#then he and cleo started talking about their cats but just then someone called me at work and i--the horror--had to do my job

[mcyt-cats]

Mr Finnegan!

And Katy Bee :)

ft. the inevitable consequences of holding cats

[frozenjokes]

mentally well people have mentally well reactions to each other

“Come on now, what happened? I’ll needle it out of you, you know I will, so you might as well just spill.” Cleo’s voice from the other end of the room dented Scar’s half asleep haze, and his ear pricked, listening. Scar doubted he was hearing anything he wasn’t supposed to, but if this was ‘girl talk’ (defined as Cub and Cleo gossiping about him, Scar came to learn), he didn’t think he was explicitly invited either, hence Cleo waiting until Scar took his intermittent afternoon nap up near the ceiling.

Cub only grunted in response, which clearly was not the answer Cleo was looking for.

“I’m not going to believe that you and Scar went and slept on top of each other in his starting room for no reason.”

“Nothing ‘happened,’ Cleo. Just couldn’t sleep.”

“That is so lame.”

“It was lame. I couldn’t sleep.”

“So you went to the Scar room to sleep on the floor. With Scar.”

“Yes. That’s what happened.”

“You seriously suck.”

“Maybe I missed sleeping with someone, it’s been lonely all by myself.”

Cleo scoffed, making quite the fuss given all the shuffling Scar heard, “No one’s making you sleep alone. I bet Scar would be thrilled to have you, the more the merrier, whatever.”

“You don’t want me.” Cub seemed to be doing his best effort at sounding sad, but he wasn’t very good at it.

“Nope,” Cleo popped the ‘p,’ “I don’t. But whatever, three’s a party.”

“This is why I slept in Scar’s room.”

“You are such a liar! What’s your problem!? You didn’t fuck, Scar wouldn’t fuck you. Neither of you are injured.”

“I have a couple scratches.”

“So do I, it’s called living with a cat, doofus.”

“Damn.” There was a lot more shuffling of blankets, and Scar opened an eye to see Cub hiding under the covers of his bed, only for Cleo to get up and pounce on him.

“You’re not off the hook yet, mister!”

Scar closed his eye as fighting and squabbling ensued, uninterested in their bickering. At least they were playing, Scar preferred when they played. Sometimes they tuckered themselves out like that, just laying in a winded heap. Ideal, honestly. Perfect for perching on top of; Scar always took full advantage. Today though, the noise started to escalate, and Scar glared through narrowed eyes as Cleo started to play whack-a-mole with Cub’s knees. Bad sign. Next Cub would start cussing them out, he always got nasty, and Cleo would go for the throat until the both of them were upset and seething.

Scar leapt from his place near the ceiling, crossed the room in four short bounds, hopped up onto Cub’s bed and delivered a quick bite to Cleo’s shoulder, shoving them off the blanket so Cub could escape, only to snap at him too the moment he surfaced. Scar had to resist stomping on him the moment he hid back under the covers with a squeak; sometimes that deep seeded instinct to Kill Small Thing came out of nowhere, but Scar refrained.

“I’m sick of you. Both of you.”

Cleo snorted, “Me too.”

“Personally I’m doing alright,” Cub mumbled, to which Scar gave in and stomped on him, effectively shutting him up.

“If you don’t want to be treated like children then you’d better stop acting like them. I’m tired of it! Not every disagreement has to end in pummeling each other, you’re going to start being nice, I swear it.” Scar’s tail lashed, only whipping harder at the amused look on Cleo’s face.

“Good luck with that. I’ll trade you a compliment if you tell me what the hell happened with you and Cub last night.” Scar bit them because they really deserved it, then sat back up as Cleo yelped, smoothing the fur at his shoulders when they huffed, “Will you stop that?”

“Maybe that’s a good idea. Maybe you should say something nice, but not to me.” Scar’s tail continued to lash, but now in a growing excitement, “Each of you are going to say one- no- two nice things about each other! Clearly you need the practice! I can count on one paw the amount of marginally kind things you’ve said to each other, both of you, and that’s terrible! How can you stand that?”

“I don’t.” Cleo snorted, “That’s why I kill him.”

“And you don’t like to do it. You don’t like killing each other or yelling at each other or any of it! It hurts, I know it hurts.”

Perhaps this was a sentiment relayed to Scar in confidence, the atmosphere shifting in a split second to something cool and dangerous.

“You- You said- It’s okay if it hurts your feelings, Cleo, I mean- I don’t like it either! You know I don’t like it. I didn’t mean to overshare-“ Scar struggled to amend, but was painfully aware his stammering was only digging himself into a deeper hole.

The silence was deafening, and the withering look Cleo whipped Scar with almost made him falter, fur beginning to prickle under the intensity. Well, Cleo didn’t want to kill Cub anymore, that was for sure. Scar was starting to wish they’d go back to arguing.

“Cleo-���

“I can’t help but notice that Cub has nothing to say,” Cleo spoke thickly, honey-sweet dripping off venom loaded fangs, hot and begging to strike. Cub knew it, and he wasn’t surfacing from his blanket cave any time soon; Scar envied him desperately. “What do you think of me?”

“I think,” Cub started, tiptoeing, more than aware of the cobra looming above him, “Maybe. It’s not a terrible idea. Niceties- Compliments, however Scar phrased it. We can try.”

Cleo sneered, disgust raking through the air like barbed claws, snatching the oxygen from Scar’s lungs. “I see.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh you don’t, do you?” Cleo’s voice was scathing, and despite the words not being directed at him, Scar shrank away as if burned, “Don’t want to talk about it? Why? Never kept anything from me before, no reason to, nothing to hide, unless there is,” Cleo whirled on Scar, and all he could think of was hiding, running away, but he was frozen in her blistering glare, “What did you say about me? Jump to a couple conclusions, have you? What did you fucking say.”

Scar’s mouth went completely dry. He prayed that his microphone would miraculously combust.

“Scar.”

“Stop it.” With some strain and awkward shuffling, Cub resurfaced from underneath the blankets, shaking out his hair, “Leave him alone, no one said anything about you.”

Cub did not flinch under Cleo’s vehemence, always mild, and Scar didn’t know how. “Do you think I’m fragile? Go on, I can take it.”

“For fuck’s sake, not everything is about you,” Cub’s frustration left him in a huff, and silence afterwards was so utterly petrifying, Scar could do nothing else but cover his eyes. “-Wait. No, that wasn’t- That came out wrong.”

“Oh did it now?”

“I’m sorry.”

No one moved. The whole spaceship seemed to stop in time, no white noise, no chugging machines, no sound. Scar wouldn’t have been surprised if both their planets stopped spinning, if only for a moment. Cub managed to find his footing.

“I really- I really didn’t mean that. It just- it wasn’t about you, it really wasn’t, it was about me. It was about me. Me not- not being good enough. And I didn’t want to talk about it because I don’t like thinking about it because I don’t want to hold myself to a higher standard, but I am starting to feel like maybe I should, and there’s- there’s just a lot of dissonance happening. Because I want to be fine with this. Unkindnesses. Because it’s not worth fixing, right? My life is already over, there’s no point whether I get out of here in one year or five, no point trying to preserve any humanity in myself, because it’s over. Every day it’s worse, even through the resets, I feel myself going, I know it’s over. And it’s over for you, too. We’re not making it out of this. There’s nothing left for either of us back home. No point.. no point trying.” Cub pursed his lips. “Unless you do care. Unless it matters to you how we live here, how we treat each other because it- It. What matters to you matters to me. And I-” Cub laughed, sheepish, “I don’t really know when that happened but.. I don’t know. I don’t really want to talk anymore.”

It was slow, the way Cleo leaned over, almost lurched, and wrapped their arms around Cub, pulling him toward her, so the both of them ended up in the middle, inclined awkwardly, hugging tightly. Scar wanted out. He wanted out so bad. He wanted out more than he’d wanted out of anything his entire life, but when he started to move, Cleo grabbed him, and there was no more escape.

“‘M sorry, buddy,” she mumbled, and maybe she sensed his panic, because graciously, Cleo released him, and Scar scurried away out the closest door, which just happened to be the one to his reset room. He managed not to die on the way there, and reveled in air that wasn’t hot, sliding back against the wall right where he’d been the night before.

…

“It’s not over, Cub,” Cleo mumbled, and they did mean it, they meant it with their whole heart, but they did not know if it was true. All the same, if Cub was convinced he had no life to live after they were released, she would not change his mind. Cub was rigid, immovably stubborn; he decided things about the world and himself as a form of control, he needed that control, because letting go meant Not Knowing, and that was so much worse than being unhappy, being bad, committing acts of interpersonal and environmental violence on purpose, becoming a man that no one could forgive. It was easier to be intentional.

If you weren’t bad, then what were you? Why were you here? How did you get so sick?

Cub couldn’t face those questions. He had to answer them objectively, conform to the new person he needed to be, erase all dissonance, and become the type of man who’d wage that kind of war.

But it couldn’t be over. It couldn’t be over for Cub because Cleo wasn’t ready for it to be over, and she couldn’t do this without him. She didn’t know what came after this, she was afraid, and she couldn’t face it by herself. So Cub needed to believe it would be okay, at least for a few months, a few years, as long as he lived after this was over.

“You matter too much to me for it to be over. I’m not ready.”

“That.” Cub paused for a moment, and Cleo wished they could read his mind, because they had no fucking idea what was going through his head. “Is extremely inconvenient for me.”

Cleo laughed, a relieved sound maybe, because an answer like that was just so Cub, so human, and that was proof enough he wasn’t as far gone as he believed, “That so? Bet it would be a lot easier for you if I only considered you a pain in the ass.”

“How did I fuck this up so bad.”

Cleo shrugged, resting their chin on his shoulder, “You’re kinda fun.”

“Fun? Fucking hell.”

“Uh huh. Where’s my compliment?”

Cub pursed his lips, to which Cleo smacked him gently on the forehead, chuckling when he scoffed. “I didn’t study for this quiz.”

“How about we come back to you later, then.”

Cleo felt Cub breathe against her, deep, full, he always breathed so deeply, and Cleo wondered if he struggled to get enough air, or maybe he just appreciated the breath in his lungs while he still had the chance to take it in.

“That’s okay with me.”

“Good,” Cleo mumbled, closing their eyes, but opening them just as quickly, “I’ll go fetch Scar.. shouldn’ve bit his head off like that. Just.. struck a nerve.”

Cub nodded against their shoulder, then hardly loud enough to hear, “But I’m glad he said something..”

…

The walkthrough was over. Finally, it was over, and the humans were ready to begin the puzzle. Scar was antsy to get started, contrasting infuriatingly with the general apathy the humans seemed to feel, taking their sweet ass time writing notes and setting off traps and making sure everything was Literally Perfect before they began. Scar had hoped he could get a head start while Cub and Cleo finished everything they needed to do, but he didn’t know how, and the humans either didn’t trust him to not fuck something up, or they were just dismissive because they were so damn apathetic about this whole scenario. Either way, it was driving Scar crazy. ‘I’ll show you where we start when we’re all ready to take a look,’ JUST SHOW ME NYEEOW!

But it was done. The walkthrough was done, and Scar could finally see what the hell was the deal with this ‘box’ they two of them kept vaguing about.

“Don’t get too excited,” Cleo mumbled as they typed something into the monitor; maybe this is why Scar had been dismissed before, acquiring the box meant working with the computers. Teaching him his own name in Human had been hassle enough, Cleo probably didn’t want to continue with any more of that, and Cub would likely rather shoot himself.

Regardless, Scar was still restless, whiskers still twitching, tail still lashing. When Cleo made a snide comment about Scar getting all worked up, he snapped back, “It’s hard not to be when you guys have both been so secretive.”

Cub snorted, “We told you exactly what it was. Each room has a puzzle, you solve the room, get a pendant, stick it in the box, what else is there to know.”

Scar threw up his hands, “But what about the riddles!”

“There are riddles on the box,” Cleo said, bland, “They tell you where to start. It is quite literally that simple.”

“Mumbo says all sorts of things are simple but they’re always more complicated than that, come on, you two have been terrible these last couple days.” Scar crossed his arms, to which Cleo only rolled their eyes.

“In a couple years after you’ve been through the ringer on stupid traps you missed, accidents, annoying puzzles, and all sorts of other bullshit, you can get all pissy with me, but in the meantime, all your impatience accomplishes is providing motivation for me to fuck with you.”

Cub hummed behind them, but Scar wasn’t paying much attention, focused on what Cleo was doing with the screens. Typing something into the search bar; ‘C-A-T-S S-M-E-L-L,’ erased after Cub chuckled, ‘S-H-I-T-T-Y P-A-W-S,’ erased, then, ‘Z-O-O-M-I-E-S T-I-M-E W-I-T-H S-C-A-R.’

“Why’re you searching my name?”

“Oh hey, he is paying attention,” Cleo smirked, to which Scar straightened suspiciously, and Cub breathed a soft chuckle.

“He’d make a good iPad kid.”

“Hey.” Scar growled, “What does that mean. You’re not allowed to call me names I don’t-” and then Scar turned around, and Cub was holding a box, a little wooden thing, it fit comfortably in his two hands, his fingers almost wrapping completely around the length of two sides. There were indents on the faces, each side a different color, and Scar could see the inscriptions that had to be the riddles, “-HEY!”

“Take a look,” Cub shrugged, tossing it, and Scar snatched it out of the air, holding tight with all four paws.

“Please don’t break the very important escape room box.” Cleo was deftly ignored, as Scar was swiftly remembering that he could not read.

“What does it say?” Scar shoved the box back in Cub’s face, who continued to stare at him blankly before seeming to think better of defying Scar, adjusting his glasses to read.

“Soldier boys line up to fall, seek illusions reflected off the stars.” Cub turned the box back around for Scar to see, as if having the line read aloud would magically transform the words into something readable. “This feels pointed.”

Cleo snorted, “Not every riddle is pointed, Cub.”

“A lot of them are.”

“A few.”

“They don’t like me, Cleo.”

She laughed, “Yeah! They don’t like me, either!”

Scar cleared his throat, interrupting, “This one’s for the safe room-control room hall. The mirror, right?” Cleo and Cub looked up, stares equally blank. “The mirror?” Scar tried, “With the winged humans? They’re kinda falling, aren’t they? They’re going down, not up.”

“Uh,” Cleo tried, her hesitation rejection enough to make Scar nervous, “I mean, maybe. I don’t remember. We can check, but let’s go through the rest, first. I’ll make a note.” They did so, scribbling something in their notebook, but Scar couldn’t help feeling a little dejected regardless. “Read the next one, Cub.

Cub did as he was told, flipping from the green side to the magenta face. “Judgment crash down upon unworthy souls, snarling at the gates, deny, deny.” Cub pursed his lips, “That is pointed.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty explicit.”

“Well that’s the Scar- My room. I don’t know what to call it. The Scar room. Right?” Scar’s fur started to prickle when Cub and Cleo Looked at him again- What was he doing wrong? “The statues! You guys have seen the statues in there, up on those tall shelves, right? I always feel like they’re judging me..”

After a moment, Cub shrugged. “I agree. They are judgemental. The ‘gate’ thing might be an allusion to heaven or whatever, up high, yeesh. The angels on the last riddle might fit with a theme, also.”

“How do you guys remember this shit? Those statues are in the corner of the room, I wouldn’t have remembered if you didn’t bring it up.”

“They’re judgemental, Cleo.”

“I got that, thanks.”

“Okay, well the next one,” Cub turned the box to the cyan side, “How to step in another person’s shoes? Take a look through a different point of view.”

“What do you think of that? Pointed?” Cleo teased, but Cub nodded sharply.

“I’m sure wherever we’ll be ‘looking’ will be plenty pointed. What do you think, Cleo? Up to the pearly gates where we’ll never be allowed to go, or down into the fiery pits of hell? Does Scar know where we’re going yet? I think I know.”

“I- I mean there were sunglasses in a drawer in the control room-Scar room hallway. It’s pretty outdated technology, even for the sun..”

“No one wears those anymore,” Cub agreed sagely, and Cleo laughed, shaking their head.

“I can’t believe this, how are you so fast at these, Scar? Were you just studying the rooms all this time? Usually we get one or two off the bat and then we’re wandering aimlessly until we stumble into the rest of the answers.”

Abashed, Scar shrugged, a paw sliding unconsciously behind his ear, “I mean, you don’t have people back home that talk like that?”

“Nope. Assuming you do?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s everywhere. And they reference little things too, and if you don’t get what they’re referring to.. prone to offense is what I’ll say, but honestly, I just happen to know a couple.. unhappy.. sphinxes. Stereotypically they’re uppity but I think the guys I know may take that to an extreme..”

“Saw that,” Cleo snorted, though not without a little awkwardness, which made Scar deflate slightly. He didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable. Now that Scar was paying attention, Cub looked a bit awkward himself, glancing away, shifting his weight almost like he thought something was going to jump out at him. Scar didn’t want to leave the conversation like this, dangling over his miserable call back home; maybe he could change the subject?

“Why do you wear glasses? They’ve got lenses, I checked.”

“Some people just wear glasses, Scar,” Cleo bordered on aggressive with her assertion and Scar backed down, ear drooping, but he was deeply relieved when Cub laughed.

“Did you put them on while I was sleeping? I bet that did a number on your eyes.”

“Well yeah! Enough to tell they’re prescription!” With some apprehension, Scar perked up, but Cleo said nothing else, only looking wary.

“Uh huh. That’d be because I’m blind without them. Literally. Legally, and by most peoples’ definition.” Cub took off his glasses, batting Scar away when he started to sniff at his eyes, “I just see a little pinprick of you,” Cub attempted to tap Scar’s nose with a finger for emphasis, but missed. “Woof. My depth perception has seen better days.” Cub instead planted his entire hand in Scar’s face, eliciting a startled yelp as Scar winced back. “Gotcha. Anyway, usually you super die of sculk sickness before you go blind, but hey, the sculk’s got a friend in me, right?”

Cub returned his glasses to his face, shrugging, “What’s more expensive? Changing your escape room for blindness accessibility, but not using braille, I don’t speak it- you know what I mean. Second option, correct my eyes with surgery, which may or may not be successful, who knows with the sculk. Or glasses? Glasses are cheaper. They don’t entirely fix the problem but hey, all he needs to do is see and read.” Something about Cub’s demeanor shifted, his light hearted tone gaining a dark edge that set the fur at Scar’s neck on end. “Pump him full of weed killer and it won’t get any worse, right? No thought to what I want to do, no, no, I would have been fine, they- they think they know better than me-“

“Cub. You’re fine. You’re okay.” Cleo reached for Cub’s hand while Scar took a step back, frightened that he’d set something off just by asking- just seconds ago he’d been fine!

“I don’t know. I don’t know, Cleo, I don’t know. I wasn’t- This wasn’t supposed to stop yet, I wasn’t done,” Cub took off his glasses and Cleo snatched them from his hands, shoving them just as briskly into Scar’s paws without explanation, though, Scar could guess it would be very bad for the loop if Cub broke his glasses. “Cleo, I wasn’t supposed to see.”

“I know, Cub, I know, let’s sit down, alright?”

“It’s too bright.”

“I’ll take you to the safe room, I’ll turn off the lights.”

“I can’t see.”

“I’ve got you.” And Cleo did, taking Cub’s arms, so gentle, and Scar wanted to help, he didn’t understand, but he was scared, and he did not move.

“I want to go home.”

“I’ll take you.” Cleo looked back at Scar then, she mouthed something, but Scar didn’t speak Human, he didn’t have a single clue what she meant to communicate. He hoped he was doing the right thing by staying. Cleo didn’t turn around again, so. Nothing else to do.

It wasn’t long before Cleo returned, Scar sitting on the floor by the two other seats while he waited, staring down at Cub’s glasses in his lap and wondering what he’d done wrong. Gently, she took them from him.

“Sorry about that, Scar. I don’t.. I mean, I don’t really know what to say. Sometimes he gets.. caught up. He’ll be alright though; give him an hour with every blanket in the complex and the lights off and he’ll calm right down.”

Scar pursed his lips, unable to face her. “Did I do something?”

“Oh.. I mean, technically yes, but nothing you could have known better.” Cleo sat down beside Scar on the floor, “He’s been through something really traumatic, I think. The transition from wrecking environmental havoc on the Midwest to jail cell was particularly difficult. He’s always got that sort of calm exterior, right? He wasn’t very concerned about being caught or questioned, but whatever happened to him with the sculk, it really got in his head- whether that’s literal or metaphorical, I genuinely don’t know. I’d bet a bit of both, honestly, but that facade or.. whatever it was.. kinda fell apart when they started killing the sculk in him. Psych ward level breakdowns, he was seriously messed up, and it was only a few weeks later we were introduced. He was holding himself together somewhat fine, but put him in a doctor’s office.. any doctor; general health, specialists, optometrists- for god’s sake, if he knew you had so much as a PhD he would flip his shit, and he still does, he hates doctors. Sometimes he raves about it in a funny way, and other times.. that happens. He’s particularly sensitive about things relating to his symptoms, his eyes for example. He can be sensitive about his skin, too, he covers up like he does for a reason, sleeps in the dumb lab coat, you know.”

“Oh.. I wish I’d known..”

Cleo shrugged, awkward, “Sorry.. This kind of stuff doesn’t come up frequently, and he’s usually well tempered about it. There are some circumstances where he's fine talking about this stuff; sometimes he brings it up himself, but usually I would avoid topics like specific health issues; eyes, skin, any of his meds, doctors in general. He’s anxious enough about all the appointments he’s going to be forced through when we’re back home.”

Scar huffed a short breath, “Damn glad I didn’t grow up on your planet. Criminals or not, everything I’ve heard just feels cruel. Do you have no rights? No choice of anything? This whole ship! This is terrible!”

“Oh, well, in theory we’ve got rights. Half of them get thrown out the window once you’re given a prison sentence though. You have a lot more freedom with prisoners, whether they’re innocent or guilty of the crimes that landed them there. You can justify a lot of shit. Incarceration is a business and we’re just lab rats I’m afraid. We’re here to be used or studied, and even in Cub's case, where it’s entirely unclear what happened to him, it doesn’t really matter. Whether he was a puppet to an alien parasite or did this all of his own free will.. he’s still here. For the record, I do not think the answer is as simple as Cub being straight up possessed, sculk sickness does not escalate like that and Cub should have known he was sick, he should have gotten help- but that’s neither here nor there. Whatever the case, that illness left him significantly impaired, and the way he’s been mistreated afterwards has only made the whole thing more of a shitshow. I mean, come on, he’s far from perfect now, but this is leaps and bounds better than day one, and if he’d gotten proper care and treatment the second he was apprehended, maybe he wouldn’t be so fucked up.” Cleo threw up their arms in a great exasperation, “But what do I know.”

“Oh. Guess that makes sense.” Scar fiddled with his hands, looking down. Most things he heard about Cub confused him, the sculk especially he did not like. The idea something like that could ‘possess’ you at all was frightening, even if Cleo didn’t believe that’s what happened. Scar’s ear turned downward in his thought, brow furrowing. “What do you think happened?”

Cleo shrugged. “You mean how it started? I haven’t got a single clue. Like I said before, Cub has a different story every time, and 80% of those excuses aren’t even feasible.”

“But what about after? Do you think he wanted to do all that? Spread it around?”

Cleo was quiet for a moment, and they closed their eyes, shaking their head. “Who knows. Could’ve, but he has no motive besides Thinking It’s Neat, which isn’t really anything to go off of. I sure think Present Cub believes he wanted to commit all that damage, he says he’d do it again in a heartbeat, but he says just as much he’s tired of being eaten alive, so do with that what you will. Honestly, I think he hates it, sculk. How could he not? It’s sufficiently ruined his life, even if he did set out to infect half of his own country with it intentionally. But I don’t think he knows he hates it. I don’t think he’d ever be able to let himself know it, because then he’s trapped, and you got a taste of what Cub does when he feels backed into a corner.”

Scar grimaced, but took a breath to let the discomfort pass. “Do you guys talk about this stuff a lot? Cub’s only really brought up the sculk to me once, just the other night. He wanted to know if he’d gotten me sick after I ate him.”

“Oh, right,” Cleo looked amused, “Did he?”

“Well he sure thinks so, but I don’t.”

“Right. Well to answer your question, no, not anymore. But we used to, god did we used to. It was around half a human year where all the walls came down and we just talked and talked and talked.. Everything. Secrets I’ve never shared with anyone, shared like it’s a regular Tuesday afternoon. He had so much to say about sculk, so much, a lot of it repetitive and most of it pretty incoherent, but he talked about it regularly for almost a year before tapering off. I think he was trying to figure it out for himself. Thinking out loud. It was damn interesting to listen to, though with how inconsistent and straight up contradictory 90% of what came out of his mouth was, I bet the assholes eavesdropping through the cameras were slamming their heads against their desks trying to figure out what the hell happened. I hope so.”

But Scar’s ear pinned, whirling around in his search for cameras, “I- They can listen?”

Cleo raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I mean, not 24/7, but with you here I bet someone’s almost always checked in; not every day we get to learn a thing or two about the catfolk all those light years away.”

“This- I gotta get out of here.”

Cleo laughed, “You get used to it. I wouldn’t worry too much, your planet isn’t in any sort of danger.”

“I.. I really don’t like that.”

“Well, nothing you can do. Best to forget about all the ways your privacy is being violated because it will never end. Only one camera in the safe room, though, and if you talk quiet they can’t really hear you.”

“This sucks.”

“Yup! Welcome to prison life on planet Earth! Plenty more horrors await you, though luckily, this is pretty much as bad as it gets. Oh, joy!”

Scar huffed a laugh despite the lack of humor; nothing funny about it, really, but what else could you do? Any objections weren’t going to make him any less stuck. Did the folks at home know about this? Scar wondered if they objected or if anything could be done. A pang of longing dragged his shoulders into a hunch. How long had it been since that last call? A month at least, maybe more.. Scar struggled to keep track outside of human units. Would they still be angry? Bitter? A surge of homesickness almost pulled him straight to the monitors, and very clearly he could imagine himself at the keys, clicking in his name, struggling to remember the steps to call home. Anxiety overcame him in the end. He said nothing. Maybe Cleo knew, but she didn’t say anything either.

[dmwrites]

It all started with Doc bursting into Xisuma’s office. Xisuma had just been about to take a sip of his tea, but a shard of the door landed directly in his mug, and he decided against it.

“Hello, Doc.” Xisuma said, putting down the mug sadly. “What’s up, dude?”

“That beady-eyed birdie and his smirking friend have me at my wits end!” Doc began pacing back and forth over the now-broken door. “They broke my machine, and giggled like little school children while showing me what they’d done!”

Xisuma hummed. “Beady-eyed… oh, you mean Grian and Scar! Yeah, I heard about that, what an unfortunate situation! I heard through the grapevine that you’re going to kill them, and badly. Sounds like fun.” He looked over Doc as he paced and cursed. Doc looked ruffled, lab coat in even more disarray then usual, and his crocs missing the straps. And on top of his head…

“Are the cat ears a… statement, or something?” Xisuma asked.

“Huh?” Doc felt for his head and tore the ears off with a growl. “Ah, fuck those ScarLand ears, forgot they were there.” He threw them into the garbage can by the door- he missed, and the cat ears just kind of flopped to the ground.

“Doc, I can see that you’re upset.” Xisuma held out a placating hand. “But is there a reason you came to my office? I know you’re more than capable of dealing with them yourself.”

Doc puffed out his chest at the complement. “Yes, yes, of course I am. I came here to ask a favor of you. You see, I have a plan- well, me and the hivemind have created something of deadly proportions. But the machine will take time to plan and build. I need someone to tell them off now, so they don’t forget that they were bad.”

Xisuma frowned. “Doc, it sounds like you think that Grian and Scar are children with no sense of object permanence or guilt.”

“They are children- look what they’ve done, and giggling the whole time!” Doc raged. “And they need to be disciplined like such until I can get to them.” He gave Xisuma an almost evil look that had him wondering if he would have to pay off the Minecraft board of ethics to look the other way for this DocM payback.

Doc seemed to have planned for Xisuma’s trepidation, and tossed a stack of diamond ore blocks onto his desk. “Please, man. I need time, and they must know of their crimes.”

“You know, I think I have just the person for the job.” Xisuma said, pocketing the diamonds. “They’ll leave Grian and Scar feeling very sorry for themselves indeed. You go do your planning, now, let me handle this.”

Doc cracked a smile. “Yeah? Awesome, thanks man.” He left, picking up the cat ears on the way out and stuffing them into his pocket.

Xisuma sighed at the state of his office, but picked up his communicator and made a call.

——

“Sit.”

“Already sat.” Scar said cheerfully.

“Not you, Scar, I was talking to Grian.” Xisuma replied, and gestured for Grian towards a wooden chair he’d placed under the HHH pavilion at spawn. Grian sat down, and Scar positioned his chair next to him.

“What’s going on, X?” Grian asked, crossing his arms and furrowing his eyebrows.

“Well, your recent actions against a certain DocM77 have not gone unnoticed.” Xisuma began, crossing his arms too.

“Oh my god.” Comprehension dawned on Grian’s face. “Are you going to lecture us on our bad behavior, X?” He began to laugh.

“What? Is that why you called us here?” Scar giggled. “Now, Xisuma, you’re a wonderful man, really, but you don’t exactly strike fear into my heart. But by all means, lecture away, tell us how bad we are. I’m sure we will be scared into being good little boys for the rest of time.” He wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“Oh, no, you see, I’m not going to be the one lecturing you.” Xisuma said with a smirk. “I’m just here as a teacher’s assistant, if you will.”

“Teacher’s assistant?” Grian asked, confused.

Scar looked at Xisuma, fear in his eyes. “Wait… you don’t mean-”

“Doc’s redstone? Really, guys?” Cleo landed on the ground in front of the pavilion, a frown firmly in place. Xisuma had to smother a laugh as he watched Grian and Scar gulp in fear at the same time. He’d had to pay Cleo thirty diamonds to come lecture Scar and Grian, but he had a distinct feeling he was in for a real show.

[calronhunt]

didnt want to be extra annoying and ask this on your art blog so ill settle for just being annoying.. was anything in wac inspired by the life series? like designs or well, anything! discovered ur stuff on youtube and went ooooh and then snooped through all the art i could find and was repeatedly reminded of the sillies that occupy my brain. sorry 2 be weird! ik its the worst question to be asked sorry but its hurting my brain wondering and not knowing

Aw shit ya caught me. I was gonna reveal this fact much later down the line bc ive been kinda open that WAC started out as an AU just not for what. Primarily the reason for secrecy is bc i don't want people to look at this story i put a lot of myself and my experience into and go "I can't believe you tricked me into reading about minecraft men" bc the story has expanded a lot past these intial inspirations.

So before i go into all the inspirations, I wanna make this perfectly clear. WAC's plot is almost completely original, baring some small scenes inspired by events in the Life series and the basic set up. It's a three act story that is mostly about me and my partners problems regarding abuse and personhood. The Life Series au was a starting point and it kinda spiraled out from that lollll.

(Also I saw your other ask and it doesn't bother me at all! Its been something ive wanted to talk about anyway simply bc i find the inspirations funny. Plus I promised myself if someone realized and asked I would talk about it. Also i just love talking about inspiration and seeing how you got from one thing to the next, maybe others would like the same.)

1. "Why are they cats?" This started as an au once again but i felt too embarrassed talking about it publicly as a mcyt au so I gave them cat designs. That's the only reason lol

Lain - Inspired primarily by 3rd life and lim life martyn in regards to both his devotion to the king (ren) and mariner (scott). Lain and Mariner originally started as Majorwood shipping cats but then became more about their unhealthy power dynamics and two people being stuck together it spiraled into what we have now! Especially since I believe Martyn killed Jimmy (Canary) in 3rd life? Or at least scott accuses him as such so that's where that came from.

Mariner - 3rd/lim life scott! His obsession with the sea, his name, his relationship to Canary, his ties to Lain, and his design is pulled from scott. That's about all that's similar now though. His personality is completely different. Hes a shitty fuckinh dude.

Canary - 3rd life Jimmy Solidarity but like fucking barely and just bc hes married to mariner (flower husbands). Took his name from the fandom calling him a canary because he always dies first and that's basically it. Also worked with the bird name theme i was starting to go with

The King - 3rd life ren but again fucking BARELY except for his relationship with Lain and being a king and trying to conquer shit. That's like. It.

Condor - he's just mr good times with scar. Hes like, the closest to his mcyt counterpart probably and im not even sorry. Took primarily from 3rd life and lim life once again though in regards to his relationship with Crane (Cleo), Warbler (bdubs), and Scout (Etho) (and also the fact the group is called the flock is a cheeky callback to the family being called the clockers)

Crane - stated above, Cleo, but only bc shes mom in the clockers family. Nothing else.

Warbler - limlife bdubs but again fucking BARELY. I think the bdubs skin is the most i drew on for her design with the fucked up eye and teeth.

Grouse - mr 3rd life grian. Dating condor because desert duo and feeling indebted to him for that as well. And just. Generally little guy vibes.

Scout - etho. Just for chill vibes. Dating Crabe because hes "dad" in lim life and dating Wolf (Joel) bc of double life halfslab.

Wolf - Primarily last life joel with the living alone in the woods thing and joel just being a like. Maniac in the life series with the murders and such. Dating scout again bc of double life. The her having canary's skull thing is just for my friend who is a big fucked up smallidarity shipper.

Sycamore, coal, and aster are original characters i made specifically for the story.

I would again like to state that the story is BARELY tied to things that happen in the life series, and its mostly my personal experiences and silly thoughts. The silly minecraft men were just the jumping off point and all of their arcs are original so there ya go <3

[ofnifflersandkings]

Endgame Strategy

Character: Benny Watts

A/n: I said I’d write for the hot chess people so I did. The timeline for this is kinda confusing but the desperation I had to write this made me simply not care.

•

“(Y/n)!” 

A familiar voice pulled you from your current task of getting Benny’s two ton apartment door shut. You barely got yourself inside before a pair of arms promptly wrapped around you. 

You staggered backwards by the sudden weight, a noise between a wheeze and a laugh escaping you as you registered who it was.

“If it isn’t my favorite drama queen!” You pulled back to get a good luck at Beth, a big grin busting out on both of your faces.

“Come in,” She ushered you in, helping you take off your coat and asking you little questions as she lead you over to the sink.

You were a pretty established photographer for some big fashion companies, so you had been traveling with Cleo around Europe for the better half of a year. You’d telephoned Benny as soon as all of your campaigns wrapped up and he instantly insisted you come to New York to make up for lost time.

You had just started to get a word in when you felt someone come up behind you and squeeze you abruptly, practically toppling you over. “Look what the cat dragged in!”

You looked over to see Benny already looking down at you with a grin before promptly ruffling up your hair. “Hey stranger,” He grinned. You pushed him off and turned to give him a proper hug. 

You noticed Arthur and Hilton lingering behind him and you pulled yourself from his hold to greet them as well.

“You came at the perfect time,” Benny said, slinging an arm over your shoulder. “We were just about to start.”

“What do you say, (Y/n)?” Hilton asked. “Finally gonna indulge us and play a game?”

You shoved his hands off of you and sent him a smile. “You don’t need some newbie slowing down your thunder,” You noticed Benny giving you the pleading look he always sent your way when you turned down playing chess. You swear you thought he knew how to deflate his eyes on purpose so he looked like a kicked puppy. “No, I don’t need your patronizing when I barely make it past five moves.”

Benny was an old childhood friend of yours, so you had known Arthur and Hilton for almost as long as he had. And they made it their personal life mission to rope into playing against one of them. But you were renowned for your patience and they’d yet to wear you down. 

Beth sent a small pout your way and handed you a glass of water. “Oh please, now who’s the drama queen. You were doing great when I was teaching you last time we saw each other.”

Benny’s gaze shot up. “What?”

You scoffed at her, completely forget about your last encounter. “Now that’s not fair, we were hardly playing. You had to show me where to move every five minutes.”

“When did you see each other?” Benny pushed.

You sighed, smoothing down your sweater. “When I was in Paris with Cleo, we only saw each other the one night and I was just bored and tipsy enough to let her show me.” 

She grinned at you, shoving her arm into you as she leant into your side. “I think you have lots of potential. I could make a grandmaster out of you, I know it.”

Benny’s eyes followed you as you moved from your standing position to sit next to him on the sofa.

“You never let me teach you how to play,” He murmured to you with a huff, causing a small tuft of his hair to fly upwards.

Benny had made several attempts to get you into the game he loved so dearly. And as one of the few constant people in his life he wanted you to be part of his world. But each time was met with a firm refusal on your part, insisting you wouldn’t get it. He’d try to pull every trick in the book, every charming smile and all the pretty words he knew to try and convince you to let him show you, but you were always indifferent to his charisma. 

It annoyed the shit out of him.

Truth was you didn’t want to risk embarrassing yourself in front of him. You’d seen him play at almost every match he was ever in and it was almost scary how good he was. You could play a casual game and maybe boast a win or two, but playing against him wasn’t something you think you’ll ever do. Besides, give him the satisfaction of having your inevitable defeat over your head? Not in this lifetime.

You let out a light laugh, smiling at Beth as she moved to grab the other boards from Benny’s alarming collection he kept stuffed in the closet. “You’re too intimidating when you play, I’d be distracted.”

Benny rolled his eyes, thinking of the stern look that permanently sets on Beth’s face. The woman who looks like she’s three seconds away from going for your neck during her games but he was too intimidating.

You took a sip from your glass of water and lightly knocking over one of the knight pieces on the board in front of you. “I don’t see why it matters, I’ll be beat regardless of who’s playing.”

He frowned, he’d always wanted to play you. Not because he cared about winning but he just wanted you to see his skill firsthand. You didn’t bat an eyelash at winnings anymore, and you never stuck around for his in-depth lectures about game theory with the other players. But he also knew you liked knowing the way things worked. And since chess was his bailiwick, Beth being the only other American player who could beat him, he knew you’d be impressed. At first he just thought you weren’t interested, so knowing you were being taught by someone else stung twice-over. 

You knew something was wrong when he didn’t send a clever remark back your way. Benny liked to think he was this cool and collected character, but really he could be quite the prima donna. Knowing him for as long as you did made him an open book, you could almost always know what he was thinking.  

“Don’t be such a baby, Bens.” You grinned, leaning over to tap the end of his nose, something you always did to irritate him. “She crushed me anyways.”

“You’d win if you let me teach you.” He argued, looking at you pointedly. 

“I don’t need to win, that’s your job,” You leaned into him, trying to stroke his ego to get him to drop the subject. 

Benny’s ears perked up and he was about to go into of his grand self-assured lectures when Beth interrupted him, promptly placing the boxes of chess boards on the table in front of him.

“I dunno, (Y/n),” Beth gloated, passing a box to Hilton. “I think he’s losing his touch, last time we played I damn near emptied his wallet.”

That got your attention, and you sat up with a laugh. “You’re kidding? In speed chess?” Your cackles only grew when she gave a proud nod. “I can’t believe I missed it!”

Benny scoffed, pushing away from you to help set up the boards. “You hardly missed anything-“

“She kicked his ass, ,” Arthur chuckled, loosening the cap on his beer bottle. “Said she’d kick him the crotch too when he tried to argue with her.”

You raised your glass to Beth in commencement. “I knew there was a reason I liked you so much.”

“Another simultaneous?” Beth asked, noticing they were moving the boards onto the floor, she turned back to you. “Have you ever seen once of these?”

You shook your head dramatically, moving from your place on the sofa to the floor so you could sit right next to the action. “Nope! I mean I know what they are, but I’ve never actually seen one.”

She smirked, placing the clock at every board while the boys situated the pieces. “Well, you’re in for a treat, these are my specialty.”

You leaned forward, placing your elbows on your knees so could you watch every move. The speed of the game was something you had long gotten used to, but it never was any less impressive. You don’t know how anyone’s brain could go that fast, but watching the pieces fly around the board completely fascinated you. 

Beth really was everything the chess magazines said she was and maybe even more amazing in person. You found it hard to pull your gaze away from her hand, watching as she completely tore through the three boys pieces. Hilton and Arthur were the first to lose, knocking over there kings.

You got ready to settle in while she took on Benny, but not even a few moments later you watched him grimace and reluctantly fish his wallet from his pockets. 

“Wow,” You breathed out, looking over at Beth with a gaze that could only be described as positively starstruck. “I mean I knew you were good, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.”

Beth felt her face get a little warm, not used to such straight-forward praise. At least not since she was a child prodigy. She reached her hand up to brush her hair out of her eyes, and pulled her gaze away from you.

“I can do it again.”

Benny felt his eyebrow twitch, he was used to your praise being directed at him for the most part. You had grown up with him constantly talking about and challenging others to play chess. And when he started to make a name for himself he’d taken you along with him. Before your work took off, you had more time to see his games in person. But, even when you couldn’t physically be there, you always called when you saw the results in Chess Review or tuned in to one of the broadcasted matches.

He was the best in the States for a long time, so you had become especially hard to impress. He knew Beth was better him than by miles, but to finally have his title of best chess player you knew taken away made him feel scratchy. 

But he scoffed, straightening his back to try and get his focus back. “Not if I have anything to say about it, Harmon.” 

And so for about three more games, she absolutely crushed the three boys. You got closer to the boards each time, admiring Beth’s superhuman skill. It made you feel a little sting of pride, the girl was showing up three of most arrogant and skilled players you knew. 

“God,” You leaned back onto your elbows, sniffling a giggle when. “I would’ve given any amount of money to be here to see the faces on these boys when you did this the first time.”

Beth smirked, rounding up the pieces to put them away in their cases. “Me too, we could’ve gotten it all on camera.” 

You groaned. “Such a missed opportunity.”

You lolled your head over and saw Benny staring intently at the board, a deep frown on his face. You smiled, scooting over so you could lean all your weight against him. “Don’t look so sad, Bens. I’m sure you would’ve gotten her eventually.”

He laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s what you used to tell all the sorry losers I used to beat.”

You closed your eyes, settling into his side and sighing at his warmth. “You’re not a sorry loser. You’re the best chess player I know.”

“Still?”

“Hey now, I didn’t drag my ass to every one of your matches for decades for you to question my loyalty,” You teased, you opened your eyes and saw something on his wall. Nestled snug inside a frame was the first time he was on the cover of Chess Review.

“You remember when I took that?” You nodded towards it.

Benny smiled properly, his eyes getting a familiar shimmer. “Yes ma’am, I told them I wouldn’t be on the cover unless you got to take my photos,” He wrapped an arm around you. “Course if I had known it’d make you a hot shot photographer who had to go away all the time I might’ve kept my mouth shut.”

You smiled, reaching up to flick his forehead. “I’ve taken all your photos for decades” You made a sweeping notion with your hands to all the various magazines scattered around his apartment. “Even when we were kids, I think I earned my little adventures abroad”

Benny gave you a look, one you couldn’t quite place, but he kept your gaze for awhile. A small smile snuck up in the corner of his mouth before he looked down, strawberry blonde strands hiding him from your view.

“Well don’t stay away so long next time, yeah? I missed you.”

[harvestdew]

Yo sorry if this question takes a while to awnser, but if Cleo and Kiki were NPCs what do you think thief heart events will be like? If you don't want to awnser this that's fine, I'm just curious.

no problem! i actually need a break from my essay anyway i wrote 4 pages and it took me 5 hours/made me stressed, so this is a good way to decompress for me!

kiki’s 2 heart event - standard, boring 2 heart event... enter pelican town on a sunny day anywhere from 9am to 4pm. you see kiki on her way out of pierre’s and her grocery bag breaks. you have 4 options:

ask “are you okay?” and help her (+30 friendship). kiki is embarrassed someone saw her, but says “thank you so much for helping me! that was pretty funny, wasn’t it? i guess i bought too much”

“i didn’t see anything” (no effect on friendship). kiki just laughs it off

ignore her/do nothing (no effect on friendship). kiki goes “...” before telling herself she’s so clumsy and running off

“wow, that was dumb of you.” (-50 friendship) kiki, trying to remain deadpan, responds “yeah, you’re right”

kiki’s 4 heart event - (similar to leah’s 4 heart event) enter kiki’s house when she’s there. for some reason, she doesn’t notice you entered and you hear someone else talking unintelligibly on the landline, but she isn’t responding. after a while, she hangs up without saying anything, notices you, and jumps, asking “have you been here the whole time?” you have 3 options:

lie and say “i just got here” (no effect on friendship). kiki sighs and says “oh, okay. that’s good”

"who was that?” (no effect on friendship). kiki goes “...” and tells you it was just an annoying telemarketer. then she asks if she can help you with anything

"are you okay?” (+20 friendship). kiki tells you she just got an unwanted call from someone she doesn’t want to talk to but doesn’t elaborate. she mentions being worried someone’s going to come over, then realizes you’re still there and laughs it off as a joke, trying to cover it up with a random fact about tulips

kiki’s 6 heart event - (similar to haley’s 6 heart event) enter the cindersap forest from 5pm to 9pm while it’s raining. kiki spots you (“!”) and asks for help, explaining her cat (ghost) ran away because she didn’t properly lock her door and the storm blew it open (this literally happened to me and my cat didn’t come home for 3 days LOL). she explains how important her cat is to her. you have 2 options:

"i’ll help you find him!” (+30 friendship)

“just get another cat?” (-30 friendship)

either way, you can walk around the cindersap forest and click on a bunch of shrubs. the cat will come out of one of them and you bring it back to her. kiki hugs you and says she felt too guilty to ask anyone else for help. she also points out because it was raining you should go back inside before you get sick, so she offers to walk you home 

also: fun fact the farmer replaces sebastian in here because this was something i wrote for him, but it feels like a good 6 heart one imo

kiki’s 8 heart event - done here!

kiki’s 10 heart event - (similar to emily and maru’s) you get a letter in the mail from kiki that says something along the lines “come by the forest tonight!” if you enter the cindersap forest from anytime between 7pm to 11pm ONLY during the summer you’ll trigger the event. it turns out she wanted to look at constellations with you and borrowed maru’s telescope. kiki starts talking about how she was figuring out how to make up for you finding her cat but didn’t want to do anything boring. you only have 1 option:

"wait, is this a date?” (no effect on friendship)

kiki gets MEGA embarrassed, explaining she thought it was obvious but isn’t going to be mad if you don’t like her. you now have 3 options:

"wait, i do like you!” (no effect on friendship). kiki goes, “seriously? you mean it? i’m so happy!” and you resume the date. before the cutscene ends, she has you look at some stars and explains the story of altair & vega which originated in china (“have you heard about the story of altair and vega? it’s about a cowherd and a weaver girl who fell in love but were separated by a river which is supposed to be the milky way. it’s sad, but once a year a bunch of magpies form a bridge and they reunite. romantic, right?”)

“i’m sorry, i don’t like you” (no effect on friendship). kiki tells you she understands, explaining you’re just as good of a friend and will be fine

“ew” (-30 on friendship). kiki sighs and tells her she better return maru’s telescope

as for cleo i have no idea if cleo would be a marriageable npc... we’ll see. let’s get to her heart events though (excluding her 10 heart event)

cleo’s 2 heart event - enter cleo’s room whenever she’s in there. cleo asks why you didn’t knock out of annoyance, but gets over it to complain she smells like fish (because she’s a fisherwoman LOL). you have 2 options:

“if you hate the smell of fish so much, why are you a fisherman?” (no effect on friendship). cleo explains she picks up fishing because that’s the 1 condition kiki has if she wants to stay with her free of rent. she complains about her cousin for trying to teach her some work ethic, then goes on to say she can’t wait til she and whatever sam’s band is called gets famous and she can stop fishing

“not my problem” (-30 friendship). cleo gets irritated and tells you “look, i didn’t ask to be a fisherwoman, okay? i hate farming and mining doesn’t make that much money. why are you even in here?”

cleo’s 4 heart event - enter pelican town any time during the day when it’s sunny. you overhear haley berating cleo with a magazine (even though they’re friends), who asks why she never mentioned she modeled. cleo gets annoyed and tells haley to back off because she doesn’t want to talk about it. you have 2 options:

do absolutely nothing (-30 friendship). haley finally walks off; cleo looks at you and goes, “what are you looking at? don’t listen to stuff that isn’t any of your business”

tell haley to stop (+30 friendship). haley sighs and apologizes to cleo for being nosey and leaves. cleo awkwardly thanks you and says something offhand like “i guess you’re cool” before running off

make up an excuse to pull cleo aside like “cleo, i don’t get how to use my fishing rod, can you help?” (+50 friendship). cleo thanks you for not making a huge scene and sighs. she explains haley figured out how used to be a model and wouldn’t stop asking why she quit. she also mentions she knows you probably want to know and claims it’s just “stupid personal garbage” and “the modeling industry is shit”

cleo’s 6 heart event - enter cleo’s room whenever she’s in there again. you find her mumbling to herself out of annoyance before she notices you and greets you. then, she explains she just figured out that everyone in her old band seems to be doing really well and she’s worried they’re going to get a gig for the band SHE started. you have 2 options:

ask “what band?” (no effect on friendship). cleo explains her mom wouldn’t let her go to a gig for the band to punish her, leaving them without a bassist. she says when she snuck out to go, the lead guitarist had immediately replaced her and decided to kick her out of the band, which is why cleo ran away out of humiliation. plus, she thinks their new music sounds like shit 

“who cares? you don’t need them!” (+30 friendship). cleo goes silent before telling you you’re SO right and tells you that good-for-nothing guitarist that kicked her out wasn’t even that good of a guitarist!

“maybe you were a bad bassist” (-50 friendship). cleo gets defensive and tells she was a perfectly good bassist. then she sighs and says she wonders if she’s not as good as she thinks she is and should just stick to fishing, before telling you to get out

cleo’s 8 heart event - (similar to sam’s 8 heart event) cleo shows up to your door when you wake up and gives you a flyer for a battle of the bands in zuzu city. the next day, you go to the venue with cleo and she realizes she’s going up against her old band before freaking out. she tells you she doesn’t know what to do because she’s scared she’ll mess up and prove them right. you have 3 options:

"you can do this!” (+50 friendship). cleo tells you that’s cheesy but you’re right. she goes on to say “screw all of them! i don’t care!”

“who cares? show them what they’re missing!” (+50 friendship). cleo gets pumped and agrees with you before saying, “ugh, what was i thinking? i don’t care what any of them think”

"don’t be a baby” (no effect on friendship). cleo goes “ugh” before begrudgingly admitting you’re right

either way, you get to hear them play like in sam’s 8 heart event. it should correspond with whatever music genre you chose for him in his own events. sam’s band also wins and cleo makes fun of her old band. the lead guitarist gets annoyed and tries to fight with her over it. you have 2 options:

“get him cleo!” (no effect on friendship). cleo punches the lead guitarist off the screen the way pierre punches morris at the community center

“ignore him, he’s just a loser” (no effect on friendship). cleo says she guesses taking the higher road is better and doesn’t wanna mess up her hands

regardless of what option you pick, at the end of the cutscene, cleo thanks your farmer for encouraging her not to giving up and how she couldn't have done it w/o your help

okay that’s it! i’m sorry for taking so long to write this, but i hope it was interesting and i promise really appreciate the ask <3 it was fun to write

[votederpycausemufins]

Chapter three for Surprisingly Familiar. It’s time to get to the real plot of this thing!

@petrichormeraki is the maker of the hermit Tommy au, @helleborusangel likes to read these and give me their rambles which are my beloved, and then check my tumblr for my masterpost of things I’ve made.

“Hey Paul, you’re done talking with X, right?” Bdubs asked as he noticed Paul walking by.

“Uh, yeah. He said he could let a guest in for a little bit because he needs to talk with Phil and Phil’d rather stay here instead of coming to the castle.”

“Yeah yeah, sounds great.” Bdubs sad, waving it off. “Hey, new question. Paul what the heck was that back there?!” He shouted, making a number of hermits look over.

“Hey, calm down, keep things off tap.” Paul tried to calm the hermit down, but it didn’t work that much.

“Oh this is Hermitcraft. We don’t do things on tap. Except Tommy but that’s different. Now, what were you doing back there?” And Bdubs pointed towards the room Paul and Phil had talked in. From the crowd, Jrum felt a little nervous, wondering if it was something he did, but the answer calmed the bot.

“Calm down. It was something Hoodie taught me. I’m sure Zedaph can back me up.”

Behind Bdubs, Zed stopped slurping from a coffee cup that was actually filled with a slushie. “Yeah, don’t worry he’s fine. No necromancy.”

“See? I just wanted a private conversation.” Paul replied, though Bdubs still looked grumpy.

“Alright, don’t make me call in Genny.” And Bdubs signalled that he was watching Paul before walking off. As he left, Scar took his place, seeming pretty confused.

“So, what’s with him?”

Paul sighed. “He’s not a fan of certain types of magic. I did a bit of necromancy for a time and there was someone else in the world who essentially became a dark lord, so Bdubs and some others became witch hunters.”

“Huh, That’s not something I would have guessed.” Scar said. “I mean, I’m a wizard and he’s been fine with me.”

Paul looked a little stunned. “Oh really? Didn’t realize. What style are you? My friend Hoodie is coming in for a quick visit. He’s ars based.”

Scar laughed a little. “Is that so? Haven’t seen many of those. I’ve got a mix. Vex magic and crystalline. Cub’s also a user of vex magic.”

Paul nodded. “That’s nice. How many magic users you got around here?”

The hermit mayor started to count on his fingers. “So there’s me and Cub. Pretty sure Stress has some. Cleo’s definitely got some magic. Grian of course. Uh, not sure if Joe does or not. I think Xisuma’s just-”

“Xel- er, Grian’s got some magic?”

“Yeah. And I guess the kids probably do too. Not sure right now.” Scar said, before looking Paul in the eye. “You're not going to freak out about Grian having magic, right? You’ve already got him upset which gets us upset.”

“Yeah, I know.” Paul sighed. “Just been through a lot. I get overly worried sometimes, and to me, I suddenly hear that ‘kid involved in murders is now causing wars in the world my friends are in.’ So yeah, sort of thought the worst.”

Scar inhaled sharply. “Okay, yeah. I can see what made you freak out. But Grian’s fine. He’s been through a lot and while technically he’s caused chaos, it’s never something we hate and normally we’re all in on it somehow.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, you should hear about the sewer cats.”

“Can’t wait to hear about it. Haven’t seen any letters about it.”

Scar nodded, before being just a little confused. “So, is there a reason you’re always using letters instead of other stuff? I’m sure some of the others could make you something that would work.”

Paul nodded. “I don’t doubt that they could for the most part. I just deal with a lot of factors and have always preferred the tried and true method. I’m all over the place and sometimes I can only really bring along paper.”

“What do you do?” Scar asked, interest piqued.

“Let’s see. Not sure if Phil’s told you, but he used to be king.” Scar nodded. It wasn’t Phil, but Grian had mentioned it. “Well, I’m one as well. Hoodie’s my right hand man and royal mage.”

“Ah, and you said he’s the one visiting?”

“Yeah. So I end up busy there a lot. I also spend a lot of my time visiting my kids so I’m going from world to world. Then, there’s also my wife and she’s in the world we raised the kids in which is essentially my main home.”

“And that’s what?”

“Uh, the same one I found Xe- sorry, Grian in ages ago.” Paul answered. “And I’ve got a job there that doesn’t really work with comms sometimes, but paper is easy enough to have on hand, especially enchanted paper.” And Paul took out a sheet of paper, handing it to Scar.

Scar took the paper and looked it over. As he moved it, he could see how the light caught the slightly physical aspect of the magic, much like how enchantments could be seen. “This looks good. You can hardly see the magic but I can tell it’s there. What all is on here?”

“Mostly stuff to get it to the right recipient and make it illegible if you’re trying to read it and it’s not for you.”

“Ah. That’s a commonly known one for ars mages, right?” Scar asked. “I haven’t heard much about them.”

Paul nodded. “Yeah. That’s due to the mage wars. They happened a number of years back before Hoodie was alive. He’s the main reason things are sort of getting back to normal for those guys.” Paull pulled out an old communicator which looked like it was being held together with duct tape and prayers. “He should be here pretty soon. He said he was only going to get a few books and amulets. And your admin said he would be able to get in.”

Almost as soon as Paul had said something, a message went out that someone new had joined the world. Xisuma sent a message that he would go to help the guest to Aque Town and from there Paul and Scar just waited for the two others to arrive. Xisuma was the first to arrive, gliding down on his elytra. The other person wore a royal purple hooded robe and seemed to arrive with the use of an ender pearl, but Scar didn’t see them use one.

Paul was the first to move, going over to the other person. “Hoodie! You made it!”

With the confirmation that this was the mage coming in, Scar followed along, a bit excited to meet someone new with magic. “Of course Sir. You did ask for my presence.”

Scar watched as Paul put an arm around Hoodie’s shoulder. “You don’t need to be so formal here. In fact, here. This is Scar. He’s the mayor, and based on the kind of place this is, I’d say he’s the local hedgewizard.”

“Ah, I see. It is nice to meet you. My name is Hoodie. I am King Soares’ right hand man and royal mage.”

Scar shook Hoodie’s hand, getting a slight shock. “It’s nice to meet you too. Paul already said I’m Scar. I’m guessing you’re a lightning mage or something?”

Hoodie took his hand back. “Ah, sorry about that. Yes I am. Or at least I specialize in it. Same as my father lest he’s recently changed his affinity.”

“Well I don’t know enough about your kind of magic to know what that really means.”

Paul walked away as the two magic users started to discuss their various forms of magic and wizardry. He needed to find Phil again since the main reason Hoodie was even there was so that Phil could get more of the enchanted paper. Not wanting to drag the mage away, Paul was instead going after his brother since he was the one insisting he wouldn’t take any of it without knowing for sure it was enchanted by Hoodie. After that, Hoodie would help out a bit around the world as repayment for Xisuma letting him on, then the two of them would head back home. At least, that was the plan.

. .

.

Drawing him away from the nest was almost laughably easy. Grian and Mumbo were both asleep and the chicken was theoretically trapped. At least trapped enough it wasn’t going to escape into the room itself. And then it could only see out the window and not into the room which was a big plus. Because of that, it was simple enough to have viridian magic surround the prison and really ensure the chicken wouldn’t be getting out.

“You know.” The person spoke in a whisper, making Grian twitch ever so slightly in his sleep, but not wake up. “You’re really making this far too easy. I thought it would be difficult with those guests of yours here, but it turns out everyone’s distracted by them. And they put you in such a perfect position. Let’s just move you to somewhere a bit more private, hmm?”

Grian of course didn’t wake up, but as the person left, a bit more magic appeared around Grian, and then a few moments later, he woke up with a start. Grian looked around, glad to see there was only Mumbo and a box in the corner. For a moment he was confused about it, but faint clucking from inside helped him figure out what it was. But something still felt off.

Grian went to shake Mumbo awake, but he hesitated a moment before actually waking him up. “Mumbo. Mumbo!” And Mumbo woke up from his name being shouted, looking around to see what was going on. “Mumbo, I think we’ve been up here too long. Something feels wrong.”

Mumbo pulled out his communicator to look at the time. “Oh dear! It does look like we have been here a while. It also looks like someone else has shown up.”

“Really?” Grian asked, pulling his own comm out to look at the message. “There’s no way this person would just happen to show up today of all days for no reason. What if they’re someone else with… I want to check on the kids.”

Mumbo stood up and then helped Grian to his feet. “Don’t worry. I’m sure if anything happened, the other hermits would be taking care of the boys. We can of course check on them, but you don’t want your panic to make them panic.”

Grian nodded and from there the two of them went back down to the ground floor, leaving Kokatori behind. Finding the new person was rather easy as he and Scar were both standing on the street of Aque Town facing each other. Scar was currently donning his wizard robe over his Aque Town outfit. In his hands, he held a number of crystals that Grian thought he was never going to see again.

The other person was wearing a purple robe and held a wand in one hand and a book with a yellow cover in the other. His hood had fallen back slightly, so Grian was able to see as the other person glanced over at him when he got closer. Normally the avian would assume it was just because he was getting close and was noticed, but there was some sort of emotion in the eyes that made Grian worry.

Both of them had their attention pulled away from each other as Scar moved, a yellow glow around him as he moved like he had a speed effect. When he reached the other person, Grian watched as the Scar’s netherite sword struck them, and then a ring of white magic appeared around them, acting as a shield against further attacks.

Realizing at this point that the two were fighting, Grian moved to try and stop them, but then out of nowhere, lightning struck the ground in front of him, making him stop. When Grian looked back up, both mages were looking over to him and then Scar called out. “Hey, don’t worry! We’re just doing some sparring! It was my idea!”

“Are you sure? Who even is this?”

“His name’s Hoodie. Royal mage of Paul it looks like.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Grian asked, concerned.

“Yeah, it just sounds like he was jumping to conclusions when he saw you. I’m sure it’s going to be fine if you talk to him again.”

Grian wasn’t completely convinced, but pretended enough for Scar to look back at Hoodie and then continue their sparring. Slowly, the avian started moving to where everyone else probably was, still in the party building. Mumbo followed him along, but eventually he passed Grian when the builder decided to actually watch the magic battle.

Scar seemed to mainly be using regular combat, but enhanced by his crystals which actually seemed to be doing something. Hoodie, on the other hand, was using his wand and casting a number of spells from his book. At one point, Grian watched the mage fumble a little bit to pull out a book with a green cover before casting a new spell that he hadn’t used yet.

Grian didn’t realize he was just standing there alone, and the magicians weren’t really paying much attention to him, but in the span of a few seconds, that all changed. To anyone watching, it would seem like it happened all at once, but really it was just one thing after the other.

Grian was barely aware of the space around him getting the slightest tint of green to it. As soon as that had happened, Hoodie turned away from Scar and instead faced Grian, pulling out a new red spell book. Scar was the next to react, still under the effects of his yellow crystal. He started to pull out a red crystal, accidentally pulling a pink one out at the same time. He threw them towards Grian just as Hoodie began to cast some magic aimed at Grian, but also in the direction of what would be in the path of the crystals.

Seeing multiple things coming his way, Grian started to panic, wings moving to act as a shield since he currently wasn’t holding one. As they moved, the tips of his wings started to change from red to purple, the shift in color working its way to the base of the wings. He couldn’t react fast enough to block everything, but the magic hit both of the crystals, making them shatter into dust. The pink and red dust didn’t completely stay their original colors, some of them charred by the magic attack that hit them, but each tiny piece seemed to glow with its own energy, and even with the, being broken so small, when the cluster hit Grian, there was enough force to make him crash to the ground.

For everyone not watching at that moment in time, they simply heard a large crack of thunder at the same time there was shattering glass, followed by screaming from Grian. Within a matter of seconds, people were racing out of the nearby building, there to see what had happened.

When people got out onto the street, Scar was yelling at Hoodie. “What was that?! Grian wasn’t involved! I thought I could actually- I can’t see why Bdubs actually trusted- I’m guessing he’s changed a lot since-”

“Please, I was just trying to defend myself. He was about to attack me. Didn’t you see it?”

“He was just watching us!”

“No. Your back was turned so you maybe didn’t see it.”

“I should have used a brown crystal too. What kind of spell was that?!” As they yelled, Xisuma was the first to get over to the pair to try and figure out what was going on, getting an answer from Scar. “That Paul guy’s mage just attacked Grian! If I hadn’t done something, it might have killed him!”

“What?” Paul asked, coming over. “Hoodie what just happened?”

The mage looked over to Paul, ignoring Scar and X. “Sir, the hedgewizard and I were simply having a duel to see each other's magic skills. As we battled, this avian mage came by and tried to stop us once. Of course Scar was able to prevent that the first time, but then the mage tried to cast a spell of attack. I was already using a spell to help my reaction time, as was the wizard here, so I began to cast a counterspell. At first I thought Scar was also about to assist me, but instead he seemed to try and stop my spell, causing our magic to collide. It seems to have still-” Hoodie tried to continue, but Paul held up a hand to stop him.

Paul then tried to speak himself, but then his shoulder was ground and he was whirled around by Phil. “Paul, what the fuck? Did you just have your wizard attack Grian?”

“What? No, of course I wouldn’t! It sounds like Grian was trying to attack Hoodie and he defended himself.”

“Yeah sure. Mate, just tell me the truth.”

“I’m just telling you what Hoodie told me. I know just as much as you do at this point other than what he told me.”

Again, the conversation was cut off by Mumbo speaking up, having joined the group. “Grian’s really hurt. His breathing is off and it looks like his wings were hurt enough for them to shift away. There’s also something else, but I can’t place it. Xisuma, can you look at him?”

Everyone moved out of the way for the admin to head towards Grian, but as soon as he took a step, everyone had their comms buzz with two messages. Xisuma peeked over the crowd to look where Grian had been a minute ago. He wasn’t currently lying there, but neither were any items that signified him having died and respawned. That could have been because he had nothing on him at the point, which was unlikely, but could have been what happened.

That being said, the shocked gasps from people who were looking at their comms didn’t assure Xisuma, so the admin pulled up the chat logs on his helmet. Instead of there being a death message for Grian, there were two messages of people leaving the world.

The_Grifter left the world Xelqua left the world.

[adaodinson]

I´ve known since I met you

Yes, writing fics during my online classes is my passion.

English is not my first language.

Summary: You move to a new apartment and one of your new neighbors quickly gains your affection.

Warnings: Swearing, a tiny bit of angst.

Relationship: Bucky x Mexican!reader (it´s for the story, there are no lines in Spanish).

Shared kitchen?! Seriously?! That was ridiculous, who would approve a shared kitchen? You sighed after reading the details of the amazing apartment you had found. It was perfect: pet-friendly, quite reasonable price, pretty close to your work and only four neighbors. It was a small compound with five apartments. It wasn´t a building, the apartments were not on top of each other and it had a huge garden, which was perfect for your dog and two cats. But a shared kitchen.

-Do this people not have that feeling of hatred towards any person that walks into the kitchen when they´re using it?!- You almost yelled to yourself. You chuckled at your situation. It was too good to be true, but it´s still good. You had been looking for a place for almost three months, you had actually slept in your car for a couple of nights because of the fear of settling in a hotel and spending too much money. Luckily your boss was the nicest woman you had ever met, she sympathized with your situation and let you take a few days off (not the three months, of course) even though you hadn´t even started working yet, because you had recently arrived from Mexico. You had moved because of the job, it had been an offer, your dream job, you weren´t gonna waste it.

You decided to visit the place and liked it a lot. If you set aside the kitchen issue, it was perfect. Oh, what the hell? A day later you called the owner of the apartments and finally gave him your answer. Yes. You couldn´t be too picky, and it wasn´t that bad. All the apartments were connected, they were in the middle of the huge garden, next to each other. They had privacy and thick walls, but the kitchen was the “common room” in the middle of the five places.

You settled down in no time since you didn´t have all that much stuff. You took your cats to what would be their “room” and settled their litter box, food, water and bed. They got along just fine with each other and with your dog, so the small space wasn´t a problem. Your dog would sleep in your room (so would your cats even though their beds were on the other room), and her food and water was settled at the small fenced yard that was behind your apartment.

It was really nice, but if you had to be honest with yourself, it had been your metaled-armed neighbor that had convinced you this had been a good idea. You first saw him the day you moved in. You were carrying your huge books box while your dog was playing in between your feet. You tripped and swore you would lose your teeth because of the impact (since your hands were securing the box), but It never came, you only felt a really strong arm holding your stomach and saw the other hand catching the box you were carrying. You were already stunned by his action and strength, so when you saw the man your brain died and then resurrected. He was tall, had broad shoulders, short dark hair, and his face gave the image of a freaking lion and a lost puppy at the same time. You were caught in those deep blue eyes when your dog Cleo literally climbed him and started licking his face. He let go of you and started producing the most beautiful laughter you had ever heard. You reacted (finally) and called your dog to get away from him.

-I´m really sorry, she knows no boundaries. And thank you, thank you for catching me and my books- You said as you pet Cleo to keep her still.

-It´s not a problem, I like her too- He answered happily- And you don´t need to thank me, you seemed more worried about protecting your book rather than your face-.

-Well they´re really good books, and expensive ones- You said with a giggle.

-I´m Y/N- You said as you lifted your hand towards his left one, the one that wasn´t carrying your books.

-I´m Bucky- He made an awkward, almost worried face and shifted the box from his right arm to his left one and shook your hand weirdly (since you were using opposite hands for the shake). It wasn´t too awkward though, you were too lost in his features and touch to care about which hand you were shaking. He was also taking in everything about you. Almost scanning you, your features, your body language, your smile. God, your smile.

You two finally regained focus and he helped you carry in the rest of your boxes.

The second time you encountered him wasn´t as nice as the first one. You had been making your famous chocolate, oatmeal and banana pancakes, ones that you enjoyed a lot, when a lady (another one of your neighbors) came into the kitchen and looked at you with a disapproving grin. You couldn´t care less about what she thought of you, but what she said really triggered you.

-Mmmh, honey, are you sure you want to use chocolate? It has too much sugar, and bananas are really heavy fruits, you should eat a banana alone for breakfast if you want to have good habits- Who does she think she is?! A nutritionist? She didn´t even say good morning and she was already criticizing you. You were about to tell her a few of her truths when you felt a familiar strong hand grabbing your shoulder.

-Good morning Y/N, Ms. Cavanaugh- He listened to what happened and saw the look of anger in your face. You did seem like the type of person to not pull with anyone´s shit, at least to him. But that woman was the owner´s aunt and had a great relationship with him, he had learnt from experience she was a “tough” person, to say the least, but it wasn´t worth it getting on her black list. He was usually shy and reserved, but it was easy to be more “sociable” when he knew the amount of people in the apartment block wouldn´t increase, and that those people would always be the same.

-Morning James- The woman´s face literally shifted from the disgusted look she gave to you the second Bucky walked in. He just smiled and nodded while taking your arm and leading you back to your pancakes.

-That smells great, what are you making?- He asked curiously.

-Chocolate, oatmeal and banana pancakes- You said emphasizing in the “chocolate” and “and” while gazing at the woman.

-Woah that sounds great, I hope there´s enough batter for me to get some of those- You were more relaxed now, but you still didn´t understand why he hadn´t let you defend yourself.

You nodded with a smile and showed him the remaining batter. Ms. Cavanaugh finally left and you turned to him immediately.

-What was that for? That woman needs someone to tell her some of her truths- You said intensely, but not angrily. He softly explained the relation between the woman and the owner, and you quickly understood as you flipped his pancakes.

-Ohhhh, in that case, thank you. You know, it´s the second time you saved me this week, you gotta stop, I don’t like owing people things- He laughed while shaking his head at you.

-If you want me to stop saving you, stop giving me reasons to do so- You tried making an angry face but laughter took the best of you. You two had breakfast together and talked easily through it. He was insanely nice and smart, he seemed reserved and an introvert just like you. Sure, you didn´t let people step on you, but you were shy as hell. He seemed to have an interesting past, but didn´t talk much about it. You didn´t push it, you happily answered all the questions he asked about your family. You were currently telling him a story about your mom and dad from when they were dating.

-So it was really late, and we still don´t know if my dad said “move to the right” or “turn to the right”, because both of my parents say differently, but anyways, my mom offered to park the car and, remember they were not even married, she got in, moved forward and turned to the right. She suddenly felt the car drop a bit, turned to my yelling dad and got out of the car before it sank more INTO THE POOL! She freaking drove my dad´s car into the pool at my grandad´s house and they had to call a hoist at 3am to get it out! I don´t think my grandparents found out but JESUS!

Bucky was holding his stomach as it ached from his laughter.

-NO WAY- he said not being able to form a full sentence.

You were both laughing whole heartedly when your phone´s alarm rang, announcing you had to go to a gathering with your best friend. You apologized to Bucky and explained you had to leave, but before you did that, you basically jumped into his arms for a hug. His immediate reaction was to hold you as close as he could, as strong as he could, but he then remembered his left arm and doubts started filling his mind as you walked away towards the parking place you had outside the apartment’s block. He was afraid of your reaction if he told you, he knew you from a week and was already considering telling you everything about himself. Telling you the truth, but he was too afraid of your reaction. He knew you had recently moved from Mexico, and he also knew you weren´t fully aware of who he was.

But now, he was sure you had felt his metal arm when he held you, he was sure and he was dying. He wandered around the door while “watching” a movie waiting for you to arrive to your apartment. He was sure you knew, so he wanted to explain, at least that he had a metal arm, but he didn´t feel ready to tell you everything yet, or that´s what he tried convincing himself of.

You arrived three hours later. It was 5pm. He heard you walking and saying hi to Cleo (that was now allowed to be at the garden of the whole place, not just your small part). He walked to the kitchen, knowing he would bump into you there.

-Hey- you said with a wide smile as he opened the main door for you.

-Hi, I was just grabbing a snack when I heard you-

-Well, thank you-

-Listen, about my arm, I´m sorry if it made you uncomfortable when you hugged me before you left, I- You cut him off before he continued.

-Hey, your arm has never made me uncomfortable, you’ve been worried about this since I left?-

-Never? For how long have you known?-

-That you have a metal arm? Since I met you haha, it wasn´t hard to tell-

-But, it doesn´t make you uncomfortable? Why didn´t you as-

-Ask about it? It doesn´t make me uncomfortable, at all. And I didn´t ask because you didn´t tell me. If you want me to know, you´ll tell me, it you don´t I won´t invade your privacy-.

He seemed shocked at your words. It hurt you to think he had gone through anything that made him think his arm was unworthy of showing. He smiled, almost hurt. So you did what you had to. You hugged his waist with one arm, and with the other you held his left hand. You gazed at him, asking with your eyes for permission to remove his leather glove. When he nodded, you slowly lifted the material and intertwined you fingers with his metal ones. You then pressed your palm against his, reveling how small your hand was in comparison to his. He felt tears threatening to leave his eyes, but when he felt your head resting against his chest his mind wandered with thoughts. You trusted him enough to let him hold you, even though you knew about his metal arm, you had known about it since you met and it was never a problem for you.

You felt his other arm around your waist and turned to face him. He had a tender look in his eyes, like he was looking at the whole world. You smiled softly, released your fingers from his metal hand and grabbed his shirt, pulling him into your lips. He slowly surrounded you with both of his arms, and you tangled yours around his neck. You could feel him relax into your touch, and your stomach was meeting more butterflies than you had ever felt. Your breaths mixed perfectly, and you felt him smile widely into the kiss. You finally parted, reaching for air. You smiled again and he tenderly caressed your face with his left hand.

-I was about to go and watch a The Hobbit marathon, wanna watch it with me?-

-The Hobbit marathon? There are movies?! And more that one?!-

-There are three, you have NEVER watched them?!- Oh this was gonna be fun.

-I just read the book- He said with a smirk.

-Well, I read the book AND watched the movies, and now I´m curious to see if you´re a crazy fan that´ll hate the movies, or a crazy fan that´ll love them like me-.

-There´s only one way to find out-.

[skyeofloxlay]

Duskwood - thoughts, observations and summaries - Part 1.

It is likely that there are already people who did this, but I would like to point out some things that I ended up putting aside as the episodes went on, but that I realized when I was reading the prints I took or even when I was playing for hundredth time. Unfortunately I'm not going to put the prints here as they are not in English, so it doesn't help much. And maybe, most of the things I write are obvious, or that everyone already knows, but I would like to write something to have some of my thoughts on some. (or just to have a summary for when chapter 8 comes and I get lost)

(again sorry if it have English errors or something is confusing, English is not my first language @_@)

WARNING: This post will talk about Duskwood events, so you better play before you read! Also, this post is really big, so you might end up getting bored. YOU'VE BEEN ADVISED

1 - Thomas received our number on the second day of Hannah's disappearance, where he himself said he received the night. He immediately spoke to all his friends about the number and then they were arguing for a long time, until finally after thinking hard, the next day, Thomas decides to contact the MC (And of course, there is the fact that the message is gone.)

2 - Thomas tells us that he tried to call Hannah when he received the MC number, someone answered the call, but nobody said anything.

3 - Thomas has a brother, and that is something I always forget. I suppose he is a younger brother? Maybe someone who's not old enough to drive or idk.

4 - Richy tries to fit in with the MC, which is apparently an unusual behavior, since Cleo was incredulous at what he was doing.

5 - Jake acted very cold the first time we talked to him. But I don't remember exactly when it changed ... I think I should see it on the prints and mention it later.

6 - Jake probably follows the philosophy "The ends justify the means", since he does anything, no matter the consequence, as long as he gets to where he wants to go. (In fact, he literally says that the ends justify the means xD)

7 - We have to hack Hannah's cloud because Jake can't do everything, and he says he's busy following other clues, but what are those? I don't remember him commenting on what clues he's following, well maybe I'll find out by looking at the prints of future chapters.

8 - Jake says that we should decrypt the cloud, and clearly decrypting is not a candy crush game with cubes, but I would say that in "real life" (as much as I have researched about decryption, I didn’t find anything that could help me a lot to understand how it works) you use some program that Jake sent you, you take encrypted files that have several strange letters and put them in this program, which happens to be a little slow, so to pass the time you decide to play Candy Crush. Which is why it takes so long before you can send an unencrypted file to Jake.

9 - Cleo adds us before going to work.

10 - Thomas comes back some time later, I would say it could be half an hour after he sent the message saying he had to get his brother.

11 - On the day of Hannah's disappearance, Jake put all of her friends in a group and talked about the situation. By the time Jake did that, Thomas was on his cell phone, so he saw it right away. 

12 - We know that Jake somehow witnessed the kidnapping, but how? How did he see if he didn't even meet Hannah in person?

13 - Richy's house is 5 minutes from Hannah's.

14 - Cleo and Richy have a conversation that we can read. And Cleo asked Richy where all the sympathy had come from (probably about him wanting to put the MC in the group) Apparently before he didn't want Thomas to contact the number.

15 - Richy assumes that Hannah has had enough time to write a single message. If we put him as one of the suspects, as he is being at the moment, then was it he who gave Hannah the chance to send a message? Or was it Richy who sent it from Hannah's cell phone? But…. I don't know ... none of those things really make sense.

Unless Hannah managed to get her cell phone while Richy was away, and then sent the message, Richy soon afterwards arrives and sees what Hannah has done, takes her cell phone and deletes the message. (And answer the phone, but say nothing) 

(Or we can also assume that it was Jake who sent our number on Hannah's cell phone ... but that doesn't fit much for some things in the future, I'll explain later)

16 - Richy thinks that inevitably, if the MC is guilty it will end up escaping something.

17 - We were able to decrypt the first photo, that if I'm right, we are decrypting newer photos to older ones? But that is not a very important detail, I think. We sent the photo to Jake and he asks if we had found this photo in Hannah's cloud. But why? Isn't it obvious that it was from Hannah's cloud? Wasn't that just our only job? Decrypt and send whatever you can to Jake ??? If we say we don't know what exactly to look for, Jake says he doesn't know either. So we're kind of literally in the dark! We have no idea what we have to find and neither does he know. But he says that it is still for us to continue to send what we find, because something can be more relevant if we look in more detail.

(Okay, the next one isn't so much what I thought, but the conversation between Jake and MC, because I love the interactions that it is possible to do with Jake and I couldn't leave it out. * ^ _ ^ *)

18 - Jake wishes us good luck, but now (I think only for premium) you can say you want to talk to him. Jake then looks confused and asks what we wanted to talk about, and we can say we want to talk about him. He seems to be even more confused about why we want to talk about him. I don't remember the other options or if he says the same thing it doesn't matter what we answer, but if we say that we find him interesting he says that "You know I'm not going to tell you anything about me, right?" (Sure, of course Jake, for sure everyone believes that) if we keep insisting, he ends up giving in and says that we can ask only one question. We can ask: I think between his hair color, if he lives in the city or country, or what programs does he use to hack?

His hair color is black, if I'm not mistaken he says he lives in the city and the last question I don't know the answer to.

He asks why we wanted to know (in the case of hair, I don't know about the others, but he probably asks the same thing). I think that regardless of what we answer, he says he doesn't believe in what he just did, because he shouldn't say anything about himself. (That is, this is where we can start to make Jake's walls start to fall and we can get closer to him :) ) He also says that hiding his identity is essential and asks if we are happy now. If we say yes and talk to ask a question, he gets more confused and says "You didn't want to talk to me, did you?" Regardless of what we talk about, he asks us how the weather is. We can say between: What a boring question / It's raining / Very well, I would say. (I think those were the questions). 

He then admits that it was not the most interesting topic, but we can say that it remains interesting nonetheless. He so says he hasn't had a conversation in a long time... (oh, I feel you Jake, I don't know how to talk to people either, but look, you're talking to me :) even though you don't really exist ;_;) He then asks if we were stuck on an island, what would we most like to have. I said that I would like to have books, and he says "hmm" (but if I'm not mistaken he says that for everything we answer) we can ask him what he would like to have, and he says he would choose his computer, but then he tells us to forget what he said and says he has more to do, and asks if everything was clear now.

19 - We can ask him if he doesn't ask himself who we are. And this point I find interesting. He says "You play a key role in all this mess. Why do you suddenly appear in such mysterious circumstances? What do you really have to do with all of this? Obviously, I wonder who you are. I already told you something about me again ... I'm going to have to go now. Otherwise, I will end up saying my name or worse. " This means that he would not have been the one who sent our number by Hannah's cell phone because he doesn't know who the MC is. There is less that he is lying very well, but I think not.

20 - Thomas asks if we have time to talk to him, and then says that in a way MC is one of them now. So he says he will put pictures of Hannah on his profile so that we can try to remember her in some way. 

21 - Did we find a picture of a bridge? That's probably in the forest?

22 - Jessy then contacts us saying that she wants to get to know us better? Is it just me who found this strange and uncomfortable?

23 - Even though she never spoke to us and left the group, she says that MC is part of the group now. And she decides to talk to us in the middle of her work.

24 - We found out that Jessy works with Richy.

25 - She keeps trying to get to know MC more, which made me very uncomfortable because I really didn't want to talk to her and even then she kept talking to MC.

26 - So we got to see one more conversation, but this time it's between Thomas and Cleo, where Thomas says that he put some pictures for the MC to see, and said that it seemed strange, and said that there was nothing strange about the MC's behavior. So Cleo tells Thomas that then he cannot draw a conclusion about what role we (MC) play. Thomas then said goodbye and they went offline.

27 - Jessy talks to the MC again, nothing interesting that is worth mentioning.

28 - We found a photo of a cat in Hannah's cloud 

29 - Thomas sends a message again, now asking if we recognize Hannah, replying that we really don't know her, he says "oh, yeah, it's okay" and goes offline. 

30 - Jake answers us and we start talking about our findings. He says he will try to extract information from the photos.

31 - He asks for time to be able to analyze it and says he has an advantage for us, and sends a cell phone number. He says the police are very focused on Thomas and that we should be focusing on someone else. If we ask why we should do this, he replies, "As I said before, you piqued my interest. That's all you need to know at the moment." Then he tells us to add the number. And as soon as we added it, we found out the number was from Dan.

32 - Dan gets worried and says several no, and asks who sent us after him. You can choose from a few people to say who sent you there, but I think regardless of who you choose, he will say the same: "What? Fuck it. I don't care. Damn them. And you leave me alone." And then it goes offline.

33 - If you choose Jessy, he will ask her why she gave his number to the MC, and she says that she didn't, so he says that the MC is lying and that someone gave his number. Jessy also says that if he wants people to stop seeing him as a suspect, he just has to stop acting like one.

34 - We got a call. Someone threatening us.

35 - We contacted Jake and talked about what happened. Jake asks what the kidnapper said, and we can say "That I should stay out of other people's business." Jake asks what he looked like, and we can say he looked like a maniac.

36 - If we say that we had better follow the kidnapper's advice, Jake says that we shouldn't do that, and that there was nothing to worry about. And that we could consider that connection as something positive, because that meant the kidnapper was coming out of hiding, and that would make him vulnerable. And that he is probably concerned about the MC being in the investigation. Jake also says that we are a drag on the kidnapper, and that the MC can't trust anyone in the group. He also said that he was right about the MC and that we are going to save Hannah. 

37 - Jessy calls us and other people in the group saying they found a body. She creates a group and adds us, Dan, Cleo and Richy.

38 - Jessy and Cleo argue.

39 - Cleo says she will tell Lilly about the body.

40 - And then in a way we kind of obliged to tell Thomas about the body.

41 - When we talk about the body found, Thomas immediately goes offline.

42 - We tell the group this.

43 - If we tell the group that we should have waited to tell Thomas, Richy says that MC would not say that if knew how much gossip is spreading around the city.

44 - Dan asks us what we think about Thomas's suspicious actions.

45 - Richy asks what we do now and Cleo replies that the only way was to wait. 

46 - Everyone goes offline and after a while Jake sends a message saying that he has something new, that a corpse had been found. But he was talking about the same corpse that we discovered by the group, that is, we had important information even before him.

47 - He is impressed with how we got the information before him and how MC already seems to be part of the group.

48 - Then he asks if we got the picture of the cat in Hannah's cloud. (again, isn't that obvious??? This is our mission! Decrypt Hannah's cloud photos and files !!! Why do you keep asking that Jake ??) 

49 - If we ask if there is something wrong to Jake, he just replies "Never mind. It's okay." And then it goes offline.

50 - We decrypt what appears to be a medical prescription, but which is in a terrible resolution. Jake says he will try to fix the image better and goes offline.

51 - Jessy says that Cleo invaded the junkyard

52 - Jessy says that the MC should make Cleo tell Richy what she did.

53 - Cleo says he needs to talk to us. She says she can tell us a little bit about Hannah.

54 - If we ask if Hannah has siblings, Cleo replies that Lilly is her younger sister, and asks if we didn't know that until now. If we say, "I meant besides Lilly". Cleo replies that Lilly is Hannah's only sibling.

55 - If we ask Cleo if it was possible that Hannah simply ran away, Cleo replies that there was no reason for her to do that since Hannah's life was starting to go well. She had a great family, an amazing boyfriend and was happy with her career.

56 - If we say that maybe things were happening that she didn't know, Cleo replies that she knows that everyone has secrets, but having such a terrible secret and having to escape Duskwood without a trace, she would know that. She also comments on the fact that the Hacker saw the hijacking.

57 - If we ask Cleo if she thinks the kidnapper could be someone in the group, she says she doesn't believe it is anyone of them.

58 - When asked if Hannah had any enemies, Cleo replies that she was not sure, and that everyone loved Hannah.

59 - At that moment we can question Cleo or not for the invasion of the junkyard. If we don't say anything, she just says that she has to do some things and that she can't sit and wait.

60 - If we ask her plan, she says she'll ask for downtown and maybe know if someone found Hannah before she disappeared. She spoke the names of three of the biggest gossips in the city: Mrs. Walter, owner of the hotel. Mrs. Sully, the queen of gossip and Phil Hawkins, owner of Aurora bar.

61 - She says the bar hasn't opened yet, but we can suggest to Cleo who she should talk to first. And then she says she'll talk to us later.

62 - We found a picture of Hannah apparently in the forest.

63 - We see a conversation between Richy and Jessy. 

64 - Richy is talking about something Jessy said to us. He says that Jessy should be more careful with the MC and then says that Jessy should know something about the MC, but then he needs to stop by the office and not talk about what it was.

65 - Jake, who was reading the messages between Richy and Jessy, is annoyed that Richy didn't say what he wanted to say.

66 - We asked him if he was reading the messages, and he says yes, because you never know where you can find the next piece of the puzzle. If we ask him if he always reads other people's messages, he replies that only the most interesting ones and asks us if the MC was judging him.

67 - If we say that we are judging him a little, he says that the MC was also reading their messages. We can answer that we are doing this because he told us to do this. So he says we're only doing this so that we can find Hannah.

68 - Jake asks ask us what we think Richy and Jessy are talking about us. If we say we have no idea, Jake responds with "Really? Not even a hunch?" so we can say that we’ve never talked to Richy before, and Jake thinks that’s strange. Jake assumes that Richy would tell Jessy why he doesn't trust MC. We can then answer "Don't trust anyone. It's your words, not mine." and "Do you trust me?", Jake answers the question with "Would I have given you access to Hannah's cloud if I didn't?" We can then tell Jake that he doesn't even know us that well, and he says "Maybe Jessy wasn't the only person who felt an immediate connection with you"

If we ask "Is that a compliment?" Jake says yes, and he would talk to us later.

69 - Cleo sends a message saying that she arrived at the hotel, but that Mrs. Walter was not at the reception. Cleo then says that Lilly used to work at the Hotel reception before, but apparently she doesn't work there anymore. Cleo then comments that Alfie, Mrs. Walter's son, is playing in a mud puddle in front of the hotel. We told Cleo that she should talk to Alfie, and after a while she comes back saying that he had called her "Friend of the dead girl" and then Cleo replies that Hannah was not yet dead and asked him who was saying these terrible things. Alfie then says that he saw Hannah being taken by the Man without a face.

If we say that he probably saw a man in a mask, Cleo replies that there is a legend in Duskwood about a "Man without a face" and that we should ask Jessy about it because she likes legends, and then in the meantime Cleo would talk to Mrs. Sully. 

70 - We asked Jessy about the legend of the mwaf, and also commented that Alfie had seen Hannah being taken by him to the forest.

71 - We found out that Jessy was once Alfie's Nanny. And she says that he may well have invented it, since he has mental problems.

72 - Jessy creates a group about the Duskwood legends and puts Richy together, since he was born in Duskwood and could talk more about the legend than she did. But since Richy was working, they had to leave that for later.

73 - Cleo sends us a message saying she talked to Mrs. Sully, who says she saw Hannah coming out of the pharmacy and that she looked very worried, and then she sat on the patio of the Rainbow Café.

74 - We asked Cleo what Hannah had bought at the pharmacy, but she doesn't know. So she says that she will try to do something and that in the meantime we should try to find out more about the "mwaf".

75 - We talked to Richy and Jessy about Alfie and the mwaf. 

76 - Jessy tells the legend of the mwaf. She says the legend is older than Duskwood, they say he lives inside the forest and at night he walks through the dark streets of the city. He marks the door of the greatest sins with a sign from the crow, and then on the night of the first new moon each year, he returns the marked houses and takes all the people from that house, whether guilty or not. No one knows exactly what he does with these people, but supposedly he takes them into the forest and these people never come back.

77 - We can then assume that the kidnapper is trying to copy the legend. 

78 - Cleo sends us a message again, telling us a story that Lilly told her about Alfie.

79 - Cleo said it happened last year, in the fall. One of the guests complained to Lilly about a bad smell in his room, Lilly went to the room, but felt nothing, so she gave the guest another room. When she returned to the room she noticed the smell, but could not find where it came from, she then spoke to Mrs. Walter who spoke with the janitor Old Gray. After he cleaned it, Lilly, as she was curious to know what had given off that stench, goes to the trash and saw that Alfie's canary (Mr. Featherly) was dead and with a crushed beak and broken wings.

80 - Apparently Alfie killed the canary.

81 - We then see a conversation between Dan and Lilly. He was commenting that he was sure that the body found was not Hannah's. Lilly then asks Dan if he could come here (probably to her house), and Dan agrees.

Well, I think I better stop here, because I already wrote a lot and there is still a lot to write. To tell you the truth, I don't even know where I am in the story, I don't know if it's still chapter 1, or it's already 2 or maybe 3. But anyway, that's it. I will continue to write my observations / thoughts / summaries of the story when I have time and motivation. At the moment I want to see if I can draw something with Jake x MC and maybe write some theories that are in my head.

I hope that what I have written can help you in some way, or just remember what was going on at the beginning of the game. (Or maybe all of this is useless and it was really boring, so I'm sorry ;_;) See you later :)

[papermoonloveslucy]

INDOMINATABLE LIFESTYLE

July 16, 1972

HOLLYWOOD - Indomitable funny girl Lucille Ball, with a messy scoop hair the color of an orange popsicle, flashes on the scene in a sad predicament. 

She's got a lame leg.  

Lucy hobbled from her sleek silver Rolls Royce and into the yellow cubbyhole dressing room which is a sunny retreat near the Lucy set which Is crawling with rehearsal activity. 

On the surface, everything's ha-ha-ha. But the fact is that surgeons have inserted pins into the shattered leg bone suffered last year in a Snowmass Peak, Colo., skiing accident. The leg brace is a semi-intolerable ball and chain. But, as always, crippling situations must be mastered. Lucy's inextinguishable spirit pulsates despite the physical handicap. 

Lucy Is showing a smiling color photograph of herself in a flowing white hooded cape coat rimmed in fluffy fox. The picture, radiating exterior happiness, doesn't reflect the inner pain. Lucy's leg, in a hip cast, is disguised under a blanket. 

You know the familiar Lucy grin? She's grinning it and saying hell no, baby, she's not ever going to ski again. She couldn't stomach another goddam ordeal like that. Besides, on the immediate horizon is an operation to remove the pins.

Lucy, being Lucy, bears the cross with humor: "Honey," she says, "skiing is just getting into those nice winter clothes and being a show off." The burdensome subject of broken bones is dismissed with frivolity. 

Brainy Lucy, now 60 and president of a $30 million corporation, is an American institution. 

But, like all super-successful females, she vibrates complex contradictions. The fashion plate - who initiated her career as a Hattie Carnegie hat model - is a winsome dumb broad on the tube. In reality she's tough executive who barks orders left and right. Staffers instantly do like the lady says. God has spoken. Lucy runs a tight ship, but she is more respected than feared. 

Yet Lucy is softie with a heart of spun sugar. Trappings, which she has in predictable abundance, aren't a psychic crutch. 

"Success is knowing that if everything were wiped away tomorrow, it wouldn't really matter. I wouldn't die if I lost my things," she says. Then the awesome simplicity: "Dear, I still go home and let the cat out" 

Lucy has always run her home life with a liberal hand.

Desi Arnaz, Jr. is currently Involved in well-publicized liaison with Liza Minnelli. There was a previous Desi scandal regarding Patty Duke. People gossip a lot here because they live in a city where the major industry is make-believe and fact and fiction become blurred. 

Lucy isn't deaf to the talk about her son's romances: 

"What the hell, they're having a fine spree. I just hope it lasts for Desi and Liza. They don't have time to get married. Their scene is the world and they're swinging in there. I'm the one who talked marriage to them. One night I said: Look, kids, don't get married too soon. They were upset. Desi countered with the observation that you don't have to settle down when you get married. So I go -  well, that's true son! The subject of marriage just never came up again. They're a nice couple. They present themselves well without becoming asses. I've told the kids to do as they wish." 

Lucy, who was a good friend to Judy Garland, makes no bones about her affection for Liza. And once Lucy loves, the feeling lasts. After 20 years of marriage to Desi Arnaz, there was the divorce. Still Lucy looks people straight in the eyes and says the present Mrs. Desi Arnaz is a "wonderful woman." And she can see it in her heart to rent ex-husband Desi studio space on her lot so that he can work in the shadow of a success they initiated together. 

When Liza Minnelli was a child, Lucy kept a scrapbook of Liza's activities at play, in ballet school, attending birthday parties. There, in a battered old photo album, are the precious pictures. Liza didn't know about the book until recently. Desi brought Liza home and Lucy accidentally-on-purpose left the book on a coffee table. "Oh! Wow!" exclaimed Liza through a flow of uncontrollable tears. 

Lucy; "And I said to Liza, honey-baby, I told you I've known you for a long time. Didn't you believe me?" Lucille Ball speaks in an affectionate aside about Liza and the loyalty is simultaneously visible and audible: 

"That kid is liable to explode any minute. I just hope I'm around to pick up the pieces. No one knows why she works so hard. She's made it her objective to clear her mother financially. Those b--- lawyers took her --- really took her. But she's paying back every damn cent herself." 

Life is, of course, an inexplicable mixture of tears and laughter. Buoyant Lucy can see the funnies in everything. Love, she says, is looking beyond someone's minor faults and caring passionately despite the irritations. Lucy's 80-year-old mom, Dede (Desiree Ball) lives near Lucy's sprawling colonial house in Beverly Hills. Dede has a longstanding idiosyncrasy which used to drive Lucy wild but is now an amusement. 

In that familiar screechy scratchy soprano voice oozing feigned stupidity, Lucy sing-songs the dialogue; 

"I say to Dede: Hey Dede, I've got a pain in my elbow. Dede always says: 'stupid, it's because you're not eating right!" Honest to God, if you've got a pain in your big toe, it's not because someone stepped on it it's the food. Drives you nuts! Dede really has a thing about food. The other day I went home and cooked a batch of chicken. 'Chicken!!" says Dede, 'you know it's gonna make me sick.' Of course Dede eats more chicken than anybody. Next day I say: Dede you been up all night throwin', huh? Naw," says Dede, the chicken wasn't half bad.'"

The ridiculous story illustrates two things Dede taught Lucy early in life. One: That without good health you've got nothing. Two; That without a non-pliant, thoroughly independent attitude, you've got less than nothing because show business kills the weak. 

Lucy is in constant awe of Dede. When Lucy built the five-story ski chalet 9,800 feet on the side of a Colorado mountain she was certain Dede couldn't take either the long trip or the altitude. Besides, once you get to Lucy's place, there are a million icy steps to climb before you make the front door. "Even the dogs stop to get their breath," says Lucy. "But when I start huffing, Dede looks over her shoulder and sorta snaps: Aw, Lucy, you're a sissy!' That woman is my challenge." 

Does Lucy ever get down? Do the burdens of crushing disappointments halt her enthusiasm even temporarily? "Jesus," she says, "I cry. I cry a lot. Then anger sets in. When I'm angry, I become a fighter. And I always fight to win." 

When Lucy talks to you, she taps your knee in a natural gesture of intimacy. Her gaze is through black fringed x-ray eyes that sear through trivia. She smokes her cigarette twirled ceremoniously between her thumb and forefinger. Lucy always spews gut honesty: 

"Love is a great peace of mind. There's no panic in the relationship. It's never having to prove yourself. Love is not playing games. Baby, some women have to put up with mysterious absenteeism. That's always a sign of hanky panky-ism. Christ, I never have to worry where Gary is." 

Gary is Gary Morton, Lucy's husband and executive producer. Suddenly he bursts into the dressing room and asks for the afternoon off. Lucy's going to work the full day. Her answer is affirmative, but she doesn't use the word "yes"; "Just don't forget to tell the cook to get out the steaks and have a big salad ready." 

The show is all in the family. Lucy's sister, Cleo Smith, is another producer. Lucy is having the talk-about twosome of Desi Jr. and Liza written into a script. Little Lucy, who has been Mrs. Phil Vandervort for a year, is a regular. She, too, bursts into the dressing room to use the john. The jeans are already embarrassingly unzipped. As she whizzes by she comments only to her famous mama: "Jeez, I though you were alone!" 

But an emergency is an emergency. Lucy, quick to seize the humor, quips: "Our togetherness is only occasionally splintered." 

In retrospect, Lucy is pleased with her real-life mother role. "I've been one hell of a mom," she says. "I always knew where they were every minute." Lucille Ball is a profound woman who often uses great simplicities to get her points across.

Once, when the kids were small, a nurse observed to Lucy that Little Lucy was calling Desi Jr., "fatso," and jabbing him in the stomach-when no one was looking. Desi didn't hit back because mama had said never to hit defenseless little girls. Lucy relives the old conversation with her daughter, first announcing each "part" and changing voices to portray the back-and-forth swing of conversation: 

Big Lucy: "Got a problem, Little Lucy?" 

Little Lucy: "Me? No." 

Big Lucy: "Let's talk. Whose fault is it? No, actually it doesn't matter whose fault it is. Next time one of you is hurt, I'm going to hit the one who is hurt." 

Little Lucy: "What does that mean, ma?" 

Big Lucy: "You'll see." 

Soon there was another battle. As usual, Little Lucy elbowed Desi in the stomach and he howled, Lucy illogically whacked Desi hard on the rear and his screams got louder. Little Lucy immediately became hysterical: "Mom, don't hit him! For God's sake, why are you hitting HIM?" 

Lucy delivered the punch line which is the credo of their life: "I hit Desi because you let things go too far. Never let things go too far. Someone innocent always suffers. Do you understand?" 

That was the end of sibling squabbling. Forever. 

Once, before her chorus girl days, New York-born Lucy worked as a fashion mannequin for various Seventh Ave. houses. She's still got a clotheshorse figure but she won't splurge on couture: "I'm just one of those normal working women who doesn't go in for hifalutin’ fashion." 

Lucy haunts three fabric shops in Beverly Hills and has local movie set seamstresses make all her clothes. "I'm not the type who dresses and goes out," says Lucy who long ago graduated from the silly-but-necessary movie star game of being seen in the right places. 

"Once when I was in Paris, I bought a designer dress grey flannel, I think and wore it out from the salon to my car.  When I sat down the damn thing was so strictly constructed that the neckline popped up to my nose. I was on my way to Switzerland and I mumbled to my driver, God, did that designer expect me to stand up on the plane?" Lucy can afford emergencies. When she got to Orly, she bought a dress from an airport boutique and changed in the ladies room. 

And, so, the sweet saga of Lucy continues, there are no plans to quit. The word - retirement - isn't in her vocabulary. "I can't imagine doing nothing," she says. "If you don't keep moving, you're buried." 

The beauty is still there. The complexion is like alabaster. Lucy confesses that she washes her face with Ivory soap, colors her own hair and occasionally gives herself offbeat facials." 

"Honey, the idiot who said to put honey on your face never explained that it has to be mixed with cream," she says. The face melts into that wonderful famous grin. "I put honey on straight from the goddamn jar and it closed my pores for a month." 

That's lovable Lucy. 

[Ed. Note: The original photographs were degraded by copying so similar shots were substituted as close to the originals as possible.]

#   #   #

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

To Do List:

What's up, my Herd of Nerds?

Anyway, as you can tell, tomorrow is AU Sunday. But, because it's one after a 'my input' one, it's a follower input AU day! Yay!

So, send me your AUs and I'll put all of em in a hat to pick one randomly. The winner is picked and posted and we'll all try and make headcanons about your AU.

Done:

Zombie Apocalypse AU :: (https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618314308275863552/zombie-apocalypse-au-masterpost)

Pirate AU ::

Currently In The Raffle:

-Toy Story AU.

-Ever After High/Descendants/Vaguely 'nex gen priness' AU.

-Eldritch Horror AU :: Or if that's a bit too out there, a more normal Monster AU. I don't care, but in my heart, I know Cleo is some kind of eldritch horror. Zombie is far too easy.

-Eldritch Monster AU! Hermits are all Lovecraftian horrors who all individually decided that they wanted to pretend to be normal and are all trying to hide their otherworldliness. I also feel like Mumbo or X or someone as the one actually "normal" player on the server would work well. Most hermits don't know that everyone else isn't normal either, but some find out about friends maybe.

-Rabid Debate Club AU :: Random weird au idea where it's basic hs/uni au but like two of them try to start a debate club, then invite some friends just so there's enough people; cut to like two months later, it's all the hermits just fighting over whether or not pineapple should go on pizza or not lol it isn't very good i'm sorry but ya know rabid debate club AU.

-Animal/shapeshifting AU :: (Suggested Twice.) Every hermit can shapeshift into one token animal. (If it's something like "dog," they can only turn into one breed and color of dog, EXAMPLE: doc can shift into a black sable belgian malinois, but not anything else.)

-Wedding Planners AU :: Hermits work in various unrelated businesses such as a bakery, flower shop, etc., but see each other semi-often bc they're semi-often called upon to work together by another hermit's wedding planning business (obvs if you couldn't tell i know absolutely nothing abt wedding planning & businesses n shit lol but it's the /concept/ of it yannknow)

-Avatar: The Last Air Bender AU. (Suggested Thrice.)

-Fusion AU :: (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested Twice.) What if Hermits could fuse with each other? (Viva and Jumbo fused into MumboJumbo.)

-SCP AU :: The hermits have spooky powers and are kept locked up bc of it (or they have to keep the world safe from monsters and cursed objects!)

-RPG AU :: I feel like someone already thought of that but I am just wondering about it lately :p -🍋

-Adventure Time AU :: The hermits live in a post-apocalyptic world and the Lich (bad guy) is making everything decay. They need to gather all the gems (belt colours) to unlock the Enchiridion (a book) and have one wish each granted from Prismo (multiverse wish granting dude) before the Lich does. Only 4 elements can enter the multiverse: Slime (The Lich & Jevin), Redstone (Tango or Mumbo?), Ice (Stress), and Dirt (Grian, much to his dismay). Only the elementals can see the book. Grian's the protagonist with his sidekick Scar. He originally started collecting the belts because they were shiny but eventually decided to read the book and find out what they were for when Scar said he didn't see it. Doc, False, and Iskall are major obstacles because they don't believe the book exists.</p>

-Total Drama Island AU.

-Magical Girl AU :: Zedaph's the lead magical girl and rounds up a bunch of other magical girl hermits.

-Pokeman AU :: What are the Hermit's roles in this world? Who's the Champion, Elite Four. Are they scientists? Trainers? Do they compete in competitions, do they specialize in types? Who's everyone's starter? Has anyone encountered any legendaries?

-College AU

-High School AU

-Wizard101 AU :: I (🦊) recently got this AU idea and recently started going off somewhere with it in terms of writing, but, like, Hermitcraft meets Wizard101. Tons and tons of magical shenanigans, monster hunting, and idk what else.

-Magic AU

-My Hero Academia AU :: Headcanons can be about which hermits would have what quirks and occupations based on them.

-So I'm writing an AU where there's a second game of Demise but 5 years later. So far the first 2 hermits (Joe and Xisuma) have died, and their dead forms are cracked with an arrow in his chest (Xisuma) and cyborg (Joe). So since it's Saturday, I'm looking for what some skins would look for.

-City AU :: I mean this is really just a normal everyday AU.

-School AU.

-Terraria-Minecraft Fusion AU :: Who chooses what class? what events do each hermit prefer? how to they deal with the world infections? preferred biomes? Favourite NPCS? It has potentiallllll.

-70s/80s Teen Horror AU :: (like Stranger Things, Carreie, The Lost Boys, Halloween, etc.) -🦇

-Demi-God AU :: Sort of like percy jackson (everyone being the children of different gods from all different cultures.)

-Supernatural AU

-Marching Band AU :: Xisuma is the band major and all the show music is the remixes. I need to come up with some ideas for uniforms. Outfits and flags for the colorguard too.

-Different Eras AU :: (Suggested Twice.) All the hermits are from different time periods or eras. Like Wels is from the mediveal/dark era, Mumbo is from 1890-1920's, Iskall is from 2030, TFC is from 2020(?), Cleo is from 2130, etc!!! Like the mobs/animals became feused with humans, is when the mob players came from.

-Star Trek AU :: Like maybe they could be on one ship and each have different roles like engineers or doctors? I don’t know if this has been suggested but hope you enjoy! - 🐦

-House Mates AU :: ApartmentAU but scaled down?

-Atlantis AU :: (Could be merged with Mermaid AU???)

-Fighting Game AU :: Some influences would be Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Ultra Instinct, that kind of stuff.

-Time loop AU :: The hermits each have to deal with their own time loop.

(All those above in red are from our community's lovely Anons!)

-Superhero/superpower AU :: They each have a unique power/powerset that is in some way connected to their personality. (ie Mumbo *could* control electricity because of his love of redstone) Some Hermits may even choose to be "villains" and prank their other servermates. If you need power ideas, I've got a couple. (12u3ie)

-Daycare AU :: The recap peeps are the caretakers :P (-@tikauniverse.)

-Incredibly Long Cross Country Train Ride AU :: they all are in the same train car, telling stories of where they’re going, backstories.)

-Stuck In An Airport AU :: pretty similar to train au but they can be going diff places.

-Doctors AU :: they’re all doctors working at the same hospital.)

-Circus AU (Also suggested by an Anon.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Spy AU (Also suggested by @shadeswiftdraws.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Runaways AU :: The hermits are all teenagers who have run away from home, they all live on the streets until TFC takes them in. Head canons can be about backstories, living on the streets, or when they’re with TFC.

-Criminals and Police Officers AU

(-@lookitsspacekween)

-Dancer AU :: I mean, I already got a list kind of planned out, but headcanons for why specific styles are chosen would be appreciated! :) (usedtobelucythefallenangel)

-Broadway/Musicals Hermits AU :: The hermits are all casts of various musicals and when this newly-built theater opens up they all fight for which musical gets to play in it first (they have a riff-off maybe?) musicals mainly included are Hamilton, BMC, DEH, SiX, Beetlejuice, etc (feel free to add more!) (-@heyitsroby.)

-DnD AU (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested twice.)

-Mermaid AU :: In honor of the end of Mermay

-Space exploration AU :: There could be different ships, command centers, aliens.... Maybe someone could even get stranded/crash on a new planet? Who knows, could be fun.

-Paranormal/ghost hunter AU :: A couple Hermits could be the ghost hunters going to haunted locations to prove/disprove their hauntedness, others could be camera crew, owners of haunted buildings, or even the ghosts themselves.

-Camping/Vacation AU.

-Summer Cottage AU :: They all spend summers/weekends along the same shoreline and do different summer activities together. Outdoor fun and shenanigans!

-Space AU :: like star trek or similar.

-I would say evil clone au but I think that's pretty much the entire Hermitcraft tumblr right now lol. (Suggested twice.)

(-@shadeswiftdraws.)

-Magic AU :: Magic exists and all the hermits have powers. They can also summon a weapon but what that weapon is depends on the hermit. I'm thinking it'll take place in a sort-of Demise 2 in S7 with a big war. So far I've got: Grian - Cloning himself to his different personas (each has a different power). Xisuma - Making barriers, teleporting, and transforming into different mobs. Scar - Making mutant plants & boosting other hermits' attack & health. (-@datsaltyperson.)

-Demon AU :: Something enters the overworld and turns into a supernatural style-demon through Dimentional Distortion. Who gets posessed first, who goes crazy, and who actually kills it? Honestly I think that, if anything, Tango would know how to gank it, for obvious reasons. (-@fireflower-dusk.)

-High Street AU :: Everyone owns a different shop on the same street or some run a shop together (-@violets-arepurple.)

-Cat AU :: Either they're were always cats, or Hels turned everyone, including himself, into a cat, and they have to survive and overcome challenges in the Season 7 world. An example of a challenge would be Cub's a Sand Cat(the cats that always look like kittens no matter how old they are and live in deserts), and everyone's not sure if he can actually swim, so they have to find a way for him to get around without involving water. (-@scp10000.)

-How about a secret AU.. Every hermit has their big secrets and when Grian joined. He doesn't really know anything about those secrets even till season 7. Not many hermits talked to him in S6 anyway.. Mumbo was the closest to him so they would have regular chats For Iskall is mostly business related things Grian wants to know why so he set out on a quest to force the others to at least talk to him so he wouldn't be lonely. (-@babylightstudentbiscuit.)

-Hermit Family AU :: Xisuma is very busy dad but when he isnt busy the kids and younger hermits annoying the hell out of him. Grian once asked to use Xisuma's computer and crashed the whole thing trying to download illegal gamesites and get money off the internet. Mumbo and his trains run through the entire house and Xisuma trips on them daily. (-@gamerutx.)

-College AU!! But they are not students. THEY ARE THE TEACHERS (-@ivi-prism.)

Ones I planned to do anyway but Hermitblr Hivemind and all that:

Battle of The Bands AU: i believe u once mentioned a bands/ battle of the bands au... thats my jam... (Anon.)

[ilguna]

Ethereal - Chapter Five (f.o)

Summary: Five years of watching your trainees die, you’re sick of it. She will prevail, she will win.

Word Count; 1.6k

Warnings; swearing, DEATH MENTION

NOTES: i give reader a last name to fit the world.

–

Annie stands on a little stage as Beth, Cleo and Leo circle her. Making small adjustments to the dress as they see fit. They’ve already sewed up the leg slit, since you had pointed out that you had it before her. Laurel saw the copy-cat move, had it sewn and instead they threw some sort of poofy material over the silk. So now, the top of the dress is the only part still showing the silk.

It’s a V-neck, except it goes to the wrap at the middle of the dress–which starts at the end of her boobs and ends like three inches below. It’s a tank-top sort of thing. The fabric is manipulated to look like grooves. As if it’s made out of shell, also their goal. You were blue, the representation of water. And Annie will be the representation of shells.

Laurel has been waiting for you to let her use the idea. You told her no so many times, because you knew that it wasn’t a winning year. But goddamn, you have a career with an eight! Your tributes are golden, theirs are rotten. There’s only one way for this to end, so you allowed Laurel to use the idea. Because Annie or Paslee is going to win.

You would say both, but you don’t put that possibility in your head. Both of your tributes would have to survive for at least two or three weeks. You believe they can do it, but the careers will hunt them down. The year you were in the arena, was a walk in the park. They slacked, got attacked too many times. Your friends don’t allow them to do that anymore.

Or rather the academy that they train in. They teach them that the first thing that they do after securing the middle is to establish a watch of it. And send the rest out to eliminate as many people as they can get. Get the obvious hiders out of the way, so that there isn't’t an unnecessary number of people still alive. Then, they wait it out with the rest.

Sooner or later the people will get desperate. Maybe one of the unlucky ones will accidentally get too close when scoping out the cornucopia. Or maybe they’ll run out and try to take something while someone is taking watch in there. So many endless possibilities. Especially when they know that there is a month’s supply of food in the cornucopia.

During your games, they had so much food. You guys just kept it packed away in the back, and instead kept it on fresh food. Sometimes you guys would dig into the dried fruits to go along with the fish, but it was hardly. Special occasions, a new kill or something. You wouldn’t doubt it if Lennox and Trink had eaten some food in celebration to you getting beaten badly.

Only for you not to die and later kill them.

Anyway, all you’re going to be focusing on is taking at least one of them home. You’ll try to treat them fairly, but you won’t lie when you say that you’ll favor the most healthy. If Annie is bleeding to death, you’ll send her the bandages, but Paslee will get everything else he needs to kill people in the arena. If Paslee contracts a deadly disease, but Annie has got it down, then you’ll go to Annie.

Of course, if one of them dies in there, you’d favor the only alive one. That’s an obvious thing though. If they’re both healthy, nothing wrong, then you’ll transition off and on with the resources. Paslee may have gotten the ten, but Annie has that edge in her eye. Like she’s always waiting to snap at the wrong person.

It’s always so funny with the tributes. One looks like they’re going to fight harder than the other. But then the weaker looking one always prevails. Paslee acts tough, he was a shithead the first couple of days here, and now look at them. Annie has something boiling inside of her. The pep talk probably revealed it, and inside the arena, it’ll unleash.

She’ll be fearless.

“Smile a lot.” Elysia tells her, “And compliment him at every chance.”

“As well as the Capitol in general.” you tell her, swinging your legs a little bit, since you’re sitting on a stool. Annie looks to you, and you smile at her, “The people will be very interested in what you have to say. A career, but also because you’re the eighth one going up.”

“It’s an advantage thing.” Laurel says, pinning some of Annie’s hair out of her face, “They get more bored as time goes on. Be very thankful that you’re not in any district past six.”

Unfortunately, it’s true. They sit there for over an hour–twenty-four tributes, each three minutes long, comes out to an hour and twelve minutes–and they get bored. Personalities repeat, and that’s when they start to lose interest. It makes you sick, those are people’s kids.

They don’t care.

The tv next to you suddenly begins the anthem, Annie jumps at the sound, and turns to look at it with wide eyes, “Shit, already?”

“Of course.” You say, moving over to the door, peeking your head out, watching as district one comes down the hall.

“We’re up.” Cashmere tells you, as if you don’t know.

“Break a leg.” you look over her tributes, laughing when you see that the tributes don’t know if you mean it or not, and then shut your door when you come back inside.

The seashell theme was smart. The cream dress goes with the color of Annie’s hair perfect. When Annie steps off the stage, it’s the shape of a bell at the bottom of it. She moves around in circles, trying to get a feel for it. It’s floor-length, so she has to be careful not to step on it.

The first three minutes is up faster than you think. The girl comes off the stage, the boy is introduced. You can hear the cheers from where you stand.

You push open the door, watching Enobaria, Brutus, and the victors from three escort their own tributes. Annie lifts her dress so it’s not dragging across the floor. You stop her behind the boy from three, and then you move to find out where Paslee is.

It’s a quick walk, he finds you, “I’m ready.”

“Good, where’s Finnick?” you ask, he shrugs.

“He told me how to keep a conversation going and how to keep it interesting and all that, and then he said that he would be right back.” Paslee pauses for a moment, and then adds, “He said he’d be back before I went on stage.”

That’s fine, at least Finnick did his job.

“You two will be fantastic–”

“What’s with you always giving them pep talks?” Cashmere asks, leaning against the wall, she tilts her head, “It’s almost like you’re afraid that they’re going to do bad.”

You sputter out a short laugh, before turning back to Annie and Paslee, “Let me rephrase that then. You two are going to have more personality than the dog shit that had come before you.” you pat their shoulders, they snicker a little, “And while you’re at it, make sure to actually make friends with Caesar and not use him like a prop in a ploy to get more sponsors.”

“Can do!” Annie laughs, you turn to look at Cashmere.

“Is that better?”

“You’re a bitch.” she spits at you.

“What can I say, it’s like you bring it out.” you sneer, listening as another three minutes is up.

You stand outside, waiting for Finnick to show, and making sure that Cashmere won’t say or do anything to Annie and Paslee. Enobaria and Gloss eventually show up without Brutus. In all the years that Brutus has been coming around, he never goes to the interviews.

Laurel, Pleurisy and the prep teams say goodbye as they head off to their seats, late as usual. You wave them goodbye, and right on time, Finnick shows up out of nowhere.

Right on time as Annie steps on stage. Your so-called victor friends slither away. You tell Paslee to keep his chin high before disappearing into the prep room where Annie was. Here, you and Finnick pull up a couple of stools to watch her on the tv.

She’s very smart with her compliments, and she’s constantly smiling. Every now and then Caesar will find something to talk about, and she’ll skyrocket off of that. Before you know it, she’s got the entire crowd loving her, and then her time is up. Caesar gives her hand a kiss, and then he lets her walk off to her seat in the back of the place.

Then Paslee is up, and he’s keeping the conversation interesting. He jokes around with Caesar, and they find plenty of things to talk about. It turns serious for him, and Paslee says that he or Annie are going to be the two to win this year. Then he very confidently tells the sponsors to switch to district four before they’re locked in.

You admire the confidence, you just hope that he’ll be able to fall through on it. But as you’ve been saying, there’s a spark about them. Annie just seems to be the brighter flame, but Paslee is making sure that it doesn’t sink.

Paslee and Annie look at each other pleasantly when they’ve sat down next to each other.

You and Finnick let out a breath of relief.

“We’re almost done (Y/n),” Finnick says, you laugh.

Because he’s right. Tomorrow they get sent into the arena. Tomorrow, they choose if they win or lose.

[caerwynherondale]

Wedding Bells

Caerwyn bounced on the toes of her stockinged feet, unable to stay still as she walked the length of her bedroom and back again, steps muffled by the carpet. She wrung her hands together, peeking up at the blue, cat shaped clock on her bedside table, the hands drifting silently across the face of it. She hated ticking clocks, the noise drove her batty, so this one had been a blessing when her parents had found it for her when she’d been about six. They could have simply gone with a digital one, but Caerwyn liked the classic look of the numbers and hands, in this case, each minute increment was marked by a tiny paw print and the numbers white on top of black cat head silhouettes. It was super cute, making her smile in that way girls who liked cute things did when they saw them. Most wouldn’t have pinned Caerwyn for liking adorable things like that, but she did. She supposed the only people who knew were her family and Rose, though, Louis may have picked up on it by now considering her usual go-to purse was shaped like a bunny.

“Winnie, I swear to fucking god...” Cleo, the girl’s sister spoke up from where she laid on her bed. The pair couldn’t have been any more different from one another. Caerwyn’s hair was inky and her body shapely while Cleo’s hair was light and she was skinny. At the moment, Cleo was on her stomach, knees bent, legs swaying as her ankles crossed and she perused whatever magazine she was currently interested in. She was on spring break from her school was well, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way considering she went to one of the local high schools and lived at home throughout the year instead of boarding like Caerwyn did. She had actually been quite excited to see Caerwyn when the girl had gotten off the train, showing it with the way she grabbed at her sister’s hand and dragged her along to the car without a single word. The past winter break had been the first they’d ever really spent apart and while they didn’t get along on a regular basis, Christmas time had always been a very important thing for their family. Not having one of them home had been kind of a big deal actually.

Carnegie had been even more thrilled to have Caerwyn home, clinging onto her the moment she walked through the door and refusing to leave her side even at bedtime for the first couple of days. She’d let him sleep in her bed, curled up against her stomach, a little warm package of heat. She loved it, his blond hair smelling still of newness and baby shampoo, his fingers slightly sticky in that way all little kids seemed to be. He was five now, having had his birthday a couple months back and he had even more to talk about now than ever. He’d jabbered on about everything under the sun. His favorite toys, his friends and teachers at school, all of the new things he was learning, and showing off how he could read simple worded books now.

As far as Caerwyn’s parents went though, things were still… strained to say the least. She was happy to see them, to have their loving arms around her and hear her dad’s dry jokes, but there was still that lingering sensation of worry underneath. The discussion they had had over the winter break was still fresh in her mind, but they had promised her that it wouldn’t be a subject they talked about this time. They would simply enjoy the holiday together. Both of her parents had been a bit on edge though, when Caerwyn told them she’d been invited to attend Victoire’s wedding. They knew who Victoire was, the nurse at the school Caerwyn attended, but she was also the cousin of their daughter’s best friend, Rose. Caerwyn had, conveniently, left out the information that she was actually going as a date for Victoire’s little brother, who also happened to be her boyfriend. She had thought it better to tell them it was Rose who had invited her along, easier to get them to agree that way. It had taken a bit of convincing, but her parents had finally conceded into letting Caerwyn spend the remainder of the break with the Weasleys.

“They’ll be along fucking soon.” Caerwyn shot back, but she flopped down anyway, sitting on the window seat between the two large built in bookcases. The bedroom was split evenly in two, everything matching, picked out by a mother who didn’t want her daughters fighting. Whites, light yellows, and laces decorated most of the room. White satin bed covers dotted with little silk roses sat upon the twin beds, curtains of tulle hanging down over the curved, white headboards, fairy lights intertwined into them. A bench sat at the foot of each bed, serving as both seating and storage, matching nightstands and lamps beside the beds. The walls were decorated with yellow wallpaper dotted with a small, pretty floral print. Each of the girls had taken over their own side though, adding their own touches to create a kind of drastic separation. Caerwyn’s bed boasted more throw blankets and her wall décor consisted of several of her own paintings and a limited amount of photos displaying friends and family. Her half of the bookcases was filled with old school texts, empty potion bottles, broken quills, and fairy tales. Cleo’s side of the room was nearly bursting in comparison. Posters, photos, a cork board and sticky notes plastered the walls. Clothes were scattered here and there on the floor and her bookcase held more girly items, like perfume, jewelry displays and magazines. There was still a faded bit and sticky residue on the carpet from the long piece of duct tape they had run across the floor years ago to make sure the other stayed on their side.

“You’ve got at least another hour.” Cleo chided, sitting up on the bed and tossing her magazine down in frustration. She stared at Caerwyn, eyeing her up and down. The way she kept tugging at the front of her baggy sweater, how she’d put on a pair of thigh highs instead of her usual tights, though, one wouldn’t be able to tell under her dress, and the little bit of make-up she’d used to accentuate her eyes and lips. She had even taken time to really brush out her hair, sitting down and running through it over and over again until she was certain all the knots were gone. “So, are you going to tell me who the boy is or not?”

“What boy?” Caerwyn asked, glancing up from where she had started picking at her finger nails. They were clean, the blue polish upon them fresh, but she swore she could still feel some dirt underneath them. She followed Cleo’s gaze to the newer photos by above her bed. The ones Louis’s aunt had taken on Christmas. She had kept the ones of just her and Louis hidden away in her things, but she’d hung up several of her, Louis, Rose, and Albus that she hadn’t noticed being taken on Christmas Eve. She didn’t look too terrible in them, with her hair all pulled back prettily and in the outfit Fleur had helped her pick out. She was particularly fond of the one where she was turned, drinking from a glass as Rose spoke to her and Louis was sat beside her, looking down at her as he tugged a loose bit of confetti from the Christmas crackers from her hair.

“The redhead.” Cleo pointed, her eyebrows raised in question. It wasn’t the first time she had asked, nor would it be the last. The answer was the same though, as it always was.

“None of your goddamn fucking business.” Caerwyn shot back, pushing up from the window seat. She snatched her duffle bag from the floor where it had been stuffed with the things she’d brought home from school, but also things she would need while she was staying with the Weasleys.  She dug through it, double checking the contents. Extra pajamas, her clothes for the wedding, a toothbrush… Last time she’d shown up with nothing but the clothes on her back, a book, her cat, and Louis’s Christmas gift. This time she was prepared. She already had Manson’s wicker carrier by the front door, his favorite cushy blanket inside of it for when it was time to go.

Cleo was, unfortunately right about the time. It took an hour and then a little bit before the doorbell was ringing through the house. Little feet scampered, slapping across the wooden floor of the downstairs portion of the house as Carnegie raced for the door. He loved answering it, though, there was usually always someone coming right behind him in case he didn’t know the person there, which was rarely. He reached up with both of his small hands, grabbing hold of the knob and twisting it, tugging the big white door open, a giant smile on his little face. The little boy was dressed in nothing more than a pair of overalls and a red towel tied around his neck as a cape. He’d refused a shirt that morning, saying superheros didn’t need them.

“Creoso!” The little boy stepped back from the door, his bare arms spread wide, eyes closed for a moment as he greeted the three teenagers standing on the front porch. He finally looked up at them, his head tilting back in wonder as his eyes moved up, and up, and up. The redheaded girl wasn’t too tall, but both of the boys standing behind her were quite a lot bigger than anyone Carnegie was used to seeing on a regular basis. He gaped for a moment before turning his little head and calling over his shoulder. “Mama! Da! Mae ffrindiau Winnie yma!”

“Ydw, ydw, Carnegie.” A woman’s voice called back. Her heels clicked against the floor as she appeared in the front room, her brown hair falling in curls around her shoulders as she stopped behind her son, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Hello there. How do you do? You must be Rosie and... I don’t believe Winnie mentioned your names. Come in, come in.”

“You fucking bitch!” A scuffling from above sounded as both Caerwyn and Cleo made for the door of their room. There was a small battle of pushing and shoving, the door banging against the wall as they both tried to get through it first. Cleo won as she tripped her sister, using her thinner frame to squeeze through. Caerwyn was right on her heels though, both of them using the corner of the banister to turn rapidly on the landing before they were heading down the stairs. Cleo skidded to a hault beside her mother, her hair pulled back into it’s usual messy bun on top of her head. She stared at the three strangers and then laughed, pointing with a victorious ‘ha!’ at the sight of Louis. The boy from the photo. He’d come along with Rose to get her sister, as well as a dark haired fellow.

“Rhosynie!” Caerwyn called brightly as she finally hit the bottom of the stairs. She laughed, reaching out to snatch at her best mate, hugging her tightly as Carnegie moved to close the door behind her friends. He took a few steps, his tiny hand reaching up to tug at Louis’s much bigger one, gazing up at him with big blue eyes.

“Ai chi yw'r dyn talaf ar y blaned?” The five-year-old asked curiously.

“Nac ydw, Carnie. Yw'r dyn talaf dw i.” A man’s voice filted into the living room as he came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a tea towel. Carnegie laughed, releasing Louis’s hand to race to his father, arms outstretched so he could be scooped up properly.

“Albus!” Caerwyn grinned, hugging him as well before she released him and stepped back a bit. Her eyes fell on Louis and she stared up at him, a small smile pressing at her lips, cheeks a bit pink at the sight of him. God, she’d missed him so much. It had only been a week away. She sighed, closing the distance between them more rapidly than she had with the other two. Her arms came up around his waist, face burying against his chest as she breathed him in. Fuck, he smelt so good. “Fuckface.”

*Welcome! Mama, Winnie’s friends are here.

*Yes, yes.

*Are you the tallest man on the planet?

“No, Carnie. I’m the tallest man.

[kathasgotyourtongue]

Unpredictable Jokers (A Hermitcraft Fanfiction)

Missed a chapter? Catch them here or on my wattpad book:

Prologue |  Chapter 1

Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~

The next person to spot this mysterious character was Bdubs.

He had been working hard on his latest village style house, when he had gotten a chat from his Boomer buddy, Tango. Tango had wanted to discuss a new redstone machine for their business, and who was Bdubs to decline?

Bdubs cleaned up his area and put a few more blocks down, before heading back to his main house to gear up.

He was just about to take off, when he noticed movement in his flower fields. Looking closer, he saw someone duck down out of view. Bdubs raised a brow. Who could that have been?

For a moment, he feared Doc was still mad about the goat statue incident, but shook the thought away when he remembered they had made amends already. Curiousity killed the cat, he joked to himself, and wandered over to see who it was.

He snuck closer, before jumping out at where he saw the person before, in an attempt to catch them in the act. He was rather confused when he saw nobody there. They couldn't have gotten away from that spot unless going under ground, but none of the ground seemed disturbed.

Bdubs scratched his head in confusion, before looking around. He almost missed it, but managed to catch sight of the person bolt into his green house. Aha!

He grinned in victory as he ran over. Whoever this was, they sure were sneaky!

As Bdubs rounded the doorway into the building, he grew frustrated. Nothing. Where could they have gone this time!? He sighs. When he finds who is messing with him, ohh, they would never hear the end of it!

The door behind Bdubs suddenly slammed shut, making him jump and yelp in surprise. His eyes darted to the door, staring it down for a moment. Becoming annoyed and, frankly uncomfortable, he pulled out his communicator and typed out a message.

Bdubs: Ok, who is messing with me!? You will get what's coming to you!

He pressed send and awaited a response. A creak in the floorboards above him made him tense up. This was... starting to freak him out a bit.

The house grew strangley quiet, and he eyed the stairs across the room intently. His communicator startled him when it buzzed with a new message.

Xisuma: Someone is messing with you?? I'm in the shopping district rn. So are Tango and Stress. Everyone else isn't active bc it's late..

Bdubs's brows furrowed. What? He checked the tab list. It showed that indeed X, Tango, Stress and him were active as well as the others being inactive. Then who was messing with him? Bdubs felt his heart quicken. Who was in his house?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard quick footsteps up along the roof. Rushing outside, Bdubs just barely caught sight of the same intruder jumping down into the nearby ravine. Worried, Bdubs quickly took off and looked down into the huge ravine below. Nobody was at the bottom.

He glanced back nervously, before his nerves got to him and he found himself spamming rockets to get to the shopping district as fast as humanly possible.

He landed a bit roughly upon arrival, but recovered quickly and sprinted to find the others.

"Guys!? Guys! Come quick! I have a stalker, I'm telling you!" He shouted as he ran into the center of the island. The others quickly came to him, worried.

"Bdubs? Hey, you ok? You look pale!" X pointed out. Bdubs bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"Guys..!.. *huff* I... *huff* saw.. *huff* something..!" He spoke, desperately trying to regain his breath.

"Woah, calm down, dude! Tell us what happened!" Tango said, concerned. Bdubs finally restored his lungs enough to speak.

"One of you were trying to mess with me, I just know it! I don't even know how you did it! Just- man! Ya really had me for a second there, I was totally freaked out!" He joked, waiting for one of them to pipe up and confess. The other three hermits exchanged a look.

"What are you talking about, bro? Like X said, we have been here the whole time." Tango said, giving Bdubs a worried look. Bdubs felt his heart beat faster. That couldn't be right, he knew someone was at his place just then!

"What? Nah, don't try and fool me! I saw someone in my flower fields when I went to take off! So I went to catch them in the act, but they had snuck past me and gotten into my green house! Then I chased them inside and they slammed my door behind me, and after walking around upstairs they jumped into the ravine! Really freaked me out! You're saying you guys seriously didn't do that!?" He asked, growing a bit nervous and agitated.

Stress reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "No.. promise! We were here the whole time..." she trailed off.

Bdubs continued to rant to Tango and Stress as X was reminded of a conversation he had with Grian just the other day. It was pretty random, but Grian seemed pretty freaked out. It reminded him of this situation, actually.

"Oh, X! Hey, just the hermit I was looking for! Say, we haven't added any new hermits without me knowing, have we?" Grian asked with an added nervous smile and chuckle. His eyes flickered to the treeline and back to X a bit frantically. X raised a brow.

"No..? Why would we add a new hermit without your say in it?" He asked, confused. Grian looked uncomfortable, but smiled and chuckled anyway.

"O-Oh, heh, just wondering! Thanks, X!" He said before quickly flying away, leaving Xisuma behind before he could get out another word.

"-X? X!" Tango called, bringing X back into reality.

"Sorry, what?" He asked.

"You zoned out on us! Everything good?" He asked. X nodded.

"Yeah, just remembered something a bit odd... You good now, Bdubs?" X asked. Bdubs was doing a few breathing exercises with Stress.

"Much, yes." He sighed shakily. Tango draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, I know what will take your mind off of it! A new Boomers device!~" he called in a sing song tone. Bdubs lit up.

"Yes, right! Silly me! Come on, no more wasting time here, lead the way, Tango! Let's go!" He said excitedly, pulling on Tango's wrist like a child. Tango laughs and the two head off towards the Boomers shop. X and Stress exchange a shrug and part ways.

.

.

.

After Bdubs, the person to spot the intruder next was the one and only Joe Hills himself. He was in the shopping district having a look around when he saw someone creep back behind the rockets shop. Intrigued, he quickly went over to say hello. To his confusion, nobody was there when he arrived. Thinking he just missed them as they went around the back, he climbed up to survey the area from above. He didn't see anything. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, he concluded.

He was about to climb down and continue on with his day, when he noticed movement by Iskall's slime shop. A bit of a strange distance in that time, but no matter.

It was a shame Joe couldn't get a good look at them, but he recognized them to be the same as before, whoever they were. Triumphant in his search, Joe hopped down and skipped over. He hoped to catch them before they left in order to have a quick chat.

Joe slowed to a stop at the slime shop entrance, puzzled once more. They were gone? Looking around, he saw no one in sight. Weird...

"Joe? Earth to Joe!" Joe spun around to come face to face with his good friend, Cleo. She looked worried as she stood before him.

"Oh! Howdy there, Cleo! Say, you didn't happen to be buying slime at this very establishment just a mere minute ago, were you?" He asked. Perhaps his eyes were just growing worse with age, but he thought he could recognize Cleo anywhere. That person didn't really look like Cleo, with the flaming hair and blue-ish green-ish skin.

"Hm? No, why?" She asked, curious. Joe raised a brow.

"Really? Well, I guess I just saw someone else, then... I could have sworn I saw someone around here, and I just wanted to stop them and say hello! Can't find 'em anywhere!" He pondered. Cleo gave him a concerned look.

"Perhaps you caught the crazies, Hun! I heard through the grapevine that the other day, Bdubs was totally convinced someone was messing with him at his village! Thing is, everyone who was active at the time was here in the Shopping District! Honestly, I feel bad for the guy! He must have worked himself too hard and was imagining things. Can't even begin to imagine how much he freaked himself out. From what Stress told me, she even had to go so far as to do breathing exercises with him!" Cleo rambled. Joe raised a brow.

"Huh. Maybe there is a case of the crazies going around, then. I guess I don't have awful eyesight afterall!" He joked. Cleo laughed.

"Right, well I should really get back to what I was working on! I just came to pick up a few dyes for my puppets' outfits. I will leave you to it! Try not to imagine anything else while I'm away!" She teased. Joe laughed.

"Yeah, don't worry about me! See you around, Cleo." He bid goodbye as she took flight.

"Bye, Joe!" She called as she soared away.

Joe glanced back at the slime shop entrance once more, before sighing and walking away, making a mental note to inform Xisuma about this later.

Guess he really was going crazy.

[mydearsaddiary]

Speakeasy Tonight Fanfic: Neil Season 3

Warning: Cursing, violence, sexual content (+16). Some topics may be sensitive to some people.

This is a fanfic based on how I’d imagine Speakeasy Tonight’s Neil Season 3 would be like. He’s a character from Lovestruck voltage USA game app. This is Chapter 6, here’s a link for all chapters:

https://mydearsaddiary.tumblr.com/NeilSeason3Fanfic

Little curiosity notes: So the Dresners are coming to visit! And I just noticed something I did wrong and I have to apologize for! Lucille was pregnant on chapter 3. Just now, while I was writing this chapter I realized in Neil’s route in the app she had given birth already (she had to because she already knew it was a girl). So sorry about that, but we’ll just move on as usual, Cornelia is here!

In this chapter, there’s a lot going on! We’ll have some sweet interactions and some wedding planning. Then, we get into some Vera and Adler problems and dealing with the Ice Box and all that. After, we have some hot stuff (hehe, missed this) and then shit just goes CRAZY after.

As always, please reach out to say anything you’d like! Anything at all! Thank you guys so much for reading this, I enjoy writing this very much! Hope you guys like it! Thanks!

-Candy (6/11/2020)

 ____

              Chapter 6-

                        ♜♞♚There Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked

1926

              -This is such a charming little house!- Lucille said as she entered Uncle Charlie’s house with the baby in her arms. I didn’t judge since I knew what kind of environment she grew up in. The house was small compared to hers in Boston. I couldn’t even imagine how miniscule it would look next to the Dresners’ estate.

              Mrs. Fitz, me and Neil helped Lucille, her mother and Mr. Branford with their suitcases and we set them in the extra rooms. I managed to be a good host with a late afternoon tea while we caught up on what had happened since we last saw each other.

              -I must apologize Miss Granger- Neil’s mother said. I didn’t want to make anything awkward or hold any grudges against a member of Neil’s family, so I was happy she came to Chicago with an open heart.

              -No, Mrs. Dresner. I understand you were just looking out for your son. As long as you’ve come around, let’s just let bygones be bygones- I smiled, a little more forcibly than I would’ve liked to.

              -Yes, I’ve come to terms with it- She said. It wasn’t exactly an “I’m happy for you” or “I like you”, but I decided to take it- Have you had much experience in the high society?

              -Mother- Neil started- I can handle that

              -You don’t know how to act like a proper lady in high society, you’re a man

              -Mother- Lucille said- Whatever Neil can’t teach her, I can help. The wedding is already trouble enough for now, so we should let poor MC take care of that first.

              -Oh yes, of course- The mother turned to me again- I’m sorry, MC. I’m a very traditional lady. It’s hard to compete with these modern times.

              -Don’t worry- I put my feelings aside again. I wasn’t one to let anybody push me around, but you’ve got to pick your battles. This wasn’t one of them.

              -Well, then do tell us about how the wedding is coming along

              -We found a venue-I exclaimed, more excited now- It’s here in Chicago, but far from the main streets so it’s peaceful and the area is nice, it’s greener. The chapel is tall and white and it’s a decent size. I thought it was cat’s pajamas!

              -That’s lovely- Lucille joined in- I never knew Neil to be the wedding planning type

              -Oh, I’m not, really- Neil said- MC is been taking care of most of it

              -On her own?!- Lucille said

              - I’ve got some help, the wedding planner is there-I added

              -No, no. That won’t do it-She turned to her mother- That’s it, I have to spend our time here helping MC as much as I can. She could use a hand!

              -I don’t see why not if Miss Granger isn’t opposed- Momma Dresner said

              -I’m not at all! I could use a feminine hand. Neil just says “whatever you choose is good”.

              Neil gave me a look that said  “That’s not what I was supposed to be saying?” And I just shrugged it off

                After a little while, Neil engaged in a conversation with Michael. He was getting to know his sister’s husband and I think he wanted to fix the bad image Mr. Branford had of him. He held Cornelia while they talked. The image did warmed me up inside, he had gentle hands with his little niece like she was a rare stone he had just found. It made me think that he was going to be a good father again. Behind that sarcasm and cynicism he worried, and he had the natural instinct to protect.  

              -You’re thinking about having your own?-Lucille disrupted my thoughts

              I looked at her, blushing a little- Oh! No! Heavens, at least not yet. I’m still awfully young

              -Yes, I could see you being a bit green. Neil though…

              -Yeah, I know. Believe or not, I know he wouldn’t come up to me and ask to have a baby, though- I thought a little about what to say- Sometimes I get curious about who Neil was before the war, I know he was getting married, so I wonder if he wanted to have a regular life you know… Kids included.

              -Neil was never the outgoing type, even before the war. But he came alive when he was with Alton. He’d be this shy, quiet kid, then Alt would pop up and he’d get into trouble. Even so, he always followed the rules. Alton was… loud, he was always running around, talking faster than his mouth could handle, doing stuff that could’ve sent his mother to an early grave- Her eyes were distant, navigating in the past- Even when they grew up, they were inseparable. They went to school, college and med school together.

              -And then they enlisted in the army together, were in the same unit in France…

              -Gosh- She continued- If Alton had survived the war, I bet they’d be living in the same house right now- She laughed, then turned serious, almost sad- It doesn’t matter if Alton had his parents or siblings… Neil was the one who was closest to him. They were brothers… And then, I can’t imagine what it must be like to not have someone like that in your life anymore. He just disappeared, and Neil had to deal with it

              -I can’t imagine either-I looked down- I always thought of it as just… Awful. But Neil must’ve felt pretty empty. God, he ended his engagement, left Boston and everything else behind. He went through so much.

              -But look at him now, MC-She pointed with her head and I looked at him. He seemed to be having a good time with Michael, he even played with the baby who laughed at him- He’s never going to be the old Neil again. But… Even comparing with back then, this is the happiest I’ve seen him. That’s what I told mother to convince her, you know?- She looked back at me- I told her he didn’t deserve to have someone else taken from him.

              I smiled sadly- Alton’s shoes seem really big to fill

              -You’re not a replacement, you know that, right?

              -I know

              -Just don’t leave or die-She pointed to my calf- And preferably don’t get hurt either.

              If she knew what kind of job I had, she’d be furious. It put me in danger every day. It made me even guiltier about the events that had happened the week prior. But I looked at her with determination and agreed that I’d always be here.

              We moved on to lighter subjects and I showed her some pictures of the flowers I had chosen. She and her mother spent some time giving me tips on roses. Not red because that’s too cliché, but how other colors could really help the wedding be a special day.

              -Hey, how about I take you out shopping for dresses this afternoon?-She sat closer to me- It’d give me an excuse to leave Cornelia to the boys and have some girl time. Plus, I could tell you embarrassing stuff about Neil’s past

              -Hey, I heard that!-Neil turned to us with a funny look on his face- What past stuff are you talking about?

              -Just everything you wouldn’t tell her-Lucille smiled in a little sibling kind of way, mischievously.

              -Great- He turned to me- I’ll have you know she was always known for lying

              -No way!-Lucille defended herself- He was always known for saying my truths he didn’t like were lies. Of course people would believe the older male sibling

              I laughed- Well, I’m believing everything you say today, Lucille-I got up-You don’t mind if I call my girlfriends, do you?

              She said no and I drove her to pick Cleo and Sofia up to go to a bridal shop Cleo mentioned. It’s funny she knew, she didn’t seem like the marrying kind to me. It got me wondering if she ever thought about it.

              Once we were inside I gathered them around like I was giving out a speech- Alright, ladies! It’s time to get down to brass tacks and find the dress, but first, I’d like to introduce you guys to Lucille. She’s Neil’s sister

              -Looks like her brother too-Cleo said- Don’t you come from a ritzy family in Boston? Your dress looks like it was designed especially for ya

              -Well, it was-She started- All of our clothing is always designed for us, unless it’s made by some famous designer then we have our servants buy it

              -Tres ritzy indeed. Think you could get a few designers to make dresses especially for us?- Cleo smiled

              -I could probably work something out

              -I like you already

              -Well, girls- I interrupted- That is the perfect opening I was looking for, since this makes it the perfect opportunity to ask you girls to be my bridesmaids

              -Really?!- Sofia asked- That’s so…

              -Oh, shucks. Don’t be so impressed-I said- Lucille means the world to her brother and she’s been helping me out a lot. You, Sofia, and Cleo have been my best friends since I got to Chicago. I want you girls to be part of it. Also, Hazel and Edith will be involved as well. This means we could take few looks on bridesmaid dresses too!

              We were all giddy for a while, excited about the wedding. It’s funny how I used to dread the thought of marrying. Momma talked about it so often and I always cringed at the mention of it. Then I met Neil and all I wanted to do was marry him.

              -You know, chicas- Sofia started- Choosing wedding and bridesmaid dresses is so much fun they should make movies about it

              -Huh? Movies about it?- I questioned confused- How are you gonna make a flick about just janes picking wedding dresses?

              -Listen to this- Sofia continued- They could film it at a bridal store. The crew would be there and they’d just film reality, just dames saying who they’re marrying and their story and how they go about picking dresses. They could film a dame and her bridesmaids or whoever is with her at the store, make a flick about it and then put it on the screen for everyone to watch the whole process. It’d be fun!

              Cleo laughed- Whoever would want to watch reality on screen? We already have plenty of it in our own lives

              I laughed with them- Alright- I said- Time to make our own wedding-dress-choosing flick here!- I turned to Lucille- You did this once, how did you go about it?

              -It wasn’t so hard for me. I didn’t have to choose a dress, I just told Momma what I wanted and she hired designers to make it especially for me

              -That must cost a pretty penny I don’t have-I crossed my arms- We’ll just have to do it the traditional way.

              -Calf-length dresses are in right now-Cleo said looking around- Let’s just all look for something we think would look good on MC and then we’ll have her try it on!

              We agreed and we all went looking for something. After, I started trying out all the options chosen.

              -Alright- I said in front of the mirror while the store clerk helped me out. I had a dress on that had long sleeves, there wasn’t much detail on it. It was all white and it went down to almost my ankles. It was pretty and Momma would certainly approve it, but the thought of it didn’t please me very much- I picked this one out because I thought it’d look nice. I didn’t realize how long it was

              -It’s conservative but fun-Lucille said- But… I think it’s way too loose. It’d probably be better for a bigger girl, but you’re tiny so it looks like you’re wearing a night gown.

              -And how!-Cleo said- I don’t think it says anything about your personality at all. You don’t hide from anything. You are daring but with class. I think your dress should say the same.

              We all agreed I should try a different one on, so this time I tried one that Sofia picked. It was so beaded it shined. The glow against the white gave it this holy aura, like I could be an angel coming down to earth. You could probably hear a choir behind me vocalizing a church song with all that glow. I’d be sure to be Neil’s beacon of light in the wedding if I wore that dress… That is if it didn’t blind him. Sofia herself said it hurt her eyes, so I quickly had it off my body.

              It was safe to assume we’d be there for a while. And so we were, for hours! Dresses and more dresses were pulled from the hangers and put on. It was fun and I felt like quite the model, but I had started to wonder if I was being too picky and I should just pick one of the dresses I had already tried on.

              After a while we all decided we were hungry and the sun was setting, so I changed into my normal clothes and walked towards the front of the store to meet them.

              -We have to show Lucille that charming tea room you girls always take me to. They have good food there!- I said about to walk out with them when something stopped me in my tracks

              A glow in one of the beads of a certain dress shined bright into my eyes, like a sign- Hey girls, just wait a second- I said reaching for the light that caught my attention. I pulled the dress out looking at it. It had a delicate round neckline formed by white flowers. It was see-through until the chest area and in the short sleeves, except for a thin strap at the shoulders and the little details on the sleeve. Its white grace went down until the calf. At the waist a pattern of beads started that went until the knees. It gave the whiteness a fun touch, or like Cleo said: daring, but classy.

              Lucille walked towards me- It’s definitely fun. It’s graceful, but it’s audacious.

              -It says you’re a modern girl, but you’re still a classic- Sofia added- It’s certainly something I could see you wearing.

              -I think your personality would shine through it-Cleo said

              -I’m sorry, I know you girls are hungry… Maybe we should come back another day-

              -No, no. Chica-Sofia said

              Lucille followed by putting her hands on both of my shoulders- This right here could be your dress. I have a good feeling about this one, so you have to try it on!

              Cleo came back with a few things- She said it! Can’t miss this chance. Besides, here- She handed me some pure white stockings, and these delicate and beautiful white heels- I think you need to complete the look

              -Those are beautiful, Cleo-I said holding on to them

              -Oh, and of course you can’t forget what Mr. Dresner is gonna see later!- Sofia gave me naughty smile, bringing this two-piece undergarment composed of a white lace bra and skirt

              -Miss Sofia, what a wicked mind! Can’t say I’m against though! I bet Neil would love this

              -Hey- She said a little uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure no one wants to imagine their sibling in a sexual way ever- You guys are forgetting about one of the most important things!-Lucille said bringing in a veil. It was floor-length but not awfully long. It had a lace cap and flowers on each side.

              I took it as well holding all the components that hopefully would create what I envisioned- Alright, time to try it all on!

              We decided with the neckline and the details on the dress that a necklace wouldn’t be necessary, so Cleo called the store clerk again to help me out and I went to the fitting room yet again.

              -Okay!-Cleo announced- Dress two-hundred and forty seven, come on out!

              I walked out all dressed up, standing in front of them and in the mirror- So…?!

              They didn’t say anything for a few seconds, Lucille was actually the first to talk- Wow, MC… You do look like a bride

              -Now that everything is put together like that,- Sofia said- Neil won’t know what hit him

              -This has the potential to make my brother cry at the altar- Lucille added

              -Then it must be magical. It’d have to be to make Neil cry, I don’t think he ever cried in his life-I replied

              -He’s not the sentimental type, is he?-Cleo laughed- Well, if that doesn’t get it out of him, nothing will! You look absolutely stunning, MC

              I was smiling with all the compliments, but it was when I actually when I turned around and first looked in the mirror that I understood what they were talking about. I could feel my heart pounding while I looked at me- Wow…-I let it out- I…-I was having trouble talking

              -You okay, chica?- Sofia asked

              -It’s just… With the other dresses, it seemed like playing dress-up- I moved my fingers around anxiously- But this one… This is it. Gosh, I think it just dawned on me that I’m actually getting married- I could feel my voice cracking a little bit- Oh, I love it! Thank you, girls- I said hugging them

              -Hey! You picked it!- Lucille said

              -Yes, but it wouldn’t have happened without your help.

              Soon the dress was in a garment bag and everything else was in a separate shopping bag. We went to eat and set a date to look at bridesmaid dresses before Lucille went back to Boston

              And so it was a few days later we were back and spent just as many hours picking their own dresses. It was still super fun! We decided on beautiful light pink dresses that were tight fitting on the satin top and from the waist down it formed a wide A-line and it ended in a ritzy lighter ruffle bottom. I made sure to get two more for Hazel and Edith and gave them a call that night to tell them about it.

x

              The night Neil’s family went home, I was sitting with Lucille and Cornelia in Uncle Charlie’s living room.

-Say, hi auntie MC- Lucille said- Do you want to hold her?

I hesitated a bit but agreed- The last baby I held was my sister Hazel when I was a kid- I adjusted little Cornelia in my arms. She felt warm and soft and surprisingly peaceful. I held her fearful of hurting the little body- Being a mother always scared me.

-You know… It always scared me too-She said and I looked at her with interest- But… You get used to it. The entire pregnancy I kept worrying if I’d be a terrible mother. It’s all just doubt really. I mean, it is not easy, but once I held her in my arms nothing else mattered. I love her and she’s mine. She’s a part of me- It was clear to me she could talk about her daughter for hours- It’s a surreal feeling really, like “Wow, I’m a mother. That baby, she’s my daughter”. It’s like, all this time you only had to be worried about being a kid and then you’re a parent. It’s as scary as it is thrilling- She looked into my eyes again- But once you’re ready you’ll know, MC. Once you marry, people are going to rush you because that’s what they think a woman should do right after the wedding, but you’ll know.

-How will I know?-I said, this time handing Cornelia back to her

-Oh, you’ll get that baby fever- She laughed

-Yeah- I chuckled. I wasn’t even sure why I was interested in that conversation- Maybe one day…

We dropped them off at the station a couple of hours later. It was late at night and I laid in bed with Neil. I was reading a magazine, but I couldn’t get my thoughts to stop revolving around what Lucille had said

-Penny for your thoughts?-Neil looked at me, I guess I did look deep in contemplation

-Well… Here we are-I opened my arms

-That’s a very astute observation- His sarcastic tone shone through

-I mean! We don’t live together, but have you realized how domestic we are? We lay in bed together, I’m reading my stuff, and you’re reading your book… It’s like we’re already married

-What’s your point?-He closed his awfully boring philosophy book to pay attention to me now

-We never really talked about what we’re gonna do after we marry

-Alright, let’s talk about it-He sat up

I didn’t expect that reaction to come from him, but I continued- Okay, well, where are we living?

-I just assumed you were moving in with me, to my apartment.

-Alright, but you do understand some changes in the place are gonna be involved, right?

-Yeah, yeah… I already came to terms with it- He rolled his eyes, but a slight smile he tried to hide still appeared on his face

-Okay, then. Do you always want to live in Chicago?

-I think this one depends on you more than me. You’re not leaving the Ice Box behind any time soon.

-True enough- I breathed heavily, preparing myself for the next question- Do you… Do you want kids?

He was silently for a few seconds, those seconds felt like hours and I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest. He eventually replied- To be honest, I don’t see myself as a father.

-Oh yes!- I agreed, a little too quickly- I really don’t see myself as a mother either!-  I  remembered what I felt when I went out with Cleo to the maternity shop to buy gifts for my older sister, how the store was a complete nightmare

…Then why did it sting a bit when he said that?

I knew I was way too sensitive, but not so sensitive I wanted to suddenly have kids. I decided a night of sleep was what I needed. Tomorrow there was a lot to be done at the Ice Box.

                -Alright!-I gathered everybody at the box the next night- This is bad, this is real bad! But we need to decide what we’re gonna do from now on!- In the silence and tenseness that everybody was situated in, I could hear the very faint ‘slurp’ from Neil drinking bourbon, sitting at the bar and facing the opposite way. It would be funny otherwise, but considering the circumstances it got me in a lather. So I walked up to him- Hey, buster, enjoying your hooch?

`              -I am- He raised his glass- Thanks.

              I sighed angrily- Why aren’t you freaking out?!

              -When have you ever known me to freak out?!

              -Oh, you freak out! You get all ‘…’- I stopped talking to imitate his worried face in a mocking way

              -Huh…-Cliff started- So… You see…

              -What Cliff is trying to say…-Vince started- is for you to save the bickering for after the marriage. What are we gonna do?

              I breathed extremely annoyed, walking back to my original position

              -How’s the leg?-Cliff asked

              -It barely hurts anymore, it just gets sore at night- I answered- But since we’re on that subject, Mayor Adler absolutely hates me and he literally keeps tabs on everyone in Chicago. Last time I was there, he walks in and let’s just say he’s very forceful. He’s gonna try to have the upper hand and if somebody overpowers him he’ll kill the,. At this point he’s a bigger threat to us than Vera- I said sitting down

              -So what’s the next move?- Donovan asked- If it’s some help, the boys in blues at the station hate Mayor Adler. Everyone knows ‘is type.

              -Then can you try and find any dirt on him?

              -People have tried before, he is a slick one

              -Just try again. Dig deeper. Anything at all-I asked

              To my surprise he agreed and stayed quiet after. Then Gerald came forward- Should I keep… Talking to Vera?

              -Yes- I looked at him- How’s that going?

              -There hasn’t been any luck in kisses yet to take pictures of. She keeps on saying “I shouldn’t, I’m a married woman”, but I’m almost there. There has been more dates and touching hands and she does feel very comfortable around me

              -Well, as soon as you’ve got that picture you’ve got to hand it to me- I thought for a few seconds- In fact, Sofia, can you take that picture for me when it happens?- I turned to her. I thought it’d be better if that picture was in the hands of someone I trusted

              -You got it, Chica. How about those documents?

              -They’re in the Mayor’s office in his house- I pinched the bridge of my nose- Which means I’m either gonna have to be invited there again, or break in.

              -Alright- Neil started- There’s a couple of problems with that. First, Vera could invite you to tea again, but she’s got security around the big house and if Mayor Adler is near that house… Well, he just tried to kill you and he’ll try again, not mentioning the fact you’ll be in tremendous trouble if he sees you in his office. Second, you can’t break in because, again: Security all around the house.

              -Well, we’ve got to get back in there somehow. What do you plan then?

              -Fine, you’re right. But why do you have to do it?

              -Listen, Neil- Vince started- You gotta understand that MC is a mob boss.

              -I understand things just fine, Moretti-He looked back at me, waiting for me to answer it

              -Because I am the one who’ll most likely be invited there again, unless you want to bring Uncle Charlie back home and have him go talk to the mayor at his house- He stayed quiet this time, his brows still furrowed in worry. I knew he didn’t like it one bit, so I knew I had to say something else- Hey, listen… Remember back when Louis Tibbs was going around poisoning booze? And Uncle Charlie was just as worried as you are? You were the one who told him I could handle it so… I can handle it. I’ve gotten good at this stuff.

              -You like to pretend to be a tougher bearcat than you are, but since I know you’re stubborn and I’m losing this fight, I’m letting you go on. For now.-He went back to sipping his bourbon

              -I’ll see if I can get myself invited to Vera’s house again. Gerald will continue playing her and Sofia will hang around their dates until a kiss happens

              -Yea, so, how am I gonna do that without her noticing it?-Sofia said- Cameras are huge and there are flashes, you know?

              -Already one step ahead of ya- I looked at Gerald first- You gotta speed things up, ask her for a date to the Blackhawk- I said turning back to Sofia- I got you a gig there for some time next week, they’re waiting for you to come in and set the date, but I’m waiting until Gerald gives us a night. Then you, Sofia, will be there singing. Find someone you trust to take a picture of you that night, with Gerald and Vera in the background smooching and seemingly in love.

              -You let your creativity run wild, don’t you, chica?- She asked

              -Well, it’s the only way the Mayor will believe she betrayed him

              -What if he kills her?-Cliff’s voice sounded loud in my ears- You said he’s ruthless and kills everyone who goes against him. What if he gets that picture, and he kills her for cheating on him?

              I breathed slowly- No matter what I choose, someone’s gonna get hurt. I’m trying to protect our Ice Box family, I can’t allow myself to worry about the well-being of Vera Adler and everyone else and pretend we’re not gonna end up with no blood or no deaths- I looked around- We’ve been lucky before, and I know we’re on the good side of things… But it’s like Vince said-

              -Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty in this business- Vince completed it

              -Not meaning it’ll happen-I continued, but everyone was watching me as if they could read me- Shit, Cliff!- I exclaimed and the whole gang just looked at me surprise- Yeah, yeah, I cursed! So what?- I walked around the bar pouring a drink for myself. I couldn’t fool anybody with the cool boss speech- Now I’ve got to figure out a way Vera doesn’t get killed in the process, just hopefully very fucked.

              -Woah!- Vince said and people around me were grinning. Even Neil has a smile on his face

              -Will you guys stop looking at me like you’ve never seen a gal curse before?!-I drank again- Alright, Gerald. Here’s the deal, bring her to your house to spend the night with you after that date

              -Wait, wait… You want me to sleep with her?

              -No, you don’t need to make whoopee with her, just make sure she spends the night there. I’ll make sure the photo is in his hands that night and by then she’ll know to stay away from him because she knows what he’s like.

              -How about the documents?- He asked- When can I stop playing her?

              -I have until the date night to get them since my only way of going into the mayor’s house is to be invited there by Vera- I took the last sip of my drink- Alright, Gerald invite her to the Blackhawk next week, Sofia gets the picture and remember her face has to be very clear in it and Gerald’s not- She nodded and I continued- Before then I get the documents about the Broiler and it’s freed. Vera has no hold over it and she’s not the mayor’s wife anymore.

              -Alright, lassie-Donovan started- That takes care of ‘er. But after that, Mayor Adler is still the mayor

              -Yeah, I know. But one thing at a time, Donovan. First we make sure Vera is not a problem ever again. Then we focus on Adler.

x

              That night I stayed over Neil’s apartment. I stepped out of the bathtub and was looking at myself in the mirror. It got me thinking… There was no family here in Chicago anymore. I was busy with the wedding, but me and Neil decided to put the planning off for this week to focus on our Mr. and Mrs. Adler problem.

              However, that night felt peaceful. I usually got myself so worked up about problems and so busy with everything. Proof of it was that I kept getting sick. I decided to push that out of my mind for the time being and… Relax.

              I breathed in an out for a couple of times, focusing my attention on myself for the time being. So I opened my eyes and there I was on the mirror again- Miss Granger…-I started whispering to myself- It’s just you and Neil in this apartment tonight… You haven’t been in a nice date in good little while- I walked over to the lingerie I had- This is sexy, but you’ve got this new pajamas and you know Neil loves pajamas on you. So… How about you-I pointed at the mirror- and me, wear this and cook a nice little late night dinner where he has to stare at us in this outfit throughout the entire meal, while we know he’ll be hungry for something else?- I giggled at my silly acting, but the last few days sparked a flare in me that soon turned into my body getting hot to have that man for myself that night. So I made up my mind to make him crazy for me- Oh, we have a wicked mind don’t we?

              The pajamas I put on weren’t pants like the ones I wore before. This one was spicy, something dangerously new. It was a gown that went down to right above my knees, the right choice to show my toned legs. It was loose and flowy on the bottom, which means it was easy to pull up, but from the waist up it was tight, and the lack of anything underneath made the cloth hang on to every curve and detail of my breasts, just as if they were nude, but the tease of a thin cloth on them. A little thin bow fell on the neckline as a tease, an attempt the gown had to be proper while tightening the shape of my womanly figure. The thin straps on my shoulders were too big for them, they taunted slipping any time. My disheveled hair added a charm to the image I was about to present the man I loved to. I knew that was the perfect choice to make Neil go crazy.

              I heard him in the bedroom, announced from outside the door I was cooking dinner. I made a small plate for the both of us, since I myself was in a little bit of a hurry. I served wine as a romantic thing, even though I knew he preferred bourbon. As I was carrying the plates to the table I heard footsteps coming from the bedroom, so I held them both in my hands, waiting for him to appear

              -I heard a lot of noise and came to see if you weren’t destroying the place- He said looking down at his book- Should I call the fire depart- He paused when he took in the vision of me, well, more like the chest area but… I could see I caught him off guard so it was a win.

              -You were saying?- I said in the sexiest voice I could do, staring him straight into his eyes. However, all he said was a “huh…”, so I laughed and spoke again- Eyes up here, buster. Sit down- I turned around placing both plates on the dinner table- Food is ready.

              -You…-He put the book aside, then he smiled at me undoing his tie presuming we were jumping straight to the action

              I pointed at the plate- Alright with the one-word answers- I acted innocently- Sit down and eat dinner- I repeated myself

              He then stopped in his tracks glaring at me- You want… You’re dressed like this and you want to eat now?

              I nodded, taking a bite off my meal- Yeah… I’m hungry- I said almost in a whisper- Didn’t your mother ever teach you to eat first, then dessert comes after?

              He snorted- You’re playing me and you think it’s funny- There was a hint of impatience in his voice, almost frustration.

              -I’m not playing anyone-I drank the wine, enjoying myself a little too much- I just want to have a nice house dinner date with my fiancé, but if you want we could play chess later

              -Not on your life- He answered sitting down. His tie and jacket were on the floor anyway as he started eating a little too fast

              I smiled and ran my foot up his leg teasing him and then it stayed around in between his legs, stroking his bulge. He was uncomfortable and could barely focus on eating and I felt the most gratifying adrenaline from doing this to him.

              -What did I say about your feet while I’m eating?-He said in a stern tone, his frustration now clear on his voice

              -Something about the cuffs being the Maginot line?-I raised one eyebrow at him smirking- But I was never one to follow rules

              -Two can play this game- He said looking back at me. He still ate his dinner, but with his free left hand he traveled his way up my leg, then he pulled it and I went forward with the chair. My body was glued to the table and now his hands could go up my inner thigh

              I should’ve known. Neil is as competitive as I am and I could feel myself getting way warmer in places I couldn’t say out loud. But I wasn’t about to lose. I lifted myself off the chair enough to grab him by his collar and give him a kiss he wouldn’t forget any time soon. His grip on my leg loosened a little bit and as I sat back down, I could hear his soft panting and hungry eyes letting me know I had won.

              I smiled and went to grab another bite of my meal, but then he was suddenly past my inner thigh and his hands were way inside my night gown. I don’t know if it was out of surprise or because his cold fingers felt good but my eyes closed, my head tilted backwards I let a moan out of my lips that I couldn’t hold in. When I opened my eyes, I cursed in my head for letting him win that one, but seeing his reaction to me let me know it was a tie. He was one second away from going mad.

              -This…-His voice was almost a growl- This stupid table is in the way.

              I laughed lowly- We have to finish dinner- I went to grab my fork again trying to win for good, but he got up and was around the table before I could protest

              -No, we don’t- He picked me up and I smiled wrapping my legs around his waist- You messed with me enough- It was the last thing he said before kissing me

              He carried me all the way to the bedroom and let me down in the bed- I’m just getting started, Neil- I said sitting up, but he insistently pushed me to lay down again

              -No, you’re not- He pushed my gown up to my hips- This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?

              -What plan?- I gave him a side smile- I was just eating

              -This outfit is more for something like this-He said pushing up my thighs and placing his head in between my legs, and suddenly words didn’t matter anymore

              We were in a competition to drive each other crazy and we both ended up losing our minds for one another. Soon he yanked up my gown some more and pulled down the top to place kisses all along my chest and neck, and then got rid of everything else he was wearing before he was inside me and our hips were meeting in repeated motions. I gasped for air as he made a point of moving while looking right into my eyes and holding my head still by my hair, making sure I had no choice but to look back. He enjoyed letting me know that he was the one that was doing this to me. Little did he know from the bottom I could see I was doing the same to him.

              At some point the gown was completely off my body and I was on the top, then I was on the bottom again, then facing the bed, then on my back, then sitting on his lap. Then, I lost track of how much time went by and how many ways we made love to one another, completely lost in our hunger.

              I remember the climax, I remember crying out his name and I remember him whispering mine. But for some reason I must’ve been so dizzy after I don’t remember falling asleep. I don’t even remember if we talked after everything. Next thing I knew I felt the rays of sun hit my face, and my eyes slowly open to greet the morning. It was a sunny day and the first thing I did was smile. My body felt sore and it was a good feeling. I couldn’t help but close my eyes again and giggle as I remembered the events from last night, every touch and every sensation. I turned around and faced Neil who was still asleep. His broad chest went up and down as he breathed, so I turned around facing him to watch him for a few minutes.

              After a while, I got up wearing a robe. I cleaned up the mess we made in the kitchen the night before. When I went back to the bedroom he was still sleeping. I looked at the clock and it was almost noon. So I decided it was perfectly okay to wake him up. I sat on top of him and leaned down to kiss his face all over. It soon woke him up and he smiled once the confusion went away. He started chuckling as I kept kissing him- Morning, buster- Then I met his lips and the kiss was profound. It was pure love. I was madly in love with this man who drove me crazy from the first night I met him. I pulled myself back to stare into his eyes, then his hand reached up as he stroked my cheek, pulling my hair behind my ear. He looked very serious, so I asked him- What…?

              He shook his head- I just… I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before

              I smiled, kissing him again- You’re such a romantic

              He snorted- Don’t take it for granted, MC. You like pushing your limits.

              -Shut up, will ya?- I said and then kissed him again- You know, this is the happiest I’ve been too

              -I love you-He whispered to me

              -I love you, Neil- I said back to him, kissing him one last time before pulling him to get up- Now, breakfast?

              He adjusted himself sitting up on the bed staring at me, still sitting on his lap- In a minute-He said undoing my robe and pushing it off my shoulders, so my body was nude in front of him

              -Right now?- I raised an eyebrow

              He hugged me pulling me closer for a kiss- Right now.

x

              That day, nothing could ruin my mood. That afternoon I was out with Cleo and I couldn’t stop grinning.

              -You look like the cat who ate the canary. Figure you had a good night with the doc?- She teased

              -Oh, just the best. And the dress is bought, the ring is on my finger, the venue and flowers are picked, we set the date… Just a few more things and a little bit of time and I’ll have nights like these for the rest of my life.

              She laughed as we went around Menken’s- You’re high up on the clouds. I was worried about you being tired and stressed and all with this stuff about Vera and Mayor Adler, but I’m happy to see you like this.

              -I don’t know, Cleo, I have a good feeling. I feel so at peace… It’s like I know everything is going to be alright

              -I bet, kiddo. You are glowing.

              I don’t know what it was about that that sent a chill down my spine. And then it came to me, is it ever a good thing when a Jane tells you you’re glowing? Maybe, but at the moment it didn’t come across to me as something good. For some reason it made me think of the last few months and how I never had time to focus on myself. Which means I could let obvious signs from my body that it something stirred up inside escape.

              -I’m…-I stopped in my tracks, looking at her- I’m glowing?

              -Yea, you’re really shining and all that- She looked back, her smile faded when she saw my serious expression. On her face I could see she realized what it was that got me like this- I mean…! Not the “congrats mommy” glow, it’s the “I was barney-mugging last night” glow!

              But the somber look didn’t disappear from my face- Am I really glowing?

              -Yes, honey, but a good night with a good man will do that. Don’t be all worried. You get all that and then I’ll get like that.

              -I haven’t had my period in so long…-I murmured in an urgent whisper to her- I didn’t have it in November… And now that I think about it, I didn’t have it in October either!- I looked at her- I’ve been so worried about Vera and the whole Ice Box and meeting Neil’s family and him mine, and then they visited and then Uncle Charlie… I didn’t think about it just now!- I was now grabbing onto the dress I was seeing tightly- I am totally knocked up!  

              -Horse feathers, MC! You’re so skinny. It’s stress.

              -And Cleo!- I gasped- I’ve been so emotional, and then I was feeling all nauseous and tired and I threw up last week! Oh, and how my breasts look so nice and how I’ve been… Oh my God, I need to sit down- I said going outside to a bench and Cleo went after me

              -Hey, hey!-She held my arm- You’re getting ahead of herself, honey. It could be all stress

              -And now I’m glowing!-I buried my face in my hands- I am so pregnant!

              -MC!- She said loudly getting my attention- Let’s go to the doctor and have a test done before you freak out- She shook me holding my arms- Listen, I’ll go with you. Say you’re going shopping with me again and if it’s just a scare you don’t even have to say anything to Neil

              -Alright… Yeah, you’re right. It could just be my head. Shouldn’t freak out, right?-I looked at her

              -Not at all. You can’t just puke and then “Woah, I’m preggo”

              I laughed agreeing- You’re right. Sorry, Cleo. Stress and all that. Say, I’ll drive you to the Ice Box.

X

Or maybe I should have started screaming right there. Because a few days after I sat in the doctor’s office with Cleo. That night, I had to put on my best face for tea with Vera and this doctor just sat right in front of me, and had the courage to congratulate me.

              -Your due date will be around the first two weeks of June

              -How?!-It was the first thing I asked

              -I’m sorry, Miss…

              -Granger. And I asked how do you know I’m… I’m…

              -Pregnant?- He said the word I couldn’t say at the moment- Well, there’s a hormone pregnant women produce. In your urine test we took from you, we inject it in a small animal, like a bunny or frog, and then if you’re pregnant that animal will start ovulating, which means the hormone for pregnancy is there. In your case, it showed the hormone is present. Based on what you told me about the last time you menstruated… Yes, first two weeks of June sounds right.

              -That’s absolutely crackers! I… Cleo!- I looked at her, she looked back wordlessly and then I looked at the doctor again- There must be some mistake, I can’t be pregnant.

              -Well, you are, miss. Should be at about ten weeks now. Which comes to a worry I have. I noticed you’re still ‘Miss’ Granger.

              -I’m engaged!- I corrected him quickly, didn’t want the doctor going to blabber to no one about a kid out of wedlock

              -Better hurry that wedding then, miss. You’ll start showing very soon- He got up, looking all respectable- A child to any woman is a blessing. Women are meant to be mothers, so don’t worry about it. Congratulations on your wedding and baby. I would schedule the next appointment with the secretary up front and…- after a moment I tuned out. He kept saying stuff I had to do from now on and I’m sure Cleo was listening to all of it closely for me, but my head was spinning. I don’t even remember how we got out of there and before I knew I was sitting on Uncle Charlie’s couch

              The silence that reigned was incredibly uncomfortable. But… I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what was the right thing to say? The more I thought about it, the further away I was from convincing myself it was true. I kept repeating in my head “I’m pregnant”. But something in my head kept saying “No, Edith is pregnant. She’s the one who was always meant to be a mother, not me.” And then it went right back to “I am pregnant”. After a while, Cleo broke the quietness.

              -I won’t tell anyone. I’ll let you do it- Cleo said- You’ll be fine.

              -Yea… Sure…- I said lowly- I’m just waiting until I wake up and then realize it’s not real

              She sighed- Just give it a little bit of time, focus on the Ice Box and the wedding for now, you’ll come to terms with it.

              I pondered my options for a while. I could sit here and cry or scream or give up. But that wasn’t me, that was never me and I wouldn’t start now. So I made the choice I knew I had to for the time being- No one can know. Not until this whole ordeal is done.

-Are you sure Neil shouldn’t know?-She looked at me worried

              -He’ll be the first to know…-I sat down- After we defeat Vera and Adler

              -MC…

              -I won’t hear it, Cleo. You know if Neil finds out he’ll take me completely off the board. The Ice Box can’t win without their boss. I need to go get the documents and I need to make all the decisions.

              -They can handle themselves, MC

              -I’m sure they can. However, the Ice Box is my business, Cleo. I’m not sitting on the bleachers while my team plays

              -Fine. I’m game. As long as you don’t put yourself in mortal danger, or risk losing the baby.

              -I won’t. I’ll see you at the box tonight?

              -You’ll be okay, kiddo?

              -I’ll be fine, really. I just need some time on my own

              And once Cleo let herself out, I felt the sudden urge to get spend some time getting myself accustomed to the idea that I was going to be a mother. I drove myself back to that maternity shop I visited with her a few months ago. No longer looking for presents for Edith, I walked around trying to pretend this wasn’t such a bad thing. I was looking at some little toys when a clerk approached me.

              -Are you shopping for yourself?- She asked

              I could say no. I could tell her my sister was pregnant and I was shopping for her. I wasn’t showing through the dress and I could just pretend nothing was happening. But then… I figured I came here for a reason

              -Yeah… I just found out early this morning. Doctor said I should be around ten weeks now.

              -Wow!- She laughed eagerly- That’s so exciting, your husband must be so happy, Mrs…?

              Oh yeah, of course a woman is ought to be married to be pregnant- Oh… Huh… Dresner. Mrs. Dresner

              It was the first time I referred to myself as Mrs. Although I loved how it sounded, something bothered me. I know Neil was the furthest thing from the nightmare Momma always hoped I’d marry, but I still seemed to find myself following in the footsteps she always dreamed I would. I was carrying a doctor’s baby who came from a rich family from Boston. Was I losing myself?

              -Are you alright, Mrs. Dresner?- The store clerk asked and I imagine I was lost in my own head again

              -Oh yes! You now… Just emotional. And well, my husband doesn’t know yet.

              -Oh I see, I can help you look around for stuff!- She had an annoying acute voice. I could tell from the way she carried herself she has old-fashioned ideals.

              -MC?- I heard Neil’s voice. My heart jumped a little as I looked towards the door and he was standing there- I was walking to the… To Charlie’s store and I saw you through the window- He walked towards me- Are you sending another gift to Edith?

              -Yes- I turned around to the store clerk giving her a look that said ‘please play along’- My sister is pregnant, so that’s what I needed help with

              She smiled, a little too amused to be aware of my little secret as I turned back to Neil- Do you wanna help?

              -Uh… You see… It’s pretty late so-

              -Nah-uh!- I walked over to him, pulling him to where I was before- You can walk me to the store later. Let’s spend some quality time together.

              -Oh, this is your husband!-She looked up at him, even with an appraising eye I didn’t miss.  

              -Yes!- I smiled- We are good now, if we need any help I’ll let you know!

              - You’re really gonna make me stay in this store with you?- Neil complained

              -Hey, what’s so bad about this store?

              -Are you alright?- He asked- It’s full of baby gowns and it smells like baby powder. Makes me think about the future generations and how we’re all lost in their hands.

              -Alright, your cynical wet-blanket. I’m trying to be happy for my sister- I turned back to see the little newborn clothes- Wouldn’t it be great if you could know the sex of the baby before it was born? I don’t know whether to buy her cute pink stuff or blue- I turned around to see him staring at me, pensively- What…?

              -…-That was his answer for the first few seconds, then he turned his eyes to what I was looking at with a sigh- Why don’t you buy this one?- He pointed- It’s just a white gown, useful for a newborn, leave the gender-specific clothes to her.

              -Okay- I said, going to pay for it before Neil offered to do it himself- See? You can be helpful when you want!- I grabbed his arm to leave once I had the bag with me

              He didn’t reply again

              -Neil? Hello? Calling Dr. Neil?-I asked

              -Sorry. I’m just in a thinking mood. Must’ve been the wonderful trip to a baby store you took me on. First you make me think about the past, now about the future.- He looked at me, taking my arm- To the Ice Box, then?

              -Yeah, I want to hear how Gerald’s going along and then I have a temperance meeting tomorrow. I can get Vera to invite me for tea after and then finally-

              I stopped talking once I saw police officers speeding past us

              -Wowsers… Where do you think they’re going?

              -I guess there-He pointed unenthusiastically. From one of Chicago’s nicest neighborhoods, I could see the public gathering like the president had come to town. Then I realized it looked familiar.  

              My feet started taking me towards the inferno that surrounded the ritziest place I had been to. Neil started to follow me and call my name, but it was like I was in a trance. I made my way towards the street and the people that gathered around to watch. The mayor sat in a stretcher with doctors surrounding him in front of his gracious mansion, talking to police officers and the media that surrounded him.

              -What happened?- I asked one lady who stood there and she turned to me

              -Vera Adler, the mayor’s wife. She tried to kill the Mayor Adler and then left!

              Neil whistled, more amused than surprised-Seems like someone in the hypocrite elite of Chicago got their fair share today. They’re not so different from scoundrels like us- He said getting a cigarette, lighting it up- There’s no rest for the wicked.

              Leave it to this contrary son of a gun to be bored with loud music and people laughing and dancing and be amused by attempted murder

              I turned around and saw the Ice Box’s personal Irish flat foot- Donovan!- I called and soon he came over- What the hell happened?

              -Well, lassie. There was an attempt on the mayor’s life.

              -This much I heard- I whispered- What actually happened? Why would Vera try to kill him?

              -The version dat’s coming out in the papers it’s that the mayor found out she was cheating on him with multiple men and guess what? She is the new talk between the ladies. How can a respectable woman just sleep around like that? They started arguing because the mayor felt so betrayed, then she got a gun and took three shots at him, ya see?

              I looked at him- Alright, buster, there’s more to the story. What actually happened?

              He lowered his voice- Seems like your ‘picture’ got to the Mayor a little early.

              -Gerald…?

              -No. Not exactly- He pulled me and Neil aside- The Mayor knew Vera was cheating on him. But the truth is, lassie, you were wrong. The mayor doesn’t care about being cheated on, he doesn’t care if Vera sleeps around. If Vera steered the other way and kissed women he wouldn’t get her arrested

              -So if the picture we were planning got to his hands, he wouldn’t have cared

              -Turns out the Mayor ain’t big on love and respect, lassie.

              I sighed- I should’ve guessed that. But it still doesn’t explain what happened.

              -Vera was passing off information about the Mayor around. Turns out she wanted to dishonor him or something- He looked around before continuing- That big speakeasy she was building, she was working with Gerald’s gang to expand and paying off new people. All the money it takes to do that wasn’t coming from her pocket

              -She was stealing from Adler- Neil said- Seems like she has quite the criminal mind

              -It’s not just that. Vera wanted to have more power than Mayor Adler.- Donovan continued- She wanted control over him like she tried to have control over MC, like she did with Gerald. So she started spreading around rumors, going out on dates with politicians that are close to Adler. She’s been playing her manipulation cards and people started turning on Mayor, being less afraid of him.

              -Wow- I said- She starts opening her mouth and the Mayor loses his grip on Chicago. His biggest nightmare

              -I ‘eard this from another dirty cop. She also stole information about him. She tries to blackmail him and say if he doesn’t do what she wants, she’ll destroy ‘im.

              -Wouldn’t put that past Vera-I said

              -So Mayor Adler finds himself at risk of losing his power of his city and his woman climbing up the stairs to stomp on him: Stealing money, passing information, literally making the mayor look like a joke to everyone and she look like the queen in the process. She’s been using him and going behind his back-

              -Which is the actual ultimate betrayal- I ended it for him- Here I was thinking it was child’s play, that he would have his heart broken to see her going out with Gerald…

              -The Mayor isn’t a teenager- Neil said- We underestimated him.

              -So,- Donovan resumed- He hears about all this, but for now it’s all just suspicions, he doesn’t have any proof. One of the mayor’s most trusted officers sees Vera and Gerald out on the “date” you put together. He knows O’Fallon is a mob boss and for Mayor Adler, that pretty much confirms the whole thing. So she gets home and they argue, she gets a gun, tried to kill him and then leaves Chicago

              -That doesn’t make sense though. Vera obviously doesn’t know how to shoot and it’s not like her to do that- I said

              -Besides- Neil pointed at the mayor- She would need to be a really good shot to shoot the mayor in three exact non-fatal spots.

              -What do you mean?-I asked

              -Look at it. The bullet holes are in three strategic spots, like whoever shot him wanted to make sure he didn’t die.

              -Which means this was orchestrated- Donovan said- Besides, Vera just disappeared after coming home. Her driver is still in the house and no one saw her leave or at the station. She hasn’t been seen since

              I looked at the whole scene for a second before speaking- For all we know, he could have had her killed

              -We got what we were lookin’ for in the end- Donovan said- Even if it wasn’t the way we planned, lassie. Vera is disgraced. She’s a jezebel who sleeps around town and commits adultery left and right and it’s in all the papers for everyone to see. She will no longer be seen as a respectable lady. 

              -And on top of that- Neil started- She’ll never have any kind of power in Chicago again, since it all depended on her image.

              -If she’s even alive, she just disappeared.-I lowered my head and suddenly felt it spinning. I should’ve been happier that our Vera problem was solved. But something in my gut told me the mayor would be the biggest problem the Ice Box had ever faced- We didn’t get this result because we wanted to. Vera did the Mayor wrong and he completely ruined her and then probably killed her

              -And he gets to be the victim in the end. The poor mayor who was cheated on, got his heart broken and almost got killed.- Neil said- Humanity is a sickening thing nowadays

              Donovan chuckled, though there was no humor in his voice- This ain’t humanity, doc- He looked back at the house- Mayor Adler is as far away from it as possible

              -I’ll get MC away from here- Neil told Donovan- We’ll meet at the Ice Box tonight

              Donovan agreed and Neil started pulling me away. My head kept spinning and spinning and my vision started to blur out suddenly

              -MC!- I heard Neil’s distant, but extremely concerned voice calling my name

              I don’t remember anything that happened after that. 

_____

             Author notes: Yes, Mayor Adler is the true villain of this story and he’s got a tight grip on Chicago. Plus, he’s insane, truly insane. The next few chapters the gang will be trying to deal with a man as powerful as him and they’ll realize they need to go to extremes this time to keep the Ice Box safe. Then there’s the fact MC just found out she’s expecting (our future Alton) and she’s got a wedding to worry about. Besides, let’s just say there’s an Uncle in Columbus that decided he ain’t too old to help and he’s still got what it takes to make his one big move to save Chicago with his little gang before he retires as mob boss. Uncle Charlie is coming back!

Thank you!!

              Candy

[nincompoopydoo]

Trouble Man

Pairing: Sam Wilson x reader Words: 1.5k Summary: You and Sam Wilson are neighbors. Never spoke a word a to one another but somewhat developed an unhealthy crush on each other. As a series of unfortunate events that began with the burning of spaghetti, you find yourself entangled in a mess of the appreciation for Marvin Gaye and your fear of cockroaches with the very man himself. Note: Oooo an unrequested Sam Wilson one shot? Yeap, that’s right darlings. Been wanting to write one for awhile now. Not exactly my best but it’s alright. Cute cute and fluffy stuff. Enjoy xo [ REWRITTEN ON 14/08/2021 ] Masterlist

Spaghetti. Should be easy enough.

Ah, words of the once optimist, now turned depressing pessimist. You told yourself that with a rather annoying cheery voice that echoed in your head before everything went swooping down the metaphorical hill and into the trash. You don’t do too well with simple distractions, for what you first thought was to lighten up the mood in your gloomy kitchen by singing along to an ultimate Marvin Gaye playlist.

Much to your embarrassment, you may have forgotten how sound travels far too easily, with the kitchen window opened for the whole neighborhood to hear your lovely singing. Someone might call the police, either out of spite of your contribution to noise pollution or they might think someone was being murdered, muffled by soul music.

The plate of Spaghetti stares at you mockingly from the kitchen counter, strands grazed in an odd shade of brown. Spaghetti is not supposed to be that shade of brown. With a pathetic scowl upon your lips, you gaze at the plate, wishing it smelled as good as it did. The thought of eating resides in your mind, wondering if you should just close your nose and power through the dish itself until you’re sick or throw it in the trash and feed several stray cats of D.C. when it reaches the landfill. By the looks of it, the cats probably don’t even want to eat it anyway.

You worked at a hamburger joint downtown for heaven’s sake; cooking hamburgers might as well be your only decent skill. Nevertheless, with a heavy sigh, you plopped the spaghetti into the trash. The plastic bag unceremoniously crinkles at impact as you fight back a wince.

So much for coming home early to prepare dinner. For yourself. Damn, you’re lonely. And as far as you’re concerned, only lonely people deserve microwaved leftovers from a week ago that have been sitting in the fridge for far too long. Overhead, Cleo's Apartment begins to play.

Goddamn it, Marvin Gaye.

Minutes ago, Sam Wilson had returned home from the VA, and through the jingles of his keys whilst unlocking his front door, the familiar tune of What’s Going On glides its way to his ears, ringing with the melody of your singing. He knows it’s you because as much as you don’t realize it, you sing in the kitchen very often. It’s unpleasant but he doesn’t complain because your taste in music speaks to him on another level, another plane of existence. Ever since you moved in after the previous owner passed, you had his whole heart with a single glance and a shy wave.

Courage was easy, having built that up during his military days. Yet, now that’s over, he finds himself forgetting his technique in approaching beautiful people. Deep down he knows it. Sam needs to try to talk to you. Just talking, not asking you out. That’s too much, for now.

His analytical side itches to take over—he needs a plan because walking up to your doorstep and hoping to spark up some sort of sudden conversation with you isn’t going to turn out well. So, he maps it out in his head, playing each possible scenario like he always does in bed, half-awake, wishing he had the guts to talk to you when he bumped into you at the grocery store or at the hamburger joint you work at. Coincidences usually don’t play out in his favor so, forcing it sounds like it would have a better outcome. He will wait until it’s 9:30, there’s a possibility you will be taking out the trash. Then, he’ll make his move. Hopefully.

Totally not creepy.

—

Sometimes, the universe listens. It especially listens to the thoughts of the lonely and then, some supernatural cosmic decision is made to guide two lonely beings to each other. It’s rare but happens. People call it fate. Now, fate seems to work in tandem with a certain man named Sam, who has fallen for his neighbor, who seems to feel the same way.

There’s hardly any rubbish in the trash bag within his grasp but he makes it a point to walk across the lawn despite the humidity in hopes of seeing you. Then, he hears the creaking of your front door swinging open and slamming shut. Though, all attempts to act casual fails when he ignores his previous resistance to turn and glance your way.

There you were, in an oversized Shania Twain shirt paired with track shorts—it’s very short. I mean, it’s summer after all. No one’s complaining. He’s certainly not complaining. His breath hitches when you meet his gaze, smiling sheepishly. Sam wonders if your cheeks are always this crimson and rosy. You smile, intending to hide your growing blush, heat blooming in your chest as you admire how he looks under the yellow hues of the street light, beautifully carving the structure of his face.

Then, the impossible happened.

“So, you like Marvin Gaye?” he spoke with a little too much enthusiasm. You looked at him with a wide-eyed gaze, completely caught off guard by his sudden question. Your mind is now only filled with the panic of him hearing you sing—it’s your biggest fear. Sam realizes his question may have been a little too obstructive in terms of privacy. Bad idea, really bad idea. “Sorry, just forget I ever said that. I didn’t mean to—"

"No, no. I mean, yeah, I do like Marvin Gaye. I love Marvin Gaye actually,” you cut him off in a somewhat desperate attempt to not scare him off because, in truth, you really want to talk to him. You have been meaning to for a while now. You purse your lips, deciding that elaboration is worth the risk, “Trouble Man is one of my favorites."

It’s risky because it’s an unpopular opinion and the irrational side of you is afraid that because of your weird and maybe obscure taste in music might as well turn him off. Yet, he’s not running now. Instead, Sam blinks, mouth slightly agape. A sentence runs through his mind, a quiet voice, a whisper: I think I might marry you if you don’t stop being so perfect.

Sam beams at you, "You like Trouble Man?” he asks, voice laced with amusement.

You return a smile, “Yeah, I do. It’s probably the best—OH MY GOD—” Your sudden scream cuts through the white noise of the night like a searing knife when you spot a cockroach crawling up the trash can. You dropped the trash bag on the ground and started to stagger backward.

Sam feels bad for laughing.

“Hey! Quit laughing and help me get rid of it,” you shriek, watching the insect crawl around with a mortified look. Sam snorts at your sudden burst of command. "Okay, okay. But I’m not killing it.” Turns out that isn’t enough to calm your nerves and your fear of cockroaches. “Excuse me, sir, you HAVE to slay the beast!” you yelled dramatically. He chuckles with great amusement, swiftly plucking it with his bare hands before it could run, “Now, let’s not murder our new friend here, Bernie.” He watches your face morph into an unamused look, “Bernie? Like the politician?” Sam merely hums, “Yeah. Like the politician.”

Then, he’s walking towards you, purposefully dangling poor Bernie within his grasp. You stagger in your step, yelping at the sight of Sam nearing you. “Alright, alright. I’ll get rid of Bernie,” he says through attempted suppressed laughs, flicking Bernie across the road. You can finally breathe but your eyes remain wide. “And what if he comes back?”

Sam turns to you as you return to stand at your original spot as you cautiously scan the trash bin for any more unwanted pests. He notices a stray strand of your hair, falling against your cheek. He resists the urge to push back behind your ear, reminding himself to stay casual and stay cool. "Well, you know where to find me.” He sends a somewhat smooth wink your way. You go absolutely red.

Silence once again and the two of you have seemed to have caught yourselves in some awkward dance of pining and wanting to be close to each other. Then, Sam clears his throat, deciding to speak first before he misses the opportunity once more. “I was wondering if you wanna, you know, uh, come by for a drink sometime?” It’s a simple question, really. But, Sam doesn’t know why you make him so nervous. Maybe, it’s because you’re looking at him like you can see right through him. His mind starts to wonder, overthinking once more. “I mean, if you don’t drink, it’s okay. We can have something else. I have orange juice, I think. Snacks?—”

“Now?” you stop his rambling, feeling your brain equally shutting down because you’re very confused about the whole situation. Sam pauses, slightly hesitant, “Yeah, sure. If you want to. I mean, you have work tomorrow and it’s late and—”

“Yeah, that’ll be great.” you interrupt him again, the curve of your lips widening by the second. “And maybe, we could listen to some Marvin Gaye.” You don’t exactly know what you meant or hinted but neither does he, too distracted to notice the context of your words because you’re here, smiling at him.