#the way this isn't my best work because I'm half asleep but I saw the scenario so vividly in my head I really just had to get it down while

[avatar4life]

Sad girl in Westeros

Part 2

Y/N was walking back to her chambers, shocked and speechless about the apology she just heard from Jacaerys, never expecting it. When she arrived to her chambers she sat down on the couch and leaned her arms on her knees, clasping her hands and thinking about what happened, when suddenly, a raven came to her with a note on the leg. She immediately recognised the handwriting: her father sent a message.

'my dear daughter, our family is well, but my heart aches for the pain you have felt in this time. I'm sorry for bringing you into this situation and for letting you suffer for so long, and as much as it pains to cause such problem on our queen Rhaenyra, my loyalty to her is full but I'm more loyal to my family, to my daughters. So, with a heavy heart, I accept the annual amendment of your marriage with Jacaerys Velaryon / Targaryen, and with that, if you wish it, you can come home. And I think it's best if you bring your children too, we don't need to bring them in such heavy matters as for now. I await for your response soon.

Come home Y/N, your father' the letter stated.

Y/N was surprised by the context on the paper and she felt not only happy to come back home, with her children on the less, but she also felt guilty for doing this to Rhaenyra and leaving the family, but she knew that she is now needed home, whereas she'll return being the heir of her land.

So with a heavy bit at the same time light heart, she prepared her baggage and her children's as they slept and made a servant prepare the waggon for the small dragons of her kids.

The very next day, after another council, y/n stayed back with Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, Corlys, Baela, Rhaena and Jacaerys.

"I've collected you here because... I've annuled my marriage with Jacaerys" she stated, leaving everyone in shock of what she just said "what?" Rhaenyra said shocked in hearing what her now ex-daughter in law just said "it is a decision I have made with much thought, and I think it's best for everyone involved. My house will continue aiding you and supporting your claim your grace but...I cannot stay here. Me and my children will leave tomorrow on the morrow on my dragon while their dragons will be shipped to my home." She explained to everyone, anxious of their response, expecting them to protest but getting surprised when Rhaenys immediately hugged her "even though you're not biologically my grandchild, I've always seen you as such" she whispered in y/n's ear, making her heart melt at such kind words from her. One by one, everyone hugged her, surprised especially by Baela since she hugged her so tight y/n thought she might have cracked a rib or two.

When everyone left, it was just her and Jacaerys, who looked shocked and frustrated "why?" He asked her, trying to keep his frustration at bay "cause this isn't my home, it has never been." She said to him, staying firm on her decision "I am your husband, and those are my children too" he said to her stepping closer. She raised her hand to keep him shut "you never acted like a husband to me, in no way you did. And you only spent time with the children, so much as I can count on one hand how much time you spent with them. So no, they're not your children, not our children, but my children. I need to get the kids ready for tomorrow, if you excuse me " she said firm and stern before leaving, not letting him say another word. Once she reached the children's chambers, she smiled as she saw them asleep, after a hard day of learning high Valaryan. She kissed each of their foreheads gently, trying to not wake them up. But it didn't work as her boy woke up "Mama?" He said half asleep as he looks at her and makes the motion of wanting to get picked up "hello my sweet" she said to him as she held him close, smiling widely as he felt right back asleep in her arms. She rocked him for some time to make sure he stayed asleep before tucking him back in bed and quietly leaving the chambers.

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The next day, she and the kids were dressed and ready to fly back to y/n's home, for one last time she hugged the family, except for Jacaerys, put her kids and buckeld their saddles on Eclipse's back before climbing on her own saddle and with one last wave she said goodbye to the Targaryens and started her fly back home.

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When she arrived she was immediately greeted by her sister, who was ecstatic to have her back "sister!" Y/N said happily as she hugged her sister back before gently unbuckling her children's saddles and helping them get off her dragon, who went to see her own babies. The children were in awe as they arrived to the house and we're happy to see their cousins, who immediately lead them to the gardens to play as the servants were taking the baggages they all brought.

"it's good to be back home" y/n said to her sister before looking at her parents and hugging them "I've missed you" she said with tears in her eyes, feeling like a little girl again in the warm embrace of her parents, especially her mother. "Aw my sweet girl, how you've grown" he mother carassed her face, "you're home" her father said smiling softly at his daughter. Y/N nodded at her father with a happy smile "I'm home".

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A few years later

The children have grown into capable adolescents, her boy has become a fierce soldier, showing mercy to only those who were worthy of it, the oldest of the three, her first girl, became a great diplomat and stratigist, and her second daughter has grown to be compassionate but fierce when need, often found with her mother due to how close she was to her.

When it was time for the children to learn how to handle dragons better and y/n having finished with what she could teach them, she made the decision to send them to King's Landing and put them under the guidance of Rhaenyra and her family, who have won the dance of the dragons war and proclaimed her rightful claim to the throne.

This didn't meant that her children were happy with the decision, which brought to this:

"mother you can't be possibly asking this" the boy said in shock and irritation

"you're right, I'm not asking, I'm doing this" y/n said as she stands up from her throne and walks to them, carassening each child's cheeks "I know you don't want this, and it pains me to send you off, but if there's anyone who knows dragons better than us, is the Targaryens." She said to her children. The three wanted to protest but they knew that it was better not to.

"...when are we leaving?" Her oldest, the first girl, said looking at her mother with determination, "tomorrow in the evening" Y/N said to her. The kids reluctantly nodded at her order and went back to their chambers.

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"this is ridiculous! Why should we go there when we can have someone else teach us?" The boy said as he paces around the chamber.

"cause mother bid it, now calm down" the first girl said as she stands next to the window and fiddling with her necklace gifted by their aunt on their 11th name day.

"as much as I hate this as you, mother is right. Our family has taught us everything they knew about dragons. If we want to know more we must go to the only other family that has dragons; the Targaryens" the second and youngest of the triplets said as she sat on the bed.

"I know but when we go there we have to see....father" the boy stated with disdain in his voice as he thinks about it. The girls stayed silent at his statement, also not liking their father, due to the true story they got from their mother when they have become adolescents.

"we must get through this. When we finished learning from them, we'll come back home" the second girl said as she looks at both her siblings, who reluctantly sighed and nodded at her words, accepting their situation.

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"if you eat my food I'll kill you when I come back" the boy said to his cousin as they all were about to leave

"try me" the cousin said to him as he chuckled.

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When they arrived to King's Landing, their dragons were brought somewhere else as they were too big for the dragon's pit. The triplets stayed there, looking at the entrance when they saw a man come towards them with a smile and a surprised look. They immediately knew who he was: their father,

'JACAERYS' they thought in disdain.

'GODS BE DAMNED'

This is the second part, I'm going to make a part three about how the kids are adapting and their relationships with each member of Jacaerys and Baela's family.

As again @aemondwhoresworld hope you like it

[dawnoftime22]

peanut butter.

| N.R

Warnings: None

Summary: Nat was having one of her sleepless nights as she enjoyed her peanut butter, but little did she know, you were awake too.

Word Count: 1k

Category: Fluff

A/N: soooo, I've been writing for a while now, and all of my work has basically only been accessible to me. I've decided it's time for me to come out of my shell and post some of them, just because it might actually be fun and not as scary as I thought it would be, so this'll be the first fic that I'm posting. I hope you enjoy! <3

| Started on 27/02/2023, 2:45 PM |

| Finished on 07/03/2023, 5:44 PM |

“In these quiet nights, I found you.”

|——————————— ⴵ ———————————|

It was 3:48 AM.

A redhead sat at an island in the middle of the dark kitchen. The streetlights outside were the only source of light streaming in from a nearby window.

It was nothing short of the usual now. She's had many sleepless nights, and this was one of them.

Natasha opens a jar of peanut butter, doing her best to be quiet as she sets the lid down gently on the island.

She then grabs a spoon, dipping it in the peanut butter to grab a scoop of it out, only for it to go straight into her mouth.

But with the small creak of the hardwood floor, and the soft padding of footsteps growing nearer towards her, she was alerted to look up.

Only to see you in your sleepy state, rubbing an eye, with your messy hair. But she didn't move an inch after she saw you. Either frozen from staring at you in your cute state, or that she didn't want you to notice her. You'd guess both.

"Nat?" You called out. You can see her shadowy figure, and the light making her orange hair glow just a little brighter in the dark, but your mind was filled with fog of being half asleep, so you wanted confirmation on whether you were seeing things or it was actually just your girlfriend.

Your hand went over to the light switch, turning on the dim lighting so you're not blinded like a flashbomb had hit you from the white lights. The orange lights covered the place with warmth, finally letting you see properly.

There, where the figure was, is someone you had correctly guessed it would be. Nat was sat holding the peanut butter jar, while a spoon was in her mouth. You could melt when you realised how adorable she looked.

Slowly, Nat takes the spoon out of her mouth, her cheeks going slightly red at the situation of her getting caught. Eating peanut butter in the kitchen. In the middle of the night.

"Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?" she smiled sheepishly, leaving the spoon in the jar and placing it on the island.

You sighed, but returned her smile weakly. "No... I just... randomly wake up sometimes." You weren't looking in her eyes, and your lips pursed. "Sleep isn't easy to get."

Her smile faded into a look of concern. It was honest. Your eyes then drifted back to her, and that was when she could see the slight eyebags on your face. Her heart ached a little when she realised you weren't getting enough sleep.

She searched your eyes for the emotions that you might have hidden from her. She could see a little hesitation, maybe to ask a question. But you didn't in the seconds that you could. Her head tilted when she looked at you with a now softer gaze.

She nodded her head tiltedly towards the peanut butter beside her. "Wanna join me then?"

Your eyes traveled to the jar, and your lips turned up slightly. "I'd love to." She smiled crookedly in her own little way as she watched you grab another spoon to share with her.

You sat down on the barstool next to her, grabbing ahold of the jar to slide it closer to you, and you scooped up the peanut butter to eat it by itself too.

When you felt her gaze just in your blurred vision that was more focused on the peanut butter, you look up, seeing her beautiful forest green eyes.

You both just sat and stared at each other lovingly. Could it be just because of the late night minds the two of you have that was super sleep deprived? Or the peanut butter having had some sort of love potion spilt into it? But it was neither. Just simply because of how much you adored her and how much she adored you, and loved every part of you.

You could do this for hours.

Sitting and admiring.

If it was anything related to her, you'd do anything for her. Even if it was in silence just like this moment.

She took a breath in, looking down for a second at her fingers, which were fiddling with each other. Then, she let the breath out, and tilted her head back up. "Why didn't you tell me you're not getting enough sleep?"

You slid the peanut butter jar back over to her, wanting to take turns on eating it. You took a second before replying. "I didn't want to burden you when you already have sleeping problems yourself."

She was about to grab her spoon out, but it instead lingered there with her hand. She looked at you when you said your sentence, and you could see how her eyes pinched slightly with sadness. "Детка, you wouldn't burden me at all." She shook her head.

"If anything your presence makes my night better." At that, you smiled. She'd always be here for you no matter the situation. And you'd do the same. The redhead ate the peanut butter before passing it back to you. It was like a game of who'll finish the peanut butter first at this point. You sat thinking about something.

"Hey, just so you know, you didn't tell me either. I thought you were finally starting to get the sleep you need." You take the chance to eat another scoop of peanut butter, but your voice had a hint of concern in it. Nat only looked at the marble island when you said that.

"I guess we both worry about similar things." She tilted her head to focus on you once more. You understood, because not only did you have similar thoughts, you knew why Natasha couldn't sleep through her late nights.

"Let's just maybe... not keep secrets from each other?" You suggested, your eyes twinkling in the dimly lit kitchen while she stared at you for a bit, before an adorable smile comes up on her face.

"No matter what?" You added, your hand sat atop the island, your pinky finger sticking out, making her huff out a small laugh, but her hand went up to intertwine her pinky finger with yours anyway. Maybe it was the sleepiness getting to her, but her heart told her to do it.

"No matter what."

—————————————————————— <3

tagging: @notevenanna

[6rookie-writer0110]

Never mind the odds

Hailee Steinfeld x male reader

Request: Hailee Steinfeld x male reader. Can you do one where the reader is a super cute boyfriend, like he brings her food when she’s on set and is just an amazing boyfriend in general, but he is also really hot and protective, so when she was filming coast he saw a guy talking about her body and checking her out and she was really uncomfortable so he steps up and scares the guy and takes him away, but he comes back to comfort her and he just stays on set till the end of the day to take her home?

You finished face time with your girlfriend, and she is feeling stressed out. You drive to buy her favorite food and iced coffee, then you drive to the studio. You don't tell her that you are going because you want to surprise her. You went to the set with the food and drink, she saw you before you saw her. Hailee starts to smile and walks toward you

“Y/n, you came” Hailee smiled.

She gave you a peck on the lips.

“I figured you must be hungry, so I got food for you,��� You said.

“Oh, you remember the iced coffee I like” Hailee smiled.

“Yeah, I have the receipt saved. You should eat, because I know you would skip lunch” You said.

“You came in just in because it's time for lunch and I didn't eat breakfast, I didn't have time,” Hailee said.

You and Hailee sit down, and she starts to eat the food you got for her. You start to ask about her day and you listen to her, then she asked what you have been doing.

“Oh, Y/n try this” Hailee smiled.

She feeds you the chicken pasta it has a new sauce on it. You start to eat it and she waits for your response.

“What do you think?” Hailee asked.

“I like it,” You said.

While she is eating her lunch, you can hear two guys talking about her. You don't like what they are saying and you noticed that she is uncomfortable. Her mood changed and she stopped eating.

“She is so hot. I want to have my way with her” He said.

“Same. She won't say no to us and she has a hot ass” His friend said.

They continued to talk about her, then you stood up and walked toward them. You grabbed the guy’s shirt and you start to glare at him.

“Don’t talk about her like that or I will break every bone in your body, I won't hesitate” You said.

“I won't talk about her,” He said.

“Good. Don't go near her” You said.

You let go and went sit next to her again, you just smiled at her. The guys moved away and you gently hold her hand. You decided to stay on set all day, to make sure no one else would bother her. But you and Hailee did take a nap in her trailer, she is always the little spoon.

----

You noticed that Hailee isn't happy and went to lie on the bed. She has on your shirt and you sit next to her.

“Why are your shirts so comfortable to wear?” Hailee asked.

“I don't know. But I have noticed half of my pajama shirts are gone” You said.

She takes your shirts when she travels for work.

“There is no chocolate and I'm on my period” Hailee sighed.

“Oh that's why you are grumpy,” You said.

She smacked your leg.

“What was that for?” You asked.

“I’m not grumpy,” Hailee said.

You kissed her head and you put a blanket on her. You leave and went to the store, you get chocolate, iced coffee, and some snacks then went home.

“I got chocolate for you,” You said.

“You are the best boyfriend, Y/n!” Hailee smiled.

She pulled you close to her and she starts to kiss you. She ate some of the chocolate. You are lying on your back and she snuggled on you. You have your arm around her and she has her leg on top of you. A few minutes later, she fell asleep on you and you don't move or say anything to her. You closed your eyes

✫ ✫ ✫ ✫

Hailee was away filming and it's been weeks since you two saw each other. You went to the airport and you are holding flowers for her, you can't wait to see her. Hailee is on the escalator and she saw you, she starts to smile. Once she got off the escalator she rushed towards you. She jumped on you and you are holding her tight.

“I missed you!” Hailee said.

“I missed you too, babe,” You said.

She starts to kiss you and you are smiling.

“The flowers are for you,” You said between kisses.

“Thanks, babe. Let's go home” Hailee smiled.

You gently put her down and she grabbed the flowers. You get her luggage and she follows you to the car.

She was taking a shower and she has on your shirt. You are in the kitchen making her something to eat, and she walks into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around you from behind.

“It’s almost done,” You said.

She doesn't let go of you. You turned off the stove and then turned around, now you have your arms around her.

“I thought since I have time off, maybe we can go away on a trip,” Hailee said.

“It has been a while since we got away. Where should we go?” You said.

“I don't know, yet. Maybe we talk about it while we eat?” Hailee said.

You kiss her on the lips and she starts to smile.

“Yeah,” You said.

You and Hailee sat down and start to eat while talking about the trip.

---

You and Hailee are at a basketball game, sitting courtside. The kiss cam went on you two, then she kissed you on the lips. Some of her red lipstick is on your lips and you are just smiling. Then you put your arm around her and you take a drink from your cup.

[ladykibutsuji]

“A HELPING HAND”

Tsugikuni Brothers x Reader

Yoriichi x Reader x Michikatsu / Kokushibo

MODERN AU

Fluff

This is connected to my Series named "Treat you better" but the timeline is different for it happened around their Senior High School Years. (A flashback/Backstory in short)

(PART 2 FOR "TREAT YOU BETTER" WILL BE RELEASED AFTER THIS.)

The final exams were approaching so as expected you had a lot of school works to do.

What a bad timing isn't it?

You couldn't fully focus on your school works and project due to the problems you are having at the moment, especially your "problems" at home.

Because of these distractions, school works keep on increasing and it was getting harder day by day to catch up.

Papers scattered all around your room, books tossed over to the side, ballpens on the floor, broken pencil on your side and a broken cup of coffee laying onto the cold ground.

"Fuck this!" You cussed under your breath while you placed your fingers in your hair.

You have been trying to catch up with your school works from morning to night and still now you still had a lot to do it was like nothing was progressing at all. Even your problems at home keep on getting worser and worser.

Your best friend Aizetsu offered to help but you shut them down including your other friends aswell, it was too much for you to handle at the moment and you didn't want to relay on them.

BUZZ BUZZ

You ignored the notifications coming from your phone as you continued writing on a piece of paper, one hand moving onto the paper and your other supporting your head.

RING RING

Someone was ringing you up and you got annoyed by this so you just decided to mute your phone and went back to doing your thing.

—

WITH YORIICHI AND MICHIKATSU:

"tch, she won't answer". Michikatsu huffed, he was basically spam calling the girl to get her to answer.

Yoriichi then gave him a concerned look, he was very worried for Y/N since she was acting off for the past few days and not to mention, a high schooler who was a friend of Y/N told yoriichi that she have been avoiding her own friendgroup.

Michikatsu let out a sigh and rolled his eyes at yoriichi, "This may sound stupid but we should drive over to her house to check her well-being."

"I agree" The younger brother answered without hesitation.

—

BACK WITH Y/N

You accidentally fell asleep while doing your school works. You were getting comfortable in your sleep until you heard a knock on your bedroom's door

KNOCK KNOCK

You woke up to the sounds of the knocking. irritated, you went over to the door and only opened it half-way. At the door was your maid Kyushina who came to inform you about something

"Lovely night isn't it ma'am L/N? My apologies if I am interrupting you right now I just want to let you know that you have Two visitors outside."

Without Kyushina mentioning the name you already knew who it is. "Tell them I'm not available." You said in a annoyed tone, Kyushina bowed her head before walking away "As you wish Ma'am L/N."

You then shut the door harshly which made the maid flinched.

After a few minutes you just sat in your chair and Continued on doing your project. You were about to finish it until a loud noise caught your attention. Curious you decided to check it out yourself so you walked downstairs

"Sir no! You can't visit her! Ma'am L/N's orders!"

"listen great sirs I know you are worried about ma'am L/N but we are going to get fired if you interrupt her!"

"I'M NOT GONNA STOP UNTIL SHE SHOWS HERSELF"

"brother please calm down"

"sir keep your voice down please!"

You peeked over and saw 4 of your securities struggling against the brothers and your maid Kyushina panicking and trying to convince them that you want no visitor while the other maids were terrified watching the scene Infront of them.

Feeling hopeless, you gave in and decided to fix this issue yourself since the securities and maids wasn't doing much.

"it's fine, let go of them" you demanded as the securities and maid looked at you obeying your orders.

They then walked away, leaving you with the twin brothers.

"Y/N? You look sick are you okay?" Yoriichi asked as he rushed to you, you gave him a nod.

Michikatsu walked towards the both of you slowly and as he was approaching closer he noticed how your body and face changed.

Your eyes and nose were swollen, your hair was very messy and your smell...not to mention you looked like you haven't eaten for days.

Michikatsu then placed his hand on your head gently patting it "Y/N, Tell us what happened." He asked though it was more like he was DEMANDING an answer

You wanted to lie and say that you are okay but before you could answer your head started to hurt and your vision became blurry in a second all these lead you to lost balance of yourself.

You thought you were going to land on the floor but yoriichi catched your whole body on time while michikatsu held your left hand tight.

"Are you okay?" They asked in a sync.

You couldn't answer properly since your head hurts a lot so yoriichi assisted you to sit down to the nearest couch.

Michikatsu got you a glass of water and you drank the water quickly, "Slow down." Michikatsu said. You were drinking like you haven't drink water for the whole day.

"So mind explaining to-" Yoriichi interrupted his older brother "Brother, I don't think Y/N is in the perfect condition right now to answer our questions. We should let her rest first"

Michikatsu was annoyed by the way yoriichi interrupted him but he understands yoriichi's point so he just huffed.

"I-i'm completely" she stuttered saying the full sentence and was trying to get up though it was obvious she was struggling on her knees "-fine"

Michikatsu stopped her from standing up and told her to rest there until she's completely fine, "Your body language doesn't say so." The older brother stated.

"you don't understand, I have to get up.." she took a deep breath "The deadline is in 2 days I still have a lot to do if I don't finish this I will fail and my parents will..."

Michikatsu sighed at you for being stubborn. Seeing you at your state he decided to lend you a helping hand. "I see, you have been stressing about your academics huh? no need to worry I and yoriichi will help you finish them up.", Yoriichi then looked at his brother "It's rare for you to hel-"

"shut up", with that michikatsu called Y/N's maids to help her. "I don't wanna be burden, I can't accept this" despite trying to decline their helping hand yoriichi and michikatsu didn't listened to you and they left you with no other choice than to accept their offer.

When the maids arrive they quickly assisted Y/N, bringing her food and drinks while yoriichi asked where she placed her school works. "In my room but I must say it's very chaotic there right now." You stated while eating onigiri, "permission to enter your room?" Yoriichi asked in a calm manner

You gave him a slight nod and after your approval both of them assured you that they will help you finish your school works within the day.

Upon arriving at your room yoriichi couldn't help but noticed alot of papers scattered all around and still broke cup of glass on the floor "We should clean this up first" yoriichi suggested and michikatsu just nodded his head.

TIME SKIP

After eating and taking a warm bath, you fell asleep on the guest room since your room was occupied with the tsugikuni Brothers helping you with school works.

You were sleeping soundly when you heard a gentle knock on your door which made you wake up, "Come in" you said in a sleepy tone

The younger tsugikuni brother opened the door and greeted you asking you about your condition and you just replied that you are a bit more relaxed now. He then sat on your other side of bed

"my older brother is almost done with your other project and I already did my part so I came here to check on you"

You then sat up on her bed and thanked yoriichi "I'm really sorry for making you guys do my homework" she added. "no you shouldn't be sorry, we saw how stressed you are and we don't want you to stress out because of academics. After all I don't want my future wife suffering we are friends right?" Yoriichi said with a smile

You returned him a smile, "do you wanna hangout today? to lighten up your mood" yoriichi suggested to which you happily nodded at.

"wait let me get ready" you said and yoriichi gave you a slight nod and walked out of your guest room.

After getting ready, you then went downstairs and found yoriichi there waiting for you.

"where's michikatsu?" You asked tilting your head. Yoriichi was only expecting for the both of you to be hanging out though it's okay for him to have his brother tag along but he really was expecting a little date on a hangout just between the both of you

"oh right, wait I'll call him" yoriichi rushed towards the stairs calling for his brother, after a few minutes michikatsu came down stairs and immediately asked you if you were doing okay to which you said "Yes, I'm doing fine thanks for checking up on me"

"good to know, also do you have any ideas on where we are supposed to hangout?" He asked yoriichi, yoriichi was just quiet because he actually didn't think of a place.

You noticed that yoriichi was too quiet so you just answered for him and decided to bring them to a park that is 20 minutes away. "What about we go at Asaoki park? It's also surrounded by a lot of cafes and cute restaurants" you suggested. Yoriichi agreed at your idea and so did michikatsu.

Michikatsu did the driving and yoriichi sat in the passenger's seat while you in the back. you were getting close to your destined location but michikatsu said something that caught your whole attention

"I couldn't sleep properly for the past few days ever since you have been avoiding us." He paused for a bit looking at the other side of the road "You should of have atleast opened up to us it's quite unfair when we are with you through your joyful days but can't be with you through sorrow."

Hearing his words you realized that he has a point, you can't be pushing your friends who's Just trying to help you..

You realized that they care about you more than you think which made you smiled genuinely.

Yoriichi noticed this through the mirror in the car's front, "that's more like it." He said finally having peace in him since you were getting better.

After a few more minutes you finally arrived at the park and you parked at the parking area. Yoriichi got out first opening the car door for you to exit while michikatsu followed after him

Entering the park, the 3 of you were mesmerized by the beautiful scenery it was indeed relaxing a perfect place to chill and relax if you are stressed.

Yoriichi had to excuse himself for a bit because someone was ringing his phone leaving you with michikatsu for a short while. The both of you decided to sit down at the nearest bench enjoying the calm environment.

It was silent for a while until michikatsu spotted a cute kitten near the other bench, he excused himself to you since he was planning to take the kitten and carry it back to you but unfortunately when he got a hold of the kitten some random stranger with a brown hair and green eyes approached you.

"hey there cutie~ looking sexy today do you wanna go out?" The random guy asked though it was clearly displayed on your face that you had such no interest In this.

"no." You declined but this didn't stop the stranger from trying to annoy you over and over again, michikatsu noticed your discomfort so he decided to take things onto his hands.

Michikatsu approached you and secured your waist using his arm while the other was holding a kitten, he pulled you close to him making you shocked at his sudden actions

"Do you have any problems with my girlfriend sir?" Michikatsu asked slightly tilting his head while giving him a death glare. The glare was enough to send shivers down the guy's spine.

The guy then broke a sweat and chuckled nervously "uuh no! I was just asking her for directions I'm a bit lost..i-i'll get going!" The guy quickly rushed out from both your sights.

Even when the guy was no longer in sight, michikatsu still haven't let go of your waist thus still making you still close to each other. You didn't even noticed how red you were and michikatsu was just staring at you calmly asking you if you were okay

Someone from behind you cleared their throat which caught his and your attention. Michikatsu quickly pulled away from you letting go of your waist and distancing himself. Yoriichi tilted his head "did something happened while I was gone?" He asked curiously.

The both of you answered 'no' but yoriichi was still suspicious about this, michikatsu then noticed that yoriichi have a little box in his hand, "what's that?" He asked

"a gift for Y/N" he happily answered, he walked closer to her and gave the small box to you and when you opened it there was a Heliotrope inspired necklace inside.

[Heliotrope symbolizes enternal love]

When You saw this you smiled and let out an 'aweee' sound "thank you yori!" You thanked him quickly putting the necklace on your neck while michikatsu and yoriichi watched you.

"no problem, it does reminds me of how I feel about you but I should of have gotten you a yellow hyacinth too since it reminds me of how I just felt a minute prior"

[Yellow Hyacinth symbolizes jealousy]

You didn't really know the meaning of the yellow hyacinth and heliotrope flowers so you just assumed that he probably thinks of you as a good friend while michikatsu only knowing what the heliotrope means just looked at yoriichi.

You finally found a good cafe from around the park to chill for a bit and as soon as you entered you noticed 2 girls drooling over the tsugikuni Brothers, you just sighed at this because who wouldn't find them attractive?

You were at the counter saying the tsugikuni's brothers orders and yours and when you were just about to pay for the food and drinks someone else managed to do it first.

"michikatsu? I told you it was my treat" you scolded.

"oops"

You pouted and he just gave you a smile with a peace sign on his hand, the both of you then walked over to where yoriichi is seating.

"so how's your acting lessons?" You asked the both of them to which they replied both replied "It's fine"

"I got a job offer, I'll probably take it after I finished my senior year." Michikatsu added, "are you seriously thinking about that offer from that guy?" Yoriichi asked Michikatsu in a more disgusted tone, The both just stared at each other for a short while until you broke the silence

"who's that guy?" You asked, yoriichi was about to open his mouth when michikatsu interrupted him "Forget it."

You just tilted your head In confusion and just let it pass since it looks like a sensitive topic for the both of them. Your orders then arrived after a few minutes and you happily ate in peace

"we should go to an arcade after this is done!" You suggested while happily eating your dessert, michikatsu and yoriichi agreed since it's been a while they went to an arcade.

After finishing your meals the 3 of you went to the nearest arcade, it was a big arcade and there are a few people who's playing at the machines. Yoriichi went to pay for the tokens so you guys could play and as soon as the tokens arrived you dragged both the brothers to the photo booth.

At first this wasn't so familiar to both the brothers so they just followed the instructions said by the voice inside the booth, the 3 of you sat in the chair. Yoriichi on the left Michikatsu on the right and you in the middle imagine getting sandwiched by fine brothers

Please choose a filter

You clicked on the normal one

Please stare at the camera ready?

Yoriichi muttered a 'yes' which wasn't really needed so you just slightly giggled at him

1..2..3

The 3 of you posed at the 1st shot taken and continued on doing different poses until the 6th Shot.

Perfect! Your image is being printed.

Upon hearing this you went outside the booth to collect the picture and the two brothers followed after you after receiving the picture you looked at the photo like a big idiot smiling you couldn't help it due to the fact that both the brothers were so fine and you being in the middle was the icing on the top.

"we should go there" yoriichi pointed at the claw machine and michikatsu huffed "That machine is a scam."

"well there's no harm if we just try" you said as yoriichi smiled happily approaching the claw machine, michikatsu who already got trauma for spending hundreds on this machine and still not getting any price he went to a different machine not so far away from the both of you

"calm down...focus" you said as yoriichi was moving the claw trying to find the perfect chance to drop, the both of you were so focus and invested in the machine that when the claw landed and managed to grip on a cute bunny plushie you were basically excited encouraging yoriichi to go on and yoriichi was still very focused.

After what seems like years the claw finally dropped the bunny plushie on the right spot, yoriichi muttered a 'yey' while you congratulated him for winning the price.

Yoriichi then grabbed the plushie just to give it to you, "are you sure?" You asked, you feel really bad since he just gave you a necklace a little while ago but yoriichi just gave you a smile and respond "Of course, it's for you after all you are going through your hell days aren't you? Think of this as a little gift for surviving"

You hugged him for being kind and yoriichi returned the hug, luckily for him since he was taller than you and you were still hugging him you couldn't notice the blush and smile he had on his face but the brother from the other machine noticed it

You accepted the plushie and you were basically patting its head "so cute" you expressed while yoriichi thought that you were cuter

JACKPOT JACKPOT

The loud Jackpot sound caught your and yoriichi's attention, it was michikatsu hitting the jackpot and earning about 10k Tickets

You and yoriichi then went over to michikatsu amazed by how he managed to hit the jackpot since the machine he was playing was pretty complicated, you didn't even know how it works

"congrats brother" yoriichi congratulated him and michikatsu nodded. Since there were still plenty of tokens left you decided to try a different machines with the brothers.

There were some competitive games and yoriichi always beated michikatsu which made michikatsu more eager to beat his brother, yoriichi noticing how his brother is still struggling to fight against him he just let him wins.

After the tokens ran out, michikatsu said that he will be converting his tickets into the arcade card he still has, "I still have plenty of tickets left in my arcade card since I sometimes hangout in some arcades when I'm bored, I'll just be converting my new tickets onto this card." With that he walked to the counter leaving you seating on the waiting area with yoriichi who was drinking water.

While waiting you decided to have a little chat with yoriichi about your life and you didn't even noticed that minutes have passed.

You felt a warm jacket on your shoulders only to find michikatsu's hand on your shoulders with a new jacket that's in dark purple.

"I thought that this would suit you." He expressed while yoriichi agreed at his brother's opinion.

"Well it's still pretty early don't you think we should go to the nearest beach and watch the sunset? I really want to see the sunset today.." you pleaded and michikatsu took a look on his watch

"the nearest beach is about 1 hour away, and it's currently 5:45 do you think we can make it? There might be a traff-" he stopped talking when he saw your cute face begging him to take you to the nearest beach, he couldn't resist that face of yours so he sighed "Fine, we'll do something about it."

The 3 of you rushed over to the car, and as soon as you got into the car michikatsu gave the both of you a warning "buckle up, this ride will be fast." After you and yoriichi buckled up michikatsu took a deep breath and oh boy....it was a really chaotic ride.

Michikatsu was speeding over the limits and it was a miracle of how a cop isn't onto the 3 of you yet.

Yoriichi was pretty chill about it despite of the speed but you were literally telling him to calm down a bit because there were people on the streets and you might accidentally crash into another car or worse a truck.

After a few minutes you arrived just in time.

6:50

After michikatsu parked the car, you and the brothers decided to watch at the bridge that is just above the beach. It was a perfect place to watch the sunset since it was on clear view.

Upon arriving at the bridge you sat on a bench while yoriichi sat besides you and michikatsu on the back of the bench just standing resting his arms on the back.

"why won't you seat?" You asked, "It's wet." He responded

"so?"

"I don't want to get myself dirty."

"it's just water"

"so?"

You just sighed, this man was sassy as hell.

The sun was already coming down, seeing the sunset was kinda relaxing.

Michikatsu then rested his chin on your shoulders while yoriichi was holding your hand, you took a deep breathe enjoying this moment because you may never get a moment like this again

"the sunset is beautiful isn't it?" You asked.

"I still think the moon is more beautiful"

OFF-SCREEN

• Michikatsu didn't want to let go of your waist but he had to because his younger brother was there.

• Yoriichi was actually planning to buy you a hairclip aswell but didn't had time to do so because he saw Michikatsu holding your waist.

• This story is inspired by my real life situation where I am stressed out by academics and life problems the only difference is I had no one to be there for me in times of needs.

DEAR READER,

If you are ever stressed about academics or other problems please take a break! Everybody deserves a good break.

Taking care of yourself is important and thank you so much for reading this<3

[cherry-flavoured-thot]

I hope you don't mind multiple requests about prompts you've done before, but I'm making my way through these and they've been so enjoyable to read, they've given me several ideas. Please don't feel pressured to rush in replying, or to complete them at all!

I was thinking- Half dragon MC whose body is always pleasantly warm to the touch because of their internal fire, so the demon brothers use them as a heated/weighted blanket? MC sleeps in their bed and they wake up with it all cozy. Especially good in winter. Lucifer won't admit it but it's one of the best ways to get him tired enough to stop working.

- Dae・✦

Belphegor is the number 1. MC snuggler. Like deadass. And he straight up uses them being a heater as an excuse as to why he keeps falling asleep. "Sorry Lucifer, I didn't do my chores because MC laid on me and they were too warm and comfy." He will sneak into MCs bed at random hours of the night because he wants to be next to his personal heater.

Mammon uses MC's heating capabilities to hide him being down bad. "No I'm not sleepin' with MC because I'm like 'em it's because it's always cold in my room!" When there's talks of getting someone in to install extra heating in his room, he is caught in his lie. He also sleeps pretty warm so the pair are just this warm cocoon of blanket and people.

"MC I'm coooold, come heat me up." Asmodeus is snuggling at every convenience - but unlike Mammon, he's not even hiding the fact that it isn't just about MC being a personal heater and how he just wants an excuse to curl up with them under the covers. Absolutely called them his favourite little heater.

Satan has a vision. Him. MC. And 37 cats that also enjoy MC being a personal heater and loafing everywhere. Lucifer, will not allow this vision to come into fruition, so he just settle for having MC to napping on top of him while he reads, or while he's watching the latest episodes of his detective show.

Leviathan is part snake. He looks at MC and subconsciously is drawn to lounging on them like a snake under a heat lamp. The worst thing is he doesn't even realise how much he likes their warmth until one morning he wakes up after an anime marathon and he is clinging to them tail and all. He comes to term with how comfortable he is after mentally screaming.

Beelzebub is another person who runs hot when he sleeps regardless, so he doesn't notice the cold as much when he's sleeping. But I just had this thought of him using MC like a heat pack when he has sore muscles. "MC can you lie on my lower back? My muscles are sore." The brothers had so many questions when the walked into the lounge and saw Beel lying face first on the floor and you sprawled on his back.

You are so right. Lucifer will be doing paperwork and then consider how warm and cozy the bed must be while MC is lying in it keeping it warm. He'll be tempted to finish up early but continue through, only for his will power to dwindle when the breathing heater in question is lingering at his back. Lucifer doesn't surrender. But he also doesn't pick fights he knows he won't win. He's following MC into bed within five minutes.

[possiblylando]

Chainsaw Man 128 'Early' Analysis

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HE'S FINALLY BACK THE GREATEST CHARACTER NEVER SHOWN YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG I gotta back up Chapter starts with a pretty fucking funny scene. Continuing off the cliff hanger from the previous chapter Asa and Denji are talking about sex.

Going mostly off facial expression it seems like Asa starts to understand Denji's headspace more when it comes to Sex. It also confirms one of my more obvious observations from last chapter. Denji is using sex as a replacement for intimate feelings when talking about his dream. He wants someone to be close to him. Obviously he still wants to have sex. But he doesn't really have a way to put it into works so this is about as good as we're gonna get for now. Then Asa drops the nuclear fucking warhead.

In one page Denji turned from bitchless to a true incel. It's over millions of devils must die. I really hope that Denji gets a moment later along the lines of "You're wrong, Women love a man with a chainsaw for a head". I haven't forgotten about the chainsaw man fangirls from that chainsaw man thoughts interview. Obviously Denji and Asa get sent to hell because Denji in unable to cope with the through of being an incel.

I do not like these kinds of dishes where it's basically one thing and then it's just all garnish. Also there's a lack of eyes and ears. So what where those for? Denji Flees and we get to see how much he's grown since part 1.

We saw this same technique in use when he first fought falling. His body stays active for at least a few seconds when his head is chopped off so he's able to actually reattach his head or use it as a weapon. It's a really neat evolution of his abilities that totally in line with what he can already do. Cause this isn't something part 1 Denji would be able to so casually pull off. I doubt this has any important but his rip cord appears on the outside of his shirt without it ripping. It isn't like he brought a shirt that had a hole for the cord either because in previous panels it's just blank white. Again probably unimportant.

Denji come on man you're better than this. This is clearly just a joke at least because he's revving up to fight Falling again. Also I'm just now noticing this but Hell looks REALLY difference from the last time we saw it. Remember how it was previously the green field. Now it's just darkness. Is this a subspace within Hell? Did the Hell devil's death at the end of Part 1 result in this? Does the Hell devil control how Hell is? It could just be an unimportant detail but I want some information on it now.

HE'S HERE- actually- How many times has falling been fucking pwnd since her introduction? Twice in 125 1. Gunfire

2. Denji

Once in 126 3. Denji Again

Once in 128 4. Chainfraud Man

HE'S BACK AND HE'S REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YARRRRRGGGGGGGGGG FUCKING INSANE CLUTCH THIS HAS TO BE THE SAME GUY RIGHT? Let me back up. You're more than aware of the Chainfraud Man theory by now but I'll summarize quickly. In chapter 111 we see a shadow of someone who looks like Chainsaw Man kill Yuko.

However 2 pages before this we see that Denji is asleep at the time this took place. Meaning this couldn't have been denji.

And that's all we got for actual appearances. Of course theories ran wild of things like: "Yoshida Octopus Shapeshifting?" "Chainsaw Man Devil?" ect

So backing up to chapter 126. I had previously theorized this to be Yoshida. However it appears that this guy was in fact Chainfraud Man the entire time.

It also means Denji knows who this is. Well if he's smart enough to put two and two together. Which I doubt. Now depending on what happens at the beginning of 127 Chainfraud Man could potentially have one of the best feats so far. More than likely Falling will just regenerate and slam this dude. But if she doesn't then-

Cause he sliced her head in half. If this will actually do anything is yet to be seen. God this panel is so fucking COOL

HE'S SO FUCKING COOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHH Ahem Chainfraud Man is more than likely a new character who we haven't seen before. It could potentially be Yoshida but the odds of that are diminishing rapidly. So whoever this guy is really is the greatest. I do wonder if "Evade them until sunrise" is literal or metaphorical. Like will falling's attack cease once the sun literally rises? Or is it a metaphorical one piece sun rise where they have to beat falling for the sun to rise? If it's literal it'll probably be because Falling couldn't get the main dish in time for the "meal". Aka she couldn't meet her deadline. Great Chapter. 10/10

[the73rdpostscript]

Tell me again about No Sleep Till JoeNicky - 7 - nice version and also tell me about aaaaahhhhhhh

(I know you know the background of this fic, but since most people don't I'm just gonna explain it.)

I'm writing a modern au where Joe develops really bad insomnia and discovers that the only way he can get some sleep is if he's sleeping...next to Nicky. He doesn't like Nicky but he REALLY needs to sleep before his big art show so they have to make it work and oh my GOSH wouldn't you know it they fall in love.

The first draft of this fic had Joe acting too rude for too long without adequate reason. I was essentially half-assing an enemies to lovers when the vibe of the story was just cutesy romcom stuff and it didn't work at all - even though I had some really fucking good scenes in there if I do say so myself.

So right now the story is being reformatted so that Joe is less of an asshole and the climax of the fic is no longer the two of them being vulnerable and apologizing to each other at a sleep clinic.

So since the sleep clinic climax isn't happening I'm gonna just share it here. It's a very long section but I really like what I had.

So....enjoy a massive amount of writing that is now totally irrelevant!

-

“I need to sleep! I want to sleep! And ideally I would be able to do that away from you!” Joe shouts.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he wishes he could take them back. Across from him, Nicky has gone completely still - mouth pinched shut and eyes shifting from hurt to distant so quickly Joe would miss it if he hadn’t spent the last week looking into those same eyes every morning and every night.

“Then it seems we have no more need to keep up the charade, as you called it.” Nicky says quietly. He might as well be sitting in an office meeting with strangers.

“Nicky, I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

“I’d like you to leave now.” Joe thought he had heard the worst of Nicky’s coldness during the first fight they ever had. The ice in Nicky’s voice now would have shredded him that first day. It’s all he can do to look at Nicky long enough to nod and turn away.

-

He walks home, even though his hands are shaking and his legs feel weak. The cold air is an unpleasant sensation and he thinks he might be in trouble if it’s still better than the feeling he has after that fight.

When he gets home he walks past Nicky's shortbread and eats leftover takeout that smells questionable at best.

Maybe there was something to his false bravado about not needing Nicky, because after an hour of crying to himself he falls asleep on his couch, alone.  

-

The next day he can barely get any work done, and the Nicky painting sits in the corner, staring at him as he struggles with the other canvas – the one he was so close to finishing yesterday.

Around dinnertime, Quynh sends him an email with the options for an appointment at the sleep clinic – detailing the merits of the place, and asking for a response when he’s able. When they’re able actually. Nicky is the other recipient of the email, and though he hasn’t responded with his availability yet, Joe knows he’s seen it.

Nicky is always checking his phone – Joe’s seen him do it so many times he could paint the gesture from every angle. He would want to do one from just behind, and capture the privacy of the moment from over Nicky’s shoulder, highlighting the angle of his nose as the screen lights it up, and the clench of his jaw that he never seems to notice. Maybe Nicky would sleep better if he looked at his phone less.

The email stares up at him from his phone, and Quynh’s impatience is clear in every perfectly chosen word. There are implications there: Quynh and Nicky have spoken since last night, or Andy and Nicky. Maybe Nicky didn’t say anything and Quynh saw his mood at lunch. She’s been suspiciously quiet towards Joe since this whole thing started and it hasn’t escaped Joe’s notice that Andy introduced her to Joe after she was already friends with Nicky.

Joe’s pulse spikes at the idea of losing Quynh or Andy over this. But then he remembers the time that Booker almost hit Joe outside the nightclub, and the time that Andy disappeared for a week in the middle of her own wedding preparations. Joe doesn’t make friends with people who would turns him away over a single fight. Even if he feels like he might deserve it right now.

None of this matters in the moment, however. Joe had asked for a solution to his sleep problem that doesn’t include Nicky, and that’s what’s being offered.

With a sigh, he sends back his availability, and he only barely resists throwing his phone when Nicky responds less than a minute later with his own confirmation of a date that will work.

Before he can stop himself, Joe opens a text message to Nicky, and he gets halfway through his first sentence before he realizes that he doesn’t know what he could say that would even start to address everything that’s happened so far.

Instead he shuts his phone and pulls out an old canvas he once left half finished out of sheer annoyance. He paints until the sun comes up, and then he paints some more.

-

The sleep clinic is small. Joe only sees two assistants and one clinician. The assistants have Joe fill out forms when he arrives, perched awkwardly on a plastic chair next to Nicky.

Between the staff’s polite and distant demeanor, and Nicky’s stoic compliance, Joe feels like he’s alone in the room. It isn’t until they’re asked to detail what’s been going on that he feels a semblance of normalcy.

“So that’s why we’re here to see you,” Joe finishes, having taken point on explaining the situation.

The clinician behind the desk looks at Nicky. “Anything to add?”

Nicky shrugs, “Joe covered it all more or less accurately. I have been struggling with sleep for longer than him, but sleeping beside him has let me sleep regularly and more easily.”

“How much longer have you had trouble sleeping?” The clinician asks, looking down at Nicky’s chart.

Joe watches the lines of Nicky’s shoulder lift – tension clear in his jaw, “I don’t think that’s relevant.”

The clinician responds coolly, “I can’t help you without the proper background information.”

Glancing at Joe, Nicky lets out a sigh, “I stopped sleeping well in my late teenage years.”

Joe tries not to visibly respond, but he can feel his mouth drop open. Beside him, Nicky seems to tense more - as if he can sense Joe’s reaction.

“Any idea what caused the change?”

“I don’t think Nicky needs to share that,” Joe says, speaking before he thinks about it. The idea of Nicky being asked to tell a strangers details that he hasn’t even been able to tell Joe after a week of sleeping in the same bed feels inappropriate at best. This was not a part of his plans to get some sleep.

If Nicky has anything to say about the interruption, he doesn’t get the chance as the clinician addresses Joe, “We are not mind readers Mr. Al-Kaysani. We can’t tell you what is going on with you if we don’t have context for the things you’re experiencing.”

“That may be true, but Nicky didn’t want to share any of this with me before, and I don’t-“

“Nothing changed,” Nicky interrupts Joe with all the calm that Joe can’t feel, “I could not even guess why I stopped sleeping. I’m sorry if that hinders any part of this study.” Something in his voice sounds off, but the clinician doesn’t seem to notice as she nods.

“Okay. Well thank you for telling us what you could. I can’t promise any results tonight, but we will do our best with what we get.”

As the woman rises from her chair, Joe turns to look at Nicky. The other man is gathering his coat and his bag – avoiding Joe’s eyes.

It’s all Joe can do not to grab him and ask him if he still wants to do this at all.

-

When they’re led into a room with two twin beds, Nicky still isn’t looking at Joe.

They were directed to put on their own sleepwear before they came in, and Joe notices that the shirt Nicky picked is different than the worn out ones he usually wears to bed. Joe himself is wearing sweatpants that he normally works out in, and he isn’t even close to feeling relaxed as they get into their respective beds.

The woman speaks over the intercom to them, instructing them to try and sleep but not to feel pressure. They have time, according to her.

For a few minutes, Joe and Nicky lay in silence.

“Quynh didn’t come,” Joe observes at last, “I thought she might.”

“Her meeting ran late,” Nicky responds, voice stiff.

And with that, they return to silence.

Another few minutes pass by, and Joe knows they can’t have been there long, but he’s distinctly aware of how slow time is moving based on how loud Nicky’s breathing feels – uneven and overwhelming over the distance between them.

“I’m sorry,” Joe says, suddenly.

In the silence, Nicky’s breathing has changed, “Scusi?”

“I’m sorry that they asked you about your past, and that you have to be here at all. This wasn’t where I thought we’d end up.”

For a long time they lay in silence.

“Where did you think we’d end up?” Nicky asks.

Joe opens and closes his mouth several times before Nicky shifts in his bed and says, “We should try counting down again.” The lights of the room are dim but not completely dark and Joe can see Nicky laying stiffly under the sheets – looking as uncomfortable as Joe feels.

“Alright. 10, 9, 8,”

Nicky joins him on 7, and this time Joe is still awake when he gets to 1, so he hears Nicky’s voice slow down and drop off during the countdown. For a moment the only sound in the room is the unnatural hum of a different air system, and the steady inhaling and exhaling of Nicky’s sleep.

-

The clinician wakes Joe up, and after a moment of feeling disoriented, he looks over at where Nicky is already sitting up – waiting for one of the assistants to finish pulling the sensors off his face.

“Did you find anything?” Joe asks the clinician, not bothering to let her say anything before he sits up and reaches to help her pull the sensors off.

She catches his hands and tells him to be patient and to relax a moment, but he only lowers his hands and asks, “Did you get what you needed?”

“We got what we needed, but I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed with what we discovered.”

Joe can’t see Nicky’s face but he can feel the tension radiating off of him.

The clinician steps back to more clearly address them both as she says, “We’ve confirmed that there’s nothing unusual about your physical readings when you sleep beside each other. There’s nothing specific going on biologically that we can point to right now.”

Joe wants to scream. “What does that mean?”

For the first time all night, the woman looks a little soft as she addresses him, “It means I don’t have any answers for you, Mr. Al-Kaysani.”

"So why cant I sleep without him?" He can’t stop himself from asking.

The woman gives him a patient look as she responds, "It could be any number of things. External or internal. Rhythms of your apartment, lack of sound, a pet, nightmares, anxiety-"

Joe doesn’t know why, but the very word makes him choke. “Are you saying that being without Nicky gives me anxiety?" Before he finishes the question he’s looking over at Nicky, and Nicky turns to look back. His face is intense and his gaze unwavering. It’s the expression he made the night that they talked about his nightmares – scared and determined and so unbelievably vulnerable that it makes Joe choke on the last word. Something in Nicky’s jaw ticks, and Joe wonders about it for a moment before Nicky speaks and the moment dissipates.

"Impossible. Anyone who feels anxiety when I'm gone has never lost an argument about something as stupid as whether or not [team] will make it to [tournament]."

Joe crushes the urge to argue and takes the offering for what it is, turning to the doctor and asking, "Do you see what I have to put up with?"

The doctor hums and looks down at her chart, "if you don't have any more questions, I'll let you both go. We have all we need for now and you'll get results in your email within a few days."

-

They leave the lab in relative silence, and as they step out of the doors, Joe asks, “Will you come back to my place?”

Nicky looks startled at the question, and Joe remembers just as suddenly what day it is.

“Oh. Right, you have that thing.”

After a brief look of confusion, Nicky’s expression turns to something that might be either frustrated or fond, “That’s not tonight. I’d be happy to come back to your place.”

The radio keeps them company on the drive back to Joe’s apartment, and it isn’t until they get inside that Joe thinks to ask, “Did you cancel your mystery guests?”

“I did,” Nicky says, sounding tired. For a moment, they stand in the hallway together – Joe leaning against the wall and Nicky with his hands on his hips. They must paint a rather sad picture – half in and half out, of both the apartment and this peace that could be something deeper if they let it. If Joe let it, maybe.

“I’m sorry.”

“So you said,” Nicky replies, one corner of his mouth lifting, “Show me where your kitchen is. I think we both could use something to eat.”

Once Joe’s gotten Nicky acquainted with the space and convinced him to keep the cooking simple, he settles himself the counter he thinks will be least in the way.

“You know don’t have to cook for me. I wouldn’t exactly want to feed me right now after everything.”

“That is why it’s good that you don’t make decisions for me,” Nicky says, digging around in the fridge, “You could do something for me though.”

“What?”

Standing up straight, Nicky turns to meet Joe’s eyes. “Tell me what this has all been about.”

-

[draco-kasai]

A DPxDC prompt I Guess?

So, like, I'm half asleep and I have work in 40 minutes but like what if Ra's were to FINALLY die and Batsy and his family were there by coincidence to watch as Phantom took his soul. Maybe they were kidnapped or they were investigating if Ra's truly came back. Again.

Like, newly crowned King Phantom was going over all the paperwork Pariah Dark didn't bother doing. And while doing it he finds a list of people who escaped death though a Lazarus Pit and on top of that list is Ra's. So Danny looks into who Ra's is and what the fuck a Lazuras Pit is. He isn't happy with the info he finds. Claimed the pits, formed an assasination cult following yada yada.

Pits are pools of waters that had become contaminated with ectoplasm when a natural portal accsedently opened inside. Turns out that this random dude just so happened to find it and found it could heal so he claimed it for himself. Due to the greed and amount of death that was submerged into the waters it had become contaminated causing horrible side effects.

So Danny decides it was finally time to collect the dude's soul and destroy these pits and he's not escaping death this time and Pariah Dark should of done his damn job. After all, everyone who has used the Pit has a ghost core that is unable to develop properly because of the contamination of the Pits corrupted ectoplasm and that falls under his jurisdiction.

He even decides on hunting down everyone who used the pit, so Danny being himself looks into everyone who's used the pit and goddamn there's so many people, and many of them have used it more than once. So to spare himself a headache, he decides to just get everyone who's used it more than twice and fuck, it's still a long list but it'll have to do.

So now Danny is left cleaning up all the shit Pariah Dark didn't do, starting with destroying the pits and oh look, half his targets, including Ra's is nearby, might as well get em too while he's at it.

So now Danny is just floating around the league base collecting souls like fucking pokemon cards.

Batfam is baffled and disturbed by the trail of dead bodies. Those who are alive are terrified, curled into a ball, begging for forgiveness and thanking Death for sparing them.

The group decides to continue with caution. As they near the Pit they hear people talking, well, more like arguing really. They lean against the walls of the cave and listen in.

Ra's is arguing with Danny, trying to strike up a deal with him so he can continue to live. He's obviously desperate but the Ghost King won't budge and it's making him angrier.

Meanwhile Danny is just over it already, the dude can't offer him anything he'd actually want anyway, but is humering him cause he's pretty bored. He thought this would be more interesting considering they are all assassins.

Eventually Ra's gets fed up and tries attacking Danny but his attacks just go through him nd Danny just rolls his eyes.

"Listen dude, you've escaped death for way too long and I'm just doin my job taking your souls." He just swoops in, taking the soul, the body falling over like a puppet with it's strings cut.

That's when the Batfam decide to make themselves known, cause this unknown has just killed Ra's and apparently killed everyone else they saw too.

Danny is surprised to see Batman and his group here. He's doing his best to control the fanboying, but he doesn't really succeed as he's floating around them with a huge grin complementing them with how cool they are.

This is when the group takes in the unknowns appearance. White hair that flowed as if it were under water and sparked off at the ends like fire. Brilliant green eyes. A black and white hazmat suit. Pointed ears and teeth. He looked young, maybe 17 or 18. Pale, sickly pale skin.

Batman cuts in on the boys speaking, asking why he killed all those people and who he was. Danny sobers up and floats a few inches away, back straight.

"They have used the pits for too long, so I'm collecting what's not meant to be alive." He pretends to not notice as the family crowds slightly closer to Jason. He knows who he is. He did his research on everyone who was dunked into the pit, plus he can feel the Ecto contamination on him and his corrupted, unfinished sickly core.

Batman is mad, saying stuff like "you have no right to kill all those people, who made you the judge? They should be put through the justice system where they will receive their punishment fairly" Or something like that.

Danny gets upset cause Batman is basically walking all over the laws of his people by basically telling him 'your laws are stupid, do it like this' which is the equivalent of 'Gotham doesn't need Batman, we have cops' so he bares his teeth and lets out a small growl in warning.

"You have no right to meddle in business that doesn't pertain to you."

"You are killing people, how does that not pertain to me?"

"These people were already half dead to begin with. They had no right to escape death nor to use these pits that belong to my people, of which they have contaminated with their greed. I have simply come to gather them back up and bring them back to where they belong."

"Your people?"

"The pits are contaminated?"

"Your pits?"

"Where do they belong?"

"Who even are you?"

Danny allows for the invisibility on his accessories to fall. The crown of fire is the first to appear, the green flames form the shape of the crown, sparks flying about in a calm rhythm. His white cape, clasped around his neck by a button in the shape of an hourglass, flowed down his back. The inside was a pitch black that held slowly moveing stars and galaxies. The ring on his left hand flowed a brilliant green.

"I am the king of the Ghost Zone, or as you may know it, the infinite realms. I am known as Phantom. Those who have fallen into these corrupted pits have corrupted,sickly cores of which make them part ghost, of which are my people. I am simply taking them back to where they belong and getting rid of these pits. Something my predecessor should have done. This has nothing to do with the living. Now if you'll excuse me"

Danny holds up a cupped hand. The waters of the pit begin to splash and whirl before the ectoplasm seperates itself and comes flying up into his hand, condensing and shapeing into a sphere. He creates his own ecto ball in his free hand, the color a softer green than that of the toxic green of the pits.

Slowly he mixes the two together causing the toxic green to slowly turn the same color and murge with his ecto ball before eating it. did he have to eat it? No, absolutely not, but he just wanted to freak out the bats more, and the look of horror that fell upon most of their faces was totally worth it. Even Batman's lips parted slightly in shock.

With that, Phantom bids them a ferwell and disappears before their eyes. He can't wait to tell Sam and Tucker that he met and scared the Batman.

Meanwhile the bat family is freaking out because, "What the absolute fuck just happened?!"

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Hotd season 2 episode 1 - My rambling - Spoilers

Okay first of all I fell asleep fifteen minutes before the premiere that it was 3am in the morning (in Germany because of the time shift) but hey now I've watched it.

First of all it looks wonderful the shots, the dragons, the sets and the new characters are all just so wonderful looking and just so beautiful it's really an improvement on the first season as was said in the trailers and bts.

At first I was a bit confused that it started in the north and thought it was going to be Jacaerys landing with Vermax and seeing a bit more of Cregan and Jace but what we got was really really good. Not only does Jace come across more mature in his role but Cregan has so much weight on his shoulders and (I'm sure they're definitely bonding over this in some way or another for me) otherwise the North looked wonderful too plus seeing ice on Cregan a bonus point.

Okay after that with Daemon and Rhaenys (I think it came after that) it was so bitter and yet I thought you could see Daemon's pain well but Rhaenyas doing her best too. The first scene that made me cry though was Rhaenyra finding Arrax Lucerys' wing and bloody clothes it was just so compassionate and I felt so sorry for her.

Lord Corlys at the reef with his (I assume Bastad son Adam but I'm not sure) and him getting the sword from Luce and the grief and yet that assumption with his son was really good and the set looked so incredible.

Yes Alicent and Cole scared me when I first saw it (I mean grant you your sexual freedom my queen but not soo without foreshadowing) no they are cute in the idea of "the knight who courts the queen" but so I also feel like Cole is only half doing it out of love and other out of frustration and her command but maybe who knows. Also Alicent who later talks to her father and they both see eye to eye for a brief moment and how she still isn't seen as a full member of the council I feel sorry for her too.

Oh yes and then sweet Helaena sitting in her room her clothes are so beautiful and seeing Jahaera is really cute. I had hoped that Aegon would appear more as a father. The stroking of his daughter's head he tried to do it even when she didn't want to, well a start. What bothered me though was that he tried to understand his wife but still dismissed and ignored her. That showing off in front of maids when he talked about her fantasies or whatever wasn't nice Aegon.

It's really nice to see him being so intimate with his son and at least wanting to show him something (the scene with Tyland and the pony ride was just good) even if I had the feeling in between that he might have a little sadistic streak but oh well. Of course Aemond how could I forget him his scenes are wonderful (beautiful) and I liked how he gets along with Cole even though I think Aemond knows his mom and Cole are sleeping together or doesn't care.

Then Daemon and Rhaenyra coming back and laying their heads together was cute but I cried again at Jace and Rhaenyra's hug when his voice started to break and the beating it was so heartbreaking.

Of course the white wyrm still surprised me a little but Daemon's anger towards her was understandable and a little hot but that's not the point ;) Also him recognizing Rhaenyra from Syrax was a cute detail

His sneaking into King's Landing and his city guard being loyal to him (like in the books if I remember correctly yay) and still accepting him. Then blood and kese good acting choice too bad he kicked his dog and even though the scene was great (don't misunderstand i'm talking about acting etc) and sad tarumaic at the same time i really thought there would be something more to come.

Don't get me wrong I loved the way Helaena was trying to deal with her necklace and her fear and insecurity (not about her children) I thought about his plot hole as Maelor wasn't there yet but all good it worked out. What I thought was a bit strange was that they didn't do anything to the queen but that they just ignored her when she flew, well better that way.

Then Helaena traumatized and completely pulled into herself who just goes into the room with Alicent and Cole and holds Jahaera and then the end oh man I'm looking forward to the second episode and still have to process all of them but that was a great sad start.

[alex-writings]

Hello, is it alright if I can have a Daphne x Male reader, we’re reader meets Daphne for the first time, and instantly bonds with her with they’re love for animals and literature, and then eventually start dating.

Sure thing! It's my first time writing for her so I might not be very good with her personality (the blue dialogue is Daphne)

╭୨୧︰Daphne x male reader

ꕀꕀ ♡ ꕀꕀ

You were going to the othermart, your mom asked you to buy some bread for breakfast. You were slightly annoyed by having to go to the mall so early in the morning but when you arrive at the bakery section of the store.. your eyes immediately meet a girl that seems of your age, you couldn't help but find her extremely pretty with her amazing brown hair. You recover quickly from your thoughts wandering around and you grab some bread before paying.

☁ ɞ ꒦₊˚﹕ 𓏲✦⁺₊˚l

Daphne, her, was feeling quite bored.. she really liked her job but she wanted to entertain herself a bit.. she looked up at her brother half asleep a bit discouraged when she noticed a client, she never saw this boy before, was he new in town? He seems to have her age and feeling very blased by her day, she decided to make a small talk with him.

ꕀꕀ ♡ ꕀꕀ

"Good morning, what an amazing fresh bread you have here, that's the best quality, you have good taste. You're new in town?"

You quickly turn back a bit startled by the sudden voice. When you turn back, you see that pretty girl of earlier.. she was a worker here, well it makes this morning way more interesting..

"yep, I'm new here, we moved in last week."

The two started talking more.. the conversation was quite filled and there wasn't any awkward silence. You learn that her name is Daphne and she's also interested in literature, it couldn't go greater! They talk for a long moment before you remember.. you need to bring the bread for your mom! You excuse yourself saying you need to go and before going you turn back. Hesitating you ask her for her number.. after all what the worst could happen? And you enjoyed talking with her so much! So you go on and ask her. Daphne accepted, how is this morning going so well?! You got the number of a pretty and interesting girl.. was it a dream?

☁ ɞ ꒦₊˚﹕ 𓏲✦⁺₊˚l

When he leaves, Daphne returns to her usual work thinking that this boy was really fun since he has the same interest in literature with her! She sees her brother a bit perplexed with the head tilted, he didn't understand why his sister that always was so concentrated in her work, or playing or her interests suddenly gave her number to a client.

- You see Bowen, now that Mikhael doesn't want to play with us anymore, I have a lot of free time. This boy seems like the perfect person to entertain my days.

☁ ɞ ꒦₊˚﹕ 𓏲✦⁺₊˚l

A few times later, you and Daphne often hang out when she isn't working. You've spent a lot of fun time with her and you decide to confess the feelings that have grown for her.

That day, you invited her to a small tourist friendly farm (author note: I have no idea of the English name of these sorry)

While she was looking at the rabbits, you took all your courage and said those special words.

A moment of silence invaded the atmosphere because of her shock. After that moment, she accepted your feelings.

╭୨୧︰SORRY I TOOK ONE ETERNITY, I didn't had any inspiration and I was procrastinating 😭😭 I didn't know how to end it or how to add new things so I'm sorry, I hope you will like it tho!

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Obsolete, Night 7: Under Construction

''Well, the Toys were getting sleeker, but the style was retrograde. Center-staging masquerading sharks around the cage. With the winding of the toy box and the shadow of the past, baby, I am taking off this mask (taking off this mask)! Well, I have a theory; Yeah, I heard a rumor – There was a murmur of purple and murder. One by one he sealed their dooms and turned these toons into their tombs.''

 – Built In The 80s by Griffinilla and Toastwaffle ft. Caleb Hyles (Five Nights at Freddy's)

xXxXxXx

''Someone looks happy,'' Emma commented as she saw her daughter walking into the kitchen. While Sam appeared to be still half-asleep, mostly due to being a night owl rather than an early bird, she looked quite content.

''I guess I was able to sleep well last night,'' Sam shrugged as she grabbed a bowl, milk and cereal. ''I still want to sleep though, but it's a school day.''

''Maybe you should go straight to bed after work instead of playing video games,'' Emma suggested, giving her a pointed look. When it came to playing video games whenever she had school, their agreed that, as long as it didn't affect Sam's grades or health, it was fine.

''Maybe I will,'' Sam replied absent-mindedly, yawning. Emma rose an eyebrow, giving her a curious look as she took a sip of coffee.

''How do you feel?'' she asked. ''I meant in general,'' she added when she saw the look Sam gave her.

''I'm fine, I guess,'' Sam replied. ''I've just been a bit too occupied with the video game Dad had sent me.''

''Oh, really?'' Emma tilted her head. ''I thought you didn't want to play it.''

''I changed my mind,'' Sam replied, shrugging.

''I see,'' Emma muttered, furrowing a brow. ''I also noticed that you hadn't been sleepwalking at all for the past few days.''

''Well, that's good news, isn't it?'' Sam replied sheepishly, unsure what Emma wanted to tell her.

''I think that something changed and I'm curious about what it is,'' Emma explained. ''If it's something I can help with, I'd be glad to do anything that would improve your mental health.''

''I think I've begun improving because I've been playing Five Nights at Freddy's VR,'' Sam admitted, albeit sounding rather uncertain. Emma gave her a surprised look, but then shrugged. ''I've also figured that I should just focus on healing mentally, and that also includes dealing with Freddy's.''

''Honestly, I'm just happy that you're focusing on yourself and trying to do what is best for you,'' Emma told her. ''As long as it works, you should do whatever is necessary.'' Sam smiled, with Emma feeling happy to see her smile. ''Also, speaking of Freddy's, I have seen something rather peculiar during my last trip.''

''What?'' Sam's voice dropped, giving her mother a serious look.

''Fazbear Entertainment is working on a mall-like building outside Hurricane and it looks like it's half-way finished. According to the sign I saw, it's called Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex,'' Emma told her. Sam looked baffled.

''You can't be serious,'' she said in a deadpan tone.

''Trust me, it is real,'' Emma told her. ''Didn't your manager inform you?''

''No…'' Sam trailed off, trying to remember, but her mind was blank. ''At least, I don't have any memory of being told about it. Where exactly is it?''

''Remember how you told me about this factory you supposedly burnt to the ground…''

''The Machinations Factory?'' Sam interrupted, with Emma nodding. ''But, that's the property of the Wolfrun Corporation.''

''Didn't you tell me that it was abandoned or something like that?'' Emma asked. ''Besides, it is possible that Fazbear Entertainment bought it from them.''

Sam snorted as she got up, having finished eating breakfast. ''I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. Also, it would be a giant middle finger to their rival company.'' She then put the bowl into the dishwasher and grabbed her backpack, then glanced at the clock, slightly panicking. ''Shoot, I need to go!''

''Have a great day, sweetheart!'' Emma yelled after her, calmly sipping her coffee and glanced at her smartphone. She didn't hear Sam reply, but she did hear the front door slam shut and, a second later, open again. A moment later, Sam barged back into the kitchen with a sheepish look on her expression.

''May I borrow the car of the evening?''

''Sure thing,'' Emma replied nonchalantly.

''Thanks!'' Sam yelled, then ran out of the house.

Emma smirked, shaking her head lightly. As much as she wasn't comfortable with Sam being back into dealing with whatever is currently going on at Freddy's, she had a feeling that this was what she needed to overcome the issues she had. Besides, she knew her daughter well enough to be aware that she wasn't going to back off a challenge set in front of her.

xXx

''So, what are you up to today?'' Matt asked immediately as he saw Sam approaching him. Sam gave him a surprised look, with Matt adding, ''You're more focused today, kind of the same like when we visited Ricky's.''

Sam placed her hand on her hip. ''You nailed it, although I need you to promise to me that you won't tell a living soul what I told you.''

''I promise, but I do have a question,'' Matt said, with Sam rising an eyebrow. ''Do dead souls also count?''

Sam opened her mouth to answer, but then she closed it, thinking about it for a moment. She then shook her head. ''No, they don't count,'' she replied. ''All you need to know is that this is really important to me and that I cannot allow just anyone knows about this.''

''I understand,'' Matt replied. ''You don't have to worry about me telling anyone. I promise I'll keep this to myself.'' Sam sighed, relaxing a little, only to be surprised by Matt's next question. ''Still, why do you keep wanting to share such important information with me?''

''Because I consider you my friend and confidant, and like I said, I'm dealing with something,'' Sam explained. ''I guess I should've asked whether you want to keep being involved.''

''Well, I don't really have anything else to do,'' Matt told her.

''Involved in what?'' Sam groaned as she heard a familiar voice joining them. She and Matt turned around, only to see Tessa creeping up on them, glaring at Sam.

''Nothing,'' Sam replied, turning her back to Tessa.

''Oh, please, I know that you're up to something,'' Tessa told Sam. ''Have you found another place for urban exploration?''

''I have no reason to tell you anything,'' Sam replied.

''Why not?'' Tessa asked, stepping in front of Sam. ''I thought that we were friends.'' She looked rather irritated when Sam just ignored her, trying to walk around her. ''You're being so selfish!''

''Why don't you hang out with Violet and her company?'' Sam replied, feeling her blood boil. She had no idea what Tessa wanted from her nor did she want to deal with her. This seemed to shut Tessa up for a moment, as she didn't reply, allowing Sam and Matt to escape her.

''Why do I have a feeling that we were right about Violet's group kicking her out?'' Matt told Sam. ''Now that she has no one, she's trying to be your friend once again.''

''Unfortunately for her, I'm not interested,'' Sam told him, only to roll her eyes when she felt someone grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back. She turned on her heel, coming face to face with Tessa.

''Sam, I wasn't done talking with you yet,'' Tessa told Sam. ''Why are you being so rude?''

''I'm being 'rude','' Sam made quotation marks, ''because you just don't get the message. I have enough of you and all of the petty high-school drama you have involved me into. I'm not your friend anymore and I'm not going to cater to your needs. So stop calling me by my nickname and leave me alone!''

Tessa gasped dramatically, looking insulted, while Matt snorted, covering his mouth with his hand. Sam sighed, waiting for Tessa's response, but before the latter could respond, the school bell rung. Sam then quickly walked away, followed by Matt, joining the other students.

''We'll talk about this after school,'' Sam told Matt as they walked into the classroom. Matt just nodded, looking fairly amused.

xXx

After school was over, instead of going home, Sam had told Matt that she wanted to head to her mother's second-hand shop in order to get the car.

''Why do we need the car? Are we going somewhere?'' Matt asked.

''Yeah, we do,'' Sam replied. ''This is what I actually wanted to talk about. Mum had told me that Fazbear Entertainment is building a new location, or at least is half-way through the whole process.''

''Really? That's interesting,'' Matt said, looking genuinely intrigued. ''I assume that you want to explore this location.''

''Yeah, I do,'' Sam replied as they stopped at a crossroad, waiting for the light to turn green. ''Or at least, what I can explore. I doubt that we're going inside, but I want to at least see the outside of the building.''

The lights changed from red to green and the two made their way down the street, eventually arriving at the second-hand shop called Second-Chance Articles. Sam entered the shop, followed by Matt, and proceeded towards the counter, which was managed by a middle-aged woman with short honey-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her name was Cassie Walker and she was Emma's high-school friend, having worked with Sam's mother for a while now. While Matt looked at some of the stuff on the display, Sam addressed Cassie.

''Hey, Cassie!''

''Oh, hi Sam! How are you doing?'' Cassie replied in a chipper tone.

''I'm fine,'' Sam replied. ''Is Mum here?''

''Yeah, she's in the back,'' Cassie said, pointing at the white door at the other end of the shop. Just a moment later, Emma emerged out of it, carrying a box. Sam quickly walked up to her mother.

''Hey, Mum! May I borrow the car keys? I'll bring drive back once I'm done,'' Sam asked. Emma nodded, leaving the box on the ground and reached for her pocket, giving the car keys to her daughter.

''Here you go,'' she said. ''You don't have to return the car, tho. I'll hitch a ride with Cassie.''

''Okay,'' Sam replied, noticing Cassie giving her a curious look.

''Where are you going?'' she asked.

''We're just going for a short ride,'' Sam told her as Matt walked up to them. Cassie crossed her arms, giving the two a curious look.

''A short ride?'' she muttered, with Sam and Matt exchanging glances.

''Yeaaaah, we're leaving,'' Sam replied, turning on her heel, with Matt following her. Once inside the car, Sam started to drive towards the Machinations Factory, the location being outside of Hurricane. During the drive, the two were silent, but Matt could sense that Sam had a lot to say. She wouldn't have a reason to bring him along if she didn't want to share more information with him.

''Remember how we had talked about Ricky's?'' Sam suddenly asked. Matt grinned.

I knew it. He nodded, saying, ''Sure I do. We talked about how you had been there from the start, how you had found a missing mascot named Raven and how Connor Davis was the one responsible for the murders that had occurred there.''

''Exactly, but there is a lot more to it than you think,'' Sam replied. ''The place we're going to, Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, is actually built where once the Machinations Factory stood. The Machinations Factory was actually a robot factory previously owned by Wolfrun Corporation.''

''So, that's where Ricky and his friends came from,'' Matt concluded.

''Exactly, but the Machinations Factory had been abandoned for a while. There had been an accident that led to its abandonment and was also the reason why Raven was scrapped from the group,'' Sam explained. ''To keep it short, Connor had murdered one of his co-workers and his spirit affected Raven.''

''So, the soul wasn't contained inside the animatronic?'' Matt asked.

''No, but Raven was driven by a sense of vengeance. He wanted to get revenge on Connor for what he had done,'' Sam explained, her eyes narrowing and her voice lowering. ''I had helped him get his revenge.''

Matt fell silent for a moment, wondering whether he should even ask what happened to Raven. He knew that Sam wouldn't share everything with him and he respected that, but he had to admit that he was a little curious. ''Do you want to tell me what happened to Raven?''

Sam was quiet, her brown eyes glassy as the memories surfaced. Matt didn't say anything, feeling as if he overstepped the invisible boundary Sam had set between them. She then took a deep breath and said, ''Raven burned alongside Connor.''

''You did tell me that Connor burned to ashes alongside his own creations,'' Matt said, his tone solemn. Sam nodded.

''Yeah… Ricky, Dahlia, Max, Quentin, Virgil and Raven… They all burned in that fire, although Raven was the only one who was there out of his own will. The others were controlled by Connor,'' Sam muttered. ''I actually tried to prevent Raven from going along with that plan, but he told me that he wouldn't be at peace unless Connor died at his own hands and that he wanted to perish alongside him.'' Her grip on the wheel tightened. ''Although… I guess that's something I eventually accepted, but…''

Matt noticed that Sam was shaking. He could sense the negative emotions bubbling inside her as she processed the memories. He knew that there was more to the story and that Sam wasn't reacting this way just because of Raven. There had to be something else, something she had been avoiding talking about.

''Sam, do you want to continue or do you need a break?'' Matt asked.

Sam swallowed, realizing that her mouth was dry and that her heart was beating fast. She took another deep breath, calming herself down. It was a bit easier this time as, after spending some time playing Help Wanted, she started slowly accepting the fact that she was going back to investigating the new events surrounding Freddy's. She knew that she needed to confront her fears and trauma in order to move on and heal. Doing exactly what she used to do in the past was her way of coping, even though she was aware of the possibility that she would end up in a different nightmare.

''I don't like talking about this, but I did make up my mind,'' Sam replied.

''Maybe we should talk after we arrive at the Pizzaplex,'' Matt suggested. ''Just to make sure you stay focused so we won't have an accident on the road.''

Sam snorted, smiling. ''Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.''

Fortunately, it didn't take them too long to get to the spot where the Machinations Factory used to be, with Sam's eyes widening at the sight of the giant building in front of her. She managed to find a spot a good distance away, but it was still close enough for her and Matt to get a clear view of the outside. Her jaw dropped in awe as she realized that this was what Fazbear Entertainment had been working on the past months.

''Honestly, I didn't expect that,'' Matt said, a little less stunned than Sam, but just as surprised when he saw the massive building.

Where once the Machinations Factory stood was now a huge megamall-like building, decorated in neon lights and proudly displaying the sign ''Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex''. Inside the sign were four mascots, all dressed like some kind of rock band. Sam recognized Freddy and Chica, but she had no idea who the crocodile and wolf mascots were. The wooded area was also cleared to make space for the parking lot. There had also been a huge sign notifying them that the megamall was still under construction.

''Wow…'' Sam muttered. She had to admit, as someone who had been at several Freddy's locations before, she was really impressed by this one. ''It looks like Fazbear Entertainment went all out on this one.''

''That appears to be the case,'' Matt said, glancing at Sam. ''How do you feel?''

''I… don't really know,'' Sam admitted. She was in awe of the new location, but at the same time, memories of the Machinations Factory flooded her mind. She could remember how cold the factory was, filled with abandoned endoskeletons and animatronic parts, including several new animatronics that had been in the process of being built – the Drawkills. ''Honestly, I don't really have good memories of this place.''

''Well, you did tell me how horrible things happened here,'' Matt said, shrugging.

''You only heard a fraction of it,'' Sam replied, taking a deep breath. ''While the Machinations Factory was where Ricky, Dahlia, Quentin, Max, Virgil and Raven had been developed, Connor used the factory to create a different kind of animatronics. Being obsessed with the concept of death, he made animatronics that would assist him in his research by murdering people.''

Matt kept silent for a moment. He hadn't only heard of the disappearances and murders at Ricky's, but also witnessed one at the hands of Ricky Wolfrun himself.

''I had been working on trying to stop him and…'' Sam continued, but then stopped herself. Was she really going to tell Matt everything? She bit her lip, unsure whether she wanted to tell Matt about William. ''…Connor ended up murdered.''

''So, he was dead before he burned?'' Matt asked, noting Sam's reluctance. He knew that there was still something she was keeping a secret, but he had no intention to pressure her to reveal it. Sam nodded.

''I thought he wouldn't return, but he did and things got worse… That's when the murders at Ricky's had occured,'' Sam explained. She knew that this was a secret she shouldn't have shared. It was a secret that, even if it was fragmented, should've died with her. However, she felt that this was the right decision.

''You know, you should congratulate yourself for going through all of that and surviving everything with your sanity in-tact,'' Matt told her. Sam snorted, cheering up.

''I was keeping myself sane for the sake of someone else,'' Sam replied without thinking, only for her eyes to widen. Matt stared at her for a moment, then gave her a questioning look.

''Uh, could you repeat that? I haven't heard anything,'' he told her. Sam stared back at him, confused for a moment, but then relaxed, realizing that Matt was just trying to comfort her and make her feel better by not prying into private matter. She gave him a determined look and looked back at the building.

''Once the Pizzaplex is finished, I'll try to find a way inside and make sure no one else gets hurt,'' she said. ''Even if people like Connor are gone, I doubt that someone wouldn't try to repeat what had happened.''

As she stared at the Pizzaplex, Sam suddenly felt chills going down her spine. She shivered, wondering why she felt like this.

xXx

''Okay, let's see what I can find this time,'' Sam muttered as she put on the VR headset. Despite being wary of the game, she hoped that she would learn more or at least get Glitchtrap to talk to her. Once she found herself at the main hub, she glanced at the bunny mascot, who was cheerily waving at her. ''Are you going to finally talk to me?'' To her disappointment, Glitchtrap just kept waving. She frowned. ''You know that I know that you're not part of this game. I'm also pretty sure that you have affected the Showtime Animatronics in some way. So, why don't you tell me what you want from me?'' She waited for a moment for the reply.

''Hello? Can you hear me?''

Groaning, Sam turned to the menu screen and focused on the next section of the game, titled Dark Rooms. She hadn't played this section of the game, so she felt somewhat excited about it. To her surprise and interest, she found herself inside a hallway with Plushtrap on the other end of it. She snorted in amusement when she realized that this was the same Fun with Plushtrap game she used to play in Five Nights at Freddy's 4. All she had to do was to make sure that Plushtrap stays on the X mark, which was easier said than done.

Fortunately for her, the mini-game wasn't hard to complete, but the next one, Fun with Balloon Boy, was a bit trickier. Nightmare Balloon Boy was much faster than Plushtrap, keeping Sam on her toes. Eventually, she had managed to trap the Nightmare Animatronic on the X mark, allowing her to move on to the next game.

This one was different. This one one put her in an actual room rather than a hallway. It was filled with plush toys and boxes, and when Sam used the flashlight to navigate through it, she realized that turning it on was draining the battery. After she turned it off, it recharged.

''This… is bad,'' Sam muttered under her breath, her heart beating faster when she spotted another Tape in the grasp of a Funtime Freddy plush to her right. ''At least I got something out of this.''

''I guess you forgot about me...''

Startled by the voice, Sam quickly turned her flashlight towards where she heard it, finding a plushie version of Circus Baby hiding in the corner of the room. The PlushBaby giggled and vanished. Sam could hear more giggling, realizing that she needed to find them and repel them to win the game.

''Want to see the scooping room?''

''No, I don't want to see the scooping room,'' Sam replied as she repelled the PlushBaby. She turned the flashlight off, allowing it to recharge and listening for the giggles.

''Two... one...''

Sam turned the flashlight on, lashing it around to find the toy, only to realize that there were more giggles coming from the other side of the room. She managed to point her flashlight just in time to repel the PlushBaby.

''I heard your call...''

Sam was completely focused on her task to survive through the game as the PlushBabies became more and more aggressive. The giggles grew louder and it felt as if the PlushBabies found new spots to hide.

''I heard your call...''

Sam gulped, wondering when the game would end. There were times where she almost got jumpscared by the PlushBabies, but had managed to evade them. It was rather unnerving,

''You won't die...''

''Yeah, right…'' Sam grumbled as she repelled another PlushBaby, only to freeze on the spot when the flashlight suddenly turned off. ''Damn it!''

She knew that she was dead as she was close to the end of the game and that the PlushBabies would probably attack her. She could hear them giggling and scuttling through the room, and she hoped that the flashlight would recharge fast enough. If not, it was game over for her.

''You won't die...''

Sam prepared herself for the jumpscare, only to almost jump out of her skin when she was met with the familiar cheering, realizing that she actually won the game. She placed her hand over her heart, taking a deep breath. ''Damn, this scared me more than a jumpscare would.''

She sighed, opening the gift box and grabbing the Circus Baby plush toy. Taking a moment to calm down, she wondered whether she should listen to the Tape she found or try the last game first. She made her decision and went along with the last game. She was a little surprised to find herself at the Funtime Auditorium with the EXIT sign on the far end of the room. She then smirked, relaxing as she realized that this mini-game was the same one as the one in Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location. All she had to do was to clear the room without running into Funtime Foxy while using a flash beacon. She lit the room up, noticing that some of the tiles were red and tried to see whether there were any Tapes in the room. So far, she didn't see anything, realizing that she would have to investigate the place to make sure she didn't miss anything. As for the red tiles, she wondered if there was any significance to them.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped towards the exit and slowly advanced. After taking a few steps, she used the flash beacon and saw Funtime Foxy a bit further down the room. She looked down once again, noticing the red tiles. It kind of reminded her of that ''The Floor is Lava'' game, except that she may have been supposed to step on the black tiles.

Sam used the flash beacon once again, realizing that Funtime Foxy was too close and that she'd need to step on the red tiles to avoid him. She sighed, noting that she had nothing to lose and stepped on the red tiles. She immediately got jumpscared by Lolbit, transferring her back to the main hub.

''Well, that was an experience,'' Sam said to herself, still feeling a bit startled.

''Hello? Can you hear me?'' Sam turned to Glitchtrap, who waved cheerfully at her. She frowned.

''Why do I have the feeling that you know exactly what happened?'' she asked in a deadpan tone. Glitchtrap didn't answer, so she entered the Funtime Auditorium once again.

This time, she was more careful, making sure to avoid Funtime Foxy and contemplating her next move. She still wanted to check whether there was anything at the Private Room, but she had to make sure that her path would remain clear. It took her some time, as well as being caught by Funtime Foxy and having to restart the game again, but she reached the Private Room. To her disappointment, she couldn't open it, but she did find a Tape. She then managed to reach the Exit, winning the game.

Relieved that she got two new Tapes, she entered the Tape Room and put inside Tape 6 to listen to it. She also briefly glanced to the side, annoyed to see Glitchtrap staring at her. She shook her head, focusing on the Tape.

''I came in early that morning. No one else was there. At least, that's what I thought. The supply room was lit. I didn't even notice Jeremy standing in the testing room as I walked past. The supply room was so bright – glowing from all the way down the hall.''

''Okay, so something is wrong with Jeremy,'' Sam muttered. She couldn't really draw any conclusions from this Tape and quickly inserted Tape 7.

''Jeremy complained of nightmares when he came in this morning.'' Sam's eyes narrowed as she heard this part. ''He wasn't talking about it like someone telling a friend about his dreams, though. He was pale. Looked like he hadn't eaten in days. He spent an hour talking in Dale's office. But it didn't look like he was given much sympathy. When he came out, he went directly back to the testing room. He doesn't even jump anymore. Nothing scares him. He just stands there like he's talking to someone. Sometimes he rocks from side to side. We were told to leave him alone. I knew I was in line to do the testing next. They'd been prepping me for it. I guess they knew that Jeremy would need to be replaced soon.''

Sam took a moment to process all of that new information. Frankly, she did not like where this was going. The fact that Jeremy was suffering from nightmares, only to start behaving weirdly worried her. Something had probably affected him, causing him to act like this. Considering how Tape Girl and Jeremy were working on Help Wanted and how there was only one anomaly in the game, Sam already had an idea who the culprit was.

Exiting the Tape Room, she turned towards Glitchtrap, crossing her arms.

''So, do you have anything to add to this?'' she asked him.

''Hello? Can you hear me?''

Sam felt annoyed that she couldn't get any answer, wondering if she should even try to find a way to talk to the bunny mascot. It was obvious that he either wasn't capable of answering to her or was coded to not answer to her. Sam knew that she should've just dropped the subject and stop investigating, but she just couldn't. She wanted to know what Glitchtrap was and she was determined to continue her work at Freddy's and trying to infiltrate Pizzaplex.

She stood still for a moment, then sat down on the floor, crossing her legs and facing Glitchtrap. She bit her lip, staring at the anomaly. She stared at the ground for a moment, then looked back at the bunny mascot.

''I wonder… Am I getting a bit obsessed with this?'' she slowly said. Glitchtrap just waved at her, still having the same cheery grin. ''I know that you won't answer, but you can still listen to me, right?'' She sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, realizing that she was getting herself into a rather familiar situation. ''This is getting ridiculous. I can talk to Mum and Matt about what is going on. I don't have to talk to you.''

She was about to remove the VR headset, but kept it on when she saw purple static and glitches appearing across the screen. Startled, she took a moment to compose herself. She blinked a few times, wondering if she was just using the VR headset for too long, but she then realized that this wasn't the case. Instead, she stared back at Glitchtrap, who kept waving at her, cheerful as always.

''Hello? Can you hear me?''

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[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Day Two: matters of perspective

So, I spent my first night without shelter in the breakroom at work. Not the best of experiences, but at least I had access to a bathroom. The third shift people were perplexed, as they are used to seeing me in the mornings, just when they are leaving. I was quietly honest when they asked what I was doing there. Most of the time I had the room to myself, because they take their breaks and mealtimes all together. One was even nice enough to turn off the tv when she saw that I was trying to sleep. I managed about three hours total (and dozed a bit in my parked car this morning).

Somehow, I fell asleep during the middle of their hour lunch (2am), feet flat on the floor (which isn't the best, because they are now pretty swollen), and then was very surprised to wake up shortly before 5am. Have to wonder if I snored at all in the interim. I woke up because it had gotten loud all around me, and I figured it was their second 15-minute break. Kept my eyes closed, being in that half drowsy state, but from listening to the conversations around me, I realized that someone had a heart attack or stroke just minutes before. A gentleman in his 50's had simply collapsed on his way to the breakroom, and while someone was trying to administer cpr, they weren't doing it correctly and the unfortunate man remained oxygen deprived. It took 15+ minutes for the ambulance to arrive, and they shocked him back to 'life' a couple of times, but he didn't survive, dying at the hospital. Everyone was in shock, but this is Hellmart, so it didn't take too long until folks were back to work as usual. I imagine those close at hand when it happened must be dealing with some heavy emotions today.

Obviously, such a happening puts things into sharp perspective. Imagine kissing your spouse goodbye when you leave home for your shift, never to return. It reminds me how badly I want to get out of that place; I've seen about a dozen coworkers pass over the years, and somehow it feels even worse for the ones whose last hours on earth were spent there. Most of them were what we all would consider much too young to die so soon. And honestly, though it's not a coincidence that I was there (for the universe wouldn't give a fig about that), I can't help but feel uneasy that I was in the building at all at that time and on a day I wasn't even scheduled to work.

I think I'd like to ask for your prayers more than ever this evening. I'm already so exhausted and while I'll try again to sleep tonight, I have to work come 7am, and that's sure to be a challenge.

PS someone very kindly sent me a Ko-fi donation, which is a tremendous help as I've been restricting my diet, trying to stretch out my few remaining dollars. I just had a grilled cheese at Dunkin' Donuts, and though the kid behind the counter didn't bother to grill it (microwaved it instead) it tasted fantastic, and I wolfed it down more quickly than I meant to. Another true matter of perspective--food tastes so much better when you've got an empty belly! I'll not be fogetting this lesson anytime soon.

[warpedsenseofmercy]

I'm sitting in a hotel in Oklahoma City. My best friends, my brother and sister, are sleeping in the adjacent room of the suite, separated by a tiny kitchenette and bathroom from my equally tiny living space with a fold-out couch. They're both snoring, one with the almost comical perfection of sawing logs, the other with quiet breathy inhalations. They harmonize, the breaths a half-beat after the saw. I'm the most comfortable I've been in months, maybe years. These two people love me as only found family can, and I'm comforted by the sounds of their comfort.

Today was a journey. I woke to a quiet house, a rarity. I let the quiet wrap me in a state of ignorance. My house isn't quiet, especially on a Saturday morning. There are dogs and a teenager, and my parents who are early risers despite their protests against the notion. I realize that my dad slipped out to work before I woke, or his leaving is what woke me. Mom is still behind a closed door, presumed asleep with all the dogs draped across the empty side of the bed as only large dogs can drape. My kid won't make an appearance until noon, as any normal 15-year-old would.

I watch the clock tick away the minutes. I cuddle my cat until she's annoyed, and then continue to annoy her. She's hungry and insistent, but I'm warm and the knots in my back aren't making their presence known just yet. My room is dark and I feign ignorance of the rising sun.

My brother texts me. "Good morning. I love you." Same message every morning for months, yet it always makes me smile. I don't admit to myself how much that daily greeting means to me. I read, and ignore the clock.

I'm supposed to go over and do laundry. Our dryer broke and they immediately offered theirs. I let the offer, the love behind it, sit in my chest for a moment. We're leaving for Oklahoma today, and I need clean clothes, and my emotions bash against the walls I've very carefully constructed. I decide to let myself be loved, and load a suitcase with dirty clothes. I text that I'll be human enough for contact after a cup of coffee, and my brother tells me he's on his way to pick me up in exactly the time allotted.

Today is the day Bobby died. Today is especially hard, but this whole week has been hard. Bobby was my brother's best friend, oldest friend - that rare gem of a person who lived so brightly, his light blessed everyone it touched. I remember him in flashes, in emotion rather than scenario, in stories. He liked me, I think. I hope.

We're going to his grave tomorrow. This trip is a memorial, and I don't know how to comfort my friends. I love him because I love them. Because he loved them, and they loved him.

Tomorrow I'll get my "good morning. I love you" in person, and it feels strange to anticipate it. I don't know what to say when we stand near his grave. I don't know how to comfort those I love the most. The thought has me staring at a computer screen, whiskey bottle near. I hate not knowing what to do, what to say, how to be the person someone needs or wants me to be.

I think of the graves I've stood near, people I loved and lost, and the graves I'll never visit.

Today was hard.

Tomorrow will be harder. And all I can do is love the people sleeping in the adjacent room, sawing logs and breathing in harmony. And hope that love is enough.

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Our second day was an Aunts day.

It was also jet lag day, sadly.

No idea why.

We went to bed coming up on midnight at the end of our first day, both mentally sluggish and sleepy. And yet...

And yet four-thirty in the morning of our second day we are fully, inexplicably, wide awake. Both of us at the same time.

So we streamed that movie, Enola Holmes 2, from my laptop to our room's large screen monitor. By the time credits rolled, it was just passed 630AM. We stayed up another forty-five minutes before setting an alarm for 830 and trying again.

Kimmer actually fell asleep while I lay there, eyes closed, waiting for sleep to come.

And then the alarm went off.

So that happened.

Fortunately, we enjoyed an easy, lazy morning after that, our only agenda item being to visit my aunt and uncle who live nearby. I did a bit of my own reading and writing while Kimmer worked on her current paper for her doctoral program studies.

Oh. And I had one of the marzipan rolls my one uncle gave me at the airport the day before. I think there are six total in the package. So I'm indulging one each morning until it's time to go home.

And yeah. Since you're thinking it I'm gonna say it out loud: it's AMAZING I have that kind of self-control.

😁

Around noon, we pivot toward readying ourselves for what will be a lovely, twenty minute walk to my aunt and uncle's home. Unfortunately, the morning's rain is persisting. Plus there's wind.

Kimmer had the foresight to pack a pair of small collapsible umbrellas that actually work on such a day... just barely. They keep our heads dry and manage to not blow out.

All we can ask for.

☺️

We're out the door quarter after one, walking a bit of cobblestone before reaching the main street that'll take us most of the way to my aunt 'n uncle's place. Ten minutes later we're at the local market trying to make sense of packaging labels, trying to figure out which ones declare nut allergens and which ones don't. There's a lot of dutch food here I remember growing up. We just need to make sure we identify the ones that'll kill Kimmer. ☹️

So yeah. Other than the possibility of random nuts baked into the food causing Kimmer to die on the spot... there really are a lot of fantastic food memories here: the traditional holiday raisin rolls, stollen, and oliebollen. And then everyday things like chocolate hail I used to spread as often as humanly possible on top of peanut butter that was spread on top of butter butter that was spread all over hot slices of toast.

Stuff like that.

There are a lot more goodies at this dutch market as opposed to what I would consider food staples. Which is just the best thing ever.

We're at the market about half an hour and by 2 we're walking the sidewalks again. Under a little harder rain. Into a little harder wind.

At one point I miss our turn and we go a block farther before turning back and landing at my aunt and uncle's place twenty minutes after leaving the market.

Approaching their front door, another of my aunts pops her head out. I manage to not embarrass myself identifying her after more than twenty years because I saw a photograph of her the previous night in a photo album from a recent family celebration.

Thank God.

Once inside, we settle down at the dining room table for the next coupla hours for a lunch featuring salad, meats, cheeses, teas, and breads both hot and room temp. At the table are Kimmer 'n I, my aunt 'n uncle, and my other aunt who's visiting.

Like the previous evening with family, the conversation ranges all over the place. And maybe what's fun about these conversations isn't just their eclectic nature but the general tone. Friendly. Light-hearted. Familiar. With an easy humor within reach at any given moment. Even as the topics broaden out beyond family.

Quarter after four, my aunt who's visiting whisks us away for the half hour drive to her home.

Now here's the thing about her home: it's a half block from where my grandmother, my mom's mom, used to live. It's in the same village in which my parents were married. I visited here as a child when my uncle, my mom's youngest brother, was alive, when this home was still home to he, his wife, and their two boys, my other cousins who are really super tall these days. 🤯

My uncle passed away nearly twenty years ago. He and his wife's two boys grew into men with their own homes, their own lives. This is now simply the home of my aunt who lives where she always lived, in this village of friends who've been here a long time as well, in this village in which she worked for decades.

We're here another couple hours and during those hours we explore memories going all the way back to how my aunt met my uncle when she was fifteen, how she left for Holland when she was eighteen.

The story she tells involves people I can't even imagine, by the way. My aunts and uncles as teenagers, as early twenty-somethings.

There are photographs my aunt shows us, over which we marvel because yeah. Teenagers and twenty-somethings.

It's hard to believe even as I examine the photographic evidence with my own eyes.

So we spend two hours and an insane number of decades and stories that span a wide range of emotional territory and narrative arcs. At one point my aunt wants to give my dad a call to thank him for the Christmas card he and mom sent her. Also to wish him a happy birthday in advance of today which is his birthday. I help her untangle a couple technical issues with the call and, the next thing I know, my dad's voice is on the line. We speak briefly and then I hand the phone back to my aunt.

And they talk for a while.

Later, my aunt hands the phone back to me and I fill my dad in on what's happened since our last call a day ago (ish).

One other theme of this day, by the way, is that we're relentlessly being offered goodies. As if we can't possibly have had enough.

That's not wrong, by the way. 😉

That definitely continued from one aunt to the next. Even before we got to my second aunt's home, she asked us if we like apple juice and pear juice. Soon as we both said yes, she stopped at a nearby shop in her village where they make the apple juice and the pear juice.

We've got a bottle of each, now. ☺️

Then at her home, she offered us a jar of pears that we gladly accepted. Then she offered us teas followed by an apple tart, two apple tarts, of which I ate one and brought the other with us. Then cheese(?) cookies. Then home-made cookies in a round tin that are simply delicious.

She even offered more substantial food like bapao, a steamed bun with a filling. We politely passed given the amount of eating we were already indulging. Which made me remember:

We always returned home heavier when I was a kid and we came to Holland for family visits.

Our family in Holland was always feeding us.

And that's a thing that hasn't changed from then to now. 🙂

In the end, we had an unexpected, deep, touching, and lovely visit. An absolute bonus to our experience.

My aunt drove us back to my aunt and uncle's place through a nighttime wind storm that threatened to push her car sideways off the road or into oncoming traffic.

Not the best way to end our day.

She was taking us back because Kimmer accidently left her phones there. After a quick hand-off of phones, she dropped us at our hotel, hugs all around.

We may get a chance to see her again before we leave. This was a pretty definitive visit, though. And I'm amazed by it.

Interestingly, we'll see her sons later tonight as, apparently, we continue this experience of my family's greatest hits.

☺️

[lorbanery]

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Helena Bonham Carter is a phenomenal actress. It is not her fault that she's been typecast as the kooky aging mall goth aunt for the past, like, fifteen years. Watch pretty much anything she's done outside of Terfwarts and anything directed by Burton and you can see that.

The fact that her Mrs. Lovett is like sleepwalking through the movie is a deliberate choice and I think based on her other performances and how deliberately she seems to be acting aloof and half asleep makes it obvious that it was a deliberate directorial choice.

Now you could argue that oh it's just a different take on the character and just because it's different doesn't make it bad! Which is true!

What makes it bad is that the two main characters sing an entire song where they're trying to one-up each other in a 3 minute long pun-off making this face -_- the whole time.

Mrs. Lovett spends the entire show frantically running around doing everything she can and then some to make Sweeney even vaguely accepting of a relationship with her, making up whole ass romantic domestic bliss out of those crumbs, and then being SHOCKED and APPALLED when reality doesn't line up with her fantasy.

But Burton really wants me to believe that "trudging around the set with constant resting bitch face like she can barely be assed to get out of bed" is a valid character choice?

The only thing that really does is solidify that Burton really, fundamentally, does not care about anyone's work but his own.

Like, we already saw a bit of this with Alice in Wonderland. He's one record as saying that he never liked the original story because it didn't make sense [insert "the point going over your head" meme], which is a WILD thing for a self-declared Weirdo Freak to say, first of all. So his goal was to make it make sense and the result of that was this tortured Chosen One story where the Mad Hatter has fucking PTSD-induced DID or whatever the hell.

Because he fundamentally does not respect the source material. And I think you can see that in Sweeney Todd too.

A lot of people have written and talked at length about how Burton's continued self-identification as a weirdo well into the era when he was just being handed massive properties with multi-million dollar budgets to do whatever the fuck he wants with them is part of why his movies have been so blah at best. Most of those people have also pointed out that the movie he's most known for — The Nightmare Before Christmas — wasn't even actually directed by him, it was just based on a story that he wrote and his illustrations.

And I'd argue that that ... kind of feeds into this disrespect he seems to have to properties that aren't his own.

Because he still thinks of himself as this weird goth kid who no one understands and makes weird niche media for weird cult movie enjoyers. And that was kind of true! Anyone who grew up in the '90s can tell you that while TNBC was generally well-known, it was well-known in the way that the stop-motion Rudolph movie was well-known. It was a niche holiday movie that it was normal for some people to watch around Halloween and/or Christmas, but liking it beyond that was kind of weird.

But you know what? It's currently 20-fucking-23 and I can decorate my house in entirely TNBC-themed Halloween decorations if I wanted to bought entirely at my local Walgreens. The man isn't weird or niche anymore. And arguably hasn't been for, like, twenty years.

Now, I fully believe that the guy who said "Hey what if Frankenstein but a kid bringing his beloved dog back to life and also the neighborhood still brutally chases the mosterdog down in the final act?" was treated as kind of a big weirdo at Disney in the '90s. But it's also important to note that ... Frankenweeinie still got made. And I'm not even talking about the full length animated feature! There was a whole ass live action short film starring the kid from The Neverending Story, Shelly fucking Duvall, and with an appearance by a young Sofia Coppola! And it came out almost TEN YEARS before TNBC did! SIX years before Edward Scissorhands! FOUR years before Batman! So you can't even argue that they only made it because he was having some big silver screen success so wanted to indulge him!

Anyway, my point was that I can see how a guy who thinks of himself as fundamentally weird and outsider, as the lifelong goth who only makes niche movies for cult movie enjoyers? Would think of these other pieces of popular media as somehow above his in popular culture. Like, it doesn't matter that Alice in Wonderland has been a literary haven for most kids who actually find themselves on the outskirts of mainstream culture. What matters is that it's a story that everybody knows. Therefore, as a self-declared niche movie maker and weirdo, it's not only makes sense for Burton to not like Alice in Wonderland, it's actually good and cool for him to not like it.

"But what about Batman?"

A fair point. Burton's Batman movies are the most widely acclaimed Batman movies, except among people who are pissed off about the liberties he took with Penguin and Catwoman in Batman Returns. I, personally, love both of them.

There's an argument to be made that they were made earlier in his career when he still cared about pleasing someone other than his own skewed ego.

But I think there's also something else to be said for the place Batman held in mainstream culture at the time. Because I think Burton, more than anyone else, including Frank Miller, brought Batman into mainstream adult culture.

Because it has to be pointed out that while the '60s and '70s saw DC comics dealing with more serious topics and handling those topics in more mature ways, superhero comics were, at that point, still largely seen as media for kids. Like, you want to know why the Adam West Batman series was so campy and over-the-top? It's because they were spoofing what were essentially kids' cartoons. The bungling cops, the over-dramatic, heavily themed supervillains, Batman's rigid devotion to traffic safety laws? It was the "Captain America PSA meme" of its time.

So Batman was already pretty niche, at least for adult audiences. And given the dark and brooding tone that Batman comics were starting to develop around the time Burton was growing up? I fully believe that there was something about Batman that Burton liked. Otherwise? It was a fluke. And the fact that his personal brand fit neatly into the Batman mythos meant that the "fix" just kind of worked entirely by accident.

Anyway, all this to say someone get Guillermo Del Toro to adapt Sweeney Todd But Good so that I can stop being mad that the movie adaptation was such a trashfire.

Also if you've only seen the movie, please look up the filmed production of the original Broadway cast (including Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett!). It used to be up for free on Youtube, but you might have to go further afield to find it now. But GOD it's so worth it.

Every time I listen to a good rendition of "A Little Priest" I'm forced to remember how horribly Burton's "Sweeney Todd" butchered (haha) it and I get angry about it all over again.

[broadmoored]

sickness and health | chris&colton

Though it was impossible to ignore, Chris wouldn’t admit that his palms were damp as he walked down the empty hallway. Behind him, the din of a wedding reception in full swing reached every corner of the venue, but he rounded the corner further away from it all, excusing himself with a pressed smile as someone exited the men’s room past him. 

The gesture dropped off his lips the moment he stepped through the doorway, eyes scanning with an apprehension that had tugged at him since he first started noticing his brother’s periodic absence from the crowds of guests. Though Chris was swept up into conversations and congratulations constantly throughout the afternoon, he didn’t fail to store away the memory of his brother’s speech early in the reception. Though touching, it was delivered with a step more sway than others in attendance, with a slipperier tongue than the adults.

Chris could still almost taste the kiss he’d left his now wife with as he whispered he’d return shortly after taking care of something. And it was with care that he stepped around the large bathroom, closing in on the tall man hunched over a sink. 

Chris’s, “Hey,” was met with quiet and from the shallow breathing alone, he could tell what was holding Colton back from a conversation. When the younger Broadmoor did speak, it was a slurred, “You shouldn’t be here,” paired with a half-turn in his brother’s direction. 

And whatever answer Chris could’ve mustered was cut off by a knee-jerk reaction, one so swift that his muscles tensed achingly the instant Colton swayed too far and almost took himself off his own feet. Chris’s arm was around his brother’s lower back in an instant regardless of how reluctant the younger was to it. His grip made it clear he wasn’t going to let go no matter the muffled protests of, “I’m fine.”

“I know you are,” Chris groaned as he shifted Colton’s weight against himself, lamenting that there was nowhere to seat his unsteady little brother but on a toilet. “I know you are.”

It was a sloppy process, the attempt to keep their similarly long limbs from tangling as Chris supported Colton’s body into a stall that was not built with two men over six feet in mind. Chris’s elbows and knees knocked in places he knew would hurt in the morning but he was singularly focused on setting his brother down. It was only when Colton was securely sitting, though slumped over on himself, that Chris drew to his full height, loosening the bow tie around his neck to ease his restless fingers and dry throat. 

If there was any doubt in his mind about staying crammed inside that stall until his brother could stand again, it was diminished by the sight of Colton looking smaller then than he had even as a child. Chris leaned back against the very wall that had assaulted his hip bone a moment earlier and ran both hands through his groomed-to-perfection blonde locks.

“I thought you were having a good day today, kid,” he sighed, his own voice sounding too disruptive of the delicate peace between them. “You looked like you were having a good time seeing some of your old friends again.” Perhaps he thought Colton would pick up the conversation without any prompting and elaborate on his own. But Colton’s head remained heavy in his hands and Chris asked in a desperate bid to understand, “What happened?”

If disappointment had a sound it would be the silence between them just before, “I don’t know, Chris. I don’t know.”

A deep exhale passed Chris’s nose and at once his mind was working on a different angle to push, to gain the answers he wanted- no- needed. “Listen, if you didn’t wanna come today that would’ve been fine. I know there’s a ridiculous amount of people here. It’s a lot. If it was too much you could’ve taken ten or come to find me or-”

Once more, Chris was interrupted by a swift movement. He shifted out of the way to the sound of a grown man throwing himself to his knees in order to make the inside of a toilet bowl in time and recoiled slightly at the velocity of his brother’s heaves. There was only a beat of grimace in him before Chris crouched down, a cautious and light-handed touch finding his brother’s back. All his life Chris had been a verbal processer, drowning in moments where he couldn’t persuade his way through situations. It took him apart from the core to be unable to say a single thing to make this better, to simply be there. He rubbed his brother’s back gingerly but felt useless anyway, staring up at the ceiling to avoid fixating too much on the sound of the younger man making himself utterly sick. 

It was only after a few settled beats in which the only sound between them was that of Colton’s heavy breathing, that he spoke. “Today was supposed to be the happiest day of your life.” 

And though Chris was taken aback by the statement, he responded seamlessly, “It still is.” He licked his lips in a moment of buffer for his courage to catch up with his thoughts before he resigned to lowering himself completely on the bathroom floor. There was only so far he could stretch his legs but the bend of his knees hovered over Colton’s, unable to be semi-comfortable in the closed space without being somewhat tangled together. 

“I lied earlier,” Chris breathed. “It wouldn’t have been fine if you didn’t come to my wedding. I would’ve missed you. I missed you those handfuls of minutes at a time that you were gone to get yourself refills at the bar. Every time I was on the dance floor and I looked out I wanted to see your face somewhere in there, make sure you were having fun too. Fuck everything else, everyone else. I really want you here today. You’re my baby brother, I want to share the happiest day of my life with you.”

Chris smiled, even if it was at the back of Colton’s head before the younger unceremoniously canted off to the side, falling onto his own ass to sit back against the stall wall opposing his brother. Chris’s lips didn’t falter, rather they fell into a low chuckle at the state of them both. 

He watched Colton open his mouth to level something coherent, but the noise he heard instead of a voice was that of the bathroom door opening, followed by the sharp clicking of heels. Chris peered up, knowing who he would see swing out the stall door before they even arrived. And sure enough, when Jae Young blocked the room’s golden light above them, still in the very dress he married her in just over an hour ago, Chris beamed. 

He could not sound any more like an enchanted child, expressing to her a simple, “Hi honey,” just before he took the hand she offered down to pull him to his feet. Chris stepped out of the stall for a second to stretch his legs, intending on doubling back to pick his slightly smaller body double off the ground, but when he turned, his wife had already taken his place, crouching at Colton’s side to pull his arm over her shoulders. “You too now,” she told him as she began to lift. 

A tension Chris wasn’t aware of eased from his features at the sight, his gaze softening as Jae guided Colton out of the stall and back towards the sinks, telling him it was high time to get cleaned up. “Dinner will be served in a little while and Chris was specifically allowed to put sliders on the appetizer menu because you two apparently used to compete when you were young over who could eat more.”

Chris listened to the sound of his wife’s voice, strong and impenetrably firm, but smooth nonetheless, protective like the arms wrapped around Colton to help him stand. A fondness grew in his chest for this side of her that he’d have to set aside to think deeper on another time. For now, he opted to catch up with the two members of his family, clapping a hand to Colton’s back as he approached. 

“You heard the woman, don’t let my sentimentality go to waste,” he gave a laugh, dedicated only to being proactive now that he felt the wind had returned beneath his wings. Rolling his sleeves up, Chris turned on the cold water and swung Colton’s tie over his shoulder out of his way. “Here, let me get that for ya…” 

Chris maintained the warmth in his smile. It wasn’t much, but even the first of many steps on a long road ahead was something.