sure the rose would fit perfectly alongside her ear – clearly this flower was important to Minnie. “Don't you look like the belle of the ball, Minnie! I swear, all eyes will be on you. You shan't get a moment's peace.”

Minnie could see herself in a long vanity mirror, and she wanted to enjoy the sight. After all, mirrors and other reflective surfaces had been forbidden in her home. Here she was, with pretty things for a not-so-pretty girl. It was like a dream come true. She wanted to take in the splendor of the fabric, the touches of make-up adorning her face, the shoes that glittered underneath the candles. She felt pretty for the first time in her life, and wished nothing more than to merely bask in it.

But her blue eyes wouldn't allow it. They were a reminder of what was waiting for her beyond the kingdom, and who needed her help. The chill in her chest was growing stronger. “Daisy? May I ask you something?”

“You may ask me anything you please, my darling,” Daisy replied as she adjusted the large bow on Minnie's back before resuming brushing. “Consider me an open book. What chapter interests you most?”

Ratface, in a moment of brief privacy between them, had told Minnie earlier than such questions should be handled with grace and finesse. Minnie didn't know what those things were, so, as usual, she went blunt. “Are you in love with Donald?”

Snap. Minnie glanced over her shoulder and saw that Daisy had broken the hand-brush in two, her eyes wide as saucers. “How... how did you know?!”

For once Minnie was relieved Ratface wasn't around for this, for she was certain he'd be laughing his fool head off. “Is he why you keep throwing these parties?”

Daisy continued to gawk in a stupid stupor before throwing the broken pieces of the brush on the floor. “Must you be as clever as you are lovely, dear girl?” She walked around Minnie in a circle, hands clenching and unclenching as she tried to choose her words. “Oh, you'd never understand, no one would! I know everyone thinks I'm not bright, I hear the words they whisper... but this is all I can do! He is all I have! I can't stop these parties, I mustn't!”

Minnie was getting dizzy as her eyes tried to follow Daisy while her body stayed still. “Maybe I won't understand,” she admitted. “But I would still like to hear about it, if it's all right with you. You've been very kind to me, even if you're just using me as a pawn.”

“I am noooot!” Daisy whined, stopping her circle in front of Minnie, fists knocking together. “I mean, I am, in a way, but, really, I'm not! Don't call yourself that!” She wavered back and forth between guilt and her own selfish desires before giving in. “Listen, listen my dear one... Some time ago, I was out in the kingdom all by myself... I'm the one who has to run things here, but I wasn't prepared for it! I barely knew what I was doing. I was so worried about everyone and everything that I could hardly sleep or eat... so I thought maybe, if I went among the people, I could know what to do.”

This story seemed familiar, and it didn't take long for Minnie to put the pieces together. “Then you were attacked by robbers?”

Daisy nodded. “Terrible bandits, the whole lot of them. They've been going from land to land, stealing whatever they please, and they saw me as the perfect target. I was cornered in the darkest alleyway, and I didn't know what to do, where to turn for help. I was so scared... I truly thought they might end my life, if they could!” She faced herself in the mirror as her story continued, recalling the muffled screams she'd made as one of the men shoved his hand over her mouth. “We've all been trained to fight off the Snow Queen's minions... but this was something else entirely. My mind just shut down.”

Minnie's satchel was resting neatly in her arms, and she hugged it close, unable to imagine such a fate. Stealing in her homeland was unheard of, because you wouldn't get much. There had been the occasional desperate thief, but they were seen as the lowest of the low, a pitiful sight one could barely stand. “That's when... Donald saved you?”

Daisy's face softened, her fingers touching the mirror. “Yes... he wrestled them away, and made so much noise that it brought more than half the kingdom together to fight them off. I don't think anyone would have known what was happening if it wasn't for his temper. Once those ruffians had been scared off, he helped me to my feet... and he... he had no idea who I was.”

The soft, near whisper quality of those words stirred something in Minnie, though she couldn't understand it. “Why was that so important?”

“Because... he didn't rescue me because I'm a princess.” She began to smile, a genuine small smile without a song or theatrics. It was a far better look, Minnie thought. “He saved me because I needed saving, and that was all. His heart goes out to all in need...he tries so hard to help everyone he can. He's kind, and generous, and brave...when I threw that first party to thank him, he said I'd given everyone great happiness...that they spent so much time preparing for the worst and being afraid that they forgot about the joys in life. That night...we were all happy, we were all the same. Not royals and commoners, but people loving life, and being loved.”

The joys in life – Minnie looked down at the satchel in her hands. What joys did she have at home? Talking with Mickey, being with him? Had there ever been anything more than that? Smiles were so rare, and they would continue to vanish so long as their food supply dwindled. Even if she took Mickey back home, that was no guarantee things would be fixed. What would they do about the endless winter and the dying fields? If they held a party, could they forget about those agonizing days – or merely be reminded of what was to come?

Minnie felt small as those questions weighed on her mind. “Is that why you keep throwing parties? So you could... try to get those feelings to stay?” As wrong as it was, with the money wasted and the soldiers needing to stay on guard, Minnie could sympathize. Wouldn't anyone want their fellow man to be happy, over and over and over again?

Daisy's smile vanished instantly, and her fingers drew in. “I wish I could be that selfless,” she said quietly, looking at herself in the mirror, yet not really seeing herself. “But...so long as the Snow Queen watches us, my love for him puts us both in danger. I can't express it...I can't tell him...or else the soldiers will take us away. And no matter how hard we fight, we keep losing people. If I lost him too...I wouldn't know what to do. I know how horrible it makes me sound...a good girl like you couldn't understand.”

Wouldn't that have been the perfect time to say “of course I do?” and Minnie planned to do so, planned to tell Daisy everything, but Daisy herself prevented it, suddenly straightening up and slapping her own cheeks. “That's enough of that! We have a party to attend, and we mustn't have sad faces for it! No, we shall think only happy thoughts.” With restored confidence, she snatched Minnie's hand and began to drag her off. “Your first party awaits! May the night be long and merry!”

Minnie chided herself at the missed opportunity, but decided there'd always be another. She wasn't as good a girl as Daisy thought – she did want to know what a party was like. Her fingers intertwined with Daisy's, trying to remember all the pictures and words Mickey's books had used to describe parties. Yet for all her memories, it didn't prepare her for the actual sight.

At the end of the long hallway was the grand ballroom, where the golden wonders never ceased. Beautiful men and women were dressed in their fanciest garments, the smell of warm food wafted through the air, and dazzling lights made the stain-glass windows sparkle like newly lit stars. Daisy was saying announcing Minnie's presence to all who could hear, but Minnie wasn't among them – she was too entranced by the sights, smells, and sounds. The sounds! She stepped forward slowly, losing Daisy's hand as she followed the odd sounds that were soft and deep, pleasant and inviting. The crowds parted for her, bemused by her trance.

There, in the middle of it all, were men and women touching foreign objects that made these sounds, and it struck Minnie at once what they were – the hidden things in the attic! The giant with the black and white lines stood out the most, not coated in dust but polished with care. Each line could be pressed and create a different sound, and they were all perfect. She had never heard anything so graceful in all her life, and wanted to keep hearing it always. This... this was music.

Daisy caught up to Minnie, delighted that her new friend was enjoying herself. “Fan of the piano, are you?” she asked cheerfully. “Do you have a favorite song? Tell me, I'll have them play it all night!”

Minnie strained for words. “I... I've never heard... Can you really listen to this, whenever you want?”

“Of course,” Daisy replied, but the look of surprise on Minnie's face melted her. What kind of captive life did this dear have? She could spot Donald coming over, no doubt wanting to say his peace before high-tailing it out of there, and fidgeted. She did want another dance with Donald – a nice, slow, lingering one – but seeing Minnie in such awe was touching her heart.

“Here I am,” Donald said as he approached, and indeed, he was looking for a way out, much the same as all the other exhausted party-goers. “So, if you don't need me, I'll just-”

“I don't need you,” Daisy interrupted with a lie, “But Minnie does. Have the honor of her first dance at her first party! You're a gentleman, show her your gentlemanly ways.”

Minnie and Donald were equally thrown off, giving each other a puzzled expression. Minnie was the first to reject it. “But I don't know how to dance. I'm certain Donald wouldn't enjoy himself with me.”

“Nonsense, you're a delight.” Daisy yanked Donald's wrist, then Minnie's, and practically pushed them together. “Just one dance, and then you're all mine, Sir Donald. So make it a good one!”

Donald exhaled deeply, exasperated, but for Minnie's sake he gently took her hands and led her a few steps away. “It's not as hard as it looks. Here, just watch my feet.” He placed a hand on her hip, keeping their bodies apart just enough so Minnie could look down and do as instructed, the satchel hanging off her arm. He took his time with her, not minding when she stepped on his webbed feet – well, he did mind, but he was clearly biting back the urge to snap at her, which she thought was nice – and as it went on Minnie understood it was in time with the music. Dancing and music really were supposed to go together, just like the books said.

“See?” Donald said with a hint of a smile. “It can be fun, when you're with the right person...” Then, under his breath, “And you haven't been doing this several weeks in a row...”

Minnie kept her eyes down at their feet. “But that first party... it made you really happy, didn't it?”

She heard him give a huff. “Well... yeah. It did. We all liked it. And if she just kept these things down to a reasonable amount, we'd keep liking it. Stuff like this makes you feel like we're all the same, like we're kind of one big family. You don't have to worry about anything, and you can just... enjoy things...” He was finding it more difficult to explain – because he was seeing tears in Minnie's eyes. “Hey! Hey, hey, what is it?” He stopped where he was, getting down on one knee and holding her shoulders. “Shhh, it's okay, what's wrong? What's the matter?”

“I'm...” Minnie hiccuped, her face quickly getting wet, her body trembling as she hunched over. “I am enjoying this.”

“Then...” Donald glanced over to Daisy, hoping she'd have some idea what was happening. The princess gawked, horrified that her party was causing someone to react this way. “Then why are you crying?”

“Because... because everyone should enjoy these things!” Her hands flew to her face, and she sobbed as she thought of her town, of all the wondrous things that had been denied to them due to fear. Had there been a time when Mama enjoyed playing the piano, or someone in their family tree had brought it out to parties like this? Only now did Minnie feel how unfair the rules had been, how terrible the Snow Queen's reign truly was. “Everyone should know what it's like to feel pretty... to dance... to hear music! Everyone should feel like they can be happy!” How many other towns had sacrificed this in order to stay alive?

And Mickey, Mickey, Mickey – he didn't even know the full beauty of music, and dance, and games, and yet he tried so hard to bring it back. He wanted to bring this joy to the town who shunned him, because he knew it was right. She missed him with all her heart, and she kept crying as she thought of him, and of all the things that had been denied to her people. It couldn't go on like this.

Donald was incredibly confused by this turn of events, but all thoughts of abandoning the party left him. Instead, he stood back up, and carefully put his arms around the young girl, letting her cry into his chest. “All right, let's get it all out...” He murmured tenderly as he stroked the back of her head, “It's okay.” It only made Minnie cry all the more. The world was full of kind people, and they deserved kindness in turn.

Daisy finally made her way over, pulling a frilly handkerchief out of her sleeve and leaned in to dab at Minnie's cheeks. “Oh, my sweet girl, I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen...”

It was hard to hear her cries and the comfort over the music - but an especially loud voice broke through it all, mostly because everyone was startled to see where it came from. “RUN, RUN, RUN YOU FOOLS!” Ratface had flown in from a window and now circled the ceiling, shouting as loud as his little lungs would allow to those below. “HER SOLDIERS ARE HERE! RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN!”

His warning came too late, as the windows were smashed one by one, and Minnie recognized the colors and insignia of the expressionless warriors pouring into the ballroom – the Snow Queen's soldiers! The party-goers screamed in terror, running as fast as they could, leaving behind dropped food and tossed instruments. Donald thrust Minnie into Daisy's arms - “Get to safety!” as the soldiers wordlessly began targeting individuals, using long icicle-shaped spears to knock them down and drag them away. Soldiers who were supposed to guard the gates leapt into action, using utensils and broken chairs as weaponry in a struggle to fend off the invaders. The soldiers were only after certain targets – anyone else was dealt with as an obstacle to be removed as swiftly as possible.

Donald threw himself into the fray, armed only with his fists, his temper unleashed at full fury. “GET AWAY FROM THEM, YOU COLD-HEARTED CREEPS!”

Daisy screamed out Donald's name, but she knew trying to call him back would be useless. She breathed rapidly, and then clasped Minnie's hand. “Th-this way, Minnie, hurry!” She raced back to the hallway, but she could see soldiers pouring in there as well. The only other option was the doors leading to the outside, and so she raced with Minnie stumbling along, the girls holding onto each other for dear life. All around them they could hear screams, of loved ones being dragged away, but nothing could be done to stop it.

The night air was brisk, the light from within the castle illuminating several of the streets nearby. Daisy wasn't certain where to run, only that she must run, and that she must keep Minnie safe. Minnie merely followed, until -

Until she saw Mickey.

She tripped over her own feet, falling to her knees and taking Daisy down with her with a yelp. Minnie was quick to look up, ignoring Daisy asking if she was hurt, unsure if she'd seen what she'd really seen... but she had. Mickey was there, underneath the light of the castle windows...

… As one of the Snow Queen's soldiers. His black fur was now a rich blue, his eyes soulless and his clothes replaced with armor. Though his usual merriment was dead and his colors were replaced, there was no denying this was Mickey – Mickey, who was dragging Clarabelle by her arm as she lay injured in the street, ignoring her screams, begging for mercy. Minnie said his name once in a breathless daze, and then said it again as she rose to her knees, louder, louder, “Mickey... Mickey! MICKEY! MICKEY!” But he didn't hear her.

Daisy grabbed Minnie by the shoulder, trying to pull her away. “What are you doing?! We're sitting targets!”

Mickey continued to drag Clarabelle along, and was only stopped when Horace suddenly came from behind, his arms around Mickey's neck in an useless effort for a choke hold. “Let go of my woman, you varmint!” He even tried to bite Mickey's ear, which proved futile when he chipped a tooth. Mickey didn't respond, didn't flinch, and merely raised his spear to stab Horace deeply in the arm. Horace howled in agony, falling to the ground as he bled, and in that moment Clarabelle desperately tried to crawl away when Mickey's hand was slightly loosened.

This horrific thing had taken Mickey's place – but, surely, Mickey was still in there! A warm heart like that wouldn't go down without a fight! He must still be alive, there still had to be a way to bring him home! And didn't Minnie have something to guide him? She threw Daisy off and reached into her satchel, pulling out the jewelry that had spelled their fate, and ran towards Mickey, Daisy's shrieking for her in the distance. “Mickey! Mickey, look!”

The chill in her chest then shuddered, expanding, reaching into her lungs and making it difficult to breathe. Minnie was so overcome with cold that she fell over in her new shoes, and the necklace went flying out of her hand, landing between Mickey and Clarabelle. Mickey's dark eyes went down to it.

Minnie tried to sit up on her arms, fresh tears in her eyes. Yes, of course he saw it, everything would be okay now! “Mickey, I have an answer to your question!” She called to him, reaching out for him, knowing what he wanted to hear, what he needed to hear. “Mickey, I'm ready! Mickey! Mickey!”

Mickey walked forward...

… and stomped down on the necklace in his path, so he could continue towards Clarabelle, the red jewel shattering into a thousand pieces.

The world went dead.

Minnie stared at the destroyed bauble, at the destroyed hopes and dreams of all it contained. It hadn't been enough. She hadn't been enough. Mickey was gone.

Mickey was gone.

Mickey was gone.

If you break the rules, the Snow Queen will take you away and no one will ever see you again.

Minnie was a little girl again, out in the cold, begging for Papa to let her in, the cold devouring her, and the chill in her chest spread throughout, in her belly, in her mouth, and this time there would be no saving her. Her vision went dark, only seeing the broken jewel, the blood in her body freezing up, and she hurt, everything hurt, and she was alone, all alone, Mickey was gone, the world would die, there would never be dancing and music and everyone would suffer THIS WASN'T FAIR PAPA HELP ME SOMEONE HELP ME -

“Wake up!”

Who knew that the wings of a raven could slap as hard as a normal person's hand? Minnie's entire body heaved and jerked – she gasped for air, and it came out as a fog. While she had been trapped for what felt like eternity, it had been about fifteen minutes, the soldiers having left with their targets. Apparently Daisy had gotten to her and was carrying her in her arms, but it was Ratface who had come and smacked Minnie back to life. He sat on Daisy's shoulder, ready to slap again if need be, as he saw Minnie's vision clearing. “How dare you throw away your life like that!” he snapped at her, baring one of his taloned feet at her. “You stupid girl, how dare you take me on this journey just to die on me! I won't forgive you, not in a million years! You don't have my permission to die!”

Minnie breathed steadily, trying to comprehend what had happened, but what she saw first was Daisy's horrified eyes, too overcome with what happened to Minnie to really care that the bird on her shoulder could talk. “Minnie, darling! You... what's happening to you?”

How was Minnie supposed to answer if she didn't know? She raised her hand, trying to get up, and that's when she saw what was scaring Daisy – the veins in her palms, all the way up to her shoulders, were now bright icy blue. They had the same chill that was in her chest – the ice shard was spreading. It had stopped growing for now, but who knew how long that would be? “I... I don't know,” she whispered as Daisy put her down on her feet, closing and opening her hands. The lines in her palms wouldn't disappear. “I'm... getting colder... am I... turning into one of them?”

Would she become just like Mickey – an unfeeling soldier who would carry out the Snow Queen's whims? But as she thought of this, a new question popped up. If the soldiers could take people away without the Snow Queen's aide, then why had the woman herself shown up to personally kidnap Mickey?

She saw the broken shards of the necklace still scattered on the ground. No one had bothered to clean it up – as far as the rest of the world was concerned, it was merely abandoned trash. Had it even been a real jewel, or a pathetic attempt by a poor jeweler in a dying village to rake in whatever money they could? The wind blew softly, and the rose in Minnie's hair lightly touched her ear. She had spent ages pining over the necklace, over its beauty and symbol, and it had been absolutely useless in bringing Mickey back. It hurt – but, why didn't it hurt as badly as she thought it should?

If she didn't have any answers, then... this wasn't over. Her hand clenched. She was still alive. She could still walk. She could still try.

“Daisy! Minnie!”

Donald came running into the scene, with several townsfolk nearby, some searching the streets for their family and others mourning who had been taken. Donald skidded to a halt as he saw Minnie's transformation, his eyes bulging with shock. “Minnie! What... did they do this you?”

“She just fell, and then this happened!” Daisy cried, hugging Minnie close to her chest. “Oh, whatever shall we do? You can't turn into one of those dreadful beasts, you can't! We must think of something!”

Donald's eyes slid from Minnie to Daisy, and his infamous temper began to bubble. “Think of something... what, like another party? Is that going to be your answer?”

Daisy looked up, startled that he was using that dangerous tone on her. “Sir Donald?”

“Don't you 'sir' me!” he snapped, pointing at finger at her, and many others joined in heated glaring. “You're supposed to be in charge around here, helping us, telling us what to do, but you keep throwing these stupid parties that don't solve anything! You put the whole kingdom in danger! If they did something to Minnie, it's your fault!”

The princess paled, drawing in on herself while still holding Minnie, who looked back and forth between them both. “I... I didn't mean to... I was... I was just trying to...”

“You were just thinking about yourself! Wasting our money, our energy, our time, all just to make sure you're happy!” Now he leaned in dangerously close, trying to ignore Daisy's pitiful whimpering. The other townsfolk began to rant and rave in agreement, yelling out harsh names and the loved ones they had lost. Cascading tears fell down Daisy's face, unable to argue back, unable to explain herself. Minnie watched as Daisy appeared to collapse in on herself like a dying star, losing her light and hope.

Ratface hopped onto Minnie's shoulder, murmuring to her ear. “We should get while the getting's good, pretty girl.”

Minnie didn't go anywhere. She couldn't make her legs move. She felt Daisy's hands weaken around her, and then Minnie lightly took Daisy's fingers and pushed them back.

“We should have been fighting them outside instead of dancing inside!” Donald continued to snarl, his voice getting louder and louder with each fiery accusation. “The soldiers are mean to protect people, but you kept them away from the gates! How are we ever supposed to save our people like this? We should have been on guard!”

“Would that have changed anything?”

Minnie's interruption was so quiet and so calm that it silenced the entire area, with all eyes turning on her. It made her uncomfortable but she didn't stop, keeping her head held high and not looking away from Donald's surprised gaze. “I remembered what Clarabelle and Horace told me... that they never actually stopped the Snow Queen's soldiers from taking anyone away. Has anyone ever actually been able to stop them? Even before all these parties began?”

Daisy stared at Minnie in transfixed awe, stunned how such a small girl could stand up so easily to a large crowd without any sign of hesitation or fear. Donald's hand fell as he tried to come up with a counterpoint, and couldn't, even as he looked around at all the other faces for help. There were mumbles and shuffles, but nothing definitive. “I... well... no. We've... never actually... been able to stop them from taking anyone they targeted...” Yet his anger wasn't so easily defeated, and he tried again. “That doesn't make what she did right! We shouldn't be partying all the time!”

“Then what should you be doing?” Minnie asked with all the gentleness and sincerity within her. “Is there anything you can do to prevent the Snow Queen from ever returning? To get back anyone you've lost?” She thought of her home, of the rules they followed to the letter, and the idea that this happy place full of warm people turning into that made her heart ache. “She was doing something... not the best something. But something. What have you been doing?”

It was the final blow, and the furious crowd now looked like young children who had been disciplined rightly by their parents. Some began to disperse, hanging their heads low, and Donald's entire body sagged in defeat. He didn't want to admit Minnie was right. He wanted to be angry at someone he could actually win against, but you couldn't win against the Snow Queen.

“Strong words, pretty girl,” Ratface said, “But what will you do now? Your boy didn't even look at you. How can you expect to save him? If the soldiers can't fight them, how can you?”

“Exactly, how can you fight-” Donald cut himself off that time, pausing to process what he just heard and who he just heard it from. “Your pet can talk?!”

“No, her pet can't talk, because I'm not a pet,” Ratface replied, sticking his beak high in the air.

While Donald tried to comprehend the speech abilities of a raven, Daisy cradled Minnie's hand in her own, worried about how cold it felt. “The boy... the one you went after. The Snow Queen took him from you, didn't he? I'm so sorry... once they turn like that, they never listen to anyone. It's hopeless.”

It did seem hopeless. Minnie couldn't think of anything that could break Mickey free from the spell. If she kept going now, the Snow Queen might finish the job and make her one of her minions too. There were infinite reasons to stop the journey here and now.

There was one reason to go.

“I came to this kingdom because I'm headed to where the Snow Queen keeps my friend.” Minnie said, not looking at either duck, her eyes forward and clear. “And I've stayed long enough. I must keep going.” With that, she pulled away from Daisy's tender hand and began to walk.

Princess and commoner gaped at her, at the sheer lack of logic she seemed to have, and both made a grab for her arm.

“Didn't you hear a word we said?” Donald shouted, holding Minnie's left arm.

“You can't possibly face the Snow Queen and live!” Daisy added, holding Minnie's right.

Minnie stood her ground. “What other choice do I have?” To live without living? To die alone and unhappy? To let things stand by and never even attempt to change it? Even if it was hopeless, even if the odds were stacked against her... “I will try, and try, and try, until I can try no more. Now, please let me go.”

If the journey didn't kill her, the shard would eventually. It was a choice of doing something or nothing – which, in its own way, was what Daisy was trying to do, even if it hadn't been “right”. Not many people would think Minnie's quest was “right” either. But even a wrong thing was, perhaps, better than nothing at all. Was sitting around, waiting for the inevitable, really the “right” thing? A slim, next to nothing chance was better than none, and Minnie would not, could not, budge on this.

“She's a stubborn fool,” Ratface said snidely, although he was tempted to bite off their fingers if they didn't release her. “So you won't change her mind. Believe me, I've tried, and if I can't do it, neither of you can.”

Daisy looked at Donald, and Donald looked at Daisy. Daisy swallowed quietly, and then hugged Minnie's arm in an even tighter embrace. “If you're going... then I'm going too!”

Donald let out a loud “WAK!”, staggering backwards. “You?! You too?! You two have lost your marbles!”

“I'm the princess, am I not?” Daisy said huffily, fingers entwining with Minnie's. “My people are my responsibility! It's high time I did something about it! You were right... parties aren't solving anything. I will go with Minnie, and get my people home! Come, Minnie, let us take down that wicked winter tyrant! I shall take my finest carriage and strongest horses!”

Minnie blinked a few times, surprised at the generous offer. She didn't want to put Daisy in danger – but, well, it'd be rather hypocritical to tell Daisy otherwise, wouldn't it? If anything, Daisy would be putting Minnie in danger, with her love for Donald making her a constant target of the Snow Queen's soldiers. So Minnie nodded, and squeezed Daisy's hand in reassurance. “Thank you.”

Daisy offered a kind smile. “You are so very gorgeous when you smile, my dear.”

Was Minnie smiling? She had no idea. Ratface was grumbling, shaking his head. “If she starts to sing, I'm gone, just you wait.”

Donald sputtered as he watched the two girls walk off. “But... but... but... AW, PHOOEY!” He stormed over re-seized Minnie's hand, his face flush with anger. “I'm coming with you!”

Ratface tried to kick Donald's shoulder. “This is getting too crowded!”

“If I can't be a guardsman,” Donald said as he ignored Ratface's attack, “Then this is the next best thing! I'll protect the people, including two of its biggest nutjobs.”

Daisy grinned, and hoisted Minnie's hand high in the air. “Let us be off! Watch out, Snow Queen, for us band of heroes shall take you down, or die trying!”

“... Die?” Donald quietly moaned.

“We might just end up killing each other,” Ratface mused, taking one more swipe at Donald.

The chill in Minnie's body didn't stop, but now it had a new warmth to combat with. She had yet to realize the smile on her face remained, and grew more beautiful the longer it stayed. Maybe with these two, they could form new ideas on how to rescue Mickey and put an end to the eternal nightmare around them. Maybe they could protect each other from new dangers. Maybe they could win.

Donald argued with Ratface, and Daisy sang triumphantly about the beginning of their noble quest. They didn't let go of Minnie for a long time, and she saw no reason to encourage it. She had never felt warmer.

~*~

The Snow Queen saw many things, as her magic allowed her to watch any reflective surface within her magical staff. She sat atop her icy throne, fingers tapping on the edge. The raid on the Golden Kingdom had been mostly successful. Soon her soldiers would return with their targets, who in turn would become soldiers as well. It had gone perfectly.

Except Mickey hadn't taken the princess.

How was that possible? She had given him an explicit order, and all her soldiers obeyed them to the letter. There should have been nothing to prevent this, and there was nothing that could interfere with her magic.

Her fingers clutched the armrest. No, that wasn't true. Only one thing could interfere with an angel's magic.

The presence of a demon – an extremely powerful one. Just being there could disrupt the flow of magic and make her soldier miss one target.

She inhaled deeply and leaned back in her seat. No matter. She would snatch the girl up, it was only a matter of time, and she had endless amounts of time. She wouldn't give demons a second thought. They didn't need her “lesson” about the pains and uselessness of love.

She knew all too well that demons couldn't love anyone.

[minimalexertion]

Chapter 2

Blending into the New Dimension

After that whole fiasco of waking up, passing out, then waking up once again, only to pass out again, then finally waking up and being able to stay awake, the Hokage (bless his heart) had allowed you to stay with him.

You had a small room to yourself, a couple of belongings that he had given you, such as clothes, a bed and a couple of small bits and pieces, and most importantly of all, your privacy. You lay, slumped on the comfy bed, staring angrily at the small black handbook. Unsurprisingly, step 3 of chapter 1 was 'Finding a Place to Stay.' 

Step 3 - Finding a Place to Stay

This will, most likely, be the hardest step to complete. Finding a place to stay is often difficult due to the fact that you are an anomaly. However, the best people to ask for a place to stay are in fact, no offence, old and single people. Especially women.

If you appeal to the motherly or fatherly side of people, you will increase your probability of surviving and therefore the success of your mission to saving valuable lives.

If you are without parental figures, or a guardian, in this new world it is probably best to befriend a few of the popular locals. This is mainly to create a bond between you and the place in which you have been dropped off at. Undoubtedly, you will get attached and most likely refer to them as your parental figures the longer you stay, but it is nicer to come back to a warm bed and friendly faces, than a cold house. Just a tip, by the way.

Handy Tip #4: If possible, try to find a temporary guardian who is not essential to the plot, as you may put them into danger just for harbouring a stranger.

Handy Tip #5: Find a temporary guardian who won't ask too many questions about your past, what you know etc.

You growled angrily, before grabbing your pillow and screaming into it. After letting out your pent up anger at your so called 'guardian angel' you returned to the notebook to quickly read through chapter 2: 'Blending Into your New Dimension'.

Step 4 - Assimilate the Culture

Take some time to learn about the cultural differences between this new world and the one you were previously in. It will take some time but by doing so, you can 'blend' into the crowd and not (as some people say) stick out like a sore thumb. Try to learn the culture from mature people/beings, it will help you understand what is acceptable and what is not, making your reputation credible and as a result, statements you will say in the future will be believable and trusted.

To do this, observe the every day lives of a few locals and try to pick up some slang that is appropriate for your age.

Handy Tip #6: Try to befriend the 'protagonist', i.e. the main character of the dimension you are in. Not only will you learn the culture quickly, but you will also be on good terms with the winning side and therefore have, "plot armour".

Note: Observing does not mean stalking.

Step three sounded easy enough, but step 4 made you want to rip out all the hair on your head, make a wig out of all that hair, then rip it out once again. You, a responsible 18 year old adult, have to be friends with an annoying 12 year old child?!

You glared at your reflection in the mirror, as one thing that Dara [you had revoked your guardian angel's right of formalities and respect] forgot to mention was that you had to live out the rest of the timeline starting from the age of 12. Which just means, that not only would you have to experience the beauty of puberty again, but you would have to deal with a bunch of other kids, who had not experienced puberty, experience puberty for the first time.

The sound of your door bursting open and a small child screaming, "I have you where I want you!"  Which was promptly followed by your body being tackled to the floor by an 8 year old boy. You sighed, as Konohamaru began laughing as he stood over your limp body.

You regretted not watching at least 10 episodes of Naruto when your friend had shown you the first episode. Heck, they would be laughing at your predicament right now, probably mocking you by cackling, 'Look at who's laughing now, [f.name]! Look at who's 'meaningless' hobby is suddenly super important!'

On the upside, one could call Konohamaru [the Hokage's grandson] your minion. Strangely, Konohamaru had taken an instant liking to you, following you everywhere (when possible) and trying to teach you the customs of Konoha. In return, you thought of him as a younger brother who you would kill and seriously maim people for.

Konohamaru was quiet, confused at your still body, edging closer bit by bit until he was close enough to poke you in the face with his finger. "Hey, [f.name]?"

As quick as lightening, well as quickly as your 'frail' 12 year old body would allow you, you leapt forth at Konohamaru with a playful growl. Instantly, he let out a loud squeal, giggling as you scooped him up in your arms. "Who has come forth? Who demands to speak to the beast?" You growled out, channelling your best lion-from-the-cave-of-wonders-in-Aladdin impression, squishing Konohamaru's cheeks playfully between your hands, as he laughed and squirmed in your grip.

Wriggling his way out of your hold, Konohamaru sprinted out of your room, laughing the entire time. Chuckling quietly, you shoved the small notebook safely into your pouch and chased after him, making weird dinosaur noises all the while.

        "Sir, can we really trust this [l.name] girl?"

The Hokage stared at Iruka blankly before replying, "I don't see why not?" 

Iruka looked baffled, his eyes wide, before he managed to stutter a comprehensible answer, "W-well, she could be a spy? Or even worse, a human weapon?!"

The Hokage lay one hand reassuringly onto Iruka's shoulder, "I know about your fears, but I need you to trust me when I say, she poses no harm for Konoha and its people. In fact, I truly believe she will be a formidable Shinobi."

Iruka only gave the Hokage a grim smile. Before jolting quickly as he realised, "Wait, Sir! Shinobi! Are you going to train her to be a Shinobi?! All the teams have already been finalised and they've already gone on their first few mission!"

Chuckling, the Hokage merely nodded his head, "Don't worry, Iruka. I know what I'm doing, she'll be ready to join a team, and I think I know which one I have in mind."

Dear Diary To Bob this weak-ass journal that I've decided to keep so I know that I won't go insane,

A few months have passed since I first came to this dimension. I found out I had a knack for fire-bending, or as good-old Gramps said, "Your chakra nature seems to be fire," whatever that means.

Gramps (something that I referred to the Hokage as since I decided that he would be my adopted guardian in this universe) had an Anbu member train me on simple hand to hand combat, weapon handling, as well as some simple jutsus. Jutsus which I immediately forgot right after the poor Anbu taught me. Sorry, but it's just takes too much time to remember those hand symbols. Also, I couldn't really do those jutsus anyway, so who cares.

And, if I was to be honest with the characters, I spent way too much time trying to be as cool as Azula or Toph from the TV series for someone who was trying to catch up to the other kids. 

My fire-bending skills was passable, my earth-bending tolerable, my water-bending skills were kind of there, and my air-bending skills were completely non-existent (which was pretty dumb considering that the main character of the fucking TV show was an air-bender, but whatever). Dara comes to speak with me in my dreams, which is a little weird, at least she's telling me how to control these weird-bending powers, Toph made earth-bending look so easy.

Konohamaru had shown me around the town and introduced me a few nice people in return for the stories I keep telling him. It won't be long before I run out of Disney plots to talk about. Other than that, I kept eating out at this ramen place which will not only put a dent in my wallet but also my health, something I'm not ashamed of, by the way. It's not my fault that their food is so god dang delicious. I also learnt a few customs, like how it's apparently "offensive" to fling oneself out of windows in the hope that I can air-bend.

Anyway, haven't met the main character yet, but I found that the notebook also has pages on the synopsis of this show in the back, so guess who's becoming a fortune teller?

I am, bitch.

Talking about the future, and the main character, the Hokage said he was going to have me skip the "graduation exam" (which sounds very important) and chuck me onto a team already. I'm supposed to meet them later today, so hopefully they all turn out to be, at the very least, tolerable, and considering my situation they'll probably be the main characters too.

Great.

Sighing, I closed the small journal that I was given by the Hokage and promptly hid it in the underwear drawer of my dresser. I cannot deny that I have gotten used to this new life of mine, training and learning new things every day. Amazingly, I haven't gotten anyone killed or seriously injured yet, which is probably a testament of my ability to not give a single fuck, but who knows?

Getting up and stretching my legs slowly, I wondered out of my room and found myself face to face with good-ol' gramps.

"Are you ready to meet them, [f.name]?" 

Air-bending skills: 3.4 out of 10

Number of fucks given: At least 1

Probability of survival: 87.63%

[lamentalia]

Alfred - Chapter 3 - Part 2

★

It’s late afternoon before Mattie gives the ok. Alfred had put in a decent effort but gave up the surveillance in favor of his astronomy book a while ago. The cats here are not much fun to watch. After he’d seen the same three cats walk across the village square two or three times each he tapped out and left the rest to Mattie. They both know his attention span is not long enough. Besides, Alfred’s more of a “rolling with the punches” kind of guy.

They’re posted up in a large, leafy tree growing behind one of the building structures on the outside of the square; one that has good cover and vantage. It was easier than they thought it would be to get here. The grassland they’d traveled over provides negligible resources, so the cats have naturally ignored it. There is also only a smattering of trees on the north side of the village center and the pathway that leads through these trees appears to be neutral territory. It’s little wonder, really, the only things that had been living up north of here were Alfred and Mattie and monsters don’t often wander outside the cover of forest. There’s no real need for security on this side.

Halfway through a paragraph on a theory about how the Two-Canes used to study the stars, Alfred hears a short exhale. He looks up hopefully to see Mattie’s resigned profile. He cocks his head in a silent question and Mattie gives him a nod. Yes! Alfred takes a moment to view their surroundings. No one’s looking this way.

Grinning, Alfred grabs his packs and carefully, silently, climbs down the tree to land behind the building. He waits for his brother to reach the ground, too, before speaking in a low voice.

“Glad we can do this before the sun starts setting, it would be pretty awkward to crash in on them at night.”

“Yeah… I thought about that.” Mattie replies. “How do we want to do this?”

“Well, we’re pretty sure the Chief’s house is the one farthest upstream in this area, yeah?”  Alfred decides to carry the pack of food in one hand by its shorter handles for easy access instead of slung over his shoulder. “I figure we go in that direction until we can catch someone’s attention.”

Mattie sends him a disgusted grimace, then responds a moment later, morosely. “Ugh. I hate that I don’t have any better ideas than that.”

“Haha! My time to shine, Mattie.” He says with a winning smile. “Let’s go.” 

★

They backtrack slightly into the woods before turning back onto the path so as not to let on that they’d been spying for the greater part of a day and wander casually, (and nervously) into the village square.

They look around, pretending to catch their bearings and keep an eye out for anyone who might be out. The stream looks pleasant as it rushes through a canal built into the center of the square. Three bridges cross it. Alfred approaches the middle most bridge looking for anyone who might be out.

Luckily a craggy looking cat exits a nearby building. He looks shocked at first and then aggressive, with ears way back and defensive posture upon seeing Alfred wave him down. Alfred stops waving but keeps his hand up in a placating manner.

“Hey! Hi.” He says. He keeps smiling sheepishly despite the way his voice cracks just a bit on his opening line. This is the first time he’s ever met a cat outside of his own territory (not counting that time with Gilbert when he and Mattie were kittens,) and he’s surprised at how unsettling it turns out to be. He clears his throat and pushes on before it can get to him. “We’re heading to Ransen and we’d like to pass through here. Would you mind taking us to see your chief? We’d like to give our respects and trade our goods for their blessing.”

Alfred indicates the overstuffed pack and the cat now looks defensive and confused. He can see a hint of curiosity spark in his demeanor, though. Several doors and windows around them crack open and Alfred can see glinting eyes shining behind them. This is kind of… weird. Okay… Maybe his theory was wrong and they’re not openly trading with outsiders. Somehow.

Mattie’s hand grips Alfred’s coat and its obvious he’s getting jumpy. Time to up the ante. Slowly, so as not to alarm anyone, he moves his free hand to his bag and unbuckles one side to reveal the dried fruits, roots, bundled grasses and nuts within. The cat’s eyes go comically wide and shift between Alfred and the bag a few times before he responds.

“Where did you two come from…?” He asks in a hostile, yet deeply curious manner. Alfred continues to smile in as friendly a manner as possible. Which is pretty dang friendly!

“Up north, near the coastline.” Alfred says and the cat only looks more distrusting.

“And how did you get there?”

“Uh. We were born there? That’s where we live. Er. Well. Did live, up until very recently.”

The craggy cat calls out what seems to be a name and a young tom goes to his side immediately. He looks tired and thin and only slightly younger than Alfred and Mattie. The craggy cat murmurs curtly to the young one who then runs off to enter the chief’s house.

“Follow me.” The craggy cat says, turning to walk in the same direction. Alfred looks to Mattie who gives him a thoroughly nervous look, but so far so good, it seems. The two follow him inside the house.

The young tom is sitting by a side wall by the time they enter. An elderly cat sits on the floor at a low table with another elder and a middle-aged cat. The three of them glare at the twins suspiciously. Their escort dismisses himself. Alfred plasters his smile back on and is about to speak when he feels a light squeeze on his tail. Not enough to hurt (this time) but enough to distract his attention. Alfred glances sideways at Mattie and notes his stony look and steady, alert ears. It’s a look that might convey polite seriousness to a stranger but says ‘Be Alert and Be Quiet’ to Alfred. Not that he has any experience with this look or anything.

“I hear that you claim to be from up north.” The old cat says, crossing his arms. His ears are forward but he radiates vehement dislike. “I also hear that you wish to trade for safe passage through our village.”

He leaves it at that. After a quick glance at Mattie, who only blinks placidly, Alfred replies.

“Yes, sir.” He holds the bag of food out to show them its contents. “Er. May I?” He indicates the table before the three cats sitting on the floor. The chief only nods sharply, not taking his eyes off the two of them. Alfred gently places the bag on the table. The middle-aged cat on the left opens the bag further and the elder cat on the right calls the young tom back over. He hurries over and, as if he’s already understood what he’s supposed to do, takes three randomly picked pieces and eats them.

Huh. Weird. The young tom returns to his spot against the wall.

“Where did you find this?” The chief asks.

“It’s our winter store.” Mattie says, suddenly. “We’ve been gathering it since Spring. Sadly, there is not much, considering. The land in our territory is becoming barren and has finally been invaded by the Void. It cuts off a direct route to Ransen and so we come to ask if we may pass through your village.”

Wow. Mattie’s pretty good at this! Two of the faces before them are looking slightly less distrusting at least, even if they’re not looking much less hostile.

“Since we’re headed there anyway, it would be a waste to leave it behind, so we brought it as a gift to you, sir.” Alfred adds.

“And how am I to believe you were born and raised in that cursed, monster-infested land?” The chief says harshly. “The witch Wuti does not permit anyone to trespass, to say nothing of letting anyone live and raise a family there.”

Alfred is taken aback. That was a name he very rarely heard. There wasn’t much need to say it around the house, after all. It also sounds like this chief fears “Wuti” and does not seem to know about her death, which is useful if a bit upsetting. Alfred glances at Mattie once more who has finally returned the look. Alfred grabs Mattie’s hand and looks the chief directly in the eyes.

“Yes. Hehewuti is our mother.” Mattie says with the convincing tone of a loving son. All three eyes are back on them and frozen solid.

“She sent us ahead and instructed us to give you this gift.” Alfred says.

“We mean no disrespect, chief, but we ask that you please refer to her by her real name and not in such a distasteful manner.”

“Particularly when speaking to us.” Alfred finishes with the barest hint of an edge in his words. The warning in their voices is no act.

The silence that follows seems to last an eternity.

★ TBC ★

[snkcrackpolls]

SnK Crack Poll Results [Ch. 110]

...

...

...

WHATS GOOD GUYS WE GOT A COUPLE HOURS TILL SPOILERS SO LET’S GO OVER THE POLL RESULTS. THANKS TO THE 297 OF YOU THAT CHOSE TO WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS!

As it should be, Eren’s lack of a shirt managed to beat the rest with 72 votes, snagging that epic victory royale.

Okay this one is a basic question so I don’t really need to talk about this I assume. cool? cool.

The only pledge everyone agrees to stand up for has won with 121 votes.

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE EREN A SHIRT AND SHOES, THANKS"

That seagull meme

Sans undertale

BOI IF YOU DONT GET-

Dang Dave, I gotta admit. Having no nose is kinda hot.

A roasting session seems to be what people are headed towards. Who knows? Maybe Eren and Floch will get involved next chapter.

Zeke’s Bigass tree forest Great Escape

who said they will talk ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Zeke will reveal his original plan for getting captured was so he could play Pokemon Go on Paradis

Zeke will tell more lies and half- truths and shit and it will be up to the fandom to decipher what percentage is shit

Yelena’s height seems to be compensating for her lack of grabbing skills.

Not Armin

Certainly not floch

You, op

n-no its not. no its not

She's a 'Liar'. Ha! Get it! Because its...the name.....of the chapter........get it? 

thanks for getting the joke guys.

It was a close tie between whether or not Eren wants to look cool or is sleeping in a destroyed house.

They're going to start an emo band.

Bc it reflects well their mental state

#edgelords

yep, I love this completely unedited image of the love Yelena gives everyone. so pure. so loving.

They were so blessed they couldn't handle it and died

Me next please 

Honestly I just kinda want to try whatever Levi would give me if I asked him for pig p*ss? is that weird? probably.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yeah I don’t really see a difference between them. Guess the crystal really is like cryogenics. 

Wait... This isn't how I remember this panel...

It's not the nose which got bigger, it's her face who shrinked 

knowbody nose for sure.

bikuuen

Sounds like something off from Bakugan.

it is an Armin thing you probably wouldnt understand

Okay Time To Get Serious, Let’s Offer Respect For The Beautiful Fallen.

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R.I.P Zackely. You truly were the greatest artist of our generation. May you feed people their own shit in heaven, you funky lil psychopath.

Goodbye Darius Zackley. 10/10 would yeet out of a building again.

Shit really hit the fan there lmao rip

Dear Zackley-sensei. We promise to you that we will keep your legacy by recreating the art you have taugh us, the SNK fandom. Our shrine will be you legacy. Rest in piece soldier.

My dear Zackley, I loved nearly as much as I love Zeke. You deserved so much more time with your beloved art, but I hope Kiyomi will take care of shitmachine to the best of her abilities. Floch did that from his undying love for you, my dear. I hope Isayama will give us proper memorial just like he did after serum bowl.

Bip bip letuce

Shirts and Shoes don’t matter to a god like Ellen Yeger. 10000/1 would let him eat food again. Still wondering why he doesn’t eat the chocolate bars he has for abs. 

I would put some of the other comments here, but most of them aren’t suitable around a 75ft radius from children.

Zackley and His Custom Chair appeared to be the shining stars of this chapter, going out in a blaze of glory.

Armin/Mikasa

Armin/Crystal  

Armin/Hitch

Eren/Sh*tmachine

Any Additional Thoughts On This Chapter?

I'm mourning the lack of Jean and Connie.

Without the shit machine I think we can safely say all hope for Eldia is gone. A strong nation defines itself not by military might, but by its contribution to art.

I do apologise but my last brain cells and ovaries were obliterated by half naked Eren...again...

Disappointed. I wanted to see my horse-face love, but he didn't even appear once.

WHEN FLOCH WILL BE ON A COVER? I NEED TO KNOW IF HE'S GINGER IN THE MANGOO!!

Eren grows 2 abdominal packs every 20 chapters

Poor mikasa tbh

NOICE

4-Chan, everybody’s favorite website

Any Predictions For ONLY The Next Chapter?

Jean and Connie will do something relevant.

Someone will transform into a Titan and people will die. Back to basics y'know?

Floch and Eren bonding! I hope Gabi and Falco show up too, want to see if Nicolo reports them if they go to his restaurant or if they can keep the lie going, my sweet baby fugitives. Also Eren and Floch will have sex.

Kiyomi abducts Mikasa back to Hizuru.

Eren still won't have a shirt

Eren STILL won't have shoes on

We will go back and see what gabi and falco are doing.

Mikasa gets taken off to the other clan place right after she and armin see agsnty-Eren, chat on the field,more like shoutings and wrens face goes to Titan-ish like before with hange, then dun dun dun, Marley fight, lmao. Also MAYBE we will get jean Connie gabi and Falco

The battle of the orphans vs the dwarf