#there WILL take them and hang them back in their original places what did u expect to happen?? anyway someone hung the clothes they had

[ronanlynchbf]

hell day today and i'm only two hours into my EIGHT HOUR SHIFT

[holllandtrash]

the man | lando norris (6 to 1) smau

part of the lover x 6 to 1 series | lando norris x leclerc! reader

and I'm so sick of them coming at me again 'cause if I was a man then I'd be the man

takes place a year after the original story of 6 to 1 i know this one wasn't voted for but it's been sitting in my drafts and i haven't posted in over a month so enjoy

ynleclerc

liked by landonorris, lissiemackintosh and 28,922 others

ynleclerc happy monday drink your greens

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landonorris no thank u

ynleclerc hmm i seem to recall you asking me for the recipe ten minutes ago

yellowmclarens love her but why does she feel the need to post body shots like this

yvonneatthetrack full length shirts exist babe xx

lovely_sainz this is quite literally just an excuse to post pics of herself in a crop top lol

charles_leclerc

liked by scuderiaferrari, joris__trouche and 1,083,223 others

charles_leclerc gym day

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danielricciardo taking lessons from george?

f1emily yeeeeesh thirst trap coming in hottt

sundayscariess its illegal for a man to look this good

ferrari.florals ok 🥵🥵 more of this pls

ynleclerc added to their story

wag.spotting

liked by paddockclubs, norrisupdates and 16,302 others

wag.spotting collection of pics of y/n posted by her friends these last few days

view all 1,036 comments

whatisferrari looking a little too close for comfort with that guy in the first pic

ricciardobaby i KNOW thats not lando laying on her legs in that second pic

golden_norris it's not carlos either...why does she hang out with so many guys lol 81piastries come get your girl landonorris

ynleclerc

liked by landonorris, mlnmarta and 43,881 others

tagged: ysl

ynleclerc devils in the details ♡ thank you ysl

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landonorris paris or london

ynleclerc montreal, im hanging out with lance - he's moved back up my ranking lancestroll oui landonorris 🤔🤔🤔

happyhamilton sorry am i reading the comments right...shes with lance?

karlaformulauno yeah...what...

paddock.updates

liked by wag.updates, landolovers and 8,400 others

tagged: ynleclerc, landonorris

paddock.updates Y/N Leclerc and Lando Norris are no more after Y/N Leclerc has confirmed to be in Montreal with fellow F1 Driver, Lance Stroll

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papayaclub LOL bro not her jumping from lando to carlos to LANCE

wag.updates did not have this on our f1 bingo card

sunshinemick silly szn i guess but i can't say im surprised..

ynleclerc damn news travels fast 💀💀💀

landonorris ohh thats why you're not answering my calls yellowmercedes i can't tell if shes joking but honestly lando deserves better sundayscaries shes got the worst sense of humour if this really is fake, for landos sake i hope they actually are over

ynleclerc

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc and 61,029 others

ynleclerc weekly recap

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landonorris did you crop out my face in all of these on purpose

ynleclerc its called a soft launch landonorris you can't soft launch after hard launching FOR A YEAR ynleclerc watch me

leclercsrearwing bestie even i know that lando hates fish and im not his girlfriend

ynleclerc i didn't force the sushi down his throat 🫶🏻 liked by landonorris

landonorris added to their story

landonorris

liked by ynleclerc, mclaren and 487,220 others

tagged: tumitravel

landonorris Rollin’ with tumitravel paid parternship

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ynleclerc im gonna borrow that suitcase

landonorris get your own

boxbox if driving doesn't work out he could be an influencer

albonoscats would do anything to see more of lando in his influencer era

haasbeen whatever he's selling i'll buy it

ynleclerc

liked by landonorris, charles_leclerc and 76,205 others

tagged: carlossainz55, landonorris, arthur_leclerc, charles_leclerc

ynleclerc emptying the camera roll 📸 not ready for summer to end

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charles_leclerc Pourquoi publier cela? why did you post that?

ynleclerc désolée 🤭🤭 sorry

jemmaf1 is that CARLOS in that first pic having dinner with her and her friends

ynleclerc carlos hosted the dinner montrealking18 WHY DO YOU KEEP HANGING OUT WITH CARLOS gokartboys asking the important questions ^^

fmkf1grid yes we get it you're close with all the drivers thank you for the reminder

pastriesoscar this photo dump is so pretentious lmao its just look all the drivers in my life and also look how pretty i am

landonorris

liked by carlossainz55, ynleclerc and 410,495 others

tagged: carlossainz55, ynleclerc and danielricciardo

landonorris also emptying the camera roll, good idea ynleclerc

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ynleclerc love you

danielricciardo who are those beauties in the last picture

liked by landonorris

givemef1 not lando posting the same pics as y/n 💀

schummyys he really said 'i was at carlos' dinner party too don't worrry'

hornersux wait but that pic of y/n in the window is actually so pretty

landonorris

liked by carlossainz55, mclaren and 580,239 others

tagged: ynleclerc

landonorris to the love of my life, you never cease to amaze me. from the way you switch languages mid conversation with me to the way you are always curled up on the couch waiting for me to walk in the door. you are my biggest supporter, my strongest motivator and the reason my days seem brighter. i don't know how i lucked out with you little leclerc, but i promise to love you for the rest of our days

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danielricciardo are you proposing to y/n over instagram?

pierregasly seems like it landonorris just keep scrolling

ynleclerc currently crying on the couch as i wait for you to come home liked by landonorris

summeriturnedf1 he calls her LITTLE LECLERC

happymclarens okay he LOVES her loves her

allgasnobrakes wonder how charles is doing reading this and knowing that lando is planning on marrying his sister

formulaferraris forget charles...lando is the biggest simp in the world for y/n, lets talk about that

a happy ending was deserved

[jistagrams]

who lasted the longest during nnn (no nut november) riize edition

bf!riize x afab!reader

warnings: suggestive, slight smut, pet names, soft dom! / hard!dom type shit for them all🤭🤭, eunseok calls u whore & slut, oral (both r receiving) , degradation if u squint, praising, fluff, lmk if I missed any

shotaro: 26 days

shotaro def tried to last longer than anyone in riize, only cus he has control and him being so busy with his schedule he didn’t have much time to see you or even get off by himself 😭, but once he saw you he literally went batshit crazy. like YOU in THAT outfit? he couldn’t take it anymore, had to have you right in that second.

“taro calm down..” you whined underneath him, “cant, fuck” one hand gripping onto your waist as the other rubbed your clit deliciously, throwing out compliments. “you take me so good you know that? shit, baby stop clenching, m’ gon-“ he moaned loudly as he came, falling down onto you. twitching slightly.

eunseok: 23 days

he was doing so good, keeping himself busy with his schedule like shotaro and hanging out with friends, shit he even made fun of his friends who lost during the first few weeks, he was excited to see you on thanksgiving since it’s been so long, thinking it would be a cute and adorable reunion. but oh was he so wrong. He didn’t expect to have his dick down your throat in his childhood room.

“such a fucking slut, just wants my dick in you at all times.” he grunted out as he held you down on it, gripping onto your hair with both hands to fuck your throat, tears fell down as he laughed slightly. “whore.” He grumbled while throwing his head back and letting go of your hair to let you do the rest of the work.

sungchan: 10 days

yeah, ten days, during those 10 days he was acting all cocky and laughing at his friends who lost before him, saying how they can’t keep it in their pants, meanwhile the whole time he was fighting DEMONS to keep his in his pants. kinda hard to when he lives with his wonderful partner, who just so happened to not be participating in nnn, (And who also didn’t want him to participate..)

“sungieeee~” you cooed while getting in his lap, he looked at you confused, “what’s up baby?” He held your hips almost immediately when you plopped down onto him, just great, just exactly what he needed. you started to grind on him softly, his eyes went wide as you placed your arms around his neck. “yn.. did you forget?” he sighed softly, the feeling was too good to stop you, “you don’t even win anything out of this” you whined quietly. he threw his head back, perfect to kiss his neck. “maybe I could lose just this once”

wonbin: 3 days

reason he only lasted 3 days was cause of you and the way you were acting, he was getting too cocky during October saying “oh ima win nnn for sure, bet u won’t even last a minute” and so on and so on, so you decided to test him, see if he could really pass nnn. It started off with small touches, small pecks that weren’t really small pecks instead they were long makeout sessions leaving him after touching him like you were deprived. This kept going till he couldn’t handle it anymore,

“think it’s cute to tease me?” he laughed softly as he slid two fingers in, setting a fast pace already. “bin, need you” you begged him as you held onto the hand that was between your thighs, he scoffs at your begging and goes faster than the original pace, “think im gonna reward you with my dick after all your teasing? your funny”

seunghan: 0 days

bro didn’t even get to start it, was already fucking on Halloween, definitely was the member in riize that was getting bullied for not even lasting a day.

“slow down fuck seung” you gasped, gripping onto his hair, “gon fuck you into the next day, yeah? you would like that wouldn’t you?” he laughed while putting your legs up to your chest, “your gunna fail nnn already” you let a breathy chuckle out whole pointing to clock next to the bed, “don’t care, at least I can do this everyday”

sohee: 4 days

idk I feel like he wouldn’t even try to participate, his sex drive isn’t just isn’t as crazy as most people, he could probably go like 5 days max without sex but you on the other hand? you always want him, any type of way. so obviously you were the one to break his “streak”

“your so needy baby” he cooed while kissing your face, holding your hand as he slid in, “can’t help it” you whined softly, tightening your grip on his hand. “your too handsome, makes me want you” he blushed and giggled at your word, he gets so geeked when you call him handsome <3

anton: 30 days

he took this sersiously guys, told you and himself that if he lost he was gonna leave riize. Said he didn’t wanna be teased for losing so he took the long measures to win, this means he literally avoided you like the bubonic plague. Oh you wanted to kiss him? Sure but nothing more than a peck, You wanted a hug? a small side hug will do, you were needy? Well…he could make some arrangements, can’t let his baby suffer like him <3

“you sure you don’t want anything in return?” you asked him, holding the hand in between your legs, softly rubbing his head with your other hand. “cant lose baby” he replied. “not even getting anything out of it” you mumbled, “uh yeah, satisfaction of winning” he spoke like it was obvious.

[aquaquadrant]

from eden, part IX (act I)

Word count: 11,504 Warnings: Blood/injury, violence, death, animal death, temporary dismemberment, dissociation, self-deprecating thoughts (not really, Jimmy’s just a listener and doesn’t know it), strong language, fictional racism/xenophobia, panic attacks Summary: The Double Lifers have successfully thwarted the invasion by Hels Tek, but not unscathed. Now that Tango’s been outed as Bravo’s doppelgänger, the remaining threads are starting to unravel, and Jimmy suddenly finds himself fighting to save Tango from his own inner demons. Can their love survive the fallout?

A/N: This took a ridiculously long time to write and got way longer than I’d originally intended so uhhh happy belated holidays? There’s a lot in this one that I’m excited to show y’all so I really hope u enjoy it, pls reblog/comment if u do, it means a lot.

Also this chapter has been split into two parts bc Tumblr is a hoe with a paragraph limit, link to the second half at the end. And as always, this is part of a series, so the previous chapters can be found on my au directory here. - Aqua

~*~

from eden, part IX (act I) - no tired sighs, no rolling eyes, no irony

~*~

Somewhere in Double Life, a player kneels in a bloody wheat field.

Jimmy’s senses are flooded with iron. He’s regenerated enough health that his nose isn’t actively bleeding anymore, but he’s sure it’s still all over his face. As he finally pulls away from Tango, he realizes he’s smeared plenty of it on Tango’s shoulder. The blood on Tango’s chin and claws hasn’t fully dried yet, either. And through his slightly parted mouth, Jimmy can see it’s stained his teeth.

(Did you see what he did back there?)

(He was like an animal.)

(How long do you think he’s been keeping that in?)

Jimmy pushes the thoughts away. Focus on the here and now.

To be fair, though, the ‘here and now’ is a horrible place. The ranch is burning behind them. His eyes are burning from the tears and the smoke in the air. His throat feels tight and scratchy. He’s physically and emotionally exhausted, the weight of it dragging him down, sinking into the trampled soil beneath him. The singed edges of his wings are still stinging, but it’s an easily forgotten pain among everything else.

Jimmy hates crying. Especially in public. Really, nothing makes him feel more useless and pathetic than crying. But he has to admit, he’s at least a little calmer and more clear-headed. Now that he’s cried himself out, his awareness is gradually returning to the conversation going on around him.

“What in’a world was that about?!” Bdubs cries out, sounding absolutely flabbergasted.

“Yeah, who were those guys, anyway?” Etho asks, knitting his brows together. “How’d they get here?”

Joel makes a distressed noise. “They shouldn’t be able to open a portal here, this is a private world!”

“I know, I know, okay,” Grian gripes, “I’m workin’ on it. Hang on-”

“And what was all that nonsense about doggelpangers?” Scar pauses. “Uh, dop- doppabang-”

“Doppelgängers?” Cleo calls over wryly.

Scar hangs his head. “Dang it. Yes, that.”

“I dunno, but what if they come back?” Joel asks nervously. “What should we do?”

Isn’t that the question?

Jimmy takes quick stock of his surroundings. Grian is standing a little way’s off from Jimmy’s huddle, head bent down as he furiously scrolls through his communicator, the screen reflecting in his tinted glasses. Scar is hovering next to Grian, peering keenly over his shoulder, his bow held limply at his side. Both of them look a little roughed up from the battle, but alright for the time being.

Etho, still crouched at the spot where Bravo died, is searching through the dropped items. Joel is pacing in front of the broken portal frame and casting anxious glances at it, one hand gripping his sword while the other rakes through his hair, antennae twitching with agitation. There are a few scrapes and gashes between them- mostly superficial and likely to heal on their own.

Pearl’s wolf pack has been considerably thinned out- something Jimmy notes with a pang of guilt- but there’s still plenty of them milling about the place. With blood-matted fur and tucked tails, it’s clear they took a beating. Pearl herself must’ve gone, from the way they sniff and look around aimlessly, giving plaintive yips and whines. Scott is conspicuously absent as well, another hint as to the bonded pair’s fate. Jimmy’s sure they’ll be along soon.

Bigb and Ren are also nowhere to be seen- likely more casualties of the battle. Ren makes for a rather large target when in wolf mode; he probably drew a lot of enemy fire. And of course, Bigb would’ve gone with him. Box is quite a way from the ranch, Jimmy recalls, so it’ll take them a few minutes to get back.

Martyn is busy mining up the rest of the portal frame, seeming none the worse for wear. Cleo sits a couple yards away, one leg stretched out in front of her. The other one has been chopped clean off at the knee, and is clenched in their hand- but wait, it does that sometimes, Jimmy reminds himself before he can panic. The detached limb isn’t even bleeding, and she’s already pulling some string from her inventory to stitch it back on, seeming more inconvenienced than anything else.

Bdubs, across the field, looks no more beat-up than he always does. He’s fussing over his horse, snatching up stray bits of wheat to heal as it struggles to get its legs under it. Impulse’s horse, devoid of rider, has wandered off towards the barn- perhaps hearing the other horses inside. Impulse himself is crouched beside Jimmy and Tango, his golden eyes intently studying the collar that’s been locked around Tango’s neck.

Tango is still completely silent. He doesn’t move or give any indication that he’s at all mentally present, just kneeling idly in the dirt, expression blank, eyes distant. Nothing but static through their soul bond. He doesn’t seem to be seriously injured- most of the blood stains aren’t his. That realization isn’t as relieving as Jimmy wants it to be.

Grian clears his throat. “Right. First thing’s first, are we all still here?” he asks, scanning his communicator. “No one went through the portal?”

“Nah, all good,” Martyn calls over his shoulder as the final obsidian block pops onto the ground.

Etho has his communicator pulled up too. “Yeah, uh, just looks like Scott and Pearl got killed,” he reports. “Ren and Bigb, too. I’ll shoot ‘em a message, see if they’re alright.”

“Right, okay.” Grian chews his lip, wings ruffling. “And all the other fellas are gone?”

Etho nods. “Yep.”

“Okay-”

“G,” Scar cuts in, tugging on Grian’s sleeve, “you gotta respawn before that injury sets in.”

Grian shrugs him off. Only now does Jimmy realize he’s holding one of his wings closer to his body than the others, the one that took an arrow during the fight. “Gimme a second-”

”Um, guys?” Martyn says suddenly, pointing at the ranch. “Fire tick is on, yeah?”

Grian looks up at that, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Hoo boy. Yeah, we need’ta get a ditch around the ranch, okay, or else the whole forest’ll go.” He casts a sidelong look at Jimmy, expression apologetic. “Tim, do you mind…?”

Jimmy shakes his head. “No,” he says hoarsely, “no, no, by all means. Whatever you need to… oh gosh, it’s all gonna go. It’s gone, isn’t it? It’s-” His voice breaks, and he quickly looks away, fresh tears welling in his eyes.

It wasn’t much, the ranch.

Only two floors- three counting the basement- and a bit tight on space. It wasn’t the most impressive build, not by a long shot. Certainly not when compared to the other builds on this world. It was something that would’ve taken two actually competent builders nothing more than a dedicated afternoon to put together. Plainly decorated, and comprised mostly of wood and stone variants. Nothing that’s particularly hard to obtain. And in all honesty, it was just a starter base; they were going to outgrow it sooner or later, anyways.

But it was theirs. 

It was the scorch marks in the wood from Tango’s blaze rods, in the moments where his emotions got away from him. It was the rocking chair where Jimmy liked to do his embroidery, when he needed to unwind after a busy day. It was the auto-sorting storage room that Tango spent weeks fine-tuning. It was the small but cozy living room that Jimmy decorated with potted flowers. It was the kitchen that always smelled faintly of charcoal, and the wool rug in the foyer that came from their own sheep, and the bedroom that they shared with an east-facing window to let them watch the sunrise together, on the rare days when Tango was awake early enough to see it.

The ranch is burning, and there’s nothing Jimmy can do about it.

(Great. Gonna start crying again, are you?)

(What exactly is that going to accomplish?)

(Man up! Don’t be so pathetic.)

A gentle hand on Jimmy’s shoulder makes him look up. Martyn is there, sympathy glimmering in his eye. “We’ll save what we can,” he promises.

Jimmy manages a grateful smile, blinking away his tears. “Thanks.”

Martyn nods before straightening back up. “Etho, Joel, you got water buckets on ya?”

“Oh, yeah.” Etho puts his communicator away as he and Joel start toward the ranch, buckets in hand. “Yeah, here, let’s make an infinite source..”

“Right. I’ll get the ditch started, then,” Cleo chimes in, rising to their feet now that both legs are once again intact.

Grian makes an appreciative noise, still tapping away at his communicator. “Okay, so that’s done-”

“Grian,” Scar says again, more insistently. “You gotta-”

“Hang on!” Grian huffs. He looks up to meet Jimmy’s gaze. “Okay, so uh, I can’t ban them… but what I’m gonna do is lock the world down,” he explains, taking a few steps over. “No one goes in or out… not even through a backdoor portal. This is just a temporary solution, but it should do the trick for now.”

Relief washes over Jimmy. “Thank you,” he murmurs.

(Good thing Grian is here to clean up your mess, huh?)

“Hey, guys?” Impulse speaks up, making Jimmy startle. “Um, Tango… he’s not lookin’ so good.”

That’s putting it kindly. Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Right. We should prob’ly get him inside, um…” He trails off as he instinctively looks at the ranch, which is on fire.

Right.

Impulse gives him a comforting look. “C’mon, you guys can crash at our place.” He rises to his feet, calling out, “Bdubs, would you bring the horses over?”

“Yeah, gimme a sec,” Bdubs shouts back. He’s finally gotten his horse standing again, glancing around for Impulse’s. “C’mere, stupid- hey! No, don’t wander off…”

“You finished, Grian?” Scar asks impatiently, notching an arrow.

“Okay, okay, hang on…” Grian presses a couple more buttons before putting his communicator away. “There, it’s done. Now, I’m gonna do some diggin’ and see what I can find out about this. But, um…” His gaze sweeps over Tango, expression pinched. “As soon as Tango is up for it… we all need to have a serious chat, okay?”

The wording immediately puts Jimmy off. He can feel his feathers bristling, his wings flaring out almost unconsciously to block Tango from view. “Wh- hey, this wasn’t his fault!” he protests.

Grian holds his hands up. “Ey, I know, I know,” he says lightly. His lower wings sweep out and flatten into a sort of fan as he crouches; an appeasing gesture. “None of us think that, okay? But clearly those guys came here for him, so we need’ta figure out why and how if we’re gonna figure out how to stop it from happenin’ again. Alright?”

Jimmy takes a breath, letting his feathers smooth over again. “Right. You’re right, sorry,” he mumbles.

(Wow, so defensive.)

(Like you could protect him, anyways.)

(Have you no faith in your own friends?)

Grian glances at Impulse. “You got them, Impulse?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Impulse assures him.

Scar draws back his bow. “Any day now, Grian…”

“Okay.” Grian turns around with an exasperated sigh. “Alright, Scar-”

He disappears in a puff of respawn smoke. Scar immediately follows him, his bow clattering to the ground amidst the shower of other items.

Impulse exhales in what might’ve been a laugh, if he didn’t sound so tired. He turns to Jimmy. “Can you stand?” he asks, holding out his hand.

(Look, they all think you’re weak, too!)

Jimmy feels himself flush. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, his tone short. Ignoring Impulse’s hand, he struggles to his feet unaided, wings flapping about to help keep his balance.

And then he feels incredibly silly about it. These are his friends, for goodness sakes.

“Thanks,” Jimmy adds, to soften it. “But Tango, I dunno if he… I mean, normally I’d carry him, but right now, I think- I think I’d drop him,” he confesses. Already, the effort of just standing on his own is starting to fatigue him.

Impulse just nods, a knowing look in his eye. “Yeah, no problem.” Slowly, he crouches down next to Tango again. “Hey, Tango, buddy?” he calls softly. “Can you hear me? It’s Impulse. I’m gonna pick you up now, if that’s okay?”

Tango doesn’t respond. Carefully, Impulse gathers Tango into his arms in a cradle hold- which Tango doesn’t react to besides curling in on himself a little more. His breathing quickens for a few seconds before he settles down again.

“Sorry,” Impulse whispers.

Jimmy swallows. He’s never known Tango to be so quiet, so still. It’s incredibly disturbing to see. And gosh, he knows Tango’s pale, but right now he looks about as white as quartz.

The events of this afternoon were a lot for anyone to handle. Jimmy’s still only working with bits and pieces, of course. He knows that Tango originally came from a terrible world called Hels, escaped from that creepy scientist guy Dr. Atlas, and has been hiding out on Hermitcraft ever since. So it’s not surprising that Tango got a nasty shock when his past suddenly came knocking at his door- literally, in Bravo’s case.

But Jimmy also knows that Tango is quite tough. He’s not the type to shut down in the face of hardship- in fact, he’ll often go the opposite direction, with manic bursts of frantic energy. So for a reaction this extreme… either that collar they put on him is having a more drastic effect than Jimmy realized, or there’s something more to the story he isn’t aware of.

Before the collar dampened their soul bond, the fear Jimmy felt from Tango had been damn near overwhelming. What could those Hels players have done to him to elicit such a strong reaction? Jimmy dreads to think of it.

The sound of hoofbeats pulls Jimmy out of his musings.

“Here I am!” Bdubs announces loudly, leading a horse by each hand. “Got the hawsies all ready t’go- oh, hey, waugh- what happened to him?” he gasps, his horrified gaze falling on Tango, wide eyes going even wider. “Wha’ th- is he okay?!”

Impulse gives him a tired smile. “Bdubs, I know we’re outside right now, but indoor voice, please? I’ll explain later.”

“Oh, okay!” Bdubs immediately drops into a stage whisper, ducking his head sheepishly. “Right, right, right, right, right, sorry.” He eyes Tango nervously for another moment. “Jeeze, they really… okay, okay, okay, right. Let’s go.”

With an appreciative look, Impulse moves beside one of the horses. Shifting his hold on Tango, he hikes one foot up into the stirrup and swings onto the horse’s back, forked tail lashing through the air.

Bdubs follows suit, climbing onto his own horse before glancing down at Jimmy. “Uh- you wanna ride wi’ me, Jimmy?” he asks, still whispering.

“That’d be great, thanks,” Jimmy says gratefully. Just the thought of walking or flying to their base makes him feel like all his bones have turned to slime.

His own attempt to get on the horse doesn’t go anywhere near as smoothly. With someone else already in the saddle, it’s a clumsy maneuver, his flailing wings more of a hindrance than anything. In the end, Bdubs grabs the back of Jimmy’s shirt and helps haul him up. That only makes Jimmy feel worse. Bdubs is so much smaller than him, how did he manage that?

“Okay…” Bdubs glances over his shoulder as Jimmy gets settled. “You alright back there?”

“Yep, yep, I’m good,” Jimmy says quickly. He clears his throat. “Can we- can we get goin’?” He’s anxious to leave this depressing scene behind and get Tango someplace calmer.

Bdubs nods. “Okay. Uh- hang on tight, and you’d better keep those wings folded or else you- you’ll be blown right off’a this thing!” He turns to Impulse. “We go now!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Impulse urges his horse forward, and Bdubs swiftly follows.

The horses gallop away from the ranch.

Jimmy does as he’s told, leaning forward to put his arms around Bdubs’s shoulders and tucking his wings tightly against his back. The jostling of the horse’s stride isn’t kind to his aching muscles and bones, but he’s not about to complain. Right now he feels completely out of sorts- like a stranger in his own skin.

As exhausted as his body is, his mind is absolutely racing. He can’t stop thinking about what Bravo said, that Tango was to blame for his being in Hels. And Tango hadn’t really denied it.

From what Jimmy can recall from today’s chaotic events, Tango used to be in Hels, and then a portal appeared. He went through it to Hermitcraft, and somehow, that got Bravo sent to Hels. That seems to be the conclusion they’ve come to. And Tango didn’t know about it at first, but he’s known about it for a couple years at this point, and said nothing.

(How selfish of him.)

But it wasn’t Tango’s fault! He didn’t intentionally send Bravo there, and he only kept his knowledge secret because he was afraid he’d get sent back himself if he revealed the truth. That’s… really upsetting. If Tango didn’t trust the Hermits enough to tell them, after spending nearly a decade getting to know them, it’s no wonder he didn’t tell Jimmy.

Has Tango spent this whole time feeling like a fugitive in his own home?

And what is Hels, really? What kind of world doesn’t allow portal travel in and out? The way they’d spoken about it, it almost seemed like a prison. But created by who? And why?

What exactly is a Hels player? What does a ‘doppelgänger’ entail, exactly? Because if Tango is supposed to be an evil version of Bravo, Jimmy is clearly missing something, ‘cause he doesn��t buy that for a second.

Do all players have a Hels counterpart? Does Jimmy? Oh, now there’s a disturbing thought. Is there another Jimmy running around in a prison world somewhere, locked away from the rest of the universe?

Now that he’s aware of the possibility, he isn’t sure this is something he can just forget about.

But he knows his questions will have to wait. Tango is hardly in the condition to be discussing any of this- getting him recovered from his shock is Jimmy’s first priority. He’s about to ask how far away they are when two figures appear in the distance.

It’s Scott and Pearl, on the way back from their respawns. Pearl is preoccupied, intensely scanning her communicator as she walks. But Scott spots them immediately, nudging Pearl with his elbow and lifting a hand to wave them over.

Impulse glances over his shoulder at Bdubs and Jimmy. “Guess we’d better go see what they want,” he says as he steers his horse towards the pair, Bdubs following suit.

Pearl looks up at their approach. Her respawn must’ve taken care of any injuries she sustained from the battle, because she seems like her usual red-eyed self. But there’s an unmistakable air of anxiety about her- one that Scott seems to share, based on his terse expression.

“Impulse!” Pearl shouts, as soon as she’s within proximity hearing range. “You seen Tilly ‘round?”

Impulse eases his horse to a stop. “Oh, uh- she’s the one with the dyed collar, right?” he asks, knitting his brows together. “Yeah, yeah I’m pretty sure she was back at the wheat field.” 

Pearl exhales heavily. “Oh, thank goodness. I- I lost so many dogs, I wasn’t sure…” She puts her communicator away, looking them up and down. “So uh, is everyone alright? Are… you guys alright?” she asks uncertainly, quirking a brow.

“We’re fine,” Impulse assures her easily. He jerks his head back in the direction they came from. “The others are dealing with the ranch right now, it’s uh… it’s a pretty big fire, I’m sure they’d appreciate some help.”

Pearl follows his gaze, eyes widening at the plume of smoke still visible above the trees. “Oh gosh, yeah, we’d better get goin’, then.”

“You alright, Timmy?” Scott speaks up suddenly. 

“Huh?” Jimmy startles at being addressed. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Mmm.” Scott doesn’t look convinced, his sharp eyes studying Jimmy’s face before flicking over to Tango. “Is Tango alright? Where’d tha’ thing on his neck come from?”

Jimmy’s heart jolts. “Um…” He isn’t sure how much he should be sharing with the others, while Tango’s incapacitated like this.

Luckily for him, Impulse cuts in. “Don’t worry,” he says gently, “we’ve got it covered. You guys go check in with the others, okay?”

It’s not a very subtle hint, but Scott allows it. “Alriiiight,” he drawls, holding his hands up. “Just remember you’ve got help if y’want it.”

“I appreciate it,” Impulse hums, but Jimmy catches the flash of relief in his eyes as he turns his horse away.

“Yeah, ‘preciate ya!” Bdubs echoes as they ride off.

They ride in silence for a few moments, until they’re out of proximity range, before Impulse clears his throat. “I just think Tango would appreciate some privacy right now,” he explains quietly. “You know everyone else- they’d all want to help and see if he’s okay, but a big group would probably freak him out.”

“Ah.” Jimmy nods. “Good thinkin’.”

(Gee, Impulse is really taking charge, huh?)

(You’re basically useless.)

(He would’ve been a way better soulmate for Tango than you.)

The thoughts make Jimmy flinch. He hasn’t often felt insecure in his relationship with Tango, despite having known him for a much shorter time than the Hermits. But right now, his general lack of knowledge and experience in how best to help Tango has become glaringly obvious.

Thankfully, before he can spend any more time feeling sorry for himself, Impulse and Bdubs’s house finally comes into view.

They’ve added another floor since Jimmy was last here. Floor-to-ceiling windows made of light gray panes curl around one side of the building, continuing with the sleek mid-century modern design. The front yard has received some landscaping as well; a wide, circular path that frames a small cluster of custom trees and shrubbery before leading to the dark oak door, framed by neat flower beds on either side.

As they come up on the house, Impulse and Bdubs turn their horses along a branch of path that veers off from the main circle, taking them towards a small structure built against the house’s side. Made only out of diorite wall posts and a flat, deepslate tiled roof, it creates sort of an overhang, divided into two compartments with warped stem fence posts. Its purpose quickly becomes obvious as Bdubs hops off his horse and pulls a lead from his inventory, leashing his horse to one of the posts.

Jimmy swings his leg around to slide off the horse, dropping onto the ground with an ungraceful grunt. In the stall beside them, Impulse has carefully dismounted from his own steed, still cradling Tango in his arms.

The longer Jimmy looks, the more his chest aches with longing. So he looks away.

“Alright, let’s get inside.” Impulse’s voice is soft. He turns back towards the front of the house. “This way.”

Bdubs finishes hitching the other horse to its post. “Right behind ya!” he chirps. He pats Jimmy on the arm as he passes- an encouraging, or perhaps comforting, gesture.

Either way, Jimmy appreciates it. He knows Bdubs tends to diffuse tense situations with humor, or by maintaining an energetic demeanor. It might be mistaken as inconsiderate, in some situations, but he seems to know where the line is. Genuinely, Jimmy thinks he’d feel worse if Bdubs was suddenly walking on eggshells around him.

Pity is a suitor that won’t take a hint, no matter how many times Jimmy turns it away.

He follows Impulse and Bdubs around the front of the house. Bdubs has already scrambled ahead to open the door for Impulse, whose arms are, of course, full of Tango. He ushers Jimmy in after them with a wide sweep of his arm.

They’ve moved their bedroom upstairs at some point, it seems. The main floor is now a dedicated living space with a modest kitchen in the back, overlooked by a loft from the second floor. An L-shaped lounge made of quartz stairs is built into the conversation pit occupying the center of the room, surrounding a small fireplace. The glass panes encasing it go all the way up to the ceiling, but the sight of fire makes Jimmy flinch anyways- which he immediately kicks himself for.

(Jeeze, man, get a grip! What if Tango saw that?)

If Impulse and Bdubs noticed, they don’t comment on it. Impulse silently leads the way up a spiral quartz slab staircase, which opens up into the loft. Bdubs’s interior work is clearly showing here, with cozy seating nestled beside a custom bookshelf-console unit. Straight ahead past the loft is a short hallway with a couple doors on either side.

Impulse stops at the first one on the right. “We got a spare room here,” he says, nodding his head at the door.

“Not finished yet!” Bdubs adds hastily, though still making an effort to keep his voice low. “Or uh, heugh- furnished. I’m gonna- I was gonna do the interior, I swear.”

Somehow, the fact that Bdubs is concerned Jimmy will judge his lackluster interior decoration- despite everything else going on right now- makes Jimmy crack a smile. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers, ey?” he jokes.

“Oh, very freaking funny!” Bdubs huffs, but he’s grinning, too. He opens the door for them, and Jimmy lets Impulse carry Tango inside before following.

The room is, as expected, fairly bare bones. Quartz walls and a dark oak floor carry over the mid-century modern theme from the exterior, but there’s no furniture other than a double-wide cyan bed against the wall. A couple of haphazardly-placed torches on the walls provide the room’s only lighting.

“No windows yet, either,” Bdubs mutters, clicking his tongue as his critical gaze sweeps over the room. “I need ta- I- I still gotta figure out how to place ‘em, with the exterior wall and stuff.”

“It’s alright,” Jimmy assures him. Windows would make him feel a bit too exposed right now, if he’s being honest.

Impulse carefully sets Tango down on the bed. “Okay, Tango, here we are.” He straightens up, running a hand through his hair as he exhales heavily.

Bdubs crosses quickly-but-quietly over to Impulse, wrapping him in a hug. “You okay, sweetie?” he asks softly.

Impulse smiles down at him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Bdubs goes up on his toes to kiss Impulse’s cheek- and even so, he barely makes it. “I’m gonna go check on our boys, then, and see if the others need help with th- with the uh, the ranch. D’you- is there anything you want me to tell ‘em?”

“Yeah,” Impulse says thoughtfully, “maybe just let them know that we’d like to give Tango and Jimmy some privacy right now? We’ll let them know if we need anything, and we’ll chat more once everything’s calmed down.”

“Right, okay.” Bdubs glances at Jimmy. “That- is that good? For you?”

Jimmy is taken aback by the amount of consideration he’s being given. “Oh yeah, that’d be great, thanks.”

“Alright.” Bdubs casts one final look at Tango, trying but failing to hide his worry from those big eyes of his. “Alright, I- I’ll be back in a little.” 

He slips out the door, leaving them alone.

Before an awkward silence can descend, Impulse clears his throat. “So uh, looks like someone got you pretty good,” he says, gesturing to his face.

“Huh?” Confused, Jimmy brings a hand to his face- only to jerk away as his fingers brush against his nose. Now that he’s actually paying attention, there’s a dull ache of pain radiating down the bridge of his nose, and underneath the still-sticky blood, he can feel a prominent bump where there wasn’t one before.

“Oh, right,” he murmurs. “Forgot about that.”

“Yeah, looks broken,” Impulse says sympathetically. “Need a respawn?”

Jimmy pauses. It’s difficult to tell when an injury will result in lasting damage- no one’s really cracked that particular scientific riddle yet. But generally, it’s understood that the sooner the respawn, the better the outcome. That’s why things like creeper explosions hardly ever leave a mark, since the death is usually instant.

More so, superficial wounds tend to be less likely to scar than deeper, more structural wounds. A simple gash will almost always go away after respawning- if it hasn’t already healed on its own- but things like broken bones can linger in the form of scars, joint deformities, and chronic pain. If he’s being smart, he really should get a quick respawn in, just to be sure.

But they’re on the Double Life world, and right now, his life isn’t just his own.

Jimmy looks Tango over. None of his wounds are serious enough to warrant a respawn, he only got a little scuffed up in the initial attack. In his current state, it’d probably do more harm than good.

“No,” Jimmy decides, “I… I can’t do that to him, not right now. He’s disoriented as it is.” He shrugs a shoulder. “Besides, I think it’s just the cartilage. Either it’ll heal on my next respawn, or it won’t, and it’ll just match the rest of my face.”

Impulse doesn’t laugh at the self-deprecating joke, simply offering a sad smile. “Alright. I’ll see if Martyn can bring some healing potions by once they finish up at the ranch, I’m pretty sure he’s got a brewing set-up.”

Jimmy’s throat tightens. “Right, thanks…” He smoothes a hand over the bed’s cover, setting his spawn anyways, before he eases himself onto the mattress. “Tango…?” he ventures. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

Tango has yet to move at all from where Impulse deposited him, back against the wall with his knees tucked to his chest, arms limp at his sides. He doesn’t acknowledge Jimmy at all- which isn’t anything malicious on his part, of course, but god does it hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Jimmy tries again. “Hey, Tango? It’s me, it’s Jimmy.” He puts a gentle hand on Tango’s shoulder, watching him all the while for any sign that he’ll startle or panic. “It’s over, you’re safe now. Are- are you hurt anywhere? Do you need anythin’?”

Still nothing. Somewhere behind Jimmy, Impulse makes a noncommittal noise. “Jimmy, buddy, I don’t think that’s gonna work right now…”

Jimmy ignores him. “Please, Tango,” he pleads, feeling his eyes sting, “can you just…” Idly, he lifts his other hand to wipe some of the blood off Tango’s chin. “Can you look at me?”

Unexpectedly, that gets Tango’s attention. He lifts his face almost robotically to look at Jimmy, eyes and expression still devastatingly blank.

The sudden movement startles Jimmy, his hand jerking back. And as it does, Tango lets his head drop back down.

An image flashes in Jimmy’s mind; Atlas, the doctor with the blood red gloves, grabbing Tango by the chin and tilting his head up.

(Oh, that’s messed up.)

(You’ve really done it, now.)

(Brilliant, just brilliant.)

Jimmy’s stomach turns. He scrambles back, away from Tango, his heart starting to pound. “Sorry,” he whispers, even though Tango gives no indication that he’s hearing it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

A hand lands on his shoulder, making him jump. Impulse gives him an understanding look. “I… think he just needs some time to come out of it,” he says quietly. “Y’know, alone. When he shuts down like this, there’s really nothing to do but wait.”

Jimmy finds his voice again. “Wait, you’ve seen it before?” he asks, creasing his brows together.

Impulse winces. “A couple times, yeah.”

“Oh.” Jimmy swallows, glancing back at Tango. “I dunno, I- I don’t wanna just leave him like this…”

“We can stay right outside,” Impulse says reassuringly, folding his arms. “It’s just… when he gets like this, I’m not sure he’s fully processing what’s going on. It’s like a defense mechanism. So he’s not gonna come out of it until he feels safe, and um… well…”

It’s not hard to catch his meaning. Jimmy bristles. “What, are you- are you sayin’ he doesn’t feel safe with me?” he snaps, which is so unfair because Impulse has been so helpful and so kind and he’s actually sort of right, but Jimmy can’t help it.

Impulse holds his gaze. “Not if he doesn’t recognize you.”

That sobers Jimmy a little, his wings sagging. “Oh. Oh, yeah, good point. You’re right.” Ducking his head, he swings his legs off the side of the bed and rises to his feet. “I guess he’ll be okay in here,” he relents. “But um, can we- would you mind if we put out the lights? It’s just…”

“Tango feels safer in the dark,” Impulse finishes, realization dawning in his eyes. “Good call.”

“Yeah.” Jimmy fidgets with his hands as Impulse collects the torches.

(Wow, he really knows Tango, huh?)

(Thank god someone knows what to do.)

(What exactly are you even here for?)

With the room now sufficiently darkened, Impulse holds the door open for Jimmy. Jimmy gives Tango a final look-over, his blank face now lit by the dim glow of his dampened blaze rods.

“We’ll be right outside if you need us, Tango,” Jimmy says in parting.

Tango remains silent as Impulse closes the door behind them.

As soon as they’re back in the hallway, all of Jimmy’s fatigue seems to hit him at once. He sways where he stands, shoulder bumping against the wall- the dull pain is easily ignored in favor of the black spots dancing across his vision. He squeezes his eyes shut, biting back a groan.

Fortunately, Impulse is there to steady him. “Woah, easy there.” He quickly guides Jimmy over to the loft to sit down. “Just breathe, okay?”

Jimmy takes a few slow, deep breaths- in through the nose, out through the mouth. When he opens his eyes again, the room is no longer spinning around him, so that’s a plus.

“Here,” Impulse presses something into Jimmy’s hand, “you must’ve worked up some hunger.”

It’s a golden carrot. “Thanks,” Jimmy murmurs, immediately starting to nibble on it. He probably does have food on him, somewhere in his inventory- cooked steak, most likely- but the extra saturation helps.

Seemingly satisfied that Jimmy isn’t going to pass out, Impulse sits down in the chair next to him. “How you feelin’?”

“Better, thanks,” Jimmy murmurs, shifting to fold his wings a bit more comfortably. He feels awkward and just… so out of place here. And Impulse is a nice guy, sure, but it’s a little embarrassing to have to be taken care of like a child. If it weren’t for Tango’s sake, he probably wouldn’t have accepted Impulse’s offer of help in the first place.

“Good.” Impulse looks him up and down, brows pinching together. “Jeeze, they really did a number on you. I’m sorry we weren’t there sooner, chat was chaos and we thought they’d be at spawn ‘til we saw your SOS.”

That comforts Jimmy a little. At least he managed to do something right. “It’s alright, not your fault,” he assures Impulse. “I mean, if you guys hadn’t come when you did…”

“Yeah.” Impulse nods solemnly. “That, uh… would’ve been pretty bad.”

Jimmy studies Impulse for a moment. Now that they have a second, there’s a question that’s been nagging at him. “So…” he starts, “how much did you hear, of what Bravo said?”

“Eh, bits and pieces.” Impulse shrugs. “Something about Tango being an evil doppelgänger from Hels.”

He says it so casually, like he’s talking about the weather. Jimmy’s stomach cinches. “Impulse…” he says carefully. “Did you… did you know?”

“What?” Impulse looks at him in surprise. “Oh, that Tango was from Hels? No. No, I never knew anything about before he came to Hermitcraft. But you know, I always kinda knew there was something… not great in his past. I mean, there were signs. I just figured he’d come from an anarchy server or something.” He knits his brows together. “I guess you… never saw what he was like, when he was still new, huh?”

Jimmy frowns. “Wha’d’you mean?”

Impulse makes a noncommittal noise. “It’s not my place to get into all that. But let’s just say… he’s come a long way since then. So um, looking back, it kinda makes sense.”

“So then…” Jimmy hesitates. “D’you believe what Bravo was saying? About what Hels are like?”

Impulse actually laughs- though not unkindly. “Oh, no, not by a long shot,” he assures Jimmy. “Don’t worry about that. I mean, there are players who think non-humans are bad, right? Like, there are still public servers out there that’ll ban Cleo soon as she joins, just for being a zombie.” He shrugs a shoulder, his forked tail idly flicking through the air. “Or me, for being a demon.”

“Oh.” Jimmy blinks, feeling stupid. “Right. It’s… so easy to forget, sometimes, that some folks still feel that way.”

Impulse tilts his head. “Well, not when you have to live it,” he says lightly.

“Oh. Oh!” Jimmy smacks his forehead. “No, no, right, of course,” he adds hastily, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it’s easy for you specifically to forget. Just, in general, I guess. ‘Cause most players don’t have that problem with avians- I mean, sometimes they think some of our traits are weird, sure, but uh- but it’s not the same thing, cause we aren’t hostile mob hybrids. Obviously. And- and none of my friends feel that way, either, so I just…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I’m not makin’ a lotta sense.”

Impulse gives him a gracious smile. “It’s okay, I know what you mean.” He leans back in his chair, his eyes thoughtful. “I’ve gotten so used to Hermitcraft, sometimes it catches me by surprise when I travel to public servers and people act scared, or… distrustful of me. And that’s without even seeing me in ‘full demon’ mode. So uh, even though I don’t know anything about this Hels world, I don’t believe that just being from there would automatically make someone evil. I know Tango better than that.”

Jimmy’s throat tightens. “Right…”

Now it’s Impulse’s turn to give him a sideways look. “... you don’t believe what Bravo said, do you?” he asks, voice low.

“What?” Jimmy blanches. Despite himself, he feels his wings puff up with indignation. “Gosh no, no, that’s- not in a million years, mate, it’s utter nonsense!”

“Alright, alright, sorry,” Impulse chuckles, holding his hands up. “I didn’t think you would. But you know, I just had to make sure.”

“Yeah.” Jimmy sighs, letting his feathers smooth down again. “You’re a good friend, Impulse,” he says, glancing away. “Seems like you know what to do, here. He’s gonna need that.”

“He’s gonna need you.” 

That makes Jimmy look up. “What?” 

Impulse’s expression softens. “I’ve known Tango a while, now, and even though there’s been plenty of fun and good times over the years… this is the first time I’ve seen him truly content. Like, he just seems at peace in a way I’ve never seen before. You do more for him than you’ll ever know- probably ‘cause he’s too scared to tell you.” There’s a knowing glint in his golden eyes. “Emotional vulnerability, uh, isn’t exactly his strong suit.”

A bittersweet smile tugs at Jimmy’s mouth. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

Impulse claps him on the shoulder. “We’re gonna figure it out, okay? You guys aren’t alone in this.”

Warmth blooms in Jimmy’s chest. “Thank you, Impulse,” he says softly, “I appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Impulse returns his smile before sitting back in his chair. “Now, how about you get some rest?”

Jimmy’s heart jolts. “Wh- no, wait,” he protests, “I’m not gonna leave-”

“You can stay right here!” Impulse assures him easily. “Just close your eyes and rest a bit. I’ll keep an eye out, and wake you up as soon as Tango comes to, okay? But right now, frankly, you look exhausted. And I’m sure you’ll wanna be well-rested for whenever Tango’s ready to talk about stuff.”

“Ah…” Chewing his lip, Jimmy glances over at the door to the spare room- mere steps away.

Since he forewent a respawn, he has to admit some shut-eye would be quite welcome at the moment. The immediate danger has passed. And right now, there’s nothing he can do to help Tango but give him some time. Might as well spend that time resting.

“I… suppose you’re right,” he relents finally. “But you gotta promise you’ll wake me if anythin’ happens, alright?”

Impulse nods. “I promise.”

“Right, then.” Jimmy settles into his chair, folding his arms across his chest. He fights back a yawn. “Thanks again. I- I mean it though… any little thing…”

“I know, I know.” Impulse waves him off. “Don’t worry.”

“Famous last words,” Jimmy quips, closing his eyes.

Impulse huffs a laugh but says nothing else.

Silence settles over the room, filled only by Impulse’s steady breathing and the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of him typing away on his communicator. He’s probably updating the others on the situation, so Jimmy can rest easy. He’s considerate like that.

Jimmy would’ve thought it’d be hard to fall asleep. This chair isn’t exactly built for it, and as lovely as Impulse and Bdubs’s home is, it’s not the ranch.

The loss is still fresh. He already knows it’s gonna hit him even harder in the coming days. But for right now, the post-adrenaline exhaustion is finally sinking in, and before he knows it, he’s drifted off into the inky blackness.

~*~

A gentle hand on Jimmy’s shoulder startles him awake.

“Jimmy,” Impulse whispers, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness, “wake up.”

It must’ve been quite a deep, dreamless sleep, because while it seems to Jimmy that he only just closed his eyes, he can clearly see through the window that it’s been at least several hours. The sun has long since set; a half moon is rising in the night sky. That’s alright with Jimmy- he was afraid he’d have nightmares.

Rubbing his eyes, Jimmy squints at Impulse. “What’s goin’ on? Everythin’ okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Impulse scratches the back of his head. “I uh, I just heard a thud in Tango’s room so I went to check on him and- he’s fine, don’t worry!” he adds quickly, as Jimmy bolts upright. “He’s fine, he’s up, but he still seems kinda disoriented? Like, he’s conscious, but when I tried to go in… I guess I look a bit too intimidating,” he taps one of the curved horns poking out from his hair, “‘cause he growled at me.”

“Growled?” Jimmy repeats, raising his eyebrows.

(Well, that’s promising.)

(Round two!)

(Here we go…)

“Yeah.” Impulse gives a sad smile. “So um, I think you should go try and talk to him, if you’re up for it.”

“Oh.” Jimmy blinks. “Oh, right, of course.” He rises to his feet, shaking off residual soreness from his awkward sleeping position.

Impulse pulls a lantern from his inventory and holds it out to Jimmy. “Give a shout if you need anything.”

Jimmy takes the lantern. “Right, thanks.” Steeling himself, he creeps over to the spare room, knocking lightly on the door- which is slightly ajar. “Tango…?” he calls softly, poking his head into the room. “You okay?”

The bed is empty, covers strewn in disarray. Tango is crouched in the corner farthest from the door, his back pressed against the wall. Hunched over and breathing hard, he stares at Jimmy, his blood-stained face lit by the faint glow of his blaze rods. His pupils are dilated again, lips curled back to show his teeth. There’s no recognition in his expression at all.

(You cannot sleep, there are monsters nearby.)

Jimmy swallows. His heart starts to pound. “Tango,” he starts tentatively, holding the lantern up so his face is clearly illuminated as he steps forward, “it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Tango makes a blaze noise deep in his throat; a haunting, hollow sort of growl. It’s unmistakably a warning.

Jimmy hesitates, wings shuffling uncertainly. How to get through to him? General reassurances don’t seem to be working. He needs to remind Tango of where he is, to convince him that he’s safe- in a way that only Jimmy would know.

He takes a breath. “Hey, rancher.”

Tango falls silent. Surprise flickers across his features, mouth parting, gaze sharpening. For a moment he just stares, motionless. Then he squints.

“... Jimmy?”

Oh, Jimmy could cry. “Yes, there we go!” he says encouragingly. “It’s me, it’s Jimmy. You okay, Tango?”

Tango’s breath hitches. He takes a single, careful step forward- then he halfs runs, half stumbles towards Jimmy.

Jimmy rushes to meet him, catching Tango before he falls. “Oh jeeze, okay…” Setting the lantern down on the bed, he lowers them to the floor, shifting so he can wrap Tango in his arms. “It’s alright, it’s alright…”

“Jimmy, thank god.” Tango clings to him just as tightly, face buried in Jimmy’s shirt. His claws dig into Jimmy’s skin just shy of being painful. “I- I woke up,” he gasps, “and the quartz- I thought I was…” He pulls away enough to scan Jimmy’s face, eyes wide and frightened. “Where are we? What- how long has it been?”

Jimmy knits his brows together. “Uh- we’re at Impulse and Bdubs’s place, and it’s been… several hours, I think? Half a day?”

“God.” A shudder runs through Tango. “That- that really happened, didn’t it?” He starts to breathe faster, his voice straining into that faint upper pitch that Jimmy’s come to associate with panic. “Oh god, I- I- I don’t- hhh, I c- can’t…”

“Hey, hey, breathe,” Jimmy soothes, rubbing circles on Tango’s back. “I’m here, you’re safe. It’s over. Just breathe.”

They stay like that for a while, Tango curled against Jimmy as he rides out the worst of it. He shakes violently, eyes squeezed shut, breath hitching as he tries to get control of it again. Jimmy’s heart aches for him- he wishes there was something more he could do to help.

But he knows from experience that just being here is enough.

It’s not terribly infrequent for Tango to have nightmares. Sometimes he simply startles awake at night, apologizes for waking Jimmy up, and goes back to sleep. If Jimmy asks about it the next morning, he brushes it off as nothing; just silly nonsense nightmares, the kind that are terrifying at the time but seem utterly ridiculous in the light of day. Nothing more than that.

And all this time, Jimmy believed him.

(What a fool.)

Jimmy’s only ever seen a couple nightmares cause a reaction as severe as this. The shaking, the shortness of breath, the panic. What helped in the past was simply holding Tango- offering a few reassurances, but mostly silent comfort. And of course, Tango never wanted to talk about those nightmares, and Jimmy didn’t want to push too hard. He’d figured that Tango would talk to him about it when he was ready.

(Fool me once, shame on you…)

Gradually, Tango calms down. His tremors cease, and his breathing starts to grow deeper. He’s still holding onto Jimmy, but it’s less desperate, now. More familiar. Jimmy curls his wings around them, as if providing another barrier, another layer of security.

After Tango’s been still and quiet for a few moments, Jimmy softly breaks the silence. “How much d’you remember?”

Tango takes a shaky breath. “All of it,” he whispers. “E- everything, I was- it was like I- I was watching everything happen to someone else, like I was outside my body…” He looks up to meet Jimmy’s gaze, eyes brimming with tears. “Jimmy, I- I’m so sorry.”

“What?” Jimmy frowns. “Tango, what on earth are you apologizing for?”

Abruptly, Tango pulls away. “I burned you,” he grits out.

“No, you-” Jimmy almost grabs him by the arm, but then thinks better of it. “That wasn’t your fault.”

Tango stares at him incredulously. “Wha’ th- what do you mean? Of course it was!” He rakes his claws through his hair. “I- I lost control, I set the ranch on fire, and you got burned.”

“That’s not the same thing,” Jimmy argues. “You didn’t do it on purpose, you were just defending yourself.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Tango throws his hands up. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten burned, true or false?”

(True!)

(He’s got a point…)

(Why are you arguing this?)

Jimmy doesn’t answer. “Look,” he says instead, “honestly, it’s not a big deal. I’m fine!”

“Well, you don’t look fine!” Tango says bluntly. Distress flashes across his face as he looks Jimmy up and down. “Your poor wings- and oh, your face! What, did- we didn’t respawn?”

Jimmy ducks his head. “I didn’t wanna put you through that,” he explains, wincing.

He can actually see the guilt in Tango’s eyes intensify. “Ohhh no,” he breathes, dismayed. “You- why did you…” Shaking his head, he fixes Jimmy with a firm look. “Okay, you- you need to respawn, now.”

“It’s not important,” Jimmy replies, just as stubbornly. He holds a hand out, beseeching. “Tango, please, I- I’ve been worried outta my mind about you. So much happened- ”

“I’m fine,” Tango says shortly.

“No, you’re not,” Jimmy insists, working hard not to raise his voice. “I mean, honestly, I- I don’t even know what that thing ‘round your neck is doin’!”

Tango shuts his mouth with a sharp click and glances away. 

That sobers Jimmy instantly. Tentatively, he scooches a bit closer to Tango. His eyes trace the collar- it’s so deceptively simple, so innocuous at first glance. Just a ring of smooth, flat iron. But clearly, there’s a lot more going on; a single red light above the keyhole hints at a mechanism hidden within.

“Do you… know what it is?” Jimmy ventures, giving Tango a searching look.

Tango’s jaw tightens. “It’s wither rose.”

Jimmy blinks, taken aback. “What? But… we aren’t withering, we aren’t takin’ damage-”

“It’s not…” Tango makes a noncommittal noise, waving a hand in an aborted gesture. “They’ve modified it, somehow, I dunno. It- it’s not the full effect. All it’s doin’ is dampening my fire.”

“And our soulbond,” Jimmy realizes, his stomach sinking. “After he put it on you, I- I couldn’t feel your emotions anymore. It’s just… numb.”

Tango’s face is grim. “That’s what wither rose does,” he says lowly.

The certainty in his voice is… somewhat concerning. Sure, any player who’s been ‘round the block will have learned what it feels like to be withered, at some point or another. But due to the tedious and somewhat risky nature of obtaining the roses by way of a wither farm, most players don’t regularly encounter them. And as far as aesthetics are concerned, they aren’t the most appealing flower, so when they are farmed, they’re mostly used for mass-producing black dye or as the killing method in a mob farm. Not as decor or landscaping, where a player might actually touch the rose and be subjected to the wither effect.

Personally, Jimmy can’t remember the last time he touched a wither rose, as a player who doesn’t make a habit of farming withers or even taking on the boss fight. But the tone of Tango’s voice right now is the tone of someone who is horribly familiar with the sensation.

“Tango…?” Jimmy prompts quietly. “Is there… somethin’ I should know?”

Tango swallows. He’s avoiding Jimmy’s eyes. “I… I don’t wanna talk about it,” he whispers hoarsely. “Not right now?”

It’s almost a plea, and Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Okay. That’s okay,” he says gently, forcing down his disappointment; this isn’t about him. He rises to his feet, holding out his hand to Tango. “Here, come on, let’s… let’s get up on the bed, alright? It’s late, you need some proper rest.”

Tango hesitates, though he accepts Jimmy’s offered hand to help him up. “You need to respawn…”

“It can wait,” Jimmy says easily. He tries for a grin. “Honestly, I- I already knew I wasn’t exactly easy on the eyes, but I didn’t think it was that bad…”

“No,” Tango says quickly, “no, you’re not-” He makes a frustrated noise. “Your wings.”

Jimmy softens. “They’re just feathers. They’ll grow back.”

Sure, it might take a while if his follicles have been badly damaged, and his wings won’t be a pretty sight once all the burned feathers fall out. But most of his flight feathers are still intact, so in terms of places to get burned, it could’ve been much worse.

Tango huffs a breath, clearly still upset with himself. But he doesn’t protest further as Jimmy eases onto the bed, gently pulling Tango with him. After collecting the lantern so the room is properly dark again, Jimmy nestles under the covers, sweeping a wing out to lightly gather Tango beside him.

Tango settles against him, and it’s then that Jimmy realizes he isn’t as warm as he used to be.

He’s not cold, not by any means. But Tango has always run a bit hotter than the average player- a blaze hybrid trait that Jimmy’s quite fond of. It was the whole reason they first shared a bed, back in the early days of the world, and inadvertently plunged their relationship into new, terrifying depths. If it wasn’t for that moment, they likely would’ve danced around the issue for far longer, and been robbed of many precious days of happiness together. So even on warm nights, Jimmy will still cuddle up beside Tango. Even if he has to kick all the blankets off.

But with the collar dampening Tango’s fire, he’s been robbed of that, as well.

Jimmy swallows the lump in his throat and puts an arm around Tango, who curls into his side, head resting on his shoulder. Having Tango so close is immediately comforting. God, to think of how close he came to losing this, to never holding Tango again… 

It’s scary. It’s incredibly scary. There are few things in the universe that can really, truly cause lasting harm to a player. Injuries can heal upon respawn, death isn’t permanent- except for worlds where it is, then they just respawn on a different world and start again. But if those Hels people had succeeded in taking Tango through that hacked portal, into some isolated prison world that Jimmy has no way of finding… he’s afraid that would’ve destroyed him.

Jimmy turns his head to press a kiss onto Tango’s forehead, right between the dimmed blaze rods hovering around his temples. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Tango whispers back.

The room grows silent. Jimmy stares up at the dark ceiling. His earlier tiredness has up and left him, his mind racing, plagued by thoughts of what might’ve been. It’s all he can do to reassure himself that it’s over, that Tango’s safe and still here with him.

That for once, he was lucky.

(For how long, though?)

He isn’t trying to stay awake. And he isn’t pretending to be asleep, either, just laying quietly with his thoughts. But at some point Tango must think he’s nodded off, because only then does he start to cry.

It’s a quiet sound. Just the sharp inhale and exhale of breath. Jimmy might not have even known he was crying if it wasn’t for the way his shoulders shake, and the sudden dampness seeping into Jimmy’s shirt. 

It takes all of Jimmy’s willpower not to console Tango, to hold him tighter and offer hushed reassurances. There’s a reason Tango waited until he thought Jimmy was asleep- he’s very much the kind of person who prefers to show emotion on his own terms. If he knew Jimmy was awake to witness this, he’d completely shut down again. And he needs this.

So Jimmy pushes down his own emotions and does nothing as his soulmate cries, trying not to move or start crying himself as the guilt for being so useless eats him alive.

(Sweet dreams…)

~*~

Morning comes, eventually.

At least, as far as Jimmy can tell by his internal clock. The room he wakes up to is still fairly dark- just a slim beam of light coming in from the hallway through the cracked door. Impulse must’ve done that to better keep an ear out for them overnight. Thoughtful guy. Tango is sleeping deeply next to Jimmy, and the sight is quite comforting.

It seems they’ve kept with their usual sleeping habits, even without a sunrise to greet them.

Carefully, without jostling Tango, Jimmy pulls up his inventory to grab his communicator. He can’t recall hearing it go off, but he wants to make sure there isn’t anything that urgently requires his attention. He’s surprised, however, to find a potion of healing; Impulse must’ve slipped it to him while he was sleeping.

A smile tugs at Jimmy’s lips. He’s long since regenerated his health, but the potion ought to help with his lingering injury. He downs the potion quickly, grimacing at the cloyingly sweet note of melon. It doesn’t take long for a cooling sensation to settle over his broken nose. When he gently probes at it, he can feel it’s still a little crooked, but at least the pain is gone.

Putting the empty bottle away, Jimmy digs out his communicator, squinting against the blue light. No one’s used chat lately or sent him any whispers- it seems they’re taking the request for privacy quite seriously. But there is the backlog from yesterday waiting for him. It takes him a minute just to scroll back to where it all began.

Bravo joined the game.

<Grian> ey??

AtlasSyn joined the game.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

Phantonym joined the game.

<Grian> EYY????

Helfyre_004 joined the game.

<PearlescentMoon> Ummm?

<Renthedog> What the heck??

CRIMETIME joined the game.

t3rr0r_b1te joined the game.

EbonyHelmentia joined the game.

baddomen666 joined the game.

<InTheLittleWood> WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!?

staluggmite joined the game.

PwrPlayz joined the game.

<PearlescentMoon> Hello??

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

Vexed2theMax joined the game.

ApexGamer98 joined the game.

<Smajor1995> wait how is this happening

<PearlescentMoon> Raid?? D:

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels joined the game.

<Grian> i don;t know??

Jaffu joined the game.

<Grian> theres no one at spawn???

<Etho> woah!

<SolidarityGaming> SOS RSNCH

<Smajor1995> oh no

<Renthedog> What??

<Smallishbeans> rsnch lol

<GoodTimeWithScar> G come pick me up

Tyrannicide was slain by Tango.

staluggmite was slain by Tango.

Phantonym was slain by Tango.

<InTheLittleWood> Wait WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

<Smallishbeans> NO WAY

<BdoubleO100> OHHHHHHH

<Grian> EVERYONE TO RANCH

<ZombieCleo> what is happening???

staluggmite joined the game.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

<Smajor1995> omw cleo

Phantonym joined the game.

<impulseSV> Etho, Joel, our place?

<Renthedog> BigB where you at??

<bigbst4tz2> coming

SheHelsSeaHels was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

EbonyHelmentia was shot by Smajor1995.

XxSLAYERxX was slain by impulseSV.

CRIMETIME was slain by Wolf.

t3rr0r_b1t3 was slain by Renthedog.

Jaffu was doomed to fall by ZombieCleo.

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

Tyrannicide was slain by Renthedog.

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

EbonyHelmentia joined the game.

CRIMETIME joined the game.

Phantonym was slain by Etho.

t3rr0r_b1t3 joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels joined the game.

XxSLAYERxX was slain by Wolf.

Jaffu joined the game.

Helfyre_004 was slain by Renthedog.

Vexed2theMax was slain by bigbst4tz2.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

Jaffu was slain by Renthedog.

SheHelsSeaHels was slain by Wolf.

bigbst4tz2 was shot by AtlasSyn.

Renthedog died.

Phantonym joined the game.

baddomen666 was slain by Wolf.

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

Jaffu joined the game.

PwrPlayz was slain by InTheLittleWood.

Helfyre_004 joined the game.

Vexed2theMax joined the game.

staluggmite was slain by Smallishbeans.

Helfyre_004 was shot by Smajor1995.

EbonyHelmentia was slain by Wolf.

PwrPlayz joined the game.

ApexGamer98 was slain by PearlescentMoon.

baddomen666 joined the game.

PwrPlayz was slain by Wolf.

Jaffu was slain by Wolf.

baddomen666 was shot by Smajor1995.

EbonyHelmentia joined the game.

Vexed2theMax was slain by InTheLittleWood.

PearlescentMoon was shot by AtlasSyn.

Smajor1995 died.

Helfyre_004 joined the game.

ApexGamer98 joined the game.

SheHelsSeaHels was slain by Wolf.

ne’er_do_hels was slain by Wolf.

baddomen666 joined the game.

Vexed2theMax joined the game.

Helfyre_004 was slain by Wolf.

baddomen666 was slain by impulseSV.

CRIMETIME was slain by Smallishbeans.

Phantonym was slain by Wolf.

Vexed2theMax was slain by Wolf.

t3rr0r_b1t3 was slain by Wolf.

ApexGamer98 was slain by BdoubleO100.

Tyrannicide was slain by Wolf.

EbonyHelmentia was slain by Wolf.

AtlasSyn left the game.

XxSLAYERxX was slain by Wolf.

Bravo was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

Grian was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

GoodTimeWithScar died.

Jimmy doesn’t know how long he spends looking at chat, reading it over and over again as he tries to make sense of it. All those Hels players came here with the express purpose of kidnapping Tango. But why? Dr. Atlas had said something about ‘getting back to work’ and a farm design, but what does that even mean? 

Speaking of that doctor fella, he seems to have been the only one to get kills on the Double Lifers- the rest of them must’ve been preoccupied with Pearl’s wolves. Gosh, to think what her chat must look like…

But that’s something worth noting. Atlas didn’t waste his time with wolves, he went for Pearl and Bigb. He must’ve realized the wolves were Pearl’s and targeted her because of it. And the fact he went for Bigb instead of Ren, who was racking up the most kills... that means he was able to put together that they were soulbound, and he used that to get rid of the threat more easily.

Out of these Hels players, Atlas is clearly the one to watch out for.

Well, him and Bravo, of course. Though Bravo technically isn’t a Hels, if Jimmy’s understood it properly. But he’s certainly just as cruel and bloodthirsty as those other guys were, and he’s got it out for Tango the most. Jimmy can’t recall the last time he saw such hate in a player’s eyes, for any reason. And this is the guy claiming he should’ve been Jimmy’s soulmate? Unbelievable.

As if Jimmy would ever go for such a dense, hateful, entitled piece of-

“Honey,” Tango says suddenly, sitting up on his elbows, “you okay?”

Jimmy jolts in surprise; he must’ve been looking quite cross with his communicator. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he assures Tango softly, offering an apologetic smile. “Sorry if I woke you.”

It’s difficult to make out details in the scarce light from the hallway, but Tango looks much improved from yesterday. Even underneath the dried blood, the warmth has returned to his skin, replacing that sickly, pale pallor. His red eyes are sharp and alert- that’s a huge relief, as well.

“No, no, you’re good!” Tango says brightly. He leans over to press a kiss to Jimmy’s cheek. “Sleep alright?”

His tone throws Jimmy for a moment. Someone’s feeling better. Blinking, Jimmy puts his comm away. “I did, yeah,” he answers uncertainly. “You?”

“Yep!” Tango smiles at him; it seems a bit forced. “I uh- I’m all rest-ificated and ready to start the day. So, what I- well, I- I guess our first order of business, we should go take a look at the ranch, right, see what the damage is? Then we can do some resource gathering and start rebuilding, so we aren’t crashing at Impulse and Bdubs’s place forever.”

Jimmy pauses for a moment to process the words. “Umm… are you sure?” he asks tentatively. “I mean, we can go look at it if you want, but uh, are you- we should really focus on getting that collar off you first, don’t you think?”

Tango shrugs. He isn’t quite meeting Jimmy’s eyes. “Doesn’t bother me. Besides, we don’t have the key.”

Jimmy knits his brows together. “So what, we just... let it alone? Move on?”

Tango huffs a laugh- it sounds a bit faint. “Yeah, yeah exactly.” 

(What an abrupt change of character!)

(Lying again, it seems…)

(How suspicious.)

Okay, this is definitely strange behavior. Considering everything that happened yesterday, Jimmy would’ve expected Tango to still be physically and emotionally wrecked. But instead, he seems rather keen to just move on, like everything’s normal- 

Ah. Of course. Jimmy doesn’t know why he’s surprised.

“Tango...” he starts, “I don’t think-”

“Good morning!” Impulse hums as he pokes his head through the cracked door. “How we doin’, guys?”

Curse his timing. Tango, of course, immediately takes advantage of the distraction.

“Oh, hey Impy!” he says cheerfully. “Hey uh, sorry about earlier. You know, I uh, I was a little confused, and uh… you know...” He pulls a face; overdramatized. He’s trying to make light of it.

Impulse seems to share the same realization as Jimmy. “Hey, it’s alright,” he says easily, though he keeps his tone in a lower register- more serious. Not feeding into the fake energy. “No hard feelings. Here, I brought some food.”

Tango takes the offered food without even a second of hesitation; a stack of golden carrots. “Of course. Thank you, thank you.” He quickly starts crunching on one, conveniently busying himself so he doesn’t have to say anything else.

Oh well, at least he’s eating. Jimmy gives Impulse a tired smile. “Hey, Impulse. Thanks again for lettin’ us crash here.”

Impulse returns his smile. “Yeah, of course, no problem. So um, I’ve just got a bit of an update for you guys.” He sits down at the end of the bed, expression sobering. “The ranch situation is under control, they managed to get the fire out before it spread to anything else nearby. So your pastures, barns, and fields are safe. All your animals, too.”

It’s easy enough to pick up on what he’s left out. “But the ranch itself is gone, isn’t it?” Jimmy says quietly.

Impulse nods. “I’m sorry. Most of what’s left is just the stone. I think the basement is pretty intact, too, but everything else…”

“Yep.” Tango, finished with his carrot, shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah, I figured. That’s what we get for building with wood, even though I’m super flammable and stuff.”

Jimmy gives him a sympathetic look. “It’ll be okay-”

“So,” Tango interrupts, avoiding Jimmy’s gaze as he gives Impulse an intent look, “uh- anything else?”

(Ouch! Testy…)

Impulse rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Grian wants to know if you guys are up for a chat. Nothing bad,” he adds quickly, “he’s just trying to figure out a solution and we’re just a little in the dark about everything. You can stick to the basics; if there’s something you aren’t comfortable telling us, that’s fine-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tango assures him. Despite his grin, there’s a hard edge to his voice. “Let’s do it. Call everyone up, we’ll have a nice chat at spawn or something. Let’s- let’s get goin’.”

Impulse pauses. “Well, if you want, we can have just Grian come over...”

Tango huffs. “No, why- let’s just get everyone on the same page, okay? Get it all over with at once.” He spreads his hands. “No point in delaying, or- or having to explain the same thing over and over again, right? I mean, everyone’s stuck here ‘til Grian lifts the lockdown, I- I’m sure they’ll wanna know why.”

Jimmy exchanges a look with Impulse. “I… I suppose,” he says hesitantly. “But are you sure you’re-”

“Yeah,” Tango says, “yeah, it’s fine.” 

Impulse purses his lips, clearly fighting not to let his frustration show. 

The sentiment is one that Jimmy shares. It’s obvious Tango is trying to downplay everything- and if that’s his way of coping, fine. But it really throws a wrench into the works when moving forward requires actually addressing what happened, and having an in-depth conversation about it. And this doesn’t bode well for long-term; they can’t just pretend everything’s normal, no matter how much Tango might wish it. 

“Okay, I’ll let him know.” Impulse rises to his feet. “The bathroom’s at the end of the hallway if you guys wanted to wash up.”

Tango actually makes a face at that, dropping the facade for a moment. He really doesn’t like water. “Wash up..?”

Impulse winces. “You’re um. Still covered in dried blood.”

(I was wondering when he’d realize that…)

Tango blinks. “Oh. Oh, right, of course.” Absently, he reaches a hand up to scratch at his chin. “I should probably wash that off, yeah. I mean, everyone knows I’m a vicious monster but I don’t have to look it, right?” he laughs.

Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Hey, Tango…”

“No,” Impulse protests, “that’s not-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tango says shortly. “Thanks, Impulse.”

“Alright.” Impulse lets the matter drop, turning to leave. “Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

As soon as Impulse is gone, Jimmy turns to Tango. “Hey, so-”

But Tango has already hopped out of bed and crossed to the door, calling, “Hang on, be right back!” over his shoulder.

Down the hall, Jimmy hears the bathroom door open and close. He sighs.

This is gonna be a fun conversation.

~*~

CONTINUED IN PART IX, ACT II

[jaydizzel2844]

Marie x Jordan Drabble

No. 6

Hanging out with Jordan is always fun, which ever form they take. André never got peoples hang up over the gender thing was, Jordan was cool either way.

But he’ll admit that they’re easier to carry back to campus drunk off their ass when they’re a girl.

Him and Luke were easily able to hold up Jordan between them and with Cate to open doors and shit getting Jordan back to their dorm room was easy.

There was one small hiccup.

“Noooo, I wanna say good night to my beautiful amazing girlfriend with the best ass ever first .” Jordan whined.

“Buddy it’s 3am, she’s asleep you can talk to her in the morning.” Luke tried to reason with them as they got to the courtyard outside side of the dorms.

“Also your obsession with her ass is a little concerning.” Andre added.

The four of them had gone clubbing. It was a last minute plan and it wasn’t meant to be an original four night out but the other three were busy. Sam had an important assignment for his puppeteering class and Marie and Emma already had plans for a roommates movie night.

Andre probably should have realised that that meant Jordan would be fourth wheeling him, Luke and Cate leading to the shapeshifter spending most of the time out at the bar doing shots with the new friends they’d made while the 3 of them were being throuple-y.

But they all had a good night regardless and hopefully Jordan won’t have too bad of a hangover tomorrow.

“No it’s not. And she might not be asleep,” Jordan slurred out. “She was having a movie night, those can go pretty late.”

The look in Jordan’s eyes was too hopeful Andre couldn’t help it.

“Alright I’ll text her.”

“Thank you, thank you thank you. I just want to say good night and that I love her.”

“Whoa what? Is the first time you’re saying the L word?” Cate exclaimed, stopping the 4 of them from going any further.

“Lesbians?” Jordan asked, confused.

“No, love.” Luke explained “fuck you are way too drunk.”

“Oh sorry, yes I love her but I haven’t told her yet. I’m going to do it tonight.” Jordan looked so proud of themselves.

“No you are not,” Cate told them firmly. “Not when you’re too drunk to stand up on your own.”

“But..”

“She’s right dude,” Andre interrupted. “You got to make shit like that romantic, like recreate your first date or something.”

“I should recreate getting shitfaced at Dusty’s?”

“No,” Luke said with a laugh. “The dinner you two went out for the week after that. At the Korean place off campus. Or do something else romantic. Basically do tell her but not tonight.”

“Ok, can I still tell her good night?” Jordan’s big brown eyes were impossible to say no to.

“If she’s up.” Andre said pulling out his phone.

—

To Marie🩸

U up?

Jordan wants to say good night

From Marie🩸

Yeah ?

Are they ok?

To Marie🩸

Yep just drunk

We’ll swing by your room in 5

From Marie🩸

Cool

Actually I’ll met you at their room

Don’t want to wake Emma

—-

“When did you know you loved her?” Cate asked as they entered the dorm building and headed for the elevator. Getting Jordan to their room was going a lot quicker now that they knew Marie was waiting for them there.

“Um, she was giving me a blowjob..”

“How romantic.” Cate interrupted.

“Fuck off, anyway I switched during it by accident. I thought I majorly fucked up, like totally freaked her out but I didn’t. She just kept going. And I just knew then and there that she wanted all of me, exactly as I am and she makes me feel so happy and good about myself and I’ve never been in love before but I’m pretty sure that this is it.”

“Ok that’s a bit romantic.” Cate admits at they got out of the elevator on Jordan’s floor.

“Thank you.”

Marie was waiting for them at Jordan’s doom in slippers and a hoodie that Cate is pretty sure belongs to Jordan over her pyjamas.

Once Jordan saw her they slipped out of Luke and Andre’s arms and staggered into Marie’s.

“You got it from here or do you need help getting them into bed?” Luke asked.

“No I got it, thanks.” Marie said as she opened the dorm room door while Jordan nuzzled into her neck. “Goodnight”

***

Drunk Jordan was compliant if a bit cuddly so getting them into their pyjamas and into bed wasn’t too difficult.

“Sorry I didn’t come out tonight, it looks like you had a lot of fun.” Marie said as she helped Jordan sit on the bed so she could untie their shoes.

“Nah, it’s cool. You have fun with Emma?”

“Yep, we watched mean girls and a few other classics that’s she was horrified that I hadn’t seen yet. You?”

“Yep, it was so fun. So many shots, maybe too many.” Jordan got up and wrapped their arms around Marie, one hand sliding down to her ass before stopping. “Do you mind that I do that?”

“What?” Pulling out of Jordan’s arms so she could take their shirt off and replace it with a pyjama top.

“Me putting my hands on your ass, like you’ve joked about it a few times and Andre says I’m obsessed but does it bother you?” Jordan looked so concerned as Marie was undoing their belt.

She smiled to herself. “I don’t mind it, kind of like it to be honest.”

“Really?” They asked with so much relief and hope on their face that Marie couldn’t help but kiss them before getting back to taking their jeans off.

“Yeah, I’m been pretty unwanted all my life but I’m never insecure about you wanting me because you make it so obvious that you do, through ass grabbing.” Marie said with a laugh “you also make it clear that you enjoy spending time with me and are an all round amazing partner. Plus I know I have a great ass, I’d be offended if you didn’t appreciate it.”

Once Jordan was in their bed Marie pulled off her hoodie and slippers and joined them.

“It was really cool to hang out with they guys, even if I was fourth wheeling.” Jordan said cuddling into her side. “They give good advice.”

“Like what?” Marie asked as she started to doze off.

“They said not to tell you that I love you when I’m drunk. I’m gonna do it over dinner, make it romantic.”

Marie was suddenly wide awake while Jordan was out like a light. She just about managed to stop her self from jumping for joy or something equally as embarrassing and likely to wake up her partner.

‘Jordan loves me,’ she thought to herself self as she closed her eyes to go to sleep. ‘And I love them too.’

[residentialsinyomakai]

My Thoughts/Kind of a Summary on "Katie's Yokai Butler"

This will all be from memory, so I apologize if some things are off, out of order, or otherwise incorrect `~` Edit Yomo here! I watched it about halfway through this but i have an awful memory ahhh! Anyways, screenshots n stuff might be included now! This'll basically be somewhat of a summary as well as a few observations I've made. Also, I'll be using the English names for characters! Keita is Nate, Fumi-chan is Katie, Warunyan is Baddinyan, so on so forth—☆

[SPOILERS AHEAD OBVIIIII]

The alternative timeline in summary is basically if Katie had gotten the yokai watch instead of Nate. It's first (and last) anime mention to my knowledge is in the Season One episode "Katie's Yokai Butler" if my memory served correctly! The episode follows Whisper through his 'dream' in what is presumed to be a look into the alternate Whisper's life. After a little argument with Nate about his messy room, Whisp cream goes to bed upset. He first wakes up to the smell of roses, and quickly realizes he isn't where he should be. (Probably bc Nate's room smells like cheeto puffs/j) He looks around to find himself in Katie's room. ( ＞Д＜；)

This brings us to the first major difference in this timeline; it takes place in Katie's house obviously! Makes sense since she got the watch instead of Nate >u○ Her room is a lot cleaner, and even appears to be more spacious than her male counterpart. That aside, Katie comes upstairs at some point to wake Whisper, to which he responds with confusion as to where he is and how she can see her. To this universe's Katie, she thinks he's acting strange. She pinches him upon request to make sure he's not dreaming, to which he didn't wake up. That confirms that!

(*￣∇￣)ノ

After a bit, Katie returns back downstairs when she hears her father calling her. This leads Whisper to wonder about another difference; the inclusion of Baddinyan. Besides the obvious fact of it not being Jibanyan, this also means Katie is probably going to interact with other yokai in a rather different manner than Nate! I say that because Nate met Roughraff in Season 1, Episode 3. He didn't even get Baddinyan's medal! (which sucks because that's one of my favorite yokai! Goofy little cat,,, °□°)

Baddinyan's first appearance in the episode 💞🐛👾

If we're talking on all timeline differences—not just the ones in Katie's house—then the meeting with Roughraff might be a good point to bring up. Considering the fusion was involuntary in Nate's timeline, what happened in Katie's? Did they decide to stay fused after that for whatever reason, did Katie fuse them at a place like shonen temple (which doesn't exist in the anime I think >~>), or did something happen pre-canon for them to have became friends and fuse? Sometimes, a fusion can be in the same place as the yokai that fused them in the anime due to certain yokai like Baddinyan forming a separate consciousness from either original host ( 〃=▽=〃) (I probably sound like a huge dweeb rn </33) Maybe Katie said something to the newly existent Baddinyan to make him give her the medal, and thus hanging around her from now on!

After some vague threats at fighting Whisper from Baddinyan, the yokai butler in question wonders about who replaced Hidabat in the closet. He goes to open it leading us into our next difference; Shadow Venoct. There isn't much from me to say about this one to be honest, he doesn't have any lines except for maybe the hissing of his snake-scarf thingies hissing at Whisper (¤o¤|||. I've noticed that a lot of Katie's friends seem to be more powerful, or at least a higher rank than Nate's. [Ex: Shadow Venoct being S Rank, Baddinyan being B Rank, and another S Rank we'll get into later—!♡]

Sometime after that, Katie calls Whisper down to help her investigate the strange way her mother was acting. Whisper attempts to use the Yokai Pad to identify the yokai...although Katie swipes it away just as quickly. <°[O□o;]°> She says that Whisper (or this timeline's original version of...) promised to try and memorize the information instead. It seems un-Whisper like, but to be fair, alternate Whisper probably formed a different dynamic than the usual! She identifies the yokai with the watch, to which Whisper (discreetly uses the pad and) figures out it's Noway!

To deal with him, Katie said that she'd summon a special rare friend. This turns out to be Robonyan's timeline counterpart; Goldenyan! Upon asking the golden robot cat for help, he says that this was 'beneath' his capabilities and basically that his power shouldn't be wasted on it...; ￣Д￣ Anyways, he leaves to the future and the episode ends with Katie using Whisper as a special attack against Noway, much to his dismay >u<. Oh, and it's revealed here that Whisper was dreaming.

Although it may have been a "dream", I'm 99% sure that was a plot device to not have to script in 'Whisper going to another universe!!' to the episode and how he eventually gets back. I personally believe it would be cool to see a spin-off dedicated to something like this! There's Nyanderful Days I guesssss but that doesn't really count cuz it just has Whisper and Jibanyan and it's just inserting Katie into the og series plot (￢_￢) There's a lot of potential, and I'm sure viewers over here in the west and Japan would be happy to see our girl the the spotlight for once wwwwww. Maybe it'd also be an opportunity to have McKraken put into the anime? Hint hint? That, as well as several yokai who might not have been seen by Nate due to him going different places as Katie, hanging out with different people, etc! Anyways, that's all for now!

[thedvilsinthedetails]

rosekiller band au microfic pt4

heyyy guys pt4 is hereeeee

ok so this one is a bit shorter bc I’m a bit tired today but I rlly wanted to write it anyway so I did lol but it’s not been edited like at all so there may be typos pls point them out if u spot them so I can fix them tyyyy

yayyyyy I love this one

Ok ppl who wanted to be tagged/wanted the next part: @good-oldfashioned-lover-girl @picklerab23 @nikholascrow @always-reading @weirdtinkerbellversion @lady-stardust-incarnate @depressedtheatrekiddo @y0url0verb0y @idk-what-to-put-here-123 @lulublack90 (as always pls lmk if u want to be added to the taglist/don’t want to be tagged x)

link to part one

link to prev part

(EDIT: link to next part)

***

Barty’s stomach flipped as Evan looked at him, stunned and stunning. Then the moment was broken and Evan turned his head to look at Dorcas who seemed to be fighting back a laugh. This was stupid fuck this was stupid.

“Did you know about this?”

Evan asked Dorcas who shook her head.

“First time I’ve heard about it.”

Stupid, STUPID. You’re so stupid Barty why would you go and say that. You should have said no when Marls suggested it, should have said no straight away.

“It’s um- to make a statement. Kiss on the stage to piss of Riddle but it’s fine you don’t have to-“

“It’s a good idea.”

Evan said quickly.

“Oh, yeah it was Marls’. Wouldn’t want to um…steal the credit.”

Wouldn’t want you to think that the idea of kissing you plays on repeat in my mind every second I’m awake. 

“Yeah. I um- I want to. I think it would be good-“

Brilliant actually it would be fucking brilliant Rosier.

Barty amended Evan’s statement.

“To make a big statement.”

“Yeah.”

Yeah. Yeah what other reason would there be Barty? What were you hoping for? Pathetic isn’t it. The way you would gladly lick the crumbs left on his plate if he asked you to. He doesn’t want to kiss you, he wants to piss of homophobes. Don’t forget that.

It was in fact too late for Barty to not forget that because all that was ringing in his ears was ‘I want to. I want to.’ Because honestly Barty was going to kiss Evan. Maybe for the only time ever in his life. But he was going to. He’d never even thought it a possibility before. 

•••

I figured out that this modern world is turning the wrong way round

There’s something about the way our bedsheets turn religion upside down

So we just have sex to solve all our problems

Let’s do it again

It had been Pandora’s idea for the kiss to happen during ‘cotton candy’ and everyone had immediately agreed. It was a stroke of genius really. Barty had originally thought it should take place in a love song, but that wasn’t what this kiss was about. This kiss was about the freedom, the liberation everyone deserved to be who they were, to test their limits and experiment and not be judged for being queer or straight or promiscuous or prudish. Cotton candy was just that. A call for sexual liberation, a call to stop demonising young people for living their lives.

And I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy

So you remember me darlin’

Barty turned his head to look at Evan. Their microphones were too far apart on separate sides of the stage, everyone hated it. He felt uncomfortable so far from Evan, they just performed better when they were up close together. The crowd had actually been pretty annoyed when they saw it at first. Still when he looked he saw Evan staring back at him. He cocked his head sideways, a silent, last minute ‘are you ready?’ Evan nodded. 

Im losing myself in you 

In you 

In you

In you 

In you

I know

Evan stopped playing the guitar and let it just hang around his neck as he took the microphone out of the stand. Barty watched him before taking his own mic out the stand too.

I’m losing myself in you

In you 

In you

In you 

In you

I know

They turned to face each other and Barty began to walk.

Leave me in the morning, although

I don’t wanna be on my own

They met somewhere in the middle of the stage and suddenly the scream of the crowd dulled and the music stopped and for a moment there was nothing except Evan. Evan Evan Evan. His eyes staring straight into Barty’s. The hushed sound of their soft harmonies. The warmth of his breath dusting Barty’s face as they pressed their foreheads together.

I’m losing myself in you

In you

In you 

In you 

In you 

I know.

And they kissed. The crowd screamed. And suddenly the world was filled with colour even though Barty had his eyes screwed shut. Kissing Evan was like…fuck Barty was no wordsmith, Regulus and Pandora wrote their songs. But kissing Evan was everything. He tasted sweet and minty like the gum he’d chewed right before the show. His hand was warm and calloused and currently threaded through the hair at the base of Barty’s neck, tilting his head up just so.

The instrumental was over, they’d missed their cue. Barty didn’t care. They kept on kissing till the song faded to a close and even then kept going till the clap of the crowd died down. They softly broke away but Barty couldn’t hide the grin that broke onto his face. Evan just grinned right back.

***

AHHH YAY OK I LOVE THIS SONG CAN I JUST START BY SAYING THAT

Watch the music video for this song (cotton candy by YUNGBLUD)

LOOK AT THE SKIRT HE WEARS AND TELL ME BARTY WOULDNT WEAR THAT

Also what do we thinkkkkk they finally kissed!!!!!!

Ayyyyyy

ok stay tuned for the FIFTH and FINAL part (probs gonna be released tmrw hehe)

Also I’m probably gonna put this on ao3 btw, not gonna change it bc I don’t have the patience to properly lengthen it (at least rn, ig u never rlly know) but it’s just like if ppl want to bookmark it or reread or whatever it’ll probs be easier

ANYWAY LMK WHAT U THOUGHT

😘BYEEEEE

[emiliotheemu]

𖤓 DOA, dead on arrival. ❀

⚠️TW: BLOOD, DEATH, FEAR, ANGST, ETC.⚠️THIS IS MY FIC!!! This is a modern A+H college AU and their names are slightly different. (BTW this is gay 🏳️‍🌈😍💅✨️) The fanfic was slightly inspired by this fanart that I found on Pinterest. I think this is the original watermark/signature of the artist.

Good luck!

The day was slow at the infirmary. All day. There were one or two patients. But, otherwise, pretty empty. Will sighed and sat at the reception desk, the true crime podcast in his ears entertaining him. Soon, the end of the episode came and he fast forwarded to the next one. He looked at the title. "The track and feild tragedy at Sunnyside University."

Will didn't think anything of it, so he just sat down and did the last of his paperwork while listening to it. The person on the podcast did their introduction and the small backstory of the case.

"Hello, true crime lovers. Today, it is a sort of mystery. This takes place at Sunnyside University. The year was 1982..."

And so on. Soon, they got to the people involved in the crime.

"Soren Apollus was a junior in college, one of the top of his class. He got in with a musical scholarship and was one of the best track and field players. He majored in Medical Sciences and minored in Music and Arts. He did discus, javelin and hurdles in track and field."

Will raised an eyebrow and whispered. "Weird..." He kept doing the paperwork, chewing on the end of the pen he was using.

"Next is his lover, Quince Hyathus. He was a sophomore in college, an average student. He got into Sunnyside U with a sports scholarship, the best sprinter and long-distance runner on the track and field team. He majored in Botany and minored in biology. He did, as I previously said, long-distance running for the Sunnyside University track and field team."

Will pushed back off of the desk, spinning slightly in his chair and leaning back, chewing on his pen thoughtfully. "Now, that's even more strange..."

Then the podcast continued. "One day, there was a meet for the T + F team. Quince had just finished his sprint and wasn't paying attention and he was walking past his lover, Soren, when the tragedy struck. Soren was so focused on throwing it correctly that he didn't see Quince. As Quince was walking past, the discus hit him right on the side of his head."

Will took a deep breath through his teeth. "Oh, shit..."

"Soren screamed his love's name and ran over, yelling something along the lines of 'Call 911! Anyone! Please!' As he sobbed, holding his dear boyfriend in his arms. He started whispering to Quince what could only be thought of as confessions of love, poetry, or just telling him to stay with him."

Will groaned, leaning his head back. "Fuck, this... jesus... fucking christ."

"Soren later told the court and doctors/paramedics what he had noted from his medical student lense. He had seen that there would be possible brain damage and most likely a broken or fractured neck. His eye socket was either broken or fractured, as well as his skull. He was unconscious, a very slow pulse. Blood was flowing out of his head so much that Soren's hands and some of his shorts and shirt were stained. There were more details shared, but they were horrid."

"Soon, paramedics arrived and rushed Quince with them. Soren hopped in the ambulance and held Quince's hand, putting on a brave face. Since Quince was unconscious, Soren was pleading for forgivenessto a body who could not hear it. He sobbed over Quince the entire ride."

Will paused it. "Oh, my gods." Will took a sip of the tea he had on the desk, taking a few deep breaths. A few minutes later, he unpaused it.

"The rest of the ride went like that as the paramedics tried their hardest to help Quince. As they rushed into the hospital, Soren was forced to stay outside of the operation room and sat on a chair in the waiting room, hanging his head in his hands and sobbing. He was rocking slightly back and forth, whispering how much he loved Quince and how bad he felt."

Will took another deep breath, bracing himself for what he only knew was complete, utter, horrid news.

"Soon, a doctor came out and handed Soren some tissues. 'Hello, Mr. Apollus. I apologize for the words that I am about to speak.' The doctor confessed. 'I am sorry to inform you, we tried. But, he came DOA. Dead on arrival.' Soren sobbed harder. His love, his life, gone. 'N-no! Th-this can't happen!!' He yelled at the doctor."

Will slammed his fist on the desk.

"And here is the original recording of the call that the paramedics got..."

As the audio played, Will groaned. A minute or two later, the podcast continued.

"Soren stayed at the hospital for a while, sobbing the entire time. Later on, he was on trial for accidental manslaughter. Here's where the mystery comes in. Some of the other competitors said they overheard Tristan Zephyr planning to sabotage Apollo in some way. Wether luring Quince to walk across the discus field, or making the discus heavier, possibly both. No one knows, as Tristan disappeared as soon as Soren went to court. As Soren was trialed and found guilty, he was told he would have at least fifteen to twenty-one months in prison. But the next day, he was gone as well. Wiped clean off of the face of the earth. Off the grid, no where. Not on the school paperwork, his dorm empty, everything. Some things were taken from Quince's room as well, a message written out on a note on Quince's bed. Alas."

After that, Will paused it and took out his ear buds. "Well, I know what that is."

I literally have no idea how to end fanfic. I hope that was good! Tell me if I spelt anything wrong or called Soren, Quince or Quince, Soren.

[little-emerald-snake]

Kinktober Day 6

Toys - Garreth Weasley x F!MC

🔥NSFW 🔞 MDNI

1.2k words

Garreth had come home from work early to what he originally thought was an empty house. His roommate, who he had grown close with at Hogwarts, and him had decided moving in together to cut costs after school would help them both get out of their sibling packed houses and gain some independence without fully living alone.

She was used to him being gone at this time so she mindlessly had her bedroom door open, her broad ‘collection’ out in front of her on her bed as she cleaned them. She prided herself on not needing a man but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to indulge in some much needed alone time.

She hadn’t heard the front door open or her red haired roommate walk down the hall. He absentmindedly peered into her room on his way by, stopping to talk to her when he saw her sitting on the bed. His eyes drifted down to the collection out in front of her on the bed and his eyes widened, broad smirk lighting up his features. “Hey roomie, looks like quite the collection you have there. Now I see why you never have any guys over here.”

She turned, horror scrawled across her features as she spotted him casually leaning against the doorframe of her room, his potioneer gloves hanging out of his pocket, apron slung over his shoulder lazily. She quickly grabbed her pillows, tossing them over the spread of toys on her bed. “G-Garreth?! W-what are you doing home early!? Merlin…you weren’t supposed to see this…”

He chuckled, turning to toss his work gear into his room before crossing his arms smugly, still leaning against her door frame and throwing her a teasing look. “Oh I’m sure I wasn’t. But now that I have, why don’t you show me what you’ve got? Have you had someone use them on you before?”

She looked dumbfounded up at him. At first she was shocked he wanted to see but at his second question she was thrown. She’d thought of someone else using them on her before but never had a chance. He’d flirted in the past but this was a new line they’d never crossed before. “N-no? What do you mean someone using them on me?”

He chuckled a bit and stepped inside her room, crouching down beside her bed and resting his elbows on the edge of her bed. “Don’t tell me someone hasn’t ever fucked you using only your toys? With a collection this big? Come on, let’s see what you’re working with here.”

She blushed, moving the pillows. A large collection of dildos, vibrators, clit suckers, nipple clamps, butt plugs and anal beads. He whistled, seemingly impressed. “Damn, quite a collection, I’m impressed. How often do you use them?”

He looked dead serious which had her doing a double take. He wasn’t smirking anymore, his green eyes shimmered with delight as his eyes flicked from the toys to her face in question. “U-um…once or twice a day…usually.”

He nodded, picking up a red jelly dildo and eyeing it, glancing up at her to see her reaction. She had her hands folded in her lap simply watching him with curious eyes while trying to tame the blush on her face. “Do you want me to show you what it can be like to have someone use your toys on you?”

The thought excited her as well as terrified her. She looked at the toy in his hand and then the more than serious look on Garreth’s face before nodding sheepishly. He nodded, rolling the sleeves on his shirt up and motioned for her to lay back. “Take your clothes off and lay back on the bed with your knees up for me.”

She did what he said, standing and stripping out of her clothes with a blush on her face before laying down on her back, her lower half toward Garreth, pulling her knees up on the bed while leaning up on her elbows to watch him settle on the floor beside her bed, between her legs. “My my, pretty girl. I can’t wait to make you feel good.”

He placed the dildo down and looked at the spread grabbing a pair of twist nipple suckers. He put one knee on the bed, leaning over her to give each nipple a small lick before placing them on and pulling the plunger so the suction would pull her pink nipples upward. She whimpered at the feeling while he hummed in satisfaction.

He went back for the red jelly dildo, picking it up and spreading her legs apart a little wider. She was already a bit wet but he held the toy to her mouth expectantly, proud when she did exactly what he’d wanted, opening her mouth and sucking on the tip. When he pulled it away, her spit coated the tip nicely.

He brought it back down between her legs, pushing the tip between her folds, easing the toy inside her with small thrusts, the toy going deeper each time. Once he worked the toy all the way inside of her he angled the toy so it would brush right against her sweet spot.

He smirked as she whimpered for him. His free hand reached up to a clit suction toy, grabbing one he’d read pretty good reviews about and turning it on the lowest setting before slowly applying it to her sensitive bud. She cried out, the slow thrusting and the suction being a combo to have her seeing stars.

She’d never used her toys like this on herself, never able to have enough hands to do sob but the angle of the toy inside of her and the perfect spot on suction of her clit drove her to the point of desperate, wanton cries.

Her wetness dripped from her now and he sped up the thrusting of the toy, it’s blunt tip nudging perfectly against her g spot. He could see the appreciation on her face as he turned the suction toy up. One click. Two clicks. Three.

Her hips were coming up off the bed as he worked the toys expertly in and on her sensitive areas. With every movement her body made she could feel the nipple suckers adding sensitivity as her breasts bounced. “O-oh! I’m already s-so close! Shit!”

Garreth licked his lips, the wet sounds of her cunt on the dildo driving him wild as he watched her writhe on the bed in pleasure. With one more click of the toy she was spasming on the bed, back bowing up in pleasure as she cried his name, completely unashamed. He watched her fall apart, working her through the most intense orgasm of her life.

He only stopped when her hips bucked with over sensitivity and she pulled her hips away. He chuckled, his sparkling eyes eating up her naked form, committing it to memory for later as he turned off and set the toys aside. “Anytime you want to do this again, just let me know…roomie.”

He walked away, a swagger to his walk that he didn’t have before as he left her naked and spread on her bed, leaving the door wide open like it was when he found her. She knew from then on they’d definitely be benefiting in more ways than they used to by living together.

Kinktober Prompt List

[duck-era-lexi]

deadset headcanon that bonkai happened after the end of tvd

or: bonnie ended up alone and that is just not okay.

note: i didn't watch the originals and idgaf. their plot is probably stupid anyway.

ok so kai is in the prison world, yes, and bonnie is traveling the world, and elena and damon are being humans and shit and caroline is being pregnant and stefan is dead (god bless). so where is the drama? bonnie while traveling in... africa hooks up with a lot of people and learns a lot of shit, runs into some near death experiences but gets her voodoo witchy magic out of it. she eventually starts being mad about enzo's death because she should be and she's also realizing that she can't find another love because she hasn't gotten over it. then it's been like 5 yrs or something and bonnie gets the news that elena is pregnant perfect time to head back.

so they've kept in contact, done some visits but bonnie's mainly been traveling because when you can magic shmagic cold hard cash into thin air you can kind of do whatever you want. damon and elena are doing good, they live in a white picket fence house with a dog and two cats, not in mystic falls but still in virginia. damon makes jokes about eating the neighbors and elena talks a lot about how stefan's probably watching over them. that kind of stuff. bonnie stays over for a baby shower and elena has a heart to heart where she's like... girl u know you can have kids too right? bonnie admits that she wouldn't feel right dating someone who's not supernatural based on her experiences hooking up with random people. bonnie reveals she knows the gender of the baby already but elena plugs her ears so she can't hear it. the cat scratches at the door and elena shooes it away and bonnie waves her hand, the cat falls silent. elena looks at her friend with a kind of fear, forgetting how much power witches have. bonnie reminds her that she is not just a witch, but the most powerful witch.

(this is gonna be long but hang in with me here)

so fast forward to the baby shower, mystic falls gang comes down from the salvatore boarding school cause elena is kind of scared of going to mystic falls (we're gonna ignore the compulsion plot holes from the story idgaf). klaus sends his farewells yadda yadda easter eggs but bonnie just gets really sad and jealous and it just so happens that caroline wants someone to live near her to take care of her kids. caroline and bonnie haven't been that close just cause they kinda drifted, but they instantly reconnect and bonnie loves caroline's kids.

caroline and alaric are married, and a) bonnie is like, he was ur teacher are u freaking kidding me and b) there are photos of stefan on the wall and bonnie realizes that she really detests stefan for killing enzo right in front of her face. caroline belittles enzo and they argue about caroline invalidating her feelings and bonnie accuses her of being racist, blah blah blah it ends up in a blowout and bonnie wanders into the woods to find the ghost of enzo talking to her. (i don't really remember the rules of tvd). enzo tells her the move tf on and bonnie has a thought: what if she was never really that much in love in the first place? it's terrifying and she refuses to accept it, simply lying to enzo (even though he's dead) and being distracted because two vampire dudes try to murder her and she snaps their necks

so she traces back to her first love, but jeremy's also in the middle of a freaking battle thing so first she has this entire arc where she has to help him commit genocide and then finally they have a heart to heart where she convinces him to teach at caroline's school and jeremy says that they were young love. then they hook up and bonnie realizes she doesn't really have any feelings for jeremy anymore, not after he cheated on her with his dead girlfriend :(

maybe, she missed a person in between...

this is all to say kai is desiccating in the prison world, because he's alive- oh, did i mention he's alive? the plot moves to caroline's boarding school, the hollow's bullshit, oh no hayley marshall dies, and elena's kids are reaching double digits. but bonnie is MIA. how?

one day, bonnie exits the prison would with kai behind her. and i'm telling you, this is crazy. but how? because bonnie bennett is absolutely done.

it's a string of things.

fighting with elena and elena insisting that she wants a magic free environment, that she read all the parenting books and her kids will go off and become vampires themselves if she doesn't try to prevent them. the salvatores move to like europe or something and try to live a normal life. damon and caroline still keep in touch, but damon and elena are the only humans in the entire gang and life is kind of different when you know you're gonna die someday.

getting a call from a call and meeting a little witch named davina, a cute girl named hope, and a whole shitload of problems that she thought she left behind her. she takes the hollow upon herself and tears her apart physically and mentally, and only after she threatens to destroy the entirety of los angeles (as a joke!! haha....unless....) do the mikaelson siblings take accountability. klaus mentions how different she is from her friends, and bonnie comments on the fact that it's probably because she lost her two best friends to humanity and didn't realize how crazy their lives had become.

davina (and kol) want to see bonnie's prison world, and bonnie is fosure its for some kinky bullshit reason, but it's been so long she doesn't gaf anyways. she's the kind of insane that she might go to a psychiatric hospital soon, and near her 40th she went so crazy she mind controlled someone to be in love with her. the reason she's never linked in particular with any male witches is because she gets a strange sort of irritation to them, and one of them realized that she played a part in klaus' blood triangle so he tried to kill her and then she killed him and that really hurt her. but really, when kol and davina are with her, she decides to wake kai up.

talking to kai is awful, and it takes, 1, 2, 3, times too much- and the force of their fight is so catastrophic that it creates a prison world inside a prison world, but it's a limbo- it's two rooms, one her childhood bedroom and the other his and it goes on forever and ever. they fight, but neither of them really get an upper hand- yes, kai is more powerful but it's bonnie's world technically. kai wants to talk but bonnie just wants to beat someone up and suddenly, davina falls into the world, crying. she tells bonnie that kol touched something weird and disappeared, and bonnie says that she enchanted some things to help her be able to leave that only work once, and that she forgot about it. davina entered the world through kai's chains.

kai holds davina hostage with knives that he hid under his bed and bonnie conceeds to talking with him. and by talking, i mean like actually coming to the same conclusion that everyone else should've came to.

in the end, kai and bonnie have an awfully rocky relationship that first involves bonnie stealing part of kai's heart so that he's like half-vegetable (long story, trust me there's some way it can happen) and then, in his partially mentally deformed mindset he brings up taking the hollow. this is at the point where they live in some random hill in romania in a hightop castle and kai offers to take the hollow and kill himself with it.

bonnie removes the curse from his heart and reveals she actually forcibly impregnated herself because she wanted him to die at the hand of his own child, the leader of the gemini coven, and kai's like how i thought i was a vampire and also the gemini is dead and bonnie says idk i marlene king came up with this, actually in the limbo world i got another dose of the cure and then i'm giving it to you and by reverse psychology now the gemini coven is back alive.

i have to stop myself from writing really graphic shit because this can get really bad really fast, but in the end i do think they fall in love blah blah blah and they reinstate the gemini coven which eventually makes the bennett coven more powerful. witches have always been corrupt and selfish and a convenient plot device to bring up in the writer's room when you want a promotion so i really don't care. if you can write all this bullshit about stefan and still make him the good guy, kai can be dug out of his grave too. bonnie invented space and time and magic. silas who?

their kids are ultra powerful and bonnie and kai cut everyone off cuz they're all haters. except for caroline (ironic), and their kids are too cool to be involved in hope mikaelson drama bullshit. they say aye dad isnt it a good day to commit mass genocide, i heard cousin lizzy is struggling with her psychotic tendencies back in the americas!! kai says no son let's go play catch and watch my favorite episodes of glee while your mom cooks some lasagna with frog legs and unicorn hair sprinkles on the side. then in the afternoon i'm gonna show you some of my evil plans for world domination and we can practice your leaping spells.

xoxo

[huckleberrykai]

choi yeonjun ~ i did something bad

pairing: mafia!choi yeonjun x fem!mafia!reader summary: if you're on opposite sides, then why does it feel so good to be with him? genre: mafia au warnings: general mafia things, guns, fighting, mentions/implications of sex, pretty short notes: idk if i like this but it's been in my drafts for like a week so . here u go 🤩 word count: 0.6k click here for my masterlist!

"we really shouldn't be doing this.." you mumbled against his lips.

despite knowing it was dangerous, you really couldn't find it within yourself to care.

you and yeonjun were on different sides, and you should probably be trying to kill each other instead of making out in an alleyway. the two of you originally met outside of work in a dive bar, and being in the professions you were, both made up a fake name and cover story of where you really worked - him a lawyer and you a waitress. long story short, he took you home and you left the next morning - assuming you'd never see him again.

until you showed up on one of his guy's doorsteps for the $30,000 they owed you. he had to admit he was both shocked and impressed when someone as pretty as you took out five of his guys in 3 minutes flat, getting your money and getting the hell out of there. until he chased you down, pushing you into an alleyway and holding his gun to your throat.

"hey there pretty girl... waitress huh?"

"well.. i did say part-time," you sneered. "how's the law treating you?"

he stayed quiet at that, trailing the end of his gun over your chest, landing between the valley of your breasts. the smirk on his face never left as his face came closer to yours. "we don't have to fight."

well this was a first. "you.. you do know you're the one holding a gun to me right now right?" he chuckled darkly and retreated the gun, shoving it back into his pocket. he didn't move from where he stood though, opting to only press his body further into yours.

"my boss is gonna kill me, but the money's yours anyway. keep it."

you sighed in relief but faltered a little as he placed a soft kiss just below your jaw. "what's your real name cutie?" his hand moved from your shoulder and he brought both of them to the sides of your waist.

"i think you and i both know i shouldn't tell you that."

he breathed out a laugh. "we could be the start of an alliance you know.." he pressed another kiss to your neck. "nuh-uh. you really think i'll trust you that easily?" he moved to meet your eyes again and shrugged.

"we're both stuck in this shit, it's nice to have a friend, no?"

you scoffed. "i just knocked out like four of your friends and you wanna be my friend? are you insane?" the smirk didn't leave his face for a second. "it was five. and they aren't my friends." he corrected.

"you're fiery. i like it."

he seemed incapable of staying on one topic, and you gave him a questioning look. sure he was gorgeous and good in bed, but he was supposed to be your enemy. why was he sucking up to you? was he trying to infiltrate your side?

"the name's yeonjun." he smiled. he looked like a fox when he smiled like that, sly and cunning. you knew from the look in his eye he wasn't gonna budge, "Y/N." "pretty name." he moved in closer, pressing his lips to your bottom one. having someone so important on your enemy's side hanging on your every word could be useful, and you got some of your own satisfaction out of it after all. and that's how you ended up making out with him in an alleyway.

"we really shouldn't be doing this..." you mumbled against his lips, hands pressing into his broad chest. "we could be killed for even talking to each other. my boss-"

he shushed you quickly. "no work talk okay? i don't want any information from you, and i won't give you any." you nodded in agreement, panting into each others mouths, foreheads pressed together. "this stays between us sweetheart."

you shot him a sultry smile, "well yeonjun, we gonna stay here all day or are you gonna take me home?"

that definitely wasn't the last time you'd see choi yeonjun.

if being with each other was so bad, then why'd it feel so good? ~

[twirling-twisting]

"You should go." A friend of yours says as you both walk side by side on the sidewalk.

Your therapist had suggested giving yourself a dedicated time to relax weekly, and you've been trying to follow that as best you can. With work and stress filling up your life and never letting you hang out with people, you decided to ask a friend of yours out to dinner for this week. They accepted quickly when you texted them, since you hadn't seen each other in what felt like months.

So here you are, walking with them down the city streets underneath lit lampposts on a perfect, chilly night. You're thankful you put on that jacket your other friend lent you a while back.

You were talking about this place that that other friend had suggested—a new club that opened up on 42nd Street. From what your friend had told you, it was a throwback type of bar that recreated the atmosphere of a speakeasy. They told you that it had live jazz music and was quite popular since it opened.

When you originally invited your friend out, you debated going there with them, but they told you they had to get up early for work and didn't want to drink for the night. You understood that and let the idea go, instead opting to go to a local restaurant. You both had a good time, catching up on each other's lives and discussing plans for the future, and you ended up telling them about your therapist.

And then you told them about that place you originally wanted to suggest. They gave a small "oh" of understanding, and then they smiled at you.

"You should go." They say kindly, stopping to grab their phone to check the time. "I don't think I could accompany you tonight but you should totally go!"

You look at them as if they're joking, and they look at you seriously. You raise an eyebrow, questioning, and you ask "Wait, actually?" You don't feel like you're the type of person to go to something like a jazz bar alone.

"Yeah, genuinely," Your friend offers as they put their phone back in their pocket. "I get why you don't think you'd enjoy it, but from what I've heard from my mutual at work, they didn't think they'd like it as much as they do."

You think for a second, pondering if it would be worth it. You did think about inviting your friend tonight originally, so you can't be that much against it.

"What about next weekend we go together?" Your friend suggests. "My coworkers have been telling me I should go check it out so going together would be a great excuse."

You shrug your shoulders before agreeing. You both take out your phones to look at when works best and you both give your goodbyes as you wait for the weekend to arrive.

Saturday evening, your friend texts you some information they were told by their coworkers about what to wear and what the bar is like. It reads:

hey! just wanted to let u know that im wearing smth more revealing

my coworkers told me it "adds to the experience" lol

they also told me it's a surprisingly big place and to not bring too much if u can help it -

just the basics, phone, wallet, keys, etc.

and they apparently have lockers so if u really need to bring smth big, you'll be fine!

You appreciate the message and plan accordingly. You wear something more loose, a tad more skin showing than you originally intended. You can't help but feel yourself up when you look in the mirror, posing to see yourself at various angles.

When it nears the time you said you'd meet up with your friend, you head out. You both meet in front of the bar, looking at it from the outside. You hear cars passing by behind you as you look at the neon lettering with the name of the bar.

Trancing Tunes Bar.

Your friend looks at you and nudges your side before asking, "You ready?"

You nod your head gently and start walking towards the front door, excitement fluttering in your stomach and chest. You can already see how lively it is through the large windows—the room looks small and crowded, yet comfortable at the same time, it bustles with polite chatter and clinking glasses, smooth jazz playing on overhead speakers.

You and your friend almost seamlessly weave into the crowd, taking in the scenery. You don't plan on staying in this area too long though, you both have more interesting places to be...provided you weren't being lied to about there being a speakeasy here. You both sit down once two seats at the bar open up and flag a bartender.

"Good evening folks, what can I get started for you?"

You feel a sudden, nervous tightness in your chest, praying you aren't just embarrassing yourself. You quickly choke it down and muster up the courage to ask, "Could we get two pretty pet cocktails?"

The bartender smirks and the three of you exchange heated glances.

"Sure thing dear, I'll have those ready near the back and to the left for you two."

You nod and look to where the bartender gestured. A deep green vintage bookcase in the corner of the room. The two of you walk over and meet the bartender who promptly opens up the bookcase, revealing a stairway that leads to another room. "Have a great evening," they remark with a smirk.

You and your friend enter, following the stairs that go down and down. You notice more sensual images or women and men on the walls, photographs of shibari rope and other sex toys also hung. Some photos even have pretty looking spirals and modern art. At the end of the stairs, you and your friend find a small room with a person sitting behind a small desk.

"Hello lovelies." The person says, addressing both of you. You see them stare directly at you, however, as they ask, "Is it your first time in?"

Your friend steps in gracefully, offering a polite "yes" as you keep your eyes locked on the person behind the desk. You feel like their eyes are familiar somehow, pulling you in, luring you.

But then you break eyes contact as they look at your friend and smile.

"Perfect, welcome in! Glad to see some newcomers today. There were a few who came in earlier too, it seems our little bar is getting quite some business." They say, looking down at their desk to grab a few things.

As the receptionist looks and grabs some things on their desk, they ask kindly, "Do either of you have any questions? I'd assume you did your research if you knew the password to get down here."

Your friend chuckles a little, then offers a small "Indeed, we've been looking forward to this all week."

"I'm so glad to hear that. I hope it meets every one of your expectations, then." The receptionist says before they put a clipboard down in front of you both, and offer a pen out as you both move closer to read it.

"We have sign-in sheets for stuff you'd like to leave with us. If I could see your IDs, we'll get you set up and ready to head in."

You both grab your wallets and take out your IDs and show them. Once the person sees them both and sees the age, they grab one more thing from behind the desk. It's a red stamp, with an image of a spiral on the lid. They ask for your right hands, and then they stamp them.

"Perfect. Now I can also charge a card if you'd like to open a tab and not worry about your wallets and phones."

You didn't bring much to hold your stuff, so you opt to do that. You see the person take your card, swipe it, then you put it back in your wallet and hand it over. Your friend does the same, and then you both pile your stuff on the counter.

The person behind the desk takes your stuff and grabs a key off the side of the wall to open up a small locker on the left side of the room. You see them put all of your stuff in it and then close it and lock it with the key.

You both sign your names and the number on the locker, then check the box that says 'PAID'.

"Alright lovelies," The person says, "You're all set to head in. When it hits elevan pm, the jazz band plays until morning so please be aware that you may be sucked into their sound." The receptionist says in a joking tone. Some part of you knows it's not a joke. "Please enjoy the many fun sensations of the Trancing Tunes Bar."

You get that odd feeling in your stomach again as you keep eyes on the person behind the desk. They look at you once again, sensing your staring, and they smile gently. Why are you so familiar? You think to yourself before your friend grabs your hand and leads you.

When you walk into the next door, you're hit with the smell of alcohol. The room is quite big, tables and booths lining walls and a large bar with stools. It's deep reds, purely luxurious look with dim lights and vintage looking chandeliers. It's gorgeous, and you can't help but look around at every detail you can.

You and your friend walk to the bar, the bartender near you both in seconds to make whatever you want to order. They work fast, and suddenly you both have drinks in your hands.

It's very nice and relaxing. You and your friend talk and talk for what feels like hours, the drinks in your hands lessening in liquid as time goes on. By the time 11pm roles around, you've both had a few drinks, and you both feel it.

Nothing too bad, you can carry yourself just fine, but you can definitely feel the affects of the alcohol. The way when you move your head, you feel that delay in your vision and your senses, and the way you can feel that burn on the back of your tongue along with the smell of the alcohol. It feels lovely, and you're so glad you went out.

When eleven hits, there's a small bell chime that rings from a clock, and everyone in the rooms cheers. You smile as the small stage curtains open and a group of 5 people are there. A pianist, a trombonist, a trumpet, a saxophone, and a drummer.

After the room settles down, they begin with a small introduction of themselves.

"Hello everyone, thank you for coming tonight. We've got a wonderful show in store, so please do stick around." And the crowd claps.

And before long, there's a small piano riff that leads into a burst of noise.

It slips into your ears, it's gorgeous movement making your body sway in your seat. You can see in your peripheral your friend doing the same, and you both listen intently. Your eyes close, just listening to each part. The way the pianist messes with rhythm, the way the trombone harmonizes with the sax, and the steady rhythm of the drums.

Before long, a slender woman wearing a 1920s style flapper dress and a green feather boa to match the bookcase you walked in through emerges from the red velvet curtains, a playful look on her face.

There isn't anything particularly appealing about her looks, not to you at least. But...maybe it was the music, the atmosphere, or maybe the alcohol...something about her is simply captivating.

You feel almost—No. Not almost. You definitely feel turned on.

More and more by the second, in fact.

The dancer makes her way around the room, teasing all the guests, much to their enjoyment. She makes her way over to you and snakes her boa along your neck, and under your friend's chin.

Once she leaves to go back up to the stage, you notice couples and groups around the room slowly getting more handsy with each other...you want that too.

As your thoughts grow more and more perverse, so does the energy in the room, and quickly at that.

You can see a man on top of another man, tongues intertwining as their hands roam each other's body's. And then your eyes move to two women, both of their shirts off, groping and cupping each other anywhere they can touch.

And you feel a hand on your chest. You look down, startled, before following it to see who's hand it is. You meet your friends eyes, feeling your stomach fill with butterflies when you see the pure lustful expression.

Before you can say anything, their mouth is on yours. Their breath smells of alcohol and they taste slightly bitter, but you don't mind as you return the kisses. It turns from kissing into intoxicating touches that make your body burn up. You feel yourself getting more desperate the longer you're not being touched where you really want it.

And so the music leads you and the entire room into a horny, desperate group of people.

You haven't drank anything else, but it's intoxicating to be in such an environment. The music booms loud, the sound of people's pleasure rivaling in volume, and your friend is pleasuring you in ways you didn't know were possible.

You don't want to leave. It's so fucking good.

The way their fingers and touching your body. The warmth and the passion in their tongue.

You hear faintly somewhere in your head the singers words before you're completely gone.

"That's it, darling. Be lost, be found. Slip into this feeling and sink into the sound. My little pet, my dear. So gone, so good. Be hypnotized by lust, as you know you should."

By the next morning, you find yourself in a hotel room sharing a bed with your friend. You're groggy as all hell when you first wake up. When your eyes look over at your friend, you see they're naked. You wake up fully instantly and look at yourself, also noticing a lack of clothes. And all of the memories of last night rush back to you.

You look at the side table and see a basket with some chocolate, two water bottles, and gorgeous faux roses with a gorgeous golden embroidered note. You pick it up and read what it says.

"Thank you for visiting the Trancing Tunes Bar! It was lovely to have you in attendance with your friend. Please enjoy this complimentary basket and hotel stay. All of your belongings can be found when you check-out. Once more, thank you for visiting the Trancing Tunes Bar. Stay found and so good!"

You look once more over at your friend and smile, a little chuckle leaving you. You really enjoyed yourself. You think you'll come back again with this friend, and maybe, one day, it'll be more than friends.

[hiccupscloud-26]

Hicvember Day 2: Random Case

Hey all! Just a small note, this story's events occur after Indyko finds out about Calliope's fetish, but you all will get to see that story in a different prompt

Hicvember prompts: random case

CW

Short hiccups

Lore drop~

Slight teasing

Xvari was hanging out with his favorite mortals to hang out with. Calliope and Indyko were promptly ignoring him, opting to play Uno instead of giving him the time of day. He couldn't blame them though. He was originally summoned as an assassin to murder Indyko a long time ago. And even though he decided not to go with it, he had more fun annoying them.

“Uno,” Calliope smirked as she put down a green 6.

“Oh-ho, I don't think so!” Indyko placed down a draw 4 card.

“Haha! Doesn't matter! Draw 8!” Calliope placed another draw 4 card on top, jumping up and cheering.

Indy's jaw dropped, “what? But I *himpk* could've sworn I had that vic-*hic!*-” their eyebrows furrowed confused as they placed a hand on the chest as it jolted again.

Both Calliope and Xvari watched the scene.

“What is that? What are they doing?” Xvari questioned, trying not to sound concerned.

They both then turned to Xvari. Calliope smirked, “awww, you care about Indy.~”

“Don't *hip!* worry, I just have a random-*mk* case of *HIC!*cups,” Indyko told him as they shuffled the deck.

“Hiccups? You mortals and your many quirks…” Xvari shook his head as he saw Calliope watching Indy intensely while twirling her hair. “Are they dangerous?”

Indy shrugged as another jolt knocked the cards out of their hands. They handed the deck to Calliope for her to shuffle. “Not usually. *HUP!* They're just li-*HICK'L!*-mm little spasms of the diaphragm-*MK!* It just happens every once in a while.”

“Then why's Calliope looking at you as if you're in danger?” Xvari tilted his head.

Calliope blushed and moved her eyes away from her partner's beautifully bouncy body, “I'm not! I'm just…” she huffed before muttering, “hoping they're alright…”

“Aww, so swe-*HEEK!*-eet, but I'm okay, babe,” Indyko reassured, even though they knew it was just an excuse. “Honestly, these came outta no-*HULP!*-where…but if you want, you can-*hnkglp*-” they swallowed back a hiccup, making a rather gulpy sound, “rub my tummy.”

Calliope nodded, abandoning the Uno cards before moving her chair next to Indyko and placing her hand on their stomach just in time to feel the next jolt.

“Do they hurt?” Calliope whispered to them.

“No, not *HIUP!*-oof, excuse me, not at all,” Indy smiled at her. “They're also *HU'UP!* a bit tamer than my usual cases *hip!* don't you think?”

“I guess…I've only witnessed a few of your cases, I'd need more data,” Calliope whispered again.

Indyko couldn't help but chuckle into a loud *HUPAH!* before settling down, “you're so cu-*hyup!*-te. Needing to collect da-*huck!*-data, too precious.”

“Yeah, just act like I'm not here, why don't you?” Xvari rolled his eyes.

“We're trying, thanks for your unnecessary permission,” Calliope glared daggers into him.

“Geez, harsh much?” Xvari winced. “Look, I know what I did, but we did the whole apology thing months ago, can't we move on?”

“First, you want to kill my partner, and then you reveal you had a crush on me and that's why you didn't kill them? Yeah, sorry bub, but I'll take as much time as I need to ‘move on’ from that. And if you can't accept that, then I suggest you leave,” Calliope shrugged before focusing back to Indyko.

Xvari scoffed, hiding the hurt he felt. He muttered as he turned to leave, “whatever…the only reason I'm staying is to make sure no other assassins come for them, and this is the thanks I get. Great.”

He walked out the door, flying up to the roof, sitting down and watching the sunset.

Indy watched him go before looking at Calliope, “I know you're *hilp* upset with what he did, and you ha—ave every right to your feelings-”

“Damn right I do.”

“-but he is looking out for u-*nk*-us. Pro-*holp*-protecting us. He's tryi-*ngk*, and for a demon, that's better than you think,” Indyko explained while playing with Calliope's hair.

“...I don't follow,” Calliope looked at Indyko confused as she leaned against them.

“Ok, I read this in a book, but demons don't show empathy, they're practically heartless creatures that literally don't care about anything but themselves,” Indyko held her close.

“Okay, and...?”

“So~ Xvari's showing empathy,” they continued on, “he cares about our well-being, he was going to be paid a large amount of money from my parents…to kill me.” Their voice shook a little bit from saying that out loud.

“Curse those horrible people again,” Calliope growled lowly, venom in every word.

“So to abandon his mission, ultimately trapping himself here for the rest of eternity, just because he wanted to save a life and had a little crush,” Indy pushed on to say. “Now that's uncharacteristic of a demon if you ask me. Not trying to sway you, just…giving you all of the facts.”

Calliope nodded and thought it over. “Huh…well, when you put it that way…still, I dunno if I can trust him. I know it's been a few months, but…”

“No one's asking you to rush things, dear. Take your time.” Indyko leaned over and then smirked as they whispered in her ear, “also, my hiccups are gone.~”

Calliope shivered in her seat, sitting up stiffly. Now she wouldn't be able to think at all for a bit. Nevertheless, she nodded at her partner's words.

Fin~

[stardustbarbarians]

I am BEGGING u for more dad!sanny content. I need slow burn with a baby pls pls pls

Hehehe who's ready for an origin story?

+++

"I'll be back in about an hour or so," Daniel remarked before heading out the door. The three Kiszka's bid him farewell before he left, all three of them sucked into watching a movie together. It wasn't unusual for all four of them to congregate in one spot. It just seemed natural.

They had planned on making dinner at some point, but that would be after Danny got back. Sam couldn't really remember where exactly he said he was going, just something along the lines of catching up with someone. Sam glanced back at his kitchen, wondering briefly if he had enough food to make something for all of them. Eh, if worse came to worse, they could order something out.

Sam had turned his attention back to the movie. It seemed like Josh barely even launched into one of his monologues about the logistics of the movie before the front door opened. All three of the brothers turned their heads to the entrance in unison, which was probably creepy in retrospect. Daniel was standing in the vestibule with something that looked like a purse hanging from his arm. He was dimly lit, yet Sam could see a haunted look in his eye.

"Daniel? You're back early..." Josh pointed out, his hands planted against the floor as if he was frozen in the middle of standing up.

There was a loaded silence in the air as all of them waited with baited breath for Daniel to say anything. To do anything. That's when a small cry permeated the air. It made the blood in Sam's veins turn to ice. That... That was...

"Is that a baby??" Jake was leaning forward in his chair.

Danny, at the question, seemed to finally snap out of his trance. He glanced down at the thing hanging from his arm that Sam now realized was a baby carrier, and glanced back at Jake. Josh had paused the movie so the only noise was that of the baby's whimpering.

"I..." Daniel looked back down at the carrier, looking as if a feather or a small puff of air could knock him over. He swallowed thickly before looking Sam directly in the eyes with pure desperation written all over his face. He was begging Sam for help, for any sort of comfort and normalcy.

Sam quickly got up from his spot on the couch and walked over to Daniel. He gently placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and back before tenderly guiding him to the couch. Danny allowed himself to be guided, a blank expression in his eyes as all the color drained from his face. He set the carrier in his lap as he sat down, looking through the floor rather than at it. Sam took the spot next to him, tenderly rubbing Danny on the arm. He couldn't help it. He peered into the baby carrier. Looking back at him was an infant with one green eye and one brown eye and short, black hair that fell in tightly coiled locks. The baby was bigger, probably around a year old. When she noticed Sam, she clapped her hands together and smiled, a giggle escaping her lips. Sam couldn't help but smile back at her, finding the whole thing cute.

"Daniel, what's going on?" Jake asked as he stood up to also take a look into the carrier.

"I..." Danny began, taking a breath to center himself, "do you guys remember Madison?"

Sam remembered her. He also remembered the cold hatred he felt for her each time she was around. Well, hatred wasn't the right word. Whatever it was, Sam just knew he didn't like her.

"Yeah." His response sounded clipped and icy to Sam's own ears.

"Well, that's who I went to go see."

"And she just gave you a baby??" Josh exclaimed, peering in at the baby. She started crying at the sight of him, and loudly. Josh startled at the sudden wailing, all of them did, actually. Sam shot Josh a look before picking the baby up from the carrier, making sure to support the head. Once in Sam's arms, the infant seemed to calm down.

Danny nodded at Josh. "She told me she was in trouble with the law. Tax fraud or something. She needed me to take care of her baby."

"But, why you? There had to be someone else she could've relied on that had a more baby-friendly career," Jake pointed out.

"I..." Danny glanced over at Sam of all people before answering. "I'm her father."

Sam immediately froze.

"You mean..."

Daniel looked Sam directly in the eyes and nodded. For some reason, Sammy got the impression that Danny was trying to apologize to him. For having a baby?

"Why are you learning all of this now?? Why didn't she tell you before??" Jake seemed the most miffed out of the bunch.

"I don't know, Jake. I didn't really get the chance to ask her any questions before she handed me a baby and sped off!"

It fell silent once again. Daniel hardly ever yelled.

Taking a deep breath, Danny apologized while rubbing at his forehead. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be lashing out at you."

"Daniel, it's ok. You just got the insurmountable responsibility of taking care of a human life sprung onto you. I think you earned yourself a pass," Josh comforted, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny sent Josh a smile, a small one. He then turned his attention to the fussing baby in Sammy's arms. She looked about ready to cry again, however Josh couldn't be blamed time around. Right on cue, she began wailing. All four men were suddenly at a loss. They had never taken care of an infant before.

"Oh no," Daniel lamented, his voice cracking from stress. He looked down at his alleged daughter, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. All of the sudden, Sam had the fervent impulse to fix the situation.

"It's alright, Daniel. I think she just needs to have her diaper changed," Sam softly speculated. He wasn't aware of the puppy eyes he was shooting at his best friend, however they did serve as a comforting sight for Daniel.

Danny nodded his head slowly. He knew that. He knew that about babies.

"Did Madison happen to hand you a diaper bag?" Sam inquired, getting up with the baby still in his arms. The way he stood was so careful, cradling her little head even though Sam was about 75% sure she was old enough to hold it up herself. She was just the tiniest little thing Sam had ever seen or held... He didn't want to risk hurting her at all due to his ignorance.

"It's in my car-"

"We'll get it. You stay here with Sammy and figure out where we're gonna change her," Jake insisted, grabbing his twin by the shirt and pulling him towards the door. Jake held up his hands for the keys, Danny obliging and tossing them over as he sat back down in his seat.

It got quiet again, with just the three of them. There was so much to talk about yet there was nothing. The two adults ended up just kinda watching the little girl move around in Sam's arms.

"She's got your curls, Dan," Sam pointed out, his tone fond to match his smile.

Daniel couldn't help the smile the spread on his face. "She got he mother's nose, it seems. Though that's probably for the best." He absently brushed his nose with his fingers, a self-deprecating smile on his lips.

"You've got a gorgeous nose, Daniel. I'm in love with it." Sam hadn't meant to say that out loud. It just... slipped out. He felt his cheeks heat up as he realized what he just said. Not really knowing what to do, Sam busied himself with looking around for a good changing station for the baby.

"T-Thank you, Sam," Daniel stuttered, a hand rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. If the lighting had been better, Sam would've been able to see the blush burning prominently across Danny's cheeks and nose.

Neither of them really knew how to continue after that, so they both decided to ignore it for now. Sam cleared his throat, holding Danny's daughter closer to his chest.

"So where should we make this little tyke's temporary changing station?"

"Annalise."

"What?"

"The baby, that's her name," Daniel explained, walking over to his best friend and taking the child from his hands. Sam watched as he rested her bottom on his forearm and rubbed her little back with his hand. Her yellow gingham dress complimented her father's tan skin tone very well.

"Annalise," Sam repeated slowly, "that's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"I thought you didn't like kids, Sam," Danny pointed out as he subtly bounced up and down to soothe the baby. She was getting fussy again and it seemed almost instinctual for him to do as such.

Just when he was about to explain himself, the twin returned with the diaper bag. The four of them struggled to change her diaper, looking up articles online as well as youtube tutorials. Eventually, Annalise was put in a new diaper and was happier for it.

Once she had been changed, she became very sleepy. Daniel held her in his arms as she soundly slept. His chest started to ache as he looked at her little face, looking like an angel. She'd only been in his life at most a few hours, but he knew he'd do anything in the world to protect her from all of the horrors of the world.

"Alright, gentlemen. I think it's time I head home." Danny motioned towards the baby, her thumb in her mouth as her dark curls mixed in with those of her father's, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Are you gonna be ok doing taking care of her alone?" Sam's brow was furrowed. He'd never had a good poker face, so the concern was written clear as day all over his face.

Daniel, knowing that he damn well couldn't, shook his head. This was his burden to bear, he couldn't ask Sam - or anyone for that matter - to do this for him.

"I'll be alright," he reassured, flashing Sam his best smile. He gently brought a hand up to Annaliese's head, nuzzling her deeper into his nest of curls.

Sam was far from convinced, but he let Daniel go. He couldn't force Danny to accept his help.

Daniel waving goodbye from the front door was the last Sam would hear from those two for nearly a week. After worrying himself sick over the possibilities, Sam finally caved and decided to drive to Daniel's house.

He knocked on the door for a solid minute despite having a key to the door; he didn't want to be rude. When no one came to the door - even though his car was in the driveway - Sam said to hell with niceties and used his key.

"Daniel!" he called out, his voice echoing in the front room against the walls and down the hallway that led to the living room. He kicked his sandals off, noticing the stark contrast of the dark hardwood floors and his beige shoes.

Walking further into the house, he tried calling out again. It was oddly quiet. There was always music playing around all four of them; he was expecting Elton John or some baby music playing off the speakers of Danny's stereo, but there was nothing. The silence did nothing to soothe his nerves.

"Daniel?" It was more frantic this time, his head swiveling wildly for any sign of his best friend. He finally got some relief when he spotted Daniel sitting on the floor, his back resting on the couch with a spaced out look on his face while multiple toys were scattered on the ground around him. Annalise was curled up in his lap in nothing but a diaper, her father absently stroking her back.

".....Daniel?"

Danny finally seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, his head slowly gliding over to look at Sam. There was a note of surprise in his eyes, but that's not what Sam first noticed. instead, it was the tears that had yet to dry on his cheeks and the redness they caused his eyes.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" His voice was rough, cracking as he spoke. He used his free hand to scrub the tears form his face, but it was too late. Sam had already seen them.

"We haven't heard from you in days, we were worried!" Sam exclaimed, cringing at his loud voice after remembering the sleeping child in Danny's lap.

Danny looked away from Sam, a knit in his brow. "Right."

Sighing, Sam walked over and took the spot next to his best friend. He looked down at the little girl sleeping, her little curls all frizzy and disheveled with a pink barrette in the shape of a bow nearly falling out of her hair. She had a green binky in her mouth, the thing moving back and forth periodically.

"So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm..." A fresh set of tears cascaded down Daniel's cheeks again. He hung his head, his curls falling off his shoulders and swinging in front of his face as his shoulders shook.

Sam felt his blood go cold as he watched Danny silently sob next to him. He was paralyzed momentarily as he scrambled to find a way to comfort his best friend, settling for putting a hand on his shoulder.

"She ran out of clean clothes. She spilled chocolate milk all over herself earlier and wouldn't stop crying. I tried to changer her and clean her off as best I could, but she just ran out of clothes. I finally got her to calm down and take her nap, but I just..." Daniel looked over at Sammy, his red eyes brimmed with tears that steadily flowed down his face. There was a desperate look in his eye that Sam had never seen before. "I... I can't do this, Sam. I thought I could handle this on my own...."

Without any warning, he threw his arms around Sam and began sobbing into his shoulder. Sam simply looped his arms around Daniel and let him cry, smoothing his hand up and down Danny's back. Annalise didn't even stir as her father cried, too caught up in whatever sweet dreams were filling her head. Sam was thankful. Danny couldn't handle her waking up and potentially crying.

"Daniel, it's ok," Sam repeated in his ear as he comforted him.

Eventually, Danny pulled away. He wiped at his tears, a hand gently coming to rest on his daughter's back again. "I'm sorry," he kept muttering.

"Don't be. You're under a lot of stress. Keeping yourself alive is stressful enough, let alone being responsible for another person's." Daniel shot him a look like he didn't believe Sam for whatever reason. "You didn't ask for any of this, and the fact that you took on Annalise without even knowing if she's yours; you're incredible, Daniel."

He hadn't really meant to say that last part, but that's not to say he didn't mean it.

This time when the drummer looked over at Samuel, there was a soft smile on his face. "Thank you."

"Of course. I just wish you had reached out to one of us instead of letting yourself get consumed by your stress."

"I thought I could handle it..."

Rather than harp on that, Sam just let it go. Now wasn't the time. Instead, Sam looked around at the clutter the past week of having a baby in the house had accumulated.

"So. Tell me what I need to do."

"Oh, Sam. I couldn't ask you-"

"Good thing I'm not asking, then."

All of the sudden, a huge, relieved smile spread across Danny's lips. There was a twinkle of something close to admiration in his eye that Sam couldn't quite place. Abruptly, Sam felt a set of lips against his as well as a pair of strong arms wrap around him. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it would change the course of Sammy's life.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Sammy. I-I don't know what came over me, I-"

"Don't worry about it, Dan," Sammy squeaked out quickly, his face burning with the intensity of an August mid-day sun. Truly, he thought steam was wafting off his cheeks.

Getting up from his spot, he slipped on one of Annalise's toys and was so smooth about it. He totally didn't almost face plant and was only saved by grabbing onto the arm of the couch. Righting himself quickly, Sam tucked a strand of his hair that fell out of his bun behind his ear.

"I'm gonna go..." Sam cleared his throat and pointed int the direction of the laundry room, "....yeah." Keeping his gaze diverted from Danny, he briskly walked towards the laundry room. He leaned against one of the walls and clutched at his thundering heart, trying to catch his breath.

"We're in it now, aren't we, Lise-y?" Sam overhead Daniel whisper. Sam didn't know what they were "in", but he couldn't deny it. There was no going back from what just happened, and Sam didn't know if that was for better or for worse.

+++

"Have you seen her binky, Daniel?" Sammy called over the wailing child, bouncing her in his arms in an attempt to soothe her.

The drummer came around the corner a moment later, one of the girl's binkies in his hand. "Don't you mean 'pacifier'?"

Sam, rolling his eyes, snatched the binky from his hand and gave it to Annalise. Instantly, as if a button was pressed, when she grabbed onto the binky her crying stopped. She put it into her own mouth, happily sucking on it. She then settled into the crook of Sam's neck, her little arms loosely hanging around his neck. They had been trying to wean her off for it for about a month now. But as you could probably tell, it wasn't working all that great.

"She really is just like her dad, huh?" Daniel observed, a soft smile written all over his face as he leaned against the wall.

"What's that supposed to mean??" Sam coolly responded. He wasn't exactly sure when he became "dad", but he thinks it was just around month two when Lise-y pointed at him and said "dad". His heart never melted faster.

"Throws a fit until she gets what she wants? Sound like anyone we know?" Daniel continued, pushing off the wall to get closer to Sam and their daughter.

"Sounds like Josh to me," Sam answered.

"Hmm, guess again," the drummer hummed, his soft smile turning flirtatious.

"Jake?"

"Strike two." Daniel held up two fingers, leaning in closer to Sam.

"If you say me-"

"And we have a winner, folks!"

Sam just scoffed, unable to help the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "I have no idea what you mean."

Daniel's eyebrow quirked up.

"You're insufferable."

The two kept leaning in closer and closer to one another, now just atoms apart.

"Aren't I," Sam said flatly before being the one to close the distance between one another. It never got old, kissing Daniel. Each time felt exactly like the first; leaving him flustered and starstruck.

Despite coming into their lives so abruptly, Annalise was the best thing to ever happen to either of them. Touring the world, winning Grammy's... it could never compare to the thrill of watching Annalise take her first steps unaided as Sam celebrated right beside him.

Daniel had never been more thankful for anything in his life.

+++

Happy Father's Day to these two specifically

[nutal]

Okay, before i start to explain on what the HEIGH is going on inside my tiny little cranium of mine, the Adam angst (my headcanons) I invented is pretty much inspired by multiple stuff on tumblr, so it may not really be original + it may age as bad as milk (tho idk if it really matters, the angst was just made for fun and nothing else, im just here to share my imaginary scenarios with u + i started typing this whole ass paragraph essay at school + it may prob go against canon but these are just theories for fun soooo ye here we go)

T W: intense angst, may delve in some serious topics

Lemme start off my storytelling with the magical, splendid place that is so-called “The Garden of Eden” This is the place where Adam and Lilith were born from the very specks of dust (a very splendid way of saying that they just *POOF*, appeared out of nowhere).

Now since Adam and Lilith were God’s creation, it’s pretty obvious that the both of them would be prideful and childish, even if Adam and Lilith were created as adults (not really their fault, they were barely just created and are just babies in adult bodies about to be traumatized later on in life + they’re kinda in a forced marriage when u think about it)

While Adam (the dumbass) was like: “I do what I want UvU” in a dumbass, but funny way, Lilith was like: “I do what I want UnU” in a more subtle and feminine way.

I can just imagine Adam being like: “Yo, Lilith, I’m gonna climb up that tree bc i want to!” and Lilith being like: “Bro, no, you will literally fall off of it, because you don’t even know how to climb, you fucking dumbass.”

Adam climbs up the tree anyway and falls flat on his face and Lilith just face slaps herself bc Adam is a dummy.

One day, Adam and Lilith would meet the angel “Lucifer”, basically Luci wanted to visit the humans bc he was curious. Of course, the 2 would be really excited to meet Luci, and they would have a lot of fun together, playing games and such, especially Lilith, who basically all of her attention to Lucifer, ignoring Adam’s existence completely. Even to the point of ghosting Adam for days just to hang out with Lucifer. Adam would notice this, and decides to confront Lilith about this.

Adam keeps asking her why she has been so distant with him, but Lilith keeps denying, being like: “Dude, stop being so controlling! Mind your own business, and stop being so paranoid!”

Adam: “BRO, EVER SINCE YOU’VE HANGED OUT WITH LUCI, YOU’VE BEEN GONE FOR DAYS ON END WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME ANYTHING! ARE YOU NOW WITH LUCI OR SOME SHIT?!”

In a moment of absolute annoyance and fury, she snapped: “WELL, MAYBE I AM! HE’S SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU AND I LIKE HIM WAY MORE THAN I EVER LIKED YOU!”

At that moment, Adam was just… stunned. Those words coming from Lilith hurt deeply.. and i mean, REALLY deeply, not only because it hurt his ego, but he actually really liked Lilith, so hearing this, it really just, destroyed him.

Lilith: “I NEVER NEEDED YOU ANYWAY!” As Lilith fled from The Garden, Adam yelled at her in the distance, trying to hold back his tears: “I NEVER NEEDED YOU EITHER!”, turning his back to the opposite direction and crying silently.

After the incident, God decided to give Adam a second chance, in exchange for a rib (Adam’s rib), and created Eve. His second wife. Now Eve, Eve was a little more special. While Lilith was more upfront and independent, Eve was the opposite, being dependent and really sweet. At first, Adam would be cautious at first, but eventually, starts to fall in love again, in fact, he fell harder for Eve than Lilith.

Lilith’s abandonment pretty much caused him to not only be really protective towards Eve, but also more affectionate and caring. Cherishing her more than his first wife. He was happy again.. at least for a while.

You see, in The Garden of Eden, there was a mysterious tree, to which there was something whom God warned Adam and Eve not to taste from: “The Fruit of Knowledge”. Not only did it grant free will to whoever takes a bite from the apple itself, but also show them the difference between right and wrong.

Eve, being as sweet as she was, was also very curious about the apple, but Adam would always warn her NOT to eat the apple. Ever. Eve would beg him to let her take at least take one bite from it, and maybe even Adam taking a bite too, to which Adam always said: “No.”

Eve: “Please?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “Pleeaassee?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “Plllleeeeeaaaasseee?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PlleeEEEEAASSEE?”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS”

Adam: “No.”

Eve: “PLS PLS PLS-“

Adam: “NO.”

Eventually, one day, Adam would wake up to see that Eve was not next to him. He starts having a panic attack and tries desperately to look for her. Meanwhile, Eve just decided to stay next to a tree, being pretty upset that Adam wouldn’t let her taste the apple.

Then, Lucifer and Lilith see Eve. In Lilith’s mind, Eve is another victim of Adam’s controlling behavior, like her. So, to help her out, she tells Lucifer to give Eve The Fruit of Knowledge. Luci agrees, and shows Eve the apple.

Eve gets really enthusiastic, and despite Adam’s warnings, her curiosity got the best of her, and eats the Apple.

When Adam finds her, it’s already too late, Eve already ate the apple. Adam would be mortified to not only seeing Eve eating the apple, but also seeing his first wife, Lilith, and Lucifer. Eve immediately realized her grave mistake, but then basically, the roots of sin would reach earth and humanity as a whole, and from there, God would tell her that she’s banished from Eden and she falls down to earth… but then realizes.. that Adam fell with her.. even is he hasn’t ate the apple, he still decided to fall with her.

After Adam and Eve have fallen from Eden, they pretty much had to struggle to survive and it wasn’t easy. They had to actually hunt down for food, even killing some animals in the process unwillingly. Eve would start to become really bitter and cold with him. Adam also noticed this, but not wanting to lose Eve like he lost Lilith, he wouldn’t confront her like he did with her. But eventually, she leaves him aswell. Adam would desperately try to find her to no avail. He would start breaking down, his world would start spinning. Feeling as if.. as if he wasn’t good enough for anything… for ANYBODY… that he’s worthless… and has no purpose. Eventually he would die because of starvation and grief…

Then.. he wakes up to see that he’s… in the middle of nowhere. He notices that now, he has golden-like wings and a halo on top of his head. A tall silhouette would appear, revealing to be none other than “Sera”.

Obviously, Adam would be cautious at first, but the Seraphim would tell him: “Greetings, The First Man. I’m Sera, the High Seraphim. Congratulations for being the first human soul to arrive up in heaven!”

Adam would be surprised, but then ask: “Huh?.. wha?..But, what I am doing here..?”

Sera: “I’ll show you, follow me.”

Adam still being gullible as.. heaven? (PUN) would follow Sera, all the way to a… room. Then, Sera would show him his robes and his, uh, exorcist army (that just *POOF*, appeared just for his role), but.. most importantly.. his LED mask.

Sera: “You are now promoted as the Leader of the Exorcists, Adam.”

Adam would put on the robes, still not really knowing what’s going on, but he just accepted it. Then, Sera would explain to him in more details about what he’s supposed to do in his specific role (basically saying that he has a harem army of killing machines, that kill Lucifer’s and Lilith’s citizens [sinners] every year to quote on quote ‘protect heaven’, but saying it in a splendid way)

And.. this made Adam feel.. absolutely empowered, being able to take revenge on Lilith and Lucifer by exterminating sinners in hell every year, …and.. in his own twisted sense of mind.. he was able to have a purpose again…right? He eagerly puts the mask on, without even questioning whether this was even right or not, for he doesn’t even know the difference between right and wrong. (Nightmare moon phase coming up rq)

And because he felt.. like he had a purpose again, thinking that.. maybe he still had importance to someone or something, he truly respected Sera, and never even DARED to question Heaven.. bc thats basically his purpose.. and if he questioned it, its kinda game over.

The kinda disturbing part about this is that, if he didn’t eat the apple, that would mean he doesn’t have free will. Which basically, he didn’t even choose to do this kind of thing, he just went to heaven by default and becomes the leader bc ‘he dah first man’ without him actually having any kind of saying to this. Kinda like a puppet on strings, if you think about it. (but it’s a game theory so i digress)

Also like, considering that angels and winners probably just showered him with blind praise, not even really addressing his actual issues, so basically, his deep emotional wounds barely got any kind of healing (if not even more), and his narcissism (being his possible coping mechanism after just drowning in negative emotions for so long bc heaven doesn’t even really care for him that much) continued to grow stronger and stronger, until it was basically his other identity. Basically kinda like Nightmare moon, where Luna basically drowned in resentment and became Nightmare moon, Adam drowns in the negative emotions of “not being good enough”, so he creates some kind of ‘shield’ to protect himself from ever getting hurt deeply again.

I remember when I watched JaidenAnimations video: Why I don’t have a “face reveal”. That video alone.. it basically made me realize that people could be struggling without even having the slightest realization of what’s going on. This also reminded me of Adam, then I thought that.. maybe,.. maybe Adam also feels kinda the same way as Jaiden, lemme explain further:

So, in JaidenAnimations video, she basically explains on how her standards became so high that she was TERRIFIED of ever having a face reveal bc she had a deep fear of disappointing everyone around her. (I still thank u Jaiden, hope u doin well bro, i love ya 👍👍)

There could be a possibility that, Adam may have had such high standards for how he needed to look, since he didn’t really looked like other angels, he just looked like a normal guy, that it became an insecurity for him and he basically just hides his face with his LED mask, terrified of what others may think of his actual face.

god, this took a whole DAY to write this and i may have still not executed my ideas well, or may have missed some ideas cause i forgot, but hey i tried, im gonna take a breath bro- *inhales oxigen tank intensely*

OH MY GOD THIS IS CRAZYYY YOO HOLD ON??? Dude omg yes yes i def agree he would fall WAYYYY harder for Eve than Lilith and I absolutely see what you mean that Adam and Lilith were like a forced marriage type situation cuz i mean yeah they literally did LOL. Adam for sure genuinely cared for Eve though, they had something a lot more special and I can only imagine how badly that must’ve hurt for Adam when she ate the apple and left after him begging her to NOT do that!

And yes yes YES him feeling empowered after becoming head of the exorcists being able to take revenge in that way like RAAAGHGHGEHH HELL YEAH!!

And I have ALWAYS been a huge believer in Adam using his narcissism as a coping mechanism from the very start. Like that just seems very on point and canon to me. Because this man is very clearly insecure, you can just tell. Especially with the whole mask thing, which I’ve actually brought up in the past. But yeah, this dude does not like people seeing his face. He def def DEF feels very average or even below that so he covers up for it through constantly flaunting about how great he is n shit so that nobody’ll suspect a thing.

THANK YOU FOR THIS ESSAY BTW I LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT AND AGREEEE!

[indouloureux]

how are u love? I dont know if you saw the pictures and videos of joseph and jamie in brazil (I just saw them and I'm SCREAMING) but could you write something based on that? like joseph x costar!reader?

ps: you're amazing and I LOVE that you write for Joseph sm and you do it SO WELL

HI IM GOOD YES i saw their pics from brazil and i went absolutely feral!!! tysm for reading my works ily !! 🫶 hope you enjoy this

side note: a couple of you guys sent in requests and im sorry if im unable to post it sooner. i promise i will get to them and i absolutely love your ideas!!! i also sincerely apologize if the fonts are small im writing the blurbs on my phone and ive yet to figure out how to put "read more".

brazil is really pretty, and so is the smile on his face.

his white dress shirt hangs perfectly around his frame, but his grey blazer is missing and is instead draped over your shoulders, an offer he'd done out of worry.

even so, joseph's got an arm around your waist, holding a drink in his hand that he so carelessly waves around as he talks to people though not spilling it on anyone else. his laugh is bright and a bit drunk, but it's still contagious nonetheless.

"hey," he murmurs in your ear. "i bet you twenty dollars i get at least more than fifteen questions about what my vecna song is, deal?"

you snort, gyrating your wrist to swirl your drink. "why? did the question reach brazil?"

"i can't tell you how many times i've said the words up and down by venga boys. it's a lot more than the amount of wrong theories i saw about volume two."

joseph beams at your smile, and as much as he wants to place a kiss on your temple, he's too shy to do so in a public place. "alright. and if it's not more than fifteen, i get the twenty dollars?"

"twenty dollars and a kiss," he offers. "only because i haven't kissed you since this morning and i've been taking it out on this glass."

"eugh," you turn away from him. "gross,"

"it's true," joseph removes his arm from around your waist, only to step in front of you so you'd look at him. "when you were at the toilet i've been mouthing my drink."

"jesus, joseph."

"and mary," he smiles at you, comes back to his original position where he slots himself at your side with a hand around your back in a kind possessive manner. "no one has actually asked you what your vecna song is, though,"

"i'd rather not answer than when yours sounds like a kids bop music at a child's birthday party," you playfully clink your glass with his. joseph wrinkles his nose and opens his mouth in a silent gasp, feigning offense at your joke.

"my, how rude! i've never judged you for listening to doja cat for a whole week when she tweeted about me," joseph squints his eyes at you.

"it's my way of coping. a hot girl flirts with my boyfriend and then what?" you shake your head at him. joseph smiles, and he's really fighting the urge not to kiss you. "plus her music's good. you should try listening to it instead of dancing to venga boys every morning."

"never disrespect up and down like that," he scoffs. his hand reaches out to play with the sleeves of the blazer around your shoulder, and you find yourself tracing the curve of his chain.

"yeah yeah, whatever."

"oh, here comes another one," finally, he steals a quick peck on your temple, hand sinking deeper into your waist. "prepare to lose twenty dollars, darling."

would very much appreciate feedback and reblogs!! <3