#they dont have to be on guard around him

[kaurwreck]

Dazai is uninhibited around Chuuya for the same reason Mori is only ever sincere around Chuuya.

[mudpuddless]

AU where Obi-wan is Can Drallig's illegitimate son except of course everyone knows and no one cares except for qui-gon of course.

based on this post by @twinterrors29

[lanshappycorner]

Malledu🐉♠️ doodles

[baalzebufo]

'I don't know what you're-a trying to say…' Peppino sighed, exasperated. He went to turn away, when-

'Pe-Pino.'

The voice… it was his voice, but the cadence was just slightly off. An imperfect mimicry, but close enough that it immediately fired every panic neuron in his brain at once.

---

A little piece of writing to nail down the vibes im going for with my interpretation of Fake Peppino! Having a normal fun day in the kitchen where nothing uncomfortable or weird happens.

---

'Pe- pi- no.'

Peppino tried not to flinch when he felt the heavy wet hand on his shoulder and the voice gurgling in his ear. Deep breaths- okay. He inhaled sharply and grit his teeth, bracing himself before he turned around.

It hadn't been easy, getting used to… that thing. Fake Peppino, as he had been calling it in his head. But he did feel admittedly a little guilty for destroying the tower- its home, really- and it didn't ask to be made like that. Still, he wished it hadn't decided to stick around sometimes. He'd spent an entire week just trying to make sure it didn't attack him on sight! And even then, it STILL chased him from time to time...

But he had reached an uneasy accord with his doppelganger, or at least thought so. He seemed more sedate at any rate, and Peppino had even managed to talk it into helping in the kitchen- which is where he was now, spreading a ball of dough thin with his knuckles, before he was so rudely interrupted.

He turned and forced a smile, trying to cover up his nerves with fake confidence. Ghh- he never got used to seeing him. His fake looked like him, but… uncanny. Stretched. Something wearing the wrong size of his skin. It made a weird bubbling noise- Peppino had come to learn that was its 'excited sound'- and grasped his wrist to tug him to the other side of the kitchen.

'Okay, o-kay! Slow down- whats-a the rush, paisano? What do you want to-a show me?'

Peppino tugged his wrist free and returned his hands to their comfortable position, tugging nervously on his tank top. Fake Peppino had dragged him over to the pizza oven. It was a great brick thing- a traditional piece and easily the most expensive thing in the whole restaurant, but also something he would never sell. After all, what kind of a pizza chef would he be without his pizza oven?

His clone straightened up then, drawing an involuntary shiver out of Peppino. It looked at him. Peppino looked back. He briefly made eye contact, watching as the fake's right eye slowly dribbled down his face- he glanced away before it started to make his heart pound any louder.

'Ah… what? What is it?' He mumbled again, shrivelling a little under the unyielding gaze. He may have been his clone, but they apparently didn't copy the part of him that hated prolonged eye contact, ugh. He chanced another look. His double was looking at him almost expectantly.

Suddenly, he raised an arm- quick enough to make Peppino flinch. But he didn't strike. He simply pointed- one finger poking Peppino in the chest. Then he moved his hand to point at the oven, the heat of which was beginning to make even more sweat bead on his forehead.

'I don't know what you're-a trying to say…' Peppino sighed, exasperated. He went to turn away, when-

'Pe-Pino.'

The voice… it was his voice, but the cadence was just slightly off. An imperfect mimicry, but close enough that it immediately fired every panic neuron in his brain at once.

'Peppinos. Pi- Za.' The fake nodded, looking pleased- then slapped one hand down on Peppino’s head, crushing his chefs hat down and drawing a yelp of surprise out of him.

'Peppino. Pi-zza.' The words sounded smoother as he rolled them around his mouth, smiling wide enough that his teeth looked as if they were about to drip out of his lips. He pushed Peppino a little closer to the oven- his heels dug into the ground instinctively. The heat was oppressive... 'Peppi-no. Pizza.'

Peppino froze. He had learnt not to run- bolting only excited his fake. He stood stock still, even as its face slowly lowered to his. His eyes widened- there wasn't anywhere else to look but into his own distorted visage, the oven's heat only causing it to drip more. Oh, god, it was dripping everywhere…

His hands balled into fists, ready to react, but his body seemed stuck. Damn his freeze instinct-! He held his breath as his fake tilted his head curiously, and then laughed. A bubbling gurgle, face practically split in two.

'Pizza. is. Peppi-no.' He said, happily. Peppino couldn't bring himself to figure out what exactly that meant, because the only idea he had right now- well, the heat wasn't helping, and his vision was blurring, and it wasn't good…

'Peppino. Pizza. Nothing. Compares!'

All of a sudden, he was pushed back. Away from the heat, a cold blast of air hitting him as the doppelganger shoved him. All at once Peppino’s body reacted, scrambling back along the floor and breathing- wheezing, really- trying to get enough air in his lungs so he didn't pass out. All the while he watched as the wax figure of himself dripped like a candle in the heat, spun on its heel happily and giggled.

'Not- yet!' It smiled, face still firmly turned to look at Peppino even as its entire body twisted 180 degrees to stick to the nearest wall- his neck creaked with the strain, more of its doughy flesh sloughing off onto the floor as he moved away from the heat.

'Cook.' It's hand found one of the open vents- it's favorite hiding spots. 'Let him. Cook. Not ready!' It smiled, eyelids squeezing shut happily over misshapen sockets, tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

'Later? Pizza later. Nothing Compares...' He mumbled, voice softening as Peppino could only watch in wide-eyed terror as it folded itself in half to slide into the narrow vent- he'd seen it many times but he still wasn't used to it. The wet sounds of a body moving in ways it shouldn't, the scrape of the metal... As it pushed itself into the darkness, Peppino saw its face- his face- the last thing to disappear.

'Peppino. Pizza...? Soon...'

And then it was gone.

He didn't move.

Honestly, he stayed on the floor for an uncomfortably long time.

After what felt like hours, his body finally decided to return the feeling to his joints- and all at once he scrambled upright. What- what was that? He thought…

He thought he was reaching… some kind of agreement with that thing. But clearly it was still far, far beyond his understanding. And what it said- no. No, Peppino shook his head violently. He didn't want to think about it. Because if he thought about it, it sounded an awful lot like...

No. No, no, no. That was silly. He just needed to get back to work. He needed to push this out of his mind and forget it ever happened.

He stumbled over towards his pile of pizza dough. Looking down at it, he couldn't help but feel… uneasy, suddenly. A wave of strange nausea rose in his chest.

Maybe… maybe that was enough pizza for one day.

[cator99]

I always get detained at da border because PROFUNC never ended but basically I'm like if a targeted individual didn't even care

[dailyeca]

at what point could you fall asleep to hushed giggles and quiet conversations instead of the usual silence?

(was it when you began to trust them?)

[hearts401]

fav part of sw era is that we're playing as just Some Guy in each game. Smth i rlly dislike about old fnaf is the idea that everyone is Michael. I don't actually like Mike schmidt being Michael Afton! I don't like Jeremy Fitzgerald being Michael Afton! I don't like Fritz Smith being Michael Afton! Because the funny part about fnaf 1 and 2 is that you are just Some Guy with a shitty job!

in help wanted you are just an unfortunate employee with a shitty life

in security breach you're a kid who got dragged into this somehow

in ruin you're a little girl looking for her friend LIEK. COME ON.

[eqan]

took dewey out again tonight for more socialization — some soft boofs were had but by the end of the ~30 minutes he was quietly watching instead (:

he of course did suuuuuper well with everyone who asked to meet him! young kids, parents, some all at the same time. not fazed even a little (and someone even guessed that his name is deputy dewey because of scream — finally!!!!!!)

we worked on “focus” and “off”/“leave it” while there too. a good evening

[leijonzzz]

I LOVE SUIKODEN SOOOO FUCKING MUCH

[bonestrouslingbones]

btw big shoutout to that woodworking class i took in my final semester of high school for allowing me to 1. not constantly sound like i'm talking entirely out of my ass and 2. hide some very niche secrets because of the like 2 full months of paperwork & osha training before i got to actually build anything

[arolesbianism]

Thinking abt my dst swap au again it's so messed up that I can't just talk about hypothetical character kits 24/7 and actually have to make a plot that some characters are more or less relevant in because all I wanna do is talk about Wilba and Wortox kits cause they're silly goofy goobers

[mik-arts]

one of the npcs that has been guiding our party through the underdark has something up with eye contact..... here’s a look at what Flora saw when she looked him in the eye

[vancilart]

patched up and good to go

[jrueships]

still thinking about jaren on podcast p

[toestalucia]

“  i wanna get better.  ” @wayfaringastral

meme.

It's words they hadn't considered, lost in the never-ending spiral of situations out of their control, the pieces of words and actions remaining sprawled across the table. Rosetta and Io had said he acted strange in Agastia when they stayed behind to fight Fenrir, and it was in that same city he first denied their request. A moment like looking in a mirror, perhaps a bit distorted, but the expression he had been wearing had been uncomfortably close to their own. (Why wouldn't it? When their hearts had lost its meaning.)

And then a memory that wasn't theirs emerged, and any thoughts about his grief was shelved.

They aren't surprised. They should be. This wasn't the kind of conversation they had ever had (but neither was any other). How many times now had he helped them out? Whether intentionally or not (watching the Grandsleuth made them wonder about the path their father had travelled, she looked more happy in the sky than locked to some harbor). Getting better — from the grief? Or from the past. He should be better, they should be better, everything was alright now. The night sky was glimmering, stars from a distant place gently offering warmth across a backdrop that wasn't broken anymore. Should they aim for it next? The moon or the stars—whichever would make people laugh in disbelief.

"You should visit sometime", it flows naturally, as if they were talking about tea and not matters of the heart. Since everything was alright and returning to normal, the bond between them should also return to its uncertain, wavering form. Not a friend, but not quite a foe, a presence they weren't able to name.

If they hadn't put their existence in his hands.

If they weren't realizing that whenever someone left their sight the memories of that day crashed through their mind. Their heart uneasy even in the comfort of the Grandcypher, knowing that Io and Rosetta were making dinner with Lyria and Vyrn. And yet. And yet.

"I can't say everyone will be positive", Phoebe had been rather distraught upon sensing Astrals nearby, and as much as it pained them to see, they also knew she trusted them when they said Loki and Mikaboshi wouldn't do her any harm. "But they won't turn you away", for good and for worse, a group of people insistent on feeling the pain and joy of others, and Gran loved them so very dearly for it. A pause follows, hesitant on how to continue, on how to speak of matters such as this without the ever compassionate Lyria by their side.

"...If you hadn't helped us, then we'd still be...no, maybe I would have already..." the what-if's haunting their dreams following in a jumbled mess, trailing off while they take a moment to try again. "...Thank you. For helping us out again", this mask I wear can't be removed. Did that still ring true, when he spoke like this? "Lyria is better at this than I am, but...I think we've been through enough that we don't have to be on different sides anymore. We don't have to see eye-to-eye, and you don't have to tell me what's happening, but I don't want to be suspicious of you and your crew next time we meet. You gave me the chance to save the people I love. I want to trust you, Loki", for the first time they shift their gaze to look at him, as steadfast and determined as always, leaving someone behind had never been something they could do. "If there's anything I—we—can do for you, then we'll do it. That's why...if you want to talk about things, you know where to find us."

[narugen-moved]

ough. vampire!hoshina au where mina is a vampire hunter and hoshina is undercover as a hunter, intending to take the force down from the inside but somewhere along the way she falls for him and he experiences Great Conflict between betraying her (who also takes a liking to from the first time they met) or betraying his benefactors