#this is the part where he plays kirby

[cryptidsofwakemoor]

Chapter 12 - Boopin' Buttons

Having to return to work soon, Tikki wants to make sure her new roommate can look after himself while she's away. She also teaches him about video games, for enrichment!

~*~

Spooky

It took... A little bit longer than it probably should have, but thankfully Matchstick figured out quickly that he probably shouldn't be attempting to put everything Tikki handed to him on at the same time. When the bathroom door opened again, he shuffled back out wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, both of which were a simultaneous and strange combination of being both very loose on his frame and too short for him as well. The shirt showed about an inch of midriff and the sweatpants stopped partway down his shins, making them look more like a comfy pair of somewhat long capris. None of that really seemed to bother him, though, so much as how the shirt seemed to keep catching on his back... at least he wasn't wearing anything tight enough to pull on it.

Mystic

Tikki turns around- and has to fight a smile for a moment.

“Oh- wow yeah those don’t fit you,” she says, her ear fins falling in defeat, despite the fact she was smiling. “Still, it’s something. It’s a good thing you’re probably not going outside for a while, snow or otherwise. I can grab you some outfits after work tomorrow.”

Work?

“Oh, right,” Tikki says, snapping her fingers in realization. “I forgot to mention- I have to go back to my work shifts tomorrow morning, so you’ll be by yourself in the house. Do you know how to use a phone of any kind? Because if not, I can teach you in case of an emergency. And I might need to prepare some meals for you in advance, since we haven’t gotten around to cooking lessons yet.”

Spooky

Don't fit? But... He was able to wear them. And it did feel more comfortable than the shorts he escaped with, even if he wasn't as used to this.

-Wait, Tikki was going away?? He looked back up at her with an alarmed expression, but then he remembered the times he saw her leave in her blue truck... Was that where she was going? Work?

His initial alarm gave way to uncertainty, and he shook his head 'no' when asked if he knew how to use a phone, walking back over to her from down the hallway. He was now hugging the bundle of clothes underneath one of his arms, since he'd left his pillow on the couch.

Mystic

Tikki nods, pursing her lips.

“Yeah, I figured not. I’ll show you how, in case you need me for anything important.”

She gives him another shoulder pat upon seeing the sudden fear in his eyes.

“Believe me, I’d much rather stay home and make sure you’re okay and adjusting. But if I don’t keep going to my work shifts, I won’t make any money, and then we can’t keep the place.” Tikki sighs. “I was able to get out of it for a couple days because of my curse flare-up, which my boss thinks is a medical condition. But normally, I work five days out of the seven day week, for eight hours per day. You’re going to be spending a lot of time by yourself during the day- but don’t worry, I’m not going to force you to sit bored and do nothing all day. You’ll have things to entertain yourself.”

Spooky

That sounded like a lot of time... But money seemed pretty important. He'd been reminded plenty of times that a lot of it had been spent on him, usually whenever he misbehaved. Or how much he was going to make for them whenever he was finally forced to follow instructions. It still felt like a nebulous concept, tied directly to how 'good' he was being somehow, so to hear it talked about in a way that had nothing to do with his behavior was strange. Guess he really didn't understand it after all...

Still, it seemed like it was needed, or else the house would be taken away? That was a scary thought. What would be big enough to take away a whole building...?

When she came to the end of her explanation, he tilted his head. Things to entertain himself? Like rocks and sticks? It was kinda fun to see how far he could throw stuff... Or holding a twig or a stick in his hand and slowly burning it to watch it crumble. He knew it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try that with anything in here, though it would be a lie to say he wasn't curious about how a wooden chair would crumble... That was way bigger than a stick.

Well... She did have books, too. He looked over at the bookshelf, though his face crinkled somewhat as he remembered the one he'd tried to read. There really wasn't anything great about that ‘gatsby’ at all, shit was just confusing...

Mystic

Tikki follows his gaze to the books, and snickers.

“Oh, you don’t have to read if you don’t want to, though that’s certainly an option.”

She moves toward the big black screen, opens the cabinets underneath it, and rifles around for what appears to be a set of blocky plastic boxes. They’re attached to cables that go to the back of the screen.

“You could draw- I have plenty of paper and drawing stuff- watch television, or play with these video game consoles.”

Spooky

Going off his expressions, he seemed to recognize what drawing was easily enough, though he had no idea what the electronics were. He didn't pay the monitor much mind, since he already had seen those before and knew it was a screen, albeit one that wasn't powered on at the moment... But what were these things down beneath it? They had a lot of shiny buttons, and unable to curb his curiosity, he reached around Tikki started poking at them just to see what they did.

Mystic

"It's not on yet," Tikki chuckles, not doing anything to dissuade him from poking and prodding at the controllers or console. "You will use those to control the game, though, so you're on the right track."

She grabs a small remote from a table by the couch. He'd seen a few of those before, when scientists would click their little buttons to turn screens on or off, or alter things on the screens themselves like magic.

She pushes a button, and the television screen clicks on, producing light and noise he'd never witnessed in his life! This was wildly different from how the screens looked in the lab. This big screen had moving pictures of people, plants, animals, and he could barely understand any of it.

"Oops, not on the video game port," Tikki says, clicking another button. "Forgot I had it on the news."

The screen clicks to a black background with green text in one corner, which reads 'VGA'. Tikki kneels down to push a button on top of one of the consoles, which lights up, and the screen follows shortly after. It goes from showing nothing but black to a vibrant, smooth display of some sort of menu. It read 'Console Input- Super Nintendo', and had an empty window in the center.

"This is the console screen. The box I just turned on is the console that you load games into the port," Tikki explains, indicating the slot where the cartridge was to go, before pointing to the controller he was poking. "And that's the controller! You push the buttons on it to move around and select stuff. And this-"

Tikki has a big smile as she reaches into the cabinet again, and pulls out a box full of small grey cartridges and plastic boxes with discs in them.

"-is my game collection. See any you like?"

Spooky

The sudden visuals and noise coming from the big screen as it came to life gave him quite a start, and he immediately backed up and ducked behind the couch. It all vanished before he thought to flee the room, though, and he was left staring dumbstruck at a blank screen again with three letters in the corner. What just happened...?

Watching her pull out the box, he glanced nervously at the screen like he was half expecting it to raise its voice at him again, then back at what she was holding. When it remained as it was, though, he ended up approaching again and peeking into the box. These were games...?

...Well, some of them were kinda gray like rocks. He reached in and picked one up at random, immediately finding it wasn't as heavy as a rock either. Also, it had a picture on it... Some kinda round pink thing? Didn't look like any animal he'd ever seen, and he tilted his head a little and squinted at it as he tried to make sense of it.

Mystic

“Ooooo, Kirby! A fine choice!” Tikki grins, reaching over and taking the cartridge from his hand. Kneeling down, she slots the cartridge into the port on top of the console.

The window on the screen fills with a colorful image of the same pink orb, which had a big cartoony mouth and tiny eyes, surrounded by stars and puffy clouds. Tikki presses a button on the controller, and the screen makes a happy ‘brring!’ sound, before going black again.

When it loads up again, big bubbly text says ‘Kirby Super Star’, with the little pink dude wearing a colorful hat and surrounded by more stars. It says ‘Press Start’ in flashing letters.

“The game is in the cartridge, which the console loads up on the screen,” Tikki says, watching as the screen loads up a demo level, showing the little pink character running around, jumping and- floating? It could float, apparently! And then it starts- eating things? Upon eating another thing that was walking around, the pink thing gains a hat and a sword, which it uses to start smacking other things.

Spooky

He gave a little snort as he watched. That... was surprisingly violent, and kinda funny since it looked so cute. This little dude was just walking around eating other little dudes like it was no big deal, and now he had weaponry somehow? He got so wrapped up in watching what was happening in the demo level that he forgot it was supposed to be a game of some kind.

Mystic

He suddenly feels plastic being inserted into his hands.

Oh- Tikki just handed him the controller. She presses a button in the center that says ‘Start’, and the demo level disappears to show a brand new level screen. The pink dude wasn’t moving this time.

“Press buttons on that,” she says with an amused smile on her face.

Spooky

Why wasn't he moving...? He glanced between the screen and controller, before hitting a button, and the pink thing scooted forward just a little before stopping again.

...Wait. He poked at another button on the other side of the plastic thing, and sure enough the pink guy moved again, jumping this time. His eyes went wide as he realized what was going on- he was making the guy move! With the buttons!!

Needless to say he started pressing more of them to see what they did, which quickly turned into button mashing to see what would happen if he hit multiple buttons at once. Hah! Pink dude looked super confused- whoa wait he's flying! What- how did he do that?? He looked down at the buttons trying to figure out which one did the flying thing.

Mystic

Tikki snorts a laugh.

"Good job, you're figuring it out already! Welp, have fun saving the planet of Popstar."

And with that, she turns on her heel and heads off to her room, grinning the whole way. She had to go get changed out of her pajamas, and start making a plan for meals for the week.

Spooky

He gave a small nod in response, but was otherwise completely absorbed in playing, his eyes never leaving the screen.

After figuring out the movement well enough, he started to explore the level, mostly inhaling enemies and spitting them back out until by sheer accident he figured out how to swallow them and get abilities from them. He caught on quick and was feeling pretty confident, until suddenly a huge tree started attacking him! He panicked because he couldn't eat it, and the tree having hollow, empty holes for a face was pretty unnerving too. Swallowing the apples didn't seem to do anything either, and he died before he could figure out what to do.

Mystic

Tikki lets him continue to enjoy the game- even the parts that would have been frustrating, like losing all of his lives and restarting from scratch. All that mattered to her was that it kept him engaged for a bit. A good sign that he wouldn't be bored to tears while she was gone during her workdays. It was also very encouraging in terms of his cognitive development. If he could piece together how to play a video game, his reasoning skills and learning capability were pretty good! His practical application of language and math was a bit behind- maybe at some point, they could move into actual educational lessons...?

Augh- there was the older sister instinct kicking in, again. She missed her siblings in the ocean. This kid wasn't family; she was helping him because he was a lost soul who was taken advantage of and needed help, and no kid deserved to be on their own.

...it was very endearing, though, watching him laugh whenever he made Kirby dance in confusion.

A few hours later, and Tikki- now in her day clothes- was in the process of making sandwiches.

"Any luck beating Dedede yet?" she pipes from the kitchen.

Spooky

Almost as if on cue, there was a small "huh?" as he took his eyes off the game for a moment, followed by Dedede's theme song getting cut off by the little death jingle that played. He made a frustrated noise, and the fight music started over.

Funny, for how much timidity this kid showed when confronted with unfamiliar stuff, he could also be pretty stubborn. He kept dying, but instead of getting upset to the point of giving up, he just tried again. That was encouraging, at least!

Mystic

Tikki giggled.

“Oops, sorry.” She loads up several sandwiches onto a plate for him, and one on another for herself. “Didn’t mean to throw off your groove. Maybe next attempt, you take a break for lunch? Can’t play games well on an empty stomach.”

Spooky

It took a moment of confused button mashing for him to remember how to pause, but the presence of food reminded him he was hungry- Hammer guy could wait.

So excited was he to get to his lunch, he nearly tripped over the couch when hurrying over.

Mystic

"Whoa, don't fall over!" Tikki says with a gasp that turned into a breathless laugh. "The sandwiches aren't going anywhere, and I don't want you to hurt yourself."

She hands him his plate. This time, it doesn't have any utensils on it.

"I figured if nothing else, you might be able to learn how to make a sandwich for the times I'm gone," Tikki says, taking her own plate to the actual dining table for once. "It's very easy- you just layer food between bread, and bam, sandwich. I don't know what you like, though, so I made several kinds."

Spooky

He scarfed them all down in a matter of bites, licking the crumbs from his face with a big grin. He apparently enjoyed all of them, which was good- he wasn't picky at all. Not surprising, considering the kind of stuff he'd subsisted on before... But at the very least, it would make keeping him fed on a budget a lot easier.

"Put stuff in bread," he rasped, trying to see if he got her instructions right. Seemed easy enough, as long as he knew where to find the stuff he needed. From what he could tell all the food came from the room with the counters though, so shouldn't be too hard to find something to put in some bread.

Mystic

"...I don't know why I continue to be concerned for your diet," Tikki says, munching her own sandwich with a smirk and a shake of her head. "You haven't turned down a single thing I've offered yet."

She eats in comfortable silence for a moment.

"So- how are you feeling today?" she asks, curious. "I'm sure these past few days have been kinda... overwhelming, for you."

Spooky

He stopped licking the remaining crumbs from his plate and pondered her question, nodding a little. It had been a lot to take in... It felt almost like too much at times. But confusion aside, there hadn't been anything bad that had happened to him since he'd been in this house. There was a little nervousness that came with being in a building at first, but... He hadn't been forced to stay in one room, and he was allowed a surprising amount of freedoms, to the point where he wasn’t even sure what to do with them all. She'd even given him the option to leave if he wanted to.

A few days ago he'd never thought he'd be in a house, cleaned up, and wearing clothes. It was kind of surreal. Still... it was nice.

"Better," he said after a few moments, having found a word for it. He felt better.

Mystic

Tikki offers him another smile, taking another bite of her sandwich and swallowing before she continues.

"That's the best I could hope for, I suppose," she said, keeping her attention on her plate.

...

"...Sorry, I'm not used to having company for this long," Tikki says, feeling awkward as she avoids eye contact, scratching behind her neck with one hand. "I didn't really... let myself have any, for a long time. For obvious reasons."

Spooky

Understandable, though it still sucked. Tikki was nice, even when she was the silver beast... But people got scared easily.

"...S' ok."

He wasn't exactly used to it either. He'd been told plenty of times that there wouldn’t be anybody nice on the outside, that he was dangerous and they'd want him destroyed. And as shitty as that was, he'd kinda started to think they were right for a while, there. It... didn't really occur to him that there would be anyone else like him out here, that'd be able to relate at least a little bit. Sure, she could blend in enough to go to town, but her transformations still clearly limited her in a lot of ways...

And the worst part was, he couldn't really say any of this shit to her because his throat didn't wanna fuckin' work.

"Wwish m'fuggn... voice wasn' broke," he grumbled, frustration evident as he frowned down at himself.

Finally had someone to talk to after who knows how long, and he couldn't fuckin' do it. Not for more than a few seconds at a time, at least not without feeling like he was gonna cough up a lung.

Mystic

Tikki gives a small start, before turning her head to give him a wry smirk.

“Aha, got a sailor mouth on you I see,” she snickers. “Good, I was worried about how much I’d have to censor myself around you. I hope you put those swears to good use against the assholes that ‘worked���-” she lifts her hands to do air quotes “- on you before. God knows they deserve so much worse. And don’t worry about your throat- just take it easy, drink more hot drinks, and it’ll heal up real fast.”

She didn’t want to think on it for too long. If she let herself get pissed off, the beast might come out.

Tikki finished the sandwich, and stood from her chair, stretching her back with a pop of vertebrae.

“Okay, now that you’re over here and fed, maybe I could help you learn how to wash dishes? I did some thinking, and laundry is a bit more complex, so for now we’ll start with easy stuff. You’ll need to be able to do your own dishes while I’m gone, or we won’t have clean plates and cups to eat and drink from.”

Spooky

Despite any frustration about himself, he clearly was trying to force an encroaching smile back down at hearing her call those Aria scientists 'assholes' after she'd spent this whole time not cursing around him. Awp, there was the telltale sharp exhale of a suppressed chuckle, too.

He nodded. They definitely deserved worse. Especially that lying fuck, Rainer.

The dishwashing suggestion was a welcome distraction before his thoughts could spiral into something more violent about what he wished he could do to them, and he nodded quickly, getting up. While he didn't have a beast form to worry about, he did have to consciously loosen his grip on the plate in his hand, feeling like it was gonna break into pieces if he didn't.

He sighed as he followed Tikki to the kitchen. Why did everything have to be so damn fragile...?

Mystic

Tikki spends a good amount of time teaching him how to clean the dishes. Trepidation naturally followed the turning on of the kitchen sink, but then she showed him the water flow was controlled by a pair of handles, and could be hot or cold just like the bath. Again, he had total control over the water flow, and it was destined for the drain, nowhere else in the room. She showed him how to get soap, and how to scrub the plates and cups before rinsing them, and where to put them on the rack to dry.

It took a few tries to get down, but Tikki quickly figured out he was a visual learner, and demonstration worked wonders on getting the instructions across. She remained patient the whole time, even when he accidentally broke a plate. She just scooped it up the shards in a towel and threw them in the trash, joking that ‘we don’t need a stabbing weapon today, but something to keep in mind if the dinner is a little too raw’. Turns out the task of washing dishes was indeed relatively simple to figure out.

“Alright, that’s the last of them,” Tikki says, wiping her hands on a towel. She gives him a smile. “Thanks for helping, Sticks. If you wanna get back to your game now, you can go ahead- I’ll make another mug of cider for your throat.”

Spooky

Even though it was a little frustrating at first, especially when his first attempt to scrub a plate led to him applying too much pressure and breaking it down the middle, he powered through it. He still didn't really like putting his hands in water, but at least it wasn't enough to cause a panic. On the bright side, he figured out how to clean without breaking stuff pretty fast after that first attempt, and... Maybe it was learning a new skill, or the repetitive motions of gently scrubbing dishes helping him get his mind off things, but as he carefully put the last mug on the rack and stood back from the sink, he did feel at least a little better.

Toweling off his hands, though, he noticed the skin on his hands looked kind of weird and dull afterwards, returning to their normal sheen about halfway up his forearms, the transition definitely more noticeable than when he'd gotten out of the bath. Uhh, was that supposed to happen...?

Well, it... didn't hurt or anything from what he could tell, so after a brief moment of inspecting his hands, he shrugged it off and went back over to the couch to continue the match against hammer guy.

Mystic

Tikki didn’t comment on it, but she had spied the thin streams of dark… something… trailing off of his arms into the sink. It had the shiny quality of an after-rain oil slick, before it got sucked down the drain with the rest of the dishwater. The fact that he acquired an almost mitten-like pattern to his hands once he dried off was quite noticeable, and surprising. What was that about? Huh.

Deciding it wasn’t an issue for now, Tikki resolved to keep mental tabs on it, but leave him be. He had enough decompressing on his plate to manage for now.

Tikki lets him spend the rest of the day chilling out, enjoying the game console. In the meantime, she cleaned up the bathroom, having finally seen the mess he’d left it in after the bath. It wasn’t horribly dirty, but the towel had dried into a stiff crust like a cracker, and the splashed water left marks on the tile floor.

The only time Tikki interrupted his fun was for a brief lesson on how to use a phone. The concept of a phone was practically magic to him, even with his basic understanding of common tech he’d seen around the lab. She taught him the standard emergency number- which was very easy, but risked getting attention he might not want- and her own number, which was a lot longer, but would only call her directly. His fingers were a bit larger than the buttons on the landline phone, but in a pinch, he could probably do it.

Evening drew close, then night again. Dinner was a bowl of some kind of yellow soft stuff in golden sauce, which was hot and delicious! And from what he saw- very easy to make, too. Another recipe he might be able to get a handle on?

Spooky

It had proven to be a pretty eventful day, if only because of his introduction to so many new things. Some were easier than others- He'd struggled somewhat with memorizing Tikki's number, so she'd written it down for him on a piece of paper next to the phone just in case. His hands had also regained their normal sheen by dinnertime, so he didn't think any more about it as he shoveled said dinner into his mouth like coal into a furnace.

After that, Tikki helped him make sandwiches for tomorrow, showing him where the bread and the stuff to put in the sandwiches was. She put the sandwich she made in a plastic bag, then put that in a brown bag along with some other stuff. Apparently that would be for her to bring to work to eat later, so he needed to leave that bag alone if he was hungry. The other sandwiches were his lunch for tomorrow, though, so it wasn't like he was gonna go hungry, either.

Finally bedtime rolled around, and as he was climbing back onto the couch with his blankets and pillow, he heard a strange sound coming from the bathroom. The door was open, so when he peeked in, he saw Tikki scrubbing at her teeth with some kind of... plastic stick? Buh? Was she washing her teeth like the dishes??

Mystic

Tikki continued brushing for a few moments longer, before one of her ear fins twitches. It twitches again, this time more noticeably in his direction, and she pauses, feeling eyes on her. When she glances towards the door, she’s treated to her house guest watching her with the most baffled look on his big owl-eyed face.

Tikki quickly leans toward the sink as she snort a laugh, trying not to spit toothpaste. Wiping her mouth with a towel, she chuckles.

“Right. Brushing teeth is a new thing, too. Alright, big guy, get in here.”

She scoots aside to make room at the sink, and digs in the cabinet below for a plastic package containing a second plastic stick of the same design, but red instead of green like hers.

Spooky

Blinking, he shuffled over to the sink. When offered, he took the small stick in his hand. Noticing the bristles at the end of it, it clicked that those were what she'd been scrubbing with on the green stick. What was the weird foamy stuff, though? Was she foaming at the mouth? He'd foamed at the mouth before, but it wasn't a good thing...

He gave her a look of confusion mixed with concern.

Mystic

Tikki takes the end of the brush, but doesn't remove it from his hands- instead, she takes a bottle and squirts a bit of some kind of white-and-green paste onto it, before capping the bottle again.

"That's toothpaste. It'll taste like mint, but it's not edible. It's for cleaning your teeth, and getting excess food and plaque off. Taking care of your teeth is important if you want to keep them- otherwise you'll get painful cavities and need to have the teeth removed, it's not fun at all."

For a second, it sounded like she was spouting total bullshit, but her delivery didn't sound like she was lying. Concerning.

"I don't know if you will need to worry about that too much, considering you uh-" Tikki searches for the right word for a moment "-roast everything you eat. But it might help, and it's better to be safe about it. Just, uh, brush your teeth fast. I don't know if your weird lava mouth will melt the brush."

Tikki picks up her own brush again, and starts cleaning her incredibly sharp set of chompers.

"Wghen yur dun, shpit id oud," she says past the toothbrush, before spitting the foam into the sink. She grabs a cup, pours some water into it, and starts gargling, which also ends up in the sink once she's done.

Spooky

Fast? Uh, okay.

His lips drew back as he bared his teeth- primarily human in shape, save for some very large, sharp canines that had mostly up to this point remained out of view- and scrubbed as fast as he could.

Mint was definitely a new flavor- he wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but it did have an interesting effect of making his tongue feel a little weird, and the air feel colder when he breathed in. He almost stopped there, though Tikki showed him he was supposed to get both sides of his teeth, so he opened his jaws and scrubbed the other side as well.

When he spat out the foam, it landed in the sink with an audible sizzle. Same went for the water he gargled with- seemed that happened with any liquid that remained in his mouth for long enough. Brushing fast was probably a good call...

Mystic

When he's done, Tikki is staring.

"Are you secretly a vampire?" she jokes, snickering. "You got big ol' fangs, Sticks. Planning to hunt some ring seals with those canines? Heheh- I'm one to talk. I have shark teeth."

Then she reaches up, and gives him a brief noogie on the forehead with one fist.

"Proud of you, kid. You're learning really fast, and soon, you'll be able to do all kinds of stuff all on your own!" Tikki tosses her toothbrush into a cup by the sink, which seemed to be its dedicated storage. "I'm gonna turn in for the night. You have a good sleep, whenever you get to it- I'll probably be leaving for work before you wake up tomorrow. Stay indoors, it's supposed to snow a lot, and you don't have any winter gear yet."

Spooky

The fuck's a vampire? Was she teasing him?

He gave her a confused frown, though it gave way to a grin and that quiet, chuffing laugh when she noogied him, and he saw it for the playful gesture it was. Yeah, okay, she was just teasin'.

He nodded, and he turned to put his brush in the cup as well. She didn't need to tell him twice to stay indoors, his natural shadowy camouflage was rendered completely useless in snow, and he wasn't a fan of cold!

Each retiring to their respective rooms, he crawled onto the couch and snuggled back in that corner between the back of the couch and the arm of it. It took a little bit more to get comfortable since his shirt kept pulling at the rock on his back as he tried to get settled. He was half-tempted to take it off, if only it didn't help keep in his body heat...

...Hm. While he wasn't really used to sleeping in any other way than upright, maybe he should try something else until he felt comfortable... He changed his position, trying to lay where he was more draped face-down over the back of the couch. Wasn't perfect... but the couch cushioning was soft and wasn't too different from hugging his pillow as he slept, and he was still sorta upright... And most importantly, it kept pressure off his back. He pulled his blankets up, held Slithers close, and after some time, he somehow managed to actually fall asleep.

~*~

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New reader? You can start here!

[lieutenant-fred]

ok i'm pretty tired so have a happy dark matter blade

[emsdevs]

saw you wanted luke hughes reqs, so ‼️

him coming back to your apartment after a game and just yapping to you because he needs to be close to feel better about how it went, but will never explicitly tell you that it helps him. you're just doing miscellaneous tasks, and he eventually starts whining about it, wanting to ay down and get head scratches/cuddles from you

(if this makes no sense, pretend i was never here 😭)

a/n: so so so sorry for the wait nonnie! i hope you still like it! i did in fact get carried away and wrote 1.6k words of mostly dialogue. is this a crack fic? possibly idk. anyway this was very much a lot of fun and my beautiful wonderful wife kirby helped inspire me

masterlist

Not-So-Silent Treatment

The Devils had an early game today, and although it was a Saturday, you had to this morning and couldn’t make it. That leads you to where you are now, finally home and in comfy clothes, cleaning as a way to pass the time until Luke gets home. Before you know it, you hear someone turn down the music you previously had blasting, whipping around to see who the intruder was after not hearing the door. When you turn, you’re met with your boyfriend, Luke, leaning against the doorway with a smirk on his face. He watched as you jumped, slapping your hand over your heart, hoping to somehow calm it down.

“You gotta turn the music down when you’re home alone, babe. What if I was a serial killer?” the smirk he’s still wearing tells you he’s not serious.

“Doesn’t mean you have to give me a heart attack,” you roll your eyes, walking over to give him a quick kiss. “How was the game, Lukey?”

“Oh my god. I have so much to tell you.”

“Yay! I’m gonna finish up the cleaning while you talk, okay?” you give him one last kiss before returning to your task of doing the dishes. In the background, you could hear Luke beginning his story of a crazy penalty that happened halfway through the first period. His favorite thing to do was talk. You weren’t sure why he likes to talk so much or how he always has so much to say, but it’s become sort of comforting to you. Instead of having some random song or podcast playing while you did something, you could have your boyfriend telling you everything about nothing. You suppose it’s so comforting because you enjoy hearing his voice, and it’s a nice reminder of the fact that he’s with you, even if you’re just talking on the phone while he’s on a roadie. Either way, no one will ever hear you complaining about your boyfriend’s talking habits.

Luke, on the other hand, knows exactly why he loves to talk so much. He enjoys talking in general, but when he talks to you, it’s just as comforting for him as it is for you. It’s a way for him to decompress after a long day, lay everything out, and get it off his chest. Then, he never has to think about it again. His favorite part of his day is talking to you, so he’s going to soak it up every chance he gets. Also, Luke is aware that he’s a clingy boyfriend. He’s not scared to admit that. Talking your ear off is just another way for him to feel close to you. It especially helps when he’s gone on roadies and can’t see you face-to-face. 

By the time you finish cleaning your apartment, Luke is on story number five. This one happened an hour or two before the game while the boys were messing around in the hallways, something about Luke almost getting taken out by a soccer ball while he was doing his pre-game run. You’re almost finished folding your last load of laundry when Luke starts whining behind you. 

“Baby, when are you gonna be done? You’ve been cleaning for hours,” he drags out half the words in the sentence.

“Luke, you’ve only been here one hour? Just let me finish this then I’ll come sit with you, okay?”

“Whatever,” there’s no real bite to his tone, and you know he’s just being dramatic. You finish up the last bit of your cleaning about twenty minutes later, not without some more whining on Luke’s end. Soon, you’re lying down on the couch, watching as Luke makes himself comfortable on top of you. He grunts a little bit when you don’t move, and you know that’s his way of asking you to run your fingers through his hair.

He lets out a big sigh before starting again, “So anyway…” You aren’t sure exactly how long you lay there with him, listening to him talk while you played with his hair. Soon, though, the sun has set, and you’re attempting to hold back yawns. “So Curtis decided to- oh? Are you sleepy, baby? We can go to bed.”

“Yeah, let's go to bed, hun,” the two of you make your way to your bedroom, immediately lying down and getting comfortable. Luke talked the whole way there. As you’re getting comfortable, you catch a glimpse of the time on your alarm clock. “Luke, baby, it���s after midnight… can you maybe finish your story in the morning?”

“Yeah… yeah, babe, don’t worry about it. Just don’t be mad when I forget important details,” he mumbles the last sentence before letting go of you and rolling over so that his back is facing you.

“Luke. Don’t pout. I’m just sleepy, okay?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not pouting,” you can feel him rolling his eyes even though you can’t see his face. “I’m just saying. You know I don’t remember stuff well after I’ve slept on it. All those important details will probably be gone from my mind. Oh well.” You sigh, deciding to let him pout in favor of getting some sleep. A few minutes later, he speaks up again, “Ya know, I thought you liked hearing me talk.” After getting no response, he tries again, “Dad always told me I’d never find a wife if I didn’t learn how to shut up sometimes. I guess he was right,” he let out a big sigh in between the two sentences. It goes on for you don’t even know how long after that.

“Jack and Quinn used to never let me talk. I’m starting to think you’re just like them.”

“I thought I was dating my best friend. Turns out you actually hate me.”

“There was a really funny part too. I guess you don’t want me to do my favorite thing. Make you laugh. I love your laugh, but you obviously don’t care.”

“I guess I just love you more than you love me. I would do anything for you, baby, even ruin my sleep schedule. Unlike some people.”

“I would never name names but some people like to tell me they love to hear me talk but they really only mean they like it when it’s convenient for them.”

That’s when the fake waterworks set in. Luke is a horrible fake cryer, but that doesn’t stop him. He’s slapping his hand over his mouth, shaking his shoulders, letting out the most unbelievable “boo hoo” you’ve ever heard. When he sees it’s not working, he changes his tactic again.

“Aren’t you gonna apologize? You made me cry!”

“It’s 2:00 AM, and you made me cry. Are you happy with yourself? This is the kind of relationship you want? The kind of relationship where I have to cry myself to sleep?”

“I bet if we got into an argument right now, you wouldn’t even let me plead my case. Because then I would be talking, and apparently, you don’t like that anymore.”

At this point, you know you’re not sleeping any time soon, so you let yourself answer, “Luke, you’ve been talking for the past six hours.”

He’s quick with his reply, “See! I just can’t do anything right.”

“Ya know, you always call me your baby, but is this what you would do to a baby? Let them cry themselves to sleep?”

“Yeah, Luke, it’s called self-soothing. It’s actually a really common soothing method these days.”

“Torture method, more like. Poor kids. Is this what you’re gonna do to our kids? Tell them to shut up because you aren’t in the mood for them to express their thoughts and feelings?”

“Luke, we’re both freshly twenty-one, and we aren’t having kids any time soon?”

“Oh so now you don’t see a future with me? I guess I should return the ring in my sock drawer then, huh?”

“You have a ring?” you nearly shout, shocked at his revelation.

“Nah, I just wanted you to feel bad.” You quiet down after that, relieved that you won’t have to turn him down because you’re not ready, not that he isn’t the one you want to marry. He very much is, just not right this second. The exhaustion is setting in, so you don’t say much for a while. Apparently, that makes Luke really nervous. “I’m so sorry, baby. You know I was just playing, right? I’ll buy you a ring one day. I’ll do all the research. I’ll even stalk your Pinterest if I have to. I’ll buy you the perfect ring. Then I’ll give you the perfect wedding. Then we can have the perfect kids… Do you hate me now?” You can hear how sad he is, knowing he’s probably tired, and it’s probably heightening his emotions and dramatics.

“I don’t hate you, Lukey. I could never. I’m just sleepy, baby. I need to sleep, and I think you do too. Besides, I don’t wanna get married right now anyway.”

“Oh, so you don’t wanna marry me?” it was his turn to almost shout, his dramatic side getting the better of him in his sleepy state.

Eventually, you manage to wrangle him into laying his head on your chest so you can softly drag your fingers through his curls just the way he likes. Soon, it gets him asleep, just like you knew it would. Finally, you’re able to get some much-needed sleep as well. The next morning you hear it from Luke. He won’t shut up about how he has to finish his story but can’t remember half of it because you made him sleep. He loves to get on your nerves, but you wouldn’t trade a single moment with your favorite drama queen.

taglist: @heartsforjh @alex-wotton @devilinpradaheels @juxmi @macklin-celebrini-71 @puckmedude @one-sweet-gubler

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[coffeekittycatt]

Birthday Wish - Pt 2 ⋆˙⟡♡

Link to Pt 1:

Part 1 Scenario: You wished Rafayel was a real person on your birthday. That very night, he ends up at your door. You can’t believe it, but he embraces you in a sweet hug and you both share a romantic and steamy kiss. Now he wants to see your bedroom.

Notes: - NSFW, MDNI, Someone asked me for a part 2 so hope you all enjoy. This was my first real attempt at writing anything spicy besides a kiss so be patient with me 🙂‍↕️ wc: 2,071

── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ ── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ ── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ ── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ ── ⟢ ・⸝⸝ ─

“Show me your bedroom, my love.” He whispers to me. His intoxicating scent of white musk hits me, and his buttery voice persuades me right away. I try calming the adrenaline from our sudden makeout session with a deep breath as I guide Rafayel to my room.

My bedroom isn’t exactly “romantic hook up” ready. I have a small twin bed, cozy, but made for one. The corner of my room is stashed with pushies, lots of Kirby’s and Pokemon. “Here it is..,” I say to him as we take a stop. He must sense my nerves, as he leans down in front of me slightly to meet my face, and he tells me, “It’s perfect, small and full of adorableness, just like you.” I giggle at his comforting gesture. “Thank you.” I happen to look over his shoulder and see one complication. My vibrator. On my nightstand. No, no, no! How embarrassing!! Rafayel turns his head to see what I am staring at. “What are you scouting for cutie? Oh-“ He stops leaning down where I am and takes a few steps in the direction of my forbidden toy. I attempt to cover my eyes. I have no excuse for this. Rafayel picks up the small, lime green vibrator. His eyebrow raises and he looks back at me. “What is this green contraption?” Before I can choke up a random word besides “vibrator”, he flips the device around and finds the “on/off” button. His eyes widen as his finger presses down and we both hear the “buzzzzzz”. As if I wasn’t already blushing so much that my cheeks could practically cook an egg on top of themselves, I scurry and grab the vibrator to shut it off. “It’s nothing! Just a toy.” I say. Maybe if I play it cool, he will drop it. I do have lots of “normal” toys sitting around my room anyway. He looks down at the vibrator in my hand once more and glances back up at me, this time with a glint of amusement and something else I can’t put my finger on.

He smirks slightly and asks, “Tell me love, how do you *play* with this toy?” He takes a seat on my bed and his long-fingered, slender hand pats close beside him. He gets comfortable and grabs the nearest throw pillow and covers his lap. Why cover your lap? I think to myself. Maybe that is just how he likes to sit? I shrug off the question and take a seat. My heart has calmed since our first meet in the kitchen, but sitting this close beside Rafayel is making my tummy weak. I am letting him lead the conversation. I don’t want to ruin this amazing night by saying something stupid. After getting settled, I attempt to dodge the outright question. “How do you think I play with this toy?” I brace, hoping this will sway our conversation in a less embarrassing light for me. He licks his lips and I see a faint pink color roll onto his cheeks. He quietly clears his throat before speaking. “If I am not mistaken, my love, you pleasure yourself with this toy.” I open my mouth slightly and look away, totally in awe of how bold his comment is. Not only does his remark flush my body with a quiet shame, but such a dirty question heard from his sexy voice sparks a quick wetness in my pants. This man can make me choke and pass out on my own air. “Am I right?” He smiles while continuing and cocks his head to the side. “Yes..” I whisper and look down, not sure what else to say. I am not used to anyone talking so vulgar to me, boldly asking what I do in my private time. “Can you show me, princess?”

His sudden words strike me like lightning, my wetness now soaking underneath me. I feel an air of excitement at his suggestion, the fact that he wants to see me play with myself. Another part of me was apprehensive. Would he like my body? As I am lost in the moment, Rafayel leans forward towards me. His hands are on the bed holding him up, and he gives me a tender kiss, tongue slipping into my mouth and blessing me with his sweet, seductive taste. I can’t help but moan into his lips as he places his thumb on my cheek to hold me. “Do you want to show me?” He pauses to ask me with a sweet but mischievous expression. I didn’t realize Rafayel would be so eager to see this happen. I nod and smile, my body happily melting at his words.

He helps me pull my top off, showing my chest. A white, lacey bra is revealed, waiting to say hello to him. I watch his reaction as the whole sweatshirt is removed. His face is even more flushed now, so much so that I feel less embarrassed but empowered to make this pretty man’s cheeks as pink as possible. He suddenly pulls me closer, my knees holding me up on the bed as Rafayel puts his hands on my body. Fingers explore my back and my bralette suddenly unclips. I gasp at the event, my folds tingling in reaction. I need him, I thought. His lips land on the top of my left breast. He begins kissing and I feel a sudden cool air against my nipples as my bra drops. Rafayel stops what he’s doing to admire my chest. “So fucking beautiful, princess,” he says while taking a glance up at me. My hands run through his soft, purple hair, slightly gesturing him to keep going. He sighs a hot, lustful breath onto my chest, making my skin shiver with arousal. He keeps kissing, leaving electrifying splotches all over. He begins licking my nipple, first flicking his tongue to get my reaction. My whimpering had only just begun as he seemed satisfied to take it further. He begins sucking and nibbling. Moans escape my lips, only egging him on more. He sucks one nipple, a “pop” leaving his lips as he rewards the other with the same treatment. Rafayel seems hungry for more. His breaths are deeper, slower. He sits back for a second. “Does my princess want to show me how she pleases herself now?” My underwear is a mess from his touches, his delicious kisses. “Since you’re so eager.” I smile with a new feeling of comfortableness. “Fuck yes,” he replies with a sweet grin. He quickly moves over so I can have room on the small bed beneath us. I take off my leggings, leaving my lower half exposed to him. His eyes soak in the view, and he looks at me as if he just found himself the perfect cup of ice water on a blazing hot day. His eyes beam with desire for my body. “God..” He says, almost speechless. He helps me lie down, my head and back leaning against my headboard. He lies at my feet on his belly. He runs his hands on my thighs, caressing them before slowly opens my legs. “Oh fuck.. “ He bites his lower lip, almost stopping himself from outright devouring me. I notice the lime green vibrator now in his hand. He notices my glance. “Oh, my princess wants to play now, doesn’t she? Tell me, who do you think would be better at pleasing you? Me, or the toy?” He asks. The moment stills only for a second before he breaks the silence. Two long fingers slide deep inside me. I gasp in surprise and catch myself, soon feeling an overwhelming pleasure soon after. “Relax my love, I’ll make it feel good.” He says to me. He starts to pump the digits in a soft but steady pace. His fingers are curved slightly, making every dip deliciously electrifying. My back arches and my body unconsciously shimmies downwards, wanting to help ride his fingers myself. Another jolt of surprise hits me as I hear the buzz of the toy awakened and the bulbous tip touches my sensitive nub. Whimpers leave my lips as the feelings overtake me. Rafayel dips his fingers in and out of me in small bursts, letting the toy overstimulate me. As I feel my body draw closer, he turns the toy off. I breathe out for a second, my head warm from the pleasure. “I love the look on your face, princess. Your pretty hole fits my fingers nicely,” he says while showing me his two digits decorated with my cream. “What a good girl you are taking my fingers. But now it’s my turn in this competition.” He lets the toy leave his hands as it rolls onto the floor somewhere. His face fully flushed with pink as he leans his face down towards my slit.

My stomach tightens as his face inches towards my core. His beautiful lips reaching to taste my juices. A kiss is laid on my clit and his tongue slowly makes its way, circling the nub. His wet lips kiss and suck gently, leaving me to arch my back. He holds my hips down as he continues to explore with his mouth. “God.. you taste so good. You’re all mine.” He says in a busy, mumbled manner. His exploration takes him lower, and soon enough he slides his tongue inside me. In and out, he stretches my delicate hole, tasting more of my wetness. He moans his hot breath onto me as his tongue fucks me, making me grab my own breast in response. Rafayel notices and reaches up to play with my nipple. He pinches gently and twists, leaving me even more a mess as his hot, wet mouth has made its way back to sucking and licking my clit. He begins pumping digits back into me as he eats me. I feel myself getting close to the edge, my ears ringing from pure arousal and my head almost spinning. “That’s right. Good girl. Tell me how good it feels.” He demands from me. “S-So good Raf-f..,” I try to obediently answer, but my body has reached the limit. I see stars as my orgasm arrives. Moans leave me uncontrollably, and tears form in my eyes. I lie still for a moment, letting my body come down from this high. Still panting and legs shaking, I look at Rafayel. He begins leaning against the wall, sitting on the bed. He has his fingers in his mouth that were previously drenched with my wetness. He’s sucking on them and suddenly, I notice his pants are undone. He reveals a curved length with a pink, bulbous tip. Precum is spilled down onto his fingertips as he wraps his hand around his own cock. He moans, “mmm”, removing his fingers from his mouth after tasting me. He starts pumping himself, fast and hard. His breathing hot and a beam of sweat leaving his forehead. He looks my way and continues, “Such a beautiful mess you are, cumming all over my fingers-s like that. You’re such a naughty girl, only for me..mm.” Not long after, I sense he’s about to release. His face flushed in sweat and swirls of pink. I hurry and lean over his length, ready to help. “Oh, my princess wants a taste? Gonna be a good girl and swallow me whole?” My lips reach his tip and a long, sweet squirt fills my mouth. I feel Rafayel grunt and shake a bit as he releases. His panting and breathing relaxes as he finishes. I swallow what’s left of his decadent cream. He immediately offers me his hoodie sleeve to wipe my mouth and kisses my cheek.

After our long, steamy session had ended, Rafayel grabs all the pillows he can find and fluffs them. Wrapping his arms around me, we lie our heads down. He snuggles against me, and says kindly, “I hope I fulfilled all your wishes tonight.” “You did,” I replied and turned to face him. My eyes get heavy and teardrops start to form at the base. “I just wish this night could last forever. I am sure you have to leave soon..right? It’ll be so lonely with you gone.” I ask with a sigh as a tear falls slowly down my cheek. His pinkish-blue eyes look at me sadly. This whole night had been magical. Totally unexpected, but experiencing a night with Rafayel in real life made me feel so elated that I would be heartbroken to see him leave. He places his thumb on my cheek and wipes my tear. He caresses me. “My love, you have never been alone. I have always been here for you, even if it was just through a screen. And remember, your birthday isn’t over yet. Anything you wish for I will make happen, just for you.

So now, I promise. I will never leave your side.” He says, kissing my forehead.

[amevello-blue]

Yo back up Donny tried to comfort Raph? This I gotta see

Yes but first of all you have to sit through my rant about this entire scene

They're all standing back to give Donny his space with Leo. They're all worried, hands clenched, tense, but Raph's the only one with his arms crossed over his chest. He's close off right now. They're sharing vulnerabilities, emotions. Raph is not. He doesn't want to. He doesn't want anything to show.

Raph scoffs and jokes "I think you got him hanging on your every word, Don." And Leo stirs. Casey's the one who comments on it, saying, "I think he heard you, Raphy."

Everyone looks kinda intent on this revelation, surprised, but determined. Raph genuinely looks surprised and stunned and almost dare I say frightened? Some of that emotion is leaking through.

Then Mikey does his story, and Raph is... less than impressed. His arms are crossed over his chest again, he's scoffing, he's insulting Leo, saying he's not waking up because he's afraid.

He gets upset. "He got his butt whooped, and now he's too chicken to come back and face it!"

Mikey looks worried, upset, but Donny gets this moment of... Realization. He knows what Raph's doing. He knows Raph's going to say things he doesn't mean. He knows Raph.

Donny says, "that's enough, Raph." He doesn't scold him, or get mad at him about it. Just. Set his hand on his shoulder and says that's enough. That's enough getting angry at Leo when we all know that it's not Leo you're angry at.

Raph's trying really hard. He turns away from Donny. He's squeezing his eyes shut. He's trying not to cry. This is the comforting part I mean.

He shakes Don's hand off, which surprises Donny. Implying this method has worked to calm Raph down before.

"Well I say who needs ya? It's not like we can't get on without you playing fearless leader." Interestingly when Raph says that they'd be fine without him, it focuses on Leo, who is bruised and unconscious and spent hours in the rain trying to escape the Foot because he couldn't bring them back to April's. He knew he couldn't bring them back to April's. He could have gotten help there, but that would risk putting his family in danger.

Then, when you see Raph again...

He's crying. And Donny's shock has turned to genuine concern for Raph.

And he turns away from Donny more, and Donny's expression softens from concern to understanding. The fact that this scene is set up like this, where Raph is crying and Donny is the one watching him in the background, it hits me a certain way. Donny doesn't cry. Not after Kirby, not after Honeycutt, not when he realizes that he's going to have to kill his entire family to stop the Shredder. (In Exodus and in SAINW.) But Raph's here, crying, at their first big defeat. One of them has been defeated, broken, and only lived because their enemy was playing with him like a cat toy.

And Donny is RIGHT THERE.

Anyway, Raph tells the story of how he accepted Leo's leadership when they were kids, that strongest and bravest do not necessarily make for the best leader who makes the best decisions for the team.

And he's struggling again. "I don't even know why I told you that story. I guess I just... What I'm tryin to say is..." And he can't finish his sentence. He just trails off he clutches at his head, his face, he can't look at anyone, can't let them see the expression he's making.

And Leo, who has only reacted to Raph's voice this entire time, is only shown to be reacting to Raph's voice, stirs again.

Splinter reassures him this time. "Your brother hears you, Raphael. He understands."

And Raph, he doesn't say anything. He just. Goes to the window. And imo is processing the fact that he knows they can't survive without Leo. They need their fearless leader (a nickname that Raph gave him in the first place.) That's what that story meant. They need Leo. Raph needs Leo.

anyway the whole scene makes me incredibly emotional. The farmhouse arc wasn't just a Leo arc, it was very much a Raph arc as well. It was learning his brother isn't fearless. Isn't invincible. Leo is breakable. Raph literally helps Leo put himself (and his swords) back together. And I don't think Raph would have ever realized that Leo needed that kind of help if this scene hadn't happened earlier.

Cause the thing is, Leo was afraid. He was terrified of coming back and facing that failure. Failure is SUCH a big part of his character, his fear of it, his fight against it, and Raph... Raph hit the nail on the head. But telling stories of the times Leo was strong, the times that his family has needed him, was what brought Leo back.

And I think Raph realized at that point that. Maybe Leo needs help sometimes. Maybe he isn't Mr Perfect Ninja Son. Maybe Raph can be the one to help.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Bioware: Veilguard is a game where you face a mysterious shadowy figure and if you best him you get his cool sword, but he breaks part of the world and you and your friends have to travel all over through mirrors to put it back together again!

Me: ahh, not to worry. I have experience in this exact situation. I have played Kirby :)

[anneapocalypse]

On blood magic and the Inquisitor.

I think there is a lot to be said about how Inquisition handles the topic of blood magic, with regard to the Inquisitor and Hawke and the mage rebellion, and there are valid criticisms with regard to narrative framing and role-playing limitations.

However I also think that any discussion of blood magic in Inquisition and the available specializations for a mage Inquisitor is very incomplete without acknowledging that necromancy is considered blood magic in the south.

Tevinter, so far as we can tell from what we know, just straight up doesn't consider it blood magic (hence Dorian seeing no contradiction in practicing it while vocally opposing blood magic), and Nevarra seems to get away with not considering it blood magic, despite being nominally under the southern Chantry, for political reasons (and probably also geographic reasons). But anywhere south of that? Necromancy is blood magic. The first two games, set in Ferelden and Kirkwall, strongly associate animating corpses with blood magic. From the southern point of view, this is and has always been blood magic.

A necromancer Inquisitor is a blood mage. Mary Kirby agrees. Companions and advisors react accordingly. Here's a compilation if you're interested in seeing them all, but Josephine's reaction is especially telling. Keeping in mind that Josephine is a seasoned diplomat who is well-traveled, has a multicultural education, and understands the nuances of this situation better than most, she says this:

Outside Nevarra, most people think the Mortalitasi practice death rituals… and sacrifices…

To my ear, it's pretty clear what Josie means here. Because she is a diplomat, she is not coming right out and accusing the Inquisitor of being a blood mage, but let's be real, in this context what else could she possible mean by that ominous "and sacrifices..." She is making it clear to the Inquisitor that they are creating a PR nightmare for her, and goes on to say that she'll be keeping this as quiet as possible.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the reactions from Sera and Blackwall, the most common of your companions. Blackwell openly disapproves of the whole practice. Sera is clearly unnerved personally, but she also says:

It's scary to anyone smart enough to think for a second. You shouldn't be scary. You're the Inquisitor.

As someone who's vocal about the interests of little people, she's also pretty clearly trying to warn the Inquisitor that this is a practice that will alienate common people who are already frightened of magic generally.

From what I could find, it seems Cullen doesn't have a reaction to this specialization, which seems like a real dropped ball! I think that his reaction out of anyone could have really cemented how this practice is viewed in the south. (Edited to add: Cullen does have a line in a war table op where he says, "I can accept that necromancy is not blood magic," with seeming reluctance, but still strongly disapproves of the practice being used on fallen Inquisition soldiers.)

As for why there are no meaningful consequences for this, and why no one says the quiet part out loud, well, I think this comes back to the fact that everyone needs the Inquisitor whether they like them or not, and whatever shady shit they might be doing, not closing the rifts is undoubtedly worse. Not only that, the Inquisition has some major allies among northerners, so while it wouldn't do for the Inquisitor to be known as a blood mage in the south, it also wouldn't do to insult those allies by openly condemning necromancy.

In some ways, it is a shame that this aspect of the Inquisitor's character constrains other characters' reactions to them, to a degree. I think it would be fun to get more heated reactions from your companions for this specialization. But I can see why it's limited by the game's basic premise, as are many things, which is itself a whole other discussion beyond the scope of this post.

Anyway, the Inquisitor can be a blood mage, of a sort! Just a sort where nobody calls them that to their face.

[lilbitdepressed27]

Tara Carpenter/Fem!Reader

Summary: Part two of They Find Your Dog

Warnings: none

WC: 1.8k

Author's Note: requested by @perfectartisanwerewolf hope you like it dude. Sorry for any mistakes

After everything finally settled down. It hade felt like everyone could finally let out the air they were holding in. It was almost a year since the last ghostface incident. Everything that followed had been chaotic. With everyone suing the NY police department and actually winning. It was no surprise that it took a bit of time to move on. You, Tara, Sam and by extension Danny had all moved into a nice duplex house. With the money you, Tara and Sam got from the law suit. It was more than just affordable.

Getting together with Tara, romantically. It was bound to happen. You both moved in together just as roommates. But that had quickly changed after just a week of living together. Before you finally found the courage to ask her on a date. Then from there. Everything just fell into place. Tara's room became a guest room and she now slept with you. You honestly couldn't be happier.

Sam. Living right next door had been settled knowing her sister needed privacy as well. But she still had wanted to be close to her sister so, moving into a duplex house was the best option for Tara and Sam. Sam moving in with Danny had also happened with the help of Walle. Sam had really taken in how Walle was with Danny. And if Walle trusted Danny. She felt more comfortable being with Danny.

You had taken what Chad said that day very serious. Getting in contact with Walle's old trainer. Who also had a few different puppies in training. Getting every single one of your friends one. A boxer for Chad, an American Staffordshire for Mindy, a Rottweiler for Anika, Dobermann for Sam. Ang beautiful white cane corso for Tara.

The process wasn't easy and it sure wasn't quick. Which was why you had to wait a bit for things to settle down and for everyone to heal. Finding the perfect moment to bring up the conversation. Which happened to be a warm Fourth of July. With everyone getting together.

You had taken Walle with you and he had gotten along with every single one of those dogs.

"What are you smiling about?" She knew you were hiding something. She wasn't blind. The smile on your face was so cute and judging by the way Walle looked her. It almost seemed that he also knew about the secret.

"Nothing." It was drawn out in such a teasing way. That smile turning in a teasing one. She wanted to know but she could wait. She was patient.

Her arms wrapping around your shoulders from behind you. You leaned back, head tilted back, her lips  gently nibbled on your ear. "Come on tell me."

You absolutely loved her kisses. Since getting together, she couldn't stop kissing you where ever she could reach you, and you surely weren't complaining. "You'll find out soon enough."

*

"Y/n there's someone I would like for you to officially meet."

You had been busy helping Danny make the burgers and hotdogs, when the voice of Sam pulled your attention away from the grill. There standing next to Sam was Gale Weathers and Kirby Reed. You never really personally met Gale or Kirby officially. Only briefly seeing Kirby at the hospital after Quinn, Ethan and their dad were arrested.

"Oh hello, it's nice to meet you Ms.Weathers and Detective Reed." At the two new people arriving at the party. Walle stopped playing with Chad to be by your side. Wanting to make sure the two new people were safe to be around.

"It's nice to finally meet you. So this is Walle." Gale asked, she had been astonished that this dog was able to sniff out who was ghostface. Sam had told her how Walle was around the last three ghostfaces. Kirby had also told her Walle was able to sniff out that Quinn was never really dead. She had just gotten away before they could actually catch her.

"Oh yeah! This is Walle. It's okay buddy." You gently patted him showing him that it was okay. He went to sniff out the two older women, the two letting him. Looking completely amazed at how the dog was acting. Sniffing them out, only relaxing when he was sure. Returning to be back on your side, a smile on his face with his tongue sticking out.

"Good boy. Go play." And like that he was off playing with Chad again.

"Fascinating, do you know where I can get one of him?" Although Gale was joking. Part of her was being extremely serious.

*

Tara had watched how you spoke with Kirby and Gale. You had been gushing about how you've read just about every book that Gale has written, although you did in a way scold her for writing bad about Sam. Gale had looked like scolded child. It was a funny sight to see. It caused her and Sam to smile. You were a complete nerd as you went back to talk about her books.

Gale had also asked her own questions about you and Walle. She couldn't believe one person could take down ghostface so quickly.

"Oh that wasn't me, that was Walle. If he doesn't trust someone, I don't trust them. Simple as that." You had answered the question right away. If anything Walle was the one to take down ghostface.

The more Gale spoke with you, the more the idea for a new book came along. To write about how a companion could not only be great company, a companion could also be the one to save your life. When you told her about the incident at the park her mouth dropped. She remembered reading something similar. That article had been a popular article for quite a while. She just never imagined it would be the same dog as the one rolling in the grass as he tried to take the rope away from Chad.

The conversation was flowing and she could see why Sam and Tara trusted you so much. It was until your phone rang. You had quickly excused your self before you left the backyard going back into the house.

Tara trusted you, there was no reason to doubt you but part of her couldn't settle her nerves. The secret you were keeping had made her a bit nervous.

When you came out with a bright smile her nerves settled just a bit. "Uh guys."

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Looking at you. You felt a bit nervous with all the eyes on you but you pushed through. "Okay, uh I know things have been a bit, crazy. And I don't know how serious you guys were about this but I went with it anyway. Um I didn't know Gale and Kirby were gonna be here. So I had to make a few calls. And I wasn't really sure if you'd guys like it or oh god, you guys aren't allergic to anything right?" The question was now directed to Kirby and Gale. Who both shook their heads.

The more you spoke the more you got nervous. And Tara wasn't the only one who noticed. Walle was quick to be by your side.

With a deep breath. "I got you guys something. I'll be right back. Please stay here." Like that you were gone inside, Walle right behind you.

"Okay what's with her?" Sam asked the moment the door slid shut. She was a little worried, especially since Tara had filled her in on why you had Walle in the first place. At first she had thought Walle was just a well trained dog. She never would have guessed that he was also a service dog. As much as she tried to deny it, she did worry and may have been a bit more over protective towards you. Especially when you would be out running with Walle for too long. Apparently she wasn't the only one either. Cause Tara did as well.

"I don't know but I trust her. She was like this when she tried to hide my birthday present from me. Her excitement and nerves kinda got the best of her and she blurted out the moment I asked what she was hiding." You had been so angry with your self that you couldn't keep her gift a secret. It was literally the day before her birthday. You were so adorable.

"Oh my god was that why she was pouting when we go to your house?" Anika asked with a laugh.

Tara nodded with a laugh as well.

"Okay guys. I didn't really think this through." You mumbled to yourself. You had asked Mac, Walle's old trainer, to hold and take them through the side gate. Every single pup was so well behaved. You knew they would love them but you were still a bit anxious.

"Chad, I would like you to meet someone." Chad raised his eye brows confused but still gave you all his attention. Since he had been the one with the idea. You figured he would be the first one.

"Rex come here buddy." The brown boxer was quick to get to your side. You had the back gate open, and once he had the signal he was quick to make a he line to Chad. The dogs had been given a piece of clothing so they could get familiar with their new owners scent.

"Oh my god!" Chad dropped to his knees as the dog was quick to lick Chads face.

"Mindy meet Oliver." At the sound of his name the white and brown American Staffordshire came to you, you petted his head. He then made a beeline to Mindy who also dropped to her knees to great the dog.

"Dude!" She laughed the pure happiness in her tone.

"Anika meet Benny." The black Rottweiler ran straight to Anika. Anika let out a small squeal of excitement as the dog ran to her.

"Sam this is Alex." The brown Dobermann made his way to Sam. Sam had also looked shocked and yet her eyes filled so much graduated.

"Tara my love meet Duke." The white cane corso. Stood next to Walle who was happy to lead Duke to Tara.

You also called out Hudson and Wilson. The two Dutch Shepherds were brothers. Taking one of the dogs to Kirby. "This is Hudson." Turning your gaze to the older woman. Gale stood to the side watching everyone enjoying their dogs with a small smile on her face.

"Gale this is Wilson. Here's a companion that is trained into keeping their owner safe. He's trained by the same man that trained Walle."

Gale tried to blink away the tears as she looked down at the face of the dog who looked at her with a smile on his face.

"Thank you Y/n."

You beamed with pure happiness as they all enjoyed their companions. You felt a sense of accomplishment. Walle stood beside you, looking up looking as happy as ever.

"We did good buddy."

The rest of the day was spent playing with the dogs. Loving the way every one bonded with their own dog.

:)

[withwritersblock]

Please Please Please

~Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter~

Author's Note: I love this song with my whole heart Summary: Kirby and Y/N soft launch on social media Warnings: none I think Word Count: 1,907 Kirby Dach x fm!reader

Kirby and Y/N have been together for almost a year. It was safe to say it was the best year of her life. They were both in the limelight, at different levels. Kirby played for the Montreal Canadiens while Y/N had a few million followers on Youtube and Tiktok. 

For the two months leading up to their one year anniversary she wanted to slowly introduce her followers to him. A few years ago, her followers hated the idea of her being in a relationship and Kirby’s fans tended to attack any girl that was involved with him. So they thought it would be for the best to ease into the relationship.

She laid on the bed, running her fingers along his chest. Today was the first day she was planning on giving her followers a glimpse of Kirby. She had briefly mentioned having a boyfriend in her most recent Youtube video. Her followers were instantly invested in the idea.

“Are you coming to the game with me?” Kirby asked, his voice rasped as he spoke. She hummed as she stared towards her light pink nails tracing along his skin. “Good, I’ll hang in the WAGs suite with you,” he leaned towards her, kissing the top of her head. 

“Yay,” she mumbled as she slowly climbed out of the bed, he pouted slightly. He watched her walk towards the bathroom. 

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked, a small smile on his lips. She spun around, running a hand through her slightly messy hair.

“Coffee, want some?” she offered. He stood up from the mattress instead, “Oh, are you going to join me?” she asked in a teasing tone, “Don’t want breakfast in bed?” she continued on. 

He smiled widely as he bit his bottom lip,”Pretty sure I already had my breakfast in bed,” he teased as he took a hold of her waist pulling her towards him. She gasped as her back hit against his chest. 

“You’re awful,” she mumbled as he guided them both out of the bedroom, while he still held her to his chest.

“You love it,” he mumbled into her hair. She rolled her eyes as she reluctantly stepped away from him pulling her phone from her pocket. 

“Yeah, maybe,” she mumbled as she pulled up her Tiktok, “Do you want to start to be a little bread crumb in my videos?” she asked in a dramatic theatrical tone. He chuckled as he walked towards the coffee pot.

“Wherever you need me, babe,” he said excitedly. He began adding coffee grounds to the pot as she began searching for songs for her video. “Do I need to pose? Smile? Flirt with the camera?” he asked dramatically. 

“I don’t think I’m going to show much of your body. My fans are nuts, they’ll find you by the ring on your finger,” she said laughing. He nodded while chuckling. She stared towards his bare back, admiring the muscles as they slightly tensed as he moved. “I think I’ll wait until you’re in your suit for tonight,” she mumbled as she leaned forward onto the counter.

He turned the coffee pot on before he spun around, meeting her gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest, a small smile on his lips. “They may show me on the broadcast, you know. If your fans are as crazy as you say then they’ll find out that way,” he expressed.

She let out a dramatic groan, “You’re right but I got an idea that it won’t be too obvious,” she teased. He rolled his eyes playfully.

~

It was about an hour later and she had about fifteen seconds filmed. It was all short but aesthetic looking moments of her day. Her Tiktok persona was vastly different from the videos she posted on Youtube. She was a daily vlogger for both accounts but her Youtube was more raw and real. Her Tiktok stuck to the more aesthetic and pretty parts of her day. 

The first clip was a sleepy moment in the mirror, the second was her cup of iced coffee she made, and the third was her getting dressed. It was simple but it was cute. It was a weird way of helping her mentally. Creating a cute video of her day helped her avoid staying in bed. 

She sat in her vanity, recording for her Youtube channel. She was doing a Q and A for her channel. She had a collection of questions from her Instagram she planned on using. She was halfway through her makeup and halfway through her video when she finally addressed the boyfriend situation. 

“This next one is-are we going to get to see your boyfriend soon? So my boyfriend and I have been talking about that and we are going to do a soft launch. I hate that phrase but after what I expressed with my last boyfriend, I think this is for the best. I already know that many of you will try and investigate who he is. I can’t avoid that but I can spare my feelings for a while,” she explained, a small chuckle falling from her lips after she finished speaking. 

“Hey baby, what suit looks better?” he asked as his head was down staring towards his feet. He was holding a dark blue and a cream colored one. He lifted his gaze to see the camera set up on her vanity. His mouth formed a small O shape as his cheeks flushed red, “Oh sorry, I didn’t realize you were filming,” he clambered as he stepped away towards the door.

“No, it’s okay, let me see,” she uttered as she tilted her head to the side. She only had one eye done. He tilted his head to the side, a small smile forming to his lips.

“You look gorgeous,” he mumbled.

“It’s not even done yet,” she mumbled shyly.

“Still gorgeous,” he let out. He took a deep breath, holding the dark blue to his body for a few seconds. He then did the same with the cream. 

“I haven’t seen the cream in a while, go try it on,” she ushered. He nodded, leaving the room. 

“I did see this question a lot-What’s your boyfriend’s name?” a small chuckle fell from her lips, “If I told you guys that you would probably figure it out right away. So all you guys get for right now is boyfriend. You guys kept asking if he didn’t like being on camera and that’s why I haven’t shown him. But it’s more of a privacy thing. We wanted to be secure in the relationship before I plastered it all over social media. Also, people who put every aspect of their relationship on the Internet scare me,” 

She paused as she continued finishing her eye shadow, it was a subtle look but it was glittery. “Babe,” Kirby mumbled. She spun around, admiring the cream color suit. She nodded dramatically with a wide smile on her face. 

“You have to add this back into your rotation, I love it,” she muttered. He dropped his head, smiling shyly before he stepped out of the room. 

“Thank you, baby!” he shouted. “We have to leave in like twenty!” he explained.

“I’m almost done, promise!” she shouted back. She looked back towards the camera, “I think I will definitely film moments with him, of course. May even leave that moment in the video. I don’t know yet, but he’s going at my pace and what I’m comfortable sharing. So it’ll definitely be soon. Anyways-” she finished off with her outro, showing off the finished makeup look. 

After ten minutes, she was completely ready. Kirby stood still, his hands in his pockets as she rested her hand against his chest. Her light pink nails were in view. She filmed a short clip, practically showing him off. “Got what you needed?” he asked while resting his hand onto her hip, toying with the belt loop on her jeans. She hummed, her chest aching slightly.

She filmed the outside view of their drive from her apartment to the arena. She didn’t film the arena, or the game itself. It would’ve been extra obvious. Despite the difficult season the Canadiens were having, they won their game 2-1 in an OT goal by Nick. It was amazing to watch. 

She ended up filming the dinner the team and the WAGs all went to, she filmed her food, not anyone involved. She drafted the video to post tomorrow morning instead. It was a great day and documenting it made it even better.

~

The following morning she had shown the Tiktok to Kirby before she posted it. He helped her with the caption, finding himself clever in the process. They both kept refreshing the app, looking at the comments waiting for someone to try and guess who it was. 

It took four minutes for someone to guess that it was Kirby. Although, the longer the video remained up on Tiktok the faster the comment got buried on her page. Everyone else was simply freaking out that she wasn’t lying about having someone. Which was a common comment she got when she first brought him up.

He rested his head onto her stomach as she had her laptop on her chest. He ran his hands up and down her side soothingly as he was in and out of sleep. She was editing her video while he slept.

She watched the clip of Kirby asking her which suit looked better. A small smile formed on her lips to see him act all shy. She spent twenty minutes simply editing that twenty second clip, trying to disguise his identity. She covered the majority of his frame with a meme photo. She didn’t distort his voice, simply covering the majority of his body. She would just let people speculate on if it was him or not based off of his voice.

She watched the clip, smiling to herself. She tapped his back, and she sat up quickly. “You okay?” he forced out, blinking his eyes rapidly. She chuckled.

“Yes, pretty boy,” she mumbled, reaching behind her computer, rubbing the small stubble on his jawline. “Watch this,” she explained, spinning her laptop around, playing the small ten second moment. 

He laughed as he saw the megamind meme covering the majority of his frame. “What the hell?” he said while shaking his head.

“What do you think?” she asked with a small smile on her lips.

“I think it’s funny,” he let out as she spun the computer back towards herself, “I think you should also leave it in,” he mumbled, laying back down on her stomach. She nodded.

“I think so too. They’ll definitely recognize your voice but it’ll work out,” she mumbled as she continued to finish editing the video.

It took her another hour to finish editing the video, and another hour and a half to process and upload the video. For the second time that day they laid beside one another staring at the comments.

No one seemed to try and dissect who he was. “The way she looks at him! Stop it right now,” she read out loud, “This is cute,” she mumbled.

“He sounds hot,” he read out, “They know what they’re talking about,” he teased.

“Of course that’s the one you read,” she said, shoving him slightly. 

“It’s true,” 

“Oh please,” she let out while rolling her eyes playfully.

[aita-blorbos]

I'm a bit confused at where the line is for "extreme violence against children". Like for example, Ozai scarring Zuko is extreme, but it isn't graphic. But since its extreme would it not be allowed? It seems like most villains perform or attempt to perform extreme violence against children, especially in stuff like cartoons where the protagonists are children.

Are you able to clarify at all please?

We'll certainly do our best to clarify!

So, the "graphic" part doesn't mean how it's portrayed in the source material, it refers to how it's portrayed in the submission. To use the example we were thinking of when we wrote that, FNAF 4's Bite of 83 (probably, we've never played) isn't very graphic in the game, because the art style doesn't allow for particularly realistic violence. However, it is really difficult to describe that event through pure text without making it sound... well, exactly as horrific as it is. (CW for nondescriptive child death and gore if you click that link.)

Also, again, the context is really important. "AITA for burning half of a kid's face off" probably isn't going to be posted when it becomes clear in the post body that the kid in question is both human and the "OP's" son, but if the "OP" goes on to clarify that the kid is, like, an unrelated imp or whatever and bounced back immediately and also did not care at all, that'd probably be fine.

As for the kids' cartoon/media part--we do try to take this into account, but we have to be able to guess that a submission is from a genre where this is expected, first. Like, if we can't guess that the toddler being punted into the sun is Kirby, we're probably not going to post "AITA for punting a toddler into the sun." (We do not know if Kirby has ever actually been punted into the sun, sorry, but we think he could handle it.)

(... Also, 'most' villains don't attempt violence against children at all, graphic or otherwise. We're pretty sure most of the submissions we get come from media that doesn't even have child characters, and we get just as many, if not more, submissions about protagonists and side characters as we do actual antagonists.)

[kalinara]

Why is Charles constantly held up as this leader for mutants when there are many other mutants who would be a way better leader than him and he at times is not very good at it.

I don't know if I'd agree with the word "constantly", since I do think that Xavier's reception both in universe and out tends to fluctuate.

Xavier, at his best, is a man of high ideals, who took in five kids with the intention of giving them a safe place to learn how to use their powers.

It's a genre convention for kid/young adult stories, for the parents and mentors to be, at best, uninvolved and clueless. Because that's how the kids go off and have adventures to begin with. Spider-Man for example gets away with superheroing because Aunt May doesn't know what he's doing. And Uncle Ben is dead.

Xavier takes the genre convention a bit farther though, because rather than being completely clueless, he's the one who actually sends them into battle. And well, when you start to look at it from an adult perspective, you quickly go "wait, what the fuck?!"

It probably didn't help that Lee and Kirby were pretty fond of stories where Xavier would fake impairment and depowerment, or just go off and do his own thing, so that the kids could take charge and act on their own. Or the way he was actively involved in lying to Warren or Jean's parents about what their kids were up to. He starts looking a bit manipulative at best.

So we have a guy with two warring sides at work: the visionary benefactor vs. the manipulative plotter.

And well, X-Men is a franchise that's been ongoing for sixty years, so we have multiple generations who go from kids having fun to adults boggling at the characters' decisions, and I think that tends to get reflected in which traits get the most focus when.

It's probably fair to note that from about the early 2000s onward, Xavier really wasn't involved in a leadership position at all until Krakoa. He got kicked out twice for bad decisions, was hovering around in advisory capacity, and died twice to boot. The second, biggest time ushering in the post Avengers vs. X-Men period, which I think was great for really shaking up the universe.

It also though introduced a lot of really bizarre (Watsonian) veneration for the dude. Maybe it makes some sense, Scott Summers, a character who'd been recognized as a paragon by even his enemies, has proven himself flawed in his own right, so maybe that inspires people to look back at the previous guy more fondly?

(Or we could go with my theory, that Scott-as-Phoenix accidently mind-whammied everyone to love Xavier and hate Scott as much as Scott himself did at that moment.)

But then there's Krakoa, which was a pretty grand, pretty new experiment. And while I may gripe about certain aspects of the storyline, I can't deny that it was definitely a big, earth shattering concept change.

It also wouldn't have worked with anyone but Xavier at the head. Even though Rosenberg's X-Men arc had ended with Scott and Jean reunited, and positioned to lead what was left of mutantkind together, they're not really nation builder types. (Scott had Utopia, but that was less a nation than a garrison, IMO.)

For Krakoa to work, it needed nation builders. Xavier has the influence over mutant kind, and has the characterization of a benefactor. Which very much fits with Krakoa's modus operandus: giving humanity things for recognizing mutant kind, and scheming and manipulating when they don't.

And it makes sense, I think, that he was successful. Not only does he have the benefit of the absence makes the heart grow fonder veneration from his death. But he's offering mutants something tangible and amazing: safety, a home, freedom from death and persecution, a lot of their lost loved ones back.

That's a big deal. It's just unfortunately, Xavier has that other side of him too, and his blind spots and worse impulses play a big part in why Krakoa ends up falling.

(Though, to give him something: there IS a version of Krakoa still out there, in the White Room, where a nation of mutant kind has grown and developed beyond Xavier and the Council's flaws. But it's notable that they did this without him. It always seems to work like that.)

[ethanlandryluver]

loving him was red

‘did you know i loved you?’

pairing: ethan landry x fem!reader freeman

summary: You moved to new york with the core four after the murder party in woodsboro, where you discovered your sister was a psycho murderer. after the reveal of the new ghostfaces , you knew deep down that ethan couldn’t walk out of that theatre alive - and you dreaded that you could be the one to kill him. (this takes place right after ethan stabs kirby)

warnings: depictions of death, blood & gore, angst, sad, kissing

authors note: i’m so scared to post this because i’m not really a writer but i’m so bored 😭

do not repost! - reblogs are appreciated

lower case intended ♡

——————————————————————————

“ethan!” you gasp, seeing him tumble to the floor after getting hit in the head with a brick by sam. you look at him, winded on the the ground until he slowly picks himself up

“fuck are you gonna do about it bitch?” ethan taunts, holding his head childishly with a pained expression. sam aggressively charges to ethan, holding the dagger above her head.

“y/n! y/n, we have to run right now!” tara screams, tightly grabbing your wrist.

you watch as sam repeatedly stabs ethan’s left side before you turn to follow tara.

tara drags you to the backstage of the theatre, stumbling over the stairs leading up behind the curtain.

you both hide behind a large prop box in the corner of the backstage.

“m-my ethan..” you hug your knees and start rocking back and forth.

“ethan.. ethan.. ethan..” you repeat over and over again as his unmasking plays in your head in an endless loop. betrayal and sorrow swirl your mind, making it feel like the world stopped spinning

“y/n?” tara grabs your shoulder and begins to shake you, breaking your train of thought

you look up into tara’s eyes with tears streaming down your from your eyes. you can feel your mascara disintegrating but you wipe your cheeks anyways.

“i cant do this anymore tara! i miss wes, and i miss liv a-and anika! i miss amber..” you sob, remembering the sight of your dead sister.

tara stares down at the floor for a moment and you notice her eyes begin to water before she gazes back at you again.

“we’re going to get out of this,” she promises, squeezing your hand tightly.

“what if ethan doesn’t?” you whisper.

you both sit there in silence for a moment, before you hear heavy footsteps walking up to the backstage.

“shit.” you say as you get up on your feet quickly, pulling up tara as you do.

“heyyy,” quinn calls as she appears out from a curtain, her toothless grin sending a chill up your spine.

“oh shit! run!” tara shouts. she starts sprinting quickly, running down the stairs as you follow her back to the main part of the theatre.

ethan pops out from behind a case of ‘stab’ artifacts, sending you to run in the opposite direction. he shoots a quick look at quinn, tailing tara, shortly before chasing you.

“where do you think your going?” he calls. you race down into a hallway, turning into the first door on your left.

“fuck! it’s a fucking supply closet!” you cry, closing the door behind you and laying a broomstick over the handle, like in the movies.

you wipe the sweat off your forehead, exhausted from running as you hear pounding on the door.

“open the fucking door y/n!” ethan shouts from the other side

“shit, shit, shit,” you mumble under your breath, scampering over the supply racks next to you for anything applicable of being a weapon. you find a wrench when the door breaks down.

ethan stands in the doorway, panting heavily. he stares at you with an ominous look. you step backwards when he starts stepping towards you.

you back into a corner and start hyperventilating. he looms over you, resting the tip of his knife on the bottom of your chin, forcing you to look up at him.

you purse your quivering lips, failing to desperately hold back your tears. ethan takes his glove off with a concerned face.

“oh no please don’t cry m’baby,” he tucks his knife into his robe and cradles the side of you face, wiping your tears away.

you start sobbing, collapsing into his arms and leaning against his chest.

“why? how could you do this to me?” you utter. ethan kisses the top of your forehead without words.

“when richie died-“ he starts before getting cut off

“that’s it?” you cry, looking up at him confused

“no y/n you don’t understand-“ he explains.

“understand what? you’re not the only one who lost their sibling, e! i didn’t start a fucking killing spree, did i?” you say, pushing him away.

“i did it for my dad! he was only ever proud of richie, and i wanted him to be proud of me too,” he shouts.

you gaze softens with understanding. he looks down at the floor and then back at you with pain in his eyes

“i never meant to hurt you y/n. i’m so, so sorry,” he says, reaching for his knife.

“but i cant let you walk out of here alive.” he whispers as he stabs the side of your waist, retracting the knife quickly

your eyes widen before the edges of your vision begin to fade out.

in a rush of adrenaline you kick him away, throwing your wrench at his head in an attempt to stun him.

you try to knock a supply rack on top of him, but he jumps on you, kicking your feet and knocking you to the ground.

ethan kneels over you when he brings down his knife to your chest, nearly stabbing you. you grab his wrist, pushing it away as hard as you can.

you twist his arm, causing him to drop the knife and grunt out in pain. you pick up the knife and roll out from under him, pushing him to the ground.

you stab his chest repeatedly, five - maybe six times, as he yells out in pain. your eyes well up at the realization in what you’ve done.

“ethan no! i’m sorry! i’m sorry i’m so so sorry!” you wail. you drop the knife, pushing it to the other side of the room.

ethan leans against the wall as he starts to cough up blood. you pull him closer you, laying him in your lap and cradling him in your arms.

“i’m so sorry my love” you repeat, your tear flow becoming heavier.

“i love you,” you whisper, pushing his damp curls away from his face, bringing your forehead to his.

he weakly grabs your hand, interlocking it with his as he faintly smiles.

“i know.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not giving my brother my old gaming consoles?

So I (28m) love video games. Nintendo's handheld consoles in particular (I also own my parents old '98 computer and some of the PC games). They were a crucial part of my childhood and I strived to save every console and game that I could, and still keep them now for sentimental value and the sake of preserving them. My brother (30m) was never really into video games, but because we came from a lower class family, the gaming consoles and all subsequent games were typically gifted to "the whole family" and by extention, my brother, as he was the older child, but they all ended up becoming mine in the end, as I was the only one who would use them beyond the first week of owning them.

As we got older, my brother lost all interest in video games, so games started to get gifted to me directly, while the consoles remained "for the family". None of them were ever "officially" handed over to me, except for my father handing me his old grey Gameboy and going "here, you like this more than me" (that Gameboy and the Metroid game in it are my ultimate treasure). But again, I was the only one who cared about them, so everything I could beg my parents to not sell got added to my collection.

Now that we're all adults and my brother has kids and said kids are now old enough for video games (both are 6yo) they both have taken an interest. Which is awesome! I let my niece and nephew play on my Switch when they come over, and sometimes they watch me play games on my PC. They also have tablets that they play games on too, so there's no shortage of access, and my SIL is thinking about getting a Switch for at home (they love Kirby).

Just a month ago though, my brother randomly asked me for "his consoles back". When I asked why, he told me it was because he wanted to give them to his kids. When I asked which ones, he wanted them all. From the grey Gameboy up to the Gamecube.

I flat out told him no. First off, the Gamecube was sold in a yard sale after my parents "persuaded" me to let them sell it. The Gamecube I own now was gifted by a friend, so that one is 100% mine. My brother doesn't believe me on that. Second, none of these handheld consoles are being made anymore, they can be hard to find depending on where you are, and the price of the games for them are even higher. I love my niece and nephew, but they are little kids, and it would be devestating to see or hear that one of those old consoles got snapped in half or crushed. Also, again, these consoles are my entire childhood. These are the ones I held in my hands as a kid, and those games are the ones I had for years, and contained my save files on them. They mean way too much to me.

My brother got mad at me, claiming that I'm being selfish and that I can just "buy another one online" and that "they sit in a storage bin all the time", and got even angrier when I asked him why HE couldn't just buy them online. We apparently are on the same page that these consoles hold sentimental value to us, but I'm having a hard time seeing his side of it when he barely touched them.

He hasn't brought it up since, but apparently my brother's been complaining to our parents because my mother called me a few days ago to tell me that I am being selfish and to "just give him the games already". She hates seeing us fight and tends to pick the side of the kid that complains to her first, so IDK if I believe her. My dad doesn't care, and my SIL thinks spending the money on a Switch would be money better spent.

I do feel a little bad, I know I would be steaming mad if the roles were reversed, but I just do not see how he suddenly cares so much about these consoles all of a sudden, and I absolutely do not trust that he would make sure his kids are careful with them.

So, AITA? Am I being selfish? I already was thinking about letting my niece and nephew try out the old consoles when they're older and I get them all set up in a proper display case, I just do not want to lose ownership of these consoles. I already lost the Gamecube, Wii, and so many games (including PC games) to my parents "convicining me" to sell them. I don't want to lose any more.

What are these acronyms?

[sleepyhead-poll]

ROUND 4D, MATCH 1 OUT OF 2!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Snorlax:

he be snorin'. he be lax.

big sleeby... <3 he just like me fr fr

i mean it's snorlax cmon

Always sleeping. Always blocking the way of everyone. Will not move for anyone, must sleep.

This pokémon is the embodiment of sleeping (or hibernation more precisely). In the games, they block you path by sleeping in the middle of the road and you have to wake them up with a flute. In battles, they often use the attack "rest".

eepy. snoozle. his name is “snore lax” i dont think you get much more restful than that

Snorlax propaganda! - the og sleeper seen in gen 1. has longevity and we respect that - literally called the sleeping pokemon in the pokedex - blocks your path by sleeping in no less than three generations and three remakes, requiring you to wake it up - also does this in pokemon ranger - based on game freak employee kōji nishino, which is a subtweet if i've ever seen one - has a practically 100% usage in gen 1 and 2 ou competitive, and always runs rest - one of the few pokemon to learn rest, snore, and sleep talk by level up, no tms, breeding, or tutors required - the mascot of pokemon sleep, and your goal is to feed it so it can get a good night's sleep with you. literally can't get more sleepy than that. - an event snorlax can be caught in pokemon go where he wears a little sleeping cap awwww baby - also has an adorable sleepwear skin in pokemon unite - is able to have the ability deep sleep in pokemon conquest, allowing it to recover hp if it falls asleep - gigantamax snorlax is described as "the size of a mountain—and moves about as much as one as well" - you can get tons of officially licensed pjs with snorlax on them, perfectly fitting its sleepiness - you can also get these delightfully cute bookends where snorlax is sleeping? - also snorlax appears in the music video for celestial by ed sheeran. not necessarily sleepy but i think it's funny like how many other contenders are in ed sheeran lore - i like it

SNORLAX PROPAGANDA PART TWO?!?! last march, pokemon launched a "project snorlax" campaign meant to promote snorlax specifically and it came with a bunch of neat material, i'll put it under a cut lmao [Click link to view material "under the cut" in original propaganda post]

Kirby:

Kirby looove napping and sleeping and is too cute when he is :3

They the littlest guy ever, all that they like to do is eat, play with their friends, and sleep. There’s a copy ability called sleep that literally just makes them tired, and in forgotten land there’s a more powerful sleep ability that give them a little blanket and bed. An eepy little guy.

kirby starts off a lot of his games napping & in forgotten land you can even take a nap with elfilin to restore health and it's ADORABLE. and of course, he has his sleep ability, which just makes him take a nap right after inhaling certain enemies.

He's a ball who likes to eat, sleep, and play with his friends, and just so happens to be a godslaying entity that may or may not be an incarnation of a deity. Also just look at his nap animations in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

kirby has canonically slept through at least one hostile invasion

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jesse Duquette

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 25, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

We have all earned a break for this week, but as some of you have heard me say, I write these letters with an eye to what a graduate student will need to know in 150 years. Two things from last night belong in the record of this time, not least because they illustrate President Donald Trump’s deliberate demonstration of dominance over Republican lawmakers.

Last night the Senate confirmed former Fox News Channel weekend host Pete Hegseth as the defense secretary of the United States of America. As Tom Bowman of NPR notes, since Congress created the position in 1947, in the wake of World War II, every person who has held it has come from a senior position in elected office, industry, or the military. Hegseth has been accused of financial mismanagement at the small nonprofits he directed, has demonstrated alcohol abuse, and paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement. He has experience primarily on the Fox News Channel, where his attacks on “woke” caught Trump’s eye.

The secretary of defense oversees an organization of almost 3 million people and a budget of more than $800 billion, as well as advising the president and working with both allies and rivals around the globe to prevent war. It should go without saying that a candidate like Hegseth could never have been nominated, let alone confirmed, under any other president. But Republicans caved, even on this most vital position for the American people's safety.

The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker (R-MS), tried to spin Hegseth’s lack of relevant experience as a plus: “We must not underestimate the importance of having a top-shelf communicator as secretary of defense. Other than the president, no official plays a larger role in telling the men and women in uniform, the Congress and the public about the threats we face and the need for a peace-through-strength defense policy.”

Vice President J.D. Vance had to break a 50–50 tie to confirm Hegseth, as Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined all the Democrats and Independents in voting no. Hegseth was sworn in early this morning.

That timing mattered. As MSNBC host Rachel Maddow noted, as soon as Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), whose “yes” was secured only through an intense pressure campaign, had voted in favor, President Trump informed at least 15 independent inspectors general of U.S. government departments that they were fired, including, as David Nakamura, Lisa Rein, and Matt Viser of the Washington Post noted, those from “the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration.” Most were Trump’s own appointees from his first term, put in when he purged the inspectors general more gradually after his first impeachment.

Project 2025 called for the removal of the inspectors general. Just a week ago Ernst and her fellow Iowa Republican senator Chuck Grassley co-founded a bipartisan caucus—the Inspector General Caucus—to support those inspectors general. Grassley told Politico in November that he intends to defend the inspectors general.

Congress passed a law in 1978 to create inspectors general in 12 government departments. According to Jen Kirby, who explained inspectors general for Vox in 2020, a movement to combat waste in government had been building for a while, and the fraud and misuse of offices in the administration of President Richard M. Nixon made it clear that such protections were necessary. Essentially, inspectors general are watchdogs, keeping Congress informed of what’s going on within departments.

Kirby notes that when he took office in 1981, President Ronald Reagan promptly fired all the inspectors general, claiming he wanted to appoint his own people. Congress members of both parties pushed back, and Reagan rehired at least five of those he had fired. George H.W. Bush also tried to fire the inspectors general but backed down when Congress backed up their protests that they must be independent.

In 2008, Congress expanded the law by creating the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. By 2010 that council covered 68 offices.

During his first term, in the wake of his first impeachment, Trump fired at least five inspectors general he considered disloyal to him, and in 2022, Congress amended the law to require any president who sought to get rid of an inspector general to “communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal or transfer to both Houses of Congress, not later than 30 days before the removal or transfer.” Congress called the law the “Securing Inspector General Independence Act of 2022.”

The chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, Hannibal “Mike” Ware, responded immediately to the information that Trump wanted to fire inspectors general. Ware recommended that Director of Presidential Personnel Sergio Gor, who had sent the email firing the inspectors general, “reach out to White House Counsel to discuss your intended course of action. At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss” the inspectors general, because of the requirements of the 2022 law.

This evening, Nakamura, Rein, and Viser reported in the Washington Post that Democrats are outraged at the illegal firings and even some Republicans are expressing concern and have asked the White House for an explanation. For his part, Trump said, incorrectly, that firing inspectors general is “a very standard thing to do.” Several of the inspectors general Trump tried to fire are standing firm on the illegality of the order and plan to show up to work on Monday.

The framers of the Constitution designed impeachment to enable Congress to remove a chief executive who deliberately breaks the law, believing that the determination of senators to hold onto their own power would keep them from allowing a president to seize more than the Constitution had assigned him.

In Federalist No. 69, Alexander Hamilton tried to reassure those nervous about the centralization of power in the new Constitution that no man could ever become a dictator because unlike a king, “The President of the United States would be liable to be impeached, tried, and, upon conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors, removed from office; and would afterwards be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law.”

But the framers did not anticipate the rise of political parties. Partisanship would push politicians to put party over country and eventually would induce even senators to bow to a rogue president. MAGA Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming told the Fox News Channel today that he is unconcerned about Trump’s breaking the law written just two years ago. “Well, sometimes inspector generals don't do the job that they are supposed to do. Some of them deserve to be fired, and the president is gonna make wise decisions on those.”

There is one more story you’ll be hearing more about from me going forward, but it is important enough to call out tonight because it indicates an important shift in American politics. In an Associated Press/NORC poll released yesterday, only 12% of those polled thought the president relying on billionaires for policy advice is a good thing. Even among Republicans, only 20% think it’s a good thing.

Since the very earliest days of the United States, class was a central lens through which Americans interpreted politics. And yet, in the 1960s, politicians began to focus on race and gender, and we talked very little about class. Now, with Trump embracing the world’s richest man, who invested more than $250 million in his election, and with Trump making it clear through the arrangement of the seating at his inauguration that he is elevating the interests of billionaires to the top of his agenda, class appears to be back on the table.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[chaoticlad]

MORE dumb cp9 headcannons because I needed to store everything somewhere (part 2??)

Jabra is that guy in olive garden who see how long the waiter will grate cheese for

Growing up, Lucci was the one who took care of Kalifa and Kaku, plus he was crazy overprotective over them

Kaku was the final member who had never tried smelling salts but once he did he sniffed it really close and couldn't breathe properly for like- 2 weeks

Blueno and Lucci makes little figurines of the cp9 members

Jabra once punched Spandam in the crotch as hard as he could because intrusive thoughts (he claimed it was a fly)

Kalifa and Kaku are the Bill Nye of the crew

Kumadori went through multiple emo phases

Fukurou and Jabra teach Lucci brainrot words

Kumadori was the "Santa" of the crew when they were still kids (Lucci never fell for it)

Besides Spandam, Kalifa and Kaku are the shortest members

since they were all band kids, they come together every once a while and learn a song to play together, like an orchestra but really tiny

Kumadori and Kaku have severe arachnophobia

They play uno every Friday night (along with Monopoly) and no matter what, they always end is a 1v1 battle to the death because someone placed a plus 4 on Jabra or Fukurou

Kalifa could set water on fire if you left her alone in the kitchen

the entire crew (besides Lucci) wanted to get a dog but stupid SPANDAM fed a fruit to a sword and said they didn't need a dog anymore (he got a crazy beating [even from Lucci] but funkfreed was equally as good anyways)

Lucci would NEVER admit it but he has mild separation anxiety when he's away from any of the crew and is always around them for safety (except Spandam)

When Fukurou found out about THOSE ships (ahem) he immediately told everyone all the pairings of them at the dinner table and Kalifa even threw up

Lucci takes his trombone every once in a while and blasts it as loud as he can Infront of Jabra or Spandam's door at 2AM

Kaku has the BIGGEST Pokemon card collection you have EVER seen (40% of them are girafarig cards anyways)

Friday is always game night

When playing ssbu, Lucci plays as incineroar, Kaku as game n' watch (or Luigi), Kalifa as zero suit Samus, Blueno as villager, Jabra as wolf (and daisy), Fukurou as pac man, and Kumadori as kirby

Lucci really likes the olive garden bread sticks

Kaku cooks spaghetti a crazy amount - like 4 times a week (Blueno knows Kaku doesn't like spaghetti himself so he makes him whatever Kaku wants while the rest just eat his spaghetti because they LOVE it)

Kalifa is a HUGE Splatoon fan

Jabra has a fursona

Blueno has the lowest spice tolerance

Kaku and Lucci play Lego and build ship models in secret

Whenever they get a hotel, it doesn’t matter how small it is they WILL all sleep in the same room

Kaku is actually the heaviest drinker when it comes to alcohol or beer, but he hates the taste so he sticks with juice (kalifa and Lucci are tied for second)

Jabra will never admit he's TERRIFIED of horror movies

when they walk into Kumadori's room they're hit with is the strongest smell of gingerbread candles in the middle of august

Kaku has never eaten any Mexican food

Literally all of cp9 has this weird thing where they randomly just start holding back tears and barge into one of their rooms to cry about how much they love them (it's become a meeting at this point whenever this happens they call code crew and they all just go to the same room to hang out until the person feels better)

Fukurou and Jabra still have to count with their fingers

They've all known each other since they were mere kids

Jabra often tries to get Hattori to like him more than Lucci but fails miserably every time

Kalifa shops at hot topic

Kumadori is the instagram influencer who takes pictures of his food

Lucci's den den has countless pictures of the crew, even some really dumb ones

Kaku is the only one who can breakdance and has a ddr machine in the game room

Kalifa, Kaku, and Spandam love playing with Jabra and Kumadori's hair

Blueno has an addiction to coffee (it's the only thing that keeps him awake)

Jabra drinks milk from the carton and the whole crew thinks that's gross AF so Blueno has to buy multiple extra cartons, exclusively for Jabra cause he's gross

They're all close enough to share spit without complaining or anything like- they drink from the same cup, they just eat eachother's food like it's their own and even share gum if they're desperate

Blueno teaches Jabra how to shake drinks so he can impress the ladies

Lucci makes Spandam call him by his full name because he isn't "cp9" close

Kaku uses Jabra as a verb when describing something really stupid

Kalifa, Lucci, Kaku, Jabra, and blueno all know Morse code and it looks really stupid when Lucci and Jabra are arguing through Morse code